Kulekhani Fish In This Tihar

I love fish ,the various recipes of fish are delicious.Although rahu and magur fish are tastier in daily meal but Kulekhani fishes are so fresh and delicious and we bring it from Kalimati Sbji Mandi of Kathmandu ,the fish market is a place where competition is fiercely fought within the long-established conventions held by the expert traders. Kulekhani fish has best taste during winter season.

Eating fish is associated with many cultures of the world primarily in coastal areas. It's so common that taking few names would be injustice to others.Some cultures even eat fish as pickles and sea food cuisine is regarded as one of the most diverse class of cuisines.We are also very fond of fish. We consider fish primarily rohu as auspicious and have a culture to eat it on all  auspicious occasions.What separates us from other fish eating cultures around the world is that we prefer to eat sweet water fish (fishes from rivers) unlike other cultures which prefer to eat sea water fish.

Explanation (why we eat fish) -

• If you see, geographically, Nepal has various rivers  and these rivers are considered as lifeline of these areas. Historically people have settled around rivers due to fertile land and accessibility of food and water. 
• It's a well known fact that if population of fishes increases in any water body including rivers and ponds making them unusable. This fact was known for long time to people  so they started eating fish in abundance and some made it as occupation.
• In sociology and social psychology, it is said that habits become tradition and tradition becomes culture which further governs the behaviour of society as a whole.

• Now if something becomes the part of your culture and you practice those ever since you were born, it doesnot dies out ever.
• Besides all these, we cook fishes so delicately and tasty that we can't resist ourselves eating it perpetuallly.By now people reading this must be thinking of some food which is associated with their own culture distinct from others, and most of them has reasons of availability in abundance in their areas like coconut in South India or rice in China.

Ingredients

• 1lb boneless fish
• 1 large onion
• 1 large tomato
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. paprika powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. fish curry powder
• 2 tsp. garlic ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup green peas
• Chopped Cilantro for garnish
• Oil to deep fry

Directions

1. Cut fish fillet into small pieces.
2. Marinate with oil, paprika, turmeric, red chili powder, garlic ginger paste, fresh ground pepper, salt, and lemon juice and set aside for 20 minutes.
3. Heat a deep-frying pot and add vegetable oil.
4. Deep fry fish for about 2 minutes so that its cooked half way.
5. Take out fish and place it on a paper towel to extract excess oil.
6. To make gravy, take a pan and add 2 tbsp of same oil used for frying.
7. Add cumin seeds and onion and sauté until onion gets soft and brown.
8. Then add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes start to breakdown.
9. Add fish curry powder, red chili powder, salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
10. Once it is a thick paste, add about 2 cups of hot water and let it simmer for about a minute.
11. Add green peas and fish and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
12. At the end add some cilantro and cook for one more minute.
13. It is ready to be served.