If you’ve walked the lanes of this city of 15 million people, and the enormous and diverse land of Bengal that nestles it, you have no doubt been enchanted by the smells of cooking that waft out of kitchens at every corner. Strangers and their wondrous food that we’ve somehow never had the chance to know.

We present our new series on Bong Eats—"Pasher Barir Ranna"—where we invite our neighbours (metaphorically speaking) to come share their recipes with us.

Today’s episode is Maccher Mathar Kaliya with ‪@SalmaTheChef‬.

Salma cooks this fishhead curry with very few ingredients—just onion, garlic and a few powdered spices. One key component of this recipe—besides, of course, the freshest Catla fishhead possible—is the bhaja dhone–jeere powder (coriander and cumin seeds, dryroasted and ground) that Salma shows us how to make from scratch, as it is used in several of her family's recipes.

✍ Written recipe: www.bongeats.com/recipe/macchermatharkaliya
Watch this video in Bangla:    • মাছের মাথার কালিয়া । পাশের বাড়ির রান্...  

Music: "Barir pashe arshi nagar" originally composed by Lalon Fakir in the 1800s.
Rearranged and recorded for Bong Eats by
Diptanshu Roy ‪@dolinman‬ (mandolin)
‪@TarishiMukherjee‬ (vocals)
Abhijit Kundu (guitar)
Nilesh Banerjee (drums)