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I love to travel for many reasons. It helps me see new places, learn new things, appreciate the beauty around us and it broadens my horizons. One aspect of traveling I love the most is trying new foods, cuisines. I love going to the markets and explore the local produce and try authentic recipes of the place.

Last year I visited Odisha, a eastern coastal state of India. Odisha is a beautiful place, its the land of Lord Jagannath who is Lord Krishna, resides in the temple with his brother Balaram and sister Subhadra. When you visit Jagannath Puri or Puri as its widely known, you get to taste the famous Bhog, an offering thats made to Jagannath. This Bhog is called Chhappan Bhog, chhappan means 56, because it has 56 delectable dishes. Different types of rice like Kanika, daals like Dalma, pitha and sweets made from milk are cooked in traditional recipes in earthen pots

One of the dishes is Besara, besara is a mustard paste which what the curry is named after. Its not super rich and extremely flavorful. For the bhog this is made with lots of vegetables like plantain, Taro, different types of gourds. However you will also find fish curry made with this mustard sauce. You can see generous use of mustard not only in Oriya cuisine but also in the neighboring state of West Bengal.

Today I am taking you with me on a culinary travel to Odisha, India with Morey’s seafood. I am making salmon with Besara curry. I got this Salmon from Morey’s seafood, when I looked at the seasoning, I thought it will pair perfectly with this Indian style curry. The marinade has jalapeno, garlic , paprika along with mustard, flavors from a Indian kitchen.

Here is a video of how to make this curry step by step , for a vegetarian version he same paste and method can be used to make a delish mushroom curry, Chatu Besara, often Oyster mushrooms are used.

This blog post is done in collaboration with Morey’s seafood. I love using their products as all their seafood, not only does it taste good but Morey’s has also led the charge in commitment to responsible, sustainable practices. Check out their website to learn more.

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Machha Besara – Odisha style Salmon Curry

Machha Besara is a fish curry from Odisha. This mustard based curry is delicious and super easy to make. It goes with any type of fish and taste amazing served with piping hot rice

Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian, odisha
Keyword besara, fish curry, mustard fish curry

Ingredients

Marinate the fish

  • 1 pack of Morey’s steakhouse salmon You can use any other fish, see notes for marination
  • 1 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp mustard oil

Masala Paste

  • 1 Tbsp Black mustard seeds
  • 1 Tbsp Yellow mustard seeds
  • 1/2 Tbsp cumin seeds
  • 6-7 garlic cloves
  • 3-4 dry red chilies

Tadka and other

  • 1/2 Cup Mustard Oil Please see notes
  • 1 tsp Panch phodan Please see notes
  • 1 onion chopped finely
  • 1 tomato chopped in medium sized pieces
  • 1 piece of dry mango or 1 tsp amchoor powder
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 2 green chilies slit
  • Chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  1. Marinate the fish & potatoes with turmeric and mustard powder

Make the masala Paste

  1. Soak all the ingredients in warm water for 20-30 mins and grind to a fine paste

Fry the fish

  1. Heat mustard oil in a pan and fry the fish for about 2 mins on either side

  2. Take it out on a plate

Make Tadka and Gravy

  1. In the same pan, add panch phoran, sauté for a min
  2. Add onions and sauté till golden brown
  3. Add the mustard paste and sauté for 2-3 mins
  4. Add chopped tomatoes and sauté for a min
  5. Add hot water( to get the consistency you want) and cook on medium flame

  6. Add dry mango or Ambula and a pinch of sugar

  7. Add water as needed to get the right curry consistency
  8. Add slit green chilies

  9. Add fried fish and cook for another 2 mins

Garnish

  1. Drizzle with more mustard oil if you like and garnish with chopped cilantro

Recipe Notes

  1. Make sure you heat the mustard oil to a smoking point, let it cool completely. When you are ready to cook, heat it again to desired temperature
  2. Soaking and draining the mustard seeds helps remove the bitterness 
  3. I have used Salmon but this curry can be made with any fish 
  4. Ambula is raw mango thats dried in the sun, it  adds a unique tanginess to the curry.