Recipes for fish-roe

Every season, when the temperature, the humidity and the oxygen level in the water are just right, mother fishes spawn hundreds of thousands of eggs in water bodies around the countless rivers that snake through our country. Only a fraction makes it to the next stage – the fish fry. Fishes that are netted with eggs in them end up on our plate.
In the western world fish-roes are considered delicacies, Caviar for instance, which can be as costly as $5000 per kilogram.
For this week's recipes I suggest using eggs of full-grown white fishes -- Rui, Katla or Mrigel. From an average-sized fish you may get about 200 – 250g of eggs. Eggs of smaller fishes like puti, bele or tengra are also very tasty, but it will take a lot of fish to get substantial amount of eggs.

Fish-roe ball with red sauce
Meat/fish balls (koftas) are usually prepared with either beef, or mutton or shrimp. I have never before used fish-roes in such recipes. This is a new attempt and I hope you will like it as much as I did.
Ingredients:
1 cup fish-roe
¼ cup semolina
1 tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
1 slice bread
½ tsp black pepper powder
2 tbsp corn flour
1 egg yolk
Oil
Salt to taste
Ingredients for gravy --
¼ cup cubes of onion
1 tbsp ginger (Julian cut)
½ cup tomato sauce
¼ chilli sauce
¼ tsp white pepper powder
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Method:
Rinse the fish-roe carefully and tie it inside a piece of thin cloth to drain out the water thoroughly. Soak the slice of bread in water and squeeze out the liquid. Now mix all ingredient of the fish-roe ball with the soaked bread. Take small amounts of the mixture and make small balls with your hand. They should be of the size of ping pong balls.
Fry the balls in hot oil and set them aside. Now for the gravy, heat oil in a separate pan. Add ginger to the hot oil. As it starts giving out flavour add the onion to it. Mix the tomato and chilli sauce with a cup of water and add this mixture. When the mixture starts boiling add the fish-roe balls and all other ingredients, except the corn flour.
Cook in medium heat for ten minutes. Now mix the corn flour with water and add it to the pan. When the gravy turns thick remove the pan and prepare to serve.
Serving tips: The fish-roe ball goes well with fried rice, noodles, or plain polao.

Fish-roe pakora
The very name, pakora, evokes the image of a hot cup of tea and a platter of tempura in a wintery or rainy afternoon. You have so far heard of pakoras made with different vegetables or lentil (daals). Pakoras can be made with fish-roes and yes they are very tasty and can be served during tea-time.
Ingredients:
1 cup fish-roe (of any white fish)
¼ cup bread crump
½ tsp ginger paste
¼ tsp garlic paste
¼ tsp cumin paste
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp chopped green chilli
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp chopped mint
½ cup chopped onions
Salt to taste
Cooking oil (for deep frying)
Method:
Rinse the fish-roe carefully and let the water drain away. Marinate the fish-roe by mixing all ingredients with it – except the oil. Wait until the breadcrumb absorbs the excess water from the fish-roe.
Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Take one spoonful amount of the mixture at a time and fry them until golden brown.
Tips: If you want crispiness to last for a long time then add two teaspoonful of corn flour with the mixture.

Fish-roe with bitter-gourd (korola)
I am sure many a times you have had difficulty in making your unwilling offspring (or partner) try a dish of bitter gourd. These days, however – as people are getting aware of their medicinal properties – bitter gourds are gaining popularity. These are known to help control diabetes and cleanse blood of toxic materials.
The following recipe and tip will reduce the bitterness substantially and will make it more acceptable to everyone.
Ingredients:
1 cup fish-roe (of any white fish)
1 bitter gourd (korola)
5 pieces potato (medium size)
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
5 pieces whole green chilli
½ cup oil
Salt to taste
Method:
Cut the bitter gourds and potato into thin slices and set them aside. Wash the fish-roe carefully and boil in water with a pinch of salt. Cut the boiled fish-roe into small pieces. Now mix all the ingredients, except the fish-roe and green chilli, with a small amount of water. Cook the mixture in middle heat for ten minutes.
When the gravy is reduced to half add the fish-roe and green chilli and cook in low heat for another ten minutes with the lid covered. When oil floats on the curry remove the pan from heat and prepare to serve.
Tips: If you want to reduce the bitterness of the gourds, keep the pieces in salt-water for a few minutes. The bitterness will also reduce if you remove the seeds and the inner white parts from the gourds.
Scrambled fish-roe
Scrambled eggs is a popular dish worldwide. Many of us do not know that this can be prepared with fish-roe as well.
Ingredients:
1 cup fish-roe (of any white fish)
½ tsp ginger paste
¼ tsp garlic paste
½ cup onion slice
½ tsp black pepper powder
2 tbsp tomato sauce
Salt to taste
3 tbsp cooking oil
Method:
Rinse the fish-roe carefully and let the water drain away. Mix all ingredients – except the oil and onion – with the fish-roe. Heat oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions until they turn golden brown. Add the marinated fish-roe to it and keep stirring continuously. The fish-roe will soon form small lumps. Remove the pan from the oven and prepare to serve.

Spicy fish-roe cup cake
Cup-cakes are mostly sweet dishes and are normally served as desserts at the end of a meal. Some cup-cakes are however prepared salty and spicy. This dish is one of them and is usually served as snack with tea or coffee.
Ingredients:
1 cup fish-roe (of any white fish)
½ cup butter
1 tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
2 tsp onion paste
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
½ tsp white pepper powder
1 egg
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
Method:
Rinse the fish-roe carefully and let the water drain away. Mix all ingredients with the fish-roe. Grease the cup-cake mould with butter. Fill 2/3rd of the molds with the mixture. Now put the molds in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 15 – 20 minutes or until cooked properly.
Tips: To check if the cup-cake is done, insert a knife into the cake. It will come out clean if it is done.

Photo: Nuzhat Haya Khan