Achari Machchi

As the Supreme Court issues order of 'no tinted film permissible in Delhi or anywhere else in the country', protesters pelt criticism on Fb as the Delhi Traffic Police updates its page with the news. TOI intended a pun with its headline 'Film ban from Friday but city clueless', almost making the reader think it was a ban on a movie! Dilliwallas are indeed clueless about the severity of the decree. While there was a lighter tint permitted on glass windows, the ban on any/all kinds of tint is sending tempers soaring. There are allegations that the traffic police might be misinterpreting the rule. In the scorching heat of (esp) Delhi, how can such an unreasonable law be passed is what users are left wondering. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         But a rule is a rule is a rule, is what we have grown up to learn. Starting from home to school to college to the work-place, if a rule has been passed by the ruling body, it is non-negotiable. Like it or hate it but you cannot ignore it has always been a way of life. The average man makes peace with the most unreasonable law with the 'stoicism of a cow standing in the rain'. Heart of hearts the conformist knows that it takes a world of undauntedness to rebel. In his daily grind of making the two ends meets, who has the time & energy left to fight the law? Who has ever won against the law-maker, anyway. Kuch hone wala toh hai nahi is as common a strain in the Indian peninsula as the nagging rain is in London.

Nothing like kaancha aam, raw mango, to beat the heat at a time like this. It will keep you cool to face all kinds of  garmi. Are you headed to Lajpat Nagar to get your tinted film removed? Pick up some raw mangoes on the way. Give some to the traffic police if he threatens you with a challan. Don't try greasing palms anymore. We are fighting against corruption, remember? Peel & grind the raw mango, marinate the fish pieces with it & make this tangy Achari Machchi. This finger-licking item will make you forget rules for a while. Sab moh maya hai, you'll mumble. And make peace with the Sun God :)
                                                                                                             Ingredients:[Check pic for measures]
1. Fish pieces
2. 1 raw mango - peeled & ground 
3. 11/2 tbsp mustard+posto paste
4. 1 tsp panch phoron 
5. Red chilli powder as preferred
6. 1-2 tsp sugar
7. Green chillies- slit & deseeded- to garnish
8. 1- 1/2 cup water
9. Salt to taste
10. Mustard oil to cook
                                                                                                                                      Method:
1. Marinate the fish with half of the raw mango paste & keep aside for 10 mins.
2. In hot oil, allow panch phoron to splutter. Fry sugar & rest of the mango paste. 
3. Add the marinaded fish pieces & gently fry them in the same pan.

4. Add water, mustard posto paste, red chilli powder & salt and let fish cook in the gravy till done.  
                                                                                                                                                  Keep the achari machchi with gravy or dry, as you like it. Garnish it with the slit green chillies.
Serve hot with plain rice.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Tip:
1.Use more red chilli than you normally do for other dishes. The sour mango demands it!
2. Do not fry the mustard posto paste. Cook it raw in water to retain its pungent tangy taste.
                                                                                                         As your mouth waters, the boiling temper about the tinted film gradually gets washed away. Wassay, Nitin!

                                                                                                        Thank u for the recipe, Momma :)