Dahi macha has class of its own. Seafood lovers, we the people of Odihsa with a long coastline cannot exclude this relishing mustard yogurt curry from our diet. Dahi Macha is lip smacking odia food from my humble state and is one of the classic curries we Odiya are proud to showcase.
I have been going through this authentic craving since last few days. Finally gave a call to my dear mom.The mentioning of ingredients made me salivating, Fish simmering in mustard gravy enriched with yogurt was to hard to resist. The ingredients are limited and flavor of mustard is echoed in this recipe. Yogurt blended in this gravy renders a creamy velvety texture.
A journey to Odisha is never complete without slurping the Dahi macha jholo( Gravy) and gulping the warm rasgullas from Pahala, the place that is famous for making fresh rasagulla’s before the roost of the cock. As I started to cook along, the fragrance wafting from the simmering gravy of mustard with turmeric awoke my hunger and made me feel very nostalgic. Vivid memories of my last visit flashed through my mind and made me browse the lovely pictures captured on celluloid. Lucky enough to be nestled in a place surrounded by beautiful craved temples dating around 11th centuries. Here are couple of pictures of the temples that are visble from our terrace in Bhubaneswar.
How to make Dahi Macha
Dahi Macha
- Fish approx. 500 grams
- 3/4 cup thick yogurt
- FOR MUSTARD PASTE
- 2 ½ tbslp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp posto ( poppy seeds)
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 5 to 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 green chilies
- Dry grind the mustard, posto and cumin first, then add chilies ,garlic along with water to make a thick paste.
- 1 potato cut into medium chunks
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 small tomato chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp panch putona
- 1tbsp mustard oil
Wash and dry the fish. Apply salt and 1 tsp of turmeric powder, heat 1/2 tbsp mustard oil in a pan, fry them for few minutes. Don’t over cook it.. Remove and keep it aside. In the same pan, heat oil add panch puton , when they start to crackle , add onions . Fry them till they are translucent. Add potatoes and fry them. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes , sauté for couple of mins and then add mustard paste, turmeric powder and salt to taste.. Stir on a medium fire for two mins. Add yogurt, fish and ¾ cup of water to the paste. Cover and simmer for 10 to 12 mins till the gravy is thick and potatoes done.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice

Dahi Macha
- Fish approx. 500 grams
- 3/4 cup thick yogurt
- FOR MUSTARD PASTE
- 2 ½ tbslp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp posto ( poppy seeds)
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 5 to 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 green chilies
- Dry grind the mustard, posto and cumin first, then add chilies ,garlic along with water to make a thick paste.
- 1 potato cut into medium chunks
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 small tomato chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp panch putona
- 1tbsp mustard oil
Wash and dry the fish. Apply salt and 1 tsp of turmeric powder, heat 1/2 tbsp mustard oil in a pan, fry them for few minutes. Don’t over cook it.. Remove and keep it aside. In the same pan, heat oil add panch puton , when they start to crackle , add onions . Fry them till they are translucent. Add potatoes and fry them. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes , sauté for couple of mins and then add mustard paste, turmeric powder and salt to taste.. Stir on a medium fire for two mins. Add yogurt, fish and ¾ cup of water to the paste. Cover and simmer for 10 to 12 mins till the gravy is thick and potatoes done.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice
20 Comments
doi mustard gravy is awesome..will have to make it with lauki & potatoes..kya karein
beautiful bowl that is!..pictures are real tempting and lovely pictures from your terrace!…never been to that place..but very interesting!
The pics of bhubaneshwar brings back memories of my college days..we had to sketch the temples and its sculptures…konark was a beauty as well..
Like your platter of the entire meal…
Beautiful pics girl, never been there! Gravy looks mouthwatering!:)
i love oriya food and this looks fantastic. i want to visit orissa soon.
lovely pictures! Never seen Orissa! Thanks for sharing.
Just by looking to that fish curry and rice I am dead hungry.
Delicious drool drool
yogurt fish looks yummy…just had a delcious fish dish yesterday in one of my friends house….this just makes me how much tasty that was…getting hungry too…
I am really happy ur son loved the drumettes…my hugs to him..thank u so much for trying it out:)
I wanted to know what a typical oriya dinner(vegetarian) would consist of. I would really appreciate any info
I made the bittergourd with mustard paste and it turned out to be very good….. I tried Chenna poda also and it was awesome…. My husband who stayed in orissa for abt 6 months in 2005 – 2006 and 4 months last year said this is how it is supposed to taste…. Thanks for sharing the recipe…. Can you please email me abt my question? I want to cook for somebody who is from orissa and I am unaware of what all to cook… I have 2 Oriya cook books to refer to…
Also if you have the malpua recipe can you please kindly share it with me.
Thanks and looking forward to your response
Regards
Suma
My email id is suma.mahadevappa@gmail.com
Beautiful place and view u ve … Love this dahi macha, i am drooling over ur fish dish
WOW!!! Nice photos!!!
the gravy looks tooo good boddy … i have never been to bhubaneswar but yes crossed the station ..coz iam from jamshedpur… 🙂 thanks for the pics…
hello! fellow bhubaneswarite!! love this recipe and love bhubaneswar and this has made me miss home.
Mmmmm, I love seafood and fish of all kind… It sounds too good, I am bookmarking this!
That curry sounds tasty. I have not really used fish in curries all that much. Nice photos.
Hi fellow Bhubaneswarite!
Just luv the blog! These Oriya dishes are awesome!!!
Shibani, can you provide the recipe for centuries old Oriya rasagolla (THE-one-and-only) not the ones that the Bengalis cook (which I am tired of eating)?
Hi Anono, Me too trying to get hold of our spongy rasagullas,I am trying explore rasagulla and hopefully I can do it once the way we get it in Orissa.
Hey Shibani, Try the rasagolla recipe I have on my blog..maybe you will like it. Btw, nice to know you are a fellow Bhubaneswarite 🙂 Dahi Maccha..hmm..I am so cravign it right now. One of the first fish recipes I learned..can never have enough of it! 🙂 🙂
U got my mouth watering. I am from Bengal and all ur Oriya recipes are making me homesick for food and vacations back home… Memories of Gopalpur.
My first time here and what an awesome place u have here, including ur pictures.
Soma (www.ecurry.com)
Hi shibani do you by any chance stay at tankapani road? These pictures made me homesick since i can see lingaraj n rajarani temple from my roof top 🙂 thanks for the recipe. Have been wanting to make it for long. 🙂