Sabji Diye Daler Jol bora r Jhol / Vegetables Gravy with Dal Bora (Vada) Cooked in Water

 

Sabji Diye Daler Jol bora r Jhol / Vegetables Gravy with Dal Bora (Vada) Cooked in Water  

A classic summer vegetarian dish from Bengal…. served with hot steamed rice..

This dish contains protein and fibre… and basically we don’t need any other dish to be made… any dal like matar dal, moong dal or chana dal can be used to make the bora.. 

Green Chilies can be added as per your choice, I added few of them as they were not very spicy… 

For the Jol Bora 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Dal wash and soak for an hour 

1 inch Ginger 

1 or 2 Green chillies 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 

Pinch of Asafoetida 

2 cups of Water 

Method 

Drain out all the water from the dal, in a grinder, add the dal, asafoetida, salt, green chillies and ginger, grind the dal into a fine paste, remove the dal from the grinder, but keep the grinder jar aside as we will grind other ingredients later in it. Beat the dal batter well until fluffy. Take a bowl, add water, add salt and turmeric. Let the water boil, and then reduce the flame to medium heat. Drop in small portions of the batter into the simmering water. Let the bora  simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn the bora and and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, gradually remove the bora from the water and keep them aside, keep the water too as we will use it to make the gravy. 

For the Wet Paste

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Grated Coconut 

1 tbsp Poppy seed 

1 tbsp Mustard seeds 

2 to 3 Green Chillies 

Method 

Use the same grinder jar grinder jar that we used for grinding the dal, add the coconut, green chillies, mustard seeds and poppy seeds. Add water and grind all the ingredients together into a fine paste. 

For the Jhol / Gravy 

Ingredients 

1 Big bowl of Vegetable peeled cut into cubes or pieces like Potato,  Ridge Gourd, Pointed Gourd, Brinjal, Drumstick, Bottle Gourd 2 to 3 Green Chillies 

1 tsp Grated Ginger 

Dal Bora

Wet Paste 

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds 

1 Dried Red Chilli 

2 Bay leaves 

Pinch of Asafoetida 

Salt to taste 

1 or 2 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

2 tbsp + 1 tsp Mustard Oil 

Water that we used for boiling the Bora 

Method 

Take a wok, add 2 tbsp oil, add the nigella seeds, bay leaves and dried chilli, let the nigella seeds crackle, add asafoetida and ginger, sauté for few seconds, add the vegetables, salt and turmeric powder. Stir and sauté the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes, now add the water which we had used to cook the bora and another cup of plain water. Cover and let the vegetables cook until it is 80 percent tender. Now add the bora, sugar and the paste, cover and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, adjust the salt and sugar. Add a tsp of mustard oil for top. Once done serve the dish with steamed rice.

#bengalicuisine #vegetarian #Dal #vegetables #protein #fiber #gravy #lunch

Grilled Chicken Drumstick Pulao

 

Grilled Chicken Drumstick Pulao 

Here is a tasty home style recipe of Chicken Drumstick Pulao… hope you will enjoy the recipe… This dish is served with Raita and Salad… 

Ingredients 

6 Chicken Drumsticks

2 cups Basmati Rice- washed and soaked for 30 minutes 

1 Big size Onion sliced 

2 tbsp Garlic, Ginger and Red Chilli finely crushed 

2 tablespoons Coriander leaves, mint and Green chillies finely chopped 

Salt to taste 

4 Green Chillies 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1 tsp Chicken Masala powder 

1 tsp Garam masala powder 

1 tsp Chaat Masala 

2 Cloves 

2 Green Cardamom 

1 inch Cinnamon 

2 Bay leaves 

3 tbsp Broken Cashews and Raisins 

2 tbsp Ghee 

1 tsp Mustard Oil

4 tbsp Beaten Curd 

3 Boiled Eggs cut into halves 

Method

Take a heavy base pot, add ghee, add the sliced onions, on medium low flame fry the sliced onion until golden brown in colour. Remove 1/2 of the fried onion and keep them aside. Now add the bay leaves, cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon, broken cashews- raisins, ginger- garlic- chilli paste and half of the chopped coriander - mint - chilli. Sauté for a minute. Add the chicken drumsticks and salt to taste, sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, add salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder and chicken masala powder. Stir for few seconds, add 1/4 cup water and continue to sauté until the water evaporates. Add 4 cups of water. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain all the water from the rice. Remove the chicken drumsticks from the simmering stock. Add the rice into the stock, cover and cook until 80 percent done. Meanwhile take a bowl, add the beaten curd, salt to taste, chaat masala and mustard oil. Mix all the ingredients together. Add the chicken drumsticks into the bowl and coat the batter well on the chicken drumsticks. In between check the rice, once done switch off the flame, garnish the rice with fried onion, eggs, green chillies and chopped coriander- mint. Cover the rice and keep. Grill the chicken drumsticks at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, until golden brown in colour. Once done, place the grilled chicken drumsticks over the rice. Switch on the flame and cook for another 5 minutes. Switch off the flame and keep the pulao covered for 30 minutes before serving. Serve with salad and raita.

Mangshor Jhol with special Masala

 

Cooking mutton on a Sunday was once upon a time quintessential in Bengali household.. now due to health reasons people avoid red meat. Today after a long time made mutton curry (mangshor jhol) with a special spice blend (garam masala) that I made at home. 

Here is the recipe 

For the Garam masala 

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon Cumin seeds 

1 tsp Coriander seeds 

1 tsp Fennel seeds 

1 tsp Caraway seeds 

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds 

1 tsp Pepper corn

1 tsp Poppy seeds

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 

1/2 tsp Radhuni (Wild Celery seeds) 

4 Cloves 

1/2 tsp Kabab chinni 

1 Mace flower 

1 Star Anise 

1 small piece of Nutmeg 

3 Green Cardamom 

1 black Cardamom 

2 inch Cinnamon stick 

5 Dried Kashmiri Chilies broken into pieces 

1 Bayleaf 

Method 

Dry roast all the spices on a medium low flame until an aroma releases. Switch off the flame and let the spices cool down in the same pan. Grind the spices into a fine powder. You can store the spice powder in a dry airtight container. 

To marinate the Mutton 

Ingredients 

750 grams Mutton pieces 

6 Garlic cloves 

2 inches of Ginger 

1 Green Chilli 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tbsp Mustard Oil 

Method 

Grind the ginger, garlic and chilli into a paste. Add all the above ingredients into a bowl and mix all the ingredients together and keep the mutton aside for 1 to 2 hours. 

To make the Mutton Curry 

Ingredients 

Marinated Mutton 

Paste of 1 small Onion 

1 Medium size Onion sliced 

1 or 2 Green Chillies slit 

2 Potatoes cut into chunks 

1/2 cup of Curd beaten 

1 tsp Coriander seeds 

1/2 tsp Kashmiri Chill Powder 

1 1/2 tbsp Garam Masala spice blend 

1 Bayleaf

1 Green Cardamom 

2 Cloves

1 inch Cinnamon stick 

1/2 tsp Sugar 

Salt to taste 

3 tbsp Mustard Oil 

1 tsp Ghee 

Method 

Add oil in a pressure cooker pan, let the oil heat until smoking point, reduce the flame and let the oil cool down a bit, add the potatoes and fry until lightly browned in colour. Remove the potatoes, In the same oil add the bayleaf, cloves, green cardamom and cinnamon, sauté for few seconds, add the sliced onions, sauté them until translucent, add the onion paste, continue to sauté for a minute, add the salt, coriander pd,  coriander powder and Kashmiri chilli powder. Continue to cook until the oil releases. Add the beaten curd and the spice blend powder. Let the masala cook for another minute, add the marinated mutton, on a low medium flame let mutton cook well, stir the mutton occasionally, add little water in between so that the masala doesn’t burn, let the mutton cook 60 percent, then add the potatoes, continue to cook, add sugar and ghee, stir and add a cup of hot water, stir and let the gravy simmer, add more water incase more gravy is needed and continue to cook until the mutton has cooked well. Switch off the flame. Incase if cooking in a pressure cooker, then after adding water, put the pressure cooker lid and cook until 4 whistles. Switch off the flame and wait until the pressure releases. Serve hot with rice and salad. 

#bengalicuisine #muttoncurry #lunch

Sapla diye Boroli Maach

 

Sapla / Water lilies / saluk  is  seen in abundance during the monsoon season. The stem of water lilies are very popularly eaten as vegetable in villages. Seeds on frying are eaten as puffed-grains called Makhana. 

The cooking process is very simple. The fibers from the stems are peeled off and the stems are cut into pieces. The stems can be cooked into Fritters, stirred fry or cooked with fish or hilish head. 

Today I have cooked Sapla with Boroli Maach. 

This dish is eaten with steamed rice. 

Boroli or Barred Boril (Barilius barila) fish is normally found in clear streams in the foothills, it is found in abundance in the mainstream of Torsa and Teesta. Like hilsa, flock of Boroli swim against the river current. They are mainly spotted in April-May before monsoon or October-November after monsoon. This fish is a delicacy for the North Bengal people. This fish is called  as ‘Teesta’s hilsa for its heavenly taste. This small size fish can be cooked in many ways, with mustard paste, fried or can be cooked into curry. 

I was extremely happy to source these indigenous ingredients … as I had never eaten the Sapla and Boroli fish earlier. 

Here is how I have cooked Sapla Diye Boroli Maach 

Ingredients 

250 grams Boroli Maach

1 bunch of Water lilies / Sapla

1 medium size Potato cut into wedges

1 Onion sliced 

2 to 3 Green Chillies slit 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1/4 cup Mustard oil 

Method 

Clean and wash the fish. Marinate the fish with salt and 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder. Clean and cut the sapla into pieces. Take an iron wok, add mustard oil. Fry the fish, remove the fish and keep them aside. In the same wok, add potato, onion and green chillies, stir fry them for 2 to 3 minutes. Take a bowl, add salt, cumin powder and remaining turmeric powder, add 2 tbsp of water and make a paste. Pour the paste into the wok, stir for a minute. Pour 1/2 cup water. Stir and cover the wok. Let the potato cook until tender. Once the potato is cooked, add the sapla and fish. Stir gently and cover the wok. Let it cook for another 2 minutes. It’s ready to be savoured with steamed rice. 

Taler Pitha / Palmyra fruit Steamed Cake

 Palmyra fruit / Taal / Tardgola  / Sugar palm 

The palmyra fruit is eaten while the outer covering is still unripe during summers… once the fruit is riped then the inside of the fruit becomes yellow and pulpy from inside. In Bengal it’s said in the month of Bhadro (August) tal fruit becomes ripe, it is used to make different types of dishes like pitha , fritters, kheer, luchi etc. This dishes made from Tal are offered to Lord Krishna on Janmashtami day in Bengal. 

The fruit is peeled, the pulp is extracted and then strained. Sugar and pinch of salt are added to the pulp and then simmered. The pulp can be stored in the fridge for further use. Since Janmashtami is just around.. today we made Taler pitha / Palmyra fruit steamed cake. It’s a sweet dish. Milk and sugar is used to make the dish, but I have used condensed milk to give richness to the taste. 

Ingredients 

1/4 cup Rice flour 

1/4 cup Semolina 

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder 

1/4 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Baking powder 

1 tsp + 1/2 tsp broken Cashews

1 tsp Raisins

1/4 cup Grated Coconut 

1/4 cup or more Condensed Milk as per the sweetness 

1/2 cup Palmyra fruit Pulp

1/4 cup Ghee

Method 

Take a bowl, add rice flour, semolina, salt, cardamom powder, baking soda and baking powder. Mix all the ingredients together. Add ghee, condensed milk and the pulp. Mix well. The batter has to be thick and dropped consistency. Add 1 tsp broken cashews and raisins, mix well. Pour the batter into a greased container. Sprinkle the grated coconut. Gently mix the batter. Add the remaining broken cashews. Steam the batter for 25 minutes or until done. Insert a toothpick to check. Once done cool the Taler pitha and enjoy.