Wednesday 13 June 2018

Dim Potol er Sohagi


When you have such loving friend cum neighbor (Taniya Mitra), it’s a bliss. She had made this dish and had send it across to my place. The dish was very delicious. Me and my daughter enjoyed it till the last bit. She told me it was her mother’s recipe. The name of the recipe "Sohagi" means love in Bengali derived due to the love for the dish and I am sure you will fall in love with the recipe too.  I got the recipe from her and made the dish again for my family. It’s a dry dish, which can be eaten with roti or paratha or luchi. 

Ingredients 
250 grams medium size Pointed Gourd - alternatively peeled and slit from center lengthwise. 
3 Eggs
2 medium size Onion coarsely ground 
2 tbsp Ginger - Garlic - Green Chilli Paste 
1 Green Chilli slit
2 medium size Tomatoes puréed 
Few Coriander leaves chopped 
Salt to taste
1 tsp Sugar 
1 tsp Turmeric powder 
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder 
2 tsp Cumin - Coriander powder 
2 Bay Leaves 
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 small Cinnamon stick
2 Cloves
2 Green Cardomon
4 tbsp Mustard Oil
2 tbsp Ghee


Method 
Take the pointed gourds and add salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder to it. Rub the salt and turmeric powder well on the pointed gourds. Heat mustard oil in a wok. Add the pointed gourds and fry it till it’s light brown in colour. Remove the pointed gourds and keep it aside. Now in the same oil, add the cumin seeds, green chilli, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Stir it, till it crackles. Add the onions, stir and cook for a minute on medium flame. Add the ginger - garlic - chilli paste. Stir and continue to cook for a minute. Add the sugar, continue to stir and cook for another minute. Add the tomato purée. Stir and add the remaining turmeric powder, salt, chilli and cumin - coriander powder. Stir for another minute. Add 1 tbsp of ghee and stir it.  Add the pointed gourds. Stir for another minute. Add 1/2 cup of water. Stir and cover the wok with a lid. Let it cook till the water has almost dried up and the pointed gourds have cooked well. Add the eggs. Stir the eggs and continue to cook till the eggs have incorporated well with the masala and the pointed gourds. Add the remaining ghee and stir it once more. Switch off the flame. Sprinkle coriander leaves. Serve it hot with roti or paratha or luchi.. 

Monday 4 June 2018

Adda ar Jeere Bata Diye Ruhi Maccher Jhol



As this summer is unbearable and going to the kitchen and cooking becomes difficult, here is a traditional simple Bengali recipe made with Rohu Fish and vegetables. The light - thin gravy is flavoured with ginger and cumin paste. You can add other vegetables like cauliflower, carrot, raw papaya, green peas,  broad beans and pointed gourd too. You can also add bori to your jhol. Serve the jhol with hot steaming rice and a piece of lime.

Ingredients 
6 pieces of Ruhi Maach marinated with salt and 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 
1 bowl of mix Vegetables - 1 Potato, 1 small size Brinjal, 1 Raw Banana, 1 Tomato cut into wedges and 1 Drumstick cut into pieces 
1 Green Chilli slit
1 tsp Panch Phoran
2 to 3 Bay leaves 
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 
For the paste - 1 small piece of Ginger, 1 tsp Cumin seeds and 1 Green Chilli ground into a paste with 3 to 4 tsp water
1/2 cup Mustard Oil



Method 
Take oil in a wok, let the oil heat up. Fry the marinated fish until golden brown from both the sides. Remove the fish and keep it aside. In the same oil add panch phoran, bay leaves and green chilli. Let it sauté for a minute. Add the vegetables, stir and cook for a minute. Add the ginger - green chilli and cumin seeds paste. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the salt and turmeric powder. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of water, cover the wok and cook till the vegetables are tender. Open the lid, add the fish and cook for another 2 minutes. Switch of the flame. Serve it with hot steamed rice. 


Monday 28 May 2018

Sambal stuffed Mackerel Fry



This is one of the Peranakan / Nyonya recipe that comes from the Peranakans, who are the descendants of early Chinese migrants settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia. 
This is a very easy recipe and can be eaten with hot steaming rice.
Here I have use the ingredients available in my kitchen as normally fresh Turmeric and shallots are used in the recipe but since I didn’t have them, I used powder turmeric and onion. 
P.S. - Belacan is a hardened block of shrimp paste, made from tiny shrimp mixed with salt and fermented used in Malay cooking.

Sambal Paste
Ingredients
1 medium size Onion chopped
4 Garlic Cloves
3 Fresh Red Chillies or 2 tsp Fresh Red Chilli paste
2 Lemongrass stalk
4 Dry Red Chillies
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Sugar - (I didn't use)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Belacan - Shrimp paste or 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Tamarind pulp
3 to 4 tbsp of Water
1 tbsp Oil

Method 
Add the above ingredients except oil in a grinder and grind the ingredients into a fine paste. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the sambal paste and stir and cook the paste for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep the paste aside to cool.
    
For Fish Fry
Ingredients
4 Mackerel - Slit on both the sides of the back bone
Sambal paste
1/4 cup Oil for shallow frying the fish 
Method
Take the fish. Stuff the fish with one tablespoon of sambal paste on each side of the cut. Take a pan, add oil and heat the oil. Shallow fry the fish on medium low heat till cooked on both the sides. Remove fish from pan. Serve the fish with hot steaming rice.

Saturday 12 May 2018

Bhindi Gosht ka Salan



Okra - Meat is a simple recipe from Pakistan and India. In Hyderabadi Cuisine the same recipe is made with more souring ingredients added to the dish. This is mainly a summer dish as the best time for okras to grow is summer, even though now a days it’s found all round the season. This is a medium gravy dish. There are many ways to make it. This dish can be enjoyed with Paratha or Roti.

Ingredients
650 grams Mutton cut into medium pieces
250 grams Okras wash, cut the top and bottom and slit from center
3 medium size Onions chopped 
1 small Tomato chopped
2 Green Chillies slit
Some chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing 
1 tbsp Garlic and Ginger paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder spicy 
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder 
1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder 
1 tbsp Coriander powder
Salt to taste
1/2 cup Oil
1 1/2 cups of water 
Method
Take a pressure pan. Add 1/4 cup oil. Let it heat. Add the okras and let it cook till fried. Remove the okras and keep it aside. Add the remaining oil in the pan. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala powder,coriander powder and salt. Sauté the powder masala in oil for few seconds on low flame. Add 2 tbsp water so that the masala doesn’t get burnt. Add the onions, tomato and ginger - garlic paste. Stir and sauté it for a minute. Add the meat and sauté it till the oil separates from the masala. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and let it cook till the meat is tender. To save on time, cover the pressure pan and give 3 whistles. Let the pressure realises. Open the lid and stir. Add green chillies and okras. Stir and let it cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with roti or paratha.

Tuesday 1 May 2018

Kacha Aamer ar Kacha Laal Lonkar Chutney


Due to the intense heat in Mumbai, going into the kitchen and cooking is a big noooo.... The only food I cook is very basic  simple  dal and rice or just some curry to have it with rice and that’s it. Only dish I prefer the most is dal and rice with with some Pickle or Chutney. Here is a superb recipe of Green Mango and Red Chilli Chutney that can be kept for 5 to 6 months in the fridge and it goes well the dal - rice or any fried starter or paratha. In Bengal, Kacha Aamer Chutney is made with panch phoron seasoning and flavoured with roasted panch phoron powder. Taking inspiration from the authentic traditional recipe here is my innovative version of the Chutney.. 


Ingredients 
3 cups of grated Green Mangoes ( Washed, Peeled and then grated )
1/2 cup Red Chilli Pepper paste ( Red Chilli Pepper is a variety of red fresh chilli which is less spicy, cut them into pieces and remove excess seeds, add them into the grinder and make paste)
1 and 1/4 tbsp Ginger grated 
1/2 cup White Vinegar 
1/3 cup chopped Seedless Dates 
1/4 cup Raisins 
2 tsp Roasted Panch Phoron powder 
2 cups Sugar 
1 tsp Salt 
1 tsp Nigella seeds
2 Bay Leaves 
2 Dry Red Chilli cut into small pieces 
2 tbsp Mustard Oil 
2 cups of Water

Method 
Take oil in a pot, add oil, let it heat up. Add the nigella seeds, bay leaves and dry red chilli pieces. Stir and cook until the nigella seeds crackles. Add the green grated mangoes, stir and cook for few seconds. Add ginger, dates, raisins and salt. Stir for 2 minutes. Add the red chilli pepper paste, sugar, vinegar and water. Let it cook and simmer on low flame till the sugar syrup thickens up and looks glossy. Add the roasted panch phoron powder. Stir and let cook for few minutes. Switch off the flame. Let it cool, store the mango and red chilli chutney in a dry glass bottle. Serve the Chutney with dal - rice or it can be eaten as an accomplishment  with any fried starters or paratha. 

Panch Phoron is equal portions of Nigella Seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Celery Seeds, Cumin Seeds and Fennel seeds. As Celery seeds are not always available every where, use Mustard seeds instead of Celery seeds.