Pur Bhora Komroni

These are stuffed Pumpkin Fritters. Normally in Bengal we have pumpkin pieces dipped into gram flour batter and deep fried. Here I have added a stuffing between the two pumpkin pieces, then dipped it into the batter and fried. I have added prawns in the stuffing but prawns can be omitted... for vegetarians. This dish goes well with hot steaming rice.

For the Stuffing
Ingredients
* 10 pieces of Prawns
* 2 tbsp Mustard seeds
* 1 1/2 tbsp Poppy seeds
* 1 tbsp Fresh or Desiccated Coconut
* 1 Garlic
* 1 or 2 Green Chillies as per the requirement
* Salt to taste

Method
Add all the above ingredients into a grinder. Avoid water, if required then add a tbsp of water and continue to grind. Grind it into a coarse thick paste.

For Komroni
Ingredients
* Pumpkin cut into 30 square thin pieces
* Stuffing
* 3/4 cup Rice flour
* 3/4 cup Gram flour
* 1/4 tsp Nigella seeds
* Salt to taste
* Mustard Oil for deep frying

Method
Take a bowl, add rice flour, gram flour, salt and nigella seeds. Add water little at a time and whip into a thick dropping consistently. Keep the batter aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Meanwhile take a pumpkin piece. Apply the stuffing onto the pumpkin slice. Take another pumpkin piece and cover the stuffing. Press the pumpkin slice from top, so that while frying the pumpkin pieces don’t open up. Repeat the process with other pumpkin pieces. Take the pumpkin pieces, deep it into the batter and fry it until golden brown from both the sides. Eat it hot with hot steaming rice.

P.S. I have not peeled the pumpkin, but you can peel it. Try to cut it into a thin slice.
Fresh Coconut is preferable, if you don’t have then use desiccated coconut.

Macher Kochuri

Since it is rainy season .... normally we feel like having fried stuff... and we associate fried dishes with this season... it was long in my bucket list to make Macher Kochuri... In Bengal since fish is the staple food.. we make various types of dishes with fish. My Ma use to make this... but since she is no more... I am making this after many years.. Here I have just rolled the dough and made simple kachoris, but my mother use to make 2 small disc out of the dough balls, then place the stuffing in the center of one disc. Then take the other rolled disc and place it over the other rolled disc. Then curl the edges of the disc, sealing both the disc together and then deep fry it. You can use prawns for stuffing too .... 

For the Stuffing

Ingredients 

• 250 grams of Rohu / Bhetki Fish -  Boil the fish with little salt, debone the fish and mash the  fish....
• 2 medium size Onion chopped 
• 5 Garlic Cloves minced 
• 1 inch Ginger minced
• 2 Green Chillies minced 
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp Bengali Garam Masala powder 
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
• Salt to taste 
• 1/4 tsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Mustard Oil

Method 

Take oil in a pan, heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaf. Let the cumin seeds crackle. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the sugar and continue to cook till the onions have become light brown in colour. Add the fish, salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garam masala powder and stir for few more seconds. Switch off the flame. Let the stuffing cool down. 

For the Kochuri

Ingredients 

• 3 cups All Purpose Flour / Maida
• Salt to taste 
• 3 tbps Ghee
• Stuffing 
• Oil for deep Frying 

Method 

To make the dough for the Kochuri, take all purpose flour in a bowl. Add salt and ghee. Rub and mix the flour together. Add little water at a time and make a semi hard dough. Knead it well. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into big lime sized balls. With the help of your palms flatten the dough and create a cavity in between the center of the dough. Add 1 tbsp of the stuffing in between the cavity.  Seal the sides of the dough together, make a ball and roll the ball into a medium size round disc. Heat oil in a wok, deep fry the kachoris one at a time. Once done remove the Kochuris on a paper towel. Serve it hot with aloor tarkari or enjoy it just like that... 

Fried Whole Pomfret served with Steamed Vegetables and Creamy MangoGarlic Sauce....

This time I wanted to try some quick vedesi khaana for my friend who came over for dinner at my place. This is a wholesome dish and is easy to make. The Creamy Mango Garlic Sauce an be made a day in advance and can be kept in the fridge. 

For the Creamy Mango Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup Ripe Mango Pulp
• Juice of one Lime 
• 5 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil or Olive Oil

Method

Add all the above ingredients into a blender. Blend the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

For the Fried Pomfrets

Ingredients

• 8 medium size Pomfrets
• 2 tbsp Lime Juice
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Oil

Method

Marinate the Pomfrets with salt and lime juice. Keep it aside for 30 minutes. Add little salt into the all purpose flour and mix it. Take some all purpose flour on a plate. Take a fish and coat the fish with all purpose flour. Repeat the process with other fish. Take a pan, add oil. Let the oil heat up. On a medium flame fry the fish until golden brown from both the sides. Remove the fried fish on a paper towel. 

To Assemble the Dish

Ingredients

• Pan fried Pomfrets
• Creamy Mango Garlic Sauce
• Steamed Vegetables (Cut into long thick strips and steamed and toss it with a cube of Butter, Salt and Pepper - Carrots, French Beans and Potatoes)
• Parsley or Cilantro chopped
• Slice of Lime

Method

Take a serving plate. Place a fried Pomfret on the plate. Add some assorted steamed vegetables on the sides. Drizzle the Creamy Mango Garlic Sauce on the fish, sprinkle some parsley or cilantro leaves and garnish with a slice of lime. Serve it hot. 

Goan Chorizo Pizza...

Every time I land up making either Sausage Palau or cooking the chorizo with potatoes and eating it with pav. So this time thought of using Goan Chorizos for making the Pizza. The Chorizos in the pizza gives a lovely smoky flavour to the dish. 

Pizza Dough
Ingredients
250 grams All purpose flour
250 grams Whole Wheat Flour
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Sugar
1/4 cup Lukewarm Water
2 tbsp Olive oil


Take a mixing bowl. Mix both the flours and salt. Take lukewarm water. Add sugar and yeast. Let it rise. Add the yeast water and extra water little at a time to make a dough. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Add 1 tbsp oil and stretch the dough while kneading. Apply oil on the dough and let it rise double in size. Punch the dough, knead the dough once more and let it rest for 30 minutes.

For Chorizo Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
Purée of 6 big Riped Tomatoes
2 Medium size Onions chopped
1 Big Green Capsium chopped
4 tbsp Garlic Minced
25 pieces of Chorizos removed from the casing
1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Bazil
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Method
Take a pan. Add oil, let it heat up. Add the garlic. Sauté it for a minute. Add the onions, continue to sauté till the onions turn pink in colour. Add the capsicum and continue to sauté for another minute. Add the Chorizo and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove around 4 tbsp of the cooked Chorizo and keep it aside. Add the tomato purée and let it simmer on low flame till the sauce reduces a bit and becomes thick and all the ingredients has incorporated well. Add the chilli flakes, dried oregano, basil and salt. Stir and cook for another minute. Switch of the flame and keep it aside.

For the Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough
Chorizo Pizza Sauce
Cooked Chorizo
2 Cup or more grated Mozzarella and Cheddar..(Equal portion of Mozzarella and Cheddar to be taken)


Method
Grease a baking tray. Take the dough and with the help of the fingers, start spreading the dough on the baking tray. Cover the baking tray with the dough, the dough should be 1/2 inch or less in thickness. Sprinkle some cheese on top of the dough. Add and spread the Chorizo pizza sauce on the dough. Add the remaining cheese on top of the sauce. Then add the cooked Chorizo on top. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes till the cheese has melted and the pizza bread has cooked in a preheated oven. Remove it from the oven, cut into pieces and serve hot.

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..