Aloo Chigrier Kalia (Potato Prawn Curry )

Kalia is a thick gravy prepared with fish like Rohu or Katla. I have prepared it with prawns. 

It is a Bengali dish and it is served with hot steaming rice. It's a must try dish, worth the try. 

Ingredients 

22 Medium size Prawns cleaned and deveined 

2 medium sized Potatoes cut into cubes 

1 large Onion paste

1 large Tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp Garlic - Ginger - Green Chilli paste
2 Green Chillies slited 

1 Bay leaf 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1 tsp Turmeric power

1/2 tsp Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp  Mustard Oil 

1 tbsp Ghee

Method 

Marinate the prawns with little salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Keep it aside for 10 minutes. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a wok, fry the potato cubes until light brown in colour.  Keep them aside. In the same oil, fry the prawns in batches for a minute until the colour of the prawn changes.  Remove the prawns and keep them aside. Add the remaining oil, let it heat. Add cumin seeds, green chillies and bay leaf, sauté it for few seconds.  Add ginger - garlic and chilli paste, sauté for a minute. Add the onion paste, fry till the paste turns light brown in colour. Add the salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and 3/4 tsp of the garam masala powder. Sauté for another minute.  Add  the  tomato paste. Saute for 5 minutes, till the oil separates out from the masala. Add fried potato pieces, stir it and add 1 1/2 cups of water. Mix well. Cover and cook with the  lid closed until potatoes are cooked, add the prawns and simmer for 5 minutes. Drizzle ghee and  sprinkle the remaining garam masala powder over the gravy.  Serve hot with rice.

Begun Pora / Bengali Style Baigan Bharta

Begun Pora / Bengali Style  Baigan Bharta

Ingredients 

1 big  whole Eggplant  

1 Onion chopped 

1 Tomato chopped 

2 Green chillies chopped 

1/2 tsp finely chopped Ginger 

1 tbsp of chopped Coriander leaves 

Generous drizzle of Mustard oil 

Salt to taste

Method 

Take the Eggplant and give 2 slits on the eggplant, keeping the stem of the eggplant intact. Roast the eggplant on the gas... Roast the eggplant till cooked completely. Once cool peel off the skin. Take the pulp and mash it. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix it well. Have it with hot Chappati / Phulka / Roti...

Achari Chana Aur Luki ki Dal Achari Yellow Split lentil and Bottle Gourd Dal

 Achari Chana  Aur Luki  ki Dal

Achari Yellow Split lentil and Bottle Gourd Dal

Ingredients

1/2 cup half Boiled Chana Dal / Yellow Split lentil

1 small size  Luki / Bottle Gourd cut into small  stripes ( preserve the skin for Lauer Khosha Bhaja)

1 Green  chilli slit

1 Tomato chopped

1 Onion chopped

1/2 tsp Garlic paste

Few  Curry leaves

1 Dry Red Chilli

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds

1/2 tspTurmeric powder

1 tbsp Achari powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped

Water preserved from the boil dal + more if required

1 tbsp Sesame seed Oil

For the Achari powder

Ingredients

1/4 tsp Coriander seeds

1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 Dry Red chili powder

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Carom seeds

1/4 tsp Fennel seeds

1/4 Fenugreek seeds

1/4 tsp Dry Mango powder

Method

Grind all the above spices into powder..

 Method

Take a pressure cooker. Add 1/2 tbsp oil and let it heat. Add the chopped onion and green chilli. Stir it till translucent. Add the chopped  tomato.  Cook it for 3 minutes. Add salt, turmeric powder and the Achari masala. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the half boiled dal and bottle gourd. Stir it well. Add preserved water from the dal and more water  if required. It should be 1 1/2 cup water. Cover the cooker and give 3 whistles. After the cooker cools down.. open the cooker. If the gravy is dry then add 1/2 cup water or more as per the gravy required. Add dry mango powder. Simmer the dal for 10 minutes. Add another 1/2 tbsp oil and let it heat. Add nigella seeds, curry leaves and dry chilli. Drizzle the seasoning over the dal. Add coriander leaves for garnishing. Serve it  hot with Roti or Rice..   

kabsa

Kabsa

Few years back I had this dish in a restaurant while traveling from Dubai to Oman border. Just loved the dish. After that I never had it but it was always there in my mind. Finally I made this at home today.... On the occasion of Eid.. 

Kabsa is a family of mixed rice dishes that are served mostly in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, where it is commonly regarded as a national dish in these countries. Kabsa, though, is believed to be indigenous to Yemen. In countries such as Jordan, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraqand Kuwait, the dish is popularly known as machbūs, but is served mostly in the same way. These dishes are usually made with rice (usually long-grain, such as basmati), meat, vegetables, and a mixture of spices. There are many kinds of kabsa and each kind has a uniqueness about it.  The spices used in kabsa are largely responsible for its taste. The dish can be served hot with daqqūs, which is a home-made Arabic tomato sauce. Kabsa is also known as machbūs in the Persian Gulf region. 

Informative source Net.. 

Ingredients

1 whole Small Chicken or Chicken cut into 4 pieces

1 1/2 cup Rice soaked

1 1/2 liter Water

Salt to taste

4 tbsp Butter

2 Onion chopped

2 Tomato chopped

2 tbsp Tomato purée

1 tsp Garlic paste

 Spice mix

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Pepper powder

1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1/4 tsp Cumin powder

2 pinch Nutmeg powder

1 stick Cinnamon

4 Cloves

2 pinch Saffron

1 bay leaf

1/2 dry Lime powder (Optional)

Mix all the powder spices together in a bowl.

For Garnishing

1 tbsp Almond chopped

1 tbsp Cashews

1 tbsp Raisins

Fry all the above ingredients for garnishing in 1/2 tbsp Butter

Method

Add water, chicken and salt in a pot.

Cover pot and cook until the chicken is cooked.Remove chicken from stock and set aside. Reserve stock. In another pot melt butter and fry chicken from all sides until get a brownish colour. Remove chicken and set aside.In the same butter fry garlic and onions until onion golden brown. Add spices, tomatoes and tomato puree, mix well. Pour 2 1/2 cup chicken stock. Add rice, cover and cook until rice 80 % done. Now place chicken on top of rice and simmer about 10 minutes.Garnish with nuts and serve with Daqqūs and Salad.

Daqqūs - Arabic Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

3 tomatoes cut into 4 pieces

1/2 cup of Coriander leaves

2 Garlic

Salt to taste

1 tsp Cumin seeds

Method

Put all ingredients in the food processor. Blend all the ingredients in the processor.

Kanchakalar Khosha Bata / Raw Banana Peel Chutney....

Kanchakalar Khosha Bata / Raw Banana Peel Chutney.... 

 

We Bengalis have a habit of cooking all parts of the vegetables... May be in olden days people lived in joint family needed to cook food in bulk, so making a dish from the skin of the vegetable gives in an additional side dish to a meal. Khosha Bata can be made from some  of the vegetables like Bottle gourd (Lauer Khosha Bata), Raw banana( Kanchakalar Khosha Bata), Pointed gourd ( Potoler Khosha Bata), Peas skin (Koraichutir Khosha Bata).... Recipes of these various vegetable Bata will differ... So today I am making...Kanchakalar Khosha Bata which is s very traditional Bengali dish. Though the dish does not look appealing, it is rich in Iron and is extremely delicious to have it with hot steamed rice.

Ingredients

Peel/ Skin of 4 Raw Bananas 

3 cloves of Garlic

1 Green chilly

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Mustard oil

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds / Kalonji

For seasoning

1 tsp Mustard oil

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds / Kalonji

1 Dry red chillies

Method 

Pressure cook the peels/ Skin. Take a pan. Add 1/2 tsp Mustard oil. Heat it till smoking hot. Reduce the flame. Add Nigella seeds/Kalonji. Add the garlic cloves. Sauté the garlic till brown. Add the peels/ skin, salt and turmeric powder. Cook for 5 minutes. Take it off the flame and cool it. Blend the banana peel and the garlic in a blender in to a course paste. In a small pan add the mustard oil. Once the oil is heated, add in the Nigella seeds and the dry red chillies. Sauté on medium flame until the red chillies are roasted and browned. Add the peel paste and sauté on low heat for 5 minutes until the raw smell disappears. Have it with hot steaming rice.