Panch meshali Sabji r Chechki

 

Now this time of the season the market is flooded with winter vegetables - it’s fresh,  vibrant and adds special flavour to the dish … and we tend to buy varieties of vegetables… and then finishing them is a task specially when we have less members in the family. 

Here is a Bengali recipe that is very easy to make, with many varieties of vegetables and this absolutely pairs up with paratha, luchi, ruti for breakfast, snacks or dinner. 

Panch meshali means medley of vegetables.. and chechki means vegetables cut in small strips and stirred fried in mustard oil, tempered with nigella seeds and seasoned with just salt, turmeric powder and little sugar (optional) and I have used little ghee and coriander leaves for garnishing 

We make Alu Kumro r chechki, alur chechki, phulkopi alur chechki, badakopir alur chechki that goes will for breakfast… 

Here in this recipe I used cauliflower/ Phool kopi, Kumro / pumpkin, Carrot/ gajar and  French beans and Potatoes… 

Ingredients 

1 big bowl of vegetables -  Carrot, Potato and Pumpkin cut into small strips, small cauliflower florets and French beans cut into half.. 

2 to 4 Green Chillies slit 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp Sugar (optional) 

1/2 tsp Ghee (optional) 

1 tbsp Mustard oil 

Method 

Take a wok, add mustard oil, once the oil heats up, reduce the flame and add nigella seeds, once the seeds crackle, add all the vegetables and green chillies, salt and turmeric powder, stir and cook on low flame, sprinkle little water once in a way, cover continue cooking until the vegetables are almost tender, add sugar and continue to cook without the lid until the vegetables are cooked completely, drizzle ghee and sprinkle coriander leaves. Serve the dish with luchi, porotha or ruti. 

Oats - Barnyard Millet and Semolina Vermicelli Idlis with Carrot

Oats, Barnyard millet and Semolina Vermicelli with Carrots… 

Quick breakfast or snack,  easy to make and healthy too. Serve them with sambar or any chutney of your choice. Flatten rice can be also added. 

Measuring cup measurement 

Coconut Chutney 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Grated Coconut 

2 Green Chillies 

Few Curry leaves 

4 tbsp Curd

Salt to taste 

Method 

Grind all the ingredients together, if need add little water and make fine paste. 

For the Idli

Ingredients 

1 cup Oats

1/2 cup Barnyard millet

1/2 cup Semolina Vermicelli 

1 small grated Carrot 

Few Curry leaves 

2 tbsp grated Coconut 

2 tbsp Curd 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Eno 

1 tbsp Coconut oil

Method 

Take a grinder jar, add the oats and Barnyard millet, wash, add 2 cup water, let it soak for 10 minutes. Add salt, grated coconut and curd. Grind the ingredients in a grinder. Pour the batter in a bowl, keep it aside for 10 minutes. Add the vermicelli. Continue to soak for 15 minutes more. Take a idli steamer. Grease the mould with coconut oil. Add the eno in the batter. Gently stir the batter. Pour the batter into the idli mould. Add little grated carrot and a curry leave on the batter. Steam the idlis for 20 minutes. Check the idlis inserting a stick. If the stick comes out smooth, then the idlis are done. Once done remove the idli moulds and let it cool a bit, before scooping out the idlis from the mould. Serve the idlis with coconut chutney. 

 

Bombil Pakoda / Lote Macher Bora / Bombay Duck Fritters

Bombay Ducks / Bombil / Lote is one of my favourite fish… Today we have made crispy Bombil Pakoda. This dish can be eaten with dal rice, or eaten as a starter. 

Serve this dish with green chutney and onion slices. 

Ingredients 

10 pieces of big size Bombil, clean deboned and cut into half. 

1 tsp Ginger - Garlic paste 

1 tsp Lemon juice 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Red Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp Carom seeds 

6 tbsp Gram flour 

4 tbsp Rice flour 

Oil to fry 

Method 

Take the Bombil pieces, and rub little salt and 1/2 tsp lemon juice on the bombil pieces. Take a bowl, sieve the gram flour and rice flour together. Add the remaining lemon juice, salt to taste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ginger- garlic paste, carom seeds and little water at a time to make a thick batter, beat the batter well. Heat oil in a pan, once the oil is hot, keep the oil on medium flame. Dip the bombil pieces into the batter and fry them in hot oil until golden brown in colour. Remove the bombil pakoda on a paper towel. Serve the crispy bombil pakoda with green chutney and onion slices. 

Stewed Rice

 

One of our favourite dish is hot stewed rice with loads of vegetables and chicken or prawns. Easy and quick to make, the dish has to be eaten with steamed rice and has to be steaming hot.. 

Vegetables like bok choy, mushrooms, capsicum, zucchini, carrot, broccoli, baby corn etc can be added.. I have added vegetables that was available in my kitchen.. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup cleaned medium size Prawns 

1 big bowl of cut vegetables - Few  Spinach leaves, capsicum, carrot, mushroom and broccoli and onion cut into cubes 

1 tbsp chopped Garlic 

1 tsp chopped Ginger 

2  Green Chillies slit

Few chopped Spring Onion leaves 

1 Vegetable stock cube

2 tbsp light Soya sauce 

1 tbsp Fish Sauce 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

1 1/2 tbsp Corn flour 

2 cups Water

2 tbsp Sesame Oil 

Method 

Take 2 cups of hot water, add the vegetable stock cube and stir well until the vegetable cube has dissolved in water, add the soya sauce, fish sauce, salt and  pepper powder in the water and keep it aside. In another small bowl mix the corn flour and water. Take a wok, add 1 tbsp oil, let the oil heat, add prawns and stir fry until the prawns changes its colour, remove the prawns and keep it aside. Now add the remaining oil, add the chopped Ginger and garlic, sauté for few seconds, add the onion and carrot, stir for few seconds, add the broccoli and spinach continue to stir for few seconds, add the mushrooms and capsicum, stir for another few minutes, add the prawns and the vegetable stock water. Cover and let the stew cook until the vegetables are half cooked, add the corn flour water and cook on high flame until the gravy becomes thick. Sprinkle spring onions and serve the stew with steamed rice. 

Drumstick - Potatoes and Mung Dal fritters cooked in Mustard and Poppy seed paste gravy

 

Munger Daler Bora diye Alu ar Shosnerdata r shorshe - posto r Jhal / Drumstick - Potatoes and Mung Dal fritters cooked in Mustard and Poppy seed paste gravy. 

This dish comes under Niramish ranna / vegetarian cooking where no onion and garlic is used. 

The look of the dish may not be fancy, but this is a rustic regional dish from Bengal. These kind of dishes are still made in rural villages or in the state of Bengal, but are gradually losing its identity outside the state, as now a days many don’t cook or don’t prefer to eat … specially our next generations to come. I remember my mother use to make it often, but now we too rarely make it.. as we avoid mustard paste for health reasons.. once in a way it’s good to enjoy with hot steamed rice. This dish is eaten during lunch. 

For the Mung dal fritters 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Mung dal washed and soaked in water

1 small piece of Ginger 

1 Green Chilli 

Salt to taste

Mustard Oil to fry 

Method 

Coarsely grind the mung dal, ginger, green chilli and salt together without adding much water as we need a thick paste. Remove and keep the paste aside for 15 minutes. Beat the paste well. Take a pan, add oil, let the oil heat, add very small quantity of the paste into the oil, with the help of a tsp, repeat the process until the pan is filled, shallow fry the fritters until golden brown in colour from both the sides. Remove and keep the fritters aside. 

For the Mustard Poppy Seed paste 

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Poppy seeds 

1 tbsp Mustard seeds

1 Green Chilli

Method 

Add all the above ingredients into a grinder and grind all the ingredients into a smooth paste adding little water at a time. 

For the Gravy 

2 Drumsticks cut into 1 1/2 inches pieces 

1 Big Size Potato cut into cubes 

1 small size Tomato cut into cubes 

2 Green Chillies slit

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

Mung Dal fritters 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds

Mustard - Poppy seed paste 

2 tbsp Mustard oil 

Method 

Take a iron skillet, best cooked in iron skillet, add 1 1/2 tbsp oil, once the oil heats up, reduce the flame, add the Nigella seeds, let the seeds crackle, add the tomato, let the tomato sauté for a minute, add the potato cubes and the drumsticks, continue to sauté for a minute, add salt to taste and turmeric powder, stir and continue to cook for another minute, now add the mustard - poppy seed paste, stir and cook for few seconds, add 1 cup of water, on low flame, cover and let the gravy cook until the drumsticks and potato cubes are cooked, add the fritters and continue to cook, if the gravy has dried up then only add little water, the gravy shouldn’t be too watery or too dry. Once done drizzle the remaining oil and sprinkle some coriander leaves before serving .