Fish Fry

I have been blogging for some time now. While my blogs have touched various nooks and crannies of Bengali and Indian cuisine but somehow a mainstay of Bengali food, the famed Kolkata Fish fry has been missing. I did blog the recipe awhile back and it was one of my more popular posts but somehow the post got deleted.
So here it is back on bongcook, and to make up for the deletion I actually have a video to go along with. I love short and sweet videos and in that theme this is only around 2 minutes.
The reason I call it restaurant style is because while a lot of people make it at home it doesn’t quiet get the restaurant look. In the video I tried to cover how to really make it look good as well.
Hope you enjoy the video and as always I have the recipe below as well.

Ingredients For Marination

• 250gms bhetki fillet cut approximately 2 inch by 2 inch
  
• 1 lemon
  
• 2 tbsp. onion paste
  
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
  
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
  
• 2 tsp. green chili paste
  
• 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper corn
  
• Salt to taste
  

Procedure For Marination

Mix all the ingredients above including the juice of one lemon and apply to the fish fillet so that all the sides are well covered with this spice mixture. Marinate for 3 - 4 hrs.

Ingredients For Coating & Frying

• 2 eggs
  
• Plenty of bread crumbs
  
• Enough refined oil for deep frying
  

Procedure For Coating & Frying
In a bowl beat 2 eggs with salt.
In a wide tray or plate take bread crumbs and spread it to form a layer.
With a spoon or fork take each fillet out, and dip it in the egg wash and place flat on the bread crumb layer. With your dry hands sprinkle a fistful of bread crumb on the open top layer of the fillet so that that this surface too is covered with bread crumbs.
Press gently with the palms of your hand to flatten them.
Use the blunt side of a knife and press it along the all 4 edges of the breaded fillet to give them a professional look. :)
Heat enough oil for deep frying till it smokes. Reduce the temperature and let it cool down a bit before you slid in the breaded fillet. Fry on medium high heat till both sides turn golden brown and crispy.
Remove on a paper towel and serve with salad.

Not Pumpkin Flower Fritters

Every year during this time everyone in USA gets crazy about pumpkin for all the wrong reasons (ahem ghosts). They drink pumpkin lattes and pumpkin beers, decorate their home with hideously large pumpkins.
Last year I started looking out for pumpkins flowers and vines. My queries were met with strange looks. A farm owner in Ballard even offered me to get tones of the vines because essentially it is waste for them. However, I rarely found the flowers.
This year, I decided to grow my own, but not pumpkins, but rather zucchini, a cousin of the pumpkin which is easier to grow. The flowers are almost identical and I can vouch they taste exactly the same.
Using zucchini flowers this is how I made my kumro phul er bora or pumpkin flower fritters.

Ingredients

• 10 zucchini flower
• 1 tbsp. kalonji / nigella seeds
• 1tsp. turmeric powder
• 5 tbsp. Besan / Bengal gram flour
• 2 tbsp. rice flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Wash the flowers carefully in running water. Now cut the stem short and make a vertical cut through the flower to take out the stamen and the pistil.

In a mixing bowl mix gram flour, rice flour, nigella seeds, turmeric powder, salt and baking soda very well.

By adding water little at a time make a thick batter.

Heat enough refined oil for deep frying in a pan. Coat each zucchini flower with the batter and gently slide it in the hot oil. Fry on medium heat till crispy and golden brown.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Serve with hot rice and your favorite daal.

Cook Friendly Chili Chicken

One of my most ardent readers is now one of my very good friend and neighbor. One day over tea we were discussing, how hard it is to make chili-chicken when you have food robbers in the house. The moment we are done with frying the chicken it starts disappearing. Finally the chili-chicken results in lot of chili and very little chicken.

Just to handle this situation I have come up with the cook friendly version where the chicken is not fully cooked after frying and that stops the robbers.

Ingredients

For Marination

• 1lb boneless chicken cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 tbsp. dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
• 2 tbsp. green chili sauce
• Salt to state
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. corn meal or rice flour
• 4 tbsp.. oil

For Gravy

• 1 large onion cut into cubes
• 1 green bell pepper cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp. chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp. chopped green chilies
• 1/.2 cup chopped green onion.
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 2 tbsp. green chili sauce
• 2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
• 2 tbsp. dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp. corn starch diluted in half cup water
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Marinates chicken pieces with all ingredients listed under margination without the flours and the oil. Marinate for half an hour. Sprinkle all purpose flour and corn meal over the chicken pieces and coat very gently.

Now heat oil in a wide shallow frying pan. Shallow fry the chicken pieces in one layer first on high heat for a minute and then on medium heat till the meat is ninety percent done. You will see the surface of the chicken pieces are crispy because of the application of corn meal. Remove and reserve for later use.

In the rest of the oil add chopped garlic and fry for a minute before you add onion and green chilies to it. Sauté everything together for a minute or two on high heat. Now add fried chicken pieces to it and mix well. Cook it covered on low heat for couple of minutes. This will cook chicken through and through.

Remove the lid and crank up the heat to high. Add bell pepper and toss everything well. Turn off the heat.

In another sauce pan combine vinegar, chili garlic sauce, green chili sauce, dark soya sauce with half

a cup of water. Bring it to a boil. Bring the heat to the lowest and slowly add diluted corn starch to it.

Crank up the heat while stirring it continuously till you see the sauce thickens up. Add the fried chicken mixture to it and turn off the heat.  check the seasoning and adjust. Garnish with green onion.

If you want dry chili chicken then you add all the sauce directly over the fried chicken mixture and fry everything together till the chicken pieces are well coated with the sauces. Add diluted cornstarch over it and mix on high flame till the moisture dries up. Check the seasoning and adjust. Finish it off with chopped green onion.

Rajsahi Fish Tikka

My husband had invited few of his friends for a barbecue at our home. Seattle weather being as it is, turned a bit iffy with possibilities of rain. So I decided to make something indoors incase cooking outside failed. Given the party theme I plated it in a more western style on slices of whole grain bread with fresh cut salad.

Rajsahi is a major city in Bangladesh and I actually doubt if people from there really know about this recipe. Either way it is pretty rajokio or royal in taste.

I make most of these kind of bengali dry fish recipes with locally available rock-fish. If you have the good fortune of access to bhetki, please go with that instead.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. fish fillet cut into medium cubes (Best if you can get bhetki, cod and rock fish work well)
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 tsp. green chili paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 tbsp. thick plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. Bengali Garam Masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• Salt to taste
• Few slices of bread for serving

Procedure

Wash fish and pat it dry with a paper towel. Mix everything with fish keeping aside one tbsp. ghee and half of the lime juice.

Now marinate the fish for about an hour.

Pre heat oven at 350F. Grease a baking tray with oil and lay the fish pieces in single layer.

Bake for about five minutes. Take the tray out and strain the liquid released from the fish.

Turn over the fish cubes, brush it with the rest of lemon juice and ghee and bake it again for about ten minutes..

Remove and brush it again with the lemon juice and ghee mixture. Sprinkle a pinch of mustard and black pepper powder over it.

Cut the bread slices into square and place each tikka on top of it to serve.

Dhakai Fish

I have had the good fortune to be always blessed with great neighbors. Our Seattle home is no exception. We meet a few times over the summer vacation to indulge in barbecue and pot-lucks.This summer when one of my neighbors organized a get-together at their place, I asked them what I should get. I got the request of something spicy.

I wanted to ensure I bring something from our homeland and not the fake Indian food like butter chicken. It also needed to be finger food and palatable to the western taste. I settled on Dhakai fish, which is a shallow fried fish garnished with sautéed onion and green chilies. I made it with locally available fresh rock-fish fillet. You can use any fish of your choice both as fillet or cut into steaks. You can even use whole cut fish like pomfret. Just change the frying time depending on the size of the fish.

I have no clue why this is referred to as “Dhakai” or from Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh, it’s just what my mom used to call it.

Ingredients

• 1lb fish fillets cut into medium cubes (2" *2")
• 1tbswp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. rice flour
• 2 tbsp. Besan (Bengal Gram Flour)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for shallow frying

For Serving

• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 2tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tbsp. chopped green chilies
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. oil

Procedure

Marinate the fish cubes with all ingredients other than the flours and oil for half an hour.

Once the margination is over sprinkle the flours over it and mix it gently so the fish cubes are roughly coated with the flours.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the fish pieces on medium high heat in a single layer so that their surface turns crispy yet the inside stays soft and juicy. It takes about three minutes. Remove them.

Now keep one tbsp. oil in the pan and add chopped ginger, garlic, onion sliced fry on medium high heat for about two to three minutes. Add green chilies to it and fry everything together on low heat.

Add fried fished to it and toss very gently to coat the fishes with the fried spices. Take care not to break the fishes.

Serve on a platter and garnish with chopped cilantro and crushed black pepper.

Enjoy with plain rice or as a finger food.

Prawn Cutlet

 

Yesterday I met with a bunch of friends for our monthly adda session. One of our friends had posted on Facebook, delicious photos of prawn cutlet she had made. We were after her about our missing share of the booty.

That reminded me that my post of chingrir cutlet was languishing in drafts. Time to post it.

With summer around the corner this makes for a fantastic eat on your patio paired with some nice white wine or Riesling.

Ingredients

• 2 large king prawns (each about 150gm)
• 2 tsp. chopped green chilies
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. black pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 large egg
• 3 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 2 cups bread crumb
• Mustard oil enough for deep frying

Procedure

Devein the prawns. Remove the shell other than the tail part. Slit and open it flat. Score lengthwise on each side of the central cut. This will help to keep the prawn flat while giving them the shape of a cutlet.

In a bowl mix everything other than the last four ingredients. Apply on both sides of the prawn and marinate them in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Take out the marinated prawns.

In a bowl mix the flour with the egg and 1 tbsp. mustard oil. Season it with salt and sugar and mix well to make a lump free batter.

**Take each marinated prawn at a time and first roll it over the bed of bread crumb. Take the blunt side of a knife and press it against the side of the prawn to give them the shape of a cutlet. Repeat the same process for the other marinated prawn.

In a deep wok heat mustard oil enough for deep frying. Now take each prawn and dip into the egg batter. Shake off the extra batter from it and gently slide it into the medium hot oil. Fry on medium heat till both sides are crispy and golden brown..

Serve with your favorite ketchup and salad..

**NOTE: Normally you first dip in batter and then roll in bread-crump, in this recipe it is intentional that it is done the other way around so as to stop the prawn from curling up.

Kolkata Kati Roll

Few Indians know that the Kati Roll which is sold across India started in Kolkata. A small restaurant in Kolkata was famous for their Paratha and Kebab. The British clerks (this is pre-Independence) didn’t like to eat with their hands and get it dirty. Hence the restaurant invented the roll where the kebab was placed inside the paratha and wrapped in paper.

You can make some great Kati roll by using the following

1. Make Laccha or Flakey Paratha http://www.bongcook.com/2013/02/laccha-paratha-multilayered-indian.html
2. Make Chicken Tikka http://www.bongcook.com/2012/10/chicken-tikka.html

Wrap up the tikka kebab in the paratha along with red-onions, chutney/sauce of your choice.

If you are a little lazy you can just make them from pre-packaged kebabs and paratha. For some ideas visit http://www.bongcook.com/2011/10/chicken-roll.html.

If you are even more lazy and visiting Portland head on to Bollywood Theatre. It’s an all American run restaurant and serves kati roll. Even though the roll is not 100% authentic, it’s good nonetheless. Apparently the owner visited India and fell in love with everything Indian. As you can see from the picture below he even plays old Bollywood movies. I found posters of Bengal Lamp and advertisement of quacks who could cure your all “personal” issues adorning the wall. Also I am sure Bengali Movie Phooleshwai is not a Bollywood movie :)

Diiiiiim

My husband had this egg based dish at an restaurant in Bangalore many years back. Apparently it had boiled eggs, dipped in egg batter, fried and then cooked. It then had grated eggs sprinkled on it. So he named it egggggggggg or dimmmmmm (Bengali for Egg).

Based  on his description (which is flaky at best) I made this. We liked the final product and I think it will make a great starter, especially if you have vegetarian friends who also eat eggs (common variety these days).

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled eggs shelled
• 1 raw egg
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 tsp. shredded garlic
• 1 tbp. kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tbsp. maida ( all purpose flour)
• 1 tsp. corn starch or rice flour
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Cut 3 boiled eggs lengthwise in quarters.

In a bowl take maida or corn starch or rice flour, 1 tsp. chopped cilantro, and a pinch of salt. Mix all these dry ingredients together. Now break the raw egg and add to it. Beat well to make a thick batter.

Take oil in a wok and heat it up. Pour 1 tbsp. hot oil in the egg batter and give a nice stir. Now dip each egg quarter into the egg batter and gently slide it in the hot oil. Fry on medium heat for a minute and then remove them on a paper towel.

Take  4-5 tbsp. oil in a pan and sprinkle 1 tsp. garam masala powder to it. Add sliced onions along with sugar and a pinch of salt. This sugar will give the dish a vibrant red color. Fry onion on low heat till they turn soft. now add chopped tomato, ginger and garlic to it. Sprinkle Turmeric and chili powder and mix well. Keep frying the masala on low heat till oil separates out and the spices become mushy. Now add fried eggs along with green chilies and cilantro. Sprinkle salt. Mix well in a gently so that all eggs are well coated with spices. Remove from heat and transfer the content in a serving bowl.

Take the other hard boiled egg and grate it. Garnish your dish with shredded egg and serve.

Chicken Lollipop

Long time back when I went to Goa on our honeymoon we went to a small restaurant by the beach called Why Knot. We befriended the waiter there who would serve us these amazing chicken lollipops with endless supply of port wine on the house. The waiter was very interesting. He used to work in a hotel in Leh (Kashmir) in the summers and in Goa in the winters. He even showed us the pictures of his Ladakhi girlfriend. It was a wonderful carefree time in our life. Even though the yearning to go back to those simpler times will not be satisfied, I can always satisfy the palate with some yummy chicken lollipop.

Ingredients For Marination

• 16 pieces chicken drummettes
• 1tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. soya sauce
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt

Procedure For Marination

Take the drummettes and trim the skin off from one end of the bone and give them a shape of lollipops. Wash and pat them really dry.

Marinate chicken with all ingredients listed above and keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. By the mean time prepare the batter.

Ingredients For Frying

• 2 tbsp. corn starch
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2tsp. salt
• Enough oil for deep frying

Procedure

In a dry bowl take all the ingredients other than oil and whisk it with a fork to make a smooth batter. Ensure that the batter is lump free.

In a pan heat enough oil for deep frying. Dip each marinated drummette in the batter and gently slide it into the medium hot oil. Fry till the chicken is cooked and then turn the heat  high to give it a brownish crispy exterior.

Remove and keep them on an absorbent paper.

Ingredients For sauce

• 2 fat cloves of garlic chopped
• 2-3 tsp. chili garlic sauce
• 1/4 cup spring onion finely chopped
• 2 tsp. oil
• Salt if needed

Procedure

In a pan heat oil and add chopped garlic. Sauté for a few minutes and then add chili garlic sauce. Mix well and check whether to add salt or not. Add chopped spring onion and fried lollipops to this sauce and stir over high flame to coat each wings with sauce. Remove and wrap the bony end with aluminum foil and arrange them on a tray to serve.

Spinach Pakoda

Sunny summer days are something which folks living in the Pacific North West really cherish. Sun sets late in the night after 9 p.m. and we head out to the lush parks around town for some picnic pot-lucks. This is one of the items which I took last time as my pot-“luck” was to make starters.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of chopped spinach
2. 1 small onion finely chopped
3. 1 tsp. chopped ginger
4. 1 tsp. chopped garlic
5. 2 – 3 green chilies finely chopped
6. 1 tsp. roughly crushed coriander greens
7. 1/2 tsp. chili powder
8. 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 1/2 cup besan (Chickpea flour)
10. 1/2 tsp. baking powder
11. Salt to taste
12. Oil for deep frying

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take all ingredients other than besan, baking powder and oil. Mix all ingredients with your hands using gentle pressure. Soon they will start releasing water. Add besan little at a time just to hold the ingredients together. Sprinkle baking powder and mix once again.

Heat oil in a wok till it smokes. Reduce the heat and add small portions of the mixture in the hot oil. Fry on medium heat till all sides are done and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil on a paper towel. Sprinkle black salt and your favorite chat masala before you serve.

Aloo Pakoda

We have an old neighbor who is also originally from my original countries neighboring country. Go figure :).

She is 82 and an amazing cook. Like every amazing cook, she is picky about what she eats. When I was chit-chatting with her, she told me that she likes to eat pakora. When I asked her of the exact kind she likes, she gave me this mini-recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 potatoes
• 1.5 cup besan (Chickpea flour)
• 1/2tsp. baking powder
• 1/2tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2tsp. turmeric powder
• Salt
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Peel potatoes and cut them into thin round slices. Dunk the slices into a bowlful of cold water. This will help retain the color of the potato.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add water little at a time and make a medium thick batter. Make sure the batter doesn’t have any lumps.

Heat oil in a wok. Take each potato slice out of the water, dip it in batter and gently slide in medium hot oil. Fry till it turns crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Sprinkle black salt all over and serve.

Shrimp and Lentil Fritter (Pakora)

Having grown up as a single child of working parents, I had to; and liked spending some alone time. Even now and then I need that space for myself. My idea of spending such time is to curl up with some hot tea, pakora and a great book (preferably a detective novel). Everyone close to me knows of this. Sometime when I am stressed out, even my daughter goes and tells her father that they should head out biking or in the mountains to let mama get her “alone time”.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup red lentil ( Musur Dal ) washed and soaked for 3-4hrs.
• 1 cup tiny shrimps ( You can 10 – 15 bigger shrimps alternatively )
• 1tbsp. chopped ginger
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 3-4 hot green chilies ( Use 1 if kids are eating )
• 2tsp. chopped coriander leaves ( Cilantro )
• 1/2tsp. baking powder
• 2tbsp. besan ( Bengal gram flour )
• 1/2tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Drain excess water from the soaked dal and grind it into a coarse paste with garlic and green chilies. Transfer the content from the grinder to a mixing bowl.

If you are using larger shrimps  clean and devein them and then churn them in a blender. We don’t want paste of shrimps, so just use the pulse mode for few seconds. For tiny shrimps use as they are.

Mix all ingredients together other than oil. If you feel that the mixture is still loose you can add little more besan or rice flour for binding. Make small balls out of it.

In a wok heat enough oil for deep frying and drop the balls in it. Fry on medium heat till both sides turn light brown. Crank up the heat to high and fry for few more minutes to make them crispy. Remove and drain them on a paper towel.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney or ketchup.

Pyaji (Bengali Onion Pakora)

Curling up with a good book and some hot pakoras on a rainy day is unbeatable. In Seattle there is no dearth of rainy days, but the leisure time is hard to come by. This Monday I didn’t have anything to cook because there was enough left-overs from a weekend party. So suddenly at around eleven I had nothing to do and there was no one at home. Outside, it was cold and drizzling. A perfect occasion to brew up some hot Darjeeling tea, put on some nice Bangla music and have some Pyaji.

Ingredients

1. 2 red onions sliced into half moons
2. 1tsp. grated fresh ginger
3. 2 – 3 green chilies finely chopped
4. Handful of chopped cilantro
5. 1/2tsp. chili powder
6. 1/4tsp. turmeric powder
7. 1/2tsp. baking powder
8. 5 – 6 tbsp. besan (Chickpea flour)
9. Salt to taste
10. Mustard oil for deep frying.

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take onion, green chilies, ginger, cilantro leaves and sprinkle salt over it. Mix the salt thoroughly by hand. Leave it for 10 – 15 minutes. The salt will bring out the natural juices of the raw ingredients reducing the amount of water required for binding.

Slowly add besan and keep mixing it with the other ingredients. Once you have utilized all your besan you may need to  add little besan or water depending on the requirement to bind things together.

Add baking powder and mix it once more.

Heat oil in a wok till it smokes and then reduce the heat. Now using a spoon gently slide small amount of mixture into the hot oil. Try not to over crowd the oil. Fry on medium heat till all sides are golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Sprinkle black salt all over and serve.

Chicken Tikka

Chicken tikka is one of the most famous of the Indian kebabs. Tikka means bits, pieces or small chunks. It is made out of boneless chicken breast pieces. The grilled marinated chicken pieces has an intoxicating taste and a lovely smoky flavor.

Summer in Seattle is gorgeous and we do not waste any chance to enjoy it to the fullest. When we first moved to these Northern latitudes my daughter was plenty confused when she was asked to eat dinner with sun shinning brightly in the sky. We had a hard time convincing her, as she still hadn’t learned to read the clock and vigorously indicating that the hour hand is past eight didn’t help. Now she makes us head to the nearest park for dinner and we happily agree. Nothing like firing up charcoal in the park grills and making some awesome kebabs.

These kebabs turn out great on gas grills or electrical oven as well, however, the smoky taste is stronger when made on charcoal.

In restaurants you’d find the bright orange kebabs which is made using food coloring. I avoid such additives, if you want you can add food coloring to the marinade.

Ingredients For First Marinade

1. 1lb.boneless chicken cubes from breast
2. 1tsp. ginger paste
3. 1tsp. garlic paste
4. 1tsp. kashmiri chili powder (paprika powder)
5. 1tsp. lime juice
6. Salt

In a mixing bowl take all the ingredients and mix well so the chicken pieces are nicely coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for second marinade

1. 2tbsp. besan (Bengal gram flour, available in US on amazon as well)
2. 1tsp. carom seed (optional)
3. 2tbsp. thick curd (Yogurt)
4. 1tsp. ginger garlic paste
5. 1tsp. Kashmiri chili powder (Paprika powder)
6. 2+1tbsp. mustard oil
7. Ghee (Clarified butter For basting)
8. Salt

Heat 1tbsp. oil in a pan  and temper it with carom seed. Add Bengal gram flour to it. Fry on medium heat till you get a nutty aroma. Remove and keep aside.

In a separate bowl whisk yogurt with the fried Besan and other ingredients. Give a taste check and adjust salt accordingly.

Add 2tbsp. of mustard oil to the marinade and mix. Now add the chicken cubes to this yogurt mixture and marinate for at least 2 to 3 hours. Overnight marination in the refrigerator works best.

For Grilling

1. Skewers (metal or bamboo)
2. Onions cut into squares
3. Ghee (clarified butter) for basting
4. If you have access to, use oil sprays like PAM Oil Spray (optional)

If you are using bamboo skewers soak them in water for 30 minutes. It will prevent them from catching fire in the grill.

Preheat the oven at 375F, for gas grills or covered charcoal grills turn up the heat and close the lid so that temperature reaches this. For open charcoal grills use your own judgment.

Now skewer the marinated chicken pieces and onions alternately. Spread them for uniform cooking.

For Electric Oven (or combination microwave): Grease a roasting tray and place the skewers on it. Drizzle ghee, or spray oil over the kebabs and grill for 10 minutes and then turn them over. Spray or drizzle some more oil or ghee and roast for another 10 minutes.

For Gas or Charcoal Grill: Place the skewers on the grill, drizzle with ghee. Frequently turn it over and if you have, use the oil spray frequently ensuring that the kebabs do not dry up. Repeat for around 15mins

You can serve them directly on the skewers with some mint chutney and salad.

Chicken Reshmi Kebab

Summer in Pacific Northwest is precious as it is over before it starts. However, it’s gorgeous as long as it lasts. No one can complain about clear skies and 17 hour days. However, late sunset means it’s harder to get kids out of the swimming pools and have their dinner. So we sometimes resort to making our dinner by the poolside. Our community has gas grills along side the pools that help a lot.
This chicken reshmi kebab recipe can be executed both in gas grills, electric ovens and combination microwave ovens.

Ingredients

1. 1lb. chicken boneless pieces cut into thick strips or cubes
2. 1/2 cup thick plain yogurt (curd)
3. 2tbsp. lemon juice
4. 1 tsp. red chili powder
5. 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
6. 1tsp. roasted coriander powder
7. 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
8. 2tbsp. lightly roasted chick pea flour (Besan)
9. 1tbsp. sugar
10. Salt to taste
11. 1-2 tsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
12. In a grinder make a paste of the following
1. 4,5 cloves garlic
2. 2,3 green chilies
3. 1tsp. cumin seed
4. 1 tsp. poppy seed
5. 2 black cardamoms

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take all the wet and dry spices and mix them thoroughly. Season the mixture with salt and sugar. Taste and adjust accordingly.
Marinate the chicken strips with this spice mixture and let it rest for 3-4 hrs. In summer days keep it in the refrigerator.
 
If you are using wooden skewers then pre-dip them in water for 30mins so that they don’t catch fire in the oven.
For electric oven preheat your oven at 350F. Skewer the chicken strips and brush with ghee. You might want to alternate chicken pieces with bell-pepper (capsicum) and onion. For electric oven grill for about 20-25 minutes turning the skewer frequently and basting with oil/ghee.

For combination microwave ovens put it on micro+grill combination mode and cook it for 10 minutes on each side.
If you have a barbeque grill put the kebabs on the grill, use medium heat and cook for 10 minutes with frequent turning and basting as mentioned above. At the end you might want to higher the heat/flame to bring in a slightly charred effect.
Serve with some onion rings or your favorite chutney.

Fish Batter Fry

This time when I went to Kolkata my aunts teamed up and visited our home. Each cooked and brought their specialties. So I had a gala meal of pabdar-jhaal, chilli-chicken, payesh and fish batter-fry. The later is one of my favorite which somehow I had missed blogging about. Part of the reason is that we don’t get bhetki at Seattle. After returning to the US I attempted making batter fry with cod fillet which I got from the local Fred-Meyers and it turned out fantastic (if I may say so :))

For marinating

1. 1 lb. rectangular shaped fish fillets ( preferably Betki, Cod can also be used)
2. Juice of two limes
3. Salt
4. 2tbsp. ginger garlic paste
5. 1 tbsp. onion paste
6. 1 tsp. green chili paste

Wash the fillets and marinate them with salt and lime juice. After marinating for an hour wash them thoroughly with cold water and pat dry. This will get rid of undesired smell.

Now arrange the fillets in a wide dish. Add onion, ginger, garlic and green chili paste to it. Sprinkle salt over the fillets. Using your hands apply this spice mixture on both sides of the fillets. Let it rest for 3-4 hrs. In the summer days allow it to sit in the refrigerator.

For the batter

1. 1 cup all purpose flour or maida
2. 2tbsp. corn starch
3. 1tsp. baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
5. 1tsp. salt
6. 1/4th cup oil
7. 1 cup milk

Start making the batter half an hour before you want to fry the fillets. In a big mixing bowl take all purpose flour and whisk it with corn starch, salt, pepper and baking powder. Whisking these dry ingredients will make the fries more crispy.

Now add 1/4th cup of oil to it and mix till they combine well. Once thoroughly mixed, slowly add milk to it. Mix really well to make a thick homogenous batter.

Frying

In a wok or kadai heat enough oil for deep frying. Now dip each fillets in the batter and slide them carefully in the oil. Fry on medium heat till both sides turn golden brown. Remove them  with a slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel.

Vegetable Chop/Cutlet

Close to our home in Kolkata was the Ashoka cinema hall (or movie theatre as we call it now). Even though the hall was only 2 minutes away, we always reached there atleast half an hour in advance. It was not because we were so eager to watch the movie, but rather to pick up the gorgeous vegetable chops that boudi (street side vendor) made and sold right outside the theatre. She’d pack them up in bags made of old newspaper and sprinkle some rock salt on it. There had been times when we forgot to see the initial parts of the movie while gobbling down the chops.

Couple of days back we were at a Redmond movie theatre to watch Sherlock Holmes. We bought some butter popcorn and cold drinks. The discussion soon turned towards vegetable chops. I guess I disliked the movie more because of the missing vegetable chop and less because of the weird depiction of Mr.Holmes.

The remedy is obviously to make your own right here at your home.

Ingredients

1. 2 medium sized beetroots grated
2. 4 medium sized carrots grated
3. 2 medium sized potatoes grated
4. 2 green chilies chopped
5. Half cup green peas
6. 1/4th cup roasted peanuts chopped
7. 1" ginger grated
8. 1 tsp. paanch phoron
9. Salt
10. 1 cup bread crumb
11. 1/2 cup besan (Chickpea flour)
12. 1 tbsp. bhaja masala. Make it by dry roasting and then grinding the following
1. 1 tsp. cumin seeds
2. 1 tsp. coriander seeds
3. 3,4 dry red chilies
4. 3,4 pods of green cardamom
5. 1" cinnamon stick
6. 3,4 cloves

Procedure

Heat about 2 tbsp. of oil in a pan and temper with paanch phoron and grated ginger. When the spices start sputtering add grated vegetables and green peas to it. Do note that some people add boiled, mashed vegetables. My experience shows that plain grated works better for easy binding and retains the texture.

Sprinkle salt according to your taste. Now sauté the grated vegetables on medium low heat till all the moistures released from the vegetables gets dried and the veggies come together leaving the sides of the pan. Taste the seasoning and adjust accordingly. Add the pea nuts and mix well.

When the mixture cools down slightly, sprinkle about 1 tbsp. of bhaja masala.

Now grease your palm and shape the vegetable mixture to the form of oblong balls. Cutlets on the other hand are made flat. Choose the way you like. 

Sometimes you might face a problem with binding the vegetables. To fix that dry roast besan on medium low heat till its raw smell goes away, then add 1 or 2 tbsp. of it to the vegetable mixture.

Make a thin batter of besan and water. Dip each chop in the batter and roll them on breadcrumbs. Refrigerate them for an hour and then repeat the process of coating one more time.

Heat enough oil in a kadai for dip frying. Drop a small piece of bread crumb and ensure that the oil is hot enough that it starts sizzling. If you are satisfied, fry the chops till golden brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Sprinkle some black salt and serve with ketchup, mustard sauce and onion rings.

Chicken Lasuni (Garlic) Kebab

Since my childhood I had always been a part of a small family. So I have a hard time if I have to cook for many people. Especially if that cooking needs sautéing as I don’t have the strength to toss around a lot of stuff.

When I have a bunch of people coming over or when joining a pot-luck, I tend to pick recipes which are easier on my wrist. If you have some time to plan ahead, lasuni kebab makes an excellent choice. It goes great as a starter or as an accompaniment with white wine. It just needs marination overnight and some baking/grilling before your party.

Ingredients

1. 1 lb. (500gm) chicken legs and thigh pieces on bone
2. 2 tbsp. hung curd / plain thick yogurt
3. 2 tbsp. heavy cream
4. 1 tbsp. black pepper powder
5. 2 tbsp. garlic paste
6. 1 tbsp. green chili paste
7. 1 tbsp. butter
8. Salt to taste
9. Sugar

Procedure

Preheat oven at 450F.

In a mixing bowl stir together yogurt, cream, chili, garlic paste and season with salt, a pinch of sugar and pepper powder. Taste and adjust the seasoning according to your liking.

Marinate chicken pieces in the mixture you made above and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and brush with butter. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and bake it for about 30 minutes turning once in between or until the juices run clear when the chicken piece is pierced by a knife near the bone.

Serve with slices of onions and cucumber.

Kolkata Chili Chicken

There is a strong Chinese immigrant community in Kolkata. A lot of the so called indo-Chinese food available in India like Hakka Noodles, Chicken Manchurian, Chicken Schezwan were actually brought in by them many generations back and then customized for local palate. These food then slowly spread across India. The Tangra region in Kolkata is filled with Chinese restaurants serving these delicacies.

Kolkata Chili Chicken is one of those dishes. You find them being served in 5 star restaurants to roadside shacks. I first had it in a ship docked at the Kolkata port. The ships chef cooked it for the visiting guests of my brother-in-law who worked in the ship. After that I had chili chicken maybe a thousand times, but each time I am reminded of that great evening in that ship Viswa Ava.

Ingredients

1. Marinade
1. 1 lb. boneless chicken cut into strips ( I used boneless thigh pieces)
2. 1 tsp. ginger paste
3. 1 tsp. garlic paste
4. 1 egg
5. 1 tbsp Dark soya sauce
6. 1 tbsp green chili sauce
7. 1 tbsp corn starch
8. Salt to taste
2. 10 cloves of garlic minced
3. 1 medium sized red onion sliced
4. 1 green bell pepper sliced
5. 5, 6 green chilies
6. Few spring onions chopped
7. 1 tbsp green chili sauce
8. 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
9. 2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in half cup water
10. 1/2 tbsp crushed black pepper corn
11. Salt to taste
12. Canola / sunflower oil

Procedure

Mix all ingredients under the marinade list above and marinate the chicken in refrigerator for 30 mins.

In a wok heat enough oil and deep fry the marinated chicken pieces till they are done and crispy.

In a separate wok heat 2 tbsp. of oil and add chopped garlic; sauté for a while. Add onion and bell pepper slices to it. You’d want the onions and green bell pepper crispy and hence fry them on high heat for a minute.

Add dark soya sauce and green chili sauce. Add about 3-4 tbsp of corn starch mixture to it. Soon it will start bubbling, then add the fried chicken pieces. Toss them well so that all the chicken pieces are nicely coated with the sauce mixture. 

Add chopped green chilies and freshly crushed black pepper powder to it. Check the seasoning and adjust it. I like to add a pinch of sugar at this point. Mix everything well and finish it by sprinkling some chopped spring onions.

I love my chili chicken with hot phulkas. You can serve with fried rice, chowmein or paranthas as well. Or like my husband wash it down with some great single-malt scotch.

Shammi Kebab with Mint Chutney (Minced meat and chana dal Patty)

This extremely popular kebab of Awadh, probably got its name from the word Sham which means evening in Hindi. So essentially it’s an evening snack. This goes amazingly well with some great single malt whiskey (this is inserted courtesy Mr.Bong).

Made from minced meat and chana dal these kebabs are round patties enriched with the flavor of garam masala, fresh mint and coriander leaves. Contrary to most other kebabs which are grilled, this is fried and hence easier to make.

Ingredients

1. For Boiling
   1. 200 gm. minced meat
   2. 50 gm. Bengal gram / chana dal soaked
   3. 1 tbsp. whole coriander
   4. 1 tbsp. black peppercorn
   5. 1 tbsp. white peppercorn
   6. 1 small onion chopped
   7. 5,6 cloves of garlic
   8. 1/2" ginger
   9. Salt to taste
2. For Grinding
   1. 2 tsp. garam masala powder (make your own as shown here)
   2. 2,3 green chilies
   3. Half cup chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
   4. Half cup chopped mint leaves
3. For Frying
   1. 1 egg beaten
   2. Ghee/clarified butter

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and fry chopped onion till they are light pink. Now add all ingredients listed under Boiling along with half a cup of water and cook on medium heat till all the water evaporates. Let it cool.

Add garam masala powder, chopped coriander and mint leaves and mix it well. 

Add the mixture into a grinder or food processor and grind into a fine paste. This paste should be little moist.

To make kebabs moisten your palms with little water and take about 2 tbsp ground meat mixture in your hand. Form a ball then slightly flatten it.

Heat ghee in a pan. Dip each patty/ kebab into the beaten egg and place into the ghee to shallow fry. Fry till both the sides are golden brown. Remove on paper towels to drain. Serve with green chutney.

Recipe For Green Chutney

1. 1 bunch mint leaves
2. 1 bunch coriander leaves/ cilantro
3. 5,6 cloves of garlic
4. 2,3 green chilies
5. Juice of one lime
6. 3,4 tbsp of plain curd/ yogurt

Grind all ingredients together into a food processor or grinder adding little water to make a thick sauce like consistency.