Ilisher (Hilsa) Patla Jhol

Ilish or Hilsa is the favorite Bengali fish and makes it into the favorite top 3 food list of a lot of Bongs. My husband keeps telling me the story of his classmate who always ate a whole Ilish on his birthday. Apparently it used to take him 3 hours to battle all the fish bones, but at the end he’d always emerge victorious.

Ilish is the national fish for Bangladesh and provides for the livelihood for thousand in the lower Ganges delta. These fishes are anadromous and lives mostly in sea water but swims up the great rivers in the Bangladesh delta to spawn. Those from the Bangladesh river of Padma are considered to be the tastiest and the hardest to come by in India. In our childhood we’d mostly contend with the “lesser” Rupnarayan river’s Hilsa (also called Kolaghater ilish). The weird part is that being in US we get easier access to Bangaldesher-r ilish at our local desi store (International Food Bazaar in Bellevue, WA). 

Ilish is cooked in many different styles. However, for the best Ilish the simplest cooking method provides the best taste. The trick is ensuring that no strong flavor or masala is put in, so that the natural flavor of Ilish comes out.

Ensure that when you buy Ilish try to hit the sweet spot of around 2lbs (1 kg). Also wash the fish as less as possible.

Please checkout the video of this recipe on my youtube channel either by visiting the link or using the play button below.

Ingredient

1. 5-6 slices of Ilish
2. 1/2 teaspoon Kalonji/Nigella seeds
3. Turmeric
4. Mustard oil
5. 5-6 Hot Indian Green Chilies
6. 1 medium eggplant cut into chunks
7. 1 tsp sugar
8. Salt to taste

Procedure

1. Lightly wash and pat dry the fish slices and smear them with turmeric and salt.
2. Heat mustard oil in Kadai/deep-pan . Once it starts smoking gently slide in the fish pieces. Be careful of the oil splatter!!
3. Fry them till light golden yellow. You need to be very careful not to brown them. Remove the fish slices from the oil and keep them aside.
4. We need to reuse the oil used for frying the fish since it already picked up the precious flavor of hilsa.
5. Dissolve 1/2 tbsp of turmeric in a cup of water and keep it aside.
6. Temper the oil in the pan with Kalonji and green chilies. When the spices starts popping up add chunks of eggplant to it. Sauté on medium high heat till the eggplants take a golden brown hue. Now pour the turmeric water to it. Season with salt and sugar.
7. Once the water starts boiling, gently slide the fish pieces into it.
8. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

This light ,soupy, golden yellow gravy tastes best with hot steaming rice.

Ilish or Hilsa Bhape

Ilish is one of the most loved Bong food. As I mentioned in my previous post (http://www.bongcook.com/2011/11/ilisher-hilsa-patla-jhol.html) there is a lot of stories and nostalgia behind it.

The hardest part of eating ilish is their bones. You have to fight with them to get the delicious flavor of the queen of all fishes. My lil one calls it “english fish” for whatever reason. The bong gene is evident in the way she eats it even though she had no “formal” training in taming the bones.

One of the most famous Ilish cooking style is the bhape. Ilish bhape can only be enjoyed with steaming hot white rice and doesn't really need any other accompaniments.

Today I am sharing with you my mom's recipe of ilish bhape which has been perfected over generations in Kitchens around the Ganges delta region in Bangladesh.

Please also checkout the video recipe on my youtube channel by clicking this link or on the play button below.

Ingredients

1. Ilish Slices -  5/6 pieces
2. Mustard seeds - 3tb spoon
3. Freshly grated coconut - 4 tbsp
4. green chilies - 8/10
5. Mustard oil - 4 tbsp
6. Turmeric powder - 2 tea spoon
7. Salt

Procedure (using pressure cooker)

1. Make a fine paste of mustard seeds, grated coconut 3-4 green chilies and salt. Add very little water.
2. Take a pressure cooker safe bowl (like a steel tiffin box) and smear it’s inside with little mustard oil
3. Arrange the fish pieces in a single layer and pour mustard paste over it so that it covers all the fish pieces
4. Add the rest of the green chilies and mustard oil over it. Close the box.
5. Place the box inside a pressure cooker. Pour water around the box.
6. Close the pressure cooker and then cook it for 2-3 whistles.

Procedure of making in a Microwave Oven Or Traditional Oven

1. Take a microwave/oven safe bowl and arrange the fish pieces in a single layer. Pour the mustard paste over it, so that it covers the fish pieces. Add the green chilies and mustard oil over it.
2. Cover the bowl with a microwave safe cover or cling film and cook it for 6-8 mins.
3. In case you are using a traditional electric oven, cover the bowl with aluminum foil and bake it for 25-30 mins at 375F

Phulkopir Dalna (Cauliflower and Potato Curry)

Updated: With video

If you are a Bengali you have literally grown up eating Phulkopir Dalna. This is one of the most common and fundamental bong dish. At the beginning of Winter when fresh cauliflowers arrive at the local markets in Kolkata dalna becomes the staple curry at the bong household for the next few months. Even though cauliflower is used in a variety of recipes this simple dalna uses limited spices and help the true flavor of cauliflower to come through.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w4jnrttSY4&t=4s

Ingredients

Serves four

• 1 cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
• 2 medium sized potatoes cut into quarters
• 1 large tomato chopped (optional)
• 1” fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. whole cumin powder
• 1 tsp. whole coriander powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. Bengali Garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• For Tempering
  • 2 bay leaves (Tejpatta)
  • 2 green chilies slit lengthwise
  • 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
  • Whole Garam Masala ( 1” cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamom)

Procedure

Heat 4 tbsp. oil in a pan and add cauliflower florets to it. Fry till the florets are well coated with oil and get a light brown hue (8-10 mins). Remove from oil and keep aside.

Add 2 tbsp. of oil and temper it with bay leaves, whole garam masala, whole cumin seeds and green chilies.

Wait till they stop sizzling. Add potato cubes and fry on medium heat for 2-3 mins.

Now add ginger paste. Make a paste of all dry spice powder by adding little water and add to the pan. Sauté on slow fire till the raw smell of ginger goes away. Optionally add chopped tomatoes. Fry well till the oil is separated.

Add salt and sugar and give it a nice mix. Add fried cauliflower florets and give it a nice mix. Add one cup of water to it and cook it covered on low heat till potatoes are done.

Add a spoonful of ghee and sprinkle little garam masala powder to it. Serve with hot rice or chapatis.

 

Komola Kopi Chingri

This Durga pujo we got more busy than usual, as both me and my teenage daughter decided to volunteer at the pujo venue. Serving food for hundreds at the pujo meant that we lost our appetite and barely ate lunch. Tired we also decided to turn in early.

A few of our friends learned about a Bengali buffet in a local Indian restaurant. Since
Pacific Northwest does not have too many Bengali families, having a Bengali spread at a local restaurant was a first time. My social media feed soon filled up with folks having luchi-mangso and other Bengali delicacies.

Next week I decided that I am going to give myself and the family our own version of a Bengali pujo spread and got into cooking frenzy. The menu was chapor ghonto, mochar ghonto, dhokar dalna, gondhoraj bhapa bhetki, komola-kopi-chingri, akbari-hundi and rabri.

In this post I bring to you the komola kopi chingri or orange shrimp cauliflower. This is a in-shell shrimps cooked with cauliflower in a orange flavored curry.

Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
• 1 large potato cut into medium sized cubes
• 1 lb prawn deveined (you can also prawns without the shell)
• 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• Rind of one orange
• 1 medium tomato
• 1" ginger
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 green cardamom
• 1 tsp. powder of cinnamon and clove

Procedure

Make a paste of tomato and ginger in a grinder.

Heat oil in a pan and fry potato and cauliflower pieces on medium heat till they take a nice golden brown hue. Remove and set aside.

Smear the prawns with turmeric powder and salt. Now fry them on very low heat till both sides turn pink.  Remove and keep aside.

Now add little more oil if you need and temper it with bay leaf, cardamom , cinnamon and cloves. 

When the oil becomes fragrant add fried potato to it. Now put the tomato ginger paste along with little water. Saute on low heat for a while till the raw smell of the spices go away. This is the time you add the cauliflower florets, turmeric and chili powder. As it takes less time for cauliflower to get cooked you add it later.

Mix everything together with the spices till you see oil oozing out. Now add  half a cup of water. Season with salt and sugar. Give a nice stir.

Cook  it covered on medium heat till potato and cauliflower are done. Throw the sautéed  prawns and allow it to sizzle for another one minute.  By this time the curry will be almost dry. Turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit before you pour the orange juice to it. Gently mix. 

Sprinkle cinnamon and clove powder along with the orange rind and keep it covered till you serve,

Goes well with plain rice.

Gondhoraj Bhetki

Gondhoraj Bhetki is one of the most popular dishes served in the famous Oh Calcutta! restaurant in Kolkata. If you landed on this page searching for that, then this is not it. Oh Calcutta created it’s own version to appeal to a more cosmopolitan clientele. Gondhoraj Bhetki or fragnant bhetki presented here is the authentic traditional summer food prepared in Bengali households, something my grand mom or mom would’ve made.

 

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized steak pieces of bhetki (substitute with Cod or Tai Snapper steak based on local availability)
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. green chili paste
• 2 large gondhoraj lime (substitute with any fragrant large lime)
• 1 tsp. gondhoraj lime rind
• 4 kafir lime leaf
• Sugar to taste
• Salt to taste
• White vegetable oil

Procedure

Clean and wash the fish. Pat it dry with a paper towel.

Grate one lime. Now cut and squeeze the juice of both the limes and reserve it.

In a bowl take half of the ginger, garlic, chili paste along with lime juice and salt. Mix it well and apply on both sides of the fish steaks. Let it rest for about thirty minutes.

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pan and one by one shallow fry the fish steaks after shaking off the extra marinade. Remove from oil and keep aside.

In a pan take 3-4 tsp. of refined oil and add ginger, garlic and chili paste to it. sauté on very low heat till the raw smell subsides. Turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit. Now add beaten  yogurt to it. Mix well. Add salt and sugar to your taste and add half a cup of water. Mix well and let it come to a boil. Throw the kafir lime leaves and gently slide the fish steaks in. Cook till the fish is cooked and the sauce is thick. Sprinkle the lime juice along with its rind.

Serve hot with plain rice..
 

Malabar Egg Curry

 

One of my friends is from coastal Karanataka and this is her signature dish. First time she made it for a large gathering, everyone loved this over mutton keema which goes to say how awesome the malabar curry tasted. This is a slightly modified version of the same malabar curry, the change being that I didn’t use turmeric and red chilli powder, you can always try with those as well.

 

Ingredients

• 4 boiled eggs
• 2 tbsp. onion paste
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 4 star anise
• 4 dry red chili
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 tsp. ghee
• 2 tbsp. refined oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a pan heat oil and lower the temperature to medium. Fry the boiled eggs so that the they take a light brown hue. Don't over fry them. Remove them and keep aside.

Now temper the same oil with star anise and dry red chilies. When you start getting a nice aroma, add the onion paste to it. Fry on low heat for about three to four minutes. Now add ginger garlic paste and keep sautéing them on very low heat till the raw smell goes away.

Now add fried eggs to it and season it with salt and sugar. Add one fourth cup of water and mix them well. Bring it to a boil before you pour the coconut milk to it.

Now let it simmer on low heat for about five minutes. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ghee and curry leaves to it. Give a stir and keep it covered till you serve..

Serve it with laccha parota, jeera rice or peas pulao.. 

Bhutwa aka Nepali Mutton

 

I got this recipe from Mr. Atul Sikand over a food network on Facebook. The day I decided to make it I called my husband to know whether he would be in early for dinner. He told me that he was at a Asian grocery store close to his office. So I asked him to look for Szechuan pepper (also known as timur) and fortunately store keeper exactly knew what I was looking for. This chili made the recipe extra special. If you cannot get it, you can always try with dry red chili, but be forewarned it will never be the same.

Ingredients

• 750 gms. mutton cut on bone in 2” pieces
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
• 10 dry red chili
• 1/2 tsp. methi (fenugreek) seeds
• 1 tsp. ajwain (carom) seeds
• 2 tbsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. timur (Szechuan pepper)
• 2-3 black cardamom
• 1’'”cinnamon stick
• 8-10 black pepper corn
• 1 bay leaf
• 150 ml. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a pan till it smokes. Now reduce the heat and add bay leaf, cinnamon, black cardamom and pepper corn to it. Fry them on low heat for a minute till the oil becomes fragrant.

Add methi seeds and wait till the seeds turn black. Immediately add ajwain seeds and dry red chili.

Next to go in is chopped onion. Fry them on medium heat till they turn dark brown.

Add meat pieces to it and fry them on medium heat along with the fried onions. Fry for about ten to fifteen minutes till the meat changes its raw color and turn brown.

Sprinkle salt and sugar. Add a cup of water to it and mix well. Cook covered on low heat till the meat is 90% done.

By the mean time heat 2 tsp. oil in a small pan and add ginger garlic paste along with the coriander powder. Cook on low heat till the raw smell subsides.

Once the meat is almost done add this spice mixture to the meat. This is the time for the red chili powder to go in. Mix everything together and cook  for another ten to fifteen minutes.

When the meat is tender and the oil is separated add timur paste to it and let it simmer for another minute.

Your Bhutwa or Nepali style mutton is ready to serve.

Chingri Potol er Jhal

Potol or Parwal was rarely available outside Bengal. However, with the whole world shrinking I do see them now even in the US at the local Indian grocery store. It is one of those veggies which kids (at least mine) hate eating. So I add shrimps to make it more enticing.

The masala used has to be freshly roasted and ground spices without which the dish is incomplete.

Ingredients

• 10-12 potol or parwal
• 3 medium sized potato peeled and cut into quarters
• 20 medium sized prawns deveined and cleaned
• 1 small knob ginger
• 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. whole cumin
• 1 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
• 1 dry red chili
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. ghee (Clarified butter)
• Mustard oil

Procedure

Scrape off the skin of parwals and cut them into halves.

Marinate the prawns with 1 tsp. turmeric powder and salt. Keep them aside.

Now dry roast 1 tbsp. cumin seeds, coriander seed, dry red chili, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and 1 bay leaf. Roast till you just starting to get their aroma. Immediately remove them from the hot pan and allow them to cool down.

First dry grind the roasted spices into a powder. Add ginger to it and make a paste with all of these by adding little water.

Heat mustard oil in a pan and fry the marinated prawns on low heat for a minute. Remove and save them for later use.

Temper the same oil with 1 tsp. cumin seeds and 2 bay leaves. Let the sizzle. Add parwal halves and potato quarters to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges of the vegetables take a brownish hue.

Add the spice paste you made and reduce the heat to low. Keep sautéing till the raw smell goes off. You may need to sprinkle some water if the spices tend to burn.

Pour about a cup of water. sprinkle sugar and salt to your taste and mix well.

Cook it covered on medium heat till the veggies are done. Add the fried prawns and let it simmer foe another two minutes.

Add a dollop of ghee along with the green chilies and keep it covered till you serve with plain hot rice.

Railway Mutton Curry

[Updated]

Railway mutton curry takes you back to the colonial era when travelling by first class train was for the privileged. This not too spicy  mutton dish used to be served in the railway refreshment room and long distance train to cater the British palate. This curry was generally served with bread or dinner rolls. The vinegar used in the curry used to extend the shelf life for the long haul train rides.

There are many variants of this recipe which clearly indicates the train route they were served on. The usage of tamarind and curry leaves are tell-tale sign of Southern Railways. Eastern recipes omitted these. I chose the one which is more close to my choices.

Ingredients

1. 1lb. goat meat cut into medium pieces
2. 2 medium onions finely chopped
3. 3 potatoes peeled and cut into  halves  ( I used 5 whole baby potatoes )
4. 4-5 cloves of garlic
5. 1” ginger finely minced
6. 1/2 tsp. dry roasted whole cumin seeds
7. 1/2 tsp. dry roasted whole coriander seeds
8. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 2tbsp. vinegar (Original recipe suggests half a cup of tamarind juice)
10. 5-6tbsp. oil
11. 1tsp. sugar(This one is added by me. The original one doesn’t have sugar )
12. Salt
13. Tempering
    1. 1” cinnamon stick
    2. 2 cloves
    3. 4 black peppercorn
    4. 5-6 curry leaves ( I didn’t use )
    5. 2 dry red chilies broken into pieces

Procedure

Take half oil in a pan and temper with the ingredients listed under tempering. Let them sizzle and add whole garlic cloves, chopped onion and mince ginger to it. Fry on medium heat till they turn golden brown.

In a grinder take all the fried spices along with roasted whole coriander and cumin seeds and grind them to a fine paste by using little water.

In a mixing bowl take mutton and mix it with the ground spices. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

In a pressure cooker take the rest of the oil and fry the potatoes on medium heat till they take a light yellow hue. Remove and reserve for later use.

Add the marinated mutton pieces to the oil and fry on high heat for 5 minutes. Add vinegar or tamarind juice to it and season it with salt and sugar. Pour sufficient warm water and pressure cook it till 1 whistle on high heat. Turn off the heat and let the pressure release on its own. Now throw the fried potato pieces to the gravy and give a nice mix. Do the rest of the cooking covered but without the pressure on low heat till the meat is tender and the potatoes are done.

Serve with rice or bread. 

Chingri Macher Malaikari (Prawn in cream of Coconut)

Updated: With new photos

This makes it into the top 10 dishes of most bongs. Evolved in Bangladesh this has close ties to it’s neighboring Thai and Malaysian food. This is easy to make in the US because of the easy availability of canned coconut milk. The sweet tastemakes it a favourite among children.

Ingredients

1. Prawns 10-12 cleaned and deveined
2. Coconut milk - 1 can
3. Onion 1 medium sized
4. Ginger 1"
5. Green chilies 5-6
6. Bay leaf / tejpatta - 2
7. Cinnamon stick - 2"
8. Green cardamom - 2
9. Clove - 4,5
10. Turmeric powder
11. Sugar
12. Salt
13. Ghee
14. Oil

Procedure

1. Make a fine paste of onion, ginger and two green chilies.
2. Wash the prawns and pat them dry. Mix them with salt and turmeric powder and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and fry the prawns till they are light golden in color. Remove and keep them aside.
4. In the same oil add bay leaf, whole cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. As soon as you get the fragrance of whole garam masala add little sugar followed by the paste you made before. The sugar will give the onion paste a nice brown color because of caramelization.
5. Fry the masala in low medium heat till it gets a nice golden brown color and the raw smell of onion and ginger is gone.
6. At this point add little turmeric powder to it.
7. Season it with salt and sugar.
8. Add a can of coconut milk and stir it. Check the sugar level at this point. The malaikari is generally on the sweeter side.
9. Cook the gravy till it thickens.
10. Add the fried prawns and continue cooking them till the sauce takes a creamy consistency.

Serve it with white rice or pulao.

Note: Don't overcook prawns. It makes them stiff.

Laal Maas – Rajasthani Red Meat Curry

Rajasthan is not a place people associate with Meat. My husband is always eager to narrate the horror story of how he had to stay without non-vegetarian food for a whole long week in Rajasthan. But Laal Maas or Red Meat is a famous Rajasthani dish. The story I have heard is that the Rajputs feasted on this after their hunting expeditions. They carried the simple spices required for this and cooked laal maas in the jungle. Even though I do not really hunt, I love my share of laal maas. This is one of the dishes where you’d need to get rid of your inhibitions and go full throttle on red-chilies and oil.

Ingredients

• 500 gm. mutton (lamb or goat meat) on bone
• 2 medium onions finely chopped
• 2 tbs. finely chopped ginger
• 10 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. Kashmiri Red chili powder
• 1 cup yogurt whisked
• 3 whole green cardamom
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 black cardamom
• 1/2 leaf mace
• 4-5 black peppercorn
• dry roast and grind the following to a fine powder
  • 10-12 whole dry red chili
  • 2 tsp. coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 8 tbsp. mustard oil (mustard oil helps get a better color)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (Coriander leaves) for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cardamoms, mace and black peppercorn. Allow them to crackle. Add chopped garlic, ginger and green chilies to it. Fry on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Now add chopped onion to it and fry everything together till the edges of onions start changing color.

Add mutton pieces and fry them on high heat for about 3-4 minutes. It will help in sealing the juices inside the meat pieces.

Now add ground dry spice, Kashmiri red chili powder to it and fry along with the spices.

Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down completely. Add whisked yogurt and mix well. Turn on the heat and season it with salt. Mix once again and cook it covered on low heat for 45 minutes. Keep a cup of warm water ready and so that you can add it to the gravy whenever needed.

Remove from heat when meat is well done. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Note:

Traditionally in Rajasthan KACHRI powder is added to tenderize the meat and also to add a tanginess. I didn’t have the same so I added yogurt instead. If you have Kachri powder add 1/4 cup while frying the spices. 

 

Kadai Chicken

Most Indian restaurants serve Kadai chicken, which is almost always served in a kadai :) (Indian wok). After importing a new copper bottom kadai from back home I decided to make some along with Paneer Kadai.

In US kadai chicken is a tomato based gravy which is very different from the one we generally had in India. In India it’s made more drier and gets it’s flavor from freshly ground dry roasted spices. I present here the later version.

Ingredients

• 1kg. chicken
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 4 large tomatoes coarsely chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper cut into cubes
• 1/2 onion cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 2” ginger
• 15 cloves garlic
• 6 red chilies
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. oil
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and coarsely grind the following ingredients
  • 2 tbsp. coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 8 black peppercorn

Procedure

Grind red chilies, garlic and ginger in a fine paste. Dry roast and coarsely grind coriander seeds, cumin seeds and black peppercorns.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions to it. Fry on medium heat till they turn golden brown. Add 2 tbsp. red chili, ginger, garlic paste along with half of the coarsely ground powder. Sauté on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

Add tomatoes along with salt and sugar and fry them till they turn pulpy. Add chicken and mix them well so all pieces are nicely coated with the spice mixture.

Add chopped cilantro and the rest of the ground spice powder. Give a real nice mix and then cook it covered on medium heat till chicken is done.

Add onion and bell pepper cubes to it and stir everything on high heat for a minute.

Turn off the heat and serve hot.

Chicken Bharta

There is a famous restaurant in Kolkata called Honey-Da-Dhaba. They make this famous Chicken Bharta. I had heard a lot about it but never really got a chance to have it. The good folks at the dhaaba revealed their secret in a cookery show (available here). I followed their steps and loved the outcome, I am not really sure how authentic it is but it was tasty nonetheless. If you have had the good fortune of having the real stuff, do try out this recipe and let me know who well this matches up.

Ingredients

• 1lb. boneless chicken
• 1 big onion finely chopped
• 1 medium tomato finely chopped
• 1tsp. ginger paste
• 1tsp garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. kasuri methi  (dry fenugreek  powder )
• 2 tbsp. cashew paste
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp. cream
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 4 tbsp. oil
• 1 hard boiled egg optional
• Whole garam masala (6 cloves, 6 cardamoms, 2 bay leaves)

Procedure:

Heat oil in a wok and temper it with whole garam masala. Let them sizzle. Add chopped onion to it and fry till they turn golden brown.Next to go in are ginger garlic paste and chopped tomato. Fry on low heat till oil oozes out of the spices.

In a bowl mix all dry spice powder with water and add to the spices. Fry till the raw smell goes away. Add boneless chicken pieces to it and mix well with the spices.

Add salt, sugar and cashew paste and yogurt to it. Stir it well. Now drizzle fresh cream and butter over it. Give them a nice mix. Sprinkle kasuri methi over it and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro. Garnish with halved hard boiled eggs and serve.

I served it with palak naan. It goes well with any kind of Indian flat bread.

Kashmiri Rogan Josh ( Authentic )

The Rogan Josh is commonly served in restaurants of Kolkata is very different from the actual Kashmiri Rogan josh. I have previously published it’s recipe here.

I was once invited to a Kashmiri home and the Rogan Josh my friends wife made was different in that it did not use onions, tomatoes or garlic. Instead it was flavored with dry ginger, fennel powder and asafetida (hing). I am not sure which one I liked more, I leave it to you to make both the versions and decide for yourself.

Ingredients

• 1kg lamb
• 6-8 cloves
• 3-4 black cardamom
• 4-5 green cardamom
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 10-12 black peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp. hing (Asafetida)
• 2 tbsp. fennel powder
• 1 tbsp. dry ginger powder
• 1/2 tbsp. black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp. oil
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and coarsely grind
  • 3-4 green cardamom
  • 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds

Procedure

Heat oil and temper it with lightly crushed cloves, cinnamon, black and green cardamom and asafetida. Let them sizzle for a minute.

Add meat pieces to it and sear them on high heat till all sides turn brown and no moisture is left.

Add salt and Kashmiri red chili powder. Sauté on medium heat till oil turns red. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down a bit before you add yogurt.

Add yogurt and fry for few more minutes on low heat till oil gets separated. Add dry ginger powder and fennel powder along with little turmeric powder. This turmeric powder will help to retain the red color of the dish.

Mix everything together so that meat pieces are well coated with spices. Add salt and give it a nice mix. Add half a cup of water and pressure cook it on high heat till one whistle comes. Turn off the heat and wait till the pressure drops.

Open the lid and mix once more. Now do the rest of the cooking covered on low heat for another 15-20 minutes or till the meat becomes tender.

Sprinkle roasted and ground spice powder on top of it and serve. This goes well with saffron rice.

Kashmiri Stuffed Dum Aloo

When we were in school most wedding banquets started serving what they called Kashmiri Stuffed Dum Aloo. They varied considerably in taste and I am sure that the Kashmiris have never heard about this dish being passed in their name. Nevertheless it tasted pretty good. Suddenly my husband started having a craving for this and I got multiple requests to make it. I do not really remember how it exactly tasted so many years ago, so I created a recipe that I believe should pass as a “authentic” Kashmiri Dum Aloo :)

Ingredients for Stuffing

• 6 medium potatoes
• 2 cups keema (Minced meat)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure For Stuffing

Peel the potatoes and cut them into halves. Now scoop out the flesh from each halves with the back of the spoon. Reserve the potato fleshes for later use.The potatoes will now look like cups. Dunk these potato cups in salted water for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes drain the water and smear the potato cups with turmeric and salt. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the potato cups on medium heat till they turn golden yellow (about 3-4 minutes). Remove and drain them on a paper towel. Let them cool completely.

Heat 2 tsp. oil and fry chopped onion and garlic till they turn soft Now add minced meat followed by dry spice powders (Turmeric + Chili). Sauté for few minutes and then add scooped out potato fleshes to it. Season with salt and sugar. Mix well and cook it covered till meat is done and there is no excess moisture left. Let it cool.

Stuff each potato cups with keema mixture and keep them ready till you make the gravy.

Ingredients For Gravy

• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
• 2 tsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. dry ginger powder
• 2 tsp. fennel powder
• 1 tsp. powder of 2 green cardamoms + 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 4-5 tbsp. oil
• For Tempering
  • 1 tsp. asafetida (Hing)
  • 2 black cardamom
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 3 cloves
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 5-6 black peppercorn

Procedure For Gravy

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with all the ingredients listed under tempering. Don’t forget to bruise them a little before you add them to oil. Sauté for a while and then add chopped onion to it. Fry till they turn translucent.

Add red chili powder and fry for a minute till the oil turns red. Now throw the tomatoes in and fry till they turn mushy. Add turmeric powder, fennel and dry ginger powder. Mix everything well on very low temperature.

Add yogurt and give the spices a nice mix. Pour about half a cup of water and season with salt and sugar. Stir well and then bring it to a boil.

Add stuffed potatoes to it keeping the open side up. Cook it covered on low heat for another minute and then turn the heat off. Sprinkle cumin and cardamom powder on top of it and serve.

Red Snapper with Pyajkoli

Traditionally we make Maacher Jhol with sweet water fishes. Since here in US we have limited access to rui, katla in their frozen forms, I keep trying with various local fish. When I first found Red Snapper, instead of attempting light jhol I tried to put it into a tomato garlic based gravy with pyajkoli which I bought from the same Asian store. I was quite satisfied with the result.

Next time I am going to try this with cauliflower and bori.

Ingredients

• 4 pieces of red snapper cut into steaks
• 2 ripe red tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup pyajkoli or green shallot cut into 2” pieces
• 1 medium potato cut into thick wedges
• 2-3 green chilies
• Few coriander greens chopped
• 1 tsp. kalonji seeds (Nigella)
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. + 1tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Clean the fish steaks and pat them dry. Rub them with 1tsp. turmeric powder and salt and keep aside.

Make a paste of garlic and tomatoes.

Heat oil in a wok and shallow fry the fishes till they are golden yellow. Remove and keep aside.

If the oil turned black discard them and use fresh oil. Temper with kalonji and green chilies. Once they stop sputtering add tomato garlic paste. Sprinkle turmeric and red chili powder. Add potato wedges to it. Sauté on medium heat till oil separates out.

Add half cup of water and bring it to a boil. Season with salt and sugar. Mix everything well. Cook it covered on medium heat till potato wedges are 3/4th done. Now add the fried fish pieces and pyajkoli to it. It will now stop boiling. Increase the heat and wait for it to come to a boil again. Add chopped coriander greens and turn off the heat.

Serve with white rice.

Goalondo steamer Curry

I see a lot of stories online around the origin of this famous Bangladeshi dish. I do not know which is the real story but I heard the same first hand version from both my mother and father who lived in Bangladesh.

Apparently a common route to come to India (Kolkata) from Bangladesh  at that time was to take a train from Goalondo. To reach Goalondo most folks relied on steamers and other modes of river travel. This chicken curry used to be made by the boatmen on these river routes. Since obviously there are limited resources on a boat/streamer this chicken curry is made with fresh basic un-ground spices. If you make it, you will see the amazing difference that comes with just the fact that the spices are used whole.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized whole chicken cut on bones
• 4 big onions coarsely chopped
• 6-7 fat cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
• 1” ginger coarsely chopped
• 2 – 3 dry red chilies coarsely pound
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 5 – 6 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. sugar (Optional)
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Mix the chicken with all above ingredients and keep it for an hour.

Transfer it into a heavy bottom pan and sauté over medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes. Cook it covered till the chicken is tender. The moisture of all the ingredients will be sufficient for cooking, so you really don’t have to add any.

Serve with fresh hot rice.

A similar recipe you might like is Dakbungalow Chicken

Tilottama Rui

Tilottama rui as the name suggests is made with til or white sesame seeds. This recipe was published in a recipe book by Sananda magazine. The photo of this dish was so tempting that I thought to give it a try. The original recipe calls for both ginger and garlic but keeping the aroma of til in mind I skipped the garlic. It turned out really good.

Ingredients

• 6 pieces rui or catla (any Carp) cut into steaks
• 3 tsp. white sesame seeds
• 1 tsp. yellow mustard paste
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 – 3 green chilies slit length wise
• 1/2 tsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil

Procedure

Rub fish steaks with one tsp. turmeric powder and salt and keep aside for 15 minutes.

In a pan dry roast sesame seeds on very low heat for a minute or two. Ensure that their color remains white. Then make a paste out of this roasted sesame seeds in a grinder. You can first grind it dry and then add little water to make the paste.

In a small bowl mix the mustard paste with a quarter cup of milk and keep it handy.

Heat oil in a wok and fry the marinated fish steaks till both sides turn golden brown. Remove and keep them on an absorbent paper.

Take fresh oil in a pan and heat it. Lower the heat and temper with kalonji seeds. Add mustard paste to it. Squeeze out ginger juice from grated ginger and add the juice. Sauté for a while and then add sesame seed paste. Fry everything on low heat till oil separates out.

Add rest of the milk, green chilies and fish steaks to it. Sprinkle salt and sugar and let it simmer for about 5 – 7 minutes on medium heat. Turn off the heat.

Serve with plain white rice.

Chingri–Sobji Diye Cholar Dal (Lentil with Shrimp and Vegetables)

Sometimes the bongcook is tired of cooking. Interestingly even though my little one will gobble down pizza/pasta when offered, prefers to eat at home, especially for dinner. So I take refuge in one of these simple recipes.

One of my daughter’s favorite food is daal. Adding Prawn quenches the non-vegetarian bong soul as well.We use this as a healthy one-pot dinner along with hand made soft rotis.

Ingredients

1. 10 – 12 medium sized prawns cleaned
2. 1 cup chana dal
3. 1/4th cup carrot chopped
4. 1/4th cup beans chopped
5. 1/2 cup cauliflower cut into small florets
6. 1 medium tomato finely chopped
7. 2tbsp. chopped coconut
8. 1 cup thick coconut milk
9. 1tsp. garam masala powder
10. 1tsp. turmeric powder
11. 1tsp. chili powder
12. 1tsp. sugar
13. 1tsp. ghee (clarified Butter) 
14. Salt to taste
15. For Tempering
1. 2,3 Bay leaves
2. 1” cinnamon stick
3. 2 cloves
4. 2,3 green cardamom
5. 2,3 Dry red chilies
6. 1tsp. whole cumin seeds
7. 1 pinch hing (asafetida)

Procedure

In a pressure cooker boil daal with 2 cups of water and turmeric. It takes 10 minutes if you are cooking on medium heat.

In a separate pan boil 5 cups of water with little salt. Now add carrots, beans and cauliflower florets to it. Turn off the heat and keep it covered for 5 minutes. Drain the water and dunk the vegetables in cold water for 10 more minutes. Drain the water. This will help the vegetables to retain their color.

Heat mustard oil in a pan and fry prawns. Remove and reserve them.

Temper the same oil with all the ingredients listed for tempering. When the oil turns aromatic and the spices sizzle add chopped coconut pieces to it. Fry till they turn light brown. Now add tomato and steamed vegetables to it. Season with salt and sugar. Sprinkle red chili powder over it. Mix everything well and fry on medium heat till oil separates out.

Add boiled daal to it. Mix the daal with sautéed vegetables. If you want pour little hot water to it and let it come to a boil.

Once it starts boiling add fried prawns and pour the coconut milk. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Finish it off with a spoonful of ghee, green chilies and garam masala powder. 

Omelet curry

Omelet curry started out as a quick dinner remedy when I was working. When me and my husband came back from work, we were too tired to cook something and at the same time didn’t want to live off Maggi (instant noodles). We didn’t have much time for preparation either, even boiling egg seemed like eternity.

Over the years, however, it evolved from a quick and easy food to something we really like. It’s no longer quick either since I make pulao with it and really enjoy the whole deal.

Ingredients

1. 4 eggs
2. 2tbsp. onion finely chopped
3. 1tsp. ginger finely chopped
4. 1tsp. green chilies finely chopped
5. 2 medium sized potatoes boiled and cut into quarters
6. 1 small onion thinly sliced
7. 1tsp. ginger paste
8. 1tsp. garlic paste
9. 1 ripe tomato cut into quarters
10. 1tsp. red chili powder
11. 1tsp. turmeric powder
12. 1/2tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
13. 1tsp. coriander leaves chopped
14. 1tsp.sugar
15. Salt to taste
16. 4tbsp. refined oil

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take finely chopped onion, ginger and green chilies. Now break eggs one by one and add to it. Season with salt and beat them well with a fork.

Take 1tsp. oil in a frying pan and heat it up. Pour the egg mixture to it and swirl the pan to spread the egg mixture uniformly. Cook on medium heat till eggs set. Now lift one side of the edge and fold it. Press down lightly with spatula for about 30 seconds and then remove.

Cut the omelets into one inch squares and keep it.

Now in another pan heat rest of the oil and add onion slices to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges turn light brown. Add ginger garlic paste to it followed by turmeric and chili powder. Add boiled potato pieces to it. Fry on low heat for 1 – 2 minute before you add the tomato pieces. Season with salt and sugar.

Sauté everything on low heat till the oil oozes out of the spices. Now add 1/2 cup water to it and mix well. Bring it to a boil before you add omelets pieces to it. Simmer for another 5 minutes till the gravy thickens.

Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and garam masala powder. Serve with rice, pulao or chapatti.