I love Baitong Restaurant in Redmond (Overlake area). My daughter loves their Gai Hor Bai Toey which is chicken wrapped in leaves and fried. While having it last time I was reminded of our East Indian steamed Prawn which are made in a similar fashion. However, it’s steamed and not fried. I came home and made some the next day. You can find the recipe I posted couple of years back at http://www.bongcook.com/2012/06/chingri-or-prawn-paturi.html
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.
I cook different things for different people. This is something I cook for myself. I love Kopi Bhape. When I was young eating this for lunch in the Wintery afternoons was a special attraction. My mom used the freshest cauliflowers of the season and made it in copious quantities for me :)
Take water in a pan and bring it to a boil. Add salt to it and stir till it is dissolved. Now add cauliflower florets to it and cook them on high heat for 3 – 4 minutes. Drain the water and keep the florets aside.
Take oil in a wok and heat till it smokes. Reduce the heat and temper with nigella seeds and green chilies. Wait till they stop spluttering. Add cauliflower florets and sauté them on high heat for a minute.
Add turmeric powder, salt and sugar. Mix everything well and then cook them covered till the cauliflower is 80% done. Cauliflower will be cooked in its own juice, so you don’t have to add any extra water.
Add mustard paste to it and mix gently so that all the florets are coated with the paste. Now cover and cook till the vegetable turns soft. Switch off the heat and drizzle some extra drops of mustard oil and add chopped cilantro to garnish.
Best enjoyed with steamed white rice.
Traditionally baata always involves mustard paste, green chilies and a generous amount of pungent mustard oil in it. Occasionally depending on the main ingredient, freshly grated coconut also plays an important role.
In this post I will share with you my Dad’s favorite maan kochu bata recipe. I had to do an international consultation with my aunt before finalizing it.
In a grater grate the taro root. Take the grated taro root on a big strainer or colander and put it under running cold water. You will see that the water running out of the strainer is milky white. Continue rinsing till the water runs clear. This step prevents the itching in the throat.
Once you are done with rinsing squeeze out any excess water out of it.
In a grinder make a past of mustard and green chilies with a pinch of salt.
Now add freshly grated coconut and taro root to the grinder and grind everything together to a fine paste. The paste will be thick and not slurry.
Add sugar and adjust salt. Drizzle mustard oil all over.
Eat with hot rice.
When we first arrived in the US we were not aware of local Asian or Bangladeshi stores. So we used to buy local fish and either bake or fry them. However, soon the Bong in us won over and we switched to jhol and jhaals with local produce like Salmon.
This fusion works remarkably well when you know how to blend it with Indian spices. Since Salmon has a strong taste it doesn’t work with milder recipes. So when I initially tried potato-cauliflower based curry with Salmon, it was a flop. In contrast mustard works very well with salmon and it’s pungent taste mellows down that of Salmon.
Take salmon pieces and marinate with little salt and turmeric powder for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a wok and shallow fry the fish pieces till all their sides turn golden yellow. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
You can use the same oil for gravy or if you find it too less you can add little more to it. Temper oil with kalonji seeds and green chilies. When they stop sputtering add tomato to it. Fry tomato on medium heat till mushy.
In a small bowl mix mustard paste with turmeric and chili powder. When tomato is done add this spice paste to it and sauté on low heat till oil oozes out.
Add a cup of water to it and season with salt and sugar. Stir it well and let it come to a boil. Gently slide the fried fishes in the boiling gravy. You will see the gravy stops boiling after you have added the fried fishes. Wait for another boil to come. Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve with plain rice.
Prawn paturi has become one of the mainstay of authentic Bengali spread. When the tender prawns are cooked inside a plantain leaf with mustard, coconut paste, slender green chilies and golden yellow mustard oil, it takes you to such a height that every other food looks ordinary.
Wash the prawns and rub it with turmeric and salt.
In a blender add mustard seeds, shredded coconut, 2 green chilies and a pinch of salt. Make a smooth paste of all these ingredients by adding very little water to it.
Transfer the content in a mixing bowl and taste if the salt and sugar is properly balanced or not. Adjust them as desired.
Now dip the prawns in this marinade so that each of them are well coated with the spice paste.
Once it is done add 2 tbsp. of mustard oil to it and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Cut the banana leaves into rectangular pieces. You can swipe them over the flame or can dip them in hot water for 2-3 minutes to make them more pliable.
Rub little mustard oil on the glossy sides of each leaves
Place 2-3 prawns along with mustard paste in the center of the leaf. Place one green chili on top of it and fold the sides by overlapping each other to make a parcel. Secure them by tying each of them with kitchen twine.
If you have a steamer steam the parcels for 10 minutes. I don’t have, so I made them in microwave. Arrange the parcels in single layer in a microwave safe dish and cook it in full power for 10 minutes.
Cut the thread to open the parcel before serving.
One of my mashi is married to a family who is better known in their neighborhood as paturi bari. Ilish (Hilsa) paturi being the most famous, they make paturi with shrimp, egg and even with dal. Paturi is the process of cooking fish in mustard sauce inside a banana or plantain leaf wrap.
I am not a connoisseur of ilish, so whenever I visited my mashi she used make either egg paturi or shrimp paturi for me.
This time when I got a big packet of banana leaf at Indian store I picked it up without even giving a second thought. My initial plan was to make shrimp paturi. However, I thought I’d make it with eggs so that my eggeterian friends could also enjoy it.
First the marinade has to be made. Make a wet paste of mustard seeds with 2 green chilies and garlic. Add a tsp. of turmeric powder to it.
Now remove the shell of the boiled eggs and cut them into quarters.
In a separate plate take the boiled potatoes and mash them. To it add sliced onions, cilantro and the pieces of eggs.
Pour the marinade over it along with some salt. Mix them gently using hands instead of spoons. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
By this time season the banana leaf for wrapping. Wash it under running water and wipe it dry.
Now turn the heat on and just swipe it over the heating coil or the flame. This will make the banana leaf more pliable so that it won’t tear when you try to fold it.
Alternatively you can dip the leaves under hot water to make them soft.
Now take two rectangular piece of banana leaf and place he marinated egg in the center of it. Fold the sides by overlapping each other to make a packet and secure them by tying with your kitchen twine. I used my quilting thread to tie them up.
Arrange the packets on a frying pan and allow them to cook covered on low heat till the outer leaf of the packet turns brown. Turn it over and allow it to cook the other side as well. Alternative you can arrange the packets in a microwavable dish and microwave it for high power for 10 minutes.
Remove and snip off the thread. You may drizzle some extra mustard oil over it.
Enjoy with hot rice.
This recipe is not specifically for pabda fish, you can use various kinds of sweet water fishes with it. This is the staple curry which Bengalis make with Pabda, Rohu, Katla, Telapia,Kajri, etc… The curry is not too rich and brings out the flavor of the fish and imparts a fine taste of mustard to it.
Wash the fishes and pat them dry. Smear them with salt and half of the turmeric powder.
Heat oil in a kadai (wok) till it smokes and then lower the heat. Fry the fishes till both the sides take a golden brown hue. As these fishes are very soft, you need to be very careful while frying them so that they don't break. Remove fried fishes from the oil and keep aside.
Make a fine paste of mustard seeds with 1,2 green chilies.
In a bowl mix rest of the turmeric powder with mustard paste and keep it handy.
Take fresh oil in a pan and heat it. Temper with nigella seeds and green chilies. Once they stop spluttering add mustard paste and sauté on low heat for about a minute.
Add chopped tomatoes and fry them till they become mushy. Add chili powder to it. Now turn off the heat and add curd (yoghurt) to the spice mixture. Mix it well with the masala and turn the heat on. Season it with salt and little sugar. Add about half cup of water and give a nice stir. Wait for the water to come to a rolling boil. Now gently add fishes to it and let it simmer for 2,3 mins till the gravy is thick. Sprinkle freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with hot rice.
In winter the markets in India gets filled with fresh vegetables. The shop keepers stock up with flat-beans, green peas, radish, cauliflower, cabbage and lots of other green stuff. When I used to live in Bangalore every Saturday I headed straight to that section of the HAL market. One of my hardcore non-vegetarian friends used to tell me that soon my feet would evolve into hooves :)
If there is something which my husband hates to eat is flat-beans. He refuses to even be in the house when it’s cooked. So this Saturday when he had to go to office for some work, I ceased the opportunity.
In a grinder make a smooth paste of mustard seeds and one green chili.
Remove the stringy part of the beans and cut into halves. The beans I got in the Indian store was smaller in size, so I didn't cut it.
Heat mustard oil in a pan and temper it with kalonji and green chilies. When the spices start popping add sheem along with salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Mix it well and cook it covered till the sheem becomes soft. Add mustard paste and fry the beans along with it till its dry. Your sheem paturi is ready to be served with hot steaming rice.
