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.

Dhakai Murgh Roast

 

This is a famous Bangladeshi food served in wedding and other party banquets. In our part of US it is frequently ordered from caterers in Bangla parties. Unfortunately I do not appreciate they way it is made to become too sweet. That is not how I remember my grandmom making it.

Dhakai Murgh roast is a open flame roasted chicken that has a good balance of sweet and sour taste. It is never overtly sweet. This goes best with Zarda Pulao.

Ingredients

• 6 pieces chicken leg quarters
• 1/2 cup golden fried onion
• 3 tbsp. ginger paste
• 3 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 5-6 aloo Bukhara soaked in half a cup of water and de seeded ( in case you don't find it replace with few dried plums. Remember the color will be more on the darker side.)
• 1/2 cup fresh cream
• 1/4 cup khoya
• 1 tbsp. saffron soaked in warm milk
• 2 tbsp. rose water
• 2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup ghee
• 1/2 cup refined white oil
• 2 tsp. shahi garam masala powder ( just grind all the spices below together and keep in an airtight bottle)   
  • 2.5 tbsp. green cardamom
  • 2.5 tbsp. broken cinnamon stick
  • 1.5 tbsp. shah jeera or caraway seeds
  • 1 tsp. mace
  • 1 tsp. white pepper corn
  • 1 nutmeg

Procedure

In a grinder make a paste of fried onions, raisins and pre soaked aloo Bukhara and keep aside. If needed you can add a spoon full of plain yogurt to make the paste.

In a wide pan heat up oil and sear the chicken pieces on medium heat. After about three minutes when the raw pink color goes away add salt and sugar to it.

Add saffron soaked milk and mix well. Now one by one add ginger paste, garlic paste, chili powder and half of the shahi garam masala powder to it. Keep sautéing on low heat.

Now add the onion, raisin paste you made earlier to it and mix well. Add about half a cup of water and cook it covered on medium low heat for about twenty minutes.

When the chicken is cooked remove the cover and add cream and khoya to it and mix well. This will make the gravy a bit sticky. Add ghee to it and mix well.  Sprinkle rose water along with the rest of the shahi garam masala powder. Turn off the heat and serve with paratha, pulao or zarda rice..

Masala Filling for Dosa

 

I just posted my recipe for easy Dosa. This is the recipe for the filling if you want to make ‘em stuffed. It goes well with Poori as well.

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized potatoes
• 1 large onion cut into medium sized thick chunks
• 1 tbsp. minced gingers
• 1/4 cup green peas fresh or frozen 
• 4 green chilies chopped finely
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder 
• 1/4 tsp. black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. urad dal (black gram)
• 1 tsp. chana dal (Bengal gram)
• 10- 12 curry leaves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (Coriander leaves)
• 1 tbsp. ghee (Clarified butter) 
• 2 tbsp. white oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Cut potatoes in halves and cook them in a pressure cooker till one whistle comes. Let them cool down enough to handle and then peel off the skin. With your hands break boiled potatoes coarsely into medium pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and add whole mustard seeds. When the seeds start spluttering add urad dal and chana dal to it. Keep stirring them on medium heat till they take a golden brown hue.

Next to go in are onion, chopped ginger, peas, curry leaves, chopped green chilies and turmeric. Sauté till onion starts to loose its raw color.

Add potatoes and salt. If required add 1/4 cup of water to it. Mix well and cook till the moisture is completely gone.

Sprinkle chopped cilantro and drizzle a spoon full of ghee. Give a nice mix and keep it covered till you serve to retain all the flavors. 

Aloo, Cholar Torkari

This is a common curry served at road side shacks in and around Kolkata along with Puri and Kachuri. Most of us grew up gobbling this down along with the famous Luchi. I made some of this recently to go with Dahl Puri.

Ingredients

• 8-10 medium size potatoes, halved and cut into quarters
• 1/2 cup chick peas soaked overnight and boiled
• 1 tbsp. paanchphoron (five whole spices mixed together in equal quantities – celery seeds, fennel seeds, cumin, Nigella seeds and fenugreek seeds)
• 5-6 whole dry red chilies
• 1 tsp. hing (Asafetida)
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 2-3 tbsp. mustard oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 and 1/2 cup of water
   

Procedure

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Temper it with whole dry red chilies, hing and five spice mixture. Let them splutter for a while.

Add the quartered potatoes and the boiled chick peas. Fry on low heat for a minute. 

Add turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder to it and cook on medium heat for another minute.

Add water, salt and sugar. Give a nice mix and pressure cook it till one whistle comes.

It goes excellent with puri, kachori. I served it with Dahl parantha.

Aam Dal (Lentil with Raw Green Mango)

We are just back from Mexico. The weather there constantly reminded me of sultry Kolkata. The temperature hovered around 35 Celsius and the humidity at 99%. Even though I was having my fill of Taco’s and Tequila’s what I craved was Mango Daal and Alubhaja, the staple summer lunch of Bong’s.

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentil
• 1 small raw mango peeled and cut into big chunks
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
• 2-3 dry red chilies
• 1 tbsp. mustard oil
• salt to taste

Procedure

Wash lentils till water runs clear and transparent. Add chunks of mango, turmeric powder and a pinch of salt to it. Boil lentil with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker till 1whistle comes. Turn off the heat and wait till the pressure settles down.

Open the lid and gently stir the mixture once.

Heat mustard oil in a small pan till it starts smoking. Now reduce the heat and temper it with mustard seeds and whole dry red chilies. Once they stop spluttering add the tempered oil into the lentil mixture. Season it with salt and sugar and once again turn on the heat. Let it simmer for a minute or two and then turn the heat off.

Serve with hot rice and alubhaja.

Alubhaja–Extra Crispy Potato Fry

It is hard to explain to someone who has never had daal with crispy potato fry, how good it is. It all sounds very simple until you really give it a try. The cut and fry has to be just perfect.

Digha a beach town close to Kolkata is a regular vacationing spot for most Bongs. We used to also go there for our Zoology field trips. None of those visits were complete without the visit to Parijat and Baluchari restaurants in Digha. They were known for their seafood and more for their crispy potato fries. They were what we used to call “plate system” where you choose the type of meal and they would ensure your plate is never empty. However, they soon imposed the upper limit on the fries as people would go on asking for it.

I had to impose a similar upper limit when I made the same fries. My daughter was unstoppable.

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized potatoes
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• Ice cold water
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Peel the potato and cut it into thin round slices. Now with a sharp knife cut them into juliennes. You will have to cut the potato very thinly and evenly. Make sure to dunk them in water as soon as you cut them.

Once you are all done with cutting wash them thoroughly and dunk them in ice cold water for about 15 minutes. Drain the water and again dip the potato juliennes in another set of ice cold water for 20-30 minutes. This time add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder in it.

Drain the water and spread the potatoes on a paper under fan to make them completely dry.

Take enough oil in a deep wok and heat it till it smokes. Add a handful of potato juliennes in hot oil at a time and keep it stirring continuously with a slotted spoon for even cooking. It also prevents formation of any lumps.

Continue frying them in the hot oil. It takes about 3-4 minutes for the potatoes to become crispy. Now reduce the heat and remove them with a slotted spoon. Drain them on a paper towel.

Sprinkle salt just before serving. Alubhaja tastes best with hot rice and plain musur dal. 

Muri-Ghonto (Fish Head with Rice)

[Updated]

Folks from Bangladesh ensure that nothing from a fish goes to waste. Not only they don’t waste anything, they have the knack of turning them into delicious food. A great example is muri-ghonto. Its hard to believe how tasty fish head and bone become.

I made muri-ghonto last week. I served it cautiously to my daughter expecting her to not eat it. I was however, awarded with a 4-thumbs up, which involves her sitting down and giving me thumbs up with her hand and feet :)

Ingredients

1. 1 head of rohu / catla cleaned and cut into quarters / halves
2. 2 tbsp. of uncooked gobindo bhog / basamati rice washed and soaked in
   water for 30 mins.
3. 2 medium potatoes cut into quarters
4. 1 medium onion finely chopped
5. 3,4 green chilies slitted length wise
6. 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
7. 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
8. 2 + 1 tsp turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. chili powder
10. 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
11. Whole garam masala ( 1' cinnamon, 2 green cardamom, 2,3 cloves )
12. 2,3 bay leaves
13. Oil
14. Ghee (Clarified butter )
15. Salt
16. Sugar

Procedure

Marinate fish head with 2 tsp. of turmeric and salt. Heat oil in a pan till smoky. Fry fish heads on medium heat till all sides become yellow. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Discard used oil.

Take fresh oil and temper with bay leaves and pounded whole garam masala. Wait till oil becomes fragrant. Now add chopped onion and slitted green chilies. Fry on medium heat till onion becomes light pink.

Add soaked rice to it and fry for 1-2 min. Next to go in are potatoes followed by ginger garlic paste. Add turmeric and chili powder. Fry potato pieces well with all spices. You can sprinkle little water if the spices tend to stick the bottom.

Add fried fish heads to it and give them a nice mix. Season with salt and sugar. Pour about 1/2 a cup of water and bring it to a boil on high flame. After it starts boiling reduce the heat and cook it covered till potatoes are cooked and there is no excess water left in the pan. Sprinkle garam masala powder and add a tsp. full of ghee to
finish.

This is best enjoyed with pain rice in a lazy afternoon.

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is my daughter’s absolute favorite. There are many variants of Palak Paneer that I have come across. This particular one I learnt from Kalpi Pishi. She always used cinnamon in tadka which gives an unique flavor.

Ingredients

• 250 gms. paneer ( Cottage cheese) cut into cubes
• 1 bunch spinach cleaned and washed
• 1 medium tomato finely chopped
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1” ginger grated
• 2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely minced
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. kasuri methi ( Dry fenugreek powder ) 
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil

Procedure

Heat 2 cups of water till warm and dissolve 1tsp. salt into it. Dunk the paneer cubes into it. This will make the paneer ultra soft.

Clean and wash spinach thoroughly. In a pot bring 1 cup of water to a rolling boil and then add spinach leaves to it. Add 1/4 spoon of turmeric to it. This turmeric will help retain its fresh green color. Allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes before you drain the excess water. Now dunk the spinach leaves in a pot full of cold water.

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with cinnamon stick. Allow it to sizzle and then add chopped onion, ginger and garlic. Fry on low heat till onion turns translucent. Now add chopped tomato, chili, coriander and cumin powder. Fry on low heat till the raw smell goes away and oil separates out. Allow this mixture to cool down completely.

In a blender take blanched spinach along with the spice mixture. Puree them into a smooth paste.

Transfer the pureed paste into a pan and bring it to a boil. Add kasuri methi, salt and sugar. Cook it covered for 2-3 minutes.

Drain the paneer cubes and add them to the gravy. Sprinkle garam masala powder and add fresh cream to it. Mix once more before you turn off the heat.

Serve with kulcha or naan.

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

Lebu–Lonka Murgi (Chicken with Lime and Green Chili)

This is a light preparation of chicken which is perfectly suitable for a very hot day. This deviates considerably from traditional Indian cooking and I learnt the recipe from a TV show by the chef of the famous http://bhojohorimanna.com/ restaurant in Kolkata where this used to be served. The combination of lime and fresh green chilies gives it a very refreshing taste.

Ingredients

• 500 gms chicken on bone
• 2 tbsp. onion juice (Make a paste of onion and squeeze out the juice)
• 2 tsp. ginger juice
• 2 tsp. garlic juice
• 2 tsp. green chili paste
• 1 pinch coriander powder
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (Curd)
• 1 big lime (preferably Gondhoraj lebu + 1 pati lebu)
• 1 tbsp. refined oil (Canola or Sunflower oil)
• 5 cardamom pods
• 2-3 lime leaf
• 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 4 tbsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a bowl take half of the yogurt and add onion juice, ginger garlic juice, green chili paste, coriander powder, refined oil and lime juice. Mix it really well to make the marinade. Check to adjust the sourness, if you want you can add some more lime juice.

Add chicken pieces to it and keep it marinated for about an hour.

Heat ghee in a pan. Temper it with cardamom pods. Allow them to crackle. Shake off the excess marinade from the chicken pieces and add them to ghee. Fry the chicken pieces on medium high heat till all sides turn light brown.

Add the marinade along with salt, sugar and the rest of the yogurt. Mix well.Through  lime leaves and green chilies in and cook it covered on medium heat till meat is done.

If you want your gravy to be thick, crank up the heat to high and let the excess water dry up.

Serve with plain paratha.

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.

Kerala Mutton Stew

I first had this in Thiruvananthapuram, in god own country, Kerala. We were served the mutton stew along with appam. This is mildly spiced and very soothing in the coconut milk broth. It goes great with steaming white rice as well.

Ingredients

• 1lb. mutton (I used goat Meat)
• 1” ginger cut into thin strips
• 5 – 6 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 medium potatoes cut into halves
• 1 medium carrot cut into big chunks
• 5 – 6 French beans cut into 2” long pieces
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 5 – 6 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 2, 3 bay leaves
• 1 twig of curry leaves
• 1tsp. pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• Whole garam masala
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 2,3 cloves
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 2 star anise

Procedure

Heat oil in a cooker. Add garam masala and wait till you smell the fragrance. Add chopped ginger, garlic to it. Fry on medium heat.

Add other vegetables and sauté them on high heat for few minutes. Add mutton pieces and sear them on high heat. Add bay leaves and salt to it and mix well. Pressure cook it for five minutes.

Let the steam settle down. Add crushed black pepper powder and curry leaves and stir well. Pour thick coconut milk and cook everything together for another five minutes.

Traditionally this stew is served with appam.

Prawn Korma

This was so tasty that right now while writing this post I am having the urge to make it again :). However, this is one of those things in which you cannot compromise on the quantity of oil and hence this is not something we can eat everyday.

I made this for some guests who were coming over. However, they got stuck on the earlier course of Muri-Ghonto and barely arrived to the Prawn Korma. So there were a lot of left overs which we didn’t really mind.

Ingredients

1. 2lb. large tiger shrimps/prawns
2. 1 small onion ground into fine paste
3. 1/4 cup fine paste of fresh or frozen coconut
4. 1 large ripe red tomato
5. 1tbsp. ginger paste
6. 1tsp. garlic paste
7. 1/2tsp. green chili paste
8. 1tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder (Paprika)
9. 2tsp. turmeric powder
10. 2 – 3 bay leaves
11. 1tsp. sugar
12. 1tbsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
13. 6 – 7tbsp. mustard oil ( Yes, you need more oil to make this)
14. 1tsp. freshly ground garam masala powder (Clove, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom)
15. Salt to taste

Procedure

Start with cleaning and deveining. If you want, you can keep the head and tail on. My daughter and husband don’t enjoy those so I removed them. Instead to extract the maximum flavor out of it, I boiled 4 cups of water with the shell, head and tail for 30 minutes on low heat and keep the strained prawn stock. I used this stock instead of water to make the gravy.

Smear the prawns with salt and turmeric and keep aside for 15 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a kadai and fry the prawns in batches till they turn pink. Remove them.

Temper the left over oil with bay leaf and add sugar to it. Lower the heat and let the sugar caramelize. Add onion paste along with turmeric powder, red chili powder and a tsp. of garam masala to it and fry on low heat for about 5 – 6 minutes.

Now one by one add ginger, garlic, tomato and chili paste to it. Sauté and cook them on low heat for another 5 – 6 minutes. Check whether all raw smell subsides or not. If not cook for another few minutes.

Next to go in is coconut paste. Mix everything well and fry the masala on low heat for few minutes. If needed you may add little water to it so that the spices don’t stick to the vessel.

Season it with salt and sugar. Soon you will see a thin line of oil is separated out from the spices. This is the time you add one and half cup of water ( I used prawn stock) to it. Stir well and let it come to a rolling boil.

Gently slide the fried prawns in and cook for 3 – 5 minutes. Overcooking makes prawn stiff so be careful.

Taste and check the seasoning, if required adjust accordingly.

Add a dollop of ghee and finish it off with a pinch of garam masala powder.

Kopi Bhape (Cauliflower in Mustard Paste)

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 :)

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized cauliflower cut into medium florets
• 2 – 3tbsp. of mustard paste (Mix yellow and black mustard along with one green chili to make the paste)
• 1 tsp. kalonji seed (Nigella Seeds)
• 2 – 3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1tsp. turmeric powder
• 2tsp. chopped cilantro (Coriander leaves)
• 1tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 5 – 6 tbsp. mustard oil

Procedure

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.

Maan Kochu Baata (Taro Root Paste)

In Bengali households you will hear about various baata’s all the time. Bata is essentially some paste which are simple, and easy on stomach. These are eaten at the beginning of a traditional meal. Depending on the seasonal availability, baata has a wide range from posto baata (poppy seed paste) to maan kochu bata (taro root), kolar khosha bata (plantain peel paste) and in winter dhane pata bata (cilantro paste).

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.

Ingredients

1. 1 lb. maan kochu (taro root, I got from local Asian store)
2. 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
3. 1 tsp. mustard seeds
4. 2-3 hot Thai green chilies (I put some ripe red ones along with it)
5. 1 tsp. sugar
6. 2 tbsp. mustard oil
7. Salt to taste

Procedure

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.

Moong Palong / Spinach with yellow lentil

Our last couple of dine outs have been to African restaurants. Interestingly I saw that Ethiopian and Moroccan food has heavy use of lentils. It is served as one of the main course in both Queen Sheba and Marrakesh restaurants that we visited. It reminded me of some of the traditional Bengali lentil recipes. These are not the traditional daal soup or curry but more dry and filling.

In Winter when fresh spinach hit the markets my mom used them with yellow lentil to make a thick dry side dish which we used to have with white rice. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup yellow moong dal
2. 1lb spinach coarsely chopped
3. 1" grated ginger
4. 1tsp. cumin seed
5. 2,3 bay leaves
6. 3,4 dry red chilies
7. 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
8. 1 tsp. ghee ( clarified butter )
9. Oil
10. Salt
11. Sugar

Procedure

Dry roast moong dal on medium heat till you get a nutty smell and the dal turns light brown. You need to stir it continuously.

Once you are done, wash dal thoroughly. Now cook dal with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker with one cup of water. If there is any excess water allow it to dry on high heat. Don't overcook the dal.

In a pan heat 2 tbsp. of oil and temper it with whole cumin seeds, bay leaves and dry red chilies. Wait till it sputters. Add grated ginger to it. Next to go in is chopped spinach. Season with salt and a tsp. of sugar.

Mix well and cook it covered on medium heat. Soon the leaves will start wilting and release enough water. Remove the lid and cook it on high heat allowing all the water to evaporate. Add boiled dal to it. Mix the dal well with spinach. Check seasoning and adjust accordingly. Let it cook together till all excess moisture dries up.

You need to stir frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add a dollop of ghee and turn off the heat.

Enjoy with hot rice.

Non-Veg Entrée – 2012

It’s that time of the year, when you look back over the past year and think of all you have done. For bongcook that means finding the best recipes from 2012.

Here’s a list of the non-vegetarian entrée I made this year and loved the most. These are served with rice or breads. I will cover those in a subsequent post.

Sea-food

1. Pabda Macher Jhaal
2. Pyajkoli diye Tangra
3. Doi Mach
4. Macher Morich Jhol
5. Chital Macher Muithya
6. Prawn Paturi
7. Lal-Kankra
8. Rui Macher Sukha
9. Borishali Rohu
10. Tel Koi

Mutton

1. Rogan Josh
2. Kosha Mangso
3. Bhuna Mutton
4. Jackfruit with Mutton
5. Mutton Chaap
6. Railway Mutton Curry
7. Kosha Mangsho Thakurbari Style
8. Morich Mutton

Chicken

1. Chicken Korma
2. Kosha Murgi
3. Palak Murg
4. Roast
5. Jhol
6. Kachalonka Murgi
7. Do Pyaja
8. Jeera Chicken
9. Chicken Daak Bungalow

Mutton Chaap

The other day some of us were discussing the best compliment we got as a cook. One of my biggest appreciator is my husband, however, each time I made his favorite chaap, he’d say he loved it, but would always trail that sentence with a “…but”. He would still head to his favorite chaap restaurant in Kolkata when we went there, as if it’s something he really doesn’t get at home.

This has always been a challenge to me, a challenge that was hard for me to break  because the “healthy eating” person in me would never allow me to pour all the oil and simmer in it for 3 hours.

However, that “healthy eating” person one day relented to the challenge and went full force into making the original chaap. Let’s me say I did win the challenge :)

Ingredients

1. 2 lbs. mutton chops
2. 1/2 cup raw papaya paste
3. 1 cup plain yogurt (curd)
4. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
5. 1 tbsp. garlic paste
6. 1 tsp. dry red chili paste
7. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
8. 1 tsp. shahi garam masala powder
9. 2 tbsp. poppy seed paste (posto bata)
10. 2 tbsp. cashew paste
11. 200 gm. clarified butter (Ghee)
12. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
13. 1 tsp. rose water
14. 1 tbsp. sugar
15. Salt

Procedure

You need to get mutton (goat meat) chop pieces to make chaap. In Kolkata you can just let the butcher know and he will make the chops ready for you. Outside your homeland, you need to specifically instruct the butcher to break the chops with the broad side of their flat knife. Otherwise use your metal meat tenderizer to flatten the chops.

In a wide dish marinate the meat with raw papaya  paste and a spoonful of yogurt. Papaya paste acts as a natural meat tenderizer. Leave it for 3-4 hrs.

Now wash the chops and pat them dry.In a mixing bowl mix yogurt with all the wet(ginger+garlic+ red chili+cashew+poppy seed) and dry (turmeric+garam masala) spices. Season the mixture with salt and sugar.

Rub this spice mixture well on both sides of the chops. Allow it to rest for half an hour.

Heat oil and ghee in a wide frying pan till it melts. Now reduce the heat and arrange the mutton chops in a single layer. Cook it covered on very low heat for about 3hrs.  Frequently remove the cover and mix the spices. Fry the chops till both sides turn golden brown.

Sprinkle rose water over it and keep it covered till you serve. Enjoy with Biryani or laccha paratha.

Chital Maacher Muithya

Chital maacher muithya is made because though Chital fish’s belly is tasty and oily and can be used in curries, the back is too bony to be eaten otherwise. So folks scrape out this back flesh and make fish balls out of them, which is called the Muithya. With time this has gained popularity as an exotic dish in family special occasions.

From the treasure trove of the local Bangladeshi store’s refrigerator I found a pack of frozen minced chital maach. This makes making muithya half as easy.

Ingredients For muithya

1. 1 lb. flesh of chital  fish
2. 1 medium sized boiled potato
3. 1 tbsp. grated ginger
4. 1 tbsp. grated garlic
5. 1 tsp. chopped green chilies
6. 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil for deep frying

Procedure to make muithya

In a mixing bowl mix all the ingredients above other than oil and make lemon sized balls out of it. Take enough water in a deep kadai or sauce pan and bring it to a rolling boil.  Once it start boiling reduce the heat and gently slide the fish balls into it. Soon you will see the balls are loosing its raw color. You can now crank up the heat and allow the fish-balls to cook for 2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel.

In a wok heat oil for deep frying and fry the fish balls in batches till they turn golden brown. Remove from oil and your muithya is ready to go in the gravy.

Ingredients for Gravy

1. 2 medium sized potatoes cut into quarters
2. 1 large onion cut into thin slices
3. 1 tsp. ginger paste
4. 1 tsp. garlic paste
5. 2 heaped tbsp. tomato paste
6. 1 tsp. sugar
7. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
8. 1 tbsp. chili powder
9. 2-3 Bay leaves
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil
12. 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala

Making The Gravy

Heat oil in a pan and temper with bay leaves. Add onion slices to it and fry on low heat till the sides of the onion take a caramelized brown color. Remove bay leaves from it and make a paste of the fried onions.

If you have oil left in your pan you can use the same or else add little more. To get a gorgeous red color add sugar to the oil. Throw the potato cubes to it and fry till they take a golden hue. Now add ginger, garlic and fried onion paste along with turmeric and chili powder. Fry on low temperature till the raw smell reduces. Add tomato paste to it and fry everything together till the oil gets separated from the masala.

Season with salt and give a nice mix. Add about a cup of water to it and reduce the heat. Cook it covered till the potato cubes are done. Remove the cover and taste the salt and sugar balance.

Now gently add the fish balls and mix them with the gravy. This gravy will have a thick consistency, so adjust accordingly.

Cook everything together on low heat for five minutes. Sprinkle Bengali garam masala powder and keep it covered till you serve.

Enjoy with a full plate of white rice.

Chaanar Dalna

Most of our guests these days turn out to be vegetarian. Serving authentic bong food to them becomes a hard chore. I have already gotten tired of the same old gazillion combinations of paneer. So this authentic but a little hard to make variant of paneer or chanar dalna comes as a welcome change.

Ingredients

1. 500 ml of full cream milk
2. 2 medium potatoes cut into cubes
3. 1/2 cup frozen peas
4. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
5. 2,3 green chilies chopped
6. 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
7. 1/2 tsp. + 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
8. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. chili powder
10. 1 tsp. sugar
11. 1 tsp. ghee (Clarified butter)
12. 2-3 tbsp. chopped coriander leaves
13. For tempering
1. 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
2. 2 green cardamom pods
3. 1’” cinnamon stick
4. 2 cloves
5. 2 bay leaves

Procedure

Step1: Making the Chana

Take 500 ml of milk in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil. Once it rises to the surface of the vessel, lower the heat and add lemon juice to it. Stir it well to mix it. You will see milk curdles and separates out from the whey. Pour the contents in the strainer and drain out the whey.

Now add chopped coriander, chopped green chilies, 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin powder to the paneer and mix. Transfer it to the cheesecloth. Bring the four corners of the cloth together and twist it. Hang the cheese cloth from the water faucet for about 30 minutes to drain out the last drop of whey.

Now place the cheesecloth with the paneer in it on  a flat surface and put something very heavy on it for another one hour to squeeze out the residual whey. I used my wooden chopping board and a water filled stock pot for this purpose.

Now take out the block of paneer from the cheesecloth and cut it into squares to give them a structure.

Step 2: Making Chaanar dalna

Heat oil in a kadai and fry the paneer cubes till the edges turn brown. Remove and keep aside.

Temper the oil with whole cumin, bay leaves, and whole garam masala. allow them to crackle. Add potato cubes to it and sauté for a while.

Gradually add ginger paste, turmeric , chili and cumin powder one by one. Fry them along with the potato cubes till the raw smell goes away.Sprinkle some water in between so the spices don’t get burnt. Keep cooking till you see the oil separates out from the spice mixture.

Pour about 2 cups of water followed by salt and sugar. Mix it well and let it cooked on medium heat till the potatoes are just done.

Check the seasoning and adjust. Throw the frozen peas and fried paneer cubes to it and allow it to simmer for another 5 minutes. Add  green chilies and a spoon full of ghee to it. Sprinkle Bengali garam masala powder to finish.

Goes best with plain rice.