Gondhoraj Bhapa Bhetki

This is part three in my pujo spread post. Prompted by my social feed filling up with posts from friends eating a Bengali pujo buffet, I decided to make a Bengali spread of our own.

In this post I bring to you Gondhoraj Bhapa Bhetki. You can substitute the bhetki with local white fleshed fish. I have used rock fish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb fish fillet (Bhetki, rock-fish or cat-fish)
• 1/2 cup hung plain yogurt
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 tsp. chopped ginger
• 4 green chilies
• Juice of one lime
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil
• Banana leaf washed and cut into big square pieces
• Kefir lime leaves for garnishing

Procedure

Cut the fish fillets in medium sized rectangular pieces. Marinate with lime juice and salt for about half an hour.

In a pan heat 2 tbsp. oil and fry onion, and ginger till the onion turns pink. Now make a paste of onion and ginger with green chilies.  To this paste add hung curd, salt and sugar. Check the seasoning and keep aside.

After half an hour remove the fish fillets from the marinade and coat them well with the yogurt and spice paste mixture you have just made.

Now season the banana leaves for wrapping. Turn on the heat and swipe the leaved one by one over the flame to make them more pliable so that it won't tear when you fold them.

Take one square of the leaves and place a fillet of fish along with the marinade at the center of it.

Sprinkle some lemon zest and chili flakes over it. Place a lime leaf on the top of it for garnishing. Drizzle little oil over it. Fold the sides of the banana leaf  over the fish to make a parcel. Secure with a toothpick.

Now boil water in a wide pan and keep a steamer pan over it. You can use a big metal strainer as well.

Arrange the banana leaf parcels over the steamer or strainer in a single layer. Once the water starts boiling cover the steamer with a lid and wait for five minutes. Remove the lid and turn over the parcels. Let it cook for another five minutes.

Serve 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..
 

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..

Nalli Nihari

Foods like nalli nihari made our stay in Hyderabad oh so enjoyable. One of the delights was to drudge through the insane evening traffic on Fridays to head to old Hyderabad, to pick up some nalli. I have forgotten the name of the restaurant but the taste still lingers on in my memory.
You can make this with lamb or goat. Ask the butcher for shanks (leg meat on bone). Made with a lot of spices this needs some planning, but the results easily make up for your hard work.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. lamb leg on bone
• 2 medium onions sliced
• 1/2 “ ginger cut into thin sticks
• 2 cups mutton stock
• 2 tbsp. clarified butter ( Ghee)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour
• 4 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter )
• 1 tsp. sugar
• salt to taste
• 4 tbsp. Nihari masala powder
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp. cumin seeds
  • 8 green cardamom
  • 3 black cardamom
  • 2” cinnamon stick
  • 10 cloves
  • 3 blades of mace
  • 1 tsp. grated nutmeg
  • 14 black pepper corn
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 tsp. fennel seeds
  • 2 tsp. poppy seeds
  • 1 tsp. dry ginger powder
  • 8 dry red chili
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp. roasted chana dal powder

Procedure

Take all the ingredients listed under Nihari Masala Powder and dry roast them on medium heat till you start getting a nice aroma.  Turn off the heat and bring them down to room temperature. Dry grind them in a blender to make a fine powder of them.
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan till it melts. Now add onion slices to it and fry them on medium heat for about five minutes. Add meat pieces to it and sear them on high heat to lock the moisture inside.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp. of freshly ground nihari masala powder and mix well. Saute everything together for about ten minutes on low heat.
Season the meat with salt, sugar and pour six cups of water to it. Give a nice stir and cook it covered on low heat till the meat is tender. it takes about 45 minutes.
Now pour the mutton stock over it along with the rest of nihari masala powder.
Mix the flour with half cup of water the add this mixture to the cooked mutton. Mix well and allow the gravy to simmer till it thickens.
Turn off the heat. Finish it off with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Dish it out and garnish with cilantro and serve.

Mutton Pulao

Durga pujo is just around the corner. The fall weather in Pacific North West is very close to that of Kolkata just before Pujo. The sky is blue with fluffy clouds hanging around. The first nip of chill is in the air. Some variant or atleast look-a-like of kash flower abounds in our area.

I have already started planning for the Durga pujo feast at home. A must have is the simple rustic mutton pulao. Hope you enjoy the recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. mutton pieces on bone
• 3 cups basmati rice washed and soaked
• 1 medium sized onion sliced
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 12-14 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 2 tbsp. plain yogurt
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp. Bengali garam maala
• 2 tbsp. whole garam masala (2” cinnamon stick, 8 cloves, 8 green cardamom)
• 4 tbsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
• Sugar to taste
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a pan heat 1 tbsp. ghee till melts. Add onion slices and fry on medium heat. Add four slit green chilies along with ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes away.
Add meat pieces to it and sear them on high heat along with the spices for about two minutes. Reduce the heat to the lowest mark. Sprinkle salt, sugar. Now add yogurt along with 1 tsp. garam masala powder and mix well.
Cook it on low heat till the mutton is three fourth done.
In a deep pan take enough water and bring it to a rolling boil. Add the soaked and drained rice to it and wait till it just starts to boil. It takes around three to four minutes time. Drain the rice on a colander.
Now in a wide pan heat two tbsp. ghee. Add bay leaves, green chilies, and whole garam masala. When it stops sputtering add the drained rice to it. Fry on medium heat gently so that the grains don’t break.
Add salt and sugar to your taste.
Now in a pressure cooker take the fried rice, put the meat pieces. Measure 3 cups of liquid (includes mutton stock + water) and pour over it. Put the pressure lid on and cook on high flame till one whistle comes. Let the pressure release on its own.
In a separate pan heat 1 tbsp. ghee till it melts and add green chilies and garam masala powder to it. Once they start sizzling pour over the pulao and serve….

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.

Chicken Hariyali Kebab

We had a steady stream of guests over the holidays. Especially to cater to the palate of our local friends I chose this mild kebab, which goes really well with wine and beer. I serve this as a starter as Hariyali kebab turns out to be an excellent conversation starter.

Hariyali means green which is the color of the kebab, in this regard this is very different from the other kebabs. The green comes from the paste of cilantro, mint and fenugreek leaves that is used as marinade.

Ingredients

For 4 people. serving size 4 pieces

• 1lb. boneless chicken breast cut into 2” pieces
• 4 tbsp. thick curd
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup cilantro ( Coriander Leaves )
• 1 cup mint leaves
• 1/4 cup fenugreek leaves ( Methi )
• 1” ginger
• 5-6 fat cloves of garlic
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 tsp. chicken tandoori masala
• 3-4 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter)
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Take chicken pieces and apply salt, lemon juice and red chili powder to it. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

In the mean time make a smooth paste of cilantro, mint, fenugreek leaves along with ginger, garlic and green chilies.

In a mixing bowl add curd and all other ground spices and mix them with the green paste. Add chicken pieces to it and mix them well with the marinade so that the chicken pieces are well coated with it. Keep it covered for at least two to three hours.

Soak the skewers in plain water for half an hour to avoid burning. Now arrange chicken pieces on the skewer and apply some clarified butter over it.

Pre heat the oven at 400F and grill them for 12-15 minutes. Turn the skewers once when they are half way through for even cooking.

Remove the kebabs from the skewers and arrange them on a serving plate. Serve with some green chutney and lemon wedge.

Crab Malaikari

In all our trips to Costco my daughter insists that I pick up the huge king crabs they have on sale. I mostly land up making Konkani Crab or Red Curry. This time I decided to adapt the traditional Bengali Prawn Malaikari to Crabs. It turned out to be really yummy. Hope you would enjoy it as well.

Ingredients

• 2lbs. crab cleaned and cut
• 1 medium onion
• 3-4 green chilies
• 2” ginger 
• 2 tsp.red chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 4-5 tbsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• Whole garam masala (1’ cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamom, 1 bay leaf)
• 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil
• Small piece of cinnamon and few cloves
  

Procedure

Make a paste of onion, ginger with two green chilies.

In a wide vessel heat ghee till it melts. Now temper it with whole garam masala and bay leaf.

Add the ground onion paste to it and sauté on low heat till the raw smell goes away.

Now one by one add turmeric and chili powder to it. Sauté on low heat till you see oil gets separated from the spice mixture.

Add crab pieces to it and fry them on medium heat for about two to three minutes. Make sure that all crab pieces are well coated with the spices. season them with salt.

Pour half a cup of water and let it simmer on low heat for about ten minutes. Add coconut milk to it and give a nice stir. Cook for another three to four minutes.

Finish it off by adding a spoon full of ghee, green chilies and a spoon  Bengali garam masala powder. Serve hot with plain rice.

Keema Parantha or Porota

It’s been a long time since I last blogged. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I have not been cooking anything interesting, rather it is the contrary. I have been hosting a lot of friends and family through the holidays and my pipeline of blogs is almost full.

Today I bring to you Keema Parantha. Most Indian restaurants around our area serve variants of this. However, they mostly use Beef or Lamb. I have used chicken instead because a lot more Indians eat that. You can easily replace chicken with your choice of meat without any other modification.

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 500 gm. minced meat
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 small tomato finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take flour with salt and oil. Rub flour with your finger to give it a crumb like texture. Add water and work on it to make a smooth dough. Keep it covered.

In a wide frying pan heat 1 tsp. oil. Fry chopped onion in it till they turn soft. Add turmeric powder, red chili , cumin powder and ginger garlic paste to it. Fry them together till the raw smell goes away.

Add chopped tomato to it and fry till they turn mushy. Now add minced meat to it.

Season with salt and sugar. Mix well and keep frying on medium heat till the entire moisture is evaporated.

Add chopped green chilies and cilantro to it. Sprinkle garam masala powder and mix well. Turn off the heat and spread the meat mixture in a plate to cool down.

Divide the dough into eight equal portions and make roundels with each of them.

Roll out each roundel  into a disc of four inch diameter. Make sure to thin out the edges of the circle with a rolling pin. Fill this up with 2 tbsp. of filling and then using your finger close the open end and seal.

Flatten it by pressing gently within your palm. Now on a flour dusted surface roll out each stuffed dough ball into a circle of six inch diameter.

Heat a skillet (Tawa) on medium high heat. Brush the surface with oil. Place the rolled out disc on hot tawa and let this side cook for thirty seconds. Flip it over and cook the other side. 

Your parantha is ready to serve.

Sahi Mutton Chanp

Southern Amenia, a famous restaurant in Golpark, Kolkata served a different kind of Chaap. It differed from the traditional Kolkata Chaap in being a bit mellow. When we were in college we used to love frequenting Southen Amenia just for this Sahi Chaap. Unfortunately worker dispute lead to it’s closure. Some of the workers even started making it on their own and selling it from a shack right outside the Amenia building. Now that all remnants of it has disappeared I have to make it for myself. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb. mutton chops
• 1 medium onion coarsely chopped
• 7-8 garlic cloves crushed
• 2-3 dry red chili
• 4 tbsp. thick plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. red chili powder 
• 8-10 almonds blanched and peeled
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 1 tsp. freshly ground Bengali garam masala
• 1 tsp. rose water 
• 2 tbsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 2 tbsp. oil 
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Make a smooth paste of almond with milk and reserve it for later use.

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.

Heat 1 tbsp. ghee in a pan till it melts. Now add chopped onion, sliced ginger and crushed garlic to it. Fry on medium heat till the onions start getting a golden brown hue. Turn off the heat and let them cool down to room temperature.

Now add the fried spices to a grinder and make a smooth paste of them with a spoon of yogurt.

Wash the chops and pat them dry.In a mixing bowl mix yogurt with the onion, ginger, garlic paste and red chili powder. Season the mixture with salt.

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

Heat oil in a wide frying pan till it melts. Now reduce the heat and temper it whole dry red chilies. Arrange the mutton chops in a single layer. Cook it covered on very low heat for about 45 minutes.  Frequently remove the cover and mix the spices. Fry the chops till you can see that the oil gets separated from the rest of the spices.

Now add almond paste to it and cook for another five minutes on low heat.

Sprinkle rose water and garam masala powder over it. Drizzle one spoon of ghee and keep it covered till you serve. Enjoy with Biryani or laccha paratha.

Murg Masur Pulao

Eid Mubarak to all my friends who are celebrating Eid tomorrow. Hope you are filling to your brim at the Iftar parties.

When I was a college student, one of my friends Shama used to bring Murg Masur Pulao to the class just after Eid. It would come in a huge container and in no time disappear. I have no idea where Shama is today, but I hope she is doing well and still enjoys this great dish. Thanks to the fantastic pulao I am thinking of her from another corner of the world.

Ingredients

• 500 gm. bone in chicken cut into medium pieces
• 2 and 1/2 cup long grain Basmamti rice washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 1 cup Masoor (Red lentil with skin) washed and soaked for 2 hours
• 2 medium potatoes cut into quarters
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 2 large tomatoes cut into round thin slices
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• Whole garam masala ( 2 black cardamom, 4 green cardamom, 1” cinnamon stick, 5 cloves, 1 tp. shahi jeera)
• 1 bunch fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves finely chopped
• 4 tbsp. mint leaves
• 4 tbsp. chopped cilantro or coriander leaves
• Salt to taste                 
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 1/4 cup warm milk
• Few Saffron strands 
• Few drops Kewra water

Procedure

In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add onion slices to it. Fry till golden brown. Remove half of the fried onion on a paper towel and reserve for later use.

In the rest of the onion add ginger garlic paste, and chili powder. Sauté till the raw smell subsides. Now add chopped fenugreek leaves and tomato slices to it. sprinkle coriander and cumin powder. Fry till the moisture dries up.

Add chicken pieces to it and fry well so that the meat pieces are nicely coated with spices. Add salt and cook it covered till the meat is tender.

Now add potato quarter to it and fry along with the meat for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala powder and keep it covered. Add yogurt to it and cook till chicken and potatoes are tender.

In a separate pan boil the soaked lentil with salt till cooked. Take care so that they retain their shape.

In a large pan boil enough water with salt and whole garam masala and add soaked rice to it. Boil till the rice is 90% done. Drain the water.

Soak saffron strands in warm milk and keep aside.  

For layering in a large pan take half of the rice. Lay evenly the chicken and potato mixture with the lentils on top. Add chopped cilantro, mint and slit green chilies over it. Add  half of the golden brown onions.

For the top layer spread evenly the remaining rice. sprinkle saffron milk over it. Top it up with the rest of the chopped mint, cilantro and green chilies.

Finish it up with the rest of the golden onions and kewra water. 

Place this pan covered on the lowest mark of heat for 30 minutes.

Dish out and serve it with raita.

Baked Rasgulla

One of my cousins is getting married soon. Like all big fat Bengali weddings the menu is being planned the first. Even though the wedding is close to an year away that’s what we are mostly discussing over trans-Atlantic calls. I am especially looking forward to the dessert which is baked rasgulla. Since it’s hard to wait that long I decided to make some for ourselves.

Baked rasgulla is rasgulla placed in thick reduced milk and baked to create a crunchy crust on a soft rasgulla base. This combination of soft smooth core and crunchy crust along with cardamom flavored milk is pretty amazing.

Ingredients

• 15 pieces rasgulla (Make your own or use canned)
• 1 cup fresh cream
• 2 cups milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2 cup milk powder
• 3- 4 tbsp. sugar
• 1 pod green cardamom crushed
• 6-8 pistachio blanched and chopped
• 5-6 almonds slivered

Procedure

Arrange rasgullas in a bowl and pour enough water to cover them all. Heat them up in microwave for 30 – 40 seconds. Drain the water. Take out each rasgulla and squeeze out syrup from them. We are removing the syrup so that the rasgulla can absorb the thickened milk.

In a heavy bottom pan take milk along with fresh cream. Add milk powder to it and mix well. Turn on the heat and keep stirring till it reduces to its one third. Now add sugar, and crushed cardamom to it. Let it simmer for one more minute. Turn off the heat and let it cool down. As it cools down the milk mixture will thicken further.

Pre heat the oven at 375F. Take an oven safe serving bowl and spoon a layer of milk mixture. Arrange the rasgullas on top of it. Add another layer of reduced milk on top. At the end sprinkle some chopped dry fruit.

Place the serving bowl on the top rack of your oven and bake it for about 15 – 20 minutes. When the top layer takes a brownish hue you know that baking is done.

Let it come down to room temperature before you serve.

Lucknowi Galouti kebab

In Lucknow during the rule of the Nawabs, Galouti kebab used to be made with close to 100 secret ingredients and ground as many times to give it a paste like consistency. The idea was that even a person without teeth could eat it. However, for us mere mortals I have used a more humble list of spices.

Ingredients

For 12 Kebabs.

• 1lb. minced mutton
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/2” ginger
• 6-8 fat cloves of garlic
• 2-3 green chilies ( You can add more depending on how spicy you want)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. raw papaya paste
• 2” cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 2-3 black cardamom
• 1 tsp. shah jeera ( Caraway seeds)
• 1 tsp. white pepper corn
• 1/4 tsp. crushed nutmeg
• 1 small leaf of mace
• 2 tbsp. roasted chick pea flour
• Salt
• Ghee (Clarified Butter for shallow frying)

For stuffing (Optional)

• 2-3 tbsp. chopped cashew and raisins
• 2 tbsp. thick yogurt

Procedure

In a frying pan take oil and fry onion slices till they turn golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

In a grinder grind mutton along with fried onion, ginger, garlic and green chilies. The paste would be fine and sticky.

Transfer the paste into a mixing bowl.

Dry roast cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, shah jeera, pepper corn, nutmeg and mace till you get a nice aroma. Be careful not to char them.Now make a fine powder of all these dry roasted spices.

Add these ground spice powder to the meat mixture. Add papaya paste to it and mix them well. Let this mixture rest for 5-6 hours, preferably overnight.

Take out the mixture at least an hour before you make the kebabs. Sprinkle salt and chopped cilantro and mix once again. If the mixture is too sticky to handle sprinkle roasted chick pea flour little at a time.

In a small bowl mix chopped dry fruits with 2 tbsp. of thick yogurt. Take a hand full of meat mixture and make a bowl out of it. Carefully put half a tea spoon of dry fruit mixture and cover it up. Give it a round shape and flatten it slightly by using your palm.

Take a skillet and add 1 tbsp. of ghee. Heat till the ghee starts melting. Reduce the heat to its lowest and gently place the kebabs on the skillet.

Fry one side on low heat till lightly charred. Now flip it over carefully and let the other side cook. Some times I fry them covered for 2-3 minutes to ensure that the meat is fully cooked.

Serve them with mint chutney, the kebab will melt in your mouth….

Chingri or Prawn Paturi (Steamed Prawn in Plantain leaf)

 

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

Loita Maacher Chop

My previous post on Loita Macher Jhuri is one of my most popular posts. Over at my blog and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BongCook) people have told me that Loita mach (Bombay Duck) is one of their favorite. In addition to having Loita in the main course, it lends itself pretty well as a snack. 

Ingredients

• 1lb.loitya or Bombil
• 1 medium onion chopped finely
• 5-6 fat cloves of garlic 
• 2-3 green chilies chopped finely
• 2 medium potatoes boiled and peeled
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1 egg
• 1 cup bread crumb
• Oil

Procedure

Wash and clean the fishes and rub them with salt. Arrange these fishes on a pan and cook it covered on very low heat. The fishes will release enough water. Take out the fishes. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the central bone and head. Reserve the fleshy part of the fish for chops.
In a pan heat 2 tsp. oil and fry chopped onion, garlic and green chilies on medium heat. When onions turn translucent add fish followed by turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and sugar. Mix well and cook for few more minutes. When you see that there is no moisture left in the fish mixture turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro and garam masala powder.
Add mashed potato and mix well with the fish mixture. Allow the mixture to cool down completely.
Take lemon sized balls out of the mixture and using your palm give them a shape of chop.
Beat one egg with a pinch of salt to prepare the egg wash. Now dip each chop in egg wash and roll them over on a bed of bread crumb. Repeat this process again to ensure that the chops retain their form and don’t disintegrate. This is called double coating.
You can now store this covered in refrigerator for 1-2 days. Make sure you take out them at least half an hour before frying.
Heat oil in a wok until almost smoking and then deep fry each chop till they turn golden brown. Remove and drain them on a paper towel.
Serve with ketchup or kasundi and some salads.

Kolkata Mutton Biriyani (Biryani)

[Updated Post]

First off let me explain the qualifier “Kolkata” I used for this Biryani’s recipe. Each region in India has it’s own version of Biryani, they vary so drastically that today Biryani can be defined only as “rice and meat cooked together”. There are loop holes even in that definition.

The predominant biryani gharana (style) in India is the fiery South Indian or Andhra style, the Royal Awadhi or Lucknowi style and the North-western (Punjabi) style. Kolkata or Bengali Biryani is a sub-variant of Lucknowi style and like people in Bengal is a bit sweeter :P.

Which is better is an argument that can only be settled with arms. However, I know of a lot of Bongs who lived in Hyderabad and totally disliked the local biryani and yearned for the bong/Awadhi variant. My husband is of those guys who made it a point to carry back Biryani from a Bong store in Bangalore each time he visited there (quiet often at one point of time).

Ingredients
1 kg (2lb) goat or lamb meat 500 gm. of basmati rice washed and soaked in water for at least 30 minutes 2 tbsp. ginger paste 1 tbsp. garlic paste 4 potatoes cut into halves 1 large onion finely chopped 1 cup plain curd/ yogurt 2 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder Rose water few drops Kewra essence few drop Few strands of saffron soaked in 2-3 tbsp. of warm milk Salt Sugar Make a powder of the following spices (I’ll refer to this as Biryani Masala in the post) 2" cinnamon stick 6-7 cloves 3-4 green cardamom 1/10th of a whole nutmeg 1/2" mace 1 tsp. saahi jeera (cumin) 1tsp of saahi morich (white peppercorn)

Procedure

Cook the pre soaked rice in enough water seasoned with salt, green cardamom, cinnamon stick and few cloves. Cook till the rice is almost done. Drain the rice on a colander and spread on a flat plate. Sprinkle very little sugar on it.

Take oil in a heavy bottom pan or in a pressure cooker and heat it. Add chopped onion and fry till they are brown. Add the meat pieces and sear them on high heat. It will help the meat pieces to retain their juices. 

Add ginger, garlic paste and fry along with the meat pieces. Once the raw smell goes away add yogurt and Kashmiri chili powder. I love to add the potato halves at this stage followed by salt and sugar and fry them along with the meat and spices. Cook till the potatoes are 90% boiled. Remove the potatoes and keep them aside. Rest 10% cooking will be done in Dum.

Add water required to boil the the meat pieces and either pressure cook it or cook it covered for atleast 40 mins.

Once done remove the meat pieces from the gravy and keep it handy for further use.

Strain the gravy and keep the strained juice. This is called Tar (there’s a picture of it in a glass cup in the ingredients section).

Now comes the assembly part of the biryani. Take a heavy bottom pan which you can heat on your stove top.

 

Grease the inner walls of the vessel with 1-2 tbsp. of ghee. Now start building up the layers. The thumb rule of layering biryani is the base and top layers should be made by rice.

This is the sequence I usually follow for my biryani. Rice layer followed by a layer of by meat, potato, saffron infused milk, 2-3 tbsp. of Tar. I finish this layer by sprinkling about 1 tsp. of biryani masala and a few drops of rose and kewra water. Use all your meat and rice to complete the layering. There should be 1/3rd space left in the pan once you finished layering. Cover the biryani pot tightly.

Now we are ready to put the biryani for Dum. Dum is basically slow cooking where the vessel doesn't come in direct contact of heat.  I take water in a bigger vessel and place the biryani pot inside that as shown in the photograph on the right. Let the water boil and then lower the heat and allow it to cook for atleast 45 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let it stand for at least an hour before serving.

Kolkata mutton biryani is best enjoyed with chicken chap (oh that recipe will surely follow). 

Mocha-Chingri r Kofta

My husband bought a huge mocha (banana flower) from the local Indian store. It was way too large for our small family. After making mochar ghonto, I still had a lot left. So I chopped them up and along with shrimps made some kofta and gravy.

Mocha is very fibrous and because of that the kofta’s had a very unique texture. Give this a try, I hope you’d really enjoy this.

Ingredients For Kofta

• 2 cups mocha chopped
• 20 medium sized prawns cleaned and deveined
• 1/2 cup motor dal soaked for 3hours (Yellow split pea)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1” ginger chopped
• 2 green chilies finely minced
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin seeds ground into a powder 
• 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• Oil for deep frying 
• Salt

Ingredients For Curry

• 5 small potatoes cut into halves
• 1/2 medium sized onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 2 green chilies chopped
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil
• Whole garam masala
  • 1”cinnamon
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 2 bay leaves

Procedure

Drain soaked dal and make a paste of it in a grinder with minimum water. Remove and keep aside.

Boil mocha with turmeric and in a pressure cooker for a whistle or two on high heat.  Let the pressure drop on its own. Now drain the excess water from boiled mocha.

Take 10 cleaned prawn in a grinder and give a quick pulse to crush them.

In a mixing bowl take dal paste, boiled mocha, crushed prawns and one by one add chopped onion, ginger, green chilies to it. Season it with roasted cumin powder, garam masala powder and salt. Mix well and make lime sized balls out of it.

Heat oil for deep frying in a pan. Deep fry the balls on medium heat till they turn crispy and brown. remove and drain them on a paper towel.

Fry potato halves on medium heat till they turn yellow. Remove and keep aside.

Smear the rest of the prawns with turmeric and salt. Fry them till they turn pink. Remove and keep them handy.

Remove excess oil from the pan and temper it with bay leaves and whole garam masala. When they stop sputtering add onion and garlic paste to it. Keep frying till you see oil seeps out from the edge.

Add chopped tomato along with salt and sugar. Keep frying on low hit till tomatoes become mushy. Sprinkle turmeric and chili powder to it.

Throw in fried potatoes and mix well so they are well coated with spices. Pour a cup of water and cook covered till potatoes are almost done. Now add fried prawns and koftas to it. Let it simmer for 2 more minutes.

Sprinkle garam masala powder before you take it off from heat.

Serve with rice, pulao, chapathi or parantha.

Rajbhog

Raj bhog is a two layered Bengali sweet with a khoya core and a rosogolla (rasgulla) type shell. The name literally means that it’s for the kings palate and is a desert worthy of the kings. If you put in the right effort you will be rewarded handsomely. If you can find an actual king to feed this to, you might even get a bag of gold coins. At least that’s the story I told my daughter. Here goes another recipe of Rajbhog from Chitrangada’s blog.

Ingredients

For The Outer Shell Of Rajbhog

• 2 liter full fat milk
• 1/4 cup white vinegar or juice of 1 large lime
• 1 tbsp. sooji (Semolina )
• 1 tbsp. all purpose flour (Maida)
• 1/2 tsp. saffron strands soaked in 1 tbsp. milk

For The Stuffing

• 4tbsp. grated khoya (unsweetened milk powder can also be used)
• 6-8 pistachio pods blanched
• 5-6 raw cashew
• 1/4 tsp. green cardamom powder

For Sugar Syrup

• 2 cups sugar
• 4+1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp. saffron strand
• 3-4 green cardamoms bruised

Procedure

Boil milk in a heavy bottom pan.Stir continuously to avoid any scalding at the bottom. As the milk comes to a rolling boil reduce the heat and slowly add vinegar or lime juice to it. Keep stirring till the milk curdles and you can see the transparent whey. Line a colander with cheese cloth and strain the curdled milk. Gently hold the colander under cold running water to wash off any residual acid.

Bring all the corners of the cheesecloth together and tie up the cheese cloth containing the solid curdled milk. Squeeze it with your hand to drain the excess whey out of it.

Transfer the cottage cheese to a flat tray and add semolina, flour and saffron milk to it and mix very well.

Knead the mixture with heel of your palm for 4-5 minutes to make a smooth lump free dough.

Divide the dough into 12 - 14 equal parts and roll them in between your wet hands to form balls. Cover these cheese balls with a wet kitchen towel to avoid any loss of moisture.

Dry grind cashew and pistachio into a fine powder and then mix them to the rest of the ingredients listed under Stuffing. 

Mix all the ingredients together to form a soft dough. 

Divide the stuffing into 12-14 equal parts and roll them in between your palms to make small balls.

Stuff each cheese balls with a stuffing at its center and make outer shell of cheese   smooth so that they don’t break during cooking. Cover them with a wet kitchen towel.

Make sure you are using a large enough container for sugar syrup to accommodate all the cheese balls as the cheese balls when cooked will swell up to 1.5 times of their original size.

In a deep sauce pan boil sugar with 4 cups of water. Keep one extra cup of water warm to make the boiling syrup thinner while cooking. Add green cardamom pods, saffron to the syrup and let the syrup boil. when the syrup comes to a rolling boil drop the cheese balls carefully. Reduce heat to medium and cook them covered.

Keep an eye so the syrup doesn’t start to thicken. Add ladle full of warm water(the extra one cup) in between to keep the consistency of the syrup right. It will take almost 30-40 minutes (Depending on the size of the cheese balls) for the cheese balls to get cooked.

After 30-40 minutes switch off heat and let the rajbhog cool down in the syrup for at least 5-6 hrs. Serve them cold or as I like warm them up in microwave for 20 seconds before you serve.

I don’t carry any nostalgia of Rajbhog since I don’t like sweets other than very few like Rasgulla and Mishti Doi. The lovely pictures of Rajbhog in Chitrangada’s blog literraly pushed me into making this. Here goes her recipe link.

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.