Daab Chingri

Prawns never tasted so good! Try out this scrumptious Bengali delight!

Ingredients

• Medium sized Prawns - 12-14 pcs
• Young Coconut - 1pc
• Coconut water - 1 glass
• Coconut pulp - 25 gms
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp
• Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Kaju Paste - 2 tbsp
• Green Chilli - 1 pc
• Red Chilli - 1 pc
• Mustard oil - for cooking
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Salt, Turmeric, Sugar - 1/2 tsp each

Clean and devein the prawns thoroughly.
Mix half of ginger, garlic paste with salt and a pinch of turmeric and rub onto the prawns.
Lightly fry the prawns in oil for 1 minute and keep aside.

Mince the onion roughly.
Add a pinch of sugar in hot oil. This will give you a rich color of the gravy.
Add the onion paste in the same oil and fry for some time.
Now add salt, turmeric, whole red chilli, remaining ginger garlic paste, kaju paste and green chilli one by one and fry well till oil comes out.

Add the coconut water  in the fried masala paste. When it starts boiling, add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes.

Add 3/4th portion of young coconut pulp and mix well. Cook on very low heat for some time till the gravy thickens.

Add a spoonful of ghee over it and serve in coconut shell. Garnish it with soft coconut pulp.

Bhapa Ilish (Steamed Hilsa)

Hilsa fish or Ilishh Machh steamed in a paste of mustard, poppy seeds, yogurt and green chilli with a slight hint of garlic is given the beautiful name 'bhapa illish'. It is a Bengali's paradise...try it !!! 

Ingredients

• Hilsa Fish - 6 pcs
• Mustard Paste - 1 tbsp
• Chilli Paste - 2 chillies ( or more, if you wish)
• Poppy seed Paste - 1 tsp
• Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
• Yogurt - 2 tbsp
• Salt and Turmeric - as per taste
• Mustard Oil - 2-3 tbsp

Mix all of the masala paste along with yogurt, salt and turmeric. Pour a generous amount of Mustard oil into it. Mustard oil is a key ingredient to this recipe and it is a must.

Marinate the fish pieces with the mixture. Keep the fishes aside for 2-3 hours. If you want to have extra curry then add more water.

Pour the marinated fish in a microwave safe bowl, put on the lid and microwave it on high for 5-6 minutes. You may have to adjust the timing based on your microwave capacity.

If you smell the rich aroma of hilsha fish floating on mustard then you'll come to know why I have mentioned it as bengali's paradise.  .

Peas Kachuri

Peas Kachuri or karaishutir kachuri is a very famous Bengali breakfast especially during winters. What is better than spicy green peas stuffed inside crispy kachuri / kachori and served with aloo dum.

Ingredients

• Fresh Peas - 1 kg,                
• Black pepper - 10 gms
• Refined Flour - 500 gms
• kalonji seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt and Sugar - As per taste
• Oil - For frying

 Boil the peas with little salt. Mash it in a blender with black peppers.

Put oil in a frying pan. When it is hot, add the kalonji seeds. When it splutters, pour the mashed peas and fry continuously.

Fry well till the water evaporates. This is your stuffing.

Add salt and sugar in maida. Then add water and knead it well. Keep it aside for sometime with a cloth on top of it.

 Take small portion of the dough and shape it like a cup. Put some of the stuffing into it. Close neatly so that the stuffing doesn't come out of it.

make the number of balls required.

Now flatten the stuffed ball using pin. Be cautious, the stuffing should not come out of the kachori.

Heat sufficient oil in a kadai thoroughly. Now add the kachori into it and deep fry till golden brown.

Serve with aloo dum and pickle.

kurmure kachki machh (crunchy kachki fish)

Kachki maach is a kind of small fish available in Bengal. When fried, it becomes very crispy and needless to say, its taste is awesome. We usually have it simply fried, but in this one I have added a zing to it by marinating the fish with some drops of Tabasco sauce.

Ingredients

• Kachki fish - 300 gms
• Onion - 1 pc
• Tabasco Sauce - 1/2 tsp
• Salt and Turmeric - 1/2 tsp each
• Maida / All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
• Oil for frying

Wash the fishes thoroughly to remove all the dirts and impurities.

Marinate the fishes with salt and turmeric and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.

Add Tabasco sauce and mix it well. Sprinkle maida over the marinated fish and mix well so the each fish is evenly covered with a thin layer of maida.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the fishes. Remove them and keep them  aside.

Cut the onion into thin strips and fry them in the same pan. 

Once the onion in crisp, add the already fried fish to it and fry them together. Adjust the seasoning. your kurmure kachki machh is ready................... .

Horiatiki - (Greek Salad)

Horiatiki is found in almost every fancy restaurant in India as Greek Salad. This salad bursts with textures, flavors and complexity. Try it and let me know.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes - 2, large
• Onion - 1, Medium sized
• Cucumber - 1 Medium Sized
• Red, Green and Yellow Bell Peppers 1 each
• Olives - 12-14, Pitted
• Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Lemon Juice 1 tsp(Optional)
• Coriander leaves - 3 tbsp, freshly chopped
• Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Feta cheese / home made paneer - 100 gms

   

Dice all the vegetables but not too finely.

Marinate them in a bowl with olives, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice (if using), coriander leaves and oregano and allow it to stand for at least 30 minutes.

Make paneer of 1/2 litre of milk by mixing lemon juice in hot milk and drain the water. Mash the paneer and mix salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the salad in a serving bowl. Top it with a generous amount of home made paneer.

Braised pumpkin with chicken soup

Today I was browsing the net and got this wonderful recipe. Although the original recipe has asked for crab meat, I have replaced the crab meat with chicken and modified the recipe a bit to my Bengali pallet. The end product is a hit and even my neighbour has appreciated it. So, I thought,' let me share it with you'.

Ingredients

• Pumpkin - 250 gms ( cooked and pureed with skin off)
• Pumpkin - 100 gms ( thinly sliced)
• Chicken stock - 1 cup
• Chicken 100 gms( boiled and shredded)
• Chicken powder-1 cube ( I tried Maggi chicken cube)
• Corn Flour - 1/2 tsp (to glaze)
• Salt and Turmeric ( a pinch each)
• Spring onion- Julienned, to garnish

Cook 3/4th portion of your pumpkin in a microwave and puree it in a blender with little salt.

Add olive oil in a pan and heat it through.

Now add remaining pumpkin pieces and fry it a little.

Add chicken stock and pureed pumpkin and mix well. You may add a little turmeric here to get a rich color.

Add shredded chicken and cook it covered for a while till the pumpkin pieces are done.

Add 1 crushed chicken cube and the corn flour dissolved in a little water and mix it well. Finally, garnish the soup with the spring onion juliennes and serve.

Fulcopi r bora (Cauliflower Fritters)

What is a better way than spending the evening with hot fritters and a cup of aromatic coffee. This recipe is a very simple one with minimum ingredients and you can make it in a jiffy.

Ingredients

• Cauliflower florets - 7-8 pcs
• All purpose flour-2 tbsp
• Besan / Gram flour - 2 tbsp
• A pinch of Kalonji/Onion Seed
• Salt and Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp each
• A pinch of Baking powder (Optional)
• Oil for Frying

Blanch the cauliflower florets in hot salted water for 5 minutes.

Mix all purpose flour, Besan, salt and turmeric with water to form a semi-thick batter. Add the kalonji and keep it for sometime.

Add baking powder in the batter and mix well. Heat oil in the frying pan. When oil is sufficiently hot, dip the florets in  the batter one by one and put it in the oil.  Fry them in batches till golden-brown.

Your chatpata gobi ke pakore is ready. You can also enjoy it bengali style with ghee and hot rice.

Neem Begun (Brinjal and Neem)

I love neem begun so much that I can finish a whole plate of rice with it. It is a typical bengali food and also very good for your digestive system. It might taste bitter but try it it will do you good =D.................

Ingredients

• Tender neem leaves-2 to 3 bunches
• Brinjal-1/2 (diced)
• Ghee-1 tsp
• Salt and Turmeric-1/2 tsp each
• Oil for frying

Take the fleshy part of the brinjal and dice it. Coat with salt and turmeric and keep it aside for sometime.


Heat oil in a kadai and fry the brinjal till it is golden-brown. Remove from heat and keep it aside.

Add ghee in the kadai and heat it till smoking hot.Now add the neem leaves and fry them until crunchy.

When almost done add the fried brinjal and mix them thoroughly.

 Adjust the seasoning and serve hot with rice.