Kachalonka Ilish - Hilsa with Green Chilli Paste

A very basic Hilsa recipe but tastes completely different from regular "ilish machher jhol" !!!

Ingredients

• Hilsa Fish - 6 pieces
• Onion - 1, chopped
• Green Chilli Paste - 1 tbsp
• Kalojeera/kalonji seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt and turmeric - as required
• Mustard oil - 3 tbsp
• Whole green chilli - 2 for garnishing

Marinate the fishes with salt and turmeric for 15 minutes.
Add mustard oil to the pan, when it is hot, add the kalojeera / kalonji seeds. after 15 seconds, add the chopped onion and fry.

Add marinated fish and sauté over high heat for 1 minute. Add the green chilli paste and mix well. Be careful donot break the fish.

Add enough water so that fishes are covered. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes or till the fishes are cooked thoroughly and oil surfaces out over the gravy.

Add 1-2 whole green chilli and keep covered for 15 minutes. The smell of chilli will be infused into the gravy.

Serve hot with plain rice.

Patol Korma

This is the time of the year, when you are bored eating patol ( Parwal / pointed gourd ) but the winter vegetables are still not widely available in the market. Serving interesting vegetable dish each and everyday is a struggle. I am sure, you people face the same problem like mine specially if you have 2 fussy eaters at home, and you are bound to think of something different every time you are planning for lunch or dinner. Made this Patol Korma last night, initially thought to make it as a vegetarian dish, but at the end of the cooking, I just throw a handful of fried Prawns into it and the Korma became quite flavorful.

Ingredients:

• Patol / Parwal - 10,
• Curd / Yogurt  2 tbsp,
• Onion - 2, chopped
• Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
• Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Green Chilli - 5
• Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Whole Red Chilli - 1
• Salt and Turmeric - As required
• Sugar - a pinch
• Prawns - a handful ( Optional)

 Peel the patol , marinate with salt and turmeric powder and keep for 10 minutes.

Heat mustard oil and then fry the patols till golden brown.

In the same oil, fry chopped onions with a pinch of sugar and salt. Once it is cool, make a paste .

Add curd, ginger garlic paste, whole red chilli to the fried onion paste and grind it together. Marinate the fried Patol with this mixture for 30 minutes. Add Kashmiri chilli powder and turmeric as well.

In a wide pan heat mustard oil and put the marinated patol, add salt and some sugar. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat till oil comes out.

 I have added some fried prawns at the end of the cooking. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Chocolate Lassi

What !!!! Chocolate Lassi ????? This was my first reaction when my son has asked for it. Better say, he demanded it when I asked him to have lassi as his evening snacks on a hot summer day. Since he doesnot like lassi or for that matter home made curd, he has asked for it deliberately , I think. Anyway, then I decided to give him the one he has asked for, and voila,, he liked it. So , no more hassle feeding him home made curd, just add some chocolate syrup with couple of ice cubes to the curd, add a scoop of drinking chocolate, mix well and it is gone !!!Why did not I think of it before??

Ingredients:

• Home made curd or yogurt - 200 gms
• Chilled Water - 2 tbsp.
• Chocolate Syrup - 4 tbsp.
• Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsp, heaped
• Sugar - 1 tbsp ( add more as per taste)
• Dry fruits - 1 tbsp
• Ice cubes

Mix chocolate Syrup, cocoa powder, sugar and curd with ice cubes. Grind them into a processor until they all mix evenly.

Serve chilled in tall glasses Or wine glasses. Decorate on top with toasted dry fruits. Add some more ice cubes if required.

Pomfret Masala

I was way too tired after the Puja and didnot feel like trying out something exotic which I usually do during weekends. So a basic but delicious pomfret masala with plain rice was the lunch today.

Ingredients

• Pomfret Fish - medium, 4
• Onion - 2, grated
• Ginger paste - 1 tsp
• Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
• Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
• Bay leaf - 2
• Whole garam masala - 2 each
• Whole red chilli - 2
• Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
• Whole cumin - a pinch
• Green chilli - 2, May add spme mopre, if you like
• Salt and turmeric - as required

Marinate the fish with a pinch of salt and turmeric and fry lightly.

Add oil in the pan. When it is hot, add the bay leaf and whole garam masala with a pinch of whole cumin. Lower the heat and add the onion paste. After some time, add the ginger garlic paste along with cumin power,kashmiri chilli powder, tomato ketchup, salt and turmeric powder. Fry the masalas over low heat till it releases nice aroma and oil comes out of it.

Once masalas are done, add a cup of hot water and mix well with the masalas.

When the water starts boiling, add the fried fish pieces.

Cook over low heat for 10 minutes till the fishes are cooked and the gravy thickens. Add sliced green chilli. Adjust the seasoning. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Note: I have used tomato ketchup since fresh tomato was not readily available in my pantry. You can use 1 - 2 fresh tomato instead of ketchup.

Aloo Karola Bharta - Potato Bittergourd Mash

Do you face struggle to make your little ones eat bitter gourd? I used to have, till I discovered this recipe. Try this, I am sure, your kid will ask for second helping. This is also ideal for days when you like to have something light yet flavorful.

Ingredients

• Bitter Gourd - 2
• Potato - medium - 2
• Gree - 1 tbsp
• Poppy seed Paste - 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - chopped, 2 tbsp
• Salt - as required

Boil the potatoes and bitter gourd in a pressure cooker. Better still, boil them along with your rice, that way it gives a unique taste, which is absent if the vegetable is pressure cooked. Mash them immediately when they are hot.

Mix the poppy seed paste to mashed vegetable. Add ghee in a pan and then add the vegetable poppy seed mix into it. Stir well so that the water evaporates and ghee is well mixed with the vegetable.

Add salt and chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Remove from heat immediately.

A delicious bitter gourd dish is ready. Serve with plain rice.

Chocolate Chip Muffin

Starting this week, this is the turn of Archita Chanda Roy from Kolkata Food Bloggers. As you already know, we are celebrating 'Know your Kolkata Food Blogger's event' where every week one of the blogger will be featured and we have to recreate one of her recipe and post the same in our blog. I really don't know Archita personally, and for that matter any of my Kolkata Food Blogger's friend, but while communicating through, I get so enriched with their experience that I thank my luck to get me introduced to this group.

Archita blogs from My Food My Life. Please do visit her blog and you will be fascinated to see a collection of doable as well as creative recipes.

I have recreated her Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe with some minor modification. Let me confess, I am not good at baking cakes and all. Naturally, whenever my Son asks for baking some sweet goodies, I try to avoid and convince him to do something else. This time, however I decided to give it a try and follow Archita's recipe to the 'T' and wow... it is so delicious. But I am not happy with the looks, seems like I need to practice it a number of times to get that perfect tempting look. Let me share the recipe with you people, please try and let me know how it is.

You may get the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

• Flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Baking Powder - 2 tsp
• Milk - 1 cup, Room Temp
• Butter - 1/2 cup, melted
• Egg - 1
• Dark Chocolate Chip - 1 cup
• Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
• Cashew nut - for garnishing

In a bowl combine the flour ,sugar ,baking powder and the chocolate chips. Mix well.

In another bowl , combine the milk ,melted butter, vanilla essence and the egg. Blend well into a smooth mixture.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

Grease a muffin /cupcake tin. I have used square-shaped silicon mould. Fill the batter 3/4 th into each cup. Place a cashew at the centre of each square.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 mins or till a fork comes out clean.

Needless to say, my son loves it too much. He specially liked the molten chocolate chips.

Doi Ilish - Hilsa cooked in Curd

Ilish machh or Hilsa has such a great flavour that whatever way you prepare it, it tastes great. I have got this Doi Ilish recipe from one of my friend and tried it on Bijoya Dashami. Now some Gyan...It is a traditional custom in Bengal to have 'Jorha Ilish' ( pair of Hilsa) on Bijoya Dashami. After that, Hilsa should not be eaten till 'Saraswati Puja' which is usually around end of January or February. The scientific reason for this custom is, during this period little Hilsa fishes swam back from river to the sea and then again come back during next monsoon to lay eggs. This custom is almost forgotten nowadays, as a result, the world renowned 'Padma r ilish' is on the verge of extinction. These days, you will get Hilsa in the market all throughout the year and most of them are weighing less than 500 gms. I personally believe that it is a crime to have such a small Hilsa and try to avoid Hilsa till 'Saraswati Puja'.
Let's come back to the recipe now, it is not very common to use onion in Hilsa preparation in West Bengal. While trying it out following my friend's recipe, I myself was not very sure how it will taste, but it comes out really well.

Ingredients:

• Ilish - 6 pieces
• Curd or Yogurt - 5 tbsp.
• Onion - 1, small, chopped very fine
• Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp.
• Kashmiri Mirch Powder - 2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Green Chillies - 4
• Bayleaf - 1
• Kalojeere, kalonji seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt, Turmeric
• Mustard Oil

Rub salt and turmeric powder to the ilish pieces and keep aside. whisk the curd very well, add 1 tsp of flour (moida) whisk well and then add ¾ cup water and whisk again… strain the yoghurt mix in a tea strainer and reserve.
Heat oil in a pan. Put the fish pieces and keep for few seconds and then just turn once and again keep for few seconds and then remove ( you may skip this if the ilish used is fresh and not from the freezer ).

Heat the same oil again. Put the bay leaves and kalo jeerey. When the smell of phoron comes put the onion (finely chopped) and stir. Add 75 % of the ginger paste and stir in. Add the turmeric and Kashmiri mirch powder and continue stirring.

Place the fish pieces into the fried masala and lower the heat. Turn the fish pieces so that the fishes get coated with masalas well.

Remove from the stove and add the yoghurt . Mix well.Take the pan back to the stove and increase the heat. You may need to add some more water at this stage.

Add salt and sugar.Add the remaining ginger paste and the slit green chilies. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Keep covered for 10 more minutes. Serve with plain rice.