Doi Pabda - Pabda in Curd Sauce

Tried Pabda fish with Curd ( no mustard Paste.. please..) this time and it is a hit.

Ingredients

• Pabda Fish - 500 Gms   
• 
• Curd - 1 cup
• Ginger Paste - 1tbsp
• Milk 2 tbsp
• Panch foron ( Bengali 5 spice)- 1 tsp 
• Whole red chilli - 2
• Tomato - 1/2, chopped
• green chilli - 3-4
• salt, turmeric - as required
• Mustard Oil - 4 tbsp

Marinate the fish with salt and turmeric for 15 minutes and fry lightly on both sides.

Add mustard oil in the pan. When it is hot, add the panch foron and whole red chili. When it crackles, add the curd mixed with some water. Add salt, turmeric and chopped tomato and fry over low heat for 4-5 minutes.

Add the fish. You may need to add some warm water at this stage.

Cook for 4-5 minutes till the fishes are done. Pabda is a soft fish so you may not need to cook for very long time. Add 2 tbsp milk just before removing it from the heat. Add the green chillies and keep covered for 15 minutes.
Serve with plain rice.

Arhar Daal - Toor Daal Bengali way

For better experience,Please visit our revamped site through this link:


https://jayatisfoodjourney.com/2013/05/25/arhar-daal-toor-daal-bengali-way/


Arhar daal is one of my favourite, specially when it is seasoned with Ghee and Hing (asafoetida). The smell reminds me of my maternal grand mom, who was a great cook and it was one of her signature dish.

Ingredients

• Arhar dal or pigeon beans - 1 cup   

• Clarified butter / ghee - 2 tbsp 
• Bay leaves - 2
• Asafetida / Hing - A pinch
• Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp 
• Dried red chili (broken) - 1
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp 
• Salt to taste 
• Sugar - 2 tsp

Put dal with 3 cups of water, salt and turmeric in a pressure cooker. 
Take ghee or clarified butter in a pan, heat it; add cumin seed and bay leaves. When the cumin seeds begin to sputter add hing and dried red chilli, stir it and fry till the chilli turns black.

Pour the dal and let it boil for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and mix well. 

Enjoy with plain rice and fried brinjal ( Begun Vaja).

Panthar Jhol (Simple Mutton Curry)

Wonderfully delicious mutton curry with very less oil. Ideal for a Sunday Lunch during Summer months.

Ingredients

• Mutton - 500 gms  
• Potato - 4, halved
• Onion Paste - 2 tbsp.
• Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
• Green chilli Paste - 1 tsp
• Onion Chopped - 1
• Salt, Turmeric - as required
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Bayleaves - 1, whole red chilli - 1, whole garam masala - 2-3
• Mustard Oil - 2 tsp ONLY

Marinate the mutton pieces with Onion, Garlic and Ginger paste, salt and turmeric and keep aside for 1 hour.

Pressure cook the marinated mutton with 2 cups of water till soft.  Fry the potato halves with salt and turmeric till golden brown.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and fry the bayleaves, red chilli and garam masala for 30 seconds.

Add sugar and get it caramelized.  Then add the chopped onion and fry lightly. Add ginger garlic paste, green chilli paste, turmeric and salt, tomato ( optional ) and continue frying. Since very less oil is used, you may have to sprinkle some water occasionally to avoid the masalas getting burnt.

Add the boiled mutton pieces ( reserve the liquid)  to this masalas and stir fry for a minute or so. 

Now add the reserved liquid and let it boil. Add the fried potatoes at this point.

Once potatoes are boiled, check the seasoning. Add the whole green chilles and keep covered.

Serve with plain rice.

Marble Cake

For me, marble cake is a classic childhood memory. May be that was the beginning of my stint with cooking, as I was always intrigued by how the chocolate and vanilla portion get mixed up so nicely. 

Ingredients

• 300g butter , softened   

• 300g sugar - grind to powder
• 6 eggs
• 300g self-raising flour
• 4 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Grease the cake dish with butter and sprinkle some flour.

Beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold through the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.

Divide the mixture between 2 bowls. Stir the cocoa powder into the mixture in one of the bowls. Pour  chocolate and vanilla cake mixes into the baking dish simultaneously. When all the mixture has been used up,  tap the bottom on your work surface to ensure that there aren't any air bubbles. 

Take a fork and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect.

Bake the cake for 45-55 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. 

Teatime treat is ready to be served.

Paneer or cottage cheese with Cilantro Sauce

Takes a little effort but end result is really worth it!! Serve it as evening snack or as side dish with your main meal.

Ingredients

• Paneer - 200 gms   

• Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp

• Potato - 2, boiled
• Onion - 1
• Garlic - 1 tbsp
• Sesame seed - 2 tbsp
• Butter - 2 tsp
• Green Chilli-chopped

For the sauce

• Cilantro Paste - 1 bunch

• butter - 2 tbsp
• Maida - 2 tbsp
• Milk - 1 cup

To prepare the sauce: Heat the butter in a pan. add maida and stir for 1 minute over low heat. Remove from heat and set aside. Heat the milk and add the maida butter mix to it. Cook till the mixture become thick. Now add the cilantro paste and mix well. Your sauce is ready.

To make the Paneer ball, mix boiled potato and paneer really well. Add oil and butter in the pan and add onion, green chilli and garlic slices. fry till golden brown.

Now add the potato paneer mixture and mix well with masalas. adjust salt and sugar.

Remove from heat and let it cool. Add sesame seeds and mix well.

Take a small amout from this mix and shape it like disc. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the surface as well. Shallow fry on a hot tawa till brown.

Alternately you can grill them as well till golden brown.

Serve hot with cilantro sauce.

Parsley Prawn

Got some parsley in the market, threw it in the pan with some prawns and masalas and it turned out to be...wOw!!! 

Ingredients

• Small prawns or shrimp - 1 cup
• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Onion - 2, chopped
• Potato - 1, chopped finely
• Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
• Green chilli - 3, chopped
• Parsley - a bunch, chopped finely
• Whole garam masala - 3 pcs each
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Salt and turmeric - as required
• Coconut milk - 1 tbsp, Optional

Marinate the cleaned prawns with salt and turmeric and fry lightly. Keep aside.

Pour a tsp of ghee to the remaining oil. Add garam masala, the chopped onion and  green chilli one after another. Fry well. Mix in the ginger garlic paste and continue frying.

Add the chopped potatoes with a pinch of salt and turmeric and fry lightly.

Once the potatoes turn golden, add the fried shrimps with a sprinkle of water and cook till the shrimps and the potatoes are cooked thoroughly.

Throw a handful of chopped parsley and mix well. Cook over very low heat for a minute or so. Adjust the seasoning.

Sprinkle the lemon juice and serve with rice or roti.

Summer Vegetable Curry

This recipe is called 'Niramish Rosa' in Bengali. Cooked with whatever vegetable is available in your pantry..one important ingredient although is 'Paanch foron' or bengali five spices. 

Ingredients

• Any type of summer vegetable (Patol, Pumpkin, Ridge gourd, Potato) 
• Bori - a handful
• Green Chilli - 3
• Bay leaves - 2
• Paanch Foron - 1 tsp
• Coriander  Powder - 1 tsp
• Salt a sugar - as required
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Cut all the vegetables into equal sizes.

Saute the vegetables with some salt and turmeric powder. Remove from kadai and keep aside.

Add bayleaf, green chilli and paanch foron to hot oil.

Now add the sauteed vegetables and mix well. Add 1 tsp each of turmeric powder and coriander powder and mix with the vegetables.

Add half cup of water and cook for 10 minutes over low heat with a cover. Let the vegetables get cooked in its own juices.

When vegetables are cooked, add fried bori ( don't know the english name,, sorry...) to the mixture. Adjust the seasoning. Add the sugar at this point.
Add a spoonful of ghee at the end of the cooking and mix well.