Shammi Kabab-Ground Meat and Pulses Patties

Easy to Cook, Hard to Resist. :-)

 Ingredients

• Chicken Mince - 300 gms
• Chana dal / Split yellow gram - 100 gm
• Onion - 2, chopped
• Ginger Paste - 1/2 tbsp.
• Garlic Paste - 1/2 tbsp.
• Egg - 1, whisked
• Shan shammi kabab mix - 2 tbsp.
• Oil for frying

Soak the dal overnight in warm water.
To the minced meat, add soaked dal, onion, garlic, ginger paste and Shan Kabab mix and two glasses of water.

Cover and cook on low heat for about 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and dal is tender.

When tender, remove and grind the meat mixture to a paste. Add egg and mix well.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Take a spoonful of meat mixture and place onto the hot frying pan.

Shallow fry the kababs evenly on both sides until brown. You may deep fry the kabab, if you like.

Serve hot shammi kababs with roti and fresh salad.

Mutton Dopiaza

It is time for some mutton again. Dopiaza is a dish where onion is used in huge quantities in two batches. I have used whole onions in this recipe which become very delicious after it gets boiled in mutton juice.

Ingredients

• Mutton - 1 kg
• Mustard Oil - 5 tbsp.
• Onion - 6, chopped
• Potato - 4, halved
• Curd - 2 tbsp.
• Small onions, whole - 8
• Kashmiri Chilli POwder - 4 tbsp.
• Ginger Paste - 4 tbsp.
• Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp.
• Coriander Powder - 2 tbsp.
• Sugar - 1 tbsp.
• Cumin whole - 1tsp
• Green Chilli - 6
• Cinnamon, clove, cardamom - 3 each
• Salt , Turmeric - as required

 Marinate the mutton with salt and turmeric for half an hour.
Fry chopped onions till golden brown and keep aside.

In the same oil add the sugar and let it caramelize. Add the chilli paste ,ginger paste and coriander powder mixed with water. Immediately add the marinated mutton and mix well with the masalas. Add curd and green chilli and continue frying.

Now put the whole thing into the pressure cooker and cook till the meat is done.

Put the cooked mutton in the pan and stir fry with sprinkle of garlic water. You may have to add the potato and whole onions at this point.

Stir fry till all garlic water is finished and oil comes out of the mutton. Add the fried onions and mix well. Add a cup of hot water into it and let it boil till the potatoes and whole onions are cooked through.

Remove from heat and add a tbsp of ghee. Sprinkle some garam masala powder and keep covered for 15 minutes before serving.

Khichuri

Khichuri in Bengali is a preparation made with rice and lentils commonly considered to be a comfort food.

Ingredients

• Gobindabhog Chaal ( fragrant rice) 1 cup
• Mug Dal - 1 cup
• Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp.
• Green chilli - 5-6
• Cauliflower - 1 medium, cut into florets
• Tomato - 1
• Potato - 2 , cubed
• Whole onion - 3, peeled
• Bay leaf - 3
• Whole cumin / jeera - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tbsp

Wash and soak the rice and dal with a cup of water for half an hour. Lightly sauté the vegetables with little oil and keep aside.

Add 2 tbsp. of mustard oil in the same pan and add bayleaf and whole cumin. Let it splutter and release nice aroma.

Add the ginger paste, chopped tomato and green chilli and fry well. Add salt and turmeric at this stage.

Add the soaked rice and dal and fry till the rice is fragrant and mixed well with the masalas.

Add two cups of hot water and let it boil. You need to keep an eye on this since the rice absorbs the water very fast and khichuri has a tendency to stick to the bottom. Hence you need to stir it very frequently.

Add the sautéed vegetable and continue cooking. You may need to add more water. Adjust the water content based on your taste, if you like your khichuri to be dry, add less water. We like our khichuri to be viscous, not too dry, nor too runny.  When rice and dal / lentil are cooked thoroughly and mixed well and the vegetables are cooked, add the sugar. Donot add sugar before the rice is cooked since rice does not get cooked if sugar is added beforehand. Adjust the seasoning. Add 1 tbsp. of ghee at the end of the cooking.

Serve hot with Hilsa fry or vegetable stir fry of your choice.

Jhinge Chingri-Prawn with Ridge gourd

Another interesting prawn recipe where prawns are cooked with ridge gourd.

Ingredients

• Medium Prawns - 500 gms 
• Ridge Gourd / jhinge - 500 gms
• Mustard Paste - 2tbsp
• Green Chilli - 4
• Onion - 2, chopped
• Methi / fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato - 1
• Salt, Sugar, Turmeric - as required

Stir fry the prawns with a pinch of salt and turmeric.

Pour oil in a frying pan and add the fenugreek seeds. When it turns black, add chopped onion and tomato and stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add the jhinge / ridge gourd with turmeric, salt and Kashmiri chilli powder. Cook covered over low heat. Jhinge will release lot of water.

After 8 - 10 minutes, once jhinge is cooked in its own water, increase the flame and fry till all water evaporates.  Add the prawns and mix well. Strain the mustard paste and add the mustard water. Add a spoonful of mustard oil at this stage. Boil it for 5 more minutes till the water reduced and a thick gravy is formed.

Add sugar and green chilli just before removing it from the heat. A delicious jhinge chingri is ready to be served.

Kumro Ilish - Hilsa with Pumpkin

Again a bengali ( or better say, BANGAL ) delicacy, kumro ilish is a prominent feature in our menu during hilsa season. While, there is nothing to say about hilsa, pumpkin adds a little sweetness to the dish and helps bring out the flavor of the hilsa even better. BTW, I never fry the hilsa, always try to cook it in the gravy itself. This way the flavor of the fish is infused into the gravy.

Ingredients

• Hilsa Fish - 8 pcs
• Cubed Pumpkin - 1 bowl
• Green Chillies - 4
• Coriander leaves - a bunch, chopped
• Turmeric, Salt - as required
• Kalonji / Onion Seed / Kalojeere - a pinch
• Mustard Oil - 5 tbsp

Marinate the fish pieces with turmeric and salt and keep aside.

Heat good amount of mustard oil in a pan. Add sliced green chillies and a pinch of kalonji / onion seed into it and let it splutter. Now add the pumpkin cubes and fry a little.

Add salt and turmeric mixed in water and add to the pumpkins. Pumpkins should be coated thoroughly with spice mixture.

Add the marinated fish and mix well with the pumpkins.

Add 2 cups of hot water and let it simmer for 15 minutes or till the pumpkins are soft and a bit mushy. Oil should be visible as well.

Serve hot with plain rice.

One Pot Chicken Roast

Finally I am able to bake a whole chicken in the oven and comes out pretty good. Original recipe had asked for Orange Juice, which I donot have at this moment for obvious reason, and I substituted it with Mosambi ( sweet Lime !!! ) Juice, and it is fantastic.

 Ingredients

• Vegetable Curry Powder - 3 tbsp.
• Juice of Mosambi - 2
• Garlic Cloves - 2 tbsp., chopped
• Whole Chicken, cleaned - 1
• Carrot - 6, cut into chunks
• Raw Papaya - 1/2, cut into chunks
• Onions - 4, quartered
• Salt and black pepper - as required
• Butter - 2 tbsp.
• Olive Oil - to sprinkle
• Red Chilli Flakes - 1 tsp

Combine the curry paste, Mosambi Juice and garlic in a bowl.

Put the whole chicken in the marinade and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220 degree C. Heat a pan with 1 tbsp. of butter. Then add 1/2 tsp sugar into it and let it caramelize. Add the marinated chicken into it and brown it all over on high heat.

Put the vegetables into a large roasting pan.

Add the browned chicken on top of the vegetable. Pour the marinade over and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some chille flakes. Mix everything together so that the chicken is covered with the marinade.

Cook in the oven for 1 hour turning from time to time.

Baste with butter in between and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and the outer layer is golden.