Bengali Style Veg Fried Rice

Typical to our household, this fried rice is quite flavorful with a tampering of ghee or clarified butter, bay leaf and whole garam masala and loaded with fresh veggies. We add a sprinkle of sugar too to get that mildly sweet taste. Any dry meat dish goes well with this rice preparation, however for vegetarians, a paneer item or 'Navratan Korma' can also be served as a side dish.

Ingredients

• Basmati Rice - 2 Cups, washed and dried
• Vegetable(carrot, beans, cauliflower, peppers etc.) - 1 Cup, chopped
• Cashewnut - a handful
• Kishmish or raisin - 2 tbsp
• Ghee - 4 tbsp
• Bayleaf - 4
• Whole garam masala - 4 each
• Salt
• Sugar

Cook the rice carefully with a pinch of salt so that it didnot stick to each other. 
Chop all the vegetables into equal size. For the tough veggies, steam them but they should retain the firmness.

Fry all the veggies in little oil and keep aside.

Soak the cashew and raisin in water.

To cook the rice, add ghee into a pan. When it is hot, add the bayleaf and whole garam masala. 

When it splutters, add one forth of the rice. Sprinkle one forth of the fried vegetables, salt and sugar, some dry fruits and mix well. 

Continue this step till all rice is done. The vegetables should be mixed with rice uniformly and all rice grains should be coated with ghee. Adjust the salt and sugar. The dish should be mildly sweet.

At the end, pour a spoonful of ghee and keep covered for a standing time of 10 minutes.

Serve with your favorite side dish.

Sending this to KFB Poila Baishakh special event.

Tel Katla

In Bengali cuisine, fish and Mustard oil is a combination made in heaven ( 'Tel' is oil in Bengali). If you get some good quality fresh Katla or Carp, then donot forget to try this never fail recipe. Tastes best if you cook the fat belly portion of the fish, however, the other portion will also be delicious.
**Warning - Not for the dieters.

Ingredients

• Katla Fish - 6 Pieces
• Onion - 1, big - chopped
• Onion -2, medium, make a paste
• Mustard Paste - 1 heaped tbsp
• Green chilli paste - 5 chillies
• Methi / fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard oil - as required, ( be generous, it is Tel Katla )
• Salt, Turmeric
• Sugar - a small pinch, you  may omit this

Smear salt and turmeric to the fish and fry lightly in mustard oil. If the fish is fresh, you may skip this step.

Mix the onion paste, green chilli paste, mustard paste, salt, sugar, turmeric powder and 2 tbsp mustard oil with the fried fish.

Marinate the fish for 30 minutes. Keep covered.

Add 2 tbsp of mustard oil in a flat pan. When heated, add the methi / fenugreek seeds and stir till they are blackened. Remove and discard the seeds from the pan and heat the flavored oil again.

  
Add the chopped onion to the pan and fry a little. 

Carefully place the marinated fish into the pan over the fried onions, preferably in a single layer. Lower the heat and keep covered for 5 minutes.

Add little water to the remaining marinade and pour it onto the fish. Carefully turn the fish pieces once, then cover the pan again, and cook over low heat till the fish is cooked through and oil comes out.

Adjust the seasoning and enjoy with plain rice.

Peyaz Tomato Posto - Onion Tomato Poppyseed Bharta

A typical Bengali delicacy where poppy seed paste is cooked with chopped onion, tomato and green chilli. Simple to cook but so tasty, I can polish off a full plate of rice with just this.

Ingredients

• Poppy Seed - 4 tbsp
• Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
• Green chilli - as per taste
• Onion - 2, chopped
• Tomato - 1, chopped
• Salt, turmeric, sugar
• Mustard oil
• Kalojire / Kalonji Seed - 1/2 tsp

Soak the poppyseed in water for some time. Then grind it to a paste with the garlic and green chillies. We prefer to have it hot, please use the green chilli as per your taste.
Heat mustard oil in a pan and add the nigella seed/Kalonji seed/Kalojire into it. Let it splutter. Then add chopped onion and fry till golden brown.

Add the poppy seed paste mix to the onions with a splash of water. Fry till the water evaporates. Add salt and turmeric.

When oil comes out add chopped tomatoes. Fry till tomatoes are mashed. 

Sprinkle a little sugar and adjust the salt. Serve with hot rice. and green chilli. 

Mutton Kofta Curry

This is the first time I have tried kofta or meatball with mutton keema and it was delicious. I already have some chicken meatball recipe in my blog like this 'Chicken Kofta Curry' or 'Mexican Meatball Soup' but the taste of a mutton meatball is completely different. The original recipe has asked for cooking the meatballs in the gravy for some 30-40 minutes, but I have pressure cooked the keema first and then made the balls. You may try it if you have patience and time to cook the meatball in the gravy.

Ingredients

• Mutton Keema - 300 gms
• Onion - 2, chopped
• Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
• Ginger Paste - 2 tsp
• Pinch of ground cardamom
• Green Chilli - as per taste
• Kasuri Methi
• Tomato - 1 , chopped
• All purpose flour - to bind
• Corn Flour - 2 tbsp
• Egg - 1
• Whole garam masala, bay leaf

Pressure cook the minced meat with pinch of salt and half tsp of garlic paste. Strain and keep aside. Reserve the liquid.
When the meat is cool, add half of the chopped onion, garlic paste, ginger paste, chopped green chilli, kasuri methi, green cardamom powder, egg and salt.

Mix well using a spatula. Then add the all purpose flour enough to bind the whole thing together. Keep it in the refrigerator for some time.

Add oil in a non stick pan. When it is hot, take small amount of the mixture and shape it in the form of a ball and release in the oil. 

Fry in batches till golden brown. 

To prepare the gravy, heat some oil in the pan and when it is hot, add ba leaf, whole garam masala and cumin to the oil. After 30 seconds, add chopped onion and fry till golden brown.

Add the remaining ginger garlic paste and saute well. Then add the chopped tomato and chopped green chilli and fry the masala till the tomato is smashed. Now add turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashmiri chilli powder, salt and pinch of sugar with a splash of water. Fry the masala till oil comes out of it.
Scrape the fat from the top of the reserved liquid and add it to the pan. Add one more cup of hot water to the pan and let it boil.

Carefully release the fried kofta into the pan and let it boil.

When the kofta are cooked and soaked the liquid, adjust the seasoning. Add 1 tsp of cornflour dissolved in water and boil for 1 more minute. Then spinkle some kasuri methi and keep covered.

Serve hot.

Dahi Methi Murg (Chicken with Yoghurt and Fenugreek)

An extremely flavorful recipe which I have adapted from Pritha's blog,and I have used fresh methi leaves instead of the dry ones to cook this. Have never anticipated this taste before cooking and we just loved the taste. You may find the original recipe here.

  

Ingredients:

• Chicken, cut into pieces: 1 kg
• Onion, roughly chopped: 2
• Onion, sliced finely: 1
• Ginger paste: 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste: 1.5 tbsp
• Green chilies: 3
• Yoghurt: 1 cup
• Corn flour: 1 tsp
• Fresh methi/fenugreek leaves: 1/2 cup
• Kashmiri red chili powder: 1 tsp
• Green cardamoms: 6
• Cinnamon: 1 stick
• Bay leaf: 1
• Cloves: 4
• Mace: 1/2 tsp
• Ghee: 1 tbsp 
• Garam masala powder: 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves: for garnish
• Salt, Sugar, turmeric to taste

 Make a paste of 2 onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Mix half of the paste with half cup yoghurt. Marinade the chicken pieces with the mixture along with salt and kashmiri red chili powder. Marinate for 1 hour or more.

In a deep-bottomed pan/kadhai, heat oil and ghee. Add bay leaf, dry red chilli, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms and mace. Allow them to splutter and release aroma.

Add the remaining half of the ginger-garlic-onion paste and sliced onions alongwith green chilli paste and saute on medium heat for 2 minutes. 

Add salt and the chopped methi leaves and keep stirring for another 5-7 minutes till the onions become golden.

Put the marinated chicken in the pan, coat them with the cooked onion mixture, lower the heat, cover and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes till the chicken is cooked through.

Once the chicken starts releasing oil, add the yoghurt (beat it with cornflour beforehand so it doesn't form lumps) and mix well. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

Uncover and simmer for another 5 minutes. If you want a thickish gravy, crank the heat up. Check seasoning and add sugar if required. Sprinkle some garam masala, add a dollop of ghee. 

Give a final stir, garnish with coriander and serve with luchi/paratha/pulao/plain rice.