A sureshot Summer cooler, very traditional too!! Contains too very specific Bengali material, GHol means Lassi to some extent,, and 'Gandharaj Lebu' resembles a Kaffir Lime.
Ingredients
- Curd - 250 gms
- Gandharaj Lebu - 1
- Gandharaj Leb leaf - 2
- Sugar - 2 tbsp, as per taste
- Rock Salt - a fat pinch
- Mint leaves (Optional)
Mix all the ingredients except lime leaves in a blender. Pour to individual glasses and garnish with lime leaves and serve chilled. You may add ice cubes too,.
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A simple, easy and quick dish which can double as a summer cooler or can be used as a dip. Served it ice cold, almost in frozen state, to end our lunch and it has got huge applause from my family.
Ingredients
- Masala Papad - 4
- Curd - 250 gms
- Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
- Sugar - 2 tsp
- Green Chilli - 2, chopped finely
- Dry roasted Cumin Powder - a fat pinch
- Salt
- Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
Dry roast the masala papad till they are crisp. Break them into medium sized pieces.
Blend the curd with salt, sugar, a pinch of roasted jeera / cumin powder, lemon juice and ginger paste till it is smooth.
Take the curd in a bowl, add the roasted papad pieces and finely chopped green chilli. Mix in a light hand.
Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving. Garnish with some more green chilli and roasted jeera powder and serve as after lunch or dinner delight.
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Kajri is a small freshwater fish which is quite abundant in Bengal. Since childhood kajri fish's jhal has been very common dish in my household. The fish is itself very tasty. So, today when hubby and son were constantly begging for some topshey fry. I checked pantry and found that some Kajri fish is there all by itself and suddenly this idea came to my mind," why don't I make kajri fry instead of topshey" and come up with this recipe. The end result was FANTABULOUSLY TASTY. U wont regret this.....
Ingredients
- Kajri Fish - 10 - 12
- Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
- Green Chilli paste - as per taste
- Egg - 1
- Flour - 1/2 cup
- Besan - 1/2 cup
- Salt, Turmeric, Red chilli powder
- Kalonji Seeds / kalojeere - 1 tsp
Marinate the fishes with salt, turmeric, green chilli paste, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste for 30 minutes. You may omit the green chilli paste, if you like.
Make a smooth batter by mixing egg, flour, besan, salt and turmeric. Add the kalonji seeds too.
Thinly coat the fish with this batter and deep fry.
Serve immediately with rice and dal.
I bought this electric grill / tandoor for quite some time but hardly used it. Hubby brought some chicken drumsticks yesterday, so this easy to prepare, lip smacking delicacy is born!
Ingredients
- Chicken Drumstick - 8-10
- Dark Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp
- Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
- Green Chilli Sauce - 2 tbsp
- Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
Cut 2-3 slits on each drumstick. Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients for 4-6 hours in the freezer.
Remove and bring the chicken pieces into room temperature.
Preheat the grill for 10 minutes. add 1-2 tbsp of oil to the grill plate. Place the chicken pieces onto the grill plate and grill for 25-30 minutes.
Turn the chicken pieces once or twice in between. Brush the remaining marinade time to time. Grill till the chicken is done.
Serve hot with some salads.
A delicious and refreshing drink for a very hot summer day!! Loved the smell of crushed mint in the drink.
Ingredients
- Water melon - 2 cups, deseeded and diced
- Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp / as per taste
- Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
- Mint - a handful, washed
- Ice cubes - 12 - 14
Blend all the ingredients in a blender till smooth.
Chill in the freezer till ice crystals starts forming. Quickly whiz in the blender again and then serve immediately. Garnish with some fresh mint leaves.
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The famous or better say notorious ghoti - Bangal Debate started way back the partition days and a major point of fight is the style of cooking. Whether it is Chingri / Ilish ( prawn vs. Hilsa), or amount of sugar in a dish, level of richness and hotness of gravy, the debate continues till today. However, this one particular dish, which even some Bangals fear to consume, leave apart the ghotis, is the Shutki or Dry fish curry. Many fishes are cleaned and sun dried and available in the form of Shutki, the most famous one is the Loittya or Bombay Duck.
I being a bangal, generally biased towards the Bangal style of cooking, but don't like a very hot dish or lots of chillis. I have never seen my mom or grand mom cooking shutkis, so never had it before marriage. It was my mom-in-law, who introduced me to Shukti. Initially I too was a bit hesitant, but ultimately my adventurous foodie self won, and I have started loving it. If you can overcome the initial pungent smell during cooking, it is a treasure for the tastebud, I must say.
Ingredients
- Dry Bombay Duck - 5
- Brinjal - 1 small, cubed
- Onion - 3, chopped
- Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
- Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
- Green Chilli - 4 -5
- Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp(Optional)
- Salt, Turmeric
Cut the dry fish into 1 inch pieces after removing head. Wash thoroughly. I bought packaged shutki from Metro cash and carry, which are machine dried, so there are not much sand or other impurities, which you will find in the shutki available in the open market. (I always buy the machine dried one.). Now pour some boiling water onto the fish and keep covered for 15 minutes.
Discard the water. Fry the fishes till golden brown and keep aside.
In the same oil, add chopped onion and slit green chilli with a pinch of salt and fry till golden brown.
Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell is gone.
Add cubed brinjal with salt and turmeric and mix well.
Fry a little, then add the fried fish pieces with 1 tbsp of Tomato ketchup. This one is optional, you may omit this. I like the tangy taste, hence added this.
Mix well, then add very little water and cook over very low heat with the lid on.
When the brinjals are cooked and soft, mix it with the masalas, and stir continuously so that the water dries up and oil comes out. Adjust the seasoning. Serve with plain rice.
This is my first ever try to make a simple bread , but I was quite afraid of it till today morning. Somehow I had this feeling that baking is not my cup of tea. Even if I try hard, I will surely goof-up. Then I came across my friend Rakhee's blog, where she has explained the step by step bread making process, and I have instantly decided to give it a try. The end result was fabulous, though I am not fully satisfied with the outer crust, which I think should have been a bit softer, but at least for a 1st time baker, this can be ignored. I will surely try other varieties she has put in in her blog later.
Ingredients
- All purpose flour / Maida - 3 cups
- Dry Active Yeast - 1 heaped tsp
- Sugar - 1 heaped tbsp
- Olive Oil - 1 tbsp + extra for greasing
- Salt - a fat pinch
- Warm water - as required
Dissolve the sugar in half cup of lukewarm water. Then add the dry yeast to it and keep in a warm place. I have kept it in the microwave. It will become frothy in 15-20 minutes.
Mix the salt in the flour. Add the dissolved yeast with water to the flour gradually to form a soft dough. You may need to add some more warm water.
Keep the dough loosely covered in a warm place for 30-35 minutes. It will become almost double in size.
Knead the dough for 5 - 7 minutes till it springs back when you are pressing it down. Add the olive oil to the dough too. Now make a log shape of the smooth dough and place it inside a greased loaf tin.
Keep it in the warm dry place to rise again. It will almost touch the rim of the tin.
Preheat the oven to 200 degree C for 10 minutes. Make multiple slashes onto the surface of the dough using a knife.
Bake the dough for 30-35 minutes. Remove carefully from the tin. It should be evenly brown at the bottom and make a hollow sound when tapped. If not, then bake it for 10 more minutes. Mine was perfect by 35 minutes of baking.
Brush with butter/milk. Cool to room temperature. Slice and enjoy!!
