BongCook: Bengali and Indian Recipes

Ilisher (Hilsa) Patla Jhol

2021-01-03T17:54:00.001-08:00

Ilish or Hilsa is the favorite Bengali fish and makes it into the favorite top 3 food list of a lot of Bongs. My husband keeps telling me the story of his classmate who always ate a whole Ilish on his birthday. Apparently it used to take him 3 hours to battle all the fish bones, but at the end he’d always emerge victorious.

Ilish is the national fish for Bangladesh and provides for the livelihood for thousand in the lower Ganges delta. These fishes are anadromous and lives mostly in sea water but swims up the great rivers in the Bangladesh delta to spawn. Those from the Bangladesh river of Padma are considered to be the tastiest and the hardest to come by in India. In our childhood we’d mostly contend with the “lesser” Rupnarayan river’s Hilsa (also called Kolaghater ilish). The weird part is that being in US we get easier access to Bangaldesher-r ilish at our local desi store (International Food Bazaar in Bellevue, WA).

Ilish is cooked in many different styles. However, for the best Ilish the simplest cooking method provides the best taste. The trick is ensuring that no strong flavor or masala is put in, so that the natural flavor of Ilish comes out.

Ensure that when you buy Ilish try to hit the sweet spot of around 2lbs (1 kg). Also wash the fish as less as possible.

Please checkout the video of this recipe on my youtube channel either by visiting the link or using the play button below.

Ingredient

5-6 slices of Ilish
1/2 teaspoon Kalonji/Nigella seeds
Turmeric
Mustard oil
5-6 Hot Indian Green Chilies
1 medium eggplant cut into chunks
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Procedure

Lightly wash and pat dry the fish slices and smear them with turmeric and salt.
Heat mustard oil in Kadai/deep-pan . Once it starts smoking gently slide in the fish pieces. Be careful of the oil splatter!!
Fry them till light golden yellow. You need to be very careful not to brown them. Remove the fish slices from the oil and keep them aside.
We need to reuse the oil used for frying the fish since it already picked up the precious flavor of hilsa.
Dissolve 1/2 tbsp of turmeric in a cup of water and keep it aside.
Temper the oil in the pan with Kalonji and green chilies. When the spices starts popping up add chunks of eggplant to it. Sauté on medium high heat till the eggplants take a golden brown hue. Now pour the turmeric water to it. Season with salt and sugar.
Once the water starts boiling, gently slide the fish pieces into it.
Cook for 2-3 minutes.

This light ,soupy, golden yellow gravy tastes best with hot steaming rice.

Ilish or Hilsa Bhape

2021-01-03T17:50:00.000-08:00

Ilish is one of the most loved Bong food. As I mentioned in my previous post (http://www.bongcook.com/2011/11/ilisher-hilsa-patla-jhol.html) there is a lot of stories and nostalgia behind it.

The hardest part of eating ilish is their bones. You have to fight with them to get the delicious flavor of the queen of all fishes. My lil one calls it “english fish” for whatever reason. The bong gene is evident in the way she eats it even though she had no “formal” training in taming the bones.

One of the most famous Ilish cooking style is the bhape. Ilish bhape can only be enjoyed with steaming hot white rice and doesn't really need any other accompaniments.

Today I am sharing with you my mom's recipe of ilish bhape which has been perfected over generations in Kitchens around the Ganges delta region in Bangladesh.

Please also checkout the video recipe on my youtube channel by clicking this link or on the play button below.

Ingredients

Ilish Slices - 5/6 pieces
Mustard seeds - 3tb spoon
Freshly grated coconut - 4 tbsp
green chilies - 8/10
Mustard oil - 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 2 tea spoon
Salt

Procedure (using pressure cooker)

Make a fine paste of mustard seeds, grated coconut 3-4 green chilies and salt. Add very little water.
Take a pressure cooker safe bowl (like a steel tiffin box) and smear it’s inside with little mustard oil
Arrange the fish pieces in a single layer and pour mustard paste over it so that it covers all the fish pieces
Add the rest of the green chilies and mustard oil over it. Close the box.
Place the box inside a pressure cooker. Pour water around the box.
Close the pressure cooker and then cook it for 2-3 whistles.

Procedure of making in a Microwave Oven Or Traditional Oven

Take a microwave/oven safe bowl and arrange the fish pieces in a single layer. Pour the mustard paste over it, so that it covers the fish pieces. Add the green chilies and mustard oil over it.
Cover the bowl with a microwave safe cover or cling film and cook it for 6-8 mins.
In case you are using a traditional electric oven, cover the bowl with aluminum foil and bake it for 25-30 mins at 375F

Peas or Koraishutir Kochuri

2021-01-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Peas Puri or Koraishutir Kochuri as bongs call it is brings on fond memory of Kolkata. It reminds me of the "freezing" 60°F (15°C) winters in Kolkata. It’s during that time fresh green peas hit the local market. The kids in the house were given the chore of taking the peas out of their pods. The yield rates were around 50%, the other 50% were stuffed in the mouths with small little hands.

These days in the world of frozen goodies, the famed Koraishutir Kochuri can be made any time of the year, all that is needed is a short trip to the local store.

Please also checkout the video recipe on my youtube channel by clicking this link or on the play button below.

Ingredients

SERVING 16 pieces

Frozen peas- 700gm
Ginger-2 inch
Green Chili - 4-5
Bhaja Mosla - 1tbsp
Refined Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
All Purpose Flour– 2 cup
Salt- 1/2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
White oil or ghee(clarified butter) -2 tbsp
Water - 1 cup ( Approximately
Refined oil for deep Frying

Procedure

In a grinder add a little water, peas, ginger and green chili. Make a fine paste out of them.

Take oil in a frying pan. Add one pinch of asfoetida. Now add the paste you just made. Keep on stirring till the water completely evaporates and the pea mixture becomes dry and thick enough to make small balls out of it. Now add salt to your taste and if the peas are not sweet enough you can add little sugar to it. Let it cool and then sprinkle some dry roasted cumin powder.

Now we need to make the dough. In a wide vessel take the flour, salt and the oil or ghee for shortening. Rub the ghee into the flour with your finger tips. Now slowly add the warm water and knead it until the dough becomes soft and smooth. Cover it with a damp cloth or kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Once again knead it and make small ping pong sized ball out of it.

Take a ball you made out from the flour and keep it on your palm. Using the other palm press it and make a small disc. You can also use your rolling pin to make this disc. Make a small ball out of your pea stuffing and put it in the center of the disc. Bring the sides together and cover the opening. Now flatten it with your palm.

Roll out by applying little oil on both the sides.

Take oil in a wok or kadai and heat it. Deep fry the kochuri till both sides puff up.

Traditionally koraishutir kochuri is had with chana dal or potato curry (aloor dum). However, this time when I made it we had some home made mango chutney from my Tamil friends, it made a killer combo.

Healthy option

If you are like me and need to take care of someone who is prone to over-eat you can take the healthier option of making Peas Paratha.

The stuffing is made exactly the same way. For the dough replace with whole wheat flour. While rolling out the dough use more dough to create larger parathas. Also the dip-fry step is omitted in the Paratha. Heat a tawa or a skillet. Place the paratha on the heated tawa and cook for half a minute. Now flip the other side and pour oil with a spoon around the edge. Cook this side and flip again. You will notice brown spots on the surfaces when the paratha is cooked.

Phulkopir Dalna (Cauliflower and Potato Curry)

2020-09-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Updated: With video

If you are a Bengali you have literally grown up eating Phulkopir Dalna. This is one of the most common and fundamental bong dish. At the beginning of Winter when fresh cauliflowers arrive at the local markets in Kolkata dalna becomes the staple curry at the bong household for the next few months. Even though cauliflower is used in a variety of recipes this simple dalna uses limited spices and help the true flavor of cauliflower to come through.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w4jnrttSY4&t=4s

Ingredients

Serves four

1 cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
2 medium sized potatoes cut into quarters
1 large tomato chopped (optional)
1” fresh ginger
1 tsp. whole cumin powder
1 tsp. whole coriander powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. Bengali Garam masala powder
1 tbsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
For Tempering
- 2 bay leaves (Tejpatta)
- 2 green chilies slit lengthwise
- 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
- Whole Garam Masala ( 1” cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamom)

Procedure

Heat 4 tbsp. oil in a pan and add cauliflower florets to it. Fry till the florets are well coated with oil and get a light brown hue (8-10 mins). Remove from oil and keep aside.

Add 2 tbsp. of oil and temper it with bay leaves, whole garam masala, whole cumin seeds and green chilies.

Wait till they stop sizzling. Add potato cubes and fry on medium heat for 2-3 mins.

Now add ginger paste. Make a paste of all dry spice powder by adding little water and add to the pan. Sauté on slow fire till the raw smell of ginger goes away. Optionally add chopped tomatoes. Fry well till the oil is separated.

Add salt and sugar and give it a nice mix. Add fried cauliflower florets and give it a nice mix. Add one cup of water to it and cook it covered on low heat till potatoes are done.

Add a spoonful of ghee and sprinkle little garam masala powder to it. Serve with hot rice or chapatis.

Bhoger Khichuri

2020-09-26T19:19:00.005-07:00

I have been blogging for a long time on this platform. However, I kept hearing from my friends and followers that they would really love to see videos of the recipe as well. Well pictures are worth a thousand words and video is but a collection of thousands of pictures. So hear goes my attempt on vlogging along with this blog.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j6lh2f1hAE

Ingredients

1 cup rice (any of gobindobhog, zeera or basmati in that order of preference)
1 cup yellow moong dal
1 cup green peas (fresh / frozen)
1" ginger root grated
6 green chilies slit lengthwise
1 tsp. whole cumin seed
2-3 bay leaves
Whole garam masala (1'cinnamon stick, 2 green cardamom, 2 cloves)
1 tsp. turmeric powder
Oil ( I have used olive oil, feel free to use mustard oil or any other refined oil )
2 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter )
2 tbsp. sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. bhaja mosla (dry roast and crush 1 tsp of cumin, coriander, one dry red chili, 1" cinnamon stick, 2 clove, 2 green cardamom)

Procedure

Wash rice thoroughly and spread on a plate to air-dry. In the mean time heat a pan and dry roast yellow moong dal on medium heat till the grains turn brown and a nutty aroma starts coming. Pour water over it and wash the dal thoroughly. Drain the water and keep the dal for later use.

Heat 5 -6 tbsp. oil in a pan and temper it with whole cumin seed, bay leaves, green chilies and whole garam masala. Let the spices sputter for a bit.

Add air dried rice to it and fry on low heat for about 5 min. Now add roasted moong dal and mix well. keep frying for another few minutes. Throw the peas in.

Add ginger paste, and turmeric powder. Give a good mix. Season with salt and sugar. Bhoger khichuri is generally on a sweeter side of the palette, so adjust accordingly.

Now pour 2-3 cups of water. Give a thorough stir. Let it come to a boil on high heat. Once it starts boiling lower the heat and cook it covered till the grains are done. You might need to add more water in between if the water gets dried up.

Add ghee along with the bhaja mosla and turn off the heat. Keep it covered till you serve.

Serve with begun bhaja, labra, or some pakodas of your choice.

Gondhoraj Bhapa Bhetki

2019-12-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

This is part three in my pujo spread post. Prompted by my social feed filling up with posts from friends eating a Bengali pujo buffet, I decided to make a Bengali spread of our own.

In this post I bring to you Gondhoraj Bhapa Bhetki. You can substitute the bhetki with local white fleshed fish. I have used rock fish.

Ingredients

1/2 lb fish fillet (Bhetki, rock-fish or cat-fish)
1/2 cup hung plain yogurt
1 large onion chopped
1 tsp. chopped ginger
4 green chilies
Juice of one lime
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
Oil
Banana leaf washed and cut into big square pieces
Kefir lime leaves for garnishing

Procedure

Cut the fish fillets in medium sized rectangular pieces. Marinate with lime juice and salt for about half an hour.

In a pan heat 2 tbsp. oil and fry onion, and ginger till the onion turns pink. Now make a paste of onion and ginger with green chilies. To this paste add hung curd, salt and sugar. Check the seasoning and keep aside.

After half an hour remove the fish fillets from the marinade and coat them well with the yogurt and spice paste mixture you have just made.

Now season the banana leaves for wrapping. Turn on the heat and swipe the leaved one by one over the flame to make them more pliable so that it won't tear when you fold them.

Take one square of the leaves and place a fillet of fish along with the marinade at the center of it.

Sprinkle some lemon zest and chili flakes over it. Place a lime leaf on the top of it for garnishing. Drizzle little oil over it. Fold the sides of the banana leaf over the fish to make a parcel. Secure with a toothpick.

Now boil water in a wide pan and keep a steamer pan over it. You can use a big metal strainer as well.

Arrange the banana leaf parcels over the steamer or strainer in a single layer. Once the water starts boiling cover the steamer with a lid and wait for five minutes. Remove the lid and turn over the parcels. Let it cook for another five minutes.

Serve with plain rice.

Chapor Ghonto

2019-11-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is part 2 of our pujo spread post. Prompted by our friends going to a pujo spread buffet at a local Indian restaurant, I decided to make a pujo spread of our own.

In this post I bring to you chapor ghonto. This is a medley with bitter gourd being predominantly featured along with other seasonal vegetables. This recipe is a variant from my boro-pishi (dad's oldest sister), where she skipped the other veggies and used only potatoes along with a generous helping of ghee.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow split pea or motor daal washed and soaked overnight
1 large potato cut into medium sized cubes
2 bitter gourd or karela cut into thin half moon slices
1 tsp. paanch phoron
1 tsp. dry roasted paanch phoron powder
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. ghee or clarified butter
Salt to taste
Oil

Procedure

Step 1

Drain excess water from the soaked dal and grind it coarse with salt. Gently beat the batter for a minute.

Heat a griddle or tawa and grease it with oil. Now place the batter on the hot griddle and spread it flat over the tawa with a flat bottom spatula. Let it cooked on the medium heat for a minute or two. Now crank up the heat to high and let it sit there for another minute.

Noe with your spatula try to turn it. you will see it will break unevenly. These uneven pieces of the lentil cake is called chapor. Flip those uneven pieces on the tawa and apply oil with a spoon from the sides. Let this side sit for two minutes on medium heat and one minute on high heat.

Remove those chapors from the tawa and keep aside.

Now add oil in a wok and fry the slices of bitter gourd on medium heat till they are crispy. Set aside.

Add two tsp. oil in a wok and temper it with paanch phoron. Wait till they stop spluttering. Add potato cubes to it and fry them on medium heat for a while. Add turmeric powder and ginger paste and mix well. you might need to sprinkle water to it to avoid the spices from burning.

Season with salt and sugar and add little water to it. Cook it covered till the potato is almost cooked and ninety percent of the water is evaporated. This is the time you add the lentil pieces and the fried bitter gourd to it. Mix well. The chapor will absorb the excess water.

Finish it off with a dollop of ghee and dry roasted paanch phoron powder.

Serve with hot rice and enjoy.

Komola Kopi Chingri

2019-11-24T12:50:00.001-08:00

This Durga pujo we got more busy than usual, as both me and my teenage daughter decided to volunteer at the pujo venue. Serving food for hundreds at the pujo meant that we lost our appetite and barely ate lunch. Tired we also decided to turn in early.

A few of our friends learned about a Bengali buffet in a local Indian restaurant. Since
Pacific Northwest does not have too many Bengali families, having a Bengali spread at a local restaurant was a first time. My social media feed soon filled up with folks having luchi-mangso and other Bengali delicacies.

Next week I decided that I am going to give myself and the family our own version of a Bengali pujo spread and got into cooking frenzy. The menu was chapor ghonto, mochar ghonto, dhokar dalna, gondhoraj bhapa bhetki, komola-kopi-chingri, akbari-hundi and rabri.

In this post I bring to you the komola kopi chingri or orange shrimp cauliflower. This is a in-shell shrimps cooked with cauliflower in a orange flavored curry.

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
1 large potato cut into medium sized cubes
1 lb prawn deveined (you can also prawns without the shell)
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
Rind of one orange
1 medium tomato
1" ginger
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
Oil
2 bay leaves
1" cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 green cardamom
1 tsp. powder of cinnamon and clove

Procedure

Make a paste of tomato and ginger in a grinder.

Heat oil in a pan and fry potato and cauliflower pieces on medium heat till they take a nice golden brown hue. Remove and set aside.

Smear the prawns with turmeric powder and salt. Now fry them on very low heat till both sides turn pink. Remove and keep aside.

Now add little more oil if you need and temper it with bay leaf, cardamom , cinnamon and cloves.

When the oil becomes fragrant add fried potato to it. Now put the tomato ginger paste along with little water. Saute on low heat for a while till the raw smell of the spices go away. This is the time you add the cauliflower florets, turmeric and chili powder. As it takes less time for cauliflower to get cooked you add it later.

Mix everything together with the spices till you see oil oozing out. Now add half a cup of water. Season with salt and sugar. Give a nice stir.

Cook it covered on medium heat till potato and cauliflower are done. Throw the sautéed prawns and allow it to sizzle for another one minute. By this time the curry will be almost dry. Turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit before you pour the orange juice to it. Gently mix.

Sprinkle cinnamon and clove powder along with the orange rind and keep it covered till you serve,

Goes well with plain rice.

Fish Fry

2018-10-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

I have been blogging for some time now. While my blogs have touched various nooks and crannies of Bengali and Indian cuisine but somehow a mainstay of Bengali food, the famed Kolkata Fish fry has been missing. I did blog the recipe awhile back and it was one of my more popular posts but somehow the post got deleted.
So here it is back on bongcook, and to make up for the deletion I actually have a video to go along with. I love short and sweet videos and in that theme this is only around 2 minutes.
The reason I call it restaurant style is because while a lot of people make it at home it doesn’t quiet get the restaurant look. In the video I tried to cover how to really make it look good as well.
Hope you enjoy the video and as always I have the recipe below as well.

Ingredients For Marination

250gms bhetki fillet cut approximately 2 inch by 2 inch
1 lemon
2 tbsp. onion paste
2 tsp. ginger paste
2 tsp. garlic paste
2 tsp. green chili paste
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper corn
Salt to taste

Procedure For Marination

Mix all the ingredients above including the juice of one lemon and apply to the fish fillet so that all the sides are well covered with this spice mixture. Marinate for 3 - 4 hrs.

Ingredients For Coating & Frying

2 eggs
Plenty of bread crumbs
Enough refined oil for deep frying

Procedure For Coating & Frying
In a bowl beat 2 eggs with salt.
In a wide tray or plate take bread crumbs and spread it to form a layer.
With a spoon or fork take each fillet out, and dip it in the egg wash and place flat on the bread crumb layer. With your dry hands sprinkle a fistful of bread crumb on the open top layer of the fillet so that that this surface too is covered with bread crumbs.
Press gently with the palms of your hand to flatten them.
Use the blunt side of a knife and press it along the all 4 edges of the breaded fillet to give them a professional look. :)
Heat enough oil for deep frying till it smokes. Reduce the temperature and let it cool down a bit before you slid in the breaded fillet. Fry on medium high heat till both sides turn golden brown and crispy.
Remove on a paper towel and serve with salad.

Not Pumpkin Flower Fritters

2018-10-22T21:15:00.001-07:00

Every year during this time everyone in USA gets crazy about pumpkin for all the wrong reasons (ahem ghosts). They drink pumpkin lattes and pumpkin beers, decorate their home with hideously large pumpkins.
Last year I started looking out for pumpkins flowers and vines. My queries were met with strange looks. A farm owner in Ballard even offered me to get tones of the vines because essentially it is waste for them. However, I rarely found the flowers.
This year, I decided to grow my own, but not pumpkins, but rather zucchini, a cousin of the pumpkin which is easier to grow. The flowers are almost identical and I can vouch they taste exactly the same.
Using zucchini flowers this is how I made my kumro phul er bora or pumpkin flower fritters.

Ingredients

10 zucchini flower
1 tbsp. kalonji / nigella seeds
1tsp. turmeric powder
5 tbsp. Besan / Bengal gram flour
2 tbsp. rice flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Wash the flowers carefully in running water. Now cut the stem short and make a vertical cut through the flower to take out the stamen and the pistil.

In a mixing bowl mix gram flour, rice flour, nigella seeds, turmeric powder, salt and baking soda very well.

By adding water little at a time make a thick batter.

Heat enough refined oil for deep frying in a pan. Coat each zucchini flower with the batter and gently slide it in the hot oil. Fry on medium heat till crispy and golden brown.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Serve with hot rice and your favorite daal.

Kumro Potoler Chokka

2017-10-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

The very first year we were in US, my daughter went on a school trip to a farm for Halloween. She proudly brought home a pumpkin which she had picked up. She was tiny and the pumpkin tinier, not suitable for carving. I chopped it up and made some Kumro-r Chokka, she still reminds me of this sad incident every Halloween. This year being no exception.

While stealing pumpkins from little one is not recommended, the recipe totally is.

Ingredients

250 gm pumpkin peeled and cut into medium sized cubes
250 gm potol (Pointed Gourd) peeled and cut into halves
2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into medium sized cubes
1/2 cup soaked whole red Bengal gram
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 large tomato cut into quarters
1 tbsp. cashew powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. hing (asafetida)
2 dry whole red chilies
1 tsp. paanch phoron
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
Mustard oil
1 tsp. powder of dry roasted cumin and coriander seeds of equal quantity

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a wok and one by one fry pumpkin, potol and potato pieces for about two to three minutes and remove them for later use.

If required add more mustard oil to the wok and temper it with dry whole red chilies, paanch phoron and hing. When they stop sputtering add tomatoes to it. Lower the heat and add fried potato cubes. Sauté everything together on medium heat.. You can add turmeric, chili, cumin powder at this point and keep frying. If required add water little at a time to prevent burning of the spices.

Add grated coconut, soaked red Bengal gram and keep sautéing. Pour half a cup of water and let it simmer on medium heat for about five minutes.

When the potatoes are half way through add potol and pumpkin pieces to it along with grated ginger. Add the seasonings and mix well. You may want to add some more water to it. Cook it covered on medium heat till all vegetables are tender but yet retaining their shapes.

This will be a dry gravy. so adjust the quantity of liquid accordingly. Add cashew powder and let cook it for about a minute.

Turn off the heat and sprinkle dry roasted cumin and coriander powder to it. Garnish with some more grated coconut.

Enjoy with luchi or parota.

Cook Friendly Chili Chicken

2017-10-29T20:18:00.001-07:00

One of my most ardent readers is now one of my very good friend and neighbor. One day over tea we were discussing, how hard it is to make chili-chicken when you have food robbers in the house. The moment we are done with frying the chicken it starts disappearing. Finally the chili-chicken results in lot of chili and very little chicken.

Just to handle this situation I have come up with the cook friendly version where the chicken is not fully cooked after frying and that stops the robbers.

Ingredients

For Marination

1lb boneless chicken cut into small pieces
2 tbsp. garlic paste
1 tbsp. ginger paste
2 tbsp. dark soya sauce
2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
2 tbsp. green chili sauce
Salt to state
2 tbsp. all purpose flour
2 tbsp. corn meal or rice flour
4 tbsp.. oil

For Gravy

1 large onion cut into cubes
1 green bell pepper cut into cubes
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tbsp. chopped green chilies
1/.2 cup chopped green onion.
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 tbsp. green chili sauce
2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
2 tbsp. dark soya sauce
2 tbsp. corn starch diluted in half cup water
Salt to taste

Procedure

Marinates chicken pieces with all ingredients listed under margination without the flours and the oil. Marinate for half an hour. Sprinkle all purpose flour and corn meal over the chicken pieces and coat very gently.

Now heat oil in a wide shallow frying pan. Shallow fry the chicken pieces in one layer first on high heat for a minute and then on medium heat till the meat is ninety percent done. You will see the surface of the chicken pieces are crispy because of the application of corn meal. Remove and reserve for later use.

In the rest of the oil add chopped garlic and fry for a minute before you add onion and green chilies to it. Sauté everything together for a minute or two on high heat. Now add fried chicken pieces to it and mix well. Cook it covered on low heat for couple of minutes. This will cook chicken through and through.

Remove the lid and crank up the heat to high. Add bell pepper and toss everything well. Turn off the heat.

In another sauce pan combine vinegar, chili garlic sauce, green chili sauce, dark soya sauce with half

a cup of water. Bring it to a boil. Bring the heat to the lowest and slowly add diluted corn starch to it.

Crank up the heat while stirring it continuously till you see the sauce thickens up. Add the fried chicken mixture to it and turn off the heat. check the seasoning and adjust. Garnish with green onion.

If you want dry chili chicken then you add all the sauce directly over the fried chicken mixture and fry everything together till the chicken pieces are well coated with the sauces. Add diluted cornstarch over it and mix on high flame till the moisture dries up. Check the seasoning and adjust. Finish it off with chopped green onion.

Rajsahi Fish Tikka

2017-10-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

My husband had invited few of his friends for a barbecue at our home. Seattle weather being as it is, turned a bit iffy with possibilities of rain. So I decided to make something indoors incase cooking outside failed. Given the party theme I plated it in a more western style on slices of whole grain bread with fresh cut salad.

Rajsahi is a major city in Bangladesh and I actually doubt if people from there really know about this recipe. Either way it is pretty rajokio or royal in taste.

I make most of these kind of bengali dry fish recipes with locally available rock-fish. If you have the good fortune of access to bhetki, please go with that instead.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. fish fillet cut into medium cubes (Best if you can get bhetki, cod and rock fish work well)
1 lemon juice
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. green chili paste
1 tbsp. garlic paste
2 tbsp. thick plain yogurt
1 tsp. Bengali Garam Masala powder
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
2 tbsp. ghee
Salt to taste
Few slices of bread for serving

Procedure

Wash fish and pat it dry with a paper towel. Mix everything with fish keeping aside one tbsp. ghee and half of the lime juice.

Now marinate the fish for about an hour.

Pre heat oven at 350F. Grease a baking tray with oil and lay the fish pieces in single layer.

Bake for about five minutes. Take the tray out and strain the liquid released from the fish.

Turn over the fish cubes, brush it with the rest of lemon juice and ghee and bake it again for about ten minutes..

Remove and brush it again with the lemon juice and ghee mixture. Sprinkle a pinch of mustard and black pepper powder over it.

Cut the bread slices into square and place each tikka on top of it to serve.

Dim Fulkopi R Rezala

2017-10-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Few days back I posted the story of our new family tradition of making Prawn-pulao every Mahalaya. Now you cannot really eat pulao by itself, even though mysteriously the pulao kept decreasing as I was busy making it’s accompaniment. While I do plan to summon Mr. Holmes to get to the bottom of this mystery, here goes the recipe of egg-cauliflower rezala that I made to go with the pulao.

This rezala goes really well with the pulao because of it’s mild smooth taste. Since the pulao itself has a very distinct flavor, serving it with anything stronger like mutton doesn’t work that well. We also really enjoyed the left over rezala with some laccha paratha.

Ingredients

4 eggs boiled and de-shelled
2 medium potatoes cut into halves
8 medium sized florets of cauliflower
1 cup sliced onion
2 tbsp. minced ginger
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup yogurt
1tbsp. cashew and raisin paste
1/4th cup milk
1 tbsp. ghee
1 tsp. dry spice powder of the following dry roasted spices

1" cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom
5 cloves
1 tsp. caraway seed
1 bay leaf

1 tbsp. sugar
Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and fry onion, ginger, and garlic for about five minutes on low heat.

Remove from heat and let it come down to room temperature. Now make a paste of all these three ingredient with half a cup of yogurt.

Heat oil in a wok and fry cauliflower florets on medium high heat. Ensure the florets don't change their white color. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve. Fry potatoes and eggs in the same way.

Now in the same oil add dry whole red chilies and pepper corn. When they stop sizzling add onion, ginger, garlic paste to it add fried potatoes and sauté till the raw smell subsides. If required you may add water during the sautéing process.

When the potatoes are three quarter done add cauliflower florets to it. Sprinkle salt and sugar to your taste. Mix well so that every pieces are well coated with spice mixture.

Add half a cup of water and let it simmer on low heat till both the vegetables are tender. Now goes in the fried boiled eggs along with the cashew and raisin paste. Add quarter cup of milk to it. Let it simmer for a while till it takes a thick gravy consistency.

Turn off the heat. Add one tbsp. ghee along with one tsp. of dry roasted spice powder. Mix once and keep it covered till you serve.

Dhakai Fish

2017-10-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

I have had the good fortune to be always blessed with great neighbors. Our Seattle home is no exception. We meet a few times over the summer vacation to indulge in barbecue and pot-lucks.This summer when one of my neighbors organized a get-together at their place, I asked them what I should get. I got the request of something spicy.

I wanted to ensure I bring something from our homeland and not the fake Indian food like butter chicken. It also needed to be finger food and palatable to the western taste. I settled on Dhakai fish, which is a shallow fried fish garnished with sautéed onion and green chilies. I made it with locally available fresh rock-fish fillet. You can use any fish of your choice both as fillet or cut into steaks. You can even use whole cut fish like pomfret. Just change the frying time depending on the size of the fish.

I have no clue why this is referred to as “Dhakai” or from Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh, it’s just what my mom used to call it.

Ingredients

1lb fish fillets cut into medium cubes (2" *2")
1tbswp. ginger garlic paste
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. red chili powder
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. rice flour
2 tbsp. Besan (Bengal Gram Flour)
Salt to taste
Oil for shallow frying

For Serving

1 onion thinly sliced
2tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced ginger
2 tbsp. chopped green chilies
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. oil

Procedure

Marinate the fish cubes with all ingredients other than the flours and oil for half an hour.

Once the margination is over sprinkle the flours over it and mix it gently so the fish cubes are roughly coated with the flours.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the fish pieces on medium high heat in a single layer so that their surface turns crispy yet the inside stays soft and juicy. It takes about three minutes. Remove them.

Now keep one tbsp. oil in the pan and add chopped ginger, garlic, onion sliced fry on medium high heat for about two to three minutes. Add green chilies to it and fry everything together on low heat.

Add fried fished to it and toss very gently to coat the fishes with the fried spices. Take care not to break the fishes.

Serve on a platter and garnish with chopped cilantro and crushed black pepper.

Enjoy with plain rice or as a finger food.

Chingri Maacher Pulao (Prawn Pulao)

2017-10-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

We are still in Durga pujo mode here in Seattle. Pujo is over, but the ever going Bijoya parties are not yet over. I sometimes feel that they continue to next years pujo

This year I was telling my husband the story of my mom making prawn pulao every year for Mahalaya because on most of the pujo days she’d be fasting and hence wouldn’t be able to make something nice for us. The petuk guy jumped at the opportunity and established that this is a custom apparently we are also starting. I was coaxed into agreeing to this and I made some prawn pulao and egg rezala.

Here goes the pulao recipe.

Ingredients

250gms gobindo bhog rice or kali jeera rice (1 cup)
500 gms. medium sized prawn deveined and cleaned
1 tbsp. grated ginger
5 - 6 green chilies slit lengthwise
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. refined oil
3 tbsp.
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder

Procedure

Wash rice and soak it in water for thirty minutes.. Now drain the water and spread it on a wide tray. Let it dry. It will take about 3-4 hours.

Sprinkle salt, sugar , grated ginger and half of the garam masala on the rice and mix it with a gentle hand.

Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker till it melts, then fry prawns till their surfaces turn pink.. Do not fry them for more than thirty seconds. Remove the prawns from the oil.

Now add the spice mixed rice to the hot oil and fry on low heat for about five minutes. You will see the grains turn opaque. This is the time you add a cup of coconut milk and a cup of plain room temperature water to it. Stir well and add the fried prawns and green chilies to it.

Cover the pressure cooker and crank up the heat to the highest heat mark. Ensure the pressure builds up inside and the steam is not escaping through the sides of the lid. Wait till one whistle comes up.

Turn off the heat and wait till the pressure release on its own.

Open the lid and sprinkle rest of the garam masala powder. Immediately spread the pulao in a wide serving plate.

Enjoy this with Egg rezala or korma of your choice..

Bhuni Khichuri from Bhaskar da, Simkie di

2017-10-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus I am back to food blogging. This post is brought to you by a bad bout of cold. The last time I had a cold was when I visited, ahem, a very cold place.

It was January of 2017, when few of us visited the cold sleepy town or rather village of Roslyn, up in the Cascade mountains. Like any true Bong outing, it was less about where we went, but more about what we ate.

Since I was down with a cold, I mostly stayed indoors helping others cook. One of our friend BhaskarDa made this amazing Khichuri based on his better half SimkiDi’s recipe.

The great thing about this Khichuri is it’s simplicity and rustic taste.

Ingredients

1 cup gobindobhog rice ( Jeera rice)
1 cup yellow moong dal
2 tbsp. cumin seeds
2-3 bay leaves
2-3 dry red chilies
1” raw ginger grated
1 cup medium sized cauliflower florets
1 cub medium sized cubed potato
4 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. ghee
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash rice and drain the water and keep aside.

In a frying pan take moong dal and dry roast it on medium flame till you get a nutty aroma and dal starts taking a nice brown hue.

Remove from the heat and wash it. Now soak the dal in water.

In a heavy bottomed pan heat two tbsp. oil and temper it with one tbsp. cumin seeds, bay leaves and dry red chilies. When you get a nice aroma add washed and drained rice to it and fry them on very low heat for about five minutes.

Once you start getting the flavor of the fried rice add soaked dal along with its water to it. Give them a hearty stir. Add salt and cook it covered. you need to check the water level time to time and need to replenish if required.

In the mean time smear the cauliflower florets and potato cubes with little salt and start heating the rest of the oil in a frying pan..

Once the oil is hot enough fry the cauliflower florets and the potato cubes on medium heat. Remove them from oil and keep aside.

When the rice and dal mixture is three fourth cooked add the fried cauliflower florets and potato to it. Check the seasoning and the water level and adjust accordingly. This is the time you add grated ginger and sugar. Mix once more and cook it covered.

When the khichuri is done, turn off the heat. In a small frying pan heat ghee till it melts and temper it with the rest of the cumin seeds. When they stop sputtering, pour it over the khichuri and immediately cover the pot. Keep it covered till you serve.

Homemade Dhoka Mix (Dhoka Flour)

2017-03-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

I had a friend who told me that she has seen Dhoka Mix at our local Indian grocery store. I searched everywhere but came empty handed. All the while I had my suspicions that she had either seen Dhokla mix, or the right mix at the wrong place (in India).

I was coping with my disappointment and even considering professional help, when I visited another friends house. Who reached into her pantry and pulled out Dhoka mix she got from India and showed me. That was the tipping point.

Thankfully the next week I got some time to myself when my husband and kids went out for some snow fun. After various attempts I finally came up with my own very own Dhoka mix. Please see the steps below. And if you want to make some Dhoka with the mix, see my post http://www.bongcook.com/2012/01/dhoka-r-dalna-lentil-cake-curry.html

Ingredients

100 gms Bengal gram ( Cholar daal / Chaana Daal)
1 tsp. asafoetida (Hing)
2 dry red chilies
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

Procedure

Dry roast red chilies, cumin and coriander seeds till they are fragrant. Remove and let them come to room temperature.

Wet a cheese cloth and wring it well to get rid of the extra water. Now clean the dal by rubbing them with the moist cheese cloth. spread the daal on a plate and let it to dry completely. It is best to wait overnight to ensure the daal doesn.t have any moisture left on their surface.

Now take the daal along with all other ingredients into a dry grinding jar and grind them to make a coarse powder. Allow it too cool down before you pour it into a airtight jar. Store in the refrigerator.

Before making Dhoka take required the dry mix (100gms) in a bowl and mix with 75 ml. of luke warm water. Let it stand for twenty minute. You can adjust seasoning if required. I like to add a tsp. of grated ginger at this point.

Heat one tbsp. oil in a non stick pan and and pour the batter. Cook it while continously stirring on low heat for couple of minutes. Turn off the heat when you see the mixture is coming together to form a dough..

Transfer the dough on a greased plate and press it downwards and flatten the surface while it is still warm. Allow it to cool down. Now with a sharp knife cut into squares or triangles.

Heat enough oil for deep frying in a wok and fry the dhoka pieces on medium high heat till they are brown and crispy. Remove and make dhokar dalna…

Chicken Pepper Roast

2017-03-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

When we first moved to the US and were living in the temporary housing, my kitchen was obviously not fully setup yet as most of my appliances were still floating in a ship somewhere over the atlantic. However, I had to entertain some guests and cooked up this chicken pepper roast because it needed very few and common ingredients. My husband liked it so much that he frequently requests for a re-do. Here is a post from one of those many re-dos.

Ingredients

1lb. chicken cut into medium pieces on bone
1/4th cup thick plain yogurt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
2 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
2 tsp. chicken tandoori masala
2 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. chopped green chili
10 - 15 curry leaves
1 tbsp. black pepper corns
5 tbsp. ghee
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
Cilantro for garnishing

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take chicken pieces and marinate it well with yogurt, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri red chili powder and chicken tandoori masala and salt. Let it rest for at least three hours.

Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Now take the chicken pieces and shake off the excess marinade from it and lay them on the tray in single layer. Don't discard the marinade. Pre heat the oven at 200C and bake the chicken pieces for about twenty minutes. Don't forget to brush up ghee every five minutes.

After baking is done, you will notice a good amount of watery liquid is accumulated in the baking tray. Keep this liquid along with the marinade.

In a small pan start cooking the marinade along with the liquid and let it simmer until the quantity is just enough to coat the chicken pieces. Check the seasoning and adjust. This is the time you add sugar to it.

Now heat 3tbsp. ghee in a cooking pan. After it melts add chopped ginger and green chili to it and sauté on very low heat for about a minute or two. add chicken pieces to it along with the cooked marinade. Toss everything well so that the chicken pieces are well coated with spice. Cover and let it sit on low heat for about 2-3 minutes. Pour the rest amount of ghee and add freshly crushed pepper corn and curry leaves to it. Give it a good mix before you turn off the heat. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy..

Chingri Bharta

2017-03-15T09:00:00.001-07:00

This is a classic Bangladeshi dish. It’s common for Bangladeshi’s to make bharta/bhorta (mish-mash) out of a lot of everyday items. Chingri or Prawn being no exception.

Recently I attended a potluck lunch and decided to make this yummy yet easy to make main-course. Prawn Bharta goes really well with steaming white rice.

Ingredients

20-25 medium sized shrimp shelled and de -veined
5-6 dried red chilies
5-6 green hot chilies
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced ginger
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 tbsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
1/4 cup mustard oil
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. sugatr
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat 2 tablespoon mustard oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Smear the prawns with turmeric powder. Add the prawns to medium hot oil and cook till they turn pink and cooked through. Do not over cook. Remove them from the pan and allow them to come down to the room temperature. Take aside 10-12 prawns and put them in a blender or food processor. Pulse the blender/food processor to process the shrimp coarse and chunky consistency. It should NOT be a fine paste. Transfer the content in a mixing bowl.

Cut the rest of the prawns into small bit sized pieces. Keep them in the mixing bowl.

In the separate pan, heat about 2 tbsp. of oil. Add the dry red chilies and nigella seeds to it. Cook them until they stop sputtering. Now add half the amount of the green chilies, 1/4 cup onion, garlic and the ginger in the pan and cook them on low to medium heat until the onion, garlic and ginger looses their rawness, but still maintain their structure. They should not turn brown. Once done, transfer the all the content of the pan to the mixing bowl.

Add the rest of the chopped onions, green chili peppers, rest of the mustard oil, sugar, salt and lime juice. Gently toss. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serve over hot rice or as a side.

Khowa Murgh

2017-02-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

My daughter is now a middle schooler and these days she has quite a few friends visiting us. I land in a dilemma while trying to make dinner for them. If I make what is called Indian food in the US then we cannot really eat that. If I make something for our palate then it’s hard on her friends. I made this Khowa Murgh (Chicken with milk solids) as a good compromise. It has a slight sweet taste and at the same time has chili-flakes which gives it a nice balance.

Ingredients

1lb. chicken pieces on bone
1 cup finely sliced onion
1 tbsp. ginger paste
2 tsp. garlic paste
2 Kashmiri red chili pound into flakes
50 gms khowa 9Unsweetened milk solids)
2 tbsp. almond powder
1/4 cup thick yogurt
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste
Oil
2-3 whole black cardamom
5-6 clove

Procedure

Heat oil in a thick bottom pan and reduce the heat. Add black cardamom and cloves to it and sauté on low heat for about two to three minutes till the oil gets fragrant.

Add sliced onion to it along with a pinch of salt. fry on low heat till the onion is translucent the edges are light brown.

Add ginger, garlic paste to it and fry on low heat till the raw smell subsides.

Next to go in are the chicken pieces along with the sugar. Sauté the chicken pieces on high heat till they are properly seared.

Add salt to it and mix it well. Cook it covered till the meat is almost done. While the chicken is being cooked make a paste of the khowa along with the almond powder and yogurt.

When the meat is almost done for add the khowa paste to it. Now let it simmer uncovered for about five more minutes. Sprinkle chili flakes over it for garnishing...

Italian Style Chicken Stew

2016-07-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I need to make lunch for my daughter and her friends of European origin. It’s hard to get something to plate which both would equally enjoy. This chicken stew seems to fit the bill. It has both Indian spices as well as Italian herbs.

Ingredients

1lb. chicken on bone
1/4th cup onion juice
2 medium sized onion sliced thinly
1 large tomato sliced lengthwise
5-6 baby potatoes
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped leek (optional)
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 tbsp. whole pepper corn
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper powder
1 tbsp. saffron
1/4 cup fresh cream
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil (you can use any vegetable oil)
2 tsp. all purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash and pat dry chicken pieces and marinate them with onion juice, black pepper powder and salt..

Keep it aside for an hour or two.

Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces on medium low heat till all sides take a light brown hue. This way you can seal the juice of the chicken.

In another pan take butter and allow it to melt on very low heat. You need to be careful not to burn the butter. Add whole peppercorns to it followed by minced garlic. Sauté till you start getting a nice aroma.

Add sliced onions and leek and fry on medium heat till the onions turn a little brown.. Next to go in are the tomato slices.. Fry on medium heat till the tomato starts to melt.. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down and come to the room temperature..

Put the fried mixture in a blender and blend it for half a minute.. Now strain the blended mixture through a strainer and reserve the pulp.

In a separate pan melt another spoon of butter on very low flame and add flour to it.. Fry for a little while. Add the reserved pulp to it and pour about 4 cups of water to it. Mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil before you add the fried chicken pieces to it. Add the baby potatoes. Season with salt and sugar. Cover it. Allow it to simmer on low heat to infuse all the flavors together. When the chicken and the potato is just done sprinkle saffron strands and mix it well. Let it simmer for another minute before you add 2 tbsp. of fresh cream to it. Turn off the heat and garnish with parsley.

You can serve with garlic bread or plain bread..

Gondhoraj Bhetki

2016-07-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

Gondhoraj Bhetki is one of the most popular dishes served in the famous Oh Calcutta! restaurant in Kolkata. If you landed on this page searching for that, then this is not it. Oh Calcutta created it’s own version to appeal to a more cosmopolitan clientele. Gondhoraj Bhetki or fragnant bhetki presented here is the authentic traditional summer food prepared in Bengali households, something my grand mom or mom would’ve made.

Ingredients

4 medium sized steak pieces of bhetki (substitute with Cod or Tai Snapper steak based on local availability)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp. ginger paste
1/2 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. green chili paste
2 large gondhoraj lime (substitute with any fragrant large lime)
1 tsp. gondhoraj lime rind
4 kafir lime leaf
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
White vegetable oil

Procedure

Clean and wash the fish. Pat it dry with a paper towel.

Grate one lime. Now cut and squeeze the juice of both the limes and reserve it.

In a bowl take half of the ginger, garlic, chili paste along with lime juice and salt. Mix it well and apply on both sides of the fish steaks. Let it rest for about thirty minutes.

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pan and one by one shallow fry the fish steaks after shaking off the extra marinade. Remove from oil and keep aside.

In a pan take 3-4 tsp. of refined oil and add ginger, garlic and chili paste to it. sauté on very low heat till the raw smell subsides. Turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit. Now add beaten yogurt to it. Mix well. Add salt and sugar to your taste and add half a cup of water. Mix well and let it come to a boil. Throw the kafir lime leaves and gently slide the fish steaks in. Cook till the fish is cooked and the sauce is thick. Sprinkle the lime juice along with its rind.

Serve hot with plain rice..

Macher Kason Pora Jhol

2016-07-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is a very old traditional Bangladeshi fish curry, I learnt it from my grandmom and unfortunately have no clue to the origin of the name “kason”. The main ingredient is deeply fried and almost burnt fenugreek seeds. The taste is very rustic and this is very easy and fast to make as well. You cannot go wrong with this. If you have never made fish curries this is a fantastic first yet innovative one to try.

Ingredients

4 steak pieces of fish ( Preferably Rohu / Catla)
1 tbsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. finely chopped green chilies
2 tbsp. finely chpped cilantro
2 tsp. methi seed (Fenugreek)
1 tbsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. red chili powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
Mustard oil
Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash and pat dry fish pieces. Smear them with half tablespoon of turmeric powder and salt. Keep them aside for fifteen minutes.

In a small bowl make a paste of half turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder with water and keep it handy.

Heat mustard oil in a wok till it smokes. Reduce the heat and fry the fish pieces till both sides turn golden brown. Remove the fish pieces on a paper towel and keep aside. Discard the oil.

Heat another two tablespoon of oil on medium heat and temper it with methi seeds. Fry on low heat till you start getting the aroma. Now remove the methi seeds from the oil and discard. Add chopped garlic to the oil and fry till you get a nice aroma. Remove and reserve it for garnishing. Add garlic paste to the oil along with half of the chopped green chilies. Fry on low heat till the garlic paste loosed its raw smell.

add the spice powder mixture to it and fry on low heat till you can see the oil oozing out of the spice mixture. Add one cup of water and bring it to a boil before you add fried fish pieces to it. season with salt and let it boil for another five minutes.

Turn off the heat and garnish the gravy with fried chopped garlic, chopped green chilies and cilantro.

Serve with hot rice..

Texas Tijuana Taco Pasta

2016-07-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

Updated-

Each Thursday my husband refuses to take lunch to office and my daughter finds every excuse to go to dad’s office. All for “Texas Tijuana Taco Penne” which is served by the restaurant “Pasta Ya Gotcha” at their café. That is generally followed by him vigorously running at the gym to get rid of the 750 calls accumulated in one meal.

So one Thursday I relented to his repeated requests and drove down to his office to try it out. It helped that the chefs made it live and I could observe how they cooked. The taste was out of the world and I finally understood the lure of Thursday café lunch which so much enticed the rest of my family. So after careful analysis and couple of attempts I think I got it albeit in a more healthier form :)

Ingredients

1 cup store bought dry pasta of your choice
1 cup ground chicken (coarse keema)
1tsp. minced garlic
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1tsp. all purpose flour
2tsp. butter
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3tbsp. readymade taco seasonings (amazon link)
Salt to taste

procedure

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the water and keep it ready.

In frying pan melt butter and add ground chicken to it. Fry on medium heat for about 5 minutes and remove them.

Heat rest of the butter and add minced garlic to it. Don’t forget to reduce the heat to low else it will turn brown.

Add one teaspoon flour to it and fry on medium heat for few seconds. Now pour milk and cream to it.Mix well so that it doesn’t have any lump inside. Bring them to a boil while stirring continuously.

While the sauce is boiling add half of the cheese and cooked ground chicken to it and allow it to simmer till it thickens. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and taco spices. You can make the sauce in advance and keep it refrigerated. In that case you have to warm up the sauce just before.

Take the cooked pasta on a pasta bowl and pour ladleful of sauce over it. Top it up with grated cheese and green onions.

You can dump the drained pasta in the sauce and mix it well. Garnish with cheese and green onions.