Macher Jhol (Fish curry)

Mach means Fish and Jhol means curry, especially the curry which is not very thick. For many Bengali, fish is one of the most important food supplements. Fish is versatile; it can be fried, steamed, dried or you can simply make fish-curry. We, the Bengalis love it in every form and shape. In Bengal, traditionally, fish curry is made with Rohu, Catla and Hilsa. Since I live in Thailand, the typical fish used to make curry back at home is not easily found. So, today I will cook Sea Bass, easily available here at any local market or any gourmet shop.

Ingredients:
1. Sea bass fish (cut in to 5 pieces. In 5 piece I have used 4, I didn’t use the head portion)
2. Onion (2, medium size, sliced)
3. Tomato (2, medium size, chopped)
4. Ginger & Garlic paste  (1 tea spoon each)
5. Green chilies (4 nos)
6. Eggplant and Potato cut in to long pieces and fried. (Quantity as per your preference)
7. Cumin powder (2 teaspoon)
8. Coriander powder (2 teaspoon)
9. Red chili powder (1-2 teaspoon or as per your preference)
10. Paprika or Kashmiri red chili powder (1-2 teaspoon)
11. Salt to taste
12. Turmeric powder (2 teaspoon)
13. Coriander leaves.
14. Mustard oil (3 tablespoon)
15. Black cumin (1 /2 teaspoon)
16. Sugar (1/4 teaspoon)
17. Garam masala powder (1/2 teaspoon)

Method:
1. Marinate the washed pieces of fish for 5-7 mints with turmeric powder and salt. After that, shallow fry the fish pieces on both sides till they become a bit brownish. Keep them aside.
2. In a heated pan pour the mustard oil; add the black cumin seeds and let them splutter.
3. Add the onions slices and fry them. (You can add a pinch of sugar to this. It will help onions to get caramelized quickly and will give it a nice brown color)
4. Add ginger & garlic paste to this and keep frying.
5. When the onions will become translucent, add the tomatoes and cook it for 5 more minutes. Soon the tomatoes will melt down and the whole mixture will become like a paste.
6. Lower the flame; add all the dry spices and salt. Mix it well.
7. when the masala starts releasing oil, add water for gravy according to your preference. Also add the sliced green chilies.
8. Add the fried vegetables and fish. Cover this with a lid and let it cook for 5-7 mints in low flame. Let the fish absorb all the goodness of the spices.
9. Add garam masala (optional) and chopped coriander leaves in to the gravy mix it and switch off the flame.

It is perfect with a plate of hot steamed rice.

Enjoy.

Mo

Pakhala Bhat with various side dishes

Pakhala is the a traditional Oriya dish; in Bengali it is called Pantha Bhat (পান্তা ভাত). It is prepared by soaking leftover rice in water overnight. There are so many side dishes that goes well with this, both vegetarian and non vegetarian. I have paired it with Fried potatoes, fried bitter gourd and Red Lentil Dal.

You can get more information about Pakhala from this Wikipedia article. 20th March is declared as Pakhala Dibasa (Universal Pakhala Day) by Oriya community. And being a Bengali foodie, I celebrate it too, in my own way.

Ingredients:
1. One cup of cooked rice
2. Potato(1 big size)
3. Bitter gourd (5 small size)
4. Tomatoes (2 medium size)
5. Fenugreek seeds(1/4 tsp)
6. Green chilies (5)
7. Salt to taste
8. Mustard oil 3 tsp
9. Lemon leaf (2-3)
10. Masoor Dal(Red lentils)
11. Turmeric powder
12. Nigella seeds (1/4tsp)
13. Flour(1/3 tsp)
14. Cumin powder (1/2 tsp)

Menu and  Method:
1. Pakhala (Rice dish): Take a cup of cooked rice (you can use leftover rice) and add 2 cups of cold water to it. Many people add cumin seeds or curry leaves to this; but I want my Pakhala to be pristine; so I didn’t add anything. Leave the rice soaked in water overnight and your Pakhala will be ready in the morning.

2. Potato fry: Peel the potatoes and cut them into flat long pieces as done for french fries. In a heated pan add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add nigella seeds. Add the potatoes, salt, turmeric powder and 2 green chilies. Fry everything in high flame for 2 minutes. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water on top. Cover the lid and let it cook in low flame. Keep checking the potatoes in between and cook it until the potatoes become soft.

3. Bitter gourd fry: Bitter gourd is bitter I know; but it is really really great for your health. Cut the bitter gourds into disc like pieces. Add some salt, turmeric powder, flour and a pinch of water. Mix everything well and fry in 1 teaspoon of oil for 1-2 minutes in high flame. Cover it up with lid and let it cook in low flame until the bitter gourds become soft.

4. Masoor Dal (Red lentils soup): Masoor dal is the quintessential dal on a Bengali dining table. We eat it everyday; a regular Bengali meal is unthinkable without this. Take a half cup of  red lentil and add 1.5 cup of water to it. Boil it with salt and turmeric powder. In a pan add 1 teaspoon of oil. Let the oil heat up and then add fenugreek seeds and tomatoes. Saute it for 1 minute. Add cumin powder, green chilies and mix it well. Finally, pour the boiled dal in to the pan. Mix the masala with the cooked dal well and cook it for 3-4 mints. If it becomes too thick to your preference, add some water. I have added 0ne cup of water, because I wanted my dal to be a bit runny. Add the lemon leaves, mix it well and switch off the flame.

I like to add some cucumber to all my meals, it helps to control the amount of carbohydrate intake. There are some unbelievable health benefits which you will find in green chilies, no calories only Vitamins; and it adds a lovely aroma to the whole meal.

All the dishes which I have just described are just perfect for hot Summer, do try it out.

Enjoy.

Mo.

 

 

 

 

Fried potatoes and more…

There are very few who don’t like potatoes; I love potatoes. Today i m going to share a simple recipe with you guys. I will be truthful here. My intention was to fry potatoes with some spices, but a little bit of improvisation turned it into something else. It turned up absolutely fantastic.

Ingredients:
1. Potatoes (2,big size)
2. Curry leaves (2-3 springs)
3. Salt to taste
4. Dry mango powder or Aamchur powder (1 teaspoon)
5. Turmeric (1 teaspoon)
6. Dry red chili (2 pieces)
7. Mustard seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
8. Cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
9. Tomato (1, medium size)
10. Cumin powder (1/2 teaspoon)
11. Pinch of Asafoetida
12. Oil (2 tablespoon)

Method:
Cut the potatoes in to cubes, put in water for  1-2 hour.

In a heated pan add the oil, let the oil heat up. Add dry red chilies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and let them splutter. Add the potato cubes and mix well. One by one add turmeric powder, cumin powder, dry mango powder. Add salt to taste. Mix everything properly. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix it well. Add a little bit of water, lower the flame and let it cover for sometime until the potatoes get cooked properly. Serve it with chapati.

Enjoy.

Mo

 

 

Mango shake

Summer is almost here; we are already into the season of Mangoes, the king of  all fruits. The weather in Thailand is already very hot and humid and the mercury is soaring higher everyday. It’s extremely important to consume a lot of liquid throughout the day; water, fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, shakes and smoothies, you’ve got plenty of choice. Today we will make Mango Shake. It’s simple to make and really tasty. I am sure everybody  knows how to make it. There are many variations of this, but in my humble opinion, it’s all about letting the sweetness of mango to take the center stage ably aided by the rest of the ingredients. Let’s get started.

Ingredients :
1. Pulp of a big size mango
2. Milk
3. Saffron (optional)
4. Sugar(optional)
5. Ice cubes
6. Dry fruits(optional)

Method:
In a blender, put sliced mango pulps, ice cubes, milk, sugar (you can also make without sugar). Blend it till you don’t see any mango pulp floating around. Add dry fruits as per your preference. I have used 2-3 raisins and cashew nuts. Serve it in a tall glass. You can decorate it with a few saffron strands before serving.

Enjoy.
Mo

Palak paneer(Cottage Cheese in Spinach Gravy)

Palak Paneer or Cottage cheese in spinach gravy is delicious and surprisingly easy to cook. This is a traditional North Indian dish, variations of the recipe can be found all over the county and even outside of India. It’s one of the most recognized India dish and easily available in Indian restaurants in India and abroad. Its easy to make, very healthy and absolutely delightful.

Ingredients:
1. Spinach (4 cups, washed)
2. Paneer (250 grams)
3. Green Chilies (4 pieces)
4. Mustard oil (4 tbsp)
5. Cinnamon Stick  (1 inch piece)
6. Onions (2, medium size, sliced)
7. Ginger paste (½ tbsp)
8. Garlic paste (1 tbsp)
9. Tomatoes (1 , medium size, chopped)
10. Coriander Powder (2 teaspoons)
11. Cumin Powder (2 teaspoons)
12. Turmeric Powder (½ teaspoon)
13. Red Chili Powder (1 teaspoon)
14. Garam Masala (1 teaspoon)
15. Salt to taste
16. Dry Mango Powder (½ teaspoon)
17. Milk or Cooking Cream (1 cup)
18. Dried Fenugreek Leaves (1 teaspoon)

Method:

Step 1:
Boil the washed spinach leaves with 2 chilies without lid on top. It will take 2-3 minutes. Remove the spinach from heat, drain the excess water and allow it to cool down. We will blend this and make a thick paste which will be used for gravy. For that, we will blend this in pulse mode so that there is some solid pieces or bits of spinach in the gravy.

Step 2:
In a pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir fry the paneer cubes until they become light golden brown on all sides. While frying, I have added pinch of salt and turmeric to give it a yellowish color; this is absolutely optional skip this if you want our paneer to be pristine. Add half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl of water and throw in all the fried paneer cubes in it. Once the paneer cubes are fried, they become a bit harder and it adversely affects the texture of the dish; if we put the paneer cubes into water, they will stay soft when we will use them later.

Step 3:
Heat the pan. Add 3 tablespoons of oil. In the heated oil, add the cinnamon stick, onions and a teaspoon of salt. Cook until Onions become translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste. Fry this until they become a bit brownish. Add chopped tomatoes and keep stirring the mix and make sure it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle some water if required. Mix properly until the oil comes out from the mixture and the tomatoes get caramelized. Add all the dry spices (Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Garam Masala, Dry Mango Powder). Mix everything well; add salt as per your taste. Your masala is ready.

Step 4:
Since our masala is ready, now it’s time to add the goodness of spinach.  Add the blended spinach to the masala. If the gravy becomes very thick, add a bit of water as per your preference. Cook it for 2-3 mints without the lid. Add a cup of full fat milk. In restaurants  they use cream, but i have used full fat milk. Give it a good mix. Crusg some dried fenugreek leavesand add to the mix. And sliced green chilies. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Your gravy is ready.

Step 5:
Now it’s time to add the king of the dish, the paneer cubes. Add the fried paneer cubes and mix them gently with the gravy.

Palak paneer is ready. Serve it with hot chapati, roti or nan.

Enjoy.

Mo

Aloo Matar paneer (Bengali style)

Aloo matar paneer or Gravy with cottage cheese, potatoes and green peas is a very simple and tasty vegetarian preparation. There are many variation of this throughout India; we will do it the Bengali way. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:
1. Paneer (Cottage Cheese) -250grm
2. Potato/Aloo-1 Medium size
3. Panch-Phoron*- 1 tsp
4. Green chili-2
5. Tomato-1 Medium size
6. Cumin powder-1 tsp
7. Red chili powder-1 tsp
8. Turmeric powder-1 tsp
9. Salt to taste.
10. Mustard oil-3tbsp.
11. Pinch of Asafoetida
12. Ginger-1tsp
13. Kashmiri red chili powder-1 tsp
14. Green pea -Boiled 1 cup or you can use frozen also.

*Panch-Phoron is an authentic Bengali spice mix used in most of the Bengali vegetarian dishes. It includes Cumin seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel Seeds, mustard seeds. All of these are mixed together together to make panch-phoron mix.

Method:
Cut the paneer and potatoes into cubes. Take a hot pan and fry the potatoes and paneer in a tbsp oil. Keep it aside for future use. Fried paneer becomes a bit harder and it adversely affects the texture of the dish. Add half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl of water and throw in all the fried paneer cubes, they will stay soft.

In a pan  pour one tbsp of mustard oil. Once the oil hot, add panch-phoron. Wait till the seeds crackle and add a pinch of asafoetida and ginger. Keep stirring the masala and make sure it doesn’t burn. Add the chopped tomatoes and give it a gentle stir. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes.

In the meantime, mix all the spices (cumin powder,red chili powder, kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric) with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and add this to the masala. Cook this in low flame for 1 minute; add salt as per your preference.

Finally add the fried potatoes, fried paneer cubes and green peas. Give it a gentle stir; make sure you don’t break the paneer cubes. Add a cup or two cup of water, depending on how thick you want the gravy to be. I have added 2 cups of water. Cook it for 5 mints in high flame. Break the green chilies into two parts and add them to the mix.

Aloo matar paneer is ready, serve it with hot rice or chapati.

Enjoy.

Mo

Chicken Kosha

Chicken Kosha is, has always been and will always be my favorite preparation of chicken. It’s a greasy and spicy chicken cooked in Bengali household on special occasions. Paired with Luchi, it’s heaven on your platter. You can also have it with Yellow Pulaw or even plain rice. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:
1. Chicken (1 kilogram, washed and cut into pieces)
2. Capsicum (1/2, Medium sized)
3. Onion (4, Medium sized, chopped)
4. Tomato (1, Medium sized)
5. Curd (1 tablespoon)
6. Red chili powder (2 teaspoon)
7. Cumin powder (2 teaspoon)
8. Bay leaf (1)
9. Green chili (4, sliced)
10. Mustard oil (8 tbsp)
11. Salt to taste.
12. Cinnamon (1 stick)/Cardamom(4)/Clove(2)
13. Garam Masala powder (1 tsp)
14. Ginger paste (1 tbsp)
15. Garlic paste (1 tbsp)

Note: Here I have used Bengali Garam Masala which is combination of Clove, Cinnamon and Cardamom. You can make your own by grinding them together.

Method:
Grind capsicum and tomato and make a thick paste of them.

Before we start cooking, we need to marinade the chicken. For marination add the dry spices (cumin powder, red chili powder), salt and ginger-garlic paste to the chicken. To this add the tomato-capsicum paste and mix the whole thing well. Add 2 tablespoon of mustard oil and give it another good mix. We need to keep this aside for 30 minutes at least.

Heat a heavy bottom pan and, pour 6tbsp of mustard oil. Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onions. Saute the onions till they become a bit brownish and then add the marinated chicken. We need to fry both sides of the chicken pieces for 7-8 mints in high flame. Lower the flame; cover it with a lid and let it cook for 15 minutes. In between you need to check if the chicken has become very dry; in that case, sprinkle some water, give it a stir and continue cooking it under cover. You need to cook till the chicken becomes soft and make sure you don’t burn the chicken. I like the gravy to be a bit greasy; so I didn’t add water at all and cooked the chicken in low flame. You may add water if you want your gravy to be a bit runny. Add a teaspoon of Garam Masala powder and give it gentle mix. Chicken Kosha is ready.

Enjoy.

Mo

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is a very common rice preparation in Southern part of India. It’s very easy to cook, good to eat and very healthy. Although it is called lemon rice, I have used lime instead of lemon. You can use either of them. I really  like the punchy bitterness of lime. Many people use tamarind also. This super easy dish can be your breakfast or brunch depending upon when you are eating. It will take just 5-7 mints if you have rice ready at hand; you can use left over rice from last night too.

Ingredients:
1. Boiled rice (3 cup)
2. Rai or mustard seeds (1/4 teaspoon)
3. Red chili or Green chili (2, sliced)
4.Curry leaves (2 springs)
5.Turmeric powder (1/4 teaspoon)
6.Salt to taste
7.Peanuts (1/4 cup, fried)
8.Lime Juice (one half of a small size lime or lemon)
9.Split Bengal gram or Chana-Dal (1/2 tablespoon, soaked for 10 min or boiled for 5 min)
10.Onion (1/2, medium size)
11.Oil (2 tablespoon)

Note: Black gram  or Urad-dal  is one of the important ingredients but its very difficult to find here in Thailand, so i did not use it. If you have it you can use 1/2 tablespoon along with the other ingredients.

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds to the hot oil. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add sliced onions, split Bengal gram or Chana-dal, curry leaves. Saute it for a minute or two; and then add salt, turmeric powder, chilies and lime juice. Add the boiled rice and give it a mix. Make sure the rice doesn’t break while stirring. Add some fried peanuts and serve it hot.

Enjoy.

Mo

Spring Roll

Hello folks. Spring Rolls are as Chinese as it gets. You find them in many countries all over the world, they may taste different but they all look same. These rolls are traditionally made and eaten during the Spring Festival, and from this it has got it’s name. It’s easy to cook and you won’t realize when you have eaten them all. A hot favorite with kids and adults alike, Spring roll is pocket rocket for your party. All you need is spring roll wrappers easily available in stores and whatever you have in your kitchen. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:
1. Boiled Noddles
2. Salt to taste
3. Cabbage (200 g, julienne)
4. Carrots (1, sliced)
5. Onions (1, sliced)
6. Ginger/Garlic/Green chili
7. Soy sauce as per your preference
8. Tomato sauce as per your preference
9. Green chili sauce as per your preference
10. Olive oil (2 tablespoon)
11. Vegetable oil for deep frying.

Method:
This is a two step recipe. First step is preparing the stuffing. Second part is making rolls and frying them.

For the stuffing: Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add chopped ginger,garlic, green chili ,onions and rest of the vegetables. Shallow fry the vegetables. Add all the sauces and salt as per your preference. I like the natural mild taste coming out of the vegetables more, hence I use very little sauce. While adding salt, be careful if you have added soy sauce already since it is also salty. Give the mix a good Stir. Lower the flame then add the cooked noodles, mix everything well. Do’t let the noodle or vegetables burn. Switch of the flame and let it cool down.

I have used only two types of vegetables, you can use whatever you want.

Making the roll: Take ready made spring roll wrapper. Take a bit of stuffing and roll the stuffing with the wrapper. After you have made the roll, fold the sides and seal the rolls from both ends. Repeat the process for all the rolls. Once the rolls are ready, shallow fry them and make sure that the outer cover of the rolls fried from all the sides. Instead of shallow frying, you can also deep fry them.

Serve with hot sauce.

Enjoy.

Mo

Murgir Jhol ~ Chicken Curry Bengali Style..

Murgir Jhol, Chicken curry or Foul Curry as our predecessors used to say is the most common chicken dish in every Bengali table. Murgi means chicken and jhol means the curry, together they can be as good as heaven on your plate. There are thousands of variation of this delectable dish; every family has their own way of preparing this. Apart from Bengali kitchen, chicken curry is pretty common throughout India. Region wise, the ingredients vary, and so the taste. I have experimented with different versions and this is one of them.

Ingredients:
1. Chicken (1 kilogram, washed and cut into pieces as preferred)
2. Potatoes (2, each cut into 4 pieces)
3. Capsicum (1, Medium sized)
4. Onion (3, Medium sized, chopped)
5. Garlic paste (1 tablespoon)
6. Ginger paste (1 tablespoon)
7. Tomato (1, Medium sized, chopped)
8. Red chili powder (1 teaspoon)
9. Cumin powder (1 teaspoon)
10. Dry red chili (2)
11. Kashmiri red chili powder (2 tablespoon)
12. Salt to taste
13. Mustard oil (6 tablespoon)
14. Garam masala powder (1 teaspoon)
15. Coriander powder (1 teaspoon)

Method:
Make a paste of capsicum, tomato and red chilies in a mixer and keep it ready.

Before we start cooking, we need to marinade the chicken. For marination add the dry spices (cumin powder, red chili powder, Kashmiri red chili powder), salt and ginger-garlic paste to the chicken. To this add the capsicum paste and mix the whole thing well. Add 2 tablespoon of mustard oil and give it another good mix. We need to keep this aside for 30 minutes at least.

While the chicken is being marinated, boil the potatoes and get rid of the peel.

Heat a heavy bottom pan and, pour 4tbsp of mustard oil. Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onion. Saute the onions till they become a bit brownish and then add the marinated chicken. We need to fry both sides of the chicken pieces for 3-4mints in high flame. Once the chicken starts oozing oil, add the boiled potatoes and give it a good mix.

Lower the flame; add a cup of water. Cover it with a lid and let it cook for 15 minutes. In between you need to check if the chicken has become very dry; in that case, you need to add some water and keep cooking it under cover. Depending upon the kind of chicken you are using, the cooking time may vary. I like the gravy to be a bit thick, so I add as little water as possible. Adjust water as per your preference.

Finally, in a small cup add 2 teaspoon of water; add a teaspoon of garam masala and give it a stir. Pour this mixture into the chicken and give the whole thing a mix. Your Bengali Style chicken curry is ready. Serve with hot rice, roti or luchi.

Enjoy.

Mo