Kosha Machh

Few months back I learned to cook this Kosha machh without any water (fish curry) from my Mashi (Mom's sister).

Ingredients:
Katla Machh : 4 to 6 big pieces (preferably gada’r piece)
Mustard oil as per requirement
4 to 5 Onions : thinly sliced
5 medium sized Tomatoes: thinly sliced
10 to 12 cloves of Garlic : crushed
2” long Ginger : in paste form
6 Green Chillies
Turmeric powder
Salt & Sugar to taste
Coriander Leaves (optional)

Process:
Sprinkle turmeric powder and salt over the fish slices. Spread the spices evenly over the pieces by hand. Marinate for at least 15 minutes. Now heat mustard oil in a Kadai and fry the fish pieces one or two at a time. Fry till both side become golden brown.
Next heat mustard oil in a Kadai and when the oil becomes hot add the thinly sliced onions. Fry till they become golden brown. Add garlic and ginger. Stir some more. Add thinly sliced tomatoes, turmeric powder, Salt & Sugar per taste. Keep stirring. Finally add the splitted green chillies. Add little oil if required but no water.  Then carefully place the fried fish pieces into the Kadai. Adjust sugar/salt according to your taste. Then cover the Kadai and simmer for few minutes.
After 5 minutes or so remove the cover and turn the other side of the fish pieces. Then cover again and leave for another 5 minutes.  Once done garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with plain Rice.

Luchi and Alu-r chorchori : my breakfast in heaven

One morning I shall be sitting in a chair in the garden of paradise. Sun light mixed with morning mist will spread a golden haze all over the place. An angel will arrive and ask me what I would like to eat. My answer will be....... “Luchi and alu-r chorchori”. Straightaway a plateful of cream colored Luchi and potato bhaji will appear in front of me from nowhere. My spectacle glasses will become hazy from the steam coming out from it. Since I am yet to receive an invitation from the life after I decided to build my heaven right where I am in.  So on coming Bengali new year I will pamper myself and my folks at home with my this breakfast of paradise. You are also more than welcome. 

Luchi :

Ingredients:

Refined flour

Vegetable white oil

Water

Pinch of salt

Process:

Knead white flour with little oil, water and pinch of salt. Better if you use warm water. Better if you have some time and cover the dough with a wet cloth.

Then make small balls. Dip each ball a little in the oil and roll thinly on a plate. Deep fry.

Alu-r Chorchori or Alu Bhaji:

Ingredients:

4 to 5 Chillies : slit vertically

4 potatoes : cut in thin square pieces

1 Tomato : chopped

Salt and sugar to taste

Vegetable white oil

Process:

Stir fry chillies, potatoes for 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes. Stir some more till it becomes mushy. Add salt and sugar to taste. Add little water and cover. Cook till to potatoes become tender.

Dishes which you won't get in finest restaurants: #2 Beet bata

I was inviting my Mom-in-law to our house last week. The conversation went something
like below:
Me: "Hello Ma, try to come as early as possible. Then we will have plenty of time to chat."
Mom in law : "Yes I will try dear, but you know your dad....and don't cook too many thing."
Me: "Please don't worry, Mom....I will manage. By the way, do you like beet ?"
Mom in law : "What ?"
Me: "Beet Ma, beet ?"
Mom in law :  "What ? beef ? no no, I don't eat beef." 
(Mom probably thinking: "What has become of our Hindu daughter's these days, openly asking me if I take beef!!")
Me : "Beef!! oops, no no Ma you did not hear me properly I'm asking about beet , beet root not beef.
Mom in law (with a sigh of relief) :  "Oh beet , yes yes of course I eat beet, dear. "
So I made beet bata...

Ingredients:

2 to 3 Beet roots: shredded  

2 Onions : thinly sliced

6 Garlic cloves : in paste form

2 to 3 green chillies : cut horizontally

Sugar and salt to taste

White vegetable oil

Process:

Add one table spoon oil in kadai and stir fry the sliced Onions till they become golden brown. Then add the shredded beet roots and fry some more. Add garlic paste & green chillies keep stirring.

Add Sugar and salt per taste. This preparation is a bit dry and goes well with warm plain rice.

Dishes which you won't get in finest restaurants: #1 Sheem with dhone & tetul

Humans are strange. We wish to dine in five star hotels with fine people but deep inside the we know the satisfaction which a simple warm home-made meal with loved ones can give is incomparable.  We have the desire for everything we don’t have. But may be the things we don’t have are which we don’t need at all !! May be life is not as complex and tough as we think. .....may be we need to go a little bit slow and enjoy every moment & every bit of it....may be...

Now Sheem with dhone & tetul is a perfect tangy dish to elevate any mood and I'm sure you will not get this dish in city’s finest hotels.   

Ingredients:

5 to 6 Sheem / flat Beans : Cut into small square pieces

2 table spoon Tamarind paste  

1 bunch of dhone-pata / coriander leaves

2 to 3 green chillies

Sugar and salt to taste

White vegetable oil

Process:

Soak the Tamarind pods in mild hot water. When they become soft, separate the pulp using a sieve. Make paste of coriander leaves using a blender. Add 2 tea spoon oil in kadai and stir fry the sheem pieces. Add some green chillies.

Next add the coriander & tamarind paste. Add sugar and salt per your taste.  Add little water if required and cover the kadai. Cook till sheem pieces become tender.

This should not be very dry or very watery. This preparation goes well with warm plain rice.  

Traditional Sponge Cake

Just went with the tradition and baked a humble Sponge Cake for the ‘jingle bell’ season. My kiddo has decorated a Christmas tree. Duo made a joyful impression.

Ingredients:

2 cups white flour (maida)

4 eggs

1 cup cooking oil

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoon baking powder

1&1/2 cup sugar

1 pinch salt

6-8 drops of vannila essence

Process :Grind the sugar into powder. Whip the milk, eggs and vanilla in a mixer. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and oil in a bowl.
Add the eggs mixture. Swirl the mixture well to reach a smooth batter with no lump.  Pre heat the Microwave at 180 degC. Pour mixture into an oven proof bowl greased with a little butter. Then Bake at 150-190 degrees for 20 minutes. Then put the oven in Microwave mode and cook for 3 minutes. Your Cake is ready. Then to make the upper crust a little more brown I again put it in convection mode and bake for 5 more minutes.

I usually keep the plain cakes plain as my family is not fond of dry fruits.

Actually this basic vanilla cake is the perfect beginning different kind of other Cakes. One can add Choco Chips, coffee powder or dry fruits with this cake batter. Or one may decorate the cake with fancy icing.

Spinach & coriander chicken

Winter in West Bengal brings a lot of vegetables with it. With peas to carrot, cauliflower to spring onion, Vegetable seller’s baskets are not less colorful than toy-seller’s. Just strolling in the bazaar has become a soothing experience for eyes and soul. You can almost heard yelling of every vegetable or fruits to be picked up. We began by picking up garden-fresh green bunches of Spinach and Coriander leaves and  welcomed this winter with Spinach & coriander chicken.


Spinach & coriander chicken

 

 

Ingredients to serve two to three persons :  

1 bunch of Spinach (Palang saag)

1 bunch of Coriander leaves (Dhania saag)

600 gm. Chicken

4 Onions (chopped)

2 Garlics (crushed)

2” long Ginger (in paste form)

Salt to taste

200 gm. Sour white Curd

10 Green chillies

2 table spoons Mustard oil

 

Process:

Marinate the chicken with white curd for at least an hour. Boil the Spinach with little water. Then blend it along with 5 whole green chillies. Keep aside. Separately make another paste from Coriander leaves. Heat the mustard oil in a heavy bottom Pot (Kadai). Add onions and fry till they become golden brown. Add 5 slit green chillies, garlic and ginger pastes. Stir for 3-4 minutes. Then add the chicken with the marinade. Cover and cook till the chicken is almost cooked. Now add the spinach paste. Stir and add salt per your taste. Finally add the  Coriander paste. Cover and simmer till the chicken becomes soft. Serve hot with Roti, Paratha or Polao.

 

Trick of this recipe lies in creating the right combination of hot flavours of Mustard oil and chillies and the tangy taste of curd. Paste of Spinach and Coriander leaves will help you to keep balance between these two.  

Note that, above measurements are only approximate. You can freely play with them, adding some more of one, less of other depending on the mood you are in. One may just want to play safe and go per written words.

Other may want to experiment and dare to play some mischief. One may want to trigger the festive spirit. Some may be looking for warmth of a chilly night in chillies and mustard oil. So point is finally it all depends on YOU-n-ME.

Steamed chicken Momo

Not very long ago this steamed chicken Momo has turned out to be my saviour when my Kid was not eating her tiffin in school. Her alibi was “I told you I do not like bread and I do not like noodles. Don’t give paratha Mom, it sucks.” Every day the Domestic help was complaining “Didi did not eat her tiffin today”. Kid’s Grandparents were casting doubt on my motherly skill “You are not paying enough attention. Can’t you see ? She is becoming thinner every day.” So the sole target, this paranoid mom part did a desperate net surfing and started a session of trial and error. Finally one fine day, an empty tiffin box came home. Yippee!!

Yes, yes I know nothing is permanent and specially a kid’s palate. But there is nothing wrong in enjoying the sweet present.  

Steamed chicken Momo

Ingredients:

Minced Chicken 250 gm.

2 big Onions: finely chopped

1 whole Garlic (12-20 garlic cloves) : finely chopped

Coriander leaves: finely chopped (optional)

Salt

White oil (refined vegetable oils like Rice bran oil or Soybean oil or Sunflower oil) 

1 medium bowl of white flour (Maida)

Process: 

Mix a pinch of salt with the flour. Knead the flour into a soft dough with warm water. Keep aside.

Put Minced Chicken, finely chopped Onions, Garlic and Coriander leaves and little salt per taste in a Pressure cooker. Add just enough water to cook the meat. Drain excess water if any. Now make small round balls from the dough and roll thinly on a plate like a roti. Dip the balls slightly in the oil before rolling to avoid sticking. Cut circular pieces from it using a small bowl with sharp edge. Then put a teaspoon of filling in the centre. Finally bring the edges together and pinch. Make pleats and twist them with fingers to ensure a tight seal.   Then you steam the Momos in a steamer for about 10 minutes. With the above measurement I make about 30 to 35 Momos. Serve with sauce of your choice.

Alternatively one can also deep fry the Momos before serving them.