Monday 31 August 2015

PRAWN CUTLET


I have a kind of addiction for fried stuffs, right from my childhood. On an all vegetarian day, mom had to prepare few kinds of fries for me and the brother, accompanied by dal, rice, a piece of lemon and a green chilli! It felt like heaven. At that time, it felt like what else do we need in life, except the mother's lap and the food cooked by her. Later, demands kept on soaring, worries too. In those days going out with mom to Shyambazaar / Newmarket for shopping and waiting for what she buys for me was the greatest pleasure. 

Coming back home and finding the brother done with all kind of mischiefs was not that much of a pleasure. If the mother was in a good mood, she would buy me cutlets, chips, otherwise it was either sweets or ice-creams. She prepared lot of this kinds at home too, because her daughter loved to eat. Keeping in tune with that tradition, I too try my hands on them quite often, for my men.

These are Prawn Cutlets, easy to prepare at home. For this we need small prawns, onion, green chilli, coriander, etc. I will not guarantee they tasted as that of Mitra Cafe / Basanta Cabin / Allen's Kitchen but I do it my own way and with all my heart. There is a lot of satisfaction in cooking for our loved ones. Let us see how we do them. Honestly speaking, I never did taste a prawn cutlet in the eateries or restaurants of Kolkata; our parents were not the kind! It is only after starting at the college, more after starting to date T; did I taste restaurant food!



INGREDIENTS :

Prawns : 250gm
Chopped Onion : 2 tbsp
Garlic Paste : 1 tsp
Ginger Paste : 1 tsp
Chopped Coriander : 2-3 tbsp
Chopped Green Chilli : 1 tsp
Cornflour : 1tbsp 
Egg : 1
Salt : As required
Oil : As much required to shallow fry

METHOD :

De shell the prawns completely and wash thoroughly. Paste the prawns in a blender.

Take the prawn paste in a bowl. Add the chopped & washed onion+coriander+green chillies, ginger+garlic pastes, salt, black pepper powder, salt! Mix together well!

Add the corn flour & egg, mix well!

Heat the oil in a wok. Take portions in a spoon, add to the pan & flatten with the back of the spoon! Fry both sides well!

Place onto tissue papers to drain the excess oil.

Serve hot with a salad & chutney / sauce of your choice.
















Saturday 29 August 2015

CHAMCHAM


Rakshabandhan / Rakhi Poornima;  a bond of love between a brother and sister.... of care.... a promise to stand by each other in every situation. On such occasions, the childhood haunts me inevitably.... with how much enthusiasm I used to go to the market with the mother  to buy Rakhi, a night before, how eagerly bhai waited the next day to wear it before going to the school. He used to come back with more enthusiasm with two hands full of Rakhis, tied by his classmates. Yes, in our times we used to tie Rakhi on our friend's hands. Tagore introduced this concept of tying Rakhi to promote brotherhood and friendship.... was it during the partition of Bengal?

Our mother's middle sister; mashimoni also used to come with her twin boys, Dodo & Deep. Only these two cousins stayed near by. Else, I have a couple of cousins spread over Nadia district, Nagaon, Gauhati in Assam! This the reason why I did not take any initiative  to get our only son know about all these! It cannot be continued forever! But it always feels on such days that my child would never know the beauty of such occasions! I do not recommend having a single child! Where there is a sibling, there would be a good & healthy childhood, unforgettable memories made! I am so scared thinking if the son do not get along with his companion, he would have no sibling to share his agony with! We would not live forever to take care of him! I am so messed up with unnecessary thoughts!

Among us Indians, any festival is a means to eat to our heart's content... and sweets is a must. I remember how mom used to cook a lot of dishes on such occasions.... luchi and payesh / kheer / rice pudding been compulsory! Kolkata is a hub for sweets, so Roshogolla and Sandesh were always store bought. Here I try to prepare sweets at home, those within my limits. This is  CHAMCHAM / CHOMCHOM very famous in Kolkata. I have given stepwise pictures so that it becomes easier to do. Let us do it. Some other time, I would share the malai chamcham recipe!




INGREDIENTS : [for the paneer / chena]

Milk : 1litre
Lemon Juice : 4-5 tbsp
Water : 1/4 small tea cup


INGREDIENTS :[for the sugar syrup]

Water : 5-6 big cups
Sugar : 2 small tea cups
Cardamom : 3-4

INGREDIENTS : [for the chamcham]

The freshly made chana / paneer
The freshly made sugar syrup


METHOD :

Let us prepare the cottage cheese first. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed vessel and bring to boil at medium heat. Keep stirring continuously.

Mix together the lemon juice & water, add to the boiling milk slowly. As soon as the milk curdles, switch off the gas!

Take a thin white cloth and strain the cheese immediately. Hold it under the tap to get rid of the smell of the lemon. 

Tie it to the tap & hang for about 45 minutes to an hour.






We have taken the sugar & water in a deep bottomed vessel and put for boil! As it starts boiling, we have added the green cardamoms tearing each a bit.

While the syrup is boiling, we would rub the paneer cheese very well for about 10 minutes or until it comes out smooth from the plate. This mashing part is very important.

We would then  shape into small round balls tearing small portions and then roll between our palms to shape into elongated chamchams. 






As the syrup boil, add the cham cham slowly. Cover and let them boil for 20 minutes.



The cham chams are ready after 20-25 minutes of boiling in high heat. 


I took out the chamcham sweets and arranged them in a bowl! Thereafter, I boiled the sugar syrup further for about 10 minutes to thicken; then poured over the sweets! 

You can either enjoy them warm or chilled!







Tuesday 25 August 2015

MURO GHONTO / BENGALI STYLE FISH HEAD CURRY


MUROGHONTO is Fish Head Curry... the Bengali way. It is usually done with the heads of Rohu or Catla.... which belongs to the Indian Carp family. Back in Kolkata, it was a regular affair at home because there big heads of these fish are sold separately. This particular recipe calls for heads of fish above 5-6 kg weight, and we need not buy such a big whole fish to prepare the dish. God, I miss home in so many ways. 

Here in this island I do it less but I do, the "Bangaliana" of my kitchen has to be maintained. Here we need to buy a whole fish, that too frozen from the selective stores. It is perhaps a mental block for me to do it with sea-fish heads. When it comes to cooking a signature dish, I am particular about maintaining the authenticity. Specifically, I am particular about maintaining the authenticity of a Bengali dish!

Within all these limitations in a foreign land, let us keep cooking our favourite recipes and remember home this way. In both sides of my family, we prefer doing it with "Katla" fish heads as they are more oily than that of a "Rohu". The oil needs to incorporate well in the curry. We need a good quality fragrant rice gobindo bhog / basmati for this dish, specifically gobindo bhog... else you can use Thai fragrant rice too. I have used the kalijeera / chinigura rice available by the groceries run by the Bangladeshi traders! I have used onions too because I am in a different land, if in Bengal, you need not use onions Let us see how we do it.


INGREDIENTS :

Catla / Carp fish head : 1[of bigger fish] [You can use any big fish head]
Gobindo Bhog or Basmati rice : 2tbsp [I used kalijeera / Chinigura rice]
Potato : 2medium [peel, wash, cut each into 4 pieces] [optional]
Ginger Paste : 2tbsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Sugar : 1tsp[optional]
Onion[sliced] : 2medium
Bengali Garam Masala : 1/2tsp[an equal amount of cinnamon, cardamon, cloves dry roasted and ground]
Bayleaf : 1
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Dry Red Chilli : 2
Cinnamon Stick : 2-3 one inch length
Green Cardamom : 2-3
Cloves : 2-3
Mustard Oil : 1/2 small tea cup

METHOD :

Ask your fish seller to cut the fish head into four pieces, later after frying we will break it further. Wash them thoroughly. Rub with some salt. Keep aside for an hour, then wash thoroughly few times! This helps remove the raw smell from the fish head! Again marinate the fish pieces with salt & turmeric!

Soak the rice for 1/2 an hour. Heat the the oil in a wok. Add some salt and turmeric powder to the potato pieces and fry lightly. Take out and keep aside.

Fry the fish heads nicely, break into smaller pieces and keep aside.

Temper the oil with bay leaf, cumin seeds, halved dry red chillies, cinnamon sticks, green cardamom, cloves. Add the sliced onions and fry till brown. Add the uncooked rice draining the water. Fry for 2 minutes.

Add the ginger paste, remaining turmeric and salt. Stir well for 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander and red chilli powder, stir for 1minute. Add water and cover to boil.

Open cover after 3-4 minutes, add the fried potato pieces.

When the rice is 70% cooked, add the fried pieces of fish head. Cook covered for 5-8 minutes.

Uncover and add sugar and garam masala. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.

We do not use potatoes in this dish at all times!

Enjoy with steamed hot rice!










Sunday 23 August 2015

INSTANT COCONUT BARFI



With Rakshabandhan, Janmashtami, Durgapuja, Diwali, all approaching, we all are gearing up for preparing home made sweets. Our festive season starts with Rakshabandhan and ends with Holi, I think. In fact, the festive season never ends for us Indians, There are so many throughout the year.... regional, cultural, social, religious. Almost, in all regions of India, homemade sweets are made with so much love and care for these occasions, of so many varieties.

Coconut.... I would say, is an integral ingredient in our home made sweets. We consider coconut as very auspicious. These round, brown fruits belong to the palm family. We, perhaps use every part of it, from its water to shell. This is also true with any island city or country. Wherever it grows in abundance, there is maximum use of it.

Remembering the bygone days, we have grown up eating a number of sweets made of coconut. They were quite time consuming and off course mouthwatering. The other day I had some shredded coconut and was thinking can we prepare some sweets with it without the cooking part. That is when the idea of preparing INSTANT RAW COCONUT BARFI popped up. It was so fun, easy and relaxing to prepare them. Only that we have to refrigerate them and always serve chilled. Let us see how we do it.




INGREDIENTS :

Shredded Coconut : 2cups
Honey : 5-6 tbsp
Powdered Milk : 3 tbsp
Refined Flour : 1tbsp
Rice Flour : 1 tbsp
Cardamom Powder : 1/4tsp

METHOD :

Blend together the shredded coconut and honey for 2-3 minutes with intervals.

Transfer to a wide-mouthed bowl. Add the refined flour, rice flour, powdered milk and cardamom powder.

Rub them well for about 10 minutes.

Transfer to a plate, flatten and refrigerate.

Take out after 1 hour, cut into desired shapes.

Transfer into a clean container and refrigerate again.

Serve chilled always, otherwise they tend to get soft and break. We are not cooking it.... hence they will not get sticky and tighten. There is no compromise with taste though.






Friday 21 August 2015

GOALONDO STEAMER CHICKEN..... BOATMEN STYLE




Goalondo.... a small station at the confluence of the Padma and Brahmaputra, of undivided Bengal in the pre-Independent India from where the Eastern Bengal Express from Sealdah terminated. The Goalondo steamer then travelled upto Narayangunj in Dacca, thereafter to different destinations. The story and recipe is about the boatmen of the steamer who cooked the country chicken curry in the most rustic way, yet it tasted so well that it became a legend sort of, made alive by writers of both sides of Bengal, various journals and articles. It became as famous as other historical dishes like the Dak Bungalow Chicken Curry or the Railway Mutton Curry.

It was a simple, rustic curry prepared with few basic spices by the boatmen of Goalondo steamer. Those who have travelled the route had spoken so highly about it that it came down to us through generations and inspired us to recreate it in our kitchen. With no souring agent used to marinate or use of garam masala, it tasted heavenly, they say. Why? no one knows.

Information Source: A Times of India Article by Pritha Sen
Recipe Source : Quite a few blog recipes / journals

Let us see how they did it as the sources say.



INGREDIENTS :
Chicken : 1kg
Onion : 2
Garlic : 10-15cloves
Ginger : 2inch
Dry Red Chilli : 6-8
Mustard Oil : 5tbsp + 1tbsp
Salt : As required
Turmeric : 1tsp

METHOD :

Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly.

Soak the dry red chillies in hot water for 1hour and grind into a paste.

Peel and wash the onion, garlic and ginger.

Roughly chop the onion, garlic and ginger.

Marinate the chicken with 1tbsp of oil and all other ingredients.

Heat the rest of the oil in a wok.

Add the marinated chicken.

Cover cook at low heat stirring occasionally till the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Water will release from the chicken itself, no need to add water.






Wednesday 19 August 2015

STEAMED PRAWNS IN MUSTARD SAUCE / BHAPA CHINGRI




In an average Bengali home, use of mustard seeds in cooking is a regular thing. We use mustard seeds for tempering and also use its paste along with green chilli in various fish curries and vegetable medleys. We simply love the heat of the mustard paste. I think its use is  also common in few other states of India. I remotely remember on our visit to Chennai, we had a chicken curry made with coconut and mustard paste. It appealed to my taste bud so much so that I tried to prepare it in my kitchen, though may not be that authentic. We do not use mustard in chicken, but I believe bringing in fusion in food is actually getting to know different cultures. 

My today's post is steamed prawn marinated is a mustard seed-green chilli paste. It can be done very quickly and its hassle free. We usually enjoy it with piping hot steamed rice. We can prepare it in microwave but I have done it traditionally. Let us see how we do it.

We also had some Mutton Keema Matar & Cabbage with potatoes alongside to enjoy with steamed rice!




INGREDIENTS :

Prawns : 500gm[medium sized]
Mustard Seeds[black] : 2tsp
Green Chilli : 4-5
Garlic Clove : 1big
Salt : As Required
Turmeric : 1tsp
Oil[mustard] : 2tbsp

METHOD :

We need a steel or aluminium container for this recipe.

De shell and wash the prawns carefully. Rub with salt and turmeric.

Wash the mustard seeds through a strainer. 

Put the mustard seeds, green chilli, garlic clove, little salt and 1/4 small cup water in a blender.

Blend at high speed at regular intervals for 2-3 minutes or till it turns into a fine paste.

Take the marinated prawns in the container. Pour in mustard oil and the paste. 



Mix well.



Tighten the lid.

Heat 1cup water in a wok. Let boil.

Place  the container on the wok, 1/4th of it will be immersed.



We need to steam it for about 45 minutes to 1hour at medium to low temperature.

If water dries up in between we need to pour in more water.

Once done let cool and then open the lid!



Transfer into serving bowls and drizzle 2 tbsp of mustard oil. Serve hot with steamed rice.









Monday 17 August 2015

KOLHAPURI DRY EGG CURRY




Kolhapur..... a city in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Hindu Mythology says Kolhapur was founded by Kolhasur, a demon who was killed by goddess Lakshmi. Kolhapur was named after him as his dying wish was so. True or not, mythology always attracts me. There is also a very interesting account of the rise of it in the Medieval era. The state of Kolhapur was established by Tarabai in 1707, annexed by the British in the 19th century. After Indian independence in 1947, it merged with Bombay State in 1949.

A lot of festivals are celebrated in Kolhapur. When it comes to festivals, how can we stay far from its cuisine. Festivals call for food and more food. Kolhapur cuisine is noted for special mutton curries. Besides, they prepare a lot of vegetarian curries, egg curries and snacks. They call their dry curries Rassa,  which are quite spicy, and there in lies my interest.... a hot, spicy dry or regular curry. I picked up one of their dry egg curry last week to recreate in my kitchen. I explored through a number of recipes but liked this one from a noted site. Let us see how we do it. {Sourced from the WIKI}.





INGREDIENTS :
Eggs : 6
Onion : 1large
Tomato : 1big
Minced Ginger : 1tsp
Minced Garlic : 1 tsp
Grated Coconut : 1small cup
Black Peppercorns : 10
Dry Red Chilli : 3
Cloves : 4
Poppy Seed : 1tsp
Fennel Seeds : 1tsp
Oil : 4tbsp

METHOD :
Hard boil the eggs, remove the shell and rub with salt and turmeric. Wash, peel and slice the onion. Wash, cut and deseed the tomato.

Heat 1tbsp oil and roast the cloves, peppercorns, chillies, poppyseed, fennel seed.

As they give a nice aroma, add the minced ginger-garlic, onion, grated coconut and stir till they turn brown.

Add the tomato pieces and stir for 2-3 minutes.

Remove and let cool.

Pour into a blender and blend into a paste.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok.

Pour the paste into the oil. Add salt and turmeric. Stir well for 3-4 minutes.

Add half cup water. When it comes to boil, add the boiled eggs. Let simmer till it reaches to a dry consistency.

Can be had with rice/chapati.




Saturday 15 August 2015

GAJAR HALWA


Today is an auspicious day for us. The much sought after thing for a nation..... FREEDOM....was achieved.... years back. However / Where ever we are today, we must remember and respect there had been  a lot of bloodshed and sacrifice to achieve it. Hence this particular day calls for a lot of celebration, remembering that life was too miserable in those days and we are in a far better position today. Being positive only helps to proceed further.

It is indeed quite soothing to see the food world celebrating Independence Day in their own way, presenting colorful recipes. I was planning for a tri-colour rice pilaf and discovered one much loved Master Chef already came up with it. I thought if I am posting something today, it has to be colourful! I decided on this GAJAR HALWA....the photo feature has all the regular colours in use.

Earlier, Gajar Halwa was not a Bengali thing. Somehow, our mother learnt it from somewhere and prepared it, I picked it up that way. In the process, I learnt to prepare instant Khoya kheer at home. Using khoya adds richness to the dish I feel. But in this recipe, I used boiled milk at room temperature, a bit of milk powder! Diary products are not friendly towards me unless I have them chilled!


INGREDIENTS : [for the halwa]

Carrot : 1 kg
Milk : 1coffee mug
Milk Powder : 2-3 tbsp
Sugar : 1/2  small tea cup [you may need more]
Green Cardamom : 4-5
Ghee : 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp
To garnish  I used roasted pistachio, cashew nuts, raisins!

METHOD :


Wash, peel and shred the carrots.

Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a pan, add the crushed green cardamoms. Add the shredded carrots. Stir till the raw smell goes away.

Once, the carrots get softer, add the milk & milk powder! Stir and cover cook at medium to low heat till the milk almost dries up. Stir occasionally.

Now add the sugar & 2 tbsp ghee when the moisture quite dried up!  Cover cook until all the sugar melts and are incorporated well.

As the carrot dessert gets sticky, garnish with the dry fruits, mix well! Serve & have when it's still warm!


                                                  

Thursday 13 August 2015

MATCHA TEA CUP CAKE



As my wiki knowledge goes, Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea. The green tea plants for matcha are shade-grown for about 3 weeks before harvest, and the stems and veins are removed in while being processed. These days, besides being drinking as a tea, matcha is also used to flavour and dye foods like noodles, ice-creams, cakes, smoothies.

Matcha is that form of whole green tea leaves which has extra theanine and chlorophyll as shaded growth produces more theanine and chlorophyll. They say it is an energy booster. Many a health conscious people consume green tea leaves or matcha  for its antioxidant catechins. Now how much of that antioxidants are present in the tea cakes made with it, I have no idea. I prepared them as I liked the colour and the aroma of matcha cakes when I first saw them in a cake shop.


I became a connoisseur of tea after I landed in this island, specially of green tea. God, so many variety of tea, I am yet to taste them all. My first attempt to prepare a matcha cake went haywire, it came out so hard. My second attempt was this and I am proud to say they came out well, soft. Since I am not a professional baker I am less innovative about baking, hence I followed one of Teaglad's recipe for these all green, soft MATCHA TEA CAKES. This is how I did them.

All the above informations had been sourced from Google Wiki.



INGREDIENTS :[for the cake]

All Purpose Flour : 2cups
Baking Powder : 1/2tbsp
Salt : 1/2tsp
Sugar : 1cup
Butter[unsalted] : 100gm[at room temperature]
Oil : 50ml
Eggs : 3large
Milk : 2/3cup
Matcha green tea : 2tbsp

INGREDIENTS :[for the frosting]


Unsalted Butter : 50gm
Powdered Sugar : 11/2cup
Milk : 2tbsp
Matcha Green tea : 1tbsp

METHOD :


Preheat the oven to 180* C.

Mix together all the dry ingredients.

In another bowl cream together butter and sugar.

Add the oil and incorporate with the butter well.

Beat one egg at a time to the batter.

Add the milk.

Beat till it becomes lighter.

Add the flour mix little by little.

Once done, beat the batter till it is light and fluffy.

Place paper cups on the muffin moulds.

Pour the batter till half as seen below.



Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180*C. Once done let them cool. They look as below.


Now let us prepare the frosting.

Beat together the butter and powdered sugar, add the milk and keep beating.

At a point the three will be incorporated well.

Once the cup cakes cool down , we can decorate them with the frosting. They look as below.



Wednesday 12 August 2015

CHICKEN IN CHILLI-GARLIC SAUCE



This is perhaps the simplest chicken recipe I prepared till date. I had few guests at home last weekend, was thinking of some new kind of appetisers.... veg and non-veg. Chicken being extremely popular with my son, I have to explore through various chicken recipes to avoid monotony.... both in cooking and eating. On that particular day, while going through few off beat chicken recipes, I got utterly confused, I mean I liked some of them so much, could not decide on one for the day. Hence planned my own, a simplistic one with a slightly different taste than the regular Indian curries.

Almost no spices are used in this preparation. Just minced ginger-garlic, sliced onion, lemon juice, black pepper powder and a generous amount of chilli-garlic sauce are what I used to prepare this CHICKEN IN CHILLI GARLIC SAUCE. The predominant taste of the dish is of the sauce used, hence the name. It was juicy, a bit sweet n sour with a hint of heat, and was a hit off course. You too can try if you believe in me. Let us see how we do it.

INGREDIENTS :
Chicken Legs[or otherwise] : 10 pieces
Chilli-Garlic Sauce : 4tbsp
Minced Ginger : 1tsp
Minced Garlic : 1tbsp
Onion : 1big[sliced]
Lemon Juice : 1tbsp
Black Pepper Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Oil : 2tbsp
Chopped Parsley : 2tbsp[to garnish]

METHOD :
Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly and marinate with lemon juice, black pepper powder and salt for 2 hours.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the minced ginger and garlic.

As you get a nice aroma, Add the sliced onion.

As the onion turns golden brown, add the chicken with all the marinade.

Stir well and cover cook at low heat till all the water dries up. Uncover and stir at regular interval.

As the water dries up, add the chilli garlic sauce, stir and let boil for 2-3 minutes.

Switch off and transfer into a serving plate. Garnish with parsley.

I served it alongside a healthy vegetarian bowl of pineapple-corn salsa with cherry tomatoes.