RAJMA CURRY

Simplify Life; that is a requirement. This simplification also applies to our activities in the kitchen. Each day of our lives need not be the same, it becomes less colourful without variation. I have always chosen simplicity over anything else because I was brought up in a middle class environment. Only that I have a weakness for sari and fish. If I find my jumping jack sweetheart Hilsa in the market, I will buy it but will I do it every week? Nope. As part of a middle-class family, I was taught self-control. Coming to sari, I have no qualms wearing a Mangalgiri Cotton to a party where the others would exhibit their silks. To me it is comfort over fashion, trend and show off. I am the happy loner, find me if you wish. If you do not wish, I do not mind. I choose my associates as much as my kitchen ingredients, we must have certain common character traits to be friends. Not always the brand label is important, it is also about how we use the ladle. We just need to assemble them with lots of love and care. Some days a simple meal with a RAJMA CURRY, rice and salad seem comforting and fulfilling. I have learnt this recipe from my Punjabi neighbour back in Kolkata. Though it is mainly eaten with rice, my men prefer it with puffed and flat breads. Let us see if Rajma gets justice in a Bengali kitchen or not.

INGREDIENTS :

Rajma / Kidney Beans : 200gm
Tomato : 2big
Onion : 2medium
Garlic Paste : 2tbsp
Ginger Paste : 2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1tsp
Bayleaf : 1
Cumin Seeds : 1/4tsp
Oil : 2tbsp

METHOD :

Wash and soak the kidney beans the night before you cook.

Next morning pressure cook them in enough water adding half of salt, turmeric and chilli powder up to 3-4 whistles.

Peel, wash and slice the onions. Wash and cut the tomatoes into pieces.

Heat the oil in a wok and temper with bay leaf and cumin seeds. Add the garlic paste and fry for 1-2 minutes at low heat. It should not burn.

Add the sliced onions and fry until brown. Add the ginger paste and fry for 2 minutes.

Add the tomato pieces to the wok and stir until they melt. Add rest of the turmeric and chilli powder, salt.

Stir till the spices separate from the oil. Add the boiled beans, stir well, cover cook for about an hour at low heat.

Remove the cover time to time, stir and press on to some beans with the ladle. This adds more taste to the curry.

Add the garam masala powder 2-3 minutes before switching off the gas stove. On that day we had it with steamed rice, there had some stir fried broccoli-chicken too.

       

GRILLED FISH TIKKA

By now, it is clear to all my readers that I love fish in any form except raw. In fact, love it raw too if it is a good quality sashimi. It is always good to have fish proteins. They say fish oil is good for our body. As an Indian / Bengali, I love fish mostly in curries and at times simply fry it with few masalas. On some days, I serve my family a simple meal of dal, vegetables and deep fried fish. Saute, bake and grill with fish is something I have learnt in the recent years. Really like the healthier option of cooking fish. Whenever there are guests at home, I wish to prepare some good starters. That is what people love to have more that I have noticed..... a platter of starters..... both vegetarian and non vegetarian. Hence, I prepared a plateful of GRILLED FISH TIKKA last week. It is easy and hassle free to make it, just marinate..... wait and grill. It is done. This time, I did it on the stovetop.

INGREDIENTS : 

Any firm white fish fillet : 500gm

Onion[cubed] : 1big

Capsicum[cubed] : 1medium

Red bell Pepper[cubed] : 1medium

Plain hung yogurt : 100gm [I did not hang but scooped out a thick portion]

Lemon juice : 2tbsp

Cumin powder : 2tsp

Coriander powder : 2tsp

Garam masala powder : 1tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder : 2tbsp

Turmeric powder : 1tsp

Salt : As required

Oil : 2tbsp

METHOD :

Wash and cube the fish pieces. Marinate them with salt, keep aside for half an hour and wash thoroughly.

Marinate the fish with little salt, lemon juice, 1/3 of all the powdered spices, oil, turmeric, salt, yogurt.

Cube the onions and bell peppers. Wash and marinate them with the rest of the spices, turmeric and salt. 

We are supposed to arrange in the skewers, at first the bell peppers and onion, then 2 pieces of fish and repeat. But did not use the skewers.

After an hour or two of marination, I did brush oil on a manual grill with handle. Thereafter I did place the marinated fish on it and grilled all the sides until lightly charred, turning them with the back of a small spoon from time to time.

Once the fish is grilled, we would grill the onion and bell pepper cubes the same way. We would brush on them oil and lemon juice before serving.

CHICKEN SCHINTZEL

CHICKEN SCHNITZEL was my staple on our Australia tour. I had it without the French fries, much loved. Sniz means slice. Schnitzel  refers to a boneless meat portion coated with flour and beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, deep fried in oil[wiki]. I found that Schnitzel is pretty popular in Australia, served topped with a sauce, cheese. It is also served a filling for sandwiches and bread rolls at the sandwich bars. In the pubs, schnitzel is typically accompanied by french fries and salad. I preferred this version. It's different versions are found in a number of countries.

On our first day in Sydney, we were welcome with a heavy shower. Hence we went out quite late to have a look at the city. By the time we were hungry enough to have dinner, the restaurants were almost closed. We found a place in a pub, most surprisingly they allowed our kids there. Though I was not keen about sitting in a pub with kids, we had no options left. Australia closes by 6 pm. Every other dish was served with cheese and hence this Chicken Schnitzel was what I chose, given the french fries to be eaten by the others in the group.

While recreating it in my kitchen, I gave it a South Asian twist, I used ginger-garlic and lemon juice in the marination. The coating is important in this dish, it needs to remain crisp. It should be popular with the kids and adults alike. Let us see how we do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Chicken Breast : 4
Lemon Juice : 2-3tbsp
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Garlic Paste : 1tbsp
Black Pepper Powder : 1/4tsp
Salt : As required
Bread Crumb : 1 medium tea cup
Refined Flour : 1/2 small tea cup
Egg : 1
Oil : 1big cup to fry

METHOD :

Wash the chicken breasts thoroughly. Pound them flat with a heavy thing. We had a problem doing this as we do not have the meat pounding hammer.

Marinate with salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, black pepper powder and keep aside for 1-2 hours.

Beat the egg. Add some water to the flour and make a paste or do not add the water. 

Take bread crumbs and the beaten egg in  separate wide mouthed bowls.

Coat the chicken breast fillets with egg, flour and then bread crumb. Repeat. 

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the coated fillets, one at a time. Drain the excess oil keeping them onto tissue papers.

Serve with fresh salad and french fries.

MASALA PRAWNS

PRAWN..... not a fish but a fish... and much loved. We can say many a people who wish to be vegetarians, could not be just for their love for prawns. Universally accepted, recipes with it are versatile. Every nation has it's own way of cooking prawn, it never goes wrong whichever way it is prepared. This is perhaps because it is tasty in itself. I always feel we should keep a minimalist approach while cooking prawns and not let the spices overpower it's own taste.

While we were holidaying  in Australia last month, we visited a historic place named Kurunda. It is beautiful, picturesque, uphill, we took a lovely train ride from the tropical Cairns. There among other major attractions was a market selling products made by the aboriginals. I had to flock there by default, discovered a book stall at the corner. I was hooked towards a fat cookbook offered at a reasonable price, took no time to grab it.....

The other day I got some fresh prawns, standard sized, thought of preparing it a new way. Going through the pages of the book I found few of them quite attractive. Instead of zeroing on one recipe, I took ideas from some and made this Prawn Masala my way as per the ingredients available in my home. It should go  well with jeera rice[cumin rice]. Let us do the cooking.

INGREDIENTS :

Prawns : 500gm

Plain Yogurt : 50gm
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp

Onion Paste : 2-3 tbsp
Ginger Paste : 1tbsp
Salt : As required
Cumin Seeds : 2pinches
Oil : 4tbsp

METHOD :

Clean the prawns well and wash. Rub with 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and salt. Beat the yogurt and keep the onion paste near you.

Heat the oil in a wok and lightly fry the prawns. Temper the remaining oil with cumin seeds.

Add the onion paste, stir cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger paste, keep frying till the raw smell goes. Add the beaten yogurt and stir for a while.

Add all of the powdered spices, salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric and stir till the oil separates from the spices.

Add the fried prawns, stir carefully and add 1/4 cup of water.

Let it cook until all of the water dries up. It goes well with Cumin Rice.

WATERMELON POPSICLE

Given the present heat, I crave for two things.... rain and coolers.... I feel a fresh fruit popsicle is the best to keep us hydrated, get us a cool feel in this tropical climate. Besides, it is a good way  to feed fruits to the kids at home. It is altogether a feel good thing to watch our kids happily having them.

Back then in our childhood, we called them kathi[stick] ice-cream. As kids, we were acquainted with the approaching sound of the wheeled carts. Inside the box were many colourful and flavourful "kathi" ice creams lying on a bed of ice cubes. To us, it was a pandora box. In those days the school gates were flocked with all sorts of vendors.... ice-cream seller, pickle seller, panipuri seller in the afternoon. We were devoid of this pleasure as our school was within a protected area where such vendors were denied access..... 

Once we were in the road and until we reached home... only one sentence I would plead "Mani.... get me one".... the inevitable answer was....'they are made with dirty water'. My brother somehow managed these stuffs from the mother on his way back from the school. In our middle class household there was no refrigerator until I was in the eighth standard. Hence, she could not promise of a home made one. Ice cream meant only Kwality Ice-cream 2-3 times a month. When I was at the grandparent's place, I had the pleasure to have them.

I really do not know what gave me / us more pleasure, it's cooling effect or the natural red colour that painted our lips and tongue. I loved them to the extent that I even wished to marry an ice-cream seller or a "ghugniwala". Perhaps no guy came near me in fear of selling ice-creams or living with a silly-mad romantic under one roof for life. Hahaha.... jokes are but jokes.... I love making up stories, people who take the pain of reading my blog, deserve some relief.... comic or otherwise.

Meanwhile, the wiser person at home who was destined to live with an insane woman says my mental age is same as was 25 years back. The lady of the house holds tight the popsicle on her left hand, sucks it and  reads Jhumpa Lahiri at the same time. She is happy in her own world, which is small and weird. Since she did not marry a popsicle seller, she keeps making popsicles for herself and her teen boyfriend.... with whom she is in a 'living in relationship'... until a young lady comes and snatches him away.

By the way, I was overjoyed to see my childhood crush "Kathi ice-cream" sold as "Potong ice-cream" in this island. Yet I prefer making them at home. I prepared these WATERMELON POPSICLES with 3-4 ingredients and trust me the entire process was too quick leaving the freezing period. Do not worry if you are not having popsicle moulds, do it using plastic glasses and ice-cream sticks. I have moulds but I find the plastic glasses easier. Let us see how we do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Watermelon : 1/4 of a big sized
Lemon Juice : 1tbsp
Ginger Extract : 1tsp

Black Salt : 1/4 tsp
Sugar : 2tsp

METHOD :

Wash, de-seed and cut off the white and green parts of the watermelon, we need only the red portion.

Put the watermelon pieces in a juicer or blender not used for blending spices.

Blend for 2-3 minutes at intervals. Pour on to a vessel.

Strain the entire content, store in another vessel. Add the lemon juice, ginger extract, sugar, black salt. Mix them well.

Pour into plastic or paper or thermocol glasses, freeze for few hours.

Cover each glass with aluminium foil, make a slit in the middle, insert ice-cream bamboo stick and freeze for few hours.

Thereafter,  they should be ready to serve. Tear off the glasses to serve them.

Enjoy, revisit your childhood anytime!

FISH FINGERS

Returning back to this space after break is a pleasure. I enjoy writing the posts ever since the inception of this food blog. Cooking is a fun activity for me, it relieves my stress. My kitchen is my comfort zone, I am confident there. We should enjoy what we do.

I did not blog doesn't mean I stopped cooking, my mind was elsewhere. I cooked simple meals, felt happy when someone dear lovingly said, "when did my little daughter learn this much of cooking?" He forgot his little daughter is a middle aged woman at this time.

Today I thought of sharing a simple, a tasty and savoury appetiser. We need few ingredients to prepare this. It can be done in a jiffy if there are sudden guests at home. You can engage them with a plateful of these FISH FINGERS  accompanied by their choice of hard, soft drinks or with tea, coffee; thereafter you can plan for dinner.

INGREDIENTS :

Any Firm White Fish Fillet : 500 gm [I used Tilapia]
Lemon Juice : 4tbsp
Ginger Extract : 3tsp
Garlic Extract : 2tbsp
Salt : As required
Corn Flour : 2 tbsp

Refined Flour : 2 tbsp
Bread Crumb : 1 coffee mug

Crushed Black Pepper : 1/2 tsp
Oil : 200-250 ml [to deep fry]

METHOD :

Wash and cut the fillets into finger sized  shape. Marinate for an hour with salt, wash thoroughly thereafter!

Marinate them again with the lemon juice, ginger extract, garlic extract, crushed black pepper and salt.

Keep aside for an hour or two.

Take the bread crumbs on a plate.

Prepare a thick batter with the refined flour, corn flour, little salt and water.

Dip each fish piece in the batter mix and then coat with the bread crumbs. Repeat.

Refrigerate the dressed fish fingers for few hours.

Heat the oil in a wok!

Take out the dressed, uncooked fish fingers, deep fry them in batches until they turn golden brown. Keep the heat at low.
Put them onto tissue papers to get rid of the excess oil, then transfer onto serving plates.

Serve hot with your choice of sauces, dips, chutney  and salad.T had two slices of bread with cheese!We had it for dinner & he cannot have fries alone for dinner, neither fancy a salad!

FISH KOFTA CURRY

I took a break from blogging for sometime for various reasons. Today  may not be the right time to resume, I forced myself because food and cooking relieve my stress. In my blog, I so far have highlighted the culinary expertise of the ladies in my family who encouraged me to love cooking. 

We forget to mention the people who are the silent supporters at home, for whom we are able to engage ourselves happily in the kitchen, for them we cook. Today's post is dedicated to such a person... our father. He never peeped into the kitchen, never showed any interest in cooking..... end of the day he is happy with whatever is served to him.

The typical East Bengal; now Bangladesh born father of us is a mango and fish lover. He loves kofta varieties. Whenever I prepare kofta curries, I think of him.... I parcel a bowlful virtually. We do miss our families back home...... specially at this stage in life. Coming back to the recipe, this is Fish Kofta Curry made with homemade spices. Let us do it together.

INGREDIENTS :

Fish Fillet : 300gm
Minced Ginger : 1/2tsp
Minced Garlic : 1tsp
Chopped Green Chilli : 1tsp
Chopped Onion : 2 tbsp
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Garlic Paste : 1/2tsp
Onion Paste : 1tbsp
Tomato Paste : 1/2 small tea cup
Cumin Powder : 1tsp

Coriander Powder : 1 tsp

Dry Mango Powder : 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Bay leaf : 1
Plain Yogurt : 2tbsp
Sugar : 1/2 tsp[optional]
Oil : 5tbsp
Gram flour : 1tsp

METHOD :

Peel, wash and chop the onions.

Wash and cut the fish fillets into medium pieces. Boil them in enough water adding a pinch of salt. Drain the water once soft.

Heat the oil in a wok, temper it with 2 pinches of cumin seeds. Add the chopped onion. As they turn golden brown, add the minced ginger and garlic.

As they give out an aroma, add the boiled fish, break with your ladle. Add salt, 1/2 tsp cumin +1/2 tsp coriander +1 tsp dry mango +1/2 tsp turmeric powders and chopped green chillies. Stir cook well.

Add the gram flour and mix well. Switch off the gas burner. As the mixture cools, shape into small round balls, flatten or do not.

Heat the remaining oil, fry the fish balls in batches carefully or cook them in the oven like I do!

Temper the oil with cumin seeds and bay leaves. Add the onion paste and fry until golden brown.

Add the ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes away. Add the tomato paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the rest of the chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, sugar and beaten yogurt. Fry until the oil separates from the spices. Pour one small cup of water. Let it come to boil.

Arrange the fried fish koftas in a serving bowl. Pour the gravy over it, 10-12 minutes before you are ready to eat it.

Serve with steamed white rice.