Dimer Dalna (Poached Egg Curry) Shakshouka Style

Shakshouka ...Bengalified !

That the easy peasy Poached Egg curry was a dish with a fancy name (Shashouka), was something I learnt during random cookery reels on social media.

In my kitchen this simple poached egg curry was born around 27 years back when I had started living on my own and more importantly started cooking without Ma's supervision. No need to boil the eggs...Easy, Quick, dinner ready in minutes.

Much much later, came to know that it's a dish on its own merit with a fancy name too.

Here's my Bangali Shashouka or Poached Dimer Dalna :

Ingredients : (Serves 4)

1. Eggs - 4

2. Chopped Onions - 2 

3. Pureed Tomatoes - I used 4. .... The more the merrier...completely a personal choice

4. Whole Garam Masala - Cinnamon. Cardamom (green), Cloves

5. Whole dry Red Chili - 1 or 2

6. Bay Leaf / Tej Pata - 1 or 2

7. Ginger Garlic Paste

8. Whole garlic cloves - because I love fried garlic...may be skipped

9. Masala Paste - Turmeric+Cumin+Coriander+Red Chili+ Kashmiri Chili

10. Salt to taste

11. Milk Cream (Accumulated Malai) - a bowl...again completely optional...I had  a bowl ...hence used

12. Chopped Coriander Leaves

13. Green Chilies-As per heat tolerance 

14. Mustard Oil  - 3 tbspn

Procedure :

1. Heat mustard oil until it reaches smoking point. Add whole garam masala, red chilies, and bay leaves to temper.

2. Add garlic cloves (if using) until lightly browned. Then add onions, ginger-garlic paste, and a pinch of sugar. Sauté until golden.

3. Stir in tomato puree. Cover and cook for 2–3 minutes until softened.

4. Now add the masala paste mentioned at Sl.9 of Ingredients followed by the malai / milk cream..Cook on high for 3–4 minutes to eliminate raw flavors.

5. Now make four (or as many eggs you have) circular hollows on the bed of the gravy. (Picture 5).  Break the eggs one at a time into the hollows. I break the eggs , one at a time into a small bowl and slide each egg into the hollow gently. Lower the flame. Cover and cook till the eggs solidify. If you like runny yolks, the cooking time at this stage will be lower. This is a personal choice.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander, slit green chilies. Serve with rice, bread or just as it is. .... 

We had our shakshouka style easy Bengali egg curry for dinner with steamed rice.

Keema Pav

 Minced Meat with Soft Bread Roll

Soft and warm, fresh tawa toasted, buttered Pav dipped into Juicy Mutton Keema ... thats what culinary dreams are made of .

Delicious and super easy to make.

Ingredients :

Mutton Keema - 500gm
Pav - 2 packets (16 bread rolls)

Butter (I used Amul Garlic Butter) - 50 gm

Mustard Oil - 2 tbspn

Ghee - 1 tbspn

Tej Pata / Bay leaf -1

Whole red chili -1 

Garam Masala whole - Cinnamon 2 pieces; Elaichi-2 green; Clove -2 to 3

Whole garlic - 4-5 pods

Ginger Garlic paste - 3 tbspn

Onion - 2 medium sized , chopped

Onion - sliced into rings for garnishing

Tomato - 1 medium sized chopped

Green Chilies - as per heat tolerance. I used 5 -6

Coriander leaves chopped

Kesuri Methi-2tbspn crushed (optional)

Haldi - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Kashmiri Red Chili - 1 tsp

Red Chili - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar - a pinch

Home made Garam Masala - Dry roasted and finely powdered Cinnamon + Elaichi-green + Clove.

Green Peas - a small bowl

Cubed (small) and sauted Potatoes (optional) after smearing with Haldi & Salt 

Boiled eggs -2 (this was as per a video of Ranveer Brar... I normally do not use eggs in Keema)

Procedure :

Keema

1. Wash and then marinate (preferably overnight) the Keema with Ginger Garlic Paste, Salt, Haldi, Red Chili.

2. In a pressure cooker, heat 2 tbspn Mustard Oil and temper with whole garam masala, Bay Leaf, Whole red chili, 4-5 whole garlic. 

3. Add chopped onions and a pinch of sugar, followed by 2 tbspn of ginger - garlic paste. Fry well till light brown. Add chopped tomatoes.

4. Once tomatoes are mushy, add the powdered masalas mixed with water. Cook till you get rid of the raw smell with occasional sprinkling of water to avoid burning.

5. Once masalas are cooked well, add the marinated Keema / Minced Meat. Mix well and cook on high heat till oil separates. Add a cup of warm water if too dry.

6. Pressure Cook for 2-3 whistles on medium flame. Allow the pressure to release on its own.

7 . If too dry, add some warm water. Add a bowl of blanched green peas, sauted potatoes (optional) . Let the meat, peas and potatoes come to a boil.

8. Garnish with Ghee, Crushed Kesuri Methi leaves, chopped green chilies, garam masala and chopped coriander leaves.  

9. Slice the onions into rings and also slice the boiled eggs

Pav

1. Divide the Pavs and slice horizontally.

2. Smear the tawa with Garlic Butter / Plain Butter/Ghee

3. Toast the sliced Pavs on both sides.

Serve the Keema garnished with Sliced Onions, Sliced Eggs and a slice of Lemon along with warm, buttered tawa toasted paws....

Kanch Kolar Kofta

Curry made of Raw Banana Dumplings 

Kanch Kolar Kofta is a pure vegetarian delicacy of Bengal, often cooked sans onion & garlic.

However today's preparation was prepared with Onions but sans garlic.

When a colleague distributed fresh home grown Raw Bananas from his "kheti", I ditched the idea of making crispy shallow fried banana chips and decided to make the slightly more elaborate Kanch Kolar Kofta Curry.

Ingredients :

• For the Koftas

  *      kachkola (unripe, green bananas) - 2 

  *      boiled potato - 1 large sized

  *      onion paste – 1 small onion (can be skipped if totally sattvik vegetarian)

  *      ginger paste – 1 tsp

  *      green chillies (finely chopped) – 2 small

  *      cumin powder - ¾-1 tsp 

  *      coriander powder - ¾ -1 tsp 

  *      turmeric – a pinch

  *      Roasted Cumin powder or roasted garam masala powder – ½ tsp

  *      Salt to taste

  *      Sugar as per taste

  *      Maida (refined flour for binding)- 1-1.5 tbsp

•         For the Gravy

• *Cubed potatoes- 2 medium sized                                                                                                      *Finely chopped onions- 1 (optional and to be avoided in case if pure vegetarian)

• ·    *Tomato pureed- 2 small

  ·    *ginger paste-1tsp

  ·    *cumin powder – 1 tsp

  ·    *Coriander powder-1/2 tsp

  ·    *turmeric powder – 1tsp

  ·    *Kashmiri red chilli powder-1 tsp

  ·    *slit green chillies – 3-4

  ·    *mustard oil – 1.5-2 tbsp

  ·    *dried red chillies - 3

  ·    *bay leaves – 1-2

  ·    *green cardamom-2

  ·    *cinnamon- 1-2 one inch pieces

  ·    *cloves-1 or 2

  ·    *salt as per taste

  ·    *sugar

  ·    *ghee-1 tbspn

  ·    *home made Garam masala - ¼ tsp (dry roasted green cardamom, cinnamon, clove and powdered in a pestle mortar)

  *2 cups of warm water
  
  
  

  Procedure :

  Kanch Kolar Kofta (Raw Banana Dumpling) 

  
  
  1. 1. Cut kachkola (raw bananas) into 2-3 pieces depending on their length. Also take one large or two small potatoes , cut in half and place in the pressure cooker. Boil in a pressure cooker with salt, pinch of turmeric, ¾ litre (or till the raw banana pieces & potatoes are immersed) of water. Cook on medium heat till one whistle .
• 
  
• 2. After release of pressure, remove the boiled bananas & potatoes from the water and peel their skin. Mash the Kanch Kola and boiled potato till smooth. 


• 3. Add onion paste/grated, ginger paste,  chopped green chillies, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, pinch of Bengali garam masala or roasted cumin powder, salt, sugar and maida. Mix everything uniformly. 
• 
  
• 3. Divide the mashed mix into balls and press the spheres gently into discs .


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• 4. Shallow fry the koftas in a frying plan till they are uniformly brown in colour. 



5. Drain from the oil and keep aside.



• 
  

• The dalna or the Gravy

• 1. Take 2-3 potatoes and cut them into cubes, smear them with salt and turmeric and shallow fry them till 80% cooked. 
• 
  

2. Mix the spices - ginger paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, and kashmiri red chilli powder with water.

  

• 3. In a kadai, heat mustard oil. Season with dried red chillies, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and cumin seeds.
• 
  

4. Add chopped onions and tomato puree. Allow the rawness of tomato to be cooked into a mushy paste and add the spice mix prepared at sl2. Cook well while sprinkling some water from time to time to avoid burning of spices.  Add the salt  &  sugar. Keep cooking the spices till oil separates and now add the fried potato cubes. Add warm/hot water to make the gravy. Cover the kadhai till it comes to a boil.

• 
  
• 5. Slide in the fried koftas into the boiling gravy. Lower the flame till the gravy thickens.  
• 
  
• 6. Garnish with ghee,  garam masala , slit green chillies (as per heat tolerance).  
• 
  
• 7. Take it off the flame and serve with steamed rice.

Kolai Dal with Chingri Maachh

Roasted Urad Dal with Prawns

Ingredients:

Dry Roasted Urad Dal 200gm

Ginger Garlic paste

Tej Pata

Whole Garam Masala

Onion paste

Onion chopped

Tomato

Turmeric

 Salt

Fennel seed (mouri)

Dry Whole red chili

Procedure

1) dry roast dal and wash

2) in a pressure cooker, add whole garam masala, ginger garlic paste, Tej Pata,  Onion paste, Haldi, Salt, sugar.  Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. 

3) In a wok, pour 3 tbsp of oil. Season with fennel seeds when hot,  followed  by chopped garlic and chopped Onion. Fry till golden.

4) add the Prawns into the woke after  smearing with Salt, haldi, chili powder. Fry till golden.

5) pour the pressure cooked Dal into the wok. Let it come to a boil. 

6) garnish with ghee, green chilies and coriander leaves (chopped)

Note: The photograph was clicked as an afterthought,  much after the dal was relished by us all and doesn't do justice to its taste 😀 

Mukhi Kochu .....Arbi .....Colocasia

A simple fry of Mukhi Kochu and Potatoes

Ingredients :
Mukhi Kochu - 250gm
Potatoes : 2-3 medium sized
Dry whole red chilies -2
Ajwain - 1 tbsp
Chopped garlic - 8-10 gloves
Curry leaves - quite a handful
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Tomatoes - chopped
Sambhar masala - 2-3 tbsp
Amchur Powder - 2-3 tbsp
Haldi/Turmeric -1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chili
Salt to taste
Mustard Oil - 2-3 tbsp

Procedure :
1. Boil and cube the potatoes and Kochu into equal sized pieces
2. Add Dry whole red chilies, Ajwain, Chopped garlic, Curry leaves into smoking hot mustard oil
3. Add a pinch of Hing followed by chopped tomatoes.
4. Add Haldi, Chili Powder, Salt, Sambhar Masala.
5. Add the boiled Kochu and potatoes and fry on medium to high heat.
6. Adjust the salt and chili level.
7. Sprinkle Amchur Powder. Stir it around till the veggies and spices are all mixed well.

PanCake

A kid friendly recipe with innumerable variations....

sweet or savoury?

Chocolate sauce or maple syrup or honey or fresh cream or butter?

Topped with banana/ strawberry/ blueberry/mango?

Nutmeg /cinnamon/ vanilla?

Jotting down the most basic version of a well liked breakfast so that the girls need not ask me the ingredients and measures each time they make pancakes..

The measurements taken from Internet.  Other than the milk quantity mentioned here, all measures and ratios are just fine

Ingredients for 8 pancakes 

1 ½ cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour / whole wheat flour,

2 tablespoons sugar (powdered)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt, reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if sensitive to salt or using salted butter

1 ¼ cups (295 ml) milk....I used 195ml or till the batter was of flowing consistency

1 egg

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for skillet

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure 

BATTER

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and the salt in a medium bowl.

Warm milk  until lukewarm. 

Whisk milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract.. 

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately at first then combine just before cooking. When we are ready to cook, we combine the two mixes with a fork or whisk. 

COOK PANCAKES

Heat a large pan (mine has 3 circular grooves perfect for pancakes, crepes) over medium heat. The pan is ready if when you splatter a little water onto the pan surface, the water dances around the pan and eventually evaporates.

Lightly brush skillet with melted butter.

Pour ladle full of batter and cook till browned and crispy around the edges. Flip and cook the other side

Serve with toppings of your choice...chocolate syrup, honey, maple syrup, liquid jaggery, cream etc

Mushroom Spinach Crepes

A recipe from an FB reel made Sunday Breakfast a superhit.

Substituted the All purpose Flour of the original recipe with Whole Wheat Flour for the crepes as well as the white sauce.  

Ingredients :

A) for  around 18 crepes:

• Whole Wheat Flour ...2.5 cups (approx 250gms)
• Milk 2 large mugs or till a dosa like batter is made
• Salt to taste
• Baking powder & cooking soda..a pinch each

B) For the Mushroom Spinach Filling (measurements, ratio of ingredients as per taste and liking)

• Butter / Garlic Butter : 1 tbspn
• Chopped Garlic : a bowl full (around 50gm)
• Sliced Mushroom : 400 gm 
• Chopped Spinach : 1 bunch ...finely chopped
• Milk (original recipe had cream) : 1 cup 
• 2.5 cubes processed cheese : grated
• Chili Flakes
• Dried Hetbs
• Pepper
• Salt
• Ata / Cornflour for thickening (as milk was used instead of cream)

C) White Sauce 

• Butter : 1 tbspn
• Wheat Flour (original recipe: All Purpose Flour) : 1 tbspn
• 2 cups of milk
• Chili Flakes
• Dried Hetbs
• Pepper
• Salt

Procedure : Prepared the mushroom Spinach filling followed by the white sauce and crepes on adjacent gas burners

A) Crepes :

1) Mixed the Whole Wheat Flour / Atta, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt. Gradually added milk at room temperature and whisked the batter well to dissolve the lumps. Should be of flowing consistency

B) Mushroom , Spinach Filling :

1) In a wok, heated garlic butter and added chopped garlic and fried till golden brown.

2) Added the sliced mushroom and tossed on high heat. Added Chili flakes, dried herbs (oregano/Italian seasoning), Pepper.

3) Added the chopped Spinach. Tossed it around till it wilted.

4) Added Salt followed by Milk (substitute of Cream) and grated cheese. In case the filling is too watery, sprinkle some atta or cornflour for thickening 

C) White Sauce :

1) In a wok, heat butter and add a tbsp of Atta / Wheat Flour. Saute till brown. Add milk, salt, pepper, chili flakes, seasoning and bring to a boil till white sauce is ready  

D) Assembly :

1) Add a ladle full of batter to make the crepes.

2) Add the filling 

3) Fold it as you wish or find convenient

4) Serve on a plate and either dunk it in whote sauce or pour some white sauce as garnishing and sprinkle some chili flakes/pepper/chopped parsley or coriander leaves. (Optional...I left out the last bit as hungry eyes were more interested in the food rather than the decor and drama... ;)