Malai Paneer.... Cottage cheese in a Milk Cream Gravy

An unplanned dish born out of laziness and leftovers.....a dish representing 'less is more'.

Suddenly remembered that paneer had to be cooked for dinner after cooking lunch items  while packing up the leftover chopped items like onion and tomato.

Was tired and lazy and was looking for shortcuts.

Used up the chopped onion & chopped tomatoes (1/2 each of medium sized onion and tomato).

Took note of the thick malai (milk cream) on the surface of the boiled and cooled milk , staring at me from the countertop :D 😋😉😉.

Ginger- Garlic paste is omnipresent in my fridge.

So here goes the simple malai paneer ....

Ingredients:

*Paneer 200 gms cut into small cubes 

* chopped onion - 1/2 medium sized onion

*chopped tomato - 1/2 medium sized tomato

*ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

*green chili - chopped 

*Pepper - 1 tsp

*Kashmiri Mirch powder- 1/2 tsp

*malai or fresh milk cream... 1 litre boiled milk yielded 1/2 bowl (150ml bowl) of malai (dudher shawr)

* kasuri Methi- 1 tbsp crushed 

* oil (used rice bran) - 1 tbsp 

Procedure:

1. Paneer to be cubed into size of choice.  Mine were <1 cm cubes.

2. In a kadhai, heat oil. Add the chopped onion, ginger garlic paste, chopped tomato, chopped green chili.  Fry on high heat till browned.

3. While frying above, add pepper powder, salt, Kashmiri red chili powder. 

4. Once the onion- tomato etc+ spice mix are well fried , pour the malai....keep stirring on medium to high heat to prevent burning. Add 1/2 bowl of warm water. 

5.Once the slurry starts bubbling, add the cubed paneer. Gently stir around in the gravy to coat the masala well.  Cover and bring to a boil on low to medium heat. 

6.Check the salt, sweetness and spice level. Adjust according to taste.

7. As a final garnish, crush kasuri Methi (dried Fenugreek leaves) between your palms and sprinkle on the bubbling paneer gravy. Swirl around to mix.

Serve with Roti,  Paratha, Jeera Rice. We had it with plain steamed rice.

Doi Maachh .... Fish in Yogurt Gravy

Fresh Sweet water fish, minimum spices, awesome to eat....that's the perfect recipe for Doi Maachh, as cooked by my Ma. 

Having received Peti pieces (belly pieces which are buttery soft and oh so delicious) of Fresh Katla of 3 kg above size, I decided there and then that Doi Machh it will be,,,  

In this particular recipe of my Ma, the fish are not fried prior to dunking in the gravy, as is done in most Rui Katla preparations. The preparation is a blend of sweet and hot.

Ingredients :

Katla fish - 5 pieces (about 300 gms)

Curd - 1 medium sized bowl

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1.5 tsp for marination + extra as required

Salt  -  2 tsp for marination + extra as required

Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Tej Pata / Bay Leaf - 2

Whole Garam Masala - Cardamom, Cinnamon sticks, cloves 

Onion chopped - 1 medium sized

Onion paste - 1 medium sized

Oil (mustard / Rice bran) - 2 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbspn + 1 tspn for garnishing

Kashmiri Mirch - 1 tspn

Red Chili Powder - 1 tspn

Coriander leaves - chopped ... for garnishing

Procedure :

1. Wash the fish .

2. For marination : Mix a bowl of curd + ginger paste+sugar+salt. 

3. Marinate the fish in this slurry for minimum 1/2 hour.

4. In a kadhai, heat a mix of Oil + Ghee.

5. Temper with Tej Pata and whole garam masala.

6. Now add the chopped onion and fry till pink. 

7. While frying the chopped onion, add garlic paste and then add onion paste and fry well till browned to eliminate the raw smell. 

8. Add kashmiri mirch and red chili powder and fry well on medium heat till the onion and masala paste are well fried. 

9. Now lower the heat and add the curd slurry of the marination. Mix well with the onion-masala paste.

10. Now raise the heat and place the fish pieces in the kadhai and gently turn them around to coat them well with the masala and curd mix.

11. Add a cup of warm water. Lower the flame, Cover the kadhai and bring to a boil. Check the salt and sugar. The gravy should be sweet-tangy-midly hot.

12. Garnish with ghee and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with steaming hot rice.

Sambhar Dal

Tangy Toor Dal (Split pigeon peas) with a medley of vegetables.

A staple in every South Indian household with every family having their own little touch and tweak.

In my Bong kitchen too, Sambar is much loved and right or wrong, we don't know...but we pronounce this delightful tangy concoction of Dal and vegetables as Sambhar 😉😘.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Toor/Arhar Dal ...150 gm

Water to cook Dal...450 ml (3 cups)

Vegetables like Drumsticks, carrot, bhindi (okra), lauki/lau (bottle gourd), pumpkin, Brinjal....all cut into 1-1.5" lengths.

Today I used carrot, bhindi, lauki and potato ....thanks to an almost empty fridge.

Tamarind ...a lemon sized ball

Turmeric ... 1 tsp

Sambar powder (store bought) ..3- 4 tbsp

Salt to taste

Sugar...a pinch to balance excess tangyness of tamarind.

Garlic pods...5-6 (optional)...I did not use today

Curry leaves... 10 - 12

Dry Whole red chili ..2-3

Mustard seeds... 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds....1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds ..1/4 tsp

Red chili powder... 1/2 tsp optional

Kashmiri chili powder.. 1/2 tsp

Hing / asafoetida...1/2 tsp

Green chili..2-3

Coriander leaves...for garnishing 

Rice Bran oil / Sesame oil ....3 tbsp in total

Rice powder and a spoon of curd to marinatr and fry the okra.

Procedure:

1. Soak the Dal in hot water for a couple of hours to reduce cooking time.  Not mandatory. 

2. Soak the tamarind in hot water to make the pulp. 

3. Place the Dal,  a pinch of turmeric, salt and water in my mini presurre cooker. Cook for 3 whistles and let the pressure release naturally. 

4. While the Dal is cooking, smear the 1 cm chopped bhindi with salt, hing, Rice powder, chili powder and 2-3 drops of water. In a kadhai, heat oil and shallow fry the bhindi with a tsp of curd (to prevent) sticking.  After frying , keep the bhindi aside.

I do this as I like the bhindi in sambhar to have a crunch. You can cook it with other veggies if you have no such preference.

5. Today I steamed the other vegetables while Rice was cooking in the steamer of the Rice cooker....for about 5-7 minutes. Vegetables can also be cooked in the pressure cooker along with the Dal if there's a time crunch.

6. In the kadhai in which bhindi was being fried, add diced onion petal. No additional oil required. Remove the steamed vegetables (carrot, lauki, potato) from the steamer and add to the kadhai . Saute after adding salt, turmeric. Once the rawness of veggies are done away with,  add red chili, Kashmiri chili, sambar masala. Fry theveggies and masala well. 

7. Now pour the pressure cooked Dal into the kadhai.  Stir well to combine the Dal and veggies. Add water to adjust the consistency.  Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat, add the tamarind pulp and a pinch of sugar. Let it come to a boil. Add the fried bhindi.

8. In a small pan, heat oil and temper with whole,  dried red chilies, curry leaves, hing mustard-cumin-fenugreek seeds. Once the crackling stops, pour into the booking Dal.

9. Add a tablespoon of ghee into the Dal and garnish with chopped coriander leaves abs green chilies. 

Serve a bowl of steaming health and goodness with Rice / Idli / Sambar / Uttàpam.

Sheddho Mushirir Dal...comfort food

Boiled Red Lentil 

 

Lunch (or Dinner) can't get simpler than this....

Phyana Bhaat (soft , runny, aromatic rice), ce), Sheddho Daal (boiled dal), Dim Sheddho (boiled Egg), Alu Sheddho (boiled potato)...

It's a Bong's comfort food that transports him/her to food nirvana 😋.

Ingredients : 

Masoor Dal.... 75 -100gm

Garlic pods...8-10

Tomato...1 large...roughly diced

Green chili...as many as per heat tolerance

Butter ...2 cubes of 1cm each (can be replaced with mustard oil or ghee)

Diced Onions can also be used which I avoided today. Add diced onions if using, alongside the tomatoes.

For the Phyana Bhaat (soft runny aromatic rice), I used the traditional Gobindobhog Rice...due to an extra whistle of the pressure cooker, it wasnt as runny as I wanted...but the divine aroma enhanced with dollops of ghee made my day.

Procedure :

1. Wash the dal. 

2. In a pressure cooker, place the washed dal, garlic pods, salt, a pinch of turmeric, chopped tomatoes, diced onions (I avoided), 2-3 green chilies, 2 cubes of butter / garlic butter / 1 tsp of ghee or mustard oil 

3. Add 400ml of water. Pressure cook till 3 whistles go off.

4. Let the pressure release naturally. Open the pressure cooker and give the dal a swirl to enhance its creamy consistency. Add water if required, but this boiled dal is had a bit thicker than your normal everyday Masoor Dal (Patla mushurir dal).

5. Best served with steaming hot phyana bhaat, Alu Sheddho/Chokha , Dim Sheddho with further (optional) dollops of butter or ghee for extra indulgence.

 
This Dal tastes awesome as a Lentil Soup...warm, buttery, creamy, with or without a crisp buttered bread toast

Chicken Kofta Curry

Chicken Meat Balls in an onion tomato gravy

Chicken Breast is not my favourite cut of the chicken and I avoid using it because of its fibrous texture. But often we end up having not so desired products in our kitchen which we have to make do with.

So to use up the portion of chicken breast, decided on making a not so complicated Chicket Kofta curry. 

Certain ideas about the masala have been taken from Chef Varun Inamdar's recipe but I avoided using besan, keora water, rose water etc.

Ingredients :

Kofta :

Chicken Breast 450 gm 

Rock Salt / Beet Noon - 1 tsp or as per taste

Pepper - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves

Green chillies 

Curd - 1/2 cup

Bread Crumb - 2 slices of bread, toasted till crisp and powdered into bread crumb

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp roasted & ground cinnamon+cardamom+cloves

Ginger Galic paste - 1 tsp

Egg -1 

Onions 1-finely chopped

Gravy :

Onion - 2 roughly diced

Tomato 1-chopped

Ghee - 1 tsp

Whole garam masala

Bay leaf - 1 large or 2 small

White Oil/Mustard Oil

Roasted Fennel - 1 tsp

Roasted coriander (dhaniya) - 1tsp

Roasted Cumin - 1tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Whole Garam Masala & Bay leaf for Tempering 

Red chili powder

Kashmiri Chili Powder

Whole green chilies

Salt to Taste

Sugar  a pinch

Chopped coriander

Procedure :

Kofta :

1) Though Boneless Chicken Thighs are my preferred raw meat portion, this time I had to make do with Chicken Breast. To be chopped into small pieces.

2. Into the mixie jar goes : Boneless Chicken pieces, Rock Salt, Pepper Powder, Green Chilies, Chopped Coriander 

3. Into the above meat paste, add ginger -garlic paste, 1 egg, finely chopped onion, bread crumb of 2 bread slices (toasted and powdered) , 1/2 bowl of curd, 1/2 tsp of homemade garam masala (toasted and ground cardamom+cinnamon+clove). Mix well.

4. After smearing yoour palm with oil, make chicken koftas or balls. I made small lemon sized balls.

Gravy :

1) In a kadhai, take 2 tbsp oil (mustard or any other oil. Today I used rice bran oil).

2) Temper with whole garam masala and bay leaf.

3) To this tempered oil, add roughly chopped onions (2 medium sized)  and tomato. Add ginger- garlic paste. Fry till the onions have slightly browned and raw smell of tomatoes gone. Add salt and a pinch of sugar. 

4) Take it aside and on cooling grind this fried onion-tomato-bayleaf-garam masala-ginger garlic into a smooth paste and transfer the paste back to the kadhai.

5) Prepare a masala paste with 1/2 bowl of beaten curd, a mix roasted cumin + roasted coriander seeds + roasted fennel seeds+ red chili powder + kashmiri mirch. Add this paste to the onion-tomato-bayleaf-garam masala paste in the kadhai. Add warm water . Check the salt .  Add a spoonful of ghee.

6) While the gravy starts simmering,  slide the koftas slowly into the kadhai and add two green chilis, slit at the top. Cover and cook on low to medium heat for 15-20 minutes. 

7) Once it comes to a boil, sprinkle 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder and garnish with chopped coriander.

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....