Sheem Chochchori

Fried Broad Beans ....the Bengali way

 The Sheem or Broad Beans looked so fresh and green, I of all persons, who's not in the least bit a vegetable lover,  seemed to have fallen in love with them....Cautiously, as I had never cooked it earlier, bought just a packet of it....didnt have the heart to refrigerate this fresh a vegetable and hence cooked a 'Sheem Chochchori' (Broad Beans fried in typical Bengali spices) with it.

A quick and easy recipe .... though of course the presence of mustard paste (shorshe baata) and grated coconut in the fridge helped...

Ingredients :
Broad Beans - 250gms. ..each cut it 3 parts
Dry red chili whole - 1
Kalojeera / Nigella seeds - 1/4 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
grated coconut - a small bowl
mustard paste - 2 tsp
coriander leaves
green chili
salt to taste
sugar - a pinch
Mustard oil

Procedure :
1. In a kadai, heat the mustard oil and season with whole dry red chili & kalojeera
2. Add the Sheem pieces  (cut in 3 parts as shown in the pic) and add Haldi, salt and sugar. Turn the vegetable and spices around in the kadhai and let it cook till partially soft yet the crunchiness should still be there.
3. Add the grated coconut followed by mustard paste. Let it cook for a couple of minutes more
4. Garnish with Coriander leaves and slit whole green chili.

To be savoured with steamed white rice

Tawa fried Pomfret

Ingredients :
A) White Pomfret cut into half or kept whole as per choice ....with slits for masala penetration- 3 nos.
B) Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
C) Lemon juice of 2 small lemons
D) salt to taste
E) kashmiri mirch - 1 tsp for colour
F) Green chilis paste - optional
G) Coriander leaves - optional

H) Spices for dry roasting :
Whole Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Whole Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 2 to 3 sticks
Cardamon - 3-4
Cloves - 4-6
Whole Black Pepper 15-20 
Tej Pata - 2 small
Whole dry red chili - 3-4

Procedure :
1. After dry roasting the spices at 'H', dry grind them into a not-very-fine powder.
2. Mix with all other ingredients at B to G with the dry spice mix . Add a little mustard oil (or any other oil of your choice). This is the marinade  to smear the fish with
3) Liberally coat the cleaned pomfret pieces (or whole) & even the cavites with the marinade.
4) Marinate for a couple of hours. I refrigerated the marinated fish overnight.
5) Tawa fried in mustard oil.

Instead of Tawa Frying, this can be grilled too.....

Quickfix medley-chicken (keema/mince), mushroom, boiled eggs

This is a non-recipe.
Weekend fridge leftovers...1/2 bowl of leftover cooked chicken mince, 3 day old button mushrooms. Semi soft Boiled eggs + mushrooms...both sauted in ghee (wanted to do it in butter but realised had run out of it) and spiced up with pepper & chili flakes quite liberally. ... And finally mixing it all up with the chicken keema (mince) which had been cooked in garlic butter with chopped onions, chopped ginger-garlic, salt, pepper and chili powder.

 Makes a good side dish this with bread, roti...but I had it with steaming hot rice.....