Masala Poorie / Puri

Chholar Dal or Chana Dal was already carried forward from Lunch. Hence the Puri with a twist!

Though we Bongs are partial towards 'Phulko Luchi'...Poories made of Maida, Covid restrictions and limited supplies prompted me to improvise with whatever was available.... and here goes the recipe of Masala Poorie

Ingredients as per my availability: can be tweaked around to suit taste and availability

Maida - about 1/2 cup

Ata (whole wheat flour) - 3 cups almost

Hing /Asafoetida - 1 tbsp

Chili flake - 1 tbsp

Ajwain - 1.5 tbsp

Salt

Sugar

Ghee- 1 heaped tbsp

Curd (because it was available)-a bowl approx

Warm water

Procedure :

Mix the dry ingredients.

Then mix the ghee followed by curd and warm water....knead

Roll into poories and fry....

I served with Chholar Dal...

Anything like Alu Dum, Chhole, Chutney will do....even just like that...warm puffed spicy poorie tastes awesome!

Chitol Maachher Muitha

Chitol Fish Koftas 

Chitol Maachher Muitha is an essentially "Bangaal" (the erstwhile Eastern region of undivided Bengal which is now present day Bangladesh) delicacy made out of the 'Gaada' (Bonier or dorsal part ) of the fish.

Seeing Chitol Maachh in the supermarket last sunday, I couldnt control my temptation and purchased a huge 2.5 kg fish.

Instructions were immediately taken over phone regarding the cutting of the Gaada-Peti and communicated to my bewildered fish seller!

Rushed back home and called up my cooking encyclopedia, ready with pen and paper, and jotted down the elaborate process of the Muitha making....

Ingredients :

For the Koftas :

The 'Gaada' or bonier part of the fish (the fish I'd bought was 2.5 kgs!!) which was approx 1 kg 

2 medium sized potatoes for every kg of gaada

2 eggs

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

1 small onion - finely chopped

1 small onion - made into paste

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Salt

Sugar - a pinch

For the gravy :

1 onion - chopped

2 onions - paste

Garam masala - whole, made into a paste/powder 

Tej pata

ginger paste - 1 tsp

garlic paste - 1tsp

1 tomato - chopped (optional)
Chili powder

Kashmiri Chili powder

Jeera powder/paste - 1tsp

Salt 

Sugar

Potato 2-3 cubed

Ghee

Oil (preferably mustard)

Procedure :

Muittha / Kofta - 

I) De-boning of the fish:

1. Wash the fish. Placing it on a flat surface, with the skin on top, hammer it lightly with the Nora of the Sheel-Nora (traditional grinding stone used in Bengali kitchens) or anything heavy

2.The fish will loosen. Now turn it around, so that the fleshy surface faces up and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.


Save the skin for kataa chochchori (we Bongs are quite the scavengers ;)) . The pic below is the starting material for Kataa Chochchori

3. Using the Sheel-Nora, grind the fish ...most of the bigger bones will come apart. Now using fingers, mash the fish further and also remove the remaining bones.

If minced, de-boned Chital is available, the rest of the Muitha making is actually a cake-walk.....

II) The rest of the Muitha making -

1. For 1 kg Gaada, use 2 medium sized boiled potatoes and mash them well and mix with the boneless, minced fish. While mixing and mashing, you may be able to remove more fine bones....

2. Add to the minced fish+mashed potato mix : 2 raw eggs, ginger, garlic paste, onion chopped, onion paste, jeera powder, chili powder, salt, sugar. Knead well as in kneading dough.

3. Put a large vessel/kadai full of water to boil. Divide the fish dough into fist sized (mutho/muitha) spheres. And slide into the boiling water. Cook for about 15 minutes. Turn the spheres from time to time. To check if done, insert a fork/needle as we do in baking. If it comes out clean, it's done.

4. Take the 'spheres' out of the water. Keep aside to cool. When cooled, cut them into approx 1.5" cubes.

5. Shallow fry them lightly.


These can make delicious finger food/snacks/starter and in case that's what you intend to make them into, fry them till they are crispy and golden brown.

The Gravy :

1. Heat oil in a kadai. Add the chopped onion, paste of garam masala, tej pata, a pinch of sugar. 

2. Along with the above 'phoron', the cubed potatoes may be added to avoid sauteing them separately.

3. When the onions are light brown in colour, add onion paste, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, kashmiri chili, jeera powder, salt and tomato. Fry them in medium to high heat....'Koshano' or 'Bhunoing'

4. After the oil separates from the cooked masala, gently slide in the fried Muitthas / Koftas. Turn them around gently to cover them in the masala/spice mix and fry for a minute or so....add about 2 cups of water to make a gravy of medium thickness. Cover and bring to a boil.

5. Just before taking it off the flame, add a tbspn of ghee and 1/2 tsp of powder garam masala (without roasting) (garam masala at the end is optional, though)

The Chitol Maachher Muittha is ready to be savoured with plain steamed rice.

This post is being linked to "Spotlight: Show Your Best Creation" @ Cuisine Delights

Cheesy Vegetable Fritters

Fritters / Chops/Cutlets made of Chhana (Fresh & fluffy Paneer), grated Cheddar Cheese and any finely chopped vegetables

Simple, fast and delicious....that's the other name of this dish.

Ingredients :
Chhana / Paneer from 2.5 litres full cream milk
Grated processed cheese  (used Amul) - 4-5 cubes or as many as you want
Any finely chopped vegetables : I used carrot, beans, capsicum, finely sliced babycorn, sweet corn kernels, mushrooms
Chopped garlic
Chopped Onions
butter / oil
Tej pata
Crushed peppercorns
Salt
Pepper powder
Oregano powder
Cornflour
Bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Procedure :

1. Curdle boiling milk with lemon/vinegar to make Chhana/Chhena/Paneer/Cottage cheese. Drain away the whey and press it lightly to retain the softness and fluffiness of the Chhana.


2. In a kadai, heat the butter. Add tej pata & crushed pepper corns into the heated butter, followed by chopped garlic and onions. Fry till golden brown.

3. Now add the chopped vegetables in descending order of hardness.....carrot, beans, baby corns ...capsicum etc...all in medium to high heat. If using mushrooms, better to saute them separately as mushroom will give out loads of water and make the other veggies soggy. We want the veggies to retain their crunchiness


4. Mix the crunchy fried veggies with the soft paneer and toss the mix in the kadai to mix well.

5. In the hot mix, gradually add the grated cheese and keep stirring. The cheese will melt and assimilate into the rest of the chhana-veggie mix.


6. After cooling, shape the doh-like chhana-cheese-veggie mix into friiters. Dip into a thin batter of cornflour+water and then roll in bread crumbs.

8. Shallow fry and serve with sauce, chutney or as it is....

Rohu Roe fritters .... Rui Machher Dimer Bora

A dull grey rainy day culminates into an evening of continuous rains. As with the weather outside, the ambience within the four walls was also dull, damp and grey!

Boredom was further enhanced by the fact that the Friday evening was not only a rainy evening, but was about to be followed by AD's Maths Exams the following day i.e Saturday....what could be worse!

Well, had to spice up the tea time with something more than the biscuits and the 'Bhujiawallah' snacks!!

So the 4kg Rohu's Roe, sitting in the freezer, was brought out, thawed, spiced up and deep fried and savoured with mugs of hot steaming ginger tea! Aaaah Bliss.....

The recipe....

Ingredients

Roe of a 4kg Rohu roe yielded about 38-40 (1.5" dia) fritters or 'Boras'

Onion - 1...finely chopped

Ginger - 1 tsp grated 

garlic - 2-3 cloved chopped

Green chillies - as many as the heat factor allows

Besan or gram flour - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil to deepfry.

Procedure :

1. Mix the roe with all the above ingredients. 

2. Make coin sized balls and flatten

3. Deep /shallow fry on a non-stick pan

4. Serve hot with tea/coffee.

These 'Bodas' or fritters can be an accompaniment to Plain Rice-(Mushurir/Masoor) Dal. 

Another option would be to make a gravy with onion, tomato and potato and add these fritters and make what in bengali is known as 'Maachher Dim er Bora'r Dalna'

Baked fish .....

Served with greens, steamed vegetables and crispy fried baby potatoes


Easy to cook, healthy and great to taste.....

Ingredient: 

I . For the baked fish :
1. Thick fillet of Bhetki Fish  - about 8 - 10
2. Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tbsp
3. Juice of lemon - 1/4 cup
4. Grated onion / onion juice of 1 big onion
4. Spinach - 5-6 bunches
5. Firm tomatoes - 4
6. Cheddar Cheese grated - 1 cup
7. Butter or EVOO

8. Crushed pepper
9. Chilli flakes
10. Dried oregano

II. Vegetables I used :
1. Tender Baby corns - 8-10
2. Tender small sized carrots - 8-10
3. French Beans -10-12
4. Green peas - 1 cup
Any other vegetables/greens like cauliflower/broccoli florets / cabbage leaves / crunchy ice lettuce etc may be used
5. baby potatoes  - 1/2 kg

III. Others 
1. Rice flour - 1/2 cup
2. Turmeric - a pinch
3. Oil for deep frying
4. Salt
5. Chilli powder

Procedure : in the sequence I do to save time

1. Marinate the fish fillets in Ginger-garlic paste + onion juice + lemon juice + salt + pepper for a couple of hours or overnight (as i do).
2. Steam all vegetables at II of Ingredients. Dont let them lose their crunch
3. Spray or smear the baking tray with butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
4. On it make a bed of whole spinach leaves.
5. Place the marinated fish along with the marinade on the leaves.
6. Roughly chop 3-4 bunches of spinach and garnish the marinated fish fillets with the leaves.
7. Sprinkle liberally crushed black pepper, chilli flakes, oregano, small cubes of butter or drizzle 2-3 tsp of EVOO.
8. Garnish  with grated cheese.
9. Slit the tomatoes on top cross-wise. push in a couple of peppercorns and a pinch of salt into each tomato. smear some butter/EVOO.
10. Put in the baking tray into the preheated oven (temp around 280-300 deg F) for 10-12 minutes.

11. If necessary, i.e if the tomatoes are still raw, put the tomatoes back in the oven for another 5-8 mins.
12. While the baking is being done, in a non-stick pan, smear some butter and saute the steamed veggies with a sprinkling of salt & pepper.
13. Make a batter of rice flour with water, salt, chilli powder and a pinch of turmeric. Dip the steamed potatoes in the batter and deep fry to get crispy fried wholebaby potatoes .

Arrange the baked fish fillets along with the spinach leaves, sauted whole vegetables, crispy fried whole potatoes and serve.

Shubho Naboborshe Mishti Mukh with Pantua!

Hunger pangs and Frittata

Lunch skipped. No time to satiate my mid afternoon hunger pangs. Hallucinations of sinfully delicious cheese omelettes. Can you imagine my plight in office???? Even while driving back home, I was dreaming of the smell of eggs being fried, with my eyes wide open!!

The ravenous me attacked the fridge with full vigour and in a jiffy I had all I needed for a sinfully delicious stuffed omelette. The sausages sliced, onions & tomatoes ready (I always have some chopped onions & tomatoes in air tight containers for such emergencies!), cheese grated, eggs beaten and just as I was about to go ahead with the dish of my afternoon cravings, I changed my mind and what followed, culminated in a frittata !!



Ingredients :
Eggs - 2
Sausages - 3-4 (sliced)
Milk - 3-4 tbsp
Onions - 1 small - sliced
Tomatoes - diced - 1 small
Processed Cheese - 1 cube
crushed pepper - to taste
chopped green chilies - to taste / optional
chili flakes - to taste
Capsicum - 1 diced
Sweet corn kernels - a handful
Peas- a handful
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup chopped
butter/oil (I used butter!!!)
salt to taste

Procedure :

1. Beat two eggs. Add 3-4 tbsp of milk/milk cream and keep beating till fluffy. Add salt and pepper...beat some more. And keep aside

2. Switch on the oven at around 200 deg. F for 10-15 minutes, to preheat

3.In a frying pan, add some oil. Throw in the onions. Fry till light brown.

4. Fry the sausages with tomatoes and capsicum

5. Add the sweet corn kernels, peas and add the salt pepper, chili flakes & green chillies. Toss around once again in the pan.

6. With the spatula, spread the fried stuff evenly on the pan and pour the beaten egg+milk/cream mix. Tilt the pan to spread the egg evenly to cover all the veggies and sausages. Keep on low flame for the egg to set.

7. When the top is almost set (but not fully), sprinkle the grated cheese and continue to cook on stove top on low flame till the cheese starts to melt.

8. Transfer the pan (after removing the handle) to your preheated oven and cook on grill mode for 5 minutes. I like my cheesy fritatta tops soft, with the cheese melting in my mouth. If you like the top crispier and browned, keep it in the grill for some more time while monitoring it.

9. Garnish with chopped coriander.
Enjoy!!!!!

I ate like a glutton....had almost 3/4th and suddenly remembered my little baby who loves eggs!
Dinner was a cakewalk with the fritatta and was over even before I could spell it out!!!

This can make a wonderful breakfast or brunch and can be packed in kids' tiffin. It can be eaten as it is (as I did) or with bread roll/slices or mashed potatoes!

Note : I used all the sinfully high calorie stuff....like cheese, butter, milk cream etc etc....it was an indulgence I should not practise often!!! Using olive oil, low fat milk, crumbled ricotta cheese/paneer will definitely be a healthier and low calorie option!! But........

Shaboor Bada

(Saboodana Vada or Fried Dumplings of Saboo)

I love Saturday evenings...just the thought of a holiday the next day, makes my heart soar with joy! And hence, Saturday evening teatime demands a little more than the usual biscuits or muri-makhaa!

As I was sifting through the stuff that would add an extra zing to my leisurely evening tea, I found a packet of saboo dana, bought quite sometime back and forgotten!
Retrieving the poor little forgotten packet, I set out to make the simple yet tasty Shaboor Bada (Deep fried Dumplings/Vada made of Saboodana)

Ingredients :

Saboo dana - 250gms

Potatoes - 3 medium sized

Onions - 1 chopped

Tomato - 1 chopped (Optional..I didnt use)

Jeera/Whole Cumin seeds - 1 - 1.5 tsp

Green chillies-4-5 (or more) chopped

Ginger-freshly grated (I used ginger paste)

Salt/Rock salt - as per taste

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup -chopped fine

Oil for deep frying

Procedure :

1. Soak the saboodana in water for about 15-20 minutes. I dont like them too soggy/mushy hence depending on the quality, the soaking time may be less. Keep checking while you arrange the other ingredients.

2. Boil 3 medium sized potatoes in a pressure cooker.

3.Mash the boiled potatoes. Add all ingredients in the 'Ingredients' list except saboodana.

4.By now the soaked saboo is ready. Drain off the water and mix thoroughly with the mashed potatoes.

5. Divide into around 20-24 balls and flatten between palms of your hands.

6.In a wok, heat oil for deep frying. Deep fry the Bodas/Vadas/Dumplings in batches till golden brown.

7. Serve hot with any chutney or Sauce. I served with Kashundi (A traditional Bengali mustard sauce) and munch along with a steaming hot cup of tea!

The above post, is my entry for "Sunday Snack: Festive Snack of Navratri and Diwali" hosted by Indrani of APPYAYAN.


This recipe is also being sent to 'Fast & Quick Healthy Dishes - Guest hosted by Kalpana Sareesh of Life with Spices, on behalf of Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes

Celebrating Kali Pujo & Diwali with Chhanar Jilipi

(Jalebi made out of cottage cheese)


It's that time of the year again!

Come September/October/November and the Indian Calendar is choc-a-block with festivities. Religious, social, cultural ... our festivities are a joyous symphony of vibrant colours, myriad tastes that tingle the palate and religious fervour that embraces and engulfs our sprirts. It's a time of the year I love and yearn for. The smell of new clothes, the anticipation of going home to family and friends, the smell of Pujo in the air, the sound of the Dhakis in the background are all so familiar and nostalgia evoking....yet gives me goosebumps every year thus creating the magic of pujo. For us since childhood, Pujor Chhuti meant Durga Puja followed by Lakshmi Puja and finally the festivities and fun would culminate with Kaali Puja exactly two weeks after Dussehra and finally Bhai Phonta just two days thereafter!

Maa Kaali, the fierce incarnation the Durga, is worshipped on the Kartik Amavasya night in Bengal. While Ma Kaali is worshipped in Bengal, on the same day, Diwali is celebrated in the rest of the country and Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in most homes of North, South and Western India.

Diyas, candles, fireworks are an intrinsic part of both Kali Pujo as well as Diwali. And as in case of all Indian festivities, be it religious/cultural/social, food, especially a wide variety of sweets is an integral part of all our celebrations!

So on this ocassion of Kali Puja, as we indulge our sweet tooth, shoving to the backseat for a couple of weeks the fear of calories, pretending to ignore for a while the clockwise swing of the weighing scale needle, I bring to you a sweetdish I love.... CHHANAR JILIPI. I learnt it from my Ma during my Puja vacation and here I am sharing it with you......


Ingredients:
Chhana from 2 litres milk (check here to see how chhana is made in Points 1 & 2 of Process)
3 Black Elaichis, made into a paste (I used the green elaichi/cardamoms-around 5)
Maida (refined flour) - 2 - 3 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Baking Powder - a pinch
Sugar syrup using sugar : Water in the ration 1:1.5
Oil for deep frying


Procedure:

1. Knead the Chhana into a soft and smooth dough

2. Mix the Maida with the Oil.

3. Then mix the maida-oil mix to the chhana to give some firmness to the very soft chhana dough

3.Mix the elaichi paste and baking powder and again knead very well.


4. Pinch of small balls of chhana and roll into smooth balls.

5. Roll it into a snake like shape as shown above

6. Twist the two ends as shown in pics below.

6. Deep Fry each formed jalebi in the wok

7. Keep the sugar syrup hot/boiling.

8.Fry the jilipis and dunk them in the sugar syrup.

9. Let them stay dunked in the sugar syrup for about an hour when the jalebis soak in the sweetness of the syrup and turns juicy.

Serve hot or cold......

HAPPY DIWALI!!

This is my entry to the event FF:DIWALI DHAMAKA hosted by Purva Desai of PURVA's DAAWAT. The logo for the event is ....

Fish Fry

Fish Fry or Fish Finger is one of my favourite starters! And when I saw a 2.25 kg Bhetki on my weekend market trip, I ordered it to be cut into fillet.....

So here goes the recipe for Fish Fry.....Fish finger recipe would be the same....only difference is the starting point-instead of square or rectangular fillet, the fish has to be cut into thin strips of 3/4" x 3" dimension approximately....





Ingredients : What I used
Bhetki fillet - about 12 - 15 pieces of 2"x2.5" dimension (no hard and fast rule though!)


A. For marination
* Ginger paste : 1 tbsp
* Garlic paste : 1 tbsp
* Onion paste or juice of onion : 2 tbsp paste or 3-4 tbsp juice (I used paste)
* Green chilli paste - 1 tsp (optional)
* Coriander leaves - chopped fine (optional)
* Chilli flakes - 1 tsp (optional)
* Vinegar or lemon juice - 3-4 tbsp
* Freshly ground black pepper - 1 tsp
* Salt - to taste


B. For the coating :
*Arrowroot powder / Cornflour - 3-4 tbsp
*Bread crumbs : 2 cups OR Bread Slices (stale ones preferred) - 5-6 nos. (see below to check out how to prepare breadcrumbs @ home)


Procedure :
1. Marinate the washed and cleaned fish pieces in a mix of all ingredients at 'A'. I refrigerate the marinated fish in an airtight box overnight.




2. Prepare the breadcrumb as shown below ##

3. In a flat bottomed bowl, mix the arrowroot/cornflour with water to make a paste of thin consistency.

4. In a flat plate, take the bread crumb and make an even layer.

5. Take each marinated Fish piece, dip it into the thin batter of arrowroot/cornflour , immediately followed by rolling in the bread crumb to form an uniform coating. Repeat for all the fish pieces.

6. In a deep flat bottomed frying pan, take the oil, heat it and fry the bread crumb coated fish pieces. Take out the fish fries and place them on a kitchen tissue to soak off the excess oil.

7. Serve with Salads and/or Mustard sauce (Kashundi) or any other sauce of your liking!

# Preparing Bread Crumbs @ Home :
-Take the stale breads (Fresh bread contains lots of moisture and hence is not too suitable for making crumbs)
-Place them in a flat tray in the microwave oven. Heat it in microwave for 2 minutes on medium heat. After completion of 2 minutes, keep it in the microwave for another 2-3 minutes for the bread slices to harden.
-Take out the hardened bread slices, break them into small pieces and put them in a mixie/dry grinder.
-Just run it for 5-10 seconds, to get fresh bread crumbs instantly!