Posto Bada /Bora



Posto Bada /Bora

Posto Bada (poppy seed balls) is one of the many types of bora in Bengali cuisine. It can be served both as a snack or with a full meal. It can be prepared very easily with readily ingredients such as poppy seeds, coconut & rice flour making it healthy & delicious

Ingredients

Posto (poppy seeds) : 200 gm

Coconut : ½ cup (grated)

Potato: 2 midium size (Boiled)

Rice / Bengal gram flour : 2 tbsp

Salt : to taste

Sugar : to taste

Green chilli chopped/ paste : 1 tbsp

Oil : for frying

Method

Mash the boiled potato.

Mix potato mash, post(popy seeds)o, grated coconut, rice flour, salt, sugar, chopped green chilli in a bowl.

Take 2 tbsp of the Posto mixture & press by palms & keep aside. Like this give all the mixture pakora shape.

Heat oil in a wok.

Deep fry the pakoras till golden brown.

Take out from the oil & serve with steamed rice.
Recipe By : Manna Majumder
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Crab Curry-bengali-style (Kakra Jhal /কাঁকড়া ঝাল)

Kakra Jhal /কাঁকড়া ঝাল

Ingredients:

Fresh, big-sized blue crabs: 2

Onion paste: ½ cup
Ginger paste:2 tbsp

Chopped onions: ½ cup

Crushed garlic: 4 tbsp

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Tomato puree: ½ cup

Mint paste: 1 tbsp

Whole one-inch cinnamon sticks: 2

Green cardamoms: 2

Black peppercorns: 4

Cloves: 4

Bay leaf: 1

Cumin seeds: ¼ tsp

Coriander powder: 1 tsp

Cumin powder: ¾ tsp

Red or green chillies (optional): 4

Vegetable oil: 2.5 tbsp

Salt: 1.5 tsp

Water: 4 cups

Method:

Clean the crabs (broken into medium-sized pieces) and plunge the pieces into four cups of boiling water with 1 tsp salt. Boil for 20 min. Strain the water (crab stock) and keep the boiled crabs aside. Cover both to prevent the escaping of the delectable “crab” aroma.
Heat oil in a pan and fry the boiled crabs for few minutes and keep aside. Now again heat oil in a pan and add the bay leaf, cumin seeds, whole cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and cardamoms. When the cumin seeds turn brown, add the onion and ginger paste and sauté for 7 min on medium flame. Add the garlic and the chopped onion now and sauté for five more minutes. Sprinkle turmeric powder and ½ tsp salt and mix well. Cover over a slow flame for about 3 min. Open and check if the chopped onions can be broken easily with the ladle. If not, continue to cook by sprinkling a little crab stock and covering for three more min, till the desired softness is reached.

Add coriander and cumin powders dissolved in 4 tbsp crab stock. Mix well. Continue to fry this mixture till oil separates from this and the mixture turns almost dry. This should take around 15 min on a low flame (preferred). Add the mint paste, chillies and tomato puree now. Cover and cook further for five more minutes.

Add the boiled crabs to this and mix everything well. Cook on a medium flame till the crabs get coated with the curry evenly and the whole thing becomes a little dry. Now add the whole crab stock and cook on a medium flame, covering the pan. The contents should boil for 15 min. Before serving, add the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve this with rice, roti, paratha or naan.
Recipe By : Manna Majumder
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Dahi Karela (Bitter Gourd with Curd)

Dahi Karela (Bitter Gourd with Curd)

Ingredients:

1 large bitter gourd

5 tbsp curd

Salt to taste.

3 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp methi seeds

2 Tej pata (Bay leaf)

Pinch hing

1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional)

3 pieces half silted green chili

Method:  

Wash and cut the gourds into roundels.

 Wash and squeeze out the water.

 Marinate with salt, and black pepper for about 30 minutes.

Now these are ready to be made into the desired dish

Heat ghee.

Add the bay leaf, methi seeds (fenugreek Seeds) and hing.

Add the gourds and turmeric powder (optional) sauté till the moisture is absorbed from these.

Add the beaten curd , salt  and mix it well Once the curd are mixed, add 1/2 cup water and let the gourds cook till tender.

You might need more or less water depending on how thick the gourd slice is, also depending on the quality of the gourd.

The Japanese gourds are very tender and cook fast, but may be in India I would need to add more water and cook longer and it semi thick gravy and serve with white rice .




Author : Manna Majumder
Recipe By : Dipti Rani Nandi Majumder
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