Razma Makhani (Kidney Beans with Cream)

Razma Makhani
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Ingredients:

• 1 cup kidney beans (White) • 1 cup kidney beans (Red) • 1 Onion (finely chopped) • 3 Green chilies (finely chopped)   • A few Coriander Leaves (chopped) • 4-5 flakes Garlic Paste • 1 tsp Cumin Seeds • 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder • 1 Tomato (finely chopped) • 1/2 cup Stirred Curd • 1/2 cup Fresh Stirred Cream • 2 tbsp Butter • 1 inch Ginger Piece (chopped) • 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder • 1/2 tsp Garam Masala • Red Chili Powder to taste • Salt to taste

Method

• Soak kidney beans overnight in water. • Put kidney beans with water and a little salt in a pressure cooker and cook for about 25 minutes. • Mash the mixture and again cook for 15-20 minutes. • Add cream and curd to the beans. • Heat oil in a kadhai. • Saute cumin seeds and add garlic paste. • Fry the paste till light brown. • Add onions and saute till golden brown. • Add tomatoes, ginger, and green chilies. • Fry till tomatoes turn soft. • Now add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, and salt. • Fry for a few minutes. • Reduce the flame to medium. Add razma (beans) and stir. • Remove from the flame as soon as it begins to boil. • Add garam masala powder. • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and add a dash of butter. • Serve with naan or hot rice.

Aloo(potato) Chicken Curry- Bengali Style

Ingredients:

1 Kg chicken meat

7-8 tblsp oil (mustard oil)
2 & ½  tblsp turmeric powder
1 & ½ tsp red chili powder
1 & ½ tblsp Cumin Powder
1 cup yogurt
3 pic potato (medium size)
1 &  ½  tblsp ginger pest
1 tblsp garlic chopped
2  tblsp garlic pest
1 tblsp onion chopped
4 tblsp onion pest
Cardamom-3-4 whole pieces
Cinnamon-2-3 small pieces
Bay leaf – 3 pic
Salt to taste
Methods:
Clean  skin, wash and cut chicken into medium sized pieces.
Marinade the chicken with ginger and garlic paste, onion pest, turmeric, chili and Cumin powder with the 1 tblsp raw mustard oil and salt for ½ hour.
Peel the skin of the potato and cut the potato in two pieces. Rub the potato with turmeric and salt. Now fry the potato and keep it aside.
Heat up oil in a pan and add bay leaf, chopped garlic , chopped onion one by one and  stir fry until translucent and soft.  Now add chicken pieces and beaten yogurt and stir fry on a high flame heat up for 8-10 minutes. Now is the time to add potato and stir well till oil come out.  Then add enough water to just cover the chicken. Place a lid on the pan and bring to boil. Reduce to medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender. You will need to keep checking on the chicken as it cooks and adding more water if all the water dries up. Stir often to prevent burning.  Add the cardamom / cinnamon powder 10 minutes before the chicken is served.
The dish should have a fairly thick gravy when done.  serve with hot chapattis (Indian flatbread), Naans (tandoor-baked Indian flatbread) or plain boiled  rice.

Chire / poha pulao (rice flakes with vegetables)

Ingredients: 

• 200 Chira / Poha
• 100 gm boiled mixed vegetables (potato,carrots, green peas etc)
• 1/2 cup cashew nut (washed)  • 2 chopped onion
• 2-3 chopped green chilli
• 1-teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1-teaspoon Sompu
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup oil
• Salt & sugar according to taste.
• 1/2 cup grated coconut for garnish
• 3- teaspoon ground nut
• 1-teaspoon ghee
Preparation:
1. Wash the chira and dry it on flat surface plate.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add rai & bay leaves for saut�.
3. Add onion, ginger, & chilli and fry it for till brown.
4. Add the vegetables, ground nut & cashew nut and fry it for a min.
5. Then add the pre-washed chira and mix well.
6. Add salt & sugar to taste and cooked it for 5 min in low fame and mix ghee.
7. When dish is ready, serve hot.

Grilled Pomfret Fish

                                   

Ingredients:

1 pomfret fish, cleaned and washed
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste 2 teaspoons green chili paste
2 teaspoon cumin paste
2 teaspoon red chili powder
Juice of half lemon
1 tablespoon yogurt
Salt
Oil for basting  


 Preparation:

Sore the fish on both sides, add lemon juice and red chili powder and marinade for 10 minutes.You can ground to a paste all the spices like ginger, garlic, etc. separately or blend them all together. Add this wet marinade, tamarind pulp and salt all over the fish, letting some in to the insides too. Let it marinade for 20 more minutes. Drizzle some vegetable oil and grill for 12 minutes, 6 on each side should let the fish sear nicely.

Pabda Hariyali / Pabda Dhone Pata Bata –r Jhol (Bengali Fish Curry)

Ingredients:

5-6 large Pabda Mach or fish
½ tsp of red pepper powder
½ tsp of cumin powder
2-3 tsp of kalo jeere/kalaunji(nigella seeds)
1 tsp of turmeric powder

100 gms Coriander & 1 small bunch Pudina leaves
Green Chili 4 pieces (slit)
3-4 tbs mustard oil for frying fish +2 tbs of mustard oil to make the curry
1 cup of water or vegetable stock

Method
Marinate the fish with turmeric and salt , keep aside for half hour
Heat up a Kadai (pan) and add mustard oil , fry fish on each side for 5 mints at medium till they are turned little brown . Be Careful while frying Pabda Fish. Take out gently after they are fried .
New grind to Coriander and pudina leaves together with the water and make pest.Clean the pan. Heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add the kalo jeere/kalaunji(nigella seeds/black cumin).
Now add the coriander and pudina pest, turmeric , cumin powder and green chili . Stir and mix them well and continue frying on low flame until the oil separate Pour in 2 cups of water and add salt (as per test). When the water boils, place the fishes back to the kadai (pan) carefully as not to break them. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 10 mints. Take out when the gravy is thick , serve with warm cooked rice .

Bele Macher Paturi

Ingredients:

Bele fish: (450-500gm)
Onion paste: 1 Teaspoon
Mustard Paste: 2 Teaspoon
Garlic Paste: 1 Teaspoon
Turmeric 1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon
Cooking mustard oil roughly 6-8 tbsp
Green chilly - 5 nos (slit)
Salt to taste

Method:

Rub the fish pieces with salt and turmeric powder.

Heat oil in a pan. Then fry the fish till they are golden in both sides. Set aside.

Now put some oil and wait for 2 minutes. Add onion pest and garlic pest. As you get the frying smell of onion, garlic pest then add the mustard pest, salt, Green chilly (slited), turmeric and chili powder.

Sauté this for 2 minute and add 1 cup water to mix well.

Now add the fried bele fish and Sauté this for a minute and you can drizzle some more mustard oil on the top if you wish.cover with the lid.

Seem the hit and let it boil till the gravy turn thick or for 5-6 minute.

Paturi is ready to eat. Serve hot with warm rice.

Dim Pousto (Egg Curry with poppy seeds & coconut pest)

Dim Pousto

Ingredients

Boiled Egg 4pices
Coconut Paste- 2 tblsp
Poppy seeds paste- 3 tblsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Green chilly - 5 nos (slit)
Sugar- ½ tsp
Mustard/ refined oil – 5 tblsp
Salt to taste

Method

1.Mix together the Poppy seeds paste, Coconut Paste.
2. Cut the boiled egg longitudinally and rub it with the ½ tsp turmeric powder one pinch salt.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Then fry the egg till they are golden in both sides. Keep aside.
4. Add bay leaves and then add poppy seeds pest, coconut pest, salt, sugar and turmeric powder.
    Sauté this for 2 minute and add ½ cup water to mix welll.
5. Now add the fried egg and Sauté this for a minute and cover with the lid.
6. Now lower the heat and let it boil till the gravy turn thik.
7. Curry is ready and can be eaten with white rice, fried rice and polao.

Paneer Bhapa

Ingredients:

Paneer - 250 gms, cubed
Ginger - 1 inch piece, grated
Sugar - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tblsp
Poppy seeds -4 tbsp
Mustard seeds (white / yellow) – 1tbsp (optional)
Butter - 2 tsp
Green Chillies - 3, chopped

Preparing the paste:
Soak the ingredients for the paste in 1/4 cup of water for about 30 -45 minutes. Grind the mustard, poppy seeds and green chili with salt (Salt is added to avid the bitter taste of the mustard seeds) to make a thick poppy seeds/mustard paste. You can add grated coconut if you want.

 [Alternate way to make mustard paste: Dry grinds the seeds (mustard and poppy) and then mix the powdered seed with about 3 tablespoon water, salt, and green chilies and grind it again for minute and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.]

Method: 

 Boil the paneer with a little salt and a pinch of turmeric and drain the water.
To this mustard paste add a 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 2 tsp. , grated ginger and salt. Sauce is ready. Add 3 cups of water in a pressure cook. Now place a ring in it.
Take a pan and spread little heated butter. Place the paneer pieces on a single layer. Pour the sauce liberally on the paneer pieces so that all the pieces are coated nicely. Place the slit green chilies on top. Drizzle some more butter on the top if you wish and sugar.
Now place this pan on the ring in the pressure cooker. Cover with lid and pressure cook for 1 whistles. Serve hot with roti, luchi (deep-fried flatbread), pulao or white rice.

Aam Katla (Katla Fish curry with raw mango)

Aam Katla

 

Ingredients

4 katla fish/ Ruhu fish steak like pieces

1 tsp of turmeric powder

½ tsp of kalojeera / kalonji

1 bay leaves

3 green chilly silted

½ tsp of sugar

4 to 5 pieces of raw mango pieces de skinned

A pinch of garam masala powder

A pinch of hing (optional)

1 tsp of mustard sauce or mustard paste

6 to 8 tbsp of mustard oil

Salt to taste

 

Method

Rub the fish pieces with salt and turmeric powder. Heat oil in a pan. Then fry the fish till they are golden in both sides. Set aside.

Add kalojeera, bay leaves. As you get the frying smell of kalojeera then add the pieces of raw mango and salt and turmeric powder. Sauté this for a minute and add mustard sauce mix well.

Add 2 cups of water if you want more soup you can add more water. Let it boil in high flame for 5 minutes then add sugar,  hing, garam masala powder, silted green chilly ( while serving make sure to give one green chilly with each fish piece because some love to mash it and have it with rice and it add an extra taste).

Now add the fried fish let it boil for another 2 minutes then put off the flame. Give 10 minutes standing time before serving and Serve with hot steamed rice.

Paneer Magaz Masala

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 2, large and chopped
Ginger - 1 inch piece, grated
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Kasuri Methi - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tblsp
Charmagaz-3 tbsp

Broken Kaju (cashew nuts) – 1tbsp
Cream - 2 tsp
Paneer - 250 gms, cubed
Green Chillies - 3, chopped


Method: 1. Puree together the ginger, green chilies and tomato.
2. Grind the char magz & kaju together

3. Boil the cheese with a little salt and a pinch of turmeric.
4. Heat the oil in a pan.
5. Add the kasuri methi first and then tomato puree.
6. Stir-fry for two minutes.
7. Add the  charmagaz (watermelon seeds ) & kaju (cashew nuts )  pest and turmeric ,coriander and chili  powders.
8. Keep stirring till the oil separates.
9. Add the paneer, cream, salt and sugar.
10. Stir-fry on low flame and one cup water.
11. Cook on low flame with the pan covered till the paneer are cooked.
12. Remove from fire.
13. Add 2 tbsp butter or Garnish with  a blob of butter.
14. Serve hot with roti, porotha or white plain rice.

Pabda Kalonji Jhal(Bengali Fish Curry)

Pabda Kalonji Jhal

Ingredients:

3-4 medium size  Pabda Mach or fish
1 tsp of red chili  powder
1 tsp of kalo jeere/kalaunji(nigella seeds)
2 tbsp onion or onion finely chopped
2-3 green chilly slit in between
1 tsp of turmeric powder
3-4 tbs mustard oil for frying fish +2 tbs of mustard oil to make the curry
1 cup of water.
 Salt as per taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

Marinate the fish with turmeric and salt , keep aside for half hour
Heat up a Kadai and add mustard oil , fry fish on each side for 5 mints at medium till they are turned little brown . Be Careful while frying Pabda Fish. Take out gently after they are fried.

Clean the pan. Heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add the kalo jeere/kalaunji(nigella seeds/black cumin),  onion pest,  green chilies and fry for a minute. Now add turmeric powder and red chili powder one by one. Stir and mix them well and continue frying on low flame until the oil separate Pour in 2 cups of water and add salt (as per test). When the water boils, place the fishes back to the pan carefully as not to break them. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 7-8 mins.

 Remove from the flame, garnish it with the coriander leaves and serve with warm plane rice.

Methi Chicken (Chicken Curry with Fenugreek Leaves)

Ingredients:
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2 tblsp oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 cup yogurt
2 cup methi leaves(fresh fenugreek leaves), washed in chopped fine
2 tblsp kasoori methi
1 tblsp ginger chopped
2 tblsp garlic chopped
2 tblsp green chillies chopped
2 cup onion chopped
1 tblsp ginger paste
1 tblsp garlic paste
  salt to taste
Methods:
Clean, skin, wash and cut chicken into medium sized pieces.
Marinade the chicken with ginger and garlic paste for  ½  hour.
Soak fenugreek leaves with hot water and pinch salt and after  10 minutes drain the water properly.
Heat up oil in a pan and  add cut ginger, garlic paste and  stir fry for a minute.
Mix in cut onions and stir fry until translucent and soft.
 Now add , turmeric powder, coriander powder , red chilies powder and kasoori mathi.
Make sure to stir continuously.
Mix in chicken pieces and beaten yogurt and stir fry on a high flame heat up for 7-8 minutes. Now is the time to add the fenugreek leaves and stir well.  Add 1/2 a cup of hot water to the pan, stir to mix well, simmer the heat and cover the pan. Cook till the chicken is tender. You will need to keep checking on the chicken as it cooks and adding more water if all the water dries up. Stir often to prevent burning. The dish should have a fairly thick gravy when done.
serve with hot chapattis(Indian flatbread) Naan, (tandoor-baked Indian flatbread) or plain rice.

Bhapa Ilish (Steamed Hilsa)

Ingredients:

Hilsa about 1Kg.  cut in steak size pieces

Yellow mustard seeds 1& ½  tbsp.
Poppy seeds 2 tsp
2.5 tbsp grated coconut
3-4 tbsp pure mustard oil
Green chilies 3-4 slit
½ tsp turmeric
Salt as pertaste

For the paste:
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2.5 tablespoons grated coconut
3-4 hot green chili (or as per your taste)
Salt to taste

Preparing the paste:

Soak the ingredients for the paste in 1/4 cup of water for about 30 -45 minutes. Grind the mustard, green chili, poppy seeds and grated coconut with salt (Salt is added to avid the bitter taste of the mustard seeds) to make a thick mustard paste.

[Alternate way to make mustard paste : Dry grind the seeds (mustard and poppy) and then mix the powdered seed with about 3 tablespoon water, grated coconut, salt, and green chilies and grind it again for minute and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.]

Mathod :

Wash and clean (remove scales) of the fish and cut in steak size pieces or you can have them clean and cut at the place from where you buy the fish.

To this mustard paste add a 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 tsp. mustard oil and salt. Your mustard sauce is ready. Add 3 cups of water in a pressure cook. Now place a ring in it.
Take a pan and spread little mustard oil. Place the fish pieces on a single layer. Pour the mustard sauce liberally on the fish pieces so that all the pieces are coated nicely. Place the slit green chilies on top. Drizzle some more mustard oil on the top if you wish.
Now place this pan on the ring in the pressure cooker. Cover with lid and pressure cook for 1-2 whistles. Serve hot with rice.
In the microwave:

Coat an microwave oven safe container with mustard oil. Place the fish pieces in the bowl in one single layer. Pour the above mustard sauce over the steaks so the sauce covers all of the steaks completely. Add a few slit green chili peppers on the top. Drizzle some more mustard oil on the top if you wish.
Cover with a lid or with a plastic wrap. Cook for 3 minutes; take it out and stir the sauce (do not move the fish around). Put it back in the microwave, cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Uncover, take out, stir; cover and put it back and cook for 2 more minutes. Uncover and cook for 2-3 more minutes. (The cooking time may slightly vary with the power of the microwave). Adjust to your microwave.