Tag: Bengali food

FISH CURRY: Aar maacher kalo jire kancha lonkar jhol ( Catfish curry with nigella seeds and green chilies)

Aar Maach is a variety of catfish. This fish does not have scales on the skin like the Carps (Rui, Katla, Mrigel) or Hilsa. It also has very few bones, which makes it easy to eat, especially for children. I like to use this fish when cooking for guests. They might not be comfortable with Rui or Katla (Carp) or any of the Bengali favourites like Iilish, Koi, etc. When I am cooking for my young grandkids this is the fish I love to cook.

This curry recipe is very easy and quick. It serves as a Basic Gravy Recipe. Instead of Aar Maach (Catfish), you can use any fish you wish to eat. The fish can be big or small, with bones or without bones. To this gravy just add the fish you want, and you have a fish curry in a few minutes.

How to make the Maacher Jhol

  1. Marinate the fish pieces
  2. Gather the ingredients
  3. Fry the fish pieces ( optional)
  4. Make the gravy, bring it to a boil
  5. Add the Fried or not-fried fish to the gravy
  6. Simmer the fish in the gravy for a couple of minutes and it is ready to serve.

Ingredients

It will take approximately 45 minutes to make this Curry, from marinating to serving. Serves 3 to 4 persons.

  • Aar Maach ( Catfish ) 500g
  • Kancha Lonka ( green chillies 0r the thai red chillies). 4
  • Kalo Jire ( Kalonji, Or Nigella seeds) 1tsp
  • Holud ( Haldi or Turmeric powder) 1/4 tsp plus 1/4 tsp for marinating the fish
  • Lonka powder ( mirchi or Chilli powder) 1/4 tsp ( optional)
  • Fresh tomato puree 1 cup. (or 1/4 cup of canned tomato puree)
  • Mustard oil (Sorshe tel) ( or any vegetable oil) 1/4 cup
  • Salt 1tsp Plus 1/2 tsp for marinating the fish
  • Water ( Paani). 1 cup

The Aar Maach is cut into this kind of pieces, it can be filleted too, and then cut into pieces. Then marinated for 30 minutes with salt and turmeric powder.

The pieces were fried a bit to hold their shape. This prevents them from disintegrating when put in the Jhol ( gravy).

BUT, you can add the raw fish to the gravy if you want to use less oil.

The ingredients used are: Tomato puree, Turmeric powder (Holud or Haldi), Nigella seeds (Kalo jire, Kanonji) , salt ( Noon, namak), Green chilies (kancha lonka), Mustard oil ( sorshe tel) and water ( jol,paani).

Method

  • Wash the pieces of fish. Drain out the water as much as possible. Rub 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp of salt on all the pieces. Let the fish marinate for at least 1/2 hour. You can also marinate the fish in the fridge up to 3 hours if you are going to cook it later.
  • Slit the green chilies ( kancha lonka).
  • Chop the fresh tomatoes and put it in the blender and make a puree.
  • In a bowl mix the puree, turmeric powder ( haldi or holud), salt (Noon or Namak) and chilli powder( mirchi p ( optional), and stir it well and keep aside
  • Heat the oil in a wok, kadai, or deep frying pan. Make sure it is very hot, smoking hot. If you try to fry fish in oil that is not hot enough the fish will stick to the pan.
  • Drop a piece of fish in the hot oil. Flip it soon. Take it out of the oil in a minute. Keep it aside on a plate. Repeat this till all the pieces are fried. You may not want to fry the fish, in which case skip this step.
  • Now spoon out some of the hot oil so that there is only about 2 tablespoon oil left in the Pan.
  • Add the Kalongi or Nigella seed, and 1 green chilli ( kancha lonka) to the oil in the pan, this is the Tadka (seasoning)
  • After a minute add the tomato puree, turmeric, salt ,mixture to the tadka. Be careful it might splatter.
  • Keep stirring and frying till the oil bubbles can be seen around the masala. ( see the photo) below
FRY TILL LITTLE BUBBLES OF OIL SEPERATES AROUND THE GRAVY MASALA
  • Add the water. Stir well. When the gravy starts boiling, gently drop the fish pieces (aar maach) into the gravy. Add the rest of the green chilies.
  • Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste to see if the salt is perfect.
  • Transfer the Maacher jhol into your serving dish and serve hot with plain cooked rice.

This jhol is one that can be used with any fish. I have used Rui ( carp), Tilapia, Snapper, Perch. The method is the same as above. Once the basic gravy or jhol is made, you can add any fish of your choice. Simmer a few minutes to produce a quick and delicious Fish Curry.

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Bengali Tomato Chutney Recipe: A Sweet and Tangy Delight

We Bengalis like to end a meal with a sweet chutney. On days like Sunday or holidays after a meal of Mangsho, or Fish curry and a few vegetables, a Chutney is a must, and definitely if you are serving a Full Course Bengali meal to a guest the last dish will be a Chutney. In the summer months raw mangoes are the most popular fruit to use for chutney, but a few other sour fruits like Aamra (called Spanish plum or Hog plum) Koromcha (Bengal currents) ,Chalte ( elephant apple), Kamranga ( star fruit) are also great for sweet and tangy Chutneys.

Since tomatoes are easily available throughout the year so Tomato Chutney is the easiest to make. Some tomatoes available in India are the ones with a thick skin, but another variety with thinner skin and are more juicy and tangy. The juicy ones are best for making the chutney, these are usually called DESI TOMATOES. In the US I used to use the canned plum tomatoes, which are already peeled, so all I had to do was chop them up. You could use the fresh lovely big red tomatoes that are available in the supermarkets for salads in the US if you want.

Tomato chutney has just Tomatoes, Sugar, Salt a little chopped ginger ( this too is optional). Few extras like Raisins , Dates, or Aam satto (sheets of dried mango pulp) and also a pinch of chili powder makes it more interesting. In this recipe I have used Dates, with the Tomatoes.

Ingredients

  • Tomatoes washed and chopped 3 cups
  • Sugar 1 cup to 1&1/2 cup
  • Paanch Phoron 1/2 teaspoon ( Five spice mix, consisting of Methi, Jeera, Saunf, Kaonji and Mustard seeds)
  • Haldi powder ( Turmeric powder) 1/2 tsp
  • Bhuna Jeera Powder ( roasted Cumin seeds powdered) 1/2 teaspoon ( 0ptional)
  • Salt 1 Tablespoon or less.
  • Dates 1/2 cup with seeds removed
  • Vegetable oil 2 tablespoons
  • Dry red chillies 1 ( optional)
TOMATOES CUT INTO SMALL PIECES

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS CHUTNEY

How to make the Chutney

  • Heat a wok or a sauce pan, add the OIL and wait for it to heat up really well
  • Now add the dry red chillies if you want to use it, wait for a few seconds then add the Paanch Phoron.
  • Once the spices in the paanch phoron gets slightly brown, add the chopped tomatoes and stir well
  • To this add the salt and sugar and the haldi powder . Cover, lower the heat and let the tomatoes simmer for a while.
  • After about 5 minutes, open the lid and check it, the tomatoes will soften and lot of liquid should be released from the tomatoes. Add the Dates and then cover with a lid again and let it simmer.
  • After a couple of minutes open the lid and let it boil down if there is too much liquid. The consistency should be a little runny not as thick as Ketchup. Pourable consistency. Taste to check the seasoning. You could add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter chutney.
  • Your chutney is done, sprinkle the roasted Jeera powder and take it off the heat.
  • Cool it before putting it in the fridge. Serve cold.
  • You can keep it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

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Phulkopi aar Aloo torkari (Bengali Cauliflower and Potato Stir fry)

Cauliflower or Phulkopi as it is called in Bengali, is easily available throughout the year, though I feel it tastes better in the winter. There are many recipes of cooking Phulkopi aar Aloo ( cauliflower and Potato) in India. This is an easy Bengali recipe, and it needs very few spices. The Main ingredient that gives this a distinct flavour is the use of a blend of 5 spices, called Paanch Phoron in Bengali. Paanch Phoron is a mixture of equal amounts of Mauri ,(Saunf in hindi and Fennel seeds in English), Jire ( Jeera in hindi and Cumin seeds in English), Kalojire ( Kalongi in Hindi and Nigella seeds in English) Radhundi ( Ajmod In Hindi and Celery seeds in English), and Methi(Methi in Hindi and Fenugreek seeds in English). I usually make a big portion of this mixture and store it in a glass jar, because I use it frequently in my recipes. Sometimes Radhuni is not available so we use mustard seeds in its place.

Jump to Recipe

Ingredients

This is how the potatoes and cauliflower is cut.

Cut the cauliflower into florets, if they are too big cut it smaller like in the picture above. Wash the cauliflower florets well and leave in a colander to drain off the water. Next peel and dice the potatoes, wash and keep aside.

Spices needed are: Noon, (salt,namak ), Chini (sugar, shakkar ), holud (turmeric powder, Haldi ) Lonka (chilli powder, mirchi )

And sorsher tel (mustard oil)

For Tempering

Sukhno lonka ( sukha mirch in hindi, dry red chilli), hing (hing in hindi, asafoetida), and Phanch phoron ( five spice mix).

To Make the torkari, the cauliflower and Potatoes are lightly fried one by one.

Then the oil is tempered or tadka? phoron is added

The Fried vegetables are added back into the kadai and stirred with the dry ingredients, Salt , sugar, Chilli powder and Turmeric powder.

After a couple of minutes of stirring, the water is added .

The kadai is covered with a lid. Vegetables a allowed to cook slowly on low flame till done.

After sauteeing the vegetables it will look like this, slightly brown at the deges.

To make paanch phoron, add 1/4 teaspoon of Methi (fenugreek) seeds, 1/4 teaspoon of Radhuni (celery ) seeds, 1/4 teaspoon of kalojire ( Nigella) seeds, 1/4 teaspoon of mouri (fennel) seeds and 1/4 teaspoon of jeera (cumin) seeds in a small dry glass bottle. Shake it well ,then take and out and use as needed.

Sometimes Paanch Phoron is available in the grocery store

Phulkopi Aar Aloo Torkari (Bengali Cauliflower and Potato Stir fry)

Phulkopi Aar Aloo Torkari is a simple Bengali-style cauliflower and potato stir fry cooked with paanch phoron and everyday spices. This comforting vegetarian dish pairs perfectly with rice, roti, or luchi and is especially popular during winter when fresh cauliflower is in season.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 4 persons
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 250 Grams Cauliflower washed and cut into florets
  • 120 grams Potatoes peeled and cut
  • 1/4 teaspoon Hing
  • 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon Mirchi (chili) powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Paanch phoron 
  • 1 piece Dry red chilli
  • 2 Tablespoon Mustard oil
  • 1 piece Green chilli slit ( optional)
  • 1 teaspoon Coriander leaves chopped
  • 1/4 Teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 cup water

Equipment

  • 1 kadai or wok. Or Pan

Method
 

  1. Heat the oil in a wok or a Kadai, or a pan
  2. when the oil is smoking, add the potatoes, saute a couple of minutes, remove from the oil and keep aside
  3. Add the cauliflower to the kadai, saute till a little brown at the edges and then remove from the wok with a slotted spoon onto the bowl with the sauteed potatoes and keep aside.
  4. Some oil will remain, ( you may need to add a bit more oil, because sometimes the cauliflower absorbs a lot of oil.) to this oil add the Hing first, then red chilli and Paanch Phoron . This is for tempering the oil or Tadka/ Phoron.
  5. When the Paanch phoron stops spluttering and turns a bit brown ( be careful not to burn it), add the sauteed cauliflower and potatoes .
  6. Add Salt , chili powder, turmeric powder , Sugar), Slit green chilli, and stir so that all the vegetables are covered in the spices.
  7. Add the water and cover the pan with a lid.
  8. Add the water and cover the pan with a lid.
  9. Lower the heat and let it simmer, occasionally lift the cover and stir or the vegetables may stick to the bottom of the pan.
  10. The vegetables are cooked when the cauliflower and the potatoes can be cut with the spoon
  11. If the water hasn’t dried up when the vegetables are cooked, then increase the heat and let the water dry out.
  12. Stir fry for couple of minutes before taking the pan off the heat.
  13. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes

  1. This is a healthy version. If you fry the Cauliflower florets and Potatoes in a lot of oil, it tastes even better. 
  2. Cauliflower florets should not be very small, or they will not keep its shape.

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Mango Chutney (Aamer Tok)

In the early summer months we get a lot of raw mangoes in the market. There are many varieties too, some are more sour than the others.

Mango Chutney can be various kinds, some are made with only sugar and some spices, no water added to it at all and this type can be stored and eaten for months, but that is a different recipe. This recipe is for a chutney that we have on hot summer days at the end of a meal. It is very refreshing and we drink the soupy part, and of course eat the mangoes. This chutney is best served cold and leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

To make this chutney, we peel the mangoes and then just cook it with sugar, salt and little turmeric powder and water. Let it boil till the mangoes get soft and cooked. Then we transfer it to a bowl and let it cool down before putting it in the fridge. It is very easy.

Ingredients

Mustard seeds and red chilli is for seasoning the oil, which is called Phoron or Tarka.

These are the only spices used. Sugar for giving a sweet and sour taste, and salt to cut the sourness of the mangoes a bit and a little bit of turmeric to give a beautiful golden yellow colour.

Ingredients

  • Mangoes (measured after peeling and slicing) 350g
  • Sugar 1&1/2 cups
  • Salt 1 teaspoon
  • Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
  • Mustard seeds 1/4 teaspoon
  • Oil 2 tablespoons
  • Dry red chilli 1 piece

How to make the chutney

  • Wash the raw mangoes well. then with a peeler peel off the green skin. Then cut it into pieces, if you find a stone in the middle then cut around it. You can add the stone with the bit of mango on it to the chutney or you can discard it.
  • Next heat a wok or a saucepan and add the oil. It can be any vegetable oil, I like to use mustard oil.
  • When the oil starts smoking a bit reduce the flame slightly and add the Red chilli and the Mustard seeds to the saucepan. It will splutter a little.
  • Once the spluttering stops then add the mango slices into the saucepan and stir well.
  • Add the Sugar, Salt, Turmeric powder and again stir.
  • Add 1/2 cup of water, and bring it to a boil.
  • Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat, cover the pan and let it simmer till the mangoes are soft. Taste the liquid to see if it needs more sugar, because some varieties of mangoes can be very sour.
  • Take it off the stove and pour it in a big bowl and let it cool before putting in the fridge.
  • Serve in small bowls, 1 or 2 slices of mangoes and some liquid ( jhol).

Aamer Tok is usually eaten at the end of the meal, we sip the liquid and of course eat the mangoes.

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Simple Spring onion Sabzi Recipe for Busy Cooks

I was visiting my son recently in the US and one evening I needed to make a green vegetable dish which could be done quickly for dinner. I walked over to the local supermarket and bought some spring onions and a few potatoes and green chillies. It didn’t take me long to make this sabzi, and it made a good addition to our simple meal of Chicken curry and Roti.

Here is the recipe,

Ingredients

Ingredients

Spring onions, cleaned and chopped 5 cups

Potatoes, peeled and diced 1&1/2 cups

Green chilies 2 or 3 slit on one side

Mustard oil or any other vegetable oil 3 Tablespoons

Garlic chopped 1 Tablespoon

Salt 1teaspoon or less.

Method

  • Chop off the roots at the bulb part of the onions and remove the slightly old leaves if you find them and discard. Then chop the leaves and the white bulbs into small pieces. Wash and keep aside.
  • Peel the potatoes, and dice them, wash and keep aside.(If you are in the US then the Yukon gold potatoes tastes best in this recipe)
  • Slit the chilies, peel and chop the garlic. ( Garlic pods are of different sizes so I measured in teaspoons after they were chopped)
  • Heat the mustard oil in a saucepan or a kadai (wok).
  • Add the garlic, and the slit chilies first, saute them a bit,
  • Add the potatoes and the spring onions, add the salt. Stir fry a little then cover the pan and lower the heat and let it cook.
  • A lot of water will be released from the spring onions which will help the potatoes to cook. Open the lid and stir once or twice and check if the potatoes are soft. If there is too much water remaining when the potatoes are cooked, increase the heat and let the water dry out . The water should dry out completely. Stir so that the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
  • The sabzi is now ready.
    • Note : Green chilies are optional. If you like your food spicy then you could chop them and then add, or you can avoid them altogether. But, that is the only spice I add other than salt, the green chilies add flavour and a zing to the sabzi.

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Bhaja Mooger Dal. ( Roasted Moong Dal)

There are so many kinds of Dals in India and there are numerous ways off cooking them. Dals are basically beans, but smaller in size than the Kidney bean( Rajma) or Garbanzo beans ( Chola).

Whole Moong dals have a green outer skin which is removed to get the yellow Moong Dal. In Bengal we use the yellow Moong Dal (Mooger Dal) and very rarely use the whole green moong. In this recipe the yellow moong dal is first Dry Roasted and then washed and boiled unlike in most other recipes where the Dal is first washed and boiled and then seasoned. We Call it Bhaja Mooger Dal ( Roasted Moong Dal).

You can find the recipe for Moong Dal that is not roasted in this Blog Moong Dal.

THINGS WE NEED TO MAKE THIS DAL

Yellow moong dal looks like this

Other than Moong dal we will also need, Turmeric powder, salt and sugar and,

Ghee, and green chilies which are slit on one side.

For the TEMPERING we need Bay leaf (Tej patta), Cinnamon (dalchini), cardamom ( elaichi), Cloves ( laung), Cumin seeds ( Jeera), dry red chilies ( lal mirch).

Ingredients

Yellow Moong Dal 1 cup

Turmeric powder (Haldi) 1/4 teaspoon

Salt 1teaspoon

Cumin seeds (Jeera ) 1/2 teaspoon

Sugar ( Chini). 1 teaspoon

Bay leaf (Tej patta) 1

Cardamom (Elaichi). 2

Cloves ( Laung) 5

Cinnamon ( Dalchini) 1inch piece broken into small pieces

Ghee ( Clarified butter) 2 tablespoon

Red chilies ( Lal Mirch) 2

Green chilies (hara mirch) 3 ( Optional)

Water 2&1/2 cups

Method

  1. Heat a pan and put the 1 cup of yellow moong dal in the pan and keep stirring to dry roast it. Keep the heat to medium and continue till it starts to turn brownish, you will also get a nutty aroma. When you see a few seeds turning brown switch off the heat and immediately pour some water in the pan to stop it from browning further. If it becomes too brown or burns then the dal won’t cook.

2. Wash the roasted Moong dal well and put it in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Close the lid and cook it for 2 or 3 whistles then switch the heat off and wait till the pressure cooker cool down.

[You can cook the dal without a pressure cooker too, but it will take about half an hour or so. In case you want to cook in a pan and not in the pressure cooker then put the roasted moong with 2 cups of water in a pan, add 1/2 tsp of salt and bring it to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat and let it simmer gently till the dal is soft and cooked. You may need to add more water too, do not let the water dry out. Once it is cooked follow the instructions as below]

3. Once the cooker has cooled down open the lid to check and see if the dal grains are cooked well and are soft.

4. Add the salt, turmeric powder and sugar to the dal in the cooker and put the pressure cooker on the stove. Add the rest of the water and let it boil for about 5 minute on lowest heat.

After the dal is boiled it will look like this. Now we have to do the Tempering.

5. Tempering: Spices are heated and fried in a little oil or ghee and then added to the boiled dal to enhance the flavour and taste. Each Dal has a different combination of spices. There are 2 ways to do the TEMPERING :

1) Heat the Ghee in a pan or kadai. Add Bay leaf ( tej patta), cinnamon (dalchini) broken into smaller pieces, cloves (laung), cardamom ( elaichi) dry red chilies ( lal mirch) and cumin seeds( Jeera). Once the Cumin and the Red chillies start to brown a little, pour the contents of the Pressure cooker on the ghee and the spices in the kadai. It will sizzle and splutter so please be careful and stand a little away from the stove. If you want to add green chilies add them now and let the Dal simmer about 5 minutes on medium heat before switching off the stove.

2) Take a small saucepan or frying pan and heat the Ghee in it. Add the Cumin seeds( jeera), Bay leaf ( tej patta), Dry red chilies, cinnamon (dalchini) broken into smaller pieces, cardamom ( elachi), Cloves ( laung). Once the Cumin starts to brown a little and the red chilies also brown a bit, pour this tempering onto the Dal in the pressure cooker and then let it simmer about 5 minutes before switching off the stove. If you want to add the green chilies add them after you add the tempering .

Serve the Dal Hot.

NOTE: the chilies in the dal are not eaten unless you are fond of HOT food, they are added for flavouring and to add a little spiciness. Some like to squeeze out the chilies in their dal if they want hot spicy dal.

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