Spicy prawn

Indo-Chinese ambrosia

Succulent prawns in yummy oyster sauce

Serves 4

Prawns 500 gms

Onion 1 large

Red Bell pepper 1/2 

Green Bell pepper 1/2

Yellow Bell pepper 1/2

Oyster sauce 6 tbsp

Egg 1

Refined Oil 8 tbsp

Refined Oil 1 tsp

Refined oil for deep frying

Corn Flour  4 tbsp

Chilli powder 1 tsp

Chopped Ginger 1/2 tbsp

Soya Sauce 3 tbsp

Dry Red chilli 1

Salt to  taste

Pepper powder 1 pinch

Oil

Take the chilli powder in a small bowl. Heat 8 tbsp oil till it starts smoking. Pour over the chilli powder. You may need to leave the kitchen for some time after this. When it cools down, the chilli powder would have settled to the bottom. Carefully pour out the oil without stirring the chilli powder.

Prep

Wash the prawn. Remove the head, tail and mud vein and wash again. Cut the peppers and onion into squares no smaller than 1 cm. Larger squares look good. Chop the ginger to fine pieces.

Prawn

Take an egg, 1 tsp oil, salt and a pinch of pepper and beat well. Dip the prawns in the batter and pat with corn flour. Each prawn needs to be well covered. Deep fry till light golden. Do not overdo this. It only takes a minute for prawns to be fried. Overcooked prawns become leathery.

Cook

Take the oil we prepared earlier and heat it in a wok. Heat it over the highest flame you have got. When it starts smoking add the ginger and the dry red chilli. After a few seconds add the onions and peppers and stir well. Cook covered for a few minutes. Do not reduce the flame. This needs to be cooked in very high heat. We will try not to cook the veggies to a mush but keep the shape and colour intact. When the pieces are slightly seared add the oyster sauce and stir for a few seconds. Add the prawns and stir for a few seconds till well coated. Add the soya sauce and stir for a few seconds till well coated. Remove from heat. Serve with rice.

Bengali Fish Roe Curry

Palette bomb

Fish roe fritters in a tangy mustard sauce

Serves 4

Fish Roe 150 grams

Gram Flour (Besan) 1/2 cup

Oil for deep frying

Mustard 3 tbsp

Tomato 1 medium

Garlic 5 pods

3 small onions

Mustard oil 4 tbsp + 1 tsp

Green chillies 3

Nigella 1/4 tsp

Turmeric 1/4 tsp

Water 1.5 cup

Salt to taste

Fritters

Mix the fish roe with the gram flour. Add a little bit of chopped onion and salt. Mix well (you may need to add a little water) and deep fry till golden brown.

Spices

Soak the mustard for 10 minutes and make a fine paste with a pinch of salt and one green chilli. I use a stone grinder for the paste. You may want to balance the fineness with the bitterness - if pasted too much it may turn out to be bitter - if pasted too less the seeds stand out.

Curry

Heat 4 tbsp mustard oil. Check the quality of mustard oil. Good mustard oil has a fresh wasabi type aroma. It hits you hard in the nose. If you do not get good mustard oil then you can skip the step where I add a spoon of oil in the end.

Add nigella. When they splutter add a slit green chilli and chopped garlic. When the garlic starts turning brown add the onions.

Cover and simmer. When the onions start turning brown, add the mustard paste, turmeric, salt and tomato. Fry well for a few minutes till the tomatoes turn soft. Add water and bring to boil.

Add the fritters and simmer, covered for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat, add a slit green chilli and a teaspoon of mustard oil.

Serve with hot rice.

Mini Savoury Strudel

Strudel with a Twist

Crispy strudel filled with lovely luscious goat mince. An absolute delight.

Makes 2

Maida (Refined flour) 1 cup

Oil 1 tbsp

Margarine as required

Salt a pinch

Egg 1

Keema

The filling

Use the recipe I have in this blog. If  you are a vegetarian use any rich filling.

Remember to dry it out well otherwise it will make the dough soggy.

Steps

Preheat the oven to 160-180 C. If you have a fan 160 C is good.

Start kneading the dough. I use a planetary mixer. If you do not have one, then knead it very very well for at least 15 minutes. Maida does not have a lot of gluten so kneading actually helps building the dough a lot. The general motion is stretch-fold-stretch.

Knead till, when you stretch the dough you should be able to see the light shine through it without it breaking.

Divide the dough into two and roll it out using a pin. Once rolled out - place the rolled out dough on a clean piece of cloth and use your hands to carefully stretch out the dough till paper thin. Watch this video for reference.

It should be so thin that you should be able to read a news paper through it. Cut out the edges.

Now give it a coating of margarine and spread a thin layer of the keema. Place some more keema at one side and lift the cloth to roll. With every roll coat with a layer of margarine.

Press the side tight with a fork. Spread egg evenly on top and bake for 40 - 50 minutes till golden. Vegetarians can use milk instead of egg.

Take out from an oven and let it cool for at least 15 minutes. Cut and server.

Luscious Keema

Let's melt in the mouth

Minced goat, cooked to tenderness with rich seasoning. Will just melt in your mouth.

Serves 4

Minced lamb or goat 400 gm

Tomato 1 large

Onion 3 small

Peas (Fresh or frozen) 1/2 cup

Garlic paste 1 tbsp

Ginger paste 1 tbsp

Coriander 1/2 tbsp

Cumin 1/2 tbsp

Cardamom 3

Cloves 3

Cinnamon 1 medium stick

Bay leaf 1

Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder 1/2 tbsp

Garam Masala 1/2 tsp

Sugar 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil 4 tbsp

Prep

Wash the meat and leave it to drain before starting anything else.

Lightly roast the coriander and cumin and grind to a fine powder.

Chop the onion and tomatoes.

Cooking

My choice of utensil for this dish is a non-stick pressure cooker. So the amount of oil and the time to cook is in reference to that. You may need to adjust those things if you use any other utensil.

Heat oil and add a pinch of sugar. Add the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. When they are lightly fried and a clear delicious smell fills your kitchen add the onions.

Saute with a pinch of salt and simmer covered till lightly browned. Turn up the flame and add the ginger and garlic paste. Cook them very well -  boiled garlic is not a very good experience.

Add the tomatoes and all the other spices except salt and peas and cook on a high heat till oil separates.

Put in the meat and saute over high heat. Cover well with spices.

I cannot stop myself from reiterating this to the point of irritation. Saute the meat till oil separates. Do not skimp on this step. If you feel the meat is drying out sprinkle some water and saute.

After oil separates, add the peas and salt. Add a cup of water and pressure cook on high. After one whistle turn down the flame and let it cook on low heat for thirty to forty minutes.

Turn off the flame and let it stand for ten minutes.

Server hot with naan, plain paratha or for pure decadence with Luchi.

Garlicy Alu dum

Potatoes at its best

A great companion to Luchi this recipe gives a twist to the traditional Alu dum.

Server 4

Potato 8 small

Green Chillies 4

Garlic 10 pods

Sugar 1/2 tsp

Water 1/2 cup

Ghee (clarified butter) 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Halve the potatoes and boil with a pinch of salt till cooked. Cool and peel the skin.

Chop the green chillies and garlic finely. Do not mash them. Each piece should stand out.

Heat the ghee in a wok. When hot add the garlic and the chillies. Saute till the garlic turns brown.

Add the potatoes, sugar and salt. Saute for two minutes.

Pour half a cup of water and simmer covered till cooked through.

Serve hot with Luchi.

Luchi - Bengali fried bread

Delicate beauty

This pristine white bread is made of refined flour. Can be accompanied with virtually anything from jaggery to mutton.

Makes around 50 luchis

Maida (refined flour) 1.5 cups

Refined oil 1 tbsp

Salt a pinch

Oil for deep frying

There are two points to remember about making this item.

1 - Luchi is made of refined flour or maida - period. If you are a health freak and think of adding atta (whole wheat flour) then do not call it Luchi. Not even half and half, just maida.

2 - The cups and spoons I use for measurement are measuring cups and spoons which come in standard sizes and are available in shops or online. Do not use any and every cup and spoon from your kitchen

With these things in mind the dish is very simple.

Knead the dough with 1 tablespoon oil, a pinch of salt and water as required. Knead till smooth.

Divide into small equal portion. Roll it out using a rolling pin. It should be even, preferably round,

not thick but not too thin either. Deep fry in oil or ghee making sure both the sides get enough oil. Fry till it puffs up and before it is brown. Serve hot.

Awesome Wholesome Paratha

Enjoy paratha without guilt. 

Latest research has brought good old butter back to the table. Easy and wholesome.

If you try a modified version please post the modifications in the comments section.

Makes around 9 parathas

Multigrain Atta (Flour) (you can use whole or refined. I use whole) 2 1/2 cups
Chana Dal (Cholar dal, Bengal gram) 1 cup
Cumin 1 tsp
Coriander 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Green Chili 2
Oil as required

Spices
Dry roast cumin and coriander. Cool it and grind it to a powder. Dry roasting enhances the flavours.

Dal preparation
Wash the dal and add it to water. Add salt, and the roasted spices. Cook till the dal is absolutely soft. Do not use excess water to boil the dal as we will not use the water in our recipe and the seasoning will be wasted. I generally use 1:2.5.
Drain the dal and mash it to a fine texture.
Slit the chilis in half and remove all the seeds. Chop fine and mix it with the mashed dal.
Heat a little bit of oil in a wok and saute the mashed dal till it is absolutely dry.

Dough
Knead the dough with a teaspoon of oil, water and half a teaspoon of salt. Knead till the colour of the dough turns paler than when you stared it. Set aside for ten minutes. I use a planetary mixer for the dough. If you do not have one you need to use some elbow grease.

The paratha
Using a rolling pin roll out two very thin chapatis(flat breads). They should be thinner than your every day chapatis and should be equal in size.
Spread out a generous amount of the dal filling on one chapati and place another chapati on top. Seal the edges with a wet finger. Remember to seal it well else it will open up while cooking.

Start roasting without any oil. Flip frequently so that it is evenly but mildly roasted on both sides. Add a few drops of oil and spread evenly on both sides. Roast till well done.

Top with butter. Serve with curd and pickle.

You can try out a modified version with leftovers. Remember to shred and dry out fatty meat well before filling.

Chicken Patty Sandwich

Chicken sandwich with easily available ingredients and cost effective

Breakfast should be fast, easy to make and nutritious. Getting hold of exotic items is difficult. This chicken sandwich makes use of scrap - pieces which generally will not go to any plate -  but will make a tasty wholesome meal.

Cooking unlike baking is no science and each ingredient can be adjusted to suit taste. I will give my recipe, if you adjust it please make sure to pass it on as comments and I would like to taste the modified version,

Serves 4

Bread slices 16 + 3 (White or brown. I prefer white)

Chicken scrap 400 gms (Wings, neck etc. Whatever is left after making the breasts boneless)

Garlic paste 1/2 tsp

Basil 1/2 tsp (Dry)

Red Chili 2
Fennel 1 tsp
Onions 2 medium

Potato 100 grams boiled (Around 2 medium. This will be a binding agent so do not overdo this)

Eggs 4 boiled

Salt to taste

Mozarella and Gouda Cheese (as required, try not to over indulge)

Bread Crumbs
Cut the edges of the 16 breads. Take the extra three breads and the edges and toast them very well. By very well I mean it should be dark brown but do not burn them. Even if it is slightly burnt it will be usable. Somewhat like this.

Now grind them coarsely.

Seasoning

Take the red chilis, fennel and the basil and dry roast them slightly. Crush to a fine powder.

Chicken

Thaw the chicken. Start boiling with enough water and salt. When boiling starts reduce the flame. You will see froth forming at the top. Spoon out the froth. Keep on doing this till the surface of the liquid is clear. Now pressure cook the chicken in the same water.

You can preserve this stock for making soups and gravies. I usually consume it within a day. 

Peel the chicken from the bones and grind it.

Do this just before making the patty. Pre-boiled chicken tends to develop a bad smell.

Onions

Roughly chop the onions. You now need to caramelize them. This is not the Mughlai "beresta" so do not deep fry it.

Heat oil in a wok (a wee bit more would help). Fry the onions covered over low flame till light brown and very soft.

Patty

Smash together potatoes, boiled eggs, the seasoning, chicken, salt and garlic paste. Make rectangular patties. Do not make them too thick, you do not want your jaws locked while eating the sandwich.

Cover with breadcrumbs and shallow fry. You may preserve it refrigerated before frying.

Nearly there

Take a buttered slice of bread. Shred some cheese on top (I said some). Put the patty. Place some caramelized onions on top of the patty. Shred some more cheese. Place another slice of bread.

You will notice I have not used any mayo. If you want to use mayo use a lettuce to keep it away from the patty.

Now toast the babies. Make sure you watch them while toasting. Eat it the way you like, halved or whole.