Winter Special - BHUNI KHICHURI

1. Chop Vegetables in big chunks. I have used a full cauliflower, the cauliflower stalk, green peas and 1 potato.
2. In a pan on medium heat, fry up the veggies in hot mustard oil; till golden brown.
3. Season the veggies with salt and keep it aside.
4. Dry roast a handful of cashewnut, until aromatic.
5. Now take 1/3 cup of sona mung daal. It’s a smaller grain than the easily found mung daal. If you can’t find the smaller grained lentil vareity, you can use the larger split mung lentils too.
6. Dry roast the daal until some grains turn brown. Constantly keep stirring it so that nothing burns.
7. Once roasted satisfactorily, wash the grains thoroughly. Soak it for 15 to 20 mins keepjuggling n water to soften.
8. Wash and soak 2/3 cups of short grained aromatic rice, for 30 minutes.
9. Now in a pan, on medium heat; pour over a couple of tablespoons of mustard oil. Let it warm up.
10. Add a dry red chilly, and cook it until deep dark brown.
11. Now Add ½ TSP of cumin seeds, along with 2 bay leaves, 1 star anise, 1 small stick of cinnamon and 3-4 green cardamom pods. Fry it to infuse the flavours in the oil.
12. Now drain and add over the rice. Fry the rice along with whole spices.
13. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste. Let the rice nicely fry off in the flavourful oil.
14. Add Finely chopped ginger in the rice, and sauté it to for another 5 to 10 mins, until fragrant.
15. Add over the drained lentils, and roast everything for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
16. Let’s create more flavours now, add 2-3 big pinches of raisins, followed with ½ TSP of cumin powder, a pinch of red chilly powder and 1 TSP of corriander powder. Sauté the spices for 2 minutes.
17. Now add a quarter TSP of garam masala powder. Mix well, adjust salt and sugar to taste. Depending on the amount of heat tolerance, you can add some chopped green chilly at this time!
18. Add over the veggies at this point, one by one. I added the potatoes and cauliflower stalk first. Mix well.
19. Submerge the grains and veggies in some water. the amount of water is not very important. Just submerge the grains and veggies in water. I started with a cup of water. Cover and cook until the water the s absorbed through.
20. Add over a few handfuls of fresh green peas. Mix well, cover and cook the veggies and
21. Now add in the cauliflower florets, and caheswnuts. These veggies would cook faster.
22. Top it up with more water. Mostly the bhuno khichuri is made not very watery. But depending on your subjective taste you can add more or less water at this stage. Again cover and cook until the grains soak up the water. Stir the occasionally.
23. To finish off this amazing one pot dish, add a tsp of good cow ghee, followed with another ¼ TSP of garam masala. Mix well and serve piping hot. 

Kajali Maacher Tel Jhol - A light BENGALI CURRY with a River water Catfish.

Kajali maach is called Gangatic Ailia in English.

It’s a delicate river water fish, which is super tasty. Don’t be intimidated by the size of it. And don’t think it’s a baby of a bigger fish. This fish grows to this size. The backbone is easy to manoeuvre and eat. And a trip to ER is not required after eating this! So give it a try if you can. Cheers!!
We start with making the MASALA MIX –
In a bowl, put in half a tsp of fresh ground turmeric, followed with salt and red chilly powder to taste and a pinch of sugar. Using a green chilly, mix the masala with a bit of water and let it bloom, covered.
Now on medium heat, put in a flat bottomed pan and heat 4 tbsp of good mustard oil.
Temper the hot oil with a dry red chilly, a green chilly and ½ TSP of kala jeera /Nigella seeds.
Once the flavours sing through, add salt and turmeric marinated fish. Arrange the pieces in a neat fashion.
These fishes are delicate, so don’t try to move it around in the pan. It will easily break apart.
Now pour over the masala mix, and tilt the pan till all fishes get coated in the masala. Pour over more water. This is a ‘jhol' recipe. It is going to take a lot of water.
Cover and simmer the fish, on the lowest heat for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, chop some coriander and green chillies to taste.
Put in a handful of coriander leaves, and 2 slit green chillies. Swirl the pan around and taste to adjust the seasonings. Add salt and green chillies, more or less according to your taste buds.
Now in that masala bowl, add ½ TSP of maida (APF) in some water. Mix it well so that no lumps remain, and pour it on top of the fishes. Swirl the pan to evenly distribute the flour water mix.
Simmer the curry on lowest flame for 5 mins. Switch off the flame and put in more corriander leaves. Rest it for 5 mins and serve hot with white steamed rice. Cheers!!

Bengal or Indian Carp, steamed with mustard and Corriander leaves!

Rui bhanpa, shorshe aar dhonepata diye.. (Bengal or Indian Carp, steamed with mustard and Corriander leaves)

This amazing recipe is passed on from one generation to another in my family. A lot of people, have asked me why do I have such a fondness for the simple Indian carp/ Rui maach. And today, I want to answer one and all why I feel the humble Rui is as much a great fish for consumption as is the jazzy cousin Ilish/hilsa. 

It’s my nostalgia from my childhood. Growing up in a war torn Ranchi; which wanted to be jharkhand, but still was Bihar; this was the only fish available to my family, and that too occasionally. Hence Rui was what my childhood meals were made of. And as if we share the same genes, it is a fish my son likes to indulge in too.. He is otherwise quite a fussy eater. 

This particular recipe has been passed to me from my mother in law. Again a nostalgic element here, if I am not wrong, this certainly was the first dish that my MIL taught me, some 11years ago. I am sure by now, any of my frnds and family have had it in my house parties. Today I am here to share this piece of extreme nostalgia with you all as well.. 

Recipe – 
Take 5 PC’s of Rui maach, and marinate it for 30 mins or more in a mix of salt and turmeric. 
Masala mix---
Start with 2 hot green chilly and a bunch of coriander. Grind it to paste. 
Now add 2.5 TSP of mustard powder, and let it bloom.
Meanwhile soak 2 TSP of poppy seeds in hot water and keep it ready for mixing. 
Combine all of the above ingredients in a mixie jar, and grind it into a fine paste. 
Add water, salt and a pinch of turmeric. Mix well
Add 2 TSP of curd and process it again.
The masala mix is ready. 

Now in a large bowl, which can be used inside a steamer, pour in a tbsp of cold pressed mustard oil. Smear it around the bottom. 
Now place the fishes in a neat fashion. 
Pour in the masala mix. 
Rub it on both sides of the fish. Top each fish with a slit green chilly. 
To seal the flavour, pour in more mustard oil on top. Take the pains of evenly distributing it on all PC’s of fish. 
Cover with a tight fitting lid, and put it on the steam for 20 mins. 
Yummy and healthy Rui Bhanpe is ready. 

Veitnamese Chicken & Rice, with my Twist!!

Com ga – or veitnamese chicken rice! 
Start with trimming off the fat from a washed and dried whole chicken. 
Salt and pepper to taste.
Cut 500 GM’s of carrot into big chunks.
1 bulb of garlic, peeled.
A neat bunch of lemongrass- shoot and leaves
3-4 spring onions, roughly chopped.
Recently boiled water.
Salt and pepper
Cook, covered in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius, for 50 mins.
Save the chicken stock for soup. That’s a recipe coming soon! 
1.5 cups of sela basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 mins. 
In a hot pan, melt the the chicken fat, to produce 2 tbsp of melted fat. 
Saute soaked rice in the fat. 
Add ¼ cup of dry white wine.
Season to taste. 
Add 2.75 cups of water, enough for rice to soak up and be fluffy. 
Cover and cook for 15 mins. Ideally, I make the rice once I have given the chicken to cook in the oven. 
Once cooked through, season and garnish it with chopped onion leaves. 
White sauce, my twist to this recipe. 
A splash of olive oil in hot pan.
1.5 tbsp butter and 1.5 tbsp all purpose flour. Saute well.
Fry a minced mixture of 1 green chilly and 5-6 cloves of garlic along with it.
Now add fridge cold milk -start with ½ a cup and go on till a desired consistency is reached. 
With the flame off, add the juice of half a lemon to freshen up the taste. 
Plating up- 
A bed of rice
Over which the chicken rests
Pour over the hot white sauce.
Garnish with chopped onion leaves. 
Cheers!! 

3 RECIPES TOGETHER- Veg Bengali THALI

Thali is am Indian concept of food. Typically every part of India has a distinctive style of presenting it thali. Today I have put out my vegetable laden thali that my family and I enjoy a lot during these months of great pollution. 

Jhakia seeds that I use in one of my dishes are optional, but a great addition. It doesn't have any strong flavours, but the crunchy seeds from the hills of gharwal are really a delightful addition to the overall texture of the dish. 

Mishti Kumro chechki – 
1. Heat a tbsp of mustard oil to a good smoking point.
2. Temper a red dry chilly, until it turns brown.
3. Add ½ TSP of kalonji /kala jeera/ Nigella seeds
4. Optional but highly recommended – add ½ TSP of jhakia seeds. It gives a beautiful crunchy taste to the dish. Read more on this in the blog post. 
5. Once the flavours of the masala wafts out, put in  500 GM’s of Ripe pumpkin cut in long fine strips.
6. Mix well, and let it cook on low flame, but uncovered. 
7. Do remember to stir it every now and then. 
8. Adjust salt and put in a green chilly to get a beautiful fresh aroma. 
9. Sprinkle on some finely cut fresh coriander and serve hot. 
Kalo jeere diye jhinge alu - 
1. Heat a tbsp of mustard oil to a good smoking point.
2. Temper a red dry chilly, until it turns brown.
3. Add ½ TSP of kalonji /kala jeera/ Nigella seeds
4. Once the aroma releases out, add in some cubed raw Potatoes. Stir and cook for a minute in the hot oil.
5. Add salt and haldi, stir well and cook for a minute longer, covered. 
6. Now add cubed ridge gourd, and stir well. 
7. Cover and cook until the potoes absorb all water released from the gourd, and become soft. 
8. Garnish it with fresh cut corriander leaves and a slit green chilly. 
Radhuni diye daal- 
1. Heat 2 tbsp of mustard oil to a good smoking point.
2. Temper a red dry chilly, until it turns brown.
3. Add ½ TSP of Radhuni /celery seeds.
4. Once the Masala becomes fragrant, and attains a deep dark brown colour, add ½ TSP haldi mixed with a tsp of water and slit green chilly.
5. Stir and add 6 tbsp of boiled fmasoor dal/red split lentils. 
6. Boil the dal in the tempered spices for a couple of minutes before adding in some green chillies slit and corriander leaves For flavour and garnish.
7. Give it a final simmering time of a minute before serving it hot with plait white rice and simple vegetable curries! 
Cheers! 

Passionate Gin and Tonic

For tomorrow's midweek refresher, I have got you covered with an amazing cocktail recipe- Passionately gin and tonic. Its a twist on the ever popular combination of gin and tonic, and trust me; even if you substitute the passion fruit with other kinds of fruit, its still gonna taste amazing. Treat it as a blueprint, and fly high!!

And while you are at it, don't forget to like, follow and subscribe!! cheers!!

Passionate gin and tonic

3 passion fruit's pulpy insides
1 tbsp sugar
100 ml gin
100 ml tequila
1.5 cans of tonic water or soda water
A pinch of rock salt
A handful of fresh mint
1 sweet orange sliced. 

Diwali Special Starters- Banno Kabab, Subz Tikka & Khameeri Roti

Khameer loosely means yeast. These soft flat breads are made with a yeasted dough, and then cooked over the flame or in the oven. This is perfect for anyone who has never made a bread loaf before.

2. Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

3. White flour - 1 cup

4. Baking powder – ½ TSP

5. Salt - 1.5 tsp

6. 1 cup of lukewarm water, add a tbsp of sugar and mix well.

7. Sprinkle on 2 TSP of active dry yeast, mix well and keep it aside to bloom for 10 minutes.

8. Mix all the dry ingredients together.

9. Add 2 tbsp curd (homemade or store-bought)

10. After 10 minutes of resting, your yeast should become frothy like so. If not, discard the yeast and start the blooming process with another fresh packet of yeast.

 11. Add the activated yeast to the dry ingredients, and put together a soft dough.

 12. Once the bowl gets cleaned, and the dough sticks together, add a tbsp of olive oil and start kneading the dough.

13. Knead the dough as shown here. Fold the dough on itself, turn and then again fold the dough and continue like so.. Do 80 such folds..

 14. Check the dough by pinching it. If it springs back half way, then it's done.

15. Keep it in an oiled bowl, covered with a damp cloth for 1 to 2 hours, till it doubles in size.

16. After it doubles up, punch the dough to release the air and divide into smaller portions.

17. Roll each pc into a smooth ball of dough.

18. Then with a rolling pin roll out each ball to an oblong oval shape. This way we will be able to fit 2 breads in a pan while making it over the flame.

19. Let the flattened dough rest for 15 minutes, before roasting. Apply some olive oil on top to prevent it from forming a tough skin.

20. Ease it gently on a hot tawa, an cook on one side till you see the bubbles forming.

21. Flip and cook it on the other side till it puffs up and become a balloon.

22. Serve hot along with these kababs..

Veg tikka-

You can use any vegetable as you have..

I am using Mushrooms, halved.

Green capsicum, cut into bite sized pcs.

Red bell pepper, to add a dramatic colour.

Onion quarters that has been leafed out.

For the masala mix, you will need –

Homemade curd, 3 to 4 tbsp. I never strain out the water as the juices make a lovely dipping sauce at the end.

Fresh Ginger, garlic and green chilly paste 3 Tbsp.

And a secret ingredient – 3 tsp kosha mangsho masala. The link to make the spice mix will be in the description box below.

1 TSP red chilly powder.

½ TSP sugar

Salt to taste

Mix well to eliminate any lumps.

Then masssage and marinate the cut veggies in the spice mix for at least 1 hour.

Banno kabab –

It’s a recipe that I developed for my restaurants in 2017. We use besan as the main flavouring agent.

Cut 500 GM’s of boneless, skinless chicken thighs in 3 equal pcs.

Dry roast 3 heaped tbsp of mota besan. (Chickpea flour that’s milled coarsely)

Once the aroma wafts out, add enough cold pressed mustard oil to form it in a paste.

2 TSP kosha mangsho masala, mix well over low  heat.

½ tsp haldi powder and salt to taste. Mix well and let it cool down a bit.

Chicken + salt + roasted masala mix + 3 tbsp of home made curd + 2 tbsp freshly ground ginger garlic and green chilly paste.

Mix well and massage every pc. Let it marinate for an hour.

Assembling time –

Skewer  the vegetables on a bamboo stick.

Heat a compartmental pan. Oil it generously. Add the veg skewers and chicken separately so that everything cooks through.

Optionally, you can flame grill it for a charry- smokey flavour.

Serve along with freshly made pita bread and onion pickle.

Cheers!!

Kosha Mangsho

Kosha Mangsho

A classic dish from Bengal, that everyone in the world knows is – Kosha Mangsho. It’s a dish that defines our food culture, and every Bengali family has its ow recipe for it. What I share today is a recipe that my little family enjoys a lot. It’s a labour of love and in my house its best enjoyed with Ajwaini Parathas.

Ingredients –

Freshly ground Kosha Mangsho masala for which you will need-

Green cardamom – 15 PCs

Red chilli – 2pcs

Nutmeg – ½ pc

Mace – 2 pods

Cinnamon –  1 pc

Star Anise – 1pc

White pepper whole – 1tsp

Black pepper whole- 1 tsp

Big cardamom -  3 PC’s

Bay leaves – 2 PCs

Cloves – ½ TSP

Cumin seeds – 1 Tbsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Dry roast each spice in a pan. Add the cumin and coriander at the end. Cool it on a plate, then grind it to a fine powder in your mixer jar. This much of masala is required for 1.5 kgs of mutton.

700 gms of fresh, cleaned mutton (Goat meat)

3-4 medium sized peeled potatoes

2-inch-long ginger root

½ a pod of garlic

2 hot green chillies

3-4 medium onions sliced finely

Salt, sugar and turmeric to taste

200 gms curd

For tempering 5 tbsp of mustard oil-

1 red chilly

1.5 bay leaves

3 pods of cardamom

5 cloves

1 pod of mace

2/3 pc of star anise

½ a cinnamon stick

½ tsp jeera

1 heaped tsp coriander seeds

Making this dish is a very satisfying process, which is well documented in my video. Do check and like the video. Share it with your friends and family so that more and more people make this recipe! Cheers!!

Kumro Phool er Bora - How to cut and prep Pumpkin Blossom

Kumro Phooler Bora

Growing pumpkin plants is easy. I do it every year to reap the flowers with which I make kumro phooler Bora.

All you need is-

The flowers, cleaned as shown in the video.

¾ cups chickpea flour

¼ cups rice flour

1 tsp khaskhas or posto or poppy seeds.

1 tsp nigella seeds

Salt, sugar and turmeric to taste

Mustard oil, for the batter as well as for frying

Water to make the perfectly set batter.

This much of batter would make 20 flower fritters.

Prawns and Garlic in Extra Virgin Olive Oil!!

One of the best things in life is to travel and enjoy various different culinary experiments. This dish is one such memory of mine, that I picked up in Mallorca, Spain. Now, its such a simple dish, that its extremely important to take care of the quality of all three of the main ingredients. 

For this recipe you would need-

250 gms good quality, fresh prawns or shrimps. In fact any other shell fish too would work. But the seafood needs to be fresh and cleaned properly. I have made this recipe many times with squids, or baby octopuses too. 

7 to 8 big size garlic pods.

1/2 cup or more of good quality extra virgin olive oil. Of course a Spanish olive oil would be preferred.

Red Dried chilies to taste. You can entirely forgo and not use this ingredient at all. But I like the heat. I have used dried Spanish chilies and these little guys pack a bomb in it. 

Salt, pepper and lemon drops to taste. 

It is very simple to put together-

Just roughly chop the garlic and add it in a wok with the chilies of your choice and 1/2 cup or more of olive oil. I never measure the Extra Virgin Olive oil in this recipe. And yes, you need to use the good, expensive stuff for this recipe. 

Put your flame on, and let the heat gently bring the oil and the garlic to a bubbling temperature. 

Once there, carefully drop in the prawns, one by one. Be careful, the oil might splatter. 

When the prawns are lovely and pink, add salt to taste. 

Switch off the flame and squeeze on a bit of lemon juice. The citrus just brightens up the flavor. Sprinkle on some pepper before serving. 

Cheers!!