A perfect recipe for a lazy weekend or Sunday….. simple, easy to make yet scrumptious …. Mutton lovers cant stop licking their fingers after having this dish for sure…. :D
Here it goes:
Ingredients:
- Mutton: 800 gm.( Curry cut)
- Onion: 5 Large (thin sliced or paste)
- Garlic: 10-12 Cloves( Crushed)
- Ginger: 2 “ (Paste)
- Cumin Powder: 1 tsp.
- Coriander Powder: 1 tsp.
- Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp.
- Red Chili Powder: 1 -2 tsp ( adjust according to your taste)
- Dry Whole Red Chili : 2-4 nos.
- Salt: To Taste
- Sugar: ½ tsp.
- Mustard Oil: 5-6 tbsp.
- Unsweetened Yogurt: ½ Cup (beaten with little water and a pinch of white flour)
- Cinnamon Sticks: 1
- Cloves: 4-5 nos.
- Cardamoms: 3-4 nos.
- Bay Leaves: 2
- Potato:2 -3 ( large diced)
- Water: 2 cups ( or as required to boil the mutton)
Process:
- Wash the mutton with little hot water and pat them dry with kitchen towel. Then mix the mutton with 3 tbsp of mustard oil, onion slices, ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, dry red chili (whole), cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves. Keep it atleast for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Mean while fry the diced potato with salt and turmeric powder slightly and keep them aside.
- Now heat rest of the mustard oil in a kadhai, (deep bottomed vessel) and add the whole marinated mutton into the hot oil. On medium to low flame cook the mutton until oil separated from the sides. Now add the fried diced potato and cook for another few minutes.
- Now pour the water and cover. Increase the flame and cook until the mutton pieces are done very well. You may pressure cook your mutton too. For this you need to cook up to 2-3 whistles depending on the size and the amount of your mutton pieces.
- Once the mutton pieces becomes tender and well cooked, uncover the vessel and adjust the gravy according to your choice. Taste the seasoning and add salt or sugar if required.
- Turn off the flame. Sunday special mutton curry is ready to serve. Serve it with hot fluffy rice along with lemon slices.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Friday is considered to be a vegetarian day in my family all the time. On that day I don’t even use onion and garlic in any of my preparations. Most of the time, therefore I prefer to cook paneer dishes( Indian Cottage Cheese). On this Friday I made shahi paneer with Bengali sweet pulao. Previously I shared an another recipe of Shahi Paneer where I used onion and garlic and today going to share the no onion /no garlic version of that recipe.
Here comes it …
Ingredients:
- Paneer -200gms (cut in cubes)
- Cashew Nuts-12(soaked in warm milk for 10-15 mins)
- Tomatoes-2 nos (chopped and puree)
- Green Chili -1 nos (paste)
- Ginger-1 inch (paste)
- Asafetida / Hing – A pinch
- Bay leaves-2 nos
- Coriander powder-1 tsp
- Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
- Red chilli powder-1/4 tsp (adjust to taste)
- Yogurt-1/2 cup
- Sugar-1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil-3 tbsp
- Cinnamon Sticks:1
- Cardamoms:3-4 nos.
- Cloves:2-3 nos.
- Sha jeera ( Caraway seeds)-1 tsp
- Bay Leaves:2
- Water: 1 Cup.
- Cream : 2 tsp.
Process:
- At first cut the paneer into cubes and soak them into warm water with little salt for 10 minutes approximately.
- Now heat little oil into the pan and sauté the soaked paneer cubes with little turmeric powder slightly.Keep them aside.
- Soak the cashewnuts in warm milk and make a smooth paste of it. Keep separately.
- Chop the tomatoes and blend it. I want to mention here that I didn’t blanch my tomatoes but if you want go for that.
- Now heat the oil into the pan. Once it becomes hot add the cinnamon sticks, cloves ,cardamoms, bay leaves and the caraway seeds. Once the nice aroma comes out and the cumin seeds start to splatter add the tomato puree into it. Sprinkle little salt . Stir it continuously on medium flame and then add the ginger paste and the asafetida. Mix thoroughly.
- Now add coriander powder,turmeric powder,red chilli powder.Cook the mixture,stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Cook until oil starts releasing from sides.
- Add sugar, cashew paste and yogurt. Cook for another few minutes minute and then add 1 cup of water and salt . Mix thoroughly and bring it to boil.
- Add paneer and cover the pan. Simmer for a few minutes over medium to low heat, till the gravy becomes little thick in consistency. Don’t keep it very watery or too tight.
- Turn off the flame. Pour the cream on the top , garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve with roti , paratha naan or polao.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Kanda Poha or Flattened Rice With Onions is a very conventional and delectable breakfast recipe . It is not only good for you but also good for your young one.
Here is the process of making kanda poha.
Ingredients:
- Flattened Rice( Thick Variety): 2 Cups
- Onion: 2 Medium ( Finely Chopped)
- Mustard Seeds: 1 tsp.
- Turmeric Powder: ½ tsp.
- Salt: To Taste
- Sugar: ½ tsp.
- Oil: 2-3 tbsp.
- Asafoetida: A pinch
- Lemon Juice:1 tsp.
- Peanuts: 2 tsp ( soaked in water)
- Curry Leaves: 6-7
- Green Chilli: 2-3 (chopped)
- Coriander Leaves: Chopped, 1 tsp.
Process:
- Wash the poha in a colander. Poha should be moist but not mashed. Add salt and sugar and mix lightly.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter add asafetida and curry leaves. Saute for half a minute and add onions and continue to sauté.
- Add green Chiliies and mix. Add the turmeric powder and mix. Sauté for two minutes and add the soaked peanuts. You may add thin slices of boiled potato too.
- Mix and cook till the poha is heater though. Add the lemon juice and mix lightly.Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve hot.
Enjoy Your Food...!!
Since last few weeks, I got little bored of making almost similar type of chicken or mutton recipes at the weekends for my family. Desperately I was looking for something new. Then none other than my beautiful sister Sanchita helped me out. She suggested me one of her little off bit chicken recipe, which she called Goanese Chicken Curry. Without a second thought I prepared it for my family and nevertheless to tell that everyone liked it. You can choose this recipe for your weekend indulgence or even for your guests. Very obviously everyone will praise your dish.
Let’s start discussing the recipe now.
Ingredients:
- Chicken (I used Curry Cut pieces): 750-800gms.
- Prawns/Shrimps: 10-12 nos. medium sized (decapitated, shelled and de veined)
- Onions: 2 (thinly sliced and fried, Barista) .
- Black Pepper Powder: 1tsp.
- Cardamom and Cinnamon Paste: 1 tsp.
- Crushed Garlic: 1 tsp.
- Ginger Garlic Paste: 2 tsp.
- Yogurt: ½ cup
- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp.
- Green Chili: 2-4 nos. (chopped or paste)
- Salt: As per taste.
- Sugar: ½ tsp.
- Vinegar: 1 tsp.
- Mustard Oil: 2-3 tbsp (For Cooking)
- White Oil : 1/2 Cup for frying the chicken
- Water: 1 ½ Cup.
Process:
- At first make the friend onions or barista carefully . The key to make crispy fried onions is thinly sliced onions. Yes, so thin that you can even see through the slice . Heat oil in a wok/kadai on low heat. Make sure the oil is only hot enough so that when you add the onions it sizzles. Add all the onions to the kadai ,the onions should submerge in the oil. Let it cook till it bubbles. And then turn up the heat to medium.
- Once the onions go to the light golden color, it doesn't take much time to go to brown and dark brown.
- Remove the onions and let them drain the excess oil keeping them on a tissue. Your barista or crispy fried onion is ready to use now.
- Marinate the prawns with little salt and turmeric powder meanwhile and heat little oil in a separate pan and slightly fry them. Put the fried prawns in a blender and blend them till it becomes smooth. Keep the paste separately.
- Now marinate the chicken pieces with the cardamom-cinnamon paste, green chili paste,1 tsp of crushed garlic, black pepper powder, salt, vinegar and a pinch of kashmiri red chili powder and half of the yogurt. Keep the chicken into the refrigerator at least for 2 hours.
- Now heat the white oil in a deep bottomed vessel and fry the chicken pieces carefully. Take them out of the vessel and keep separately.
- Now discard the friend white oil and add the mustard oil in the same pan. Add the ginger garlic paste. Cook for few minutes on low flame and then add the rest of the kashmiri red chili powder. Add the rest of the yogurt ( beaten with a pinch of white flour and water to avoid curdling) and cook on medium flame for few minutes.
- Now add the prawn paste and mix generously. If required, you may sprinkle little water at this time and mix properly. Add the friend onions or barista. Sprinkle little more water.
- Then add the salt and sugar and give a nice stir. Add the fried chicken pieces now and mix thoroughly.
- Cook the chicken until oil starts to release from the sides of the vessel.
- Add the water now and cover. Cook until he chicken pieces are done properly and become soft and tender.
- Uncover and check the seasoning. The goanese chicken curry has a thick gravy so don’t make it very watery.
- Once you get your desired consistency, turn off the flame and serve the chicken garnished with fried onions and prawns.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Payesh or rice kheer is an indispensable dish in every Hindu feasts or celebrations. It is also prepared in temples and in every special occasion. In our Bengali culture birthdays are considered to be remained deficient without this. Usually during birthdays or any special occasion we prepare it and first offer it to our God and then we all cherish it as God’s Prasad or sacrament.
Rice kheer is usually prepared with milk, rice, ghee, sugar/jaggery, and khoya. Some also add a little bit of heavy cream for a richer taste. It is often garnished using almonds, cashews, raisins and pistachios. There is one more popular version of North Indian kheer which is prepared during festivals and havan in Varanasi which is prepared by using just milk, rice, ghee, sugar, cardamom, dry fruits and kesar.
Today I am going to share the recipe of the typical Bengali version of rice kheer or payesh which my mom prepared on my birthday after eight long years. After my marriage, this was the first the first time I had spent my birthday with my parents. So, you can easily conjecture how exceptional it was for me.
Anyway, let’s come to point and discus the recipe. to makeBengali version of rice kheer or payesh you need to follow the subsequent steps.
Ingredients:
- Gobindobhog Rice ( Ambemohar Rice, a special type of flavourful short grain rice which is ideal for Bengali rice kheer preparation) : ¾ th Cup.
- Full Cream Milk: 1 ½ lt.
- Condensed Milk: ½ Can
- Sugar /Jaggery: As per your taste, usually if you use condensed milk, you need to be very careful while adding extra sugar as the condensed milk is extremely sweet. Ma didn’t use.
- Cardamom Powder: 1 sp.
- Ghee ( Indian Clarified Butter) : 1 ½ tsp.
- Cashew nuts: Handful.
- Saffron Starnd : A few.
- Bay Leaves:2-3 nos.
Process:
- Soak the rice in 2 cups of water for 15-20 minutes. Drain the water properly then.
- Take a heavy bottomed vessel. Heat half of the ghee and slightly fry the cashew nuts first. Take them out and keep separately.
- In the same vessel add the rice first and stir fry it very slightly on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Take the rice out of it and keep separately.
- Now heat the rest of the ghee and add the milk. Let it boil on a very low flame until it become little thick. I want to mention here that for boiling milk I always like to use non-stick vessel else you need to be very careful so that the milk can’t be burnt.
- Now add the bay leaves and the rice into it. Increase the temperature little and cook until the rice is boiled properly. But be careful so that rice can’t be overcooked.
- Now add the condensed milk and let it boil again. Cook till your desired consistency. Then add the cashew nuts, cardamom powders and mix well. Check the sweetness. As I like lightly sweetened payesh Ma didn’t add more sugar into it. But if you want you may add little more sugar or jiggery into it.
- Turn off the flame. Your rice kheer is ready now. Sprinkle the saffron strands on it. Serve hot or chilled garnishing with more dry fruits of your choice and fresh rose petals.
- Enjoy the blissful dessert.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Ilisher Begun Jhal /Hilsha with Eggplant Curry is an exceptionally trouble-free, time saving and lip smacking preparation. When you have to arrange some foods very quickly for your guests with the least ingredients yet you want to satisfy their taste buds to the full degree, then blindly, go for this recipe. Surely you will be identified as a marvelous cook to your family unit and friends and acquaintances.
To be very honest, though I heard about this recipe a lot but I never dared to try it as eggplant is not my favorite vegetable. But this time for a change tried it and it was so scrumptious, so delicious that I regretted for not trying this before.
Here is the recipe for you all .
Ingredients:
- Hilha Fish Steaks: 5-6 nos.
- Egg Plants/Brinjal: 2 (long ones,slit length wise)
- Turmeric Powder: 2 tsp.
- Salt: To Taste
- Green Chili: 4-5 nos.
- Onion Seeds/Kalonji: 1 tsp.
- Fenugreek Seeds/Methi: ¼ tsp. ( Optional)
- Water: 1 ½ Cup ( preferably warm)
- Mustard Oil: 2 tbsp.
Process:
- Wash and pat dry the fishes. Marinate these with salt, turmeric powder and a little bit of oil and keep aside for 5-10 minutes.
- Cut the eggplants length wise and marinate these also with salt and turmeric powder.
- Now heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil in a pan an slightly fry the fish steaks and keep aside.
- Then discard the fried oil and add 1-2 tsp of fresh oil into the pan, heat it and fry the eggplants for a while. Keep the fried egg plants aside and discard the fried blackish oil.
- Take a vessel and heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil. Temper with onion seeds ,fenugreek seeds and the green chilies. When the seeds start sputtering add the fried egg plants, stir for a while and add the water. Now add salt, turmeric powder and boil it for few minutes.
- Now add the fried fish steaks into it,lower the flame and cover the vessel. Simmer for few minutes until the fishes are done. Taste the season, if required add little more salt.
- Hilsha with egg plant is ready. Serve it with steaming hot rice. It is something you can never forget once you try.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
