To be very guileless ,while I was a kid I didn’t like chire ( chira/flattened rice) at all . Maa tried to force me to eat this with ripe banana, milk, yogurt and sondesh (a special Bengali sweet), which I disliked the most. Though it was a much loved breakfast of my younger brother but I didn’t want to touch it even. Therefore she sometimes prepared an another variety of chire, which in Bengali we called Chirer Pulao. This was my most favorite. Even I simply love it till now.
It’s not only easy to make but also it is very healthy, filling, and tasty too. Moreover it’s an ideal brunch for a lazy holiday. Sometimes I pack my daughter’s lunch box with this and she really likes it. Not only that, one day after returning back from school, making her eyes wider, she told me that she shared her tiffin ( chirer polao ) with her non Bengali friends and everyone praised her saying, "what a yummilicious lunch you've brought"..!!!
Anyway, lets come to the point now. Here is the entire recipe of Bengali Chirer Polao:
Ingredients:
- Flattened Rice/Chira/Chire: 2 Cups
- Water: 2 Cups.
- Green Peas: ¼ Cups.
- Any type of seasonal vegetables: Cauliflowers, carrot or any vegetables of your choice ( handful chopped, though this time I didn’t use none of these) .
- Potato: 1 small ( optional), peeled and cut in small cubes.
- Raisin: Handful
- Cashewnuts: Handful
- Ginger: 1 tsp. (grated)
- Salt: to taste
- Sugar: 2 tbsp ( preferably powder sugar, you may replace it with zero calorie sweetener too, adjust the amount according to your choice)
- Turmeric Powder: A pinch
- Cinnamon Sticks: 1
- Cardamoms: 3-4 nos.
- Cloves: 3-4 nos.
- Sha Jeera (Caraway seeds): 1/4 tsp.
- Bay leaves: 1
- Oil/Ghee: 1/4th Cup
- Garam Masala Powder (1-2 tsp of ground green cardamom, cloves and cinnamon) :1/2 tsp.
Process:
- Rinse the chire in water once and soak them in the water for just 4-5 minutes. Drain the excess water and keep it in a colander. At this time for a better result, mix little salt, sugar and 2 tsp of white oil with the soaked chire.
- Heat ½ of ghee in the pan and add the cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves and caraway seeds and the bay leaves. Let the aroma come out and then add the green peas, cashew nuts and the raisins. On medium flame fry them little. If you are using any vegetables or potatoes add them at this time. Sprinkle little salt on them and fry them on medium flame carefully until they become soft.
- Add the grated ginger and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Now add the soaked chire. Mix in thoroughly. Add the rest of the ghee now. It will help to to keep the rice flakes separated from each other.
- Sprinkle little turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Stir well.
- Check the seasoning . Add more salt and sugar if required.
- Sprinkle the garam masala powder and mix.
- Turn off the flame and the pulao is ready now.
- Garnish it with chopped green chilies and coriander leaves and serve. You may sprinkle fried peanuts on the top.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Laal Maas or Laal Maans ( Red Meat Curry) is a variety of meat dish from Rajasthan in India. It is a mutton curry prepared in a sauce of curd (yogurt) or hot spices such as red chilies. This dish typically is very hot and rich in garlic. But while preparing this I modified it slightly as we neither eat extremely hot dishes nor we withstand excessive flavor of garlic. For that reason,instead of using very hot red chilies, I used the Kashmiri ones so that the red colour of the curry would come yet it couldn't be very hot. On the other hand I reduced the use of the garlic too.
Lets start discussing the recipe now:
Ingredients:
- Mutton: 800 gm
- Whole Red Chilies( original recipe calls for 10-12 nos. hot red chilies but I used the kashmiri red chilies) : 5-6 nos.
- Mustard Oil : 3-4 tbsp.
- Ghee( Indian Clarified Butter) : 4-5 tbsp.
- Onion: Thin Sliced( 5-6 nos., medium size)
- Garlic: 12-15 nos. cloves ( The original recipe calls for a whole pod of garlic)
- Ginger: 2 tsp ( Paste)
- Unsweetened Yogurt: 2/3 Cup.
- Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp.
- Cinnamon Sticks -1
- Cardamoms: 2 (black)
- Cloves: 7-8 nos.
- Bay Leaves: 1
- Peppercorns: 5-6
- Salt: To Taste
- Sugar: A pinch
- Water: As required (Enough to cook the mutton well).
Process:
- In a cup of warm water first soak the red whole chilies and keep it for 10-15 minutes.
- Now in a blender add the garlic cloves, soaked red chilies along with the water and make a fine and smooth paste. Keep it separately.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add the prepared garlic chili paste. Stir it continuously until the oil starts to release from the sides. Keep the flame medium while doing this. Take the mixture out of the pan and keep separately.
- Now take a pressure cooker or a deep bottomed vessel or handi. Add the rest of the oil and the ghee. Let the ghee melt and mix with the oil. Now add the cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves, peppercorn and bay leaves. Let the aroma come out and then add the cumin seeds. Let it crackle for few seconds. Add the sugar and fry it till brown.
- Now add the sliced onions, ginger paste and stir for few minutes.
- Add the mutton pieces and salt. On medium flame cook the mutton pieces with the spices for about 10-12 minutes.
- Beat the yogurt with little water and a pinch of flour and pour it into the vessel. Mix in thoroughly.
- Now add the chili garlic paste, mix in well and stir it for another 10 minutes.
- Now add the water. Bring it to boil and then cover the vessel with a heavy lid and simmer it on low flame until the mutton is well cooked and becomes tender.
- Once done uncover it and check the seasoning.
- The curry I made had little thick gravy. If you want, you may prepare little thin gravy also. In that case you need to add little more water.
- Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatti.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
One more luscious Hilsa recipe I am going to share today. Monsoon is about to say bid adieu to the state still the Bangladeshi fish supplier is supplying us very good quality hilsa and this time I made a new recipe with it which I learned from one of my very good friend.
So, here is the entire process:
Ingredients:
- Hilsa/Ilish:4-5 piece
- Freshly grated Coconut paste:4 tbsp(no coconut milk or powder)
- Poppy seeds paste:2 tbsp
- Green chili:4-5,slitted
- Nigella seeds:1/2 tsp
- Turmeric powder:1/2 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Mustard oil:5 tbsp
- Hot water:1 cup
Process:
- Clean and wash the hilsa pieces and rub it with a little turmeric powder & salt.
- Keep it for 5 minutes.
- Make a paste of freshly grated coconut and poppy seeds.
- Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan/wok.
- Fry the hilsa pieces slightly. Take them out of the pan and keep separately. You may discard the oil and pour it into a separate bowl for eating raw with steaming hot rice. That is another favorite of us, Bengali.
- Heat a tbsp of fresh oil..
- Temper with nigella seeds and slitted green chilies.
- Add coconut-poppy seeds paste.
- Cook it by stirring it continuously for 4-5 minutes.
- Add a cup of hot water when the nice aroma of coconut-poppy seeds paste comes out. Give few nice stirs.
- Add the hilsa pieces and chilies when the gravy starts boiling.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add a tsp of raw mustard oil on the top. You may add few more slitted green chilies if you want .
- Sprinkle little freshly grated coconut on the top and serve it hot with steamed rice.
Enjoy Your Food....!!!
