Egg Curry With Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

• Eggs- 6 (hard boiled and cut into half)
• Oil -4 tbsp
• Mustard seeds -1/2
• coriander leaves – a sprig
• Dried red chilies – 3-4
• Onion-2 cups (thinly sliced)
• Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Tomato-1 cup (chopped)
• Coriander powder- 2tsp
• Red chili powder-1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
• Garam masala-1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Coconut milk -1/2 cup

Method:

• Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pan.
• When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds.
• When the seeds starts splattering, add  dried red chilies.
• Add onions and fry till they turn translucent.
• Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and fry for 4-5 minutes.
• Add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder,  garam masala and salt.
• Fry till the oil comes out.
• Add two cups of water and cover the pan and simmer on medium heat for 10-12 minutes.
• Add coconut milk and halved eggs.
• Cook for a minute.
• Garnish with fresh coriander.
• Serve hot with roti or rice.

Cauliflower And Potato Curry

Ingredients:

• Potato (Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters) – 2-3 
• Cauliflower (cut into florets and soak in warm water for 10 min) – 1 medium
• Salt to taste –
• Chopped Tomato (Cut into quarters) – 4 
• Chopped Onion – 2 
• Oil for frying –
• Bay Leaf (tej patta) – 1-2 
• Green Cardamom – 2-3 
• Cinnamon Stick – 1/2 inch
• Turmeric Powder – 1 tbsp
• Coriander Powder – 2 tbsp
• Cumin Powder – 1 tbsp
• Red Chili Powder – 1 tbsp

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan on medium flame, add potato.
• Fry it till turns little golden brown.
• Add cauliflower and fry the florets of cauliflower till they turns a little golden brown, remove and keep it aside.
• Heat the oil in a pan on medium flame, add bay leaves, green cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon.
• Fry for 1-2 min.
• Add onion and fry it till turns little golden brown in colour.
• Add tomato, coriander powder, cumin powder and red chili powder, mix well.
• Add 1/4th cup of water and boil it.
• Add the fried potato-cauliflower and stir fry for 2-3 min.
• Cook it till vegetables are cooked.
• Serve hot with roti/rice.

Sweet And Sour Lentil

Ingredients:

1 cup Toordal
2 Tbsp. ghee
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. mustard seeds
a few curry leaves (optional)
3  tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 green chili chopped
1/4 tsp. chili powder (optional)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 Tbsp. jaggery (gur)
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 Tbsp. chopped coriander leaves(Cilantro)

Method:

1.Pick through the dal and then wash it.  Drain the water. Add 4 cups of water to a heavy pot, add the dal, salt to taste. Boil the dal. Reduce heat and let it simmer.
2. As dal is simmering, heat ghee in a small sauce pan and fry the cumin and mustard seeds till brown. Add the  curry leaves, tomatoes, ginger, green chili, chili powder and fry the seasonings for 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour the seasonings into dal and let it continue to simmer on low, until the grains and  soft and cooked. Add lime juice, jaggery and cilantro. Adjust the water so that the dal has the consistency you like (from soup like consistency to thick soup)

Serve with rice or flat bread and a choice of pickle.

Hilsa Curry With Eddoe (ilish mach e kochu muhki)

Ingredients:

Hilsa (Ilish Mach): 4 pieces
Eddoe(Mukhi Kochu): 2: peeled and cubed.
Green Chilies: 4-5, slit longitudinally(according to heat preferences)
Turmeric: 1-2 tsp
Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp
Salt
Sugar: 1/4 tsp
Kalo Jeere/Kalonji/Nigella Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard oil: 6-7 tbsp

Method:

Clean the fish well, and remove all the scales. Wash it well, under running water, and then pat it dry with a paper towel. Coat the fish pieces with turmeric and some salt. Keep aside.

Heat mustard oil in a non stick pan. Don't substitute mustard oil, with any other oil, as it lends to the signature taste. So when you buy Ilish Mach, ensure you also have Mustard Oil with you, on stock. Once the oil has just about started to smoke, carefully place the fishes in the pan, and shallow fry them, on moderately high heat. Ilish Mach tends to splutter, so keep a splutter guard handy. Turn the fishes after about frying them for 3 minutes per side, so that they are evenly fried on both sides.

 Remove the fishes from the oil, and add in the diced Mukhi Kochu. Fry them lightly and then keep aside

In the same oil, add in Kalo jeere and the slit green chilies. Let them splutter.

Meanwhile, make a paste of red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, sugar and around half a cup of water, in a bowl. Once you get the aroma of green chilies, from the oil, add this spice mixture. Mix well. Add in the fried Kochu, and cover and cook at about medium heat, till the Kochu is almost cooked.

Add in the fried Ilish Mach carefully in the gravy, and cook uncovered till the Kochu is totally cooked, and the fish has soaked up the gravy well. Reduce the gravy, so that it not too watery, but not too thick.

Check for seasonings ! Remove from Fire .

Serve hot with some steamed Basmati Rice.

Spicy Chicken Ball

Ingredients:

1/2 kg boneless chicken pieces, cleaned and washed

1/4 kg onions finely sliced

8-10 fresh green chillis

5-6 dry red chillis 

15-20 garlic flakes

3″ piece ginger chopped

small bunch coriander leaves, chopped

4 tbsps coriander seeds

1 1/2 tbsps cumin seeds

2″ cinnamon stick

3 green cardamoms

5-6 cloves

20 cashewnuts

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Heat a tbsp of oil in cooking vessel. Add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamom, red chillis and cashewnuts and stir for a minute till a nice aroma emanates the whole kitchen. Be careful not to burn the spices. Cool.
2. First grind the roasted ingredients along with ginger, garlic and green chillis to a coarse paste. Next add the chopped raw onions, coriander leaves, chicken and salt and grind further to form a smooth paste like shown in the picture above.
2 Add a tbsp of oil to the ground mixture and mix thoroughly before shaping into small lemon sized balls.
3 .Heat oil for deep frying. Once its piping hot, reduce flame to medium and place these balls in the oil and fry them to a crisp, golden brown color.
4.Serve hot with tomato sauce or green chutney.

Catfish Curry

Ingredients:

Catfish (Shingi Machh) - 3, cut into pieces

Cauliflower - 1/2, cut into florets

Sheem or Broad Beans - 4, cut into half

Bori or Bengali lentil balls - 10-12

Panch Foron or Bengali five spice - 1/2 tsp

Green Chilli - as per taste

Ginger Paste - 1 tsp

Red chili powder

Salt, Turmeric

Bay leaf

Mustard Oil

Method:

Smear salt and turmeric onto the fish. Fry lightly in mustard oil and keep aside.

Take half a cup of water and mix the kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Keep aside.

Heat the mustard oil and then lightly fry the marinated fish. Fry the bori too.

Add panchforon, bayleaf and slit green chilli to the hot mustard oil of the same pan.

Add the chopped vegetables and stir fry for 1 min. Next add the masala water and stir to cover the vegetables.

After 3-4 minutes, add 2 cups of hot water. ( The dish would be soupy  it is a machh er jhol, so be liberal with the water.)

When it starts boiling, add the fishes immersed in the soup and cook covered for 10 minutes over low heat till the vegetable is cooked.

Add the fried bori and mix carefully. Boil for 1 more minute

Keep covered for a standing time of 10 minutes. 

Serve  with hot steamed rice