Pomfret Macher Jhal

Pomfret fish is a tasty sea fish which is great for your heart, skin and eyes just like all other fishes. This is a Bengali fish recipe which is easy to make and extremely delicious as well.

Preparation Time:  30 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

Pomfret fish - 500 gm ( 5-6 pieces)
Mustard seeds-  - 2 tablespoon (soaked in water for 10 minutes, strained and then a paste is made)
Kalonji seeds
Mustard Oil
Turmeric powder
Red chilly powder (optional)
Salt as per taste
Slitted green chillies

How to make the mustard seed paste?

Take the mustard seed, green chilies and chopped tomato and grind them together to prepare a smooth paste. Add water carefully so that you do not make a runny paste)

Lobongo (Laung) Lotika

Lobongo lotika is an extremely tasty bengali sweet dish, which is a parcel of white flour(maida) with a khoya filling inside, sealed with a clove(lobongo) and then coated with a sugar syprup and hence the name lobongo lotika.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

White flour (maida): 250 gms
Sugar: 250 gms
Cloves: 25gms( depending on how many lobongo lotika we are making)
Khoya kheer: 250gms
Milk: 1/2 litre
Grated coconut: 1 cup
Refined oil


For the Filling

Coconut Filling

Take a non stick frying pan and warm it, then add the grated coconut to the pan. Keep stirring it and keep adding sugar bit by bit until it becomes sticky. Keep it aside to cool.

Khowa Filling

Boil the milk, add the required amount of sugar to it and add the khowa to it. Let the milk boil and keep stirring until it dries completely.

Make a mixed filling of the coconut and the khowa.

How to Prepare the Dough?

The maida should be taken in a vessel and a pinch of baking powder should be added to it and then add a small amount of refined oil  to it. Then water should be added in requisite amount to knead a smooth dough. Keep the dough covered for 15 minutes. Make small equal sized balls from the dough.


How to Prepare the Sugar Syrup?

Take a vessel and add 1/2 litre water in it.  Add the sugar to it and keep boiling until a very thick consistency sugar syrup is prepared. The consistency should be so thick that it should immediately crystallize on adding it from above on the lobongo lotikas.

How to Prepare the Lobongo Lotika?

Take the ball and roll it out just like we do to make pooris. Add the khoya mix in between and then seal the ends from the sides in the form of a rectangular wrap. Then seal the remaining two ends on the reverse side in the form of a square wrap. Seal the centre with a clove. Once the lobongo lotika are made , deep fry them in refined oil in medium flame , until they are golden brown in colour.

Add the sugar syrup on the lobongo lotika from above so that it crystallizes on it. Make sure that both the sides get evenly coated. Serve at room temperature.

Cholar Daaler Pitha/ Chanar Daaler Pitha

Makar Sankranti is widely celebrated in the different states in India as a harvest festival and has different names in the different states, Poush Sankranti, Bihu, Pongal, Maghi and so on. People fly kites on Sankranti, make various sweet dishes and so on. In Bengal , Makar Sankranti is celebrated by cooking 'pitha'( bengali sweet dish). In winter the aromatic 'notun gur'(date palm jaggery) is used in preparing several mouth watering pithas. The major ingredients used to prepare pithas in Poush Sankranti is date palm jaggery, rice flour, coconut and milk.
Cholar pitha is a very tasty , juicy pitha and is very easy to prepare.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Chana Daal (cholar daal) : 250 gms
Grated coconut: 1 cup
Sugar (for syrup): 1 cup
Sugar(for dough and coconut): to taste
Khowa: 250 gms
Milk: 1/2 litre
Cardamom: 2-3
Maida(white flour): 1/2 cup
Refined oil


Method

 For the Dough
Soak the chana daal in water overnight. Pressure cook the chana daal the next day(1-2 whistles). Make sure that the daal should not be over boiled(since the dough will not have the proper consistency then). Mash the chana daal finely and keep mixing white flour bit by bit until a smooth dough is prepared. Make sure that maida is not added in excess because otherwise the pitha will be too hard and the sugar syrup will not penetrate it.

For the Filling

Coconut Filling

Take a non stick frying pan and warm it, then add the grated coconut to the pan. Keep stirring it and keep adding sugar bit by bit until it becomes sticky. Keep it aside to cool.

Khowa Filling

Boil the milk, add the required amount of sugar to it and add the khowa to it. Let the milk boil and keep stirring until it dries completely.

Make a mixed filling of the coconut and the khowa.

How to Prepare the Sugar Syrup?

Take a vessel and add 1/2 litre water in it. Crush the cardamom and add it to the water. Add the sugar to it and keep boiling until a thick consistency sugar syrup is prepared. Once the syrup is prepared, cool it.

How to Prepare the Pitha?

Grease your palm with ghee, take a small amount of the dough in your palm and make a round (just like while making chapattis). Put the filling in between the hollow, fold it, and then seal the ends. Fry the pitha in medium flame until it is golden brown. Immediately add the fried pithas to the cool syrup ( make sure that the hot fried pithas are added to the cool syrup so that the sugar syrup can penetrate the pitha properly). Keep the pithas soaked in the sugar syrup overnight. The next morning savour the delectable juicy cholar pitha.

Beet Root and Potato/aloo Parantha

Paranthas are simply yummy and especially aloo paranthas. But if we wish to add a healthy twist to the yummy aloo paranthas then this is the ideal recipe to go for. This recipe is a slight variation from the regular aloo paranthas we have. Beet root adds a new flavor , a new taste and a new color to our normal aloo parathas.

Preparation Time: 20 Minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Filling

Beet Root: 1 finely grated

Potato: 1 boiled and mashed

Onion: 1 finely chopped

Dried red chillies: 1-2

Roasted Jeera/Cumin powder

Red chilly powder

Asafoetida: 1 pinch

Chopped Green chillies

Salt to taste

Oil

For the Dough

Aaata: 2 cups

Maida: 1 cup

Refined oil

Water

Method

Filling

Take some 2 table spoon of oil in a frying pan. Once the oil gets heated up add a pinch of asafoetida, the dried red chillies and the chopped onions and saute them for some time. Then add the chopped green chillies and finally add the mashed potato and the grated beet root. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. Then add a pinch of roasted cumin powder, red chilly powder and salt to taste. Keep stirring till the ingredients mix nicely and it is well cooked. Keep the filling separately in a bowl and let it cool down.

 

 

For the Dough

Take 2 cups of aata and 1 cup of maida. Add 2-3 teaspoon of oil in it. Mix it well and then make a smooth dough of it by adding water little by little and kneading it. Make small balls out of the dough. 

Take the balls and make a hollow in the middle and stuff the filling. Seal the sides. Then roll out the balls into small sized paranthas. Fry these paranthas in a tawa by adding small amount of refined oil.

Musur(Masur) Daal Bora in Beet Root Curry

Beet root has high nutritional value and is a rich source of antioxidants. It also contains potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamin A,C. B6, proteins, carbohydrates and folic acids. Beet root helps in controlling blood pressure and helps in fighting various heart diseases. The blood rich color of beet is extremely attractive and the vegetable itself has a nice flavor.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Beet root: 1 diced into cubical pices
Potato: 1 diced into cubical pieces
Masur daal pakora/bora: A cup of masur daal is soaked in water for 30 minutes and then made into a paste in the mixer grinder
Ginger paste: 1 teaspoon
Green chillies: 3-4
Dried redchillies: 2
bay leaves: 2
panch foron
Refined oil
Turmeric powder
Jeera/Cumin powder
Salt to taste
Water

Method

Take the masur daal paste, add some kalonji to it, a pinch of turmeric powder, a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking powder.Mix it well. Take a frying pan and add some refined oil in it. Once the oil gets heated up make small balls of masur daal and release it into the oil. Fry it golden brown and keep it aside.

Take some oil separately in a kadhai. Add some oil and when the oil gets heated up add a teaspoon of panch foron, bay leaves/tej patta, dried red chillies to it.Let it splutter for some time. Then add the diced beet root pieces and the potato pieces. Saute them well in the oil for about 10 minutes.

 

Then add the green chillies and the ginger paste. Then add some cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Mix well and add water little by little. Finally when the gravy becomes thick add the musur daal bora/pakora and let it simmer for sometime. Swirch off the flame when the gravy enters the bora/pakora and it becomes juicy. Serve hot with rice.

Arhar Daal/toor daal/tuvar daal with Tomato and Coriander

Arhar daal is a very popular daal. It can be cooked in various ways and is a rich source of vitamins and proteins. It has very high level of proteins and thus is extremely nutritous. This daal recipe is very simple and easy to cook.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Arhar daal: 1 cup
Jeera Seeds: 1 tea spoon
Dried red chillies: 1
Cumin powder
turmeric powder
Asafoetida
Tomato: 1 minced into small pieces
coriander leaves finely chopped
refined oil

Method
Take the arhar/tuvar daal/toor daal, pressure cook it and keep it aside.

Now take a tadka pan, add 2 table spoon of oil in it. Let the oil heat and then add a pinch of asafoetida, the dried red chillies and jeera seeds. Let these splutter in the oil for sometime. Then add the minced tomato and cook it for some time so that it becomes tender. Then add a small amount turmeric powder and cumin powder to the oil.                                                                                                            




 Add the tadka to the daal and let the daal simmer for sometime. Add some salt from above. Let it cook for sometime and attain a thick consistency. Now add the chopped coriander leaves from above for garnishing. Finely add a table spoon of ghee for a good aroma. Serve hot with rice or paranthas.

Begun Pora (Roasted Egg plant)

Eggplants are a rich source of various vitamins and minerals and also contain phytonutrients. Phytonutrients have antioxidant property. Eggplants reduce risk of cancer, help in weight loss and also help in improving skin tone. Begun pora also known as baingan bharta is a very common and easy tasty dish. It can be cooked innovatively.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Egg plant/begun/baingan: 1 egg plant/baingan/begun roasted, the skin removed and then mashed and kept in a bowl
Tomato: 1 finely chopped
Onion: 1 finely chopped
green chillies: 2 finely chopped
coriander: chopped coriander leaves
Egg: beat 1 egg and keep in a bowl
Refined oil
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder

Method

Take a frying pan and add 2 tea spoon of oil in it. Heat the oil and then add the chopped onion into it. Fry the onion till golden brown and then add the chopped tomato and saute for sometime till the tomato becomes tender. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste. Then add the mashed egg plant/baingan. begun and keep stirring. Then add the chopped green chillies and the egg into the mixture. Keep stirring the ingredients till they mix very well. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves from above for garnishing. Serve with chappatis or rice.