Brussel sprouts with pancetta

1. To clean: Rinse well in cold water, discard any old outer leaves, remove the white tip and then cut  into halves. (If the size is too big, you might prefer quarters)
2. Microwave or boil brussel sprouts in salt water for 4 mins. Drain.
3. In a non stick, add diced pancetta, stir (maybe a drop or two of olive oil). Add 2-4 minced garlic cloves.
4. Add the brussel sprouts, saute till slightly brown.

Egg curry with coconut milk

1. Boil 4- 6 eggs in a sauce pan with salt and water on medium heat.
2. Mince onions, garlic, ginger, serrano chilis and cilantro and fry in olive oil along with whole cumin seeds or mustard seeds, crushed cardamom and cloves.
3. Fry till the oil separates, add coconut milk, stir.
4. Peel  the egg shells,  make shallow slits all over and add to the gravy. Turn on low and simmer gravy thickens further. Add freshly chopped cilantro.

You can cook paneer/tofu or soft vegetables like carrots, squash in similar fashion.

Cajun shrimp with cilantro pilaf

Cajun shrimp

1. Use tiger shrimps(or any other jumbo shrimp). Peel, de-vein. May leave tail on. Pat dry. (Thaw in cold water for 10-15 mins if using frozen shrimps. Drain)
2. Marinate in Cajun spice mix. (garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dry oregano, dry thyme)
3. In a pan, fry minced garlic in low heat until fragrant (do not brown). Add shrimp.(you may also add tomatoes and/or celery, Serrano chilies )
4. Season with salt and pepper/pakrika/kashimiri mirch (for color) and lemon juice. Serve hot.

Cilantro pilaf

1. Cook Basmati rice in a rice cooker.
2. In a pan add olive oil/butter , scallions, cilantro (and toasted nuts like almonds or pine nuts). Add the rice in installments while you stir to mix the ingredients. You may also use chicken broth for flavor. Season with salt to taste.

Shorshe maach

Discard old mustard seeds or you'll create an abomination. You may use shrimp instead of fish . The recipe is from my sister-in-law Barnali di.

1. Rub salt and turmeric to the fish pieces and shallow  fry very lightly in hot oil. Keep aside. Let them drain in paper towels
2. Grind yellow mustard seeds, salt, green chilis (and posto optional) with a little water. Add water in small portions if the paste is too thick to move inside the food processor.
3. In a wok, heat oil add kalonji seeds and slit green chilies 
4. Add the mustard paste, turmeric, water. Bring to boil, add salt to taste and a pinch of sugar.
5. Add the shallow fried fish.
6. When it is about done, add 1 tsp mustard oil. Add cilantro leaves if you want.

If you like , you may add a bit of red chili powder.

I made buck Shad with mustard paste. For this, I microwaved the mustard seeds in a cup of water for a minute.The seeds soaked up the water and I made a paste by slipping it into magic bullet with a few green chilies. (I usually dry grind mustard seeds in a coffee grinder. )

Salmon with okra

 I love both Salmon and okra, and make them with onion- tomatoes- greenchilies. I thought, why not combine the two? The matrimony was quite delightful.

1.  I used store-bought Salmon fillet, cut them into cubes and added spices(dry roasted cumin-coriander-red dry chilies ground to powder) and lime juice. 
2. In a frying pan, heat olive oil and saute onions, add the fish. For tempering I used fenugreek seeds as a variation to my usual method.
3.  Add coarsely diced okra ,  tomatoes, green chilies. Add grated ginger, turmeric, salt to taste. 
4. Cover and cook in low flame till done.

Bengali style fish cutlet

For Madhuleena
SG taught me how to make fish chops, today he taught me to make Bengali style fish cutlet like the way my MIL makes them. Here's how:

1. Make a paste of garlic, ginger,onion, green chilies, cilantro, a little salt.. Keep aside.
   
   
   
2. Start with firm, white fish fillet (bhetki/barramundi, cod, tillapia, pollock etc). Make thin slices if you need to. Rub freshly squeezed lime juice, salt and ground black pepper.
   
3. Dip the fish in egg wash (add a little paste and salt to it and beat well). Take 1/2 tsp of paste and coat evenly on one side of the fillet. Next, coat with breadcrumbs. This ensures the paste doesn't fall out or dissolve into the egg wash while frying.
4. Dip into the  egg wash and breadcrumbs once again for a crisp coat later. (You can save the unfried cutlets in an airtight container for frying later)
5. In the meantime, let cooking oil heat in a small kadai or deep fryer. Deep fry and serve hot with your favorite chutney.

Couscous with mushroom and Chicken baked with lemon, thyme and garlic

Couscous with mushroom

1. Slice mushrooms, dice onions, fry them in olive oil on a non-stick. Add minced green chilies if you like.
2. Add Chicken broth and salt to taste; bring to boil and stir in the couscous. Cook for 5 min till the grains turn fluffy. 

Chicken baked with lemon, thyme and garlic

1. Clean boneless, skinless chicken thighs, pat dry. Make shallow cuts on the meat.  Sprinkle salt and pepper. Fry both sides in a pan with olive oil. Add a few cloves of crushed garlic, should be enough for each piece of chicken.
   
2. On an Aluminium foil, add the chicken and garlic  pieces. Add slices of lemon (prefeeably organic) and fresh twigs of  thymes.  Add the juice of  a slice of lemon. You may also add a bit of butter. Wrap the foil around the chicken.
3.  Bake in pre-heated oven for 30-40 mins at 350 F. Serve with the couscous. You can fish out the garlic and decorate the couscous with it.

You may also set up the whole thing in a couscoussier or steamer- the couscous on the top camber, and your preferred meat and vegetables in the bottom chamber. The meat will cook below and impart a flavor to the grain above them.

Jalapeno stuffed with cream

1. Halve the jalapenos and remove the seeds, leaving the stalks intact. 

2. I used a French cultured cream I like the taste of. (There is another recipe using cheese)

3. I stuffed the chilis with the cream, sprinkled some bread crumbs and baked till done (20 -30 mins at 375 F). It is a good idea to broil them the last 10 mins for a crunch.

Those who like Bacon, may wrap the jalapenos to make poppers

Chicken Marsala

Resurrecting an old favorite from the Italian restaurants in Boston

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, well pounded
Button Mushrooms, sliced
Marsala wine
All purpose flour
Salt
Pepper (freshly crushed )
Oregano (dry)
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Parsley

1. Pound the chicken thighs to uniform thickness using a meat mallet.
2. Dredge the meat in a mix of  salt, pepper, flour, and oregano.
3. Heat olive oil in a non-stick,  brown the chicken on both sides. Keep aside.
4. In the same oil add sliced button mushrooms, freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper till the mushrooms brown on edges. (Squeeze the chicken for excess oil and use it to cook the mushrooms)
5. Add Marsala wine, chicken broth (preferably low-sodium). 
6. Add the chicken, reduce the sauce, turning once or twice. Add freshly chopped Italian parsley.

Serve with a light pasta.

Molten chocolate cakes

Cake:
Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix (You may also use flour and cocoa powder, I like using this)
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Cocoa powder (for dusting, optional)

Filling:
Sweet Chocolate Chips (molten)
Or, chocolate syrup

1. Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl over a saucepan full of boiling water or in the microwave until they have just melted. Whisk till smooth. (You may also use chocolate syrup instead)
2. Brush 2 ramekins with melted butter/vegetable oil, and fill with the batter (3/4th of the ramekins) made of  1 egg,1/4 cup water and 1/3 cup vegetable oil (whisked first) and Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix (added in installments).
3. Spoon filling into batter. Spoon remaining batter over filling.
4. Bake for 15-20 mins at pre-heated  oven at 350 F.
5. You may flip the cake on a plate or serve from the ramekins, Dust a little cocoa powder, and decorate with raspberries and mint leaves.

Tip: You may also make chocolate leaves, using a rose leaf as a template. For this, you need to wash the leaves thoroughly. Then, coat the shiny sides of the leaves with molten chocolate and let it dry- chocolate side up. When the chocolate is firm, peel off the chocolate leaves and decorate the cake

Also, helpful: How to prevent cake from cracking [eHow]

Beans in Anchovy Sauce

Ingredients:
Half a bunch of string beans
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp anchovy black bean sauce (see pic)
Olive oil

1. Microwave the string beans for 4 mins or until tender.
2. In a wok, heat olive oil. Add minced garlic (1 tsp).
3. Now add 1 tsp of anchovy black bean sauce. 
4. Stir fry till done.

You may also use Chinese broccoli, snow peas,  pea shoots or other greens, instead of beans.

An Italian recipe with anchovy sauce called Fagioli in Salsa DI Acciughe uses pinto beans with anchovy sauce.

Chicken Biryani Photo Guide

My obsession with Biryani may be justified by saying this- the perfect home-made Biryani is like the ever elusive Moby Dick. Sometimes, you wonder if it really exists. But that doesn't mean we should quit searching.  Today, I came quite close to perfection, and between the two of us, we finished the contents of the Dutch oven for our Sunday lunch. So, I can safely say it was good.

Here's a step-by-step photo guide to ease your efforts or keep track of your operation flow in the kitchen.

Step 1: Use (premium) long-grained Basmati rice and cook it with a few bay leaves, star anise ,  javitri ( mace),  and a cinnamon stick. Only parboil it. If you use a rice cooker, switch it off just before it is done to prevent it from overcooking later. I use a steamer.

Step 2: In the meantime, soak saffron strands in a little milk. Fry thinly sliced onions (2, big) in a pan with 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp ghee. Continue doing so on low heat until they brown. Then, drain them and let the excess oil/ghee soak in paper towels.

Step 3: (Most essential) Cook the meat (1 lbs, marinated only with turmeric, salt, and lime juice overnight to an hour). You may borrow some of the fried onions; add minced garlic and ginger (about 3 tsp). Fry well in 1 tsp ghee. Use a food processor to make a paste of the fried mixture. Add to the chicken, Cover and cook well with home made Biryani powder [Ingredients (Dry roasted and ground): Cloves, Cinnamon, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Black cumin,  Mace,  Star Anise ] or store-bought alternative. The meat should be almost done. Sprinkle some water if needed, don't let the spices burn. Stir often towards the end when the water has dried up to prevent burning. Taste for salt.

Step 4: Add the parboiled rice on top of the meat. Discard the bay leaves and mace. You may use the star anise and cardamom stick. Cover on very low heat in a Dutch oven or use a baking tray to cook in a conventional oven. (I use a copper bottom stew pot now. I put weights on the lid to keep the steam from escaping).

Step 5: Warm the saffron milk in a microwave for 20 secs.  Pour over the rice. For garnishing, use the fried onions and boiled eggs sliced in half. You may also lightly fry the boiled eggs for a richer taste.

I boiled eggs and then forgot to add them since we were in a hurry to gobble it up. :D

Drink lime and mint sprigs enthused water to aid digestion. You may also eat yogurt or raita and ajwain (caraway seeds).

You may also like Crockpot (slow-cooker) Biryani

Eggplant with tomatoes, Italian breadcrumbs, and Parmesan

.. Inspired by Parmigiana Di Melanzane. (Eggplant Parmesan)

Eggplants, sliced, 1 medium

Tomatoes, diced 1 medium

Italian bread crumbs

Olive oil for baking

Salt to taste

Grated cheese (Parmesan preferred)

1. Wash and wipe eggplants, trim both ends and cut them into fans or slices. Try to make them evenly thick for uniform cooking. 
2. Dice tomatoes and stuff them into the eggplant. (Remove seeds if you want. I do)
3. Add salt, Italian bread crumbs. Bake for 10 mins at 350 F or microwave for 3 mins (Essential, to reduce oil intake later). 
4. Then, pan-fry at very low heat until brown. Sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan.
5. Serve warm. You can also use it to stuff wraps.

You may use other soft vegetables like zucchini and string beans to make a similar dish.

Tuna Pasta

I used Farfalle (bowtie) pasta for this recipe. You may use any short pasta.

 Canned tuna , drained
Diced celery
Diced onions
Crushed garlic
Cracked pepper
Salt to taste
Pasta sauce (home-made or store bought)
Italian Herbs of choice  (like oregano, parsley)

1. Boil pasta according to instructions. I like them al dente. Pour into a colander and run cold running water through the pasta, so that the pieces don't stick later.
2. In a non-stick pan, drizzle a little olive oil, saute the celery and onions. Add the garlic and then the tuna.
3. Add the pasta sauce, and a little water to prevent it from drying. Add herbs. 
4. Serve warm or eat it cold.

Blueberry crepes

You may use strawberries , raspberries or a mix of your favorite berries.

For the crepe:

1. Make a batter with 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk and sugar to taste.(You can store the batter for 48 hrs in the fridge)
2. Add butter to thinly coat a non-stick pan. Pour the batter and swirl the pan to make it evenly thick. Flip. (You can store the crepes in the freezer for later use)

For the filling:

1. Stew the berries with lemon zest and cinnamon powder on low heat. Add sugar to taste. Let them sit in the syrup.
2. Spoon out the berry filling onto the crepe and roll the crepes. Place a spoonful on the top if you wish.

Vegetables with squash greens

I have been meaning to make this for a while, but something else in the pantry runs into my arms to get cooked first. You can add lentil fritters (daler bora) or vadi. I wanted to make the vadi first, and hence the delay. You can also use store-bought substitutes.

Vadi preparation: 

1. Wash Urad dal, soak overnight. Remove excess water and grind in a food processor with salt.(I use Magic Bullet). Add Nigella seeds when the paste is done.
2. Pat oil on a plate and make desired shapes out of the dal paste. Smaller sized ones dry faster but bigger ones are easier to break on drying, if you prefer crumbled vadis.
3. Dry it in the sun for a day or two, then store in an airtight container

Ingredients:

Squash greens (Got it from Mountain View Farmers' Market)

Potatoes

Radish/Daikon

Pumpkin or Acorn squash

Nigella seeds

Mustard oil

Method:

1. Clean and cut the vegetables into small sizes. 
2. Dry roast the vadis. Keep aside.
3. Heat mustard oil in a kadhai/wok, add Nigella seeds. Add the potatoes, squash greens and radish first, the softer vegetables like pumpkin later. (You may use eggplant too)
4. Warm a bowl of water in microwave, add it to the vegetables. Simmer till done.
5. When they are about done, you may add mustard powder (I use a coffee grinder to grind mustard seeds), slit green chilies.
   
   My mom uses the squash stalk (kumro'r data), potatoes and vadis  to make fish broth in winter. You just have to add fried fish steaks/fillets
   
   You may also use Bok Choy for this recipe [Bong Mom's Cookbook].

Baked rainbow trout with lemon and dill

Ingredients:
2 whole rainbow trout, dressed and cleaned
Olive oil/Butter 1 tsp for each fish
Garlic powder/salt
Chili flakes/pepper
Lemons cut in round shapes and some wedges for squeezing
Spice rub of your choice (optional)
Al foil
Dill or Herbs of your choice

Method

1. Wipe the fish thoroughly with paper towels. Score the fish on the outside so that the spices get through to the bone.
2. Season the insides and outsides well with garlic salt, chili flakes/pepper, spice rub, dill, lemon juice and lemon rounds. Drizzle olive oil or  use cooking spray. You may also add melted butter.
3. Wrap in foil and seal any openings to keep the fish juicy.
4. Preheat oven to 450 F, bake for 20 mins (or 25 mins at 375 F ) or until fish turns flaky when scraped with a fork.
5. You may also add herbs of your choice and  a wine sauce.
   

Tip:  Use fragnant lemons for a delightful smell, and fresh trout. Lemon caper in butter is also a good option for baking fish and chicken.

Home made Hummus

1. Wash and soak chickpeas in water overnight, then boil them until tender with a little salt (you will need very little time in a pressure cooker). Drain them. 
2. Add the flavor of the hummus: (i) cilantro, (ii) roasted red pepper cut into chunks, (iii) pureed sun-dried tomatoes, or (iv) garlic; stir in lemon juice and salt to taste. 
3. Pour the chickpeas into a food processor. 
4. You may add  tahini in 1:4 ratio with the chickpeas, and olive oil.

Serve with pita, use in sandwiches or as a dip for celery and carrots.

Aloo beans posto kaju

For Pu, Aloo bean posto kaju ( potatoes and green beans with poppy seed and cashew nut paste)

1. Cut beans  into inch long sticks. Dice potatoes into small size.
2. Microwave them for 3 mins for faster cooking time. 
3. Heat mustard oil in a wok, Kalonji seeds and 2 broken red chilis (or 2 slit green chilies). Now, add the potatoes, beans, and salt.
4. Dry grind poppy seeds with a few cashews. Add a little warm water ( microwaved 30 secs) if needed.  Cover and cook on low flame. Add 1/2 tsp ghee at the end and 1 tsp sugar.
   Sometimes, I add organic milk at the end to make it richer.

For simply aloo beans

1. Cut beans  into inch long sticks. Dice potatoes into small size.
2. Microwave them for 3 mins for faster cooking time. 
3. Heat cooking oil in a wok, add jeera or kalonj seeds.  Add the beans, potatoes, turmeric, salt, coriander-cumin powder, amchur (dry mango powder)
4. Cover and cook on low flame.

Masala Pomfret with soy sauce (pan-fried)

1. Clean 3 mid-sized pomfrets, remove fins, score with a knife, remove the heads. Rub lemon juice and spice rub (I used dry roasted and ground cumin-coriander-red chili). Fry in olive oil, keep aside.
   
2. Dice onions, ginger, garlic and  slit Thai chilis. Fry them in the oil used for frying  the fish. Add the fish. Drizzle soy sauce.
   
3. Cook covered in low heat until done, turning twice.
4. You may add cilantro or green onions or both. Even leeks go well with this recipe. You may add diced tomatoes too.
   

Achari Chicken

This recipe is an inspiration from Deepa Mashi, my aunt. She asked me to make the Achari spice mix using:
Dry red chilis
Coriander seeds
Mustard seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Fennel seeds
Kalonji seeds
(You may also use Panch phoron and dry red chilies instead)

A version uses dry roasted  and ground cumin-coriander and anise seed (sparingly, because anise seed is very overpowering)

1. Dry roast and grind all the dry spices except the Kalonji seeds (they turn bitter on grinding and will also turn the chicken black). 
2. Marinate the meat with lime juice, salt, yogurt (alternatively, you can add it later too) and half of the spice mix. (About 30 mins to overnight)
3. In a wok/cooker, fry diced onions (optional), minced garlic and garlic. Add the meat. Fry well.
4. Add diced/canned tomatoes and the remaining spice mix. Taste for salt. Add 3-4 slit green chilies. Ghee if you don't mind the cholesterol.
5. No extra water is needed for cooking. Garnish with cilantro if you want.

You may also stuff some green chilis with Achari spice and lime juice and add them towards the end for extra heat. Or deep fry them for serving later.

Jibe goja (Baked)

I abhor most store-bought sweets and pastries, they are too sugary for my palate. SG loves to gorge on them though. When I made the blueberry pie, he bit into the short crust and said,'It's like jibe goja.' So, I decided to try an experiment : Baked jibe goja using pie crust. (It comes pre-rolled too!) The only caveat is- you have to pay attention the first time to see how well the dough cooks. I found it is optimum at 300 F for 20 mins.

Method:

1. Traditional: Roll all purpose flour with water and ghee/butter into a soft dough. Using a rolling pin, make sheets of dough of even thickness and slash the dough with a knife. Leave about 1 cm in the top and botton and twist it into Elo-jhelo. Alternatively, you may use a pre-made pie crust dough and cut into equal sizes. This will look like concentric circles.
   
2. Bake them at 300 F for 20 mins.
3. For syrup: Boil a little water , add saffron strands and sugar.
4. Pour the syrup on the dough in a flat dish and allow the syrup to set in.
5. You may add crushed pistachios for decoration. You may also fill the dough with nut paste for a richer sweet.

Open-faced/ Single crust blueberry pie

1. I used a Pillsbury crust for the pie, you may make your own crust.
2. Thaw the pie crust according to instructions, bake blind (empty) for 10 mins in a round pan at 450 F preheated oven. Sprinkle a little flour on the pan first if you want to prevent it from sticking
3. Filling: Wash, drain and cook the berries in  saucepan until they pop. Add sugar, lemon zest, and cinnamon powder. Stir.
4. Pour the berries on the crust. Let it sit for a while if you want(I like it when the crust is still warm). You may serve it with whipped cream. Tastes better than any store bought alternative. 
   

You may use also apple slices or  fruit compote as filling . 

Chili pork with Bamboo shoots

Pork bhorta is a very popular dish from where I hail from. The indigenous people of Tripura have visibly influenced the kitchen of the Bengali population residing there. Bamboo shoots is another such influence. My in-laws love the Thai Red Curry I make, maybe because I love to eat it myself.  The bamboo shoots enthuse a delightful flavor in the gravy, accompanied with shrimp or chicken and vegetables of your choice - it can well be your ticket to all round nutrition in one dish.

In US, I have used only canned bamboo so far. They are less hassle- already softened in brine. This time, I am going to experiment with frozen bamboo, and if this goes well I'll graduate to fresh bamboo (available in most Asian grocery stores). Tip: You have to boil fresh bamboo with salt and water.

Preparation :

1. Boil pork in a pressure cooker with salt. Drain the water. Cool and cut into strips
2. Microwave or boil the bamboo shoots if using fresh bamboo. Dice them to bite sized pieces. Drain the brine and wash the excess salt if you are using canned ones.
3. Ground coriander seeds and Chinese peppercorn in a coffee grinder. (You may use spices of your choice)
4. Thinly slice white onions, green onions. Mince garlic and Thai chilies.

Recipe:

1. In a wok, heat oil over medium-heat. Add the onions, minced garlic and Thai chilies.
2. Add the coriander-peppercorn powder.  Saute well.
3. You may use soy sauce and chili bean paste if you like the fermented  flavor.
4. Add the pork/meat of your choice and the bamboo.
5. Cook till the oil separates, add the green onions.

You may also like Braised bamboo with pork

Ilish Paturi (Hilsha fish steamed in plantain leaves)

Ilish paturi

I found some frozen plantain/Banana leaves at Ranch 99, my go-to place for fresh fish. This encouraged me to try fish paturi. I saw a video on YouTube (Pancha Byanjan) where the chef used sliced onions, coconut flakes and mustard seed paste- both white and black for the paturi. I made it the following way.

1. Since the Ilish we get in the West Coast of US  is not as fresh  (read: frozen) as we get in the East Coast of India, I decided to shallow fry the fish  first with Nigella seeds, sliced onions, salt, turmeric and slit green chilies in mustard oil. (You can skip this and just steam the ingredients together if you have access to fresh Ilish.)
2. Make a paste with black mustard. Add water in small portions if the paste is too thick to move inside the food processor.
3. Then, I wrapped the fish in plantain leaves and steamed the in a steamer with lid on until done ( you can use kitchen twine or toothpick to seal the leaves). I noted the color of the leaves, when they turned pale, I switched off the flame. The steam continued cooking the fish.

Tip: The frozen leaves can be more brittle than usual, you may wash them under running cold water and microwave them for 30 secs to soften them. You may use Aluminium foil too, but the leaves impart a distinct flavor.

You can also use cauliflower , whitebait, pomfret, prawns or fish of your choice for the paturi . There is a similar Kerala Delicacy called Meen Pollichathu.