Green Mango chutney

 Pulpy chutney with mustard seeds

1. Peel the mango (some recipes keep the skin on), and dice it into bite-sized pieces. 
2. Wash the pieces and rub salt and turmeric. 
3. Heat cooking oil  in a pan. Add the mustard seeds (or saunf/fennel seeds) and dry red chilies broken into halves. Saute it for a few minutes till the mustard seeds pop.
4. Add the mango pieces , fry at medium-low heat (you don't want to burn them on high heat, otherwise chutney will turn bitter)
5. Add a cup of warm water and let it boil till the mango turns soft. Add sugar to taste , stirring occasionally. 

You can add raisins, dates and cashews too if you want. Some people like julienne ginger in their mango chutney. You can make it pulpy or chunky depending on your preference. I like both.

Version 2: I added dates and Turkish apricot for a rich chutney. Also, semi-ripe mangoes are more suitable for this sweet chutney.

You can also make Pineapple chutney similarly.

Or cherry-mango chutney with  fennel seeds, dry red chilis, ground panch phoron and aamsotto

Sasha-aloo-chingri (cucumber with potatoes and shrimp)

I made a really spicy chicken curry,and was wondering what to balance the heat in the meal with. Cucumber seemed a good candidate. Now, I could make a simple salad, but I had some de-veined shrimps in my freezer too. They are my little minions and of great use when I want to transform a vegetarian dish into a non-vegetarian one. Sans hassles.

1. Clean (and thaw completely if frozen, in microwave for a few minutes) shrimps. Rub turmeric and salt and shallow fry in cooking oil. Set aside.
2. In the same oil, add kalonji seeds or panch phoran, diced onions, dice potatoes. And then the cucumber (takes very little time to cook) Add dry roasted , ground cumin-coriander, home-made garam masala and 1/2 tsp home-made ghee for aroma.
3. Add ginger, slit green chilies and the shallow- fried shrimps. Serve with generous amount of cilantro.

Other converted vegetarian dishes in my kitchen include:

1. Mocha chingri (Banana flower with shrimp)
2. Chingri diye mulo ghonto(radish with shrimp)
3. Chorra chingri (Taro root with shrimp)
4. Lau chingri
5. Pui Chingri
6. Fulkopi diye chingri (Cauliflower with shrimp)
7. Aloo pepe Chingri (Potatoes and green papaya curry)

Bonus recipe: Green pumpkin with shrimp  (Chingri diye Kacha kumro/ চিংড়ি দিয়ে কাঁচা কুমড়ো )

You can make similar curry with kaacha kumro, kalonji seeds (kaalo jeere), green chilies and ginger paste.

Fish in Tomato Onion sauce

1. Like any other Bengali fish preparation, we'll begin by cleaning the fish, patting it dry and then rubbing salt and turmeric while we heat cooking oil in wok. (I prefer Olive oil for mild-tasting fish, though some may consider it a sacrilege to use that in a Bengali recipe. Go with what your heart says) Shallow fry the fish, set aside. (Use paper towels to drain excess oil if you want)
2. Thinly slice onions about 1 and a half medium sized ones should be good for 2 to 4 people(about 4-6 steaks of fish).
3. Quarter tomatoes, dice ginger, mince garlic(if you feel the fish has a smell you wouldn't like. Traditional Bengali seldom use garlic), slit about 2-3 green chilies  If you like to use dry roasted cumin-coriander powder, it is a good time to check/replenish your stock. I like to add Radhuni brand Fish Masala to this recipe too. (Sometimes, I vary by using a combination of ground cumin-fennel seeds-fenugreek seeds)
4. Fry the ingredients, until oil separates. Add a little salt. Add back the shallow fried fish steaks. 
5. Cook covered on low heat. Sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro/coriander leaves. Enjoy with steamed rice.

Egg Biryani

1. Boil eggs in water. (on low heat, I discovered that hard boiled doesn't necessarily mean on high heat). I used 4 eggs for my required number of servings. Pour cold water, remove shells. Cut in half.
2. Finely slice onions. Fry in 1 -2 tsp ghee, with whole cardamom(4 green, 2 black), 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves torn in halves, about 4-5 cloves and peppercorns. Add your preferred ready-made biryani powder to the mix and a little salt.  You can add two slit green chilies here.
3. When the onions are about done, place the eggs, albumin side down and continue frying in  low heat. Turn once and remove the eggs. (Or else the eggs might break. Doesn't look good)
4. I use parboiled or pre-cooked rice . Add in installments while you stir well. 
5. When the rice is about cooked, add the eggs again. Sprinkle garam masala (preferably made at home) and cilantro leaves. 
6. Pair it with raita. I enjoyed it with mixed vegetables. You may also  prepare a meat dish to go with it.

Chhora diye Chingri

Chhora (also called Arbi in Hindi and Taro in English) was something I never fancied much as a child, except when made into a spicy dish with dry shrimp. You can get dry shrimp in most Asian stores; if it is too strong for you, you can try using fresh shrimp instead.

1. Microwave the taro bulbs in water. My mom pressure cooks them. You can now peel the hairy skin quite easily.
2. Dice them into edible pieces. You may add potatoes here, dice and microwave similarly to reduce cooking time, and to ensure uniform cooking. I skipped the potatoes this time.
3. Wash the dry shrimp in warm water. Drain well. If you are using fresh shrimp remove shells and devein them.
4. In a wok, add cooking oil, add sliced onions, crushed garlic, minced green chilis.
5. Add the shrimp first,cook for a while, then add the taro, salt and turmeric. (Red chili powder too if you prefer it really hot)
6. Cook covered till done. Add warm water if necessary. Tastes better if it's a bit gooey. 

You might also like simply stir-fried taro roots (Manjula's Kitchen)

Here's another way to cook dry shrimp with a vegetable:

Chalkumro diye Chingri shutki (Ash gourd/Moqua with dry shimp)

1. Peel the moqua and cut into half first. Then slice it along the length. Dice into thin slices now. Wash in water, then drain in a colander and microwave for 3-5 mins.
2. In a wok, add oil, sliced onions, crushed garlic, minced green chilis , red chili powder, turmeric.
3. Wash the dry shrimp in water. Microwave them for about 3 mins and drain them. Add to the wok.
4. Add the moqua at last, and then sprinkle salt to taste. Allow time to cook. Dry shrimp is best simmered to bring out the flavor. Needs no additional water .

You can use Ilish shutki too. I make it at home by salting the fish for 1-3 months in an airtight container. You may also use chayote instead of moqua.

Mini Malpoa

It is Poush Sankranti, and I heaved a sigh licking my mouth around delectable memories of peethe-pulis I had as a child.  When the craving got really bad, I got up after I had dinner and decided to make some mini malpoas instead of feeling sad.

I mixed 4 parts Maida, 2 parts Sooji, 1 part Mawa, Sugar to taste and evaporated milk for the batter. I used measuring spoons, if you use cups, then 2: 1: 1/2 parts (same thing).

I fried lightly in clarified butter (ghee) and drained them in paper towels. Very difficult to stop, but I reined in after I had 5. I skipped the sugar syrup because I prefer them crispy. If you want, you can make sugar syrup with cardamom/ saffron and dip the poas for a while.

With a little modification you can make kolar bora out of it by adding mashed bananas to the batter, Honestly, I liked eating the batter raw as it tasted a lot like shinni. Nowadays I am having the weirdest food cravings.

Coq au Vin

Link 1 (in French)

Link 2

I made it in a pan for dinner.

1. First, I tore some bacon and put on a pan, along with diced shallot(can use pearl onions instead) and diced potatoes(not necessary, can add carrots too). 
2. Then I added some marinated chicken pieces (less cooking time), salt(prefer using salt while cooking then at the end), crushed pepper, bay leaves, crushed cloves of garlic and stirred. 
3. Used some red wine for the sauce and some fresh parsley.

You can use chicken broth instead of chicken pieces for amazing bacon and potatoes.

You can have baked cinnamon apples as dessert.