Tomato dal with caramelized onions

Makes light accompaniment for anything or as lentil soup, though the Bengali in me prefers it with rice. (I had it with baked Salmon fillet and Tamarind rice last night.)

1. Pressure cook red lentils (masoor daal) with salt and turmeric powder to preferred mushiness.

2. Fry separately red chillies, mustard seeds, curry leaves, diced tomatoes in a spoonful of ghee/oil with a pinch of asafoetida & a little salt, add to the boiled dal. Mix well.

3. Slow fry (in oil/ghee) thinly sliced onions with a little sugar to caramelize them.

4. Serve the dal in bowls garnished with caramelized onions.

Caramelized onions is great for Biryani garnishing and in onions dips.

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Other ideas for cooking dal (pulses/lentils)are :

1. Red lentils with cabbage, drumsticks, peas, carrots and corn
2. Sambar
3. Whole green lentils with spinach (can make a salad too)
4. Dal Makhani 
5. Ghoogni with aloo
6. Punjabi chole
7. Rajma (Red kidney beans)
8. Lobia (black eyed peas)
9. Moong Dal with raw papaya
10. Arhar/Toor Dal with onion, cumin, garlic, zucchini and tomatoes

More options here

I'm a lentil lover and though I enjoy dal makhani once in a while- I find a simple dal very satisfying. You might like reading An Exultation of Lentils [NYTimes]

Zucchini and mushroom bake

This is a quick vegetable recipe minus hassles for days when you don't really feel like cooking on a stove-top. Doesn't look much compared to colorful Indian cooking, but tastes great. All you need is some

1. Olive oil/ melted butter
2. Diced or half moon shaped zucchini
3. Sliced / halved mushrooms
4. Sour cream
5. Crushed black pepper
6. Salt
7. Garlic powder

You can add a couple of cloves to make it more interesting.

Mix all together and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. You can add chicken and rosemary or your favorite herbs. Bake longer (45 mins) if you add chicken. Skip the sour cream if you like to eat light. Also, olive oil is a healthier option than butter.

Hot and Spicy Smelt Fish Recipe (Chacchari)

Kechki maach with eggplant

Similarly, I made Kajoli maach (without potatoes or eggplant)

SG doesn't fancy small fish, but I find them delicious. Currently, we get them frozen from a Bangladeshi store called 'New Bangla Bazaar' in Sunnyvale.

You will need:
1 lb, Small fish , cleaned properly (Use any small fish that is readily available. I used anchovy-like kechki  or Yellowtail mullet for this one. Always thaw delicate fish in cold water.)
1 medium, diced Potato (or eggplant, goes well with jhinge or ridged gourd too)
1 medium, finely chopped Onion
Nigella seeds (optional)
Red Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste Salt
1/2 tsp Cumin-coriander seed Powder
Cooking oil (mustard or olive)

Method:
1. Clean the fish properly. Mix with turmeric  salt,  and chili powder. (Sometimes, I use freshly squeezed lime juice too). If the fish is too small, or fresh enough, you need not fry first.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan- add Nigella seeds. Fry the onion till light brown. Add the potatoes wedges (or eggplant) and fry for 5 min.
4. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric, red chili, and cumin-coriandet seed powder.
5. Add the ( fried )fish. For extra hot, add some slit green chilies. Add 1/2 cup warm water and bring to boil. Simmer for 10 min. Add cilantro. Serve hot with rice.

Alternately, you can also mix all the ingredients together  and cook in slow flame or wrap in banana leaves and steam them to make fish paturi.

Here are links for
Ilish Paturi
Baked Fish in Banana Leaf (Paturi)
You might also like Choto Macher jhal

Biryani

Chicken Biryani

I have a recipe for slow cooker/ crockpot biryani here.

You might also like Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Moong dal with raw papaya

Lentils are a good source of protein and have always been my favorite with rice. As a kid, my favorite meal would be masoor dal and aloo bhaja, never understanding why Mom insisted that I should eat everything else that followed. Later, living in North India helped me appreciate the intricacies of other dal preparations. For beginners, this seems a relatively easy dish to concoct, and you will be amazed by the versatility of those tiny little things. As long as you put the right amount of salt, nothing can go wrong.

Raw papaya is one of my favorite vegetables that I can eat in any form- even steamed with a little salt to taste.

Moong dal with raw papaya
First, dry heat the Split yellow lentil(moong)in a vessel. When it gives off an aroma, wash in running water, drain and set aside.
Add ghee/cooking oil, bay leaves, jeera to a preheated vessel.
Add a pinch of Asafoetida if you like it. I have heard it aids digestion.
Add the diced papaya, salt, turmeric, slit green chillies and grated ginger
Add the moong, cover and cook for a while
If you are using a pressure cooker with whistle, 2 whistles should be enough. Else cook it for 20 mins.
Garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves)

Basic Chowmein

Egg Chowmein with soya chunks and veggies

This had to be the first recipe I posted, 'cause I remember wanting to make chowmein like my mother made to feed our post-school hunger sessions. She made the most amazing jal-khabar (snacks/small meals) to nourish her active kids.

Veg chowmein with oyster sauce

‎1. Boil water, add chowmein, (green beans too if you are using them). Some people add a spoonful of vegetable oil to avoid stickiness. Drain the boiled chowmein in a strainer, pour cold water if necessary.
2. Add chili oil/peanut oil in another pan.
3. Add grated cabbage, carrots, green peas, celery, parboiled green beans, Baby spinach, romaine lettuce or other crunchy vegetables (a packets of frozen vegetables might be handy but freshly cut vegetables are tastier)
4. Add 1 tsp oyster sauce, 3 tsp soy sauce. Cover and cook.
5. Can add Chinese salt substitute (I like granulated mushroom bouillon)  & cracked pepper to taste.
7. Add the drained chowmein. Add white vinegar/lime juice, soy sauce, MSD substitute.
8. Mix the noodles with the veggies

Can add soya chunks boiled in salt water or chicken breasts or Chinese sausage or scrambled eggs.

Serve hot with your fav sauce. :)