Fish with cauliflower and orange juice / রুই কমলা

Method

1. Wash the fish pieces, pat dry with paper towels, and marinate them with turmeric and salt.
2. Heat oil in a wok or kadhai. Fry the fish pieces till golden on both sides. Keep aside. You can squeeze some orange juice in this step for extra flavor. The fish pieces will soak in the juice while you prepare the gravy.
3. You may add cut cauliflower florets in oil you used to fry the fish (optional)
4. In the same kadai add ginger paste, tomato paste, red chili powder and cumin powder.
5. I prefer not to use water in this preparation so the orange flavor is more pronounced.
6. Add orange juice, garam masala powder and slit green chilies. Garnish with fresh orange segments on top.
7. Rui Komola (রুই কমলা) is ready to be served with steamed rice.

বাগানের ডাটা দিয়ে রুই মাছের ঝোল / Fish curry cooked with chard stems and mustard paste

Murighonto with Salmon Head / স্যামন মাছের মাথা দিয়ে মুড়িঘন্ট

Ingredients
Gobindobhog/kaalo jeere (short-grain rice you can get in Bangladeshi or Indian stores)
Fish head ( we are using Salmon in this recipe, usually a fresh rui/ katla/ crap head is preferred.)
Cubed potatoes- 2 small or 1medium
Ginger garlic paste- about 1 tbsp
Bengali Garma Masala (clove, cardamom and cinnamon ground in equal parts)

Method:

1. Soak Gobindobhog/kaalo jeere rice in a bowl. 
2. Wash and clean the salmon head. Cut into 4 pieces. Rub salt and turmeric. Fry in mustard oil. Set aside. 
3. In the same oil used to fry the fish head, fry cubed potatoes. Add cumin seeds and bay leaves.
4. Add the pre-soaked rice after straining the water. Cook on medium while stirring continuously. Add ginger-garlic paste. Keep stirring.
5. Add back the fried fish head and slit green chilies. Add boiling hot water in batches til the rice is fully cooked.
6. Serve hot after sprinkling a little garam masala.

Ilish Paturi: Bengali New Year Special

Ingredients
Ilish/Hilsa fish- 4-6 pieces
Mustard paste
(I mixed yellow and black mustard seeds in 2:1 ratio. Yellow mustard is for flavor, black mustard is for punch. Soak in water first, then strain and make a paste. I used Magic Bullet for making the paste)
Green chilies paste and slit whole for garnish
1 tsp yogurt
Grated Coconut
Turmeric powder
Mustard oil
Salt to taste

Method

1. Clean the fish. Smear the pieces with turmeric powder, salt, mustard paste, mustard oil, coconut and green chili paste. 
2. Cut the banana leaves into rectangles. Wrap each fish in a separate packet, add a slit green chili on top, tie with kitchen string.
3. Heat mustard oil in a tawa or  frying pan. Fry the packets covered to cook uniformly. Turn every 5 mins till done. I cooked for 15-20 mins.
4. Serve with steamed white rice.

Kacha kolar kofta (raw banana/green plantain dumplings)

For Sujaya di

Method:

For kofta

1. Cut the bananas into 3-4 pieces, pressure cook up to 3 whistles. Drain in a colander. (overnight if necessary)
2. Peel the skin, mince or chop finely with a sharp knife. Mash the banana flesh(you may prefer to stir fry them to reduce water content further. Optional step). Add salt and coriander powder. Make round balls. Coat with all purpose flour or maida. Deep fry in oil. Set aside on paper towels to drain excess oil.

For gravy

1. In a wok, heat mustard oil. Add Bengali panch phoran, tej pata. Let it splutter. Take care not to burn the phoron or it will taste bitter. Then add ginger paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt to taste. On medium low flame. (Flame button turned to about 4 o'clock)
2. Add chopped tomato, ginger, green chilis (you may add fried potatoes pieces if you want. I add green peas too). Add boiled water for gravy. Cook till a boil.
3. Add ghee, garam masala. Add the kofta balls to the gravy. Turn once. Alternately, if the balls are too soft, add the gravy to the balls after it has cooled a bit.

Bengali cholar dal

As a kid, I used to call it Jonmodiner dal (birthday lentil) because Luchi cholar dal was served in one of my birthdays. You can also add kosha mangsho to the team.

1. Soak chola overnight. Rinse well. Pressure cook to soften the lentils.
2. In a wok/kadai add 1 tbsp ghee, add cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, clove , bay leaves and 2 dry red chilies (broken in halves) for tempering. Add coconut flakes. Stir a little.
3. Add the boiled dal, turmeric, salt to taste. Add 1 tsp ginger paste or grated, asafetida, raisins (and dry roasted cashews). Add sugar to taste.
4. Serve warm with luchi or rice and beguni.

Kora, bata, and the likes

A long time ago, we had a cook named Hari Kaku. He was scandalized to know that we throw away vegetable peels. When he asked Ma to let him cook opo peels (লাউয়ের খোসা), I was amused. She took me to another room and said- Don't laugh at him. He has many mouths to feed. He has to be resourceful. And vegetable peels are nutrient rich. Let's give him a chance. He made it for us, and it was a hit. We never threw away opo peels again. Today, I made pointed gourd peels (পটোলের খোসা বাটা) with garlic and nigella seeds and it reminded me of Hari Kaku. RIP.

Here are some the baata/paste recipes that I have been trying:

Potoler khosha baata /pointed gourd peels paste with garlic
Process pointed gourd peel and garlic into a thick paste Stir fry in heated mustard oil and nigella seeds with turmeric and salt to taste.

Cabbage paste/ badhakopir baata
Parboil cabbage leaves in salt water. Add garlic cloves, green chilies and process to a paste. Heated mustard oil in a non-stick frying pan, add nigella seeds. Stir fry with a pinch of cumin powder, chili powder, turmeric, salt to taste. Add asafetida/hing and narkel kora/coconut flakes for a very special dish.

Chingri Baata

Inspired by Tanuka's chingri baata (minced prawns, I decided to make my own version

Muri ghonto (Fish head cooked with rice)

1. Wash and soak gobindo bhog rice in water for an hour.
2. Make half onion paste, 1-inch ginger paste (I prefer more ginger in this recipe). Mince the remaining onion.
3. Wash the fish head and rub salt and turmeric. Let is rest for 15 mins. Fry in hot mustard oil. Set aside.
4. In the wok where you fried the fish head, fry some diced potatoes with salt, add the minced onion and then the onions paste.
5. Add the pre-soaked rice, cook for a while, and add the fish head. Add salt, turmeric, broken green chilies, ginger paste, and bhaja masala (dry roasted and ground cumin-coriander-red chili).
6. Keep adding warm water in batches so that the rice is fully cooked but not mushy. Taste for salt. Add ghee, and garam masala powder. Serve warm.

Chal Potol (Pointed gourd with rice)

চাল পটল 

Ingredients: 
2 packets frozen parwal/potol/pointed gourd or about 15-20 fresh (cut in halves)

Pre soaked kalonji rice- about 1/4 cup
1 tbsp ginger paste
1/2 medium sized onion paste
Cumin powder
Garam masala
Ghee
Cooking oil

Optional:
Dry red chilies 2
panch phoron powder (a pinch)

Method:

1. Heat mustard oil. Temper with whole cumin, bay leaves and 2 red chilies (broken into halves).
2. Add onion-ginger paste, stir fry and add the pointed gourd (you may shallow fry them if you are using fresh vegetables)
3. Add pre-soaked kalonji rice to the vegetables. Add turmeric, salt, cumin powder, panch phoron powder (a pinch). Stir.
4. Slow cook till the water released by the vegetables dry off and the rice is cooked thoroughly but is not mushy. Add garam masala and ghee. 

Making vadis/bori at home in the oven:an adventure

Let me confess-the store-bought vadis taste like impostors. Mom and grandmom used to make urad dal (kolai er dal) vadis/bori at home and dry them in the sunlight. California sees enough sun, but I am wary of birds adding their own ingredients to my creation. ( Update: I tried to dry them in the sun by covering with cling wrap).

I looked up possibilities with an alternative source of dry heat -the conventional oven. I decided to make my own version after consulting my mom and Ashwani Uncle (from a food group on FB, thanks for the bake-cool cycle tip). One recipe suggested to use the lowest temperature for 4-5 hours. Made sense because the home made vadis were dried through the day.

Method:

1. Soak urad dal overnight or for 8 hrs, or until soft. (You may also make moong vadis similarly)
2. Make a paste using Magic Bullet, add salt, hing, and a pinch of red chili powder halfway through. (Ashwani uncle also suggested coarsely ground Cumin seeds, Black Pepper, Black cardamon  and Cloves for extra kick)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Heat oven to the lowest. Add a thin film of oil on an Aluminium foil and place 1 tsp batter, pat with your fingers if you want, to make suitable shapes. (flattened disc traditionally).
4. Alternately bake in 3 heat-cool cycles for an hour each. Best done on a weekend.

Recipe with vadis.

I made climbing spinach and shrimp with the vadis. Follow this recipe with shrimp. And crumble vadi/bori on top.

Another popular recipe in Bengali households is stirred fried green with fried and crumbled bori.


You can use rest of the batter to make dahi vadas.

You might be interested in the YouTube video that shows how to make 
Goyna Bori  Link 1
Link 2
Bori pulao

Panch phoron diye macher jhol (Fish Broth using Bengali five spices)

I had this at Sujaya di's place some months ago. When Summer came, I started craving for something light and nourishing. If you have access to freshly -caught fish(one of our friend's supply us with his catch of the day sometimes. Joy da , I am talking about you :) ) you can use this recipe with great jubilation. Sometimes, I even use frozen Tilapia fillets and it tastes as good.

পাঁচ ফোড়ন  দিয়ে মাছের ঝোল 

1. Steam the frozen fillets for a minute in microwave(Skip this step if you are using fresh fish)
2. Dry excess water with paper towels. Cut the fillets into halves. Rub on both sides evenly: freshly squeezed lime juice, turmeric, salt, red chili powder, bhaja masala(dry roasted cumin-coriander, ground to powder). Keep aside.
3. In a wok, add mustard oil and shallow fry the fish. Remove and drain in paper towels
4. In the same oiil, you used for frying, add 1 tsp panch phoron (equal parts fenugreek seed, nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed), minced onions, minced garlic, minced ginger and minced green chilies.  Sometimes, I slip a few extra methi or fenugreek seeds because I like its flavor in fish broth.
5. Add potatoes (steam in a microwave to save cooking time). When the potatoes are about done, add diced tomatoes. After sauteing for a while (Bengali : কসানো ), add lukewarm water (1 cup , 1 min in microwave). Cook covered. 
6. Add the fish and turn at the most once. Add chopped cilantro when it is about done. Kill the flame. Serve with steamed rice.

You may use salmon fillet for this light broth. Temper it with kalo jeere and methi instead of panch phoron.

Doi fulkopi posto diye (Cauliflower in poppy seed- yogurt sauce)

1. Cut cauliflower into bite sized florets. Microwave them for 4 mins in water with diced potatoes . Drain the water in a colander.
2. In a frying pan (with cover), add 2 tsp mustard oil, 1/2 tsp ghee, 1-2 bay leaves, 1/4 tsp nigella seeds (kalo jeere or kalonji), 4-5 slit green chilies. Add the vegetables. Cover and cook.
3. In a coffee grinder, add 3 tsps cashews, 8 peppercorns, 3 tsp poppy seeds, 3 green cardamom, 1/2 cinnamon stick- ground to a fine powder. Add it to the vegetables, evenly.
4. Stir and cook till the poppy is well roasted. Beat 3 tbsp yogurt with water, add evenly.
5. Cover and cook until the oil separates and the vegetables are well done. You may slip in a few golden raisins and a spoonful of sugar.

For other recipes with posto (poppy seeds), see:

Aloo bean posto kaju

Jhinge aloo kaju posto

Doi begun posto

Kanch kolar kofta kadhi (plantain/green banana balls in gram flour-yogurt gravy)

This recipe is like a Punjabi munda marrying a Bangali meye. I wanted to make kancha kolar kofta but I didn't want to use the traditional Bengali gravy and thought of making it in kadhi gravy that uses besan (gram flour) and yogurt.

Method:

1. Boil 4 potatoes and  3 medium-sized plantains in a microwave safe bowl for 10-15 minutes with water. (makes about 10- 15 balls)
   
2. Peel and mash the vegetables. Add salt, turmeric, dry roasted cumin-coriander-red chili powder, minced cilantro, green chilis and ginger. Roll into balls. 
   
3. Deep fry in batches. Turn frequently.
   
4. For the gravy, beat yogurt with salt, turmeric, kashmiri mirch powder,  bhaja masala, and besan.
   
5. In a wok, fry minced onions, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, 2 red chilies broken, and 1 bay leaf broken in half.  Add the gravy and cook in low heat till it boils, adjust water, salt and spices for taste.
6. Finally, add the kofta balls, simmer for a while. Serve with rice or roti. 

(You may add curry leaves in the gravy)

Chingri Malaikari (Jumbo prawns cooked in coconut milk and yogurt)

1. Clean, remove shells and de-vein the jumbo prawns.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Rub salt, turmeric, red chili powder, a squeeze of lemon juice. Keep aside.
   
3. In a non-stick, heat mustard oil and saute the prawns on both sides until red. Remove from oil.
   
4. Add 1 tsp ghee and finely minced onions. Fry a little then add minced garlic, ginger and green chilies. 
5. Add 2 tsp of plain yogurt. Add 3-4 tbp of coconut milk. You may add 1 tsp of tomato paste for tanginess. When the gravy is about done, add 1 tsp sugar and then add the fried prawns. Cover and simmer. Flip once.
6. If the gravy is too thick -add 1 cup of warm water. Taste for salt. You may sprinkle crushed pepper if you like. You may also add a pinch of  home made garam masala and/or bhaja masala.

Best served with steamed rice

Aloo pepe dalna (Potatoes and green papaya curry)

1. Peel and dice green papaya and potatoes into bite sized pieces. Microwave for 4 mins
2. In a wok, add mustard oil, panch phoron, bay leaves, papaya, potatoes, slit green chilies, grated ginger, asafoetida. Cook covered. Add a cup of warm water if necessary.
3. Add 1 tsp ghee, freshly ground Bengali garam masala (cardamom, cinnamon and clove)  or basic bhaja masala (dry-roasted and ground cumin, coriander and dry red chilies)  and chopped cilantro.

You may also add fried shrimp to make it a non-vegetarian dish.

For more vegetables with shrimp recipes, click here

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. )

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.

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].

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.