Tomaar shoor moder shoor, srishti karur aiko shoor....
Does anyone remember this nostalgic song ? Yes...Then khoob bhalo...Hi five !
No...How about ...
Mile sur mera tumharaa, to sur bane hamaraa...Ring a bell ??Yep,Yaayyy...There you go ! 💓:)
People who are not aware of this popular evergreen Indian song ,this song can be summarized into the title of the song "Ek sur" meaning "Unanimously ONE voice" meaning when my voice matches with yours,it creates uniformly unique melody with a subtle message......
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| Dedicated to India on 78th Independence day -A tribute to our freedom fighters/warriors of India! |
A famous song just like the National Anthem of India, created by Lok Seva Sanchaar Parishad, promoted by the Doordarshan (the oldest sole Indian TV broadcaster) and India's Ministry of Information, and initiated or introduced on India's Independence Day, 1988. Basically, a few stanzas were repeated in multiple languages of India, highlighting their unity in diversity to praise and impart patriotism among the Indian citizens.
Hence, the first line "Tomaar shoor...." is the Bengali version of the song !
This song is one of the famous nostalgic song from my childhood days. During those days,we used to have only one Television channel ,the Doordarshan with a mishmash of many varieties of programs which we all from that generation fondly watched "with family" happily and are cherished by all since then.And I remember this song being played out in between my favorite programs for a few minutes and me wondering when will this music end ...how many more languages are they gonna sing on, as we had restrictions at home to watch TV only for a few minutes and then go back to study etc.
Anyways,after a few repetitions like this and with no choice to skip the music to watch my favourite TV program,I by hearted the song in all the languages nicely.I may struggle with the poems or dohas/Stanzas from literature from my school books back then ,but this song is still on my lips and imprinted in my heart and memory forever. Nowadays, whenever I come across this song on Youtube or feel like I should listen to it out of sheer nostalgia, I can't stop smiling and reminiscing about those golden times of my life. Somehow, little snippets like these from my childhood days make me so happy.
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| Courtesy:Jagjeet Singh Ji's song "Kaagaz ki kashti..." |
Whenever I miss my childhood days and wanna rekindle those bygone simple nostalgic days.I tune into certain songs,ads,movies etc, especially on YouTube.And no matter how advanced we are becoming in technology etc ,I try my best to stay "old and up" - dated ;D, rekindle and evoke those olden memories by holding onto and celebrating our Indian traditions,cultures, and olden beliefs especially being a NRI /in the USA.The desi girl in me !:D
Cooking is one such art/passion that helps me to make my nostalgic memories delicious, heartwarming and tummy-worth.
Like I mentioned in my previous blogpost,my fondness for creating and eating homemade sweets led to creating a full-on Bengali Thali .
What is Thali ?
Thali means "A wholesome meal comprising of rice,curries,breads(Rotis/Naans/Kulchas),a melange of curries served with pickle,salads and sweets."
To taste any Indian state's food,a Thali justifies that quench at once.
Thali is an edible expression of emotions ...soft,sweet,sour,bitter,pungent,creamy etc !Thali can make all five senses of our body sing and dance together just like the song mentioned above "Ek sur !".
The interesting thing is that every state in India (28 + states) has their own version of Thali.
I am sure every Indian loves Thalis especially just to enjoy bits and pieces of many curries,sweets,rotis, etc at one go .At my home, everyone loves Thali (The food - wink !) ....
But usually, we have to go to the restaurant to eat them,at home to make all the curries ,dessert etc is not a child's play .It is time-consuming and requires planning and consideration to make a wholesome meal that the entire family would relish together. So, in the past I have tried making Thalis of Kerala called pothichoru and chatti choru .
The making of Bengali Thali
Recently,I made a Bengali Thali for the first time.It was as always an amazing experience and edible time travel to my childhood days.
As my next-door neighbors in North India during my childhood days were Bengalis.And our (company )quarters (kinda small apartment provided by the Govt. as my father used to work there) didn't have a common border/separate wall, so, we were like a diverse family living in two different quarters in one compound.
We used to address my neighbors as Bengali aunty and uncle and they had a daughter called Jhili/Samhita who is like my own little sister and we all had a great bond .The entire neighborhood used to call us duo sisters,Choti munni and badi Munni meaning Little girl and big girl in Bihari style :D and guess what we looked quite similar as well .Aunty used to buy both of us the same kind of dresses,even got sewn similar dresses .
We both used to celebrate Bhai dooj and Raksha Bandhan tying Rakhi (An Indian traditional bracelet in different styles used for those festivals) to my big bro,Manoj Bhaiya respectively.Sharing (almost everything) is caring was our family motto !
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| Durga Puja is the main festival of Kolkatta.Credit:CondeNast Traveller.com Om Maa Durgaye Namaha! |
Similarly,the neighbor on the top floor of our quarter were also Bengalis and we used to call them "Uparwali Bengali aunty",uncle and Amrita didi (She is so beautiful !).We were quite close to them as well.
We kids used to rule our neighborhood .My mother was quite friendly to everyone in the neighborhood and one of the reason I believe everyone loved her was her nature,everyone's simplicity back then and ironically, she was quite fair and lovely like North Indians especially.The Bengali aunty would buy a special black color Bengali saree only because it would suit my mother's skin tone more than her .
So,I was quite adored regardless.During my bachelor days, whenever I used to visit Bokaro(the place where I was raised in North India) during vacation,all my neighbors used to pamper me with foods etc ..I remember the delish mutton curry prepared by my Bengali uncle on the top floor exclusively for me.Yum!
Both Bengali aunties used to be great cooks and they used to cook their famous recipes and share with us once in a while and so did my mother whose recipes were quite famous in the neighbourhood. So,I used to wake up not only to the aroma of my mother's cooking but also to my Bengali aunty's amazing cooking next door.
Even my mother has and cooks Bengali recipes from my most memorable Bengali aunty .Because of my fondness for Bengali cuisine,I also jotted down those recipes somewhere in a pile of papers from my recipe collections that I mentioned earlier in my previous post .
Hence,I
have a big inclination towards Bengalis and Bengali food in general.It
refreshes so many memories that well up my eyes happily!
Not to higlight,the Bengali sweets that I am soo crazy about.My dil goes mmmm :D
Recently I came across a Bengali song /A Rabindranath sangeet,"Hey Shokha "on Youtube and I got carried away in that song so much that ,somehow it was the motivation to make the Bengali Thali ,an ode to rekindle my family's lovely bond with our Bengali neighbors during my happiest chapter of my life - the golden childhood days.(I even dared to sing that song in my video to irritate all further harmlessly :D)
Rice,fish,sweets (My favorites)...The main reasons I fell for Bengali foods !!
So,allow me to share with you all my experiments/experiences and the outcomes of my Bengali food preparation,call it "the celebration of the Bengali Thali".
I also like to dedicate this Thali to my dearest and unforgettable (sobbing dil se) Bengali uncle ,aunty, and my dearest Jhili Rani ...Because It's been years' , uncle and aunty passed away during her school days. My little Bengali sister is now settled in Kolkatta with her husband and family. So special they all are,I often think and miss them all a lot.
Anyways,here is my Bengali khana/an edible dedication:
Disclaimer: Everyone has their own version of all these recipes ,as always it does and these recipes are slightly modified to suit my taste buds without missing the key ingredients for each recipes respectively.Excuse me for any wrong pronunciations etc.Thanks for your understanding!
The menu for the homemade Bengali Thali :
1.Rice - Rice is the quintessential comfort (staple) food of India loved by almost all Indians except the health conscious people who want to keep an eye on their weight,insulin levels etc as it has more carbs/calories than fibers unless they are whole grains .
Did you know ?
- West Bengal is known as the "Rice Bowl of India" as it is the largest rice-producing and consuming state of India.
- Gobindobhog is the most popular rice of Bengal .As exactly mentioned in the Wikipedia,"Gobindobhog derives its name from its usage as the principal ingredient in the preparation of the offerings to Lord Krishna/Govindaji, the family deity of the Setts of Kolkata."
- Likewise,as exactly mentioned in the Wikipedia,"Gobindobhog is known to have been the favorite rice of Hon' President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad, where the King of Sarguja regularly sent it to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi from Ambikapur."
As I was learning how to make the Bengali Thali,I came across this new variety of rice called Gobindobhog ,which happens to be the go-to rice of Bengalis traditionally.It was such a pleasant surprise to learn about this rice which I never came across in the USA so far.
So,my first recipe is the ultimate rice without which any thali is incomplete or unsatisfying.I used the regular rice I have at home that is the Sona Masuri .This is how I cook rice :
Boiled Rice
Ingredients
Sona Masuri - 1 Cup
Water - 2 Cups
Preparation method to cook rice on stove:
- Clean the rice and keep it aside
- Boil the water.
- When it reaches the boiling point, add the rice to it and stir well.
- Lower the flame (medium-low) and cover it with a lid and let it cook.
- Check and stir in between.Make sure the rice doesn't stick at the bottom and water overflows.
- Pick a rice and try to break it and if it does,the rice is ready to be served or continue till the rice is cooked on medium-low flame.
- Then turn off the cooking gas and transfer the rice into a colander.
- Allow the water to completely drain out .
- That's it cooked rice is ready to eat !
2.Masoor Dal curry /Red lentil curry Bengali style
Masoor dal,the red lentils are nutrient-dense and super healthy dal.However,it has got a mind-blowing catch/surprising fact!
Did you know?
- Bengalis consider Masoor dal as non-vegetarian .Just like onion,garlic they act something like aphrodisiac.
- As mentioned in this article in Timesnownews.com it dates back to the Dwapar Yuga, during the time of Mahabharat ,when a king named Kartvyavirya Arjuna of the Haihaya dynasty tried to steal the holy cow Kamdhenu from the saint Jamdagni and while dragging her ,the holy cow started to bleed and wherever her blood fell the Masoor plant came out of it and hence Bengalis who are well known to consume the masoor dal the most ,consider eating Masoor dal as similar to eating non-veg.O Ma !
- In the same article,it is also mentioned that Masoor dal dated back to 2000 B.C. in Egypt first and then it gained popularity in India.The word masoor is derived from the Egyptian word "Misra".
- In one of the threads in this forum ,mentions Masoor dal being offered to Goddess Kali Maa .
Can you believe it ??? Not to mention,I am flabbergasted ! My General Knowledge is improving !:D Duh,perks of being a blogger !
Indians love dal/lentil curries .There are different types of dal/lentils available nowadays and Indians prepare varieties of lentil curries from state to state,home to home in their own unique ways.It can be a simple ,time-less recipe to grand time-taking recipes,this dal/lentil curry can be lipsmacking.
My dal recipes are simple yet homely versions.So far ,these are my go-to dal recipes,lentil curries inspired by my mother's recipes mostly:
During my lazy days,I end up making lentil curry and rice with some side dish.So,I am always on the lookout for making varieties of dal curries .I've tried many and still in my pending list to be posted in my blog.
So,needless to say,I was so excited to try masoor dal curry Bengali style.Previously, I've used this dal to make Sambar or fritters only.This dal had been sitting and waiting for its turn to be cooked into delicious something for long.
Finally,I got a recipe for the Masoor dal and I was so surprised that the dal used to make Bengali lentil curry is the Masoor dal itself.So,I very happy when I made this very simple yet nostalgic dal curry because guess what, it came out exactly how my Bengali aunty used to prepare ,her version of dal curry at home.THAT TASTE! This time I missed my Bengali aunty more than my mother .
For the first time, I made a dal curry in mustard oil that gives a unique taste to the lentil curry as Mustard oil is the preferred oil for Bengalis just like coconut oil is for Malayalees.
So,here is the recipe for the Bengali Masoor Dal:
Masoor Dal /Bengali Red Lentil curry
Ingredients
Masoor Dal - 1 cup
Turmeric powder -1 Tsp
Salt to taste
Water -1-4 cups
To Temper:
Mustard oil - 2-3 Tbsps
Dry Red chili,broken - 2-3 Nos.
Green chillies,chopped - 1-2 Nos.
Kalonji /Nigella seeds-1 Tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4th Tsp
Cilantro leaves- Handful
Lime juice to taste
Salt to taste
Preparation method to make masoor dal curry:
- Rinse and clean the Masoor dal and transfer it into the pressure cooker with turmeric powder ,salt and water covering it or an inch more.
- Pressure cook it on high flame for once and then on 2 more whistles on medium flame until the dals are well cooked and mushy.Cooking time in different pressure cookers may vary.
- Turn off the gas.Allow it to cool off.
- Heat mustard oil in a pan.Add broken dry red chillies,chopped green chillies,kalonji and asafoetida on low-medium flame.(Optional, if you wish you can add a few bay leaves as well)
- Saute without burning anything.
- Then transfer the pressure cooked Masoor dal into it and saute it.Keep it on medium flame and then on low flame ,stir in between so that the dal doesn't stick to the bottom and simmer for a few minutes.
- Adjust water consistency .It shouldn't be too thick or too runny but it is thin in consistency.
- Then throw in a few cilantro leaves and give a stir.
- Put off the flame and at the end, squeeze a lime ,just a few drops to adjust the blandness of the curry.
- Stir well.Add salt to taste.(Optional,if you wish you can add a few drops of ghee/Clarified butter to taste)
- That's it Masoor dal curry Bengali style is ready.
3.Chingri Macher Malai Curry/Creamy Shrimps/Prawns curry Bengali style
The love for seafoods is what makes a Non-veg Malayalee like me drawn to Bengali seafood recipes for sure.I and my doter are shrimp fans .So,Shrimps are a staple at my home .
Thankfully,in the US we get shrimps/prawns all year around : fresh or frozen and the best thing for the lazy me,we get deveined and shelled-off cleaned shrimps mainly the frozen ones that are quite helpful for daily cooking.So,all I have to do is try different shrimp recipes.
Did you know?
- Shrimps are called the "Roaches of the sea".(I will try to forget that while eating shrimps nowonwards)
- The size of the gill differentiates a shrimp from a Prawn and mostly Prawns are larger by size.I often wondered what is the difference between a shrimp and a prawn.Ahaaa!
Though shrimps/prawns being called the roach of the sea makes me cringe ,let's dismiss that fact and get to the Shrimp curry Bengali style recipe.
What is Chingri Macher Malai curry ?
Chingri Macher means shrimp and Malai curry means creamy curry.So,basically,this curry is made with shrimps, a few spices and coconut milk.This Bengali shrimp curry is my favourite so far .It is not that spicy ,the coconut milk subtle-s out the curry with spices to make it flavorful.Being a Malayalee and any curry with coconut in it is needless to say ,my fav. for sure.
My go to shrimp curry is Alleppey style shrimp curry.
Here is the recipe for chingri Macher Malai curry:
Chingri Macher Malai Curry
Ingredients
Shrimps,shell off & Deveined 10-15 Nos.
To marinate:
Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1 Tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Salt to taste
To make curry:
Onion,chopped - 1 Medium
Green Chillies ,chopped - 2-3 Nos.
1 Tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/4Th Tsp Garam Masala
1+ Cups of (fresh or readymade) coconut milk
A pinch or two of mustard seeds,powdered
Preparation method to make the Chingri Macher Malai Curry:
- Shell off ,devein the shrimps with or without tail (your choice) and clean them and keep it aside.
- Marinate with all spice powders mentioned above under "to marinate" and keep it aside for a few minutes.
- After a few minutes,"shallow" fry them in mustard oil.Flipping the shrimps on both the sides until partially cooked.Don't fry it too much or while making the curry it will harden up and will turn rubbery.To maintain the softness of the shrimps it should be lightly fried only initially.
- I don't like the taste of too much of mustard seeds paste,so I only used a pinch or two and freshly ground it into a coarse-fine powder.So,if you are a Bengali you know you need more mustard paste like 1 tsp or as per your taste buds.
- Heat mustard oil in a pan ,add chopped onions , green chillies and ginger-garlic paste .Saute it until the onions turn soft.
- Add all spices for making the curry as mentioned above one by one .Saute them on low-medium flame until onions are transparent and oil oozes out of it.
- Add salt to taste.
- Add bay leaves and saute.
- Keep the flame low and add thick coconut milk to it.Or,first add a little bit of thin coconut milk ,diluted coconut milk and once it reaches a boiling point,reduce the flame and add the thick coconut milk.OR,just use the coconut milk directly .Stir well.
- Let it simmer for a while until the curry thickens.Don't boil for long or it will curdle and spoil the curry.
- Sprinkle a pinch of garam masala on the top and give it a final stir.
- That's it my Chingri Macher Malai Curry,Creamy shrimp curry Bengali style is ready !
- The more this curry sits for long like overnight,the best it sets the authentic flavor and the taste .
4.Aloo Posto
Everyone at my home loves potato recipes and I am always looking out for varieties of potato stir fry recipes and so this recipe was such a new take on the classic potato stir fry recipes as the addition of Posto which means Poppy seeds in English gave it an amazing twist which I would have never added to a simple potato stir fry recipe for a newer taste.
So,Aloo Posto (Aloo means Potato and Posto means Khus Khus/Poppy Seeds) is a classic Bengali staple recipe made with Potato,bits of spices and creamy poppy seeds ,cooked in the pungent Mustard oil. Amazingly this Bengali-style Potato stir fry turned out different and yummy.
So,here is the recipe for making Bengali Aloo Posto :
Aloo Posto
Ingredients
Aloo/Potatoes,medium size,chopped -2-3 Nos.
Onions,medium size,chopped - 1 No.(Optional)
Green chillies,chopped - 2-3 Nos.
Water as needed
2 Tbsp Poppy seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tsp of turmeric powder (optional)
1 Tsp of Kalonji/Nigella seeds
3-4 Tbsps of Mustard seeds oil
2-3 Dry red chillies
Salt to taste
Mustard oil - 5-6 Tbsps
Preparation method to make Aloo Posto:
- Boil water and add poppy seeds (the water should be just 2-3 inches more than poppy seeds and not too much .Add more water if needed if it still doesn't soften up and it soaks up all the water but not too much).Cover it and let it simmer until the poppy seeds turn out soft ,then add cumin seeds and green chillies to it.Or,soak the poppy seeds in warm water for atleast 2-3 hrs prior to cooking .Soaking for hours or boiling until they turn soft is what helps grinding the poppy seeds into a smooth paste which is very important ,the key to making this recipe really flavorful.So,if you forget to soak the posto beforehand,just boil it like I did.
- Once the poppy seeds are almost soft,add in cumin seeds and green chillies.
- And when they turn soft, turn the cooking gas off and allow it to cool down.
- Transfer all these into a mixer jar and ground it into a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan ,add kalonji seeds and broken dry red chillies.Saute on low flame.
- Add chopped onions and green chilies and saute until they turn transparent.
- Add the chopped potatoes,turmeric powder ,salt and little water and cover it with a lid ,keep the flame low.
- Check-in and saute in between to make sure the potatoes are not sticking at the bottom.
- When the potatoes have turned soft/cooked,remove the lid and add the ground poppy seeds mixture into it and saute well for a few minutes on low flame.Some people prefer it semi-dry and some prefer it dry potato stir fry type.So,adjust as per your choice.Add more oil to fry if needed.
- Then put off the flame and Aloo Posto ,Potato stir fry Bengali style is ready to serve !
5.Murgir Jhol /Chicken curry Bengali Style
I love making different types of chicken curries.Chicken curry recipes varies from state to state,place to place in India itself .And I want to make them all.
So far I've tried these chicken curry recipes :
Chicken Roast Kerala style
Patiala Chicken curry
Mughlai Zafrani Chicken curry
Puransingh Chicken curry
Malvani Chicken curry
Bengali chicken curry recipe was pending.Murgir means Chicken and Jhol means curry/gravy ,so Bengali Chicken curry is called Murgir Jhol. What I love about Bengali Chicken curry is the addition of potatoes which definitely gives it an unique twist to an ordinary chicken curry .At my home whoever is not in a mood to eat chicken will atleast enjoy the curry with potatoes in it and that's what made me wanna try this Murgir Jhol for sure.So,here I am gonna share the recipe for Murgir Jhol .
Murgir Jhol recipe|Bengali Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken,cleaned and chopped - 1 Kilo
For marination:
Yogurt - 1/4th-1/2 Cup
Red Chili powder 1 Tsp
Turmeric Powder 1 Tsp
Cumin Powder 1 Tsp
Coriander Powder 1 Tsp
Ginger-Garlic Paste 1 Tsp
Garam Masala 1/4 Th Tsp
For gravy:
Onion,large,sliced 1 No.
Green chilli,chopped 2-3 Nos.
Tomato,chopped 1 No.
Potatoes ,cubed ,Medium size 2-3 Nos.
Bay leaves 2-3 Nos.
Mustard oil -5-6 Tbsps
Mustard oil or any oil for deep frying
Cilantro leaves - Handful
Water as needed
Salt to taste
Preparation method for making Bengali Chicken curry :How to make Murgir Jhol recipe .
- Marinate cleaned chicken pieces with yogurt and all spices under "For marination" .Keep it aside for 30 minutes or more in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile,"shallow" fry the potatoes and keep them aside.Don't over-fry, as we will cook it further in the chicken curry or it may turn mushy.
- Heat mustard oil in a pan.Splutter cumin seeds ,green chillies and saute ginger garlic paste on low flame for a minute.
- Add in bay leaves and saute.
- Add in sliced onions and saute until they turn transparent.
- Add in chopped tomatoes and saute until they turn soft and mushy.
- Add in marinated chicken pieces and saute well.
- Add water covering the chicken pieces and bring it to boil.
- Then reduce the flame and cover with a lid until the chicken pieces are tender and cooked.
- Remove the lid,sprinkle cilantro leaves , shallow fried potato cubes and mix very gently without breaking the potato pieces and chicken pieces.
- Let it simmer until you can see the oil settling at the top .
- Add salt to the taste.
- Adjust the gravy consistency as per your choice please.Don't overcook or the potatoes and chicken pieces can break apart.
- That's it Homemade Murgir Jhol meaning Bengali style Chicken curry is ready to serve.
- The more the chicken curry sits and sets,the better it tastes.
6.Kosha Mangsho | Bengali Style Mutton Curry
Mutton...O Ma ! I LOVE IT !! I am crazy about mutton recipes more than any other meat.I am a sucker for any type of Mutton recipes.During my childhood days,it was once in a blue moon ,my parents would buy mutton at home.Mostly Sunday specials or when we had guests for lunch or dinner.How I wished we had such guests every day at home so that I could have the sumptuous mutton,chicken or fish recipes for sure.
I love to suck the bone marrow out of the Mutton bones a lot.Only liver part I hate ! My father after finishing his meal ,would sit there just to watch me enjoying every chunk of mutton as if it was heaven-sent and would look at my mother and they both would be smirking and laughing at each other calling me "Mutton kodichi" meaning crazy little mutton lover.
Having said that whenever I look at a baby goat or a mama goat or lambs whom I adore a lot,I feel a little uneasy making eye contact ,as I feel deep down guilty for being the silent predator/carnivorous at home.
Equally,I feel heartbroken whenever a goat or a lamb /any animal per se is used for sacrifices as part of the religious ritual. Then I console my broken heart while eating any non-veg ,thinking that if I don't eat,someone else will.It won't save the life of that goat/lamb/chicken and if it will(like freshly chopped in front of me) then I may shun it for sure.
Also reminds me of different mutton curries prepared in my neighborhoods during childhood days in different styles and I can still somehow pick up the alluring aroma of those curries ....mmmmm...ye dil maangey more...
That's how much I LOVE Mutton recipes.
I wanna cook as many mutton recipes possible.So far the Mutton recipes I tried are :
SO,here is my Kosha Mangsho curry meaning Bengali style chicken curry recipe inspired by my mother's mutton curry recipe .I only had to substitute just one ingredient that I remember my mother telling me a long time ago.By the way,my mother doesn't eat any meat but her meat curries are simply finger-licking .
I absolutely love the addition of potatoes in the Kosha Mangsho curry and the mutton curry preparation in mustard oil is what makes it "The Bengali style Mutton curry ".Kosha means Meat/Mutton and Mangsho means the slow-cooked Gravy.
So,here is the Kosha Mangsho recipe:
Kosha Mangsho|Bengali Style Mutton curry
Ingredients
Mutton,chopped and cleaned - 1 Kilo
Yogurt 1/4th-1/2 cup
Red chilli powder 3 Tbsps
Coriander powder 4 Tbsps
Pepper powder 1/2 Tbsp
Turmeric powder 1Tsp
Cumin powder 3/4Th Tbsp
Garam Masala 1/2 Tbsp
(Ginger 1 1/2 inch and Garlic 4-6 Nos. )paste
Onions,large,sliced - 1-2 Nos.
Green chillies ,sliced/chopped - 2-4 Nos.
Tomato,sliced ,medium size - 1 No.
Potatoes,cubed ,medium size - 3-4 Nos.
Mustard oil - 1/4Th cup
Cilantro leaves - handful
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste
Water as needed
Preparation method of Kosha Mangsho|How to prepare Mutton curry Bengali style:
- Marinate the mutton pieces with yogurt and keep it aside for 1/2 an hour.This will tenderize the mutton pieces.
- Transfer the mutton pieces into a pressure cooker with water covering it and pressure cooker it for 1 whistle on high flame and rest 3-4 whistles on medium to low flame or until mutton pieces are well cooked but not over cooked or it will become rubbery.Cooking mutton aptly may vary in different types of pressure cooker used.
- Heat mustard oil in a pan,add salt ,sliced onions and chopped green chillies and saute until the onions turn transparent .Initially adding the salt helps in speeding the process of browning the onions.
- Add ginger garlic paste ,saute for a few minutes until the raw smell is gone.
- Then add bay leaves,chopped tomatoes to it .
- Then add all spices and keep on sauteing till tomato becomes soft and mushy and everything oozes out oil.
- Then transfer all cooked Mutton into the pan and saute until mixed and let it boil.If it doesn't have enough water,add extra to it but not too much.
- Reduce the flame and let it simmer.
- Add the shallow fried potatoes now and sprinkle cilantro leaves.Mix well.
- Let it simmer until oil appears at the top .Make sure not to over cook the potatoes as they are already partially cooked and so are the tender mutton pieces ,which would break apart.
- Add salt to taste.Turn off the cooking gas .
- And voila....Kosha Mangsho,Bengali style Mutton curry is ready.
- The more the curry sits,better it sets in flavor and taste.
7.Macher Paturi|Steamed Fish in Banana Leaves Bengali Style
Macher means Fish in Bengali and Paturi (the meaning of this word is quite funny in Malayalam lol) is derived from the word "Patta/patra" in Hindi meaning An edible leaf .So,basically Macher Paturi is a steamed fish wrapped in most preferably Banana leaf .
This Bengali fish recipe elated the Malayalee in me.Fish in a Banana leaf..What more I could ask for ?
Karimeen Pollichathu | Pearl spot fish baked/grilled in Banana leaves
Karimeen Porichathu|Pearl spot fish fry
Apollo fish fry
Fish Mappas curry
Kerala thirandi curry/Kerala stingray recipe
Alleppey Fish curry
Kottayam style fish curry
Thirandi roast recipe/Skate recipe
Meen Patichathu/Meen Peera/Meen Thoran/Fish and coconut
And this is how I prepared homemade macher Paturi .I tweaked the original Macher Paturi recipe a bit as per my tastebuds.Usually,Bengalis use Bhetki fish called BarraMundi or hilsa/Ilsa Fish/Rohu Fish.But those fishes are not that my favourite .So,I tried using the King Fish instead.I also couldn't stand too much mustard paste ,so I added a little mustard paste only which is the key ingredient for this paturi recipe .
Preparation method to make Macher Paturi|How to make Macher Paturi recipe ,steamed fish in Banana leaf Bengali style.
🕐Grind everything except fish of course into a smooth paste.
🕐Marinate the fish with this paste and keep it aside for an hr in the refrigerator.
🕐🍃Meanwhile sway the Banana leaf over the flame till it changes its color like shown in the video ,that makes the 🍃Banana leaf more stronger,flavorful and pliable for steaming.
🕐I only used a single slice of fish for now.So,I took the marinated fish and lightly fried in the same oil I used to fry shrimps while making the chingri macher Malai curry.Just reusing the oil or just use fresh oil for shallow frying both sides .THIS IS AN OPTIONAL STEP that is preferred by me otherwise marinated fish still tastes kinda raw/not that my type of flavorful to me even though steamed.You can skip it if you wish.This speeds up the cooking/steaming process.
🕐Now,place the shallow fried fish or the marinated fish onto the 🍃above conditioned Banana leaf and fold it and make a small parcel and tie it with a thread as shown in the video.
🕐Now heat oil in a pan,place the fish parcel and cover it with a lid.Keep the flame low.Flip the parcel to make sure the fish gets cooked both sides.Since I shallow fried the fish already,it will steam up and cook up faster when compared to steaming the marinated fish directly .
🕐After a few minutes,you can feel the aroma.Then switch off the cooking gas.Allow it to cool a bit.
🕐Then untie the fish parcel and lo behold,Macher Paturi,a steamed fish Bengali style is ready to eat !
NOTES:
1.Usually,poppy seeds are preferred but then you have to pre-soak them for quite a long time until they soften up to be smoothly ground in a mixer jar .So,for a faster approach,substitute it with cashewnuts instead.Both may taste different but yummy.I am not a huge fan of poppy seeds.So,I used Cashewnuts instead.
2.About a tsp of mustard seeds paste or pounded to powder is used in the original fish paturi recipe but I find too much mustard paste/powder ,kind of pungent .So,I only used a pinch .
3.In the original recipe green chillies are used.So,use 1-2 Green chillies instead of dry red chillies that I used for my macher paturi version.
4.Usually they don't add peppercorns but I do need for my fish ,otherwise I found the recipe to be a little bland for my taste buds.So,to make it spicy I added peppercorns as well.You may omit.
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| A tribute to all freedom fighters of India on the eve of 78Th Independence day;August 15Th,2024 |
To wrap it up,my Bengali Thali menu,I also made the most important food item of any Thali that in fact represents the sweetness of the particular state of India it belongs to,"The sweets".So,I made homemade Rosogullas and Sandesh that I already mentioned in my previous post.
.png "bengali-sweets") |
| Plain Sandesh and Rasgulla recipe here |
So ,that was my Bengali Thali I longed to try and store it in my blog for records and references to those mouth watering Bengali recipes which I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting and cooking .This is the reason of blogging because once I make such new recipes I want them to be noted somewhere for sure to make my efforts worth to remember especially if I wanna cook them later.
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| Credit:Sukhi.com |
Ek sur song makes sense now more edibly as food is the ingredient that binds us all together in the same tune and Thali justifies that in every way and for me, food and cooking are love made visible edibly,memories relived,something wonderful shared.
Unn yaadon ko mein apne dil se lagayein rakhthi hu,jo mujhey mere desh aur apno se jodey rakthe hain ...... hamesha hamesha keliye....
Darr lagtha hai kahi mein bhool na jaoon,isliye inn panno mein unn yaadon ko phir ek bar ek nayi sur mein kuredthi rehthi hu..... hamesha hamesha keliye.........
Disclaimer:This Thali blogpost ,pictures,videos etc are for informational(cooking blog related) and entertainemnt purpose ONLY.Any resemblance to any person,place,thing,incident etc are purely conincidental and as per one's perception !Reader's "kind" discretion is requested!Thanks !
Love and light,
