Kathal ki sabzi

Kathal ki sabzi

The Bengali word for raw kathal is “Enchor”. It s also called “gaach patha” wherein “gaach” means tree and “patha” means mutton. So it was a way of saying that when cooked properly the kathal dish tasted like mutton..a mutton that grew on trees.

I remember my grandmother cooking kathal in this very manner. My grandfather was always the one to prep things before my grandmother entered the kitchen. He would sit down early morning with his “bothi” ( a traditional cutting and chopping implement) and he would diligently cut all the vegetables required for the day’s cooking. He would even slice the green chillies and keep them handy.

Cutting kathal is an art that has to be mastered. It is extremely messy and sticky. You need to liberally oil your hands and knives otherwise you end up with white sticky, gluey stuff everywhere. 

Then there are certain parts of the kathal that need to be thrown away as they are unpalatable. Once you have finished with the cutting part then there are various steps to the cooking part. Kathal does not cook easily. So it is important to pressure cook it first. Then you can actually prepare it the way you cook mutton. “Gaach Patha” like I said!

Ingredients

1 small raw kathal, cut into pieces

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 bay leaf

2 dry red chillies

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 onions, grated

2 tomatoes, grated

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste

2 tbsp coriander powder

1 tbso cumin powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

1 tsp ghee

½ tsp cardamom powder

¼ tsp cinnamon powder

1 cup mustard oil

First pressure cook the kathal for one whistle.

Heat the mustard oil to smoking point. Fry the kathal pieces in two batches till they are golden brown. Keep aside. 

Fry the potatoes. Now add the bay leaf, dry red chillies and cumin seeds in the same oil. Saute the ginger and garlic paste.

 Now add the grated onions and fry till they are translucent. Add the grated tomatoes and potatoes. Cover and cook till the tomatoes are mushy. 

Now add all the dry masalas. Cook till the oil starts leaving the sides. 

Add the fried kathal pieces, salt and sugar and cook some more till the kathal is well coated with masalas. 

Add a cup of water and bring to a boil. 

Lower heat, cover and simmer till the potatoes are well cooked. 

Switch off heat and add ghee, cardamom powder and cinnamon powder.

Chatpate Mushroom

Chatpate Mushroom

This dish is exactly as it sounds. Chatpate Mushrooms. Tangy, spicy and tasty!!

I have used tinned mushrooms here which take less time to cook. If you are using fresh button mushrooms then you will have to spend some extra time cooking them.

 For this dish I feel that the tinned ones are the best. Fresh mushrooms are great for making stuffed ones. Since the tinned mushrooms are already steeped in brine the saltiness is constant in the mushrooms. 

This dish makes a good, easy and quick snacks. So whip out your tin of mushrooms and make this chatpata dish!!

Ingredients

1 tin button mushrooms

½ cup hung curd

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp chicken masala

Salt to taste

Drain the mushrooms and marinate them in the rest of the ingredients for at least half an hour. The more you marinate the better they will taste.

Now you have an option of either grilling them or making them in a pan.

If you want to grill them then preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Then bake for about 10-15 minutes.

If you are making them in a pan then put a pan on heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Cook the mushrooms till the masalas are dry.

Hung Curd Dip

Hung Curd Dip

As dips go this one is very easy to make. It does not have any mayonnaise so it is relatively healthy. The only time taking thing is making the hung curd. It takes about an hour for all the water to drain away from the curd. I usually make a lot of hung curd and keep it in the fridge to use as and when required. Any leftover hung curd I use for marination.

I have used lots of olive oil here. You can increase or decrease the amount of olive oil according to your preference. I have got into the habit of large dollops of olive oil after I started eating at Nando’s. There they serve Pita bread with hummus and olives swimming in extra virgin olive oil. And it tastes awesome!! Extra virgin olive oil is something one can have without guilt.

Ingredients

1 cup hung curd

5 black olives

1 tbsp of the brine the olives are kept in

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped coriander

Salt to taste

Chop the olives into small pieces. I have used the brine here because it is also infused with the flavour of the olives. And why waste a good thing??

Mix all together and season with salt according to taste. I love having this dip with naan. 

Karela Chips

Karela Chips

People find it strange when I tell them that I love all things bitter. It is customary in Bengali tradition to have bitter neem leaves in the month of March-April. 

Neem is an effective way of keeping infections at bay, especially chicken pox. I remember my grandmother making “Neem Begun” every year. As spring sets in the neem trees sprout tender, green leaves. They are the bitterest of the lot.

 Every day my grandfather would pluck a bunch of these leaves and give them to my grandmother to cook. To balance out the extreme bitterness some “begun” or brinjal would be added. Both the neem leaves and chopped brinjal would be fried in hot mustard oil. It is an acquired taste but those who enjoy “neem begun” are die hard fans of the taste.

Another extremely bitter vegetable is the karela. There are many recipes where the karela is peeled and boiled to remove the bitterness. I find it extremely funny when people do that. I love the taste of karela. I can have it boiled, fried, cooked with other vegetables. Infact the bitter taste is an integral pasrt of the Bengali cuisine. Karela is used generously in dishes like “Shukto” and “Chapri Ghonto”.

This recipe is a very simple one. Fried karela goes very well with hot rice. However that soaks in a lot of oil. You can make this recipe with as less oil as you want. You can simply grease the pan with oil and drain any excess. I personally like drizzling some oil once the karela is cooked.

Ingredients

3-4 karela, sliced paper thin

Heat some oil in a pan. Toss the sliced karela in it. Spread it evenly all over the pan so that most of the slices are in direct contact with the pan. 

Put the flame on low and let the karela cook. Do not cover the pan. This process takes some good amount of time. After every 10 minutes toss the karela again and spread it out.

 After some time you can sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder on it. Cooked on lowest flame the karela takes about 30 minutes to be ready.

Sesame Garlic Dip

Sesame Garlic Dip

Bored of the same dips with every snacks? We usually end up serving the red, white and green ones. Red tomato ketchup. White mayonnaise. Green dhania pudina chutney. Think out of the box. It is very easy to make some interesting dips with few basics form your pantry. Try out this Sesame Garlic Dip.

Ingredients

6-7 garlic pods

2 red tomatoes

4 tbsp sesame seeds

3 dry red chillies

Salt to taste

Grill the tomatoes on open flame. Peel the skin and chop it finely. Slow roast the sesame seeds, dry red chillies and garlic pods. Now make a paste of the chopped tomatoes, sesame seeds, red chillies, garlic pods and salt. Your dip is ready. 

Baked Bharwan Mushroom

Baked Bharwan Mushroom

In India we commonly get the white button mushrooms. And that too has been available in the last 10 years or so. Before that only the gourmet vegetable shops used to keep mushrooms. I remember going to INA market in Delhi specially to get the mushrooms.

Then there started a wave of mushroom cultivation. It takes a little bit of knowledge and expertise and anyone can do mushroom farming. So these white beauties became readily available in the smallest of veg shops. They are also available in the timed form.

I add mushrooms to pizzas, pasta, chowmein. They are great roasted or grilled. And they make a delicious curry. This Grilled Bharwan recipe is pretty simple. And you need only 2-3 ingredients. I have made a non veg version using sausages. You can replace them with paneer.

Ingredients

200 gms fresh button mushrooms

3-4 sausages

½ cup mozzarella cheese

Salt to taste

Wash the mushrooms really well. Rinse them at least thrice.

Chop of the stems of the mushrooms. Scoop out the insides of the mushrooms. 

Now chop all these portions very fine.

 Chop the sausages very fine. Heat some oil.

 Add the chopped mushroom portions. Saute on high heat till they wilt. 

Add the sausages and saute. Add a little salt for seasoning. Apply some oil to the button mushrooms.

 Stuff the sausage filling inside. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top. 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Bake the mushrooms for 10 minutes. 

Eat them hot.

Spicy Chicken Curry

Spicy Chicken Curry

Chicken is a versatile dish. You can make it with vegetables, spinach, kasuri methi, pulses, and so on and so forth. 

For me it is a good medium to make my kid eat all these things camouflaged amongst the chicken. He is such a brat that for him no meal is complete without chicken. And my Labrador is the same. He is also a chicken fellow. So both my kids are hard core non vegetarians and I, the poor mom, has to come up with interesting recipes.

This spicy chicken curry has very basic ingredients. The spiciness comes from dry red chillies and the tanginess comes from a whole pack of tomato puree. I love eating it with hot steaming rice. However it tastes good with roti and paratha too.

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut into pieces

1 cup hung curd

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

For the gravy

3 green cardamoms

1” cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1 tsp black peppercorns

7-8 dry red chillies

4 onions, cubed

4 tomatoes, cubed

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

 1 tbsp cumin powder

Salt to taste

1 cup milk

1 cup cashews, soaked

Marinate the chicken with hung curd, ginger garlic paste and salt for half an hour.

Make a paste of the cashews.

Put the cubed onions and tomatoes to boil for 10 minutes. Skin the tomatoes and make a puree of the onions and tomatoes.

Heat some oil. Add the green cardamoms, bay leaf, cinnamon, pepper and red chillies. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry. 

Add the onion-tomato puree and cook. 

Add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt. 

Cook till the oil starts leaving the sides. 

Add the cashew paste and cook for five minutes. 

Now add the chicken pieces and saute on high heat for 7 minutes. 

Add the milk gradually and bring to a boil. Now lower heat and cook till the chicken is done. 

If the chicken seems too dry you can add some water.

Malpua

Malpua

There are many ways to make malpua. You can make a simple batter of flour and aniseed in milk. 

You can also add dry fruits. 

You can add bananas. 

You can add coconut. 

You can make it as rich or as simple as you want.

Malpua is often made during festivals. For us Bengalis malpua is a must during paush shankranti. 

There are two variations of the dish. In one you make the pua and then dip them in sugar syrup. That is commonly called the “pua”. In the second variation sugar is added to the batter and then it is deep fried. This is commonly known as the “malpua”.

For me it is a good way of using up all the super black bananas lying around in the house. My kid refuses to eat bananas that are even a little mushy. This way I can camouflage the icky bananas and they make a very tasty dessert.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

½ cup soji

½ cup cashews

1 tbsp saunf/aniseed

¼ cup raisins

1 tsp cardamom powder

Milk to make the batter

For the sugar syrup

3 cups water

2 cups sugar

First of all make the sugar syrup. Boil the water and sugar till you get a single thread sugar syrup.

Whiz the cashews in the mixer for a few seconds so that you end up with some cashew powder and the rest are ground into small bits.

 Now mix together flour, sooji, cashews, raisins, saunf and cardamom powder. Make a runny batter with the help of milk. However the batter should not be too liquid. 

Now heat some oil. Pour spoonful of batter into the hot oil and deep fry.

Dip the hot malpua in the sugar syrup and take them out. Do not leave them in the syrup for too long.

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori Chicken

One Indian dish that is famous all over the world is Tandoori Chicken. You can ask a person of any nationality and 95% chances are that he will be able to identify this dish. 

And why not? It is undoubtedly one of the best Punjabi dishes. Marinated in curd and spices and smoked in a tandoor, the chicken is cooked in its own juice. The charcoal adds to the flavour. 

Whenever you visit any market it is a very common sight to see marinated chicken hanging on a skewer. Just pick a piece and the cook pops it into a hot tandoor and about 15-20 minutes later you have a platter of red and smoky tandoori chicken, with chaat masala sprinkled on it, onion roundels and a big slice of lemon.

Ohh slurp!!!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, wshed and cleaned

1 cup hung curd

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp lemon juice

Few drops tandoori red color

Salt to taste

Tandoori masala

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

5-6 black peppercorns

4 cloves

1 bay leaf

4 red chillies

1 “ cinnamon

3 green cardamoms

2 black cardamoms

Stuffing

4 carrots, cut into fingers

3 baby onions, quartered

1 cup French beans, cut into fingers

First make the tandoori masala. Dry roast all the ingredients and then grind them to a fine powder.

Make a marinade out of hung curd, ginger garlic paste, food colour, tandoori masala, lemon juice and salt. 

Wash the chicken well. Make slits all over the chicken.

Apply the marinade liberally all over the chicken. Put the marinade inside the cavity too. 

Now stuff the cavity with the carrots, onions and French beans. Scatter the rest over the chicken.Tie the chicken up with a thread so that the filling does not fall out. 

Wrap in a cling film and put in the fridge for 6 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Bake the chicken for 30 minutes. turn it over and bake another 15 minutes.

  

Maacher Dimer Boda/Fish Egg Fritters

Maacher Dimer Boda/Fish Egg Fritters

Maacher dimer boda or fish egg fritters are another Bengali delicacy. During the monsoon season the fresh water fish start breeding. 

Those who know their fish can simply look at the fish and tell whether it has eggs or not. Some less knowledgeable might need to poke the fish’s tummy. 

It is said that when a fish is with eggs its taste deteriorates. The fish might look plump and weigh a lot but when you clean it you end up with almost half a kg of fish eggs.

 Now fish eggs are available only for a month or so during the breeding season. So even though the fish might not be as tasty yet the egg is highly valued. 

You can cook the fish slices with the eggs attached to them and make the usual gravies. 

You can make a fish egg gravy. 

And best of all you can have these fish egg fritters.

Ingredients

½ kg fish eggs, washed and cleaned

5 tbsp wheat flour

2 green chillies chopped

1 onion, chopped

Sal to taste

Mustard oil to fry

Wash and drain the fish eggs. Add the chopped green chillies, onion and wheat flour. Add salt according to taste. It will make a messy, gooey batter.

Heat the mustard oil to smoking point. Lower heat. Now add spoonful of the batter to the hot oil and deep fry.