Koi Fish Curry (Koi maach er Tel)

If we talk about traditional Bengali cooking. Tel koi (koi Fish Curry) recipe is worth sharing. Tel koi is not how much oil you are using to cook the dish But about How much oil actually comes out of the fish. You can also prepare tel koi without onion and garlic. But in our house we prefer it with onion and garlic.

Ingredients:

• Koi fish : 8 small
• 1 big onion
• 3 small tomatoes
• Green chilly paste 1tsp
• 1tsp of cumin seeds
• 1tsp of Nigella seeds
• 1/2tsp of ginger paste 
• 1/2tsp of garlic paste
• 1tsp of turmeric powder
• 1tsp of chilly powder
• 1/2tsp of dhania powder
• 1/2tsp of jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder

                     

Procedure :

1) Fry the fish with oil and turmeric powder

2) In the same wok add some oil and add Nigella and cumin seeds. Then add the onion and fry till it's translucent

          

3)Then add all the masalas and ginger garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell goes away. Then add the tomatoes along with sugar and salt. 

4) Fry till the oil leaves the sides of the wok (kadai). Add a big cup of water and let it come to a boiling point then add the fried fish. Cover the wok and cook for ten minutes in low flame. Cook till the gravy thickens .

             Sprinkle coriander and serve with hot rice~

Enjoy!

Rasagulla

This is a traditional bengali dessert made from chenna (freshly prepared cottage cheese/ moistened paneer). 
In any auspicious occasion this sweet spongy "Rasgullas" are a must for us. This is a sweet delicacy that is staple to the Bengalis and nor can they live without it. 
Many people have told me that it's difficult to make rasgullas, They've tried multiple times, either it breaks or they become hard. But trust me, if you follow everything step by step and take the right measures, ex: kneading the paneer properly, right consistency if the sugar syrup, Nothing can stop you from getting super soft, milky white Rasgullas!

INGREDIENTS:

• Full cream milk: 1 litre
• 2 small lemons: 3 tbsp of lemon juice 

      For Syrup

• 4 cups of sugar
• 1 litre of water

PROCEDURE: 

• First boil the full cream milk while stirring occasionally. When it's completely boiled ' turn off ' the stove and slowly add the extracted lemon juice. (requirement of lemon may vary according to the quality of your milk)
• Stir it well.The milk should start curdling during this process. Don't add the entire extracted lemon juice at once. Do it gradually.

  

• Continue adding the lime juice slowly and stirring after adding. Repeat this process. Once the milk is curdled ( separated ) and greenish whey (watery fluid part of the milk) is out pass it through a clean cloth lined on the colander/ strainer ( छलनी) as shown in the pic below.

• Then wash the chenna ( curdled milk that was just strained ) under running water very well (2-3 times). This step is very important otherwise you will get a lemony flavour from your Rasgullas and the sweet balls won't be soft either.

• Gather the edges of the cloth and gently squeeze out the excess water from the chenna. Don't apply too much pressure .

• Hang it for 30 minutes.

While your chenna is hanging prepare the sugar syrup:

• Take a pot with good depth and width. I took a big pressure cooker (since it's both wide and deep)
• Then add 12 cups of water into the pot and 3 cups of sugar.
• Stir it thoroughly so that sugar gets dissolved completely. (The ratio of sugar to water should be aroung 1:5 )
• After dissolving it turn on the stove and heat the syrup 

Note: The syrup should never become thick, or else your rasgullas will break or become too hard.

• Now take out the Chenna from the cloth and knead it for at least 10 minutes till it's texture becomes very smooth. It should be moist and not dry like the Paneer what we buy from the stores

• Knead the chenna until there are no lumps and cracks. As soon as some fat (oil from the chenna) starts releasing after kneading, start making the balls using your Palms. Try to restrict the size to 1 inch only as it becomes double after cooking.

• Now bring the syrup to boil and then add the chenna balls into the syrup carefully and cover the pot.
• The water(syrup) should be vigorously boiling.
• The process took me 20 minutes. (until the balls became soft and absorbed the syrup and enlarged )
• After every 5 minutes you should open the lid and stir cautiously as to not break the soft balls, Generally it should take around 15 minutes.
• Then turn off the gas and give the pot a standing time of 15 minutes.
• Then slowly transfer the rasgullas into a bowl along with the syrup, Making sure that all the rasgullas are submerged in the syrup.

• It is best when eaten after 8-9 hours. Only after 7-8 hours it becomes soft, juicy and spongy. that it melts in your mouth.
• Refrigerate it and serve it cool.

~ENJOY~

Malpua (sweet bengali pancakes)

Here comes another authentic traditional Bengali Sweet- "MALPUA". They are sweet Indian-style pancakes without eggs. I remember eating them as I grew up. It was very popular in the 80's. Now that I stay far away from my birthplace (Kolkata) I really miss the taste of those home-made pancakes. But a few weeks back, I came across the recipe for this dessert and it made me so nostalgic. It really inspired me and I decided to give it a try!

This post is for the future generation. So that they remember there were desserts like this. My daughter can open this post and see it anytime in the future, when she remembers her origins. Its a favorite of mine. Here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:

• 1/2cup -White flour (maida/all purpose flour)
• Rice dust -4tsp
• Semolina (suji) -1 cup
• Full cream milk -1 cup
• Sugar -2 cups
• Cardamom powder 1tsp
• Fennel seeds (saunf)1tsp
• Baking powder 1/4th tsp
• CAshew nuts -crushed
• Ghee (clarified butter)- 1tsp

Procedure:

First mix the semolina (suji), ricedust, white flour, ghee & sugar with the full cream milk and make the batter. 

The consistency of the batter should not be very thin.

Cover it and keep it aside for an hour. Then add the saunf (fennel seeds), cashew nuts, cardamom dust and , baking soda

Whip it really well and make sure that you mix everything properly.

Take a non-stick frying pan.

Heat little oil and pour 1 big spoonful of batter on the pan and spread it evenly like a pancake.

Fry it on both the sides. After frying them, plate them up and pour sugar syrup on them.

It's done!

~ENJOY~

You can also make a soggy version by soaking them in sugar syrup or dipping them in syrup and removing them after some time.

In my house we prefer without sugar syrup .

Enjoy Janmashtami with yummy Malpua. ,🙏

Prawns in coconut milk ( chingri macher malai curry)

This is a popular delicacy in a bengali household -"Prawns in coconut milk" it's called "chingri macher malai curry" in bengali.

This shrimp dish has a very creamy texture. The delicate minimalism here enhances a certain cravings and leaves one wanting for more.

So this is my recipe for the famous delicacy. 

Recipe:

• You will need Prawns/Shrimps- River scampi (cleaned and outer shell removed) : 700 grams / 1kg

• Coconut Milk: 1 pack (or) 1 cup  (approx; 200ml for 1 kg of shrimps) - नारियल का दूध 

• Spies I've used are: Green cardamom (इलाइची ) , Cinnamon (दाल चीनी ), Cloves (लोंग ), Red chilli powder, turmeric powder, 

• Fry 100 grams of onion.

• Then in a mixer grinder blend the fried onions and spices together into a smooth paste.

• Now coat the prawns (shrimps) with turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt.      

• Then shallow or deep fry the shrimp in a separate pan till golden and crispy outside and is soft inside. Keep it aside

• Add butter in pan,

      

• Add fried onion paste that you made above. Add 1 cup of coconut milk to adjust the consistency.
• Let it cook over low flame  while stirring continuously.
• Add the prawns, little sugar and Kashmiri chilli powder (or any chilli powder /paprika) & cook till the gravy thickens.
• Garnish with coconut cream/cream. Serve it hit with steamed rice.

~Enjoy!~

If you have any queries or questions please post it in the comment box.