My Spicy Crabs

Looking at these yummy crabs, you must be having butterflies in your stomach.

Now you can easily prepare this at home without much of a hassle.

Crabs are such delicious sea food! The flesh is so tender and tasty! If you get them fresh from the seaside that's even better! But my crabs were from the seafood shop! :)

1st step: Wash the crabs properly. Now take 2 separate bowls, One for boiling the body ( that have more flesh hence boil easily) & 1 for the legs(as they are hard and need more time to boil)....& boil in microwave high heat. Boil the bodies for 4-5 min and the legs for around 8 minutes.

2nd step: Throw the water. ...this will bring a nice orangish colour in your crabs.

3rd step: Take 2 Tsp of oil in a frying pan. Fry the mixture of 2 big onions, 8-9 garlic pods.fry till oil separates.

3th step : Add tomato puree ( if fresh then take 5 big tomatoes and make puree out of it).

4th step: At this juncture when tomato is getting cooked add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 2 tsp full of red chilly powder and salt according to your taste.

5th step:Add the crabs now and cook nicely for another 15 mins in medium flame so that all the spices go inside.

6th step:Now add around 1 cup of water and let the whole thing boil. Cook till the gravy 
becomes thick in consistency.

7th step: before putting the pan out of gas oven..add a big tablespoon of ghee and 1 Tsp of Good aromatic Garam masala. 

Lastly turn off the flame and keep it covered for minimum 10 mins before serving.

The crabs are now ready!

~ENJOY SPICY CRABS~

VIDEO RECIPE HERE: 

PS: Don't over boil the crabs as they will get overcooked making them hard!

B'day Lunch-13 Course Meal !!

It was my daughter's 20th Birthday. So i wanted to make it special but I didn't want it to be just another treat at another 5-star hotel...because it misses the mother's touch.(She really likes my cooking) :)
So decided to cook a 13 course meal. And wanted to share this with all my readers and friends who have encouraged me by liking my page and reading my recipes which I keep posting to make cooking easy...

The dishes were:-

5 types of fry: Dal er bori fry, potato fry, karela (bittergourd) fry, Tinda fry and fish fry(mackerel).

Main course: Rice accompanied by her favourite masoor dal, palak paneer, shahi paneer, masala egg curry, butter chicken, prawn malai kari, mutton kosha (lamb) and payesham.

Shahi chicken ~Ramadan Special~

The month of Ramadan is going on so... this month I would like to treat you all with foods that have a lot of dry fruits, cream and ghee.

Diet conscious people might not find these recipes friendly...But...if you are fasting the entire day then your body needs proteins and carbohydrates. This dish has a rich taste and creamy flavour due to its rich ingredients! Try it out & burn the extra calories on your treadmill.

Cooking Procedure:-

Step 1: Make a paste of the following ingredients & keep it aside for future use:

~2 tbsp of poppy seeds
~2 tbsp of coconut chopped
~10-15 cashew nuts
~10-12 raisins
~10-15 pistachios
~10 green chillies.

Paste No.1

Step 2: Marinate 1kg of chicken with 450 gms of curd,salt, pepper 2 tbsp and 2 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste [marination time:4-5 hrs]

Step 3: Take 4 medium sized onions and roast them on a burner or open flame. Then make a paste of these onions, While making the paste add 10-12 garlic pods.

Paste No.2-Onion Paste

Step 4:

Let's start cooking now.

In a pan add 2 tbsp of ghee (clarified butter) & Heat it up properly then add 3-4 bay leaves, Some powdered green cardamom and 2 black cardamoms.

When it starts spluttering, add the marinated chicken along with the paste no.2 (onion paste).

Cook it in low flame for 30 minutes...

IF AT ANY POINT OF TIME you feel its getting dried up add some cream or milk to it....DO NOT add any water to this dish.

Next, when the chicken is done add paste no.1(poppy, coconut , cashew,raisin. pistachio and Green chilly).

Cook for another 15 minutes...

Final step: Add the 200ml of Amul cream ( or Dairy cream of your choice) & stir it well.

The dish is Ready...

Before serving add 2 tsps of rosewater from top.
The yummy Shahi(royal) dish goes well with roti or nan! (Indian flat Bread)

~ENJOY~

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:- (serves 6 )

• Chicken with bones cut into 16 pieces-1 kg/2.2lbs
• Good quality long Basmati rice...750 gms/1.65lbs
• Onions-125gms/4.4oz....fried 2 fistful
• Cooking oil-enough for deep frying onions
• Cilantro leaves-1 small bunch/10 twigs
• Mint leaves-1 small bunch/10 twigs
• Yogurt/curd-200gms/7.05oz
• Milk-1/2 teacup
• Saffron- 2 pinch
• Chicken biryani masala 1 packet

STEPS FOR COOKING:-

1)Dissolve the saffron in half a teacup of milk....whip the yogurt thoroughly and keep it aside.

2)Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the onions till golden brown.Remove and keep aside and crush them after they dry.

3)In a bowl take the ready made masala paste, curd, crushed onions, saffron milk, 60 ml of oil, cilantro leaves, mint leaves & mix all of these thoroughly with the chicken and keep it aside...

Marinate for 2-3 hrs. Those who don't want to use ready made pack's paste can make a paste out of 4 tsp of ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp of cumin seeds, 1 tsp of coriander seeds, garam masala powder-1 tbsp, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tbsp of red chilly powder and 1 tsp of turmeric powder, salt according to your taste.

4)Wash the rice and keep it aside. (soaked)

5)Take a pot (See below "Pot used") & Pour 2 litres of water & put on high flame.

6) Cover the pot and let it come to boil.

7)Put bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, & cloves in the boiling water

.

8)Pour the soaked rice into the boiling water and stir occasionally till the rice is just half done.

(Once the rice is put into boiling water the process should take around 3-5 minutes)

9)Drain the rice thoroughly and spread it over the chicken mixture!

10) Pour 5 tbsp of clarified butter over this. (Ghee)

11)Cover the pot tightly. Put it on high flame till steam is seen coming out (this process should not take more than 8 minutes).

12)Remove the pot. Take another pan/tawa on a burner and heat it up.

Then place the pot on the pan (tawa) on reduced flame as much that the flame just touches the wok.

13)Keep it like this for almost 40 minutes

14)Put off the flame & let the pot remain on the pan for another 10-15 minutes.

Open the Pot just before serving and serve the biryani hot after mixing thoroughly from deep inside.

~ENJOY BIRYANI THIS RAMADAN~

PS:

This is the "handi" (POT) that I used for the preparation:-

  

This is the pan (tawa) that I used:-

Please leave any queries or suggestions in the comment box below or on my facebook page.

Garlic-Pepper Chicken

This is really easy & quick to make. #Busy people food really! hahaha....

It's something refreshing and crunchy & healthy too ( Since you can cook it in very less oil).

Friends this is really yummy! My family complimented me a lot on this and even compared it to tandoori chicken.

You can have it as a starter or with roti or parathas!

Ingredients:-

750 grams of chicken

300 grams of curd

20 - 25 garlic pods made into a paste

1 tsp of Kashmiri lal chilly powder to get red colour( optional)

Pepper powder- 2 tbsp

Garam masala: (2-3 bay leaves; 4-5 green cardamoms; 1 inch cinnamon stick and 1 tsp of Shahjeera)

2 tablespoons of fresh cream

Salt and sugar according to your taste.

Procedure:-

-Marinate the chicken overnight with curd, garlic paste, chilli powder and salt.. 

-Put only 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in pan 

-Add the bay leaf and other garam masalas I mentioned above

-Crush these whole spices a bit to get a nice flavour.

-When these spices starts spluttering in the oil add the marinated chicken and cook it on a low flame till it gets dried.

-It will take around 30 mins. Now add the dairy cream and pepper powder and cook it for another 5 mins. 

-I've garnished it with pista on the top! Yaay Pistachio !

                                   

~ENJOY~

PS:
-"shahjeera"-Black cumin seeds

Kesar Mango kulfi

Yes You can make Kulfi at Home!! 
What is kulfi? 
-It's an indian version of ice cream ;)   Wikipedia:"Kulfi"
I've made it a few times But this is my first time trying mango flavoured kulfi.

Ingredients:-

1. 500 ml of full cream milk.

2. 1/4 th cup of milk powder

3. 1/4 th cup of condensed milk

4. 1/4 th cup of sugar

5. 1 cup of Mango pulp

6. 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder

7. 1 tbsp of corn flour

8. I piece of bread slice

9. Few pistachios
10.Little kesar for garnishing
11.Kulfi mould (any pot or bowl is ok if you don't have a mould)

PROCEDURE:-

1st step: In a small bowl mix cornflour, milk powder,and bread slice with 5 tsp of lukewarm milk and prepare a smooth mixture, take into account so that no lumps are formed. Keep it aside for future use.

2nd step: Now start boling further the rest amount of milk....keep it in sim until the consistency become quite thick....The amount will become almost 250 ml. Stir it continuously so that the thick milk doesn't get stuck in the bottom of the vessel...

 3rd step: Now add sugar, condensed milk and the mixture you have prepared and kept aside.

4th step: Stirring it continuously add the pistachio and cardamom powder.....
Now turn of the gas. Keep it beneath the fan to cool.

5th step: When the mixture is absolutely cold.....add the mango pulp and put it in the blender....it should be churned nicely to get a smooth texture...

6th step: Now pour the mixture into several moulds garnish with pistachios and kesar ....

7th step: Now put it in the freezer to set properly.

     Next day.... seve it by taking it out from the mould.

~Enjoy~

STEAMED SWEET YOGURT (MISHTI DOI)

Mishti dahi is a delicacy for all the Bengalis.

 I have been outside Kolkata for the last 22 years and people living outside Kolkata...who've tasted it once keep craving for it. 

Around two weeks back a good friend of mine, gave me a really easy recipe for this dessert & I decided to give it go today but with few alterations of mine...& it was a great success. So dear friends...please do try it...its just delicious :)

These are the ingredients I have used...400gms of curd, 1 tin of milkmaid, 1 glass of evaporated milk, powdered sugar and a pinch of saffron ,bowl of Cashew Nuts

 This is the Hung Curd I prepared...

Procedure:-
-Prepare hung curd from 400gms of  yogurt.
-Mix the powdered sugar with this hung curd.
-Take a bowl and mix the sweetened hung curd, milk and condensed milk.
-Take another bowl and coat it with butter and pour the whole mixture...
-Cover it with a cling film and place it  inside the pressure cooker without the whistle.
-Close the lid of the cooker and steam it for half an hour.
-Lastly...cool it and put it in d refrigerator for 3 to4 hrs before serving.
-Garnish with some pistachio , cashew nut and saffron.

The end product should look like this...In Bengali we also call it BHAPA DOI !!

इस तरह दिखना चाहिए (hahaha)!!

 ~ENJOY~

Pabda Maach er Tel Jhal (Bengali Fish)

Pabda fish is a delicacy in Indian culture.....  Wikipedia: Pabda maach (Pabda ompok)

We Bengalis use 2 terms for fish curries...."jhol" and "jhal" !!

"Jhal" is prepared with a paste of mustard seeds. And "jhol" is made with cumin seeds and ginger paste (not too spicy) or we can also make it very spicy with onions, garlic, & tomatoes etc.... 

This curry is tasty & a bit spicy but you don't have to cut any vegetable for this...no onion, no tomatoes...nothing :-D It is called "Pabda-maach-er-jhal"

What you will  need is.
1/2 tsp of kalonji (nigella seeds) , 2 green chillies, 1 tsp of haldi (turmeric) powder; 1 tsp of chilli powder; Salt according to taste and some sugar-very little (optional).

Procedure:-
Coat the pabda fishes with salt, turmeric and chilly powder.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the pabda fishes that we just coated.

Note: The oil should be really hot for frying or else the fishes might break while frying.

Keep the fishes aside.
If there isn't enough oil in the pan add some more mustard oil in the pan and heat it. Add the kalonji and green chilly.
When the seeds starts spluttering in the oil add the turmeric and chilly powder along with salt & stir them for a few seconds and add water.
Stir it well and let it boil for sometime.
Then add the fried fish to it and boil for another 5 mins.
I added 1 small spoon of sugar but it's optional...garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with hot steaming rice. It's Yummmmmy.

~Enjoy~

Stuffed ladies finger (Masala bhindi)

Hi everybody! This is my recipe for "spicy ladies finger"....hahaha I know it sounds kind of sexy :-P

Here's what I did:

First: Dry roast the following masalas (spices).... 

White til (white sesame seeds)-1 tbsp

 Peanuts

Some fenugreek seeds,

Coriander seeds,

Cumin seeds,

Cardamom- 5-6

An inch of cinnamon bark,

Cloves

Little asafoetida (a pinch)

Dry mango powder- 1 tsp

Dry red chillies (4-5)

Saunf (fennel seeds)- 1tsp

Black pepper

To the spices now add turmeric powder, salt & sugar 

Now grind all the spices that we just roasted in a grinder....Mix it with 2 tsp of  white oil and keep it aside The stuffing for the ladies finger (bhindi)  is ready now.

  

Now slit the bhindi ( ladies finger) like it's shown in the picture (from the centre vertically)  and  fill it with the stuffing of spices you have just prepared...

Then Take a pan & put some oil and start frying the stuffed ladies fingers in batches...

Cook it in slow flame so that it does not get burned and gets fried properly from all sides ( I fried them in shallow oil)

I cooked this batch of bhindi in the microwave to give you a demo that if you are too health conscious u can cook it in the microwave also. Brush the utensil (plate) with a little oil and micro it for 10 mins in High.

I would definitely say that the fried ones tasted better.

Creamy Egg Curry

This is a delicious dish that I learnt from a school friend of mine,

And I realised OMG it's so easy to make and so tasty too...So my dear friends please do try it out as it hardly takes any time...And we all love quick cooking....don't we?

Ingredients

• 5 boiled eggs- cut it into halfs, 
• 3 onions (ground into a paste)
• 5-6 green chillies - made into a paste,
• 1 tsp of ginger & garlic paste,
• 1 tsp of cumin powder,
• 1 tsp of white pepper powder,
• 1 tsp of garam masala powder,
• 1 cup of milk,
• Dried fenugreek leaves (fried/roasted) -Kasuri methi
• 4-5 pistachios.

Procedure:-

Take refined oil in a pan.

Fry the onion and chilli paste till brown, Then add 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste to it and fry it further till the oil separates and is seen on the top.

Then turn off the heat & add a cup of milk and stir well so that no lumps are formed. (temperature should be lower)

Once the milk is dissolved then turn on the heat and cook in low flame from now on.

Now add the cumin powder, pepper powder and garam masala powder. Cook it for 5 minutes

Then put the eggs into the pan upside down and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. We need all the spices to be taken up by the eggs.

Now open the lid and turn all the eggs upside down again so the yolk side is up ( sunny side up) 

At this point of time you can add some warm water (if you want more gravy)

Add salt & Sugar according to your taste.

Throughout the cooking time stir the dish very carefully so that the eggs don't break!!
Garnish it with fried fenugreek leaves and some pista on the top before serving. You can also use coriander leaves instead of fenugreek leaves if you like.

~Enjoy~ 

PS:-
 Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) that I used:

If you have any queries,  please leave a comment here or on my Facebook page.