ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : SHASTHI

Curry De Pescado Especial De Mi Mama (My Mother's Special Fish Curry)

Well Maha Shasthi was a day filled with surprises and unlimited fun. Finally after a long spell of rain the sun shone with all its glory. My friends and I grabbed this opportunity and went to pandal-hopping. We started early in the morning and saw quite a few pandals. Each one had an innovative theme and elaborate decorations. We had an absolutely fantastic time as after a long time I got to spend the entire day with my friends.

Today's dish is my mother's invention. As i make a fuss when the same fish curry is served a few days in a row this dish was invented by my mother to stop me from fussing :) Do try this recipe out. :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 7-8 Pieces of Bekti or Pomfret Fish
• 2 Onions cit into rings
• 2 Onions chopped
• 2 Tomatoes chopped
• 1 Tbsp Garlic- Green chili paste
• 2 Tbsp Coriander leaves
• 3 Green Chilis
• 1 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tsp Red Chili Powder
• Oil for deep frying
• 1 1/2 Tbsp oil for the gravy
• Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

• Fry the fish and keep aside. Use a napkin to saok up the excess oil. Be careful not to overcook the fish.

• Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion rings till golden brown in colour.
• For the gravy, heat oil in the pan and add the garlic chili paste and cook till golden brown.
• Then  add the chopped onions and cook till they are golden brown in colour.
• Then add the tumeric poer, red chilli powder, salt, green chillis and add a little water so that the masala does not burn.
• Then add the tomatoes and cook till oil separates from the masala.
• Finally add the coriander leaves. The gravy should be of a chunky consistency. 

• Now arrange the fish on a plate and pour the gravy on top of it. Garnish with thr friend onion rings and lime pieces.

ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : PANCHAMI

PALAK MURG

Its Panchami and therefore as an added bonus a favourite chicken dish of mine - Palak Murg was cooked. This is a dish which is usually cooked by my mom but today I decided to try this on my own. To make it easier I made a few changes to my mom's recipe as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Chicken Breast cut into small pieces
• 1 small bunch of spinach leaves blanched and pureed
• 3 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Garlic chili paste
• 1 Tbsp Onion paste
• 2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
• 2 dried red chillis
• 1/2 Tsp Tumeric Powder
• 1 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Mustard Oil
• Salt to taste
• Water as required

PROCEDURE:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic and chili paste. When it turns golden brown add the onion paste and the dried red chili. I make the garlic chili paste by grinding together garlic cloves and chili.

• Cook this for a few mins and then add the tomato paste. Now add tumeri powderc, red chili powder, salt and garam masala powder. Stir and cook till the oil separates from the masala and then add the chicken pieces.

• Cook on the low flame to make sure that the chicken is cooked. Since these are boneless pieces of chicken they do not take long to cook.

• Then add water and finally add the spinach puree and cook for a few mins. Serve Hot with rice or rotis :)

ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : PANCHAMI

MACHER DHOKAR DANLA (FISH DHOKA CURRY)

Today is Panchami, this time around we are experiencing a gloomy weather during Durga Puja with intermittent rains. As per the Weather Department we may be hit by a cyclone :( Durga Puja being the biggest and grandest festival of the Bengalis the weather could not dampen the Puja spirit of people of Kolkata. So we witnessed a huge turnout of people at various puja pandals.

Dhoka is a very traditional Bengali dish and it is usually made with Chana Dal but this time around I tried to make something different. Macher Dhoka is not a completely new concept since I have heard about this recipe from friends, family etc you may also stumble across this recipe in various Bengali cookbooks, but this was the very first time that Macher Dhoka was made in my house :) A new dish for Maha Panchami :)

INGREDIENTS: (For Dhoka)

• 1 Small Cup Matar dal (Yellow split peas)
• 4-5 Medium Pieces of Bekti or rohu (rui)
• 1 1/2 Tsp Ginger garlic paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Onion paste
• 2 Tsp Coriander leaves chopped
• 11/2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
• 1+ 1/4 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tbsp Mustard Oil 
• Mustard Oil as required for deep frying
• Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

• Soak the matar dal for at least 1-2 hours before grinding it to a fine paste. If possible you can soak the dal overnight for a smoother paste.
• Boil the fish pieces with a little bit of tumeric and salt,then de-bone them and shred them to small pieces. Be careful not to overcook the fish. Now mix this with the dal paste.

• Now in a pan heat oil and add the ginger garlic paste. When the paste turns golden brown add the onion paste.
• Then add the fish and dal mixture and stir well. Now add the red chilli powder, tumeric powder and salt. Stir well till the mix is cooked.
• Then take a plate and apply a little oil on it and pour the cooked mixture on to the plate. Spread it out evenly and let it cool.

• Once it cools down cut it into small pieces. From this mix I got around 24 pieces. Now deep fry them and the macher dhoka is ready.

INGREDIENTS:(For The Curry)

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Onion paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Garlic paste
• 3 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 Medium Potatoes boiled and cut into small pieces
• 1 Tsp Garam Masala powder
• 1/2 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
• Salt to taste
• Water as Required

PROCEDURE:

Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic paste. Once it turns golden in colour add the onion paste and the garam masala powder. (I always use freshly made garam masala powder)

• Then add the tomato and cook well till oil separates from the masala.

• Now add the potatoes and stir well so that all the potatoes are coated with the masala.

• Then add water, I added around 3 cups because once you put the dhokas in the curry it will absorb the curry. I added this amount of water also because I had around 20 dhokas for the curry.
• Let the curry simmer for about 5 mins and then add the dhokas. Garnish with coriander leaves :)

I hope you try this recipe out and give me feedback.

Happy Puja :)

ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : CHATURTHI

RUSSIAN SALAD

This Durga Puja I am trying to cook a new dish everyday and post the recipe in the blog

This is one of my most favourite salads. It is a refreshing yet healthy and a very simple salad. I hope you try this out and do give me feedback :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Carrots chopped 
• Few french beans chopped
• 1 large potato boiled and chopped
• 2 slices of pineapple
• 1 cup peas
• Black Pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Vinegar
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
•  4 tbsp mayonnaise 
• 1/2 tsp sugar

PROCEDURE:

• Boil the carrots, beans and peas for about two mins and immediately put them in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Make sure not to overcook them.

• In a separate boil mix together mayonnaise, black pepper, salt, vinegar, olive oil and sugar till you achieve a smooth consistency. You caan use any type of mayonnaise you like eggles, low-fat, with eggs etc. I used an eggless one :)

• Russian salad is usually a tad bit sweet so I added a bit of sugar. Adjust the salt according to the type of mayonnaise you use :)
• Cut the pineapples into small pieces (I used tinned pineapples since I did not have any fresh ones).
• Let the vegetables cool down and then add them to the mayonnaise mixture. Then add the pineapples and mix well.

• Now put the salad in another bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 

• Serve chilled :)

Enjoy!!!!! Adios

Happy Puja to All :)