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

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 :)

Doi Shorshe Ilish

(Hilsa Fish in mustard and yogurt gravy)

Hola!

Ilish (Hilsa fish) is an absolute favourite of Bengalis. Being a bengali, it is quite impossible to resist the temptation of the hilsa. Although this year the prices of Hilsa are at an all time high in Kolkata but my family and I are ardent Ilish fans and this was our first Ilish this year. Doi shorshe Ilish is a very traditional recipe which my mother and I learnt from my grandma. It is a very simple one too, just takes around 20-25 mins but delicious one. 

Ingredients

• 6 pieces of hilsa fish
• 1 1/2 Tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 Tsp poppy seeds
• 4-5 green chillis
• 1 heaped Tsp red chilli powder (I used Kasmiri Mirch)
• 1/2 Tsp tumeric powder
• 2 heaped Tsp Curd
• 4 Tsp + 2 Tsp mustard oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure 

• Grind and make a paste out of the mustard seeds and the poppy seeds.
• In a bowl mix together the above paste with the curd, tumeric powder, red chilli powder, 4 tsp mustard oil and salt. (You can use any other type of red chilli powder if you want or use less or more as per your liking)
• Wash the fish and marinate the fish with the above mixture. (I used a steel utensil to marinate the fish and cooked the fish in the same utensil.) Make sure all the pieces are covered well with the mixture.

Fish marinated with the mixture (pic with flash)

• Let the fish remain marinated fo 10 mins. (If you want you can skip this step it won't cause a major diffeence in taste :) )
• In order to make gravy add about 1/2 cup water (or less if you want) and mix well.
• Drizzle the remaining 2 tsp mustard oil on top of the fish and add the green chillis. The mustard oil enhances the flavour of the fish.
• Now put that utensil with the marinated fish on a low flame, cover it and cook till the fish is done. It should not take more than 15 mins. Do not stir the fish or else it will break but make sure your flame is low or else the the paste can burn.
• Garnish with green chillis or with chopped coriander. (my grandpa isn't fond of coriander so I did not add it.)

The final product 

 

• Serve with rice.

Served with rice (pic with flash)

(pic without flash)

Note:- If you want to make this more spicy you can grind a few chillies together with the mustard seeds and the poppy seeds.

My family really enjoyed this dish, its the first time I cooked Hilsa.  

Well i hope you will try this recipe and will let me know how it worked for you :)

Until next time adiós :)