মুড়িঘন্ট ( মাছের মাথা দিয়ে ডাল) Lentil with fish head

• One Fish head (Roho or Katla Fish, Cut into small pieces )
• Moong Dal ( 1 cup)
• Ghee -1tsp
• Garama masala powder
• Cummin seeds
• Bayleaf
• Mustard oil
• Finely chopped onion- 1large
• Finely chopped tomato-1 large 
• Finely chopped garlic- 2 tsp
• Ginger paste 2 tsp
• Green chillies
• Red Chilly Powder
• Salt and sugar to tatste
 

Dry fry the moong dal till you get that typical fried-daal aroma. Then boil the moong dal in a pressure cooker and keep aside.   

Clean the fish head thoroughly under running water and marinate with salt and turmeric powder for half an hour. Fry the fish head in mustard oil till it is brown in colour on both the sides and keep aside. 

In the same oil sprinkle cummin seeds and bayleaf to splutter. Then add the onion and fry till it is  golden brown in colour. Add tomato, garlic and ginger paste one by one and saute' for 3-4 minutes. Add red chilly powder, salt, sugar and green chillies. Now add the boiled moong dal along with the fried fish head. Add water and turmeric powder. Bring it to boil. Sprinkle ghee and garam masala on top and serve with pulao or plain rice. 

This is a special Bengali dish which is served at lunch  during traditional Bengali festivals.

Rude Food Of Bengal

 Most of the recipes that are talked or written about fall into the category of the exotic and eclectic but beneath the glitz and glamour of -- if I may be allowed to coin a word -- this food-eratti, there lies a wholesome underbelly of tasty, nutritious dishes that is both well known and widely used in the rustic belts of rural Bengal. This is the food that is cooked in the homes of those who are not so wealthy and more importantly have not had the chance to read magazines or watch the TLC on TV ! Someone calls this the "rude food" of Bengal -- that is easy to make, good for your health and yet tasty to eat. Is that a contradiction in terms ? Whatever .. please enjoy ...
Let us start with " Barbecued Brinjal" aka "Begun-Pora" which is very easy to make at home. You should try with Brinjal available in the winter season. Peel off the roasted brinjal and mash it with tomato, onion, green chillies, corriander leaves and of course with salt and a little sugar. Do not forget to sprinkle mustard oil and lemon juice on top. Serve hot with steamed rice and roti!

Generally we eat the fresh winter radish (Mulee/Mulo) and throwaway its leaves. Most of us do not know the foodvalue of this green/leafy part of  raddish but in fact it is full of iron and minerals. You can quite simply cook the finely chopped, well cleaned radish leaves by first boiling them with a pinch of salt and then stir-fry the same in refined oil with splatter of mustard seeds, whole red mirchi, sugar and  a little fresh mustard paste.

If you are suffering from annorexia or having a general reluctance to eating, then neem cooked with brinjal or "Neem-Begun" is a splendid antidote. This is particularly true after a prolonged illness, fever, cold and cough when you do not like to have any food then please start your lunch with Neem-Begun and hot rice.  You can simply marinate neem and  the finely chopped brinjal  with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder. Then fry the neem leaves in refined oil till brown and crispy. Then into the same oil add the brinjal pieces and stirfry till the brinjals becomes crispy. Mix both of them thoroughly and serve with hot rice.

There are different sizes of shrimps available in Bengal. [ Not to be confused with the prawns, the big headed Galda and the feline Bagda ] There are the very small ones called kucho-chingri generally used in fried rice /noodles/ chochhori. But there are even smaller ones, the nano chingri obtained in the fresh water ponds -- and these are called Ghusho-chingri. These are very inexpensive and generally available during winter. If you can buy fresh ghusho chingri from local markets you can make the famous Ghusho-Chingrir Bora generally eaten in rural bengal. This bora ( or vada) is very tasty but you have to be very careful while washing these nano-shrimps because  these are so tiny that and the shells are so thin that it is very difficult to remove them -- you might as well eat the lot. Rinse them several times in rumming water and also by soaking in a bowl of water then squeze out all  the water with your hand -- along with the troublesome mud if any. Mix salt, turmeric powder, finely chopped green chillies, besan, poppy seeds and red mirchi powder. Mash them well, then pat them into small discs and then deep fry in mustard oil. Serve hotwith rice and dal.

The flowers of pumpkin ( Kumro Ful ) is a very good source of Vitamin A, beta carotine. Pumpkin Flower  is not only anti carcinogenic but it is very tasty as well.  You can simply  deep fry them   in oil by coating the flowers with basan, rice flower, poppy seeds , red mirchi powder, salt and kalojeera. Serve hot and crispy Kumro- Ful with rice and dal.

Shorshe Eelish

The hilsa or eelish is one of the most loved fishes to Bengalis and Bangladeshis. Found in the tidal estuaries in and around the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, this fish can be eaten in a variety of forms - smoked,  fried, steamed, or even baked (inside leaves of the banana plant). These fish breed during the monsoon season, and are generally caught at the same time. Eelish eggs are a delicacy too.

1. Eelish fish
2. salt and turmeric to marinate
3. mustard oil
4. green chillies
5. mustard paste

Procedure :

 Marinate the fish steak with salt and turmeric powder. Heat the wok. Add 1 tsp mustard oil. And arrange the marinated fish steaks. Simmer for 2 mins. Add the mustard green chilly paste to it. Then add salt, and water. Boil for 5 mins. Add enough slit green chillies and 2 tbsp mustard oil. Boil for another 2 mins. Remove from heat.

Serve with hot rice.

Try TANGRA this week end !!

• Tangra Fish : marinated with salt, turmeric powder and a pinch of red chilly powder.
  
• A fine paste made from black mustard and a few dry red chillies.
• Mustard oil.
• Panch forone.
• Finely chopped corriander leaves.
• Finely chopped tomatoes.
• Green chillies.
• Green peas
  

• Heat mustard oil and fry the Tangra fish till golden brown. Close the lid while frying. Keep aside.
  
• In the remaining oil add panch forone to splatter.
• Then add the tomatoes,green chillies and green peas.
• Add the mustard paste and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add a little water and then add the fried fish.
• Close the lid and bring it to boil on a slow flame to ensure complete cooking.
• Add 2tbsp Mustard oil and chopped corriander leaves on top.
• Serve with hot rice.
  

Prawn Malai Curry

• 
• Prawn: shelled, deveined and cleaned thoroughly
• Coconut: grated and ground in a mixie along with green chillies, nutmeg and javitri.
• Ghee and Mustard oil
• Ginger paste
• Onion paste
• Garlic paste
• Garam Masala: Coarsely ground
• Green Chillies
• Kismis and Bay leaf
• Salt, Sugar and Turmeric powder

Heat oil in a pan. Fry the onoin paste till golden brown. Add garlic and ginger paste, bayleaf, and a hand full of kismis (rasins). Saute for a few minutes. Then add the coconut paste along with salt and sugar as per choice. Sprinkle turmeric powder into the mixture. Then add the Prawns. Fry them in the thick gravy for five minutes. Add a little water and bring it to boil. Add ghee on top along with Garam Masala. Garnish with green chillies.

Serve hot with rice/chapati/fried rice.

Topse-Fry (FRIED MANGO FISH)

" TOPSE "( aka MANGO fish) in Bengal is a delicious sweet water fish. It is abunduntly available in summer time when the mango is also available. The word TOPSE came from the Bengali word TAPAS which means SAGE. The fish is saffron in colour with lots of tentacles. In this way it resembles a sage. So it is called TOPSE.
TOPSE FRY is one of the exotic dish, specially served during the BENGALI NEW YEAR celebrations. It is pretty expensive.

Ingredients:
Topse mach ( MANGO FISH) : de-scaled and cleaned thoroughly, marinated with salt and a pinch of turmeric powder and lemon juice.
Green chillies, garlic and ginger (ground together into a coarse paste) required to marinate the fish.
For 4 pieces of fish 4tsp paste is required to marinate .
Gram flour (Besan) : well beaten in a pan with cold water to mke a thin paste adding salt, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, kalojeera and 1tsp kusksus (posto or poppy seeds).
Mustard oil for frying.

The fish is marinated with the chilly-garlic-ginger paste for at least 1 hour.
Heat oil in a pan and coat each fish in the batter (previously made from besan) and deep fry till golden brown.
Serve hot with mustard sauce as a snacks.

special aloo posto

This is my husband, Prithwis' favourite recipe. He is an engineer from IIT KGP, a PhD from UT Dallas, Texas. Apart from a being a complete food-freak, he is the most delightful person on earth. You can visit his web-space on http://www.yantrajaal.com, which completed ten years this May

Ingredients:

• shrimp (shelled, deveined, and cleaned) - 200gms
• posto (kus-kus) - finely ground with a few green chillies and water -1cup
• potato - diced
• patol (parwal) - finely chopped
• jhingey - chopped
• paanch phorone (a combination of five spices - kalanji, cummin, fenugreek, saunf, mustard)
• mustard oil
• green chillies
• salt and turmeric powder

Procedure

Heat mustard oil, and add add 1tsp paanch phorone to splatter. Then add all the vegetables. Fry them for 10 minutes. Now add the shrimp, salt and turmeric powder, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Do NOT add ANY water. Pour 2 tbsp mustard oil, and add the slit green chillies, when the potato is completely cooked.

Serve hot with rice.