Recipe of Shorshe Ilish / Recipe of Ilish fish in mustard gravy

This is a very tasty nonveg recipe.  It is a fish item cooked with mustard seeds and it is one of the loved recipe by bengalis.  I am talking about "Shorshe Ilish".  Thinking of it my mouth is getting watery.  As I love Ilish fish, so any item which included this fish, I would love to try all those dishes.

Shorshe Ilish

Ingredients:

• Ilish fish
• Mustard seeds
• Green chili
• Salt to taste
• Turmeric powder
• Mustard Oil

How to prepare:

• First clean the fish and mix little turmeric powder and salt and marinate for sometime.
• Heat oil in a pan and then fry the marinated fish for a minute just to take out the raw smell and keep aside.
• Make paste of mustard seed and green chilis.
• Heat oil in a pan then put lil black cumin seeds and fry for half a minute.
• Add paste of mustard seeds & green chilies, turmeric powder, fry for  half a minute and then add water in it and let it come to boil.
• After the water comes to boil add fish in it and let it cook until the gravy is thicken.
• "Shorshe Ilish" is ready to serve with rice.  

Recipe of Puri / Luchi / Fried Indian Bread

Luchi / Loochi, Puri, fried Indian bread is a very popular item for breakfast in Indians.  In Bengal, north India it is been cooked in ghee (clarified butter), but only difference in this two place is; in Bengal they usually use all-purpose flour and in North India they use whole wheat flour.  But for health purpose it is better to use whole wheat flour. For puri / luchi there need to be side dish to eat with.  Alur dum (potato curry), Sweet dish like suji (semolina), kumror dalna (pumpkin curry), cholar dal all these recipes compliment with luchi.  I usually try to modify traditional recipes for healthy and easy method.  Instead of all purpose flour I love to use whole wheat flour for this item. Because of this the texture changes from white to red of fried puffed Indian bread for using whole wheat flour.

Luchi / Fried Indian bread

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour – 2 cups
• Water as require for needing
• Salt – ½ teaspoon
• Oil  or Ghee(clarified butter ) – 1 tablespoon for needing and 2 cups for deep frying the luchi.

How to prepare:

• Take flour in a big bowl (for needing it would be helpful), add salt, oil and mix it nicely.
• Then add water little by little to make dough.  This mixing has to be properly done to make the luchi finely.  Keep the dough covered for 30 minutes minimum.  So that it becomes soft.
• Make small ball of the dough to make luchi. 
• While making luchi, take a ball in hand roll on your palm with both the hand and press it gently.
• Then sprinkle little dry flour on the rolling board, keep the pressed ball and roll it over with a rolling pin.
• The size of the rolled flat part of the dough should be 3 or 4 inches.
• Next heat a deep frying pan and pour oil and heat it properly.
• Add one flat rolled luchi on the pan to cook in medium to high flam while it is beginning to puff and move the rolled piece by pressing with a flat spoon, then while it is beginning to change it’s color means it is cooked from that side turn it over to other side to cook.
• Same way cook the other side also and once it is changing color, it is ready to remove from fire.
• Put a tissue paper on the plate where luchi could be kept after taking out from fire.  So the extra oil would be soaked in the tissue.
• It is ready to serve with side dishes.
• Here I have served luchi it with Kumro alur dalna and it was mouth watery.

Luchi with kumror dalna

Recipe of Banana Flower Curry / "Mochar Ghonto"

Banana flowers is eaten as vegetable in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.  It can be eaten as fries, curry.  Banana, its flower, tender stem from inside the tree, everything can be cooked and it is delicious to eat.  Banana leaf also is used in many cooking ways to cover fish or vegetable and steamed in rice or on fire itself.  Banana tree is useful in all ways.

Here I have added recipe of  banana flower curry or "mochar ghonto".  This is a very popular veg recipe among bengalis and treasured it.  Personally this is one of my favorite items.  

Mochar Ghonto

Ingredients:

• Banana flower - 1
• Potato - 2 medium sized
• Ginger - 1 inch cube piece
• Red chili - 2 / 3
• Oil
• Salt to taste
• Cumin powder -  2 teaspoon 
• Turmeric powder - 2/3 of teaspoon
• Sugar to taste
• Ghee to taste
• Cumin seed - 2 pinches

How to prepare:

• One necessary thing is before you start cleaning the banana flower add little mustard oil in hand so that after cleaning the flower your hand remains free from stickiness and it is little hassle free to clean.
• The flower needs to be cleaned properly to cook.  If it is not cleaned properly, you won't get the proper taste of it.  The hard stem from inside and a transparent peeling cover needs to remove while cleaning.  Please see the picture to understand which part needs to throw.

  

  Hard stem of banana flower

   
• After cleaning the whole thing chop it in small pieces and clean then soak in water at least 30 minutes.

  

  Soaked chopped banana flower 

   
• Then put it in pressure cooker with salt and water and pressure cook it in medium flame for 15 minutes or 4 to 5 whistle whichever is earlier.
• After taking it out from pressure cooker and draining the remaining water once it is cool, squeeze it with your hand to bring towards mashing it. and keep aside.

  

  Boiled & mashed banana flower

  
  
• Heat 3 tablespoon oil  in a pan and add cumin seeds and cook for a minute. Then add a tablespoon of moong dal in it and cook til golden brown.
• Then add potato cut into small pieces and cook it til it is lil golden brown.

  

  Moong dal & potato

• Add banana flower, salt and mix it nicely, then let it cook for sometime.
• Next add turmeric powder, paste of ginger,cumin seeds and red chilis and cook it.

  

  Cooking mochar ghonto

• Once it is cooked add sugar to taste and stir it nicely.
• Add little ghee for flavour and smell just before taking it out from fire.
• "Mocha ghonto" / Banana flower Curry is ready ready to serve.

Recipe of Pumpkin & Potato Curry / "Kumro Aloor Dalna"

Pumpkin is a very colorful vegetable and it is healthy and tasty to eat.  Recipes with pumpkin are very delicious.  I love fries, curry and mash of it.  I am writing down all this recipes in this page to make it available to all.  It is always good to share and it gives an immense pleasure to know when people use your recipe and say it is very nice.  you feel out of the world.

Here I have the recipe of pumpkin and potato curry.  In bengali we say "kumro aloor tarkari" or Kumro aloor dalna.

Kumro Aloor Dalna

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin - 300 grams 
• Potato -  2 medium sized 
• Kalonji / kalo jeera / Black cumin - 2 pinch
• Turmeric powder - 1/3 of tablespoon
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil - 3 / 4 tablespoon
• Green Chili - 3 / 4

How to prepare:

• Cut pumpkin in big chunks after peeling the skin and potatoes pieces should be smaller than pumpkin pieces.

  

  Pumpkin pieces

• Heat oil in a pan then add black cumin and cook for few seconds
• Add potato and fry until little brown, then put green chili, pumpkin, turmeric powder and salt then cover it and cook in low flame.

  

  Cooking kumro aloor dalna

• Once it is cooked add little water to make gravy and bring it to boil.
• "Kumro Aloor Dalna" is ready to serve with roti / puri/ luchi / rice.
• This curry best goes with puri or luchi.

Luchi with Kumror aloor dalna

Nutrients value:

Pumpkin is rich in vitamin (A, B-Complex, C) and minerals (Potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium.  It is also helps in cholesterol control.  This vegetable is also high in fiber.

Recipe of "Kumro Saag Posto" / Pumpkin leaves with Poppy seeds

Green leaves are always very healthy and nutritious item to add to your meal regularly.  Pumpkin leaves are eaten in many different ways like; fries,chorchori (mishmash) with other vegetables, with dal.  It has many nutritious value too.  My recipe of pumpkin leaves with poppy seeds / "kumro saag posto" is a bengali recipe mostly eaten by bengalis but thanks to internet that the recipe available to anyone in other side of the world.

Kumro Saag Posto

Ingredients:

• Tender pumpkin leaves with tender stem.
• Poppy seeds - 2 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• Cooking Oil
• Kalo jeera / Black cumin seeds
• Green chili - 2 / 3

How to prepare:

• Tear the whole leaves in 4 parts, peel the outer part of stem to take out the hard part of it from the stems and cut into 3 inches pieces.
• Wash and drain water.
• Make paste of  Poppy seeds and green chili add little water and keep aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and add 15/20 kalo jeera or black cumin seeds on heated oil and wait for a minute
• Add pumpkin leaves, salt to taste, little turmeric powder then stir and mix all  nicely and cover it  and let it cook in medium flame for 5 minutes.
• Check and stir after that and if it is tender and cooked then add poppy seeds/ posto paste in it and mix it nicely and bring to boil.
• Once you realize that the paste blends well with the leafy vegetable and cooked can take out of flame.
• It is ready to serve with rice as side dish with other curries.

Nutrients value:

Pumpkin is rich in vitamins (A, C) and minerals (calcium, iron).  It is also rich in protein.    It helps in sugar control and lower cholesterol.  also boost immune system of our body.  It is also known that pumpkin leaves and pumpkin also is good for ladies for breastmilk.

Recipe of Dahi Puchka / Dahi puri

Puchka or pani puri or gol goppa is very popular street food in various part of India.  Here I am talking about Kolkata style pani puri which is known as puchka in Bengal.  It is the all time favorite spicy, tangy, delicious and loved by all ages people.

Dahi Puchka

Ingredients:

• Puri - 20 pieces
• Potato - 2 large potatoes
• Black peas - 2 tablespoon
• Roasted cumin powder - 1 teaspoon
• Chili powder - 1 teaspoon
• Green chili
• Black salt
• Tamarind - a lemon size ball of riped tamarind
• Chaat masala - 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Sugar
• Mint leaves
• Coriander leaves
• Curd / yogurt - 1/2 cup curd
• 1 Cup of sev bhujia

How to prepare:

Filling / Potato mixture:

• Boil potato and black peas, peel skin of potatoes and mash it.
• Add boiled peas in it,  black salt and salt to taste, red chili powder, chopped green chili, 1/3 portion of chat masala.
• Chop mint and coriander leaves and keep it separately which would require for garnishing.

Curd / Yogurt:

• Add little black salt, chat masala, chili powder mix it nicely.

Water :

• Soak tamarind ball in water for 10 minuter and when it is softened take out the excess water and squeeze tamarind with hand to make the pulpe out of it, do this procedure twice and there would be enough pulpe. then mix little water and strain the whole thick paste. tamarind pulp is ready to use.
• Take a dip pan and add tamarind pulp, black salt, salt to taste, sugar to get the sweet taste, roasted cumin powder, chili powder, chat masala and 1 glass of water, then stir  and mix it.
• Add chopped mint leaves and stir to mix it.
• Add ice cubes into the water to get a tangy and chilled feeling.
• Water is ready to use / serve now.

Dahi puchka the main item:

• Take crispy puris, tap and make a small whole in top of the puri so filling could be put inside
• Take a small portion of potato mixture add in it
• Then add half spoon of thick sweet, spicy and tangy water on the mixture
• Put 1/2 teaspoon of yogurt on it,  then top it with sev bhujia.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves on top of yogurt to complete the preparation.
• The most loved street food in Kolkata is ready to serve at the comfort of the home.
• Our Dahi puchka / Dahi puri is ready to eat.

Recipe of Mashed Potato / Aloo Bharta

Mashed Potato is a very tasty side dish, can be eaten with rice.  It is very easy to make and tasty too.

Potato preparation is very popular in all part of India.  In Bengali it is called aloo bharta and this recipe is very popular and very commonly used in all households.

Aloo bharta

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 2 big sized
• Onion - 1 medium sized
• Green chili - 1
• Cooking Oil
• Salt to taste

How to prepare:

• Boil potato, peel it and mash it.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan then add sliced onion and green chili.

  

  Onion frying on pan

• Saute until onion is golden brown, add mashed potato and salt to taste and mix it nicely.

  

  Mashed potato with onion

• Mashed potato / Aloo bharta is ready to serve with rice.

Nutrients value:

Potato is rich in carbohydrates. It contains vitamins (B, C) and minerals (potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium).