Alu Bhathe - Potato in Rice

Alu Bhathe

Alu (potato) Bhathe (in rice) is comfort food that brings back memories of my childhood. Babies thrive on it and grown-ups relish it. 

Alu Makha

It's obvious I need to visit the Indian market because there's not a drop of mustard oil at home. Fortunately, there's a bottle of kasundi (mustard sauce) in the fridge which worked well to give this mash the hint of mustard it needs. 

Basmati Rice & Russet Potato
Cooked in Microwave Oven

It takes 18 minutes for basmati rice to cook to perfection in the microwave which was perfect for the russet potato as well. The potato can also be cooked in rice in a rice cooker. Just to be on the safe side, I cut the potato in half to make sure it cooked all the way through.

Parshey Maach-er Jhaal or Mullet in Mustard Gravy

Parshey Maach-er Jhaal

Fish is a staple in Bengali households. For those who can afford it, a Bengali has four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea & snacks and dinner. Lunch and dinner comprise at least 3 dishes consisting of vegetables, lentils and meat, poultry, fish, shrimp or seafood, accompanied by rice or rootis/chapatis. 

White mullet or parshey maach is a sweet and delicious fish that requires a light touch because it breaks apart easily. This preparation, therefore, is ideal because it doesn't require too much stirring. In fact, it is even easier if the fish is combined with the rest of the ingredients (except for the mustard oil and cilantro used for garnishing) and simply slid into hot oil which has been sputtered with nigella seeds, covered and simmered over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.

To add more heat to this fish dish, reserve a few slit green chilies to garnish before serving.

Chaal Diye Muror Ghonto - Fish Pilaf

Chaal Diye Muror Ghonto

In Bengali, muro means fish head and ghonto is a melange of different ingredients. Adding rice and potatoes is one way to cook fish heads in the Bengali style. Muror Ghonto can also be made with a variety of vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage or bottle squash. It can also be combined with mung dal and served as a lentil course. 

Most Bengalis love fish. Filleted fish is only used to make breaded fried fish. In most Bengali households, the entire fish, bone-in and including the head and tail, is consumed. In fact, fish head is considered to be the tastiest part of the fish. In my experience, the heads of rui or katla (both of which belong in the carp family) are the tastiest. I've tried using salmon head and love its flavour, but the bones are very sharp and takes expertise to remove in order to avoid injury to the throat. Today I was in the Asian market and picked up a package of grouper head. Unfortunately, rui & katla are not as readily available.

Hubby won't touch fish head because of a fear of its bones, but enjoys the rest of this pulao. For him, I included a few pieces of fish, devoid of bones. Make sure to marinate the fish head in a lot of garlic paste to get rid of the fishy odour. Even though it's getting very cold outside, the doors and windows were opened wide while this was cooking. 

A combination of mustard and olive oil has been used to cook this dish, but any vegetable oil will do. 

Pickled Habaneros In Mustard Oil

Pickled Habaneros In Mustard Oil

Over the summer my habanero plant produced a bumper crop of hot peppers. It was an orange habanero plant, identified as Oh (orange habanero) on the Scoville Scale with a rating of 150k-325k. In comparison, the jalapeno pepper has a Scoville rating of 2.5k-8k.

Home-grown Habanero Peppers

About a week ago, I harvested the last batch of peppers before the frost set in. I soaked them in a sink full of water for 2 days, to wash off the dust and grime. 

The Main Ingredients

My sister, Rene, gifted me a 'hamam dista' or mortar & pestle which I used to grind black mustard seeds with salt.

Pickling Spices

The ground mustard was combined with roasted chili powder, turmeric and poured onto the cut peppers in a sterilized glass jar. 

Peppers Covered with Mustard Oil

Mustard oil was poured to cover the peppers and spices. The bottle of pickled peppers was placed in the sun for a week and are now ready to be enjoyed with dinner.

Tilapia & Spinach in Ginger Sauce

Bengali Fish Florentine

This should be called Bengali Fish Florentine and is adapted from a recipe on Facebook. Mustard oil has become a staple in my kitchen only recently and now I cannot cook meat or fish without it. It is the preferred cooking medium in the state of Bengal in India. The flavour of mustard is further enhanced with the use of Coleman’s mustard powder, added at the end of the cooking process.