To be very guileless ,while I was a kid I didn’t like chire ( chira/flattened rice) at all . Maa tried to force me to eat this with ripe banana, milk, yogurt and sondesh (a special Bengali sweet), which I disliked the most. Though it was a much loved breakfast of my younger brother but I didn’t want to touch it even. Therefore she sometimes prepared an another variety of chire, which in Bengali we called Chirer Pulao. This was my most favorite. Even I simply love it till now.
It’s not only easy to make but also it is very healthy, filling, and tasty too. Moreover it’s an ideal brunch for a lazy holiday. Sometimes I pack my daughter’s lunch box with this and she really likes it. Not only that, one day after returning back from school, making her eyes wider, she told me that she shared her tiffin ( chirer polao ) with her non Bengali friends and everyone praised her saying, "what a yummilicious lunch you've brought"..!!!
Anyway, lets come to the point now. Here is the entire recipe of Bengali Chirer Polao:
Ingredients:
- Flattened Rice/Chira/Chire: 2 Cups
- Water: 2 Cups.
- Green Peas: ¼ Cups.
- Any type of seasonal vegetables: Cauliflowers, carrot or any vegetables of your choice ( handful chopped, though this time I didn’t use none of these) .
- Potato: 1 small ( optional), peeled and cut in small cubes.
- Raisin: Handful
- Cashewnuts: Handful
- Ginger: 1 tsp. (grated)
- Salt: to taste
- Sugar: 2 tbsp ( preferably powder sugar, you may replace it with zero calorie sweetener too, adjust the amount according to your choice)
- Turmeric Powder: A pinch
- Cinnamon Sticks: 1
- Cardamoms: 3-4 nos.
- Cloves: 3-4 nos.
- Sha Jeera (Caraway seeds): 1/4 tsp.
- Bay leaves: 1
- Oil/Ghee: 1/4th Cup
- Garam Masala Powder (1-2 tsp of ground green cardamom, cloves and cinnamon) :1/2 tsp.
Process:
- Rinse the chire in water once and soak them in the water for just 4-5 minutes. Drain the excess water and keep it in a colander. At this time for a better result, mix little salt, sugar and 2 tsp of white oil with the soaked chire.
- Heat ½ of ghee in the pan and add the cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves and caraway seeds and the bay leaves. Let the aroma come out and then add the green peas, cashew nuts and the raisins. On medium flame fry them little. If you are using any vegetables or potatoes add them at this time. Sprinkle little salt on them and fry them on medium flame carefully until they become soft.
- Add the grated ginger and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Now add the soaked chire. Mix in thoroughly. Add the rest of the ghee now. It will help to to keep the rice flakes separated from each other.
- Sprinkle little turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Stir well.
- Check the seasoning . Add more salt and sugar if required.
- Sprinkle the garam masala powder and mix.
- Turn off the flame and the pulao is ready now.
- Garnish it with chopped green chilies and coriander leaves and serve. You may sprinkle fried peanuts on the top.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Laal Maas or Laal Maans ( Red Meat Curry) is a variety of meat dish from Rajasthan in India. It is a mutton curry prepared in a sauce of curd (yogurt) or hot spices such as red chilies. This dish typically is very hot and rich in garlic. But while preparing this I modified it slightly as we neither eat extremely hot dishes nor we withstand excessive flavor of garlic. For that reason,instead of using very hot red chilies, I used the Kashmiri ones so that the red colour of the curry would come yet it couldn't be very hot. On the other hand I reduced the use of the garlic too.
Lets start discussing the recipe now:
Ingredients:
- Mutton: 800 gm
- Whole Red Chilies( original recipe calls for 10-12 nos. hot red chilies but I used the kashmiri red chilies) : 5-6 nos.
- Mustard Oil : 3-4 tbsp.
- Ghee( Indian Clarified Butter) : 4-5 tbsp.
- Onion: Thin Sliced( 5-6 nos., medium size)
- Garlic: 12-15 nos. cloves ( The original recipe calls for a whole pod of garlic)
- Ginger: 2 tsp ( Paste)
- Unsweetened Yogurt: 2/3 Cup.
- Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp.
- Cinnamon Sticks -1
- Cardamoms: 2 (black)
- Cloves: 7-8 nos.
- Bay Leaves: 1
- Peppercorns: 5-6
- Salt: To Taste
- Sugar: A pinch
- Water: As required (Enough to cook the mutton well).
Process:
- In a cup of warm water first soak the red whole chilies and keep it for 10-15 minutes.
- Now in a blender add the garlic cloves, soaked red chilies along with the water and make a fine and smooth paste. Keep it separately.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add the prepared garlic chili paste. Stir it continuously until the oil starts to release from the sides. Keep the flame medium while doing this. Take the mixture out of the pan and keep separately.
- Now take a pressure cooker or a deep bottomed vessel or handi. Add the rest of the oil and the ghee. Let the ghee melt and mix with the oil. Now add the cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves, peppercorn and bay leaves. Let the aroma come out and then add the cumin seeds. Let it crackle for few seconds. Add the sugar and fry it till brown.
- Now add the sliced onions, ginger paste and stir for few minutes.
- Add the mutton pieces and salt. On medium flame cook the mutton pieces with the spices for about 10-12 minutes.
- Beat the yogurt with little water and a pinch of flour and pour it into the vessel. Mix in thoroughly.
- Now add the chili garlic paste, mix in well and stir it for another 10 minutes.
- Now add the water. Bring it to boil and then cover the vessel with a heavy lid and simmer it on low flame until the mutton is well cooked and becomes tender.
- Once done uncover it and check the seasoning.
- The curry I made had little thick gravy. If you want, you may prepare little thin gravy also. In that case you need to add little more water.
- Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatti.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
One more luscious Hilsa recipe I am going to share today. Monsoon is about to say bid adieu to the state still the Bangladeshi fish supplier is supplying us very good quality hilsa and this time I made a new recipe with it which I learned from one of my very good friend.
So, here is the entire process:
Ingredients:
- Hilsa/Ilish:4-5 piece
- Freshly grated Coconut paste:4 tbsp(no coconut milk or powder)
- Poppy seeds paste:2 tbsp
- Green chili:4-5,slitted
- Nigella seeds:1/2 tsp
- Turmeric powder:1/2 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Mustard oil:5 tbsp
- Hot water:1 cup
Process:
- Clean and wash the hilsa pieces and rub it with a little turmeric powder & salt.
- Keep it for 5 minutes.
- Make a paste of freshly grated coconut and poppy seeds.
- Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan/wok.
- Fry the hilsa pieces slightly. Take them out of the pan and keep separately. You may discard the oil and pour it into a separate bowl for eating raw with steaming hot rice. That is another favorite of us, Bengali.
- Heat a tbsp of fresh oil..
- Temper with nigella seeds and slitted green chilies.
- Add coconut-poppy seeds paste.
- Cook it by stirring it continuously for 4-5 minutes.
- Add a cup of hot water when the nice aroma of coconut-poppy seeds paste comes out. Give few nice stirs.
- Add the hilsa pieces and chilies when the gravy starts boiling.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add a tsp of raw mustard oil on the top. You may add few more slitted green chilies if you want .
- Sprinkle little freshly grated coconut on the top and serve it hot with steamed rice.
Enjoy Your Food....!!!
A perfect recipe for a lazy weekend or Sunday….. simple, easy to make yet scrumptious …. Mutton lovers cant stop licking their fingers after having this dish for sure…. :D
Here it goes:
Ingredients:
- Mutton: 800 gm.( Curry cut)
- Onion: 5 Large (thin sliced or paste)
- Garlic: 10-12 Cloves( Crushed)
- Ginger: 2 “ (Paste)
- Cumin Powder: 1 tsp.
- Coriander Powder: 1 tsp.
- Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp.
- Red Chili Powder: 1 -2 tsp ( adjust according to your taste)
- Dry Whole Red Chili : 2-4 nos.
- Salt: To Taste
- Sugar: ½ tsp.
- Mustard Oil: 5-6 tbsp.
- Unsweetened Yogurt: ½ Cup (beaten with little water and a pinch of white flour)
- Cinnamon Sticks: 1
- Cloves: 4-5 nos.
- Cardamoms: 3-4 nos.
- Bay Leaves: 2
- Potato:2 -3 ( large diced)
- Water: 2 cups ( or as required to boil the mutton)
Process:
- Wash the mutton with little hot water and pat them dry with kitchen towel. Then mix the mutton with 3 tbsp of mustard oil, onion slices, ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, dry red chili (whole), cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves. Keep it atleast for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Mean while fry the diced potato with salt and turmeric powder slightly and keep them aside.
- Now heat rest of the mustard oil in a kadhai, (deep bottomed vessel) and add the whole marinated mutton into the hot oil. On medium to low flame cook the mutton until oil separated from the sides. Now add the fried diced potato and cook for another few minutes.
- Now pour the water and cover. Increase the flame and cook until the mutton pieces are done very well. You may pressure cook your mutton too. For this you need to cook up to 2-3 whistles depending on the size and the amount of your mutton pieces.
- Once the mutton pieces becomes tender and well cooked, uncover the vessel and adjust the gravy according to your choice. Taste the seasoning and add salt or sugar if required.
- Turn off the flame. Sunday special mutton curry is ready to serve. Serve it with hot fluffy rice along with lemon slices.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Friday is considered to be a vegetarian day in my family all the time. On that day I don’t even use onion and garlic in any of my preparations. Most of the time, therefore I prefer to cook paneer dishes( Indian Cottage Cheese). On this Friday I made shahi paneer with Bengali sweet pulao. Previously I shared an another recipe of Shahi Paneer where I used onion and garlic and today going to share the no onion /no garlic version of that recipe.
Here comes it …
Ingredients:
- Paneer -200gms (cut in cubes)
- Cashew Nuts-12(soaked in warm milk for 10-15 mins)
- Tomatoes-2 nos (chopped and puree)
- Green Chili -1 nos (paste)
- Ginger-1 inch (paste)
- Asafetida / Hing – A pinch
- Bay leaves-2 nos
- Coriander powder-1 tsp
- Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
- Red chilli powder-1/4 tsp (adjust to taste)
- Yogurt-1/2 cup
- Sugar-1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil-3 tbsp
- Cinnamon Sticks:1
- Cardamoms:3-4 nos.
- Cloves:2-3 nos.
- Sha jeera ( Caraway seeds)-1 tsp
- Bay Leaves:2
- Water: 1 Cup.
- Cream : 2 tsp.
Process:
- At first cut the paneer into cubes and soak them into warm water with little salt for 10 minutes approximately.
- Now heat little oil into the pan and sauté the soaked paneer cubes with little turmeric powder slightly.Keep them aside.
- Soak the cashewnuts in warm milk and make a smooth paste of it. Keep separately.
- Chop the tomatoes and blend it. I want to mention here that I didn’t blanch my tomatoes but if you want go for that.
- Now heat the oil into the pan. Once it becomes hot add the cinnamon sticks, cloves ,cardamoms, bay leaves and the caraway seeds. Once the nice aroma comes out and the cumin seeds start to splatter add the tomato puree into it. Sprinkle little salt . Stir it continuously on medium flame and then add the ginger paste and the asafetida. Mix thoroughly.
- Now add coriander powder,turmeric powder,red chilli powder.Cook the mixture,stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Cook until oil starts releasing from sides.
- Add sugar, cashew paste and yogurt. Cook for another few minutes minute and then add 1 cup of water and salt . Mix thoroughly and bring it to boil.
- Add paneer and cover the pan. Simmer for a few minutes over medium to low heat, till the gravy becomes little thick in consistency. Don’t keep it very watery or too tight.
- Turn off the flame. Pour the cream on the top , garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve with roti , paratha naan or polao.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
Kanda Poha or Flattened Rice With Onions is a very conventional and delectable breakfast recipe . It is not only good for you but also good for your young one.
Here is the process of making kanda poha.
Ingredients:
- Flattened Rice( Thick Variety): 2 Cups
- Onion: 2 Medium ( Finely Chopped)
- Mustard Seeds: 1 tsp.
- Turmeric Powder: ½ tsp.
- Salt: To Taste
- Sugar: ½ tsp.
- Oil: 2-3 tbsp.
- Asafoetida: A pinch
- Lemon Juice:1 tsp.
- Peanuts: 2 tsp ( soaked in water)
- Curry Leaves: 6-7
- Green Chilli: 2-3 (chopped)
- Coriander Leaves: Chopped, 1 tsp.
Process:
- Wash the poha in a colander. Poha should be moist but not mashed. Add salt and sugar and mix lightly.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter add asafetida and curry leaves. Saute for half a minute and add onions and continue to sauté.
- Add green Chiliies and mix. Add the turmeric powder and mix. Sauté for two minutes and add the soaked peanuts. You may add thin slices of boiled potato too.
- Mix and cook till the poha is heater though. Add the lemon juice and mix lightly.Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve hot.
Enjoy Your Food...!!
Since last few weeks, I got little bored of making almost similar type of chicken or mutton recipes at the weekends for my family. Desperately I was looking for something new. Then none other than my beautiful sister Sanchita helped me out. She suggested me one of her little off bit chicken recipe, which she called Goanese Chicken Curry. Without a second thought I prepared it for my family and nevertheless to tell that everyone liked it. You can choose this recipe for your weekend indulgence or even for your guests. Very obviously everyone will praise your dish.
Let’s start discussing the recipe now.
Ingredients:
- Chicken (I used Curry Cut pieces): 750-800gms.
- Prawns/Shrimps: 10-12 nos. medium sized (decapitated, shelled and de veined)
- Onions: 2 (thinly sliced and fried, Barista) .
- Black Pepper Powder: 1tsp.
- Cardamom and Cinnamon Paste: 1 tsp.
- Crushed Garlic: 1 tsp.
- Ginger Garlic Paste: 2 tsp.
- Yogurt: ½ cup
- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp.
- Green Chili: 2-4 nos. (chopped or paste)
- Salt: As per taste.
- Sugar: ½ tsp.
- Vinegar: 1 tsp.
- Mustard Oil: 2-3 tbsp (For Cooking)
- White Oil : 1/2 Cup for frying the chicken
- Water: 1 ½ Cup.
Process:
- At first make the friend onions or barista carefully . The key to make crispy fried onions is thinly sliced onions. Yes, so thin that you can even see through the slice . Heat oil in a wok/kadai on low heat. Make sure the oil is only hot enough so that when you add the onions it sizzles. Add all the onions to the kadai ,the onions should submerge in the oil. Let it cook till it bubbles. And then turn up the heat to medium.
- Once the onions go to the light golden color, it doesn't take much time to go to brown and dark brown.
- Remove the onions and let them drain the excess oil keeping them on a tissue. Your barista or crispy fried onion is ready to use now.
- Marinate the prawns with little salt and turmeric powder meanwhile and heat little oil in a separate pan and slightly fry them. Put the fried prawns in a blender and blend them till it becomes smooth. Keep the paste separately.
- Now marinate the chicken pieces with the cardamom-cinnamon paste, green chili paste,1 tsp of crushed garlic, black pepper powder, salt, vinegar and a pinch of kashmiri red chili powder and half of the yogurt. Keep the chicken into the refrigerator at least for 2 hours.
- Now heat the white oil in a deep bottomed vessel and fry the chicken pieces carefully. Take them out of the vessel and keep separately.
- Now discard the friend white oil and add the mustard oil in the same pan. Add the ginger garlic paste. Cook for few minutes on low flame and then add the rest of the kashmiri red chili powder. Add the rest of the yogurt ( beaten with a pinch of white flour and water to avoid curdling) and cook on medium flame for few minutes.
- Now add the prawn paste and mix generously. If required, you may sprinkle little water at this time and mix properly. Add the friend onions or barista. Sprinkle little more water.
- Then add the salt and sugar and give a nice stir. Add the fried chicken pieces now and mix thoroughly.
- Cook the chicken until oil starts to release from the sides of the vessel.
- Add the water now and cover. Cook until he chicken pieces are done properly and become soft and tender.
- Uncover and check the seasoning. The goanese chicken curry has a thick gravy so don’t make it very watery.
- Once you get your desired consistency, turn off the flame and serve the chicken garnished with fried onions and prawns.
Enjoy Your Food...!!!
