at 23:27

Spicy Marinated Fish Fry

Ingredients:

 400g-Fish (I used Herrings. You can use sardine, mackerel, or any other fry that you like to eat fried like Rahu, katla, maybe even prawn should taste good I should imagine)

2-tablespoon lemon juice

1-tablespoon ginger paste

1-tablespoon garlic paste

1-teaspoon chili powder

1-tablespoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

4-tablespoon oil

 Method:

1.    Clean the fish and slash them on both sides

2.    Make a paste of the spices and add lemon juice and salt

3.    Marinate the fish with the spice paste for 10mins

4.    Heat oil in pan

5.    Fry the fish individually, both side should be brown and crispy

6.    Serve with white rice and wedges of lime as starter

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at 23:25

Kalo jeera diye makha makha Aar Mach (Giant river-catfish cooked with nigella seed in spicy thick gravy-very Bengali, very Noakhaila, very my didon dish)

Ingredients:

8-pieces Aar Mach. Washed and clean

¼-teaspoon kaloo jeera

1-teaspoon red chili powder

1-teaspoon turmeric

1-teaspoon cumin powder

1-teaspoon ginger paste

2-green chili, slit length wise

1-bay leaf

Salt to taste

3-tablespoon oil to fry the fish

2-tablespoon to cook

Little coriander leaf, sliced

 Method:

1.    Marinate the fish with bit of red chili, turmeric, salt and the fry until light golden on both sides and cooked well. Do not deep fry

2.    While fish is frying, take all the spices in a bowl, add little water and make a little watery paste

3.    Now when the fish are fried, keep them aside

4.    In the same pan heat more oil

5.    Add bay leaf, kalo jeera and green chili and fry a little

6.    Add the spice paste and cook until oil has separated

7.    Now add the fish and try to turn them so that spice mix is rubbed all over

8.    Fry little and add little water and cook until oil separates

9.    Add little more water ( little extra than the gravy you want to keep but not much as this dish is suppose to be little on the dry side) and cook until desired consistence achieved

10. Add coriander leaf and cook for another 2 mins

11.  Serve with hot boiled rice 

For regular update from my blog, please visit my face book page pet pujo and adda and click ‘like’. Also, follow me at my blog. I am featured at Networkedblogs.  You can also leave your comments here. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Hope to see you again!

 

at 23:27

Sunday Saga Still Continues- Shorshe Ilish (Hilsa Cooked in a Mustard Paste Gravy) --- a quintessentially Bengali Dish!

Ingredients

6-pieces of Ilish / Hilsa

3-green chili, slit length wise

2-teaspoon mustard seed (I used black) or use 2 –teaspoon mustard seed powder (read instruction of soaking on the pack before using)

1-teaspoon turmeric powder

1-teaspoon red chili powder (I used Kashmiri chili, as I do not eat hot. So use as per your taste)

½-teaspoon of kalo jeera/Nigella seed

Salt to taste

3-tablespoon mustard oil (if you do not have, then use any oil really)

 

Method:

1.    Add 1 green chili and salt with the mustard seeds and make a paste ( do not make paste without the chili and salt, otherwise it might turn bitter) and keep side

2.   Marinate the fish with turmeric, chili and salt

3.   Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the fish and keep aside

4.   Heat more oil and add kalo jeera and let it fry

5.   Add the mustard seed paste, salt ( if needed) red chili and fry until oil separate

6.   Add the fried fish and fry little more, combining the paste with the fish

7.   Add little water and cook until fish is cooked and oil have separated from gravy

8.   Add green chili and sprinkle some mustard oil over the cooked fish

9.   Serve with white boiled rice

 For regular update from my blog, please visit my face book page pet pujo and adda and click ‘like’. Also, follow me at my blog . I am featured at Networkedblogs.  You can also leave your comments here. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Hope to see you again!

at 23:22

Noakhali r Macher Steam ( Steamed Fish from Noakhali)

This is one of my favorite fish preparations by my didon (grandmother).  And it is very typically ‘Noakhailla’.  There are two secret of this recipe: the use of oil. The more you use it the better it tastes. And  ‘sukno lanka bata’ ( paste of dry red chili).

However, I am not using dry red chili paste, as I do not have a mixture now. I am also not using as much oil as my didon or ma uses. So as it should be- it does not taste as good as it tastes when cooked my ma or didon. But chalta hai!

Without much ado .. let me just give you the recipe

Ingredients

4-slices of Rahu/Katla/Curp/Sea bream/Sea bass, cleaned

1/2-teaspoon turmeric

½-teaspoon red chili powder (Kashmiri if you like) or more depending on your taste

½-cumin powder

1-bayleaf

5/7-fenugreek seed

Salt to taste

Sugar little bit

Oil as much as you like

Method:

1.     Sprinkle all the powdered spices on the fish

2.    Add lots of oil and rub the fish

3.    Add salt too

4.    Heat oil in a karahi and add fenugreek seed and bay leaf

5.    Add sugar in the oil

6.    When the smell of fenugreek comes out, add the fish

7.    Fry both side of the spiced up fish until light brown

8.    Wash the dish(where you had the spiced raw fish) with little water and add the water to the frying fish

9.    And boil until fish is cooked and gravy is dry and oil has separated

10. Serve with  warm white rice and Gondhoraj lebu

Note: this dish does not taste good if it is not little hot, the color bright red and cooked without lots of oil.

Hope you like the recipe. Why don’t you cook and send your recipe and snap to me, which I can upload as guest post. Also have look at my Facebook pagePet Pujo and Adda   and click ‘like’ . Follow me at Pet Pujo and Adda

 

at 22:47

Basil and Almond Pesto layered baked Fish: Rich and Crunchy and Christmassy

Basil and Almond Pesto layered baked Fish

As promised, I am posting the second fish recipe that I had made last night. Well, although I said that it is an Italian dish, today’s after thought is that I am not sure. The reason being, I really made a pesto (paste) taking the idea from Italian dish but gave it a twist to suit my taste. Can this be still called Italian? Maybe a fusion is more appropriate. Whatever, the taste was great- rich with fish oil, crunchy from the bake and the taste of basil and almond works wonder. What I liked about it is the intricacy and texture of the recipe. I tasted the fish, little sharpness of the chili, bittersweet taste of the basil leaves and then the sweetness of almond. Not to forget, the rich and creamy taste of grated parmesan. It came out really nice, taking consideration that I just made it up with whatever I had in the fridge.

Here is the recipe……hope you like it. Although in all honesty,  it was little oily for my taste ( I am totally oil less food person)  but I know R would have loved it. I did not use that much oil, but as I used Salmon which is very oily (good source of omega 3, the heart friendly oil) and then with the parmesan together with olive oil made it oily. However if you use any other fish I am sure the effect will be different. But taste and texture wise, it was awesomenesssss!

Ingredients:

Handful of Basil leaves, chopped
1- Clove of garlic
1- Green chili or more depending on taste
1-teaspoon pine nut
5/6-almond roasted
Just little, really little bit of roasted cumin (10 cumin max maybe!!!)
1-tablespoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
Grated parmesan as per taste
Red Chili flake as per taste
Olive oil
4- Salmon steaks. Use any fish you like

 Method:

1.   Leaving aside the parmesan, salt, lemon juice , olive oil and red chili flake, grind rest of the ingredients to a paste

2.   Add the lemon juice, olive oil and salt to the paste

3.   Season the fish with salt ( little bit though)

4.   Add parmesan and chili flakes with the paste

5.   Oil a baking tray and arrange the fish

6.   Cover top side of each steak with the paste

7.   Bake the fish on 180c ( fan oven) for 20 mins or until done

8.   Serve with green salad and boiled potatoes

at 07:27

Koi Mache r Kalia (Climbing perch cooked in coconut cream sauce)

Another dish from my grandmother’s kitchen

Ingredients

5- Koi mach (cimbing Perch)

1-teaspoon turmeric

1-red chili powder

½-teaspoon kajo jeera (Nigella seed)

4-cardemom

1-inch cinnamon

1-inch ginger (paste)

½-teaspoon cumin powder

1-cup coconut milk/cream

Salt to taste

3- tablespoon oil

2-green chili for garnishes

 Method:

1.       Marinate the fish with turmeric, salt and red chili powder

2.       Soak rest of the chili powder, turmeric, ginger, cumin in little water

3.       Heat oil

4.       Fry the fish and keep aside

5.       In a different pan, heat oil and add kalo jeer

6.       Add cinnamon and cardamom

7.       Add the soaked spices and fry until oil separates

8.       Add the fish and cook for 5/8 mins

9.       Add coconut milk and salt. Cook until fish is cooked

10.   Serve with hot rice

 

at 16:42

Makha Makha Aloo Chingri (Prawn cooked with potatoes)

Another very simple yet very tasty recipe with prawn. This one is lovely with steamed rice or roti. The days you do not have time for an elaborate cooking yet want to eat something nice, try this one.

Ingredients:
230gm prawn
2-small onion, thinly sliced
2-potatoes, small dices
½-chili powder ( or paprika incase you do not like your food hot)
½- turmeric
½-ginger powder
½-cumin powder
1-tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
 

Method:

1.       Heat oil
2.       Add the diced potatoes in the oil and fry for 5/8 mins
3.       Add the onion and fry until both potatoes and onion is cooked
4.       Add the prawn
5.       Add chili powder, turmeric, ginger , cumin and salt
6.       Fry until spices are mixed well and fried
7.       Sprinkle oil in case sticking at the bottom
8.       Add water and cook for 10/15mins or until the gravy is thick
9.       Serve with steam rice or roti
 

at 13:16

Shadharon Bhapa Chingri (Simple Steamed Prawn)

Ingredients

200gm prawns
½-teaspoon red chili powder
1-tablespoon mustard oil
Salt to taste

 

And nothing else, just as the name suggest! Are you worried about the taste? Don’t be. The salty and sweet taste of prawn mixed with the hotness of chili and sharpness of mustard oil makes an amazing combination.

You will be surprised how less ingredients people in villages use to cook their daily meal, retaining the original taste of individual ingredients used. I have picked up this recipe from one of my many visits in the villages of Bengal and since then it is regularly made in my house and my mother and R adores it for its simplicity.

 

Method:

1.       Mix all the ingredients together really well. You can also break the prawn  like mash if you like

2.       Put the mixture in a steel box and stream in a hot water

3.       Or put in on baking tray and steam in oven or micro oven

at 18:14

Chingri Malaicurry Polao (Prawn Malaicurry Pulao)

                              Chingri Malaicurry Polao (Prawn Malaicurry Pulao)

Want to make a one-pot dinner that is surely going win everyone’s heart yet not wear you out in the kitchen? Try this one! I made it out of sheer desperation and wow is  the result
Nothing more to say, as I will be doing just the same!

 Preparation time: 20mins

Cooking time: 30mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

300gm king Prawn

400gm Long grain Basmati Rice, washed and soaked
250gm coconut milk (low fat will also do, as I used)
50gm grated coconut
2inch-Ginger
1-green chili
2-red chili
3-cardamom
2inch cinnamon
½-teaspoon cumin
½-teaspoon Fennel
2inch Mace
1- teaspoon turmeric
2-tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
Water (as much as needed)

For Raita:

2-cups Yogurt
3inch Cucumber, cut in small pieces
½-onion cut into small pieces
Pinch of red chili
Pinch of Cumin Powder
Salt to taste

 

Method:
1.    Take Ginger,  green chili, red chili, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, fennel, mace  and use a blender to make a paste of the spices

2.    Clean and de-vain the king prawn. Marinate with salt and little turmeric
3.    Heat oil and fry the marinated prawn for 2/3 mins
4.    Add the spice mix with the prawn and fry  properly
5.    Add the grated coconut and fry for 3-4mins
6.    Add the washed rice and fry. Add little more oil if needed. Add little turmeric if you want the rice to look golden yellow. Add salt according to taste
7.    Now , to make pulao/polao I use water and rice in 2:1 ratio
8.     Mix water and coconut milk in equal quantity and add to the fried rice and let it cook

9.     If the rice becomes too dry before being totally cooked add more coconut milk. I am not giving the quantity of the liquid as it varies depending on where you are cooking- cooker, microwave or electric rice maker. So adjust the coconut milk+ water mixture accordingly

10. Do not to stir too often as it might break the rice. If rice is cooked well but you still have liquid, then put the pan on a tawa and let the water dry. Fluff the rice with fork.

11. Serve with raita

Raita:   Mix, yoghurt, cucumber, onion. Salt, chili and cumin powder and chill before serving with Chingri Malaicurry Polao (Prawn Malaicurry Pulao)