Bengali Chicken Stew

 

The most easy recipe and comfort food, that we most of us in Bengali household must have had as kids on a regular basis and even after growing up we enjoy having it with hot steamed rice..... specially in winters when we get varieties of fresh vegetables in the market and its also made on the days when someone in the family is unwell. It’s made with loads of vegetables like cauliflower, green peas, beans, carrot, potatoes, raw papaya, tomato, onion, ginger, garlic and chicken. We can replace oil with ghee.. then butter is not required. 

Ingredients 

500 grams Chicken pieces 

Few medium size Cauliflower florets 

1 medium size  Potato cut into cubes

1 medium size Onion sliced 

1 medium size Tomato chopped 

1 medium size Carrot cut into pieces 

Few cubes of Raw Papaya 

6 to 8 French Beans cut into pieces (Didn’t have)

Few Green Peas (Didn’t have)

2 Green Chillies (Optional)

4 Garlic crushed 

1/2  tsp Ginger paste 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

1 tsp Sugar 

2 Bay leaves 

2 Cloves crushed 

2 Green Cardamom crushed 

4 Pepper corn crushed 

1 small Cinnamon crushed 

2 Cups Water 

2 tbsp Oil or Ghee 

1 tsp Butter (Optional)

Method 

Take a pressure cooker,  add oil, once the oil is hot, add the whole spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and pepper corn), bay leaves, ginger and garlic. Sauté for a few seconds, add the chicken pieces and sauté until it changes its colour. Add the vegetables, stir for few seconds. Add the sugar, salt and pepper powder. Stir and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups of water, stir and pressure cook until 3 whistles. Let the pressure release. Open the cooker and add the butter. Serve the stew with steamed rice. 

Godrej Yummiez Chicken Lasooni Tikka Rose Buns

I am extremely delighted to get these super yummy pre cooked packets from Godrej Yummiez   . They are very convenient pre marinated or pre cooked frozen products and easy to cook... specially when sudden guests comes over or when we have busy schedule. It’s #Gharkafastfood, as Godrej Yummiez can be stored in the freezer and used as and when required, it’s healthy, chef curated and it’s delicious. 

I have used GodrejYummiez Chicken Lasooni Tikka for this recipe. 

To make the Dough 

Ingredients 

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 

1 tsp Dry Active Yeast 

1 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Oil 

Method 

Take a cup with 1/2 cup Lukewarm Water. Add sugar and yeast. Mix the ingredients and keep the yeast to rise. Take the a mixing bowl, add the flour and  salt, mix the ingredients. Once the yeast rises, add the yeast water and little more water into the flour to form a dough, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Add the 1 tbsp of oil into the dough and knead the dough for another 5 minutes. Brush the remaining oil on the dough, cover and keep it aside until the dough rises double in size. After 2 hours, punch and knead the dough for another minute. 

To make the Chicken Lasooni Tikka Rose Buns

Ingredients 

1 packet of Godrej Yummiez Chicken Lasooni Tikka 

1 Medium size Onion Sliced 

Bread Dough 

2 tsp Butter 

2  tbsp Oil

1 Egg Beaten 

Method 

Thaw the Chicken Lasooni Tikka packet for 30 minutes. Take a fry pan, add 2 tbsp of oil,  add the onion slices, sauté the onions until translucent, add Godrej Yummiez Chicken Lasooni Tikka pieces into the pan, occasionally flip the tikkas and cook the tikkas for 15 minutes in the pan. Break the chicken tikka into bite size pieces.  Grease the baking tray with butter. Make lemon size portions of  the dough. Take a portion and roll the dough into 6 inch disc. Make 4 diagonal slits, leaving the center intact. Add some chicken tikka pieces in the center of the disc. Take one sections of the dough and cover the stuffing on one side. Now take the opposite side of the  section and cover the other side of the stuffing  with the dough. Repeat the last 2 sections in the similar manner. 

Pinch on the side to seal the the dough. Place the bun on the greased baking tray. Repeat the same process until all the buns are ready. Brush the beaten egg over the buns. Bake the buns for about 15 to 20 minutes in a a preheated oven at 180 degrees celsius. Remove the buns and brush them with butter. Serve the buns with walnut and mint dip. 

Walnut and Mint Dip

Ingredients 

Take 1/2 cup Walnut 

1/4 cup Mint leaves 

1 Green Chilli

1/3 cup Curd

Salt to taste 

Method 

Blend all the above ingredients  to make the dip. 

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Mutton Rogan Josh

Rogan josh is a popular dish of Kashmir. This dish was introduced by Mughals influenced from Persian cuisine. Its made with mutton or lamb. There are various spices that are added to the dish for flavour and traditionally the colour of the dish came from ratan jot or mawal flower, but Kashmiri Chilli is now used for the colour too. There are different ways of preparing the dish, specifically 2 versions of the dish - Kashmiri pandit and the Muslim way..  I adapted the recipe from a Kashmiri friend Deepa Kaul channel DeeZ Culinary Delight the Kashmiri Pandit way of preparing where no onion and garlic are used.  

We enjoyed this with steamed rice. 

Ingredients

750 grams Mutton cut into pieces 

2 Bay Leaves 

2 Black Cardamom crushed 

2 Green Cardamom crushed 

1 small piece of Cinnamon crushed 

3 Cloves crushed 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds crushed 

A pinch of Asafoetida 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Ginger powder

1 tsp Fennel seed powder 

1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1/2 cup Curd beaten 

4 to 6 tbsp Mustard Oil 

Method

Take a pressure cooker, add oil and let the oil heat up. Reduce the flame and add the whole crushed spiced and bay leaves. Once the spices crackle, add the mutton pieces, stir and sauté the mutton for a minute add the asafoetida and continue to sauté until the mutton changes its colour and the juices dry up. Now add the salt, ginger powder, chilli powder and fennel powder. Stir and sauté for few seconds, add the curd and continue to sauté until the oil separates from the masala, add the Garam Masala powder, stir and cook for a minute. Add 1 cup water, stir and close the pressure cooker. Cook on a medium low flame until 3 to 4 whistles. Switch off the flame and let the pressure release. Open the lid and serve the Rogan Josh with Steamed Rice. 

Ilish Macher Lejar Bhorta / Hilsa Fish Tail Bhorta

There were 5 tail pieces of Hilsa fish left in the freezer. Usually as the tail part of the fish is thorny many people avoid eating the tail part. In Bangladesh they make various types of Bhortas. I had this recipe in my bucket list as I had heard from my husband about the Ilish  Bhorta when he had travelled to Bangladesh and I had randomly seen some few recipes on YouTube. It’s delicious, you can actually finish one whole plate of steamed rice with Ilish Bhorta. 

So here it is... 

Ingredients 

5 Tail pieces of the Hilsa Fish

2 medium size Onion sliced 

2 Garlic Cloves

2 or more Whole Dried Red Chilli 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 cup + 1/4 tsp of Mustard Oil 

Method 

Take the fish tails, apply salt and turmeric powder. Heat 1/2 cup oil, fry the fish tail until golden brown in colour. Remove the fried fish and keep it aside to cool, in the same oil now fry the onion and garlic until golden brown in colour. Remove the onion and garlic and keep it aside. In the same remaining oil fry the dried red chillies until brown in colour. Remove the chillies and keep it aside. Now very carefully remove the thorns from the fish tail and keep the fish meat aside. Now take the fried onion, garlic, red chillies, salt to taste and coriander leaves on a plate, mash all the ingredients together well, add the fish meat and mash the ingredients together. Transfer the Bhorta into a serving plate, drizzle with the remaining mustard oil and a fresh red chilli, serve it with hot steamed rice.