Kakara Kosha / Crab Sukha (Bengali Style)

While driving towards the outskirts of Mumbai during the rainy season, we get to see land filled with water getting ready for the rice cultivation, small water streams and small water bodies flowing around.. there are lots of small fish and mud crabs that you get to see being sold by the locals which are freshly caught. They are great in taste. We managed to get  some mud crabs and cat fish. 

Here is a recipe of  Kakara Kosha. It’s a Bengali way of making crab Sukha..  

While cleaning the crabs, separate out the crab legs from the body, gently crush them. Keep the crab fat and eggs in separate bowl.    

Enjoy this dish with rice or paratha. 

Ingredients 

5 medium size Crabs cleaned 

Keep the crab fat / tomalley and crab eggs separately 

2 medium size Onions sliced 

1 big Tomato chopped 

5 to 6 Green Chilli crushed 

10 to 12 Garlic Cloves crushed 

1 medium piece of Ginger crushed 

2 Bay leaves 

1 Green Cardamom 

2 Cloves 

1 small piece of Cinnamon 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Sugar 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1 tsp Coriander powder 

1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Garam masala powder 

1 tsp Ghee

1/2 cup Mustard Oil 

1/2 cup Water 

Method

Add salt and little turmeric powder into the crabs and mix them. Take 1/4 cup of Mustard oil, let it heat, on a medium flame stir fry the crabs until it changes its colour. Remove and keep it aside, add the remaining oil in the same wok, add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves, stir, add the sliced onions, sauté the onions until translucent, in between add salt and sugar, continue to cook. Add the crushed ginger - garlic and chillies, stir and continue to cook for a minute, add the  chopped tomato, stir, add turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Stir and continue to cook, add Kashmiri red chilli powder. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the oil release. Add the crab fat and crab eggs if any. Stir and cook for another minute. Add the water, let it simmer, add the crabs. Stir and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the ghee and garam masala. Let it cook for another minute. Once done switch off the flame. Enjoy the crab bhuna with rice or paratha. 

Mango Whole Wheat Cookies

 

Here are cookies made with Mango Pulp. I have used Alphonso mango. A tbsp of Oats can be added while roasting the flour. It’s delicious, can’t stop at one..

For Mango Paste 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Mango Pulp made fresh 

Method 

Add the mango pulp into a pan, cook on a medium low heat until the liquid from the pulp has reduced to 3 tbsp spoon 

For the Mango Cookies 

Ingredients 

1 cup Wheat Flour 

1 tsp Almond Flakes  - Optional 

1/4 tsp Salt 

1/4 tsp Baking Powder 

Pinch of Cardamom Powder - Optional 

1/2 cup Sugar 

1/2 cup  Ghee 

3 tbsp Mango Paste 

Method 

Take the whole wheat flour in a pan, dry roast the flour on a low until an aroma releases, but the flour shouldn’t change colour. Switch off the flame, let the flour cool down, add cardamom powder, salt and baking powder, mix the flour. In another bowl add ghee, sugar and mango paste. Whisk all the ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Add in the flour. Mix and knead it into a soft dough. Take a baking tray, take small lime size portion of the dough and roll the dough into small ball. Pre heat the oven at 180 degrees celsius .Place the dough ball on the baking tray and gently press the center of the dough ball to create a small cavity. Keep a gap between the 2 cookies. Repeat the process until all the dough is over. Place an almond flake in the center cavity and press the flakes gently. Bake the cookies at 170 degrees celsius for 15 minutes, depending upon the oven temperature. Remove the cookies from the oven. The cookies will look soft, but once it cools down it will crunchy from top. Let the cookies remain on the hot tray until the tray cools down completely. Once the cookies have cooled down then keep them in an air tight container and enjoy.

Ripe Jackfruit Cake

 

Rustic jackfruit cake made with leftover ripe jackfruit. It’s healthy and delicious. 

Ingredients 

1 cup Wheat flour 

1 cup Fine Semolina 

1 cup Powder Jaggery 

1 tsp Baking Powder 

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder 

1/4 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Almond Flakes 

1/2 cup Ripe soft Jackfruit 

1/2 cup Ripe firm Jackfruit chopped 

1/4 cup Oil

1/4 cup Curd 

1 cup Coconut Milk 

Method 

Take wheat flour, semolina, jaggery powder, cardamom powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Take a sieve mesh and sieve all the ingredients together. Take a bowl, pour oil, curd and coconut milk and whisk it together.  Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, and whisk all the ingredients together into a thick dropping consistency. Add the almond flakes and both the types of jackfruits. Mix the ingredients together. Take a grease baking mould. Pour in the batter up to 3/4 the size of the mould. Bake the cake at 180 or 200 degrees temperature depending upon the oven temperature for 55 to 60 minutes. Insert a toothpick and check. Once done remove the cake and cool it. Unmould the cake and let it cool completely before cutting.

Ladi Pav

 Ladi Pav is one of the popular soft and fluffy bun bread from Mumbai. It’s eaten with various dishes and used in many street food. It’s is made with refine / all purpose flour.. but whole wheat flour can also be used for making the Pav.

Hope you enjoy the video and the recipe 💖

Ingredients 

2 cups Wheat Flour 

2 cups All Purpose flour 

1 tbsp Active Yeast

1 tbsp Sugar

Salt to taste

1/4 cup Lukewarm Milk 

Lukewarm Water as required 

2 tbsp Oil

Butter to brush on the Pav

Ingredients 

Take the wheat flour, all purpose flour and salt  mix all the ingredients. Take 1/4 cup of lukewarm milk, add sugar and yeast, stir and mix all the ingredients. Let the yeast rise. Add the yeast water and little more lukewarm water as per requirement to form a soft dough. Knead the dough well for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp oil and continue to knead. Apply 1/2 tsp oil on the dough, cover the dough and leave the dough to rise. Divide the dough into equal parts. Take a portion, apply little oil and roll and shape the dough. Keep the dough on the greased tray. Continue with the other portions of the dough. Don’t leave gap while placing the dough portions on the tray.  Press the dough lightly with the fingers. Spray with water. Cover the dough and let the dough rise. Once done, spray with water once more,  bake the Pav in a preheated oven at 180 or 200 degrees celsius as per the oven temperature for 20 minutes. Once done, remove the Pav, apply butter, let it cool down, remove from the tray and leave the lad Pav to cool down on a cooling rack before eating. 

Fish Bread

This can be eaten as snacks, any choice of stuffing can be added. Hope you enjoy the video... and enjoy making this recipe too. 

For the fish filling

Ingredients 

250 grams Basa or any Boneless Fish cut into pieces 

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1  Onions chopped 

1/2 tsp Garlic chopped 

1/2 tsp Ginger chopped

1 - 2  Green Chillies  chopped 

2 tbsp Green Capsicum chopped 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes 

1/2 tsp Italian seasonings 

1 tbsp Flour 

2 tbsp Butter 

1/4 cup Milk 

Method

Take a bowl, place the boneless fish pieces, add salt and lemon juice, marinate for 15 minutes. Take a pan, add butter, let the butter melt, add the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and capsicum. Sauté them on medium low flame until the onion is translucent in colour. Add the fish pieces, let it cook until the fish has become soft and flaky. Add the Italian seasoning, chilli flakes and salt to taste. Stir and add the flour. Mix the flour and let it cook for few seconds. Add the milk and keep stirring the stuffing until all the milk had evaporated. Switch off the flame and let the mixture cool down. 

For the Bread

Ingredients 

1 cup of Wheat flour 

1 cup of All Purpose Flour 

Salt to taste

1 tsp Active Yeast

1 tsp Sugar 

1 tsp Oil

Luke Warm Water 

Method

 Take  a bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Take 1/4  cup of lukewarm water, add sugar and  yeast. Mix it and keep it aside to rise. Add the yeast water and little more lukewarm water - little at a time if required into the flour. Knead the flour into a soft dough. Add oil to the dough and knead again and keep the dough for rising until  it doubles in size. 

For Assembling - 

Ingredients 

Dough 

Stuffing 

1 tbsp Milk

1 tbsp Melted Butter

2 tbsp Egg White 

Method 

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees. Knead the dough again and make lemon size balls, take one ball and roll it out. Cut the sides,  keeping space in the centre for the stuffing. Place the stuffing in the centre of the disc.  Then start braiding, over lapping each strip over each other.  For the eyes put pepper corn. Keep it for 15 minutes covered.  At a small bowl, mix milk, butter and egg white. Brush the mixture on the fish bread and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Once done you can brush some butter (optional). Enjoy the fish bread.