Macher Patishapta

 Macher patishapta - 

Patishapta is a sweet pitha usually made during Makar Sankranti in Bengal. 

The patishapta base / crepe is made with rice flour, semolina and all purpose flour. Here taking inspiration from patishapta, I have made Maacher/ fish patishapta. Instead of sweet stuffing, savoury fish stuffing is added into the patishapta base. This dish can be enjoyed for breakfast or snack. 

Fish stuffing 

Ingredients 

250 grams boiled boneless fish mashed 

1 medium size onion sliced 

2 Green Chillies chopped 

1 tsp grated Ginger 

1 tsp grated Garlic 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

1 Bay leaf

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds 

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/4 tsp Garam masala powder 

1/4 Chilli powder 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Chaat masala 

1 tsp Tomato Ketchup 

1 tbsp Oil

Method 

Take a pan, add oil, once the oil heats up, add the bay leaf and cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds crackle, add the onion slices, ginger, garlic and green chillies chopped. Saute until the onions are light brown in colour. Add the boiled fish, salt, cumin powder, garam masala powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder. Stir and cook the fish for a minute, add the chaat masala and tomato ketchup. Stir and cook until the fish stuffing has cooked well. Sprinkle coriander leaves. 

For the crepe 

Ingredients 

3/4 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup fine semolina 

1 Egg

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Baking powder 

1 tsp oil

Fish stock ( Remaining liquid after the boneless fish has been boiled) and water as per required 

Method 

Take flour, semolina, baking powder and salt. Mix all the above ingredients together. Add the egg and the fish stock,  add water little at a time if required to make a batter. The batter should be of thick flowing consistency. Beat well so that no lumps should remain. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. 

To make Macher Patishapta 

Ingredients 

Fish stuffing 

Batter 

Method 

Take a pan, keep the flame on medium. Once the pan warms up, pour a ladle full of batter, rotate the batter and make a thin crepe, let the crepe cook, once done, remove the crepe on a plate, spread some fish stuffing on the crepe, roll the crepe and enjoy it with salad, Kasundi and tomato ketchup.

Mangalorean Buns with Veg Sagu

 May times we have visited Mangalore and every time we enjoyed this meal during breakfast. My friend’s MIL makes one of the best Mangalorean Buns. This dish is very popular in Mangalore and is available in most of the restaurants for breakfast. 

Here is the recipe - 

Mangalore Buns

 Ingredients

2 cups Whole Wheat flour  Flour

2 medium sized Ripe banana

2 tbsp Jaggery powder or Sugar 

½ tsp Cumin powder

1/4 tsp Baking soda

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Curd

1 tsp ghee

oil for deep frying

Method

Take a mixing bowl, mash the bananas, now add sugar, salt,  baking soda, cumin powder and curd . Mix the ingredients well into a smooth paste. Add the flour and knead the flour into a dough, add little more flour if required. The dough is slightly sticky. While kneading you can apply some ghee and knead. Keep the dough covered in a bowl overnight. Knead the dough the next morning. The dough is a bit sticky, so dust some flour and take medium sized balls from the dough and roll into round pooris. Fry each poori into medium hot oil till they are puffed and golden. Serve the buns as snacks or enjoy for breakfast with veg sagu or with coconut chutney or Sambar. 

Veg Sagu Recipe - 

Wet Paste 

Ingredients 

1 small Onion chopped 

1 small Tomato chopped 

2 Green Chillies 

Few Coriander stems cut into pieces 

1 small piece of Ginger 

2 tbsp grated Coconut or desiccated Coconut 

4 to 5 Cashew nuts

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Jagger 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 

1/4 tsp Chilli powder 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste with water. 

Veg Sagu 

Ingredients 

1 medium bowl around 250 grams of vegetables cut into small pieces - Carrot, French Beans, Cauliflower, Capsicum, Green Peas and Potato

2 Green Chillies 

Few Curry leaves 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

1/2 tsp Chana dal

1/2 tsp Urid dal 

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 

1 Dried Red Chilli cut into pieces 

Few Cashew nuts  

Wet Paste 

2 tbsp Oil 

Take a pressure cooker, add oil, once the oil heats up, add the dried chilli, chana dal and Urid dal. Once the dals are half fried, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Saute until the mustard seeds crackle. Add the vegetables, cashews and green chillies. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the wet paste and continue to cook until the oil releases from the paste. Add 3/4 cup of water. Stir, cover the pressure cooker and give 2 to 3 whistles. Once the air pressure releases, check the gravy, as per choice, we can reduce the gravy. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with poori, buns, Paratha etc. 

Kolkata style Chicken Cutlet ( Fowl Cutlet)

 

Fowl Cutlet is one of the street food of Kolkata and also one of the popular dish that’s sold in the Cabin style restaurants.. where each wall of the old cabin restaurant has some story to tell.. This dish is also made during occasions… 

The chicken cutlets are made with chicken mince or boneless chopped chicken pieces, spices and coated with egg and bread crumbs. It’s fried in oil until golden brown in colour and served with salad and mustard sauce (Kasundi). 

Ingredients 

1 cup Chicken Mince

or Boneless Chicken pieces 

Half Onion taken from 1 small Onion 

1 small piece of Ginger 

4 Garlic cloves 

1 Green Chilli 

1/4 cup Coriander and Mint leaves 

Juice of 1/2 Lime

Salt to taste 

1/4 Pepper powder 

1/2 Garam Masala (Ground 1 Green Cardamom- small Cinnamon-2 Cloves)

1/2 tsp Bhaja Masaala (Roasted Cumin- Coriander- Red Dried Chilli ground into powder) 

2 Eggs

3/4 cup Bread Crumbs 

Oil to Fry 

Method 

Take a chopper or a grinder, add the chicken mince or pieces, lime juice, onion, green chilli, ginger, coriander and mint leaves, garlic, salt and pepper powder. Blend the above ingredients together. Take the paste out into a bowl. Add the garam masala and Bhaja masala into the paste. Mix the ingredients together. Take 1/2 of the bread crumbs in a plate, beat 2 eggs with little salt. Take a lemon size portion from the chicken paste. Roll the portion on a greased plate to give a cylindrical shape. Then with the help of the bread crumbs flatten the cutlets into diamond shape or oval shape. Repeat the same process. We get around 7 cutlets. Now with place one cutlet on the chopping board and with the help of a knife shape the edges well. Repeat the same process with all the remaining cutlets. Now dip one cutlet into the beaten egg and then coat the cutlet with the remaining bread crumbs. Repeat the same process with the remaining cutlets. Take a pan, heat the oil, until medium hot. Place 2 to 3 cutlets into the pan as per the space of the pan. Fry the cutlets until golden brown in colour from both the sides. Serve the chicken cutlets with salad and Kasundi. 

Coorgi Style Chicken Masala

 My recent visit to Coorg or the Kodagu district was an experience of its kind, as we stayed with the locals at a home stay amidst the coffee and pepper plantations… we enjoyed the uniqueness of the lush green wild nature and the distinctive cuisine to the fullest. Kodava or the Coorgi cuisine enjoys using fresh and local ingredients found in the region… like Kachampuli, the local vinegar extracted from the Garcinia Cambogia fruit, pepper - spices, bamboo shoots, pork - wild boar etc. 

The home stay owners were kind enough and allowed me to pluck some fresh pepper from their plantation… I also managed to get Coorgi Masala (kartha Masala) and Kachampuli… 

Using all the Coorgi ingredients, I have made Coorgi style Chicken Masala, here is the recipe -  

I have used big leg pieces, but we can also use medium size chicken pieces.. 

To marinate the Chicken 

Ingredients 

2 Big leg pieces 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1 tbsp Coorgi Curry Masala (Kartha Masala) 

1 tsp Kachampuli Vinegar 

Method 

Mix all the above ingredients together and keep the marinated chicken for 2 to 3 hours. 

For the Wet Paste 

Ingredients 

2 small Onion chopped 

6 to 8 Garlic cloves 

1 small piece of Ginger

3 to 4 Green Chillies 

1 Handful Coriander leaves 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients into coarse paste 

To make the Coorgi Chicken Masala 

Ingredients 

Marinated Chicken 

Wet paste 

Few Curry leaves 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

2 Green Chillies slit and cut into pieces 

Few drizzle of Kachampuli vinegar 

Pickled Fresh Pepper 

Salt if required 

6 tbsp Oil

Method 

Add oil into the wok, once the oil is hot, add the wet paste. Stir and sauté until the paste is translucent. Add the marinated chicken, cover and cook for 2 minutes on each side, turning the chicken leg pieces occasionally. Continue to cook on low flame. Once the oil releases, add 1/2 cup of water, cover the wok and continue to cook, turning the chicken leg pieces occasionally until the chicken legs are tender and the gravy has reduced. Garnish with fresh pickled pepper, coriander leaves, curry leaves, green chillies and drizzle of Kachampuli vinegar. Serve with hot rice or akki roti.

Duck kosha / Hasher Mangsho kosha

Winters are the best time to make duck meat.. though the meat is not commonly eaten now a days as the meat is expensive. Earlier days I remember we use to get duck eggs or swan eggs when we travelled to Kolkata, but nowadays it’s not available. It’s a delicacy preparing duck meat. The duck meat is paired with chitoi / sara pitha or chaul er ruti/ rice chapatis. 

Ingredients 

To marinate the Duck 

500 grams Duck 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

Method 

Apply salt and turmeric powder on the meat. Keep the meat aside for 1 or more hours to marinate. 

Ingredients 

For Spice paste 

Salt

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp roasted Cumin and Coriander powder 

1 tsp Meat masala powder 

2 to 4 tbsp Water 

Method 

Mix all the above ingredients together and make a paste. Keep the paste aside. 

Wet paste 

Ingredients 

1 small Onion 

1 medium size Tomato 

1 Green Chilli

1 small piece of Ginger 

5 to 6 Garlic Cloves 

2 Coriander stems 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients together into a fine paste. 

To make Duck kosha

Ingredients 

Marinated Duck 

3 medium size Potatoes with skin cut into big cubes 

1 medium size Onion sliced 

2 Green Chillies slit

Wet paste 

Spice powder paste 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

2 Green Cardamom crushed 

3 Cloves crushed 

1 small piece of Cinnamon crushed 

1 Red dry Chilli cut into pieces 

2 Bay leaves 

6 tbsp Mustard oil 

Method 

Take a pressure cooker, add the marinated duck meat, add a big cup of water. Pressure cook the meat for 2 whistles. Let the press release. Remove the boiled meat and the stock into a bowl. In the same pan, add the oil. Let the oil heat up. Add the potato cubes, fry them until light brown in colour. Remove and keep the potatoes aside. In the same oil add the cumin seeds, crushed cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, red dry chilli and bay leaves. Let it crackle, add the boiled meat, sauté for 2 minutes, add the sliced onions, sauté until golden brown in colour. Add the spice paste and wet paste. Cook the meat until the oil releases. Add the potatoes and continue to cook. Add little stock at a time and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender. Add the green chillies and add the last remaining stock. Cook for 2 minutes and switch off the flame. Serve the duck kosha with Chitoi pitha or rice chapatis.