Shorshe Mangsho Bhaapa

This a very popular dish of Bengal usually made with different types of fishes. Here I have made it with mutton and cooked it in a bit different way. First the mutton has to be marinated well for 4 to 5 hours and then it has to be half cooked in a pressure cooker and again cooked with mustard paste, mustard oil, salt, turmeric powder and green chillies till it is tender. It taste delicious with hot steamed rice. 

To Marinate the Mutton 

Ingredients 

1 kg Mutton pieces 

1 cup Curd 

1 Onion paste 

1 tbsp Garlic paste 

1/2 tbsp Ginger paste

1 tbsp Chilli paste 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Marinate all the above ingredients and keep it aside for 4 to 5 hours. 

To make the Shorshe Mangshor Bhappa 

Ingredients 

Marinated Mutton 

5 to 6 Green chillies slit 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 cup Mustard paste (3 to 4 tbsp Mustard seeds ground with little water)

1/4 cup Mustard oil 

Method

Press cook the mutton without adding any water. Give 2 whistles. After the pressure releases. Remove the cover. Add the mustard paste, salt, turmeric powder, mustard oil and green chillies. Stir it.  Give another 3 to 4 whistles or until the mutton has become tender. Let the pressure release, remove the cover. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving it hot with rice. 

P. S. While buying the mutton, please remember to buy tender mutton.. After the mutton is cooked and eaten with rice, the mutton should be soft enough to melt in your mouth.

Before grinding the mustard seeds, soak the seeds in water for 30 minutes and then grind them. Strain the paste before using it.

Eggless Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cheese Cake....

My daughter requested me to make a cheese cake.  I asked her that which flavour does she want. She showed me some bananas hanging on the banana stand. After thinking for some time... I thought why not Banoffee Cheese Cake with Chocolate Chips... A combination of cake and cheese on top. I prefer making it eggless. So I came up with this recipe and experimented it in my kitchen. Try it out and experience the taste yourself..😊😊

For the Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cake base

Ingredients 

2 ripe Bananas mashed 

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 

1 tsp Baking powder 

1 tsp Soda bicarbonate 

3/4 cup Brown Sugar 

1/4 cup  Chocolate chips 

3/4 cup Butter 

1 tsp Vanilla Essence 

1 tbsp Coffee powder mixed in 1/4 cup Water 

1/4 cup Curd 

3/4  cup Milk 

Method 

Mix all purpose flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate together in a bowl. Take another bowl. Beat the butter and the brown sugar together till it is fluffy. Add the essence and the curd. Beat it well. Add the coffee. Beat it again. Add half of the flour and half of the milk. Beat it. Add the rest of the milk and flour. Beat it. Add the banana  and chocolate chops, mix it. It has to be dropping consistency. Take a 8 inch spring form pan. Grease it. Pour the batter. Bake it at 180 degrees celcius for 30 minutes. To check, insert a tooth pick, it should come out clean. Take it out from the oven, cool the cake before making the cheese cake.

P.S. The batter will look curdle... but don't worry. 

If you don't want cheese cake, you can just follow the cake recipe and make just the cake. 

For the Eggless Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cheese Cake 

Ingredients 

1 Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cake base

250 grams / 1 cup  Cream Cheese 

2 tbsp Curd

1/3 cup Thick Cream

1 tsp Lime juice 

1/2 tsp of Vanilla Essence 

1 tsp Vegetable Gelatine or Agar Agar powder 

 6 tbsp of Hot Water 

1/3 cup Sugar

3 tbsp Chocolate Chips 

1 tbsp Chocolate Chips for garnishing 

1 small bowl of Chocolate Ganache and a nozzle of your choice..

1/4 tsp Salt 

Method 

Beat all the above ingredients except cream, chocolate chips and veg gelatine in a mixing bowl. Add hot water to the gelatine powder and dissolve the gelatine. Add the cream and veg gelatine beat it again. Add 3 tbsp chocolate chips and mix it. Press the cake lightly with a flat surface. Pour the batter on the cake, sprinkle 1 tbsp chocolate chips on the top of cream cheese. Cover the mould with a foil paper. Keep it in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours. Unmold it and decorate it with chocolate ganache.

P. S. If you are in a hurry then keep it in the chiller for 3 hours and the unmould it. 

Cơm Chiên / Vietnamese Prawns Fried Rice....

Fried rice is one of the very popular dish originated from China, it is very commonly sold on the streets of Asia. In some Asian countries, there are some small restaurants, street vendors and cart hawkers that only serves fried rice. To make the fried rice, leftover rice is generally used as the moisture in freshly cooked rice will cause it to steam instead of fry. It is stir-fried in a wok with oil to prevent sticking. The oil is seasoned with garlic and onion for flavouring before adding the rice and other ingredients to it, which is then stir-fried together in a wok. Other ingredients like egg, meat,seafood, vegetables, salt, pepper, different types of sauces are added as per the choice. It is popularly eaten either as an accompaniment to another dish, or as a course by itself. Popular garnishes that are added into the Fried rice are sliced cucumber, tomato or sliced chilli sprinkled on top of the rice.

Here is my adaptation to the recipe. I have added some green sorrel leaves to it along with other vegetables for a change.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups of Cooked Rice

1 Onion chopped

1 small size Carrot chopped

1 small Capsicum chopped

1/4 cup Green Sorrel Leaves

2 Green Chillies chopped

1 tsp Ginger minced

1 tsp Garlic minced

1 tbsp Red Chilli sliced

2 Eggs

10 medium sized Prawns cleaned

3 tbsp Fish sauce

2 tbsp Rice Vinegar

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Pepper powder

1/2 tsp Sugar

4 tbsp Sesame Oil

Method

Break the eggs in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper and beat it. Take a wok, add  1/2 tbsp oil, heat it. Add the egg,cook it and make a fried scramble egg. Remove it and keep it aside. Add another tbsp of oil in the same wok. Let it heat. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the prawns,mix it. Fry it till it is cooked. Remove and keep it aside. Add the remaining oil in the same wok, heat the oil. Add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger mince. Stir fry for a minute on high flame. Add the capsicum, carrot, red chilli and the green chillies. Stir fry it for 2 minutes. Add the green sorrel leaves and stir it for few seconds. Add the rice, stir fry it for a minute on medium flame. Add the salt, pepper powder, sugar, fish sauce and the rice vinegar. Stir it for another minute. Leaving few pieces of prawns and fried eggs for garnishing, add the rest of the prawns and fried egg pieces in other wok. Stir for it for another minute or 2 until all the ingredients are well co-operated. Garish with the remaining fried egg pieces and prawns. Serve it hot.

Potoler Khosha Bata....

Peel of Pointed Gourd made into paste... 

 "Bata" means paste. It is a kind of a coarsely ground chutney. It is a dish from Bangladesh and West Bengal. It is served as a side dish and eaten with the hot steaming rice. There are different types of Bata, made from any vegetable peel like raw banana, green peas, pumpkin, bottle gourd, pointed gourd etc or green leaves or fish. Earlier days people living in the country sides having large families preferred to use all the parts of the vegetable for cooking. Apparently now with nuclear family, moving into cities and change in generation, this dishes are rare to find. 

You can actually land up eating a good amount of rice with the Bata. Today I making Potoler Khosha Bata / Pointed gourd peel paste. There are different ways to make this dish.. This is my version of making it...

Ingredients

Pointed Gourd peels from 300 grams Pointed Gourd

2 Green Chillies 

1 Garlic clove

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds / Kalonji 

1 tbsp Fresh or Desiccated Coconut 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Sugar ( Optional ) 

1/8 tsp Tumeric powder

1 tbsp Mustard Oil 

1/2 tsp Mustard Oil for garnishing 

Method

Add the pointed gourd peels, 1 green chilli and garlic into the grinder. Grind it into a coarse paste. Take a pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Let it heat. Add the Nigella seeds and 1 green chilli into the oil. Sauté it till the seeds crackle. Add the paste, on a low flame stirring it continuously, cook it for 5 minutes. Add salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Continue to cook for 5 minutes more or till the rawness of the paste disappears. Add the coconut, cook it for another 3 minutes. Before serving add 1/2 tsp Mustard oil. Serve it hot with steaming rice. 

Jamaican Jerk Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaf and Steamed.....

When yesterday morning one of my friend shared with me a Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe..... I instantly fell in love with the easy recipe. The spices in this dish are full of flavours... enough to linger around your tastebuds.. I decided to make it.. with a twist...

I have adapted the recipe as per my convenience and experimented it with fish.. wrapped in banana leaf and steamed it..... This dish can be served as a starter.

For the Jerk Spice

Ingredients

1 tsp  Garlic powder

1/2 tsp Onion powder

1 tsp Hot Chilli powder

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

1/8 tsp Cinnamon powder

1/8 tsp Nutmeg powder

1/8 tsp Clove powder or 2 Cloves

1/2 tsp All Spice powder  ( I did not use the powder... but I have the all spice plant at home so substituted it by roasting 3 leaves and grinding it)

1/4 tsp Chilli flakes

1/2 tsp Brown Sugar

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

1/2 tsp Dried Parsley

Method

Mix all the above ingredients and blend it in a blender.

For the Steamed  Fish

Ingredients

Any whole Fish.. I used 3 medium size whole Pomfrets cleaned and slited

Jamaican Jerk spice

Salt to season

3 tbsp Olive oil

Juice of 1 Lime

Banana Leaves cut into rectangular shape

Method

Take the fish. Rub salt and lime juice and let it stand for 15 minutes. Mix the Jerk spices with olive oil. Rub the Jerk spices and let it marinate for 2 hours or more. To make the banana leaf more pliable, slightly warm up the banana leaves over low flame for few seconds. Apply oil on the lighter side of each leaf. Place the fish on the leaf. Add the marinated juices on the fish. Wrap the fish in the banana leaf. Heat up the pan. Brush some oil in the pan. Cook it covered on medium high flame for 10 minutes on each sides. Serve it hot with lime slices.

P. S. Instead of steaming the fish you can grill it too.