Murgir Jhol / Bengali Chicken Gravy

This dish is very commonly made in any Bengali home. The method may differ as per the house. This is how I make a quick chicken gravy at my place.  It can be enjoyed with hot steamed rice. 

Ingredients 

750 grams Chicken cut into pieces 

Ground paste made with 2 Onions, 6 Garlic Cloves, 1 small piece of Ginger and 2 Green Chillies 

1 medium Tomatoe chopped 

2 Big size Potatoes peeled and cut into big chunks 

2 Bay leaves 

2 Cloves 

2 Green Cardomom 

6 Pepper Corns

1 small piece of Cinnamon 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

1/4 tsp Bengali Garam masala - 1 Cloves, 1small piece of Cinnamon and 1 Green Cardomom ground 

4 tbsp Mustard Oil

1/2 tsp Ghee

Method 

Take a pressure pan. Add mustard oil, let it heat up. Reduce the flame. Add potatoes and fry them. Remove the potatoes and keep it aside. In the same oil add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper corns and green chillies. Let it crackle. Add the ground paste, sauté it for a minute. Add the sugar, salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Continue to sauté for another minute. Add the chicken and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir. Add 2 cups of water and cover the pan with the lid, let the gravy simmer for 5 minutes. Open the lid, add the potatoes. Now close the pressure pan lid and allow 3 to 4 whistles. Switch off the flame. Let pressure release. Open the lid. Drizzle the ghee and sprinkle the garam masala powder. Serve it hot with steamed rice. 

Bhetki Maacher Pulao / Bhetki Fish Pulao

Made this home style Bhetki Pulao which is very quick and easy to cook. This can be made with any boneless fish left in your freezer. 

Ingredients 

500 grams of Bhetki fish boneless cut into small chunks 

1 1/2 cup Basmati Rice washed and  soaked 

1 Big size Onion sliced 

1 tbsp Ginger and Garlic Paste

2 Green Chillies cut lengthwise 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

2 Bay leaves 

2 Cloves 

2 Green Cardamoms 

1 small stick Cinnamon 

5 to 6 Pepper Corns

1/2 cup Whisked Curd 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

3 tbsp Ghee 

Method 

Take a pot. Add ghee, let it heat up. Add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper corns and bay leaves. Let it crackle. Add the sliced onion and sauté till the onions are translucent. Add the ginger - garlic paste. Continue to sauté for a minute more. Add the curd, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin power and garam masala powder. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, add the fish pieces and the green chillies, continue to cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the fish pieces from the masala and keep it aside. Add 4 cups of water. Let it simmer. Add the rice. Let it continue to cook until the rice is almost done. Place the fish on the rice, gently stir the rice, cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Switch off the flame. Open the lid and gently stir it again. Garnish with coriander leaves.  Let the pulao stand for 15 minutes before serving, so that the excess vapour will evaporate. It goes well with salad and  curd.

Bhapa Dimmer Malai Curry (Steamed Egg Curry with Coconut Milk)

Malai Curry is an authentic Bengali delicacy and is made on occasions. It's a gravy dish. It’s made with big size prawns. Here I have twisted the recipe with steamed eggs. You can enjoy this dish with hot steaming rice. 

For Steamed Egg

Ingredients

8 Eggs 

1 Onion chopped 

1 Green chilli or as per your requirement chopped

1/2 tsp Ginger paste

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Milk

2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped 

Method

Break the eggs in a bowl. Add the salt, onions, green chilli, ginger, coriander and milk. Beat the eggs. Grease a plate or idli moulds. Pour the beaten egg on the plate or in idli moulds. Steam the beaten egg. Once done cool it down and cut the steamed egg into cubes, if you have steamed it in a plate or remove the dim bhapa from the idli moulds. Keep it aside while making the gravy. 

For the Gravy

Ingredients 

Dim Bhapa

1 big size Onion paste

1 big size Tomato paste

1 tbsp Garlic - Ginger paste 

2 Green Chillies slit

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

3/4 tsp Cumin powder 

1 tsp Sugar 

Salt to taste

2 Cloves 

2 Green Cardamom 

1 small piece of Cinnamon 

2 Bay leaves

1 Dabur Coconut Milk pack

1/4 cup Mustard Oil 

1 tsp Ghee

Method 

Take oil in a wok, heat it up to a smoking point. Reduce the flame. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom. Let it crackle. Add the ginger - garlic paste, stir for a minute. Add the onion paste, continue to stir, add the green chillies, continue to sauté, add the sugar and salt. Sauté the onion till it changes it's colour. Add the tomato paste, stir and add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and cumin powder.  Continue to sauté till the oil releases from the paste. Adjust and add water as per your requirement for the gravy, as I wanted thin gravy, I added 2 cups of water and stirred it. Let the gravy simmer for 2 minutes. Add the dim bhapa and cover the wok. Cook it for 2 minute. Remove the lid. Add the coconut milk, stir and cover the wok and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the lid. Add the  ghee and sprinkle the garam masala powder. Switch of the flame. Serve the Bhapa Dimmer Malai Curry with hot steaming rice.

Badam Milk Mix Cupcake

Bangalore has many shops that serves delicious hot Badam Milk... you also get Badam milk powder that you can purchase and mix a spoon of the powder with hot milk. I got a packet of the Badam milk powder this time while I was in Bangalore. Preferably it’s better to make the powder at home. Since no one in my house wanted to drink Badam milk, I used the powder to make these cupcakes. 

Ingredients 

2 cups All Purpose Flour 

1/2 cup Badam Milk Mix Powder

1/3 cup Powder Sugar 

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder 

1 tsp Soda Bicarbonate 

3 tbsp melted Ghee 

1/2 cup Curd beaten 

1 1/2 cup Warm Milk 

2 tbsp chopped Almonds 

Few Saffron strands

Method 

Add all purpose flour, Badam Mix powder, Baking powder, Soda bicarbonate and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix all the ingredients together. Take another bowl, add 1 cup milk, curd,  ghee and sugar. Stir and whisk well until the sugar dissolves well with the milk.  Now gradually add the flour and whisk. Add the remaining milk and continue to whisk until the batter forms a thick dropping consistency. Pre heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Take cupcake liners and arrange it into the cup cake cavity mould or use aluminium cups. Fill up the liners with the batter. Fill upto 3/4 of the quantity of the liner. Sprinkle the chopped almonds and few saffron strands on the top. Bake the cupcakes for 20 - 25 minutes at 180 degree celsius. Insert a tooth pick and check if the cupcakes are done after 20 minutes. Once done then remove the cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack and cool it. Enjoy the cupcakes for breakfast or tea.

Bhut Jholakia ar Losuner Acchar

When you get back home to see the Bhut jolokia plant laden with chillies..... it’s sheer happiness... 

There were about 22 chillies on the plant that looked like red pataka crackers for Diwali. 

The Bhut jolokia also known as ghost pepper, ghost chili, U-morok, red naga, naga jolokia, and ghost jolokia is cultivated in the Northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. It is a hybrid of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens and is closely related to the Naga Morich of Bangladesh. 

In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the ghost pepper was the world's hottest chili pepper, 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. The ghost chili is rated at more than 1 million Scoville heat units (SHUs). However, the ghost chilli was taken up by the Infinity chili in 2011, followed by the Naga Viper, the Trinidad moruga scorpion in 2012 and the Carolina Reaper on August 7, 2013.

- Net Source Wikipedia

You can make pickle or hot sauce. Here I made pickle with crushed garlic. Remove the extra seeds and dry it. You can save it to grow more plants. This will also reduce the spiciness from the pickle. 

Ground Masala 

Ingredients 

2 1/2 tsp Yellow Mustard seeds

1 tsp Fennel seeds

1 tsp Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds

Method

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine powder. 

For the pickle 

Ingredients 

22 pieces of Bhut Jholakia cut into small pieces 

20 pieces of Garlic Cloves crushed

Masala powder 

Salt to taste 

1/2 Turmeric powder 

1/2 cup Vinegar 

1/2 cup Mustard Oil

Method 

Take oil in a pan / wok, let it heat till the smoking point. Switch of the flame and let the heat reduce a bit. Add the crushed garlic, chillies, masala powder, turmeric and salt, stir it well for a minute. Add the vinegar. Switch on the flame and let it cook until the oil separates from the vinegar. Switch off the flame. Let it cool down completely. Store it in a bottle and keep it in the sun for 2 days. The pickle is ready. 

P.S. Cut the Bhut Jholakia carefully, don’t touch the chilli while cutting it.. cut it with the scissor.