Begun diye Tangra Macher Jhaal (Fresh River Water Fish cooked with Eggplants - Bong style)

 

          Check out this traditional homemade style Bengali fish curry prepared along with eggplants. However, you can also cook it with potatoes, green papaya or parwal (pointed gourd). It goes best with hot steamed rice and is a common dish found on a Bengali platter. 

          The fish used in this recipe is Tangra which is a fresh river water fish. It is prepared in a thin gravy with minimum of spices. A tsp. of raw mustard oil can be drizzled on the end product to enhance the flavor and for some pungency. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this simple regional recipe.

• 10-12 tangra fish, cleaned, washed & drained
• 1 long eggplant, cut lengthwise
• 3 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1-2 green chilies, slit
• 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds (kalonji)
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. cumin powder powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Marinate the fish with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder for 5-10 minutes. Make a paste with turmeric powder, red chili powder and cumin powder along with some water and keep aside.

          Heat oil in a pan and stir fry the eggplants and the marinated fish separately till light golden in color. Drain and keep aside.

          Temper the same oil with kalonji and green chilies. Sauté for a few seconds. Add the spice paste and sauté till the oil separates. 

           Add 1 & 1/2 cups water and salt. Bring to a boil and gently drop in the fried fish and eggplant. Cover and simmer on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes.

          When done, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot steamed rice.

                                       Heat oil in a pan and stir fry the eggplants.......

                       & the marinated fish separately till light golden in colour. Keep aside.

                        Temper the same oil with kalonji & green chilies. Sauté for a few seconds. 

Add the spice paste and sauté till the oil separates. 

Add 1 & 1/2 cups water and salt. Bring to a boil.

Gently drop in the fried fish & eggplant. Cover & simmer for 2-3 min.

When done, garnish with coriander leaves.

                                 Serve with hot steamed rice.

                                     

Pomfret Macher Tel Jhaal (Pomfret Fish Curry - Bengali style)

         I love Pomfret? I'm sure many of you do just like me. My most favorite winter special lunch is and will always be fish curry and rice. Then try this very simple Bengali homemade style fish curry. It is cooked in mustard oil with minimum of spices and is a quick recipe. 

          It just has red chili powder and turmeric powder as the base of the gravy. It's that simple with minimum effort but with maximum flavour. It hardly takes any time to dish out this traditional Bong delicacy. It is best relished with only and only hot steamed rice.

• 2 pomfret fish, cut into 3 pieces each
• 3 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• salt to taste 
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

           Marinate the fish with a pinch of turmeric powder and red chili powder for 10 minutes. Mix the remaining turmeric powder and red chili powder in 1/2 cup water and keep aside. 

          Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pan and fry the fish on both sides till light brown in colour. Drain and keep aside. 

          Temper the same oil with nigella seeds and green chilies. Sauté for a few seconds. Add the chili paste and salt to taste. 

          Bring it to a boil and gently drop in the fried fish. Cover and simmer on a low flame till the gravy reduces slightly.

          When done, drizzle the remaining mustard oil and switch off the flame. Keep it covered for a few seconds. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot steamed rice. 

Mocha Mangsho

          Mochar Ghonto (Banana Blossom Curry) is a part of Bengali cuisine. It is quite a popular dish among most of the Bengali crowd and is an age old recipe. Traditionally, it is cooked with potato, boiled chickpeas and coconut for the vegetarian version. For the non-veg. version it is cooked with prawns / shrimps or fish head. However, today I tried with mutton and it turned out simply awesome. So do give it a try and I'm sure you'll love it.

          Mocha / Banana Blossom has a lot of health benefits as it contains vitamins and minerals. However, you need to follow few guidelines before you start to cook this delicious curry.

          First I recommend you to put on disposable gloves as the iron content in them will discolour your nails & fingers. Then peel the layers of the banana blossom & remove the florets. 

           Then from each floret discard a thick stamen from the centre & the outer cover. This is pretty time consuming so you need to be patient. It is definitely worth every effort and is just irresistible when you relish this exotic delicacy either with rice or chapati. 

          Earlier it was a simple homemade curry, but in recent times it made its way into many Bengali restaurants, especially outside West Bengal. 

• 1 medium size Mocha / Banana Blossom, cleaned and chopped finely
• 300 gms. mutton cubes
• 1/2 cup boiled black chana (chickpeas)
• 2-3 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1" cinnamon
• 2-3 green cardamoms
• 4-5 cloves
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. roasted cumin-coriander powder
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 1 tsp. ghee 
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Soak the chopped banana blossom in tamarind water for an hour. Drain and pressure cook in required quantity of water, salt and pinch of turmeric powder for 4-5 whistles. Drain the water, rinse and mash well. Keep aside.

           Pressure cook the mutton in 1 cup water for 20-25 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle. Keep aside. 

           Heat oil in a pan & temper with cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves. Add the onion and stir fry till light brown. 

          Add the ginger paste and all the dry spices (except garam masala powder) mixed with some water. Saute till the oil separates. 

          Add the boiled banana blossom and green chilies. Saute for 2-3 minutes on high flame. Add the boiled mutton and boiled chickpeas. Cover and simmer till almost dry. 

           When done, add garam masala powder & ghee. Give it a stir and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot steamed rice or chapatis. 

Chingri diye Aloo Potoler Dalna (Parwal / Pointed Gourd Prawns Curry - Bong style)

          Potol (Parwal / Pointed Gourd) cooked with potatoes and prawns is a traditional and a favorite dish among most Bengalis. It is cooked in mustard oil for an authentic flavor and is served with either hot steamed rice, chapati or poori. For a vegetarian version, bodi (dried lentil dumplings) is added instead of prawns. A tsp. of ghee to the end product enhances the flavor of the curry. So check the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this Bengali delicacy.

• 10-12 Potol (Parwal/Pointed Gourd), scraped & chopped into roundels 
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1/2 cup prawns, deveined & cleaned
• 3-4 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 2-3 green cardamoms
• 4-5 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. roasted coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
• salt to taste
• 2-3 fresh chilies, slit
• 1 tsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Heat 2 tbsp. oil and fry the prawns till golden brown. Drain and keep aside. In the same oil fry the potato and parwals separately till light brown. Keep aside.

          Heat the remaining oil and temper with the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves and cumin seeds. Sauté for a few seconds.

          Add the ginger-garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and red chili powder mixed with 1/4 cup water. Sauté till the oil separates from the sides of the pan.

          Now add the fried parwals, potatoes, prawns, slit chilies and salt to taste. Mix everything well and stir fry for 2 minutes. 

          Add 2 cups water and simmer, covered on a low flame till the gravy thickens and the parwals turns soft.

          Add tomato and garam masala powder. Cover and cook further for 2 minutes. When done, add ghee and mix well. Switch off the flame. 

          Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with either plain steamed rice, chapati or poori.

                      Heat 2 tbsp. oil & fry prawns till golden brown. Drain & keep aside. 

                        In the same oil fry the potato and 

                       parwals separately till light brown. Keep aside.

                     Heat remaining oil & temper with bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, 
                     cloves & cumin seeds. Sauté for a few seconds.

                     Add ginger-garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder 
                     & red chili powder mixed with 1/4 cup water. Sauté till oil separates.

                      Add fried parwals, potatoes, prawns, slit chilies & salt to taste. Mix
                      well and stir fry for 2 minutes. 

                     Add 2 cups water & simmer, covered on a low flame till gravy thickens 
                     & parwals turns soft.

                      Add tomato & garam masala powder. Cover & cook for 2 minutes. 

                       When done, add ghee & mix well. Switch off the flame. 

                    Garnish with coriander leaves & serve with either steamed rice, chapati 
                    or poori.

Pomfret Macher Jhal (Bengali Style Pomfret Curry)

          I love Pomfret? I'm sure many of you do just like me. My most favorite winter special lunch is and will always be fish curry and rice. Then try this very simple Bengali homemade style fish curry. It is cooked with minimum of spices and is a quick recipe. It just has red chili powder and turmeric powder as the base of the gravy. 

          It's that simple with minimum effort but with maximum flavour. It hardly takes any time to dish out this traditional Bengali delicacy. It does not have too much gravy and is on the dry side. It is best relished with only and only plain steamed rice. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this Bong delicacy.

• 1 pomfret fish, cut into 3 pieces
• 3 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• salt to taste 
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Marinate the fish with a pinch of turmeric powder and red chili powder for 10 minutes. Mix the remaining turmeric powder and red chili powder in 1/2 cup water and keep aside. 

          Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pan and fry the fish on both sides till light brown in color. Drain and keep aside. 

          Temper the same oil with nigella seeds and green chilies. Sauté for a few seconds. Add the paste and salt to taste. 

          Bring it to a boil and gently drop in the fried fish. Cover and simmer on a low flame till the gravy reduces and the oil separates. 

          When done, drizzle the remaining mustard oil and switch off the flame.  Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with plain steamed rice. 


       

                     Heat 2 tbsp. oil. Fry fish on both sides till light brown. Drain & keep aside. 

                      Temper the same oil with nigella seeds and green chilies.

                     Add paste & salt. Bring to a boil & add fried fish. Cover & simmer on a
                     low flame till the gravy reduces and the oil separates. 

                      When done, drizzle remaining mustard oil & switch off flame. Garnish 
                       with coriander leaves.

                                   Serve with plain steamed rice. 

Doi Ilish (HIlsa Fish in Yoghurt Gravy - Bengali Style)

          Hilsa, being the most favourite fish among most of the Bengalis, I would like to share a traditional recipe where it is cooked in a yoghurt based gravy. Very simple and easy to prepare, this dish requires very few ingredients and can be prepared in a jiffy. It is best enjoyed with hot steamed rice.

• 4 pieces of Hilsa Fish
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp. yoghurt
• 1 green chili, chopped
• 2 tbsp. mustard oil + 1 tsp. for the marinade
• 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds (kalonji)
• 1-2 green chilies, slit
• 1 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Marinate the fish with yoghurt, salt, turmeric powder, 1 tsp. mustard oil and chopped green chilies for 10 minutes.

          Heat 1 tbsp. mustard oil in a pan and temper with nigella seeds and slit green chilies. Saute for a few seconds. 

          Add the marinated fish and cook, covered on a low flame for 4-5 minutes. When done add the remaining mustard oil and coriander leaves. 

          Mix gently and switch off the flame. Serve with hot steamed rice.