Doi Murgi -- Dahi Murg

She wanted to make Dahi Murg today. From that Madhur Jaffrey book sitting on her dresser. The one she had checked out from the local library three months back and never renewed or returned.

The book was a treasure of good life made better with excellent food. She wished she had that kind of life, the kind spiced up with green mangoes sprinkled with red chili powder, the one rich and sensuous like the Chicken korma on Page 123, the flirty kind with a dance or two and spicy bazaar wale aloo on the side.

But no, here she was doing her second laundry of the day, while folding the first neatly. Then she had to clean the kitchen, the breakfast mess from morning and vacuum the family room. By 9 she had to be out to her job where all she did was sit in a small cubicle and enter data on a dumb screen. 8 hours of that sterile environment and her was numb by the time the clock said 5:30.

The only interesting part of the day was the half hour lunch break when she could sample Cathy's ravioli, Sujata's rawa idli and discuss Ingrid's non-existent love life. The days the girls praised her aloo-paratha or drooled over her butter chicken life seemed a lot better though. Her kohl bereft eyes shone as they praised her cooking prowess.

They would ask her the recipe in details. How many onion, chopped or sliced, paste or not, red or white... so many questions. She would preen secretly and patiently answer. Her voice glided from dull to sensuous while explaining the onion's color and shape. With a sparkle in her eye, she could go into details about how exactly the oil separating from the masala should look and what it meant to beat an egg white to stiffness.

Today though nothing like that happened. No one said a word about her aloo-gobi. Instead they praised the Swiss chocolates Ingrid's boyfriend had got. She finished her lunch in a short fifteen minute span and went back to sit in front of her screen. "No point talking to these girls and wasting time", she thought to herself . She would rather go home 15 minute early and start on that Dahi Murg.

It was almost dark by the time she returned home. After school, she had to take Nutan for karate and Rakesh for his ballet lessons. Everyday there was some chore or other to be done after work and finally when she could plonk herself on the couch with a cup of tea she would be totally out. Today she sat at her exact spot, her back resting against the arm rest, her feet stretched out, her fingers flipping through Jaffrey's "Climbing the Mango Trees". Yes, there was Dahi Murg, Chicken in a Yogurt Sauce on Page 134. She read and re-read the one page recipe, raising a eyebrow there, furrowing a forehead here.

"10 cloves of Garlic. Ahhh, now that sure is much. What was Madame Jaffrey thinking ?", she called out loud. The children used to such ramblings didn't turn a head and continued their work.

"Some Kasoori Methi would deepen the flavor in this dish, I am sure. And cashew paste, yes that would be perfect. I will see how Sujata will ignore my Dahi Murg tomorrow", she said with a steely determination in her voice.

She then flipped her phone and pulled up the Address Book.

D -- for Desi Khana...naah they don't do non-veg.

G -- Ghar ka Khana ...their aloo-gobi today was a total failure.

H -- Hardeb Home Delivery...now this was a guy who could deliver. His Shahi Egg Masala on Tuesday was so delicious that Cathy had asked in an incredulous voice " How can you cook such difficult dishes after a long day ?". She had smiled and doled out Cathy some more of the Masala.

She quickly pressed Hardeb's number. Hardeb on the other side was clearly pleased to hear his regular and connoisseur customer's voice.

"Dahi Murg? Sure Madam. Tomorrow by 8 we will deliver at your home", Hardeb's greasy voice said. "Yes, yes, Kasoori Methi and Cashew paste Madam. No, no Kari Patta.Sure Ma'm. Thank You Ma'm"

She took a deep breath. She could smell the slender sticks of cinnamon and the dark, rough, tiny peppercorns dancing in the hot oil. The Dahi Murg was going to be lovely. Hardeb had never failed her.

Tomorrow she would explain to Sujata what exactly needs to be done so that the Dahi, the Yogurt does not break in the gravy.

****************

This is my entry for Of Chalks and Chopsticks hosted by Jaya @ Desi Soccer Mom and started by Aqua.

My Ma used to make a Doi Murgi -- a Chicken in yogurt sauce, long time back. Her recipe was based on the Doi Maach. I somehow never made it. Many years later I saw a Dahi Murg in Jaffrey's book which reminded me of my Ma's Doi Murgi. In between these episodes, Bong Working Mom had mentioned a Doi Murgi/Doi Chicken in her comments which I vaguely remembered.This recipe is an amalgamation of all the above recipes. I loved the addition of Kasoori Methi that BWM introduced and I really think it adds a wonderful flavor to this dish. You can skip Kasoori Methi and Cashew for Madhur Jaffrey's version.

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Doi Murgi -- Chicken in Yogurt Sauce

What You Need

Chicken ~ 2lb--3 lb. I buy a whole small chicken which is almost 3lb, after removing skin etc. the weight would be around 2-2&1/2 lb I think.

I have given a range for the garlic, ginger etc. because I think it depends on individual taste. The original recipe suggests about 20 clove of garlic. Now my garlic cloves are much fatter than the ones I have seen in India so I think 4 fat ones is fine for me in this dish which has little gravy and in which I didn't feel the need of too much garlic. You are free to improvise.

For marinade

Ginger paste ~ 1 tbsp
Garlic paste ~ 1tsp
Corriander powder ~ 1 tsp
Cumin Powder ~ 1 tsp
Garam masala ~ 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Yogurt ~ 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

For Gravy

Onion ~ 1&1/2 -- 2 cup of chopped red onion OR 1 large US size red onion
Garlic ~ 4-5 fat ones
Ginger ~ 1 heaped tbsp of chopped Ginger

Yogurt ~ 1 cup
Cashew ~ 1 tbsp

Kasoori Methi ~ 1/2-1 tbsp
Kashmiri Mirch ~ 1/4-1/2 tsp (depending on taste)
Red Chili Powder ~ depending on taste

For tempering

Cinnamon ~ 2" long & thin stick
Clove ~ 5
Cardamom ~ 5
Whole Black Peppercorn ~ 8-10

How I Did It

Marinate the chicken for 30mins to an hour with all ingredients listed under marinade.

Heat about 3 tbsp of Oil in a heavy bottomed pan or kadhai. Temper the Oil with
2" thin stick of Cinnamon,
5 Clove/Laung
5 Green Cardamom/Elaichi
8-10 Whole black Peppercorn

Add about 1&1/2 -- 2 cup of chopped red onion and fry the onion with 1/2 tsp of sugar till onion is soft and browned on the edges.

Make a paste of
4-5 fat cloves of garlic 1 heaped tbsp of fresh chopped & peeled ginger 2-3 green chili(optional) very little water

Add this paste to the pan and saute for 2 minutes, sprinkling water if necessary.

Add the chicken pieces shaking off any excess liquid and fry the chicken pieces till they are lightly browned. Let it cook uncovered at medium heat for the next 10 mins or so, with frequent stirring. You might need to add a tbsp of oil at this stage. This process of stirring and cooking is actually called "bhuno" in Hindi or "kashano" in Bengali. At the end of this process you will see the oil separating , that indicates good things are in the making.

Now add
1/2-1 tbsp of Kasoori Methi crushed between your palm
1/2 - 1 tsp of Kashmiri Mirch(or Red Chili Powder)
Saute for 1 more minute

Take the pan off heat and wait for a minute. Meanwhile prepare a smooth paste of 1 tbsp of cashew and 1 cup of thick Yogurt. If you are afraid of Yogurt tending to break, wait for the pan to cool a little before adding the yogurt. You can also add a pinch of flour to the yogurt.
Add this to the pan and mix with the chicken pieces so that all the pieces are uniformly coated.
Wait for maybe 1 more minute, to err on the side of caution, and then put the pan back on low heat.

Let it cook at low heat for 2 minutes. Now add about 1 cup of water, salt to taste, mix everything and let it come to a simmer at medium heat. Cover and cook till chicken is done.

Taste and adjust for seasonings. The gravy should not be too much but clinging to the chicken pieces. If you see gravy is watery reduce the gravy by removing cover and letting it simmer.
Serve with Rice or Roti.

Indian Style Chicken Meatball -- baked and frozen

I am a hypocrite. I eat meat and yet I am queasy to discuss it's source. I am fine picking up a tray of frozen chicken legs, which look so pale and white and detached sitting besides the tray of chicken nuggets that you would doubt they ever belonged to any creature roaming the face of earth.

And all this when I spent a good chunk of my years in a country where we never went to air-conditioned super markets and where carcasses with all gory details hung at the street side butchers. I wouldn't look at them. I would shield my eyes and look the other way when I passed them on familiar routes. I knew the Sunday Pathar Mangsho'r jhol did not just magically happen and Baba sourced the mutton from these very places. And yet I never ever decided to give up meat. Did I tell you, I am a hypocrite ?

The tray of frozen chicken legs however do not taste good. The small Cornish hen is the best but then I have to cajole the husband into cutting and cleaning. Now the chicken from the small Halal Meat Shop, owned by the bald headed Middle Eastern Guy who also sells Majdool dates, is much better. So there the husband is sent every Saturday to get meat to be cooked into rich curries with pale green cardamom and slender sticks of cinnamon. I sit in the car outside hoping that pieces are done right, the skin is off and the bird forgives me.

And then one fine day I decide to take over. I enter the small store, the bell tinkles marking my entry or is it announcing the turn in my life. The store smells heavily of incense and some ballad seeping in dessert love plays somewhere. The butcher is an amiable middle aged man with a heavy accent. I am not sure about his English and give out instructions in Hindi. I call him "Bhaiya" and tell him exactly how I want my pieces. And then I run away to the front of the store. I don't look at his work.

Back home the husband says the store is owned by Egyptians and none of them understand Hindi.

Couple of months later and I am bolder. He, the butcher, now calls me "Sister". I still talk to him in Hindi mixed with English. He talks to me in his own language mixed with English. We exchange pleasantries. All is well. I still hesitate to tell him how I want, what I want, but he understands. He makes me minced meat out of chicken breasts. I know he is not putting in anything but that in his grinder. I feel better and on the way out I also get some dates.

BS loves meatballs. They make her happy and sweet. I used to get a pack of frozen turkey meatballs for her from the PriceClub. She liked them, I was ok.

But then I realized that we could freeze meatballs in a mail from Happy Cook when she tried my Kofta Curry. I wasn't sure if they would be soft on baking though. Like these Chicken Masala balls of mine are softer on frying than baking. And then I saw this recipe and the blogger saying that these freeze very well and she also baked it.

So I added breadcrumbs and eggs to the ground chicken along with all spices I usually do. I added some mint and corriander leaves for that Indian herb feel. I did not add onion. If using onion I would suggest you fry them and then make a paste or add to ground chicken. Also you can go totally creative and add your own spice combo to the minced meat.

I made some fresh meatballs and immediately baked them. They tasted great. I think the eggs made them really soft and juicy on the inside. Then I froze them raw in a single layer in the freezer. After they were all individually frozen, I put each days portions into separate freezer bags. I have used them up within 7-10 days so far. They work great in Pasta, in a sandwich, wrapped in a Roti or just by themselves. Update: I fried some and added them in a curry yesterday and it was a quick delicious meal.

How do you make your meatball ? How about a veggie ball ? If you haven't done either, time is up, do it now. It is easy and saves you a lot of time on a busy work day.
Update: To make things clear, I froze the raw meatballs. But Kay says in her comment that she bakes and freezes them, whick makes it even better. She does not add egg and adds molasses and they stay good for 3 weeks.


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Spicy Chicken Meatballs

I got my ground chicken freshly made from my local butcher. I had about 1lb & little more of ground chicken.

Made a paste with
3-4 fat garlic cloves
2 tbsp of chopped ginger
6-8 cloves
1" stick cinnamon(optional)
handful of mint and corriander leaves
4-5 green chili(optional, I don't add)
Note: Add very little water while making the paste

To the ground chicken add the following
the paste made above
1/2 tsp of Garam masala Powder (from here)
1/2 tsp of Cumin or Corriander powder (lightly roast and powder the seeds)
1/2 tsp of Kasoori Methi crushed between your palms
salt
1/4 cup bread crumbs (this is eyeballed, adjust as needed for binding)
1 egg beaten well(it is fine if you skip the egg)
salt to taste
pepper powder to taste
a sprinkle of Thyme
few drops of Olive Oil

2nd Option:
If you are a lazy bum like me and want to get away with something more quick, then do this
In a bowl add the ground chicken
To it add
Finely chopped red onion
Minced garlic
Tandoori Masala(Raja Brand is good)
Finely chopped mint and coriander leaves
Bread Crumbs
Salt and pepper

Work everything well into the mix

Fashion balls or patties of this mix. Freeze them in single layer. Note: Usually I will make one ball, fry and do a taste test. I will then adjust the seasonings in the mix and proceed to make the other meatballs.

Fry them or bake them to serve. While frying very little oil is needed if you have shaped them like burger shaped patties.

Similar Recipes:

Chicken Masala Balls

Kofta Curry

Dudh Maach -- a Milky Fish Curry

Little Sis aka LS is not a gourmand. She might be a connoisseur of food. I am not exactly sure.

Any time I sit down to feed her, she asks with utter contempt in her voice "Eta ki ?" (What is this ?). That question makes me extremely nervous. I have a feeling that she expects me to say "Lobster Thermidor" or some such thing. I cannot get myself to say it is just plain old "Khichuri" so I try to distract and in most times end up popping a Purple Dinosaur in the age old VCR.

LS loves "Chickun" though and a "Chickun Jhol" makes her eat at least a quarter of the meal with no request for complicated recipes and fine French food.

A month or so back, me being the Bong Mom and all that introduced Fish to her. I mean Fish as food and not "Oh Fishy Fishy". Only I felt very guilty telling her that it was Fish because kids seem to have this love for rainbow colored "fishies" and I thought I will tell her the truth when she is able to beat up buster next door.
So we still tell her it is "Chickun" but I know she has her doubts because she keeps asking "Eta ki" repeatedly and taking pieces out of her mouth and scrutinizing them with a microscope.

Last week I made this fish curry for her. Big Sis aka BS totally loved it and the love continues this week. About LS I am never sure.

This Dudh Maach or Fish Cooked in Milk is a great fish curry that works with most kinds of fish and every age. I mean age of the person eating it. This is my Ma's recipe and we love it so much that it gets made very often at our home. That it is quick is a huge help. The light gravy has a subtle mustardy taste but amazingly there is no mustard in the recipe whatsoever.

You know how some people will strain their mustard paste and use only the mustard water to make their gravy, well this gravy tastes almost like that, only with zero amount of prep work.

And if you are feeling queasy and creamy about milk and fish, be calm, this is no where near creamy. I use 1% Milk and the gravy is very very light.

We have done this with Rohu (Rui Maach), Ilish (Hilsa) and Tilapia Fillet. The taste is great with all. If using the Tilapia fillet you can either shallow fry or bake in the oven. Enjoy this with fluffy white rice and you will never regret it.


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Dudh Maach - Fish in a Milky Curry

Note: Instead of Mustard oil I use Olive Oil or Canola for the kids who are yet to get used to Mustard and the taste is compromised only a little. So if you don't have Mustard Oil use your regular cooking oil. If you can get hold of Mustard Oil, well the taste then takes on a new dimension.

Prepping the Fish by Frying

If you are using steak pieces of fish clean the fish pieces and toss with turmeric and salt a. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Heat Oil(Mustard Oil preferred) in a Kadhai or Frying Pan. Fry the pieces of fish till golden on both sides.

If you are Baking Fish in the Oven instead of frying

Toss Tilapia Filet in salt, turmeric powder and 1 tsp of Mustard (or Olive) Oil. Bake for 20 mins @350F and then broil for last 5 mins. This is my Toaster Oven setting.

If using salmon fillet, rub the pieces with salt, turmeric powder, mustard (or olive oil) and then bake at 275F for 25 minutes

Make the Curry

Heat 1 Tbsp of fresh Mustard Oil in a Pan. Temper the Oil with 1/4 tsp of Kalonji/Nigella seeds and 4-5 green chili (slit the chili if you like the heat).There will be a lot of spluttering so it is wise to cover the pan with a splatter screen.

Meanwhile in 1 cup of Milk add 1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder and mix till you get a nice daffodil yellow.

Add the milk to the pan and let it simmer till it comes to a boil. Be careful it might just froth and spill.

Now add 1 more cup of water and salt to taste, let the jhol simmer at medium heat. Once you see it bubbling add the fish pieces and simmer for 2-3 more minutes.

Switch off heat and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.Let the gravy soak up its flavor. Drizzle a few drops of mustard oil to jazz up if you wish.Serve with white or brown rice.

Begun Pora -- the Bengali Roasted Eggplant

Begun Pora -- the rustic suburban cousin of Upper East side Ms. Bharta is a very simple, easy and quick if you can rope in the husband, dish.

The only scary part in this whole thing is roasting the eggplant, on the open flame, till it is charred and your smoke alarm starts ringing and the sprinklers go on and there are good looking firefighters ringing your door bell.

That would call for some exciting drama and you might get on page 2 of your local daily but if you abhor paparazzi choose from the following options:

1.On a balmy Tuesday afternoon when the birds are chirping and the wind is gentle hand the hubby a beer and an eggplant. Ask him to put it on the outside grill and keep a watch. Tell him he might get Begun Pora if he is good and some wilting lettuce if he is not. However un-romantic this might sound, the Bong hubby will watch and give you an eggplant that is done just right.

2.On other afternoons when nature is not on your side, rub the eggplant with that golden yellow pungent Mustard oil of yours, sprinkle some salt and stick it into the broiler.In 45minutes to an hour the eggplant will be charred to perfection.

Puritans will insist that you are missing out on the smoky flavor this way, which is true but anything better than cleaning a messy stove or meeting a firefighter in cooking dungarees, I say.

So after that eggplant has been done by the husband or the broiler or the ripping flame as your case might be, let it cool. Remove the charred skin and scoop out the soft velvety insides. To this add some more of that Mustard Oil(yes, you must), fresh chopped green chili, finely chopped onions and fresh corriander leaves and then mix with your fingers. It is a sensational feeling.

Now me being me and wanting a novelty in even my begun pora, I roast some tomatoes and garlic and add it to the above mix.

Wrap it up in a roti and have your dinner. My roti making skills are terrible and the six year old claims she can roll a better one than me, so if such is the case wrap it up in a tortilla.

Now that was quick wasn't it ? Less than 30 minutes of your live time for a Bong dinner. You can also do the eggplant in the broiler a day before and just do the quick mash and mix when you are ready to eat.


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Begun Pora -- Roasted Eggplant

Wash an eggplant thoroughly. It is good if you can soak in water for 10-15 minutes. Pat dry completely
Score the tip with a knife.

Rub with salt and a tsp of mustard oil. Now broil in oven or grill it on the outside grill.
To broil in oven -- put in a baking tray lined with aluminum foil, drizzle some more oil on top and broil. It usually takes between 40-50 minutes to an hour.

For stove top -- "Smoke or roast the eggplant: Hold the eggplant over a low open gas flame. Rotate the eggplant 90 degrees every few minutes or so. The skin will gradually darken, the eggplant will start to sag, and you will notice a pleasant smoky smell. After about 20 minutes or half an hour, when the skin is completely charred, remove the eggplant from the flame. This step can be done by broiling or roasting the eggplant in the oven, but you will not get the same smoky flavour which makes this dish so good. Allow the eggplant to cool, then discard all of the skin, chop the flesh then mash with a fork." -- Source

Once the eggplant has cooled remove the charred skin and mash the soft, velvety flesh.

Add Mustard Oil and mix finely chopped onion, finely chopped green chili, salt to taste and finely chopped tomatoes. If you wish you can roast some tomato and garlic in the oven and add it to above.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Let it sit for a 10-15 minutes to soak up the flavor. Now scoop it up with a roti and eat.

Similar Recipes:

Baingan Bharta

Egg Muffins with Onion & Mushroom -- super quick

It is still summer vacation time around here. 2 and half weeks more to go, almost 3 for many. The first half of the vacation BS spent in idyllic bliss with the grandparents being here. The second half Mommy is in charge and things are not so idyllic any more.

For one Mommy is hyper and lazy at the same time. Instead of judiciously spending her time making alu parathas for the kids or giving them a much needed oil massage, all she wants to do is projects. Mommy's modern parenting bible says "doing projects with kids" ranks high up right after "say good job to your kids every 5 minutes" . Mommy sure hated supervised projects in her own childhood but now wants BS to give up the idyllic nothingness for such ruthless acts. Thankfully for BS, her little Sis ensures that no project that involves gluing, cutting or even detailed coloring gets done while she is around. The remaining short ones that gets done BS loves them.

One of the things we have been doing recently is inspired by Jaya and her little girl. From her post I got the Origami link and it is the perfect thing to do even when LS is around. We have done a Tulip with stems, a fortune teller(remember "Color, Color, what color") and a Pelican so far, It is easy, fast and fun. We use paper around the house, BS colors them and voila there is some new thing after all the folding.

Next is something we started for my pure own selfish desire. I wanted some Ganesha motifs on my walls and I thought why not make BS do them. So I got these 8x10 canvas, some acrylic paint and self-stick rhinestones. I sketched geometric Ganesha pattern on the canvas and BS colored them in and stuck rhinestones. We have done only one so far. But we plan to do two more in diff colors. I will show you all three if and when they get done, keep your fingers crossed.

Note to new Moms: Doing projects and saying Good Job in moderation is ok. Don't go overboard with them.

Now to the food which keeping in tune with my status this month is quick, easy and simple needing no more than 30 minutes of human involvement.

Since the day I started making Kalyn's Egg Muffins they have jostled everyone out to be my first love on "no-time-what-do-we-have-for-dinner" days. Practically that would mean every day but if you have something every day they lose their charm and do not deserve the attention of a first love so I save them up for "really-really-no-time" days.

This time out of a sudden whim I fried onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, green chilis and made them the base for these muffins. They tasted so good that I thought to have them here lest I forget and never ever do the same again.

Note to myself: "Please, please make them again this week. They were delicious".


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Kalyn's Original recipe with Eggs
My previous recipe with egg whites

Egg Muffins with Onion and Mushroom

Heat Olive Oil and saute onions till soft

Add chopped tomatoes(cherry tomatoes in my case) and green chilli

Add chopped mushroom(baby portabella in my case) and saute. Season with salt etc.

Scoop out the onion-mushroom mix and put it in each of your muffin pan. You can top with grated cheese if you wish.

Beat eggs (egg whites only in my case). Season with salt, pepper, a tiny pinch of garam masala. Add it to each muffin pan

Bake till they rise. Eat them up quick.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Sauce -- step by step not

Have I told you that the parents have gone back home where they can drink their tea in peace while listening to Robindrosangeet leaving behind
(a) Tomatoes growing in abundance
(b) Two cranky kids missing their grandparents
(c) and an acute shortage of time for me

Have I told you I am so messed up right now that the one day I mange to reach the gym I arrive there in my flip-flops ?

Have I told you that no one thinks I am a super mom, not my mom, not the husband's mom, not the kid's mom, not the husband's mom...ok I repeat.

If I have how did you ever expect that you will see step-by-step pics of food getting cooked here.

Don't you think your expectations are lofty, your aspirations are sky high and you might actually do good if you write the GMAT than browse through my page ?

So the bottom line is there is no Step-by Step pic, there are few steps, all others are missing.

And really this is a very simple recipe, not even a recipe actually, tomatoes thrown together to be blended and roasted before they are thrown together and sun-dried tomatoes and basil added before they are blended and red ripe juicy tomatoes picked from my very own tiny veggie patch before they are roasted. You get the drift ? Now go ahead and make it.

This is a beautiful sauce that you can toss your pasta in. My girls adore it and that is something. I make the pasta like this, you do your own way. And please do remember I use my small toaster oven for such things in small quantity, so my temp settings might be different, be careful about your own oven settings.

Soak about 1 cup of coarsely chopped sun dried tomatoes in hot water for 30 minutes or more till it softens

Chop & Roast two plump juicy red tomatoes and 5 cloves of garlic drizzled liberally with olive oil and generously dusted with garlic pepper powder and salt till the tomatoes are well roasted. Be careful, do not burn them. In my toaster oven, I had the temp at 400F and it took me about 30-35 minutes.

Cool and in a blender add
roasted tomatoes with garlic, oil and everything,
sun dried tomatoes that are now softened
Blend to make a paste

Add some fresh basil. Blend with above to make a fragrant Tomato Basil Paste.

If the tomatoes are not sweet, and you think the paste is a bit tart for your paste, add a little sugar when you are using it.

Cool and store in the refrigerator. Till date I have kept such pate for 7-10 days. While tossing Pasta make the sauce more liquid by adding pasta water like here or add some olive oil.

Mutton Rezala -- well almost

Mutton Rezala

The typical Bengali style rezala is a subtly spiced, fragrant with whole spices and kewra, yogurt-based stew with chunks of meat. It owes its origin to Mughlai cuisine. This is my recipe of Mutton Rezala, which is not exactly like the muslim restaurants in Kolkata but close.

Chicken Rezala Recipe

I had never thought I would make a Mutton Rezala at home. Heck, I didn't even know how to make a Rezala. All I knew was that Mutton Rezala was a very fragrant stew kind of mutton dish that could be found at Sabir's in Kolkata. It was heavenly but with years the taste had ebbed its sharpness and I couldn't recall how exactly it tasted. All I could remember is the anticipation and the fragrance when Baba would get Biryani or Paratha-Rezala from Sabir's on some days back home. But then I had the same excitement when he got chicken roll from Nizam's or pastries from Flury's or Khasta Kachuri from neighborhood Mahaprabhu.

So you see the tastes weren't distinct in my memory anymore and I had learned to live with the fact that Rezala was that one more unattainable thing from the past. It was a dish fit for the Nawab's who led a very luxurious and sedate life style and had no place in the new age Western World.

I still thought Mutton Rezala was not something you made at Home. Hey, even Sabir's chef thought it was impossible and he would know.
"According to Ahmed the secret of the taste lies in the preparation. Anis Ahmed, another partner, however, disclosed the recipe. The ingredients are simple. Made out of mutton breast, the spices include dahi, ghee, poppy seeds (posto), zafran, and jaitri. the proportionate mixing of the spices gives it the right taste. “this is where most people go wrong,” said Ahmed. even if you are closely correct in the proportion you will never get the right taste at home. the trick, he said, is in the fuel. “you can never get the taste unless you cook it in charcoal fire,” said Ahmed

Read more: A taste of Rezala at Sabir’s - Calcutta Times - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1885223942.cms#ixzz0vqR8u3Z9
"

And then I saw Kalyan making a Chicken rezala at home. That was the thing that set me on track about this whole Rezala thing. And then I see Mr.Ghosh our UshnishDa making not only Mutton but Paneer and Aloo Rezala at his very own home.

Hmmm...so I guess Rezala can be made at home after all. If all these male of the species have done it successfully, the female power could do it better I thought.

Did I say better ? Ok, kidding, I did not mean better. Why would I say better ? I mean how can it be better than Anis Ahmed's slow cooked rezala on "charcoal fire".

We are the liberated, powerful, modern female. We do not use charcoal fuel. We know better. Ok what is this with better, dang, not better, best. We know best and Rezala might not be one of them. Who cares ?

But my gas cooked, pressure cookered, first attempt Mutton Rezala was really gorgeous. It was fragrant, the mutton tender and soaked with all those spices, the gravy light but spicy and everything that I could possibly ask for in a Rezala. The flavor of this dish comes from the whole spices, the cardamom, the javetri and then the magical drops of Kewra water. Everyone who had it loved it. I am not sure if they recognized it as a Rezala but they loved it none the less.

Get this recipe in my Book coming out soon. Check this blog for further updates. 

Since I was making this for a small lunch gathering, I made it richer and spicier. For an everyday Home Version you can choose to go light.
I have mostly followed this recipe but have also taken pointers from this and this. I have made Mutton Rezala but you can easily substitute Mutton with Chicken or even make a Vegetarian Rezala.


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Mutton Rezala

Serving size : This serves about 10-12 adults when served as a part of a complete meal
Time Taken: Prep :15 mins; Marination:8-12 hrs; Cooking Time: 30-40 mins
Level of Difficulty: Medium

What You Need

Mutton/Goat Meat ~ 5lb

Onion ~ 4-5 cups of chopped red onion (4-5 medium sized onion)
Garlic ~ 12 cloves
Ginger ~ 2" piece

Yogurt 1.5 cup for marinade + 2 cups for later

Grind to a Dry Spice powder

Cardamom ~ 4 big black + 10 green
Mace/Javetri ~ 1 tbsp
Clove ~ 10
Pepper Powder ~ 1 tbsp
Nutmeg/jaiphal - a pinch of nutmeg powder


For Gravy

Onion ~ 1/2 of a large thinly sliced (Optional)

Ginger Paste ~ 2 tsp (optional)

Garlic Paste ~ 2 tsp (optional)

Cashew ~ 4 tbsp soaked and then made a paste

Kewra Water ~ 1 tsp (must for the fragrance)
Meetha Attar -- a few drops adds to the beautiful fragrance (I usually never have this but a reader suggested so adding here)
Milk ~ 4 Tbsp
Saffron ~ few strands

Salt ~ to taste
Oil ~ Cooking oil preferably Canola or Ghee
Ghee ~ 1 tbsp

Whole Spices for tempering

Bay Leaf ~ 5
Whole Red Chili ~ 15 -- Do not crack the red chili, use whole, this brings you the smell of the spice without excess heat. Depending on your spice level decrease this quantity
Black Peppercorn ~ 3 tsp whole is better or use 1 tbsp of pepper powder
Cardamom ~ 2 Black + 5 green
Clove ~ 10
Cinnamon Stick ~ 1 stick

How I Did It

Step 1

Grind to a dry powder the spices listed under "Grind to Dry Powder"

Step 2

Heat Oil

Lightly fry the 5 cup of onion + 12 clove of garlic + 2" piece of ginger until onion is soft and pink
Cool and make a paste.
Add to this 1 cup of yogurt and blend well

Traditional Route: Don't fry onion, garlic, ginger, just make a paste of above. However my raw onion paste sometimes gets bitter so I prefer this.

Step 3

In a big large mouthed bowl (or use an aluminum tray) add the washed and cleaned mutton pieces.
Add the paste + yogurt from Step 2
Add the dry spice powder from Step 1
Add salt to taste
Mix well
Let it rest for 2-3 hours, overnight is better.

Step 4

Heat Oil + 1 tbsp Ghee in a heavy bottomed large pan

Temper the Oil with all spices listed under Whole Spice. Add about 1/2 tsp of sugar.

When the spices sizzle add 1/2 of an onion sliced thin and fry till onion starts to brown
Add 2 tsp of Ginger Paste + 2 tsp of Garlic Paste and fry for couple of minutes
Traditional route: Skip this step

Remove the meat pieces from the marinade, shaking off any excess liquid and add to the pan. Saute the meat pieces till the raw pink coloring is gone. A lot of water will be released at this point and it will smell heavenly.

In a bowl beat about 2-3 cups of yogurt + cashew paste. I also add a little sugar to the yogurt. If your yogurt is very thick, add 1/2 Cup of water to thin it out.
Lower the heat and add this along with the remaining marinade to the pan. Mix everything nicely. Note: Use 3 cups yogurt for a lighter gravy, 2 cups for not too soupy one.

Add salt to taste.

Transfer everything to a Pressure Cooker.If you think that the liquid is not enough, add some water.Add a tsp of Kewra Water. The Kewra Water is important, DO NOT skip it, you can use Rose Water or a little Meetha Attar if you don't have Kewra Water.

Now close the lid of the pressure cooker.  Keep heat at medium and cook till Mutton is tender. Do not over cook. Since I had marinated the meat for close to 18 hrs, mine was done in 10 minutes after full pressure build up.
Note: If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can cook the meat in the pan but it will take about 45-60 minutes. You will also need to stir in between and add water if necessary to avoid the meat from sticking to the bottom.

In a small bowl heat 3-4 Tbsp of milk. Add a few strands of saffron to the warm milk and mix. Once the meat is done and you can open the lid of the cooker add the milk+saffron and close the lid again.

Let it sit for 30 minutes and then serve with Rice, Biryani or Naan.



Similar Recipes:

Hyderabadi Maraag

Patha'r Mangshor Jhol

Mutton Stew for Kids



Trivia: The Mughal influence in Bengali Cuisine was reinforced in the Raj era, when Kolkata became the place of refuge for many prominent exiled Nawabs, especially the family of Tipu Sultan from Mysore and Wajid Ali Shah, the ousted Nawab of Awadh. The exiles brought with them hundreds of cooks and masalchis (spice mixers). These highly accomplished cooks came with the knowledge of a very wide range of spices (most notably jafran saffron and mace), the extensive use of ghee as a method of cooking, and special ways of marinating meats.
Specialties include chap (ribs slow cooked on a tawa), rezala (meat in a thin yogurt and cardamom gravy) and the famous kathi roll (kebabs in a wrap)

Posto Bora/Poppy Seed Fritters -- to save the soul

Friday was her Ma's Puja day. A day of thorough cleaning, sparse vegetarian eating, smoky incense sticks and hour long prayers.

She didn't like Fridays much. Ma would not let her sleep in late. Early morning the swoosh of the water across the courtyard followed by the broom would wake her up. Thwack-thwack it would go clearing the dirt, chalk dust from yesterday's hop scotch and dry leaves from the Neem tree.That was a signal for her to get out of the bed and take an early bath to avoid Ma's ire.

Before the morning newspaper hit the front veranda Ma would be in the kitchen trying to remove the turmeric stains from last night's maacher jhol. All those sounds of scraping and scrubbing would trouble her innards as she hurriedly dressed to catch the early bus. She wanted to be out before Ma started cleaning the green slightly rusted gas stove and soaping the red gas cylinder. Ma was never one to enjoy such tasks and the rituals she thrust on herself visibly irked her.

Outside she would breath and laugh and discuss Ma's rituals as ridiculous. She would take a bite of her best friend's egg roll ignoring the rule of being vegetarian on Fridays. It never occurred to her to question Ma's belief, to defy Fridays with any more stronger rebellion than this.

Some Fridays would be different though. Manu'r Ma, the maid would arrive early and amidst the clanking and scrubbing, she would hear the harsh monotonous sound of stone grating on stone. Manu'r Ma sitting on the floor would grind posto on the sheel, a pock marked slab of stone, turmeric stained by use and age. The red and green glass bangles on her thin, rough wrists would make a sweet tinkling sound while she rolled the smooth black nora, grating the poppy seeds by rhythmic regular pressure of her hands.

This is the shee-nora/sheel-batta the flat stone used to grind spices back home. Pic Courtesy my Dad

Those days she rushed home early. There was posto waiting at home. Earthy posto bata mixed with a liberal dose of pungent mustard oil and kancha lonka, the lightly crisp, flat posto bora and then aloo posto. Those Fridays she spent five whole minutes in the Puja room, muttering the only shloka she knew and promising to eat only vegetarian on all subsequent Fridays.

She smiled as she thought of those Fridays. How long has it been ? 20? or maybe more ? Her coffee grinder made a soft purring noise as it pulverized the white poppy seeds to a fine Powder. The Merry Maids scrubbed the upstairs bathroom. As soon as the Posto Bora would be done, she would light an incense in the Prayer room. Today was Friday.

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Though this is fiction with heavy dosage of writer's imagination, Fridays were and are days we eat vegetarian and back home almost always my Mom would make posto on Fridays. She wasn't one to stick to rituals though. This goes to Chalks and Chopsticks -- 3 hosted by Sra and created by Aqua. I am not sure if this fits but this IS a very basic recipe/ingred/method in the Bong Kitchen so this post also goes to Jaya's B2B -- Back to Basics, if accepted, basically.

I am sure every self respecting middle aged Bong has made posto bora and know how to.

So this recipes is not really for them.

It is for those young bespectacled Bong grad students on their meager stipends and heavy work loads. Those who have used up all the minutes on their calling card for today is the 27th and pay day is not until end of the week. For those whose emotional balance is so skewed that desire of posto bora with mususrir dal and bhaat sits high up just next to an appreciative nod from the advisor.To give them some pleasure on a scorching hot Tuesday I will tell them how to make posto bora.


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Posto Bora/Poppy Seed Fritters

Today I will not use my Magic Bullet which will make a better paste of Posto or Poppy Seeds. Instead the Coffee Grinder will be brought out, it is an inexpensive and a familiar feature in a sambar smelling, begun bhaja greasing grad student apartment (I hope!).

Put 1/2 cup of Posto/Poppy Seeds in the coffee grinder and make a fine powder, as fine as the machine can without burning up that is. This will make 4-5 posto bora.

Transfer the powder to a bowl. It might be grainy, you can't help it.

Add approx 4-5 tbsp of water to this powder and try to make a paste. Throw is some finely chopped onion, 2 green chili chopped real fine, salt and few drops of Mustard Oil. You don't have Mustard Oil ? Ok forget it and weep.

The paste will look runny. There is no way you can make bora(fritters) with them. So add a little Maida/AP Flour. I think 2-3 tsp should be ok. Add a tsp of flour, mix well and see if the consistency is still very watery. If yes --> add a half tsp more.
Note: If you happen to have a Magic Bullet or a sheel or anything where you can wet grind the posto to a fine thick paste, you might not need the flour.

Grease a flat pan with oil and put on the hob. Very little oil is needed to make these, 2 tsp at most.Mustard oil is the oil of choice here. If you don't have that again weep and use Canola.

Shape a flat fritter/tikki/bora kind of structure with your bare hands, it will be irregular and just hold its shape. Put it on the pan and let it cook at medium heat. Once the edges have browned flip. Now it will be flippable.Do the other side till both sides are nicely browned.

You can have these just by themselves or with rice. Tastes awesome. Ok, you already know that.

Similar Recipes:

Alu Posto

Kundru Posto

Jhinge Chingri Posto

Sharmila's Posto Bora -- one of my fav bloggers and I hope she comes back soon

Everyday Chicken Biryani -- Version 1.0

Once upon a time there was a young girl newly married and her husband who too was newly married and they did not cook much.To simplify life they would often make a very easy chicken biryani. It would start of as a chicken curry and then they would add rice to it, put everything in the pressure cooker, close the lid and then wait expectantly for the pressure to go whoosh 3 times. Their little house smelled nice with the rich spices and promises of a better tomorrow hung limply in the fragrant air. They would each have a plateful and think that was the best biryani ever.

Slowly they made friends, friend who introduced them to authentic Biryani places, the hole in the wall meat shops, who also served delicious Biryani. Sometimes they would travel 40 miles on the weekend to some such place for a plate of goat biryani and that taste would linger for the entire week. The everyday chicken biryani seemed too rustic, too homely compared to such exotic tastes. They did not feel the urge to cook it as often anymore.

Then they acquired a friend whose cooking was legendary and whose Mutton Biryani was the closest you could get to paradise. They would wait and wait for lunch or a dinner invite at her place, for a taste of that Biryani. The husband frustrated with all the waiting finally managed to wrangle the treasured recipe and cooked the legendary Mutton Biryani at home. It took half a day, half a bottle of ghee and tasted like heaven. The taste was so exotic that Every Day Chicken Biryani rarely got made again. The half bottle of ghee ensured that the Legendary Biryani never got made again except on rare occasions.

When the Biryani craving struck they just ordered out from the numerous respectable Biryani places that had now sprung up in the neighborhood.

And then I chanced upon Indosungod's Chicken Biryani. It sounded familiar, comforting and brought back the rich smell that hung in that small house years ago. So I made it. I adapted it to my old style but applied the new techniques and addition of new spices that I learned from her. I also applied the tips that I had learned from all of you in my Egg Pulao post.

I was extra happy with this dish because it had tomatoes, mint and coriander from the garden. I served this Biryani with a simple raita and I added some of the cherry tomatoes to the raita. I also added oven baked spicy potatoes to the Biryani to satisfy my Bong craving for potatoes in a Biryani.

The Everyday Chicken Biryani turned out delicious and comforting. Everyone including BS and LS loved it. Now that is a rare feat.

I say this is version 1.0 because there are many other variations to this delightful one pot meal that I might try in future. For now this=bliss.

Update: This goes to BB#6 at Nupur's delightful One Hot Stove


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Everyday Chicken Biryani

Marinate about 2 lb Chicken with 1/4th Cup yogurt, 1 tsp Biryani Masala, 1 tsp Ginger Paste, 1 tsp Garlic Paste salt and little oil for an an hour or more. Note: Use your own or store bought Biryani Masala

Heat Vegetable Oil in a deep heavy bottomed bottomed pan or in a pressure cooker

Lightly fry 6 cloves of garlic and 2" piece of ginger. Remove and make a paste once it is cooled.

Temper the Oil with
1 Bay Leaf
2" stick of Cinnamon
4 whole clove
4 whole green cardamom
1 black cardamom (optional)
1/2 tsp of Fennel seeds
1/2 tsp Corriander seeds

When the spices sizzle add 1 Cup of chopped red onion. Add 1/2 tsp of sugar and fry the onion till it is soft and translucent and lightly browned at the edges.

Next add the ginger-garlic paste that you made and saute for a couple more minutes

Add 1 Cup of chopped carrots and green beans finely chopped and saute for 2-3 minutes. (This is optional)

Add 1 large potato chopped in quarters and saute for a minute. (This is NOT optional)

Now add the marinated chicken pieces and fry them till they turn a light golden.

Next add the spice powders
a little Turmeric Powder
1 Tbsp Biryani Masala
Note: I did not add any red chili powder as the kids were going to eat it too but add according to your taste.

Mix the masala with chicken and saute for 3-4 minutes. If needed sprinkle a little water while frying.

Add 2 Tbsp of chopped mint and 2 Tbsp of coriander leaves. 1 Tbsp of Dried mint works great too.

Add salt to taste and cook the chicken till they are 3/4th done

Meanwhile wash 2 cups of Basmati rice and drain all the water. Smear the rice grains with ghee so that the rice grains are nicely coated. Also bring about 5 cups of water to boil in a separate pot. Mostly the ratio of rice :water suggested is 1:2 but do what works best with the rice you use.

Once the chicken is almost done, add the rice and mix lightly. Do not stir vigorously. Adjust for salt and other seasonings. At this point I added 2 whole green chili chopped. Add the boiling water to this pan . Bring it to a simmer, then keep gas heat at medium low and cover the pan with lid. Cook till rice is almost done and the water has been absorbed. Now remove from heat, fluff the rice with a fork and open the lid in part.

If at this point some of the rice grains were not fully cooked, put a big griddle/tawa on medium flame and put this pan with biryani on the griddle/tawa. I sprinkled some fried onion on the rice, covered the lid in part and let it cook for 5-6 minutes. By this time all the grains were nicely done.

OR

If you are doing in a pressure cooker hassle is less. Close the pressure cooker lid and cook till rice is done.

Serving Options 1: Now the Biryani popular in Bengal is always served with potatoes and so I love potatoes in my Biryani. This time instead of adding potato directly to the biryani this is what I did. I sliced thickly two red potatoes and tossed them with olive oil, sea salt and little roasted cumin powder. I then baked them in the oven at 400F for 25-30 mins. I then garnished the Biryani with these potato slices and fried onions.

Serve with a raita. To make raita put thick yogurt in a bowl and stir with a whisk or fork to have a uniform thick consistency. Add little milk to get the right consistency. Add chopped cucumber, chopped onion and tomatoes. Add little sugar, chaat masala and little salt. Mix well. Serve cold

Giada's Grilled chicken with Basil Dressing

Soon after I have had some deep fried goodness I go on a guilt mode. Isn't that sad ? I mean if life has come to a stage where I have to feel guilty of eating deep fried stuff, is that life even worth anything ? And hello, I am not in my seventies or something. My Hajmola eating, ever burping grandma did better than this.

Also when I am on the guilt mode, I eat crap.Not.

So on one of my such modes and on a weekday with very little time I decided to do a grilled chicken. Now there is nothing wrong with grilled chicken and we do a lot of that during the summer months. It is easy, less mess, I do the marinade, D stands on the deck, far from the madding crowd aka the family and turns chicken on the gas grill enjoying the light summer breeze and the peace that loneliness on the deck can bring.

But this time I wanted to use my Basil infused Olive Oil and more Basil with the chicken. A few Google clicks later I settled on Giada's Grilled Chicken with Basil Dressing. Now I love Giada. Ok, not exactly love, because I have seen her only maybe four times on Food Network. But I like her. She is very pretty. In fact I liked her enough to suggest that D start watching pretty Giada instead of brainy Alton Brown.

But he likes brainy guys and I like pretty girls.We have a happy marriage.

So I kind of followed her recipe, altering only a little bit. I used Basil Infused Olive Oil instead of just Olive Oil. And I must tell you, my infused Olive Oil wasn't smelling very great after a week in the refrigerator. I have no clue what happened.

I also reduced the lime juice and added a little honey and red chili powder.

The basil dressing was very good I must say. A little on the bland side for folks like us so should have added more chili but it was very refreshing. I served the chicken with grilled veggies.
The next day I added some Corriander Chutney from a bottle to the same marinade and used it for salmon. That made it totally delicious though.

While on the Grilling topic, I have updated the page Blog Hopped Recipes with two delicious recipes of grilled chicken that I tried from Malluspice and Aayis Recipes. Do check them out.


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Grilled Chicken with Basil Dressing

Original Recipe

Whisk
1/3 cup of oil(I used less),
2 tablespoons of lemon juice,
1 tsp garlic paste,
1 & 1/2 tsp of powdered fennel seeds,
salt,
1 teaspoon pepper in a heavy-duty re-sealable plastic bag. Add 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts and seal the bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day, turning the chicken occasionally.

Blend
1 cup of basil leaves,
2-3 cloves of garlic,
1 tsp lemon zest,
1/8 cup lemon juice,
salt,
1 teaspoon pepper in a blender until smooth. Gradually blend in 1/3 cup oil. Season the basil sauce, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired. I added honey and some red chili powder to this dressing

Prepare the barbecue for medium-high heat or preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the chicken until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to plates. Drizzle the basil sauce over and serve.

Chingri Pakoda -- Shrimp Pakoda

BS lost her very first tooth last week, last Wednesday to be precise. Major excitement ensued.More than the tooth, it was about the Tooth Fairy and the cash she would bring.

I had no clue that Tooth Fairies brought wads of dollar bills.

A shiny quarter was all I knew. Apparently I am wrong, as suggested by little neighbor girl.

The little neighbor girl has raised the bar pretty high saying Tooth Fairy got her thirty dollars. T-HIRT-Y DOLLARS for a baby tooth !!! What was TTF(The Tooth Fairy) thinking. I am guessing there is a scam going on and it might involve Goldman but really T-HIRT-Y Dollars ?

Since this was BS's very first tooth, I did not want her psychologically snubbed by TTF's bias and so she got Fifteen dollars from TTF next morning, crisp 5 dollar bills under her pillow.

Later I learned that little neighbor girl might have duped me. Tooth Fairy still gives out single dollar bills so there I am the stupid adult.

To quickly retract my sin of giving too much cash to a 6 year old I made BS buy ten dollar worth of craft supplies with that money and now BS is left with 5 dollars which she has promised to give to her Mom when the need arises. In fact BS thinks her Mom can become rich herself if she loses her own tooth too.

Before that happens her Mom decided to celebrate the occasion by making Chingri Pakora or Shrimp Pakoda. It did not matter that BS did not even want to take a bite, everyone else enjoyed it to the bits.

Update for Indo: The toothless girl did not fancy pakodas on that particular day. She has her very own independent food ideas that change each day !!!

Fry some up, they are perfect on a rainy day with a steaming cuppa. Ok, they are good on any day and we will also serve it as a bhaja (something fried) to go with rice and dal. If you don't eat shrimp, don't lose heart, you can use sliced paneer or mushroom and they will taste as good.


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Chingri Pakoda -- Shrimp Pakoda

This recipe makes about 15-16 pakodis with 15-16 shrimp

Clean and de-vein shrimp. If using frozen defrost them. Remove shell and the tail. Toss the shrimp with 1/4 tsp of lime juice, 1/4 tsp of Roasted Cumin powder and salt. You can also add a little garlic paste and Red Chili powder, I usually don't. Keep the shrimp marinated for 10-15 minutes. If shrimp is large in size, chop in bite size pieces and then marinate.

In a mixing bowl add

1 cup of Besan/Chickpea flour
a pinch of Baking Powder
1/4 tsp of Red Chili Powder
salt to taste
Add 3/4 cup--1 cup of water gradually to above, mixing with a fork to make a smooth batter.

Note 1: You can add a tsp of rice flour to the batter to make it more crispy
Note 2: Sometimes I will add an egg to the batter. If you do that add less water.

To the batter add about 1/4 cup of finely chopped onions and 2 green chili finely chopped(optional) and mix well
This time I added 2 tbsp of crispy fried onions(the kind you can put in biryani etc.) to the batter and it tasted heavenly

Heat enough Oil for deep frying in a kadhai. Test if the oil is hot enough by dropping a little batter into it.

Dip a shrimp in the batter so that it is well coated. With a tablespoon scoop the shrimp along with some batter and gently drop it in hot oil. At this point heat should be high-medium. After a minute reduce the heat to medium. When the pakoda starts turning golden at edges flip and fry the other side. Approx. it will take 2-3 mins on each side. This is enough for the shrimp to get cooked.
Note: When you are doing several at a time, carefully separate each pakodis in the hot oil so that they do not lump together.

Once the pakoda looks brown and crunchy, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel

Sprinkle Amchoor or Chaat masala on the pakodis and serve with a Hot & Sweet Ketchup

Miss Masala by Mallika

A very dear blogger friend has written a book.

She is funny, witty, charming, chic and a terrific cook. Oh, wait and she is a fellow bong.

Can you guess who she is ?

Ok, she is already famous and you all probably know about her book. She is Mallika from Quick Indian Cooking, who blogs here at Quick Indian Cooking. Of course.

Book: Miss Masala
Author: Mallika Basu
Hardcover: 248 pages
Publisher: Collins (April 29, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0007306121
ISBN-13: 978-0007306121
Buy from Amazon

She had very kindly sent me some copies l--o--o--n--g back. But they got lost in transit and after much travel only two of her gorgeous books landed at my door.

Did I say they were gorgeous ? They were absolutely pretty and purple and pink and with the most charming pages(or settings or whatever the publishers call them). You know the kind of lined pages where you jot down your notes. Her book is like that, has that well thumbed feel of a recipe journal about it. And yet just like her it is witty, charming, chic and sexy.

It is filled with those terrific recipes which you must have got a glimpse in her blog and is filled with witty anecdotes. I have been enjoying reading it so much that I am yet to cook from it. In fact I had intended to do a review only after I cooked a couple (and it is hard to pick just a couple) of dishes from the book. But then I remembered she has a book tour all over India this week and I wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible.

Please,please check out her book tour and go visit if possible. Also buy your own personal copy. I was supposed to give out one but my Mom has taken over one copy and refuses to part with it. Me, I am not going to let go mine either. So go get your own and meet Mallika in her book tour if possible.

Dal with Beet Greens

Little Sis aka LS is a funny creature. She is the kind you would like to have at the other table at the fancy restaurant. The kind who will stick her tongue out at you, climb up and down the high chair, throw forks around, throw folks around and make you silently gloat on your own parenting skills. When she starts yelling you can pay your tip and leave.

I cannot leave however. I am the Mother. I have to grab her by the nape while I shovel Pad Thai down mine. I have to constantly remind her that throwing a plate(thankfully it was a copper or some metallic kind) around is not acceptable behavior, that she cannot pull tablecloths or poke ac vents.

People@Home think I am too soft with her. But trust me I am not. Ok, maybe I have lost the steam to discipline since Big Sis aka BS but even then I am not soft. It is just that LS is like that, naughty and funny and always on her toes.

Now BS is the quieter one, she doesn't scold her little sis when LS shouts "My Turn" ever so often, doesn't utter a word when LS takes away her crayons, lets her lick her ice cream and only sometimes complains that LS scratched her arms.

LS never complains. If needed she throws herself on the floor albeit carefully and expresses her anger. She plays mostly with BS's friends and uses her limited English editions of "Hello", "How are You Doing", "No, don't" and "My Turn". After that she just continues in Bengali. She figures her way around them, relying totally on BS for help and ignoring any grown up interference.

A couple months back when we were at Orlando, she shook hands with Mickey and told him a lot of stuff including "Hello", "How are you doing". Unfortunately Mickey did not understand a word. Since then she has a Mickey fixation. So she is the kid you can hear yelling "Mickey", "Mickey" at the library or the mall or anywhere the familiar mouse is visible.

She is the one with parents sporting an embarrassed look.

Next time when you hear a kid in the flight protesting to wear the sea belt, when you see a kid who is practicing target with forks and peas at the restaurant, when you hear a kid whose excited voice drowns the silence in the library please, please DO NOT blame the parents.

Think of LS. Some kids are "like that wonly".

Now to the Dal cooked with a bunch of beet greens. This again is my Ma's dish. Since we usually get a bunch of beet for LS, Ma uses the greens in this Dal and it has become a family favorite. You can work around with the spices and the type of Dal. I have always, always cooked this with only Masoor--Red Lentils but I have a hunch that this will go beautifully with Toor too.


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Dal with Beet Greens

Wash and cook Masoor Dal(Red Lentils) with enough water and little turmeric. I usually do it in the pressure cooker. I had about 4 cups of Cooked Dal. My dal was cooked rather thick, usually it should be more liquid.

Chop the Beet Greens. I had one bunch of it.

Heat 3-4 tsp of Oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Temper the oil with 1 small Bay Leaf, 4 cardamom, 4 clove and 1" thin stick of cinnamon

Add 2 cloves of garlic finely minced, followed soon by almost 1 &1/2 -- 2 cups of chopped onion. Fry the onion till it is soft and translucent.

Add the chopped Beet Greens. Fry the greens till there is no raw smell of the greens. If they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan, sprinkle water and scrape and fry.

Add about 1/4 tsp of Garam Masala powder if you wish and 1 more tsp of oil. Fry for couple more minutes

Now add the cooked dal. Do this gradually, sauteing the dal along with the greens so that they mix thoroughly

Now add water about 3-4 cups of it. Add salt and sugar to taste. Add chili powder to taste. Let the Dal simmer till it comes to a boil. Mix thoroughly. Switch off and squeeze a quarter lime juice into the Dal. Serve with rice or Roti or just by itself.