It was apparently the Mughal era when diligent documenting administrative details, biographies of the Mughal kings and other nobles started. For documenting purposes, the scribes were employed. This class of writers came to be known as ‘Kayasthas’ later. Gradually the ‘Kayasthas’ got acquainted with the Mughal culinary styles that transcended to their household kitchens. During those years, most of the scribes were Bengalis. They wholeheartedly embraced and experimented with the Mughal culinary techniques with Bengali cooking giving birth to some delectable Bengali dishes like Kormas, Dolmas and Polao.

We cook Gajorer Halua using the Mughal ‘dum pukht’ style of cooking. ‘Dum pukht’ means slow cooking over low flame. In this style, the juices of the vegetables or meats help in cooking them in sealed containers. ‘Dum pukht’ dishes are rich in flavours.

Ingredients for Gajorer Halua (Gajar ka halwa) recipe: 

• Carrots (Gajor) – 750 gms (finely grated)
• Ghee (Clarified Butter) – 3 ½ tbsp
• Kesar (soaked in lukewarm water) – 8-10 strands
• Green Cardamom (Choto Elach) – 5 pods
• Cashew Nuts – A Handful
• Raisins – A Handful
• Milk – 1 ½ Cup to be reduced to ½ cup by boiling
• Sugar – According to taste
• Honey – 2 tbsp

Recommended read: Chicken Sukka

Buy the ingredients for Gajar ka halwa recipe:

• Kesar
• Green Cardamom
• Cashew Nuts
• Raisins
• Organic Sugar
• Organic Honey

(Bonphool’s pure honey from Sunderbans is the best. But, due to excess demand, they are facing delivery issues. So, here we have suggested the next best option, Saffola Honey)

Preparation of Gajorer Halua:

• Take a flat-bottomed pot (a handi or dekchi) and put over the flame for heating.
• When the pan gets heated, add 3 tbsp ghee.
• Once the ghee starts melting, put 1 tbsp of sugar.
• After the sugar gets caramelized, add the grated carrots.
• Close the lid, simmer the flame and let the carrot cook on its own for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the milk to boil, simmer the flame.
• Add the crushed cardamoms. Stir in gently.
• Add 2 tbsp honey to the boiling milk. Stir in gently.
• Now open the pot’s lid, stir in once and close it again for 15 more minutes.
• Add some sugar to the boiling milk now. We added two tablespoons, but it’s totally up to you to adjust the sugar quantity according to your preference.
• Add the soaked Kesar in the milk. Put off the flame and keep the reduced milk aside.
• Take a ladle. Add 1 tsp of ghee—roast in the cashew nuts and raisins. Keep aside.
• Next, open the lid of the pot to check the doneness of the carrots. You’ll find that they have turned tender.
• Add in the reduced milk. Mix well.
• Keep stirring till the juices dry up completely.
• Garnish the gajorer halua with the roasted dry fruits and serve after a standing time of 10 minutes.

A perfect dish to enjoy during the winter! Have it either after a meal or savour it as an evening snack.

For an evening snack recipe, read Ghugni and nimki recipe

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The post Gajorer Halua (Gajar Ka Halwa) Recipe – Mughal Influence in the Bengali Kitchen appeared first on KolkataFusion.

The pointed gourd or Potol has a smooth ability to adapt its flavour to the ingredients and tempered spices it’s cooked along. That makes it a perfect choice to be cooked with strictly vegetarian ingredients, or non-vegetarian ingredients. You can experiment a lot with Potol. We, Bengalis, have a wide range of dishes made from this vegetable, right from the starters, through the side dishes and desserts. We make Potol Bhaaja, Potoler Dolma, Potol-Alur Chocchori as starters; Alu Potoler Dom, Potol Chingrir Korma, Doi Shorshe Potol as side accompaniments with hot rice; and Potol Kheer as dessert.

I cooked this Potoler Dolma with homemade chicken keema filling but it can be done with prawns or eggs as fillings or fillings made from grated coconut, cashew paste and posto baata (poppy seed paste). Whichever way you choose to cook, the taste will be equally amazing.

Ingredients for Potoler Dolma Recipe

• Potol (Pointed Gourd) – 5 (You can take more if you are preparing for more people)
• Chicken (minced and cooked)– 5 tbsp (Please follow this link to know how to cook minced chicken in Bengali style)
• Onion – 1 small
• Garlic – 2 pods
• Ginger – ¼ inch
• Mustard Oil – 3 tbsp for frying; 1 tbsp for cooking the filling.

Preparation

• Slit the Pointed Gourds as shown in the below photo.
• Scoop out the seeds and the pulps inside them.
• After scooping the seeds out, smear some salt on the pointed gourds and keep aside. The salt will help them to become softer.
• Throw out the seeds which have become hard and fully formed and take the pulps. If you feel like the pulp part is inadequate, take two or three fresh and unripe pointed gourds with bare minimum seeds. While preparing the filling this time, I had to take two kochi Potols (fresh and unripe Pointed Gourds) for adding up the filling.

• Prepare the Chicken Keema as instructed. In case you have stored it in the refrigerator, bring it outside in order to normalize the temperature.
• Chop the onion, garlic and ginger in dices and add to the mixer. Add the Pointed Gourd pulps and unripe seeds too. Mix them to a fine paste. Keep aside.

• Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil. Fry the pointed gourds till light brown. Keep aside.
• In that same oil, add 1 tbsp more oil if required and sauté the pointed gourd pulp, onion, ginger and garlic paste. If you feel like you can add green chilli paste or chilli powder too. I have opted that out because we don’t like the hot taste that much.
• When the paste starts getting reduced and the oil starts coming out while stirring, mix 5 tbsp chicken keema or according to your requirement. Mix well.
• Add a dash of Garam Masala and keep aside the filling for cooling a bit.

• Take the fried pointed gourd shells and fill up the insides with the cooked filling and serve hot.

The Potoler Dolma goes best with piping hot rice as starters, but you can also have it alongside Rotis during dinner or as snacks with tea.

Recipe by Parna’s Mother In Law, a silent but prominent recipe blogger of KolkataFusion.

The post A simple preparation of Potoler Dolma – Bengali Style Stuffed Pointed Gourds appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Fish Paturi is a traditional and famous fish item in West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is actually a steamed fish dish where the fish is marinated with spices and then wrapped inside a banana leaf and then steamed to perfection. The delectable taste of the dish comes from the poppy seeds and mustard flavours added during marination and the banana leaf wrapping makes the flavour unique. In a traditional Fish Paturi, the fish is either Hilsa or Bhetki (Kolkata Beckti), but you can use any fish. The paturi can be prepared in many ways. The recipe I had followed is simple and no oven or microwave oven is needed for it. I have used the Bhetki fish for the recipe provided below.

Preparation time:

Approximately 1 hour

Cooking Time:

Approximately 35 – 40 minutes for 8-10 paturis

Ingredients:

1. Bhetki (Barramundi) Fish fillet – 700-800 Gms (8-10 pieces)
2. Banana Leaves – 3-4 (if leaf is big) or 5-6 (if leaf is small)
3. Yellow Mustard Seeds – 2 Tbsp
4. Black Mustard Seeds – 4 Tbsp
5. Poppy Seeds – 2 Tbsp
6. Curd – ½ cup (125 ml)
7. Grated Coconut – ½ cup (60 gms)
8. Turmeric Powder – ½ Tbsp (for marinating the fish) + ½ Tsp (for gravy)
9. Chilli Powder – 1 to 2 tsp
10. Lime Juice – 1 Tbsp
11. Mustard Oil – 3 Tbsp (for marination) + 1 Tbsp (for cooking)
12. Salt – 1 Tbsp (for marinating the fish) + ½ Tsp (for gravy)
13. Cotton thread for binding
14. Full green chillies – 8-10 for garnishing

Cooking procedure:

• Clean and wash the fish fillets well. Then put them in a pot or bowl.

• Put ½ Tbsp turmeric Powder, 1 Tbsp salt and 1 Tbsp lime juice on the fillets and rub them well on each fillet. This will help in removing the raw smell of the fish.

• Keep the fish in this condition for 30 minutes. Do not cover the bowl or pot. The opening helps the smell to go away.

• While the fish is getting marinated, make a paste of the two types of mustard seeds and poppy seeds. You can make a paste of all the seeds together, but I recommend you make a paste of the three separately. It will bring the flavour of each spices better. In case, it is not possible to get two types of mustard seeds, you can choose one type only also and adjust the amount accordingly.

• In a bowl, put the three pastes. Add ½ cup grated coconut. Then add 3 Tbsp mustard oil, ½ Tsp turmeric powder and ½ Tsp salt. Mix all of them together to make a smooth mixture. Please remember to be careful with the salt. We have already marinated the fish with salt, so putting extra salt in the gravy can impact the taste.

• Once the fish has been marinated for 30 minutes (as mentioned in Step 3), put them in the gravy. Please make sure that the fish is coated with the gravy completely and is completely merged in the gravy. Keep the fish in the gravy for 15-20 minutes.

• While awaiting for the fish to absorb the gravy, heat a pan or tawa. Take the banana leaves and place them on the pan or tawa for a few seconds. You will see that the colour of the leaves changed instantly. This step is needed so that the leaves do not break while making the parcel. If the banana leaves are big, then tear or cut them in smaller pieces in the size which can completely cover the fish from all sides.

• After 15-20 minutes (as in Step 6), it is time for the penultimate phase of the cooking. Take a spoon of the gravy and spread it in the middle of the banana leaf. Then place one piece of the fish on top of it. Put some more gravy on the fish. Finally, place one whole green chilli on top of the entire thing. Now, Wrap the banana leaf around the fish so that the entire fish with gravy is covered. Use the cotton thread to bind the wrapping. Once this is done, your first parcel is ready.

• Prepare all the other parcels in the same way.

• Put a pan or tawa on medium-low flame. Brush a little mustard oil on a pan or tawa well. Place the fish parcels (keep a little distance between the parcels). Place a lid on the pan or tawa. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes in that way. After 8-10 minutes, open the lid, turn the parcels on the opposite side, put the lid back on and let it cook again for 8 minutes. You will see that the banana leaves colours have been changing. This is an indication that the item is getting cooked. If your pan or tawa is not big, no issue. You just have to do it several times.

• After the last 8 minutes, take out the parcels and put them in a casserole to keep them warm. Serve them with rice or pulao.

Following this recipe will give you a juicy, tasty fish paturi. Try it yourself and let me know how it worked for you. Bon Appetit!!!

Also Read: Traditional Bengali Basanti Pulao Recipe

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of KolkataFusion. Any omissions or errors are the author’s and KolkataFusion does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.

The post How to make a perfect Bengali style Fish Paturi? appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Guest post

যারা মাছ খেতে পছন্দ করেন না আপনি কি তাদের দলে? তাহলে এই রন্ধন প্রণালী (রেসিপি) আপনার জন্যে নয়। যারা মাছখোর বাঙালি এই রেসিপি তাদের জন্যে।

উপকরণ:

৪ টে বড়ো কাঁকরোল
২০০ গ্রা লইট্যা মাছ
১টা বড় পেঁয়াজ কুচনো
২ টো কাঁচা লঙ্কা কুচনো
আদা বাটা- ১ চা চামচ
রসুন বাটা- ১.৫ চা চামচ
হলুদ গুঁড়ো- ১/২ চা চামচ
লঙ্কা গুঁড়ো- ১/২ চা চামচ বা স্বাদ মতো
ধনে গুঁড়ো- ১/২ চা চামচ
জিরে গুঁড়ো- ১/২ চা চামচ

গোটা জিরে- ১/৪ চা চামচ
বেসন- ১ কাপ
নুন- স্বাদ মতো

সর্ষের তেল- পরিমাণ মতো

প্রথমে কাঁকরোল গুলো ধুয়ে জল ঝরিয়ে নিন। তারপর বঁটির উল্টোদিকে কাঁকরোলের গা ঘসে মসৃণ করে নিন। এবার প্রতিটা কাঁকরোল লম্বালম্বি  অর্ধেক করে কাটুন। একটা চামচ দিয়ে কাঁকরোলের ভেতরের বীজসহ শাঁস ফেলে দিন। ছোট নৌকোর মতো দেখতে ফাঁপা কাঁকরোলগুলো অল্প একটু নুন মাখিয়ে রেখে দিন।

এবার পুর বানানোর পালা।
পুর বানানোর পদ্ধতি:

লইট্যা মাছ ভালো করে ধুয়ে নুন হলুদ মাখিয়ে রাখুন। কড়াইতে ২ টেবিল চামচ সর্ষের তেল গরম করে গোটা জিরে ফোড়ন দিন, তারপর তাতে পেঁয়াজ কুচি ছেড়ে দিন। পেঁয়াজে সোনালী রঙ ধরলে আদা বাটা, রসুন বাটা দিয়ে ২ মিনিট কষুন। মশলা থেকে তেল আলাদা হতে শুরু করলে লইট্যা মাছ পুরোটা দিয়ে দিন। সঙ্গে সব গুঁড়ো মশলা আর নুন মিশিয়ে কড়াইতে চাপা দিয়ে ২ মিনিট আঁচ কমিয়ে রান্না হতে দিন। এরপর চাপা সরিয়ে দেখবেন মাছ থেকে জল বেরিয়েছে। এবার কুচনো কাচা লঙ্কা দিয়ে আঁচ বাড়িয়ে দিয়ে নাড়তে থাকুন যতক্ষণ না মাছ শুকনো ঝুরো ঝুরো হয়। কড়াই তে মাছ লেগে যেতে শুরু করলে আঁচ থেকে সরিয়ে রাখুন।

এখন মাছের ঝুরো পুর দিয়ে কাঁকরোলের খোলগুলো ভরাট করুন। এবার একটা পাত্রে বেসন জল, নুন, লঙ্কা গুঁড়ো দিয়ে গোলা তৈরি করুন। একটু ঘন করে বানাবেন।

আবার কড়াই আঁচে বসান, এবারে একটু বেশি করে তেল দিন যাতে কাঁকরোলগুলো ডুবিয়ে ভাজা যায়। তেল গরম হলে প্রত্যেকটা কাঁকরোলের খোলে পুর ভরার পর বেসনের গোলায় চুবিয়ে ভাজুন। একটু লালচে করে ভাজবেন। আপনার লইট্যা মাছের পুর ভরা কাঁকরোল তৈরি।

ভাতের সঙ্গে বা স্ন্যাকস হিসেবে গরম গরম খেতে পারেন। কাসুন্দি সহযোগে পরিবেশন করলে পানীয়ের সঙ্গেও জমতে পারে এই মুখরোচক খাবারটি।   

Also read: Stuffed Spiny Gourd Croquets

The post লইট্যা মাছের পুর ভরা কাঁকরোল appeared first on KolkataFusion.