Ridge gourd and rohu fish curry (macher jhol) in mustard paste

Bengalis love their fish curry or macher jhol loke anything in this world. We are brought up in this world where we get to taste,see and even learn many varieties of fish curry in our home kitchen. Here in,our place(Delhi/NCR) we get really get very good quality of rohu and Katla fish. Although other varieties are available but these two fish is available round the year in really good quality,thus not missing Kolkata for them.

My refridgerator was full with these today,so thought of combining and make something different.

Ingredients

1. Rohu fish - 500gms( cut in pieces)

2. Tomato - 3 nos medium size (chopped)

3. Onion - 1large(chopped)

4. Green chilly - 2 no(chopped)

5. Mustard seeds - 3 tbsp

6. Ginger paste - 2tsp

7. Panch phoron - 1tbsp

8. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

9. Mustard oil as required

10. Salt to taste

11. Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

Method

I made the mustard paste by grinding them in a seel batta,but in case you don't have then make a paste In a blender.

Rub the fish with some salt and turmeric powder and keep aside for a minimum of 15 mins. Heat mustard oil In a pan and shallow fry the fish both sides,until light brown in colour. Drain and keep aside. In the same oil add panch phoron,green chilly and fry till they splutter. Add onion and tomatoes and cook till oil starts separating. Now add turmeric powder,salt,ridge gourd pieces.After a minute add some water,ginger paste,cover and cook,stirring occasionally, till the gourds are almost cooked. Now add fish,mustard paste and cook for 2 more mins. Serve hot with rice.

Note- dissolve the mustard paste with some water and strain out the black skin peels of the mustard,as it is difficult to digest.

Phataphat gawarfali (clustered beans)

I named the recipe as phataphat,because you cook this in a jiffy in a pressure cooker and not much preparation is required. I serve it in the lunchbox for hubby dear and so it has to be made fast with so many work to do in the morning. Best served with paranthas. I prefer chopping them previous night,as chopping early morning can be tedious and time consuming. I also grate the coconut in the night only.

Ideally gawarfali has a slight bitter taste as compared to beans,but somehow that bitterness actually enhances it's taste.

So here it is,hope you make them in your kitchen and enjoy eating it too.

Method

1. Gawarfali - 500gms( chopped)

2. Tomato - 3 medium size ( chopped)

3. Coconut grated - 1/2 cup

4. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

5.green chilly - 2 nos( chopped )

6. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

7. Coriander powder - 1 tsp

8. Mustard/refined oil - 3tbsp

9. Salt to taste

10. Asafoetida (heeng) - 1/4 tsp

11. Red chilly powder - 1tsp

Method

Heat oil in a pressure cooker,add green chillies and fry for few secs. Next add ginger garlic paste and fry for some more time. Add tomatoes and fry till fat starts separating. Mix in the gawarfali and fry for a min. Now add all the dry spices,coconut and stir fry for few more secs. Last add small amount of water,close the lid and preesure cook till 2 whistles. Before serving garnish with some more grated coconut.

Oats and raw banana tikkis

The weather in Delhi/NCR has become quite uncertain these days. One day we are having good rainfall,thus making the weather very cool and pleasant ,then the other day it's again hot and humid with bright sunshine. The moment I think ,no need of the AC anymore,next day I am proved wrong. Anyways,it's still a good experience on those windy days. 

I am quite fond of various type of biscuits with my tea,but this Sunday thought of dishing out something different,which is healthy too. So here I made this tikkis and enjoyed them with hot tea. I didn't go for much decoration and just photographed from my plate and enjoyed having it in one of those good weather day. Hope you too find it interesting and make it in your kitchen.

Ingredients

1. Raw banana - 3 nos ( boiled,peeled and mashed)

2. Potatoes - 3 medium ( boiled,peeled and mashed)

3. Oats - 1/2 cup( for binding,increase if necessary)

4. Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp

5. Green chilly - 2 nos(chopped)

6. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

7. Dry mango powder - 1 tsp

8. Coriander leaves - 4 tsp(chopped)

9. Salt to taste

10. Refined oil for shallow frying

Method

Mix all the ingredients,except oil in a mixing bowl.shape them into tikkis. Shallow fry from both side still golden brown.

Serve hot with tomato sauce and hot masala tea.

Chocolate yoghurt icecream

Yoghurt is the present favourite food in my house. Simple reason behind being,it is my daughter's favourite and wants it everyday with her lunch.Surprisingly,she prefers it sour and I always add small amount of sugar. As a result,now my fridge always is stocked with yoghurt. This Sunday,I just thought of making this icecream which actually involves no cooking and is just an assembly of 3 ingredients. Hope you like it too and make and enjoy with your family.

 

Ingredients

1. Yoghurt - 300gms

2. Milkmaid ( condensed milk) - 1/2 tin

3. Drinking chocolate powder - 4 tbsp

4. For garnishing - chopped nuts and coloured edible beads

Put the yoghurt in a big strainer and place it on a vessel. This way all the extra moisture will drain. Keep it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hrs. Now put the drained yoghurt in a mixing bowl and whip it,with a fork or an egg whisker.now add condensed milk and drinking chocolate powder and mix well to give a smooth texture. Freeze overnight or minimum 6-7 hrs. Garnish with nuts and beads or as desired.

Note - You can also use cocoa powder along with some sugar instead of drinking chocolate.

Best out of waste - Sling bag

I had named this blog as foodncreation because I had thought of sharing some of my creative things too along with food recipes. Although it took me some time to start,but I thought nevertheless make the beginning now. I had been in doing these since long,have made Ac covers from my daughter's raincoat,washing machine cover from my old bedcovers and many more such things. Basic idea is to make something new from discarded material. It not only satisfies my creative instincts but surprises my family as well. 

I have been using handbags since long,I guess we all girls must have started using by the age of 10 yrs. Now I am in love with sling bags and prefer them more than my handbags,main reason is that I don't have to keep holding and adjusting my bag while moving around,either travelling or visiting anywhere. It's really comfortable and hassle free. 

So here it is,I have this old handbag whose handle had worn off long back but the main bag is in good condition. I had got its handle changed from a cobbler some time back,but it had worn off v soon,as a result it was lying idle in almirah. There was an old laptop bag which had worn off,but it's handle was in good condition. The red earrings are also 7 yrs old,but I have not used them much as they are quite heavy to wear. While buying, I just wanted to match it with my dress which I was wearing for my dance programme. The bead necklace is my daughter's when she was 4 yrs old,some of the beads has faded and is now quite small for her to wear. I used all these to make my new sling bag which looks quite impressive and sturdy to use.

I have stitched the beads and earrings and not pasted with adhesive,so that they stay on for a longer time. 

There is my final product,hope you all like my new posts and enjoy them reading as well :-)

Beans kabab

Nowadays visiting vegetable market has become quite an experience for me. In summers it's only the Ac hyper markets are the only resort for me,since summers are terrible in Northern India.But ever since rainy season has arrived weekly vegetable shopping is a very exciting feeling for me. Vegetables are fresh and variety is to spoil for. 

Although I have named it as beans kabab,but these are those flat beans which are called "gawarfali" in Hindi. Somehow I prefer this little bitter taste of gawarfali than the ordinary beans. I was actually aiming to make steamed kabab,but felt lazy and instead fried them with very less oil in a non-stick pan. You can make this with ordinary beans also if you like it.

I prefer making my own spice powders and paste,but recently was not getting ginger in my nearby shop. So out of compulsion went ahead and bought ginger garlic paste. Right now,I am finding them so handy in making kababs and tikkis,even for tadka in dals,that from now on have decided to keep some stock always in the refrigerator,although for curries and gravies I prefer my good old way of peeling,chopping and preparing paste.

I made this recipe this rakhi for the evening tea.

Ingredients

1. Beans - 100 gms(finely chopped)

2. Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp

3. Besan - 4tsp(for binding,alter as necessary)

4. Green chillies - 2 nos( finely chopped)

5. Cumin powder - 1 tsp(roasted and grounded)

6. Salt to taste

7. Mustard oil for pan frying.

8. Potato - 3nos(medium in size,boiled and mashed)

Method

Mix all the ingredients except oil in a mixing bowl. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan. Shape kababs out of the mix and pan fry them until golden brown. Initially cook in high flame and then in low flame so that they get cooked thoroughly. Enjoy with a hot cuppa of tea in this monsoon.

Potato basket with red spinach dip

Red spinach is one of those vegetables which most of us rarely like. So thought of making something interesting which would be healthy and serve as a good starter. In my previous posts I had served this with fried veggies but this time thought of using the same dip differently. Children will be tempted to eat it too,thus making mothers happy.

Ingredients for basket

1. Boiled and mashed potato - 1 cup

2. Butter - 4tsp( bring it to room temperature and then use)

3. Salt to taste

4. Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

5. Carrot strip to make the handles of the basket

Method

Mix butter,salt,pepper powder in potato. Shape them into a basket and bake for 10 to 12 mins at 200deg. The idea is the the basket should get slightly firm and light golden in colour.

For the red spinach dip,please refer my earlier post in the month of feb.

Now stuff the basket with the dip,carefully arrange the carrot strip to give a handle look in the basket as shown in the image and serve.