Chinese Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon refined oil

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

3 Spring onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup cooked chicken, thinly sliced

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts

2 1/2 cups cooked white rice

2 eggs

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, plus more for serving

And here’s how to make it:

• In a wok or a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat.
• Add half of the ginger and half of the scallions and saute for a few seconds.
• Add the celery and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Mix in the chicken and the remaining ginger and spring onions and stir-fry for another minute or 2.
• Add the peanuts and rice to the wok, being sure to break up any clumps, and stir-fry for 3 minutes, tossing constantly so that they don’t burn or stick.
• In a small bowl, beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Add the egg mixture to the wok and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the eggs are thoroughly cooked and blended into the rice.
• Serve with soy sauce and additional sesame oil on the side.

Mishti Doi/Sweet curd… A Traditional Bengali Dessert

Ingredients:

2.250ltrs Milk (Buffalo Milk with full fat)

500 gm Sugar

25gms Yogurt

• Earthen pot (handi) Small container of 1.5 kg. capacity Or Deep Bowl to set the curd
  

Preparation:

• Add 300gms of sugar to the milk and put to boil on Medium heat for at least 45mins and stir the milk constantly while boiling.
• See that the milk is reduced to almost 40 % and becomes thick and light brown in color.
• Place the remaining 200gms of sugar in heavy bottom vessel with 50ml of water and melt on low heat. Allow the sugar mixture to turn dark brown in colour.
• Gradually add this sugar mixture to the boiled milk and boil again for 15 minutes.
• Take it off the flame and beat constantly with a ladle till the mixture becomes Luke warm.
• Transfer the mixture into the Earthen Pot.
• Mix the Yogurt into the mixture after 5 min.
• Cover and allow to set for 8 to 12 hours at a warm place, do not open or move the pot during this period.
• Uncover and Store in a refrigerator, Serve Chilled.

Goan Style Mackerel Masala

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut scraped
5 peppercorns
salt to taste
1 tblsp oil
5 onions sliced
5 cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon
6 big size mackerels (bangda) scaled
8 red chillies whole
1 tblsp coriander seeds
1 small size tamarind
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp turmeric powder

And here’s how to make it:

• Wash and cut each mackerel into 4 pieces.
• Apply salt, then wash again after 5 minutes.
• Put the mackerels in a pot along with 3 to 4 cup water, a pinch of salt and one tsp of turmeric powder.
• Stir fry for 10 minutes.
• Drain.
• When the mackerels cool, de-bone and cut into small pieces.
• Heat up oil and stir-fry garlic, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon.
• Drain.
• Stir-fry coriander seeds and red chillies in the same oil and drain.
• In the remaining oil stir fry the onions till dark brown.
• Grind all the fried ingredients (except the onions) with coconut and tamarind into a fine paste.
• Mix in the ground masala and water to the browned onions and bring to a boil.
• Mix in the mackerel pieces and salt and simmer (boil slowly at low temperature) for 2-3 minutes.
• Serve hot.

Goan Style Chicken Vindaloo

Ingredients:

1/2 kg boneless chicken, cut into pieces

3 tomatoes, pureed

4 potatoes sliced

2 tsp. whole cumin seeds

1 tsp. black peppercorns

1 tsp. cardamom seeds

3 stick cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. whole black mustard seeds

1 tsp. whole fenugreek seeds

5 tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. light brown sugar

10 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 large onions, cut into half rings

6 tbsp. water

8-10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp. grounded coriander seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

To make it:

• Grind cumin seeds, black pepper, cardamom seeds, cinnamon, black mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds together in a grinder.
• In a small bowl, mix grounded spices, vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper and brown sugar. Set aside. 
• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry onions, stirring frequently, until they are a rich, dark brown. Remove onions and put them in a blender. Add 3 Tbsp. water to the onions and blend until you have a smooth paste. Add this onion paste to the  spices in the bowl. This mixture is the vindaloo paste.
• Heat the remaining oil in a pan over medium heat. 
• When hot, add the ginger-garlic paste. Stir until the paste browns slightly. Add the coriander and turmeric. Stir a few seconds. 
• Add the chicken, and brown lightly. 
• Now add the vindaloo paste, tomato puree and potatoes to the chicken in the pan. Stir and bring to a slight boil.
• Cover the pan, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about an hour, or until Chicken and potatoes are tender.
  

Chicken with Yogurt, Cashew and Poppy seeds

Ingredients:

1 kg Chicken

100 gms Yogurt

10/12 Cashew nuts

3 tsp Poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder

3 Onions, choppedM

1 tsp Ginger garlic paste

1/4 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

Oil

Preparation:

• Cut chicken in small to medium sized pieces.
• Marinate chicken in yogurt for an hour
• Make a paste of cashew nuts and poppy seeds together with some water.
• Heat oil in a pan, and fry chopped chopped onions till they turn golden brown.
• Remove half the onions and make a paste of them.
• To the remaining onions add ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, salt and sugar and stir well.
• To this add the chicken along with the yogurt marinade and mix well.
• When it starts cooking add the cashew-poppy seed paste and the onion paste.
• Cover and cook till chicken is soft.
• Cook till you get gravy of desired consistency.
• Serve hot.

Bengali Egg Curry

Ingrdients:

4 Eggs, hard boiled

2 Onions, made into a paste

1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste

1 1/2 tsp Tomato Puree

1 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/4 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Preparation:

•  Heat oil and lightly fry boiled eggs.
• Remove eggs into a separate pan and add onion paste into the oil.
• Stir for a few minutes and then add ginger garlic paste and tomato puree. Stir
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, sugar and salt and continue stirring till oil starts to show separately.
• Add eggs and stir to have the gravy coat the eggs completely.
• Add a little water if desired and boil till preferred consistency is reached.
• Remove and serve.

Potato and Poppy seed tikkis

Ingredients:

4 Potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 1/2 tsp Gram Flour (Besan)

1 1/2 tsp Poppy seeds

1 Onion (chopped)

1 Green chilli (chopped)

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Here’s how to make it:

• Boil and mash potatoes
• Add poppy seeds, gram flour, salt, chopped onions and chopped chillies to make a tight dough.
• Take small bits  from the dough in a spoon and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown.
• Add enough gram flour so that the dough is tight or it will start to break away when you put it in the oil. If required sprinkle a few drops of water into it to tighten it.
• Serve hot.

Raw Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Vegetable oil

1 tsp  Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 3/4 kgs Raw mangoes

1/2 tsp Salt

1 cup Water

5 cups Sugar

And here’s how to make it:

• Peel and cut mangoes into small cubes and discard pits
• Heat oil for about 2 minutes.
• Add mustard seeds.
• When crackling, add turmeric powder, mangoes and salt. Mix well. Add water. Stir.
• Close pressure cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat and then reduce heat to cook for 5 minutes.
•  Remove and release pressure.
• Open cooker. Place cooker on high heat. Add sugar. Stir for approximately 3 minutes or till sugar dissolves and chutney thickens.
• Serve at room temperature or cool.

Fish Tikka

Ingedients:

500 gms fish pieces of any type

150 gms vegetable oil

1 tbsp ajwain (caraway seeds)

45 ml cream

2 tsp cumin seeds powder

2 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp garlic paste

20 gms gramflour (besan)

30 ml lemon juice

5 tbsp mint or coriander chutney

1/2 tsp white pepper powder

1 onion, chopped in circles.

60 gms curd / plain yogurt

Salt To Taste

chili powder to taste

• Mix cream garlic paste, ajwain , chili powder, cumin seeds powder, garam masala, lemon juice, salt, mint or coriander chutney, besan flour in yogurt.
• Add fish pieces to the above mixture and mainate them for about 3 hours.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry fish pieces on both sides till golden & crisp.
• Serve fried fish tikka with chopped onions.

Pea Stuffed Bread

Ingredients:

750 gms Flour

500 gms Frozen peas

2 tsp Fennel seed

1 ½ tsp Ginger paste

Salt to taste

Oil to fry

• Crush the peas and make in to a smooth paste.
• Grind the fennel seeds into a smooth paste.
• Put oil in the pan. Add the ginger and fennel seed paste. Stir well till you can smell the fennel seeds. Add salt and keep on stirring. Add the pea paste and stir well. Once the oil gets separated keep aside for cooling.
• Add 2 tbsp oil to the flour and salt and knead into a soft dough. Make 16-20 balls out of the dough. Make a depression in the middle and stuff it with the pea paste. Roll it out gently and fry on low heat.
• Alternately, mix the pea paste and the dough together and then roll it out.