Cabbage cooked with simple spices (Bandhakopir Tarkari)

Nowadays cabbage is available in the vegetable market throughout the year. But I think the winter cabbage tastes better. I prefer to use my Bonthi (the traditional vegetable cutter where you have to sit on the floor and cut the vegetables with the sharp knife that stands up attached to a wooden board which is supported firmly with the legs as you sit on it) as it is easier to shred the cabbage easily. This act may be easy for me but sound uninteresting for those who have never used such a typical traditional vegetable cutter.

For today’s Bandhakopi tarkari I used Ilish macher matha. You can cook it without adding fish head, make it simply Vegetarian. The recipe you see in the picture is cooked with fried fish head (macher matha).

Ingredients: (without fish head)

Cabbage : 2 (medium size)
Potatoes: 2
Tomatoes: 2
Tej pata (bay leaves): 3 or 4
Garam masala (freshly ground home-made preferred): 2 tsp
Haldi (turmeric) powder
Jeera (cumin) powder (1/2 tsp)
Dhania (Coriander) powder (3/4 tsp)
Lai mirch (red chili) powder (the heat that you can bear)
Salt to taste
Sugar as per your taste
Cooking oil

Preparation:

Shred the cabbages. Wash and drain the water. Peel the potatoes and cut it into small cubes. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces.

Heat oil in a kadhai. I prefer mustard oil. Once the smoke comes up add the tej pata. Then add the cabbage and stir. Cover it up and let it cook for a couple of minutes. By now the cabbage will give out the water. It is time to add the haldi, jeera, dhania and red chili powder. Give it a stir and cover it cooking over low flame. Add the cubed potatoes and tomatoes. Stir it again and add salt and sugar as per your taste. Cover and let it cook in the water the cabbage gives out. It will take sometime for the cabbage, potatoes and the tomatoes to get cooked. Increase the flame and cook till the water dries up completely. You can find the oil leaving at the sides. This shows the curry is ready to be served. Add garam masala and put it in the serving bowl.

Simple Niramish Bandhakopir tarkari is ready to be served with rice or if you prefer with roti or paratha.

I have added fried ilish macher matha that had been lying in the fridge. If you want to add fried fish head, it is best to break them up into small pieces and add just before the water dries up completely.

Tomato Chaatni (Chutney) with a Tangy Touch

Tomato Chaatni (Chutney) is one of my favourite chaatni during winter. The word Chaatni is very much the Bengali word for Chutney. The juicy tomatoes simply lure me to make lots of Chutney and keep it in the fridge. When I was young there used to be a Tak (Sour) item cooked everyday during lunch. It could amaar tak, tentuler tak (tamarind chutney), anarosher chutney (pineapple chutney) with mustard paste and kamrangar tak (star fruit chutney). Chutney has always been one of my favourite dish and I love it with dal, bhat and aloo bhaja.

Most of the Bengalis like chutney. In Bengali context Chutney is a sweet and sour relish served towards the end of the meal.

Tomato chutney tastes good with khejur (dates) and even with aamshotto (aam papad). I did not have khejur or aamshotto, so I made it simple.

Tomato Chutney

For Tomato Chutney the main ingredients are:

Tomato, sugar, salt, dry red chili (whole), cooking oil, turmeric powder, tamarind whole or pulp and any home made masala for extra flavour . The other two ingredients are optional – khejur and aamshotto,.

Preparation:

Wash 5 large size tomatoes and cut them into small pieces. Heat oil in a kadhai and when the oil is hot break into half and add 2/3 dry red chilies. Once the chili turns darker in colour add the chopped tomatoes and sauté. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and stir. Cover and cook over slow flame, keep stirring from time to time. The tomato will release its juice. Add salt to taste and also add the sugar about 8 tbsp or adjust as per your taste. It is time to add the tamarind pulp or whole tamarind, with or without the seeds, to give it a little tangy taste. Now cook it over slow flame. Enough juice has been given out from the pulpy tomatoes and also by adding sugar. Cook till it reduces to a thick consistency. Sprinkle the powdered masala of roated jeera, red chili and methi. This powder gives an achari taste.

If you want to add khejur or aamshotto, add it along with the salt and sugar so that the khejur and the aamshotto becomes soft. Can add whole khejur or cut into half removing the seed. Also cut the aamshotto into tiny pieces before adding it to the cooking tomatoes.

And get the taste…

Kosha Mangsho

Cooking is an everyday activity for me except those days when I’m away from my kitchen…responsibility and tension free. But I love the freedom of my kitchen.

Talking about freedom it reminds me of one of my sister. Whenever I visit her I become extra cautious when I step into her kitchen. It would be wrong to say she is a bully but she is always around when anyone else is cooking. She keeps a watchful eye over all that is used in cooking. She peeps in to say, “Don’t use so much of oil. Cook the masala, it needs little more time. Add this much water - ah hah! - you’re adding too much water it’ll taste pancha (watery)” and so on.

Let me now draw your attention to my Kosha Mangsho recipe. Everyone in our house likes Kosha Mangsho and before I can add water for the gravy for mangsho curry, half of it goes into the stomach of those moving in and out of he kitchen, signaling very much they want their share then and there. I don’t like to be left out and taste a few pieces.

I want to take you back with me to those days when we stayed in the small quiet town of Baripada in Orissa. Baripada is famous for Muri (puffed rice). I’ve tasted Muri in different places but miss that specialty of Baripada. Muri is one of the staple foods of the people of this small town. You can find people having Muri with vegetable curry, dal, fish fry and above all they love to eat it with mutton or chicken curry.

My boys love to eat Kosha Mangsho with Muri and I too like it. Mostly we have mutton curries on Sunday when it is a holiday and we sit together for lunch, enjoy the food and lots to talk about.

The way I prepare this dish:

Ingredients:

Mutton 1 Kg.
Onion 4 big size
Garlic 6-8 flakes
Ginger 1½ inch piece
Curd ½ cup
Haldi powder
Red chili powder
Tej patta (bay leaves) 5-6
Cinamon 1 inch piece (broken to smaller pieces)
Cloves 5-6
Cardamom 3 (cracked)
Salt
Sugar
Mustard oil (you can use any cooking oil)

Preparation:

Make a paste of 3 onions, garlic and ginger and keep it aside.
Make thin slices of 1 onion.
Clean and wash the mutton pieces. Squeeze out the water totally. Take a bowl and put the mutton pieces in it.
Add the curd and mix it.
Now add the onion, ginger and garlic paste to it and mix it properly.
Add haldi and red chili powder (as per the heat your taste buds can take), salt to taste and a pinch of sugar.
Add 2 tbsp of mustard oil.
Now mix it properly and keep it aside for about an hour.
Once it is marinated it is ready to be cooked.

Cooking it:

Take a thick bottom dekchi or pan with a lid.
Add 4-5 tbsp of mustard oil.
Once the smoke rises add the bay leaves, the cinamon, cloves and cardamom and give it a stir.
Now add the sliced onions and cook till it becomes translucent.

Add the marinated mutton to it and stir.

Cover it with the lid and cook it over low heat stirring it from time to time.

The mutton and the masala will give out water in which the mutton will get cooked.

By the time the oil separates from the masala the mutton gets soft enough for serving.

Serve it hot with fried rice, hot rotis, parathas, can give a try with Muri also.

 

Bhaja Mung Dal Ilish Macher Matha Diye (Mung Dal with Hilsha Head)

When I was a child I have seen my Baba go to the market to buy fish and meat. Those days there were very few working mothers and even if the wife had lots of time in hand she never went to the fish market alone. We looked forward to Sundays when Baba would take us with him to the market to buy mutton. And during lunch the aashon (small mats) would be spread out, one next to the other, in a row on the floor of the kitchen verandah and the kansar thala and bati (bell-metal plates and bowls) would be placed in front of every aashon. Baba always sat first in the row and the others took their place one by one. The meal would be served by the cook once everyone sat down. That was how we enjoyed our family meal.

…and now it is chit chat at the dining table. Many landing up later in their life with knee joint pains and many cannot sit crossed leg on the floor.

Coming back to food it is a fishy day with fish head. I have seen many of my friends leave behind the fish head with the fishmonger as they did not like to eat it. Ask any Bangali about macher matha (fish head) and pat they can say, “Koto kichu hote pare macher matha diye (cook so many recipes using fish head). After all Bengalis love fish and many cannot deny they die to have at least macher jhool (fish curry) everyday.

Without wasting time back to my preparation. Ilish mach has its own smell, taste and flavour. I made mung dal with the hilsa fish head without onion or garlic. Very simple and…the taste, your palate can judge.

 Picture of dressed fish head

Ingredients:

Hilsa fish head -1 (the gills separated and the rest cut into smaller size as in the picture).
Mung dal (roasted) – 1 cup
Panch phoron – 1½ tsp
Haldi powder
Red chilies - 2
Salt
Sugar
Mustard oil
Water

How I cooked it:

Roast the mung dal till it gets a pink colour ( not a baby pink, a bit stronger)
Wash and pour it into the pressure pan.
Add about 2 ½ to 3 cups of water.
Add haldi, cover with the lid.
Put the pressure cooker on the burning stove and let it cook. Three to four whistles will do.
Switch off the gas.
Rub the head pieces with haldi and salt.
Heat mustard oil in a kadhai and when the smoke starts coming throw the fish head into the oil and fry it till it is crispy.
Take it out and keep it aside.

Seasoning:

Heat about 1 tbsp of mustard oil in a kadhai. You can use the oil that was used for frying the head.
When the oil is hot break the red chilies into half and add them to the oil and stir.
When the chili gives out its smell and changes colour add the panch phoron.
Once they start spluttering add the cooked dal to it.
Add salt to taste and sugar as per your taste and once the dal starts boiling break the fried pieces into more smaller bits and add to the dal.
Stir for a couple of minutes. The dal should be neither too thick nor too thin.
It’s ready to be served with hot boiled rice.
This is a dish that tastes good with rice.

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