Thought for Food…

Ingredients.

• Lamb cubed - 1kg to 11/2 kg
• Spinach - 500 gms
• Red Bell Pepper - 1 large deseeded and chopped.
• Onions - 2 medium sliced
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1 tsp
• Chilli powder1 1/2 tsp
• Green Chillies - 3 nos
• Corriander leaves - a small bunch for garnishing
• Lemon Juice - I tsp
• Water - 3 to 4 cups
• Oil - 6 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method.

1. In a small bowl, mix ginger garlic paste along with chilli powder, salt and garam masala. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok/pan and fry the sliced onions till they are totally brown.
3. Add the lamb pieces to the wok/pan and stir fry the meat with the onions for about 2 - 4 minutes.
4. Add the spice mix ( point 1 ) to the meat and stir well till the meat is well coated with the mixture. Fry for about 5 minutes.
5. Pour the water to the meat and bring it to boil. Cover and cook for 40 odd minutes under low heat. if the contents in the pan dries up, add some more water to make it semi gravy. If there is excess water after the meat turns tender, evaporate the water by increasing the heat and boiling it.
6. Wash and chop the spinach and blanch it for about a min in a pan of boiling water.
7. Drain the water from the spinach and add to the contents in the pan and cook it for 7 - 10 minutes.
8. Add the chopped red bell pepper along with corriander leaves and green chillies ( chopped) and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes.
9. Add the lemon juice and serve hot with rice or bread.

Recipe and photo courtesy : The Complete Book of Indian Cooking.

Tags: Home Cooking, Indian, lamb, spinach, Tried and Tested

Which literally translates to prawns in tender coconut juice.

This is not my recipe but have tried it from here.  The steaming pic is mine though

Ingredients:

Small Prawn - 600 gms
Onion Paste - 80 gms
Milk - 120 ml
Coconut Milk - 80 ml
Cummin Paste - 2 tsp
Green Chilli Paste - 2 tsp
Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp
Poppy Seed Paste - 2 tsp
Cashew Paste - 2 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 lemon
Salt - to taste
Oil - 100 gms
Fresh Coriander Leaves - 15 gms
Whole Green Coconut - 4 nos

Method:

• Completely shell and de-vein the prawns, wash in cold water.
• Rub with lemon juice and salt and keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Taken oil in a handi and add onion paste. Bhunno (simmer) till oil leaves the sides. Add ginger paste. Stir.
• Add poppy and cashew paste and bhunno till it smells of roasted nut. Add cummin and green chilli paste.
• Cook for 2 minutes and add milk and coconut milk. Simmer for about 15 minutes till gravy is set.
• Add the prawns and simmer till cooked.
• Add the water of green tender coconut and reduce to pouring consistency. Add salt to season.
• Cut the ends of the green coconut and preserve the shell of the head for covering.
• Pour the curry into the shell and cook for 20 minutes on a water bath, immersing the stuffed green coconuts till half water level.
• Serve hot in the shell garnished with fresh coriander leaves

Tags: bawarchi.com, recipe from web, Tried and Tested

This is one of the traditional recipes of Bengali cuisine.

I usually make it somewhat differently.. but this is something I tried after reading various recipes over the web.

Ingredients:

• 8 pieces of Hilsa
• 2 - 3 green chillies
• I medium onion sliced and fried till brown.
• 1/2 cup yellow and black mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp of turmeric
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 2tbsp mustard oil
• Corrainder leaves for garnishing
• salt to taste

Method

1. Soak the black and yellow mustard seeds for about half an hour in hot water. This makes the seed soft and easy to grind.
2. Grind the soaked mustard seeds with salt, green chillies and coconut till you have a paste.
3. Take a big bowl and smear the paste on the fish with your hands.
4. Add the fish to two bowls and lay them flat.
5. Spread half of the fried onions on top on each bowl.
6. Add 1 tbsp each mustard oil to the bowls of fishes over the paste.
7. Finely chop corriander leaves over it and cover the bowls and add to a water bath or a pressure cooker one on top of the other and steam it for 20 minutes. You can steam the bowls separately as well.  ( you can steam all in one bowl if you have a big pressure cooker.. )
8. If the paste is too dry, sprinkle some water before steaming so that you can have little gravy.
9. Serve with hot rice.

PS: I liked adding coconut to the paste. It gives a nice light flavor along with the mustard.

You can also try these variations

• Variation 1
• Variation 2

Tags: Bengali cuisine, Home Cooking