Tomato Tentuler Chaatni (tomato tamarind sweet tangy chutney)

 

Chaatni, an almost staple dessert on Bengali lunch tables that have found a variety in many fruits, sometimes edible flowers. This one is quite simple and tastes deliciously spicy, tangy and sweet. All measurements are estimates as I cook eyeballing the quantities with my hands.

1 medium to large tomato, pureed

2 inch X 2 inch broken piece of tamarind pulp cake (preferably seedless kind), soaked in hot water

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

Red chili powder as per taste

1 tablespoon oil

Sugar to taste (note that it takes a lot to cross over the tanginess of tamarind to become a bit sweet)

1 pinch salt

Water

Drain the tamarind water and mash the softened pulp. You can take the seeds out if you used the seeded variety. Add little water and make a puree in spice grinder or blender.

Heat the oil and add bay leaf and mustard seeds, when they splutter add pureed tomato. Add salt and cook until tomato is cooked or oil has separated. Add pureed tamarind pulp, and some water and bring to a boil. 

Cook over high heat, adding water if needed, bring down the consistency to what you want. Add red chili powder and sugar. Adjust the 3 flavors tangy, sweet and spicy with red chili powder and sugar. Note - when you add sugar the consistency thickens and color of chaatni darkens. Enjoy!

Gajorer Halua (carrot pudding)

Growing up I never liked gajorer halua. I think my dislike was mostly because a vegetable is used in dessert and I never had it in a restaurant when I was a child. Restaurants didn't offer in their menu at least not where I grew up in eastern India. It was considered a homemade dish in the old days. I first had gajorer halua in the US in a buffet in Indian restaurant in Illinois. I loved their creamy version. It oozed out ghee from the sides. I decided to make it at home. Every improvisations turned out better than the previous one. Most recently I tried had heavy cream instead of milk, one spoon of warm halua felt like heaven melting in the mouth! You should try this version, recipe follows. Measurements are estimates, I casually cook using fingers, hands and fists to eyeball quantities.

All you need

4 big carrots washed and grated

8 oz heavy cream (you can use 6 oz from it and rest 2 oz can be whole milk)

2 table spoon ghee

1 bay leaf

2 green cardamom pods

1 tablespoon cashew halves or pieces

1 teaspoon golden or black raisins

a bit less than 1/4 teaspoon salt

sugar to taste (I prefer less sweet, about 4 tablespoon, believe me if want regular sweet taste it needs 6-7 tbsp or more)

Heat ghee in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add bay leaf, cardamom pods and cashews. Lightly toast them.

Add grated carrots, lightly fry it, coating with ghee and mixing well. Reduce heat if needed. Add salt, mix well, add heavy cream and raisins, and cook over medium heat. After 15 - 20 mins, raise the heat, add sugar to taste and stir until most of the liquid from cream has evaporated. Note that orange color of the halua darkens after adding sugar. It's done. You can garnish it with mawa or khoya crumbles or fresh grated coconut on top, but I prefer without.

Badami Paneer

All you need

Paneer
1 Onion sliced
2-3 cloves Garlic
3/4 inch of Ginger
3 small Tomatoes
Handful blanched Almonds
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
3/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 pinch Cumin Seeds
Salt
Red Food Color
Oil
Water


Method

• Make a paste of onion, ginger and garlic. Keep aside.


• Cut paneer into cubes. Keep aside.


• In a small frying pan, pour 1 tsp oil and put the tomatoes stem side down, cover and roast on low heat for 15 minutes. Turning the tomatoes in middle.

• Grind blanched almonds to a fine powder, then add the roasted tomatoes to it and grind to a paste. When taking out the tomatoes, use a fork to separate the skin and take out the pulp. Use left over liquid from the pan too.

• Heat oil in a deep bottom pan, add cumin seeds. Add onion-ginger-garlic paste. Fry till oil separates from the mixture.

• Add tomato-almond paste. Add a little water and stir and cook for 3 minutes. Since the tomatoes are cooked, there is no need to cook them.

• Add salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder and red chili powder. Mix well.

• Add water. Pour 3-4 drops of Red Food color until the gravy turns orange. Bring to a boil.

• Add paneer, lower heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes, till paneer is cooked through.

• Open lid, turn flame to high and reduce water until you get your preferred consistency. Done!

Pot Roast Chicken

This is my mom's recipe. It is a clear winner every time I put it on my party table.

All you need

One chicken cut into small pieces
6-7 cloves of Garlic
1 1/2 inch piece of Ginger
2 Onions ground to a paste
1 cup of Vinegar
1/2 cup Oil
2-3 Whole Dried Red Chilies
1 pinch whole cumin seeds
Salt


Method

• Make a paste of ginger and garlic.


• Wash chicken and pat dry chicken, there should not be any water left.


• Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste and vinegar for at least 30 minutes. Longer the better.

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and whole red chilies. Add onion paste.

• After the onion is fried, add chicken along with its marinade.

• Add salt, mix and cook in the pressure cooker till chicken is done. DO NOT ADD WATER.

• Open the pressure cooker lid, and there will a lot of water all released by the chicken.

• Turn on heat to high flame and reduce water till there is none left. Then the trick is to keep on frying and stirring often and burning up the chicken a little to bring out the taste. In Bengali, it is called "char charano". Done!

Kosha Kankra (Crab)

All you need

3 Dungeness crabs, top shell off, legs separated and body broken into two halves
2 Onions, chopped
4-5 cloves of Garlic
1 inch piece of Ginger
1 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
3/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
2 Whole Dried Red Chilies
1 pinch Cumin Seeds
Salt
Oil
Water


Method

• Make a paste of garlic and ginger.


• Heat oil in a deep bottom pan, add whole dried red chilies and cumin seeds. Then add the chopped onions. Add ginger-garlic paste. Cook till oil separates from the mixture.


• Wash the crabs and makes cracks in the claws and legs. I use a pestle to do that.

• Add crab pieces to the pan, add salt, turmeric, red chili powder and cumin powder. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes stirring often.

• Add water, bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and cook for about 30 minutes.

• Open lid, turn the flame to high and reduce water till almost dry. Done!

• Serves 4 people.

Kosha Chicken

My kids have grown out of the taste of "Gharoa Murgir Jhol". They have started exploring the world of spices and have recently settled on a spicier and tastier version of chicken preparation. It is loved by everyone in my family and they chew the chicken down to their bone marrow.

All you need


Chicken Drumsticks 3 lb (around 10 legs) skin off
2 Onions sliced
5-6 cloves of Garlic
1 inch piece of Ginger
1 Tomato
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Red Chili powder
1/2 tsp Radhuni Garam Masala Powder
1 Tbsp Vinegar
Salt
Oil
Water


Method

• Make a paste of onions, garlic and ginger.


• Heat oil in a deep bottom pan, fry the onion-ginger-garlic paste till oil separates from the mixtures and texture changes.


• Cut tomato in half and crush them with your hand into the mixture, kind of like crushed tomatoes.

• Cook till tomatoes become well fried and turn to a pulp. Add chicken drumsticks.

• Add salt, turmeric and red chili powder. Mix well and stir cook for about 5 minutes.

• Add garam masala powder and vinegar. Mix and stir cook for another 5 minutes.

• Add water, lower heat and cover and cook till chicken is done.

• Open lid, turn on heat to high flame and reduce water till there is no water in the masala, but only oil, stirring often.

Malai Kofta Curry

All you need

To make Koftas:

Home made paneer or chhana - 2 cups
One boiled potato
Soaked Cashew nuts and raisins
Chopped green chili
Chopped cilantro
Salt

To make the curry:

1 onion ground to paste
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger - make a paste of ginger and garlic together
2 big tomatoes
Handful of blanched almonds
Salt
Turmeric
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
2 drops Red Food Color
3 Tbsp Cream (optional)
Canola Oil


Method

• Knead the paneer/chhana until the texture changes and becomes a dough.


• Mash the potato and add to the dough along with cashes nuts, raisins, chopped cilantro and green chilies and salt. Mix and knead it well.


• Make small balls and deep fry them. Keep them aside.


• Dry grind the blanched almonds then add the tomatoes and grind them together again.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry the onion paste. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for two more minutes.
• Add tomato and almond puree, fry it for 15 minutes, till the texture changes and oil separates fro the mixture.
• Add salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder. Add water and red food color. Bring it to a boil, then lower heat and cover and cook for 10 minutes.


• Add the koftas to the gravy and cover again for 2 minutes. Reduce the gravy to required consistency. If you are adding cream, you can add it while reducing the gravy. Done!