Rasgulla

Rasgulla  is the king of the Bengali sweets(Rasagola). It is made up of channa.

Rasgulla

For making channa (at home)

Ingredients:

Milk: 1 liter
Water: 1 cup 
Sugar : 1 cup
Lemon Juice: 2 table spoon

Method:

Boil the milk in a vessel, when it is boiling add the lemon juice to it and mix it until the milk curdles. 

Keep stirring until the water and channa are completely separates. Strain the channa with a clean cloth. Tie the edges of the cloth together.  

Squeeze the excess water by hanging the cloth above the sink for 1 hour. 

Now knead the channa(which is very important) to make a smooth dough.

Divide the dough into small equal size balls and and shape into a smooth round ball to make rasgullas.

Now in a vessel, make the sugar syrup by adding the sugar and water. Now reduce the heat and add the rasgullas very carefully. Cover it with a lid and cook for 15 minutes. Stir it occasionally. 

Then put off the flame and let them cool. If you want you can add rose essence.

Sweet and Sour Fish

Sweet and Sour Fish

 
Ingredient

• rui (rohu) fish – 5 pieces (it is a type of fish)
• Onion – 2 (cut into cubes)
• Green chilli – 2 (slice into halves)
• Ginger paste – 1 tea spoon
• Whole gram masala – 1 tea spoon
• Tomato sauce – 3 tea spoon
• Honey – 1/2 tea spoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 2 tea spoon

Method 

Clean the fish pieces and marinate with salt for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the pieces for 2 minutes and take out from the oil and keep aside. In the same pan put the whole gram masala and sauté for a minute. Put the green chilli and onion and fry till onion turns light brown, then put salt ,ginger paste and 2 table spoon of water and the fried fish pieces and cook till the fish is almost done. In the last put the mixture of tomato sauce and honey and cook for 2 minutes. Serve hot with plain rice.

Patishapta

Patishapta , we can treat this as sweet dish , dessert but Bengali serve this as a popular sweet pithe. 

Patishapta

Ingredient

For the batter:

• refined flour / maida - 1 cup
• yellow mooge dal paste – 1 cup (soak mooge dal for 4-5 hours and then make a smooth paste)
• milk – as per require (to make the batter properly, it should not be too much liquid)
• Oil - to cook the patishapta
• salt – 1/2 tea spoon

For the filling:

• Milk - 5 cups
• grated coconut/khoya - 3 cups
• sugar – 1/2 cup
• green cardamoms powder – 1 tea spoon

Method

For the filling:

In a kadai boil the milk till it become thicken in consistence. Put grated coconut /khoya with sugar and place it over low flame. Add cardamom powder and keep stirring the mixture till it gets sticky. Let it cool for the use. 

Now patishapta:

Mix the maida with mooge dal in a bowl. Now add milk and mix it carefully without making any lumps. Heat the non stick pan and put a little oil. Pour the batter and spread it quickly with the ladle into a thin layer. Put the filling lengthwise on the center of it and roll it. Cook the roll till color turns into light brown. Serve hot. You can pour the patishapta into the sugar syrup (Boil 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water to make sugar syrup) for 10 minutes and then serve to give more sweetness to the patishapta.

Dal Pithe

Dal Pithe

Ingredient For filling

• yellow moong dal - 200gm
• dry red chili – 2- 3
• Salt to taste
• Sugar – 1 tea spoon
• Oil – 1 tea spoon

For pithe

• govind bhog rice powder - 200gm
• Boil water require for making dough
• salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in the kadai. Put dry red chilly and the dal, mixed together . Add salt, sugar and water. Cook till dal is completely done and dry up. Your filling is ready. For the pithe the same process.

Now Pithe

Mixed rice powder with boiling water to make a smooth dough with the help of hand. Divide the dough into small balls. Take small balls in the palm and press it in the middle to make space for putting the filling (dal). Put the filling in the middle and close it tightly the edges with hand. It will look like a small boat shape. Now Steam the pithe like momos and idle in the stand for 20 minutes. Serve hot with jaggery

Milk (Dhudh) Pithe

Dhudh Pithe

Ingredient

Filling of pithe (We can use the kheer or sweet made from milk easily there in the market)

• Crushed coconut – 2 cups
• Sugar – 1 cup
• Elichi powder – 1/2 tea spoon for flavor

For Pithe

• Rice powder (preferably govind bhog rice) – 1 cups
• Boiling water

For milk

• Milk – 1 liter
• Sugar – 1/2 cup

Method

In a non-stick pan put the coconut crushed and sugar and mixed together. Cook till all sugar melts and mixed fully with coconut crush. For flavor mixed elichi powder in the last and our filling is ready.

Now Pithe

Mixed rice powder with boiling water to make a smooth dough with the help of hand. Divide the dough into small balls. Take small balls in the palm and press it in the middle to make space for putting the filling. Put the filling in the middle and close it tightly the edges with hand. It will look like a small boat shape. 

Now for Milk 

Heat the milk in a high flame in a vessel. When the milk start boiling put the flame in lower stage then give the pithe(made with rice powder) slowly one by one. Boil the milk with the pithe in a low flame and stir occasionally till milk thicken and pithe almost done then put sugar and stir and cook till all sugar dissolved. Your sweet dice is ready to serve.

Semolina Kakara (It is a food of orissa)

Semolina Kakara

Ingredient

• Semolina (Suji)- 1 kg
• Sugar - 1/2 kg
• Cinnamon (powdered) - 2 tea spoon
• Salt to taste
• Vegetable oil - 1 ltr

Methods

Boil 2 litres of water in a wide and big mouth pan and add sugar, salt, cinnamon powder and 1 tbsp ghee. Pour semolina slowly and stir continuously. Cover the pan and cook till it absorbs the water completely (make the consistency like chapattis). Let it cool. Knead it to make a smooth dough. Make small balls and roll each to the size of puri's. Deep fry till golden brown.

Chingri Maacher Malai Curry (Prawn with coconut milk)

Bengali cuisine is a perfect blends of non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes  in West Bengal. It is known as the land of Maach means fish and Bhaat means rice. Chingri Maacher Malai Curry i.e. Prawn with the help of coconut milk is very Popular among the Bengali's as well as whole India.

Chingri Maacher Malai Curry

Ingredient

• prawn - 500 gms (medium size)
• onion - 1 cup(paste)
• garlic - 4 tea spoon (paste)
• coconut - 2 cup (paste)
• coconut milk - 2 cup
• haldi - 1/4 tea spoon
• whole gram masala - clove - 8 nos,cardamon - 4 nos, cinnamon - 2 sticks
• white oil to fry
• salt to taste

Method

Wash the prawn and mix well salt & haldi into it. Marinate for 15 mins. Heat the oil and shallow fry the marinate prawn for 1 mins in low flame and keep aside. Now put whole gram masala in the same oil for 2 mins. Add garlic & onion paste into it for saute. when oil start separating from the mixture add coconut paste and mix for few mins.Add prawn and mix well, salt to taste. Now pour the coconut milk and little water.Cook till the gravy becomes thick. Serve it with rice.

Hilsa(IIlish)Paturi

Bengali cuisine is a perfect blends of non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes in West Bengal. It is known as the land of Maach means fish and Bhaat means rice. Hilsa fish is one of the faverate for Bengali's.

Hilsa Paturi

Ingredient

• Hilsa(Iilish)Fish - 500 gms
• haldi - 1 tea spoon
• green chilly - 6-8 piece (paste)
• mustard seed - 2 table spoon
• mustard oil - 2 tea spoon
• Salt to taste
• banana leaf (cut to fold fish pieces)

thread (to bind the folded banana leaf)

Method

Wash the fish & make 4 to 6 pieces without taking head and tail portion. Make a smooth paste of mustard seeds and green chilly. Marinate the Hilsa fish with the paste,mustard oil and salt.Cut banana leaf to fold the fish pieces separately . Tie it with the thread around the fish folded in the banana leaves,brush oil outside. Put the folded fish pieces in oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit and grill both side for 15 mins. 
Alternatively you can do it in tawa at low heat.Put the folded fish on the Tawa for 15 mins at one side and turn the other side for another 15 mins.Serve with Rice or Pulao.

Shukto

West Bengal is most important state in eastern India. Bengali cuisine is a perfect blends of non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes in West Bengal. It is known as the land of Maach means fish and Bhaat means rice. Hear we will use panch phoron most popular in Bengali cuisine which includes spices like cumin, nigella, fenugreek, aniseed and mustard seed.

Shukto

Ingredient

• Broad Beans - 1/2 cup
• Vani(lentil) - 1/2 cup
• Bitter gourd - 1 cup
• Tidge Gourd - 1 cup
• Parval - 1 cup
• Drumstick - 4 nos
• White pumpkin - 1 cup
• Khus Khus - 3 tea spoon
• Mustard -1 tea spoon
• Panch Phoron - 2 tea spoon
• Whole red chilly - 2 nos
• Coconut milk/milk - 1/2 cup
• Oil - 2 tea spoon
• Salt to taste
• Vadi (Paste of urad dal shhape like a round and dry in sunlight)

Methods

Cut the vegetables into sticks. Fry panch phoron & Red chilly and grind in dry position. Make a smooth paste of the khus khus and mustard. Heat oil in a kadai and saute vegetables. Cover for 5 minutes, then add the paste masala and stir for 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk/milk and salt. Add some water and cook till vegetables are tender. Fry vadi till golden brown and mix well with shukto. Put the fried panch phoron on the top and little ghee. Serve hot with plain rice.

Phulko Luchi

It is a simple,popular and tasty breakfast

Phulko Luchi

Ingredient

• Maida-500 gms
• Ghee - 1 table spoon
• Oil to fry
• Salt to taste

Method

Sieve the maida with ghee and salt in a dish. Add cold water and make a stiff dough.Keep aside for an hour. Make round ball like shape. Roll out on an oil surface into thin round shape.Fry it in smoking oil till puffed up and turn the other side. Serve hot with Alu fry.

For Alu

Fry Cut 4 nos potato into cubes. Heat the muster oil in kadai. Put Panch Phoron(spices like cumin,nigella,fenugreek,aniseed and mustard seed) and green chilly. Saute for a min then give potato,salt and a pinch of haldi then give a little water. Cook till potato tender. Serve it with Luchi.