KALI BABUR BARI

Kali Babur Bari's Kitchen

(কালী বাবুর বাড়ির রান্নাঘর)

I. Karaishutir Kachuri:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbspn ghee (melted)

1 cup refined flour

For Filling:

 
1/4 kg Peas (shelled)
1 inch Ginger
4 small Green Chillies
4 teaspoons Aniseeds (saunf)
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
Salt to taste
Ghee to deep fry

Method:

 

• Sift the flour with 1/4 tsp salt.

• Mix in 2 tblsp of ghee and knead to a soft dough.

• Grind the peas, ginger, green chillies and aniseeds to a fine paste.

• Fry the asafoetida till light brown.

• Mix in the peas paste and salt.

• Fry well till the paste is cooked.

• Take off from heat up and let it cool.

• Divide the dough into 8 balls.

• Press each ball in the centre and fill it with the pea mixture.

• Close the opening well and flatten.

• Roll out as for puris.

• Heat up ghee in a kadhai.

• Deep fry the puris on low heat up till golden brown.

• Remove and serve hot.

 

 

II. Natun Alur Dum:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:-

 

• 250 grams baby potato (boiled and peeled)

• 1 big, ripe tomato chopped

• 1/2 tablespoon of yogurt (depending on how sour you want it)

• Ginger/cumin/coriander paste 2 tablespoon

• Red chili powder (add according to taste)

• Green peas (1/2 a cup)

• Few green chilies

• Oil

• One teaspoon turmeric

• One teaspoon whole cumin seeds

• A pinch of garam masala (optional)

• A handful of cilantro leaves

• Salt (to test)

• One cup of water

 

Method:

 

Apply salt and turmeric powder to the cooked potatoes. Heat oil in a pan and fry the potatoes until the outside is a little brownish. Don’t overcook them, they will start breaking. Remove them from the oil. In the remaining oil, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the GCC paste, turmeric and chili powder, sauté for few minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes. Sauté until the tomatoes are completely mushy and the spice paste starts coming out of the pan. Add Luke-warm water and salt and boil until the tomato loses its raw taste. Let the gravy thicken and then add the potatoes. Mix the potato with the gravy. Again, do not mix them vigorously, then might break. Add the green peas, garam masala and chopped cilantro. Cover for few minutes and serve hot with puri or chapattis. It tastes better the next day as the potatoes absorb the flavour from the gravy.

 

III. Paanch Meshali Dal:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a delightful combination of dals simmered with aromatic spices that lend to bouquet of tantalizing flavours, along with all the nutrients that dals add to our diet.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1/4 cup moong (whole green gram)

• 1/4 cup whole masoor (whole red lentil)

• 1/4 cup urad (whole black lentil)

• 1/4 cup chana dal (split Bengal gram)

• 1/4 cup toovar (arhar) dal

• 3 cardamoms (elaichi)

• 25 mm. (1") stick of cinnamon (dalchini)

• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)

• 1/2 cup chopped onions

• 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes

• 1 tsp coriander (dhania) powder

• 2 tsp chilli powder

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) powder

• 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf) powder

• 1/2 cup low fat curds (dahi), whisked

• 2 tsp oilFor the garnishing: 2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)

 

Method:

 

• Wash and soak the dals in warm water for at least an hour. Drain and keep aside.

• Add 4 cups water and cook in a pressure cooker for 15 to 20 minutes, over medium flame, till the dals are cooked.

• Heat the oil in a pan, add the cardamoms, cinnamon and cumin seeds and allow the cumin seeds to crackle.

• Add the onions and cook till they are golden brown.

• Add the tomatoes, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin seed powder and fennel powder and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.

• Add the curds and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

• Add the cooked dals and salt and allow the dal to come to a boil.

• Garnish with coriander and serve hot with rice or rotis.

 

IV. Maccher Chop:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1. Bhetki / Bekti/Rohu fish 250 gm
2. Potato 4 (Large)
3. Mustard oil 300 gm
4. Onion paste to taste
5. Ginger paste to taste
6. Garlic paste to taste
7. Tomato 1
8. Green chilli 6

9. Sugar to taste
10. Salt to taste
11. Coriander leaf 1 bundle
12. Garam Masala 5 gm
13. Red chilli powder to taste
14. Poultry egg 2
15. Biscuit powder 100 gm

 

 

Method:

1. Clean and cut the mid-portion Bhekti into pieces. Prepare pastes. Cut potatoes into big slices. 
2. Finely chop the tomato, green chilli and coriander leaves. Heat the oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the fish for about 2 minutes. 
3. Remove from oil; keep aside. Pluck out fish bones. 
4. In the same oil, lightly fry potato slices. Knead the fried fish and potato pieces well; make dough. 
5. Again in the same oil add onion, ginger and garlic pastes with finely chopped green chilli and tomato. Add salt. Mix well. 
6. Saute for 5 minutes on light flame. Add dough, chilli powder, coriander leaves and garam masala. Stir slowly. 
7. Remove pan from the flame after 3-4 minutes. Cool. 
8. Make 18-20 balls of 'chop' from the dough. Prepare poultry egg batter. Soak chops in the batter. 
9. Roll them in biscuit powder. Deep fry. Serve with sauce and salad.

 

 

 

V. Potoler Dolma/Stuffed Pointed gourd:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• Potol/Parwal/Pointed Gourd, 12

• Oil, ¾ cup

 

For the stuffing:

 

• For Non-Veg option: Mutton Keema/Minced Meat or Rohu Fish or Small prawns, 500 gms

• For Veg option: Potatoes or Indian Cottage Cheese or a mix of both

• Onions, finely sliced, 350gms

• Fresh Ginger, paste, 1 tsp for the fish/prawn, 2 tsp for mutton

• Fresh garlic cloves, 3-4

• Red chili powder, 2 tsp or to taste

• Green chilies, finely chopped, 2

• Turmeric powder, 1 tsp

• Bengali Garam masala powder, ¾ tsp (refer to notes)

• Salt, to taste

 

For the gravy:

 

• Onion, paste, 4 heaped tbsp

• Bayleaves, 2

• Ginger paste, ½ tsp

• Red chili powder, ¾ tsp or to taste

• Turmeric powder, ½ tsp

• Bengali Garam masala powder, ¾ tsp

• Salt, to taste

 

Instructions:

 

Wash and clean the potols. Very lightly scrape the potols if you want or can use as is. Cut off the tips from both ends.  Scoop out the seeds from one end without breaking/damaging the other end - I use the handle of a teaspoon to do this. (Don’t discard the seeds, refer to notes). Rub a little salt on the inside and outside of the potols and keep them aside for 10 minutes. Heat half of the oil in a kadhai/wok and fry the potols till they turn light brown (add some more oil if needed). Drain well and keep aside to cool.

 

For the stuffing:

 

In the same oil that you fried the potols in, fry the sliced onions and garlic till golden brown. Add turmeric, ginger, red chili powder, green chilies and a little salt. Add in the main stuffing ingredient: 

• If using fish – boil and debone it first

• If using prawns – will cook with the onion paste

• If using mutton keema/minced meat – will need to cook on low heat till completely cooked and soft

• If using potatoes – boil and mash it first

• If using cottage cheese – crumble it first

 

After the gravy dries up, add the garam masala. Mix well and keep aside to cool. Once it cools down, fill the scooped out and fried potols with the stuffing – till the edge and packed tightly.

 

For the gravy:

 

Heat up the remaining oil in a kadhai/wok. Add in the bay leaves, onion paste and ginger paste. Fry very well, add red chili powder and turmeric. Mix and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add water and let it come to a boil. After a couple of minutes, add in the stuffed potols and let it simmer on low heat till gravy thicken. Add garam masala powder, stir and remove from heat. Arrange potols on a serving plate and pour the gravy on them. Serve with plain boiled rice or pulao.

 

Notes:

 

If you want, you can serve the fried stuffed potols without cooking in the gravy as well or even batter fry them.​Bengali Garam Masala recipe: equally quantities cloves, cinnamon and cardamom – either sun them for a few hours or dry roast them lightly and then grind into a fine powderThe scooped out seeds can be ground and added back into the stuffing or just stir fry with spices of your choice – which is how we eat them…yum yum yum!!!In the cottage cheese version, you add in a handful of raisins and sugar as wellThere is another stuffing version using coconut for filling but I have no clue how to go about that one!!

 

 

VI. Doi Maach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 kg fish with firm white flesh cut into 1 1/2 " thick pieces (I love Rohu - a kind of carp - for this dish)

• 1 tbsp ginger paste

• 1 tbsp garlic paste

• 1 medium-sized onion ground to a paste

• 1 cup yogurt

• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder

• 4 tbsps mustard oil

• 3 cloves

• 5 black peppercorns

• 2 green cardamom

• 1" stick of cinnamon

• 1/2 dried bay leaf

• 1 large onion chopped fine

• Salt to taste

 

PREPARATION

 

• Mix the yogurt with the onion paste, red chilli powder, turmeric, ginger and garlic pastes and blend. Add the fish pieces to this and gently mix to coat well. Marinate for 2 hours.

• Heat 3 tbsps of the mustard oil on medium heat, in a deep pan till hot. Add the whole spices - cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and peppercorns - and fry till slightly darker. Now add the chopped onion and fry till transparent.

• Add the marinated fish and the marinade and mix gently but well. Season with salt as required. Stir occasionally. Do this gently to avoid breaking the pieces of fish. Cook till fish is done.

• Garnish with the remaining mustard oil - drizzle over the dish - and serve with piping hot plain boiled rice.

 

 

VII. Chosir Payesh:

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 Ltr of milk

• A handful of Choshi

• ½ Cup of sugar

• ½ Spoon of Elaichi/ black cardamom

• 8 to 10 Raisins

• 1 Spoon of ghee.

 

Method:

 

• Heat ghee in a pan.

• Fry all the chosi in low flame in the ghee.

• Pour milk in the pan.

• When it starts boiling, low heat and stir continuously so that the bottom does not gets burnt.

• As the chosi gets boiled add sugar and raisins.

• When the mixture thickens sprinkle elaichi powder and remove from heat.