Chicken Kasha / Kosha Mangsho/ Spicy Dry Chicken

Chicken Kasha is a typical Bengali dish. It is actually a semi dry preparation of chicken slowly cooked with different types of spices keeping the pieces intact without breaking them.

Ingredients:

Chicken                              1kg
Onion                                 3 large (paste)
Ginger garlic paste              3 tbsp.
Tomatoes                           3 (ground to paste)
Turmeric powder                1 tsp
Red chili powder                2tsp
cumin powder                    1tsp
Coriander powder              1 tsp
Garam masala powder        1 tbsp
Cinnamon                           2 stick
Cardamom                         5 to 6
Clove                                 5 to 6
Bay leaves                          3
Mustard oil
Ghee                                1 tblsp
Salt                                   (as per taste)
Sugar                                1 tsp

Method:

1.Wash chicken properly and cut into medium sized pieces. Take chicken pieces in a large bowl and add onion paste, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, salt and 3 tablespoon of mustard oil. Mix thoroughly and keep for marination for about 3 hours.

2. Heat  mustard oil in a non stick pan. Add whole garam masalas (cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, clove, Aniseed). When masala starts spluttering add the marinated chicken . Stir the chicken along with the masala slowly and continuously in medium flame so that masala cooked completely along with the chicken.

3. When masala starts leaving oil add tomato puree and 2 cups of warm  water and mix it. Cover it with lid and let it cook for another  8 to 10 minutes with occasional stirring. When the water evaporates and chicken pieces becomes tender and garam masala powder and sugar. Cover it for another 4 minute in low flame.

4. Remove it from fire and add 2 tsp of ghee and sprinkle some more garam masala powder. mix it well.

Serve hot and enjoy with steamed rice or parathas.

Sobha of Food Maaza has awarded me with a lovely award. She is having an wonderful blog with  varieties of  mouthwatering recipes. Thanks Shobha for  your wondrful words and the award.

Sweet and sour tomato mango chutney

Bengali's special occasion menu is always incomplete without a sweet chutney. I personally prefer this type of tomato chutney at the end of a heavy and spicy meal. The tangy-ness of this chutney actually comes when tamarind is added but in the season when green mango is readily available I would always prefer adding that as it adds an wonderful flavor to the chutney. Another  specialty of this chutney is that it is cooked in a pressure cooker as suggested by one of my friend  which  actually reduces the time and effort requires while cooking.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes                    6
Green mango               1
Whole red chili            3 to 4
Sauf (fennel seed)            1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds            1/2 tsp
Roasted cumin and Sauf powder 1 tsp
Green chili (slitted)      3
Turmeric powder        1 tsp
Red chili powder        1 tsp
Sugar                         1 cup (Depend on the sourness of the mango)
salt (as per taste)
Raisins                       3 tbsps

Method:
1. Wash tomatoes and green mango and cut  into medium pieces.

2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add red chili, mustard seeds and sauf. Let mustard splutters. Add mango and tomato pieces, slitted green chili  and saute it for sometime. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt. Stir again so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pressure cooker.

3. Now add sugar and raisins and stirs for sometime.. Add water as required and cover the lid of the cooker and cook it up to 4 whistles in medium flame. Open the lid and mix it thoroughly. Add roasted cumin and sauf powder.Stirr until the gravy becomes thick. Check the the sweetness and add some more sugar if required.

Garnish with roasted sauf powder. Serve along with typical bengali food.

Doi Begun/ Brinjal in curd/ Eggplant in yogurt

Doi Begun is a very popular Bengali vegetarian dish. This is one of the special item my mother prepares whenever I visit my native.I used to relish that very much. That is why I made this preparation on that special day of poila boisakh.

Ingredients:

Brinjal or Eggplant (round) 1 large
cumin seeds                       1/2 tsp
Green chili (slitted)             3
Ginger paste                       1 tsp
Turmeric powder                1tsp
Red chili powder                 1/2 tsp
Curd                                   200 gms
Salt ( as per taste)
Sugar 1 tsp
Mustard oil
Fresh coriander leaves (Chopped)

Method:

1. Cut Brinjal into round pieces and add turmeric powder and salt . Mix it well and keep it for marinate .

2 Heat oil in a pan and fry those brinjal pieces until it becomes soft and turn  brownish yellow.

3.Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seed. When seeds splutters, add ginger paste and fry for a couple of minute. Add chopped green chili, turmeric powder, red chili powder and little water. Fry the masala for sometime and then switch reduce  the flame. Now  beat the curd (yogurt)with salt and sugar and add gently to the masala. Stir gently for a couple of minutes.

4. Add fried brinjal pieces. Mix it with the gravy and cover it. Let it cook for another couple of minutes. Add Chopped coriander leaves. Remove from fire.

Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve with hot plain rice.

Going for the "Flavors of Bengal" event and Nayanas event.

Subho Naboborsho / Poila Boishakh menu

Friends, today is Poila Boishakh which means Bengali New Years day. So dear friends, Subho Naboborsho (Happy New Year) to all of you. Wish new  year fill your life with happiness  bright Cheer, bring to you joy and prosperity for the whole year. Today is a very special day for Bengalees and we always arrange a special menu for lunch which includes all the special and authentic bengali dishes from starter to dessert.Though today is not a holiday here in Bangalore and its like other weekdays, I still could manage to prepare some of those special items for my family in my limited time and really enjoyed having that with them.

Todays menu Includes:

Narkel diye Moog daal/ Moong Lentils with coconut

Doi Begun/ Brinjal in yougurt

Phulkopi Borir Macher Jhol / Cauliflower fish curry

Macher muror jhaal/ Fish head curry

Chicken Kasha/ Spicy chicken

Tomato mango chutney

Nalen gurer payesh

Recipe of those dishes will be published in my upcomming posts.