Salsa Egg Curry -- Salsa ar Sriracha diye Didima'r Dim kosha

This Salsa Egg Curry saga goes way back to pre-Independence India, when my grandmother was a young girl who tended wild hens in her backyard while making fresh salsa that a Mexican traveler had taught her! Those wild country hens laid some delicious brown eggs and the Mexican traveler had brought her some of his country's fresh hot jalapenos. Actually that was his way of proposing marriage but she gave him bhai-phota and ruined his plans! Inspite of this heart breaking incident, this dish was much loved in our home and went by the name of Salsa ar Sriracha diye Didima'r Dim kosha.

How many of you think that is the truth? How many of you think staying true to your roots means cooking a dish from your country or culture exactly how it has always been done?

Truth is this Salsa egg Curry saga goes back to the summer of 2019  when vacationing in Iceland and missing Dim Kosha, we had promptly made this egg curry, the night after we saw the magical Northern Lights. This is the story that I will tell my grandkids. This might just become their story for their version of Dim Kosha,

How at 9:30 PM at night, the aurora tracking app on my phone started buzzing and we jumped into the car, driving towards the location where sighting was supposed to be best. A merely short 10mins drive out of town and we could see the activity increasing. We pulled up on the side of the road somewhere in pitch darkness and the magnetic storm put up a great show for us. The dark sky above us came alive with curtain of lights, swaying and waving, and  taking on colored hues. It was at the same time beautiful and creepy, kept reminding me of horcruxes from HP.

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The night after we had Salsa Dim Kosha!

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If a Bengali dish with Mexican ingredients comes into existence in Iceland,  does it mean going back to your roots or adapting your roots and giving it space to breathe and grow?

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First Sighting as per FB: September 2019 -- in Iceland

In Bangla there is a saying "Dheki swarge giyeo dhaan bhaange".

Loosely translated it means "If possible, a Bong will cook & eat a spicy dim kosha(egg curry) even when she is amidst the beauty and luxury of a place like heaven"!

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Well actually that's not the translation but I an 100 percent sure this is what it means🤣😜

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After the ethereal beauty of the Aurora yesterday, this egg curry gave us  joy that only heaven can shower on you. So errm, due to lack of regular ingredients this was made with salsa from a jar, onions, sriracha sauce and a sprinkle of curry powder. All found in our Airbnb kitchen!

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And it was so good that I am going to copyright this recipe. Salsa ar Sriracha diye Didima'r Dim kosha!! ❤

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Also a huge thanks to all of you who inspired us to cook on vacation. Grocery stores will be put on my next vacation itinerary. Really enjoyed the experience.

Second Sighting as per FB post: August 2020 -- in Maine

Last year, around this time we were getting all ready and doing last minute booking for our Iceland trip🏞.

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Food was big on my mind as everyone had said Iceland is an expensive country. However other than some packets of maggi and snacks, I did not carry any more food in my luggage. I love to eat local at the places we travel and if local restaurants were expensive or not good enough then I would rather buy local groceries🛒 😜

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And that is what we did. I made it a point to visit the local grocery store Kronan and Bonus in the 4 different places that we stayed in our airbnb!!!  

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However I don't like spending time cooking during vacation either. So there were shortcuts. Marinated salmon and fiskoo burgers were our regular buy.

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And then this egg curry, made with a jar of salsa 💃 + hot sauce🌶. No chopping onions and garlic, no other spices needed. This was such a hit that on our recent road trip to Maine, we made this salsa egg curry again. 

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It's the easiest egg curry that tastes closest to dim kosha and with zero effort. Perfect for a vacation or staycation.

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I think I should post a recipe for this one soon. A #norecipe recipe 😍

In Maine, this Egg Curry was made with a tub of fresh pico de gallo at the neighborhood grocery store. Some green chilies, garlic powder, paprika went in.

Third Sighting: May and July 2021 -- in Vermont and Catskills

This time the salsa was a super hot, ghost pepper salsa. The spice rack at the AirBnB had some seasoning from TJ’s and also some paprika and curry powder. That’s all that went into the curry.

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The Egg Curry was delicious. And so easy to make. I don’t know why I don’t make this at home. Maybe it’s the wanderlust that makes this egg curry more exciting, the adventure of what lies in an unfamiliar kitchen, who is to say!

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Salsa Egg Curry - No Recipe Recipe

Buy Eggs from the local grocery store wherever you are.

Buy Salsa

1. You can buy fresh Pico de Gallo
2. You can buy a jar of any generic hot salsa
3. You can buy the super hot Ghost pepper or Dessert Pepper Salsa.

I prefer the salsa to be bit chunky for this dish.

Now if you do not want to buy salsa, the essence of this dish is lost, but what can we do. Make your own fresh Pico De Gallo, You can follow this recipe for pico de gallo but I will say increase the jalapeno.

Make this Salsa too. Use one or both

Take 2 medium good quality tomatoes. If you don't have access to great tomatoes, open a can of crushed or diced tomatoes.

In a food processor add

tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp of Cumin seeds

3 chopped green chili or 1 jalapeno chopped

Handful of fresh coriander leaves

Pulse to combine everything. Should NOT be a smooth paste.

Add salt and sugar to taste to the above. Combine. Your salsa is ready

Boil and peel the Eggs. Score the tips like a cross. Fry them with Turmeric powder and a sprinkle of paprika until the skin starts to crinkle and takes on brown spots. Remove and set aside.

Now in the same oil, add the Pico de Gallo and sauté. Follow with the Salsa. (Note: With store bought chunky salsa, just add the salsa to the oil, nothing more).

Add any spice powder that is available and takes your fancy. Some suggestions - garlic powder, total seasoning, onion powder, curry powder, paprika, red chili powder, a touch of garam masala.

Sauté until you see oil separating from masala. The ole Indian trick. Add salt and sugar as per your taste.

Add the eggs now and cook along with the masala. The gravy will be clinging to the eggs. Serve with rice.

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Kalo Jeere-Til-Dhonepaata Maach - Nigella-Sesame-Coriander Salmon

KaloJeere-Til-Dhonepaata Maach | Nigella-Sesame-Coriander Salmon

Kalo Jeere (Nigella Seeds) is supposed to alleviate joint pains. Sesame seeds might lower lipid levels. Every spice has a nutritional benefit, other than adding taste and flavor. Taking off from the Bengali favorite Kalo Jeere diye Maacher Jhol, this is a little different salmon dish, cooked in a paste of coriander, nigella seeds and sesame seeds. It really tasted so delicious and is so easy to make that it has found a secure place in my weeknight salmon repertoire. You can play around with the spices and find your perfect fit.

Jump To Recipe

For a long time, I could not figure out what to name this dish ? Was it DKT (Dhonepaata-Kalo Jeere-Til) Maach or KTD (Kalo Jeere-Til-Dhonepata ) Maach? Or was it just Nigella-Sesame-Coriander Salmon? Or was it just a delicious weekday fish?

I think I spent more time in the nomenclature than in cooking this simple dish which definitely tastes more Bengali than it sounds. It owes its origin in parts to my mother, who has been trying to add more of kalo jeere(nigella seeds) to her food once she learned that Kalonji seeds help in alleviating joint pains and aches. 

I had heard of this magical property of Kalonji long back when our babysitter M Nani, from Bangladesh, used to eat Kalo Jeere bhorta ( a paste of roasted nigella seeds, chilies and garlic cooked in little oil) as a side with her meal. However until my mother used the same strategy in fish, it never crossed my mind to do that. My mother also added sesame seeds (til) along with the nigella as she read somewhere that sesame seeds help in controlling cholesterol and has been gently coaxing the husband-man to have sesame seeds in his diet.

This is really a very simple, easy recipe. I haves skipped garlic but you can add it. Play around with the quantity of Nigella and Sesame seeds until you find the best balance. This is what worked for me this time, there was no overpowering taste of kalonji or til. Next time I might increase the amounts a little.

Doma Wang's Prawn Toast -- easy, quick delicious

Prawn Toast

I didn't know Doma Wang until last year. I knew she was from Kalimpong and her restaurant Blue Poppy was famous for its momos and chilli pork, but I didn't "know" know her.

Then last year on Mother's Day, I wanted to send my Mom some food from a restaurant in Kolkata. She was not able to venture out much due to her knee pain and I thought it would be a nice surprise. I also thought it would be easy with these apps like Swiggy, Zomato etc.

Guess what? I couldn't use any of them in India with my US ph#. At this brink of frustration came a very kind restaurateur from Kolkata. Doma Wang who owns a restaurant called Blue Poppy in Middleton row.

She messaged me on FB and took upon herself to deliver food from her restaurant all the way to my Mom's for Mother's Day Lunch..And the food was so delicious. My parents loved the garlic prawn balls, noodles, chili chicken and the momos.

Then last year when I visited Kolkata, on my wish list was to eat at her restaurant. However it did not work out. So I called her to ask if she delivered food. I was desperate to eat her famous momos. The day before I was to leave for the US, she sent me her famous momos and pork sapata. They were so delicious. The pork sapata flew across oceans with me, and the husband-man as well as the girls wre blown away by this dish.

When I saw her and her daughters cooking Prawn Toast during this Quarantine, I knew I had to make this dish. It seemed to be very easy and if it was her recipe I was sure it would be delicious. So last weekend, I made these delicious Prawn Toasts at home. The perfect snack with a cup of tea. I am definitely going to make this as starters for parties too.

It was super easy to make. Just my kind of dish.

Easy, Quick and Delicious

Daab Chingri -- Prawns in Tender Coconut Shell

Daab Chingri | Prawns cooked in tender coconut shell

Daab Chingri, or prawns cooked in tender coconut shell is more of an urban Bengali dish, made very popular by restaurants. The base recipe is very much like shorshe chingri bhaape, where prawns are mixed in a mustard-coconut paste and then steamed. Here the steaming or cooking happens in a tender green coconut shell, with the the tender coconut(daab) and its cream(daab er malai) elevating the flavor of the dish. 

Jump To Recipe

Not all recipes start with a line like "And in my grandmother's kitchen..."

Neither do all recipes have a boat load of nostalgia tied to them.

But one thing is true, every delicious recipe is triggered by the memory of a meal.

I had never seen a Daab Chingri cooked in my grandmother's kitchen. Neither did my Mother ever make it. Daab aka Tender Young Coconut was very popular in India and we loved it as a drink. Bonus was the tender meat of the coconut -- the shaansh. But prawns cooked in the shell of a tender green coconut? It never featured in any of my childhood meals!

Now Shorshe Chingri Bhaape, where prawns were mixed with a mustard-coconut paste and steamed, was a very popular dish in my home. Only it was steamed in a sealed stainless steel container, that was put either in a pot of rice being cooked or in a pressure cooker. Sometimes, and only sometimes, in my Dida's kitchen, shrimp, coconut and mustard paste would be tossed together, put in a coconut shell and tucked into the dying embers of a unoon. But that was not Daab, that was the hard cooconut shell, it was more of a hasty practical dish and not fancy.

I started hearing about Daab Chingri only when finer Bengali food restaurants started sprouting around Kolkata metropolis. Unlike the paise hotels, which served everyday Bengali meals to the masses, these restaurants offered fine dining in a lovely ambiance and a menu that boasted of Bengali delicacies -- some known and some concocted. I have a hunch that "Daab Chingri" was a brilliant idea spawned by one of them. It tasted delicious like Chingri Bhaape and was very unique in its presentation style. No wonder the dish took off swiftly and spread like wild fire.

Soon, every other person started saying "The Bengali traditional Daab Chingri cooked by my grandmother....". Like really? Your grandmother in the 60s, 70s, 80s and even early 90s cooked Daab Chingri in her kitchen? Errr...think twice!

But to be honest, Daab Chingri is more of an urban Bengali dish and not one of those traditional ones with boatmen, Portuguese, Thakurbari and history written all over them.

Daab Chingri at 6 Ballygunge Place

So anyway, having heard so much about this dish, I wanted to desperately try it. Last time during my India trip, my parents took me to 6 Ballygunge Place. Beautiful decor, awesome table settings, very unique menu -- I was blown over! And they had Daab Chingri on the menu. I had to order it of course. It was a beautiful dish no doubt but I had a feeling that the prawns were cooked prior and then the dish finished off in the Daab. No harm done of course. Maybe this is how one makes Daab Chingri, I concluded.

Then last week, my very talented friend Moumita made Daab Chingri at home and shared with me. It was delicious. The Daab that we get here is not the green coconut served in Indian restaurants, but a slightly more mature version, stripped of the green exterior.

Today, I had a deep desire to cook Daab Chingri at home. Moumita was away from her phone. I started browsing recipes on the internet and each involved garlic, cream, paanchphoron and what not 😡😭. That's not how  I envisioned Daab Chingri. I knew my Daab Chingri would be the mustard-coconut one and not the garlic-cream one.

I then, texted another friend Baishali and she promptly shared two recipes with me. Both her recipes were exactly how I wanted them to be and here's what sealed the deal. Her recipes were very, very easy.

In fact one of them was done totally in the Microwave. As I was experimenting, I tried both the Oven and Microwave method. With lots of green Chili, the sharp mustard paste mellowed by the mildly sweet Coconut, golden Mustard Oil, and succulent prawns -- this was a beautiful dish. Triggered by the memory of a meal and aided by friends, it was dish I would always treasure.💓

To be honest, it is very much like the Shorshe Chingri Bhaape who has gone to a glamorous party. The Tender Coconut Shell definitely adds some panache to the presentation and lends a layer of coconut flavor to the dish.

Moumita's Nolen Gur er Cake -- eggless Date Palm Jaggery cake for Sankranti

Photo Credit: Moumita

Khejur Gur (liquid date palm jaggery -- made from boiling the sap from date palms) is very popular in Bengal during the winter months. It is also commonly called "Notun Gur" ( literally, "new jaggery") or "Nolen Gur".

During the cold season from December to February, the sap of the date palms is best harvested and that is the reason we get this gur or jaggery around this time. If you are in rural Bengal during the winter months, and you happen to stroll across the damp fields on a foggy morning, you will see palm trees with a afro-top hair rising like sentinels across the mist. And if you hear closely, you will hear the tip-tip of the sweet sap dripping into the earthen pots hanging just below the palm fronds. The night before, tappers have scaled the thorny trunk of the tree, to tie those pots there.

That sap is pure nectar and when boiled for hours over a wooden fire, it changes color and form to shape into our favorite Nolen Gur or Khejur Gur -- a jaggery synonymous with every Bengali's winter.

The liquid Khejur Gur is delicious, tastes better than Maple Syrup and we used to have it poured on our Luchi (Puri) or Roti for dinner or breakfast. In solid form it is sold in the shape of oval discs and is also known as "Patali Gur" or "Notun Gur". This new jaggery harvested only in the winter months is used to make a variety of sweets in Bengal like "notun gur er sondesh" or "khejur gur er roshogolla".  Ahh, the nolen gur er sondesh is so divine that if you taste it even once, the memory lingers on your tongue forever.

The whole sweet thing, reaches a crescendo during Poush Sankranti when Date Palm jaggery, Coconut and rice flour is used to make a variety of pulis and pithes across the breadth and width of the state

Some of the most popular ones being Gokul Pithe, Khejur Gur er Paayesh, and Pati Shapta.

Now since I was not too keen on making any of the above, this year I decided to celebrate sankranti with Nolen Gur er Cake. It has Khejur Gur plus coconut, that is 75% of Sankranti requirements being met. So, why not, new traditions?

The cake recipe comes from my friend Moumita (of the Kochu Paata Chingri fame), who had made this last month. Her cake was fantastic and we had devoured it in no time.

I took her recipe and added my little nuances which is my habit. However, her cake had more of the Date Palm jaggery flavor. In my recipe, I also added some dates, which made the cake very fluffy and moist but the dates  kind of masked the  delicate flavor of the Date Palm jaggery.

Sharing both versions here

Roasted Cauliflower Orange -- Phulkopi Komola Roast

I recently came to know about Phulkopi Komola, a Bengali dish where Cauliflower is cooked with oranges.

I had never ever heard of such a thing before. In our middle class family, we ate KomlaLebu with beet noon on winter afternoons, sitting on the terrace, our back to the sun and a book in front. My Ma, made a Komola Lebu'r kheer on occasions that deemed such extravaganza and that Kheer was so delicious that I cannot even explain in words. Other than that, oranges were had on their own.

Well, anyway, the pairing of Cauliflower with Oranges seemed like a brilliant idea, so I thought why not? But I didn't want to cook them the traditional Phulkopi dalna (cauliflower curry) way. I wanted to roast them. Cauliflowers I roast often. But this time, I wanted to add oranges (clementines to be precise) to the roast.

So Cauliflowers, tiny potatoes, oranges, and some carrots(optional) were chopped. Tossed with some tandoori masala, olive oil, chili powder and even garlic it was a pretty dish to look at and delicious to eat.The oranges gave a tiny kick of sweetness and flavor to the cauliflowers. I added some green peas to add color to the dish and it was an excellent idea. The whole dish is pretty simple to make and the cooking time is the time for you to relax and watch Netflix.

Bajri Pearl Millet Pancakes

The last week, I have been desperately trying to stay off carbs in my diet. Not an easy feat for aluseddho-bhaat loving Bengalis.

But I have been eating like a glutton and wanted to give the whole digestive system, a short break between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Add to that my recent woeful experience while clothes shopping in Kolkata.

I love going to stores like Pantaloons, Biba or Big Bazaar back home. Being used to departmental stores in the West, where store assistants hardly pay a glance, careful not to intrude my privacy by suggesting any opinion unless clearly asked for,  the overload of shopping assistants in the stores at the Kolkata Mall, makes me feel very special.

They are always asking "Madam, ki chai?";then suggesting designs that they profess will look good on me; if I am throwing a tantrum that nothing matches they are eager to hunt down the right color leggings for my Kurta. In general they are pretty good people, showering attention as if I am buying a 900 rupees kurta for the royal wedding.

But with every pro, comes a con. And in this case there is plenty. One of them, of course is the intrusion which I am now old enough to take in stride. I have bidden enough time standing in long queues for the public bus in my college days, with Aunties suggesting all kind of skin and hair care routine. From staying off "oily food" to some Baba's miracle ointment, I have heard it all. That has toughened my self confidence.

So we will not talk about intrusion. Instead I would like to ponder upon why size of clothes in Indian stores is a variable. It is not a constant and is always shifting. What is a M today is not a M tomorrow in the same brand. What used to be an XL is now non-existent.. Folks in Kolkata are slimming down at an alarming rate so that size S is becoming a smaller size every year.

Until 2017, I was a size M with Kurtas that I bought in India. With most US brands, I can still get into a size S! But this time back in Kolkata, I could barely breathe in even M sized Kurtas.

At the Big Bazaar, which is close to my parent's home, and so a favorite haunt, I asked one of the young nymph like store assistants, "Are you guys just becoming more thin, or why does a M not fit me anymore?"

The young girl gave me a once over and without a smile said, "Didi, try a L, that will fit you!"

And of course it did. But that is when I made up my mind to stay off carbs for a week. But only after I had polished off all the Norom paak mishti and Nolen Gur er Ice cream of course!!!

Bajri Flour or Pearl Millet flour is a very common flour in some regions of India. It is high in complex carbohydrates and a rich source of protein and dietary fiber. I therefore cheerfully bought a small pack of Bajri flour while planning the low-carb week's menu. 

However I have never had Bajri flour while growing up and I doubt if my Mother has used it even once. All I knew is this nutty coarse flour is used to make a type of thick flat bread called Bakhri, which I was not keen to make. My neighbor then suggested making a Chilla with bajri flour as it is easier to make than a Bakhri.

I took it a step further, added eggs, spices, onion, green chilies and made savory crepes instead. I had these crepes with a ground chicken keema and avocados. I really loved the robust flavor of the crepes. The kids thought it was "meh" but then they are kids, so we will ignore them. For now, I am hooked to Bajri Crepes!!!

Easy Garlicky Chingri -- for Dugga Pujo

Durga Pujo is not a time to cook your own food. I mean ideally Ma Durga does not cook on these five days. Neither does Lokkhi, Saraswati, Ganesh or that Karthik? Maybe Baba Shib does, but then again I am not sure.So why should you , tell me?

And then if you do cook, who is going to eat it? I mean after eating bhoger khichuri at the pujo pandal, tons of phuchka just outside the pandal, egg roll on the left of the pandal, mutton biriyani only a few steps away from the pandal, fish kobiraji ordered by phone from the pandal, how will you eat the food cooked at home?
Thus it has been logically proven that there is ABSOLUTELY NO-NEED to cook during the Pujo days. QED!

But for us mere mortals, living away from such overdose of pandals, life is difficult.

Durga too understands our problem and mostly visits us only during weekends. During the week she is "chakki pishing and cooking dinner". Our relatives back home smirk at our plight and thank their stars that they did not go and get a visa stamped. They rustle their heavy silks, bite on their kashundi smeared fish kobiraji, pat their heavily powdered nose and lament, "Aha, ki koshto, Ashtami teo ranna korte hochche re?"

We look away from their kashundi-fied selfie, take deep breaths, think how claustrophobic the crowd in the pandals would make us feel and how all that phuchka can end in nothing good but gelusil and choan dhekur. "Jak baba, eikahnei bhalo achi", we reassure ourselves and contemplate on ways to make a mid-week Saptami dinner more interesting.

And then when the fall air carries with it a fragrance of wood smoke, we carelessly let our minds wander away to the pujo pandals of our childhood where amidst the heavy fragrant smoke of Dhuno, Ma Durga's face came alive with gorjon oil and after hours of fasting for anjali, steaming hot Khichuri in shaal pata doled out at the back of the mandap tasted no less than amrito.

What a Bittergourd Kismur -- on Independence Day

Tomorrow is India's Independence Day and all I can think of is I am in 3rd grade dressed in bottle green or khaki or some patriotic color safari suit kind of uniform, apparently like Subhas Bose, and standing on a stage with few more freedom fighters and not been given a single word to speak as per the script. I look almost like Jeetendra in a safari suit except that I also had to wear circular steel rimmed glasses like Bose and my hair was tucked under a cap.

And then came the calamity. Nope, nothing to do with Netjaji's politics. It was all to do with our Dhobiji actually.

That shirt had 5 medals pinned on it by my teacher, decorations like the INA military uniform. I thought they were gold. The Dhobiji cared neither for Netaji nor for his uniform.

Don't think his lot had improved in any significant way after independence. This was the early eighties.

Everyone in our neighborhood considered him as several caste lower and though they wore the clothes washed and pressed by him, they were acutely conscious of not indulging in any other touchy-feely relation with him. So much so, that my very staunch grandmother would instruct him to air drop the stack of freshly washed, ironed and folded clothes on the sofa, in fear that he did not touch any animate or in-animate object in our home.
Sigh!If I had someone delivering washed and folded clothes to my doorstep I would hug, kiss and even marry him right away.

So anyway, when that Jetetendra, oops sorry Subhas Bose uniform was sent to him to be washed and pressed so that I could return it in its pristine condition to the teacher, he did not pay as much attention to the medals and such. He was clever enough to know they weren't gold. The result of his nonchalance was that of those five medals one went missing. And my heart stopped in tracks right there. My heart was gripped with a cold, dismal fear just thinking what my very Catholic teacher in my very catholic convent school would have to say on this. The British were long gone but I was terribly afraid of my crisp English speaking teachers, with names like Mary and Bridgette, and who I was sure came from some foreign country.

I don't remember what exactly happened thereafter except that my father had to go and meet the teacher and blame the Dhobiji, who thankfully knew no English and so wasn't summoned to school. For the next few months my position as the teacher's favorite was upended by my other classmates and I moped and lived in fear and never looked forward to Independence day celebrations ever. I rather stayed in and watched the flag hoisting on TV.

And then many years later, I went and got married on Independence day as it was the last wedding day with the last wedding muhurta for the season as per the Hindu wedding calendar!!!

I am sure that no-caste Dhobiji had something to do with this. Or my Anglican teacher. 😜

The only word to describe this whole situation is KISMUR. Yep, "what a Kismur", sums it all up.

Salmon Posto -- Salmon in Poppy Seed paste

Salmon was not a fish I loved when I first set foot on the shores of this country. I liked neither the taste nor the smell. The very thought of ordering a salmon sent me into bottomless despair. "What is this country where the fish does not taste like Ilish or Rui", I would often cry, my patriotic heart wailing for fish from my motherland. It is always about the food and the fish, isn't it?

I was convinced that my husband's Bong colleague who had gone about the office inviting folks in what sounded like "Plish come to my house, I make pish for you" was actually referring to salmon.

But then the only salmon dishes that we had were in the restaurants, which then were very bland for my taste buds. I was also not fond of the skin-on-salmon and had no idea that I could request the fishmonger to take the skin off.

But we live and learn. We adapt. We love new things and then cannot live without them

Learning from friends, improvising and experimenting, searching the web. we have now found many delicious ways to eat Salmon. It is one of the few fish which adapts itself well to Bengali style dishes like "Shorshe diye Salmon", "Doi Salmon", "Salmon er paaturi" or even a Salmon kalia. Our Salmon experience improved for the better when a friend suggested to bake salmon at a lower heat than other fish. It keeps the fish juicy, he said. And by God, it did. It was so much better and moist when baked at 275F.

Salmon is one of our favorite fish these days and we have it often

A couple of days back I made a Salmon Posto. Rui Posto is something that my Mother makes. I love anything with Posto and so to give salmon a makeover, I made Salmon Posto or salmon in Poppy Seed Curry. You can use any other fish like Rui, Kaatla, Bhetki, Swai or Tilapia in this recipe too. The traditional way is to fry the fish before adding to the posto gravy but of course I baked my salmon.

Also do remember, anything with Posto tastes best with white rice, so though the photo has red rice on the plate, if you have white rice stick to it.

Salsa Fish -- when Mexican meets Bengali

I don't have a lot of time to write today. I had promised to post this last week but then last week was super busy like any other. So if I start writing, this recipe will never see the light of the published blog!!

A quick note to say, that this Salsa Fish is my recipe, mine and mine alone. So don't compare it to salsa fish of a mom from Tijuana or to your neighborhood TexMex restaurant. Maybe she makes it this way or maybe the restaurant makes it better, I don't know. I have never had it at any Mexican restaurant here either. The inspiration came from our very own tomato fish and of course salsa.

So I make a mean salsa and my salsa has tomatoes, garlic, cumin, jalapenos, coriander leaves, sugar and salt. And then a couple of weeks back I thought since I am already making this why don't I use this to make a fish. That is what I did and called it Salsa fish. It had gravy and tasted like maacher jhol that a mom in Tijuana would make.

I served it with rice, and loads chopped onions, tomatoes and some jalapenos.

Then again few days back I made a similar fish, but not much gravy. I also added green peppers. Same salsa as the base. This was a drier salsa fish.

This is when I saw my housecleaning lady had put up her dinner photo on her WhatsApp status and there were tacos and guac and salsa and all very authentic as the mother in Tijuana would make. Not the American tacos that on the border makes.

Inspired I assembled a similar dinner. Multigrain tortillas made the base. Rest all were already there, how we served it, changed the scene and country!! So if you want, you can serve the salsa fish that way too.

Mumu'r Phulkopir Malaikari -- Cauliflower in Coconut Curry

This recipe is our friend Mumu's. She is one half of that couple who makes roshogollas and dal gosht and tolerates us when we land up at their home on any random weekends. That is saying a lot. No good stuff that I say about her and K, can top the fact that they welcome us and feed us on "random" weekend. I mean anyone who does that must be close to a saint or something

So anyway this Phulkopir Malaikari is Mumu's signature dish. We have had it at her home many times and loved it every time. I don't know why I never made it at home though until recently. A few weeks back, I made it at home, roughly following her recipe. It turned out so good that I had to share it with you all.

Now if you are a Bengali, Chingri Malaikari is your anthem and needs no explaining. If however you are new to Bengali cuisine, let me tell you that Chingri Malaikari, is a Bong's national anthem. I mean, it is a dish where succulent prawns are cooked in a gravy of coconut milk and is so delicious that you need to eat it to believe it. There are many theories about roots of this curry. I don't know which one is true but once you taste the dish, it clearly shows the effect of  the cuisine of SouthEast asia, the Malay world,which now comprises of the modern nations of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and southern Thailand.

If you are a vegetarian and have never tasted the Chingri Malaikari, this Cauliflower Malaikari, is just the thing you need.It is pretty simple where fried cauliflower florets are cooked in a coconut gravy with almost the same spicing as a Malaikari. Since there is no prawn which adds the full bodied flavor to the chingri malaikari, here we add a bit more spices to compensate. But I must say, the result is phenomenal! Try it.

Shahi Tukda or Pauruti'r Ras Malai

I have not seen anyone use "regular white bread" in as many avatars as my Mother. It could be due to the fact that we mostly lived in small towns where buying sweets or shingaras for snack, or when an impromptu guest arrived, was not the easiest thing to do. It could also be due to the fact that we did not have a refrigerator(until I was in 8th grade) and so stocking sandesh and roshogollas for a guest who lands out of nowhere was not possible.It could also be due to the fact that my Mother had this amazing talent of making delicious edibles out of practically nothing.

One thing we did buy regularly was "a loaf of sliced bread". Buttered toasts appeared frequently with tea in the morning.But how much buttered toast can a Bengali household consume after all ? And so rest of the bread showed up at snack time in different avatars.

Neighborhood aunties dropping by for evening tea in winter, meant my Mother would make bread pakora by simply dipping slices of bread in a spiced besan batter and frying them in hot oil.

If it was hot summer, she would simply rustle up a paurutir dahi vada (bread dahi vada) with the yogurt spiced up with some imli chutney from neighborhood Jain Aunty.

For dessert, she would make paurutir malpoa(bread malpua) where squares of bread were fried crisp and then soaked in a sugar syrup until they became soft and melt in the mouth. My father was an avid sweet lover and he needed a dessert every day of the week. This helped!

The Shahi Tukda or Paurutir Rosh Malai was made only when guests came invited for dinner though. It involved a little more work in thickening the milk and making the rabri and so was not really impromptu. However once my Ma discovered "Gits Rabri Mix", even this became a super fast dish in her kitchen.

I did not know that this very simple dish that happened in my Mother's kitchen had a fancy name of "Shahi Tukda" and a fancier lineage, until our dessert connoisseur friend T served it one day. Her version looked fancier than my Ma's, who never bothered with garnishing and such.

As I searched for history of this dish, I learned interesting facts from here

"It is popularly believed that Shahi Tukray was a favorite of the Mughal emperors to break fast with in the month of Ramazan, thus the practice continues even today making it a very desirable dish at iftar, and a meetha famously served at the festive occasions of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.

There are many who claim that Shahi Tukray evolved from Um Ali an ancient Egyptian bread pudding. Legend has it that a Sultan with a group of hunters was hunting along the River Nile when they stopped in nearby village for some food. The villagers called upon their local cook Um Ali to cook up a meal for the hungry guests. The chef mixed some stale wheat bread, nuts, milk and sugar, and baked it in the oven. And thus the delicious Um Ali came to be. Another legend claims Um Ali to be a victory dessert made to order by a succeeding king."

While Shahi Tukda owes its origin to the Mughal emperors, the royals of Hyderabad had adapted this dish to make "Double ka Meetha", probably named so as bread was called "double roti" in Hindi.

Whatever you wish to call it and however fancy it may sound, it really is the easiest thing to make. And isn't it a beautiful coincidence that I made it during the holy Ramadan ?

Maach Shaaker Bhorta -- from Hasina Ahmed and Hena

The best thing I love about  blogging on food for all these years is the people I meet via my blog and new recipes I learn from them. I could have probably learned them from other websites, some youtube video or even a cookbook. All of them excellent sources.

But when I hear it from a real person it is very different. It makes it more tangible, more real for me. I feel humbled that they share their precious recipe with me. Something probably handed down through generations or something they invented or something shared by their friends. That the recipe found a way to my kitchen from theirs, touched with all their love and turmeric makes it more precious.

I have been honored to have Rituporna's Chitol Maacher Muithya, Somnath's Raastar Ghugni, Indrani Bhattacharya's Kumro Begun Chingri, Ahona's Methi Maachh, Sunetra's Piyaajkoli Macch, Piya and Chandrani's Dhonepata Bata Sheem on my blog.

Today it is Hasina Ahmed di. I have never met her or known her and yet I would trust her recipes over any youtube recipe video.. Hasinadi had once introduced me to the different greens that we get at the Asian stores here in US. I was clueless about most of them and only after her gentle nudging did I start buying those strange-named greens and cooking them. A few weeks back, Hasinadi told me about a Maacch Shaak er bhorta that her friend Hena taught her. Over to her for more...


1. Tell us a little about yourself and your friend Hena

I grew up mostly in Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh. My family is originally from Noakhali. I moved to the USA twenty six years ago after I got married. Currently I live in a very small university town in western South Dakota and work full time (8-5). My husband and I love to try new food (especially ethnic food). Food is actually a very important part of your life. What you put in your mouth remains with you. Having a satisfactory (&healthy) meal is good for you both physically and mentally (my physician says so)

Hena and her husband owned a motel in a VERY small town called Hot Springs (2 hour drive from our town). She is a home maker and mother of two boys (11 and 6). They moved to SD from LA 8 years ago. They have sold their motels (to a Gujrati family) a couple of months ago and are getting ready to leave SD.


2. You are from Bangladesh. Do you still hold on to the food culture you had grown up with ? Assuming you are in the US, how do you do that?

Yes, I still hold on to the food culture I had grown up with and I have no plan to change it. Nowadays, you get all most all the ingredients (including khejurer gur) for your cooking in the South Asian Grocery Stores in the big cities. I usually buy my spices from Denver (400 miles from where I live). Actually it is easier to cling to your ethnic food culture if you live in a big city or close to a big city but it is a challenge for the remote and small town dweller like me. I try to be as much creative as possible

3.Bengalis have huge respect for the cuisine from East Bengal. What do you think makes such an impression?

I know our friends from Poshchim Bongo love our meat preparation (kabab, kosha mangsho, korma etc.) But do you think our fish preparation is better than yours? My observation is the Bengalis from Poshcim Bongo cook the best Niramish in the sub-continent. We, the bangals, eat meat regularly and that gives us a wider comfort zone as far as the meat preparation is concerned.

4. Give some examples of how you recreate the food of your childhood with American ingredients

Cooking meat here is not difficult at all. According to my mother, desi spices which are available here are much better (she probably meant less bhejaal) than their counterparts back home. Here is how I make my chicken tikka kabab (see the photo below).

I must confess that cooking vegetables in desi style in an area where I live needs a lot of creativity. During the ninety’s and last decade Broccoli was the magic vegetable. We tried to eat Broccoli at least once a week and I got tired of boiled broc (sometimes raw brocs).

I experimented for sometimes and now cook broccoli in the following ways. 1. Stir fry it with kalo jeerey and dry red chili phoron. 2. Peel the fat stems, cut them into match sticks and cook with shrimp and tomato. 3. Steam sliced broccoli florets on a pan and make bhorta.

I have a family recipe of ‘mishti kumro cooked with moong daal and narkel doodh’. Mishti Kumro is not available here. I replace it with acorn squash (I buy fresh and tender acorn from the farmer’s market in summer).
I use the bideshi vegetables but use desi spices and style to cook my vegetables. Here is another photo. Mushroom, zuchini, potato, snow peas and chayote squash cooked with shorshey and kancha lonka phoron. I also used home-made poriyal masala.

5. You introduced me to a lot of greens. Given that you have a love for gardening, do you also grow them ? Which ones are the easiest to grow ?

Gardening is my passion. I essentially grow flowers (roses outdoor and orchids indoor). But I also have a vegetable patch where I grow our desi vegetables (lau, pui shaak, lonka, long and small round begun, etc.) I grow korola and sometimes methi shaak in pots. Desi veges don’t grow very well here as it is very dry but I still try. If you are in the East Coast, or in Florida or in California, you can grow any desi vegetable that you want to. I use the methi shaak (that I grow in the pot) for cooking my daal. Lau in my vege patch (photo below).

6. So how do you make this Maacher Bhorta ?

My friend H gave me this recipe. Hena is originally from Sylhet. They call this dish Lye Bhorta and originally it is done with shorshe shaak or mustard greens

1. Telapia fillet -  2 (depends on the # of people).

2. Smear the fish fillet with pinch of turmeric , dry red chili flakes, salt and garlic powder (optional), and lemon juice, Leave it aside for 20/30 minutes.

3. 2 cups of very finely chop spring salad mix (original recipe says special 'shorshey shaak' available in Sylhet area). Note:I tried it with arugula and I also stir fried it with garlic, instead of keeping it raw.

4. In a bowl put
very finely chopped red onion (I used quarter of a large red onion),
green chili(4 hot Indian green chili)
one tablespoon of finely chopped dhoney pata/coriander leaves.
Mix well with hand, lightly pressing the coriander leaves and green chillies

5. Fry fish with very little oil. It should be on the crunchier side,

6. When done with frying, break the fish with your hand. Mix all ingredients and add salt to taste.. Sprinkle mustard oil and mix well. Try to mix with your hand. The Sylhetis call it 'lye pata bhorta'. You may skip onion if you don't like it raw. Hasina Di substitutes the mustard greens with organic salad mix. She says, " It became very popular in our home and we are having it almost every week. Though it is called bhorta it is more like salad."

We too loved this Maachh Shaak er Bhorta. I want to try it with different greens next. Thank you Hasina Di and Hena.


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Fish Kofta Curry -- and the summer that was

Updated on Apr, 2018 with this photo. Scroll down for recipe.

We are in the last leg, rather finger of the summer holidays. Four more days to go and school opens on Tuesday. It has been a long vacation and a surprisingly fun one. I think that is what happens when you set out with very low expectations. With our holidays(to Yellowstone, which I need to write about soon) done at the very beginning of July and no excitement of grandparents visiting, when we had looked upon the stretch of two months lying ahead of us back in July 9th, it seemed like barren two months of little fun. A lot of our and the kids' friends were also away in India for the summer and the prospect looked really bleak.

As is my habit, I am filled with utter remorse if  summer vacation is not "fun" enough and so I even had a panic attack or two and had I been born in the West I would have a shrink who could have profited by my state. The husband-man who looks down upon my attempt at concocting "summer fun" with utter disdain and thinks I am getting sucked in by Western ideas of "must-have-fun-in-summer" had his own set of panic at the prospect of getting dragged out in the heat instead of zoning out in front of X-files on Amazon prime.

All this panic and absence of "shrink" led to marital discords and two absolutely exciting summer months. Okay, not exactly exciting because of the discord but because we had so little expectations.

So what happened ?

Swai or Basa Fish in a Curry Leaves and Tomato gravy

Fish Curry with Tomatoes and Curry Leaves

This Indian Fish Curry recipe with Basa fish is our favorite. It has a strong flavor of methi seeds and kari patta and is delicious in a tomatoe-y gravy

The Swai Fish or Basa has become recently very popular here. They are from the catfish family and are mostly farmed in Vietnam. There are plenty of debates about fish like Basa and Tilapia as the "catfish war" goes on and it is up to you to decide whether you want to eat these farmed fishes or go for the more expensive wild salmon.

When I first had this fish at a friend's home, I really liked it as I felt that the Swai/Basa has a texture which complements the Indian gravy very well. It goes well with a mustard based curry, a coconut based one or the regular onion-ginger-garlic curry. My girls however did not take to this fish but me and D would enjoy it now and then.

And then one day I made this fish with tomatoes and curry leaves. Big Sis is a huge curry leaves fan and she liked it so much that she will now have Swai/Basa when cooked in this particular gravy. Now this gravy has nothing to do with Swai in particular and tastes as well if you are using filet of salmon or even any other white fish. Try it and I am sure you will like it.

For 3 filet of swai/basa in standard size. You can also use salmon or any other white fish like cod.

Wash the fish filet and pat them dry. Now cut the fish filet in cubes ~ 2" x 3". I think I had about 8-9 pieces

Dust the fish with turmeric powder, salt and then add 1 tbsp of olive oil and toss the fish pieces gently.

Now ideally the fish should have been fried but I don't do that. Too much work. Instead do this.

Put all the fish pieces in a single layer on a baking tray and put in the oven to "Broil". Now depending on your oven the time to broil the fish until it is golden will vary. It takes about 20-25 minutes in my toaster oven while in the conventional oven it is done in 10-15 minutes.
Note: With swai a lot of water is releases on baking so make sure that the fish is spaced out in a single layer on the baking tray.

For making the gravy, the most important thing you need is Tomato Paste. It gives a great color to the gravy. While the fish cooks in the oven, you can actually proceed with the gravy.

Make a paste of
1 large red juicy tomato
2 green chilli
1/2" ginger

Now heat Mustard Oil in a wok. I have also done this gravy in Olive Oil and sunflower oil.

Temper the oil with
5-6 Curry Leaves(Kari Patta),
1/4th tsp of Whole Methi seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli

When the seeds pop add
1/2 tsp of garlic paste
1 tbsp of Tomato Paste from can (like this one)
the tomato-chilli paste you made

Fry for a minute or so.

Now add
1 tsp of Kashmiri Mirch
a pinch of Turmeric powder

Fry the tomato paste until the raw smell is gone and you see the oil seeping around the edges. Around 6-7 minutes.

Add
1 tsp of Coriander powder
1/2 tsp of sugar

Sprinkle a little water and fry for a minute

Now add about 1 Cup of water, salt to taste and let the gravy simmer to a boil

When the gravy is simmering, taste and see if everything is right. If sugar or salt is needed adjust at this point.

Now add the broiled pieces of fish to the gravy and let it simmer for couple more minutes.

Garnish with few curry leaves and serve with rice



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Microwave Chocolate Kalakand -- simple pleasures

Durga Pujo is over for most of you unless you are in some town in the US where there has been a conflict of schedule regarding the pujo location and the high school was not available last weekend and so Durga Pujo will be done after Kali Pujo or at anytime the auditorium is available. But it will be done no doubt and with much glitter and gold. Ma Durga is on an extended vacation in the US and it works well for both her and her multitude of devotees.

We did have a nice few days of Pujo, clamoring to reach the mandap after work and homework every day. The girls look forward to the arati so much that homeworks got done in time and the 40 minute drive was endured with little fuss. The added bonus is the presence of their friends at the mandap which means weekdays out of the ordinary.

When I asked Little Sis to write about Durga Pujo this is what she wrote. Clearly, she is a Bangali who is more interested in minute details about the Proshaad than anything else.

The funniest thing she said though was after watching "Wild Kratts"(an animated nature series for kids on PBS) on Shoshthi.

Shob Phaler Achaar -- Mixed Fresh Fruit Chutney

Shob Phaler Achaar -- Mixed Fresh Fruit Chutney

I have been away from the blog for a long while and believe me I missed it so much. I wanted to sit down and type something out every day and I had this kind of lurch in the pit of my stomach because I was procrastinating.And then again there was so much going on that it seemed sheer crazy to sit at the computer while life passed me by.

It has been a "happening August" here in the BongMom household with the girls' paternal grandparents visiting from India and then their aunt(pishi) and cousin joining in for a couple of weeks. The best part was that darling aunt had scheduled her holiday to coincide with LS's birthday which meant that birthday fun just doubled and tripled.

LittleSis turned 6 this year and I had not really planned for a birthday party beyond a small family affair. For one, she wanted to invite her school friends and I am a lazy Mom who thought it was too much work to track down and invite school classmates during summer vacation. I mean it was doable but too much work.So a small homely birthday was the call of this year.

Now over the summer both the girls have acquired young friends in the neighborhood. And that has turned summer afternoons into those similar to my childhood in India. Where there are kids playing on the driveway and sidewalk, spilling from one home to the other, late until dusk sets in and the street lights flicker to a warm orange glow. In this scenario it was only natural that the neighborhood friends were invited to a "birthday party" by LS, a birthday party which I, the ignorant Mother, had imagined to be a small family affair.

Eventually the birthday which was on a weekday turned into a fat, colorful party on the day itself. Those who could come, came. In throes of panic I got a bounce house which the kids enjoyed a lot. BigSis took over as the games organizer and made the group of kids, who were in a varying age range, play games. Her games were quite interesting and included a game called sardines(take on the age old hide n seek), treasure hunt and balloon popping.Food was outsourced and there was shingara, vegetable chop, chana chaat, pasta and Chettinad biriyani. Kids cried, laughed, fought and enough chaos happened. And like every year, I sweared swore to not throw any more birthday party until LS turns 12.

A quick recuperation from the birthday was followed with visits to the beach and park with cousin who is the same age as LS and therefore great pals. During the weekday I managed to sneak out with sis-in-law for sushi, a movie (The Hundred Foot Journey), dinner at a Portuguese place and of course Thai. And then a two day trip to a kids' amusement park was thrown into the medley.

I am very glad that BS and LS get time to spend with both sides of the family almost every year.  These childhood days are precious and the memories they make with family will go a long way.

School starts tomorrow and summer is over. A year worth of new stuff is waiting for both the girls. I should be excited but honestly, I am not.

To start off the blog after this long break, I will share a chutney, something we call a pickle in Bengali, a achaar. It is not really a pickle, but a Bengali ascribes a chaatni as something that cannot be preserved and needs to be served to finish off a meal, while pickle or achaar is something that has a long life. This particular chutney or achaar has vinegar which means it stays well for a month or two. It is made up of a mix of different kinds of fruits, sweet and sour and is a delicious accompaniment to crackers, paratha or roti.

This recipe was something my mother-in-law learned from mys sis-in-law's neighbor!!! It is sweet, spicy, sour and has a definite kick. If I think of it, it is like a family.

Shob Pholer Achaar -- Mixed Fresh Fruit Chutney

What you need for this Fresh Fruit Chutney is lots of different kind of fruits and vegetables to begin with. Fruits with a balance of sweet and tart.

I had 1 green mango, 2 plum, 1 apricot, 1 apple, 1 carrot, and about  6 sweet peppers. Chop all of these fruits in small pieces.

Now slice about 6-7 pods of garlic in thin slices. If you want it hot slit 4-5 green chillies.

Heat about 5 Mustard Oil in a wide Kadhai or saucepan, which will give you enough surface to cook.

Temper the oil with 3/4th tbsp of PaanchPhoron and 3-4 dried red chilli.

When the spices sizzle and sputter, add the garlic slices. Saute for a few seconds, do not let the garlic brown.Now add the fruits and green chilli. Stir the fruits around and let them soften a bit. With the kind of fruits I mentioned here, it did not take long for them to soften.

Now add about 1/2-3/4th  Cup Vinegar and 1/3rd cup of sugar. Add sugar according to your taste and the sweetness of the fruits. If you think that the fruits are sweet enough add little sugar. If they are tart, add more. Add salt to taste.

Now the fruits will release water. Let them simmer and thicken. Taste and adjust for the thickness of the chutney. Take a spoonful out and put on a plate to check that the consistency is thick and not runny. In this case, it was done in about 20 minutes or so.

Once the chutney cools, put in a jar and refrigerate. It stays well for a month or two.

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