Egg Paratha with a Twist

Saturday Morning Breakfasts at our home are usually my husband’s affair, he is in charge, whipping up a warm breakfast different from the toast-omelets or cereal-milk kind. This does not mean that he does not lapse from his routine, after all he is a man , but even if I take 52 Saturday mornings – 12 lapses – 4 traveling Saturdays – 4 Vacation Saturdays, the answer is 32, way better than 42 (!!!).
But this Saturday was different, to add a nice twist to the breakfast for WBB#6 Breakfast with a Twist at Nandita’s Saffron Trail, I woke up bright & early and donned the chef’s hat, relegating my hubby to the position of the sous-chef.
So I started with the Original Recipe of my Mom. She used to make Dimer Paratha or Egg Paratha which was a breakfast delight in itself and still is a favorite at our home not only for breakfasts but also for evening snacks. I added a twist by making a stuffing of soy chunks for this paratha, which made the paratha look like a wrap or a roll. I also make the stuffing with Keema if I am making this as an evening snack. For my breakfast I prefer the Soya as it is lighter and a more healthy way to start the day with.



What You Need

For Paratha

All Purpose Flour/Maida ~ 2 cups
Eggs ~ 3 (you can also make do with 2)
Milk
Onions ~ ½ finely chopped
Chillies ~ 2/3 chopped
Salt

For the stuffing

Soy Chunks (Nutrela) ~ ½ cup -- you can try with soy granules too
Onion ~ ½ grind to a paste
Garlic ~ 1 small clove finely chopped
Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Sauce (any suitable alternative)
Salt

How I Do It

Mix together flour/maida, eggs and milk in a big bowl to make a batter. Stir till smooth. The thickness of the batter should be same as that needed for a pancake or say to make utthapam.
Add the chopped onions and chillies, and salt to this batter and mix well.
Grease your frying pan with Olive Oil.
Pour a scoop of this batter in the frying pan and spread it out (same as for cooking pancake)
Cook until golden in color and then flip and cook till golden on the other side too.
You can go ahead and eat it at this point, it's yummy


My li'l one loves to eat this with jam




For the stuffing





Soak the soy chunk in water and microwave for 2 minutes. Let them soak in the hot water for 1 more minute
Once they are soft put the chunks in the blender and mince them, so that they look as in the picture (left side).
In a frying pan heat Olive Oil.
Add the chopped garlic
Add the onion paste
Fry till they have browned and add the minced soy
Add Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Sauce or any suitable tangy alternative and cook till the soy is nicely cooked as in the picture (right side)
Add little salt.

To Serve

Put this stuffing in the center of the Egg Paratha, add sauce/ketchup, you can also add lettuce, tomato if you want. Roll it and serve hot.

Note: Instead of Soy you can use Keema/minced meat. Mix the keema with little yogurt, ginger paste and garlic paste and keep aside for 2/3 hours. Then cook same way as the soy.

Trivia: Nutrela soya chunks are made from fully cooked soybean and is a brand name for Textured Vegetable Protein(TVP) ,marketed by RSIL. "Meal Maker" was another brand available in India , I am not sure about it's existence in the present days.

Macher Kalia or one more Fish Curry

I am a recent NPR convert and like all newbie converts I am right now totally hooked on, though only during my morning commute when my li’l one is not there in her car seat voicing her opinions which are far more important than those aired on NPR.
So I was pleasantly surprised this Monday morning, when I heard them saying how millions of Hindus celebrated Deepavali over the weekend. Next thing I hear is the correspondent saying that Ganges is a very sacred river and then a correspondent from Rishikesh, India is waxing eloquently about the river, describing his experience as he went on a rubber dingy on the river. It was very nice to hear them not talking about the Ganga being polluted etc. and instead stressing on it’s greatness.
I have a pretty close association with the river Ganga as most of the places we lived as a kid were on its banks.
And this mention sent a shiver of happiness down my spine, and I felt how I miss my country and how a simple mention of its river made me all proud. Would my daughter feel the same hearing about Hudson River, ok at least Niagara on AkashVani?

On another note, if we are talking of the river, can fish be far behind? Bengalis being pretty fishy folks (pun intended) have thought of hazaar permutation & combination of cooking fish. Today I thought of making Fish Kalia for dinner. This is a gravy based dish usually made with fish like Rui(Rohu) or Katla. Fish Kalia is a more richer and spicier dish than our regular maacher jhol.In a Kalia, the gravy base is made with onion-ginger and garlic paste and the dish is made richer with use of ghee and garam masala. You can adjust the spices to your taste and palate. This is appropriate for both lunch and dinner and is also popular as a dish that a Bengali family would serve their guests on special occasions.

I made this with Red Snapper this time and it was really very tasty. I have had Red Snapper at Thai Places and one of my friend’s place but this was my first try and it turned out great. It can also be made fish like striped bass, tilapia amd shad.
Ok, an apology is due here, as I do not cook by measure, & I kind of throw in ingredients according to andaaz, so feel free to innovate. I will try to be more specific with my measurements while I cook now.

Updated: This post was updated with photos and facts on June, 2018

What You Need
2 mid size Red Snapper ~ each cut into 4 steak like pieces (didn’t use the fish head). Total 8 fish pieces. You can use fish like Rohu(Rui) or Katla for this or Tilapia, Shad etc cut in steak pieces.
Potatoes ~ 2 , each cut into 4 halves
Tomatoes ~ 1 medium
Onions ~ 1 medium/half of the big ones, grind to a paste
Ginger ~ freshly grated around 1tbsp
Garlic ~ 2 flakes grind along with onion
Green Chillies ~ 4/5 slit along length
Corriander leaves

Turmeric Powder
Jeera(Cumin) Powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Dhania(Corriander) Powder ~ 1/2 tsp
TejPata(Bay Leaves) ~ 2
Elaichi(Cardamom) ~ 4/5
Whole Jeera (Cumin seeds) ~ 1/2 tsp
Yogurt ~ around 2-4 tbsp
Salt

How I Do It

Wash the fish pieces in warm water, pat dry & and mix them with a teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt.
Chop tomatoes in small pieces
Grind onion and garlic to a paste. It is better if you can fry the onion + garlic until they are translucent and then make a paste.
Chop the potatoes, each in 4 halves
Fry the fish in hot oil till it turns golden on both sides, kind of deep fry.
Heat oil in Kadai/Frying Pan.
Lightly fry the potatoes, remove and keep aside.
Temper with TejPata (Bay Leaves), Elaichi (Cardamom) and whole Jeera (Cumin seeds)
As soon as they start sputtering add the onion & garlic paste. Add green chilies.
Add a little sugar(1 tsp) while frying as it adds a brown color (due to caramelization)
When the onion has turned reddish brown add the chopped tomatoes. You can also puree the tomato and add.
Saute till they become a fine pulp and you see oil separating from the paste.
Mix the Jeera Powder, Dhania Powder and the grated ginger with yogurt(instead of water) to make a paste and add this masala.Cook this masala for about 2 minutes till you see the oil seeping out of the edges.
Add the fried potatoes.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder and water. You don’t want this gravy to be very watery so add water with caution.About 2 cups of warm water should be fine.
When the gravy comes to a boil and the potatoes are almost done(not fully boiled yet) add the fish pieces.
Add salt.
Cook for a few more minutes till the potatoes are cooked and you are done.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. The gravy is best enjoyed with white rice.

You can also try this dish with other fish available in American stores like Tilapia. Mandira of Ahaar has a recipe of the same dish with CatFish. Check it out here.

Trivia:The drink we know as Bloody Mary was originally called Red Snapper. Correct me if I am wrong !!!

Fish Curry On a Winter Noon

Winter is there at my doorstep, knocking on my doors, announcing its arrival. In the twirling of the fall leaves, the chill of the air, the Diwali lights blinking on the front porch, that’s what I hear. This is the time that reminds me of Winter in India, winter in the plains of Bengal not very harsh but winter that let’s you soak up the sun during the day, cuddle up in the warmth of a lep (blanket) at night.
I grew up mostly away from Kolkata (where nowadays what we have during December-January is an apology to winter), in small townships where winter was much better and brighter. Winter also meant the local hat (marketplace) looked much more colorful with the bright red tomatoes, the fresh green dhone-pata(coriander leaves), the orange carrots, the deep red of beetroots. These were vegetables available only during winter months and my Ma made the most use of them. Our daily fish curry had a different flavor during these months. Today with the winter sun streaming down my kitchen windows, all those memories rushed back, and I decided to make this fish curry which was a favorite at our home, during these months.
This is a light fish curry with tomatoes and coriander leaves and almost no other spice. This is a dish that is usually cooked for a quiet lunch at home with the family, and with fish like Rui (Rohu) and Chara Pona (baby Rohu fish). I made this with fresh Pomfret from my local Chinese store and it was delicious.



What You Need
Serves 3 people

3 Pomfrets ~ each cut into 2 or 4 steak like pieces
Tomatoes ~ 1 medium and maybe a a half more
Ginger ~ freshly grated around 1tbsp
Green Chillies ~ 4/5
Corriander leaves
Turmeric Powder
Kalonji/Kala Jeera
Salt

How I Do It

Wash the fish pieces in warm water, pat dry & and mix them with a teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside for 20/25 minutes
Chop tomatoes in small pieces
Heat oil in a Kadai/Wok till you see smoke just coming out, indicating it's hot enough.
Fry the fish in hot oil till it turns light golden on both sides, kind of deep fry. The only draw back of this is most of the oil goes to waste as you discard most of the oil after frying. You can also save this oil for frying fish again next day as my Ma would do.





Heat oil in Kadai/Wok.
Temper with Kalonji/ Kalo Jeera and slit green chillies.
Add the chopped tomatoes
Saute till they become a fine pulp, kind of mushy
Add the freshly grated ginger, a pinch of turmeric powder and water
When the gravy comes to a boil add the fish pieces.
Add salt.
Add fresh coriander leaves.
Cook for a few more minutes and you are done. The gravy is light and is best enjoyed with white rice.

Trivia: There are towns called Pomfret in New York, Vermont and Connecticut which have nothing to do with the fish and aslo a private school with the same name in Connecticut. No doubt this fish is also called Butterfish in the Chinese Stores