Maacher Jhol (Bengali-Style Fish Stew)

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. boneless, skin-on catfish, trout, or salmon, cut into 2" pieces
¼ tsp. ground turmeric
Kosher salt, to taste
1½ tbsp. black mustard seeds
1 tbsp. cumin seeds
⅓ cup mustard oil
2 tsp. panch phoran (Bengali five-spice powder)
2 small green Thai chiles or 1 serrano, halved
1 small red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste
1 (2") piece ginger, peeled and mashed into a paste
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
⅓ cup packed cilantro leaves
 

INSTRUCTIONS

Rub fish with turmeric and salt in a bowl. Heat a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high; cook mustard and cumin seeds until they pop, 1–2 minutes. Grind in a spice grinder into a powder. Add oil to pan; heat over medium-high. Cook fish, flipping once, until skin is crisp, 4–5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add five-spice powder and chiles; cook 1–2 minutes. Add onion; cook until slightly caramelized, 8–10 minutes. Add reserved spices, the garlic, ginger, and 1½ cups water; boil. Add tomatoes; cook until thickened, 8–10 minutes. Stir in fish and the cilantro.

Sai Bhaji

This sat saw me sleep @ 5 in the morning (yes, sleep...not get up!) at a friends place.... her hubby's aunt and uncle were to come over, so I was wondering how to make some excuse and make myself scares, but my friends assured me its perfectly ok to stay on and their relatives were super chill.... so I stayed....and boy am I glad! Got along like a house on fire with them (wonderfully warm people) and aunty shared some awesome recipes and so I thought I'd share... here is one :)

Ingredients

1 bunch palak (chopped)

1/2 bunch methi (no stems)

a few stems of shepu leaves (optional - I am told they are called Dill leaves in english)

1 cup channa dal (125 gms)

3 finely chopped green chillies

2 or 3 tomatoes (chopped) 

1 potato (sliced lengthwise) 

1 carrot (diced)

1 bengan (diced)

salt and haldi to taste

For bagar

ghee (a couple of spoons)

1 head of garlic (about 8 or 9 cloves)

1 teaspoon jeera

2 red chillies, broken with hand

Method

Wash all the greens and then chop well put into a cooker with all ingredients. Put in water (should be about 1 inch above all the ingredients. Let the cooker give 5 to 6 whistles on high, reduce flame and give 1 more whistle. Turn off heat and let it stay closed and cook in steam+heat. Once the pressure is gone, remove lid and use the ghotani (used for making lassi) and properly ghotofiy the mixture. 

Now heat the bagar ghee, put in the garlic finely chopped. Once it begins changing colour, put in jeera and hand broken chillies. Turn off heat and mix the ghota-hua-mixture with bagar. 

Enjoy with jeera rice / steam rice or chappati - tastes super yum (and freezes well!)

Raagi dosa / Nachni Pancakes

Though I'd never eaten a lot of ragi in Bombay, after I moved to Bangalore I discovered this wholesome (and super healthy gain). This is one of my favorite "healthy food cereal" to eat. Also makes for a nice breakfast variation from the regular dosa. Bonus - it is a great source of calcium - here is a super simple recipe :) 


Ingredients1 cup ragi (nachni / red millet) flour

1 tbsp soya flour (optional)

1 tsp sesame seeds (til)

2 tsp groundnut seeds (roasted and crushed, I put it in a zip lock and then run the chappati belan over it a few times)

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

1 tsp finely chopped green chillies (I like it a bit spicy, so I put about 3 or 4)

1 tsp grated ginger (adrak)

1/2 cup chopped coriander (dhania)

some very finely chopped mint leaves (optional)

salt to taste

oil/ghee/butter for cooking (or if you have a good nonstick pan, you don't need it - a brush of it after is done will give it a nice flavour)

Method

In a bowl, combine the ragi flour with all the ingredients well along with a 1 cup of water and mix well (make sure there are no lumps of flour left). 

Heat a non-stick pan and grease it with a little oil.

Spread an even layer of the batter, flip and cook (both sides) till golden brown - exactly like a dosa.

Enjoy hot with chutney/pickle of your choice (I love it with a garlic pickle or spicy coconut chutney).

(When I came to write this here - I looked up online and found the closest match and amended it to fit my version - so if you like you can google for other versions).

Healthy Moroccan Chicken/ Tofu/Paneer Sandwich or Wrap

Ingredients:

• Chicken (boneless, skinless strips)/ firm tofu/ paneer blocks
• Peanuts
• Red and green bell peppers
• sun dried tomatoes
• Onions
• Cucumber
• Fresh arugula leaves
• Cilantro, cumin, salt
• Olive Oil
• Paprika, any red hot chili sauce

Recipe:

• In a shallow pan, add olive oil and heat. Add cumin seeds, paprika, raw unsalted peanuts, onions and peppers chopped lengthwise and chicken/ tofu or paneer in that order. Let chicken/ tofu or paneer cook and turn golden brown. Add sauces, lime juice, salt and stir.
• Add sundried tomatoes and cilantro (you can also use basil). Mix and cook until soft.
• On a baguette, flat bread or pocket pita, brush olive oil and toast both sides 
• Add thin slices of cucumber and chopped arugula leaves and spoon in the above stewed and spiced chicken. 

Sandwich is ready!

Some alternatives to the ingredients:

• Instead of sundried tomatoes you can use fresh tomatoes with cranberry or dried cherries. 
• You can use canned, drained chicken instead of fresh---this reduces cooking time. 
• You can add greek yogurt as a sauce or even left over raita to make the wrap moist.
• Lastly you can make the stew and serve it with steamed, white or brown rice instead of bread.

Enjoy!

--Aditi