Laau Chingri

Laau Chingri / Jhinga Lauki ki Saabji
(Shrimp Bottle-gourd Curry)

Ingredients :

• Bottle-gourd (Laau or Lauki) - Half of one big sized.
• Shrimp - 500 gram (washed and peeled).
• Bori - 5-6 pieces (can avoid this if you don't have stock)
• Tomato - 1 big and fresh.
• Green chili - 1 or 2 pieces.
• Garlic (or ginger-garlic) paste - 1/2 spoonful.
• Spices : 1 bay leaf, Cinnamon Stick (two 1" pieces), whole Cumin seeds (1-tsp).
• Dry Spice powders - Cumin and Turmewric powders. Red-chhili (optional, not recommended).
• Salt and Sugar - to taste.
• White cooking oil (sunflower or groundnut oil).

Pre-Process :

• Wash the shrimp, drain off dry, and marinade with salt and little turmeric powder for at least half an hour.
• Cut the bottle-gourd into small stripes.
• Cut the tomato vertically into 8 pieces, and the chili into 3-4 slits.

Method :

• Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the bodi's and take out aside.
• Add the bay leaf, cinnamon sticks and cumin seeds. When it is about to sputter, add the tomatoes and green-chilies. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
• Add garlic (or ginger-garlic) paste, powdered spices. Then add the shrimps and keep stirring carefully. Add little salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Add the bottle-gourd and sprinkle some sugar (sugar also makes the bottle-gourd tender quickly), and mix well with the rest of the stuff. Stir for 1-2 minutes.
• Cover the lid well, and let it cook for 5-10 minutes. The bottle-gourd itself gives out a lot of water (if it is fresh), so no need to add water.
• Add little more salt if required. Adjust the quantity of gravy by allowing it to boil out after opening the lid.Just 1 or 2 minutes before finishing, crumble the fried boris and add mix them.
• Done !! Serve with white rice.
  

Note :

• Avoid turmeric powder for a nice light colour. Except only 1-tsp in marinading the shrimps, do not use turmeric in cooking.
• Do not add water if the bottle-gourd is fresh. It gives out a lot of water when cooked under lid.
  

Keema Matar Curry

Keema Matar Curry
(curry of minced-meat and green-peas)

Ingredients :

• Chicken Keema (Minced meat) - 250gm.
• Green Peas - 1/2 cup.
• Tomatoes - 2 red and fresh ones.
• Onions - 2 medium sized.
• Green chilies - 1 piece. Chopped into small pieces.
• Spices - Cinnamon (2 tiny 1" pieces), 1 bay leaf, Cardamom (2 pieces, torn into pieces), Cloves (optional, 2 pieces).
• Spice powder - Tumeric (2 tsp), Red-chilli (1/2 tsp), Coriander (1 tsp), Cumin (1 tsp).
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 spoonful.
• Oil or Ghee - 3 spoonful.
• Curd - 1 spoonful (optional)
• Lemon - 1 piece, 1 tsp need in cooking and rest can be used in garnishing.
• Salt - to taste

Pre-process :

• Cut the tomatoes into pieces and grind into a smooth paste. Cut out the half of one in form of flower for garnishing. Tomato-puree can also be used.
• Soak the green-peas in water, and boil in pressure-cooker or microwave (in max power) for few minutes so that they become tender.
• Cut the onion into small pieces. Leave one or two rings for garnishing.
• Mix salt, turmeric, 1-tsp lemon juice and curd (optional) into the minced meat. Microwave at high power for few minutes so that it becomes half-cooked. Take out once or twice in between and mix uniformly.

Method :

• Heat ghee (or oil) in a non-stick pan. As it is about to smoke, add the first set of spices : the bay-leaf, then cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. As soon as these starts cracking (don't burn to black), add the onion pieces, ginger-garlic paste and salt. Stirr casually in medium heat of about 5-10 minutes until the onions become light brown.
• Add the green-chilies and tomato paste. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the oil separates from the mixture. Do this in low heat, stirring continuously.
• Add the second set of spices - turmeric, red-chili, coriander and cumin powder. Mix it into the mixture.
• Add the half-cooked meat and stir for another few minutes.

• Add the green-peas and little water. Add some more salt if needed (taste at this point to check). Cover with a lid and cook in low heat for about 10 minutes. Stop when the water is almost dried out.
• Garnish with cut tomato, lemon and onion rings. Serve with rotis or paranthaas.

About this Blog

When I saw the movie Ratatouille for the first time, it didn't strike to me any more than other Disney/Pixar's funny animation movies. After one year I happened to see the movie again, and this time I really loved it.


Chef Gusteau's motto, that "Anyone can cook", is the key theory of the story. Even more beautiful is the final realization of the critic Mr. Ego in the movie, about Gusteau's quote. "Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere". So much true ! Cooking is an art indeed. And not any randomly picked person can be made to cook, but if you want to get your hands in some of the most delicious dishes, you don't really need a background. All you need is a craze for food and a sense of taste. You just got to be a foodie !!

I have tried to present some simplified illustration of some grand dishes. These are mostly of traditional Indian genre, and some are authentic Bengali dishes. This blog also serves as my own documentation as and when I make them, for my own future reference. Try one of these and give your feedback.

aViK

Pineapple Chutney

Pineapple Chutney (Anaras 'er Chutney)

(sweet pineapple dessert)

Ingredients:

• Pineapple : one whole, sliced horizontally or vertically into thick pieces.
• Raisins - about half of one handful (preferably dark raisins).
• Spices : 1 bay leaf, cumin and black mustard seeds - 1tsp each.
• Turmeric powder and red-chili powder - one small pinch each.
• Sugar - 1 small cup.
• Cornflower powder - 2tsp.
• Salt to taste.

Method:

• Take each big slice of pineapple, remove any hard black parts from the outer surface by making V-cuts using a sharp knife. Then cut it into vary small pieces, almost like hand-grating. Try to preserve the juice with the pieces and don't wash them.
• Spare one piece, and cut out 2/3 thin circular flower-shaped discs (entire cross-section of the pineapple). Add these later for garnishing.
• Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the pineapple pieces.

• Heat oil in a pan. When it is about to make smoke, add the bay leaf. Then reduce the flame (else the seeds burst violently) and add the cumin and mustard seeds. Almost immediately add the pineapple pieces, except the pieces for garnishing. Add one pinch of turmeric powder and even less red-chili powder. Saute for few minutes.
• This will itself give out some water/juice gradually, if not add little water. Sprinkle the sugar and one more pinch of salt and keep stirring. It is always safe to add salt and sugar gradually in small quantities, and taste the stuff occasionally.
• Add the raisins
• Take one cup water, dissolve 2tsp (or less) of white cornflower powder. Add the mixture into the pan. This thickens the gravy. Adjust the quantities of water and the thickness of the gravy by adding more water or let it boil out.
• Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. When the cooking is almost done, add the thin pineapple slices for garnishing, let those soak well in the gravy. Turn gently so that they are not torn.
• Transfer the whole into wide bowls or plates, take care to place the garnishing slices on the top.
  

Note:
[1] You might discard the hard central core of each pineapple slices, by making a whole with a sharp knife.
[2] Before cooking you might microwave the freshly-cut pineapple pieces at medium power for about 5 minutes. This makes the pieces tender and takes less time in cooking.