During Durga Puja and festive times, even an otherwise unwilling cook in us likes to experiment with new or traditional recipes. Here are two traditional Bengali recipes shared by food bloggers Madhushree Basu and Anindya S Basu, that you can try during the Pujas.
Shapla Chingri
Shapla Chingri is a typical Bengali recipe, which uses mustard paste and water lily stems. This can be cooked with or without prawns. However, the use of prawns enhances the flavour of the dish.
Ingredients:
500 gms shapla or water lily stems, two tbsp mustard paste made with black mustard and then strained, four tbsp mustard oil and a little extra for drizzling in the end, 250 gm medium sized prawns de-shelled and deveined, two tsp turmeric powder, one tsp nigella seeds, two green chilies, half tsp sugar and salt to taste.
Method:
Wash the prawns and marinate with little bit of salt and turmeric powder and keep aside. Prepping the stems is time consuming and requires some patience. First, cut and discard the flowers. From each stem, pull out the thin outer strips. Then wash the stems thoroughly and drain them of any water, since they release a lot of water on cooking. Cut the stems about one inch in length. In a saucepan, take half a litre of water with a tsp of salt and boil it. Once the water boils, add the stems and continue simmering for about three to four minutes. Then strain and keep the soft stems aside. In a frying pan, heat two tbsp of mustard oil and add the prawns and shallow fry them for three to four minutes and keep them aside. In the same pan, add two tbsp more of mustard oil. Add nigella seeds and one split green chili. When the seeds splutter, add the shapla and increase the heat. Add turmeric powder and a little bit of salt and cook for about five minutes. Then add the mustard paste and continue cooking. The stems will release water, so keep the heat high. Add sugar and check the salt. Finally, when the water has evaporated, add the prawns and more green chilies, if you like. Stir everything together and cook for five to eight minutes more. Drizzle some mustard oil on top, give it a stir and turn off the heat. Serve it with some steaming rice
Posto Murgi
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40- 45 minutes
Passive time: 1 hour
Serves: 5 people
Ingredients for the marination:
Chicken with bone: 1 kg
Garlic Paste: 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: One and a half tsp
Mustard oil: 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Ginger Paste: one and half tbsp
One medium sized onion
Red chilli powder: half tsp
Yoghurt: 3 tbsp
Ingredients for cooking:
Three green cardamom
An inch long cinnamon
Four cloves
Four-five green chillies
One large sized onion
Poppy seed: 1 tbsp
Poppy seed paste: three fourth cup
Mustard oil: Two tbsp
Three medium sized potatoes
Sugar: One tsp
Cashew paste: One tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Cut the chicken into medium size. Make a paste of the medium sized onion and marinate the chicken with the ingredients mentioned for at least an hour. While the chicken is marinating, peel the potato skins, wash them and cut them into medium sized cubes. Finely slice one large onion. In a wok or a frying pan, heat two tbsp of mustard oil. Add green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and a couple of green chilies. As they start to splutter, add the sliced onions. Fry the onions over medium heat until they turn golden and then add the marinated chicken pieces. Over high heat, stir the chicken for a couple of minutes. Take half a cup of water in the bowl where the chicken was marinated and pour that water into the frying pan.
Add the potatoes and continue frying. Reduce the temperature, cover and cook for the next ten minutes. Remove the cover and you will notice that the chicken has released water. At this point, again increase the heat and stir the chicken. Twenty minutes later add the cashew paste and the poppy seed paste. Mix them thoroughly with the chicken.
Add half a cup of water if required. Cover and cook for another ten minutes. Finally add some dry roasted poppy seed to give the grainy texture and a tsp of sugar. Check the salt and add more if required. Add two split green chillies. Add more if you like the extra heat. The chicken and the potatoes are ready.
Serve posto murgi with steamed rice.
About the authors: Food bloggers Madhushree Basu and Anindya S. Basu love cooking and travelling. In their blog, Pikturenama, they share their experiences. A crazy foodie couple, their life revolves around food. From sea food to authentic Bengali dishes to Mughlai, Turkish and continental, they love tasting and cooking different world cuisines.