DURGA Puja
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Durga Puja -- the ceremonial worship of the mother goddess, is one of the most important festivals of Bengal. Durga Puja is celebrated every year in the Hindu month of Ashwin. The first grand worship of goddess Durga in recorded history is said to have been celebrated in the late 1500s. Folklores say the landlords or zamindars of Dinajpur and Malda initiated the first Durga Puja in Bengal. According to another source, Raja Kangshanarayan of Taherpur or Bhabananda Mazumder of Nadiya organised the first Sharodiyo or autumn Durga Puja in Bengal in 1606.
Apart from being a religious festival for Hindus, it is also an occasion for reunion and rejuvenation, and a celebration of traditional culture and customs. While the ritual entails ten days of fast, feast and worship, the last five days -- Shashti, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, and Dashami are celebrated with much gaiety and grandeur.
And what is a festival without the culinary delicacies? In Bengal, Durga Puja is one of the biggest religious festivals that is observed with pomp and fervour. Bengalis are well known for their passion for good food, especially during this 5-day long carnival, when all families indulge in a gastronomic fare at home.
This Sharodiyo season, to bring a delightful variety, I introduce my curious readers to some exclusive items of entrees, main courses, sides and sweet dishes. I hope every culinary enthusiast will try the recipes at home to bring some magical delight to their dining spread.
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Mutton rogan josh
Mutton rogan josh is one of the signature dishes from the magnificent state of Kashmir. This dish is robust with flavours of varied spices. It has a thin sauce layered with a stick of oil on top. It is believed that the roots of this dish originated in Persia.
Ingredients
1 kg mutton
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup hung curd
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp black paper corn
2 tbsp chopped coriander leave
5 pieces green cardamom
7 pieces clove
3 pieces cinnamon
½ cup oil
Few threads of mace
Salt to taste
Method
In a bowl mix mutton with curd and a little salt, and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and put whole garam masala and mace. When they start to crackle, put chopped onions and fry till golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry again for two minutes. Add all the masala powder and fry till the oil floats. Now add marinated mutton and stir fry on high heat for two minutes. Add water and some salt, and cook with the lid on till the meat is tender and the gravy is medium thick in consistency. Remove the pan. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve with rice, pilaf or roti.
Chingri macher malaikari
A signature from Bengal, this marvel of a dish is perfect for every occasion. There is no one recipe for the perfect malaikari. Every home has their own recipe with slight variations, but the traditional recipe uses freshly made coconut milk. I did not have the convenience of canned coconut, coconut milk or frozen coconut. Everything was made fresh.
Ingredients
500 gm golda chingri
½ cup thick coconut milk
1 cup thin coconut milk
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ cup onion paste
2 pieces cardamom
2 pieces cinnamon
5 pieces green chillies (sliced halfway through)
½ cup oil
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Method
Clean and wash the prawns. Marinade the prawns in little salt and turmeric powder and keep aside. Prepare a paste with red chilli, turmeric powder, onion paste and 1 tablespoon water. Heat oil in a pan. Put the cardamom and cinnamon when the oil starts smoking. Now add spice paste to the pan, continue stirring for few minutes. Now add the thin coconut milk, salt and green chilli. Reduce the thin coconut milk to half by boiling.
Add the prawn, thick coconut milk, and stir well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, add sugar and cook for 2 minutes. When oil floats over all remove the pan.
Tip
Do not overcook the prawns, because they will become chewy. Dip the prawns head side down in the gravy, so that the head cooks in oil first.
Shahi daal
This soup-like dish combines five different kinds of daal and is therefore also known as 'Pancharatan daal'. This is a tasty way to get your daily dose of protein. Serve it with naan, plain rice or luchi.
Ingredients
¼ cup maskalai daal
¼ cup cholar daal
¼ cup moong daal
¼ cup masoor daal
¼ cup arhar daal
¼ cup chopped onion
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
½ tsp turmeric powdered
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seed
3 pieces green chilli
2 pieces large tomatoes
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp coriander leaves
A pinch of asafoetida powder (hing)
Salt to taste
Method
Mix, pick, rinse several times and soak the lentils in water for 2 hours. In a deep pan add mixed lentils, salt, turmeric powder and water, cover the pan and cook for 30-40 minutes. Stir the daal occasionally. Add some more water if needed. In a separate pan, pour ghee and let it heat up. Carefully add a pinch of hing and cumin seeds. When cumin is brown, add ginger-garlic paste, sauté well; then add onions and sauté again till brown in colour.
Now add tomatoes, green chillies, coriander powder and cook well till oil separates from the mixture. Now just whisk the daal slightly and pour it in the pan. Mix well, add some water if needed and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the daal to a creamy texture. When it is done remove the pan. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with rice or roti.
Shada ilish
Ingredients
1 pieces hilsa fish
1½ cup slice onion
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp ginger juice
10 pieces green chillies
1 tbsp white mustard paste
½ cup oil
Salt to taste
Method
Wash the fish and cut into pieces. Marinate the fish with a pinch of salt for about 15 minutes. Mix turmeric powder, ginger juice, and white mustard paste in small amount of water. Heat oil in a pan. Put sliced onions and fry until crystal colour. Now add spice mixture and fry again for 2 minutes. When oil separates from the spice, add some water, fish, green chilli and salt; cook for 15 minutes. When the gravy turns thick and oil floats, remove the pan and prepare to serve.
Jhinga aloo posto
Jhinga aloo posto is an easy to cook vegetarian dish. It is popular in East Indian states like Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa. This can be served with any carbohydrate-rich dishes like rice, chapatti, and phulka (thin Indian bread).
Ingredient
500g ridge gourd
200g potato
½ tsp kalojira (aniseed)
3 pieces green chillies
4 pieces green chilli paste
1 tsp poppy seed paste
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Method
Peel ridge gourd and cut into suitable pieces. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Heat ghee in a pan, temper with kalojira. Slit green chillies and add them as well. Add the potato and sauté lightly. Add the ridge gourd and cook on high heat. Now add poppy seed paste, green chilli paste and salt cook in low heat. When the vegetables are done remove the pan.
Narikel naru (coconut ball)
Durga puja is incomplete without naru, a popular dessert from Bengal. They are ball-shaped and made from fresh, grated coconut, milk, sugar or jaggery; it is a traditional food during pujas such as the Durga Puja/Lakshmi Puja. Narikel naru is must on Bijoya Doshomi to greet guests. These coconut balls are soft, chewy and amazingly delicious.
Ingredient
4 cup grated coconut
1 cup whole milk
4 pieces crashed cardamom seeds
2 cup jaggery/sugar
Method
Grind all the ingredients in a food processor, to make a fine paste. Now heat a non stick pan and add the mixture into the pan and continue to stir. Stir the mixture unless it turns sticky and you can make balls from the mixture. Remove the pan and allow it to cool down. Now start making round shaped Naru with the palm of your hands and prepare to serve.
Nimki
Nimki, also known as ' Namak para', are traditional North Indian snacks, made of white flour. They are very tasty, light, crunchy snacks that can be made anywhere anytime without any hassle. The best thing about this recipe is that it can be stored for a long time without using any kind of preservatives.
Ingredients
2 cup white flour
½ tsp kalojira (aniseed)
4 tbsp ghee
½ cup water
Oil for deep fry
Salt to taste
Method
In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, kalojira, and 4 tablespoon ghee. Now add water to it and make the dough. Keep the dough aside covered with a wet cloth for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into thin round chapatis. Cut the chapati with a knife. Cut into shapes of your choice. Heat oil in a pan; deep fry the Nimki on a low heat till it becomes a little brownish in colour. When golden brown, remove from heat and set aside on paper towel to drain oil and cool. Store in an air tight container so that it lasts for long.
Tip
Make sure you fry Nimkis on low heat. If the flame is high the Nimkis' will turn brown quickly and will remain raw and soft inside.
Pranhara sandesh
No Bengali meal is complete without mishti or sweets. The first sandesh was introduced by Bhim Nag in 1826. This is dessert created with fresh cottage cheese (chhana) and sugar. Chhana is also known as curdled milk solids. Some people in the region of Dhaka call it 'Pranhara' which is a softer kind of sandesh, made with mawa and fresh chhana.
Ingredients
2 cup chhana (cottage cheese)
½ cup sugar ground fine
½ cup powder milk
¼ cup mawa
1 tbsp milk cream
1 tbsp ghee
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Method
Mash the chhana into a smooth paste. Take half of chhana in a heavy pan and add sugar. Heat on medium heat, stirring continuously for 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan and allow it to cool down. Now add the remaining chhana, powder milk, ghee and milk cream to it. Mix till very smooth. Take a small amount of mixture at a time and give them perfect round shape with the palm of your hands. Coat mawa over it and prepare to serve.
Chhanar payesh
Ingredients
½ litre skim milk
1 tin condensed milk
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp nuts
2 tbsp raisins
Pistachio for garnish
Saffron for garnish
Method
Make a thin syrup of sugar and water. Put the chhana in a bowl and add the hot syrup into it, blending it thoroughly. Boil milk in a deep-bottomed pan. Add the condensed milk. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. Cool it to just warm. Add the milk mixture into the chhana, a spoon at a time. Mix vigorously to from a homogenous mixture till all the milk is used up. Pour into the bowl. Mix in nuts and raisins. Serve the chhanar payesh chilled with saffron and pistachio garnish on top.
Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed
Food prepared by Salina Parvin
Food styling: LS Desk
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