Muri Ghanto ( Fish head curry with gobindobhog rice)

As we all know Bengalis love fish very much. But I want to add here, Bengalis love fish head more than that. You can't imagine how many types of recipes are there with fish heads. And they all are just superb.

Today I will share the typical trademark Bengali fish head recipe, "Muri Ghanto". I can bet on that, there will be hardly any Bengali in this world who doesn't like this recipe. This is one of the main dishes of every Bengali marriage. But now a day this recipe is getting changed especially in marriages. 

Anyway, let's discover how to cook this one at home.

Preparation Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1 big size fish head(Macher Muro)[Katla or Rohu fish head would be best]

1 big Potato cut in cubes

1/2 cup Gobindobhog Rice (If not available you can use Jeera Rice also)

1/2 tbsp Ginger paste

1 chopped tomato

1 tbsp Jeera powder

1 tbsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp dhania powder

3 green chilli slit in between (not chopped)

1 dry chilli

1 bay leaf

Panch foron (Mixture of raw spices

Salt to taste

Pinch of sugar

Mustard oil

Water

How to Cook: 

At First we need to wash the fish head properly and marinate it with turmeric powder and salt. Add mustard oil in a pan. Put the marinated fish head when the oil is hot. Fry both side, break the sides a bit so that it is fried properly. Now keep that aside. 

Add 1 tbsp oil into the pan. Wait till the oil is hot. By the time wash the potato cubes & add them into the pan. Fry the potato cubes with little salt & turmeric powder till they turn golden brown. Take them out of the pan.Add little more oil into the pan. Now add the bay leaf, dried red chili & panch phoron into the oil. As the panch phoron start sputtering, add the washed Gobindobhog rice with little salt & turmeric powder. Be cautious about salt, as you have already add that to the potato cubes & fish head. Stir the rice for 2-3 min.  

Now you can add the chopped tomato and fry it with rice for next 2-3 min. Now add Jeera powder, dhania powder,green chillis, Ginger paste, fried potato cubes & fish head. 

Mix them properly. Fry for 1-2 min & add enough water so that the rice can be cooked prperly. After 10-15 min check whether the rice is cooked properly or not. If you think you need a little more water, then add now. Else if you think water looks a bit extra, then increase the flame.

At last we will check the taste of the gravy and add salt and a pinch of sugar as per requirement. The gravy will be a bit thick. If you want you can make it a bit thinner, as per your choice.

Have this trademark bengali recipe only with steamed rice/bhath.

Enjoy food.

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Mango : the king of all fruits has finally arrived

The summer is in its peak, days are passing like waiting for some relief. But still we have something to enjoy in these worst days of the year. It’s the season of Mangoes, the king of all fruits. I just can't express my feelings how tough it is for me to wait throughout the year for this lovely juicy fruit. I know most of us are waiting for this fruit as well.

Well mango is not just a simple fruit to taste. Definitely it tastes and soothes a lot, but besides this mango has its own health benefits as well.

I am not a doctor, but yes want to share my knowledge with everyone who follows my blog or who does not like mango. I think hardly there will be anyone who doesn’t like mango.

•  Anyway, mango is a very good food for digestion. If you have problems of indigestion, you can improve your digestive system with having lots of mangoes.
•  It has high vitamin C and fiber which reduces cholesterol.
• Mangoes are very helpful for kids to improve their concentration and boost memory.
•  For girls, mangoes are very good for skin. It clears the dirt of skin and makes it clean. And also a source of iron as well.

There might be many other benefits. But the thing that I want to share is, have lots of mangoes, as it’s available for next few months only.

You can have many recipes with mangoes like milk shake, mango panna and many other lunch/dinner recipes as well. I used to read the magazine "SANANDA" where I found a lot of mango recipes. I might not have tried all of them, but will share them all gradually.

      Finally I want to share few pics of  Mangoes of my native. I spend my childhood with lots of sweet mangoes during summer. We have few mango trees at home. Got few pictures of those yesterday. Can't wait for them, it will take some time for those mangoes to reach me.

Enjoy the pictures and the king of all fruits "MANGO".

Enjoy food enjoy life.

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Aloo begun diye RUI macher patla jhol (Rohu fish curry with potato & Brinjal)

Today I want to share a very simple recipe of rohu fish that we Bengali used to have 2-3 times in a month. May be much more even. This is so simple recipe and not at all famous or renowned. But we love this recipe as a daily dish.

Its Rui macher patla jhol with aloo and bengan. This is actually a very healthy combo recipe with fish, vegetables with lot of water. Thus it’s called patla jhol. We preferred this one with steamed rice. A very tasty and sada recipe of our kitchen.

Preparation Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

4-5 piece Rui Mach (Pieces of Rohu fish)

1 Brinjal cut in big cubes

1 big Potato cut in cubes

1/2 tbsp Ginger paste

1 tbsp Jeera powder

1 tbsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp dhania powder

3 green chilli slit in between (not chopped)

1 dry chilli

1 bay leaf

Panch foron (Mixture of raw masalas)

Chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

little sugar

Mustard oil

How to Cook:

First of we need to wash the fish pieces properly and marinate them with turmeric powder and salt. Add mustard oil in a pan. Put the marinated fish pieces when the oil is hot. Fry the both side of the fish pieces properly and keep them aside. Now add more oil into the pan. Wait till the oil is hot. By the time wash the potato and brinjal cubes properly.

Check out the Rohu fish fry recipe posted earlier.

Now add panch foron masala, bay leaf and dry chilli into the oil and stir them. Now add potato and brinjal cubes in the pan. Add salt and turmeric powder and green chillies. Stir them and mix everything properly. Now cover the lid of the pan. Next 10-15 min we have to check the vegetables and stir them time to time, so that they cook and fry properly.

When they are ready, now we will add ginger paste, jeera powder and dhania powder in it and again stir. Finally we will add water. We need to add a bit extra water so that after adding fish pieces the JHOL remains as we want. Wait for 5 min to mix everything in water and a uniform soup of brinjal and potato with masalas will be ready. Now add the fish pieces and chopped coriander over the curry. Add a pinch of sugar.

Cover the lid and cook for next 5 min. don’t cook more time as the coriander leaves will then overcook and mix much. A simple soupy fish curry. Serve hot with steamed rice and enjoy your meal.

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My Kitchen's Secret : What to eat in dinner to have a sound sleep ?

Do you know a sound sleep completely depends on what we eat just before sleep. But many of us used to have heavy dinner most of the time, specially in evening with family & friends in restaurant.

I have gone through an article somewhere about this. So want to share the same with all my readers as well. It's true and really helpful to carry a healthy life.

Everyday we used to have many types of food. There are some foods which cool down mind & also some which stimulate certain hormones of brain to excite. Foods that generally contain amino acid Triumphant help s us to sleep. In other case foods that contain Tyro sine or Caffeine in food and drinks can perk up the brain or keep you awake. I know most of us love to have a cup of coffee or tea before bed. But thats actually should not be for a sound sleep.

The definition of sound sleep is, the sleep which actually refresh all our fatigue and recharge us for the next day. An incomplete sleep always make us dull for the whole day. We all know the fact.

Lets see the food items of our daily diet chart which we need to include & which not to:

Carbohydrate

This is a food which include lot of amino acid. So we should have this (Rice,Roti) in our dinner. Amino acid is used to produce neurotransmitters Serotonin and Melatonin that helps us to relax and sleep. Insulin is released when we eat a carb rich meal, which helps clearing the blood amino acid and further stop amino acid to reach brain. We can also have some complex carbohydrate & calcium full meal to get relax. Include some protein diet also.

Light dinner

Whatever the food it is , we should not have a huge amount of food. These will make us full and it will take much time to digest the food. Take small meal after evening so that we don't have to eat too much by dinner.

Snacks

We can take some whole-grain cereal with milk or some peanuts or oatmeal before sleep. This is also a good habit before sleep. Do not have any fat item like butter,ghee which ll take much time to digest.

Have these meals in Dinner for better sleep :

• Plain rice with curd or simple veg curry,
• Scrambled Eggs with roti,
• Any less oily sabji/curry with roti,
• Less spicy chicken with vegetables,
• Lot of water
• Have some juice

In todays lifestyle most of us used to go to restaurant, bar at night time only. This simply disturb the habit of a sound sleep in a human body. As most of the time we ate heavy junk food, drinks at dinner time.

To have sound sleep the only mantra is to have less & plain diet at night time so that it digest soon and relax our body soon.

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Home made chocolate cake

Today I will post my first bake recipe. But the bad thing is that I dont have microwave yet. Anyway it will be in my kitchen soon. So I bake this recipe in typical home baking style. I have prepared a very simple cake at home last week. A chocolate cake with egg. It tastes really very well, might be it would have been more better if I could have bake it in oven.

Anyway, this will help those people who are like me. Means dont have microwave yet but love to make a simple cake for your family.

Preparation time : 45 min

Ingredients
Plain flour - 1 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 cup (you can boil the sugar in water and cool down later. Use this liquid sugar)
Egg - 2
Refined oil or plain butter - 1/2 cup (I will say this optional)
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Milk - 1 cup
Liquid Chocolate (melt one small diarymilk)

How to Cook:
Beat the eggs very well so that it looks like smooth batter. Now add maida, sugar liquid and baking powder to it and mix them properly. You have to make sure there is no flour lumph left in the mixture.

Now add milk and liquid chocolate as well. If you like you can add refined oil. But it will not that good for health to eat so much oil. Without oil also you can get a good result. Anyway I have not added.

Finally a light chocolaty mixture will be ready to bake. Now let's see how can we do the baking at home.

We can take a pan and put on a low flame. You can put a layer of sand on that pan and then put the cake container. Or else directly put that also, as I do.

In the container where the batter will be placed, put some melted butter layer. It will save the cake to stick to the bottom of that container.

Now add the batter in that container. It's better to use a alluminium container. At that time I dont have that, as I was not at home while preparing the cake. So less resources.

Anyway, finally cover the whole setup with some other utesil. I used a cooker.

Wait for 30-35 min and cake is ready by that time.

My family liked the taste very much, might be by look its not that attractive. But it works.

Enjoy.

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Satyamev Jayate : A revolution in its way

I generally don't watch TV serials or reality shows, as I feel boaring and think they might be scripted. Recently saw many promotions about Amir Khan's "Satyamev Jayate". Again the similar thoughts started appearing in my mind, like it is another reality show and definitely with some new in it as Amir Khan is hosting that.

But my thought completely changed when I noticed last week when my wife watching the repeated telecast of first episode. I kept silent and finish the complete episode like a small boy finishes his meal with any trouble.

I was not amazed with the presentation of the show or watching Amir Khan in such a role. But the striking factor was the topic "Number of female actually gone so down in some places that people openly purchase girl". I could not even think about that, it actually exists.

Actually 2 years back I watched a movie "Matrubhumi" of Tulip joshi. The story of that movie was in a village there was no girl child and every man is looking after a girl to marry. In that village a family gave birth to a girl, but they brought up her as a boy so that no one can notice her. But one day someone discovered that and finally her father was convinced with huge money to give that girl to a family of 5 men. I can't tell further what I have seen in further in this movie.

That day I thought, it’s a fictitious story which may be our future. But really could not able to think that some day similar thing can happen. But after watching that story, I was completely shocked. It actually exists in reality and in our country. This is completely inhuman.

Everyone knows we came from our mother's womb. Then one day how can we kill a new life inside the womb itself, as it’s a girl. Even it’s completely illegal to identifying sex before birth. But doctors are primarily involved in this just for some money.

I don't know who is the culprit behind this, but I think only women can stop this to happen. Even in TV serials also we can see "Sasu ma" wants a boy only. If that is a girl, she has to die. How come "Sasu ma" forgets that, she is also a woman and she might not be even in this world if her mother thought that way.

I am not saving men here. But definitely I think the initiative can be taken from the female member of a family. This is a very down market mentality to support a boy and deprive a girl. Everything has its own ratio in this eco system. If this ratio breaks, then no one can breathe easily.

Hats off to Amir Khan. Like all his movies, in TV also he started with a super hit show. I would rather say it could be a revolution. Already many things started moving after the show.

Amir Khan's "Satyamev Jayate" is going to create a huge revolution in coming days and I believe only we, the people can make this kind of show a success. This will be the success of humanity.

I would like to hear from you as well. 

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Soya nuggets ( Crispy soya granule balls)

Soya Nugget is a very simple and easy to make snack. A very tasty & healthy recipe, again for potato lovers. Before today I have never tried this. Actually I discovered soya granules first time last week. Sounds odd that I never heard about that. But its true and strange how I missed that. The pakoras were very tasty indeed.
Leats discuss how I make this delicious tea time snack, Soya Nuggets.


Preparation Time: 30 min


Ingredients:
1 cup soya granules
2 medium potatos
1 big onion finely chopped
1 green chilly finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
4-5 beans finely chopped
Few curry leaves
1/2 tbsp raw jeera
pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
Little raw suji
Chicken Masala (you can use sabji masala also)

How to cook:
First of all take the soya granules in a pan with water & bring it to boil for 5 min. Take it out & drain it completely.


Now cut the potatoes in medium pieces and put in a cooker to boil. Now after 3-4 whistels, we will take out the potatoes in a bowl.

In a pan heat oil and add raw jeera & the curry leaves. Add the chopped onions, carrot, beans and chilis to it. Add little bit salt and stir well. Now add the boiled soya granules  After few min add the boiled potato & stir for few min, so that evrything get mixed well.  

Now we can put the flame off and make the dough to cool down. Now make small round balls with hands & press a bit. 


Heat oil in another pan for deep frying. When the oil is hot, be ready with the balls.Take one ball dip it into the suji & put into the hot oil. This way finish all the balls. Fry them in low heat. 

Serve hot with salad/onions & tomato sauce. Enjoy.

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My Kitchen's Secret : Healthy habits we should follow

Besides posting different recipes, I thought of sharing my experiences and knowledge over food habits and healthy routine to stay fit in these hectic life.

We all love food, but do you know it’s not just eating like an animal to just fulfil our hunger needs. I believe we humans do more than that while eating. It’s a pure enjoyment. When we found something tasty we just love to have it slowly or till content.

Based on my real life experience, I will share some of the tips that we should follow while having food. Hope you all agree with this.

• We always should eat in a regular interval. Might be someone can have 3 meals a day with 2 snack. Someone might have 2 meals a day and 3 snack breaks. But whatever it is you should have them in same time period every day. That will create a healthy habit. If your food habit is changing every day, your stomach will definitely get frustrated and resulted in a bad health.
• We should not eat more in quantity that we normally do. Sometimes we found something very tasty and we can’t hold ourselves. Which finally ends up in acidity, gas etc. Have to learn how to control over that. Otherwise you can fall sick. 
• Doctors often advice to have small meals multiple times a day. Actually this is best routine, but I am sure many of us do not able to follow that. So in that case we can have our regular meals small quantities and in between we can have fruits, juices and lot of water. That might serve the purpose.
• I know many of us like non veg foods. But frankly veg food is easier to digest than non veg. It’s always advised to balance in between these 2s. In case of non veg we should not consume much red meat, as this is not good for health if consumed frequently. Anyway cook the meat properly so that no traces of doubt remain, as we found bird flu in news in every alternate month. 
• In our daily diet list we should include more fibber foods, which will relax you from constipation. And try to have only seasonal vegetables only. Now a days we can find every vegetable in every month irrespective of season. But this is not good actually. As they are produced with lot of fertilizers to fill public demand. Obviously they will not have the actual minerals as they were produced forcibly. So try to have only seasonal vegetables. 
• Another important food of our kitchen is Onion and garlic. Onion decreases blood pressure and garlic decreases cholesterol. We can consume them in any format and with any curries at home. But definitely is adequate quantity. Generally in Summer times you can reduce the amount of them as the weather is already hot. 
• Use less salt in curries. Always try to have salt in curries only. Taking raw salt is not good for health.

 I have learned a lot about cooking and healthy habits day by day. And it’s a real challenge to stay fit in today’s life. There might be more, but I want to to share these few one, that I noticed and trying to applying my family.

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