Shubh Ganesh Chaturthi !!

Wishing every visitor and reader of Kiitchen-e-Kichu Khonn a very happy and blessed Ganesh Chaturthi!

Vakra Tunda Maha kaya, Surya koti Sama prabha |
Nirvighnam Kuru me Deva, Sarva Karyesu sarvada ||


May Lord Ganapati impart you with Siddhi and Buddhi.
May the lord remove every obstacle from your way.
May you be blessed, dear reader, for ever and ever. 

Kichu Khonn wishes all its readers a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Good wishes to all from me and Kichu Khonn !!

Looking forward to the season of festivals starting today.
Durga Pujo and Nava ratri is just around the corner.
And then it will be Diwali, the grand festivals of lights.
And then Christmas.

Not to mention the numerous traditions in between.
May every day be as colourful and filled with happiness as today.
And the next ten days.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi again.
Do let me know if you have whipped up any sweets at your home to make dear Bappa happy.

As for me, my only prayer to Vighnaharta is that I should be able to cook some sweets for him soon.
Maybe next year.

Ganpati Bappa Morya!
Mangal Murti Morya!!

Narkel dudh diye Ilish / Hilsa cooked in coconut milk

While the season is in and I am still on the topic of Ilish, I thought I should finally post this wonderful recipe that I had tried out and absolutely loved, some two years back.

Just my kind of cooking, simple yet flavourful, this recipe has the wonderful sweetness of the coconut milk infused with that unique flavour of the Hilsa fish.
With a hint of jeera in that mustard paste, the flavour is just great.

My blogger friend  Arundhuti S. Rama of the beautiful blog My Saffron Kitchen, had shared this recipe, which actually belongs to her mother.
I had tried it out then and had clicked some photos too. But never got 'round to making a post on it.
Finally bringing it out into the light.

Thank you Arundhuti Rama and Mashima for this wonderful recipe!

Need:

Ilish pieces - 3, lightly fried
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp
Thick Coconut milk - 6 tbsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the paste :
Yellow mustard seeds / shada shorshe  - 1 tbsp (soaked for around half an hour)
Posto / khus khus  - 1 tsp (soaked for around half an hour )
Jeera / cumin seeds - half teaspoon
Green chillies - 2

How to  :

Make a paste of all the mentioned ingredients.

Heat the mustard oil , add the paste and keep frying till the rawness goes away.

When it starts to get slightly dryish add the coconut milk and stir well.

Add the fish pieces, adjust salt and cover and cook till you get the desired consistency of the gravy.

Remove from heat.
Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy!!

Aloo Begun diye Ilish maacher jhol

This is another very light macher jhol.
The flavour of kalo jeere / nigella seeds along with the green chillies is enough to bring out the beautiful and light flavour of the Ilish.
Simmer it as long as you want to. The more the time, the better the jhol soaks up the beautiful flavour of the Ilish. And vice versa.

I do not usually add tomatoes to this jhol.
But when I get the beautiful, local grown tomatoes ... the roundish ones .... I do add one to this.
Just one small tomato is enough to bring some required sourness to this jhol to perfectly balance the flavours. 

If you get the hybrid, longish variety, you can skip the addition of it totally.
And yes, no sugar in this jhol.

Can't type much.
So straight to the recipe.

Need :

Pieces of the Ilish - 3, lightly fried
Potato / Aloo - 1 medium, cut lengthwise
Brinjals / Begun - 1 small, cut lengthwise
Tomato - 1, cut lengthwise
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - ½ tsp
Fresh green chillies - 2, broken
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Mustard oil - 2 tbsp ( less if you prefer )
Water - enough for the jhol of your desired consistency

 How to :

Heat the oil in a deep kadahi.
Add the kalo jeere + green chillies.
Immediately add the potatoes and stir them well on high heat for around a minute.
Lower heat and add the haldi, a little salt and water.
Cover and cook till the potatoes are half done.
Now add the brinjal pieces. If needed add some more water.
Check for proper salt.
Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
 Remove cover and add the tomatoes.
Cover and cook till the tomatoes are soft.
Remove cover and add some more water, if needed.

Now add the fish and cover again.
Simmer for around 10 minutes or more.
The gravy should get enough time to soak up the flavours of the fish.

Serve hot with steaming hot plain rice.
A fresh squirt of lemin juice and some green chillies to go with it, this makes for a perfect, light, monsoon lunch.


Enjoy!!

Jeere baata diye Ilish macher paatla jhol

I haven't been lucky enough to be able to cook Ilish this year. But do have a lot of photos and recipes languishing in my folders.
I was actually waiting for the season to be able to post them. Posting them on any other time of the year makes no sense, at least to me, when you cannot try them out, no matter how sincerely you want to.

When I looked into the folder where I had typed out this recipe in a hurry, when I had made this last to last year, the first line I saw was this -   ilisher jhol ( my way .. tried , good)
:-) 


The jhol turns out to be very light, fragrant with the distinct smell of jeera / cumin and the Ilish.
As with my other light jhol recipes, this too needs to be simmered for a longish time for the ilish to soak up the flavours of the jeera.
And also for the jhol to soak up the flavours of the ilish.

The taste and flavour of roasted jeera is very different from raw jeera.
So do not even try to think of substituting the raw jeera with it. 

I have tried adding chopped dhone pata / coriander leaves at the end too.
And loved it.

So if you are a purist and already screaming sacrilege, I'd say go ahead. But after that, give this a try.
No, you do not have to come back to say you liked it.
I know you will.
:-)

 Need :

For the Jeera paste : -
Jeera / Cumin seeds - around 5 tbsp, soak for around 3 hours
Ginger - 1 and ½" piece
Whole red chillies - 4 (if you like spicy then use around 6 or 7)
Tomato - 2 medium sized

For the jhol : -
Ilish / Hilsa - 4 pieces , lightly fried
Mustard oil - around 3 tbsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Salt - to taste
Water - enough for gravy
Lemon - half

How to :

Make a smooth paste of the jeera+ginger+red chillies+tomato.
(If you feel it is too much in quantity, use some and freeze the rest. You can use it later. )


Heat the oil in a kadahi.

Now add the jeera paste and fry well till the raw smell is gone.

Add the haldi and the red chilli powder.
Fry well till dryish and oil starts to leave the sides.

Add water and salt.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer for around 3 minutes.

Add the fried Ilish / Hilsa pieces.
Squeeze in the lemon lightly.

Cover and let it simmer for a good 10 minutes.
The oil will float on the top.

Done!
Remove from heat.

A very light Ilisher jhol, fragrant with the combination of jeera and ilish,  is ready.
Serve hot with plain, steamed rice.

Enjoy!!