Rohu fish curry with winter vegetables and raw papaya

"When I woke up after a week of high fever and a very bad throat infection, I realised that not only has the first day of the brand new year has passed by but also a whole week has gone by.
So like a good Bong I stepped into the kitchen to rustle up a maacher jhol / fish curry,to drown my sorrows in.
The good thing about this jhol is it is light, soupy and very nutritious with a whole gamut of winter vegetables thrown in.
And a sprinkle of fresh coriander leaves to add to that wintery feel,since back home we add coriander leaves to curries only during winters... when they are available abundantly.
The fish is a fresh water Rohu / Rui.
And the vegetables are green papaya, cauliflower,green peas and the favourite of all Bengalis ... potatoes.
I added a squirt of fresh lemon juice to spike up the taste level to suit my bland taste buds.
Comfort food at its best .... to warm a winter afternoon and to soothe a medicine battered soul."

 This is what I wrote on my Insta post as well as on my FB page along with the photo of my still steaming hot rui maacher jhol, that I cooked for myself this afternoon.
And then decided to make a post of it too.
After all, it is well into two weeks of the new year and I have not been able to drop in here ... not even to wish you all a happy new year.
So here I am, writing about what I can happily say the most soothing maacher jhol I have ever made.

Since I am still too weak to stand for long in the kitchen, I decided to add a good number of fresh vegetables to the curry .... so that I don't have to make different bhajas or side dishes.
To make the jhol more nutritious and to break down the protein for good digestion, I added raw papaya to it. Since I am not too fond of raw papaya, but do include it in my meals, I keep trying to find ways to slip it into dishes.
And since this jhol had all of my favourite vegetables, I did not mind a few pieces of papaya in it.

So here goes the recipe for this super light maacher jhol.
And you need not be ill to relish it.
Try it while you still get fresh winter vegetables in the market ... especially those sweet cauliflowers and green peas.

 Need :

Rohu fish - 4 pieces, fried ( refer here on how to fry them )
Ginger + garlic paste - 1 tbsp ( I had frozen cubes and used two )
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Potato - 1 medium, sliced
Cauliflower - a few florets
Fresh green peas - as much as you want
Raw papaya - 2 big slices, chopped
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped
Green cardamom - 2, crushed
Dry red chillies - 2, broken
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp
Water - for gravy


 How to :

Heat the oil in a heavy kadahi / wok.

Add the crushed cardamom + red chillies.

Add the chopped onions and fry till almost brown.

Add the ginger garlic paste + haldi powder + red chilli powder + sugar.

Fry well till oil starts to leave the sides.

Add the vegetables and mix well.

Raise heat and add the water.

When it starts to boil add the salt, cover and cook till the vegetables are done.

Remove cover and add the fish pieces.

Add more water if needed and check for salt.

Add the garam masala and cover.

Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove cover and sprinkle the coriander leaves.

Serve hot with plain rice.

Enjoy all the goodness in one plate!!

Wishing you all a very happy new year 2018!

2017 - The year that was ....

And just like that, another year has flown by.
Another eventful year that was, for me.
2017 was good to me; after a long time I could finally breathe, laugh a little and felt assured in my heart that all will be well .... always.
The year started off with what we love best ... a road trip .... to Hampi and then on to Bangalore, on the very first month of the brand new year.
And then a trip to Rajasthan almost at the same time.
And then again in summer.
And then again in October.
Being with the family healed me a lot.

And then in September I went to the US of A again. This time it was a longer trip and I got to visit a lot many places, share food and stories and lots of warmth and laughter with many friends and new people. I also got to cook Indian food for a few, which was the highlight of my travels.

Coming back, we made a quick short trip tp Goa too, after ages.
Visited our old haunts as well as some fabulous new places and enjoyed the food scene in Goa all over again.
If you are following me on Instagram, you will know as I share there.

I am surprised that inspite of all my travels and such a hectic year, I managed to post regularly ... at least four to five posts every month. Makes me feel real proud of myself ... because god knows how difficult it is for me with my illnesses.
Posting regularly took a backseat only after I got introduced to Instagram. That pressure of writing when I can't think of anything was gone.
All I had to do was to click a snap and post it. Sometimes with the recipe. And that was it.

So, here I am sharing with you some photographs that I have posted on insta but never made a post here.
I have mostly shared my snacks and my lunch plates. And at times some dinner plates too.

Inspite of making the Luchi numerous times, I still have not made a post on it.
So here is my snap of the verily loved Phulko Luchi. With the shada aloor torkari.

This year, I have not been able to do much with the winter sun as I have not been keeping well for a while now. But did make some Kuler achar and some Mirchi ka achar to go with our parathas.

 Here is a collage of some of the lunch plates that I had shared on Insta.

I had also shared a glimpse of my kitchen and some of my new toys there. 

The most significant thing that I could do this year in my kitchen was rustle up a real biryani.
The real chicken biryani, step by step, complete with the addition of the saffron and other essences as well as the birista.
Was pretty chuffed with the way it turned out and helped in soothing the souls that were hurting at India's disappointing loss in the cricket ground that day.

Today, while I sit here, struggling to type in a few words to round off the year with, I realise that not everything is always perfect. Even if it is a year.
After a beautiful year, I am rounding it off with a high fever that refuses to come down below 101 degrees for the last 4 days. While the man struggles in the kitchen.
So much for my showmanship in my kitchen and my culinary achievements.

I just hope the next year treats me well.
All I want is a little health and happiness.
And some peace everywhere.

All I want is to be able to do what I want to.
All I want is some genuine love and warmth everywhere.
And some more.

All I want is to be able to feed at least one child everyday.
May no one ever go to sleep hungry.

Here is wishing you all a very happy brand new year!
May you find and be able to share a lot of love and happiness!!
God bless!!

Besanwali Bhindi / Okra cooked with gram flour

I have been intending to make some posts on the bhindi / lady finger / okra, for a while now.
But either I run short of time or the dish, even if it turns out to be tasty, does not look worthy of a photograph.
I do click anyway but those photos languish in the pending folder and then get poofed into oblivion after a while.


But when I made this recipe of the bhindi, I knew I had so share it; good photograph or no.
The reason I fell in love wit this dish was due to that combination of the saunf / fennel seeds, gur / jaggery and hing / asafoetida.
I had learnt to make a Gawarfali ki sabzi  with this combination long back and have often used it for a few other vegetables too.
Nothing worked as well as it did with the okra.
I was tempted to add some crushed peanuts as well .... since the original recipe had it, but did not as I was not sure how the peanuts would go with the okra.

Nonetheless, the dish is one of my most loved Okra dishes.
And has no slime at all in it.
While I have kept the okra long, with just a slit in the middle, you can chop it up too.
Only it tends to dry up faster when chopped, which in turn renders the besan dry too. On the other hand, the lengthwise pieces hold more moisture and helps the besan to hold on to it.

Need :

Okra / Bhindi - ¼ kilo, cleaned, washed, dried and cut into half lengthwise ... only halfway
Gram flour / Besan - 2 tbsp
Fennel seeds / Saunf - ½ tsp
Jaggery / Gur - 1 tbsp, powdered
Coriander / Dhania powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli / Mirchi powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

How to :

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed kadahi / wok.

Add the saunf and the hing.

Let in the bhindi and stir it well.

Add haldi + salt.

Cover and cook till bhindi is done.

Remove cover and stir it well, spreading it around so that any moisture left slowly dries up.

Add the dhania powder + gur + mirchi powder + besan.

Mix well and cover for a while for the besan to cook.

Remove cover and turn and toss so that everything mixes well.

Make  sure the besan does not burn .... if it dries up too much, give a sprinkle of water for extra moisture.

Remove from heat and serve hot.

This goes best with hot rotis.
But it is great on the side with plain rice and dal too.

Enjoy!!