Sorso Bhaate Maach (Bengal) Fish in Mustard Gravy.

To be honest I have never eaten Bengali food (other then the yummy Bengali sweets). So when I got to know that Regional Cuisine of India is Bengal this month, I kept thinking hmm, what can I submit? I know Bengali’s love fish. I thought this is the best time for me to use the fish in the freezer (hubby dear doesn’t like fish, so I rarely get a chance to make it and since he is traveling on work…it is time to defrost the fish). I also know that mustard is a favorite spice and both mustard seeds and oil are used widely in Bengali cuisine.

So, I went about searching for a good recipe, instead of looking online, I went through the many cookbooks that I treasure in my kitchen. This recipe is adapted from Camellia Panjabi’s 50 Great Curries of India. In the book she says that this is the dish-célebré of Bengali cuisine, and the preferred dish is bony Hilsa(Tenulosa Ilisha). The traditional recipe imparts a rather strong flavor, so she has improved the dish with the inclusion of tomato and little lime juice. You can use fish such as Cod, Halibut, Turbot or Monkfish. I used Tilapia fillets for this recipe.

Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients:

• 1lb 5 oz piece of fish
• 1 ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2oz/60g fresh grated coconut
• ¾’ ginger
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 green chilies (or more)
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 -1/2 red chili powder
• 5 tbsp oil (I used 1-2 tbsp)
• 3 tomatoes pureed (I used 1 cup tomato sauce)
• Juice of ½ lime
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves

Method:

Wash the fish thoroughly. Smear each piece with a little salt and leave for half an hour.
Toast poppy seeds for 2 minutes on a griddle on low heat. Then pound in a motor and pestle, with a little water. (I toasted the poppy and mustard seeds together and did the next step).
Grind together the crushed poppy seeds, the mustard seeds, turmeric, coconut, ginger, garlic, green chilies, onion, coriander, cumin, red chili powder and 1 ¼ tsp salt, along with ½ cup water, to make a paste.
In a large frying pan heat the oil over moderate heat and fry the spice paste for 6-7 minutes, stirring continuously and adding a little water at a time (up to ½ cup) as and when required.
Add the tomatoes and sauté for 3 minutes adding 2/3 tbsp water of required. Then pour in 2 cups water and the lime juice and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Adjust seasoning.
Add the fish pieces and cook until done. Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves when serving. This dish traditionally eaten with rice.

Spaghetti con gamberetti e rucola (spaghetti with prawns and rocket)

Jamie Oliver is one of my favorite UK chefs. I like his food because his recipes are simple (most of the time), he uses fresh ingredients and his presentation is very rustic. I got this recipe from his book, Jamie’s Italy, and it is one of our favorite pasta meals at home. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any rocket leaves at home, so the photo is not as appealing.


Ingredients:

• 455g/1lb-dried spaghetti
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1-2 dried red chilies, crumbled
• 400g/14 oz peeled raw prawns
• 1 small wineglass of white wine
• 2 heaped tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes blitzed in a blender
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 handful of rocket, roughly chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water according to packet instructions. Meanwhile, heat 3 good glugs of oil in a frying pan and toss the garlic and chili. As the garlic begins to color, add the prawns and sauté them for a minute. Add the white wine and tomato puree and simmer for a couple of minutes. When the pasta is ready, drain in a colander, reserving a little cooking water. Toss the spaghetti with the sauce, squeeze in the lemon juice, add half of the rocket, adding a little of the reserved water if you want to loosen the sauce a bit, correct the seasoning. Divide between 4 plates and sprinkle with the grated lemon zest and the rest of the rocket leaves.