Bengali Cuisine

Doi Maach
Ingredients
6 pieces rohu fish fillets (you can try other variety too)
1 teaspoon salt or as per taste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 cup mustard oil
1 red onion
1 inch ginger
3 green chilies
3 cloves
2 small bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds
1/3 cup plain thick yogurt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
cilantro leaves for garnish

Method
1. Marinate the fish steaks with salt and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric and allow it to rest for about
15 minutes.
2. Using a small blender, make the onion, ginger and 1 green chili paste.
3. In a wok or heavy bottom saucepan, pour the mustard oil to fry the fishes. You can
shallow fry or deep-fry. Make sure the oil is hot before you drop the fish fillets. Fry the
fish fillet for 2 minutes on each side and then take it off the wok to a plate.
4. Remove any excess oil and retain 2 tablespoons oil.
5. Keeping the pan in medium heat, drop the bay leaf, clove, cumin seeds and nigella seeds.
Let it sizzle for a few seconds, then drop the onion ginger and green chili paste.
6. Stir it around and cook for 2 minutes. Season with little more salt.
7. In a bowl, add the yogurt, flour and whisk until it's smooth with no lumps at all.
8. Pour it to the pan and stir to mix it around.
9. Drop the remaining two chilies to the pan (leave it whole) it's just for flavor. You can
however slit it in half if you want a spicier version.
10. Pour 1/2 cup water and mix it around. Layer the fried fish and let it simmer in medium
heat for 5 minutes.
11. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve Doi mach warm with steamed rice.
Baigun Bhaja
Ingredients
● 1 eggplant large – 350 to 375 grams, (baingan or aubergine)
● 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or paprika
● ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
● ½ teaspoon sugar – optional
● ½ teaspoon Garam Masala – optional
● 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder) – optional
● salt as required
● 6 to 7 tablespoons mustard oil for pan frying, you can also use sunflower oil

Method
1. slice the eggplant in ¼ inch thick rounds.
2. Optionally you can soak these slices in salted water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the water,
remove and pat dry all the slices with a kitchen towel.
3. Now sprinkle turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, salt and sugar on the eggplant
slices. You can also use garam masala powder and dry mango powder if you prefer.
4. Mix the ground spices, seasonings evenly all over the eggplant slices.
5. Set aside to marinate the eggplant slices for 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons mustard oil in a shallow frying pan or skillet.
7. Gently place the dredged eggplant rounds in the medium hot mustard oil. Do not
overcrowd the pan with the slices.
8. Pan fry until crisp and golden brown on both sides on medium heat. Flip them a couple of
times for even cooking.
9. Once they becomes nicely crisp and golden then place the begun bhaja on paper towels
so that the extra oil is absorbed.
10. Serve baingan bhaja hot with yogurt or any yogurt dip and some bread or roti or with dal
rice or khichdi. They can also be stuffed between bread slices and had as a snack.
11. For best taste have them hot as soon as they are pan fried.
Panch Phoran Dal
Ingredients
● 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
● 2 tablespoons nigella seeds (kalonji)
● 2 tablespoons mustard seeds (rai)
● 2 tablespoons fennel seeds (saunf, mouri)
● 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
● Chana dal 250gm
● Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
● Salt to taste
● Garram masala 1 tsp
● Dry red chili – 2
● Mustard and cumin seeds for tadka

Method
1. Mix dal with 3 cup water, add turmeric powder, salt and pressure cook on medium heat
for 4 whistle.
2. Reduce the heat and cook for about 3-4 min. Open and let it cool.
3. Make the panch phoran masala with the given ingredients
4. Transfer the dal in the serving vessel.
5. Heat oil in a pan and crackle all the seeds.
6. Add dry red chili and after a min, pour the tempering over the dal.
7. Serve hot.
Luchi
Ingredients
● 2 cups all purpose flour
● 2 tablespoon Ghee or 2.5 tablespoon oil
● water as required
● salt as required
● ghee or oil for deep frying

Method
1. In a bowl or a large plate (tray) first add the flour, ghee and salt.
2. Add 1 or 2 tbsp water and mix everything with your hands or with a spatula.
3. Then add about 1/2 cup of water and begin to knead the flour.
4. Add water as required and knead very well. The dough should be soft and smooth.
5. Cover the dough with a moist kitchen napkin and let it rest for minimum 30 minutes at
room temperature.
6. Make lemon sized balls from the dough and cover them with the moist napkin.
7. Apply some oil on the balls, roll each into a circle of about 3-4 inches.
8. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. The oil has to become hot.
9. Drop a small piece of the dough in the oil and if it comes up steadily from the bottom, it
means the oil is ready for the luchi to be fried.
10. Gently drop the dough circle into the hot oil. The luchi will begin to puff up.
11. Gently nudge with a spoon to help in the complete puffing up of the luchi.
12. When one side has become creamish and the oil has stopped sizzling, turn over and fry
the other side.
13. Remove and drain on kitchen towels for the extra oil to be soaked.
Rasgulla
Ingredients
● 1 litre whole milk
● 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice or add as required
● 2 cups sugar or raw sugar
● 1 litre water
● 1 tablespoon milk - optional
● 1 teaspoon sooji (rava or cream of wheat) or all purpose flour or cornstarch
● 1 to 2 tablespoon rose water or kewra water or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder

Method

Making chenna
1. Take milk in a pan and keep it to boil on a low to medium heat.
2. So when the milk is heating up, line a strainer or bowl with a cheese cloth or muslin.
3. Keep on stirring the milk at intervals so that the froth is not formed on top and the base
does not get browned or the milk solids get stuck to the bottom.
4. When the milk comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to its lowest. Add 1 to 3 tablespoons
lemon juice.
5. Gather the muslin from the sides and rinse the chenna or coagulated milk very well in
running water. This brings down the temperature of chenna as well as removes the
lemony flavor and tangy taste from the chenna.
6. Now squeeze the muslin with your hands very well, so that excess water is drained from
the chenna.
7. After 7 to 8 minutes, remove the cheesecloth from the chenna.
8. Add 1 teaspoon sooji or rava or semolina.
9. First mix the sooji with chenna and then begin to knead.
10. With the heels of your palms mash the chenna and knead. Keep on collecting the chenna
from the sides and continue to mash and knead.
11. Knead to a smooth ball of chenna.

Making sugar syrup

12. In a large pan, take 2 cups sugar and 4 cups water.
13. Cooking rasgulla
14. The rest of the 2.5 cups of sugar solution you add it back to the same large pot and bring
it to a boil on a medium high heat.
15. Slide the rasgulla gently into the sugar solution.
16. Once all the rasgulla has been added to the sugar solution, shake the pot. Don't stir the
rasgulla with a spoon.
17. To check the doneness of rasgulla it will rice and floats on top of sugar syrup
Soaking rasgulla in sugar syrup
18. Now take each rasgulla with a spoon and place it in the bowl containing the 1 cup of
sugar solution. Cover and keep aside.