Best ever Baked Basa (Swai) with a tangy twist

The winning streak: This recipe has drawn heavily from my weed-ful garden ;) The tangy wood sorrels fill in for the lemon zest I had initially imagined fr this recipe. I will shortly post about nutritious garden weeds for healthy alternatives in recipes.

Marinade: English mustard paste - 2tsp, garlic cloves - 4 big ones, ginger - 1"X1/2" should be enough, green chilis - as per your liking - I used two really hot ones, cilantro - 1/2 cup roughly chopped, oxalis (woodsorrel) leaves & stalk (discard the lowest end) - about 1/2 cup roughly chopped- , black pepper corns, turmeric powder (optional) 1/2 tsp, salt. 

Grind all of this to a paste with a little water, coat well on fish and refrigerate for 30-60 mins.

TING......did you notice I didn't use any oil yet ;)

Tip: I used frozen basa, so I used the water that was released while thawing the fish. It actually is raw fish stock...right? Well I couldn't throw that away!!

Baking: Preheat oven at 400degF/200 deg C. Bake fish in gravy for 30 mins.Save the gravy. Serve hot with white rice or bread.

Easy Niramish Polao (Bengali Pulao/Pilaf Recipe)

Niramish polao is a very pujo-celebration recipe that we relish esp. on Navami day of Durga puja. While the polao itself is niramish (no meat, or onions, or garlic in there), it is served with traditional mangsher jhol (bengali mutton curry). It tastesd yummy and reminds me of pujo everytime we cook this no. Enjoy!

Need:
Long-grained Basmati rice (or gobindo bhog rice - also called jeera rice) - 2 cups
Water - as per instructions on the rice packet [water required to cook basmati well varies across different varieties and brands of the rice. so read the instructions well before cooking]
1 medium potato - cut up into 1cm X 1 inch julienne
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 3 tsp
Almonds and cashew - chopped - 1 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tsp
Cloves - 4-5 sticks
Black cardamom - 1 broken
Bay leaf - 1 medium
Dried red chili (whole) - 1 large broken
Black pepper corns (whole) - 2 tsp
Shahi Garam masala (recipe here) - 1 tsp
Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 tbsp [you may use oil if you wish....but ghee brings out the amazing aroma of the spices]
Finely chopped cilantro

To cook:
1. Wash the rice in running water, drain, and spread out on a plate.
2. Rub in the salt, 2 tsp sugar, turmeric, and garam masala to the rice and keep aside.
3. Wash the potatoes, cut as instructed above, rub in some salt and turmeric, and keep aside.
4. Heat the ghee in a pan/wok and add the red chili, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, and peppercorns. The heat should be on high so that the beautiful garam masala will release its aroma in 1 minute. Reduce the heat to med-hi and add the potatoes. Saute for 1 minute.
4. Add the remaining sugar and mix in the raisins and chopped nuts. Saute for 1 minute.
5. Add the rice. Mix well and saute for 2 minutes.
6. Now add enough water to cook the rice. You may add some hot water later if required. But be careful to not add excess water. Draining would be a waste and is not an option in this recipe. Cover and cook the rice until done.
8. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with traditional bengali chicken or mutton jhol (a runny curry).

:)

Sunday Waffles

Well I don’t own a waffle iron, and after I tried this …. I don’t think I need one J I know waffles aren’t healthy….they make for a junk load for breakfast….but I can let go on a Sunday may be J

So here’s my recipe to make fab waffles at home J

Need for 6 waffles

All purpose flour – 1 cup

White sugar – 2 tbsp

Butter melted – 2 tbsp

Salt – a pinch

Eggs – 2 medium

Milk – as required (will explain later)

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Crushed black pepper (optional)

Vanilla extract – 1tsp

A thick bottomed non-stick tawa or frying pan – cast iron stuff would be great J

To make awesome waffles:

1.    Mix all the dry ingredients well.

2.    Now in a large bowl, melt the butter and mix in the beaten eggs, add vanilla and the dry ingredients. Incorporate well. You’ll get a semi-pasty consistency at this stage.

3.    Add just enough milk to make the batter runny (not very though). The batter should be runny enough so that when you pour a spoonful on the tawa, you can easily swirl it around by tilting the tawa.

4.    Now allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes.

5.    Heat the tawa, coat with a thin layer of butter and cook your waffles to perfection. Here’s how I do it: Pour a spoonful when the tawa is hot. Swivel the tawa to spread the waffle thin…..choose your shape J Now when you see little pores opening up on top of the waffle, flip it with a flat spatula. Adjust heat so that the tawa doesn’t get too hot.  

Drizzle maple syrup, or homemade berry coulis and dig in!!