Illishi Machha Patua

Ingredients:

Illishi (Hilsha) Fish: 500 grams
Soriso (mustard seeds)- 3 teaspoons
Posto (Poppy seeds) - 1.5 teaspoons
Garlic- 4 cloves, Jeera (Cumin) - Half spoon
onions - 1 small (diced), Green chillis - 8 pieces
Turmeric- 1 teaspoon

Method:

Masala - Soak mustard seeds, poppy seeds, cumin, 2 green chillis, galic in a small bowl with water. Set aside for 1 hour and grind to a fine paste.
Wash and clean the fish pieces. Add the masala paste, oil (2 spoons. preferably mustard oil), salt, turmeric to the raw fish and marinade for 15 - 20 minutes. Get 2 medium size banana leaves. In a pan, put 2 banana leaves on the bottom of the pan. Lay the fish pieces properly on top of the leaves. Put 1 spoon of oil and slit green chillis on the fish and then cover with 2 more banana leaves. Seal the edges of the leaves using toothpicks. Cook in low heat for 20 - 25 minutes
If you wish to turn the fishes you may do so but cook till the bottom of the leaves turn slight brown.

Chuna Machha Batibasa

Ingredients:

Chuna macha (smelt fish) - Half kg

Soriso (Mustard seeds) - 1 tablespoon

Jeera (cumin)- 1 tablespoon

Green chillis- 8 pieces

Garlic- 10 cloves

Haldi (Turmeric powder)- 2 table spoons

Potatoes- 2 medium sizes

Onion- 1 small

Mustard Oil

Poi Leaves (can be substituted with spinach leaves)

Method:

Masala: Soak Mustard seeds, Jeera, 2 green chillies, 3 cloves of garlic in a small bowl with water. Set aside for 1 hour and then grind to a fine paste.

Wash fish well and drain the extra water. Add some diced onions, potatoes to the fish.

Then add the masala paste, turmeric, salt, red chilli powder and 1 teaspoon of oil. Mix everthing very well.

Take a non stick cooking dish or oven safe dish. Smear the bottom of the pan or the oven safe dish with little oil. Pour the fish and vegetable mix to the dish. Cover the lid and cook in low flame.

If you are cooking in the oven, set the oven to 250 degrees and cook for 1 hour.

When the fish is almost done and potatoes are almost cooked, add poi leaves.

Crush 4-5 green chllis with 5-6 garlic cloves and put it on top of poi leaves. Cover the dish again and cook for 10 more mins. Put some more drops of mustard oil and take it off the fire.

Machha Mahura

Ingredients:

Fish head and tail pieces (Usually Bhakura macha (buffalo fish) or Rohu (Grass carp) heads are preffered)

Green banana

Saru (Taro root)

Potatoes

Dhania (Coriander seeds)- 1 tablespoon

Jeera (Cumin seeds)- 1 tablespoon

Red chiilis- 6

Gola Maricha (Whole black pepper corn) – 1 tablespoon

Red chilli poweder- half tea spoon

Turmeric powder- 2 spoons

Phutana (panch puran) - 1 teaspoon

Onions- 1 small

Ginger paste - 1 tablespoon

Method: Masala: Heat a frying pan and dry fry Dhania, Jeera, red chillis and pepper corn. Grind it to fine powder.

Dice the vegetables into medium pieces and boil the vegetables with salt only.

Put 1-2 spoon of turmeric powder on the fish head and then fry in oil. When done, take it out and set aside.

Add some more oil to the pan and add panch puran.

Add diced onions and fry till golden brown.

Add ginger paste and cook till they blend well.

Put 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder.

Then add the fish and crush the fish well. Cook for 10 mins.

Add the boiled vegetables and stir well to blend the spices.

Put the powdered masala on top and stir again. Cook well for another 10 mins. Dish is ready when the masala is mixed uniformly. Add salt to taste.

Sajana Phulara Batibasa

Ingredients:

Sajana phula.

Mustard seeds -5 table spoon

Jeera – 1.5 table spoon

Green chilis -10 pieces

Garlic- 5 cloves

Turmeric powder- 2 table spoon

Fish (preferably small)- 750 grams

Potatoes- 2 medium- diced

Method:

Take sajana phula and boil it. Once boiled, strain the water from it.

Make a paste of mustard seeds, garlic, green chilli and jeera.

In a skillet, add raw fish, masala paste, Turmeric,diced potatoes, and sajana phula.

Cook covered in slow heat till fish is completely cooked. Serve with steamed rice.

Note: You may also add poi leaves to this dish.

Labanga Latika

Ingredients:

Maida
Oil / Ghee
Sugar
Coconut
Cloves (Labanga)
Elaichi
Kesar

Method:

Take 2 cups of flour and put 1/4 cup hot oil (for the moin) in it. Mix it well and when cooled use water to make a hard dough. Now make small balls of the dough.

Now make one ball into a medium puri shape size with a belan then put some sweetened shredded coconut * in it for the stuffing in the centre.

Take 2 ends of the puri and overlap them over each other and use a little oil to close it properly. Turn it on the other side (it will look like a cylinder)and take the two ends and overlap them over each other.

Use 1 clove to fasten it properly.

Deep fry these on medium heat until they are golden brown. Put them in sugar syrup after draining excess oil and take it out when the next set of fried latikas is ready (after a short time).

Relish them when are cold.

* TIP: Sweetened coconut can be found in the baking section aisle of any grocery shop.

For the sugar syrup take 1 1/2 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water .

Dissolve it ,add elaichi and little kesar to it and put in the microwave for 7 min.

Suji Gayintha

Ingredients:

Suji
Water
Salt
Milk
Cardamom (Aleicha/Elaichi)
Sugar
Bay leaves (Tej Patra)

Method:

Boil water and add little salt then add suji strir well while cooking and make a thick dough like that for kakara. Cool and then knead well till it becomes soomth and make small balls from the dough.

Boil milk with cardamom and Bay leaves, add sugar and then leave the balls into the boiling milk .

Cook for some time to get delicious suji gayintha

Chana Dali Pakudi

Chana dali pakudi - for 6

Ingredients:

Chana dali - 2 cups
Green chili - 1
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Coriander leaves -3-4 sprigs
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method:

Soak the chana dali for 4 hours

Blend chana dali with little salt, 1 green chilli, coriander leaves, curry leaves and 1″ piece of ginger.

Deep fry in oil in medium heat by scooping the paste in a spoon.
Let it fry until the pakodas become crispy and golden brown.
Don’t make too big size it may cook outside but remain raw inside.
Drain the pakodas to a tissue paper to soak excess oil

Suji Dahi Pitha

Ingredients:

Suji 100 gm
Curd
Green Chillies
Dhania leaves
Onions
Oil

Method:

Take the suji and put it in a bowl. Add fresh curd to it and make a paste or batter.The batter should be made , so that u can make a pitha like chakuli pitha, but the batter should not be very thin because we are going to make small sized pithas. Now add salt to it as per the taste. Now add the chopped onions(quanitity should be more to make it more tasty), chopped chillies and chopped dhania leaves into the batter.

Now take a tawa and put oil and make a small size round pitha on it . flap it upside down carefully so that it does not breaks and make it till it is cooked and brown colour comes like chakuli pitha.

Serve hot with sause, it is yummy.

Note: The quanity of Suji and curd can be taken as per your requirement.