E n j o y t h e R e c i p e s

Dimer Jhol (Egg Curry) Ingredients: 4 Eggs, hard boiled and shelled 2 Medium-large potatoes 1 large onion, finely chopped 1" cube of fresh ginger, grated 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced 1/2 teaspoon crushed chilli 1 level teaspoon garam masala powder 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed (dhanya) 1.5 teaspoon turmeric powder (halood) 1 level teaspoon ground cumin seed (jeera) 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder 5 tablespoons vegetable oil Salt to taste 2 cups of warm water

Procedure:

1. Once you have gathered the ingredients peel the potatoes and cut each into 6 pieces. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot fry the potatoes for 4-5 mins turning them over from time to time. Take them out and place aside when they are done

2. Next make 2-3 small slits in each egg, coat with half of the turmeric powder and fry eggs in the remaining oil in the pan until slightly browned. You must continuously turn the eggs. When these are done set them aside.

3. In the remaining oil add the crushed chilli and the garam masala and fry for one minute (medium heat). Next add the ginger and garlic and fry for another minute. After this you add the chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes, lower the heat to "low" and add the chilli powder, coriander and cumin and curry powder. Stir and fry for 2 minutes.

4. Now add to the pan the potatoes, salt and turmeric, turn up the heat to medium again and stir to coat the potatoes with the spices. Add the water and bring to boil. Once it starts boiling lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid and allow to simmer till the potatoes are almost done (10 min). Add the eggs and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are well done.

Serves: 4 people
Serving ideas: plain boiled rice and postho or just with roti

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Postho

Method: Grind half a cup of postho (in spice/coffee grinder) make paste of the ground postho in water Dice 3-4 potatoes Slice one onion In a pan heat 3 tablespoons of oil Fry onions until soft Add potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder Stir fry for a few minutes Add ground postho paste, stir Add salt to taste and a cup of water Bring up the heat to get it boiling Cover pan, lower heat, simmer til dry, stir occasionally Before removing from the heat sprinkle mustard oil Serve with rice and dahl (serves 4-6)

Variations:

You can use jhinge (or zucchini) with potatoes too to make ``jhinge postho''. Replace 4 potatoes with one or two onions to make ``piyanj postho''. Making postho with potatoes, onions and bori's will give you ``bori postho''. Replace the bori's with small besan bora's and you've made ``bora postho''. Leave out potatoes and onions altogether and add some green chiliies and onions while grinding the postho, make a paste and then cook the same way in oil as above to get ``baati postho'' . If you fry the postho some more after the water has evaporated at the end of cooking, you get ``bhaja postho''. If your postho paste is thick and course you can also make ``postho bora'' by moulding it into little cakes and frying them in hot oil. You can add postho to greens to make ``shak postho'' too. Finally, if you like you can make a paste of ground postho, spices, chilli, onion and mustard oil - place in a small bowl and place it in the pan you are cooking rice in during the last ten minutes of cooking this rice and when the rice is done you have a mildly cooked delicious ``kancha postho'' to eat with it.

Note: Postho (or poppy seeds) are a great source of calcium!

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Bangali Salad

Ingredients: 1/2 a cucumber, finely chopped 1 carrot, shredded 1 small beetroot, shredded (optional) 1/2 cup finely chopped radish (optional) 2 medium-small tomatoes 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped 2 green chillies, finely chopped 1/2 cup chopped fresh corriander leaves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper juice from 1/2 a large lime few drops of mustard oil 1 teaspoon crushed peanuts (optional)

Procedure:

1. Place all the vegi ingredients in a large bowl
2. Add the seasoning and toss the salad until every thing is uniformly mixed
3. Sprinkle the lime juice, mustard oil and finally the crushed peanuts on top
4. Serve 15min later, preferably chilled

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Maacher Kalia

Ingredients: 2 large steaks of a firm fish like salmon or rohu 3 teaspoons turmeric powder 3 teaspoons salt oil for deep frying 3 medium sized potatoes 10-12 large cauliflower florets 1 large onion, finely chopped 2" ginger root , peeled and grated 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced 2 dried red chilli peppers 2 teaspoon panchphoran 1 teaspoon cumin powder 2 teaspoons corriander powder 3/4 teaspoon chilli powder 1 Tablespoon plain unsweetened yogurt 1/2 teaspoon garam masala 3 cups warm water

Procedure:

1. Cut each fish steak into 4 quarters as evenly as possible. Wash and drain the fish and place in a bowl; rub the pieces with 2 teaspoons turmeric powder and one teaspoon of salt and let sit about 15-20 minutes

2. Heat the oil for deep frying in a small deep vessel (like a karhai) at "medium high" heat. Deep fry the fish a few pieces at a time - 5 mins. each side and then set them aside

3. Peel the potatoes and cut each one into 4 long wedges. Wash the potatoes and the cauliflower florest, drain and set aside

4. Heat 6-8 tablespoons of the oil the fish was deep fried in in a large pan. When the oil is hot crumble the dried red chilli peppers into it and add the panchphoran. When the panchporan begins to sputter, reduce the heat to "low" and add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for 30 sec to a minute

5. Next add the onions and stir fry them on "medium" heat until they are soft and golden brown. Now reduce the heat to the lowest setting and add the remaining turmeric powder, chilli powder, corriander powder and cumin powder stir fry for 2-3 mins.

6. Raise the heat to "medium-high" and now add the potatoes and cauliflower. Stir fry for 5-6 minutes making sure they are evenly covered in all the spices. Add the yogurt and stir fry for another minute or two and then add water and bring it to boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to "low" and let it cook for 15 mins.

7. Now add the fish and stir once. Cover and cook some more until the vegetables are done. Sprinkle the garam masala and take off from the heat. Pour into a serving bowl, let it sit 10 mins. before serving

Serves: 4-8 people
Serving ideas: plain rice, and spinach for a starter.

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Saag Kumro

Ingredients: 3 cups peeled and diced pumpkin (kumro) 2 medium potatoes, diced but not peeled A bunch of fresh spinach), chopped 1/2 lb baby shrimp (peeled+steamed is ok) 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 dried red chilli 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder 1/2 teaspoon corriander powder 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder 2 tablespoons finely ground/grated coconut

Procedure:

1. First heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin and the turmeric, stir-fry these spices for a minute before you add the shrimp. Fry the shrimp for a couple of minutes and then take them out with a slotted spoon and leave aside.

2. Next break the dried red chilli and fry it in the oil for a minute before adding the potatoes and pumpkin. Stir fry these for a few minutes. Add the corriander, chilli powder and sugar and stir-fry for a couple more minutes.

3. Now add the chopped spinach and stir it in until the it slowly decreases in volume and blends in with the other ingredients (~3 mins). Now add the salt and sprinke a little water (3-4 Tbsp) cover and allow to cook under low heat until the potatoes are done.

4. Sprinkle and stir in the ground coconut and shrimp before turning off the heat, you may wish to save a little for the final garnish when you serve this dish.

Serves: 4-6 people
Serving ideas: serve with piping hot plain rice and borar jhal!

An Introduction to Bengali Cooking

Bengal or, as she is lovingly referred to, "Sonar Bangla" (Golden Bengal), is made up of the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh (formerly East Bengal). The people of Bengal farm the fertile Ganges Delta for rice and vegetables and fish the regions myriad rivers. If you haven't yet visited this uniquely beautiful land, here is a glimse of it below. These pictures are of Ashuria, a small village in Birbhum district of West Bengal, India.

		`` The skies are pure blue brushed by wisps of white clouds. A land of green and gold rolls out to the horizon. Yellow mustard flowers and purple brinjal punctuate the green of the paddy fields. Now and again a huddle of huts crowd around a duck pond, fringed with stately palms, lanky papaya trees and untidy clumps of banana. This is Sonar Bangla. ''

If you would like to learn more about Bengal and her people you should definitely visit the the following websites:

• The West Bengal Home Page (by Arghya Chatterjee)
• Virtual Bangladesh (by Zunaid Kazi)

A Bengali Bazzar

Anaj Bazaar (A Vegetable Market) The variety of fruits and vegetables that Bengal has to offer is incredible. Markets are usually open air ones. This scene is from the busy Sealdah vegetable market in Calcutta. A host of gourds, roots & tubers, leafy greens, succulent stalks, lemons & limes, green and purple eggplants, red onions, plantain, broad beens, okra, banana tree stems and flowers, green jackfruit and red pumpkins are just some of what you'll see if you visit! Maachher Bazaar (A Fish Market) Visitors enjoy a tour of Calcutta's fish markets like this one. They are fascinated by the lively koi (climbing perch), the wriggling catfish family of tangra, magur, shingi and the pink-bellied Indian butter fish, the pabda. Among the larger fish, rui (rohu) and bhetki weigh upto eight kilograms. Baskets of pink and silvery ilish (hilsa) match the shine on the glistening blade of the fishmonger's boti. And the fish itself is eaten from top to tail!

Inside the Bengali Kitchen

With the shopping done, the scene shifts to the ranna bari (cookhouse). The storage, cooking and eating areas in a Bengali home were a separate unit and the domain of the womenfolk. This barrack-like cookhouse was a row of rooms running parallel to a wide airy veranda often used as the dining space. In an orthodox Bengali home, fish and vegetables were cooked over separate fires, rice over another and meat, if cooked at all was done in a portable bucket fire outside the kitchen. However, recipes that were once cooked on these cowpat, wood or charcoal fires have now been adapted to emerge almost perfect from the gas, electric and microwave ovens that are in use today. Here are some essential items you are sure to spot if you ever take a peek into a Bengali kitchen (even today!). The staple food, rice, is bought by the sack and stored in huge containers. Pure golden mustard oil, that pungent Bengali cooking medium is usually stored in zinc lined tins. Large square tins are usually used to store the favorite Bengali snack food - muri (puffed rice). Achaars (pickles), spices, dals and ghee are kept in various sized bottles and jars on a shelf. And you will find many baskets, large and small, lidded and unlidded strewn all over the floor to store vegetables that just arrived from the market. Among the cooking vessels, the karais (woks) where most of the cooking and frying is done, the tawa (griddle) on which rotis and parotas are made, the handi - a special large pot for cooking rice and the handleless modification of the sauce pan - the rimmed, deep, flat-bottomed dekchi are all hallmarks of the Bengali kitchen. And of course you will also find the pressure cooker which is indispensable to any Indian kitchen. As for the other utensils you absolutely can't do without the hatha (ladle), the khunti (metal spatula), the jhanjri (perforated spoon), the sharashi (pincers to remove vessels from the fire), the ghuntni (wooden hand blender) for puréeing dal and the old wooden chaki belon (round pastry board and rolling pin). The action in the kitchen begins with the cutting of fish and vegetables and the grinding of spices. And this is when the two star attractions of the Bengali kitchen - the sil nora (grinding stone) and the boti (a cutting tool) appear. The items to be ground are put on the heavy sil, a pentagonal slab of stone and are crushed over and over by its moving partner the nora, a smooth black stone you hold with your hands. This inseperable pair lasts longer than a lifetime and is usually handed down from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. Although knives and peelers have made their debut into the modern Bengali kitchen, the boti, that unique cutting tool, has not yet been ousted. Boti, the Bengali woman's pride and joy and her proverbial weapon, is fitted on a wooden stand and held in place by the feet on the floor so that both hands are free. The blade of the versatile boti varies and is sharp enough to cut off the head of the toughest carp and yet safe enough to peel vegetables (with some skill that is!).

Common Bengali Cooking Styles

AMBAL : A sour dish made either with several vegetables or with fish, the sourness being produced by the addition of tamarind pulp.

BHAJA : Anything fried, either by itself or in batter.

BHAPA : Fish or vegetables steamed with oil and spices. A classic steaming technique is to wrap the fish in banana leaf to give it a faint musky, smoky scent.

BHATE : Any vegetable, such as potatoes, beans, pumpkins or even dal, first boiled whole and then mashed and seasoned with mustard oil or ghee and spices.

BHUNA : A term of Urdu origin, meaning fried for a long time with ground and whole spices over high heat. Usually applied to meat.

CHACHCHARI : Usually a vegetable dish with one or more varieties of vegetables cut into longish strips, sometimes with the stalks of leafy greens added, all lightly seasoned with spices like mustard or poppy seeds and flavoured with a phoron. The skin and bone of large fish like bhetki or chitol can be made into a chachchari called kanta-chachchari, kanta, meaning fish-bone.

CHHANCHRA : A combination dish made with different vegetables, portions of fish head and fish oil (entrails).

CHHENCHKI : Tiny pieces of one or more vegetable - or, sometimes even the peels (of potatoes, lau, pumpkin or patol for example) - usually flavored with panch-phoron or whole mustard seeds or kala jeera. Chopped onion and garlic can also be used, but hardly any ground spices.

DALNA : Mixed vegetables or eggs, cooked in a medium thick gravy seasoned with groung spices, especially garom mashla and a touch of ghee.

DAM : Vegetables, especially potatoes, or meat, cooked over a covered pot slowly over a low heat.

GHANTO : Different complementary vegtables (e.g., cabbage, green peas, potatoes or banana blossom, coconut, chickpeas) are chopped or finely grated and cooked with both a phoron and ground spices. Dried pellets of dal (boris) are often added to the ghanto. Ghee is commonly added at the end. Non-vegitarian ghantos are also made, with fish or fish heads added to vegetables. The famous murighanto is made with fish heads cooked in a fine variety of rice. Some ghantos are very dry while others a thick and juicy.

JHAL : Literally, hot. A great favorite in West Bengali households, this is made with fish or shrimp or crab, first lightly fried and then cooked in a light sauce of ground red chilli or ground mustard and a flavoring of panch-phoron or kala jeera. Being dryish it is often eaten with a little bit of dal pored over the rice.

JHOL : A light fish or vegetable stew seasoned with ground spices like ginger, cumin, corriander, chilli and turmeric with pieces of fish and longitudinal slices of vegetables floating in it. The gravy is thin yet extreamely flavorful. Whole green chillies are usually added at the end and green corriander leaves are used to season for extra taste.

KALIA : A very rich preparation of fish, meat or vegetables using a lot of oil and ghee with a sauce usually based on ground ginger and onion paste and garom mashla.

KOFTAS (or Boras) : Ground meat or vegetable croquettes bound together by spices and/or eggs served alone or in savory gravy.

KORMA : Another term of Urdu origin, meaning meat or chicken cooked in a mild yoghurt based sauce with ghee instead of oil.

PORA : Literally, burnt. Vegetables are wrapped in leaves and roasted over a wood or charcoal fire. Some, like eggplants (brinjals/aubergines), are put directly over the flames. Before eating the roasted vegetable is mixed with oil and spices.

TARKARI : A general term often used in Bengal the way `curry' is used in English. Originally from Persian, the word first meant uncooked garden vegetables. From this it was a natural extension to mean cooked vegetables or even fish and vegetables cooked together.

Eating and Serving Bengali Food

The Bengali people are perhaps the greatest food lovers in the Indian subcontinent. A leisurely meal of many items which requires long hours of labour and ingenuity in the kitchen has long been a major part of Bengali culture. The traditional way of serving food is on the floor, where individual pieces of carpet, called asans, are spread for each person to sit on. In front of this seat is placed a large platter made of bell metal/steel or on a large piece of fresh cut banana leaf. Around this platter a number of small metal or earthen bowls are arrayed in which portions of dal, vegetables, fish, meat chutney and dessert are served. In the center of the platter sits a small mound of piping hot rice flanked by vegetable fritters, wedges of lime, whole green chillies and perhaps a bit of pickle. Finally in the center of the mound a liitle hole is made to pour in a spoonful of ghee to flavour the initial mouthfuls of rice. The approach to food is essentially tactile. As in all of India, Bengalis eat everything with their fingers. What, after all, could be better to pick out treacherous bones of fish like hilsa and koi? Apart from this functional aspect, the fingers also provide an awareness of texture which becomes as important as that felt by the tongue. The various mashed vegetables or different rice or varieties of fish we eat are all appreciated by the fingers before they enter the mouth. Each individual has a particular style of dealing with his or her food. Some people pick up their rice and accompaniments very daintily, their fingers barely touching the food. Then there are those hearty, somewhat coarse eaters who can be seen liking their palms all the way to their wrists and `Up to one's wrist in food' has become a Bengali phrase to denote gluttonous indulgence. The other peculiarity about the Bengali eating scene is the unashamed accululation of remnants. Since succulent vegetable stalks, fish bones and fish heads, meat and chicken bones are all meticulously chewed until not a drop of juice is left inside, heaps of chewed remnants beside each plate are an inevitable part of a meal. Whether you have five dishes or sixty, the most important part of eating in Bengal is eating each dish seperately with a little bit of rice in order to savour its individual bouquet. The more delicate tastes always come first and it is only by graduating from these to stronger ones that you can accommodate the whole range of taste. Vegetables, especially the bitter ones, are the first item followed by dal, perhaps accompanied by fries or fritters of fish and vegetables. After this comes any of the complex vegetable dishes like ghanto or chachchari, followed by the important fish jhol as well as other fish preparations. Meat will always follow fish, and chutneys and ambals will provide the refeshing touch of tartness to make the tongue anticipate the sweet dishes. With all these delicious flavors combined with textures to be chewed, sucked, licked and gulped with suitable chomps and slurps (the better the meal the louder the sounds of appreciation) the Bengali meal usually ends with a great fortissimo burp!

A History of Bengali Cuisine and Cookery

A distinct culinary tradition emerged in Bengal based on the availability of local ingredients. The great river systems, heat and humidity combine with the fertile soil to allow rice and an abundance of vegetables to thrive; these became the corner stones of the diet. Mangoes, bananas, coconuts, and cane sugar grew in abundance; fish, milk, and meat were plentiful; yogurt and spices such as ginger and black mustard would season the dishes. Even though fish and meat were generally popular, there was a predisposition to vegitarianism, based on religious principles, that has continued to the present. Strict vegetarians also omit onion and garlic from their diet, foods that "heat rather than cool", preferring to substitute a garlicky-flavored spice called asafoetida. The taboo against the consumption of fish and meat became even stronger with the flowering of religions such as Jainism and Buddhism. But with the decline of Buddhism in the ensuing centuries, fish and meat returned to the menu. Rice, the staple of Bengalis since ancient times, has remained untouched by the currents of religious change and its preparation has held to a continuing high standard. One crop a year was sufficient to sustain the people, providing ample leisure time for the Bengalis to pursue cultural ideals: folklore, music, and the culinary arts. The 16th-century Mongol kings left their mark on the cooking of Northern India, which to this day is known as moghlai cooking. With the introduction of Islam, Bengali Moslems adopted dishes such as kababs, koftas and biriyani from their Moghul conquerors. But the major portion of Bengali Hindu cuisine retained its original characteristics except that the use of onion and garlic became more popular. The European traders introduced food from the New World - potatoes, chillies, and tomatoes. Bengalis incorporated them into their diet, combining them with a variety of native ingredients creating new dishes. Then as now, Bengali cooking is mostly confined to the home. Dishes are carefully prepared according to recipes handed down through generations. Modern Bengalis have become culinary innovators. They search for, and experiment with, foreign culinary ideas, incorporating such new food items as noodles, soy bean and custard into an increasingly cosmopolitan bill of fare. But in their hearts, they still delight in such traditional dishes as maacher chochori and rosogolla. Food is a major part of Bengali culture. Here are some interesting articles on Bengali cuisine, its uniqueness, how it has developed through the ages and how it plays an important role in rituals and festivals: Conchshells and bananas: The Bengali way of Birth Food of Calcutta - Past & Present Bengali Gastronomy History of the Rossogolla Sweet Talk of Calcutta The Subtle Flavours Of Bengali Cuisine The Taste of Bengal A Bengali bounty SHIL-NORA

How Bengali Cuisine Differs from other Indian Cuisines

An abundant land provides for an abundant table. The nature and variety of dishes found in Bengali cooking are unique even in India. Fish cookery is one of its better-known features and distinguishes it from the cooking of the landlocked regions. Bengal's countless rivers, ponds and lakes teem with many kinds of freshwater fish that closely resemble catfish, bass, shad or mullet. Bengalis prepare fish in innumerable ways - steamed or braised, or stewed with greens or other vegetables and with sauces that are mustard based or thickened with poppyseeds. You will not find these types of fish dishes elsewhere in India. Bengalis also excel in the cooking of vegetables. They prepare a variety of the imaginative dishes using the many types of vegetables that grow here year round. They can make ambrosial dishes out of the oftentimes rejected peels, stalks and leaves of vegetables. They use fuel-efficient methods, such as steaming fish or vegetables in a small covered bowl nestled at the top of the rice cooker. The use of spices for both fish and vegetable dishes is quite extensive and includes many combinations not found in other parts of India. Examples are the onion-flavored kalonji seeds and five-spice (a mixture of cumin, fennel, fenugreek, kalonji, and black mustard). The trump card card of Bengali cooking probably is the addition of this phoran, a comination of whole spices, fried and added at the start or finish of cooking as a flavouring special to each dish. Bengalis share a love of whole black mustard with South Indians, but the use of freshly ground mustard paste is unique to Bengal. All of India clamors for Bengali sweets. Although grains, beans and vegetables are used in preparing many deserts, as in other regions, the most delicious varieties are dairy-based and uniquely Bengali.

Translation Table for Ingredients

	BENGALI	HINDI	ENGLISH
MILK PRODUCTS	chhana	paneer	cottage cheese
	doi	dahi	yogurt
	ghee	ghee	clarified butter
	ghole	lassi	yogurt drink
	khoa/kheer	khoya	thickened milk
	payesh	kheer	rice pudding
CEREALS	atta	atta	whole wheat flour
	bhaat	chawal	cooked rice
	chaler guro	chawal atta	rice flour
	chirey	chura, poha	flattened or beaten rice
	moida	maida	wheat flour
	moori	moori	puffed rice
	sewai	sewai	vermicelli
	siddha chaal	ushna chawal	parboiled rice
	sooji	sooji	semolina
LENTILS	arhar dal	toor/toovar dal	split pigeon peas
	besan	besan	chickpea flour
	bori	bori	small sundried cones of lentil paste
	kabuli chhola	kabuli chana	chick peas
	chholar dal	chana dal	bengal gram
	kalai/biuli dal	urad dal	black gram
	matar dal	matar dal	dried peas
	munger dal	moong dal	moong beans or green gram
	musurir dal	masoor dal	red lentil
	papar	papad	poppadum
V E G E T A B L E S	alu	alu	potato
	bandha kopi	bund gobi	cabbage
	begoon	baigan	brinjal/aubergine/eggplant
	enchor	kancha kanthal	green jackfruit
	gajar	gajar	carrot
	jhingey	torai	ridged gourd
	kanch kala	kacha kela	green banana/plantain
	khosha	chhilke	peels, scrapings
	kochu	ghuiyan	taro/arum root
	korola, ucchey	karela	bitter gourd/melon
	kumro	kaddu	red pumpkin
	lau	lauki	white/bottle gourd
	matarshuti	hara matar	green peas
	mocha	kele-ka-phool	banana blossom/spadex
	moolo	mooli	daikon/horse radish
	neem pata	neem patti	margosa leaves
	ole	ole	elephant yam
	paan	paan	betle leaf
	palang saag	palak	spinach
	phulkopi	gobi	cauliflower
	piaj	piaz	onion
	piaj koli	piaz patti	spring onion shoots
	potol	parval/palwal	pointed gourd
	ranga alu	shakarkhand	sweet potato
	saag	saag	leafy vegetables
	salgam	salgam	turnip
	shosha	kheera	cucumber
	sheem	seem	broad bean
	sorshey saag	sarso-ki-saag	mustard greens
	thor	kele-ki-tana	white pith of banana plant stem
FRUIT and NUTS	aam	aam	mango
	anaras	ananas	pineapple
	caju	caju	cashew
	chine badam	mung phali	peanut
	kala	kela	banana
	kamala lebu	santra	orange
	kancha aam	keri/kacha aam	unripe/green mango
	kanthal	kathal	jackfruit
	kishmish	kismis	raisin
	kool	ber	Indian plum
	lebu	nimbu	lemon
	narkel	nariyal	coconut
	pepey	papita	papaya [ripe=fruit, unripe=veg]
	pesta	pista	pistachio
	peyara	amrood	guava
	tentul	imli	tamarind
FISH	bhetki	bhetki machchi	beckti
	chingri	jhinga	prawns/shrimp
	gurjali	ravas	Indian salmon
	ilish	hilsa machchi	hilsa
	kankra	kakkra	crab
	koi	-	climbing perch
	maachh	machchi	fish
	maachher dim	machchi-ka-anda	roe
	magur, shinghi, tangra	magur, singhi, tangra	cat fish
	pabda	pupta	Indian butter fish
	parshey	boi	mullet
	rui, mrigel, katla	rohu, mirgel, katla	carp, buffalo fish
	shole	shole	murrel
	topshey	topsi	mango fish
MEAT and POULTRY	bherar mangsho	bheri	mutton
	chaap	chaap	rib chop
	dim	anda	egg
	gorur mangsho	gai-ka-gosht	beef
	hansh	batak	duck
	keema	keema	mince/ground meat
	khashi	khashi	fattened castrated goat
	mangsho	gosht	meat
	murgi	murgh	chicken
	pantha	bakri	goat
	suwarer mangsho	suwar-ka-gosht	pork
BREADS	kochuri	kachori	fried wheat pastry with seasoned filling
	luchi	luchi	puffed fried fllour bread
	porota	paratha	thick crispy bread grilled in ghee
	pau ruti	pau roti	loaf bread
	ruti	chapati	unleavened whole wheat flour bread
S P I C E S and S E A S O N I N G	ada	adrak	ginger
	boro elach	bara elaichi	black cardamon
	daruchini	dalchini	cinamon
	dhoney	dhania	coriander seeds
	dhoney patta	dhania patta	cilantro/coriander leaves
	(choto) elach	elaichi	green cardamon
	garam mashla	garam masala	cloves, cinamon, cardamons (and black pepper for the rest of India but not Bengal)
	gol morich	kala mirch	black pepper
	halud	haldi	turmeric
	hing	hing	asafoetida
	jaffran	zaffran	saffron
	jaiphal	jaiphal	nutmeg
	jaitri	javitri	mace
	(sada) jeera	jeera	cumin
	jowan, randhuni	jwain	carom seeds
	kala jeera	kalonji	nigella
	kancha lanka	hara mirich	green chilli
	kari pata	kari patta	curry leaves
	labongo	lavang	cloves
	mashla	masale	spices
	mauri	saunf	aniseed/fennel
	methi	methi dana	fenugreek seeds
	noon, laban	namak	salt
	panch phoron	panch phoran	five spice: aniseed, cumin, fenugreek, mustard and nigella
	postho	khus khus	poppy seeds
	pudina pata	pudina patti	mint leaves
	rasoon	lasoon	garlic
	rai sorsey	rai sarson	mustard seeds
	shukno lanka	sukha lal mirich	red dried chilli
	tej pata	tej patta	bay leaf
	til	til	sesame seed

MACCHER JHOL (FISH IN BENGALI SAUCE)

Ingredients:


800 gms white-fleshed fish
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 mustard oil or vegetable oil
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp kalonji
4 whole red chillies dried
2 bay leaves
1 large onion peeled, chopped
3 whole green chillies


How to make bengali fish fry:

* Cut the fillets in about 4cm size.
* Rub the fish well with the 1/2 tsp of turmeric and 1/2 tsp of salt and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
* Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium flame. If you are using mustard oil, let it get smokingly hot.
* Now put in the fish pieces and brown lightly on all sides without cooking them through.
* Gently lift the fish out of the oil and put it on a plate. Turn off the heat.
* Combine the ground coriander seeds, the cumin, ginger, 1 tsp turmeric,chilli powder (cayenne pepper) and 1/2 tsp of salt in a small bowl. Add 3 tbsp of water and mix.
* Remove all but 5/6 tbsp of oil from the frying pan. Heat the frying pan over a medium flame.
* When hot, put in the nigelia seeds. A few seconds later, put in the red chillies.
* As soon as they darken a bit, put in the bay leaves. When the bay leaves start to darken, put in the onion.
* Stir and fry the onion, lowering the heat, if necessary, until it is translucent and lightly browned. Add the spice paste. Stir and fry it for about 1 minute.
* Now put in the fish in a single layer as well as 1 cup of water. Lay the green chillies over the fish.
* Simmer over a medium heat for 2 minutes, spooning the sauce over the fish pieces as you do so. Now cover, turn the heat to low and cook the fish for 10-15 minutes or until it is just done.
* Serve machher jhol (fish in bengali sauce)with rice.

BHINDI BHAJI RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 pound okra
2 medium onions, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic paste or powder
1/4 tsp coriander paste or powder
1/8 tsp cumin
3 large tomatoes
2 tsp oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro


How to make bhindi dopiaza :

* Cut the tip and the very bottom from the okra just to clean it, but do not slice.
* Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes.
* Add all ingredients except okra, tomato and cilantro. Cook for 3 minutes. Add okra, then cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Garnish with tomato and cilantro.
* Serve the bhindi bhaji with rice, naan or pita bread.

INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN RECIPE

Ingredients:


1/4 pint/150ml natural yogurt
2 ounces/50g ground almonds
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp crushed bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
4 green cardamom pods
1 tsp ginger pulp
1 tsp garlic pulp
14 ounce/400g can tomatoes
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 pounds/1kg chicken, skinned, boned and cubed
3 ounces/75g butter
1 tbsp corn oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
4 tbsp cream

How to make butter chicken :

* Place the yogurt, ground almonds, all the dry spices, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and salt in a mixing bowl and blend together thoroughly.
* Put the chicken into a large mixing bowl and pour over the yogurt mixture.
* Set aside. Melt together the butter and oil in a medium karahi, wok or frying pan. Add the onions and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry for about 7 to 10 minutes.
* Stir in about half of the coriander and mix well. Pour over the cream and stir in well. Bring to the boil. Garnish the indian butter chicken with the remaining chopped coriander to serve the chicken curry.