RECIPES

Bengali Lobster curry with coconut & bay leaf

MOCHHA CHINGRI
MAACHHER MOLAI CURRY

Serves: 4

Everything is dramatic in Bengal, so can be this preparation with impeccable spicing and flavouring. Sometimes, lobster can be crayfish – but who can argue with food passionate Bengali. The lobster in this part of India would be either rock or deep sea lobster, but in Western countries any lobster will be suitable for this recipe.

Ingredients:
4 medium size lobsters, meat removed and retain the shell
1 tsp salt
2 tsp turmeric powder
100 ml vegetable or coconut oil
100 grams potatoes cut in wedges
1 tbsp ghee
2 bay leaves
2 of each: cloves, cinnamon (1"), green cardamom
150 grams onions, minced to a paste
2 tsp green chilli paste
1 & half tsp ginger-garlic paste
400 ml coconut milk
1 tsp sugar

Method:
Wash and cut the lobsters into 2 lengthwise, clean and smear with turmeric and salt. Lightly sauté lobster shell in hot oil until shell changes in colour and set aside until required.

In the same oil, sauté lobster meat and potatoes with salt and turmeric until lightly caramelised and keep aside.

Heat the ghee and sauté bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and green cardamom, add onion paste and cook until lightly cooked. Add chilli and ginger-garlic pastes, cook until masala is well cooked, keep adding little water to keep the masala moist. Add salt, sugar and potatoes. Add half the coconut milk and lobster and simmer until cooked. Add the remaining half of the coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat.

Serve hot in lobster shell with steamed rice.

Chicken Tikka Pie

For the dough:
(gm)
1070 plain flour
675 unsalted butter
375 margarine
20 salt
210 cold water

Make the dough using a rub in method

Pie filling:
(gm)
1000 chicken tikka (diced)
100 onion chopped
50 garlic chopped
50 Ginger garlic paste
300 tomato chopped
50 coriander chopped
10 coriander powder
10 red chilli powder
10 turmeric
10 garam masala
Salt to taste
Oil for tempering

Method:
Heat oil in a pan
Sauté chop garlic
Sauté chop onion
Add Ginger garlic paste
Cook till golden brown
Add all powder masala and chop tomatoes
Cook till masala is cooked
Toss diced chicken tikka in cooked masala

Bake for 10 minutes at 170 degrees

Coconut Fish Curry

MEEN MOLEE

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 small fillets of sea bass or sea bream (about 150 g each)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp butter
1 & half tsp salt
1 & half tsp turmeric
30 ml coconut oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced
6 whole green chillies, slit lengthways
3 garlic cloves, sliced into fine strips
30 curry leaves
400 ml coconut milk
Small bunch of coriander, chopped
2 Scoops of masala mashed potatoes
Mixed cress for garnish

Method:
Mix 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp turmeric, and gently rub into the fish fillets.

Heat the coconut oil in a wide pan, then sauté the onion, chillies and garlic. Add 20 of the curry leaves and keep cooking until the onion is translucent. Add the rest of the turmeric and salt, pour in the coconut milk and simmer very gently. Fry the rest of the curry leaves in a separate pan.

Pan fry the fish in non stick pan and finish with butter. Serve in fish plate with masala mash, sauce and place the fish on top of mash and garnish with mixed cress.

Grilled Red Bream with Spice Rub

Serves 4
Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 6-8 minutes

This is very much my kind of dish when I want to entertain, but also to sit
and chat with my friends. I love coming up with new combinations of spices,
and the spice rub here is a particular favourite.

Ingredients:
4 red bream fillets, about 150g
(5&1⁄2oz) each
Lemon wedges, to serve

For the spice rub
3 tbsp walnut or olive oil
4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 tsp lemon juice
1 small green chilli, very
finely chopped

For the tomato salad
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1&1⁄2 tsp walnut or olive oil
1 tbsp walnuts, toasted in a dry frying pan and then lightly crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Try sea bass or John Dory as an alternative fish.

1 Mix all the ingredients for the spice rub together and season
with salt.

2 Line a baking sheet with foil and place the fish fillets on it,
skin-side down. Brush the spice rub over the fish. Place under
a hot grill for 6–8 minutes, until cooked through and lightly golden.
Remove from the heat and keep warm.

3 Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the tomato salad.

Serve the fish with the salad and some lemon wedges.

Kashmiri Lamb Curry

ROGAN JOSH

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1kg Leg of Lamb
half gram Saffron
30 grams Crushed Almonds
100ml Oil

Whole Garam Masala:
1 & half tsp cumin
6 green cardamom
2 black cardamom
1" cinnamon stick
8 cloves
1 star anise
2 blades of mace
1 tsp black pepper
350 grams onions
50 grams ginger-garlic paste
10 grams red chilli powder
10 grams coriander powder
3 grams garam masala
5 grams tumeric powder
salt
60 grams tomato paste
1 bunch coriander leaves
10 grams ginger

Preparation:
1. Leg of lamb - Trim & remove the bones and cut into 1 inch cubes. Whisk the yogurt, add almonds, saffron, salt & half the ginger garlic paste & keep in marinade for 2 hours.

2. Pound the whole spices in a mortar - pestle.

3. Peel & slice the onions thin.

4. Wash & finely chop the coriander leaves, wash & scrape the ginger and cut into julienne.

Cooking:
1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan, add the pounded spices, and stir till spices start to crackle.

2. Add the sliced onions, stir & cook till golden brown.

3. Add the lamb with the marinade, stir & cook till meat is browned & 3/4 cooked.

4. Add the dry spices & cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add the tomato paste & stir till lamb is cooked.

*** When the lamb is added, lamb will shed the excess of moisture & will cook in its own stock, if there isn't much liquid in the pan, some water or lamb stock can be added. Once the meat is browned, it will tend to get stuck at the bottom, one has to keep stirring with the scraping at the bottom, which is important for the characteristic development of the flavors.

Presentation:
1. Serve it in bowl, garnished with coriander & ginger julienne.

2. Rogan Josh can be served with saffron rice or an Indian bread.

Pan-fried John Dory

Pan-fried John Dory in Green Spice Paste
with Oven Roasted Tomatoes
NIMBUWALI MACHCHI

Serves: 4

For John Dory:
4 fillets of John Dory
2 tbsp limejuice
1 tsp lime rind
half tsp salt
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter

For Green Spice Paste:
Make a paste of following ingredients in a blender
50 grams mint leaves
50 grams coriander leaves
50 grams baby spinach
10 grams peeled & scraped ginger
2 green chillies
1 & half tsp fenugreek leaf powder
2 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
half tsp salt
2 tbsp gram flour

For Tomatoes:
4 strings of tomatoes on vine
1 tbsp vegetable oil
quartet tsp cumin seeds
half medium onion, chopped
half  tsp fine chopped ginger
half  tsp coriander powder
half  tsp turmeric powder
half  tsp chaat masla
Sea salt to taste
1 tbsp fine chopped coriander leaves

For Garnish:
Asparagus cress
Coriander leaves

Method:

Fish
Marinate the fish with limejuice, rind and salt and keep aside to drain the excess moisture for 5 minutes. Pat the fish dry and put into green spice marinade for 40 minutes. Heat the oil in a flat pan, scrape off the excess marinade and shallow fry the fish from the skin side first for a minute. Turn the fillet & fry the other side for 2 minutes or until fish is cooked. Add little butter and baste the fish and remove on to a warm plate lined with kitchen paper towel to soak off excess fat.

Tomatoes
Heat oil in a pan, sauté cumin seeds, and onions till translucent. Add tomatoes on vine and sprinkle spices. Cook in hot oven at 180C till tomatoes start to wilt. Remove and serve sprinkled with chopped coriander leaves.

Serving
While serving with John Dory, place the tomatoes in the centre of the plate, place the fish on top and garnish with asparagus cress - coriander tossed in vinaigrette. Drizzle some vinaigrette around the plate and serve hot.