NUTTY MUTTON & CRISPY FRIED GREEN TOMATOES WITH RICE

If you have read the last 2 post, you would know that I am sharing the dishes I made to celebrate Dashmi--the last day of Durga Puja. For starter I had MULLIGATAWNY SOUP WITH TOASTED BREAD AND PEA PESTO, the first main course was CILANTRO RICE WITH TANGY GRAVY & SPICY FRIED FISH and now the final course. When I was in Shillong, the Dashmi day used to be totally busy and fun-filled. We had to get up early and go to the pandals to see 'Shidoor-Khela' -- its the final ritual before the immersion. The married ladies would apply vermilion on the feet , banglesand forhead of the goddess and then give her some sweets, the best part is when the ladies start applying vermilion on each other......in a way they look very beautiful :) . The student would go for 'Boi Chuwano' -- they would take all the books and place it on the goddess feet , to seek her blessing for the upcoming exams... :) . Anyways after that we would come home and all of us would sit down for the heavy lunch of atleast 7-8 items both savory and sweet. And all those dishes would be created by Mamoni(Mom) before she went for the 'Shidoor-Khela'....great right..!!!! . In the evening we would go to visit the relatives and stuff ourselves with more sweets. Finally at night we be enjoying some cultural meet....So much fun..!!!                According to me, being away from home during the festivals is very bad idea but at times things dont work in our favor and this year it worked against me. I was stuck here all alone :( however I decided to celebrate it with my best companion - food.  Anyways let get back to the dish , for my final course I decided to make a lamb dish. Every family has some tradition going on for ever and so do we. Since my childhood I have heard that on the Dashmi day , we should not have chicken and we have to make meat(lamb/mutton) only. Although my dad cannot eat meat(lamb/mutton) due to his health condition this tradition is still followed , and so I thought of sticking to it.  The very next question that came to my head was how do I make it,I mean I have made mutton earlier but as always wanted to try something new. I was tilted toward Mutton Rogan Josh , thats mainly cause I like it and also I have never tried making it at home. So I did some research and found out all the various version of the dish and I decided to try the Kashmiri Version--- I had noted down all the ingredients necessary and I even bought eveything. However when the cooking time came something happened in between and I dropped the plan of making Rogan Josh WHY??? I dont know....this just keeps happening to me, I would plan something and end up making something else.... :) . So I ended up making a new mutton dish. Also made some crispy fried tomatoes, had seen the dish in a cookery show called Chuck's Day Off sometime back and had been planning to try it. So what's the last course, well it is ---- Nutty Mutton & Crispy Fried Green Tomato with Rice...!!! Shared with These Chicks Cooked Link Party - Featuring Your Recipes from All Around Blogland #24

FOR NUTTY MUTTON
Mutton (medium sized)	500 gms
Onion	2 medium sized
Ginger-Garlic paste	1 tablespoon
Dried red chilly	5-6 number
Almond	5-6 number
Pistachio	7-8 number
Cashewnut	5-6 number
Raisin	9-10 number
Yogurt	2-3 tablespoon
Cumin Seed	1 teaspoon
Salt	As per taste
Oil	4-5 tablespoon

FOR CRISPY FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
Green Tomatoes	2-3 numbers
Flour	3 tablespoon
Egg	2 numbers
Breadcrumb	4 tablespoon
Red Chilly Flakes	1 teaspoon
Dried Basil	1 teaspoon
Salt	As per taste
Oil	1 teaspoon

    NUTTY MUTTON:-

1. Soak the dried red chilly in a bowl of warm water for at least 10 min.
2. Dry roast the nuts - almond, pistachio and cashewnut over low flame till the are done.
3. Blend together the roasted nuts, raisins and the soaked dried red chilly with little water  till it forms a smooth paste.
4. Separately blend the onion and ginger-garlic paste to form a smooth paste.
5. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seed. Then add the onion paste and cook till it done.
6. Add the mutton pieces to the pan; add salt and cover the pan for 10 min.
7. Whisk the yogurt to the spicy nut paste till it gets smooth.
8. Pour the yogurt-nut paste to the cooking mutton and let it cook for 20 min.
9. Add some water and salt to the cooking mutton, cover the pot and let it simmer in low heat for at least 1 & half hour.
10. When the mutton is soften, remove the cover and let it cook till the sauce thickens and is no longer running.

   CRISPY FRIED GREEN TOMATOES:-

1. Cut unpeeled tomatoes in cross-section into 1/2 inch slices. 
2. Beat the egg in a bowl with a pinch of salt. And spread out the flour in a plate.
3. Place the breadcrumbs in a different plate. Add salt,chilly flakes and dried parsley to the crumbs and mix them properly.
4. Coat the tomato pieces with flour. then dip it in the egg and coat it.
5. Finally coat the egg dipped tomato pieces in the breadcrumb mixture and press slightly so that the crumbs stick to the tomatoes.
6. Heat oil in a pan, and fry the tomato pieces till the pieces are properly done and crunchy.

It was a great ending to the festivity.. :) . I didn't make any sweet dish coz that was my Diwali plan.. 

CILANTRO RICE WITH TANGY GRAVY & SPICY FRIED FISH

The Mulligatawny soup with Toasted Bread and Pea Pesto was totally refreshing.....the sweet and tangy taste of the soup with the garlicy pesto was mmmm :) . Now lets move to the main courses and we will start with a FISH dish. People say Bengali cuisine is generally related to fish and sweet---actually they are not wrong :D . Being from a Bengali Family, we ate fish everyday. Infact my Baba(daddy) cannot enjoy his food without it even if there are 5-6 courses still he would need a fish dish :) . Me and my sister are not inclined towards fish (not real Bengalies may be... :D ), when we go out to any party as a family and if we (me and my sister) didn't eat the fish dish....then coming back home Baba would actually take our case---Why did you eat the fish dish? ... his most common question. Although I don't like seafood so much but ones a month I get the craving for fish , we bengalies eat every part of the fish--head to tail. As I have noticed most part of the world people discard the head but we have a lot of awesome dishes with that too -- I know it may sound very unappetizing but for me its UUU LA LA LA...!! :) . Well lets get to the story behind the dish. Recently I have developed a crazy of using fruits in savory dishes and you would be finding me doing that very often...honestly it does enhances the taste of the dishes. This dish is inspired by a cookery show in the TV called 'Twist of Taste with Vineet Bhatia' I like this series coz the chef Vinnet Bhatia uses the local dishes and re-creates a high class dish with the local produce. As I have shared when I decided to make a dish I just have to make it , but unfortunately I could not find all the ingredients he had used and I had not even noted down the process he followed so I added my twist to the already twisted dish :D .  I wanted to use fish fillets for the dish so I tried cooking with Tilapia for the first time.....and I just loved the fish and will be using it in future too. For the gravy the chef used raw mangoes, but where do I get raw mangoes now...so I used star fruit. Well the star fruit we got in my hometown - Shillong would be so tangy that using one would be just enough and we mostly used it for pickle but the ones I got here was not so sour so I used almost 3 of them for the right sourness.  I call my dish Cilantro Rice with Tangy Gravy and Spicy Fried Fish. Star Fruit also known as Carambola is a type of tropical fruit. The fruit has ridges on its sides (mainly 5), in cross-section it resembles a star and that's how it got the name.The star fruit has waxy, green to golden yellow skin with a citricy flavor that resembles the lemon or pineapple. The fruit is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidant. It has some amount of Vitamin B which helps to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks.The fruit is beneficial for blood and bones as it contains potassium , iron , calcium and magnesium.The star fruit is rich in soluble fiber, which can be useful to reduce cholesterol levels. Tilapia is a fresh water fish.Its a mild flavored fish that holds the seasoning very well. The best methods to cook the tilapia -- grilling and baking but not that we cannot try out the other options. Tilapia is rich in protein and low in calorie count. Its a great source of omega-3 fatty acid which helps to prevent blood pressure and heart disease. Shared the dish with - Foodie Wednesday @ Frugal Wannabe Cooks ; Real Food Wednesday ; WFMW: An Awesome Tradition ; Welcome Wednesday ; Homestead Barn Hop #32 ; Domestically Divine Tuesday & These Chicks Cooked Link Party - Featuring Your Recipes from All Around Blogland #22

FOR TANGY GRAVY
Star fruit	3 numbers
Ginger(finely chopped)	1/2 tablespoon
Yogurt	2 tablespoon
Mustard seed	1 teaspoon
Jaggery	1 small cube
Salt	As per taste
Oil	1 teaspoon

FOR SPICY FRIED FISH
Tilapia fillets	Fillet from 1 fish
Onion	1 small sized
Garlic cloves	2 numbers
Tomato puree	1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Paprika	1 teaspoon
Salt	As per taste
Oil	1 teaspoon

FOR CILANTRO RICE
Basmati Rice	1 cup
Onion	1 medium sized
Garlic	2 cloves
Cilantro	2 medium sized bunches
Milk	1 cup
Salt	As per taste
Oil	1 teaspoon

  TANGY GRAVY:-

1. Blanch the star fruits. Remove from the boiling water within 2-3 min.
2. Blend the star fruit without any extra water as it would give out a good amount of water.
3. Heat a pan and add the star fruit puree to the pan and let it cook over low heat.
4. Remove the pan from heat after 5 min, whisk the yogurt and pour it to the pan.
5. Stir the star fruit puree, yogurt and salt till it is properly incorporated. 
6. Place the mixture back on a very low heat and let it cook for not more then 5-6 mins.
7. Strain the liquid sauce using a muslin cloth. 
8. Heat a clean pan, add oil and mustard seed. After the spattering has stopped add the chopped ginger. 
9. Add the fresh strained liquid in the pan and cook for 2 min. Then add the jaggery and stir till the jaggery is mixed thoroughly.

  SPICY FRIED FISH:-

1. Blend together onion and garlic.
2. In a small bowl, mix the onion-garlic paste with tomato puree , turmeric powder , cumin powder , paprika and salt.
3. Clean the fish fillets and place it in a zip pouch bag. Pour the marinate on top of the fish fillets and mix it up. Let this stand for 1/2 hour.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the fish over medium heat just 5 min on each side or till the either sides get caramelized.

  CILANTRO RICE:-

1. Pressure cook the rice till it is parboiled. Finely chop the onion and the cilantro.
2. In a large pan, heat oil and add the chopped onion. 
3. Fry the onion till it turns translucent, then add the chopper cilantro and salt and cook f0r 3-4 min.
4. Add the parboiled rice to the pan add cook it for another 5 min.
5. Pour in the milk and cook again for 5 more min or till the milk is totally soaked in.
6. The dish is ready to be served. 

                   

A wonderful dish that was ready in a few minutes . Totally enjoyed it .. :)       

MULLIGATAWNY SOUP WITH TOASTED BREAD AND PEA PESTO

OCTOBER.....this is the most festive month of the year. There are endless number for festival from all around the world and I have decided to celebrate them all-----HOW??? With food for sure. :) .  My month long festivity started with Durga Puja----a festival most awaited by bengalis. We actually wait for 361 days to celebrate the 4 days of Puja. The beautiful statues of the goddess in the midst of light shows , dak(drums) and aromatic foods is breath-taking. This is the first time in years that I have been away from my family and I was sad, but that didnt stop me from Pandal-hopping. It was a refreshing feeling and the sound of dhak(drums) just suppressed all sorrows :). I tried out a lots of lovely food but the one street food without which Durga Puja seems incomplete for me is Egg Roll. Since my childhood during all the days of Durga Puja we would litterally bug my father till he bought us the super delicious Egg Rolls :) and I still have the same craving. The last day of Durga Puja is called Dashami, when the statues are paraded around the city before being submerged in the lakes or rivers. With all the missed feeling in heart, we spend the rest of the day feasting with all the wonderful dishes --- both savory and sweet. This year, although away from home, I had a feast in my house here ... not on the Dashami day but on the following Sunday :) . Ya I was alone but food kept me accompanied and at the end of the week I was feeling better :D . I will be sharing all the recipes with you all.Lets start with the starter -- Mulligatawny soup with Toasted Bread and Pea Pesto.   Mulligatawny means "pepper water" or "pepper broth" in Tamil. The became popular with the British stationed in India during colonial times, during the late 18th century and later.  They took the recipe back to England and made variations to suit their tastes and it became a well-loved classic. There are many versions to the original recipe and I tried my own twig to the classic. Pesto originated in Genoa, North Italy. Its a sauce traditionally made with garlic,basil and pine nuts grounded along with olive oil and cheese. Currently there are many different types of pesto sauces made all around the world. My pesto had Pea as the main ingredient another small change to classic. Shared my recipe with My City Cuisine

FOR MULLIGATAWNY SOUP
Apple	2 numbers
Pineapple	1/2 of a medium sized
Carrot	2 number
Potato	2 number
Baby onion	1 cup
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium sized
Peas	1 cup
Corns	1 cup
Ginger grated	1 teaspoon
All purpose Floor	1/3 cup
Curry Powder	1 teaspoon
Milk	1 cup
Salt	As per taste
Pepper	1/3 teaspoon
Oil	1/2 tablespoon

FOR TOASTED BREAD AND PEA PESTO
Peas	2 cups
Cilantro	1 bunch
Pine Nuts	1/2 cup
Garlic cloves	2 numbers
Salt	As per taste
Oil	1 teaspoon

  MULLIGATAWNY SOUP:-

1. Boil corn till its a little soft but still having a slight crunch.
2. Cut the carrot , potato and red bell pepper into cubes.The fruits are also cut into cubes.
3. The baby onions are only peeled and the shape is kept intact.
4. Heat oil in a large pan, add the ginger and saute till the oil get a gingery smell.
5. Add the  potatoes , carrot , red bell pepper and baby onion to the pan. Saute for 5 -6 min.Then add the peas , corns , apples and pineapple and saute for 5-6 min again.
6. Add curry powder, black pepper and salt to the pan and cook for 2-3 min.
7. Finally stir in the flour and gradually add milk to the pan, keep stiring so that no lump is created.
8. If needed add hot water(I needed it :) ) and let it boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

  TOASTED BREAD AND PEA PESTO:-

1. To toast the bread, grill the bread slices in a sandwich maker.
2. For the pea pesto : boil the peas till it slightly soft and remove it instantly and cool under running water
3. In the food processor pulse together the soften peas , cilantro , pine nuts and garlic cloves. When done add salt and pulse for a few seconds only.
4. In a pan, add oil and add the pea-cilantro mash. Stir for 3 min max.

                   

A hot toast with a dab of pesto along with the warm,sweet and sour soup.. :)