The prominent luxury hotel, InterContinental Dhaka shares six mouthwatering recipes for the upcoming Bengali new year, Pohela Boishakh. Without further ado, veer into the simple yet intricate recipes of local delicacies only to enjoy it with your friends and family in a festive mood.
CHINGRI MALAI CURRY
Ingredients
- 200 gm prawns
- 2 tbsp. onion paste
- 3 tbsps cooking oil
- Cashew nut paste 1 tsp
- 2 tbsp. ginger and garlic paste
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- to taste salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 50 gm Malai
- 1 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 tsp ghee
- Green chilli 2-3
Method of preparation
Blanch the prawns in turmeric water. Heat the oil and add onion paste. Add ginger and garlic paste, cumin powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and sauté. Now add the prawns and slit green chillies and stir for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk & malai cook for few more minutes and then add salt. In the end, add ghee on top and serve. Enjoy!
DUCK BHUNA
Ingredients
- 1 duck with skin on- cut into regular/ small pieces.
- Onion 150 gm
- Ginger paste-1 tbsp
- Garlic paste-1 tbsp
- Turmeric-1 tsp
- Red chilli powder-1-2 tsp
- Cumin powder-1 tsp
- Coriander powder-1 tsp
- Bay leaves-1-2
- Cinnamon sticks-2-3
- Cardamom-2-3
- Black pepper whole 2-3
- Clove 3-4
- Garam Masala Powder ½ tsp
- Green Chili 2-3
- Tomato Chopped 50 gm
- Salt to taste
- Oil 100 ml
Method of preparation
One very important step in this recipe is to soak and make a rough paste of whole garam masala. It gives a very distinct aroma as well as taste. But, if you wish you can use whole garam masalas also. If you use whole garam masalas, use them during the 1st step. If you are using the paste, use during the frying step. Put, duck all the masala pastes, salt, whole garam masalas (if you are using it), very little water and mix it well. Cook covered until the duck is almost done. Duck skin usually oozes a lot of its own oil, so do not use any extra oil. Once cooked, remove from the heat. Take a pan. Take some oil out from the cooked duck. heat the oil and put the onion and light brown and add garlic and ginger paste and stir well. Now sieve the meat from the cooked juice and add to the pan. Fry until brown using a little bit of juice from the cooked duck, once at a time until all the juice are used and the gravy becomes thick and looks well done.
FRESH FRUIT CHAAT
Ingredients
- Green Apple cubed – 2 piece
- fresh strawberries – 1 cup
- pineapple cubed – 1
- orange cubed – 2 cups
- grapes – 1 cup
- pomegranate – 1 cup
- lemon juice – 1 tbs
- salt – to taste
- sugar – to taste
- chaat masala powder – to taste
- Coriander leaves- 2 tbs
- Mint Leaves – 2 tbs
- Mustard Oil – 2 tbs
Method of preparation
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and enjoy your fresh Fruit Chaat!
HILSA PATURI
Ingredients
- 7 pieces- Ilish/Hilsa fish
- 7-8 tsp- Mustard paste
- 7-8- Green chillies (adjust according to your tolerance)
- Turmeric powder 1 tsp
- Chili Powder- 1 tsp
- Ginger paste-1tsp
- Garlic paste-1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Onion Paste -150 gm
- Mustard oil-100 ml
- 4-5 tbsp + more for greasing the banana leaves- Mustard oil
- 2- Banana leaves
Method of preparation
In a bowl add onion paste, mustard paste, mustard oil, turmeric powder, salt and green chilli paste, mix well. Remember this mixture should be thick, not watery. Add this mix to the freshly washed pieces of Hilsha. Mix gently, keep aside. Heat the banana leaf sheets from one edge to another (glossy side down) over low flame for a few seconds. This is for easy folding, care should be taken not to burn out the leaves. Cut the banana leaves into rectangles. Keeping in mind that you need the leaf pieces to be spacious enough to wrap, clean the leaf pieces with a wet kitchen towel. Grease the upper part of the leaf sheets with mustard oil. Grease an iron pan (not nonstick) with mustard oil. Place the fish parcels/paturi on pan. Cook for 20 minutes over low heat. Flip the parcels in between. Let the parcels turn dark brown in colour. Remove from the heat. Your delicious Ilish Paturi is ready to devour. Serve hot with steamed rice.
SMOKED HILSA RECIPE
Ingredients
- Hilsa fish (Ilish Mach): 6-8 slices
- Red chilli powder: ½ tsp
- Tomato sauce: 1 tsp
- Vinegar: 1 tsp
- Ginger paste: 1 tsp
- Onion paste: 2 tbsp
- Oil: quarter cup
- Salt to taste
- Charcoal and foil
Method
At first in a pan marinate the Hilsa fish slices with all the ingredients and keep it for 2-3 hours. Then put the pan on stove and cook it in a low heat for 1 hour. When broth becomes dried and gives a burnt smell, then put the pan off the stove. Now pick the Hilsa fish slices with broth and keep the slices in a bowl with glass lid. Now make foil’s bowl and put it on the fish slices. Heat the charcoal and when it becomes red, put it over the foil’s bowl. Add a little bit butter over the charcoal and cover it with a lid. After a few minutes cast off the charcoal and foil. Your Smoked Hilsa is ready to serve!
PATISHAPTA PITHA
Ingredients for Batter:
- Flour- 300 gm
- Liquid milk – 500 ml
- Sugar – 100 gm
- Butter – 100
Ingredients For Stuffing:
- Milk 1 litre
- Sugar 200 gm
- Egg yolk 1
- Flour 100 gm
- Water 200 ml
- Cardamom powder 1 piece
Method Batter:
Milk, sugar, flour mix in a bowl by a whisk than stain the mixture and add butter.
Method stuffing:
Boil milk and sugar together and reduce until golden brown colour. Then mix flour water egg yolk cardamom powder together by hand whisk. When it cold ready to use. Fry the batter in round fry pan keep cool and stuffing chill khisha and roll. For garnish some nuts on top of pitha.