Planning on cooking at home this Poila Baisakh? Make something unique and surprise your friends and family with these starter recipes by MasterChef Subhojit Sen. The #cookgineer, who runs the cloud kitchen The Harmony Pot, is known for his interesting twists to traditional recipes. Ahead of the Bengali New Year, he shares recipes for a quick Aamsotto-stuffed Chhanar Chop and a crispy Loitta with butter garlic coriander sauce.
Aamsotto-stuffed Chhanar Chop
Sharing the recipe, Subhojit says, “This vegetarian recipe gets ready in 15 minutes. You can make it either with aamsotto (mango leather) or kumrosotto (pumpkin leather).”
Ingredients
- Grated full cream paneer: 200gm
- Aamsotto (mango leather): 2-3 sheets
- One medium-sized chopped onion
- Cumin powder: ¼ tsp
- Garam masala powder: ¼ tsp
- Red chilli powder: ⅛ tsp
- Kasuri meethi: 1 tsp
- Breadcrumbs: 1-2 cups
- Salt as per taste
- Any white oil for frying
Method
- Grate the paneer and add cumin, garam masala, red chilli powders, salt, chopped onions and kasuri methi. Mix well
- Cut the aamsotto into small pieces
- Make a small disc out of the grated paneer mixture and place one small piece of the mango leather in the centre
- Now make small balls from the grated paneer, keeping the mango leather piece intact in the centre
- Coat the balls with breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil, and serve with any dip of your choice
You can watch the full recipe here.
Crispy Loitta (Bombay Duck) with butter garlic coriander sauce
“This fried Bombay Duck recipe is going to be your next favourite,” says the chef. Boneless Bombay duck coated with cornflakes and served with buttery garlicky coriander sauce makes for a perfect non-vegetarian starter.
Ingredients
For the fish fry:
- Bombay duck: 8pcs (deboned)
- Ginger garlic paste: 1tbsp
- Black pepper powder: ½ tsp
- Chopped coriander leaves: 1tbsp
- Cornflakes: 1tbsp
- Panko breadcrumbs: 1tbsp
- Eggs: 1-2pcs
- Oil to fry
- Salt to taste
For the sauce:
- Butter: 2tbps
- Dry chillies: 1-2 slitted
- Chopped garlic: 2tbsp
- Chopped coriander: 2tbsp
- Cornstarch: 1tbsp
Method
- Marinate the fish with ginger garlic paste, chopped coriander leaves, salt and black pepper powder
- Coat the fish in beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs and panko mix
- Fry both sides in hot oil until crispy and golden brown
- For the sauce, in a pan, drop and melt the butter
- Add the slit chillies, chopped garlic and coriander. Sauté for a few seconds
- Make a cornflour slurry and add to the pan
- Add salt and let it thicken
- Pour the sauce on the fish and serve hot
Watch the full recipe here.