BEETROOT CUTLET

Ingredients:
4 potatoes
1 small beetroot
50g peanuts
25g raisins
Coriander leaves, a bunch
½tsp black salt
Lemon juice
1 egg 
Breadcrumb
Salt, to taste

Method:

Boil and mash the potatoes well. Grate the beetroot and squeeze out the juice lightly. Chop the coriander leaves. Combine together mashed potatoes, grated beetroot, coriander leaves, peanuts, raisins, black salt, lemon juice and salt. Make oval or round balls and shape them into cutlets. Coat with beaten egg and breadcrumb. Fry them golden brown. Serve them hot with potato wafers and any chutney.

FISH CUTLET

Ingredients:
5 to 6 pieces of boneless fish
1-inch piece grated ginger
1 finely chopped onion
Chopped coriander leaves, a bunch 
2 eggs
Lemon juice
1tsp black pepper powder
2 finely chopped green chillies
Breadcrumb for coating
Salt, to taste

Method:
Steam the fish. Remove the bones if any and mash it. Add finely chopped onion, grated ginger, chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, lemon juice, black pepper powder and salt. Blend together. Add one egg to the mixture for binding. Make small balls and shape into patties. Coat the patties with the beaten egg and wrap with breadcrumb. Shallow-fry or bake them. Your cutlets are ready! Serve them hot with potato fingers and sauce of your choice.

SHAMI KEBAB

Ingredients:

500g minced mutton
1 onion
5 dry red chillies
Ginger, 1-inch piece
8 cloves of garlic
100g chana dal
4 pieces of clove
4 pieces of cardamom
Cinnamon, 1-inch piece
1tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
Coriander leaves, a bunch
Juice of 1 lime
1 egg
Ghee, for frying
100g Bengal gram

Method:
Clean the minced meat well. Chop the ginger, garlic and onion into small pieces. Boil the minced meat in a covered pan with Bengal gram, black pepper, clove, cardamom, ginger, garlic, onion, bay leaf, dry red chillies with 2 cups of water till the meat becomes tender. Once the meat is well cooked, remove the lid of the pan and allow the water to dry on low flame. Grind the cooked minced meat to a smooth paste. Chop coriander leaves and add it to the mince along with lemon juice and beaten egg. Make round kebabs from the minced meat. Take ghee in a frying pan and heat it. Fry kebabs in the ghee till they are brown. Fry both sides uniformly. Remove from the pan and serve hot with onion rings.

BEL KA SHERBET

Ingredients:
1 Bengal quince or bel, peeled and pulp squeezed
12 cubes of crushed ice
1tbsp lime juice
4 glasses of water
Sugar, if needed to sweeten
A pinch of black salt

Method:
Soak the bel pulp in water for about 30 minutes. Strain in a strainer to remove the fibre and seeds. Now add sugar (if required), lemon juice, black salt and ice. Serve cold.

MAASH DAL KI KHEER

Ingredients:
100g basmati rice
1litre buffalo milk
50g maash ki dal (urad dal)
250g sugar
200g khoya
10 almonds, slivered
Saffron, a few strands dissolved in milk
Cashew nuts, chopped
25g raisins
Silver leaf for decoration

Method:
Wash the rice and dal and soak them together for an hour. Boil the milk well. Cook the rice and dal in a cooker together with a little water till it’s very soft. Mash it well. Now add the mashed rice and dal to the boiled milk. Keep stirring so that no lumps are formed. Add khoya till the mixture is rich. Add sugar, almonds, chopped cashew nuts and raisins to it. Finally add saffron dissolved in milk. Decorate with silver leaf and slivered almonds.

Pictures: Pabitra Das