From chingri to chutney: Five recipes for a sumptuous Saptami menu

After the culinary delights of Sashthi, on Saptami, the second day of the puja, strike a balance between the traditional and the exotic with some chingri, chicken, chutney and more. Here are recipes for five delightful dishes to make on this day. Let the cookathon begin!

Peas and prawn pulao

Representative image

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This easy recipe can be made niramish (non-vegetarian) or amish (vegetarian), and the twist is, it looks like fried rice, but tastes like a pulao!

Ingredients:

Long grain basmati rice: 1 cup
Prawns: 300 gm
Packaged green peas: ½ cup
Bay leaf: 1
Cardamom: 1
Cloves: 2
Cinnamon: 1
FInely chopped onion: 1 large
Ginger and garlic paste: 2 tablespoon
Green chilli paste: 1 teaspoon (Optional)
Full fat milk: 1 cup
Water: 1 cup
Vegetable oil: 5-6 tablespoons
Ghee
Salt
Sugar

Special spice mix:

2 cloves, 2 cardamoms, ½ teaspoon whole blackpepper, 1 dry red chilli, ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon coriander seeds, ½ cinnamon stick, ½ nutmeg - dry-roasted and powdered: 3 tablespoons

Recipe:

Wash rice, coat in ghee and leave aside
Marinate the prawns with salt
Heat oil in a kadhai and saute the prawns
Remove the prawns and add adequate ghee to the same utensil and heat well
Now add the bay leaf, cardamom, clove and cinnamon. Saute well
Add the chopped onion and cook till golden brown. Sprinkle some sugar for caramelisation
Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilli paste. Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes on low to medium heat. Sprinkle some water if required to prevent the spices from burning
Add the special spice mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add the ghee coated rice, salt and sugar. Cook for 4-5 minutes before adding milk
Add some more ghee and cook on low flame for about 7-8 minutes before adding water
Once the rice is ready and there is no excess water, add the prawns and peas and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes, add some more ghee and turn off the flame. Don’t forget to the seasonings of course

Tip:

You can add raisins and cashews if you like
The ideal water-to-milk ratio for 300gm rice is 1:1
You can also use shrimps in the place of prawns

Stuffed tomato

Wikimedia Commons

These tangy tomato pockets with fillings ranging from soya and mutton to chicken keema to fish makes it too irresistible to not add to the Puja menu.

Ingredients:

Tomato, cut into halves and scooped: 8-10
Chicken keema: 300gm
Onion paste: 3 tablespoons for filling; 2 tablespoons for gravy
Ginger and garlic paste: 2 tablespoons for filling, 2 tablespoons for gravy
Tomato and dry whole red chilli paste: 2 tablespoons for gravy
Green chilli and lemon juice paste: ½ tablespoon for filling, ½ tablespoon for gravy
Roasted cumin and coriander powder: 1 tablespoon for gravy
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon for gravy
Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon for gravy
Bay leaf: 1
Dry whole red chilli: 1 for gravy
Whole garam masala: 1 teaspoon for gravy
Black pepper: 1 tablespoon for the filling
Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
Ghee
Mustard oil
Salt
Sugar

Recipe:

For filling —

Add mustard oil in a nonstick pan and heat
Add onion paste and saute for 3-4 minutes before adding the ginger and garlic paste and the green chilli and lemon juice paste. Mix well and cook for another 3-4 minutes, occasionally splashing some water to save the spice base from getting burnt
Add the chicken keema, salt and pepper, little salt and lemon juice
Mix well and cover. Cook on low to medium flame until the chicken is ready. You can add a few splashes of water, but remember that the filling has to dry

For stuffed tomatoes —

Add mustard oil and ghee (80:20 ratio) in a kadhai, bay leaf, dry red whole chilli and garam masala. Temper the spices well
Next in line are the onion paste, ginger and garlic paste, tomato and red chilli paste, green chilli paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes on low flame
Add roasted cumin and coriander powder, turmeric and kashmiri red chilli powder, garam masala and cook for 5-6 minutes or until oil leaves the surface on low flame
Add the required amount of water, salt and sugar to make the gravy. Once the gravy is ready, place the tomatoes and cover cook for 5-6 minutes on low to medium flame. Don’t forget to pour some gravy on the surface of the tomatoes with a spoon
Turn off the flame and serve

Tip:

You can use soya keema, grated fish, mutton, beef or pork keema as filling too

Lebu-lanka-aam ada murgi

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This tok-jhal chicken curry, with a hint of aam-ada and some kasuri methi, offers an aroma and aftertaste you can’t forget (or make just once).

Ingredients:

Chicken: 1 kg
Hung curd: 50gm
Boiled onion paste: 4 tablespoons
Ginger and garlic paste: 3 tablespoons
Mango ginger paste: 2 tablespoons
Lemon juice: 4 tablespoons
Lemon zest: 1 teaspoon
Green chilli paste: 2 tablespoons
Whole blackpepper: 1 teaspoon
Slit green chillies: 4-5
Roasted cumin and coriander powder: 2 tablespoons
Dry roasted garam masala powder: 1 teaspoon
Kasuri methi: 1 tablespoon
Potatoes cut into halves: 6
Bay leaf: 1 (Recommending unripe lay leaf if you have a plant)
Whole dry red chilli: 2
Mustard oil
Salt
Sugar
Ghee

Recipe:

Marinate the chicken with onion, ginger and garlic, mango ginger, green chilli pastes. Add hung curd, salt, mustard oil, cumin and coriander powder and lemon juice to the marination too. Keep for at least 30 minutes, though it is recommended marinating it overnight for best results
Marinate the potatoes with salt and deep fry till golden brown. Keep them aside
In a kadhai, add fresh mustard oil, bay leaf, whole blackpepper and dry red chilli. Saute well
Now, add the chicken and start cooking it on low flame. Remember, this chicken kosha will cook in the water residual of hung curd and chicken. Cover the chicken after 15 minutes and keep stirring occasionally
After slow-cooking for about 30 minutes, add sugar and the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes and done
Now, add the slit green chillies and lemon zest. Add hand crushed kasuri methi, give one good stir and turn off the flame
Drizzle some ghee if you like and serve piping hot

Doi maachh

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Durga Puja celebration without some maachh? Impossible! Make this Doi Maachh that tastes like you get in a biye bari, but is actually quite low on tel-jhal-masala.

Ingredients:

Paka pona/katla: 8 pieces
Boiled onion paste: 3 tablespoons
Hung curd: 4-5 tablespoons
Ginger and green chilli paste: 2 tablespoons
Bay leaf: 1
Whole garam masala: 1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder: 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
Whole cumin: 1 teaspoon
Whole dry red chilli: 1
Turmeric powder: 2 teaspoon
Mustard oil
Sugar
Salt
Ghee

Recipe:

Lightly marinate the fish pieces with salt, turmeric powder and some curd for minimum 15 minutes
In a kadhai, add mustard oil and ghee (70:30 ratio) and heat
Add bay leaf, whole garam masala and dry red chilli and saute well
Add whole cumin and allow it to change colour and leave aroma
Now, add the onion paste and saute for 3-4 minutes. Then, add the ginger and green chilli paste, turmeric powder and Kashmiri red chilli powder cook for another 6-7 minutes
Beat the remaining hung curd well with a pinch of salt and sugar and add to the spice mix. Let it cook for 7-10 minutes
Check the seasoning of the gravy, add a little water if needed, and place the fish pieces. Cover and cook on low flame for another 20-30 minutes
Sprinkle some garam masala powder and ghee and turn off the heat

Pineapple chutney

Wiki Commons

Will there be something sweet to end the meal? Of course, there will be, and that too in under 30-minutes!

Ingredients:

Grated pineapple: 500gm
Powdered sugar: 1 cup
Saffron strands: ½ teaspoon
Grated ginger: 1 tablespoon
Cardamom powder: ½ teaspoon
Cloves: 2
Chilli flakes: ½ teaspoon
Dry whole red chilli: 1
Bay leaf: 1 small
Chaat masala: 1 teaspoon
Salt
Vegetable oil: 2 tablespoons
Finely chopped cashew: 8-10
Raisins: 8-10
Finely chopped pistachios: 8-10
Finely chopped almonds: 8-10

Recipe:

Add vegetable oil in a nonstick pan and heat. Add bay leaf, dry whole red chilli and cloves. Next in line is grated ginger. Saute all the masalas well
Next, add the grated pineapple and sugar. Mix well, add cardamom powder and keep cooking on low flame for 10-15 minutes. Point to remember, pineapple will release oil and the ideal consistency for this chutney is thick
Once water stops releasing and chutney has begun to thicken, add a pinch of salt, chilli flakes and the dry fruits. Mix well
When the chutney is ready, check seasoning and turn off the flame
Add some chaat masala and the saffron strands. Serve hot or refrigerated