Ashtami is about all things tradition, including a lavish traditional Bengali spread with choices of niramish (vegetarian) and amish (non vegetarian) dishes. After all, one needs to keep the mood upbeat because raat perolei Navami is a heavy emotion for all Bangalis.
This Ashtami, cook up a storm with these recipes for some wholesome Bangali khabar.
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Ghee bhaat
A simple, fragrant ghee bhaat with some cashews and raisins can be pure indulgence especially when paired with sides like shukto, macher matha diye dal and mangsher alu diye jhol.
Ingredients
- Basmati rice: 1 cup
- Full fat milk: 1 cup
- Warm water: 1 cup
- Cashew: 15-20
- Milk soaked raisins: 15-20
- Saffron strands: 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
- Bay leaf: 2 large
- Cloves: 2-3
- Green cardamom: 2-3
- Brown cardamom: 1
- Cinnamon: 1
- Salt
- Sugar
- Ghee
Recipe:
- Wash rice, drain water and coat with ghee. Set aside
- In a kadhai or any preferred deep bottom pan, heat some ghee
- Add bay leaf, cloves, green and brown cardamoms and cinnamon and saute for 1-2 minutes on low to medium flame
- Add cashews and raisins, saute for 2-3 minutes. Strain ghee and add it back to the pan, and keep the dry fruits aside
- Now, add rice and turmeric powder and saute on low flame for 6-7 minutes or until the rice is translucent
- Pour the milk and stir well. Cook on low to medium flame for 5-6 minutes before adding water
- Cover and cook until the rice is ready. Add the dry suits, saffron and give a good mix. Switch off the flame and serve hot
Tip: You can mix saffron in a small cup of milk and add in the rice as well
Shukto
A Bangali menu has to begin with a teto (bitter) element and what better than a shukto.
Ingredients
- Bitter gourd cut into medium dices: 2 large
- Potato cut into medium dices: 1 large
- Sweet potato cut into medium dices: 1 large
- Brinjal cut into larger dices: 1 large
- Raw banana cut into medium dices: 1 large
- Raw papaya cut into medium dices: 1 small or half of medium
- Drumsticks cut into half-finger size: 5-6
- Lentil dumplings or bori: 8-10
- Bay leaf: 1 large
- Paanch phoron (Bengali five-spice mix): 1 teaspoon
- Radhuni powder: 1 teaspoon
- Ginger and green chilli paste: 2 tablespoons
- Yellow mustard paste: 2 tablespoons
- Full fat milk: ½ cup
- Salt
- Sugar
- Ghee
- Mustard oil
Recipe:
- Marinate all the vegetables with salt and turmeric powder and saute each separately until golden brown
- Deep fry the boris until brown and set aside
- In a large kadhai that will allow enough stirring and swirling, add mustard oil and heat
- Add bay leaf and five spices. Allow the spices to temper well and leave aroma
- Now, add ginger and chilli paste and cook on low to medium flame for 3-4 minutes
- Add the mustard paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes on low to medium flame. Add little water to prevent the spices from burning
- Now, add the vegetables that will take longer to cook into the pan — for example, potatoes and sweet potatoes — cover and cook till they are 70 per cent done. Don’t forget to keep splashing some water
- Add all the remaining vegetables, give one good stir and cook on medium flame for 3-4 minutes
- Add milk, cook for 2-3 minutes and then add required amount of water
- Add salt and sugar and cover and cook until all the vegetables are ready
- Add radhuni powder and ghee, and turn off the flame
Tip:
- You can also half boil the potatoes beforehand
- You can also add grated coconut to the shukto
Maachher matha diye dal
Keep muri ghanta for another day and add this fishy dal to the menu.
Ingredients
- Maacher matha or fish heads (rohu or catla): 2-3
- Mug dal: 300 gm
- Bay leaf: 1
- Whole dry red chilli: 2
- Whole garam masala: 1 teaspoon
- Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
- Ginger and green chilli paste: 1 and ½ tablespoons
- Cumin powder: 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric powder: 2 teaspoons for dal; 2 teaspoons for fish marination
- Red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
- Slit green chillies: 2-3
- Tomato cut into small dices: 1 large
- Onion cut into small dices: 1 large
- Garam masala powder: 1 teaspoon
- Sugar
- Salt
- Mustard oil
- Ghee
Recipe
- Marinate fish with salt and turmeric powder and deep fry until golden brown
- Dry roast the moong dal and wash well
- Boil the moong dal until it is half done
- In a kadhai, add mustard oil and ghee (70:30 ratio) and heat
- Add bay leaf, whole garam masala powder, whole dry red chillies and temper well
- Now add cumin seeds and temper until the spices are aromatic and have changed colour before adding the ginger and green chilli paste
- Cook for 2-3 minutes on low to medium heat
- Add cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and sugar and cook for another 3-4 minutes on low to medium heat
- Add onion and tomato along with slit green chillies and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Don’t forget to keep splashing water to the spices
- Add the fish heads and mix well with the spices. Break them in half if you like and cook for another 6-7 minutes
- Add dal, stir well and cover. Cook it on low flame for 8-10 minutes of until the dal is fully cooked
- Check seasoning, add a dollop of ghee and garam masala and serve hot
Potoler dorma
This versatile dish is equally delicious with a vegetarian or non vegetarian filling — stuff it with chana and khoya, cholar dal or mutton keema, the Ashtami menu is incomplete without a potoler dorma.
Ingredients
For the dorma:
- Scooped pointed gourd or potol: 10-12
- Mustard oil
- Salt
- Turmeric powder
For the filling:
- Grated khoya kheer: 8-10 tablespoons
- Grated coconut: 5-6 tablespoons
- Mashed chhana/cottage cheese or grated paneer: ½ of small cup
- Raisins: 10-12
- Coriander powder: ½ teaspoon
- Ginger and green chilli paste: 1 tablespoon
- Salt
- Sugar
For the gravy:
- Bay leaf: 1
- Whole dry red chilli: 1
- Whole garam masala: 1 teaspoon
- Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
- Roasted cumin and coriander powder: 1 tablespoon
- Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
- Red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
- Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
- Hung curd: 5-6 tablespoons
- Ginger and green chilli paste: 1 tablespoon
- Garam masala powder: 1 teaspoon
- Ghee: 2 tablespoons
- Mustard oil
- Salt
- Sugar
Recipe
For the dorma:
- Marinate the potol with salt and turmeric powder and shallow fry until golden brown
For the filling:
- Take all the ingredients in a bowl and make a smooth mix
For the dorma gravy:
- Stuff the pointed gourds with the filling and leave aside
- Add mustard oil to a kadhai and heat
- Add bay leaf, whole dry red chilli and whole garam masala
- Next, add the cumin seed and let it temper until brown. Careful, cumin seeds burn easily
- Add the ginger and green chilli paste, turmeric powder, both the red chilli powders, hung curd and cook on medium flame for 4-5 minutes
- Add some water to make a thick gravy and add salt and sugar. Cover and allow the gravy to cook for 10-12 minutes
- Once the gravy and reached the near-desired consistency, add the pointed gourds in the gravy and pour gravy with the help of a spoon on the top of each pointed gourd
- Cook for 3-4 minutes, sprinkle garam masala and ghee and serve hot
Tip
- Over stuffing will lead to the vegetables breaking in the kadhai
- Post frying, the pointed gourds are soft and fragile. Adding the filling has to be light handed and done carefully
Fish finger
Move over jhuri alu bhaja because fish finger is here to add that much needed crisp and crunch to the meal.
Ingredients
- Bekti fillet sliced into medium sized fish fingers: 15
- The juice of a raw onion: 3 tablespoons
- Juice from a paste of ginger, garlic and green chilli paste: 2 tablespoons
- Roasted coriander powder: 1 tablespoon
- Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon
- Beaten eggs: 2
- Bread crumbs: 300 gm
- Salt
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil
Recipe
- Marinate the fillets with onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli paste, coriander powder, lemon juice, salt and sugar. Leave aside for minimum 30 minutes
- Add a pinch of salt to the bread crumb and beaten eggs
- Coat each fillet in eggs and then in bread crumbs and shape into fish fingers
- In a kadhai, add enough vegetable oil to deep fry. Once the oil is hot, lower the heat to low to medium and fry the fish fingers until light brown. Serve piping hot with some kasundi on the side
Tip
- Use the juice instead of the paste for onions and ginger-garlic-green chilli to avoid the fillets becoming soggy
- To get the juice from the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, put a dollop on a strainer and press down with the back of a spoon
Mutton alu diye jhol
A light mutton jhol with alu is every Bengali’s favourite Sunday comfort food, and it fits right in with the festive menu
Ingredients
- Mutton: 1 kg
- Roughly chopped mutton fat: 100 gm
- Finely chopped onion: 3 large
- Ginger and garlic paste: 3 tablespoons
- Green chilli paste: 1 teaspoon
- Tomatoes cut into medium dices: 3 large
- Whole garlic: 1
- Slit green chilli: 3-4
- Potatoes peeled and cut into halves: 6
- Whole cumin and coriander paste: 2 tablespoons
- Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 tablespoon
- Red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric powder: 1 tablespoon
- Garam masala powder: 1 teaspoon
- Bay leaf: 2 large
- Whole garam masala: 1 teaspoon
- Dry red chilli: 1
- Salt
- Sugar
- Mustard oil
- Ghee
Recipe
- Marinate mutton with salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, mustard oil, 1 tablespoon ghee and ginger and garlic paste
- Marinate the potatoes with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder and deep fry till golden brown and keep aside
- In a kadhai, add mustard oil and heat. Add bay leaves, whole garam masala and whole dry red chilli and saute for 2-3 minutes on low flame
- Now, add chopped onion and a pinch of sugar and salt and cook till golden brown
- Add cumin and coriander paste and green chilli paste at a gap of 3-4 minutes and mix all the spices well. Allow it to cook for 7-8 minutes on low to medium flame until the oil separates. Add a splash of water if needed
- Add mutton to the kadhai along with the mutton fat and cook on high flame for 5 minutes and then cover and cook on low flame for 25 minutes
- Uncover, add the chopped tomatoes and slit green chillies along with salt and sugar and give one good mix. Cook for another 5 minutes on high flame and shift the mutton to a pressure cooker
- Add whole garlic in the cooker, add required amount of water and cook on low flame for 2 whistles
- If the mutton is 80 per cent cooked, add the potatoes, check seasoning and pressure cook for another whistle. Turn off, allow the steam to settle down on its own before you open the cooker
- Check seasoning, add ghee and garam masala powder and serve hot
Tip:
- You can also add carrots in the curry
Alu bukhara (plum) and khejurer (dates) chutney
Takes under 30-minutes and tastes exactly like anusthaan bari, this rich, tangy and sweet chutney adds 5 stars to the already lit Ashtami menu.
Ingredients:
- Alu bukhara (plums): 10-15
- Sun dried mango pulp or amshotto cut into small dices: 1 small
- Dates: 10-15
- Raisins: 10-15
- Cashew: 10-12
- Powdered Sugar: 1 cup
- Radhuri: 1 teaspoon
- Whole dry red chilli: 2
- Salt: 1 small pinch
- Vegetable oil: 4 tablespoons
Recipe:
- Add oil in a kadhai and heat well. Add five spices, radhuri and whole dry red chilli and temper well on low to medium flame
- Add sugar and caramalise well on low flame
- Now, add alu bukhara, amsatta and dates, mix well and cover cook for 10 minutes, occasionally checking if the bottom is getting burnt
- Once the sugar leaves water, absorbs some and the chutney starts to pick desired consistency, add the dry fruits and give a gentle mix
- Add salt, check seasoning and turn off the flame. Serve cold along with some papad
