Pomfret maach sorshe bata diye (Pomfret in mustard paste)

This is one of Abbas' favorites. Pomfret fish cooked in a spicy mustard paste, a delight to relish.

Ingredients:
Pomfret fish - 3 medium sized, cut into two pieces
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 1 medium sized
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 2-3
White Mustard - 2 tsp
Turmeric pwd - 1 tsp
Red chilli pwd - 1 tsp
Onion seeds(kalaunji) - 1/2 tsp
Mustard oil (Any other oil may be used but mustard oil gives any Bengali dish an authentic taste)
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

1. Clean the fish and marinate with salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
2. Deep fry in oil and keep aside.

3. Grind together mustard seeds, green chillies and salt.
4. Use 2 tsp of the same oil to cook the dish.
5. In a pan, heat oil. Add onion seeds.
6. Add onion and saute till they turn golden brown.
7. Add ginger garlic paste, saute till raw smell goes off.
8. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till oil starts oozing out.
9. Add mustard paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and saute well.
10. Add 1 cup of water, adjust salt at this stage. Add fried fish and bring the gravy to boil.
11. The gravy must be think in consistency. Add chopped corainder leaves.

Minty Fried Rice

Today I had a lot of veggies in my refrigerator. Was in a mood to eat fried rice. Had a few chicken pieces and shrimps also. I was fully determined to prepare mixed fired rice. Then there was a bunch of mint leaves and coriander leaves which made me drift from Fried Rice to Biriyani for a moment. But I was determined to prepare the former. Hence tried it with a twist. The tangy taste of mint and coriander gave a new dimension to this dish.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 2 cups
Chopped veggies (carrot, beans, capsicum, onions) - 1 cup
Shrimps - 15-20, deshelled, deveined and cleaned (optional)
Shredded chicken pieces - 15-20 (optional)
Eggs - 2 (optional for vegetarians, but I don't like my fried rice w/o eggs)
Mint leaves - 1 bunch, finely chopped
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch, finely chopped
Soya Sauce - 1 tbsp
Maggi Cube - 1
Pepper powder - to tase
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
vinegar - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and soak rice in sufficient water for 30 mins.
2. Boil 4 cups water in a vessel. Add soaked rice, salt, few drops of oil and vinegar. Let it cook. Keep checking to make sure the rice doesn't get fully cooked. Remove from flame when the rice 'almost' cooked. Drain the water away. Spread rice on a flat surface. Do not cover it. Keep aside.
3. In a pan, heat 1 tsp of oil. Add eggs, salt. Scramble the eggs and keep aside.
4. In the same pan, add 1 tsp of oil, fry chicken pieces and shrimp with some salt. Remove and keep aside till the rice cools down.
5. In the same pan take rest of the oil, add all the veggies.
6. Once the veggies are sauted, add soya sauce, shrimp, chicken, scrambled eggs, chopped mint and coriander leaves and rice. Sprinkle maggi cube powder. Mix well.
7. Check salt at this stage. If less, add a bit more of soya sauce or maggi cube (both are salty and mix well with rice instead of raw salt) and mix.