Dried Fish Chutney (Xukan Masor Chutney)

Not many people like the overpowering smell of dried fish. However I developed a taste for it early in life when we were stationed in Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. I still remember the taste of ‘nakham bitchi’(dried fish soup) - ‘hot’, distinct and lip smacking - prepared from dried fish, soda and lots of chilies.

Even though dried fish is more popular in North Eastern states like Meghalaya and Manipur, Assam too has its share of dried fish delicacies like ‘hukuti’ (prepared from dried ‘puthi’ fish).

This chutney that I prepared today is not exactly an Assamese dish, it’s more in the line of a Manipuri Iromba (a kind of chutney prepared with fermented fish, tomatoes, potato and the red hot bhoot jholokia). Also, since dry fish is not readily available here in Delhi, I had to make do with what my bro-in-law got for us from Pattaya.

This chutney is healthy to the core as it retains all the goodness of a fresh fish; minus the spices and oil that come added in a traditional fish curry. Chilies however, are used generously. Don’t try this if you can’t have your food ‘hot’, because the main essence of this chutney is – yes, it sets your taste buds on fire!

Ingredients:

• About 150 gm dried fish (any variety)
• About 10-12 green chilies (if you get hold of bhoot jholokia nothing like it – a few of these will do)
• 3-4 red chilies
• One medium sized potato (peeled)
• One medium sized onion (finely chopped)
• One medium sized tomato
• Five-six cloves of garlic and same amount of ginger (crushed)
• Some coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• A dash of mustard oil
• Bamboo shoot (optional)

Method:

• Wash the dried fish properly in hot water. Set aside.
• In a pan, take potable water and boil the potato and green chilies together. But see to it that you don’t over boil it. Better you add the chilies later on. Or if you want, you may boil the stuff in a cooker to a single hoot. Keep the boiled water aside.
• In a non stick pan, heat the fish and red chilies. Add a little water to ensure they don’t burn. Remove when they get a brownish tinge.
• Roast the tomato on the gas burner directly. Or else, put the tomato in a non-sticky pan and heat it. Remove when the tomato becomes pulpy and keep aside.
• In a large utensil, add all the ingredients – fish, tomato, potato, chopped onions, green and red chilies, crushed ginger-garlic, salt, a dash of mustard oil and two-three teaspoon of the kept-aside water (that you used to boil the chilies and potatoes). Add the coriander leaves and the bamboo shoots too if you have them.
• Mash the mixture with your hands (just like you mash boiled potatoes) or with a table spoon. There, your dried fish chutney is ready. Now relish it with plain rice and dal!

Fish Egg Fry (Masor Koni Bhaja)

Just like the Bengalis, we Assamese people too leave no portion of the fish uneaten. Be it the head, tail, intestine or for that matter fish eggs, we gorge on just about everything!
Easy and simple, here’s how to cook this personal favorite - Fish egg fry:

Ingredients:

• Fish eggs – about 200 gm (washed well)
• Onion – two (finely chopped)
• Tomato – One (finely chopped)
• Ginger and garlic (pounded)
• Dry red chilli -two
• Green chilli – two
• Mustard oil – about two to three tablespoons
• Salt and turmeric (as per your taste)
• Coriander leaves (optional)


Method:

• Wash the fish eggs properly and boil them for about a minute or two. Take them off the water; pour oil in a pan and deep fry them. Keep them aside.
• Further heat oil in a pan; add the dry chillies, onions, tomato, ginger-garlic paste and fry them for some time. Add salt and turmeric powder, followed by the fried fish eggs. Fry them together for some more time. Add green chillis on top. Your fish egg is ready in a jiffy!

Pithali (A soup-like gravy prepared from rice powder & vedai lata or skunk vine)

This is something which I learnt from my Ma during her two-day halt at our place last month. I’m not sure if this would appeal to the taste buds of all; this is had more for its medicinal value than for its taste. But it has a distinct taste which both Daddy and Abhijit relish.
‘Vedai lata’ (or skunk vine in English) is a kind of creeper found in Assam (and other North Eastern states) and has a pungent smell that not many people may like. Having grown up in the Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, I remember the Garos using this creeper (‘phaising buddu’ in their parlance) to cook various local dishes.
Extremely good for the stomach, here’s how to prepare this health-enriching ‘Pithali’; so named because ‘pitha guri’ (rice powder) is used to prepare this soup-like dish.

Ingredients

• About four-five teaspoon pitha guri (rice powder)
• About three cups of water
• Two-three teaspoon vedai lata powder (it’s always better to use fresh vedai lata leaves but since it’s practically difficult to get them here, I used vedai lata powder, which my Ma-in-law had sundried and stored in powder form)
• About five cloves of garlic
• Green chilli
• Salt to taste


Method:

• Heat the water in a pan and then add the rice powder to it, followed by the vedai lata powder.
• Add salt , garlic (ground) and chilli to the preparation.
• When the gravy thickens a bit, remove from stove. Your healthy ‘pithali’ is ready!

Fish with Vedai Lata (Skunk Vine), Mani Muni (Asian Pennywort) and Narasinghar Paat (Curry Leaves)

In Assam, it’s a common sight to see people having fish with various herbs and leafy vegetables. Apart from being high on the ‘health quotient’, fish curries cooked this way have a distinct taste that nothing can beat.

For people living outside the state though, this may not sound practical as these herbs and green veggies are mostly grown in Assam and getting them imported in a ‘fresh’ state may look a distant possibility. But I was able to cook fish with the goodness of vedai lata (skunk vine), mani muni (Asian pennywort) and narasinghar paat (curry leaves) – thanks to my ma-in-law who had sun dried these leaves and stored them in powdered form.

All the herbs contained in the powdered mix have medicinal properties and are extremely good for the stomach. In fact, my father who suffers from stomach ailments takes these ingredients (raw, cooked or in other forms) on a regular basis.

Health benefits aside, this is how I prepared fish with this powder:

• About four teaspoons of this powdered mixture
• Four-five small- medium sized fish (any fish for that matter)- marinated
• Two medium sized potatoes (cut into large & long pieces)
• 1/4th cauliflower (optional)
• One-two medium sized onions (cut into small pieces )
• Three-four tablespoon mustard oil
• Coriander leaves (if you want)
• Salt to taste
• Turmeric
• Two red dried chili
• A pinch or two of white mustard seeds

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the fish (not too deep) and set them aside.
• Heat the remaining oil, add the mustard seeds and chilies.
• When the mustard seeds splutter, add the onions; when the onions get a golden tinge, add the potato pieces and cauliflower florets, followed by salt and turmeric powder. Fry for some time and add water (preferably hot) and boil.
• Add the fish pieces after some time and let the gravy thicken.
• Then add the powdered mixture and heat for some time. Remove when the gravy thickens. Garnish with coriander leaves if you want. Your ‘healthy’ fish curry with ‘mani muni’, ‘vedai lata’ and ‘narasingha paat’ is ready!

Fish with Bamboo Shoot (Khorisa Maas)

A lot of people have asked me why I’ve named my blog ‘Khorisa’ when there’s not a single recipe with this ingredient. So here comes my first khorisa (bamboo shoot) recipe: ‘Fish with bamboo shoots’ (khorisa maas).

Ingredients:

• 5-6 pieces of Rahu fish (one may use other fishes too)
• About 100 gm grated bamboo shoots (pickled, fermented or raw)
• Two-three tablespoon oil depending on the type of pan you’re using
• One-two medium-sized tomato (cut into small pieces)
• Two green chillies
• 1/4th teaspoon white mustard seeds
• Salt to taste

Method:

Marinate the fish pieces with turmeric, salt and a dash of oil for half an hour/one hour. Pour the oil in a pan and fry the fish pieces (not too deep). Set them aside. A lot of people use ginger garlic paste in this preparation but since Abhijit prefers the undiluted taste of khorisa, I did not use any.
In the remaining oil (shouldn’t be more than one teaspoon), add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the tomatoes. Add the salt, turmeric, and green chillies. In the mean time, mix the khorisa (I have used khorisa pickle) with some water, and set aside. One may even use the grated bamboo shoots in raw or fermented form. However your cooking procedure will differ depending on how you’re using the khorisa.
When the tomatoes go pulpy, add hot water. As the gravy thickens a bit, add the fish pieces. Soon add the khorisa mixture to the preparation. Heat for some time and your ‘khorisa maas’ is ready.

Coconut laddoo (Narikol laru)

Having missed Magh Bihu (Assamese harvest festival) for the last 6-7 years, this year I managed to be right there amidst all the action – ‘meji’, ‘jolpaan’, ‘til pitha’, (rice powder roll stuffed with jaggery, sesame seeds, etc), ‘narikol laddoo’ (coconut balls), ‘ghila pitha’ (ghila pitha is a type of pancake which gets its name from ‘ghila’ meaning knee cap in Assamese; it’s so called because the pitha resembles a knee cap) and ‘til laddoo’ (sesame balls) just to name a few.
I got coconut laddoos for my friends back in Delhi and they simply loved them. Even though coconut laddoos are a common sight elsewhere in the country, I ‘simply’ love the way it is prepared in Assam – simple & easy. All you need is:

Ingredients:

• One coconut
• One cup sugar (one may also use jaggery as a substitute
• Few cloves of cardamom (optional)

Method:

Grate the coconut white. Mix the coconut and sugar and then pour them in a hot pan (grind the clove seeds and add to the mixture if you want). Stir the mixture in low flame till you get a sticky feeling (remember the stickiness has to be right for you to make a laddoo); to gauge the same, try making a laddoo. If you are able to make one, it means the mixture is ready. Turn off the gas.
With these ingredients, you can roughly prepare about 15-20 laddoos.
(Tip: If it’s too hot for you to make the laddoos, apply cold water on your hands before doing so).

Chicken Pakora

This is an all-time favorite snack of mine. Crunchy and soft, this is a must-try for all chicken lovers.

Ingredients:
• 250 gram boneless chicken (cut into medium sized pieces)cleaned and washed
• One-two teaspoon corn flour
• Two-three tablespoon mustard oil (one may even use refined oil)
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Salt to taste
• 1/4th teaspoon turmeric powder
• Coriander leaves to garnish
• Chili powder (optional)

Method:
Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, a dash of mustard oil, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste (make a ginger-garlic paste beforehand) and keep them for about 2 hours (the more the better).
Heat the oil in a pan. Take the corn flour in a bowl and dip the chicken pieces into it and then fry them by turn. When they turn brownish and crispy, take them off the pan. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve real hot!