Culinary Xpress: Guest Post

Noroxingho Maasor Anja-Assamese styled Fish Curry with Curry Leaves( Guest Post By Pushpita Ahibam)

12:41 PM

Pushpita Aheibam, an Economist by qualification, a freelance writer by profession, a homemaker, a mother and last but not the least a food enthusiast and a dear friend of mine has an amazing Blog Ei Gi Chakhum where she shares her passion for cooking , sharing, reviving & spreading some inherited authentic Manipuri cuisine along with fusion cuisine . I always like the detailed infromation she shares about the recipes and some of my favourites from her Blog is Thandai Souffle, Yongchak Singju,Crispy Chicken Drumsticks/Legs, Kelichana Shots, Butter Garlic Prawns to name a few.

It is absolute pleasure to have her at my place with her recipe Noroxingho Maasor Anja-Assamese styled Fish Curry with Curry Leaves which she has prepared with so much love and care for CulinaryXpress.I would like to thank Pushpita for accepting my request to do a guest post for me this month and I knew it would be a traditional dish with her signature style of writing and narration. Over to Pushpita and read her views and impression on CulinaryXpress.

It was a sweet and pleasant surprise for me when I received a request from my talented Blogger friend Alka Jena of www.culinaryxpress.com to contribute a guest post for her blog. An inspiration for me who is carrying forth her passion of sharing traditional recipes as well as out of the box recipe ideas through her beautiful blog.Full of detailed information’s, her blog has the magic to attract potential readers. The sole Recipe Developer, Author, Food Stylist and Photographer of her Food Blog, Alka dreams of continuing her passion of cooking, food styling and photography through her lovely blog.Curious to know more about her traditional recipes like I do?

Then, do check out her recipes to name a few of them- Badi Chura, Odia Kanji, Enduri Pitha, Wood Apple Tamarind Aquafresca , Kulfi, Egg Biryani, Spiced Chickoo and Raisin Cake, Oats and Dry Fruits Cigar, Chai Ice-cream among the varied recipe collection Alka has shared.

Knowing about my interest in traditional recipes, she asked me to do a Guest post for traditional and lesser known recipes from North-East India as I hail from the region.

Hence, I am here to share a not so known Assamese Fish Curry recipe with freshly ground Curry leaves paste.

Curry leaves has numerous health benefits. Curry leaves or Kadi patta helps prevent dandruff and premature greying of hair, the anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties help prevent fungal infections and acne.
It helps prevent morning sickness during pregnancy, anaemia, helps control your blood sugar level and help fight against indigestion.

It was during my last trimester of pregnancy, I have had relished this flavourful Assamese Styled Noroxingho Maasor Anja cooked by my Uncle-in-law more than a decade ago prepared with xinghi or shing maach (fossil cat or Asian stinging catfish).

Your taste-buds can never do away with tasty delicacies which you have ever tasted. I happen to experience the same, as such without any delay simply learnt the method of cooking this tasty fish curry from my Mother-in-law, who is an Assamese by birth.

So without further delay peek into the ingredients included and method of cooking this tasty and healthy Assamese styled fish curry with curry leaves.

Cuisine: Assamese

Noroxingho Maasor Anja

Yields 3 serving

Ingredients

300 g small Grey Mullet/Parshe fish, scaled, cleaned and washed properly
150g fresh Curry leaves/Kadi patta, ground to a smooth paste
4-5 small Garlic cloves, smashed or finely chopped
2-3 whole dry Red Chillies/Pepper
1 tsp of Turmeric powder
1/3^rdcup (80ml) + 2 Tbsp of Mustard oil, for deep frying+cooking the fish
Salt for seasoning
½ cup (120ml) of warm Water

Method

Put the fishes in a bowl, rub ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp salt on them and set aside.
Mean while heat the mustard oil in a wok or large pan until it reaches its smoking point.
Reduce the heat and fry the fishes in two or three small batches until crisp and golden brown or lightly brown. Remove them on a plate with blotting paper or kitchen towel to let soak the excess oil.
In the same wok or pan add 2 tbsp of remaining oil, let it heat and smoke.
Reduce the heat to low to prevent further smoking of oil. Now add garlic, whole red chillies/pepper, sauté in for few seconds until the garlic gives out its fried aroma without browning.
Add the curry paste, give it a good stir, add the remaining ½ tsp turmeric powder, salt. Saute and let the oil separate from the fried mixture.
Add half the water, increase the heat to medium. Bring it to a boil uncovered.
Add in the fried fishes one by one gently stir the curry, add the remaining water and let it simmer for few minutes or until done.
Once done turn off the stove, remove and serve the Noroxingho Maasor Anja with piping hot plan White rice and some sliced onions by the side.

Note: You can use any fresh water fish or small fish for this tasty fish curry.

Baking

Spiced Garbanzo Beans Pie Recipe- Guest Post for Shaheen Ali

6:19 PM

It was a pleasant surprise when I receive a request from Shaheen Ali of https://www.spoonforkandfood.com to do a guest post for her. She is a huge inspiration for me because of the way she manages her Blog. Despite being in neck deep in work, I managed to finish this post because I really wanted to be at her Blog. You have to visit her blog to believe what I say here. Shaheen is not only a gifted food blogger who masters the art of articulating food, but also a very talented food stylist and photographer.

I am truly fascinated by her Baking skills and her creativity at that. Do check out the BLACK FOREST CAKE, VANILLA SPONGE CAKE WITH DDL FILLING AND FRESH CREAMFROSTING, BRITISH BATTENBURG CAKE, FLORAL FONDANT CAKE, WATERMELONCOSMOPOLITAN, PINK LEMONADE, BLUE LAGOON (NON - ALCOHOLIC), POMEGRANATELEMONADE to name a few.

Now coming back to my dish, I just love leading a simple, hassle fee and laid back life and sometimes the simple pleasures of life can be found in simple recipes which are close to our heart. Chickpeas are one ingredient which I can go on about making a lot of varieties with. I have decided to make a pie out of it which can be best enjoyed with some salad and fresh juice. That’s it as simple as that.

A pie is a baked dish containing a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers it completely. The first thing that comes to our mind is the sweet, fruit-or-custard-filled pastry when you think of pie. But all pies need not necessarily be sweet. Savory pie is one of the all-time hit food with me and my family. Whether eaten in small slices for a snack or as a main course, this vegetarian pie is awesome and satisfying. When it comes to a Quick Brunch, savory pies take the lead.

Course: Brunch
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Yields:6 Pies

Ingredients for the short crust Pie:

· 500 gms, all-purpose flour

· 220gms butter, chilled and cut in ½ inch cubes

· 4-5 tbsp, ice cold water

Let’s learn how to do this recipe:

· Rub the cold butter with the all purpose flour till it resembles coarse crumbs. Add ice cold water little at a time and using your fingers, mix very gently to bring the flour and butter mixture together to form dough.

· Divide the dough in 4 parts and wrap each portion of the dough with cling film very well and freeze it for 30 minutes.

· Preheat the oven to 160 degree and Grease the tart pans.

· Take out 2 of the dough, place it between two parchment papers and roll it gently to form a circle with a thickness of about 1/4inch depending upon the size of the tart shell you require. Carefully place the rolled pastry onto the tart pan and trim the edges of excess dough. Now fill the tart with kidney beans and bake the tart crust for 20 to 25 minutes.

· Once done, allow it to cool for few minutes and very carefully remove the pie weight.

· You would yield 6 pie shells out of this.

Spiced Garbanzo Beans

prep time:20 mins

cook time:25 mins

Serves:6

Ingredients:

· 1 cup dried white Garbanzo Beans

· water for pressure cooking

· 2 black cardamoms

· 1 inch cinnamon stick

· 2 to 3 cloves

· 1 bay leaf

· 1 black tea bag

· salt as required

for making the gravy:

· 1 large onion, finely chopped

· 3 medium to large tomatoes, finely chopped

· 1.5 tsp ginger garlic paste

· 2 to 3 green chilies, slit

· 1 tsp amchur powder

· ½ tsp red chili powder

· 1 tsp coriander powder

· 1 tbsp Chole Masala

· 1 tsp garam masala powder

· ½ cup stock or water

· salt as required

· 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnish

· 1 medium onion, thinly sliced for garnishing

how to make the recipe:

· Soak 1 cup dried white Garbanzo Beans overnight in water. Drain and rinse them. Pressure cook the Garbanzo Beans, black cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves along with tea bag and 3 cups water till the beans have softened and completely cooked.

· Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan. Add ginger garlic paste and slit green chilies. Saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away, then add chopped onions, stir and saute the onions on a low to medium flame till they turn golden.

· Then add chopped tomatoes and add the red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and mix very well and saute till the tomatoes become mushy and you see fat releasing from the sides of the masala. Now add the cooked Garbanzo Beans and stir very well.

· Add the dry mango powder and ½ cup stock or water. Check the seasoning and stir very well and simmer the Garbanzo Beans till the gravy thickens. Mash a few beans which helps in thickening the gravy.

· Simmer for about 12 to 14 minutes on a low to medium flame and lastly add 1 tsp garam masala powder. stir and mix very well.

· Preheat the oven to 180 degree. Take out 2 of the dough, place it between two parchment papers and roll it gently to form a thin circle out of it. Carefully place the rolled pastry onto the tart pan and trim the edges of excess dough. Make some patterns with the help of a cookie cutter and place them on the pie shells. mark some incisions with a sharp knife in few places of the coved pie shells.

· Bake in a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till you see the top becoming golden brown.

· Serve it with a salad of your choice and enjoy this treat with a fresh glass of mango juice.

Guest Post

Pomegranate Ice cream - Guest Post for Sapana Behl

9:01 PM

This is my first guest post and what better way to start it than with a dear friend Sapana Behl of Cookingwithsapana . I came across Sapana's Blog while I am doing Cooking for cookbook challenge with her and I was amazed by the collection of recipes at her blog and I am very happy and super excited when she asked me to do a guest post for her and made some super yummy Pomegranate Ice cream for her.For the recipe checkout her Blog.

Sapana is a very talented blogger who blogs regularly at her beautiful Blog Cookingwithsapana .I like her approach to deal with everyday food and the magic she creates around them. She has a huge collection of around 800 recipes of Indian and International Cuisine. Out of her collection I found neapoliitan-style-pizza, spinach-paneer-pinwheels, phyllo-pizza are some of the collection which one must give it a try. I am looking forward to see her touching the pinnacle of success in blogging community and achieve whatever she aspires in her life.

Pomegranates are among the healthiest fruits on earth which contains a range of beneficial plant compounds, unrivaled by other foods. Pomegranate is a thick skinned super seedy fruit, with a brilliant red hue which is now touted as a wonder fruit by scientific researchers. The name pomegranate derives from the French word “pomegranate” or seeded apple.

They are believed to have originated in Iran and brought to Egypt in 1600 BC, where it was not only revered as an important food source but was also widely used for its medicinal value. It was held in high esteem even during those times, as it is evident by their depiction in Egyptian paintings and tombs. Inspired by the abundance of jewel toned seeds within the bright red rind, pomegranate is considered to be a symbol of fertility and prosperity in some cultures. Some people might find it a bit cumbersome to deal with the little seeds, which is why, extracting its juice is the best way to utilize the benefits of pomegranate juice.

Drinking it allows for a quick and easy assimilation of all the nutrients found in the bloodstream by the body. In comparison to other fruits, pomegranates contain the maximum amount of anti-oxidants. It contains approximately 3 times more antioxidants than green tea and oranges.

A delicious, fresh pomegranate ice cream which is super easy to make , with no eggs, no cook, no churn. The combination of fresh pomegranate juice and heavy cream produces a lovely shade of pink which you will simply love and with the contrasting bright red pomegranate seeds, this ice cream is a delight to watch!

This recipe is so simple, so gorgeous, and so delicious that I simply couldn't keep it from you all. Though I have made this recipe a number of time, I could not able to put it on the Blog. But as the Valentine’s day is approaching, I thought of making this Ice Cream and sharing it with you all.Checkout this delicious and super easy recipe at Sapana's Blog.