Sorshe Bata Maach - Fish in Mustard Gravy

Shorshe Bata Maach

This is a favourite main dish prepared in my household. Black mustard seeds sauce has a sharp and pungent taste that is similar to Wasabi or spicy Chinese mustard sauce. Some people combine mustard sauce with poppy seed paste to tone down the pungency, but that is frowned upon in my family. 

To prepare the sauce, black mustard seeds must be soaked in tepid water for at least two hours or preferably overnight. The seeds, along with water in which it was soaking, is placed in a blender jar with salt and a green chili, blended at maximum setting until smooth, and then added to the fish.

Any white fish, cleaned and left whole, cut in steaks or filleted can be used according to taste and is best served with hot, long-grained rice.

Chicken in Cashew, Mustard and White Poppy Seed Sauce

Kaju Shorshe Posto Murgi

This dish was inspired by a Facebook post for Shrimp cooked in cashew and white poppy seed sauce. After a number of adaptations, this is what I arrived at. It was made with chicken instead of shrimp with the addition of lime juice and mustard paste which completely changed the flavour and aroma of the original recipe.

Lau Shukto - Bottle Gourd in Mustard and White Poppy Seed Sauce

Lau Shukto

I love kitchen gadgets and finally broke down and bought a julienne-peeler. It's so easy to use and made short work of peeling and julienning 3 chayote squash.

On the menu for dinner was jumbo prawns steamed in mustard (sorshe) sauce. The ground mustard is strained for this dish, but I don't feel good about discarding the pulp, so I used it for making this lau shukto. Even though I didn't use bottle gourd (lau), chayote squash tastes just like it. The former is not available in the supermarkets and requires a special trip to an Asian or Indian market, so I often substitute chayote squash for bottle gourd. Any Indian preparation that uses bottle gourd tastes just as good with this squash. Zucchini is another option that works well.

Both the mustard and white poppy seeds are ground with a green chili each and salt. The bitterness of the black mustard seeds is eliminated by soaking them in an equal quantity of salt and tap water for at least 2 hours or until the seeds turn red. They need to be rinsed thoroughly through several changes of water to get rid of the salt. I use a tea strainer to do this.

The white poppy seeds are soaked in boiling water and set aside to cool to room temperature. This softens the seeds and produces a smoother paste when blended.

This is a very quick and easy dish to prepare once the two sauces are blended. Using the julienne-peeler cut the squash in very even strips, so it took no time at all to cook.

Stir-Fried Eggplant in Mustard Sauce

Begun-er Jhaal

Eggplant cooked this way is one of my favorite dishes for a number of reasons. First of all, it brings back memories of our idyllic childhood centered around Mum who managed to create the most delicious meals on a thrify budget. That one sentence describes two of life's most important lessons she taught us - to put money away for a rainy day and to be proficient in the kitchen. 

Secondly, we eat first with our eyes which is why the bright purple color of eggplant is so pleasing to our palates. And having eaten eggplant as very young children, this vegetable has grown to become a favorite over a lifetime.

Stir-fried with sliced onions and tomatoes and then wrapped in a pungent and creamy mustard sauce, it's hard to describe the intense satisfaction derived from combining this dish with hot & steamy Basmati rice or a fluffy chapati/tortilla.

Several varieties of eggplant are available in supermarkets, but for this dish I prefer to use Oriental or Japanese eggplant which have minimal seeds and a much sweeter taste than the large oval ones.

Shorshe Bata Begun

Ingredients

4 Japanese eggplant, cut lengthwise down the center & cubed

2 medium onions, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp. garlic paste)

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 hot green chili, diced

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/4 tsp. shah jeera or cumin seeds

1 hot green chili, diced

2 Tbsp. black mustard seeds, soaked overnight in salted water with

   1 de-seeded dried red chili

1/4 tsp. sugar or to taste

1 hot green chili, diced (for garnish)

salt to taste

Directions

1. Toss eggplant pieces with salt & set aside.
2. Rinse mustard seeds (in a tea strainer) to remove excess salt.
3. Blend mustard seeds with 1/2 cup water to a smooth paste.
4. Heat oil in skillet on medium-high & sputter cumin seeds & 1 chili.
5. Fry garlic & onions until onions turn translucent.
6. Add eggplant, stir & fry until eggplant pieces are golden brown.
7. Add tomatoes to skillet, followed by mustard paste and stir gently.
8. Cover, simmer for 5 minutes & adjust salt & sugar to taste.
9. Garnish with remaining diced chilies and serve as a side dish.

Eggplant & Tomatoes in Mustard Sauce

Begun Tomato Shorshe

Oriental eggplants, onions and tomatoes are cooked in a coarse ground mustard sauce. It generally takes a while to prepare black mustard seeds for this dish. To remove the bitterness from black mustard seeds, they are generally soaked in salt-water for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight. They are then blended to a smooth paste.

Ingredients:

4 Oriental eggplants, cut in half lengthwise & sliced in crescents
1 large onion, peeled and sliced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced
4 oz. frozen peas
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

½ tsp. nigella seeds (kalo jeera/kalonji)

2 tsp. ginger paste

2 Tbsp. black mustard seeds
1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp. salt

Salt to taste

2–3 hot green chillies, left whole

Directions:

1. Soak mustard seeds for 1/2 hour or overnight.
2. Drain mustard seeds, add salted water along with 1 green chilli, blend to a smooth paste & set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and fry nigella seeds.

3. When nigella seeds begin to sputter and sizzle, add first three ingredients, ginger paste and salt.

4. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender.

5. Adjust salt to taste, peas and mustard paste.

6. Stir-fry for 2 more minutes until vegetables are coated with sauce.

7. Garnish with whole chilies and transfer to a serving dish.

Serve with steamed Basmati rice or chapatis.

Note:

The eggplants can be replaced with several other vegetables, such as green beans, cauliflower, potatoes, zucchini, ridge gourd (jhinge), sweet potatoes, pumpkin, etc.

Fish in White Poppy Seed & Mustard Sauce

Posto Bata Maach

Ground white poppy seed paste is combined with strained dark mustard seed paste and green chilies to make a delectable sauce in which fish pieces are simmered. Any white fish or small whole fish such as climbing perch (Bengali koi maach) and smelt are ideal for this dish. Fish and sauce spooned over freshly steamed Basmati rice makes a very satisfying meal. 

Cilantro or coriander leaves come in huge bunches at the market and inevitably, a large amount gets tossed because they spoil fast. I ground the remaining cilantro with tamarind paste and mustard oil, and that's what dots the tops of the fish pieces in the picture above.

Stir-Fried Spinach with Shrimp & Mustard Paste

Palang Shaak Shorshe Chingri

A popular condiment on the Bengali table is kasundi which is a mustard sauce that goes great with stir-fried spinach. Brown/red mustard seeds are ground to a fine paste, sometimes in combination with raw mangoes, and vinegar to make a sharp, fiery and tangy sauce. This sauce is served with greens or snacks and is unforgettable. The last time I bought a bottle in North America, it was most disappointing because the kasundi was made with acetic acid and burned my mouth. I threw the whole bottle away.

While stir-frying spinach the other day, I decided to try the next best thing. A package of salad shrimp mixed with mustard paste and added to the spinach at the last minute, gave me the desired and much-craved taste of kasundi with greens. This spinach dish was outstanding!

Shukto - Bitter Melon with a Melange of Vegetables in Mustard & Poppy Seed Sauce

Ilish Maacher Jhaal - Hilsa Cooked in Mustard & White Poppy Seed Sauce

Ilish, or Hilsa as it is known in English, is a Bengali delicasy. 

The spawning habits of this fish reminds me of the salmon runs in Alaska. In the city where I live in Michigan, USA, Bangladeshi & South Indian grocery stores stock flash frozen Hilsa. In Bengal, India, this fish is always eaten fresh, never frozen. 

Hilsa is notorious for its bones, so it definitely is an acquired taste. My Father would soak this fish overnight, bones and all, in vinegar and salt and roast it the next day in the oven. The resulting aroma and melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness is something I will never forget. The vinegar works overnight to melt the bones, so every part of the fish is edible.

This preparation with a mustard/poppy seed sauce is the typical way this fish is cooked in the Bengali kitchen.

Cauliflower, Potatoes & Shrimp in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Phool Kopi Alu Chingri Posto

White poppy seed sauce (known in Bengali as 'posto') is very versatile and can be used to dress practically any vegetable. The addition of black mustard seed paste and grated coconut gives it an added dimension of flavour.  And shrimp will, of course, take it up the ultimate notch! 

Ingredients

1 lb. shrimp, shelled & deveined
Paste of
   1 tsp. black mustard seeds

   2 tsp. white poppy seeds

   2 tsp. freshly grated unsweetened coconut

   2 green chillies

   Salt to taste

juice of 1 lime

2 + 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. nigella seeds (a.k.a. kalo jeera/kalonji)

1 cauliflower, cut into florets

1 russet potato, cut in long wedges

1 Tbsp. ginger paste

1 tsp. ghee

½ tsp. sugar

1 tsp. chopped cilantro

4 green chillies, slit

Directions

Soak black mustard seeds with salt for ½ an hour and drain.

Soak white poppy seeds in boiling water for ½ an hour. Do not drain.

Purée the paste ingredients listed above along with water poppy seeds were soaked in.

Add lime juice to the paste, stir well and set aside.

In a skillet, heat 4 Tbsp. oil & sputter nigella seeds.

Add and cook cauliflower, potatoes with ginger paste & salt until cooked.

Add shrimp and pour poppy seed paste over vegetables in skillet, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Add sugar, adjust salt and garnish with ghee, cilantro & green chillies.

Serve with steamed Basmati rice.