Dimer Dhokar Dalna - Steamed Egg Cakes in Tomato & Onion Gravy

Dimer Dhokar Dalna

An interesting variation to Egg Curry, eggs beaten with turmeric powder, salt, minced onions, tomatoes and green chilies are steamed in the microwave oven and cooked in a tomato-based gravy.

Dhoka, which means fake or deceptive in Bengali, refers to the vegetarian substitute for meat served on auspicious occasions. Dhokar Dalna is generally made with lentil cakes in gravy. The lentil cake method is tedious and time-consuming requiring soaking the lentils overnight, blending them the next day and cooking the paste until all liquid evaporates, then cutting the cake in cubes and frying the cubes until browned. In the process, a lot of oil is used and a lot of effort expended. 

Dimer Dhoka is much simpler to make, although it would not be considered a vegetarian dish. It doesn't require as much preparation and uses a lot less oil.

Dim-er Dalna - Egg Curry

Dim-er Dalna

Eggs in any shape or form are easy to prepare for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Hard boiled eggs and boiled baby potatoes in an onion and tomato sauce are an egg-cellent choice for a dinner entree because they go so well with steamed rice.

The sauce is easy to prepare too, because all it requires is for the onions and garlic to be blanched in boiling water and blended with tomatoes, a green chili and ginger, then stir-fried with spices and the potatoes and combined with the eggs. 

Ghoogni or Channa Masala - Curried Chickpeas

Ghoogni

Ghoogni served with light and puffy luchis are a favorite snack among Bengali households. A mild hint of sour taste from tamarind pulp in a thick onion and tomato gravy makes it perfect for an accompaniment to luchis. I generally have it with tortillas because they are readily available and less work than making luchis. 

Soaking dried chickpeas overnight can be substituted with a can of already cooked chickpeas or garbanzo beans in the Western hemisphere. I find that russet potatoes are a good addition. Remember that Bengalis love their potatoes and we add them to any and everything!

Chicken Do Pyaza - Chicken in Onion Sauce

Chicken Do Pyaza

I modified my Butter Chicken recipe to create this Chicken Do Pyaza which translates to Chicken 2 Onions. It gets its name from the two types of onions that are used. The chicken is first stir-fried with minced onions and at the end is combined with deep-fried onions or birista.

Butter Chicken Sauce

Half a package of this off-the-shelf butter chicken sauce was the perfect gravy to use in this dish. One and a half pounds of boneless & skinless chicken thighs were cubed and marinated in paprika, the juice of one lime and salt. The pieces were then stir-fried until golden brown, the sauce added and the whole thing simmered over medium-low heat for half an hour. The fried onions were then added and stirred into the sauce to make it thick and glossy. 

Serve this chicken as a main dish with hot, steamed rice or any Indian bread.

Tiny Whitebait in Onion & Tomato Gravy - Kachki Mach-er Jhol

Kachki Maach-er Jhol

They're called whitebait in English and keski or kachki maach in Bengali. Compare the thickness of the translucent strips of onion in the picture above to the opaque, skinny whitebait. 

I had whitebait for the first time at my sister, Rene's, home and she advised that to remove any fishy smell, the fish should be marinated in turmeric and garlic paste as soon as they're thawed. Stir-fried in onions and tomatoes, there's no need to add water to get a gravy because more than enough moisture is released by the sliced onions and tomatoes.

Mustard oil would be the best oil to use for this dish, but if it's not available vegetable oil would work just as well.

Frozen Blocks of Whitebait

Whitebait comes in blocks of ice, three to a package, in the Vietnamese market. The package is labelled silverfish mainly because of the translucent, silvery colour of the fish. In some Asian markets the fish is called Chinese Whitebait.

Thawed Whitebait

When they're thawed, whitebait look like silvery threads that are about 1 to 1-1/2 inches in length which turn white when cooked.

Fish in a Light Onion And Tomato Sauce - Halka Maacher Jhol

Halka Maacher Jhol

Any fish, whole or filleted, tastes good dressed in this sauce. The light sauce requires some oil and just a few other ingredients. So if time is in short supply and dinner is due on the table in less than 30 minutes, this is the go-to recipe for fish.

Stir-Fried Cauliflower with Potatoes & Shrimp

Phool Kopi Alu Aar Chingri

This is a popular dish in Bengali households in India. Alu Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) is a common item on menus at Indian restaurants and is a favourite vegetarian side dish. The addition of shrimp in this recipe takes it up a notch to satisfy the non-vegetarian palate. The shrimp can be omitted if you wish to serve Alu Gobi in its vegetarian form.

Omelettes in Onion & Tomato Gravy

Omelette Curry

Another dish that brings Mum to mind! Wish she were here to coach me through this, but I think she would approve of my improvisation. 

Chicken Curry with Potatoes in an Onion and Tomato Gravy

Chicken Do Piaza

Can you believe chicken with just a few ingredients can be so delectable? The main ingredients in this dish are chicken, potatoes, onion and tomato paste. I like using boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this dish, but use your choice of chicken pieces. Bone-in chicken thighs & legs work well too. 'Do Piaza' means 'onion two ways' which refers to the puréed onions used in the beginning of the cooking process and the fried onions that are added at the end as a garnish. If time is an issue, instead of blanching the onion and blending with ginger and garlic, the onion could be finely diced and the ginger & garlic grated, then mixed together with the tomato paste.