Chicken Rezala - Boneless Chicken in Yogurt Sauce

Chicken Rezala

Mum made her rezala with bone-in, golden browned chicken which I've replaced with boneless, skinless chicken thighs to cater to the taste of people in my household. There are umpteen different recipes on the internet for this dish, some more complicated than others. I'm all for easy cooking, so please excuse me if you don't consider this the authentic way to make rezala.

In keeping with the white and creamy appearance of the gravy, the chicken pieces are not browned and white pepper powder adds a tinge of spiciness without darkening the look. If you prefer to use bone-in chicken, double the amount of chicken and increase the cooking time.

Pomfret Doi Maach - Pomfret in Yogurt Sauce

Pomfret Doi Maach

Pomfret reminds me of our stay in Bombay (now known as Mumbai). At the time we lived there in the mid '70s, river fish like those found in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) were hard to come by. It was a huge adjustment to switch to ocean fish among which pomfret was the most palatable. The fishy aroma can be toned down by marinating pomfret in garlic paste.

Chicken Rezala with Mint

Chicken Rezala with Mint

Legend has it that Chicken Rezala was born in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) by bawarchis (cooks) in the kitchen of the Nawab of Lucknow. It is an elaborate preparation involving the paste of poppy seeds & nuts, yogurt & ghee, among other ingredients.

Here is a simplified version of the same, taken up a notch with the addition of mint chutney, that is light, delicious and perfect for lunch with loochis (puffed bread) or hot Basmati rice. If mint chutney is not available, make your own by blending a bunch of mint leaves with cilantro stems, lime juice, salt to taste and a smidgen of sugar. This chutney goes well with Indian appetizers such as samosas or pakoras.

Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce

Doi Begun

I used Japanese eggplants for this recipe, but any type of eggplant will do. During my years of cooking eggplant, I've noticed that if it is chopped prior to cooking, it helps retain its shape better if the pieces of eggplant are marinated in salt and set aside in a sieve in the sink for half an hour. Especially if the skin is left intact, eggplant tend to be somewhat bitter and the marination in salt eliminates this tendency. 

Greek yogurt imparts a creamy texture to the gravy in this dish. The yogurt should be taken out of the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before cooking. It also needs to be whipped well and added to the hot pan after reducing the heat to low, one tablespoon at a time and mixed into the gravy with each addition. The yogurt is added a tablespoon at a time so that it does not separate. Be very gentle when adding the yogurt so that the pieces of eggplant do not disintegrate.

Minty Chicken Curry in Yogurt Sauce

Dadu's Ceylon Chicken Curry

Mum used to make this scrumptious recipe of Dadu’s (Grandfather). He was a

gourmet cook and loved International cuisine as much as Baangal (East Bengali) food. The combination of mint, cilantro and yogurt gives this chicken curry a very unique flavour.

Basa Fillets in Yogurt Sauce

Basa Maach-er Doi Maach

Basa is also known as Mekong catfish and Swai. The latter has recently become available in mainstream grocery stores in our area. It is a white fish that has a more delicate flavor than catfish.

When I begin cooking a meal, I raid the fridge and lay out all the vegetables on the counter. Then items get paired with the three or four, sometimes five, dishes I plan to make. That's how half a red pepper or Kashmiri Mirch/Capsicum made its way into this fish dish. Half a container of plain Greek (or hung) yogurt was used in this dish and the other half in a Beet & Cucumber Raita.

In this way, every vegetable plays an important part in the meal and rarely, if ever, do I discard one because it's past its prime.

Tip:
Reduce and keep the heat on low before adding yogurt to the pan. Do not allow the yogurt sauce to boil as this may cause it to separate or curdle.

Cauliflower and Potatoes in Yogurt Sauce

Doi Phool Kopi

This was one of Mum's preparations for cauliflower that we all loved. Unfortunately, I don't have her recipe and all I remember is that it was white, devoid of all colour such as the yellow imparted by turmeric. So I tried to stick with all white ingredients and avoided the temptation to add tomatoes or turmeric.

Maacher Rezaila - Fish in Yogurt Gravy

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I was inspired to make Rezaila with fish by Pritha Sen’s Prawn Rezala and 

especially liked her idea of using some Shan Pulao/Biryani mix in the gravy. It

really gave a lovely boost to the flavor of this fish dish. 

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Ingredients:
2.5 lb. Tilapia pieces
Salt to taste
2 medium onions, quartered
2 Tbsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. white pepper powder
1 (6 oz.) tub Greek yogurt
1 onion, peeled and sliced
4 pods garlic, peeled and sliced
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp. Shah Jeera or cumin seeds
10 black peppercorns
2 large (black) cardamom
2 Tbsp. Shan Pilao/Biryani Mix
3 dried red chilies, deseeded and soaked in water
2-3 jalapeno peppers, sliced in rounds
1 tsp. ghee
¼ tsp. sugar

Grind garam masala powder:
1 star anise
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves

Directions:
1. Blanch quartered onions in 1 cup water, drain (reserving liquid) and puree in a blender.
2. Mix yogurt with white pepper powder, onion-ginger-garlic pastes and ½ the sliced jalapeno peppers.
3. Marinate fish pieces in 1 Tbsp. oil, salt and yogurt mixture for an hour.
4. Keep the liquid in which onions were blanched on a simmer, and add peppercorns, black cardamom and Shan biryani mix.
5. Heat oil in a pan over high heat and sizzle cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, and half the garam masala powder.
6. Stir in the onion and garlic slices.
7. When the onions turn translucent, lower heat to medium-low and add fish pieces along with all the marinade.
8. Strain the simmering liquid and soaked red chilies over the fish, stir gently, cover and simmer on medium-low heat until oil resurfaces.
9. Adjust salt to taste, add sugar and stir.
10. Remove from heat and garnish with ghee, remaining garam masala powder and sliced hot peppers.

Simple Chicken Rezaila

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken pieces
1 (6 oz.) tub Greek yogurt
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 Tbsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
2 medium onions, quartered, blanched & pureed
1 tsp. white pepper powder
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
½ tsp. Shah Jeera or cumin seeds
Salt to taste
¼ tsp. sugar
1 tsp. ghee
Deep fried onions

Grind to a powder:
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 star anise

Directions:
1. Marinate chicken pieces for 1 hour in 1 Tbsp. oil, onion, ginger, garlic pastes, diced jalapeno peppers, white pepper powder, salt and yogurt.
2. Heat oil over high heat and stir-fry cinnamon stick, star anise and cumin seeds.
3. Turn heat down to medium-low and add marinated chicken to the pan.
4. Stir gently, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.
5. Add ground garam masala powder, sugar, salt to taste and remove from heat.
6. Garnish with ghee and fried onions; serve with steamed rice, paratha or chapatis.

Note: Don't let the gravy come to a boil. The chicken must be cooked on low heat so that the yogurt does not separate.

Lamb Shahi Korma

Mala Ray Chatterjee's Mutton Shahi Korma

Reproduced in my kitchen

Lamb Shahi Korma is a lamb curry fit for a king or Shah. Shahi Kormas are generally cream based dishes that include nuts and sometimes, raisins. I purchased a whole leg of baby lamb (9 lbs.) at the halal meat store and had the butcher remove most of the fat layer and cut it into pieces suitable for a stew. He packaged it into 4 bags which I froze until needed. I followed this recipe exactly, except that olive oil replaced most of the butter and ghee, fat-free half and half replaced the cream and since there were no almonds in the house, a paste of raw cashews had to suffice.  I ground about half a cup of golden raisins with the cashews. The reason my dish looks more red is because I used greek yogurt which has no moisture in it, instead of regular full-fat yogurt. To retain the white color of the gravy, I will use regular yogurt next time. The white pepper powder gives this lamb curry a real kick!

By Mala Ray Chatterjee

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Ingredients:

1 kg. (2 lbs.) mutton/lamb (marinated overnight in curd and ginger-garlic paste) 
100 gms. (1/2 cup) roasted almonds/cashews, soaked and made into a paste
white butter-100 gms. (1 stick or 1/2 cup)
ghee-100 gms. (1/2 cup)
Amul cream-100 gms. (1/2 cup)
white pepper powder-2 Tbsp.
4 large onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. ginger paste
2 Tbsp. garlic paste
300 gms. (1 cup) curd/yogurt
whole garam masala - 4 sticks of cinnamon, 4 bayleaves, 8-10 cardamoms, 8-9 cloves
6-8 slit green chillies

Directions:

Pour butter and ghee in pressure cooker, put the whole garam masala, fry the onions till translucent..not brown, add the marinated mutton/lamb and pressure cook till done...on simmer...(no water). Open the lid , add almond paste , salt, cream, white pepper and green chillies...take off heat after 2-3 minutes....finger-licking good!

Eggplant in a Creamy Yogurt Sauce

Doi Begun

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yogurt
4 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. roasted cumin powder
1 tsp. Bengali roasted five-spice powder (panch phoron)

4 large oriental eggplants, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tsp. turmeric
Salt to taste
3 Tbsp. extra light olive oil

1 Tbsp. extra light olive oil
1/2 tsp. shah jeera or cumin seeds 

2 sliced onions
5-6 plum tomatoes, quartered
2 russet potatoes, cut into 12 pieces each
1/4 cup golden raisins

1 tsp. ghee or melted butter
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 – 3 hot green chillies, left whole

Directions:

1. Mix yogurt with the next 5 ingredients and allow it to come to room temperature
2. Coat eggplants and potatoes with turmeric and salt, then fry in 3 Tbsp. oil until golden brown. 
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a pan over medium-high heat and add cumin seeds.
4. When the seeds begin to sputter and sizzle, add sliced onions and saute until translucent.
5. Add tomatoes, potatoes and raisins, lower heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are tender.
6. Add fried eggplant, adjust salt to taste and cook for 3 minutes.
7. Remove pan from heat source and add yogurt mixture, one tablespoon at a time, until the yogurt is thoroughly incorporated into the vegetables.
8. Garnish with ghee, chopped cilantro & whole chilies and transfer to a serving dish.

Note:


The yogurt is added a Tbsp. at a time so that it does not separate. 
Be very gentle when adding the yogurt so that the eggplants do not disintegrate.