Delicious Dussehra

Tairi
Ingredients

• ½ cup rice, soaked
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup mixed dry fruits, chopped
• A few drops of saffron edible colour
• 2 to 3 cardamom
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp saunf

Method

• Make syrup with sugar, water and one cardamom of two thread consistency.
• Add a little saffron colour to it and keep it aside. 
• Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add ghee, bay leaf and cardamom to it. Saute for a few minutes and add soaked rice.
• Stir it for a while and add water to it. Let it boil. After it’s half done, add sugar syrup and saunf. Cook for a few more minutes till the rice is properly cooked. 
• Garnish with dry fruits and serve with raita.

Chingri Malai Curry 
Ingredients

• 400 gm prawns
• 3 tbsp mustard oil
• ½ tsp cumin 
• 2 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1¼ cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp ghee 
• Salt to taste

Method

• Blanch the prawns in turmeric water and keep aside. Now heat mustard oil in a pan and add sugar, cumin, ginger paste, cumin powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and sauté. Now add the prawns and slit green chillies and stir for few minutes. Add coconut milk and salt, and cook for few more minutes. Sprinkle garam masala and ghee on top and serve.

Tomato khejurer chutney 
Ingredients

• 1 kg tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup dates without seeds
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 50 gm kaju
• 50 gm raisins
• 5 -6 elaichi, crushed 
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1 cup sugar
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and dry red chillies. Sauté for a few minutes and add tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes. 
• Add kaju, raisins, sugar and salt and stir well till the sugar dissolves. Cook till the mixture thickens. Now, mix in the dates. 
• Add crushed elaichi and remove from the flame. 

Steamed hilsa or bhapa ilish 
Ingredients

• 500 gm hilsa fish 
• 4 tsp black mustard seed (soaked in lukewarm water)
• 4 tsp curd 
• 3 tbsp freshly grated coconut 
• 1½ tbsp khus khus
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• powder
• 4-6 green chillies
• ½ tsp red chilli powder 
• 4 tbsp mustard oil 
• Salt to taste 

Method 

• Make a thick paste of black mustard, one green chilli and one teaspoon of salt and keep it aside.
• Make paste of khus khus separately.
• Rub fish pieces in a mixture of half teaspoon salt and half teaspoon turmeric powder. Rest it for ten minutes.
• Now in a bowl, mix black mustard paste, khus khus paste, freshly grated coconut, curd, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, one cup water, salt and three teaspoons of mustard oil. 
• Steamed hilsa can be prepared using a double boiler steamer or in microwave or in a pressure cooker.
• Take a stainless steel container or a microwave oven safe container with a tight lid and rub some oil in the container. 
• Now spread half of the previously prepared paste on the container and put two to three slit green chillies. Over it place fish pieces and finally put the remaining paste over the fish pieces. Pour one teaspoon of mustard oil on the top. Also place the rest of the slit green chilies. Cover the lid.
• If using pressure cooker, wait for one whistle and remove from the flame after the steam comes out of the cooker. In case of microwave, put the container containing fish in the steamer, and cook at high temperature for five minutes and then at low temperature for around 25 minutes. 
• You can serve with steamed rice.

Sindhi Kadhi 
Ingredients

• 2 tsp besan
• 1½ cup assorted vegetables — cluster beans, brinjal, ladies’ fingers, potatoes, apple gourd, cauliflower, drumstick
• 1 tsp jeera
• ¼ tsp methi seeds 
• ¼ tsp mustard seed
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp kokam or amchoor
• 5 to 6 curry leaves

Salt as per taste
Method

• Fry ladies’ fingers and apple gourd in little oil and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add jeera, mustard seeds and methi seeds.
• After they sputter, add besan and sauté till it turns golden brown. 
• Add a little water, tomato puree, kokam or amchoor, potatoes and cluster beans. Close the lid and cook for two whistles. 
• Once the pressure is out, open the cooker and add little more water, salt, ladies’ fingers, drumsticks and apple gourd, and cook again for one whistle. 
• After five minutes remove the lid and garnish with coriander. 
• This kadhi is a popular sindhi dish eaten with plain rice or jeera rice.

— Compiled by Namrata Srivastava