This book is specially meant for the English-speaking people living in or outside India and I shall consider that my labour is not lost if they can, with the help of this book, prepare and enjoy the recipes, the details of which are given here. If some of the ingredients mentioned in this book are not available outside Bengal or outside India, the preparations requiring them may be dropped altogether and if they are of little importance the preparations may be tried without them. This will not hamper one in his attempt to learn the art of Indian cooking as such ingredients and the preparations requiring them form a very small minority. Nearly all' the ingredients mentioned here are produced in nearly all parts of the world or are imported by them.
Human beings are social animals and they more or less love to indulge in some sorts of pleasures and to give the same pleasures to their friends. Cooking gives them the opportunity to indulge in vario...
It is widely held among most of the Indians that all things should be cooked in earthenwares. Tastes, colours and other qualities of the fcods are not damaged when cooked in them. Iron pots are also w...
Siddha Rice (Rice Husked From Pre-Boiled Paddy) Three seers of watef are required for one seer of rice. Heat water in a pan and when it begins to boil pour the rice, washed clean, in it and close t...
Vegetables Boiled In Rice Most of the vegetables, e. g., potato, brinjal, patol, Uch-chhe, karala, beans, mun, sweet potato, sweet gourd, -green banana, lady's fingers, seeds of jack fruit, radish...
Simple Khechuri Wash equal weights of fine rice, atap or siddha, and fried moog-dal, and drop them in boiling water. After a few minutes add sliced onions and potatoes, fried or raw, if desired. Wh...
In preparing vegetable curries it is not always possible-to mention the exact weights or volumes of the ingredients required—vegetables, spices, salt, water, etc.—a little experience is needed in judg...
Kachu-Sak Ghanta Take some tender stalks of arum (available only in the rainy season), skin them and cut into pieces an inch long. Boil them and drain off the water. Add ground; pepper, cumin, cori...
Mocha Dalna Chop one or two banana flowers into very fine pieces, boil them and drain off the water. Then mix powdered coriander, red chillies, pepper, cumin, turmeric and salt in adequate quantiti...
Mula-Ghanta Peel and chop a few radishes into small pieces and boil them in water. Drain off the water and again wash them with cold water to weaken the disagreeable smell. Now brown the boiled pie...
Kulia With Mun Leaves Make a thick solution of pasted pulses of peas or grams and dip pieces, 1 or 1 1/2 inch square, of very tender leaves of amrita mun into it, and fry them in ghee or oil. Boil ...
Dam With Karola Required Karola 1/2 seer, pepper, cumin and garam-masalla 1/4 tola each, coriander 1 tola, salt 1 tola, ginger 1/2 tola, turmeric 1/2 tola, curd 1/2 powa, sugar 1/2 powa, ghee 1/...
Take some chhana and drain off the water under high pressure. Then cut the chhana in rectangular pieces half inch thick and brown them in ghee or oil. Mix some flour with the chhana if it fails to tak...
Karola Or Uch-Chhe Cut the karolas in thin slices and rub powdered turmeric and a little salt. Heat some oil in a pan till the foams die out. Then add the slices a few at a time so that they may re...
With Palta Bara is a general name for fried preparations in the form of small cakes. Make a paste of some moistened pulse of khesari or peas with some palta leaves. Mix salt and beat. Form cakes ...
Amrit Mix equal weights of sugar and water, and boil. If a little milk is added the impurities will rise to the surface in the form of scum, which is to be removed from time to time, and the syrup ...
Egg-Cutlets Shell and slice some hard boiled eggs into four pieces. Dip them into a very thick solution of besam with a little powdered turmeric and salt, and fry in plenty of ghee till they are br...
Egg With Meat Wash some big pieces of meat and mix with them salt, curd, turmeric, pepper, cumin, coriander, red-chillies, garam-masalla, ginger, onions, all ground to a paste. Boil some ghee and a...
Ras-Bara Mix almonds, raisins, cardamom seeds, aniseeds and bread crumbs, all powdered or pasted, with the contents of a few eggs and beat thoroughly. Form balls, fry in plenty of ghee and drop the...
Shell a few hard-boiled eggs and cut them length-wise and crosswise on both ends. Smear with powdered or pasted turmeric and salt. Dip them into a very thick solution of flour or powdered rice mixed ...
Boiled Fish Rub powdered turmeric and salt on pieces of fish and boil in the minimum quantity of water. Remove the bones and mix to a paste with powdered mustard, mustard oil and a little more salt...
Fish-Puri Boil I seer of the pieces of a big fish with salt and turmeric, and remove the bones. Add ginger, turmeric, cumin, pepper, coriander, garam-masalla, salt and a pinch of sugar, all powdere...
Hilsa Fish With Cocoa-Nut Smear some pieces of hilsa fish with adequate quantities of salt, mustard, turmeric, chillies, all powdered, and sufficient mustard oil. Stuff the stone of a half-ripe coc...
Required Fish 1/2 seer, potato 1 1/2 powa, milk and butter 1 chhatak [each, 3 or 4 hen's eggs, flour about 1 powa, salt 1 tola, syrup of sugar. Method Boil pieces of a big fish and remove the...
Hilsa fish must not be washed after cutting it to pieces, it is to be washed after flaking. Rub the pieces of fish with salt, powdered mustard, turmeric, a quantity of mustard oil and a few green chil...
Pulses of both grams and moog are prepared with fishes. Big sized shrimps and fishes of the higher classes are used for this purpose. Shrimps are to be prepared keeping the scales on the heads and fri...
Scale some lobsters, wash, rub with salt and powdered turmeric, and fry. Make a paste of them on a curry-stone. Mix ginger-paste and again fry with some browned pieces of onions. Then mix powdered gar...
This preparation is rather costly and laborious, bwt is an excellent curry for a Bengali dish. Required One entire fish 1 or 1 1/4 seers, ghee 1 powa, besam 1 powa, garam-masalla 1/2 tola, peppe...
English Curry With Crabs Shell a few crabs and keep their fleshes aside for a while after mixing with salt. Keep the brains in a pot and thoroughly clean the shells. Cut the fleshes in small pieces...
Required One medium sized cabbage or 2 to 2 1/2 seers of chopped cabbage, potato 1/2 seer, green legumes of peas 1 seer, climbing fish 1 seer, ghee 1/2 powa, oil 1/4 powa, salt 4 tolas, ginger I ch...
Remove the flakes, fins, gills, etc. from the body of the fish. Cut it near the head and bring out the intestines keeping the gall-bladder intact, otherwise the fish will taste bitter. Then cut the fi...
Required Fish 1 seer, ghee 1/2 powa, curd 1/2 powa, ginger 21/2 tolas, coriander 2 1/2 tolas, a few chillies, cloves and cardamoms, 2 lemons, 1 or 2 handfuls of besam. Method Prepare the midd...
Soup With Magura Or Singi Fish It is easily digested and hence a diet for patients. Prepare the fishes, cut in pieces and rub them against a flat stone to remove the skins as much as possible. B...
Boil pieces of hilsa, chitol or any other big fish in water with a little powdered turmeric, and remove the bones. Add some besam or rice-flour, a little powdered turmeric, red chillies, ginger, salt ...
Bara With Shrimps Scale the shrimps and shred off the flesh portions. Grind them to a paste with some rice or husked grams left moistened for several hours. Add powdered chillies and salt, mix thor...
Required Fishes weighing between 3 to 8 seers are the best for this purpose. Big pieces of such a fish 1 seer, potato 1/2 seer, onions 1/2 powa, oil 3 chhataks, ghee 1/2 powa, curd 1/2 powa, salt 2...
Boil pieces of a big fish with pasted ginger, onions, turmeric and salt. Take out the boiled pieces and remove the bones. Add raisins, pieces of almonds, powdered turmeric, chillies, ginger-juice, sal...
Cutlet Of Hilsa Fish Rub some big pieces of hilsa fish with pasted ginger, onions and salt. Keep them merged in a sufficient quan-tity of curd for 3 or 4 hours. Then dip them into eggs beaten with ...
Meat Curry Required Meat 1 seer, onions, ghee and curd 1/2 powa each, turmeric, pepper, cumin and garam-masalla 1/2 tola each, ginger 2 tolas coriander 2 tolas ( if pepper and cumin are not adde...
Meat Dhonka Prepare meat halua as before, press it flat on a plate, cut in pieces, dip into beaten egg and fry in ghee. Brown some big pieces of potatoes and add to them onions, ginger, cumin, p...
Fowl Juice Kill any fowl, domestic or wild, prepare it and cut in big pieces. Chickens are the best for this purpose. Cut a chicken in 4 or 5 pieces. Boil the pieces in about 1 1/2 seer of water wi...
Meat Toast Smear a lump of tender meat with pasted onions, ginger, chillies, garam-masalla and cumin. Thrust the sharp end of an iron rod into the meat and roast on charcoal fire turning round and ...
Mix salt, pastes of ginger, onions, garlic and chillies with minced mutton and keep aside for some time. Then mix it thoroughly with a little ghee and besam of grams to a stiff mass. Form balls of it,...
Make a paste of some boiled and peeled potatoes and mix thoroughly with salt, powdered pepper and the white of eggs. Mix ginger-juice, salt, minced onions, powdered chillies, eggs or a little paste...
Livers are always to be washed and boiled before cooking. Cut the boiled livers in small cubes. Fry them with minced onions in sufficient butter and add water, salt, powdered cumin and pepper. Add a l...
Keep 3 or 4 slices of loaf immersed in water for 1 or 2 minutes. Squeeze the water out and make a paste of these with eggs, powdered pepper, salt, pasted onions and green chillies. Cut 1 seer of me...
Mutton Breast Tie up some big pieces of meat from the breast in a piece of cloth and boil. Mix the boiled pieces with bread crumbs, salt, powdered pepper, cumin and garam-masalla, and fry them with...
Singara Break some boiled and peeled potatoes and mix with salt, a few entire black cumins, powders of chillies, garam-masalla and aniseed. Mix 1 chhatak ghee and a little salt with half seer of...
Aska Pitha Make a thick paste of powdered rice, salt and some scraped kernel of cocoa-nut, if desired, with water. Heat an earthen frying pot, smear with a little oil, add a small tea-cupful of the...
Raj-Bhog Make a paste of 1/2 seer of hard chhana and mix thoroughly with khowa kheer 1/2 seer, middlings 1/2 powa, a paste of 1 chhatak of almonds, powdered aniseeds 1/4 tola and a little powdered ...
Monohara Mix thoroughly 1 chhatak of ghee with flour 1 powa, powdered rice 3 chhataks and middlings 1 chhatak. Then add moistened and pasted pulses of kalai 1/2 powa, husked sesame 1/2 powa and ade...
Rasa-Bara Make fine pastes of 1/2 seer of pulses of Kalai, moistened for a few hours, and 1 powa of hard chhana separately. Then mix them together adding a few entire cubebs and seeds of a few big ...
Sakarpara Keep 1 powa of almonds moist for a couple of hours, then peel them, cut in pieces and make a paste of them with the necessary amount of water. Mix this paste, with 1 powa of cream of milk...
Manthak Mix thoroughly 1 chhatak of ghee with 1/2 seer of fine flour and make a moderately stiff dough of it with water. Prepare a little flattened balls of it, fry them in plenty of ghee and keep ...
Balls Of Kalai Keep 1 seer of pulses of mash-kalai under water for 7 or 8 hours and then make a paste of them. Mix with the whites of 2 or 3 eggs if desired, and beat the paste thoroughly. Fry smal...
Mix 1/2 powa of curd with 1/2 seer of besam of moog and add water making a thin paste. Beat the paste for about 15 minutes. Boil it and stir continuously till the paste is very thick. Then place the p...
These cakes are prepared with powdered rice or flour but those made of powdered rice are much softer. Make a stiff dough of powdered rice with boiling water. ( Try to add the necessary amount of water...
The simplest preparation is to heat equal quantities of scraped and pasted cocoa-nut kernel and a syrup of sugar, stirring vigorously with a ladle till the mass sticks to the sides of the pot and the ...
Mix 1/2 powa of ghee thoroughly with 1/2 seer of fine flour and then make a stiff dough with about 3 chhataks of milk. Prepare about 20 balls of it, stuff them with a mixture of powdered poppy seeds 3...
Boil five seers of undiluted milk in two pans and stir for a few minutes. Then make the heat very mild and cease stirring altogether when creams will form. When the creams are quite thick remove one o...
Keep 2 seers of dried paddy out on a cold moist floor for 2 to 3 hours. Then heat a quantity of sands in a pan till they are very hot. Throw a handful of the paddy on the hot sands and stir them. The ...
Mix 1 chhatak of ghee and a pinch of salt with I seer of flour, and knead into a dough with about 1/2 seer of water. Make small balls of if, roll into thin round discs and fry in plenty of ghee till t...
Mix thoroughly 1 chhatak of ghee and a little salt with 1 seer of fine flour. Add about 1/2 seer of water and knead to a stiff dough. Rub and beat it continually with the hands for at least half an ho...
Mix thoroughly 1/2 powa of ghee, a little salt, a half-pinch of soda, and a few entire black cumins with 1/2 seer of fine flour, and knead into a stiff dough with water. Make small balls of it and rol...
Am-Sandesh Prepare a syrup of one seer of brownish powder-like sugar ( kasir chini ) and cool it. Drive out the whey from chhana keeping it under high pressure for a few hours. Make a fine paste of...
Make a thick paste with fine flour 1/2 seer, curd 1 powa, entire seeds of big cardamoms 1 tola, and an adequate quantity of water. Boil ghee (or oil) 1 powa or a little more till the bubbles die out. ...
Keep some pulses of grams moist under water for two hours. Fry them with ghee and grind to a paste. Mix entire aniseeds, black cumin and salt with it. Fish, meat, green peas, almonds, fried with spice...
Pudding Of Rice Boil 1/2 powa of rice in water till quite soft. Beat-thoroughly two eggs in a pot, add powa of milk, 1/2 powa of sugar and the boiled rice, and stir thoroughly. Heat on charcoal fir...
Barfi Of Moog Keep 2 seers of pulses of moog moistened for 2 or 3 hours and then make a paste of them. Beat 1 seer of ghee till very white when mix it with the pasted moog, pieces of almonds 2 1/2...
Boil some milk for a few minutes and then add thoroughly washed finest atap rice at the rate of 1 chhatak per seer of milk. Cook on mild heat and stir constantly. When the rice are boiled to softness ...
Halua Ordinary Heat 1/2 powa of ghee with a few cassia leaves and when the bubbles die out fry 1 powa of middlings and 1/2 powa of raisins with the ghee till brown. Then add 1 powa of sugar and sti...
Kheerela Boil 2 seers of milk. Add a table spoonful of suga when half reduced. Stir the more carefully and vigorously the more it is thick. Take down when the milk becomes a stiff paste. Scrape tog...
Am-Satta Wash any number of ripe and sweet mangoes, peel them and squeeze the juice from them. Strain the juice through a fine piece of linen and collect in several flat, stone or porcelain dishes ...
Marmalade Of Green Mangoes Peel some full sized green mangoes and cut them in big pieces. Keep them in lime water for about half an hour. Then wash them with fresh water and keep aside for a little...
Kulachar Wash 2 seer of ripe plums, rub with a cloth to soak the water, remove the stalks and crack each of them a little. Mix with 1/2 powa of salt and dry them in the sun for several days till th...
Achar Of Tamarind Shell some ripe tamarinds, mix with salt and dry them thoroughly in the sun. Mix with enough mustard oil, powders of chillies, mustard, aniseed and any or every other spices excep...
Chatni Of Alubokhara Wash alubokharas, raisins and dates 1 powa each and keep the raisins and alubokharas under water for about a •quarter of an hour in an enamelled pot. Then heat 1/2 powa of oil ...
Halua Of Green Papaws Peel one or two big green papaws and cut in pieces throwing away the seeds. Boil 1/2 seer of the pieces in water and when fully boiled drain out the water. Make a paste of the...
Sarbat Of Green Mangoes Burn or boil 4 or 5 big green mangoes till they are soft. Then peel them and strain the pulp through a clean piece of linen. Mix it with 1 seer of water, 1 powa of sugar, a ...
Lemon-Syrup These syrups are used in preparing cold drinks very easily. Take some fragments of ice in a rather big-sized glass, add a table-spoonful of any of the syrups, fill the glass with water ...
A char—sauce. Ada—ginger. Akhni water—the juice left after boiling meat or spices or both in water. Alubokhara—a sort of prune, brought chiefly from Bokhara. Am—mango. Am-ada—mango-scented ginge...
Preface
