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Being from the state of Orissa where fish is the staple food, we are so used to eating fish and we even enjoy eating fish eggs and fish oil . Fish eggs are available only during the breeding season and really delicious when prepared nicely. So here is a simple recipe to make fitters out of fish eggs which is really simple and delicious. Ingredients: Fish Eggs: From one fish ( not sure how much it weighed  for us) Green chili: 2-3 finely chopped ( adjust as per taste) Onion: 1 small Finely chopped Garlic: 2 crushed Besan: 2 tbsp (add a little at a time till you reach a good consistency) salt: as per taste turmeric powder: 1 tsp Chilli powder: 1 tsp Oil for cooking. Procedure. Put all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl and mix together.  You will have to use a fork to mash up the fish eggs and make the whole thing into a thick paste. Heat oil in a shallow pan or tawa . Add a spoon full of the mix in the tawa and adjust the shape.  ...

Here is another dish that adds to the list of my love for flavored rice dish. Ingredients: Marination of prawns: Prawns: 15-20 shelled and deveined  Garlic paste: 1 1/2 tsp  Ginger paste: 3/4 tsp  Turmeric powder:1/2 tsp t Chilli powder: 3/4 tsp  Vegetable oil: 2-3 tsp  Salt: 1 tsp For the pulao masala: Vegetable oil: 2 tbsp  Green cardamoms: 4 Cinnamon sticks: 2  Nutmeg: 1tsp  Star Anish: 2 Cloves: 10 Onion: 1 large thinly sliced Green chillies: 2-4 sliced ( adjust as per your taste) Garlic paste:2 1/2 tsp  Ginger paste: 2 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder: 3/4 tsp Coriander powder: 1 Tbsp  Tomatoes: 1 large chopped Basmati rice : 2 cups washed and soaked for half an hour Water: 4-5 cups Mint leaves: finely chopped 2 tbsp Coriander leaves: finely chopped 2 tbsp Salt to taste Procedure: Mix all the marinade ingredients.  Coat the prawns well with the marinade and let it marinat...

My Nanaji was a great man, he was a business man with a huge heart. During his golden years he had  the capacity to feed a whole village and take care of them. He himself was a big time fan of good food. He loved to eat and feed others. As he grew old his strength along with his health started going down. But his eye for good food always remained the same. He is the one person from whom you should learn how to eat, he introduced us very delicious dishes. One of his favorite was fish fry in tomato gravy or as he called it tomato macha. It became my brother's favorite fish dish as well.  Its quick, easy and delicious. So lets get started. Ingredients: Fish : 4 slices (I used Tilapia) Onion: 1 medium thinly sliced Tomato: 1 - 2 large Chopped( adjust depending on how sour your tomatoes are) Garlic: 4-5 cloves crushed. Panca Phutana: 1 tsp Whole Dry Red chili: 1 broken Turmeric :  2 tbsp Green Chilli: 2-4 whole (adjust as per taste) Coriander powder: 1 tsp R...

Fish is  the life line of costal state of Orissa. There so many different ways to prepare it. Some are quick and some take some measurements and planning. When everybody is rushing to get ready and be on time for school and office, mom would be busy making something to feeds us. She would make this quick version of fish that would have not much spices and would have a very thin gravy, but would taste devine. Mom called it machha haladi jhola ( fish in turmeric gravy). This is my most cherished recipe from my moms kitchen. Here by I am sharing my love of fish with you. Ingredients: Fish is Tilapia: 4 pieces Potato: : 1 large cut into wedges. Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Pancha Phutana: 1 tsp Dry Red chilli: 1-2 Tomato: 1 large chopped Turmeric powder:1 tbsp Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp chopped Salt As per taste Oil: 2 tbsp Green chili : 2 or 3  Ambula (dried Mango): 1 small (optional) Method: Wash the fish pieces and place ...

Fish is the best thing that you can eat, it is a good source of protein and omega 3. The smaller the fish the healthier it is. Now with all the Fukishima radiation news going on, we are becoming more and more skeptical about eating fish. As per my nutritionist, its safe to eat fresh water fishes like tilpia, carp and smaller fish. So don't give up this healthy food.  Ingredients: Pohola Maccha: 2 whole gutted ( I used fresh herring) Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Tomatoes: 1 large chopped mustard seeds: 2 tsp cumin powder:1/2 tsp  coriander powder:1/2 tsp  red chillis :2 nos pancha phutana: 1/4 tsp red chilli powder:1/4 tsp  garlic flakes :7-8  turmeric: 2 tbsp oil : 6 tsp coriander leaves:1 tbs Ambula( dried mango): 1 green chilli:2 salt: as per taste Oil: 2-3 tbsp Procedure: Clean the fish throughly. Add salt and 1/2 of the turmeric and keep aside for 5 mins. Grind the red chillis, mustard seeds and the garlic flakes in...

As I have mentioned in many of my post, I grew up eating a lot of fish and shrimp. My brother always preferred shrimp over fish and his favorite preparation was the one my Mausi made. Its a dry preparation with mustard paste. It is generally prepared with smaller shrimps but as I had only the medium sized one's from the Costco, I used them. But if you can find some small ones it would be perfect. Ingredients: Small Shrimp: 1/2 pound with scale and cleaned. Mustard Paste: 2tbsp ( grind, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 5-6 cloves of garlic pod) Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Pancha Phutan: 1 tsp Whole Green Chilli: 2-3 Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp Oil: 1 tbsp Salt as per taste Procedure: Marinate the prawns in little salt and pinch of turmeric for 5-10 mind. In a kadhai or frying pan heat oil and fry the shrimp for 2-3 minutes or till it turns slight pink on all sides.  Remove the shrimp and to the same pan add pancha phutan and let it crackle. As...

In four years of engineering I spend lot of nights traveling from home to hostel and back. We had only one govt bus every night taking us back and forth between the 2 towns. It would stop at Chilika Dhaba in Balugaon a small town. They served the most delicious crab masala. Everything in the menu was delicious.  So today I tried to recreate the yummy crab masala, it was quite close, still would love to go back to the place and enjoy the authentic crab masla at the Chilika Dhaba. Ingredients: Crab: 2 legs ( I used the precooked crab legs that I got from costco, but you can use fresh crab) Cinnamon : 1/2 inch stick Bay leave: 1 Cardamon: 2-3 whole Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Ginger Garlic Paste: 2 tbsp Tomato: 1 medium finely chopped Red Chilli Powder: 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp Coriander Powder: 1 tbsp Cumin Powder: 1/2 tbsp Meat Masala: 1 tbsp Salt : as per taste Oil: 2 tbsp Procedure: Thaw the crab legs. Add a pinch of salt and 1/4 tsp of turmer...

Being from Orissa sea food is what we do. My family from mom's side comes from the coastal city of Paradeep where sea food is abundantly available and enjoyed. So I can safely say we know our fish, shrimps and crabs. Eating crab takes lot of time and effort, but as a family we would sit down for lunch with our crabs and eat it for hours. That time used to be the best part of a vacation, enjoying our food, teasing each other, eavesdropping on what adults are talking about and ignoring heat and sweat. Those were real good days.  Back then my mom would kill and clean the crabs by herself, and thats how it is ideally done. But me being me decided to go the easy way out. I got precooked crab legs from Costco and made the curry and it is not half bad.  Ingredients: Crab : 5 legs ( if you prefer to prepare your own crab use 2 whole crabs) Potato: 2 medium peeled and cut into wedges Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Ginger garlic Paste: 3 tsp Coriander Powder: 1 tsp...

Its Cinco de Mayo (translated “May 5th”) time. It is a Mexican holiday that seems to increase in popularity each year in the United States. In fact, today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated even more enthusiastically throughout the United States than it is throughout Mexico. It has become a celebration of independence, liberty and freedom - ideas which unite the people of both countries.  It calls for good food, drinks, music and party with friends and family. So why should I not participate by posting one of my favorite mexican dish Quesadilla. We had one at Rain Forest restaurant in Vegas. It was so divine specially after a wild night and  huge hangover.  So  tried to cook it at home and it turned out great. This is going on my menu for next party. Ingredients Shrimp: 8 large peeled and deveined Tortillas: 4  (I used Las Fortunitas Jumbo Flour Tortillas) Avocado: 1  diced, tossed with juice of half a lime Tomatoes:...

As in my earlier posts I have mentioned, besara is an authentic Oriya dish prepare with mustard paste. Yesterday I was about to drive down to my newly discovered farmers market to grab some tomatoes when realized that my car keys were still in Tanmaya's car and he was at work. So I had to figure out a way to cook shrimp without any tomatoes. So I picked up the phone and called my mom for suggestions. She gave me her chingudi besara recipe and I am about to share it with you. Ingredients: Shrimp: 15-20 peeled and deveined Potato: 1 large peeled and cut into 4-6 pieces (depending on the size of the potato) Okra: 5 medium sized Onion: 1 small finely chopped Mustard Paste: 2tbsp ( grind, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 5-6 cloves of garlic pod) Red Chili Powder: 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp Green Chili: 2 -3 slit length wise Water : 1 cup Pancha Phutana: 1 tsp Salt as per taste Oil: 2 tbsp Coriander leaves: for garnish Procedure: Wash and pat dry the...

Poee is a popular green relished in Orissa, also known as red spinach or malabar spinach. There are different ways to prepare  it. The most popular is cooking it with fish. I had a hard time finding it in the bay area, mostly because I didn't know its english name  and also like any other vegetable the variety found here is very different in appearance than compared to what we get back home. After a lot of research online and going through a loads of Asian cooking sites I came to know that It has always been there in all the South Asian grocery stores, I just didn't know :) So finally here I am with one of my favorite fish dishes. Ingredients: Maccha munda : 1  Fish : 2 pieces ( mostly tail is used, but other pieces are fine) Pumpkin : cut into cubes about 1/2 cup Eggplant: 1 medium cut into cubes  poee: 3-4 stems  Potato: 1 medium cut into cubes Tomato: 1 medium Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tbsp Onion: 1 medium finely chopped cinnamon stick:...

It was almost 5 PM on Friday and I was looking at my computer screen wondering what did I do wrong that  my code is not working as expected, when Tanmaya called to tell me that he is starting from  office.  I told myself, hell with the code, cannot look at it anymore and decided to blow up some steam in the kitchen, but realized that there is not much left in the refrigerator to use. The only thing usable was a packet of frozen shrimps, so decided to make some fitters. Ingredients: Shrimp: 15 cleaned, skin removed and deveined. Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Green Chilli: 2-3 finely chopped Coriander Leaves: 2 tbsp finely chopped Garlic : 2 flakes grated/crushed Ginger: 1/2 inch finely grated Cornflour: 1 tbsp Salt: as per taste Red chilli powder: 2 tbsp Chaat powder: 1 tbsp Gram flour: 2-3 tbsp (adjust as per requirement) Oil for deep frying. Procedure: Roughly chop the cleaned shrimp into small pieces. In a bowl mix all the ingredients exce...

Not a lot of people know how to enjoy a fish head. But we oriyas are kind of pros in eating it and have lot of variations to prepare the same, so that one does not have to put a lot of effort in enjoying one. Here is one more variation. Ingredients: Maccha munda ( fish head ): 2 (Tilapia/Carp) potato : 1 medium cubed tomato: 1 large chopped mustard seeds: 1 tsp garlic flakes: 10-12 green chills: 2 salt: as per taste turmeric: 1 tsp red chilli powder: 1 tbsp oil: 3 tsp Procedure: Soak the mustard seeds for 20 mins. Grind the mustard seeds and half of the garlic flakes into a smooth paste. Wash the maccha munda and add salt and turmeric to it. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan. Add the maccha munda. Fry it on both sides . Crush into small pieces in the pan and fry for some time till the pieces turn crispy. Remove the fried fish from the pan. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a wok. Add a few mustard seeds along with the green chills.  Once the mustard seeds stop cr...

Sukhua is oriya for Dry fish. It has been used in many cuisines for centuries now. Being from a costal state I have always enjoyed fish and related products, dry fish being one of them. After coming to the states, I was not sure if I can find a place where I can buy these, as most of the Indian grocery stores are either run by Panjabi's, Gujurathi's or are south Asian, but one fine day I smelled dry fish being cooked  in my apt complex, and we have mostly south Asian people staying around, not much Indian. That made me realize that I can buy these somewhere. And I found them in most of the Chinese stores, and one of my friends mentioned that see even bought some from a Indian grocery store, Patil Brothers (for any body in santa clara/san jose, CA). For this recipe I am using Hilsa dry fish that my Mom gave, but you can always use other kind of fish as well. Ingredients: Dry Fish: 2 pieces ( if using smaller whole fish use 4) Green Chilli: 4 crushed (Adjust to s...

The weather outside is beautiful, sunny and bright.  What is better than grilled food with friends and family with loads of summer fun near the pool or in a park.  I love getting out and about in such a beautiful weather and do some grilling. Here is a recipe that is great for both outdoor grilling at a park or as an appetizer for sit in dimmer party. Its easy, quick and delicious.  Ingredients: Shrimp: 2 pounds, tail on, peeled and deveined Tequila: 1/2 cup Lime Juice: 1/2cup Olive Oil: 1/4 cup Red onion: 1/2 medium Sliced Garlic: 4 cloves crushed Coriander Leaves: 1/2 tsp Salt: 1/2 tsp Pepper Powder : 1/2 tsp Procedures: We need bamboo skewers for this recipe, about 6-8. So go ahead and soak these skewers in water for 30mins before you start stringing the shrimp other wise it will burn. In the mean while combine all the ingredients except the shrimp in a glass bowl and stir. Add the shrimp to the marinade and let it marinate for 1...

Its an authentic oriya dish that uses fish head, tail and channa dal. I know the name does not make much sense to non-oriya people actually it does not make much sense to me either  as it really does not use any mudi :) Its generally cooked in wedding receptions in villages and its really important to people that it is a part of the feast. Ingredients : Fish head: 1 ( I used tilapia fish, back home its generally rohi ) Fish tail: 1 Channa dal: 1 cup Tomato: 2 medium finely chopped Potato: 1 medium cut in cubes Grated ginger: 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbs Onion: 1 medium Cinnamon stick: 1 inch long Cardamon: 2 Bay leaf: 2 Cumin seeds: 1 tsp Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp Coriander seeds: 1 1/2 tsp  Red chilli: 4 whole Turmeric: 2 tsp Oil: 4 tsp Salt : as per taste Procedure: Wash and soak the channa dal for 2-3 hours.  Marinate the fish with salt and half of the turmeric for about 5 minutes.  Dry roast the cinnamon, cardamon, half of ...

Its a deliciously flavored fish curry from South India. It has a very creamy sauce and goes great with rice and naan.  Ingredients: Fish: 500gms  Onion: 2 large (Paste) Ginger Paste: 1 tsp Garlic paste: 2 tsp Tomato Puree: 2 tsp Curd: beaten 2 tsp Curry Leaves: 3-4 Mustard Seed: 1 tsp Red Chilli: 2 whole Salt : as per taste Black Pepper Powder: As per taste: Coriander Powder: 1 tsp Cumin Powder: 1 tsp Green Chilli: 2 whole Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp Oil: 1 tsp Procedure: In a  pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves.  As the mustard seeds stop spluttering add paste of onion, ginger and garlic and tomato puree Add salt and pepper and cook for 5-7 mins stirring in between, till oil starts oozing out and the raw smell is gone. Add curd, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder and cook for another 4-5 mins.  As the oil starts oozing out of the masala add the fish , green chillies , cover and cook for 5-6 mins a ...

We Oriyas love our fish. There are so many different fishes available in market and so many different ways to cook them. Here is one which is very common in our household, rohi (Rohu) macha tarkari. Ingredients: Rohi Macha: 1 whole fish cut into thin slices Potato: 1 large cut into 8 pieces Ginger-Garlic Paste: 2 tsp Tomato: 1 large finely chopped Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Cumin Powder: 1 tsp Coriander Powder: 1tsp Chilli Powder: 1-2 tsp Turmeric Powder: 2 tsp Salt : as per taste Oil: 3tsp Coriander Leaves: 1 tsp chopped for garnish. Procedure: Wash and clean the fish pieces add 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of turmeric powder and mix well and marinade for 10-15 mins. In a pan heat 1 tsp of oil and fry the fish pieces a couple at a time till cooked through. It should take 10 mins to finish all the fish and potatoes In a bigger pan heat rest of the oil and add finely chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook the onion till they turn transparent. Add red...