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Poila Baisakh is the first day of the Bengali new year, and its a special day for all Bengalis. Wearing new clothes, getting blessings from elders and of course the grand meal with the whole family.
The Bengali calendar is stepping in to the 1427 this year. But, the beginning of this year is amidst a pandemic the world has never seen. Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from the novel coronavirus, and everybody is scared.
We had been staying at home for almost a month now, we have went out only a few times to get grocery and essentials. I have resorted to cooking in batches, cooking a lot at a time and freezing the leftovers for a later meal. But, my Bengali heart still pines for an elaborate meal on poila baisakh, so amidst all this I took out frozen cooked meals, cooked some fresh and prepared my version of the elaborate meal. We had been conserving on milk, so couldn’t indulge in any desserts this time, of you want ideas for Bengali sweets, you can check my blog archive.
Pictured in the thali are links to recipes I have posted before, click on the names and you can see the recipes:
Dudh Shukto
Moong Dal
Fulkopir Tarkari
Chanar Dalna
Salmon Shorshe
Kalo jeere diye Ilish
Aamer chutney
For the recipe for the salmon shorshe, follow this simple instructions.
Ingredients:
4 pieces wild caught salmon
1 tablespoon black mustard
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 – 5 green chilies
2 tablespoon mustard oil
Salt to taste
Directions:
I a wet grinder, add both types of mustard seeds, a teaspoon of turmeric and some salt. Grind to a fine paste with about 2 tablespoons of water
In a microwave safe bowl, add the mustard paste, turmeric powder and salt. Mix in about a quarter cup of water. Place the salmon pieces and coat with the mustard paste.
Put in the green chilies and pour the mustard oil
Microwave on high covered for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with rice
Notes: Depending on your microwave the cooking time would change, mine is 1100 Watts on High and it takes about 5 minutes to cook the salmon all through.
If you don’t have salmon you can use the same recipe for hilsa or any other salt water fish.
I hope the coming days will be good, wishing you all Subho Nabobarsho
