All recipes

170

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

Filters (3)

170 recipes

Dim bhortaMashed eggs with mustard oil

Dim bhorta is one of the many bhortas (mashes) on the everyday Bangladeshi table, made in Dhaka and Sylhet homes on busy evenings or when the fridge holds little more than eggs. Hard-boiled eggs are mashed by hand with crisp fried onion, green chilli, coriander and a generous splash of pungent raw mustard oil, then eaten with steaming rice and dal. It is rich, sharp and spicy. The common mistake is soft-boiling the eggs; the yolks must be fully firm to mash properly, and fully set eggs are safest for everyone. Chef's tip: crush the green chilli and salt together with your fingertips before adding the eggs, so the heat spreads evenly through the mash. Use mustard oil sold for cooking; where bottles are labelled for external use only, buy a cold-pressed edible one.

15 min

Bangladeshi Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chhanar murkiSugar-coated chhena cubes

In Bangladesh and West Bengal, Hindu families mark Bijoya Dashami at the end of Durga Puja by visiting neighbours with plates of sweets, and chhanar murki is one of the simplest to make at home. Fresh chhena is pressed firm, cut into tiny cubes and cooked in sugar syrup, which is then boiled down until it crystallises and clings to each cube as a white, crunchy coat; inside they stay soft and milky. Common mistake: using soft, wet chhena, which dissolves in the syrup. Press it under a weight until it is firm enough to slice cleanly. When the syrup turns cloudy and grainy, it is about to crystallise onto the cubes, so lower the heat and keep tossing. Chef's tip: toss the cubes off the heat for a full minute as the syrup dries; constant gentle movement gives an even, snowy coating instead of clumps.

85 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ilish bhajaFried hilsa fish

Breakfast on Pohela Boishakh in Dhaka means panta bhat, rice soaked overnight in water, eaten under the trees at Ramna with crisp fried hilsa, raw onion and green chilli. Ilish bhaja is the simplest way to cook Bangladesh's national fish: steaks rubbed only with turmeric and salt and fried in mustard oil until the edges crisp and the rich, oily flesh turns soft and sweet. The oil left in the pan, perfumed with the fish, is poured over rice and is half the pleasure. The common mistake is turning the steaks too soon, which tears the delicate skin; leave them until they release from the pan by themselves. The fish is done when the flesh is opaque right through and flakes away from the central bone. Chef's tip: hilsa is full of fine bones, so eat it slowly with your fingers and warn guests who have not tried it before.

30 min

Bangladeshi Fish

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chushi pithaRice flour strands in milk

When the new rice is in and the date palms start giving their winter sap, Bangladeshi families make pitha for Nabanna and through the cold months, and chushi pitha is the one grandmothers roll by hand, an evening of small grain-shaped strands rubbed out between the palms. The strands are cooked in reduced milk with bay leaf and cardamom, then sweetened with fresh khejur gur, giving a pale caramel pudding with soft, slightly chewy pieces. The common mistake is adding the jaggery while the milk is still boiling: it can curdle it, so take the pan off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes first. The strands are done when they float, turn translucent at the edges and are soft right through. Chef's tip: let the rolled strands dry on a tray for 15 minutes before cooking; they hold their shape instead of dissolving into the milk.

75 min

Bangladeshi Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BatashaPuffy sugar drops

On Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year in mid-April, the fairs that spring up in Dhaka, across Bangladesh and in West Bengal sell batasha by the basket, and shopkeepers hand them out with sweets as they open their new account books for halkhata. Temples receive them as offerings, and children crunch them on the way home. They are simply sugar boiled hot, then foamed with a pinch of soda and dropped in coins that set airy, crisp and melt-in-the-mouth. The common mistake is pulling the syrup off too early: below the hard-ball stage the drops spread flat and stay sticky. The syrup is ready at about 125 °C, when a drop in cold water forms a firm ball that keeps its shape. Chef's tip: work fast once the soda goes in, because the syrup sets within a minute; ask someone to help you drop them.

25 min

Bangladeshi Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

MurkiPuffed rice in jaggery

Nabanna, the 'new rice' festival of late autumn in Bangladesh and West Bengal, celebrates the first harvest of aman paddy, and the season's first date-palm jaggery arrives just in time. Murki is the treat every village makes for it: crisp puffed rice tossed in a pan of thick, boiling khejur gur until each grain is coated in a thin, crackly glaze, with a hint of dry ginger. It is offered to guests on Nabanna and on Bijoya and Lakshmi Puja, and children eat it by the handful. The common mistake is undercooking the syrup, which leaves the murki chewy and clumped; overcook it and it tastes burnt. The syrup is ready when large, slow bubbles cover the surface and a drop in cold water sets into a ball you can roll. Chef's tip: toss with two spatulas, lifting from the bottom, and keep going until the grains separate and stop sticking.

20 min

Bangladeshi Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Qush tiliFried dough diamonds with sugar

At Uzbek weddings and family feasts the dastarkhan tea table is crowded with sweets, and qush tili, 'bird's tongues', are the small, crisp ones that children grab by the handful. A simple dough of flour, egg, milk and a little butter is rolled thin, cut into little diamonds and fried until puffed and pale gold, then showered with icing sugar. The common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot, which browns them before the centres crisp. Chef's tip: cut a short slit in the middle of each diamond and they puff into lighter, crunchier tongues.

45 min

Uzbek Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ko'k somsaWild greens baked pastries

Ko'k somsa, 'green somsa', is made across Uzbekistan in the weeks around Navruz, when the first wild greens and herbs push through and families celebrate them in everything. Triangles of thin dough are packed with chopped spinach, sorrel, dill, coriander and spring onion, seasoned only with salt, pepper and a little butter, then baked until golden. They are eaten warm with green tea and sumalak. The common mistake is leaving the greens raw and wet, which makes the pastry soggy; wilt and squeeze them first. Chef's tip: brush the tops with egg yolk and scatter black sesame for the classic bakery shine.

75 min

Uzbek Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Narkel naru (Bengali coconut balls)

Narkel naru are made by the plateful in Bengali homes for Lakshmi Puja and on Bijoya Dashami, when they're offered to every visitor who comes to exchange greetings after Durga Puja. Freshly grated coconut is cooked slowly with jaggery, ideally the winter date-palm jaggery called nolen gur, until the mixture turns sticky and caramel-brown, then rolled into small balls while still warm. They're chewy and moist, intensely coconutty, with a deep molasses sweetness. Serve them at room temperature with tea or as part of a festival plate. They're naturally egg-free and vegan: the jaggery, cooked down to a sticky syrup, binds the coconut, with no flour or milk needed. Use sugar for a white naru if you prefer. Chef's tip: roll them while the mixture is still warm; waiting until it's cold is the common mistake, because it then crumbles and won't hold a ball shape.

40 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Malai chop (chhana dumplings filled with sweet malai)

Malai chop is a sweet-shop showpiece in Dhaka and Kolkata, bought by the box for weddings, Eid visits, Durga Puja and the arrival of guests. Soft chhana (fresh milk curd) is kneaded, shaped into ovals and boiled in sugar syrup until spongy, then each one is split and filled with thick, sweet reduced-milk malai and topped with pistachios. They're juicy, light and creamy, best served cold, two to a plate. It's naturally egg-free: well-kneaded chhana holds itself together, a little cornflour helps it bind, and the long-reduced milk thickens the filling without any custard. Chef's tip: squeeze the chhana until it's moist but not wet and knead it until your palm feels greasy; chhana that's too wet is the common mistake that makes the dumplings fall apart in the syrup.

190 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shemai (Bangladeshi Eid vermicelli in milk)

On Eid morning in Dhaka, Chattogram and villages across Bangladesh, a pot of shemai is usually on the stove before anyone leaves for prayers, and it's the first sweet offered to every visitor that day. Fine wheat vermicelli is toasted in ghee until golden, then simmered in milk with sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and the bay leaf that gives Bengali sweets their gentle, warm scent, and finished with raisins and nuts. It's creamy and soft but still loose, and it thickens as it cools. Serve it warm, or chilled the day after. It is naturally egg-free: the starch from the toasted vermicelli thickens the reduced milk, so it needs nothing to bind it. Chef's tip: take it off the heat while it still looks a little thin; cooking it until thick in the pan is the common mistake, because it sets into a stiff paste once it cools.

25 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Taler bora (Bengali palm-fruit fritters)

When the ripe palmyra palm fruits (tal) fall in the late monsoon, Bengal's kitchens fill with their heavy, almost fermented-fruit scent, and taler bora are made, above all for Janmashtami in August and September. The dark orange pulp is scraped from the fibrous seeds, mixed with rice flour, a little wheat flour, grated coconut and sugar, and dropped by the spoonful into hot oil. They puff into soft, spongy balls with a dark brown crust and a sweet, fruity, slightly smoky taste. Eat them warm or at room temperature with tea, or as part of a Janmashtami offering. They are naturally egg-free and vegan: the thick, fibrous palm pulp and the rice flour bind the batter, and a pinch of bicarbonate lightens it. Use fresh pulp when you find the fruit, or frozen palmyra pulp from a South Asian grocer. Chef's tip: fry at about 165°C; the sugar in the palm pulp burns easily, so oil that's too hot is the common mistake that blackens the outside while the centre stays raw.

50 min

Bangladeshi Indian Sweets

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lau ghontoBottle gourd with moong dal

Lau ghonto is a gentle summer dish from Dhaka and Kolkata kitchens, served in the first courses of a Bengali lunch with plain rice, when the bottle gourds are young and sweet. The gourd is grated, cooked down in its own juice with a handful of roasted moong dal, ginger and a little cumin until soft and almost creamy, and seasoned with a pinch of sugar. It is light, about 190 kcal a portion, and gives about 8 g of protein from the moong dal, so it is a vegetable side rather than a protein dish and is not tagged High protein. The most common mistake is adding water: bottle gourd releases plenty of its own, and extra water turns the ghonto into a soup. Chef's tip: choose a gourd that feels heavy, with pale, fuzzy skin you can dent with a fingernail; older gourds have hard seeds and turn bitter.

45 min

Bangladeshi Vegetarian

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Alu bhajiMatchstick potato stir-fry

Across Bangladesh, alu bhaji is the simplest side on the table: potatoes cut into thin matchsticks and stir-fried in mustard oil with onion, nigella seeds, turmeric and green chilli until tender with crisp golden tips. It is a breakfast with paratha, a lunch with rice and daal, and a favourite with children. The common mistake is skipping the rinse, so the starch glues the matchsticks into a clump that breaks as you stir. Chef's tip: cut the strips no thicker than a pencil; they cook through in the time the edges take to brown.

22 min

Bangladeshi Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lau chingriBottle gourd with prawns

Lau chingri is everyday lunch and dinner food in Dhaka homes and over the border in Kolkata: pale bottle gourd cooked slowly in its own juice with small prawns, cumin and green chilli until it turns soft and sweet. It is mild and light, eaten with plain rice and a spoon of dal. The common mistake is adding water; lau is mostly water already, and extra liquid turns it into a thin soup. Chef's tip: fry the prawns first and lift them out, then return them at the end so they stay plump instead of rubbery.

30 min

Bangladeshi Curries

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Korola bhajiFried bitter gourd

Bangladeshi families often start lunch with a little korola bhaji, eaten with the first mouthfuls of rice because its bitterness is said to wake up the appetite. Paper-thin slices of bitter gourd are salted, squeezed and fried in mustard oil with onion and turmeric until crisp at the edges and only gently bitter. The mistake that ruins it is crowding the pan: the slices steam instead of fry and turn soft and soggy. Chef's tip: if it is your first time, salt the slices a few minutes longer and squeeze them harder; much of the bitterness goes out with the juice.

24 min

Bangladeshi Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dim bhunaFried boiled eggs in masala

Dim bhuna is a Bangladeshi weeknight standby, cooked in kitchens from Chattogram to Sylhet when there are eggs in the basket and rice on the stove. Boiled eggs are fried until their skins blister golden, then tossed in a thick, dark masala of slow-browned onion and garlic that clings to them rather than pooling as a gravy. Eat it with plain rice, daal and a squeeze of lime. The mistake most people make is dropping smooth whole eggs into hot oil: they spit and can burst, and the masala slides off. Chef's tip: score each peeled egg with three shallow cuts so it fries safely and soaks up the spices.

30 min

Bangladeshi Curries

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dherosh bhajiOkra stir-fry

Dherosh bhaji is a monsoon-season favourite in Bangladesh, when market stalls in Khulna and Dhaka are piled with tender young okra. The pods are cut into coins and stir-fried with onion, garlic and green chilli until each round is tender with lightly browned edges and none of the slime people fear. The mistake behind slimy okra is washing it and cutting it while still wet; wash, then dry it completely first. Chef's tip: add salt only at the end, because salting early draws out moisture and makes the okra sticky.

22 min

Bangladeshi Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dim bhajiOnion and chilli omelette

In Dhaka homes dim bhaji is what appears when there is rice and daal on the table but nothing else: a thin, lacy omelette packed with red onion, green chilli and coriander, fried in mustard oil until the edges crisp. It is eaten folded over a plate of hot rice, or with paratha for breakfast. The usual mistake is a pan that isn't hot enough, which leaves the omelette pale, flat and rubbery instead of puffed with golden edges. Chef's tip: heat mustard oil until it just smokes, then let it calm for a few seconds; that tames its raw sharpness and gives the classic nutty flavour.

10 min

Bangladeshi Breakfast & Brunch

by KrazyBadal 0 views

GijdaThick milk and butter bread

Small, thick and glossy, gijda is the richer cousin of the big Uzbek non, sold in stacks at the bazaars of Tashkent and Samarkand and carried to weddings, family visits and long afternoons of green tea. Milk and butter in the dough make it fine-crumbed and tender, a little sweet, with a deep-golden domed rim and a flat, pricked centre that stays crisp. It is eaten with green tea and honey, torn beside plov, or with a bowl of shurpa. Bakers stamp the middle with a chekich, a wooden tool full of nails; a fork does the same job at home. If the centre is not pressed down hard enough it puffs up in the oven and you lose the classic shape, which is the most common mistake. Chef's tip: press the centre flat with the base of a glass first, then prick it all over, so the rim stays high and the middle stays thin.

143 min

Uzbek Breads & Parathas

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Jali kababBeef patties in egg net

Jali kabab is the golden patty tucked beside the roast and polao on a Dhaka wedding platter, and Old Dhaka households fry stacks of them for Eid guests; its name comes from the 'jali', the delicate net of beaten egg that forms around each patty in the hot oil. Inside, minced beef is cooked with spices, then mashed with potato into a soft, savoury filling, so the kabab is crisp and lacy outside and melting within. The usual mistake is frying in oil that is not hot enough, so the egg runs off instead of webbing; it should sizzle the moment you drip it in. Contains egg. Chef's tip: dip a patty in the egg, then drizzle more egg over it in thin threads with your fingertips as it fries, which builds a proper net.

60 min

Bangladeshi Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shada polaoPlain fragrant rice

At a biye bari in Dhaka or Sylhet, shada polao is the ivory-white mound at the centre of the wedding plate, waiting for the chicken roast, rezala and jali kabab; it is also the rice families make for Eid and for guests. Tiny, perfumed kalijira (or chinigura) grains are fried in ghee with cardamom, cinnamon and bay, then cooked with just enough water so they come out separate, glossy and fragrant with a hint of sweetness. The mistake to avoid is too much water: kalijira grains are small and turn mushy fast, so measure carefully and let them finish in steam. Contains milk (ghee). Chef's tip: add a tablespoon of milk and a few drops of kewra or rose water just before the final steam, as wedding cooks do, for that unmistakable biye bari perfume.

45 min

Bangladeshi Rice & Grains

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Alu bokhara chutneyPlum and date chutney

At Bangladeshi weddings and Eid lunches, a small spoon of glossy, garnet alu bokhara chutney comes round after the polao and meat, a sweet and tangy palate-cleanser before the doi and mishti; Old Dhaka caterers are known for theirs. Dried plums and dates simmer with sugar, a splash of vinegar and spices until the fruit is soft and the syrup thick enough to coat a spoon, with a hint of chilli and roasted panch phoron. The mistake is cooking it until it looks thick in the pan; it sets much firmer as it cools, so stop while the syrup is still loose. Chef's tip: toast panch phoron in a dry pan, crush it and stir it in at the end rather than frying it at the start, which keeps the flavour bright.

35 min

Bangladeshi Chutneys & Dips

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rui macher kaliaRohu fish curry

At Bangladeshi weddings the fish course is often rui macher kalia, and big steaks of rohu from the Padma and Meghna, shining in a dark, glossy gravy, are a sign that the hosts have spared no expense; families also cook it for jamai shashthi and Eid. The fish is rubbed with turmeric and fried crisp, then simmered briefly in a gravy of browned onion, ginger, yogurt and garam masala that is rich, a little sweet and fragrant with whole spices. People often break the fish by stirring the pot; slide it in and shake the pan gently instead. Contains fish and milk. Chef's tip: fry the fish in mustard oil until it is properly golden and crisp at the edges before it meets the gravy, so it holds its shape and doesn't taste raw.

60 min

Bangladeshi Fish

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 24 of 170 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 1 of 8