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Each year many families in the old heartland of Kolkata—North Calcutta in parlance—prepare for Puja with revival of tradition. Ensconced in residences of long-ago entrepreneurs and landed gentry who made their fortunes in the colonial era, these surviving families have preserved the culture of a bygone era in different ways.
While some have stopped hosting the Durga idol altogether, others have scaled down both the size of the idol and the celebration. Braving fortune, a few attempt to continue in the old vein.
The Debs of Sovabazar. The Laws of Thanthania. The Pathuriaghata Tagores. And the Basumallicks of Pataldanga. We bring you a glimpse of some much-loved, family recipes put to work each Puja.
 Keema Cutlet
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
Mutton keema 1 kg
Mustard oil 300 gm
Bread slices 5
Biscuit powder 100 gm
Arrowroot 4 table spoons
Duck eggs 2
Ginger paste 2 table spoons
Large onions 5
Garlic 10 cloves
Green chilly 5
Coriander leaf 2 bundles
Salt to taste
Method:
Mix arrowroot with water to get a thin batter. Keep aside. Finely slice the onions, garlic, green chilli and coriander.
Add ginger paste. Mix all of these with the keema, and leave it for about 10 minutes. Knead this mixture hard along with moistened slices of bread.
Lightly dip this mixture in arrowroot batter and make 20-25 lumps. Roll out these lumps in flattened oval shapes to prepare the cutlets. Break the duck eggs, add salt, and whip into batter.
Soak the cutlets in egg batter and roll them in biscuit powder for an even coat. Deep fry in mustard oil till crispy.
Serve hot with tea.
 Chhanar Dalna
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
Homemade chhana (posset) 1 kg
Coconut milk 250 gm
Sugar 2 table spoons
White oil 100 ml
Ghee 100 ml
Tomato 4 large, thinly sliced
Ginger paste 1 tea spoon
Bay leaf 2 or 3
Red chillies 2 or 3
Hing (Asafoetida) 1 tea spoon
Red chilli powder to taste
Method:
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the chhana lightly. Keep the chhana aside. Add ginger paste, bay leaves, red chillies, hing to the pan and fry lightly for 3-4 minutes.
Add tomato slices, fry for one minute. Add coconut milk, sugar and chilli powder followed by the fried chhana. Add ghee and simmer. Serve hot.
 Sorshe Pomfret Jhal
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
Pomfret fish 600 gm
Mustard oil 200 gm
Mustard paste 2 table spoons
Poppy seed paste 1 table spoon
Garlic paste 1 table spoon
Turmeric powder to taste
Tomato 4
Green chilli 4
Salt to taste
Coriander leaf 1 bundle
Method:
Clean and cut the fish into large pieces. Prepare the pastes. Cut green chillies lengthwise.
Finely chop the tomatoes. Mix the fish with salt and turmeric; keep aside for some time. In a frying pan, heat oil and lightly fry the fish. Remove from the oil, keep aside. In the same oil add mustard, poppy and garlic pastes, green chilli, tomato and saute it for 2-3 minutes. Add the fish to the mixture.
Add salt. Add a little water. Put on the lid and let it boil for 5 minutes. Remove pan from the fire; spread coriander leaves on top of the fish. Serve with steamed rice.
 Gurjaoli Maacher Hash
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
Gurjaoli fish 1 kg
Carrots 200 gm
Potato 250 gm
Onion 150 gm
Curd 100 gm
Bay leaf 2 or 3
Garam Masala 5 gm (Whole cloves, cardamom and cinnamon)
Salt to taste
Sugar 2 table spoons
Mustard oil 2 table spoons
Oil for frying the fish
Method:
Clean and cut the fish into pieces. Grind onions to a paste. Cut carrots and potatoes lengthwise. Heat oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the fish. Remove from the oil and keep aside.
In the same oil add bay leaves and whole garam masala. Add onion paste and fry lightly. Add carrots and potatoes. Add salt. Add some water for the vegetables to become tender.
Whisk the curd with a fork, add slowly into the pan. Add sugar. Simmer. Serve with steamed rice.
 Bhetki Machher Chop
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
Bhetki / Bekti fish 250 gm
Potato 4 (Large)
Mustard oil 300 gm
Onion paste to taste
Ginger paste to taste
Garlic paste to taste
Tomato 1
Green chilli 6
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
Coriander leaf 1 bundle
Garam Masala 5 gm
Red chilli powder to taste
Poultry egg 2
Biscuit powder 100 gm
Method:
Clean and cut the mid-portion Bekti into pieces. Prepare pastes. Cut potatoes into big slices. Finely chop the tomato, green chilli and coriander leaves. Heat the oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the fish for about 2 minutes.
Remove from oil; keep aside. Pluck out fish bones. In the same oil, lightly fry potato slices. Knead the fried fish and potato pieces well; make dough. Again in the same oil add onion, ginger and garlic pastes with finely chopped green chilli and tomato. Add salt. Mix well. Saute for 5 minutes on light flame.
Add dough, chilli powder, coriander leaves and garam masala. Stir slowly. Remove pan from the flame after 3-4 minutes. Cool. Make 18-20 balls of ‘chop’ from the dough. Prepare poultry egg batter. Soak chops in the batter. Roll them in biscuit powder. Deep fry. Serve with sauce and salad.
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