PANEER STUFFED BREAD ROLLS

Weekend evenings calls for some snacking with tea if we are at home. A late lunch, lazy late afternoon nap and then.... ohh we are not going out, then let me prepare something. I do the planning in the morning though as soon as we are sure we have no invitations, we are not going out and just relax at home. The lazy team finally have their tea and snacks around 7:30 pm. Then comes the final verdict.... we will not have dinner. The uber cool, crazy family have their music system and television on together. The quieter lady of the house  urges can we play one at a time. The junior takes advantage of the whole situation and skips his studies. In a whole, these are the moments that are making memories, beautiful ones. The lady loves weaving memories..... had there been enough vocabulary, she would have penned down a memoir.

I had some paneer and thought let me do something else with it instead of a curry. I found bread roll as a nice option. You can see I did not do much fancy with the shape, I wished to be relaxed in doing the thing.The preparation time was not so long and the snack was yummy that much I can assure you. It was done with ingredients we have in our kitchen all the time. I have captured the preparation stepwise. Let us do it. The very very middle class lady retained the bread slice borders to saute with veggies and have it, she does not serve this to her men though. She loves to flaunt what she believes in.

INGREDIENTS :[for the filling]
Paneer : 150g[crumbled]
Potato : 2medium[boiled and mashed]
Green Chilli : 3[chopped]
Onion : 1medium[sliced]
Green Pea : 1/2medium cup
Turmeric Powder : 1/4tsp
Cumin Powder : 1/2tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/2tsp
Cinnamon Powder : 1/4tsp
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Sugar : 1/2tsp
Salt : As required
Oil : 2tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the coverage and frying]
Bread Slices : 16[borders cut]
Water : A bowl full of
Oil : 100-150 ml[left overs can be used later]
Tissue Paper : To soak excess oil from the fries

METHOD :
Let us prepare the filling first. Heat 2tbsp oil in a wok and temper with cumin seeds. As they splutter, add the sliced onions. Fry till golden brown. Add the green peas and saute for 2 minutes. Add the mashed potato, sprinkle salt, mix well. Stir for 2 minutes.

Add the crumbled paneer. Fold in well. Add the chopped green chillies, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric powders, sugar and little salt.

Mix and stir well for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Take the bread slices and water in different bowls. They look as below.

Soak each bread slice in water and squeeze the excess water. Place some filling on the middle of a bread slice just as in the picture below.

Now put another slice on top of it as seen below.

Now carefully fold both sides and press. Press both ends too. They look as below.

Heat oil in a wok. Deep fry the rolls in batches. They look as below....

Put them on tissue papers to soak the excess oil before serving. Serve hot with choice of your sauce, chatni, salad.

SEMOLINA COCONUT BARFI

Holi... the festival of colours is approaching, time for merry making and indulge ourselves in lots of sweets. Yes, the diabetic me is saying so because at times we need to set loose, and be a part of the celebration. Though, I have never played Holi in my growing up years. Our neighbourhood atmosphere was not congenial and my mom never allowed me to go out. For long Holi remained as a scary memory of drunkards banging neighbourhood doors. At the same time, I must mention these same people came for our help whenever my father got bedridden with arthritis. So it is never easy or required to judge who is good, who is not.... what is right or wrong....

After marriage, I felt a strong urge to play Holi, the Bollywood way with my man... God, once I splashed some colour on him, he scolded me so hard. I was in tears never knowing what went wrong. His skin is averse to colours. The same person spends sleepless nights when I am unwell, sailed through rough seas to keep me well, made sacrifices to keep the family well. I always look up to him with respect. I actually was transferred from my mother's lap to husband's, hence never learnt to face the adversities of life. My son, following his father's footsteps doesn't want to play Holi these days. As a child he loved to play though and used to go out with his grandparents.

Coming to this super simple yummy homemade sweet, I learnt it from my dear friend Ipsita, who is a dietician and a degree holder in Hotel Management. She is not a part of the blogging world, does a lot of fusion cooking and loves to have my Bengali dishes which has to be simple and authentic. She got me these sweet on the Vasant Panchami day. I loved them so much that I went ahead with doing them with some change. I wished to keep the semolina a little undercooked, so that it remains a bit crunchy. Hence, I used less amount of milk than recommended. Let us do it for this Holi.

INGREDIENTS :
Semolina : 1cup
Shredded Coconut : 1/2cup
Milk : 1small cup
Condensed Milk : 1/2 small cup
Sugar : 2tbsp
Cardamom Powder : 1/2tsp
Saffron : 10-12 strands[optional]
Pistachios : 1tsp[chopped] [optional]
Raisins : 1 for each barfi to garnish
Ghee : 2tbsp

METHOD :
Heat a wok. Toast the coconut for 3-4 minutes and keep aside. Warm the milk and soak the saffron strands in it.

Heat ghee in a wok. Add the semolina. Keep stirring at low heat till they turn golden yellow and gives a nice roasted aroma. Add 2tbsp sugar. Stir for a minute.

Add the milk little by little and keep stirring. The semolina will be 70-75% cooked. Add the toasted  coconut. Stir well for 2 minutes.

Add the condensed milk and cardamom powder. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Let cool and cut into your desired shape.

Garnish with saffron strands, raisins and pistachios or whichever way you use. You can refrigerate up to 2-4 days.

MALVANI CHICKEN CURRY

Malvani Cuisine is the cuisine of the Konkan region of Maharashtra and Goa and some parts of West Karnataka. Malvan is a town in the west coast of Maharashtra. Being a coastal area in Konkan, Malvani cuisine uses lot of coconut in its cuisine..... whether its grated, dry grated, fried, coconut paste and milk. Besides they use spices like dry red chillies, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, cardamom, ginger, garlic, other garam masalas. Kokum, dried kokum, tamarind and raw mango are commonly used in their cuisine. Fish dishes dominates their cuisine being a coastal region. Once I  got to know their cuisine is hot and spicy, I would love to explore more of their dishes.... the fish ones definitely.... in future.... At this moment I am not really satisfied with the informations provided by the wiki.... wishing to read more about the place, its culture and cuisine. So including this too in my long wish list, let me proceed with the recipe.

My pick today is Chef Aditya Bal's Malvani Chicken. I just came across his recipe the other day and loved the assortment of spices he used. At a glance, I understood it will be extremely flavourful and tasty. It definitely was. Just use less amount of dry red chilli if you do not want it hot. I did follow his recipe but did not keep the iPad open once I proceeded with it. I feel that spoils the food and the mood. Let us cook with a stress free mind always. So long I am not claiming authenticity of a dish, how does it matter if I forget to add one spice or include one new. What is more important is how much love and care I am putting into it, so that the outcome is tasty and good looking.

INGREDIENTS :
Chicken : 1kg
Shredded Coconut : 1/2 medium cup + 2tbsp[for garnish but I skipped]
Green Chilli : 2
Ginger : 1tbsp small cut
Garlic : 6-7 cloves
Bayleaf : 1
Cinnamon Stick : 2 two inch
Green Cardamom : 2-3
Black Peppercorns : 8-10
Nutmeg : 1/2[I skipped]
Cloves : 4-5
Coriander Seeds : 1tsp
Cumin Seeds : 1/2tsp
Red Chilli : 4
Onion Paste : 2-3 tbsp
Coriander Leaves : 1tbsp[chopped for garnish]
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Lemon Juice : 2tbsp[my inclusion]
Oil : 4-5tbsp

METHOD :
Wash the chicken pieces and marinate with lemon juice, salt and half tsp turmeric powder for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Dry roast the bayleaf, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, coriander and cumin seeds, dry red chilliies and dry grind to a coarse powder.

Prepare a paste of ginger, garlic, shredded coconut and the green chillies adding little water.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the onion paste and stir for 2 minutes. Add the spice paste and stir for 2-3 minutes.

Add the spice powder and stir for a minute or 2. Add the turmeric powder n stir. Add the chicken pieces without the marinade. Stir at high heat for 3-4 minutes. 

Add the marinade and fold in well. Lower heat to minimum and cover. Uncover and stir every 3-4 minutes. Once all the water dries up, add a cup of water. Let cook for 3-4 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and shredded coconut[I skipped].

DAHIWALI GOBI / CAULIFLOWER IN YOGURT SAUCE

Though cauliflower is available round the year now, it is essentially a winter vegetable. It has an enhanced taste in winter, though nothing equates the taste of the ones that were once grown without chemical fertilisers. Though we get the organic ones as alternatives; looking at the price differences between the normal and the organic ones, I do not always buy them. During this period of the year, I usually prepare this vegetable the most, rest of the year in turns. We get a variety of Taiwan cauliflower here in the wet markets which gives me a taste of it we had in our growing up years.

I remember if there was any celebration or prayer/pooja at home mid year, mom would search for cauliflower throughout the market, may be to impress God or guests. Pilaf with Cauliflower curry was a preferred choice at home. Ever since I have started blogging, I can see cauliflower is universally loved. My love for it matches with many and there are so many ways of cooking it. This cauliflower in yogurt sauce is cooked in different parts of India, I have done it in my own way. I boiled the cauliflower pieces a little and then cooked them in the curry without frying them. So use of oil was less. This way the dish was done in much less oil. Let us do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Cauliflower : 1big
Plain Yogurt : 150-200gm
Onion : 1big[sliced]
Melon Seed : 1/2tsp

Cashew Nut : 5-6

White Sesame Seed : 1/2 tsp
Ginger Paste : 1tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1tsp
Green Cardamom : 2-3
Cinnamon Stick : 1 two inch stick
Clove : 3-4
Cumin Seeds : 2pinches
Bayleaf : 1

Dry Red Chilli : 2-3
Salt : As required
Oil : 2tbsp + 1tbsp

METHOD :

Cut the cauliflower into medium florets. Wash them thoroughly. Marinate with salt . Put them in a microwave safe bowl, add water and microwave at high for 4 to 5 minutes. Let cool.

Drain the water. Marinate the cauliflower pieces with little salt and 1tbsp oil. Grease a baking tray and place the pieces on it in one layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 250*C in a pre heated oven. They will be light brown in colour.

Prepare a paste of the melon seeds, white sesame seeds, cashew nuts, adding 1-2 tbsp yogurt. Add it to the rest of the yogurt and beat well. Keep the ginger paste and other spices ready.

Heat oil in a wok. Temper the oil with bayleaf, cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cloves, cumin seeds, dry red chillies. As they splutter, add the sliced onions. Fry them till golden brown.

Add the ginger paste and fry for a minute. Add the yogurt mix. Stir for 1- 2 minutes. Add the cumin, turmeric, coriander and red chilli powders. Saute for 1/2 a minute and add 1big cup water.

Cover and let it boil for 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower pieces, cover again and boil at low heat for 3-4 minutes. Uncover and add the garam masala. Stir and boil for another minute. Its done.

A VEGETARIAN PLATTER WITH TADKA DAL, CHOLE AND NO YEAST BHATURE

A north Indian platter done in a Bengali kitchen. During my journey of life, I came across many a people of different states of India, the foodie in me adapted a taste for different kind of cuisine. Besides, staying in Kolkata and not loving and tasting the variety of food there is not possible. The people there loves food and will not think twice to taste them.... from the streets to the fine dining. I think this applies to whole of India. My tasting of different food, other than Bengali started at a quite young age when I used to go out with mom for shopping and she would buy me them.

This chole and bhature thing is very popular in Kolkata. My brother too likes it. So northern India featured in our Bengal kitchen quite often. Now, my sis-in-law too loves it, so the combo feature in their lunch box on a regular basis. I had the best tadke wali dals perhaps in the dhabas while touring Rajasthan by road. They perhaps make the best tandoori roti too. I compiled the three recipes together because I felt they make a very good vegetarian platter. My strictly non vegetarian men love to have them too.  So let us do them one by one.


                                                                     TADKA DAL

INGREDIENTS :
Green Moong : 1 cup
Tomato : A big
Onion : 1 big[sliced]
Green Chilli : 3-4[slitted]
Minced Garlic : 1tbsp
Minced Ginger : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder :  1tsp
Garam Masala : 1tsp
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Salt : As required
Oil : 3-4tbsp

METHOD :
Soak the dal in enough hot water for 2 hours. Pressure cook up to one whistle adding a little turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. Let cool.

Heat oil in a wok. Temper with cumin seeds. Add the minced garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute. Add the sliced onions. Fry till brown. Wash, chop and add the tomatoes. Saute till it melts.

Add the slitted green chillies, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt. Give a stir and add the boiled dal. Add a cup of water. Let boil for 3-4 minutes. Add the garam masala and boil for another minute.

Serve hot.

                                                                       CHOLE

INGREDIENTS :
Chickpea : 200gm
Tomato : 2medium[chopped]
Onion : 1big[sliced]
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Garlic Paste : 2tsp
Green Chilli : 3-4[slitted]
Coriander leaves : 2sprig[chopped]
Chole Masala : 1tbsp[ I use store bought]
Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Cumin Seeds : 1/4tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Oil : 3-4 tbsp.

METHOD : 
Soak the chickpeas in enough water overnight. Next morning drain the water, wash and pressure cook them in enough water up to 3 or 4 whistles adding little salt and turmeric. Let cool.

Heat oil in a wok. Temper with cumin seeds. Add the garlic paste and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the sliced onions. Fry till brown. Add the ginger paste and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes. Salute for 2 minutes.

Now add the turmeric, red chilli and chole masala powders, salt and stir for a minute. Add the slitted green chillies and the boiled chickpeas. Fold in well. Add a medium cup of water. Cover cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the coriander leaves, stir, switch off.

I do not always have amla powder, so my chole is never black, as authentic.

                                                        NO YEAST BHATURE

  

INGREDIENTS :
Refined Flour : 2 cups.
Semolina : 1/4 or 1/2cup
Plain Yogurt : 150gm
Salt : As required
Sugar : 1/2tsp
Baking Soda : 2pinches
Oil : 150ml + 2tbsp


METHOD :
Take the refined flour, semolina, salt, sugar and baking soda in a bowl and mix together very well. Add the oil and rub well for 2 minutes.

Beat the yogurt. Add to the flour little by little and knead well till a soft dough is formed. Cover with a moist cloth and keep for 3-4 hours.

Remove cover, again knead for 3-4 minutes. Make medium sized balls. With rolling pin and base roll them into round poori.

Heat 150 ml oil in a wok. Fry the poori each at a time. If we want our bhature white, we have to change the heat constantly while frying.

Isn't that a nice vegetarian platter when served with some salad....

LABRA .... A MEDLEY OF ASSORTED VEGGIES

Labra, Khichhuri[khichdi], Chutney, Payesh... a complete BHOG[offering to God] platter on the occasion of Saraswati Puja[Goddess of Education]. Usually held in the month of February, it is also jokingly called Bengal's Valentine's Day. Yellow is the colour theme of this puja perhaps signifying the onset of spring. To me, the best part of this puja was that we did not have to study on that day. One more attraction was getting to wear mom's saree, a yellow one. On that day mom allowed to go out with friends alone for pandal hopping. It was then the Valentine things happened, pairs of eyes meeting, exchange of few words. Is it so till now.... I do not have any idea. By the time we went to junior college, we earned some freedom. Yet mom deployed my senior to escort me for the day. He, me with few other friends would attend puja at home, have prasad, then start pandal hopping and finally sit down for a movie. So beautiful were the days, all stored in my memory card.

I can write pages assorting the memories of this particular occasion, but I am too lazy to put them into words, or may be I have limited vocabulary. In short, we woke up early in the morning, mom applied a paste made of fresh turmeric, neem leaves, mustard oil all over our body. After taking shower, helped mom a little bit with the arrangement of puja. Once it was over by 12pm, had our bhog, then free to roam with friends till evening. Nevertheless to forget the joy of buying the idol the previous evening. Mom always used to take me with her as I was very choosy about the selection. So this labra with khichuri, payesh and chutney was a staple on this day. I try to follow the tradition till date. Sharing the recipe of labra with all of you as is done in our family.... Khichuri recipe I already have compiled earlier, so skipping this time.

INGREDIENTS :
Pumpkin : I/2 of a small one.
Spinach[Malabar] : A bunch
Sweet Potato : 3-4
Long Beans : 5-6
Radish : 2small
Banana Plaintain Stem : about 500 gm in weight
Green Chilli : 4-5[slitted]
Egg Plant : 1big
Turmeric Powder : 2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Bengali Panchphoron : 1/2tsp[ an equal amount of fennel, cumin, nigella, wild celery and fenugreek seeds taken together]
Dry Red Chillies : 2-3[halved]
Bayleaf : 2
Sugar : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required

METHOD :
All the vegetables need to be cut and kept separately to be added at different stages of the cooking. Peel and cut the pumpkin into medium cubes. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise after been halved. Roughly chop the spinach.

Peel and half the radish and then cut lengthwise. Eggplants to be cut into smaller cubes. Cut the long beans inchwise. We need to throw the outer cover of the banana stem and take the younger part only. Cut both ends and make smaller and thinner cubes.

Wash and keep all the veggies separately. Rub them with salt and turmeric. Keep aside for few minutes.

Heat oil in a wok. Temper with bayleaves, halved dry red chillies and panchphoron. Add the radish and banana stem pieces first. Stir, cover and cook for 5-6 minutes.

Add the pumpkin,  sweet potato and long bean pieces. Let cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the spinach and the eggplant pieces. Add the green chillies, red chilli powder, cumin powder. Stir all and cover cook for 4-5 minutes stirring every 1 minute.

Add the sugar and little salt if required. Fold in well and cook for another minute till all water released dries up.

We do not need to add water to it as it is cooked in the water released by the vegetables themselves.

Serve with Khichuri/Khichdi and chutney.

A SPICY AFFAIR WITH FISH AND VEGETARIAN FRIED RICE

This is something I love doing and can do it with all confidence. I feel what we love to eat, we love to cook too and tend to do it perfectly. Grown up on humble bowls of curry and rice, I am comfortable  doing it putting in all my heart into it. My problem is my not so fish loving son who wants chicken every day at every meal. The typical Bengali in me cannot accept it. The problem of this generation kids is that they want everything ready and easy in a platter. He will have fish only when it is boneless, fried or in a slightly differently done curry. If accompanied by a fried rice, my men will love it more. This way my time and energy is also saved. Accompanied by a serving of salad it is a complete meal but unfortunately my men skips the salad part.

I could not give any particular name to this fish curry because I did not follow any particular recipe or cuisine in doing so. I wished to prepare a Thai curry, discovered I am running out of lemon grass. So preferred going ahead with whatever was available in my kitchen. The curry was flavourful, a bit rich.... Compiled together both the recipes. Let us do it together.

INGREDIENTS :[for the fried rice]

Basmati Rice : 1cup
Carrot : 1small
Green Peas : 1/2 small cup
Sweet Corn : 1/4small cup
Green Chilli : 2
Cashews : 8-10
Cinnamon stick : 2 two inch each
Green Cardamom : 4-5
Cloves : 4-5
Bayleaf : 2-3
Salt : As Required
Sugar : 1tsp[optional]
Ghee[clarified butter] : 3tbsp
Oil : 2tbsp

INGREDIENTS :[for the fish curry]

Any White Fish : 500gm[I used fillets]
Tomato : 2medium
Onion : 2medium
Coconut Milk : 1medium cup
Curry Leaves : 8-10
Garlic Paste : 1tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Kashmiri Chilli Powder : 1tsp[adds colour only]
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1tsp
Fennel Seeds : 2pinch
Mustard Seeds : 2pinch
Fenugreek Seeds : 2pinch
Salt : As Required
Gram  Flour : 2tbsp
Oil : 4-5tbsp

METHOD :

Let us do the fried rice first. Wash and soak the rice for an hour. Drain the water. Boil enough water and cook the rice in it till 60% done. Drain the water and spread the rice on a paper sheet placed on table top.

Cut the carrots into small pieces, wash, apply salt. Wash and apply salt to the peas n corns. Wash and chop the green chillies.

Crush the cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom with a rolling pin.

Heat ghee and oil together on the wok. Add the crushed spices and the bayleaves. Add the cashews and lightly stir. Add the carrots and stir till it softens.

Now add the green peas, corns and chopped green chillies. Stir for a minute. Add the rice and stir first at high heat. Add the salt and sugar. Fold in well and stir for another 3-4 minutes. It is done.

Coming to the fish curry. Cut the fillets into smaller pieces. Add salt and turmeric and keep aside for 10-15 minutes. Drain the water that has been released. Add the gram flour and mix well.

Heat oil in a wok. Fry the coated fish pieces lightly. Keep aside. Temper oil with fennel, fenugreek and mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves. Stir for a minute and take out to be added later.

Peel, wash and slice the onions. Wash and chop the tomatoes. Add the garlic paste to the oil and saute till the raw smell goes. Add the sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Add the chopped tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes melt, add the turmeric, salt, coriander and chilli powders. Saute for a minute. Add the coconut milk. Let boil for 3-4 minutes.

Add the fish pieces, fried curry leaves and garam masala powder. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. If required add half small cup water.

Enjoy your meal with a serving of salad.

STRAWBERRY BREAD PUDDING

I was up to preparing something else and landed into this. It is not a cake, more of a pudding! Actually, I was attempting at bread cups with a strawberry filling which did not satisfy me on the midway of its preparation. This impatient self attempted for a quicker something and trust me.... you will like this quick fix dessert for sure. Valentine's Day was never a part of our culture, neither do I believe in any one day of celebrating love. Isn't it a life long celebration? The senior at home jokingly says it started as a sales promotion strategy of Archie's in our country. He has the same view about Dhanteras... the jewellery shops' sales promotion. Anyway, I thought if people of other cultures can stop by and show interest in my regional recipes, I should also wish them with something they can identify with... We will use fresh strawberry paste, bread, a little of agar agar, egg, yogurt, sugar, a bit of food colour & vanilla essence in this recipe. It goes without saying that the son of this house is growing up enjoying the different varieties of desserts mumma makes at home!

INGREDIENTS :

Bread : 4-6 slices
Strawberry : 7-8
Plain Yogurt : 1/2 medium cup
Sugar : 1/2 small tea cup
Agar Agar : 2 tsp
Egg : 2

Edible Food Colour [Red] : A few drops [I used Strawberry Icing Colour]

Butter [Melted] : 3-4 tbsp

Vanilla Essence : 1 tsp

METHOD :

Cut the sides of the bread slices. Wash and chop the strawberries.

In a blender, put together bread pieces, chopped strawberries, eggs, yogurt, sugar, butter. Prepare a fine paste.

In a small bowl, take 4tbsp water, add the agar agar powder to it and mix well. Microwave for 30 seconds- 1minutes stirring every ten seconds till it becomes little sticky.

Add it to the paste along with the vanilla essence, blend again for half a minute!

Grease a cake tin with butter. Pour the mix into it.

Preheat the oven at 160*C. Place a bigger pan filled 1/4 with water.

Place the cake tin atop it. I baked it at 160* for 45 minutes on my mini toaster oven. 

Let it cool. Loosen the sides with a knife and take out carefully.

Do the topping as you wish. I topped it with freshly chopped & washed strawberries!

Serve it after refrigeration.

KALAJAMUN / KALOJAM

I was thinking of preparing a sweet that is hassle free, related to my origin, Bengal / Kolkata, yet people elsewhere can identify with it. This is Kalajamun or Kalojam which belongs to the Gulabjamun family. Though not as popular as gulabjamun, I love it very much because of my love for fried sweets. I remember mom used to scold me for this. In our home, the preferred sweet option had always been Rasgulla / Roshogolla. Roshogolla was considered a healthier choice. My choice differed. I loved kalajamun, gulabjamun.jalebi, chanar jilipi. Sweet old memories.

It may be after relocating to this island, that I started enjoying roshogolla like my parents & brother! Our son had been eating roshogolla since his rice feeding ceremony. For few years, each day evening, two roshogollas were allowed for him! T not only loves roshogolla but is too particular about it's quality! T's family are sweet connoisseur and welcomed a variety of sweets in their home, but of good quality! Our parents only allowed roshogolla & few sandesh variety alone, the rest of the pithe, naru, moya were prepared by the mother! I craved for fried sweets, though I was not a sweet lover as such!

My reason for choosing this sweet is that I loved it a lot once upon a time. I thought let me give it a try and see how the home made ones taste. I think I have done justice, it came out just like the shop ones; it was a bit hard outside and soft and juicy inside. I came across some Bangladeshi sites and saw this sweet is very popular there too. I went through similar recipes of Rownak, Siddika Kabir, Khadija who are popular chefs from there. I opted for Khadija's way of doing it because I had all the ingredients at home that were required in the recipe. I have provided a stepwise picture for it. Let us do it.

INGREDIENTS :[for the balls]

Milk Powder : 1/3 coffee mug + 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Refined Flour : 1/4 coffee mug
Semolina : 1tbsp
Ghee[clarified butter] : 1tbsp
Baking Powder : 1/2tsp
Baking Soda : A pinch or two
Yellow Food Colour : A pinch or two
Cardamom Powder : 1/2tsp
Milk : 1/2small tea cup
Oil : 150-200 ml [for frying]

INGREDIENTS :[for the syrup]

Sugar : 1 small tea cup
Water : 1 1/2 coffee mug
Green Cardamom : 3-4

METHOD :

In a large bowl; take the milk powder, flour, semolina, baking powder & soda. Mix well.

Add the ghee to it and rub well for 2-3 minutes. A the green cardamom powder & mix well!

I prepared the milk adding 1tbsp milk to half a small cup of warm water, you can use cow milk! Add the yellow food colour to the milk, mix well! Add it little by little and knead well until it becomes a dough not too hard neither soft. It will look as below.

Let it stand for 5-6 minutes covered with a soft cloth. If it seems dry, add a little more of milk & knead again, then shape!

Pour the water, sugar in a heavy bottomed vessel. When it comes to boil, add the green cardamoms. Let it simmer till it gets  a light sticky consistency.

Simultaneously, we have to prepare small round balls from the dough and fry them at low heat until dark in colour. Cristine shaped them!

We would keep the fried balls onto a tissue paper for few minutes, before adding to the boiling sugar syrup! We would boil them for 3-4 minutes & switch off the gas stove, rest them for a while before taking out!

Take together a tbsp of milk powder & a tsp of ghee and mix together! Arrange the sweets in a serving bowl, pour the sugar syrup on them and sprinkle the milk powder & ghee / clarified butter mix on them!

Or sprinkle with mewa / mama / khoya!

They taste best when had warm!

FOUR SIMPLE VEGGIES IN MY HUMBLE KITCHEN

Four more regular veggies from the kitchen of Bengal. Still on a tour of nostalgia, I am so strongly feeling the urge to compile such recipes which are at the threat to been forgotten soon. One of the main inspiration behind this is off course Piyali Mutha of My Tryst With Food and Travel fame whose blog is a storehouse of Indian, International recipes along with her travel experiences around the world. Latest in her blog is an awesome Bengali Vegetarian Thali, where every details of Bengali life and culture is captured, indicating we need to preserve them. For food lovers, her blog is a must visit clicking mytrystwithfoodandtravel.blogspot.com. 

Drawing inspiration from that, I am making a humble effort to compile what is getting lost. I am sharing them everywhere, even amidst people to whom such dishes are as strangers, anyone stopping by means my culture reached a little further. Therein lies my satisfaction.

These are very simple veggies that are / were been cooked at Bengali homes. I get drenched with many a memories when it comes to such dishes. How beautifully the ladies of the house cooked them, who never knew or bothered about showcasing their talents.

 I remember my senior's grandma, a super active lady in her 80's some 18-20 years back cooked up wonderful vegetarian dishes with minimal ingredients and in a small stove. I am just trying to keep them alive. 

Hopefully the future generation will try them besides there '2 minutes dinner menus'. Here I compiled together 4 Bengali vegetarian dishes which we will cook together now.

                                                        

BADHAKOPIR GHONTO /

                                                        CABBAGE WITH POTATOES

INGREDIENTS :

Cabbage : 1small
Potato : 1big
Tomato : 1medium
Green Pea : 1/2small cup
Green Chilli : 2[slitted]
Dry Red Chilli : 1[halved]
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Cumin Powder : 1/2tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Cinnamon Powder : 2pinches
Cardamom Powder : 1pinch
Cloves Powder : 1pinch
Cumin Seeds : 2pinches
Bayleaf : 1
Sugar : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Ghee[clarified butter] : 1tsp [skip to make it vegan]
Oil : 3tbsp

METHOD :

Shred the cabbage, add enough water and a little salt. Microwave at high for 5-6 minutes. Strain the water.

Wash and chop the tomato. Peel, wash and cut the potato into 8 pieces. Rub with salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok. Lightly fry the potato pieces. Keep aside.

Temper with cumin seeds, bayleaf and the halved dry red chilli. Add the ginger paste, salt and turmeric. Stir for 1 minute. Add the cabbage, stir and cover. Uncover and stir every 3-4 minutes.

You will see a lot of water been released. When about 75% of water has dried up, add the tomato pieces, fried potato pieces, cumin powder, slitted green chillies. Stir and cover cook for 3-4 minutes.

Open cover, add sugar, green peas, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves powder. Stir and cover cook for 2 minutes. Open cover, garnish with ghee. Switch off the burner!

It goes well with both rice / roti.


                                                         OLER DALNA / YAM CURRY

INGREDIENTS :

Ol[suran/elephant foot yam] : 250gm
Ginger Paste : 2tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Cinnamon Powder : 2pinches
Cardamom Powder : 1pinch
Cloves Powder : 1pinch
Cumin Seed : 2pinches
Salt : As Required
Bayleaf : 1
Ghee : 1tsp [skip to make it vegan]
Oil : 2tsp

METHOD :

Peel & cut the big chunk of yum into small cubes. Wash them and rub with salt and turmeric.

Heat oil in a wok. Fry the yam pieces in batches. Keep aside.

Temper the same oil with a bayleaf and cumin seeds. Add the ginger paste and fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add cumin powder, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder. Saute for 1/2 a minute. Add the fried pieces of yum. Fold in well and stir for a minute.

Add a cup of water. Boil for 3-5 minutes. Add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves powder, ghee and cook for another 1 minute.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

                                                       
                                                           MORSHUMI TARKARI /
                                                           SEASONAL VEGGIES

INGREDIENTS :

Cauliflower : 1medium
Long Beans : 3-4
Broad Beans : 150gm
Radish : 2small
Potato : 2 medium
Coriander Leaves : 2sprig
Green Chilli : 2[slitted]
Dry Red Chilli : 1[halved]
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Nigella Seeds[kalonji] : 1/4tsp
Salt : As Required
Sugar : 1tsp
Oil : 2tbsp

METHOD :

It is called seasonal because in those days cauliflower and broad beans were available only in winter. 

Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets. The long beans and radish should be cut lengthwise. Discard the skin of the radish. Cut half each broad bean. Peel and cut the potatoes into big cubes.

Wash the vegetables and rub with salt and turmeric. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok, temper with kalonji and halved dry red chilli. Add the radish first, cover cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the potatoes & long beans now, stir and cover cook for 3-4 minutes. Keep the heat at minimal. Open cover and add the broad beans and cauliflower florets. Stir and cover cook at minimal heat for 7-8 minutes.

Add the sugar and slitted green chillies. Stir and cook for another minute. Wash and chop the coriander leaves. Add to the veggies. Stir, cook for 1/2 a minute and switch off.

It goes well with both rice/roti.

                                                                

 LAU GHONTO /

                                               BOTTLE GOURD WITH CORIANDER

INGREDIENTS :

Lau[bottle gourd] : 1medium
Bori[dried lentil balls] : 7-8[you may skip]
Green Chilli : 2[slitted]
Coriander Leaves : 3sprigs
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Bayleaf : 1
Dry Red Chilli : 2[halved]
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 2tbsp

METHOD :

Peel and wash the the bottle gourd. Cut into smaller pieces and shred.

Heat oil in a wok and fry the lentil balls if using. Keep aside.

Temper oil with cumin seeds and bayleaf, dry red chillies.

Add the shredded bottle gourd. Add salt. Stir and cover. It will release lot of water.

Once it is 60-70% done, add turmeric powder, slitted green chillies. Stir and cover again.

Once the water dries up completely; add the sugar, chopped coriander leaves and the fried bori broken into halves. Stir and let cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Serve with steamed rice.