SWEET PULAO WITH SPICED POTATO

I was reading an article on how fast food is taking over home cooked food, specially during lunch hours at school, offices, everywhere. Really liked the read and agree with the timely input. I will not go into any argument here, but this ancient mother has only one question for the new age mothers....if this trend is repeated every day over the years, will it be good for their health? Is time and effort more important than our loved one's health? I know that little bit of time management can solve this problem. Our family is our priority and keeping them in good health is our responsibility.

At my home, the wiser person gets silly when it comes to taking lunch from home. Many things I have to listen everyday....his bag gets heavier carrying the lunch box, he feels awkward taking out the lunch box in front of all, that I am treating him  in the same league as his son, I am not giving him his space. Well I give a deaf ear to all these and do what I feel is right. I remember our mom packing the lunch for me while I was in college too. I used to get too little of pocket money so that I cannot eat outside food much. That generation parents did not believe in giving too much money to their kids.

Since my men eat very light breakfast saying they cannot travel with full stomach, I pack heavy lunch for them. My love for rice leads me to try n test all kinds of rice recipes on them. This SWEET PULAO  is Bengal favourite, goes with all kinds of spicy curries.... vegetarian / non vegetarian. I served it with a SPICED POTATO CURRY.

INGREDIENTS :[ for the pulao ]

Rice [Chinigura / Kalijeera / Gobinda Bhog] : 1 coffee mug
Oil : 2tbsp
Ghee [clarified butter] : 4 tbsp + 1tbsp
Cinnamon Sticks : 4 one inch
Green Cardamom : 4
Cloves : 3
Bay leaf : 3-4 [small]
Salt : As required
Sugar : 3 tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Cashew Nut : 10-12
Raisins : 12-15
Water : 2 1/2 coffee mug [of same size which measured the rice]

INGREDIENTS : [ for the potato curry ]

Potato : 4
Onion Paste : 4 tbsp
Garlic Paste : 1tbsp
Ginger Paste : 1tbsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Green Chilli : 2 [slitted]
Cinnamon Stick : I one inch size
Green Cardamom : 2
Cloves : 2
Cumin Seeds : 2 pinches
Bay leaf : 1
Salt : As per taste
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Sugar : 1tsp
Oil : 2 tbsp

METHOD :

Wash the rice and spread on a newspaper! We need to dry the rice! Wash, peel and cut each potato into 4 pieces and apply little salt and turmeric to it. Wash, peel and slice the onions and slit the green chillies.

Heat 2tbsp oil and 3 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Fry the cashew nuts & raisins, take out!

Temper with the bayleaf, cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves. Add the rice grains! Stir continuously for 3-4 minutes at medium to low heat. They should not get brown but well coated with the ghee. Add the turmeric powder. Stir fry again for a pretty 5 minutes!

Add 2 1/2 coffee mugs of water and cover. Keep the heat at medium to low. Check occasionally. After 8-10 minutes, when the rice is almost done, add 1 table spoon of ghee, the fried cashew nuts & raisins. Shake well the vessel with the cover on it and switch off. Do not uncover, keep as it is for at least 15-20 minutes.

Let us do the Spicy Potato now, actually it is the Bengali Aloor Dum, the simplest & best tasted!

Wash, peel and cut each potato into 4 pieces and apply little salt and turmeric to it. Wash, peel and paste  the onions and slit the green chillies.

In a wok heat the oil. Fry the potato pieces till light brown. Keep aside. Temper the same oil with bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cumin seed, green cardamom and cloves.

Add the onion paste and fry till light brown, add the ginger- garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes. Add the salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder. Saute well till the spices separate from the oil.

Add the fried potatoes. Coat well with the spices. Add 2 small tea cups of water. Stir and let boil covered for 6-8 minutes. Add the sugar & the washed, slitted green chillies! Give a stir, mix well and switch off the gas burner. Its done.

Serve the sweet pulao and spiced potato with a salad and pickle of your choice!! The spiced potatoes goes very well with any type of South Asian breads!

STRAWBERRY GLAZED SANDESH

Just back from the Cameron Highlands, there ought to be strawberries and more strawberries in my cooking. A typical mango eating Bengali that I am, its a bit difficult to fall in love with the tartness of strawberries, how much of healthy it is. I rather  enjoy it's beauty; it is  passionately red. If you are at Cameron Highlands, you cannot resist buying few boxes; standing right in the middle of the strawberry farms; too fresh, juicy red they are. On the lap of the nature; amidst the greens, little red mermaids are peeping through as if. There are quite a few strawberry farms who allow strawberries to be plucked as you wish, they then put them into the boxes, weigh and sell. 

The senior at home was too excited and bought two full boxes saying he will have them with cream. Back in Singapore, he totally forgot all about it. Back from the office, he is more happy with his little dosages of wine and nuts. If wifey tries to remind, she is tagged as nagging. The Junior, our monkey son eats no fruit that has tartness in it. So what to do?

In this scenario, I thought of an alternative use of the red beauties; paying due respect to its beauty, quality, health benefits and off course it's price tag. Why not prepare some sweetmeats Bengal is famous for; I thought! I perhaps had seen or heard somewhere about STRAWBERRY SANDESH. I zeroed in on this recipe in the morning. Health is not in a friendly mood with the self; I thought this quick and  easy recipe should be fine with me. It took some 45 minutes hour to prepare them; if we leave the standing hour for the fresh paneer / chena to get rid of the whey.

INGREDIENTS : [ to prepare the chena / fresh paneer]

Milk : 1 litre 
Vinegar : 2 tbsp

Water : 3-4 tbsp

Ice Cube : 3-4

INGREDIENTS : [for the Strawberry glaze]

Strawberry : 6-7

Sugar : 2-3 tbsp

Lemon Juice : 2 tsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the sweet]

The freshly made chena or paneer

The freshly made Strawberry glaze

Green Cardamom Powder : 1/4 tsp

Rice Flour : 1 tsp

METHOD :

It is recommended to use fresh milk to make the chena / paneer. But today, I used Amul's tetra pack milk!

Pour the milk in a deep bottomed vessel and put for boil. Once the milk comes to boil, lower the heat. Add the vinegar mixed with half small cup of water, little at a time. Keep stirring and switch off the gas stove. Add the ice cubes to avoid further cooking! 

Strain immediately placing a thin & clean cheese cloth on a strainer, wash under water & tie it to the tap!

Let us prepare the strawberry glaze. Cut the washed strawberries into small pieces. Add them to a sauce pan.  Add a little of water & 2 tbsp of sugar!

Once it comes to the boil, stir continuously. As it gets thick & sticky, its done. Let it cool.

Take the paneer down after about 40-45 minutes, take it on a plate and knead for about 4-5 minutes.

To it, add some of the Strawberry glaze, mash & knead for 3-4 minutes.

Heat the wok and add the paneer paste & sugar, cook till the sides comes out. Add the rice flour & the green cardamom powder and mix well.

Transfer the paneer / chena mixture to a plate. Let cool a bit, knead well for 2-3 minutes. 

Shape them into your choice of sandesh. Transfer all the sandesh into a lightly greased tray / plate. Make a hole in the middle & pour some of the strawberry glaze in the middle! This job was done entirely by Cristine.

Eat it warm and fresh or serve chilled as you wish. Sweet lovers will love to have it anytime of the day!

TOMATO DATE CHUTNEY

Chutneys are condiments, a sort of sweet endings to our meals. In general; Bengalis start a meal with fritters and lentil, ends with chutneys, of various types. Among us Chutneys are made with various ingredients like tomatoes, mangoes, raw papaya, ambarella [amra], Indian olives [jolpai], cranberry  [koromcha / karonda], elephant apple [chalta]. Of all these, Tomato chutney is the most common one.

Remembering the good old days of childhood, mom used to prepare chutneys, sweet n sour, to feed us few more morsels of rice. I remember, many a leisurely afternoons were made special with "achars" n chutneys. She would prepare "achars" / pickle and store in glass jars. During holidays, my favourite pastime would be to sit with those jars in  the balcony of our two-roomed rented house along with my favourite book. I had that ability to concentrate on both. She still prepares them, but I no more can savour them. Many years later, I played the same trick with my son when he was young. I made chutneys to make my son finish his food little earlier, who usually took 1-2 hours to finish a meal.

Our chutneys are usually sweet given the sweet tooth Bengalis have. We prepare sweet n sour ones too. Tomato-Date Chutney is the most common of all the ingredients we use for chutney. Let us proceed with the recipe which requires ripe tomatoes, dates, raisins, sugar and lemon juice.

INGREDIENTS :

Ripe Tomatoes : 4-5
Dates : 5-6
Raisins : 7-8
Lemon Juice : 2-3 tbsp
Sugar : 1/4 small cup
Panchphoron / Bengali Five Spices : 2-3 pinch
Salt : 2pinch
Oil : 1tsp

METHOD:

Wash, cut  the tomato pieces.

Deseed the dates and cut into halves. Wash both dates and raisins. Get the juice from the lemon.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with the Bengali Five Spices. Add the chopped tomatoes. Add 2 pinches of salt. Cover cook at lowest heat for 5-8 minutes stirring occasionally.

Remove the cover and add the sugar. Stir nicely. Cover cook for 7-10 minutes at low heat stirring every 2 minutes.

Uncover and add the dates and raisins and stir. Cover cook for 2 minutes or until the chutney turns a little sticky.

Add the lemon juice. Stir well and switch off. Its done.

Enjoy your meal on a sweeter note!!

AAR DHONEPATA BATA JHOL / FISH CORIANDER CURRY

This fish preparation is particular of the Comilla district of Bangladesh. Comilla is one of the major districts of Bangladesh located about 100 km southeast of Dhaka. Originally my forefathers belonged to this  place, hence brought with them the cuisine typical of that place. This particular dish is not so popular amongst others in our community. I love this winter delight fish curry  which can be  extremely soothing during summers too. After I got married, I cooked this AAR DHONEPATA BATA JHOL at my in-law's place too which they liked. It should please my readers too!

I am just back from a 4 day relaxed holiday from a beautiful hill side in Malaysia....enjoyed the food, climate, picturesque nature, indulgent spa treatment.... everything. However the typical Bengali inside me was craving for home cooked food. Though I call myself cosmopolitan, I am deep inside a typical Bengali. I am a foodie, I love world cuisine, but at the end of the day I want my share of fish curry and.......filling this blank is easy... but I am not allowed to have  it to my heart's content. For a rice lover like me....its a curse sort of. So today, back from the work, the tired me is happily cooking my favourite fish curry with coriander paste.

For this fish coriander curry....you need sweet water fish which must be fresh. Its mainly done with Aar[long whiskered cat fish], Pabda[butter fish], Tangra[ a small variety of catfish perhaps], Chara Pona[tiny carp]. Its done with little of ingredients, mainly fresh green coriander leaves paste. Its a light, aromatic curry. You can add broad beans and egg plants to this curry or prepare it plain. 

INGREDIENTS :

Aar [long-whiskered cat fish] : 4 pieces
Dry Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Green Chilli : 2
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Kalojirey [nigella seeds/kalonji] : 2pinches
Coriander Leaves : 50 gm
Oil : 1tbsp

METHOD :

Clean and wash the fish pieces. Add salt, turmeric powder ; marinate well. Keep aside for few minutes. This curry is done with fresh variety of fish, smaller in size are are not refrigerated; authentically the fish pieces are not meant to be fried; they are marinated with salt, chilli powder & turmeric powder & added to the boiling curry. 

Because we do not get this variety of fish fresh in this island, I heated the oil & lightly fried the fish pieces, took them out!

When the fish pieces were frying, we washed and chopped the coriander leaves, blended them into a paste along with the green chillies adding very little water. The mixture should not be watery but paste like.

I tempered the same oil with nigella seeds & added the green chilli & fresh coriander paste, a bit of turmeric & the red chilli powder! I stir cooked the paste for a while & added 2 coffee mugs of water! I added the lightly fried fish pieces. 

We need to cover cook at the lowest heat for 3-4 minutes. We would uncover and flip over the fish pieces very carefully. They should not break. We would cover cook for another 2 minutes, adjusting the salt. It should be done.

Enjoy it with piping hot steamed rice!

BORI PABDAR JHOL .... A LIGHT CURRY WITH BUTTER FISH & SUN DRIED LENTIL DUMPLING

Oh fish...dear fish....my fresh water fish...my love...I miss you all so much!! Our island too is a fish loving nation but they eat sea fish mainly. Surrounded by sea, it is quite natural. In contrast, Bangladesh, the erstwhile East Bengal is in the lap of rivers, even the interiors of West Bengal has ponds & canals, so we have grown up eating a variety of fresh water fish. Once you visit a fish market in Kolkata, you will understand how much we are obsessed with fish. On Saturdays and Sundays, fish price gets skyrocketed, Bengali babus are not bothered. If the fish is fresh, it should be in my bag....all investment are done on food, this  community spends maximum on pleasing the tummy, lest everything else.

This fish curry I did make on my last visit to Kolkata. Took the picture then and posting now. But I cannot stop myself from sharing a story. The day before Shivratri, I went to the Indian market to buy flowers, holy basil and bael leaves. Crossing by the fish market, I suddenly saw fresh Pabda[pink bellied Butter fish] and Aar[long-whiskered catfish]....and I got stuck there in front of the stall....my expression was as if my son topped at the board examination. Had a long conversation with the stall owner.... I asked why they do not get it on a regular basis. I immediately took responsibility on behalf of the Bengali community here and told I would get them customers. She was skeptical if she would get to sell them or not. She gets them from Burma. The true Bong in me was so happy, back home called my mom and said, "Mani, I got fresh Pabda today." She started giving out the recipes. I told her that my mommy dear is  forgetting that I can cook too. Indian moms can never consider  their kids to be grown up.

So the fish you can see is Pabda [pink bellied Indian butter fish]. It has very less bones. A very light fish, we cook light curry with it using minimal spices. The dumplings you can see are called Boris. They are sun dried lentil dumplings made mainly of urad dal or red lentil. We use them in different curries. I doubt if they are found outside Bengal or not, so you may skip using it. 

INGREDIENTS :

Pabda Fish[ butter fish] : 4

Bori : 6

Ginger Paste : 1tsp

Green Chilli Paste : 1tsp

Kalojirey[nigella seeds/kalonji] : 2 pinches

Salt : As required

Turmeric : 1tsp

Coriander Leaves : 1 sprig

Mustard Oil : 3tbsp + 1tsp

METHOD :

At first, we have to clean the stomach of each of the fish. This fish does not have scales. So you are at an advantage. This is a very soft and delicate fish. So you need to handle it carefully just like a newly wed bride.You can clean the stomach using two fingers. Just insert your fingers from the sides of head and pull out the stomach dirt. Please do not cut the belly to clean. Also tear the two long whiskers from the head. Wash thoroughly. Drain excess water.

Add half tsp turmeric powder, salt and 1tsp oil to the fish and rub well. Heat oil in a wok till smoking point. Fry the fish  lightly in batches at medium to low heat. Be very careful to avoid breakage. Fry the boris till light brown and keep aside.

Temper the same oil with nigella seeds. Take a bowl and mix together ginger and chilli paste, salt and half tsp turmeric. Add the spice mix to the oil. Fry till the spices separate from the oil. Add 1 cup water. Let boil for 2-3 minutes. Add the fish pieces and boris. Boil for another 1 minute. Add pre-washed chopped coriander leaves. Switch off the gas burner.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot with piping hot steamed rice!!

ORANGE FLAVOURED SPONGE CAKE [EGGLESS]

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year and this island is in a celebration mode which goes on for 15 days. It is defined to be the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar. The Chinese New Year is based on traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year.

Me too as if have become a part of the celebration. I love studying different cultures; observing their rituals, their traditions. I see them completely cleaning the house and decorating them. For them, it is the time for family reunion. People normally visit relatives and friends, watch traditional Chinese shows, of which Lion Dance I enjoy the most. They launch fireworks too, which is a beautiful thing to watch. The celebration sometimes highlight a religious ceremony performed in honour of heaven, earth, the family ancestors and other Gods.

Tangerines and Oranges are one of these auspicious Chinese New Year symbols. Tangerines in Chinese sounds similar to the word 'luck' and Orange sounds for the Chinese word for 'wealth'. So the Chinese associate the gift of Orange and Tangerine as having an abundance of happiness and prosperity. Gifting and buying them is perhaps an auspicious mean to bring in good luck and wealth.

Hence, I thought of sharing a recipe  today where oranges are used, my humble way to wish Chinese New Year to all. I prepared a simple orange sponge cake, a light fluffy eggless cake to be had with your favourite brand & flavour of tea, may be on the very first day of the Chinese New Year.

Sourced From : WIKI

Look, I like to have my cakes just this way, with sugar free, diary free tea or coffee!

INGREDIENTS :

All Purpose flour :  2 coffee mug
Baking Powder : 2 tsp
Baking Soda : 1 tsp
Oil / Butter : 1/2 medium tea cup[I used oil] 
Plain Yogurt : 5-6 tbsp
Orange Zest : 1tsp
Fresh Orange Juice : 11/2 coffee mug
Orange Food Colour : 2-3 drop[optional]
Vanilla Extract / Essence : 1tsp
Sugar[powdered] : 1 tsp to sprinkle on top[I did not]

METHOD :

I took the refined flour, baking powder and baking soda in a wide mouthed bowl. Mix well and then sieve. Keep aside.

Cristine juiced the oranges for me.

I took the orange juice, plain yogurt, oil, sugar, food colour in a blender and blended for a minute or two, pausing in between.

I dug up a well in the middle of the flour mix, added a little of the liquid mix at a time and had beaten well.

I added the vanilla essence and mixed well.

I forgot to add the orange zest along with the vanilla extract, so added it later after pouring the batter in aluminium foil tins and mixed well. Do not be forgetful like me.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. So I inserted the low height wired stool inside and preheated the oven at 180*C.

I had placed the aluminium foiled cake tin with batter on top of the wired stool.

I baked the cake at 180*C for 25 minutes.

I had inserted a toothpick in the middle to check if done or not. If done it will come out clean.

We will carefully take it out once cool or just have it warm.

We will enjoy it with our favourite brand of tea or coffee!

AJWAIN PARATHA

Ajwain Parathas are parathas where carom seeds are added to the wheat flour and made into a dough. In many a parts of South Asia, flat breads are a staple. Hence we are used to  using various types of ingredients while making chapati or paratha to give them a different touch, making them even tastier and flavourful. Carom seeds have digestive properties, so using them in various recipes is quite common in many parts of South Asia. In India, it is more common in Northern India. In line with perfect cultural harmony it is prepared  in other states too. Food has no boundaries. Its acceptance depends upon our taste buds. One of my very known person is expecting and a punjabi. I get for her various Bengali curries and she happily eats them. I just have to take care of few things, suppose I omit using sugar, make it spicier to suit her taste buds.

With two roti lovers at home, I have to keep on experimenting with the ingredients I use in the flatbreads. They should not get bored of eating the same thing day after day, neither should I be a victim of monotony while cooking. A variety in recipes with a touch of difference leaves me happier at my den. Ajwain parathas are usually made with adding it to wheat flour and fried in ghee. But I made it with mixing besan[gram flour] and wheat flour in 1:2 ratio. As an healthier option, I used oil instead of ghee[clarified butter] while frying them.

INGREDIENTS :
Whole Wheat Flour : 2 cups
Gram Flour : 1 cup
Onion : 1 big
Green Chilli : 3
Ajwain [Carom Seeds] : 2tbsp
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Oil : 1 tbsp + 11/2 tsp for each paratha to fry.
Warm Water : As required

METHOD :
 Slice the onion and chop the green chillies and wash them.Take both the flours in a wide mouthed vessel. Add the sliced onions and chopped green chillies. Add the carom seeds and salt. Pour in 1 tbsp of oil. Rub very well with your palm for about 2 minutes.

Now add warm water little by little and keep on rubbing until a soft but firm dough is formed. This will take about 15 minutes. Keep covered with a squeezed wet cloth for 1 hour. After the standing period, prepare balls in size of tennis balls.

Roll out parathas with help of rolling pins in your desired shapes, square, round or triangular. Make the griddle hot. Fry each with 11/2 tsp oil. You have to constantly keep on changing the temparature. If the griddle gets cooler, the parathas will harden, if too hot, they burn. So we need to be cautious.

I served them with   red chilli pickle!!

JHINGE-ALOO POSTO

Bengalis are religiously non-vegetarians, yet we prepare a wide variety of vegetables with perhaps anything available; from colocasia roots to bottle gourd or raw banana skin. This is specially in case of those who hail from East Bengal. Before you say a big 'NO', I would like to invite you at my place, taste them and then say a yes or a no. We need to have at least one serving of vegetable everyday. A regular Bengali meal consist of  a fish curry, a veggie, a dal[lentil], some pakoras and chutney to end with.

Going back to the olden days and our custom, girls were married off at a tender age of say 8/10 with grooms aged 60/65. The resultant factor, they were widowed as early as say 12-15 and denied of all joys for the rest of their life. No question of remarriage, they were forced to have vegetarian for the rest of their life. There were separate vegetarian kitchens for the widows of the family who had to  bathe if they saw the shadow of fish. To  know more about the plight of our women you need to go through certain books / journals / articles. Things started changing when some enlightened souls interfered and so we are here today; get to study, get the right exposure. Conditions are still worse in remote areas though but improving.

It was from these widows' kitchens that exotic dishes made with the simplest things came up. I so much feel an urge to revive those lost recipes, irrespective how many likes / pluses  I get. JHINGE ALOO POSTO  is made of ridge gourd, potato and poppyseed paste. Believe me these three things are mainly required to prepare this recipe. We usually pair it with Black Gram Dal , Rice and my favourite; a green chilli & a raw onion;  uff you do not need anything else?

INGREDIENTS :

Ridge Gourd[jhinge] : 3
Potato : 2
Poppy Seed : 3 tbsp[use white sesame seeds if you r in Dubai or Singapore]
Dry Red Chilli : 2
Green Chilli : 1
Salt : As per taste
Turmeric : 1/4 tsp
Sugar : 1/4 spoon[optional]
Oil[preferably mustard] : 2 tbsp

METHOD :

 Wash the poppy seeds through a strainer and soak in hot water for 1 hour. Make a paste of it with the green chilli in the blender. Transfer into  a small bowl and add little salt.

Peel and wash both ridge gourds and potatoes. Cut them separately into cubes. Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well.

Heat oil in a wok. Fry the potato pieces till light brown. Keep aside.

Add halved dry chillies to the oil. Put in the poppy seed paste. Fry till golden brown.

Add the ridge gourd pieces to the tempered oil. Stir for 1 minute at medium heat and cover.

Open the cover after 2-3 minutes and add the potatoes. Stir well and cover cook at medium to low heat for 4-5 minutes or till all the water dries up. Add the sugar and switch off.

It goes extremely well with steamed rice and dal / lentils!!

CHOCO BANANA CAKE

Valentine's Day is not part of our culture, there is no harm respecting other's culture. It is okay if this Day is trending at the time. It is good to love. To all Valentines....when you fall in love...do not forget the wisdom....  remember... "The course of true love never did run smooth." If one love someone keeping this in mind, they can accept anything that comes their way and confidently say, "I love thee, I love thee with a love that shall not die. Till the sun grows cold and the stars grow old."

This is a subject I can write a thesis on. The practical mind at home jokingly calls his wife a relationship expert. How a practical self built a nest with an impractical love bird is an entirely different story....there definitely has some common personality traits. Its a movie material I can say. 

I believe Love is lifelong celebration...even if there is pain of circumstantial thorns. "Let no one who loves be called altogether unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow." As per Wiki, it's a quote from J M Barrie's Little Minister.

Do we really need a 14th February to celebrate love? Isn't it true that in Love, every moment is special? It can be made special even over a humble cup of tea or coffee. It is in trusting each other, in sharing and caring. Its not being "with" each other but being "in" each other, neither should we be the cause of pain for our love but share it and face it together. Being silly in love is permissible / advisable. Calculations and love cannot really walk together. 

I sincerely hope this generation Valentines are intelligent beings, have the freedom to choose their lives. They do not need to wait for each other, they hold each other tight, hug tighter and walk along together enjoying every bit of the journey called Life.

In all these emotional bouts, I may forget the recipe of the cake I prepared for the Valentines. Each time I post a recipe on baked goods I seek your mercy, given I am poor at baking. I hope when Valentines are together and love is in the air, they hardly bother about how perfect is the cake. Thinking of that I feel relaxed.

INGREDIENTS :

Dark Chocolate Bar : 1 

All Purpose Flour : 1 coffee mug

Baking Soda : 1/ 4 tsp

Baking Powder : 1 tsp

Sugar : 6 tbsp [I used Brown Sugar]

Banana : 3 [small]

Plain Yogurt : 4-5 tbsp

Vanilla Extract : 1tsp

METHOD :

Preheat oven with the temperature set at 160*. 

Sieve together flour, baking powder and soda.

Blend together the sugar, banana, plain yogurt, oil. until fluffy. Add to the flour mix, beat well.

Melt the chocolate as in the picture. Add the vanilla essence [not in picture], the melted chocolate. Mix well.

Grease the cake tin with oil and then place a butter paper. Pour the cake batter until half of the cake tin.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven, I placed the low height wired stool inside, atop it the batter filled cake tin.

I baked the cake at 160*C for 30 minutes. Once done, cool the cake before taking out on a plate.

Enjoy the cake with your favourite beverage!

SWEET N SOUR FISH

There are some days when we do not like our regular curries and rice/roti. Our taste buds seek variety. On a relaxed friday/ week end evenings we crave for some nice finger foods to go with wines. What we wish now, should be fulfilled now, because life is too short. It has no guarantee actually. Back from the hospital morgue yesterday, I am believing it more.

All these fights, taking a dig at each other, hard feelings...what for? Anyway we are not taking along all these on our final journey. We have come alone, we will go alone. In between whoever we meet, whatever happens is a learning experience. If I hurt someone, I  apologise, if someone hurts me, I take is with a pinch of salt. There should be only one philosophy to follow in life..."Live and Let Live." What is to be done should be done at earliest, who knows whether we get to see tomorrow morning or not.

When all these goes on inside or something knocks me down, I love locking myself inside the kitchen, prepare something quick fix which has to be tongue tickling at the same time. Once done, I would ask my companion to treat his lady with some wine. The wine connoisseur does full justice to lighten me up. We can talk about companionship and its value on Valentine's Day may be, lets proceed with the recipe. For my convenience I keep few sauces at home, to be used as required. In this fish I have used two/three sauces and was done within 1 hour.

INGREDIENTS :
Fish Fillets : 500 gm
Thai Fish Sauce : 1tbsp
Sweet n Sour Sauce : 2tbsp
Soya Sauce : 1tbsp
Lemon Juice : 1/4cup
Salt : As required
Corn Flour : 50 gm
Egg White : of one egg
Onion : 2 medium
Ginger[minced] : 1tsp
Garlic [minced] : 1tbsp
Bell Pepper : 1 small [ red preferably, I did not have that particular day, so used green ]
Green Chilli : 4
Dry Red Chilli : 2-3
Spring Onion : 25 gm
Oil : 50 ml

METHOD :
Wash the fish fillets and cut into desired shapes. Marinate with lemon juice and little salt. Prepare a batter with the cornflour and egg white along with little salt and 1tbsp water, if only required. The fish needs to be marinated for 1 hour at least.

Chop and wash the spring onions. Cut into cubes the onions and bell pepper, wash and keep separately. Slit and wash the green chillies. Tear into halves the dry red chillies. Wash the minced garlic and ginger.

Heat oil in a wok. Discard the excess water released from the fish marinade, coat the pieces well in the batter and fry till golden brown in batches. This is to be done at medium heat.

Once the frying part is done, remove excess oil from the wok keeping back only 1 tbsp. Add the minced ginger and garlic to the oil. Fry till fragrant, add the cubed onions. Saute till translucent.

Add the fish sauce, sweet n sour sauce and soya sauce, very little salt. Add the cubed bell pepper and slitted green chillies. Saute at high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the fish pieces and mix well. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Garnish with dry red chillies and spring onions. Have as an appetiser or serve with fried rice/ noodles of your choice!!

DHOKAR DALNA / GRAVIED LENTIL CAKES

Dhokar Dalna is a Bengali vegetarian delight. Dhoka in Hindi means cheating and this dish has nothing to do with it. It is in fact too much of a pleasure to have, usually a part of an elaborate vegetarian or non-vegetarian meal. The fish loving Bengalis are so averse to an all vegetarian meal that the women at home had to sweat a lot planning the same. Usually, most of the families had an all vegetarian once a week.

In our home, we used to have an all vegetarian meal on Thursdays. Me and my brother hated the idea so much; no fish at home, how can we survive. We behaved so awkwardly that our daddy asked our mother to forget the custom / ritual; make some fish curry for them. I do not know why mom was so unwilling to break the rule. Strictly she declared; "Thursday should be an  all vegetarian day". At the same time she would bribe us with crispy fried potatoes, different types of pakoras and such delicate curries like Dhokar Dalna among others.

I close my eyes and can see a Wednesday night, mom soaking a bowl full of Bengal gram dal. We did not have a mixer grinder then. She would make a paste of it in "shil nora"; a pair of grinding stone used for making paste. I can see her sweating. That generation believed that there cannot be any shortcut to good cooking. I respect their belief very much. There are ready made dhoka mix available in stores but they never will taste the same, I can guarantee. So, we can go a little further and take the liberty to prepare the paste in an electric grinder. Here is a made easy for you curried lentil cakes ...which we fondly call Dhokar Dalna.

INGREDIENTS : [for the dhoka / lentil cakes]

Bengal Gram Dal[chana dal] : 250 gm
Asafoetida : 2 pinches
Ginger Paste : 1/2 tsp
Green Chilli : 2
Cumin Seeds : 2 pinches
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Sugar : 1/3 tsp
Oil : 1tsp + 5 tbsp[for frying]


INGREDIENTS : [for the gravy]

Ginger Paste : 1 tbsp
Cumin Powder : 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Cinnamon Powder : 2pinches
Cardamom Powder : 2pinches
Cloves Powder : A pinch
Cumin Seeds : 2-3 pinches
Bay leaf : 1
Sugar : 1/4 tsp
Ghee : 1tsp
Oil : 2 tbsp

METHOD :

This is Bengal Gram Dal / Cholar Dal!

Wash the dal and soak overnight in a covered bowl or in hot water for 2-3 hours. Next morning grind it to a bit coarse paste adding salt as required.  Chop the green chillies.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok. Temper with cumin seeds. Add 2 pinches of asafoetida. Pour the dal mix to the wok.

Add the ginger paste, turmeric powder, chopped green chillies and sugar. Mix well and keep on stirring till the dal mix tend to come out from the sides of the wok. Switch off the gas stove.

Take a little deep square container and grease with few drops of oil. Transfer the dal mix to the greased plate and spread to all sides with your palms.

Let it rest for 15 minutes. Now turn over the cooked dal mix onto a plate.

Now cut the cake into diamond or square shapes or as you wish!

Heat 5 tbsp oil in a clean wok. Fry the lentil cakes in batches till light brown. Take care, they should not break.

If there is some amount of oil left in the wok after frying, you will prepare the curry in it. Better if we strain the oil and reheat it. Once the oil is hot again, temper with cumin seeds and a bayleaf.

Add the ginger paste. Fry till the raw smell goes. Add salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder and dry red chilli powder. Saute well till the oil separates from spices.

Now add 1 coffee mug of water. Cover and let boil for 5 minutes at low heat. 

Add the fried lentil cakes. Bring to a boil; add the sugar, ghee, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves powder, stir and switch off.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with piping hot steamed rice.

Please note, you can also have the fried lentil cakes as a starter and omit the curry!!