FOUR NON SPICY BENGALI VEGGIES

This is my 200th post in the blog, I perhaps had to post something exotic.Then the rustic Bengali soul within me felt I must share Bengali Food today. I grew up in an essentially Purbabangio[EastBengal] family who brought with them it's culture, food and vouched never to part with it. Hence, I learnt to eat kochughechu[arbi] to shakpata[greens] right from my childhood. I might not have liked them much when young as much as I do now.

A good recipe is the one that uses the simplest of ingredients yet tastes great. Besides being fish lovers, the people of East Bengal can cook a wide variety of vegetables, using every part of it, from roots to the stems and leaves. Each family would have a piece of garden where they grew vegetables and fruits. There is no exaggeration, even the poor grow their food in the rural belts. They had, they lost, they migrated and regained in due course because they were strugglers. If we do not carry forward the legacy, who will?

Keeping this on our mind, I compiled together four simple, almost no spice vegetarian dishes which are cooked regular in many of the Bengali homes. Let us preserve our culture, food and take pride in them, besides exploring the new. The two can go together. Here for you are four Bengali vegetarian preparations  that you can cook regular. I have used sugar in them which the people of East Bengal do not. I do not believe in the created divide between two Bengals but in the common culture and the language we share.

                               PANCHMESHALI TARKARI

INGREDIENTS:

Malabar Spinach [Pui Shaak] : 2-3 sticks with the Leaves
Ridgegourd [Jhinge] : 2
Pumpkin [Kumro] : 1/4 of one
Long Beans [Borboti] : 2
Potato Aloo] : 2
Eggplant [Begun] : 1medium
Panchphoron : 1/4tsp [An equal amount of Nigella Seeds, Radhuni / Ajmod Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds mixed together]
Dry Red Chillies : 2
Green Chillies : 2
Bayleaf : 1
Salt : As required 
Turmeric Powder : As required

Cumin Powder : 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder : 1/2 tsp
Sugar : 1 tsp [optional]
Oil [mustard authentically] : 2 tbsp

METHOD :

Discard the root end of the Malabar spinach and cut lengthwise, roughly chop the leaves. Wash them wel

Cut the ridge gourds, long beans lengthwise and the potatoes, eggplants and pumpkins into cubes. Wash and keep in separate bowls. Rub with salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with the panchphoron, bayleaf and the halved dry red chillies. Add the potatoes, stir and cover.

After 5 minutes, add the pumpkins, stir and cover again for about 4 minutes. Remove the cover, add the Malabar spinach, ridge gourds and eggplants. 

Slit the green chillies and add. Also add the cumin and red chilli powders. Stir again and cover cook for another 5 minutes stirring in between.

Remove the cover, add the sugar, stir and its done. Make sure all the water has dried up.

                                JHINGE BEGUNER JHOL

INGREDIENTS :

Ridge Gourd [Jhinge] : 2
Egg Plant [Begun] : 1
Nigella Seeds [kalojeera] : 2pinches
Red Chilli Powder : 1/2tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil [authentically mustard] : 1tsp
Chopped Coriander Leaves : 1tbsp
Chopped Vietnamese or Mexican Coriander / Cilantro : 1 tsp [optional]

METHOD :

Peel and cut the ridge gourds and eggplants lengthwise. Wash and rub with salt, turmeric and red chilli powder.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with kalojeera. Add the veggies and stir at high heat.

Lower the heat and cover cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the cover and add one small cup of water.

Again cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Add the coriander leaves.

Switch off after a minute, it should be done.

CHALKUMRO GHONTO

INGREDIENTS : [for the Lentil Fritters]

Masoor Dal : 1/2 cup
Nigella Seeds [kalojeera] : 1/2 tsp
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Sugar : 1/4 tsp
Oil to fry.

INGREDIENTS : [main]
Ash Gourd [chalkumro] : 1medium sized
Green Chilli : 2-3
Cumin Seed : 1/4 tsp
Salt : As Required
Turmeric : 1/4tsp
Dry Red Chilli : 2
Bayleaf : 1
Sugar : 1/2tsp [optional]
Oil : 2 tbsp

METHOD :

Peel, wash, cut and shred the ash gourd / winter melon / chal kumro. Add salt n turmeric, mix well.

Let us do the dal vadas first. Soak the dal in water for an hour. Grind to a paste discarding the water.

Add kalojeera, salt, turmeric, sugar. Beat well for 2-3 minutes and shape into small balls. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the fritters until golden brown.

Once done add 2 tbsp of oil in the remaining oil. As it get hot, temper with the cumin seeds, bayleaf and halved red chillies.

Add the shredded ash gourd, stir and cover. Keep the heat at low.

After 12-14 minutes, remove the cover, add the fritters and slitted green chillies. Stir and cover again.

Keep stirring every 3-4 minutes until the water dries up. Add the sugar, stir again, cook for 2-3 minutes, it should be done.

The lentil fritters have been used as a substitute for bori / sun dried lentil balls.

                              PALONGSHAKER GHONTO

INGREDIENTS :

Spinach [palak] : 300-400 gm
Potato : 1
Eggplant [begun] : 2 small
Green Chilli : 2
Dry Red Chilli : 1
Panchphoron : 1/4tsp[an equal amount of fenugreek, fennel, cumin, Radhuni / ajmod, nigella seeds mixed together]
Salt : As required
Turmeric : 1/2 tsp
Bori [dry lentil balls] is a must in this dish but I did not have.
Oil : 1tbsp

METHOD : 

Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Wash. Cut the eggplants into cubes too. Rub salt and turmeric.

Chop the palak leaves and wash thoroughly.

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the potatoes and egg plants separately and keep aside.

Temper the same oil with panchphoron and the halved dry red chilli.

Add the chopped palak, add salt and a little of turmeric. Stir and cover. A lot of water would release.

After 10 minutes, remove the cover, add the fried potatoes and slitted green chillies. Stir and cover.

Remove the cover after 5 minutes, the water should dry up by now. Add the fried eggplants. Stir carefully, let cook for 1-2 minutes. It is done.

If you are using fried bori, fry in the beginning, take out and add at the end.

We eat all the four dishes with steamed rice but it tastes good with chapatis too.

KALAKAND

Festivity is knocking at the door, how can we stay away from the sweets. From Durga Puja to Diwali we will indulge in celebrations and sweets. Every part of India rejoice over fun, food and frolic in their own way, following their own custom. Those who stay abroad would also safeguard their culture and upheld the tradition whichever part of the world they are in. I feel it is essential to stay attached to our roots and imbibe that culture and values in our kids. How much they take it is up to them but we must make honest efforts. I do not know about other cities abroad but there are certain advantages of living in this island, we feel nearer to our home. There are a couple of Durga Pooja celebrations around, the Diwali Bazaar already started displaying beautiful "pooja samagri" and home decors. It is altogether a feel good factor. There are a variety of air flown sweets we get.... courtesy, the Mustafa Centre. There is also a sweet shop selling a variety of fresh ones. Inspite of all these, we love preparing fresh sweets and snacks at home. I feel I may not be able to do the complex ones, let us choose the simple ones and enjoy doing them. Hence I prepared these KALAKAND yesterday evening. They were fresh and tasty, I was satisfied. Let us do it.

Above is the earlier earlier but I could not find the original copies to edit a bit. Though not my favourite sweet, I cooked and clicked the Kalakand sweets freshly, on 1st August, 2024.

INGREDIENTS :

Milk : 500 ml
Paneer : 200-250 gm
Milk Powder : 3 tbsp
Sugar : 1 4-5 tbsp [you may need more]
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/2tsp
Chopped Roasted Pistachios to garnish

METHOD :

Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed pan. Once it comes to a boil, add the milk powder and mix well. Let it simmer at minimal heat. Once it thickens a bit, switch off the gas stove and let it cool.

Break the paneer cubes but do not mash. Mix together the crumbled paneer, boiled milk, sugar and green cardamom powder.

Pour the mixture on to a clean pan, switch on the gas stove. We require a little of patience; we have to stir it at low heat till it gets sticky and starts coming out from the surface of the wok. 

Pour the mixture onto a greased plate, press it with a ladle to level. Let it cool and then refrigerate it for an hour.

Take it out and cut into desired shapes. Garnish as you wish. Enjoy the homemade Kalakand fresh if possible.

YELLOW PEAS SALAD CHAAT

These days I look for salad cum chaat ideas, for health reasons I must eat them. Otherwise, the rice loving  self can have rice for all the meals of the day. The good old days are gone. While going to the school, back from the school, at dinner, the typical Bengali plump girl would have rice, breads were next in line. She wasn't bothered about her looks....her demands were food, Anandamela, Shuktara, Desh. She still remembers those golden moments.... just back from the school, she would sit at the balcony with her story books, eating her favourite rice and fish.

This boiled yellow peas chaat is attached with a nostalgia. We used to call it sheddo matar makha.... it was not found much in Kolkata.... it was typical of a small township of Krishnanagar, some 100 km away from Kolkata. It was my maternal grandfather's place, I was born there, spent my childhood there, immensely pampered by my maternal grandmother, uncles, aunts. On the occasion of Durgapuja we would be there. Dadu [the maternal grandfather] used to hire rickshaws for all of us to do a puja parikrama[visiting puja venues throughout the city]. That joy of enjoying and sharing together has lost somehow down the line but I strongly believe the bond is still there.

This yellow matar chaat was sold outside of the Krishnanagar Rajbari. You might have read about Raja Krishna Chandra Ray. After watching the beautiful puja rituals there, I had to have this chaat. A poor vendor selling it on top of an aluminium box with a 'kupi' [lamp] aside. How I managed to eat it sitting on the rickshaw is another story. I thought let me revive the memory giving the recipe a healthier twist. Let us do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Yellow Peas : 100 gm
Chopped Onion : 1tbsp
Cubed Cucumber : 1tbsp
Cubed Tomato : 1 tbsp
Chopped Green Chilli : 1 tsp
Chopped Coriander Leaves : 1 tbsp
Black Salt : As required [alternatively salt]
Chaat Masala : 1tsp
Lemon Juice : 2 tbsp

METHOD :

Wash and soak the yellow peas overnight. Tame them in a pressure cooker with enough water.

Pressure cook at minimal heat up to 3 whistles. Let cool. Drain the water and transfer to a bowl.

Wash the chopped coriander leaves, green chilli, tomato, onion and cucumber. Add to the boiled peas.

Add the chaat masala, lemon juice, black salt and toss well.

Have it fresh, serves as a very healthy lunch alternative.... filling and tasty.

CHETTINAD CHICKEN

Chettinad is a region in the Shivaganga district of Southern Tamilnadu. It is known for it's spice laden and aromatic cuisine. The cuisine of this  region is famous for the use of a variety of spices in the dishes.... both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The dishes are quite hot with the use of  freshly ground spices. They usually garnish a dish with a boiled egg. They use varied sun dried meats and salted vegetables. They generally use fish, prawn, lobster, crab, chicken, lamb, a variety of vegetables as the main ingredients. Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments [Wiki]. The spice lover in me will definitely be in love with Chettinad cuisine. I thought to try out it's Chicken Curry first. I explored through a number of recipes to cook an authentic version of Chettinad Chicken, a spicy and aromatic one. Finally, I zeroed in on this one with slight moderation. Moreover, I used less amount of chillies according to the taste buds of my men. Spicy does not always mean use of lots of chillies, in fact it's about all the spices taken together. Let us do it.

Recipe Courtesy : Indianfoodforever site.

The above picture was clicked in 2015, again I cooked and clicked in August, 2024. I have lost the original copies of the earlier pictures.

INGREDIENTS :

Chicken : 500 gm
Tomato : 1 [chopped]
Onion : 2  [chopped]
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Garlic Paste : 2tbsp
Grated Coconut : 1/2 medium tea cup
Poppyseed : 1tsp
Fennel Seed : 1/2 tsp
Coriander Seed : 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seed : 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seed : 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon Stick : 1inch
Green Cardamom : 2
Cloves : 2
Star Anise : 1/2
Dry Red Chilli : 4-5
Curry Leaves : 8-10
Lemon Juice : 2 tbsp

Tamarind Juice : 2-3 tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Oil : 4 tbsp

METHOD :

Clean, de skin and wash the chicken. Apply salt, mix well and wash off after half an hour. 

Again marinate with salt, half of turmeric powder and the lemon juice. Keep aside for anhour.

Heat 1tbsp oil in a wok. Roast the shredded coconut, cumin-coriander-fennel-poppyseed, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, red chillies together.

Blend into a paste with a little of water.

Heat the rest of the oil in a wok. Temper with mustard oil and curry leaves.

Add the onions and fry till golden brown. Add the spice paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the chicken. Stir well and cover.

Cover cook at low heat until the chicken gets tender, stir every 5 minutes.

Once the chicken pieces get soft, add the tamarind juice and give a stir.

Transfer the chicken to a serving bowl. Serve with rice or chapati.

MAACH TARKARIR JHOL

A fish curry with various vegetables may or may not sound yum depending on your preferences... I am not an "accommodative" fish lover, I like Bengali fish recipes besides fish and chips. I do love some variety of Thai or Chinese fish dishes.... Thai steamed ones still have spices, I wonder how the Oriental ones cooked in soya sauce get rid of the smell.... I simply love steamed sea bass and snapper, never tried to recreate them at home! I cook in the evening. 

I cook my men's lunch, pack send them to school and office, then go out for my outdoor exercises or sometimes take a leisurely stroll at the nearest mall. Some evenings I wish to spend less time in the kitchen but at the same time do not forget that my family needs to get proper nutrition. I really have to struggle to feed veggies to the two vegetable haters at home. The other day, to all of our convenience I prepared this Fish Curry with Assorted Veggies.

This time I can claim the sole idea of this recipe is mine. There may be many regions who cook veggies and fish together. Even in my side of the family, we prepare fish curry with pointed gourd, potato, egg plant, ridge gourd. Here I am talking about the spice mix I used. I thought of coming out of the regular Bengali fish curry spices and use a different combination of spice mix to make it more flavourful. This flavour thing has become a necessity because we need to cover up the smell of sea fish which we cannot stand as we have grown up on fresh-water fish. This Smelt Fish is a sea fish but does not have that odd smell, I can eat it.

INGREDIENTS :

Any Firm White Fish : 500gm [I used Smelt Fish, you can use fish fillets]
Tomato : 1big [washed, chopped and grind to paste]
Onion : 1 medium [peeled, washed, sliced]
Carrot Pieces : 1small cup [of 1 small sized ]

Green Peas : 2 tbsp
Potato : 1 medium [cut lengthwise and then widthwise]
Ginger Extract : 2 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds : 2 pinches
Fennel Powder [mouri guro] : 1/2tsp
Coriander Powder [dhone guro] : 1tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tbsp
Asafoetida [hing] : A pinch [optional]
Lemon Juice : 3 tbsp
Salt : As Required
Lime Leaf : 2-3
Oil : 3tbsp

METHOD :

Wash and marinate the fish pieces with salt, turmeric powder and lemon juice for an hour.

Peel the carrot and potato, cut as told and wash thoroughly. Apply little salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok, fry the potatoes and carrot pieces in batches. Keep aside. 

Temper the same oil with asafoetida and fenugreek seeds. As they crackle, add the onion slices.

Once the onions turn golden brown, add the ginger extract, tomato paste, salt and turmeric. Fry until the oil separates from the spices.

Add the fennel, coriander and red chilli powder. Stir cook for a minute.

Pour a big cup of water and cover . As the gravy comes to a boil, add the fried fish pieces, lime leaves and the half done veggies. Cover cook at low heat for 4-5 minutes.

Add the garam masala powder. Boil for a minute. It should be done.

It goes very well with piping hot steamed rice.

NOODLES PIZZA

Noodles and Pizza both are much loved in maximum of the homes. In our home too I get to see brighter faces when I serve my men either of the two. They look happy, which in turn makes me happier. What if we can bring both together in one recipe and serve? The result would be awesome. Of course, this innovative idea is not mine, it has been hired. The modifications are done as per the availability of the ingredients in my kitchen. I prepared it fresh for dinner the day before yesterday. The outcome was great, also the taste. Ever since I have started my journey as a food blogger, I come across many innovative recipes which I want to cook with some moderation, that would be an excellent learning experience for me. I have got this unique idea of using noodles as a pizza base from a video of Tastemade. The choice of toppings was mine, it is always yours; but it should not be that offbeat either. Thanks to Tastemade for getting me to learn something my family would love. Let me share with my readers my experience of doing it.

INGREDIENTS :

Noodles : 250-300 gm
Mozzarella Cheese [shredded] : 150 gm
Red Bell Pepper / Capsicum / Shimla Mirch : 1/2 of 1
Green Capsicum / Bell Pepper / Shimla Mirch : 1/2 of 1
Onion : 1
Pizza Sauce : 1/2 cup [I used Maggi Tomato Ketchup instead]
Salt : As Required
Italian Dried Herb Mix : 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli Flakes : 1/2 tsp
Egg : 1

Cornflour : 2 tsp
Oil : 2 tsp

METHOD : 

Boil the noodles in enough water adding a little of salt, drain the water. Instead, I soaked the noodles in hot water for 3-4 minutes adding little salt and then drained the water.

Break the egg and add to the boiled noodles, also the cornflour, oil and 2-3 pinches of salt. Mix together well.

Cut the bell peppers and onion into cubes or strips, wash and add little salt, mix well.

Grease an oven proof plate with few drops of oil, spread the noodle on it well.

Spread the sauce all over the base, top with the salt marinated vegetables. Add and spread atop the shredded cheese.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. I preheated the oven at 160*C placing the low height wired stool inside. We would place the oven proof plate with the uncooked pizza on top of it.

Bake for 20 minutes at 160*C. We should be done.

Garnish with the dried red chilli flakes and dried herb before serving and having hot from the oven.

You will enjoy this non-vegetarian snack meal to the fullest that I can assure.

GHUGNI

GHUGNI is a mouthwatering Bengali street food, precisely famous in the Indian state of West Bengal. Although a street food, it is cooked in the Bengali Homes regular using dried yellow peas. For all such posts there is the same kind of nostalgia attached; the reason why I feed you the same kind of story when it comes to any food related to Bengal, Family or to be precise, related to the Bengali culture itself. Just like the Kulfiwala, a Ghugniwala also used to visit our neighbourhood in the evenings. These guys were demi-Gods to us kids... a relief from the monotony of studies.... one call and we were in our balcony. Hence they were considered villains by the kinds of our mother. 

However, I feel the daddy of the house was not bothered about such trivial issues but he too did not like outside food much. In short, the story is, in those days at every middle class neighbourhood, these vendors would flock in....we would get distracted and our mother particularly would come up with the same dialogue, "they are unhygienically made, I will prepare for you at home." We kids were never happy with such decisions, that was not the age to accept. She kept her words but we craved for what we could not have.

Though Ghugni is exclusively a street food, in our home or may be in many other Bengali homes too, it was always served with luchi [puffed bread made of refined flour]. I remember this was our breakfast on many a Sundays and on my birthdays..... "luchi, ghugni, dum aloo, mutton or chicken, kheer, roshogolla" would usually be the menu, only the cake, roshogolla, sandesh, fruits were store bought. Its time to prove I have learnt a bit from our mother, hence I try to take care of my family, the way she does. Also do I wish to support and keep alive the street food culture which this day is facing tough competition from the big giants.

INGREDIENTS :

Yellow Peas / Matar : 250gm
Onion : 1big

Green Chilli : 2 [slitted]
Ginger Paste : 1tbsp

Cumin Powder : 1 tsp

Coriander Powder : 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds : 1/2tsp
Cumin Seeds : 1/2tsp + 2pinches for tempering
Dry Red Chilli : 2
Bayleaf : 1
Salt : As Required
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Tamarind Juice : 3-4 tbsp
Oil : 2tbsp
Chopped Coriander, Green Chilli, Onion to garnish.

METHOD :

Wash and soak the yellow matar in water for 4-5 hours. Take in a vessel and boil in enough water adding salt and turmeric at low heat, covered 80-85%. Better is to pressure cook adding enough water unto two whistles at minimal heat.

Dry roast 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds, 1/4tsp coriander seeds, 2 dry red chillies and blend to a coarse powder.

Heat the oil in a wok, temper it with a bay leaf and 2 pinches of cumin seeds. 

Peel, wash, slice the onions, add to the wok. Fry until golden brown.

Add the slitted green chillies, give a stir. Add the boiled yellow peas, cumin and coriander powders, stir well and cover cook at low heat for 14-15 minutes.

Thereafter, remove the cover add the ground spices. Stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

I had soaked a tsp of tamarind pulp in a small bowl of water for 1/2 an hour, squeezed the pulp well to get the juice.

Switch off the gas stove and add the tamarind juice to the wok now, mix well.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, onion and green chillies before serving.

It is actually a Bengali street chat but our mother always served it with luchi; hence....

POTATO BIRYANI

The once vegetables hater girl enjoys her choice of vegetarian dishes in the present day. Perhaps too much of non-veg diet is the reason. I remember, our parents did not like having non-vegetarian food while on the tours. They felt it is not safe to have fish /meat in the hotels or in the outdoors considering the hygiene part. It was a kind of punishment to me. Even my obedient self refused and used to say I cannot go vegetarian for 10-15 days. I clearly visualise the teen sitting beside the Dal Lake and demanding for fish..... the father walked down from here to there and got a fish fry. That I did not like it is a different story. Back to the present, I do feel sorry for putting them in trouble. In the pursuit of cooking a tasty vegetarian dish, I prepared this Potato Biryani and served it with chicken kebabs and raita. This is one way of satisfying myself and keeping my religiously non-vegetarian men happy. You see I have used khoya in the preparation as told by the person who gave this recipe. Back in Kolkata, there are a number of biryani outlets in my neighbourhood, I have learnt about this use of khoya / semi-solidified milk in biryani from a cook who happens to live in the locality. He happens to be my Kolkata help's elder son-in-law. Let us do it.

INGREDIENTS : [for instant khoya]

Milk Powder : 1small cup
Ghee[clarified butter] : 2tsp
Whole milk : 1/2 cup

INGREDIENTS : [for the rice]

Basmati Rice : 1big cup
Green Cardamom : 3-4
Cinnamon : 1inch stick one
Cloves : 3-4

Mace : 2-3

Star Anise : 2-3

Black Cardamom : 2
Bay Leaf : 2-3
Salt : As required
Water : As required

INGREDIENTS :[for cooking the potato]

Potatoes : 2-3
Plain Yogurt : 3-4 tbsp
Whole Spices :[ 5-6 black peppercorns, 2 one-inch cinnamon stick, 3-4 cloves, 3-4 green cardamom, 1 star anise]
Salt : As required
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Garlic Paste : 2tsp
Onion Paste : 2tbsp

Cumin Powder : 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder : 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli Powder : 1/2 tsp

Black Pepper Powder : 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon Powder : 1/4 tsp

Green Cardamom Powder : 1/4 tsp

Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Oil : 2tbsp
Ghee : 1tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [final round]

Ghee : 2-3 tbsp
Khoya : 1/2 small cup
Rose Water : 4-5 drops I do not use Kewra Water or Meetha Atar]

METHOD :

Lets prepare the khoya first. Mix together the milk powder, whole milk and ghee in a bowl and microwave at high for 3 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.

Boil enough water in a vessel to prepare the rice. Add salt and a teaspoon of ghee to the water. Take a clean cloth, add the whole spices mentioned, tie and put into the boiling water. The rice has to be washed and soaked for 1/2 an hour. Add it to the boiling water and cook until 70% done. Drain the water and discard the whole spices.

Peel and wash the potatoes. Marinate with salt & turmeric and fry in the oil, take them out. I forgot to click this part.

Mix together the turmeric, salt, onion-ginger-garlic pastes. Heat oil and ghee together in a wok, add the  spice paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. 

Beat together the plain yogurt, cumin-coriander-red chilli powders and add to the wok. Stir cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the potatoes with the marinade and cook till they are 75% done. Add the 2-3 drops of rose water, cinnamon, green cardamom powders, a little of the khoya and fold in well. Take down.

Now we are to do the final step. Add the khoya / semi-solidified milk, 4-5 drops of rose water and ghee to the rice, mix lightly. This ensures less consumption of ghee.

In a deep bottomed pan arrange bayleaves to avoid burning of the rice. But you should grease the bottom of the vessel with ghee and oil, I did not like the smell of slightly charred bayleaves in the biryani.

Add half of the rice first. Thereafter, add the potatoes with gravy, then again the rice and the rest of the gravy. You can make three such layers too. The top most layer should be rice. 

Place a frying pan on the top of the gas stove. Place the vessel on it. Cook at low heat for 50-55 minutes, shaking 2-3 times in between.

Its done, serve hot. I served the Potato Biryani with some chicken kebabs and plain yogurt.