CUCUMBER N BLACK GRAM CHAAT

I am taking interest in chaats and salads these day that I never liked before. I keep looking for some good alternatives to carbohydrates, I find such dishes best suited to my changed tastebuds. I do not follow any strict diet as such or as prescribed by the dieticians. I am unable to have a heavy breakfast, light lunch and even lighter dinner. I usually prefer soups or salads for lunches. Since I had never been a salad kind of person, I try to make them suit my taste buds, turning them into chaats. I do this so that I can have two spoonful of my most favourite rice sitting together with my men at night. We usually have our dinners late when perhaps others plan to go to the bed. Well, we never claim ourselves to be healthy eaters, but then our body clock got used to it. Let me share this easy and yummy chaat recipe.This dish is a chaat kind of salad made with boiled and sautéed black gram. Though not a Bengali recipe, our mother used to prepare black gram / kala chana this way sautéed with onion and green chillies. Actually this was sold in the road side carts throughout Kolkata. How much would I slurp looking at them, our mother would not allow me to buy. Instead she would prepare it at home. At times, we used to have it with puffed rice. Modifying it into a chaat is my contribution to the dish and I can assure it will not dishearten you. A bowl full of health and taste. Let us prepare this Cucumber and Black Gram Chaat together. But black gram causes wind formation in my stomach.

INGREDIENTS [main] :

Black Gram / Kala Chana : 150gm
Onion : 1 standard sized
Green Chilli : 2-3
Cumin Powder : 1/2 tsp [optional]
Coriander Powder : 1/2 tsp [optional]
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt : As Required
Cucumber : 2medium sized
Oil : 2-3tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the topping]

Date Tamarind Chutney : 4tbsp 
Plain Yogurt : 1/2small cup
Coriander Leaves : 1sprig
Sugar : 1/2tsp
Black Salt : 3- 4 pinches
Chaat Masala : 1tsp
Bhujiya or Chanachur [ salted snack, fried gram flour noodles?] : 2-3tbsp

METHOD :

Wash and soak the black gram in hot water for 3-4 hours, if you are soaking in water at room temperature, then overnight. Wash again and pressure cook up to 1 whistle adding water and a little of salt. Let cool, drain the water and wash again.

Peel, wash and slice the onion, chop the green chillies and coriander leaves. Wash them. Slice the cucumber, wash and apply a little of salt, refrigerate. Blend together the yogurt, coriander leaves, sugar and black salt. If the mixture becomes too runny, add little more yogurt and beat well. Refrigerate.

Heat the oil in a wok. Saute the onion slices and chopped green chillies until they are soft and golden brown. Add the boiled black chana, fold in well. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and keep stirring for 3-4 minutes. It is done. Let cool a bit.

Transfer the cooked black chana to a bowl. Arrange the cucumber pieces on the sides or chop them and mix. Add chaat masala and fold in well. Garnish with with the chanachur / fried gram flour noodles, dates-tamarind chutney and yogurt-coriander mixture. Enjoy!

RAW BANANA N POTATO CURRY / ALOO KANCHAKOLAR JHOL

What gives me utmost pleasure wherein blogging is concerned? My answer is compiling dishes that I have grown up eating, dishes for which I do not have to browse the internet, dishes whose taste lingers on  till date, dishes which has our grandmother's and mother's touch on them. Today I wished to blog about one such dish. The old lady is at present cleaning up her daughter's home so that I can head to an all decked up home straight from the airport. A refrigerator full of essentials, bedrooms adorned with clean, washed bed covers are what awaits for me. This is the scenario each time I visit. We cannot just say thanks to our own, we need to be thankful in various ways. 

Yet, I get angry with the mother for been overprotective towards both of us siblings. In the process, we failed to learn the basic life skills, to be independent. In her defence, she would say life's lessons are not to be taught, they are to be learnt. Her daughter was not keen about taking interest in the worldly matters and was always engrossed in her own created world of fantasy. Well, I would not deny I am still the same. At any gathering or a party, I choose my own cosy corner and love watching others present while sipping my favourite ones, getting little tipsy. Wherever I am, I create my own ambience.

Whichever part of the world I am in or would be .... I will continue to cook up my desi recipes, laced with beautiful memories. Our mom used to prepare this curry with Raw Banana and Potato, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions. Usually she used to prepare Shingi-Magurer Jhol [live cat fish curry] with raw banana and potato. At times she added raw papaya to it. In the vegetarian version of this she used to add dry roasted broad bean seeds[shimer bichi] too. Unable to get shimer bichi, I prepared this vegetarian curry with raw banana and potato for myself, my men are force fed such things alluring with their choice of non-veg dish. I use the raw banana skin too to prepare a yum sides, a bharta. Laughing? That you may but nothing went to the waste bin in the middle class environment we grew up in..... and I do treasure  the values taught. Let us prepare this Raw Banana N Potato Curry together.

INGREDIENTS :

Raw Banana : 2
Potato : 1
Tomato : 1medium [my inclusion]
Ginger Paste : 2 tsp
Cumin Powder : 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As Required
Sugar : 1tsp
Cumin Seed : 2-3 pinches
Bayleaf : 1
Oil : 4-5 tbsp

METHOD :

Peel both the potato and raw bananas. Cut half and then lengthwise further. Wash and chop the tomatoes. Rub the potato and raw banana pieces with a little of salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the raw banana and potato pieces separately in batches. Keep aside. Temper the oil with cumin seeds and bay leaf.

Add the ginger paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir till it melts and separates from the oil. Add the cumin powder, chilli powder, rest of the  turmeric powder and salt. Stir well for a minute. Add the fried potatoes and fold in well.

Add a cup of water and let boil for 2-3 minutes covered. Now remove the cover and add the fried raw banana pieces. Let boil for 2 minutes. Add the sugar, give a stir and let boil for a minute. It is done. 

We love to have it with rice but it goes well with chapati too.

STUFFED RAW PAPAYA KOFTA CURRY

It is almost weekend, we are again threesome from twosome.... everything seems happier. Okay, Cristine too is a part of that happiness. From an almost no cooking mode to moderate cooking is the present scenario at home. The quiet mom with a quieter son was living a quiet life, missing someone. When the mamma was just about to believe that her son has stopped loving her, would he come and sit at the other corner of the couch threatening mom to throw out of the window if she tries to hug him. The mamma keeps wondering when and how the lolly polly mamma's boy turned onto become a daddy's one. Yet she is never worried, instead takes pride that they are different. If the equation of relationships is strong and is well understandable, one should not worry at all. 

There will be a lot of cooking for the coming week since the senior is not accompanying us for the holidays this time. I absolutely do it in my own will because my man has never demanded anything from me ever neither had he ever put any restrictions on me. As I always say I am a bad example of women's lib or may be the definition of women's lib is different to me.

Life and Philosophy is as interesting as of cooking for me. I do not miss the chance of expressing my thoughts along with my recipes. We will be heading to watch a good movie tonight, the mind should be set free. I wished to share this kofta curry made with raw papaya and dry fruits with you all today. Kancha Pepe or Raw Papaya is a common vegetable among us. I tried this Raw Papaya Kofta Curry just to get a breakthrough from our very own Aloo Peper Dalna or few other veggies with raw papaya. Since, Raw Papaya is in itself  bland, I tried it with a dry fruit stuffing . Let us prepare this Stuffed Raw Papaya Kofta Curry together. However bland, it is too healthy a vegetable, either eaten raw in a curry or ripe as a fruit.

INGREDIENTS :

Raw Papaya : 1 small sized [kancha Pepe / Kacche Papite]
Roasted Cashew nut : 6-7 chopped
Raisin : 7-8 chopped
Roasted Pistachio : 5-6 chopped
Onion Paste : 2tbsp
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Garlic Paste : 1tsp
Onion Sliced : 1big
Green Chilli : 2chopped
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As Required
Sugar : 1tsp
Melon Seeds : 1 tsp
Corn Flour : 3-4 tbsp
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Bayleaf : 1
Oil : 1small cup [for frying the kofta and for the curry]

METHOD :

Peel and wash the raw papaya. Cut the two ends and cut further into four halves. Cut off thinly the inner skin along with seeds and discard. Wash again and shred the papaya. 

Take in a bowl, add two cups of water and a little of salt. Microwave for 4 minutes. Take out, strain the water once cool and squeeze all of  the excess water.

Add the sliced onion, chopped green chillies, little of turmeric, cumin, coriander powders and salt, mix well. Add the corn flour and mix well. We can now shape small balls. Chop the roasted cashew nuts, raisins and pistachios.

Make a space hole in each ball and fill with some chopped dry fruits. Close and shape the ball again.

Heat the oil in a wok, fry the kofta in batches till brown. Transfer onto tissue paper.

Prepare a paste with the melon seeds. Temper the same oil with cumin seeds and the bayleaf. Add the onion paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for further 2 minutes. Add the melon seeds paste and stir for a minute.

Add the rest of the turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, sugar and salt. Stir fry for a minute. 

Add one big cup of water and let boil for 3-4 minutes. Gently add the kofta balls. Let cook for a minute. Transfer to a bowl. Enjoy with rice or roti!

SEMOLINA N DALIA KHEER

A beautiful, sunny morning and I am sitting at the favourite corner of our couch. As usual, I am taken over by many a thoughts. I was happy with my performance at yesterday's Marathon event.... I am not a runner, I jog, in fact, I brisk walk, most importantly I absolutely enjoy it. Walking together with varied people, the smiles at me coming from unknown quarters give me pleasure. I was thinking of the yesteryear's lethargic, fat, quiet girl who was never fond of any kind of sports. Some of my childhood buddies would echo with me. Today, when they pat my back, they mean it, and I am as much proud of their achievements..... big or small. My participation in the school sports was limited to taking part in the MarchPast event as it was compulsory, thereafter I clapped for my friends and brother. Even the mother won medals in the parents' events. The father would never attend our school events, it was the mother always. The father and his brother next played football for the smaller clubs in Kolkata, the father got arthritis and the uncle went back to Assam. Whilst the brother and mother brought home cups and medals every year on our school's sports event, I was happy with the cake, banana & apple every student  would get for the participation. I was born a foodie.

Hence, to me doing a half marathon is a pretty big thing given my medical condition and BMI. Age? Do not you give it much of importance. Feeling young, you remain young. Just when the mind was in such a happy state, yesterday evening we got the news of a death at the race event...... the person was just 29 years old, collapsed just a kilometre away from the finishing line and died later in the hospital.... too saddening a news. I am not a seasoned or experienced runner, yet I would suggest not to push yourself too hard, do not over exercise or follow too strict a diet; listen to your body. Relax, we are not in a competitive run and most of our bodies are not trained as such. Go in your own pace and enjoy the ride.

I am just sitting idle, unable to go for a walk with the body aches and thinking of the bereaved family. I strongly felt I should compile a recipe post to get out of my present thought process. Not in the mood to write an elaborate recipe, I thought of sharing this simple dessert recipe of kheer / pudding done with semolina [suji] and dalia [broken wheat]. This recipe is nothing but a modification of our very own Sujir Payesh [semolina kheer] that we grew up eating. After our son was born, I tried to give him such proteins like dalia, now I use it for myself as a substitute for rice. At times, I mix both and prepare either a halwa or a ladoo or a kheer that is liked by my men. Let us prepare this easy recipe of Semolina n Dalia Kheer together.

INGREDIENTS :

Full Cream Milk : 2lt
Sugar : 11/2medium cup [or according to your tastebud]
Dalia [broken wheat] : 1/2small cup
Semolina : 1/4small cup
Cashew nut : 7-8 [halved]
Raisin : 10-12
Bayleaf : 1-2
Green Cardamom : 2-3
Ghee [clarified butter] : 1-2tbsp
Garnish as you wish or do not.....

METHOD :

Soak the raisins in water for an hour. Heat the ghee [clarified butter] in a wok. Dry roast the semolina and dalia for about five minutes till they are light brown.

Pour the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel, switch on the gas stove and boil adding the bayleaf till it thickens. Add the semolina and dalia mix. Stir well, cover and let cook for 6-8 minutes stirring every 2 minutes.

Add the sugar, stir and let boil for another 6-8 minutes. Add the cashew nuts, raisins, discarding the water and the green cardamoms tearing them a bit. Boil for 4-5 minutes. It is done.

Transfer to a serving bowl, let cool, refrigerate and serve chilled.

CHALKUMRO GHONTO / ASH GOURD WITH LENTIL FRITTERS

This dish was part of my 200th blogpost last year, where I compiled four heirloom recipes from the kitchen of Bengal. I thought let me share them individually with the wish to reach more of the beautiful people. I take a lot of pride in my roots and a lot of the bloggers are actually doing the job very beautifully. I humbly add mine, recipes that have come down to us for generations should be compiled. Honestly, when I started with the blog, I very much wished to keep it exclusively as a collection of family recipes, representing  Bengal's Kitchen. 

Somehow midway I could not keep my promise and the blog turned onto a 'Khichdi'; a hotchpotch one. It feels good to see some of my friends doing the same beautifully, I just provide fillers when they are not doing it.

I promote them or not, such heirloom recipes should be there in my blog. My daughter-in-law may not try them, yet they should be there. This particular dish is prepared with Ash Gourd / Winter Melon / Wax Gourd / Chalkumro and Lentil Fritters or Dal pakora. Actually, the dal pakora is a substitution for 'bori', that is dried lentil balls. With the on and off rain scenario here, I do not try preparing them at home. There is a way of doing it in microwave which I am yet to try. I teamed this non-spicy dish with dal pakora. You can also substitute the Ash Gourd / Winter Melon with Bottle Gourd or Raw Papaya or do each of them on different days. Come, let us prepare this healthy, vegetarian dish together.

INGREDIENTS : [for the dal pakora]

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

INGREDIENTS : [main]

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

METHOD :

Peel, wash, cut and shred the ash gourd. 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 the kalojeera, salt, turmeric,sugar. Beat well for 2-3 minutes and shape into small balls. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the vadas / lentil fritters till golden brown.

Once done,  temper the remaining heated oil with cumin seeds, bayleaf and halved red chillies.

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

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

Keep stirring every 3-4 minutes till the water dries up. Add the sugar, stir again, cook for 2 minutes more, it is done.

Dal vadas are used as a substitute for bori [dried lentil ball].

CABBAGE FRITTERS / BADHAKOPIR BORA

OF CABBAGE FRITTERS / BADHAKOPIR BORA; RAIN & EXCERPTS FROM A DAILY LIFE!

Its monsoon here, raining every now and then. One good thing about the weather here is that it does not rain incessantly. I can romanticise with the rain on my walks a bit given the roads do not get muddy here. As I walk past, I stop and watch the water drenched leaves, flowers. That is one major reason why it takes four hours for me to finish a half marathon. Nothing in this world comes in a platter. Then, I love all the attributes of nature, except for it's fury. With the senior on a tour, I am not really in a mood / mode to cook. Not that he is a big eater but when one member from the threesome is absent, one just not feel like. Besides, my boy is happy with his dose of chicken with  luchi[Bengali Puffed Bread], it works for Cristine too.

With such simplification of the kitchen chores, one does have ample time for reading, listening to the old favourite numbers. I also wished to revisit some of my old favourite movies from Ijjazat to Step Mom, I can watch them any number of times. I can create a movie hall ambience with a big bowl of popcorn too, yet unable to get into the mood. Though there had been several threat messages sent during such absence, the answer had always been  "phew; let me work"..... the obvious answer should be "okay fine... let me shop". I think all thewomen will agree with me.... The problem with me is I am a bit miser and cannot shop till I drop. hence, it is always a win... win situation on the other side.

When one has ample time to sit and write such silly notes, it means she wants to share a recipe with you all, keeping in tune with the simplistic approach of her blog. Whether it is monsoon or not, everyone love fries and fritters. We do it with all the available vegetables, perhaps. My senior's maternal aunt who expired few months back was an expert on it. In that humble home, each evening there had / has to be 2-3 kinds of fries to go with lentil and rice.... ohh.... so yum. This cabbage fritter or Bandhakopir Bora is a childhood favourite. The mom thing had a trouble some time given a foodie daughter; her son is still fussy & selective about food ..... my brother is definitely not going to like this post today. Yet, I am eager to cook along with my readers this yummy vegetarian fry / fritter.

INGREDIENTS :

Cabbage : 1/2 of one small sized [shredded]
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Chopped Green Chillies : 1 tsp
Sugar : 1/2 tsp
Salt : As Required
Rice Flour : 1/2 small tea cup
Gram Flour : 1/4 small tea cup
Oil : 100-150ml [the left over can be used later]

METHOD :

Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Wash and cut into 4 pieces. Cut and discard the mid-section hard portion. Now shred the remaining leaves and wash again.

 Add the chopped green chillies to it. Add a little of salt, turmeric mix well and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

Add the rice-flour, gram-flour, sugar to the marinated cabbage mixture. Mix together everything, we may not need water.

Heat the oil in a wok. Take some mix and carefully add to the oil. Fry at medium to low heat as and when required.

Fry in batches, once done transfer onto a tissue paper first and then to a serving plate.

Enjoy with tea / coffee / hard drinks or as an accompaniment to rice and dal / lentil curry.

DAL BHAPE / STEAMED LENTIL

It was so easy to do.... I totally loved and enjoyed doing it. I am scared of whatever is complicated..... recipe or otherwise. Whatever is easy makes me happy.... whether it is a recipe or easy going people, gives me pleasure. Yet, I respect some dear people who put all their heart and soul in preparing and drafting a recipe, or may be preparing a lesson plan for their next day class or say put immense effort to be a near perfect housewife. I am none of them, rather would say I feel myself enriched been surrounded by such beautiful people. 

Everything seems happy happy, going to meet the family and friends soon. It feels great to be silly with your dear ones. The ones with whom I was a bit angry few days back.... I am settling meeting dates in advance with the same.... we are as silly as we had been many winters back...... the silver streaks, the under eye bags could not reach deep inside. Some of them are coming down to the city at the same time, just to sit together, giggle, do naughty talks going back to our teen hood. The only glitch is that my senior is not been able to accompany me this time.... who happens to be as dear to them as much as of mine.

This typical 'kochughechu' type Bengali was happy to discover this recipe at a friend's place last month.  Her name is Paramita Chakrabartty, a foodie herself and a fabulous cook. We were giggling all through when she was telling us the story of her daddy's diet till date which is a full 5-7 course typical Bengali meal. I could suddenly connect with it as we have seen it in our family years back. A fat wallet? A colourful home decor? Gadgets? Decades back these were not an important part of life but the food plate had to be full from Gondhoraj lebu to chutney. 

This steamed dal is not to be confused with Dhokar Dalna's Dhoka which was / is regular at my side of the family. This dal is prepared by totally steaming it. My friend did not use onion like me. She did with matar dal, I did with moong dal. The process was hassle free, just prepare the mix and put on steam. So it was an altogether 'dhinka chika' kind of cooking listening to my favourite numbers. This dish do I dedicate to myself because my not that Bong men hardly love such things, though the son grew up on dal-rice & khichuri, aloo sheddo-bhaat. We can save time by doing it in microwave but I am yet to try. Let us prepare this Dal Bhape or Steamed Lentil together following the stepwise pictures.

INGREDIENTS : 

Moong Dal [skinless moong bean lentil] : 1 big cup
Shredded Coconut : 1/2 big cup
Onion : 1big [sliced]
Green Chilli : 2 [chopped]
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt : As Required
Mustard Oil : 1tsp + As required to drizzle atop later

METHOD :

Dry roast the dal till it turns light brown. Wash and soak in hot water for 2-3hours. Grind to a paste adding water little by little. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the sliced onion, chopped green chillies, shredded coconut, salt and turmeric. Mix well.

Now grease a steel container with mustard oil. Transfer the dal mix to it. 

Cover the box tightly. Heat enough water in a wok. Place the steel container in the middle of the wok. 

Let it cook for 1hour 15 minutes to 1&1/2hour. Let cool. Take out and remove the cover.

Loosen the sides with a knife and turn onto a plate. Serve hot with piping hot steamed rice drizzling some mustard oil atop it. Since my men are less of a Bong, and cannot have raw mustard oil, they had with ghee.

BIRD NEST FRIES

Fry, Fry, Fry..... You are too worthy to try..... I know the health aficionados will be after me. Then we are heading towards the weekend, I would keep my ears shut to what I preach. I am neighbour to a health freak couple friend who help me a lot with my diet. Though not always do I follow their valuable inputs, but yes, I always give a thumbs up to them for their self control. I love food so much so that it is impossible to follow a routine. Hence, I am far from my dream body, but then we cannot have the best of both the worlds. My friend tries her best to keep me in track, wants to introduce me to her personal trainer, but I am a laid back character in all aspects.

 If four days of the week is healthy eating for me, the rest of the three days are to indulgence. For my men, all of the days are indulgent days, anything from burgers to poori / paratha with meat curries.

I got the idea of bird nest from the various food groups I am part of. This was my first attempt of doing this evening snack, I could not create a perfect shape of it. I took a safer path of doing a full covered one. My main ingredient here is yogurt because I too much love and wished to have dahi kebabs which I am yet to master at home. That thin cover making process I need to correct. I had to take help of a dough to cover it... coat with vermicelli and deep fry. Let us do this yummy, vegetarian snack together and enjoy it with our evening tea the coming weekend.

INGREDIENTS : 

Plain Yogurt : 500ml
Refined Flour : 1big cup
Gram Flour : 1/4small cup
Corn Flour : 1small cup
Green Chilli : 2-3[chopped] 
Cumin Powder : 1/2tsp 
Coriander Powder : 1/2tsp
Chilli Powder : 1/2tsp
Cumin Seed : 1tsp
Baking Soda : 2pinches
Chaat Masala : 1tsp
Black Salt : As Required
Sugar : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required
Vermicelli : 100-150 gm
Ghee [clarified butter] : 1tbsp
Oil : To deep fry

METHOD :

We will take the yogurt in a bowl and beat well; pour it onto a clean, white cloth and tie to the kitchen tap. Let it be like that for 2-3 hours. By then all of the excess water will go.

Now we will take together the refined flour, gram flour and the baking soda in a big, wide mouthed bowl and mix well.

Then we will add the chopped green chillies, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin seeds, a little of salt and ghee to the flour mix. We will rub well for 2-3 minutes, add water little by little and keep kneading to form a firm dough.

We will keep the dough covered for 1/2 an hour. We will take the vermicelli in a plate. Prepare a batter with cornflour and a little of salt.

We will take down the yogurt and transfer to a bowl; add the sugar, black salt, chaat masala and mix well.

We will prepare medium sized balls from the dough, fill with the yogurt mix, close and flatten lightly with our palm. Now we will dip each one in the batter and roll onto the vermicelli well.

We will heat enough oil in a wok so that we can deep fry. We will fry them in batches until both the sides are brown and well done.

We will transfer onto the tissue paper first and then into serving plates. We will serve them hot with our choice of chutney or sauce.

LIGHT RIDGE GOURD CURRY

There is a saying that chillies and oil come for free in our home. Every visiting friend has by now by hearted it perhaps. No, I do not take it as an assault or criticism on me because that is not his nature except for accusing a large number of people for choosing a wrong guide of late. His research did not match the result.To that I say cool darling it is not an one of case, echoing you I would say people learn from their mistakes. We are also doing the same mistake of treating someone as Godly who is actually far from it. People will either realise or struggle and juggle through / with life. Next month when I will give a big note to the poor vegetable seller, he / she will look at me with blank, painful eyes. Nothing happens to our class; we eat, merry, drink whoever holds the rein, it is the lower strata of the society who suffer, always.

Coming back to the chilli and oil discussion, it is true that I use them generously in my cooking. I love spices actually. At times, I just open the containers and smell them! Oh! Lovely. I may sound silly to the world, what to do I am that way. I was never smart enough to change according to other's needs..... Stubborn to the core?.... yes I am.... take me as I am or quit..... it was some 19 autumns back.... on this day a worried mother told someone, "my daughter does not understand life, she is fragile, handle her with care please"..... a promise was made and kept till date... Hopefully he is not reading this otherwise would have gone wild as to why I went public with this day after repeated requests of not to .... and the duo will always conclude mamma is such a silly thing....

This kind of light curries are an after effect of the scoldings and warnings.... S...... we need to cut down on spices and oil. This recipe of a healthy curry with ridge gourd was learnt from a dear friend....  Piyali Mohanty..... our kids were in the same pre-school. When our kids were in the class, we used to sit and discuss about everything.... from films to food. A good cook herself, she told me about this healthy curry. I do not remember the exact recipe, neither did I whatsapp her for the details..... I just went ahead with it in my own way. Before I get engaged with some special cooking for the evening, I wished to share this simple, easy to do healthy and light curry with ridge gourd for all of you today. Let us do it together.

INGREDIENTS :

Ridge Gourd : 1-2 [We get here large sized only]
Milk : A small bowlful
Turmeric Powder : 1/4tsp
Nigella Seed : 3pinches
Ajmod Seed / Radhuni : 3pinches
Ginger Paste : 1/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt : As Required
Sugar : 1/2tsp [optional]
Oil : 2tbsp

METHOD :

Peel and wash the ridge gourds. Cut half each one and then cut further length wise. Discard the seeds if there are too many. Apply a little of salt and turmeric, red chilli powder, mix well.

Heat the oil in a wok, temper with nigella and ajmod seeds. Add the ginger paste and stir for a minute, now add a little of turmeric and salt.

Add the marinated ridge gourd pieces. Stir well and cover.

After 5 minutes, remove the cover and you will see it has released water and is almost done.

Add the milk,  cover cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar, stir and take down after 1 minute.

Serve hot and fresh with rice. Since we are using milk here, it is preferred to be had fresh and not refrigerate for the next day. Or you may just refrigerate it for a day.

FRESH FRUIT STUFFED SWEET

In our home, weekends call for a sweet and I love doing them, the simple ones though. The Indian supermarket here has an array of packaged sweets air flown from India. I do buy the dry varieties at times when there are special occasions or prayers at home. Once a friend told the sugar syrup of the tinned sweets has bacteria. Ever since I try to prepare sweets fresh at home. There is also a sweet shop in the Indian Market selling fresh sweet. I do buy them whenever I visit that area, however I miss the touch of that professional hands in the making, not like what we get back home. 

West Bengal's sweets are famous worldwide. Off course, we do not get the winter special date palm jaggery sweets anywhere here, for that we have to travel a few hundred kilometres which I feel is worth it. Until then, my men have to be happy with whatever little I can do.

The fresh fruits are kept at home to pack along with their lunch boxes. The peculiar duo will eat fruits only that way, if given at home they will not touch. In all of these years, I am adjusted to such things and play my own tricks as and when required. I do eat fruits but has been prescribed not to eat much. This morning I saw its about to be the weekend, yet there are a few leftover fruits that needs to be used. Everything has a shelf life. 

Not in a mood to do elaborate cooking these days, I planned for this Fresh Fruit Stuffed Sweet. We can do the stuffing with any fruit but not with the one with too much of water content. Take note that the fruits have to be sweet. I used bread because the coverage of the sweet had to be little harder as it is a no cook one. Moreover, it will be stuffed with fresh fruits, hence should be firmer than our usual sweets. I have provided stepwise pictures for the entire process. Let us prepare this Fresh Fruit Stuffed Sweet together. I tried with a little amount of ingredients, you can adjust as required.

INGREDIENTS : [for homemade Khoya / Mawa / Semi-Solidified Milk]

Milk : 1/2 small tea cup
Milk Powder : 4 tbsp
Sugar : 2 tsp

Ghee / Clarified Butter : 2 tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the sweet]

Homemade Khoya Kheer : As we get
Bread : 3 slices
Chopped Orange: 1 tbsp 
Chopped Grapes : 1 tbsp

Chopped Apple : 1 tbsp

Ghee / Clarified Butter : 1 tbsp
Garnish as you wish or do not
Any other fruits can be used with less of water content, I did with what I had at home

METHOD :

Usually, we need not add sugar to make this instant Khoya but in this recipe, we will do it. Adding the sugar to the dough is not recommended. 

We will mix together the milk, milk powder, sugar & ghee, microwave for 3-4 minutes. We must pause after every 30 seconds, stir.

We will heat 1tbsp ghee in a frying pan. We will cut the sides of the bread slices and toast both sides brown. 

Once cool, we will tear and add the bread pieces to the khoya kheer. We will mix and knead well. We will leave it like that for 15 minutes.

We will wash and chop the fruits. We will knead the dough again, tear off smaller portions.

Cristine made pockets, filled with the cut fruits, closed and made round balls of them.

GRAVIED SPICY PANEER

Last week, the daddy thing at this home went on a short trip, the mumma - son duo had a fulfilling dinner with their favourite Paneer [Indian Cottage Cheese] ..... that definitely does not mean the daddy of the house has any problem with wha its cooking in the kitchen.... I wished that he peeped into the kitchen once in a while .... but then that will be much in contradiction with what he says.... No Rule is the only Rule in this House. If I say there has to be certain rules set for the teen,  he says he will learn from his mistakes..... I want my son to be happy in life..... 

No wonder many years back, some of us, his friends would visit his home more often.... which was a kind of 'thandi haoa ka jhoka' .... space for freedom and fun.... a relief from our military moms whose 'don't' list seemed long for us.... Coming back to the present... he only urges his lady not to feed him much of 'ghaspus' / vegetable dishes. That is where the lady needs to exercise a bit of pressure.

The new neighbourhood we shifted to a month ago also has an Indian minimart nearby and I really do not have to travel 5-6 km always to get Indian stuffs often .... that makes me happy.... It is there I found this new brand of paneer which proved to be a good deal. I am not really that sincere to prepare fresh paneer at home always. I enjoy my long outdoor walks, chitchat with the friends, at times the girls' get-together, family get-together, sometimes a weekend outing with the family. 

Besides all these, getting lost in the Bollywood fantasies is a favourite..... Living with two overly practical men, I have to balance. Done with all these, I do cook. The other day I got this small packet of paneer and prepared it fresh. It was 8pm already, hence I wished something simple and hassle free. You will see I did the curry with minimal spices. The use of cashew nut paste made it thick, creamy and mildly sweet. The marination of paneer with spices and lemon juice made it flavourful and tastier. Let us prepare this Gravied Spicy Paneer together.

INGREDIENTS :

Paneer : 250gm
Cashew nut : 4-5

Melon Seed : 1 tsp

Green Chilli : 2
Onion Paste : 1tbsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Lemon Juice : 2tbsp
Salt : As Required
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Bayleaf : 1
Oil : 4tbsp

METHOD :

Marinate the paneer with the cumin powder, coriander powder, little chilli powder, a little of salt and the lemon juice. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare a paste with the cashew nuts, green chillies, melon seeds adding a little of water.

Heat the oil in a wok. Discard the marinade and lightly fry the marinated paneer pieces in batches. Keep aside.

Temper the oil with cumin seeds and a bayleaf. Add the onion paste, a little of turmeric powder, salt and fry for 2 minutes. Add the cashew nut-melon seeds-green chilli paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add a medium cup of water.

As the gravy comes to a boil, add the paneer pieces along with the marinade. Let cook for 3-4 minutes.

It is done. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with rice or chapati.