MACARONI CUTLET

I am a lazy blogger, the worst kind of a photographer, I am a sincere cook but. And happy however. As long as we respect the boundaries, as long as we accept our limitations and appreciate the good in others whole heartedly, we should be happy. In between, all the cat fights are meaningless, waste of time. We should always mind our own business; the lack of which in all of us is the cause of all the irritation and unrest. 

Anyway, yesterday morning I discovered half a packet of macaroni, thought of some cutlets. I google searched some sites for the recipe and went ahead with mine. I will definitely do the mentions later in the post so that you too may find a lot of quick and yummy recipe ideas from there. The cutlets were really crisp and tasty.

I was eager to share this recipe of Macaroni Cutlet, doing which was quick, easy and surely to be loved by your family, specially the kids. I used few ingredients to prepare these vegetarian cutlets like some boiled macaroni, boiled potato, onion, corn and cheese. I am not much of a cheese person, however yesterday I  wished to use some, in different food forums I see corn and cheese pair well. I used some shredded cheddar. As I have told earlier, I am never particular about the ingredients of a recipe, unless it is an authentic regional dish. My version of Macaroni Cutlet requires less of spices, let us do it.

Recipe Courtesy :

Nalini's Kitchen
Easy Kid's Evening Snacks[you tube]
www.foodfood.com

INGREDIENTS :

Macaroni : 200-250 gm [boiled]
Potato : 2-3 standard sized [boiled n mashed]
Sweet Corn : 1small cup
Cheese : 100 gm [ I used shredded Cheddar]
Onion : 1 big [chopped]
Green Chilli : 2-3 [chopped]
Black Pepper Powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt : As Required
Bread Crumb : 100 gm
Corn Flour : 1tbsp
Refined Flour : 2 tbsp
Milk : 5-6 tbsp
Oil : 150-200 ml [to fry]

METHOD : 

Boil the macaroni and the potatoes separately. Mash the potatoes using a little of salt. Peel, wash and slice or chop the onions.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the sliced or chopped onions and saute till translucent. Add the chopped green chillies and stir.

Add the sweet corns & crushed black pepper, fry for a minute. Add the boiled macaroni and fold in well.

Add the mashed potatoes, fold in well and cook for 2 more minutes. Adjust the salt & black pepper.

Transfer to a plate and let cool. Then add the shredded cheese and milk. Mix well.

Tear off smaller portions and shape into cutlets. Take the bread crumbs onto a plate. Prepare a batter with the cornflour, refined flour and water.

Dip each cutlet in the batter and then coat well in the bread crumb. Repeat.

You can see I had only clicked, Cristine get readied all.

Keep them in an airtight container refrigerated for few hours.

Heat the oil in a wok. Take  the macaroni cutlets out half an hour before and fry in batches at low heat, until they are crisp and light brown.

Cristine did most of the frying part.

Once fried, transfer each onto a tissue paper before serving.

Serve them hot with your favourite sauce or chutney, salad.

MIXED VEGETABLE MEDLEY / NIRAMISH CHOCCHORI

A fever, sore throat, junior's semester, attending certain other responsibilities, my own engagements, I am caught up with many things. Yet I thought I should write up a recipe today, it's been a week I have not. This Niramish Chocchori or Mixed Vegetable Medley is a regular dish in any Bengali household. Each family has it's own way of doing it.... with any combination of vegetables and their choice of tempering. At this home I try to keep the vegetable dishes less spicy because I tend to prepare my curries a bit  and hot.

To be frank, in my side of the family, we usually use this combination of vegetables to cook "shutki maach" [sundried fish], specifically with the dried Bombay Duck variety]. If you are still reading it and have not left me, let me tell you I still could not gather the courage to blog about my much loved dried fish dishes. Before I stop blogging, I hope I can, I should. We belong to the eastern part of undivided Bengal, now Bangladesh. Hence, dried fish preparations are a pleasure, delicacy for us. 

My burger, sushi, pizza loving men too become a typical Bangal when it comes to dried fish bharta or chocchori. When I can blog on it I will, as of now I wish to share this simple mixed vegetable dish with you all. Let us prepare this Niramish Chocchori / Mixed Vegetable Medley together before my swollen eyes start giving more of trouble. Actually, Bengali Homes cook quite a number of mixed vegetable medley using different combinations of vegetables depending on the season & their availability.

INGREDIENTS :

FLAT / HYACINTH BEAN : 250gm
POTATO : 1 big
RADISH : 2 [if using the small sized Indian ones, otherwise a big one]
EGGPLANT : 1big

CHOPPED CORIANDER : 2 tbsp

VIETNAMESE SAWTOOTH CORIANDER / MEXICAN CORIANDER / CULANTRO / BILITI DHONRPATA PASTE  : 2 TBSP
GREEN CHILLI : 4[slitted]
CUMIN POWDER : 1 tsp

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 tsp
TURMERIC POWDER : 1 tsp
SALT : As Required
NIGELLA SEED [KALONJI] : 1/4tsp [for tempering]
DRY RED CHILLI : 2 [halved]

BAY LEAF : 1
OIL : 2 tbsp [authentically Mustard Oil]

METHOD :

Here is the saw tooth coriander  or biliti dhonepata or culantro leaves paste.

Remove the skin of the potato and radish. Wash and cut half, then lengthwise. Wash and cut half the eggplants and then lengthwise. Cut each flat bean into two pieces, do not forget to take off the fibre from the inner side's mid-section.

Keep each in separate bowls and rub with turmeric powder and salt.

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the eggplant pieces and take out. Temper the remaining oil with the nigella seeds, bay leaf and the halved dry red chillies. 

Add the potato and radish pieces, stir and cover cook for 7-8 minutes. Add the washed flat bean pieces and the slitted green chillies. Fold in well.

Add the coriander powder, cumin powder and stir well. Cover cook for 5-6 minutes. Add the egg plant pieces, chopped and washed coriander leaves, culantro leaves paste.

Fold in well and cook for another 1-2  minutes. Add the sugar and fold in well. Cook for another  minute, take down.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Enjoy with steamed rice or chapati.

VEGETARIAN KHEEMA ROLL

This was our last night's dinner. My kitchen is not in a condition to cook. We just had a tiring shifting session last Friday and everything is messed up. Since then we are getting food from outside, or going out in between to have food. This does not work for long for a person like me. Besides, I am too unwilling and lethargic to go out even for a minute when the house is in total mess. I do enjoy the weekend dining ventures with my family and friends though. 

Yesterday afternoon, while watching an Indian television channel, I came across an advertisement  about a  Vegetarian Kathi Roll by a famous food brand of India. I was literally drooling and slurping and instantly decided I have to prepare this. Even few years back, I might not have given a single thought about a vegetarian Kathi roll. As I planned to prepare something similar, the man grumbled saying I always fail to set my priorities in life, that there is no wrong keeping off the kitchen for few days. I accept but what about the foodie in me who dream of food all the time, though publicly I show off as if I am a health conscious.

Now the food advertisements do not come with the recipe. There must be a number of similar recipes but I went ahead with my own because I had to do it with whatever was available at home. We are even unable to keep proper stock of vegetables, meat and fish at this time. Let us do the Vegetarian Kheema Roll together as per my ideas which definitely has a source somewhere. This is not an innovative self. I served it on store bought parathas topped with chopped onion, cucumber, tomato, chilli sauce and mayonnaise.

INGREDIENTS :

Potato : 1 big sized
Minced Soya : 1 coffee mug
Minced Onion : 4-5 tbsp
Minced Green Chilli : 1 tsp
Dry Mango Powder : 1 tsp

Kulambu Spice Mix : 2 tsp [it is a Southern Indian spice mix, alternatively use meat masala or tandoori masala or garam masala or your choice of spice mix]

Salt : As Required
Oil : 1 tsp [because I oven cooked, frying would require way more of oil]

METHOD :

Wash, peel, boil and mash the potatoes.

Soak the soy chunks in hot water for 1/2 an hour and drain the water, mince them.

Peel, wash, mince the onion, also wash & mince the chillies.

Mix together the boiled potato, minced soy, green chillies and onion, salt, dry mango powder, kulambu spice mix and the oil.

Shape them as I have done.

Grease an oven proof plate, arrange the kebabs on it.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven, I did place the low height wired stool inside and kept the oven proof plate with the kebabs on it.

I cooked them in the combination mode for 15 minutes. The rest of the toppings and decorations I leave it to your choices.

PAN FRIED SPICY PANEER

I had few visiting friends last week who I invited over lunch. Whenever there are guests at home, my concentration is more on the starters / appetisers rather, besides the mains. It is with appetisers / starters that we get cosy with guests / friends whom we are meeting after quite sometime. Meeting people is a breakthrough from an everyday routined life, hence it has to be a relaxed one with an equally convenient ambience and good food. As a host, I / we always try to make our guests feel comfortable and happy. At any get together at home, I prefer to keep both non vegetarian and vegetarian appetisers for my guests. On that particular day, it was an all ladies treat over lunch. The appetisers were less in number.... a fruit chat, a non vegetarian starter and this vegetarian starter of Pan Fried Spicy Paneer. I served it on a bed of sautéed onion and chillies. Let us prepare this quick and easy dish of Pan Fried Spicy Paneer together. 

Update : Although I am updating the the pictures on January, 2024, I wished to keep one of the previous pictures!

                           

INGREDIENTS :[for the pan fried paneer]

Paneer : 300 gm
Cumin Powder : 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/2 tsp
Aamchur Powder : 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Salt : As Required
Mustard Oil : 2+3 tbsp [for colour, other edible oil varieties can be used]

INGREDIENTS : [ for the sautéed onion and chillies]

Onion : 1 big sized
Red Chilli : 2 those big, fat variety
Green Chilli : 2 those big, fat variety
Black Pepper Powder : 1/2 tsp
Chat Masala : 1/2 tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 2 tsp

METHOD :

Cut the paneer block into smaller cubes. Marinate the paneer cubes with all of the spice powders, salt and 2 tbsp mustard oil. Keep aside for half an hour.

Peel, wash and slice the onions. Wash and chop the chillies.

Heat 2tsp oil in a wok. Add the sliced onions, saute till soft and pink. Add the chopped chillies. Once they are a bit soft, add the salt, black pepper and chat masala. Stir well for a minute.

Transfer to a serving plate.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan. Gently place the marinated paneer cubes on the pan discarding the marinade. We will cook all the sides for 1-2 minutes each at low heat.

Transfer to a tissue paper and then arrange atop the sautéed onion slices and chillies.

Serve hot with your choice of chutney.

EGG BAHAR

I was literally struggling to give a name to this egg curry..... it is not authentic of any place. After marriage, I saw my mother-in-law preparing an egg curry using lots of plain yogurt. The mother-son duo had been / are ardent egg lovers. There are some hilarious stories regarding my senior's love for an egg. In tune with his love for eggs, I do prepare egg curry on a regular basis. I do not think our son is an egg lover, he just eats because he has to, like his mother in this case. What we miss here is a duck egg, it is banned in the country we stay. It is not banned per say, I read during the Vietnam War, duck egg supply to this island got be difficult, the price of it increased and people took to chicken eggs. I think for most of the Bengalis, egg curry essentially means duck egg curry. At least this was the scene in our childhood. Some say duck eggs have health issues associated with it. These days I console myself believing in it.... grapes are always sour under certain circumstances.... hahaha.... Though not much of an egg lover when young, I liked the tangy and little sweet egg curry that the mom-in-law cooked with homemade yogurt. It definitely was not an authentic Bengali egg curry. I made some add ons in the curry this time, made it spicier, not that hot though.... and named it Egg Bahar. Let us prepare the easy, quick and yummy egg curry together.

INGREDIENTS :

EGG : 4-5
PLAIN YOGURT : 5-6 tbsp [beaten]
TOMATO  : 1medium [made to a paste]
CHILLI POWDER : 1 tsp
CUMIN POWDER : 1tsp
CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2tsp
FENNEL POWDER : 1/4tsp
CINNAMON POWDER : 2pinch
CARDAMOM POWDER : A pinch
TURMERIC POWDER : 1tsp
CASHEWNUT : 3-4
GINGER PASTE : 1tsp
GARLIC PASTE : 1/2tsp
ONION PASTE : 11/2tsp
CUMIN SEEDS : A pinch
BAYLEAF : 1
SALT : As Required
SUGAR : 1 tsp 
GHEE [CLARIFIED BUTTER] : 1/2tsp [optional]
CORIANDER LEAVES : 1tbsp [for garnish, optional]
OIL : 2-3 tbsp

METHOD : 

Wash the eggs and boil. Take off the shells and make small slits on both sides of each; apply a little of salt and turmeric. Prepare a paste with the yogurt and cashew nuts in a blender.

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the eggs lightly, keep aside. Temper the oil with cumin seeds and bay leaf.

Add the onion paste and fry for a minute. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and saute till the raw smell goes away.

Add the cashew nut n yogurt pastes and saute till the oil separates from the mixture. Add all of the powdered spices and salt except the cinnamon and cardamom powder, sugar, ghee and coriander leaves. Saute for a minute.

Add a cup of water. Let boil for 2 minutes. Add the fried eggs and boil for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cinnamon powder, cardamom powder, ghee, sugar. Stir and let boil for 1/2 a minute.

Transfer to a bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or Indian breads.

ASSORTED VEGETABLE PAKORA / FRITTER

Weekends are for indulgence. We do not bind ourselves to a rulebook and just let it be. For me it is a weeklong wait for lazy wake ups, chit chats, happy cooking, an elaborate lunch together, a cosy evening tea & snacks with the television on almost 24/. If we are not going anywhere or do not have any guests coming over, we love to relax over food, adda [chitchat] and movies. I feel if other family members live far off, we get bond tighter with the ones we live with. 

After a beautiful weekend, again it is a routined week. Though I am occupied with a couple of activities, I eagerly wait for the evenings for their homecoming. The more I am aging, the more mentally dependant I am getting to be. I cannot believe in the prime years of my life I lived months after months without my senior, which is quite normal of the mariners' wives. We are strong. My little boy missed his daddy so much so that he landed with a shore job. For the sake of that happiness, should not we be little indulgent  over the weekends and happily do some sinful eating ?.... We should.

The Indians / South Asians perhaps prepare fritter or pakoras with almost all vegetables. My men are not vegetable lovers, hence I need to play certain tricks with veggies to feed them the same, at times in the form of a kofta curry or preparing pakoras with them. The other day I had some veggies in the pantry like carrots, a bowl of shredded cabbage, few French beans... not enough to prepare a veggie dish... which my men will not love at all. Since I cannot comply with the idea of throwing away food, I thought of preparing some Assorted Vegetable Pakora / fritters with them. Let us prepare them together and enjoy with our evening tea or coffee.

INGREDIENTS :

Carrot : 1
Long / French Beans : 5-6 
Cabbage : 1/4th of one small sized
Onion : 1
Green Chilli : 3-4 
Parsley / Coriander Leaves : 2 
Rice Flour : 1/2 small tea cup
Gram Flour : 1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt : As required
Sugar : 1tsp [optional]
Oil : 100-150ml [to deep fry]

METHOD :

Peel and wash the carrots, onions. Wash the French beans, green chillies, cabbage and the coriander leaves discarding the roots. Mince all of them in batches. I do it in a hand mincer.

Add the gram flour, rice flour, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder to the washed and minced vegetables. Mix well. We need not add any amount of water, the vegetables would release water.

Heat the oil in a wok up to the smoking point, lower the heat to the least. Fry the pakoras in batches until brown on both the sides. Place them onto tissue papers.

After sometime, transfer them onto  individual plates and serve with a pickle or chutney or sauce of your choice.

DALIA N DRY FRUIT LADOO

 

These Dalia n Dry fruit Ladoos were made a few days back as a part of a celebration at home. This is definitely not a family recipe, I hardly remember dalia [broken wheat] ever featuring on our mom's monthly ration list.... saying this I travel many a years back... visualising the lady carrying two heavy bags with groceries, carrying us to the school and back, going to the wet market, cooking, cleaning, doing everything with only one part-time help. Daddy being in the nationalised banking services was posted elsewhere at intervals. This was perhaps the picture of every middle class home back then. Though in decent jobs, their concept of living was different. They strongly believed in simple living and infused in us the valuable lessons of being down to the earth.

We might have come a long way which is hard earned, yet we strongly embrace our middle class values. We should not stagnate at one place neither should we forget our roots. Yet when people too close to heart misjudge you as a snob, you feel extremely hurt and broken. You suddenly feel choked and speechless in the harshness of the situation. What if you do not wish or unable to share the pain with anyone? What if you firmly believe modesty is the finest jewellery one can adorn? One cannot or should not be disrespectful unless there is a serious attack on their self respect. In such situations, go for a movie, or relax yourself with some cooking. With a realisation that talking and expressing less earns you peace, I will do considerable amount of cooking this evening after I finish sharing my philosophical notes with the world with a sweet something.

By now you might have known that my blog is as much about life and philosophy as it is about food. There is perhaps hardly any food blogger with such less knowledge of food like me. I do not even understand the ethics and protocol the food world works on. I feel suffocated at times. As some friends say "Soma, stop writing recipes and try at least some short stories". Knowing myself the best that I lack the vocabulary, in-depth knowledge, deep insights perhaps, I reject their suggestions.

Why should I stop cooking and sharing recipes? I have inherited the love for cooking from our mother and grandmother. I believe writing skills are God gifted, one can sharpen it with time and experience but no way can we develop it from the scratch. 

Just back from a lot of work, I got some 'me' time to share a recipe of a simply made sweet ladoo with you all. As told earlier, it is not a family recipe. Everyday, I go through a couple of such recipes using amazing combinations. I do keep dalia / broken wheat in my pantry for myself. My men would not have dalia khichdi or upma but trust me, they loved this ghee flavoured sweet made of dalia and dry fruits. They tasted really well and were quick and simple to do. Come, let us do the yummy DALIA N DRY FRUIT LADOO together.

INGREDIENTS :

Dalia / Broken Wheat : 1 big cup
Almond : 6-7
Walnut : 5-6
Cashew nut : 7-8
Sugar : 4-5 tbsp
Green Cardamom : 3-4

Rice Flour : 1 tbsp
Ghee [clarified butter] : 2-3 tbsp

You may use your choice of dry fruit combinations.


METHOD :

Microwave the dry fruits for 30 seconds and crush them.

Soak the broken wheat in water for an hour and drain the water through a strainer, wash, let all of the water drain away.

In a wok, add 2-3 big cups of water, the sugar and the slightly torn green cardamoms.

As the water starts boiling vigorously, add the broken wheat and give a stir.

Keep the flame at low. When the water starts drying up, add the crushed dry fruits and 1 tbsp of ghee / clarified butter.

Keep stirring continuously for 3-4 minutes, add the rice flour and another tbsp of ghee, fold in well and transfer to a plate.

Once cool a bit, knead for a minute and shape into round balls.

This may not be the way how the rest prepare a dalia ladoo / sweet, but we prefer it this way; making a halwa of it and then the round sweets from it.

For a richer taste, do use milk instead of water, I am not much of friends with milk.