STOVETOP BENGALI GRANOLA

 

THIS TAKES ME BACK IN TIME!

In fact, when I first saw muesli, granola as food items; I immediately got transported to my childhood! Big tins of "KHOI, MURI, CHIRER UPRA BA MURKI"; TOSSED PUFFED / POPPED / BEATEN RICE IN JAGGERY were made by the grandmother all alone and stored. For fifteen, twenty days post any special prayer meet at the grandparent's home; everyone would have that HOMEMADE BENGALI GRANOLA topped with shredded COCONUT for the breakfast! I have spent a considerable period of my childhood at the maternal grandparent's home, so such memories are vivid! The father's side too did the same kind of cooking; a major part of his side lived in Assam! They still do, so I cannot give an experienced account of that part of the family as we did not frequent each other! Only the father's eldest brother's family lived in Nabadwip, that too half of the family; a few of their seven boys lived in Assam. People are wrong when they say everyone wants a male child; my jethu-jethi had eight boys in total, of which one died at age 12! Do you mean they wanted only boys in a not so well off financial setup? Jethu being the son of a well off business house in & from Bangladesh; hardly studied or wanted to have his own earning. The man of flaws loved me and our mother so much! Actually, for long I was the only reigning child in the maternal side, the mother's siblings got married and bore kids way later; in the father's side I had the "shat bhai Champa" status for long! Anyway, till date I love 'khoi, muri, chirey, gur narkol diye" any day but I am a diabetic! Its only after starting to blog, I have learnt a little about the world cuisine. I look at granola and giggle, "arey, eto amader khoi / muri / narkol er upra!"

A FEW HOURS IN THE OPEN HELPS!

I was out of home around 12:50 pm, around 1:55 pm it felt let me eat something; so had that rice free meal in a local food court.

The plate has blanched greens I enjoy, a saucy fish & fried chicken; may be salted egg yolk chicken! Although, we should not walk immediately after eating; I took a slow walk for sometime and was finally back home sometime after 3 pm, I had walked only 5 km, that too at a slow pace! I could not be better, I am menstruating since the morning after a gap of 3-4 months! With menopause at the door step, its not a pleasant body condition! I look back at life and see myself very unfit in this smart world. People are doing so many things, they are so upfront with multifarious  qualities. Look at me, I only want either to sit idle with a choice of book or go out in the greens! Whatever I do, wherever I go, food has to be there. Around 4 pm; I ate that "poori-halwa-chana" meal. This is not a Bengali thing to have, I got curious watching the non-Bengali world making it a lot as part of their offering to the God. So, this morning, I had soaked some black chana! Back from my walk, after a shower, I boiled the chana & cooked a super quick halwa following one of MasterChef Sanjot Keer's recipe; the poori dough was there in the refrigerator!

The rest had what I cannot eat! Earlier in the morning, Cristine cooked and packed the man's lunch box with egg-cheese-pasta, her lunch was the same. 

The son would have loved too, but he is having this kind of food there, one day he told he was having macncheese for dinner. Mumma would feed him her choice of cooked food when we meet next!

WHAT IS STOVETOP BENGALI GRANOLA?

I mean to say cannot we call some ghee or oil toasted popped / puffed / beaten rice tossed in jaggery, in addition to some dry fruits as BENGALI GRANOLA? Anything cooked on a gas stove can be referred to as stovetop cooking! May be the remote area homes in India still uses kerosene stove. Our mother always has a kerosene run stove as a standby; it was from my childhood! I remember scenes from that time; the buying of new sholte / wick; the superb homemaker with great hygiene sense mother's cleaning of the stove; it stood as an example of her cleanliness freak self as compared to the stoves of other homes. Way before her, I saw the grandmother using a heater kind of, usually used to make the morning tea, her clay ovens took time to lighten. That heater was defective and would often catch fire. Today it feels, the house could have burnt down into ashes because of that heater! I stand witness to history it seems. Bhai is not bothered about all these details; he was only interested in the uncles' cars' & bikes' mechanisms! In this curious case of a VEGAN & GLUTEN-FREE, STOVETOP BENGALI GRANOLA, I only added some PUMPKIN SEEDS & DRY FRUITS and lessened the use of JAGGERY because I am a diabetic. I want it every evening with my tea or coffee, cannot have for the same reason of been a diabetic! We can offer this to the God Family on the occasion of any prayer meet!

INGREDIENTS :

PUFFED RICE / MURI : 11/2 COFFEE MUG

BEATEN RICE / CHIREY : 1/2 COFFEE MUG

POPPED RICE / KHOI : 2 COFFEE MUG

JAGGERY : 1/4 SMALL TEA CUP [HONEY CAN BE USED TOO]

CASHEW NUT : 7-8 HALVED

WALNUT : 7-8 BROKEN

PUMPKIN SEED : 1 TBSP

OIL : 2 TBSP [GHEE CAN BE USED TOO]

PROCEDURE :

Clear off each variety of the rice grains of any existing husk! Take them in separate bowls.

Heat the oil enough but not to the smoking point! Add the beaten rice / chirey at first, roast at low to minimal heat for 7-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Roast the khoi / popped rice thereafter for 3-4 minutes and transfer to a bowl.

If the puffed rice / muri is crisp, we do not need to roast it; else we would for few minutes!

Dry roast the dried nuts & seeds for 4-5 minutes & take out!

Add the jaggery & 2-3 tbsp of water to the wok. Let it boil at minimal heat for 7-8 minutes or until the mixture gets sticky.

Add the puffed rice / muri at first; fold in well. Add the roasted beaten rice / chirey and fold in well. Add the roasted popped rice / khoi and fold in well!

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the roasted nuts & seeds, mix well. Once a bit cool, transfer to a clean, dry container!

Please Note : I am a diabetic, hence used less amount of jaggery, you can use as per your requirement!

MAACH ER DIM ER TOK

 

FISH EGG RANKS HIGH AMONG MY MOST LOVED FOOD!

Its about 5:20 pm in the evening now; I am so late to start! I felt going ahead with an EASY FAMILY RECIPE would be the right thing to do today! I had an appointment in the morning with the doctor, I was walking thereafter, then sat to eat a bun set that costed me 2:50$. That was sometime around 1:30pm. I am completely in a relaxed mode / mood when I am eating. 

I came back home sometime post 2 pm and just sat for sometime, asking Cristine to have her lunch! The son neither took our call nor called us back over the weekend, hence, mumma is a bit off, else her blood sugar & pressure readings are good! Then I felt, lets take a good shower; the hair required a good shampooing, the lethargic self was delaying it! That took pretty good time, I felt as fresh as ever! Yet, there was a lingering bitterness since the morning, that only multiplied with time! In whatever mood I am, that does not affect my appetite unless my own are in trouble! So, I made my own homestyle tandoori roti because Cristine is not good at roti; she makes good luchi-porota!

I had that fulfilling meal sometime around 4:15 pm. Bossy too took "makhon makhano ruti o aloo-potol er dalna" in his lunch box. He is not picking up my phone, I cannot remember when did I stop expecting his call asking me about my health parameters after a check-up! 

IT IS 6:15 PM NOW, I CRAVE FOR SOME KURKURE BHINDI WITH MY EVENING CUPPA!

And the bell rang, today is a Monday and the man is back home! A sigh of relief is released; ever since my teens, this guy had been always by my side whenever the need arose; people left uninformed, he stood strong! The reason I tolerate him. Cristine is cooking some air-fried okra for me! Now, the man says he had a Bento Box in the office, would have the morning packed lunch box for dinner. I quietly asked Cristine to take out the chicken dry curry! I will have dal, chicken and salad! Carb at dinner in the past 15 days have added 2 kilos to my over weight self! I have to put a check on it, I do not intent to exhibit my obese self to bring in money, people and fame to myself and my blog! At this time, I am again back to an irritated self because the man brought back his lunch box, I do not want him to eat those morning made chapatis but he has to! You cannot put food to waste at this home! Whatever my mood is, it cannot disturb my blog; I love writing about recipe and my bit in CURRY AND SPICE; my precious FOOD BLOG!

WHAT IS MAACH ER DIM ER TOK?

MAACH ER DIM ER TOK is a SOUR TAMARIND CURRY with FISH EGG! This is a FAMILY RECIPE, we have been eating this NON-VEG CURRY since our childhood! My family always does this curry with BENGAL CARP EGG; my readers can use their choice of FISH EGG! I follow exact our mother's recipe of it; I think the entire family, both the father's & mother's side uses the same way of cooking it! We soak a bit of tamarind in a bowl of water. In another bowl we mix together red chilli powder, salt, turmeric, slitted green chillies. We fry lightly the fish egg pieces and cook in a tempered curry! The "radhuni phoron" is the most important part of our family recipe of MAACH ER TOK! After coming to this island, I do not wait for a summer to have SOUR CURRIES; a tropical climate lets you pamper yourself with it any time! Thats what I do, if I get in hand a fresh Bengal Carp fish in hand, I would cook a sour curry with it, if it has good amount of eggs in it, a curry with potato or a fried fish eggs or this sour curry is a must!

INGREDIENTS :

FISH EGG : 250-300 GM [WE USE BENGAL CARP EGG]

CARUM ROXBURGHIANUM SEED / RADHUNI / AJMOD : 1/4 TSP

TAMARIND : 2 TSP [YOU CAN USE HALF OF A RAW MANGO]

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 2-3

HALVED DRY RED CHILLI : 1 OR 2

RED CHILLI POWDER : 2 TSP [USE AS PER YOUR TOLERANCE LEVEL]

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

RICE FLOUR : 1 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 3-4 TBSP

PROCEDURE : 

Wash the fish egg block well, cut into pieces. Marinate with salt & half of the turmeric & the rice flour. Keep aside for 10 minutes!

Soak the tamarind in a coffee mug!

Take together the rest of the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, washed & slitted green chillies!

Heat the oil in a wok, lightly fry the fish egg pieces in batches!

Take them out once fried! Temper the remaining oil with the radhuni / ajmod seeds and the halved dry red chillies. 

Add the powdered spices and slitted green chillies mixed water! Bring to a boil keeping the heat to minimal.

As the curry starts boiling, add the fried fish eggs! Let it boil at low heat for 4-5 minutes. Thereafter, strain the tamarind water and add. You can add one or two slitted green chillies at this stage.

Let the curry boil for another 3-4 minutes at low heat. My family add a bit of "radhuni / ajmod" seeds paste to the sour curry for an awesome, distinct flavour! I skip this part because it is impossible to paste so less amount of the seeds in a mixer. The mother says, we can skip that!

You can see we have some dal & aloo-paneer on the side!

AIR FRYER RAW BANANA POTATO CROQUETTE

 

OATS IS BEST USED IN A SAVOURY SNACK OR CAKE IN MY KITCHEN!

Yes, may be I do not buy a jar of oats looking forward to a healthier, reduced weight avatar of mine. In every matter, I am halfway there; I indeed use oats to get a healthier cake or a snack. But I do not eat it following all the parameters of healthy eating! If I am making an oats tikki using potato, onion, chillies & the necessary spices in it; I fear my weight loss mission would not be that fruitful and it is so. I have crossed 50 and had been an obese to over weight all my life. My weight loss journey would demand a lot of sacrifice & hard work. I am unable to commit myself to that. T's apathy or no interest in food & eating causes irritation, even pain in me! If I force myself to enter into a strict diet regime; all the fun in my life would go away. To live, we need to cling onto some kind of activity we enjoy! Eating is my favourite activity, if only there had people at home to appreciate it, to enjoy eating and asking for more variety or ask me to cook this or that! Since the son has left home, it seems I have nothing to do! I anyway cannot indulge in partying and talking endlessly! In the scenario; if I get some food orders, my hobby of cooking gets an outlet, the incoming dollars also taste very sweet! So far what I have loved using oats are a roasted moong & oats spicy khichuri / hotchpotch; oats upma which must have potatoes, oats & vegetables cutlets or croquettes! I can have oats smoothie once every month, but oats with mango can be a regular affair for me!

I ALWAYS PLAN FOOD!

Right at this moment, I am planning what SNACK to prepare for my evening tea / coffee time, some 2 hours from now. I started late to write my BLOGPOST today. I felt this EASY MAKE STARTER can be a good one to treat all the brothers on the occasion of Rakhi Poornima / Raksha Bandhan! I hope our only son gets to tie one from his friends! Bhai anyway prefers to eat outside food; with a number of food delivery apps operating, the duo's eating outside food multiplied, with that the mother's displeasure about it. She was always against eating store bought food; our father was strictly against it! I try to pacify, "what would they do in that Barrackpore, that too during this pandemic"! I am moderate, I balance! T's family had been always buying from outside kind; his mother hated cooking, sister too dislikes. The present day T hardly wants to eat out; he eats what I cook, that too with a lot of restrictions. I will now arrange for some AIR FRIED SNACKER for the evening munching; may be with oats, yogurt, last week's yellowing coriander leaves, onion, green chillies, chaat masala! How does it sound? Around 3:30 pm, I had a fulfilling lunch; one would not have eaten anything until the dinner time.

I do not eat a tea or coffee time snack out of hunger; its a habit that gives me pleasure. I am game for what makes me happy! What is there to live for if I denounce every thing? Even many of the saints do not! I am a mere mortal being who is happy if her food plate is full and her own are safe & healthy! I was doing the preparation of the oats tikkis to be made in the oven; I was not willing to cut a big onion, running out of the shallots, also need to buy yogurt starter tomorrow! I know I would still enjoy it with my hot cuppa!

And here is the update, sugar free black coffee is here and the healthy oats tikki, they are good, adding onion would made them better!

WHAT IS THIS AIR-FRYER RAW BANANA POTATO CROQUETTE?

Amazing enough; I went to an English Medium School [I call it Benglish]; I hardly called all these as a croquette; these were always chop / cutlet for me. Certain questions cross my mind; was there oats already existing in the Western World in our younger days? Both of us siblings are happy go lucky; we did not aspire for big things in life at that time, one should! I have developed a habit to search / post any damn question in Google. T explained any question so nicely earlier if he knew about it. These days he does not have the patience or it depends upon his mood! All day I keep munching & search the net for this and that or watch a movie or series! I am not a knowledgeable person; earlier I had read so many different genres; mostly of the Russian writers; I forgot Pavel was a prominent character of which novel. I never had good memory, these days I am losing it! Anyway, I remembered to ask the mother to get bhai a rakhi, at least make one with the homegrown flowers! About this AIR FRYER RAW BANANA POTATO CROQUETTE, it is a VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE SNACK prepared with RAW BANANA, POTATO, PEANUTS, FRESH CORIANDER, SPICES in the AIR-FRYER! It is OATS CRUSTED, hence we are relieved of the breading procedure!

INGREDIENTS :

BOILED RAW BANANA : 2

BOILED POTATO : 1

CRUSHED PEANUT : 1 TBSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/2 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 TSP

CHOPPED CORIANDER : 1 TBSP

CUMIN SEED : 1/4 TSP

SUGAR : 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

CHAAT MASALA : TO SPRINKLE

OATS : A CUP FULL TO COAT

CORNFLOUR : 1/4 TEA CUP FOR BATTER

OIL : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

We would peel the potato & raw bananas, cut half, wash and take in a pressure cooker. We would add 2 coffee mugs of water, a little of salt and close tight the lid!

We would pressure cook it at minimal heat up to 2 whistles and wait to cool. On cooling, we will open the lid, discard the water and mash the vegetables.

We will heat the oil in a wok and temper it with the cumin seeds & the chopped & washed green chillies. We will add the boiled & mashed vegetables to it!

We will fold in well and add the cumin+coriander+red chilli+turmeric powders, salt & sugar and stir cook for 4-5 minutes. 

We will add the chopped & washed coriander leaves, stir cook for 1/2 a minutes and take down!

On cooling, we will add the crushed peanuts and mix well!

We will shape the dough portions into croquettes. We will prepare a cornflour and water mixture, thicker! We will take the oats in a bowl.

We will dip each into the flour batter and then coat with the oats. We will repeat!

Once done, we will grease the air-fryer bowl with oil, place the uncooked croquettes in it!

You can see I cooked at 180* for 15 minutes, later cooked it for 5 minutes more!

I do not know much about an air frier, this is a basic one gifted by a friendly family! I am yet not perfect with it but it gets me yummy munchies!

After 15 minutes, they were this and I again cooked for 5 minutes. My oats was running out and one was coated with semolina; it broke!

In a hurry to eat, I did not refrigerate the readied uncooked ones, they are better when done so!

Anyway, they tasted great and we had them for dinner along with a saucy baby corn I made too!

MICROWAVE E PANEER SNACK

I HATED MILK; LOVED CHANA-MURI-CHINI!

I am really honest about this declaration! I dislike milk more than any medicine, I could never take the smell of milk, nor was able to digest it. However, I loved the milk products; pithey-payesh to a mere chana / HOMEMADE BENGALI COTTAGE CHEESE! Sitting to write this post, memories rush in; from the sole cow that the maternal grand parents' home had, to how the maternal uncles used to divide among themselves the work load of preparing the fodder for the domesticated animal, to that fateful night when it died, to been an witness of how a calf is given birth to; and later my ritual to go to the "Khatal Kakuder bari" in DumDum with the jugs, on evenings when the mother could not! Every day, "dudh antey jaoa" was a job! Those uncles came to deliver in our neighbourhood but the mother insisted we get the freshest, without any water added to the just milched cows & buffaloes. I vividly remember that diary farm owned by few brothers; I think we were closer to the second brother; forgot his name, also forgot if we called him kaku or jethu! He loved us a lot. It was an one storied home, square shaped, of which one side was the animal farm; rest were the rooms of the brothers' family with a courtyard in the middle. On evenings, kaku went with the supply to the neighbourhood homes; his wife would sit in that courtyard; we queued in front! Kaku's wife never smiled, as a kid I did not like her frown; kaku was jovial and soft natured; always wearing a white sando, folded dhoti and a red gamcha tied around his waist! I forgot his name. What I hear is that dairy farm is no more, perhaps their home is there. Let me visit that area one day when I travel to India next, when we do not know!

CHANA-PANEER-DUDH ER KHATAL TO A DUMPLING SOUP; EVERY FOOD STORY HOLDS SIGNIFICANCE IN MY LIFE!

May be twenty years down the line, I will live to tell the story of having the best & authentic dumpling soup in this island! Kolkata Momo does not attract me anymore, it wont't later! I see myself loving food until the moment I breathe my last! I enjoy clicking the food I eat when. Yesterday afternoon, I had some work in the mall opposite. Thereafter, I sat in the food court to have a dumpling soup; I make it a supreme delight adding the sauces & seasonings! It was already 6:30 pm when I was done with it, people were having their dinner! I bought Sushi for the man; I bought a cream stuffed, cheese topped bread too! Not so fond of Sushi, neither hungry, I ate the last few of the palmyra fruit fritters & and the cream bun with sugar & milk free coffee at night! The way I am eating mango, rajgeera-jaggery bar & taal er bora; I do not know where my blood sugar count would reach! A bit of swimming & walking do not help much!

Everything at home would have been hunky-dory if people cared a little bit about the homemaking, took interest in it! At 7:30 pm, I came back home to see dark all around. It was the help's off day and no one bothered to switch on the lights after the sunset. We specially do not keep the God family in dark until the evening prayer is done, they have their dinner and go to sleep! I hope, staying alone without any help would teach the son at least certain things! Anyway, I continue with my life, eating and doing what I am required to; people are not in the habit of saying a sorry! I had a good lunch sometime back made with ragi & wheat flour batter, mixed vegetables & red lentils. Thereafter, a yogurt & mango bowl made me feel complete!

I am really feeling sleepy at this time! I had the wish to share a rustic, family Bengali recipe today; may be something with dried prawns or arum stem. But, its an auspicious week, Purnima / full moon is approaching! I cannot share just anything, I do not mind sharing a super cool & easy VEGETARIAN, GLUTEN-FREE MICROWAVE MADE SNACK!

WHAT IS THIS MICROWAVE E PANEER SNACK?

Chana; the BENGALI COTTAGE CHEESE is in making in our family for ages, so should be in other Bengali Families. But particularly, PANEER is always store bought whenever it is / was made. We have been eating it ever since it was introduced in the Kolkata sweet shops. In those days there were no super marts to sell it. An all vegetarian Thursday became easier for us siblings with paneer-potato curry on our plate. From then, till date we enjoy it. I usually get my paneer here from the Mustafa Centre, the frozen packs. We also get fresh paneer supply here, the price per kilogram is just double. I am just fine with the Nanak's & Kohinoor's frozen product; so good are they that I may not enjoy the Kolkata Sweet Shop's paneer varieties anymore! I do not go to Kolkata for paneer, not for anything I get here but for the fresh water fish varieties; which are sold frozen here! I must have paneer in stock, I would love it more any day than eating a smelly sea fish! This MICROWAVE E PANEER SNACK has the simplest marination and is perhaps the easiest to cook. The only thing is we have to eat it immediately after been cooked to enjoy the crisp outside and soft inside feeling! For a vegan version, use Tofu instead!

INGREDIENTS :

PANEER : 250-300 GM [I USED A SLAB OF 200 GM]

DRIED HERB MIX : 1 TSP

ALL PURPOSE  SEASONING : 1/2 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 1 TBSP

MELTED BUTTER : 2-3 TBSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/4 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

PROCEDURE :

Wash the paneer and add rest of all the ingredients to it!

Mix well and keep it covered for 1-2 hours!

I cooked the marinated paneer cubes in the microwave+grill option on my microwave machine; so had to place the low height wired stool inside!

On top of it, I kept the metal plate that had been greased and placed on it the marinated paneer cubes!

I cooked at 300 power, in microwave+grill option for 8-10 minutes. Done, serve after rubbing a bit more of lemon juice! Have immediately with some salad alongside!

 

ALOO MATAR MURGI

 

I AM NOT A GOOD SOUP MAKER!

But I love quite a few variety of soups! Oriental Soups, specially the Indian version of them are my favourite. I remember, whilst our stay in Kolkata; whenever we dined out during our courtship or post marriage, I would definitely have a bowl of warm soup. I was not into hard drinks then. I specially liked the lemon-coriander chicken soup and chicken manchow soup and shorba; yes! When I landed in this island, I knew the first two Oriental Soup varieties are heavily twisted to suit the Indian tastebuds! I even love this island's authentic soups, given you allow me to add enough sauces in them. I am too fond of Fish Maw Soup; I was of Shark Fin Soup too but avoid it after learning Shark Fin hunting is illegal. At home, I can make good dal soup & tomato soup. For making a good Oriental soup you either need an array of seasonings & sauces or a flair for Oriental cooking! I think I would not stock so many varieties of sauces at home, I just lack that thing required for cooking a variety of cuisines. I enjoy cooking with the limited resources I have at home, FOOD that requires less expertise! I also lack the deep knowledge about FOOD & CUISINE, unlikely to gear up my socks to grab some. Learning & deep thinking is not for me! I enjoy roaming around alone, eating here and there. I went to the local market to get some non-vegetarian items; came back, now writing in the blog; would go for an hour of walk; come back and have a late lunch! You get  no prize for saying I may eat a little something outside; a soup or an egg tart!

HOW TO MEET SOUP CRAVING AT HOME?

I do what you see. If not soups, I cook LIGHT CURRIES at home, it can be of MEAT, FISH, DAL or even of EGG! I enjoy them and the rest in the family do not bother about the texture of the curry if they get a nicely cooked meat, fish or eggs. Okay, the man does not want too many spices in his food, Cristine is a Filipino anyway, the son's heat tolerance level is like me, moderate; the brother likes South Asian spicy food; his wife and mother often eat proper soups these days! What is so wrong to adapt my kind of SOUPY CURRIES? The mother refuses to agree; she would want soup & authentic Bengali Curries separately in life! I will not work so much! The brother's wife enjoys soupy fish & meat curries, I wanted to share today something she likes! Actually, I was to share today a vegan, gluten-free cake I was trying to prepare yesterday with coconut flour! After this flaw & that, it turned to be a vegan, gluten-free snack bar.

Actually, the measurements went wrong; the fruit pulp paste used was more as compared to the amount of coconut flour used. Let me try again and once again! Cooking does not require effort & energy at this home, I have a natural flair for it; more because I have a full time help with me! My tiredness is because I am physically unfit since my birth I think; I was never into any kind of sports. I am that lazy girl till date who loves her Sherlock Holmes to Feluda, Ghanada, Teni da to Aranyadeb to Hada-Bhoda to Bikele Bhorer Mrityu to the description of Derbyshire in Jane Austen's sitting at the corner of her couch! I am thankful to people who let me be! Only if the son did his college from home, I could live a stress free life!

WHAT IS THIS ALOO MATAR MURGI?

What is ALOO? The majority of Indians call POTATO as ALOO! What is MATAR? That is GREEN PEAS! What is MURGI? It is THE Bengali of CHICKEN!The parents were fond of the North Indian ALOO MATAR CURRY with NAAN or TANDOORI ROTI on their tours of India. The mother would have dosa-idli-utthapam but the daddy only liked authentic Bengali Food, else North Indian Food outside of home! So, we are quite acquainted with a green or yellow peas curry since childhood which was thick & spicy with onion & tomato. I like it but this particular GLUTEN-FREE, MEAT & VEGETABLES CURRY is way lighter from the original! ALOO MATAR MURGI is a SOUPY CURRY with POTATOES, TOMATO, CHICKEN, ONION, GARLIC & few SPICES! This is how I replicate soups at home, I am unable to have bland food! With a touch of a magic wand called spices; soups turn onto tasty, HEALTHY CURRIES at my home! Thats good na? I had served the man paratha & CHICKEN CURRY while I had it as a soup, there was dal & dragon fruit too!

INGREDIENTS :

CHICKEN : 500 GM [ I USED BONELESS STRIPS]

POTATO : 1 BIG

TOMATO : 1 STANDARD

GREEN PEA : 1/2 OF A SMALL TEA CUP

SLICED ONION : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 3-4

MINCED GARLIC : 1 TBSP

MINCED GINGER : 1 TSP

CHOPPED LEMON GRASS : 2 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 2 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 2 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

DRY MANGO POWDER : 1 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 3-4 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

We with peel, cut and wash the potato. We will wash thoroughly the chicken pieces. We will take together the potatoes and chicken pieces and marinate with the salt, turmeric & red chilli powder! Keep aside for half an hour.

If we are using chicken on bone, the potatoes are to be taken separately; the marination time for the chicken would be one to one & half hours! 

We have the spices ready, dressed & washed!

We will heat the oil in a wok and add the chopped lemon grass, minced garlic & ginger!

We will stir cook at low heat for 2-3 minutes and add the sliced onions!

We will keep stir cooking at low heat until the onions turn soft and translucent!

We will add the marinated chicken and stir cook at high heat for 3-4 minutes!

Thereafter, we will reduce the heat to low and add the potatoes; fold in well!

We will wash, chop and add the tomatoes, the cumin+coriander+dry mango powders to the wok!

We will fold in well!

We will stir cook at low heat for 4-5 minutes and add 2 coffee mugs of warm water!

We will fold in well and add the washed & slitted green chillies! We will cover cook at low heat for 10-12 minutes!

We will remove the cover, add the green peas and simmer uncovered for another 7-8 minutes!

On that day, we also had "dhyarosh bhaja, tomato diye mushurir dal, kochu-chingrir dalna" alongside; just the kind of food we like; our family way!