FAMILY WINTER TIME VEGETABLES RICE

 SHAAM HONE KO HAI & I AM IN THE MOOD TO WRAP MYSELF WITH A THIN BED SPREAD & WATCH ANYTHING OF INTEREST!

"Shaam hone ko hai" means it's time for the sundown! I am in the mood to watch a thriller or anything of interest! There may not be a winter season in this island but between the months of October & February, its monsoon here & feels cool & dry! I wonder why we experience a drier skin, a winter time attribute sitting in an island! I like almost everything about this island, not the climate! I got burnt totally & my skin got destroyed! You can blame it on the tropical sun! I am not in the habit of applying this & that cream on skin! Most of the days, I go out without applying the sunscreen lotion & end up with an itchy skin! A little over a decade back my skin was soft & supple! I am not a multitasker but today I have decided to let play Kishore Kumar's hits; Sagar Kinare dil ye Pukare to Leena o Leena Dil Tune Cheena to Dil Kya Karen Jab Kisisse Kisi Ko Pyar Ho Jaye! I remember all of the fuss, rules created with regards to the film Julie! In this context, what a South Asian woman has to go through if caught up in such a situation, even today! We look at the West & see how the society & the celebrities flaunt their unwed parental status! I am too strict about not commenting on such things! Every country would have it's own set of rules, we cannot compare those with others! I need to study sociology in it's depth, do a post doctorate & then comment on what is right & wrong for us! The kind of person I am, I would vote for certain kind of restraints, even if it causes us pain, a compromise with our happiness! In a multicultural, multi linguistic society like in India, we cannot let chaos set in! The man & the son are  liberated souls but mumma constantly keeps warning, asks them to be at par with our culture! I have specifically told the son to stay away from the strangers! Anyway, my job is to get you good food, so I do! Else the thought of the son staying alone in an unknown land kills me!

IT FEELS GOOD TO SHARE A FAMILY BENGALI RECIPE THAT THE ENTIRE WORLD MORE OR LESS CAN HAVE!

Most of the time, what I get you as my family recipes are rustic which the majority of you may not understand! Regional Cuisines are like that, beyond a certain geographical boundary, people cannot identify with it! What comes as a barrier are the availability of the ingredients & tastebuds! We are a middle class Bengali family, the recipes for daily consumption had been normal vegetables & fish or meat curries; never restaurant style! A normal Bengali Home would never cook restaurant style regular! Our mother still keeps cooking authentic, homely Bengali Food even though the rest in the family would want a rice pilau & chicken! Even I plan to cook rustic Bengali less but end up doing them every Saturday! To us it is like preserving our own food culture! You take or do not take, at least my blog should have the recipe of "maan kochu bata" or "pui metuli bhaja" or "ruti, suji o shada aloor chocchori"! We eat normal, Indian Food on a daily basis & my lunch was "thin porota, peyazkoli-aloo bhaja, aloo-potol er dalna, achar"!

WHAT IS THIS FAMILY WINTER VEGETABLES RICE?

This rice bowl our mother used to do every winter quite often! In those days; cauliflower, green peas & carrots were available only in the winters! The taste was unmatched! In the present day, we get most of the vegetables throughout the year, the taste of them is surely compromised! This rice dish is in true sense a "khichuri" / hotchpotch dish! Our mother used "polao er chal", the rice grain meant for pilaf but the dish was / is not cooked how a polao is meant to be cooked! A fried rice is made by draining the water after cooking, then stir frying but a pilau is cooked together with the measured water! A pulao uses dry fruits & sugar among us! This vegan, gluten-free vegetables & rice dish; FAMILY WINTER TIME VEGETABLES RICE is stir fried but uses sugar in it, only specific vegetables! It uses French Beans too, I forgot to get! We used to enjoy it with a light chicken curry on a Sunday lunch time! Whilst a fried rice or pilau is eaten usually with a dry curry, veg or non-veg! It hurts you know; I am unable to feed my son all these stuffs he so loves! In his country, I have seen The Stop & Shop, Roche Brothers, Trader's Joe selling oriental fried rice hot & fresh! I ask him to get, but such shops are not rampant in the neighbourhoods the way we have them here or back in Kolkata! I am more worried during these winters what he says he likes! Our mother always used a mix of ghee & oil for this recipe, I used only oil to keep it vegan! That is a compromise on the flavour part!

INGREDIENTS :

FRAGRANT RICE [KALIJEERA / CHINIGURA / GOBINDA BHOG] : 1 1/2 COFFEE MUG

CAULIFLOWER: 1 SMALL

GREEN PEA: 1 SMALL BOWL

CARROT : 1

CASHEW NUT : 1 TBSP

BAYLEAF : 2-3

CINNAMON STICK : 3-4 HALF INCH SIZED

CLOVE : 4-5

GREEN CARDAMOM : 4-5

SALT : AS REQUIRED

SUGAR : 2 TSP

OIL : 1 SMALL TEA CUP [I USED CANOLA]

THE FAMILY USES GHEE TOO FOR FLAVOUR

Wash the rice grains well & cook in enough boiling water until 70% done! Pour on a colander & let the water drain thoroughly!

Cut & wash the cauliflower, carrots; also the green peas! Soak the  cauliflower florets in hot water! 

I made a mistake here! Do not mix together the carrot & cauliflower together, we will add them to the oil at different times!

Drain the water after 10 minutes and add salt, mix well! 

Warm the oil & fry the cashew nuts, take out! Heat the oil & add the whole spices, give a stir! Add the cauliflower sans the marinade!

Mind it, we would fry the cauliflower at medium heat & not at low, so it fries well & do not get soggy!

Better we add the carrot strips & green peas when the cauliflowers are half done!

We would add the cooked rice & fold in well! We will add the sugar & salt, fold in well! We would stir cook at medium heat using light strokes with a ladle for 5-6 minutes! 

Do not let the rice grains to break! Transfer to a serving bowl & garnish with the fried cashew nuts!

You can have it with any vegetarian or non-vegetarian sides or just with papad & pickle!

RIPE MANGO TART

SUNDAYS ARE NOT MEANT TO WRITE A BLOGPOST!

In the first half of the day, we were watching a movie "Doctor G", starring a couple of my favourite actors; Shefali Chaya Shah, Ayushmann Khurrana! Also this Rakul Preet I consider a fresh flavour in Bollywood! Now we are watching a Netflix series "Khaki; The Bihar Chapter"! In between, I did what I was required to do on a Sunday! For us it is just another day & I do not have any complain about it, so long I get to talk to my son, I feel okay! At this stage in life, it is not about us but more about how our child is doing there alone; if he is feeling lonely or spending  a good time with his friends on such a special day! My happiness was cooking "aloo paratha" for the two of us! 

Cristine cooked & carried food today for her friends, the reasons are obvious! The cake I baked for them did not turn out well! I wish I could cook a meal for the son & his friends! We could have gone there at this time but the weather I feared! With this mind, we hardly would want to party; better is to share a yummy, doable recipe for my readers! We spent beautifully such days with our little son, we wish he spends equally beautiful moments on such days now on!

THE SERIES GOING ON IS QUITE CAPTIVATING!

"KHAKI, THE BIHAR CHAPTER" is based on true incidents and my mind is there! In a way it is good! I cannot stay merry, always I worry about the son, the movies & series help us spend good time! We have a set household here; a help 24/7, a television to entertain, a market, a mall, bus interchange & train station within 300 meter! The son is alone and has to fetch everything by himself in this heavy snow, storm, cold; this thought kills me! Mumma wants to talk everyday & take details but beta does not wish to share! I cooked yesterday quite a few dishes, yet made those aloo paratha to engage myself! At night, we would have rice meal! But to match the occasion, I have decided on a fruit tart share today! Fruit Tarts & Pies do not come naturally to me, I cook predominantly Indian! You can see, I have improved a lot in the area of making stuffed flatbreads! I do not understand why video making & editing is not going into my head! I wish to make nice food videos, I have a lot of time to engage in all these activities! I cannot multitask, but at this time I am watching the series & writing the blogpost at the same time!

WHAT IS THIS MANGO TART?

Mango comes to my home almost throughout the year, Bengal's most loved fruit! I am okay with a mango as long as it is sweet, so is the son! T like a typical Bengali of Bengal have specifications, eats the local varieties but not with great amount of love! I am not the kind who would prepare a tart, that too in the absence of the son! I had some ripe mangoes & all of a sudden this idea came to my mind, I have seen how beautifully others do the biscuit base but I did not even try to be perfect! I have used 500 gm packet of Marie biscuit & about 50-60 gm of butter! Actually, I did not consult any recipe, so measurements may not have been that accurate! But this vegetarian fruit dessert RIPE MANGO TART was extremely tasty to have!

INGREDIENTS :

BISCUIT : 500 GM [I USED MARIE BISCUIT]

FRESH RIPE MANGO PULP : 2 COFFEE MUG

SUGAR : 2 TBSP

EDIBLE YELLOW COLOUR : 2 DROPS [OPTIONAL]

CORN FLOUR : 2-3 TBSP

BUTTER : 60-70 GM

I USED POMEGRANATE KERNELS, BLUEBERRIES & MINT LEAVES TO GARNISH!

PROCEDURE :

I used powdered Marie Biscuit & melted Butter mix as the base!

I powdered the biscuit adding butter at room temperature in a blender!

I had greased the tart tin with a little of butter and transferred the mixture to the greased tart tin & levelled! 

I extracted the mango pulp & blended it to a paste & then put it to simmer adding the sugar!

To half medium sized glass of water, I added the corn flour & mixed it well!

I added the corn flour mix to the simmering mango paste, also few drops of edible colour!

The most important part is to keep beating the paste while simmering! This I did  for 8-9 minutes!

I had let it cool a bit & poured it in the middle of the tart pan, levelled!

We can garnish the top with our choice of fruits!

 

CINNAMON SPICED BANANA BLUEBERRY CAKE

ANY DAY IS A GOOD DAY TO BAKE A CAKE BUT THIS SEASON HAS A SPECIAL CONNECT WITH IT!

Until the day I live, this season would remain the most comfortable time of the year to me & this day is the best day of my life, it cannot be otherwise!Mumma sincerely wished to take to the blog a recipe & that of a cake!I baked it on the stovetop last midweek, the simplest way!What we needed to clean after the job was the blender & a spoon! I would tell you later in the post what one ingredient made my job super simple! The son is present around 24/7, yet there are some days I/we miss him more!My worries multiply reading about the cold weather there, the snowfall!The son does not care at all; last October he was wearing a t-shirt alone outside of his home!Blame it on his young blood or his nature, he was not listening to our warnings!What he is doing in our absence I have no idea!I wish to sit beside him today and feed him a fresh bake, his favourite flavoured milk and SHEMAI ER PAYESH, for a couple of years now he does not favour rice pudding! I however cooked it for him there, he did not say if he had eaten it!

A SPECIAL SUNDAY AS THIS WAS SPENT JUST AS ANOTHER DAY!

I was busy today!I went to the market to buy an electric kettle,I bought a cheap one this time to check it's longevity!In our twelve years of stay here, we already used two; a Philips lasting for seven years, then a Tefal that lasted for five years!If this one does not last,I would buy again a branded one!Back home,I cooked rice & we had a vegetarian lunch! T perhaps found it difficult to have but I loved it thoroughly with"Beulir Dal, Aloo Chechki, Dhonepata Bata Sheem, Ol Kopi Stir Fry"! Our families do not eat Ol Kopi / German Turnip / Kohlrabi, here I got it one day & quite enjoyed a stir fry! I think this is the season of it! In Kolkata too it is available in season, do not know why the family never got! I find it's taste similar to radish! This is the day we used to have the best food we enjoy at home & outside! The missing family member was also there in those days!Now the bird has grown big enough to fly out of the home! I am learning to live with the memories, it is tough!

WHAT IS THIS CINNAMON SPICED BANANA BLUEBERRY CAKE?

It is perhaps the most comfortable to prepare cake I have ever made! I was clueless about it's success when I planned to cook it!I casually got a self raising flour after a long time! Not that I do not know the ratio of the baking powder:baking soda:flour used in a cake, just that I am a lazy self, not a perfectionist to an extreme!I casually took in hand this project because I had 4-5 bananas in the refrigerator, some blueberries!I wished to try a cake with these few ingredients without leaving much of cleaning for Cristine! Thus this vegan stovetop cake,CINNAMON SPICED BANANA BLUEBERRY CAKE happened!I enjoy baking simplistic, vegetarian cakes on the stovetop!

INGREDIENTS : 

SELF RAISING FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

BANANA : 2-3 STANDARD SIZED [I USED 5 SMALL SIZED]

BLUEBERRY : 12-15

BROWN SUGAR : 1 SMALL TEA CUP [I USED JAGGERY]

OIL : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

CINNAMON POWDER : 1 1/2 TSP

VINEGAR : 1 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

The use of self-raising flour made things easier for me!I blended together the bananas, jaggery, oil, cinnamon powder, vinegar into a smooth paste!

Thereafter, I added the self-raising flour to the paste like mixture & blended to a smooth batter!

While blending, we should pause & blend, that puts less of pressure on the blades I believe!

I had poured the batter to a foiled cake tin & tapped on the kitchen counter; so the batter is evenly spread!

I had arranged the blueberries on top & sprinkled sugar all over!

I had placed an iron wired stand atop a wok on the gas burner top, heated it for 2-3 minutes!

I had placed the batter filled cake tin atop it, let sit it properly & cover cooked it at low heat for 55 minutes to 1 hour!

And there is our easy-peasy Blueberry-Banana Cake with Cinnamon Flavours!

It would taste the best when warm! However, I needed to refrigerate it! Do take out an hour before having in that case!