DIM SHORSHE POSTO

With an egg lover in our home I keep looking for different recipes. This helps both ways, I am relieved of the monotony of cooking the same curry, also the family gets some variety in the food served. I was never a fan of egg, neither the son, his father is. There are funny, interesting stories regarding his love for eggs that his family told me, all of which cannot be shared publicly. 

I have seen the full grown adult to eat all of the rice and curry and then taking small bites of the egg so that it does not finish in a jiffy. Looking at it, I only give a smile of indulgence and feel the urge of looking for a variety of egg recipes.

This egg curry with poppyseed and mustard seed paste is a Bengali recipe but not that common. People of WestBengal more likely prepare this curry rather than their counter part from EastBengal. Not regular in our family, I still prepare it as it is extremely easy to prepare and tastes great with steamed rice. It is done with few ingredients and can be a saviour on a busy week day night. Let us see how easily and quickly it is done.

INGREDIENTS :

Egg : 5-6 [Earlier Bengalis used Duck Eggs for Curries]
Black Mustard Seed : 1tbsp
Poppyseed : 1tbsp [Those who stay in Singapore and Dubai may use white sesame seed instead]
Green Chilli : 4-5
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : 1tsp
Nigella Seeds[kalonji] : 1/4 tsp

Bayleaf : 1
Oil : 3-4 tbsp [We use Mustard Oil]

METHOD :

In a small bowl, take together the mustard and poppyseeds[I used white sesame seeds], soak for an hour.  Take both in a blender, add the washed green chillies, 2-3 tbsp of water, 2-3 ice-cubes, salt. Blend to get a smooth paste. The salt and ice-cubes do not let the black mustard seeds get bitter.

Boil the eggs in enough water. Once cold, discard the shells.

Make slits on the eggs, rub with little salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok, lightly fry the eggs and keep aside.

Temper the remaining oil with the bayleaf and nigella seeds. Add the spice paste and fry at low heat for a minute.

Add a medium tea cup of water. As it comes to a boil, add the fried eggs.

Give a stir and let boil for 7-8 minutes. Switch off the gas stove as the gravy thickens.

Enjoy with piping hot steamed rice.

EGGLESS MANGO CAKE

Recently a Mango feast was going on in social media, mouthwatering mango based recipes were shared by  the food bloggers. I wished to share a mango recipe. I thoroughly enjoyed all the innovations they brought into their mango dishes; I loved the traditional Mango chutney, pickle recipes too. Back home, Mango is the king of all fruits, all of us do treat and eat it royally.

The other day mom was saying the mango tree at my parent's place has boar a lot of mangoes this season. She was sad because we would not be visiting India this summer. This post may be to show her, console  saying "Mani we get it here and eat it too." Though we do not get that variety or taste as we used to back home, I never tell it to her. It all depends upon how we adapt to a place, appreciate the advantages. We get the best quality watermelon here which is not the case back home.

I baked this Eggless Mango Cake for our visiting friends from school, perhaps to make our memory sweeter. They liked it, hope others too will. Okay, one of the two friends is not a sweet lover. Let us proceed with the recipe that uses ripe mango. The original recipe did I find in Google Search, modified a bit as per the ingredients available in my kitchen.

INGREDIENTS :

All Purpose Flour : 1 coffee mug
Fresh Mango Pulp : 1 coffee mug
Baking Powder : 1 tsp
Baking Soda : 1/4  tsp
Plain Yogurt : 1/2 coffee mug
Sugar :  1/2 small tea cup [you may need more]
Oil : 1/2 small tea cup
Vanilla Essence : 1 tsp 

METHOD :

I preheated the oven to 160*C. 

I sieved together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda.

In a blender,  I had beaten together the sugar, oil, pulp of 2 mangoes, plain yogurt for some 2 minutes!

I added the wet mixture to the flour mix and folded in well. 

I added the vanilla essence and had beaten the batter for 3-4 minutes.

I poured the batter in a greased cake tin. Mine is a microwave convection mode oven inside which I placed the low height wired tool. Thereafter, I placed the cake tin atop the it.

I baked the mango cake batter for 20 minutes at 160*C. Once cool, I gently turned it over on a plate! 

We are to have  it warm or refrigerate the excess! 

CHICKEN IN COCONUT MILK

I forgot about the original recipe that inspired me to cook this currprefer preparing a dish with whatever ingredients available in my kitchen. A kind of lethargy is taking over me. I used roasted curry leaves powder, also lemon grass. We like Thai and Indonesian curries. I was exploring through various such recipes, then according to my convenience and the ingredients available, I landed into this recipe which tasted pretty well. My men love meat, the son loves chicken. I need to find out new recipes for cooking this lean meat. Still a learner cook, I try only simple recipes from the world cuisine which are within my limits, I have no qualms admitting this. In general, Bengalis use grated coconut in cooking more than the coconut milk. I like shredded coconut more than coconut milk. Besides the coconut milk used in it, I liked the aroma of the shredded coconut, curry leaves, lemon grass used in this curry. Here goes the recipe of CHICKEN IN COCONUT MILK.

INGREDIENTS : 

Chicken : 500 gm
Coconut Milk : 100 ml
Curry Leaves : A feast full of
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Lemon Juice : 3-4 tbsp
Oil : 3tbsp
Minced Onion : : 4 tbsp
Crushed Lemon Grass : 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chilli Powder : 2 tsp
Garlic Paste : 1 tbsp
Ginger Paste : 2 tsp
Oil : 3 tbsp

METHOD :

Wash the chicken pieces and marinate with salt, turmeric, lemon juice, onion, garlic, ginger, red chilli powder for about an hour.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the curry leaves As they splutter, take out. Crush to a coarse powder once cool.

Temper the hot oil with the crushed lemon grass. Give a stir and add the marinated chicken. 

Stir cook at high heat for 3-4 minutes, Reduce the heat to minimal and cover the wok with a lid.

Cover cook for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Remove the cover, add the coconut milk and the coarsely ground roasted curry leaves. Give a stir and cover cook for another 7-8 minutes at minimal heat. It should be done.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

METHI PHORON CHINGRI

Prawns used to come regular to our home, of all sizes, though parents did not like luxury. This simple Prawn Curry our mother cook on week days. She cooked special recipes on weekends, also when guests visited. For this curry, mom uses regular kitchen spices. The oil is tempered with fenugreek seeds, the potatoes cut in roundels. I follow the same recipe, my family loves to have it on weekday nights. Only that the mother uses freshly pasted spices, I use spice powders.

During our childhood, in an average middle-class Bengali home, it was always typical Bengali Cuisine that was made... from fritters to the desserts. I have no qualms admitting that most of the ladies did not know beyond it, they did not have any regrets either. They had a lot responsibilities in life which we cannot even think of. They hardly had any time to look after themselves. They lived a less complicated life. I always love spending time with this elderly generation and the kiddos. I can talk to them for hours and find myself at peace, feel secured.

I would have happily cooked only Bengali Cuisine if not my men's taste buds were different. I have no qualms in admitting either that I cannot cook much beyond Indian Cuisines.What I can I do, rest we have at restaurants. I love being me, have no regrets about it. This stubborn, quiet lady thinks she performs well when it comes to curries. This Prawn curry has nothing special in it, everyone can do it. All magic is in the tempering, the oil should not be too hot or cool at the time of tempering. Let us see how it is to be done.

INGREDIENTS : 

Medium sized Prawns : 500 gm

Medium sized Potatoes : 2

Ginger Paste : 2 tbsp

Cumin Powder : 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder : 2 tsp

Salt : As required

Fenugreek (methi seeds) : 1/2 tsp

Oil (preferably mustard) : 4 tbsp

METHOD :

Clean, de-vein and wash the prawns well, rub with turmeric and salt.

Peel and wash the potatoes, cut into thick roundels. Apply salt and turmeric.

Heat oil in a wok. Fry the potato pieces lightly. Take out and keep aside.

Fry the prawns lightly. Take out and keep aside.

Temper the remaining oil with fenugreek seeds. Once it releases aroma, we will add the ginger paste to the oil. ( Remember the fenugreek seeds should not burn).

We will fry the ginger paste for 2 minutes and then add the salt, turmeric, cumin powder, red chilli powder to it, stir well for half a minute till it separates from the oil.

Add the lightly fried potato pieces to the spice mix, fold in well and add a coffee mug of water.

Cover the wok with a lid and let boil for about 3-4 minutes.

Remove the cover and add the fried prawns. Cover cook for another 3-4 minutes. It should be done.

It goes well with steamed rice.

BANANA WALNUT KULFI MALAI

In my previous post about Kulfi Malai; our desi ice-cream variation, I mentioned how in our childhood street hawkers visited our neighbourhoods to sell them. They used aluminium moulds kept on a heap of ice cubes inside a box, the top of which used to be covered with a red cloth [laal shalu]. They carried the big baskets on their heads and entered our neighbourhood around 7 pm. What ingredients they used only they knew, we only pampered us with unlimited indulgence and pleasure, convincing mom was a tedious job though. Rarely she would agree to buy us, she would say the vendors use drain water to prepare them, though we kids never believed in it. Years later, I have started echoing the same words and happily prepare them at home. However, whenever we went for a family outing, we had kulfi malai or ice-cream outside, we did not know as kids what dine-out is. My experiment with ice creams never prove good because it requires whipped cream and I use the cheaper fresh cream. Hence I keep preparing Kulfi Malai often, an easy to make sweet summer treat for my family. We need 3-4 ingredients to prepare this creamy rich BANANA WALNUT KULFI MALAI.   It is definitely worth doing and having. Lets see how we do it!

INGREDIENTS :

Evaporated Creamer : 1 standard sized can commonly sold
Banana : 2 medium sized

Sugar : 3 tbsp

Green Cardamom Powder : 1/2 tsp
Walnut : 6-7

METHOD :

Take the evaporated creamer in a vessel.  Switch on the gas stove and boil it for 5-6 minutes at minimal heat.

Add the sugar and the green cardamom powder, stir and  keep boiling for another 2-3 minutes.

Switch off the gas stove and let it cool. Wash, peel, mash the bananas and add to the boiled milk, stir to incorporate well.

Pour the mixture onto moulds, top with toasted broken pieces of walnuts and close with the caps tightly. I use thermocol glasses, cover with aluminium foil papers, insert ice-cream sticks in the middle.

Refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours before serving.

CABBAGE PULAO

This is a humble vegetarian recipe from the kitchen of Bengal, not a family recipe.. It is neither a delicacy nor would you find it in the menu of any speciality Bengali restaurant. These recipes are bound within the four walls of the humble kitchens just like the hidden stories of sorrows, happiness, ignored talents, love, rejection of the 'Antorpurbashinis'..... the lady gang in the families. Till the early 20th century, our women were denied access to the outer world, denied of their basic rights. Perhaps, this is the reason why they poured in all their talents, sincerity in cooking. 

Everyone deserves and desires some recognition. The family kitchens were their den where the men never interfered. We may be a fish loving community but we equally love to cook and eat vegetables.....from shukto to chocchori[vegetable medleys]. The yesteryear women gifted us a lot of vegetarian recipes.... the humblest ones with the simplest ingredients. They had magic in their hands but no one to bring forth and highlight their talents.... culinary and otherwise.

This recipe of Cabbage Pulao was narrated to me by a dear friend. She told me one of her aunt who was widowed in her teens, prepares this. I modified it as per my convenience because she could not give me the detailed recipe but an abrupt description. We need few simple ingredients for this recipe. Very less spices are required in it, only that a very good quality ghee is a must to prepare it. It sure will be a delight to my men if served with a non-vegetarian curry and salads. Bengali veteran ladies definitely would use the small grain fragrant rice variety "Gobindo Bhog" for this rice dish but I used long grained Basmati rice. Also, by Pulao / Pulao, Bengalis mean cooking the rice together with the spices, covered in measured water, stir fried rice is fried rice to us. The rest of India may not have such notion. However, I have drained the water and stir cooked the rice, also named it pulao.

INGREDIENTS :

Cabbage : 1 small sized [choose a green, leafy one]
Basmati Rice : 1 coffee mug
Chana Dal [Bengal Gram] : 1tbsp
Green Cardamom : 3-4

Cinnamon Stick : 2-3 one inch sized

Clove : 3-4
Bayleaf : 2
Green Chilli : 2-3 [slitted]
Salt : As required
Sugar : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp

Cashew Nut : 5-6 [halved]

raisin : 7-8
Ghee [clarified butter] : 4-5 tbsp

METHOD :

Wash the cabbage well. Roughly chop and keep aside in a colander for the water to drain.

Wash the rice thoroughly and soak for 1/2 an hour. Cook it in enough water until 70% done. Drain the water.

Heat ghee in a wok and temper with the green cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, cloves. Add the Bengal Gram lentils / Chana Dal, cashew nuts and raisins. Stir for 1/2 a minute.

Add the cabbage, little salt and turmeric; stir at high heat for 3-4 minutes.

Add the cooked rice and the slitted, washed green chillies, stir at high heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add the sugar, stir and switch off the gas stove.

APPLE CINNAMON CAKE

Apple is a favourite fruit in our home. Whenever I wish to prepare something with it, I get it in refrigerator. My family loves home baked cake served warm. I lack confidence when it comes to baking, also not all ingredients are available at home. I select the easy ones requiring  minimal ingredients. I found this APPLE CINNAMON CAKE doable given my baking knowledge. All of the ingredients are available in the kitchen. Though this forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden symbolises sin, it has actually a number of health benefits. This deciduous tree in the rose family first originated in Central Asia and then spread to the rest of the world. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures. Besides it has high nutritional value with good amount of dietary fibre and vitamin C, it is low caloric too.[sourced from WIKI]. I do not know how much nutrition is retained when we use it to bake a cake. I did it to lighten up a weekend evening tea table. The original recipe called for using brown sugar, so I did.

INGREDIENTS :

All Purpose Flour : 1 coffee mug
Sugar : 6-7 tbsp
Ground Cinnamon : 1+ 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder : 1 tsp
Baking Soda : 1/4 tsp

Plain Yogurt : 1/2 coffee mug

White Organic Vinegar : 1 tbsp
Vanilla Extract : 1 tsp
Apple : 1 big [peeled and chopped]

Oil : 4-5 tbsp

METHOD :

Mix together the chopped apple, 1tbsp sugar, 1/2tsp cinnamon powder.

Mine is a convectional microwave oven with the temperature set at 160*C. 

Preheat the oven to 160*C placing the low wired rack inside.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together.

Blend together the sugar, oil, yogurt, vinegar, vanilla essence, 1 tsp cinnamon powder until creamy.

Add the semi-liquid mixture to the flour mix and mix all well until a smooth batter is formed. 

Add half of the chopped apple to the batter and mix well.

Pour the batter into a greased cake tin. Add to it the rest of the chopped apple.

Place the cake tin atop the low wired rack. Bake at 160*C for 50-55 minutes.

Please note the batter should not be up to the top of the cake tin as it will rise.

Enjoy a slice with your favourite cup of tea.

CHICKEN KASHA

This Bengali semi-dry Chicken Curry was prepared in a jiffy on a weekday evening. It saves time made with few basic ingredients. A sudden guest at home on a weekday can also be treated well with warmth if we have some chicken at home. A simplistic chicken curry, a dal, fritters and a mixed vegetable medley is what we can humbly serve. When we were young, in an average middle class home, guests came without a notice, relationships were informal, warm. The ladies of the house never got scared of it as we do. Our home being nearer to the airport, there was a regular flow of guests. The market being near to the house, as late as 9 pm our mom used to get chicken from the market and prepare a curry with or without potatoes. It was heavenly to us. Served warm with rice/roti, along with dal, veggies were really a saviour. 

A nuclear family would definitely not have four/five extra pieces of fish stored in the pantry in an era when going to the market everyday and buying fresh was the norm. When I was in the 8th standard we got a refrigerator at home which was used for making ice. A middle class, two-roomed rented space accommodated 5-6 guests often. Life was not self-centric then. Do I want back those days? I like re-visiting them.

I call it a rustic curry because it is made with few basic ingredients, in a jiffy but with warmth. This chicken kasha meaning a semi-dry chicken curry is prepared with little water and tastes best with chapatis and steamed rice. I believe, in a platter, everything should have an earthy appeal. I wanted to serve this in steel utensils but I use them only to offer my God Family, hence they will not be used for any non vegetarian item. Let us see how we do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Chicken : 1 kg [medium cut]

Onion : 2 [roughly chopped]

Green Chillies : 4 [slitted]

Garlic Paste: 2 tbsp

Ginger Paste : 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp

Salt : As required

Oil : 4-5 tbsp

METHOD :

Wash the chicken and marinate with turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt for an hour.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the chopped onions. Fry till golden brown. 

Add the ginger & garlic pastes. Keep stirring till the raw smell goes away.

Add the slitted green chillies, salt, turmeric and stir until the spices separate from the oil.

Add the chicken pieces, fold in well with the spice mix. Keep stirring at high heat for 2-3 minutes.

Lower the heat to minimum, cover cook for 30 minutes. 

Remove the cover and stir every 3-4 minutes to avoid burning. 

Remove cover, add a cup of water! Cook covered at minimal heat until the gravy thickens.

Serve with steamed rice or roti. A salad on the side will make the platter complete.

FROZEN STRAWBERRY YOGURT

This is my first ever attempt to prepare frozen yogurt. I was not familiar with this dessert back home. After landing here in Singapore, discovered them in the supermarkets. Never did I buy them, instead got home ice-creams. Then what is the inspiration behind preparing them ? Well I would say a series of irresistibly attractive desserts posted by my fellow bloggers that are flooding G+ for the past few days. They are  worthy of watching staying in a tropical island. I thought of preparing an easy to make frozen dessert. The desserts posted in G+ are having an amazing cooling effect on me, most of them made with the king of all fruits.... mango. I thought let me think of a fruit, a colourful one which can be used to prepare dessert ideal for summers. I thought of using fresh strawberries. Ever since I came back from Cameron Highlands, I am kind of in love with this redilicious tart fruit. I felt a Strawberry-Yogurt combination should be a healthy way to beat the heat. Hence, I prepared this Frozen Strawberry Yogurt with few ingredients in the simplest manner. Let us see how we do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Plain Yogurt : 500ml
Strawberry : 300 gm
Sugar : 4 tbsp [you may need more]
Strawberry Essence : 2-3 drops[optional]

METHOD :

Take the yogurt in the middle of a washed white cloth. Bring together the corners. Tie it and hang on the kitchen tap for 45 minutes.

Wash the strawberries, discard the green portion.

In a blender, put together sugar, hung yogurt, 2-3 drops of strawberry essence, strawberries leaving 2-3 of them. 

Blend throughly for about 3 minutes, pausing in between.

Pour in a container. Chop 2-3 strawberries and mix with the yogurt mix.

Put inside the freezer covered, freeze for 1-2 hours.

Now it is ready to serve!

NOTUN ALOOR DOM

This is a winter speciality back home. It is during the winter only we get the supply of this small potatoes, called 'notun aloo', in Bengali it means new potato. It is perhaps grown in Nainital; a beautiful, picturesque hill station in the Himachal range. I never could or can equate it's scenic beauty with potato fields. Yet to visit the place, I am sure the inquisitive self would look for potato growing areas and justify the Kolkata vendors  shouting in early December mornings....'didi Nainital aloo niye jan'....At times they would suggest recipes.... I never mind; I can feel the warmth. Missing home is not only about missing my family but every little thing taken into account.

Since childhood Nainital meant a beautiful tourist attraction, also the source of small round potatoes flooding the Kolkata markets in winter. So far savouring Nainital's beauty is concerned, our retirement plan is to explore the beautiful, incredible homeland, just the two of us. Who knows how far the son would stay with his family? They say, a lifetime isn't enough to explore the entire India. I crave to visit the nooks and corners of it; a bit differently than I did until now. I wish to explore the local food in each place, if possible learn about the locally grown crops!

Here we get small potatoes round the year; I don't wait for a particular season to cook small potato curry. In our family these small potatoes are cooked without onion and garlic, I follow it. This goes with plain chapatis, vegetarian pulao, toast breads. Let us do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Small Potatoes : 300gm

Tomato : 2 medium

Ginger Paste : 1 tbsp

Cumin Powder : 1 tsp

Coriander Powder : 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp

Salt : As required

Cumin Seeds : 3 pinches

Bayleaf : 1

Sugar : 1/2 tsp[can be skipped]

Oil : 4 tbsp

Coriander Leaves : 2 sprigs

METHOD :

Wash and boil the potatoes over gas oven till it is 60% done.

Chop the tomatoes and coriander leaves and wash separately.

Once cold, peel the skin of the potatoes with fingers alone.

Rub turmeric and salt keeping it either whole or cutting it half.

Heat oil in the wok. Fry the potatoes in batches till light brown.

Take out draining the oil and keep aside.

Temper the remaining oil with cumin seeds, bayleaf.

Add the spice paste and fry until the raw smell goes away.

Add the chopped tomatoes and fry until it melts.

Add the potato pieces, fold in well. Stir for 2-3 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup water, simmer for 3 minutes.

Add the sugar [optional] and the chopped coriander leaves. Stir, its done!

Enjoy with your choice of mains!