EASY CRANBERRY CUP

I FEEL SATISFIED AFTER COOKING A DISH PROPERLY!

How I wished that feeling to be accompanied by money. Though I am happy with the budget I have set for my life, I wished to earn my own pizza or burger. I used the words happy and budget together as I cannot be a spendthrift. I could not spend much when I worked, I kept saving. My types hardly spread the wings wider, we are conditioned to live within budget since childhood. Cristine went to the Moss Burger chain. They are offering two chicken burgers for 8$, 5 small Hash Browns for 4$ only on Mondays. I wanted to avail the offer though not fond of burgers. 

I liked the hash browns. I told earlier I want bun maska and chicken or fish cutlet separately on my plate. Having "chai-biskut" thereafter proves I dislike burger, have it on rare occasions.

YESTERDAY WAS ANOTHER LONELY SUNDAY!

Starting at 1:45pm I was alone at home, yet could not watch a single piece. I was hooked to the social media, on print media and you-tube wanting to follow one single incident, such pathetic it is. I still search Google for Ms.Guha's case, a well educated, beautiful lady  who was poisoned to death. Heavyweight offenders get acquitted in our country. I was only 7-8 years old at that time, remember remotely how there was an uproar about the incident, a beautiful, meritorious girl's death made our parents, neighbourhoods, state cry literally. Since then, I have a dislike for that institution, even if I had the quality to work under those suspicious heads, I would not have applied. I didn't wish to send our son there, it has blood stains at it's doorstep. They are a powerful family who presently run another institution, roam freely. We tend to forget easily, this becomes advantageous for the wrong doers. I fail to understand what kind of a child did the mother give birth to who chose money, power instead of getting the dead mother justice. Also, we become fans of the celebrities, of their artistic qualities, they may not be good human beings, unworthy of our praises. The recent case may go unsolved I fear because fair judgements are rare in my country. Everyone knows everything but to prove it gets impossible, power stands supreme. If we are well off and keep our eyes closed and mouths shut, we get to live happily ever after, else we would be sent off. I feel good if I get to eat my choice of meals.

WHAT IS EASY CRANBERRY CUP?

For quite sometime I have been watching similar recipes around, in the western bloggers' spaces. I already have a similar recipe in the Blog. I see the westerners prepare this kind of cup cakes for their breakfasts. They use eggs in the batter that I did not wish to add. Moreover, I wanted this EASY CRANBERRY CUP to be vegan and gluten-free too. That leaves us in confusion you know. The pro- bakers approve or not, I got used to baking simple cakes without buying an almond flour worth 16$ per kilogram. I find out ways to bake a vegetarian cake, also try to keep it vegan, gluten-free specially on days like Rakhi Poornima / Rakshabandhan. We live in violent times, we cannot expect anyone to protect us. We just have to be cautious as much as we can, keep our cool. This is not an era "where the mind is without fear and the head is high" works if we want to live. I recently bought this square cup cake tin online from Shien Official.

INGREDIENTS :

OATS : 1 & 1/2 COFFEE MUG

CRANBERRY : 2-3 TBSP

BANANA : 2 STANDARD SIZED

CORN FLOUR : 1 TBSP

BAKING POWDER : 1/2 TSP

BAKING SODA : 1/4 TSP

SUGAR : 3-4 TBSP [I used Brown Sugar]

OIL : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Take the oats in a bowl. In a blender, take the rest of the ingredients except for the cranberries.

Blend them to a paste and add to the oats. Mix the ingredients roughly.

Add the cranberries and mix again.

Grease a cup cake tin with few drops of oil and half fill with the mixture. I bought it recently from Shein Official.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. I did place the low height wired stool inside the oven, closed the door and pre-heated the oven at 180*C.

Thereafter, I did place the cake tin inside, baked for 15 minutes at 160*C. They are done.

They were crisp on the top when fresh and hot. Enjoy with your choice of beverage. From the kids to the adults, everyone would be happy to have the baked vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan sweet cups.

VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE KOKI

 I WAS DOING NOTHING SINCE THE MORNING!

Yet I started to write late. I am not in the mood to write a new blogpost today but I have to share this. I am pretty happy with the outcome, not that happy with the photo feature though. To concentrate on something at a stretch you require a calm state of mind. When something bothers me, I cannot stay cool. I do not get vocal at every issue does not mean I lack the concern. Many of us do have grudges against the system, we do want to voice our displeasure but we cannot do that out of fear, for  our safety. I did not teach our son to be fearless, his life is precious to me / us parents. It is pathetic how we are made to live in fear, only the powerful few exercise control on us. If there is danger waiting outside our doors, we have to be cautious about the dangers, there is no point questioning why we do not have the freedom to live our own ways. We just want a decent society to roam free, the women's plight are worser. When I feel pathetic, I usually go out to somewhere or cook something but I decided to write a new blogpost. Although, we live a secured life in this island, we cannot be that selfish not to think about our fellow countrymen, family and friends.

NOT IN THE NORMAL RYTHYM, I FORGOT CLICKING MY SUNDAY MEALS!

I updated the Potato Biryani blogpost yesterday which took me half of the day, Cristine is not around on a Sunday. The man perhaps enjoyed it but for reasons unknown he would never admit I cook good biryani if not with an expertise. I kept a bowlful for Cristine, she had for lunch today, praised it. I had to cook the rice slightly more, I use minimal oil and ghee in a biryani, put it in dum on the gas top, I should not expect the half-cooked rice to fluff and double in amount. The fun is that even some of Kolkata's renowned joint's biryani rice remain slightly under-cooked. Biryani made with over-cooked rice does not work for the Indian Bengalis. Yesterday night, I made cooked semolina parathas, the dough got softer, the parathas were smooth but I did not wish to click them. My food has to taste good and look good too, unfortunately that does not happen always. For my first meal I had air-fried Bengali French Toast and it tasted lame. I would have it rare but I would have it fried in oil.

Watermelon soothes my system. But overeating watermelon and litchi causes severe stomach congestion!

WHAT IS VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE KOKI?

Koki is Sindhi Community's breakfast bread. I learnt that pretty late in life. My food blogging journey has taught me about different cuisines, yet not done. Sindhi Koki can be sweet or savoury. The dough uses a mix of whole-wheat flour and gram flour. I wished to do it but a vegan & gluten-free version, so that I can blog about it and make others try my recipe. I do not buy pricier gluten-free flours. Also millet flours are not for me, I have hypothyroidism. The man and Cristine wants bread made of wheat flour and refined flour only. When the son stayed with us, he liked having sticky brown rice along with me, do not know if he would have liked gluten-free flours or not. At this time, I am using only sattu and besan for my gluten-free breads. I felt the VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE KOKI bread making would not be that difficult as it demands a tight dough for it's making and that it's a thick bread. 

That I did, I used roasted gram flour / sattu and the raw gram flour / besan for the making of the vegetarian Sindhi flat-bread, the rest used remains the same as original.

INGREDIENTS :

ROASTED GRAM FLOUR / SATTU : 1 COFFEE MUG

GRAM FLOUR / BESAN : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

CHOPPED ONION : 3 TBSP

CHOPPED CORIANDER : 2 TBSP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 2 TSP

CAROM SEED / AJWAIN : 1/2 TSP

CUMIN SEED JEERA : 1/4 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/4 TSP

SALT : A LITTLE

OIL : 2 TBSP + A LITTLE TO BRUSH EACH SIDE OF A BREAD

PROCEDURE :

I had taken the two flours, salt, carom and cumin seeds, crushed black pepper in a wide-mouthed bowl and mixed well.

Thereafter, I added to it the chopped and washed fresh coriander, green chillies, onions and 2 tbsp of oil. I mixed together everything.

We are required to prepare a tight dough, not knead it. I did wet my right palm 2-3 times and brought together everything.

I kept the dough covered for 10-12 minutes, kneaded for a minute,  tore off portions, pressed flat each between my palms.

I used the sattu flour / roasted gram flour to dust each ball and rolled thick flatbread. Then I made shallow slits with a knife as a Sindhi Koki bread demands.

I heated a griddle, roasted both sides of each paratha until brown, brushed oil on both the sides, roasted again, done.

I enjoyed them with thick, plain yogurt and sweet boondi.

SPICED BROWN RICE PATTIES

ANOTHER MONDAY ARRIVED AND I HAVE NOTHING NEW IN MY KITTY!

I am still not bored with life, getting to live is beautiful. I I do not have a success story about myself to tell you but I have tales to tell about my own; the son, man, brother, sisters, even about our mother's same old stories of her inhibitions. Most importantly, I am yet to taste many a dishes. The Burger King has recently launched a 3$ worth Chocolate Affogato done with Milo. I don't know why they did not name it Milo Affogato. I am not a chocolate fan, yet would try it. Affogato is new to me, you would not find it easily in Kolkata. I did not have it till date because I was unwilling to spend some 8$-10$ on something that has chocolate in it, that I have never tasted. I would not mind spending 3$ to try it. A couple of new items Burger King has launched, Cempedek Mochi to the chilli-garlic balls, it's decent pricing attracts me. I love most Popeye's fried chicken; earlier KFC's was my favourite. I still have KFC's given Popeye's is a bit pricier, but it's garlic rice and the spice factor of the fried chicken is unmatched. Then, you would not find it's branches easily here like KFC and MacDonald. I remember I first had a fish burger meal at the MacDonald of Essel World, Borivali, Mumbai back in 1999.

IN 1999, IT FELT KOLKATA IS LAGGING BEHIND!

Back to Kolkata from Mumbai, I felt I have to move out of Kolkata. I do not earn, I do not have to bother about the finance, I wanted to taste how life is in a financially stable place. That happened after 11 years, in 2010, we did not move to Mumbai but to another seaside, in this island. No one can say I spend extravagantly but I enjoy the upwardly living standard of a first world country. Since I do not have to earn, I remain obsessed with the jazzy outlook. The mother is in safe hands and happy in her world. May be I am self-centric and have no qualms thinking in this way that our mother has led the household the way she wanted, she has lived without much of regrets, I need to concentrate more on our son's future. Your kids need your care and attention, it comes naturally to me. Not a minute I can stay without thinking about the son. Today, I wish to wrap up quick and watch something on the OTT Platform.

WHAT IS SPICED BROWN RICE PATTIES?

The idea behind this can be the Arancini, actually not the Arancini but from the Bengalis' version of Arancini, "leftover rice pakora"! We rarely would have it. Our mother would cook fresh the right measure. Unless there had guests at home, not much of leftovers would be there. I know about Arancini for the past ten years of blogging. Before I have started the blogging journey, I shared the leftover rice pakora pictures in G+, later I found out it is common among the other South Asians, many bloggers did blog about it. I thought of blogging about leftover khichuri pakora, did not happen as yet. Another source of idea can be the Moss chain's rice burgers, I have to taste it. The SPICED BROWN RICE PATTIES are vegan and gluten-free with the added goodness of vegetables and herbs, some spices. The local brand turnip and cabbage pickle somewhat near to Kimchi in taste gives it an Oriental touch.

Few rice recipes from my Blog are PRESSURE COOKER MATTA RICE KHICHURI, KHUDER CHAL DAL SHOBJI KHICHURI, CHICKEN RICE IN MEMONI SPICE MIX

INGREDIENTS :

COOKED BROWN RICE : 1 COFFEE MUG

CARROT : 1 STANDARD SIZED

GREEN BEAN : 3-4

RED CHILLI PADI : 2 [OR USE CHILLI FLAKES]

GREEN CHILLI : 2

CORIANDER LEAVES : 2 SPRIGS

ONION : 1

GARLIC : 2-3 CLOVES

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/2 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 2-3 TBSP

CORNFLOUR : 1 TBSP

A PICKLE OF CHOICE : 2 TBSP [I USED A LOCAL OILY TURNIP AND CABBAGE PICKLE] 

SALT : AS REQUIRED

PROCEDURE :

Wash the brown rice 3-4 times and soak in water for 2 hours.

Peel, cut and wash the vegetables, take in a mincer and mince.

Take the rice and 2 coffee mugs of fresh water in a pressure cooker, cook up to 3-4 whistles at minimal heat.

Once the lid opens, mash the rice grains a bit. Transfer to a bowl.

Add to it the rest of the ingredients, shape into patties. Grease an oven proof plate with a bit of oil and place the patties on it.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven, I placed the high wired stool inside and on top of it the oven proof plate with the patties.

I cooked them in grill mode for 15-16 minutes. Enjoy them with sauce. Adding an egg or two to the mixture would have made the patties tastier, but I wished them to be vegan and gluten-free.

SPICY MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP

MY SOUP BOWL HAS TO BE TASTY!

I made this soup in February 2022. I can make soups but I rarely do. However, I enjoy only a few variety of soups, neither maintain the authenticity while making it. I would add this and that to make it suit our tastebuds. I like mushroom soups but it is bland, I add crushed black pepper and Tabasco to enjoy a bowlful of it. I want to say that I follow no rule whilst cooking a soup and having it. You cannot associate my soups to a particular cuisine. I would do anything. You can see I have added a couple of spices in it, somewhere I had a mulgatawny soup, I liked. May be ideas for recipes keep coming this way.

YESTERDAY'S BENGALI LUNCH I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED!

Only that the fish piece was too big for me. As a young girl I loved bigger steaks of fresh water fish curries, today I cannot. I was enjoying the piece but the amount felt too much. Now onwards, I may buy a Bengal Carp only when I would get a fresh one weighing 5 kilograms and above. Though I am fond of the smaller fish varieties, the smaller Bengal Carp fish do not taste good here, the rest in our home fear the bones.  

My mother-in-law and her son are fond of fleshy, less boney fish, long back I used to love fleshy pieces but not anymore. It is surprising how I enjoy tiny and smaller fish varieties these days. How I created scenes if one day the mother did not cook a big, fleshy fish besides a small fish & vegetables dish. I had thrown a lot of tantrums as a girl with regards to food, our mother never said no to it, she should have. The man and the son never did that to me. If the son did not like the food I cooked, he ordered food from outside using the pocket money we gave him. We do miss him around but you have to let them fly in time, they have to learn to be independent. We have to keep praying for their well being. There was a time the doctor barred me from reading the newspaper as part of my treatment. In the present day, I cannot stay off from the news, my anxiety level shoots up but I cannot call back my child and stop his growth, that is wrong. You have to assess the potential of your child and encourage him or her to achieve things as per his or her ability.

 

Yesterday evening was pretty hot, I wasn't feeling to cook anything for dinner. The man is not an issue, he is happy with an egg-potato boil, butter or ghee rice on his plate. But I am avoiding rice two times a day and I did not cook any dish suitable to have with breads. At one point, I felt like going to the mall opposite and get meals for us. Then, I was feeling lazy enough to change over, also we were waiting for the son's call. The man can skip dinner, wouldn't go and buy food. We do not use apps to order food like the brother who does it often, the son too does. I made those vegetables paratha. The dough got overly moist, they are not looking good. We enjoyed having it with pickle.

WHAT IS SPICY MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP?

You all know I can't have bland food. Even a mushroom soup requires some condiments to be added to suit my tastebud. I like a mushroom soup, hence I take the effort. Though I like soup, I do not cook it often because I enjoy cooking a variety, it is never a compulsion for me. Why to limit myself to salads and soups? But I have the plan to cook them often once I finish the first round of updating my blog. I would prefer a Bengali mixed vegetable bowl with or without small fish over a salad bowl. Bengalis have such a wide variety of vegetable recipes in their repertoire, at least my family has. Soups do happen rarely, when I do I must make them suitable for my taste bud. From the stepwise pictures later you can see how I made a pretty spicy vegetarian, gluten-free soup; SPICY MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP. Skip the butter to make it vegan.

Few other similar recipes from the Blog are SPICY VEGETABLES AND CHICKEN SOUP, BEET GAJOR ALOO DIYE PATHAR MANGSHO , TOMATO EGG DROP SOUP

INGREDIENTS :

FRENCH BEAN : 6-7

POTATO : 1 BIG SIZED

BROCCOLI : 1 STANDARD SIZED

CARROT : 2 STANDARD SIZED

CELERY STALK : 2

TOMATO : 1 BIG SIZED

ONION : 1 STANDARD SIZED

GARLIC CLOVE : 3-4

DRY RED CHILLI : 1

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1 /4 TSP

TOMATO CHILLI SAUCE : 2 TBSP

VEGETABLE STOCK CUBE : 1 [MAGGI OR KNORR]

SALT : AS REQUIRE

BUTTER : 2-3 TBSP

METHOD :

Wash and cut the vegetables randomly. Wash again and take them in a pressure cooker with the dry red chilli, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt.

Add 1 & 1/2 coffee mugs of water and close the lid tight. Pressure cook up to 4-5 whistles keeping the heat at minimal. Let cool once done.

Open the lid, blend the boiled vegetable in a blender. Do it in batches. Strain the semi-liquid mixture.

Pour the mixture in a vessel and switch on the gas stove. Add the vegetable stock cube, crushed black pepper, butter. Adjust the salt if only required. 

Give a stir and simmer at minimal heat for 4-5 minutes stirring continuously.

Enjoy it fresh and Hot with toasted bread or steamed rice or thin roti. I however made some "koraishutir kochuri" to  go with the soup.

 

REGULAR BENGALI RECIPES

SOME DAYS I HAVE TO RISE ABOVE MY MENTAL BLOCK AND DECIDE TO BLOG ABOUT THE RUSTIC VEGETARIAN DISHES!

I do have a mental block with regards to the recipe that would go to the blog, it has to be something the son and the man would want to have. This however deviates me from the primary motive of blogging about the Family Bengali Recipes or just Bengali Recipes. There is another reason why I do not want to call myself a Bengali Food Blogger; I became friends with people from different parts of the world; I do not wish to confine myself to my community, I am against grouping. The men are not typical Bengali, they are cosmopolitan, be it food or their way of life. Coming to that mental block, you see I am using "Poppins" font today, those who know us would understand this. My question is are the duo at this home equally bothered about me?

YESTERDAY, I SUCCESSFULLY MADE SATTU PARATHA!

After two failed attempts at Bread Gulab Jamun  and a  Microwave made Mutton Rice, that success was a necessity for a sound sleep. I know only few things to do, that too if I do not do well how would I survive?

We did enjoy the mutton rice but the mutton and the rice seemed hard to me. Cristine ate it sometime back and says, "ma'am it tasted such good, why did you delete the stepwise pictures?" I just wish to use a better quality of mutton on bone! When you do not get a satisfactory result after a lot of effort, you feel exhausted, yet I went ahead with the spiced roasted gram flour stuffed flatbreads. After few attempts, last night I got them right. I loved my meal, the man too I believe. He is diplomatic, he loves both biryani kind of meals and handmade breads. He would not comment if both are not made equally good. Our mother never made sattu stuffed paratha, the grandma never knew about it. We ate sattu / chatu with puffed rice, banana, sugar. In the recent years, I have embraced dosa, different stuffed paratha kind of stuffs.

WHAT ARE THESE BENGALI RECIPES ACTUALLY; SHOJNE DATAR TORKARI, MAAN KOCHU BATA, KOLMI SHAAK BHAJA, SHOJNE DATAR JHOL?

The above mentioned are the homely Bengali regular vegetarian dishes, they are vegan and gluten-free too. Today, I wished to blog about a couple of the vegetarian recipes I grew up having. I never did want them in my life, I was force fed. Only in the recent years I have started enjoying the vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free recipes that I have seen being cooked in the family, at friends' or at the relatives' homes. I do enjoy recipes from other cuisines. Let us cook the Family recipes all of which REGULAR BENGALI RECIPES like the SHOJNE DATAR TORKARI, MAAN KOCHU BATA, KOLMI SHAAK BHAJA, SHOJNE DATAR JHOL. The other Bengali Homes would have more or less the same recipes for these.

SHOJNE DATAR TORKARI

INGREDIENTS :

DRUMSTICK : 2-3

PUMPKIN : 1/2 OF A SMALL SIZED

POTATO : 1

DRY RED CHILLI : 2

GREEN CHILLI : 1

NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEEREY : 1/4 TSP

BAYLEAF : 1

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

SUGAR : 1/2 TSP

OIL : 2 TSP

PROCEDURE :

This vegan, gluten-free, Bengali regular vegetables dish can use a variety of vegetables. I have used only the pumpkin, potato and drumsticks. I think I was running out of the eggplants on the day I cooked it.

Thinly take out the skin of the drumsticks discarding the two ends of each of the sticks. Cut them lengthwise and wash.

Wash the potato well, we need not peel it! Cut it into 8 pieces.

Peel off the pumpkin and cube as much as required, like 8-9 pieces.

Wash all of the vegetables again, drain the water.

Marinate the vegetables with some salt and turmeric. Keep aside for 4-5 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok, temper with the bayleaf, halved dry red chillies and the nigella seeds. 

Add the marinated vegetables along with the marinade. Give a stir and cover cook at the minimal heat.

Every 3-4 minutes, remove the cover and give a stir. 

Once the vegetables are almost cooked, remove the cover, add the washed and slitted green chilli and the sugar. Stir and let cook at minimal heat for another 2-3 minutes. We should be done.

                                         MAAN KOCHU BATA

                          

INGREDIENTS :

MAAN KOCHU / TARO ROOT : 150-200 GM

SHREDDED COCONUT : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

BLACK MUSTARD SEED : 1 TBSP

GREEN CHILLI : 4-5 [CHOOSE YOURS']

SALT : AS REQUIRED

MUSTARD OIL : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE : 

This is no cook Taro Root paste, vegan & gluten-free. Here is how every Bengali Home would do it. The veteran Family women or every Bengali women in those days would do it in a "shil-nora", a specific variety of a mortar & pestle, that was good enough exercise for their arms and they did not require dumbbells. Till date I could not use a "boti" and "shil-nora", I use knife for cutting and my blender for doing the pastes.

We have to peel off the taro root, wear gloves for the purpose, cut it into smaller pieces and wash well.

We would wash and soak the mustard seeds in water for an hour. Take it in the blender with some salt and the washed green chillies. If you are doing it in a blender, you do need the soaked water, about 1/2 small tea cup.

We would blend them to a fine paste, add the shredded coconut, again blend to a paste.

Thereafter, we would add the small cubed taro root,  blend it to a paste. If we are doing it in a blender, you would get this watery texture, if done in a "shil-nora", they take the taro root paste in a piece of clean, white cloth and squeeze the water. After that, they paste together the mustard seeds+chillies+the shredded coconut and add to the taro root paste.

We pasted everything in the blender, right? We will take it in a bowl, adjust the salt and garnish with the mustard oil. You may add a little of sugar while pasting.

                            KOLMI SHAAK BHAJA  

INGREDIENTS :

KOLMI SHAAK / KANGKONG : 300-400 GM

GREEN CHILLI : 2

GARLIC CLOVE : 3-4

DRY RED CHILLI : 1-2

BAY LEAF : 1

NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEEREY : 1/4 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

Oil : 2 tbsp

PROCEDURE :

This is the Bengali stir fried water spinach / kangkong, vegan and gluten-free recipe. Back home, it would grow anywhere, my family always got it from the market. 

The yesteryear ladies finely chopped the spinach in a "boti", that was no less than an artwork. Our mother till date does not allow anyone to cut the vegetables, she does not like. Our Cristine does a decent job with the knife. 

We are to discard the root end of the spinach stalks, then chop as finely as possible. We would take the chopped Spinach in a colander and wash thoroughly. Let the water drain away.

We would heat the oil in a wok and temper it with the crushed garlic, bayleaf, nigella seeds and the halved dry red chillies. We will give it a stir.

We will add the washed spinach to the wok, turmeric and some salt, then cover.

Once the spinach starts releasing water and a lot of it, we would stir it and cook uncovered at low heat for 5-6 minutes. We would add the washed and slitted green chillies and give a stir. We would cook it until all of the water dries up. We can adjust the salt if required towards the end.

Our mother always boiled and discarded the water of the spinach and then added it to the tempering and cooked further until dry. I do not cook it that way.

                                    SHOJNE DATAR JHOL

             

INGREDIENTS :

DRUMSTICK : 2-3

POTATO : 1 BIG SIZED

EGGPLANT : 1 MEDIUM SIZED

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEEREY : 1/4 TSP

GREEN CHILLI : 2+1

RED CHILLI : 1

BAY LEAF : 1

MUSTARD SEED : 1 TSP

OIL : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

This is another vegan and gluten-free recipe. Thinly take off the skin of the drumsticks discarding the two ends, cut them finger length.

Keep the potato skin on, cut into 8 pieces. Also cube the eggplants. 

Wash them thoroughly and marinate with the salt & turmeric. Keep aside for 3-4 minutes.

Wash and soak the mustard seeds in water for an hour. Blend together with 3 green chillies and the salt. Get a smooth paste of them.

Heat the oil in a wok and temper it with the nigella seeds, bayleaf and the halved dry red chillies.

Add the marinated vegetables except the eggplants along with the marinade. Give a stir and cover cook at minimal heat for 5-6 minutes.

Once the drumsticks and the potato pieces are 60% done, add the eggplants and cook for 3-4 minutes, covered.

Remove the cover, add the mustard paste, take a cup of water in the same bowl and add to the wok. Add one or two washed and slitted green chillies. Give a stir, adjust the salt if required.

Cook at low heat for 3-4 minutes. We should be done.

If you love vegetarian recipes, you would enjoy these low spiced, easy made, healthy Bengali vegan & gluten-free recipes.