Sada Aloor Tarkari and Luchi .... a Bengali's favourite breakfast

Winter mornings. 
Hustle and bustle in the dining room.
And in the kitchen at the far end of the verandah. 

House helps all around ... busy with chores. 
Some running to and from the kitchen. 

A full dining table. Everybody talking. 
Kids at their own small one. Freshly washed faces and smelling of sweet cold creams. 

Bundled up in woolens. 

Dadu at the head of the table. 
Nodding to something one of the kakus has just said. 

Jethu and Bapi discussing who will go to the farmlands next. 

Kansar plates being laid on the table by a kakima. 
Jethima  ladling out steaming hot Shada Aloor chorchori onto the plates. 

A help keeps a small bowl of freshly plucked green chillies in the centre of the table. 

And then comes that big jhuri  from the kitchen ... filled with pristine white and super hot Luchis. 
So hot that Jethima  has to blow on her fingers after picking up one and dropping it on a plate everytime. 

Thamma goes around the table pouring fresh notun gur  into small bowls kept beside the plates.

And soon a hush settles in. 

Everybody quietly savours the simple, beautiful food. 

We kids poked holes into the puffed up, hot luchis, letting the steam escape first. 
Then the upper layer would be broken off and stuffed into  mouths, closed eyes savour it melting away. 

While I do make this shada aloor tarkari often, I have never posted it here. 

This time, we are having a very cold winter.
And by a stroke of luck, I got some very good Patali gur as well as jhola gur from a Bengali shop here. 

So decided that this is the perfect time to make a post. 

Need : 

Potatoes, preferably the new ones  - cut into cubes 

Nigella seeds / Kalo jeere 

Green chillies 

Oil / Ghee to cook 

Salt 

How to : 

Heat oil or ghee. 

Add the nigella seeds and green chillies. 

Add the potatoes and add water immediately. 

Add salt, cover and cook till they are fully done. 

Serve hot with luchis. 

Another look. 

Stay safe. Stay warm. 
Enjoy winter with good food. 
Stay happy. 

 

Bok phool bhaja or Agasti flower fritters

Growing up, I was used to the Bok phool tree on the bank of our pond. Just behind one of the red cement chairs on either side of the cemented area from where the steps descended into the waters of our huge, deep, dark pond. 

It flowered well but I had never given it much attention except for when I would sometimes sit on the steps on a quiet late winter afternoon and watch the busy black ants hurrying along its branches. 
There was another one too, but it was at the back of the house, just on the border of the kola bagaan or the banana plantation. 
All that interested me was the bok phul bhaja that we got at times on our lunch plate. 
Hot and crisp on the outside, fresh and sweet tasting inside. 

Cut to many years later when I was married for sometime and was wading through the nuances of cooking, juggling between vegetarian north indian cooking for the man and the bengali dishes for me. 
We did not get too many familiar 'Bengali vegetables' at the time and getting Bok phul was beyond my dreams. And I slowly started to forget all about it. 

Until one day I came upon it all of a sudden at a local vegetables shop. 
I was ecstatic and happily bought half a kilo!! Thing who  knows when I will get them again. 
A call to Ma and I knew how to clean and fry them. 
Immediately made some and enjoyed them for lunch, keeping some for B aside. 
They were a lot and I packed half of them and took them to my new friend who had just moved to the city from Kolkata.

And after that, many more years passed and I never got to see the Bok phul in the markets again. 
And along with the Kumro phul, the Bok phul also stayed in my memories and yearnings. 

Until last week. 
We had gone vegetables shopping and as we came near the shop that keeps 'Bengali vegetables', I saw the round cane basket filled with these beautiful white flowers. 
And shouted "Stop, stop!" to a much flustered B.
And was out of the car even before it had come to a complete stop. 
Very irresponsible ... I know.
But I was beyond myself with happiness. 

I did not wait and immediately fried some for lunch. 
I had got some Lau shaak too and the menu formed right there in my mind. 
You have seen the plate in my last post here. 

I decided to make a post too. Just for posteriority. 

Need : 

Bok phool / Agasti phula / Hadgyacha phool - 1 small bowlful
Besan / Gram flour - 5 tbsp 

Rice flour - 1 tbsp 

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp 

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 

Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - ½ tsp 

Baking powder - a pinch 

Water to make a paste 

Salt - to taste 
Oil to deep fry 

How to : 

Clean the flowers by first removing the stamen carefully. 
Very gently place the flowers in salted water for around 15 minutes. 
Rinse them in plain water ..... they are very delicate, so you need to be real gentle here ...  and place them on a cotton kitchen towel. 

Make a slightly thin slurry with the rest of the ingredients, except for the oil. 
It should not be too thick. 

Heat oil. 
Dip the flowers in it to coat them completely and let in gently into the hot oil. 
Fry till golden brown on both sides. 
Remove and drain extra oil on paper napkins. 
Serve hot with a meal or as a snack with tea. 

 I still have some of the flowers left and am going to come up with something different the next time. 
Till then, stay tuned. 

Take care and stay safe. 

Posto diye Lau shaak or Bottle gourd leaves cooked with poppy seeds paste

Among the very few vegetarian food that I would eat when young,  was the shaak or green leafy vegetables . 
We used to have different kinds of shaak everyday on our lunch plate. Among the other compulsory things on the plate like a little Ucche or anything bitter, some Bhaate / boiled and mashed, a piece of lemon, etc. there would be a small pile a leafy vegetable everyday. 
And no, we could not skip it and move on to the rest of the sides like chenchra or chorchori or the main jhols of fish or meat. 
We had to wade through the bitter and the leafy things first. 

The kind of shaak would be varied too. 
One day it would be the Notey and the Kolmi on the other. Sometimes we would get the Gima, a favourite of mine with its slightly bitter taste. 
Then there would be the Shushni shaak, Paat shaak, Palong  and Methi in winters, and lots more. 
Staying away from home in a place where we do not see more than 3 or 4 varieties, I have started to even forget the names. 

The leaves of creepers would be used too. Kumro pata / pumpkin leaves, Lau pata / bottle gourd leaves, Ucche pata / bitter gourd leaves .... and so on. 
The bigger leaves like the former two would be used to paturis / wraps and also for making mixed veg dishes or chorchoris. 
The smaller ones would be used for a stir fry or to make Boras / deep fried dumplings. 

My favourite, however, is the way Ma cooked the Lau pata .... with posto or poppy seeds. And I loved it best when she added some jackfruit seeds too. 
Quick to cook, she would often cook it last, just before we sat down for lunch. 
When she brought the bowl of the steaming hot dish to the table,  I would take a deep breath of that sweet aroma of posto. 
And would take helpings after helpings, ignoring any meat or fish on the table that day. 
I loved to chew on the sweet, soft dnaata slowly, savouring the juicy bits of joints with a happiness that no meat or bone would be able to give. 

I got some Lau pata a few days back and soaked some posto immediately, having this dish in mind. 
And so made it for lunch. 

Need : 

Lau pata / Bottle gourd leaves 

Potatoes - cut into small cubes 

Chopped onion
Grated Ginger
Green chillies, broken 

Bori - I used my home made ones 

Poppy seeds paste 

Paanch phoron / Bengali five spice (a mix of fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, celery seeds. mustard seeds ) 

Oil  ( I use ghee ) 

How to : 

Soak poppy seeds and make a paste with very little water. 

Soak the leaves in salt water and wash well. 
Chop roughly and keep aside. 

Heat oil / ghee in a kadahi. 
Lightly fry the boris and keep aside. 

Heat oil / ghee. 

Add the paanch phoron .

Add the green chillies and the sliced onion. 

Fry and add the potatoes. Stir fry till half done. 

Now add the chopped leaves and cover. 

It will release water. After it has wilted, give a mix and add the boris, a little salt and the poppy seed paste. 

Mix well and cook till water is absorbed and everything is done. 

It will not be completely dry. 

Serve steaming hot. 
Here is a look of my lunch plate. 

Can you guess the fry on the side? 
More on it later. 

Till then, take care and stay safe. 
Do mask up and stay away from crowded places. 

 

Light Mutton Stew .... spicy, soupy and protein rich galore

Sunday done right.

 With a mutton curry that is very light with a thin soupy gravy to sip on while the rain dances outside.
Don't go by the plain Jane look of it .... this innocent looking bowlful packs quite a punch.
Fragrant with whole garam masala , spiced with black pepper ,
garlic as well as red chilli powder. 

I love spicy food and this one did clear up my throat later .
It is protein rich  and perfect for immunity boosting.

The recipe is very very easy.

I marinated the mutton  with vinegar and turmeric powder for more than an hour .... I finished cooking the vegetarian meals then .... and then in a heated pressure cooker added ghee ,
whole garam masalas, sliced onions and dry red chilli. 

Fried well till the onions browned well. 

Then added the mutton and fried on high heat for 2 minutes.
Then added ginger garlic paste, a little curd, red chilli powder and fried well till the masalas were well cooked. 

Added hot water and salt and a little sugar.
Rounded off with a sprinkle of my homemade garam masala powder. 

Closed cooker and cooked for 5 whistles on low heat.
And oh .... added potatoes too .

And it is done! Soupy, spicy thin gravy with tender, succulent pieces of mutton that actually melted in the mouth.
Mmmm 😋

 Can you see the mutton actually falling off the bone ?!
It was that soft and tender 😊 

You can pair this with either rice or parathas or rotis. 

Enjoy !! 

Do you like recipes written this way or do you prefer the whole list of ingredients and the detailed process? 
Do let me know in the comments. 

Phulkopi diye Rui macher jhol / Rohu fish curry with cauliflower ....... a healthy winter staple

After a long while, I am back with a post. 
While I am active on instagram as well as facebook, I have been lagging behind when it came to posting here.

For the  simple reason that I have nothing to write at all right now. 
But there are recipes that I make and fall in love with .... and want to make a post here just for my own reference .... if not for anybody else. 

Like this fish curry that I made the other day. I had to make this light Rui maacher jhol, with cauliflower one last time before winter is officially gone. Both, to savour the winter flavours one last time and also because a follower had asked me for the recipe of my version of this jhol, sometime back.

Since I was off fish for a longish while, couldn't post immediately.

But I had not forgotten. So here it is today.

For the fish curry - 

Need : 

Rohu fish - fried in mustard oil 
Cauliflower florets 
Grated ginger 
Dry red chillies 
Potatoes - sliced 
Turmeric powder 
Red chilli powder 
Coriander powder 
Roasted cumin powder 
Tomatoes - chopped 
Coriander leaves - chopped 
Coriander stalks - chopped 
Water
Salt 
Oil to temper 

How to : 

Heat  mustard oil and temper with jeera and dry red chillies.
Add grated ginger and then the sliced potatoes and cauliflower florets.

Add turmeric powder and a little salt and then water.
Cover and bring it to a boil.

Then add coriander powder,  jeera powder, coriander stalks and tomatoes.

When it starts to boil, add the fried fish pieces, adjust salt and cover and cook for some more time.
Round off with a generous sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves.

Done 

I removed some for the vegetarian man before adding the fish. He enjoyed it with parathas for dinner. 

I  also made some Ucche bhaja  / stir fried bitter gourd ,

Notey shaak bhaja / amaranth greens, sojne daata aloo bhaja / drumsticks and potatoes stir fried,

on the side.

The dal was leftover from yesterday's meal.

I will try to post more meals henceforth. 
My followers have requested more quickcooking and easy meals. Hence I have started two hashtags , namely, #mealsunderthirtymins and #cookingunder1hour, and will be making posts on them more than single dishes. 
I will try my best to post here. 
But I will posting regularly on my instagram account. 
So do follow me there as well as on Facebook too. 

Take care all. 
Stay safe and stay home. 
Praying everyone gets the vaccine soon. 

Chicken curry .... light, soupy and flavourful , perfect for winter meals

Ps : This was made sometime during the monsoons and has been sitting in my drafts all the while. 

I have given the story alongwith that led to the making of this curry. 

The very vegetarian, very Rajasthani husband cooked this beautiful chicken curry for me today. .

I woke up with a stiff back, body ache and painful hands. All that strain and working with water yesterday and sleeping with the a/c on last night has shown fruit. And has immobilised me completely. With the knowledge that it will be very difficult to get to my ortho or my physiotherapist, we decided that I take a break today. So while I stayed put with my heating pad and book, B took over the kitchen. .
.
.
I washed and prepped the chicken and asked him what should I marinate it with.
Drew a blank.
“Vinegar or curd?”.
“Vinegar. But very little.”
“Do you want big pieces or small pieces?”
Blank.
“What are you planning to cook ... a gravy? Or dry?”
“Hmm ... gravy. But dryish.”
“What will you be cooking in? Pressure cooker or kadahi?”
“Pressure cooker.”
So I gave him the pieces marinated with a little vinegar. .

After that I had  no idea how he made it.
But the moment the cooker let out the first whistle, I breathed in deep and knew I was in for a treat.
And a treat it indeed was.
I quickly make some mishti bhaat / basanti polau  for myself and happily put it in the background of the photo because that chicken curry / murgir jhol deserves all the limelight. .

It was light, perfect balance of salt and sugar and nothing overwhelming. Soothing, comforting, beautiful jhol.
Soft succulent pieces.
I realised it would go great with both plain rice as well as rotis.
I haven’t asked him the recipe but have asked him to make it again sometime.
It felt so good to have a homecooked chicken curry that I have not cooked myself.
Things like this makes the lockdown life bearable .

The recipe is ridiculously simple. 
I kept asking what else .... but this  is all ,  he says. 😊

Need : 

Chicken pieces 
Sliced onions

Ginger garlic paste 

Curd

Turmeric powder

Red chilli powder
Crushed black cardamom

Crushed black pepper 

Bay leaves

Salt

Sugar

Lemon juice 

Halved potato

Cooking oil  ( I use mustard oil ) 

How to : 

Mix everything together except the oil. 

Cover and keep aside for at least half an hour. 

Dump everything in a pressure cooker and cook for two whistles on low. 

Adjust gravy consistency with water as per your requirement. 

Serve steaming hot. 

I love to top with with some ghee and some more lemon juice and sip on it when the weather turns cold. 

This pairs beautifully with plain rice, rotis, parathas, mishti bhaat or even plain bread. 

That is what I love about it most .... its versatility. 

Enjoy!! 

Ps : I have been getting too many spam comments and at my wits end. 

If you are here, can you please help me out and tell me if you are able to see the captcha ??
Please share your commenting experience so that I can make the necessary changes. 

Thank you. 

 

Happy Diwali!

 Wish you a very happy Diwali !

May the Festival of Lights light up your life with much brightness and joy!!

Stay safe. Stay happy. 

❤️

Prawn Masala Fry and Prawn Rice ...... cooking a meal under thirty minutes

Yesterday I made a post on my instagram feed on one of my current knitting projects, as I was getting a lot of messages to share my works in progress. 
And I wrote about how this year has been for all of us. 
And could not help contemplating on it the whole day. 

I realised what I had written was just the tip of the iceberg. Given insta's limited word allowance per post, I am not always satisfied with writing there. Which is why I have almost stopped writing a good post. The hurried feel does not suit me. 

I like to write in a way that the reader gets the essence and the feel of not only the photo but also the setting , the prelude as well as the interlude and conclusion. 

So while I did mention how we all found out some hobby to hold on to for comfort in this difficult year, I felt a there is a lot more to it than what meets the eye. 
Like how we learnt to manage our days and to divide time among work and family and chores in a more balanced way.

How we learnt the real meaning of division of labour. 

And how to make the division of chores interesting .... focussing not only on the jobs getting done but also on  how to give the other person a break too. 

And the most important thing we learnt was how to manage the kitchen in the shortest possible time, how to cook up a nutritious meal for the family without getting exhausted and above all, how to come up with quick cooking ideas with the most basics of ingredients. 
And at the same time ensure that it is tasty to please every palate sitting at the dining table. 

No mean feat I must say. 

For me, it has been a long, difficult year when it comes to eating restaurant kind of food. 

Not that we used to eat out regularly. But I had a surgery last year towards the fag end of August and was on monitored food for almost 6 months. And just as we started to eat out a little .... we must have eaten out for exactly three times .... lockdown happened. 

And now it has been 8 months that I have been craving for some good Chinese food. Or a good Vada Pao. And Phuchka too. 

I have made every one of these at home too. And even more like baking breads, pavs, focaccia , cakes .... and so on. But it requires big work. Lots of effort. And at the end I feel so exhausted that actually enjoying the food becomes an effort too. 

So I have turned to cooking some spicy and masaledar food for myself recently. 

Any change to the tastebuds is welcome now. 

Recently, my fishmonger got me some very fresh and good sized prawns. 

They were so fresh that I wanted to keep the sweet taste with just a smattering of spices. 

And so made this beautiful fry. The coating was of spices and the inside held the juicy, sweet meat that was so good when bitten into. 

For the Masala Prwan Fry : 
 
Need : 

Prawns - 6 to 8 pieces, cleaned and deveined 

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp 
Jeera powder - 1 tsp 

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp 

Rice flour - 2 tbsp 

Salt - to taste 
Oil - to stir fry 

How to : 

Marinate the prawns with the rest of the ingredients except for the oil. 

Keep aside for 15 minutes. 

Heat oil. 

Let in the prawns one by one and fry till done. 

Serve immediately. 

For  the Prawn Rice : 

Need : 

Leftover Rice 
Whole garam masalas 
Chopped green chillies 
Salt to taste 

How to : 

In the same oil that the prawns have been fried, add the garam masalas
and the green chillies. 

Let in the rice and toss well. 

Add salt and adjust the rest of the seasonings. 

Remove and serve hot. 

Enjoy!! 


Here is my link to the post on Instagram where the write up is even better. 
I am going crazy trying to keep track and coordinate my writings at both places. 
Hope to sort out the time management soon so that I can write the same post and thoughts in both places as well as share the links too. 

Fried rice and Chilli chicken ... a Bengali's favourite classic combo meal

I cooked this for lunch last Sunday. 
And the way it turned out to be, immediately decided it should be on the blog. 

I have been missing eating out for a while now. Not that we used to eat out very frequently, before the pandemic shut the whole world up at home, but yes, once in a while we did.

Or at least  had the freedom and the option to go out and grab a bite when not feeling like cooking or stepping into the kitchen. 

Now, however, life has been revolving around the three meals and snacks the whole day.

Not to mention the boredom of the familiar tastes and masalas . 

And Chinese food being my favourite, it is there that I was hit the most.

I do cook chinese food at home ..... mostly for dinners. But that is limited to just stir fried vegetables, hakka noodles and my quick, cheat's  Chilli Chicken. 

This time, however, my intense craving for Chinese food made me decide to whip up a meal.

And in detail .... no short cuts. 

Easier said than done. 

Chinese food has one elaborate thing for sure .... and that is prepping. 

Cooking the actual dish does not take much time .... just throw in a little of this, a little of that, toss, toss, toss .... and done!
But the prepping .... boy! ..... takes up all the time you have and also exhausts you. 

I realised I had bitten off more than I can chew by the time I was halfway and neck deep into the prep work. And I thanked the good gods for providing me the sense to eat a heavy breakfast that morning. 
The greater part of my problem is cooking two kinds of food .... vegetarian and non vegetarian. 

And keeping everything apart so that nothing touches each other, planning to use the oil for deep frying for the vegetarian part first and then use it for non vegetarian ..... and so on.

These are the little things that require constant alertness and are really stressful and exhausting. 

I had leftover rice in the fridge. 

I had marinated chicken in the freezer. 

I had a block of paneer in the fridge.

B assured me he would chop the vegetables. 

And so I dived headlong into cooking lunch. 

For the Chilli Chicken : 

I make the Chilli chicken the way I have grown up eating .... with lots of green chillies nad no capsicums. You may add them if you like though. 

Need : 

Chicken pieces - 250 gms, marinated with ginger garlic paste, soy sauce and a little vinegar 

Cooking oil , enough for deep frying

Corn flour  - 1 tbsp

Maida / Apf - 3 tbsp

Rice flour - 1 tsp 

Diced onions 

Chopped green chillies 

Minced garlic

Minced ginger

Salt - to taste 

Sugar - to taste 

How to : 

Mix the flours with the marinated chicken. 

Heat oil and deep fry the pieces.  Keep aside. 

In a wok, heat a little oil. 

Add  garlic and ginger. Then add the green chillies and the diced onion. 

Stir fry on high heat and add the chicken pieces, soy sauce, vinegar and salt. 

Toss on high heat till everything comes together. 

For the  Vegetable Fried Rice  : 

Need : 

Leftover rice 

Cooking oil

Chopped vegetables like carrots, green peas, french beans, cauliflower

Chopped onions
Chopped green chillies

Minced garlic

Minced ginger

Soy sauce

A little vinegar

Black pepper powder

Salt

Sugar

How to : 

Heat oil in a seasoned iron wok. 

Add chopped garlic and ginger. Toss.

Add chopped onion and green chillies. 

Add the vegetables and toss on high heat.

Add the rice and the rest of the ingredients and toss on high heat till everything comes together. 
Serve hot. 

 
And now .... as promised on my last post .... the winner of the giveaway of the beautiful book by Sandeepa Bongmom, Those Delicious Letters . 

I made chits and drew out the name of  ..... 
Julie of Savoury Delights !!!!! 

Congratulatoins Julie!!! 
Do drop me an email with your full address and phone number so that I can ship the book to you. 


My next post is going to be on another classic ..... so stay tuned folks! 

Stay safe. Stay at home. 💓


You can find my other recipes on Chinese food here. 

Khichuri and its companions .... for Durga puja 2020

 

Durga Puja came and went by.

Today is Nabami. Only one more day left.. 

The only festival Bengalis all over the world look forward to. 

The festive feelings, the enthusiasm, the excitement of wearing new clothes, meeting friends and families, spending time at the pujo pandals, the crowd, the reverberating dhaaks and the conch shells, the fragrance of incense and flowers, the rustle of new fabrics, silks and cotton, the aroma of bhog / prasad as well as the food being made at the stalls .... all spell Durga puja. 

All ended. All snuffed out. 

Just by one deadly pandemic. 

One life taking pandemic. 

So many people could not go home to be with their families. 

So many parents spent the days alone, at home. 

The whole world has been shut up at home. 

As if it has been covered with a dark, heavy blanket. 

As if rejoicing is banned. As if breathing is illegal. 

My heart went out especially to those Bengalis who craved just one chance to see the face of the goddess. Just one time. 
To offer pushpanjali / obeisance with flowers. 

To be able to live just for one moment the festive feel. 

Due to safety measures, most places have not organised the celebrations of Durga puja. 

And whichever few have, they have set restrictions and have not allowed anybody other than members to attend the functions. 

And the cry of despair on the social network pages has been heart rending ..... everybody asking for one place where they can get a glimpse of the goddess or offer puja. At least for a few moments. 

Having said that, I must mention the excellent arrangements the organisations have made for regular live streaming of all the activities for people to watch from the safety of their home. 

From Pushpanjali to aarti to cultural programs .... everything. 

And people have been most sensible in doing that .... staying at home and creating happiness for themselves in their own way. 

Memories of pujo in my childhood flood me today. 

Getting ready early, wearing the dress that has been the result of months of agonising on designs and fabric and discussions with Didi and the rest of the brood, going to the pujo mandap with Dadu with a trail of helpers carrying the pujor dali / offerings, while the rest of the ladies of the family and Thamma would come later. 

And then, lunch! 

Ashtami lunch would be Luchi, Cholar dal, labra and chaatni. And papor bhaja / papad.

And of course a sweet. 

We cousins would sit in the long verandah, in a line. Fresh banana leaves would be placed in front of us and Kakimas would serve the food. 

But the luchi was always served by Thamma. 

Carrying an open, oval shaped jhuri filled with hot, fluffy luchis, she would pick out each grandchild's favourite and place it on the leaf. 

I loved fluffy ones. Didi loved both the fluffy as well as the flat ones, the youngest one loved the crisp browned ones .... and so on. 
The Cholar dal would be thick, sweetish with generous bits of fried coconut in it. We kids loved to trouble whoever was serving to fish out more coconut pieces for us. 😀 
And we loved to break a piece of the papad and scoop up some chaatni with it and stuff our mouths. 

The savoury crisp crushing inside our mouths, mixed with the syrupy sweetness of the chaatni would make us go mmmmmmm. 

Days gone by a little too soon.

Sigh. 😞

I had orders for the traditional Khichuri plate for lunch. 

People who did not go to the pandals and wanted to enjoy the regular, traditional bhoger khichuri had placed  orders with me. 

I made the regular accompaniments that go with it. And offered it as prosad / bhog in our mandir at home. And then sent out the batches. 

Tried my best to give a festive feel to my loyal clients through my homecooked food. 

May the divine goddess give us the shakti / strength to fight every demon of ill intentions in the world. 

As well as within us. 

May Durga keep us and the whole world in her care. 

Happy Dussera!! 

Ps : I will declare the winner of my giveaway in my next post. 

Sorry for the delay. 

Laccha paratha and Egg curry ... with Punjabi dhaba like flavours

I had made this meal quite a long time back. Maybe a few months. I did post on Instagram but wanted to make a post here too. 

Given that I do not cook rich food regularly, I had wanted to keep a track of this recipe. 

And more so because I cook as I go .... I never ever follow a recipe. I just can't. 

I cook as my heart guides me.

Whatever it calls out for, I add to the food.

And so, more often than not, I forget my own recipes.

I have trying to increase the protein content of B's food intake. He is a vegetarian but can eat eggs once in a while. That  too only omelettes. 

So I decided , for a change , to cook some Egg curry for him. 

And disguise the flavours of boiled egg in a rich, spicy gravy that would be fragrant with spices too. 

And since I have a decent variety of punjabi flavoured masalas and spices in my kitchen, I decided to make a punjabi styled gravy. 

Having said that, I must mention that dhaba food, for me , has always been the Dimer torka ( another recipe that I have always wanted to make a post on ) and country chicken curry with fresh, handmade rotis . 

On our travels all over Odisha, the highlight would be when Bapi would decide to stop for a meal. 

Once we pulled over at the selected dhaba beside the highway, we would sit on the charpais  / rope cots laid out under a huge, old tree .... sometimes the banyan, neem or at other times the peepal or mango. 

We never needed a menu. 

Bapi would ask for fresh chicken curry. And Dimer torka.

And I would always ask for an omelette. 

I loved tearing off a piece of the super hot roti, loaded with dry flour, dust it off and tear a piece of the omelette, dip it in the torka and eat it. 

There was something about the  heavy, afternoon breeze under the trees, the smoking hot fresh food in front of us and Bapi lying on the charpai, looking up at the sky, that makes it one of my best childhood memories. And it wasn't any wonder I never remembered the rest of our journey ever, after that kind of a meal. I would always fall asleep. ☺☺

Coming back to my meal and recipe, I made Laccha parathas to go with the egg curry. 

I have tried making Laccha parathas earlier too ... but this time the layers were better and so good enough for me to make a post. 

I have recently learnt a new technique and will be posting it soon. 


For the Laccha Parathas : 

Need : 

Maida / APF 
Oil - for kneading and frying 
Salt 
Curd 
Water 

How to : 

Mix everything together, except water. 
Use the water, a little at a time and knead a smooth dough. 
Cover and keep aside for at least an hour. 

Cut medium sized balls out of the  dough. 

Roll out a thin roti. 

Apply oil and some dry flour all over. 

Roll it up like a pipe. 

Roll it up again sideways to make a ball. 

Flatten it and roll out a roti again. Do not apply too much pressure. 

Fry on a hot tawa till brown and crisp on both sides. 

 
For the Egg curry 

I cooked the masala twice ... a technique I do not use much. But the gravy comes out very smooth and is perfect for occasional times.

Need : 

Boiled eggs  - 4, shelled and fried in a little oil with turmeric powder

Onions - sliced - 1 medium

Garlic cloves  -  6 to 8 

Black cardamom - 1 
Green cardamom - 1 

Onions chopped - 1 

Tomatoes - 3 medium 

Mustard oil - 2 tbsp 

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp 

Red chillies - 3 , broken 
Everest Kitchen King powder - 1 tsp 

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 

Kasuri methi - a little 

Salt - to taste 

Sugar - to taste 

Ghee - 1 tbsp

How to : 

Heat mustard oil. 

Add  cumin seeds, red chilli, sliced onions, garlic cloves,  black cardamom and tomatoes with some salt.
Cover and cook till soft and done.

Cool and blend smooth in a mixie.

Heat oil in another kadahi.

Add green cardamom, jeera and chopped onions. 

Fry  till the onions turned soft and pink.

Add the blended paste, kitchen king powder, red chilli powder, a little sugar, salt and kasuri methi and a little water.

Simmer, add the eggs and cover.

Let it cook for some more time and the flavours to get together. 

Top with a spoonful of ghee before removing from heat. 

Done ✅ 

Enjoy!! 

Hope you have taken part in my giveaway of this fabulous book. 

Hurry!!

Bengali Fish Chop ..... fish croquettes

With the first signs of winter setting in, the nights have cooler recently .
The perfect time for my muscle problems to set in. Trying to slow me down.
I am trying hard to keep pulling on.
Durga puja is just around the corner. We know it won't be the same this year. As before. 

The careful will stay in.
The lucky ones, who are with their family, will stay in.
But those who are alone, far away from home, might want to venture out to visit the pandals.
The loneliness and nostalgia will overwhelm them and they would want to out just once. 

To get that pujo pujo feel.
To hear the dhaaks reverberating.
The conch shells blowing.
The air heavy with dhuno and incense.

To look up at the glowing face of the mother goddess.
Eyes asking if all will be well again.
And hearts praying to keep the dear ones back home, safe.
And looking for that assurance that the next year, Pujo will be like what it was in the past years.
Asking for the faith and strength to move on to the next year with positive determination. 


This year, the pandemic has taken too much from us. 
Lives, hopes, dreams, jobs, normal life. 

Laughter, carefree happiness, joy, smiles. 
The assurance of presence, a warm hug, sharing a meal together, sharing a precious moment together. 
All snatched away. 

My thoughts turn to Bapi (dad) who would look forward to pujo just because I would be home.
He would start reminding me to book the tickets trom as early as two months before pujo.
Today,  there is nobody to call me home urgently. 
With the same overpowering, unconditional love.
Guess I have grown up.
And grown apart.
Guess that is life.

I had made these Maacher chops or Fish chops a long time back and had posted on Instagram. 
And had wanted to share it on the blog too. 

But then, as usual, it took me this long to be able to sit down for that. 

As I started to write about this much loved snack that Bengalis would enjoy at the food stalls, during Durga pujo, I decided that a write up about pujo would be apt to accompany these beautiful fish chops. 

So I picked up what I had written yesterday on my Insta and paired it with the chops here. 
I think both the food and the nostalgia will go well. 

I will take you to the recipe now. 
And hope that you will create them in your kitchen this pujo and enjoy .

And let it transport you to the pujo pandels where the smells of hot oil and deep fried food would be wafting all around. 

Just close your eye, be there in spirit and munch on a Fish chop. 

And stay home, to stay safe. 

Aasche bochor abaar hobe. 

I have used the Rui mach / Rohu fish. You may the use the bhetki too. 
There were some tail pieces that I usually use to make a makha / mash or a fish kheema .  
Also I fry them since I don’t like the smell of boiled fish.

Need : 

Pieces of fried fish , deboned - 1 cup

Boiled potatoes - 1 medium 

Chopped onions - 1 medium 

Chopped ginger - 1 tsp 
Chopped raisins - 1 tbsp 

Paste of garlic and green chillies - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 

Bengali garam masala powder - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - to taste

Cornflour - to make a slurry 

Breadcrumbs 
Mustard oil 

How to : 

Mash the deboned fish with the boiled potatoes. 

Heat 2 tsp oil and add the chopped onions, the garlic chilli paste and fry well. 

Add turmeric and red chilli powder, salt and the mashed fish and salt and sugar.

Fry well. 

Add the chopped raisins and the garam masala.

Mix everything well. 

Remove from heat and cool. 

Make a slurry with the cornflour and water.

Make small balls from the fish mixture .... you can give them any shape you want to .... dip them in the cornflour slurry and coat them with breadcrumbs. 

Place all of them on a plate and keep in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

 Heat enough  oil and deep fry them in batches. 

Done ✅ 
Enjoy! 

 PS : 

Hope you have checked out my giveaway for a wonderful book by Sandeepa aka Bongmomcookbook, on my blog. 

Last date is 20th of October. 

Do hurry!

Lau Khosha Shorshe Narkel diye / Bottle Gourd peels cooked with Mustard paste and Coconut

Hello hello !!
How are you doing?
I am back with a recipe that I have been longing to post.
And nudge my blog awake.

Hope all of you are dealing with the recent pandemic Covid 19 with patience.
And hope that all of you are taking care of yourselves and others too.

I have been posting my daily healthy and light meals on Instagram regularly.
But did not have the mojo to post something here since I do not feel like writing much these days.
The last two years have been a whirlwind for us, with the graph going south all the while.
And hence did not see any reason to be morbid here too.

But when I posted one of my meal plates on insta a few days ago, when I had cooked the simple Lau Khosha / bottle gourd peels with Posto / poppy seeds, I got a lot of dms asking me for the recipe.
And that is when it struck me that I should have it on my blog too.

So decided to make a post today, since I had the chopped peels in the fridge.
But could not find any posto paste in the freezer.
Instead saw some cubes of mustard paste and some grated coconut.

And it struck me ... I can cook a shorshe jhaal with them.
Did a quick search on the internet and did not find any recipe that cooks Lau khosha with Shorshe.
All I saw was the very common Lau khosha bhaja. Or bata / paste.

And quickly set off to cook some.
And quickly make a post.
😊

Need :

Bottle gourd / Lau peels - cut into strips
Potato - cut into strips
Onion - sliced
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds
Green chillies
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Mustard paste
Freshly grated coconut
Salt
Sugar
Mustard oil

How to :

Heat oil and add the kalo jeere and onions.
Stir and add the potatoes and the peels.

Add turmeric, red chilli powder and salt.
Cover and cook till done.

Add the mustard paste and the grated coconut.
Mix well and cover for some more time.

Add the sugar, stir well.

Serve hot with rice.

That's all.
I'll try to keep posting here as frequently as possible.

Or else you can join me, enjoy my new recipes and keep in touch on Instagram. 
And on my blog's page on Facebook. 
I am more active there right now.

Do take care and stay home.

Subho Bijoya and happy Dussera 2018!

I was out of the country last year , vacationing in the US of A, so had huge plans for Durga puja this year. But as luck would have it, all my plans went up in the air as an accident rendered me immobile. Not only were the muscles of my hands, shoulder and upper back damaged, as well as the wrists, but also I ended up with a huge cut across my face, nose and chin.
Not to mention the swelling that came with it .... I couldn't recognise my own self in the mirror.

So the days passed by in a haze of pain killers and before I knew it, it was Navami already.
And since I don't like to be defeated, especially by life, I took this challenge too, just like I have the numerous times it has thrown me one and went to watch the Aarti in the evening. Yes bruised body and face notwithstanding.

The sound of the dhaaks, the conch blowing, the priest performing aarti and the ringing the bell, the smell of camphor and dhuno in the air, the crowd watching mesmerised ..... everything was like a balm on my pain and I came back home with a feeling of peace and the belief that all will be well soon.
Today dawned beautiful after last night's heavy rain and I craved the bhog or from the puja pandal that I missed this time.
And then decided to cook some as soon as the pain killer started to work.

So here is my plate of khichuri bhog. 
I made the dryish bhaja khichuri, cauliflower and potatoes cooked with white matar/chana/ legumes, tomato and khejur er chaatni , beguni / batter fried brinjal and batter fried green chillies.
B fried papad too but a little later,so not in the picture.

I plated everything together, trying to replicate the bhoger thala/plate, where everything is served in one plate.
I absolutely love the mix of flavours .... the dry khichuri, the gravy of the curry, the sweetness of the tomato chatni, along with the crunch of  the papad.

Savoured this meal and was glad I decided to do it.
Also, I am glad that I believe tomorrow never comes.

Live like you want to and you will have no regrets. Ever.
All you need is a little will and a lot of power.

Shubho Bijoya Dashami and happy Dusherra!! .
May your life be filled with light, love and everything good.

Pui shaak diye Ilish macher mudo / Hilsa head cooked with Malabar spinach

 It is that time of the year. Again.
When the sun is out finally after the rains have withdrawn for good.
When the mornings start with a slight nip in the air and then the afternoons turn fiercely hot.
When the smell of festive times is all over in the air.
When you know Ganeshotsav and then Durga puja is just around the corner.
When you remember the smell of sun soaked clothes and mattresses that have spent the day outside , back home, while the house is cleaned inside out in preparation for Durga puja.
When you remember the smell of Thamma's achars / pickles as the numerous jars and bottles are sunned too.
When you can feel the excitement of buying and planning designs with your cousins for new clothes.
When you step out into the kitchen verandah one late afternoon to see Thamma sitting quietly in front of the khirki duar / backdoor , looking out into the pond and drying her long hair in the breeze coming from across the deep, dark waters of the pond.
And your heart suddenly feels heavy with that surge of love for her.

It is that time of the year when I long to take the next flight home. And be in the midst of the busy family, quietly soaking in everything.
It is that time of the year when I miss Bapi's excited calls asking when was I coming.
It is that time of the year when nostalgia takes over and the weather turns fabulous and the evenings turn maddeningly beautiful with the bright yet soft sun and a heavy 'mon kemon kora' breeze passing by once in a while.

I try to focus on the house that I call my home now instead.
Loads of decluttering and cleaning to do.
Lots of things to be given away.
Now that the sun is back, loads of things need sunning.
I am like a plant .... I can't survive without the sun. Every single thing in my house needs to be sunned.
So lots of things to do now.
And to top it all, there is some travel coming up next week.
So it is all about hurrying right now. 

 Meanwhile, the past couple of weeks have been real hectic.
One of the days I cooked Khichuri in bulk for the street children that I often feed ... in memory of Bapi on his death anniversary.
I love going out and handing these hot packages of food to the little hands that come up to my car window. A few do not ... they are so small.
I love to hear their little screams of delight on finding some sweet. Or when I hand out ice creams.
Bapi loved ice cream.
And while I have not been able to eat a single ice cream ever since he left us, I do regularly distribute them to the little children on the streets.
Fills my heart with a some satisfaction and a lot of joy.

On another side, I have been cooking Ilish at home a little too regularly.
Given that I got two good fishes this time, I have had my fill.
And since I had a good growth of the Pui that I had planted some years ago, I decided to use them with one of the Ilish heads to make this chanchra. Or chorchori.
Or whatever you would like to call it.
There are a lot of ways that I cook Ilish head in. But my favourite is the tauk.
And this ... with the Pui shaak / Malabar spinach.


Need :

Ilish / Hilsa fish head - marinated with salt and turmeric
Chopped vegetables - I used pumpkin, ridge gourd, potato
Pui shaak / Malabar spinach - leaf and stem chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chopped onion
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Panch phoron / Bengali five spice powder
Dry Red chillies
Salt
Mustard oil

How to :

Heat the mustard oil in a kadahi and fry the fish head.
Break into pieces and keep aside.

In the same oil add paanch phoron + red chillies + sliced onions.
Fry and then add ginger garlic paste.
Fry well and add haldi mirchi powder.

Now add the vegetables , salt , cover and cook till the veggies are half done.

Now add the washed and cut pui shaak and the fish head.

Cover and cook ...stirring once in a while.

Sprinkle a little red chilli powder, mix well and keep covered for a while before serving.


 I used ginger garlic paste for the first time with Ilish.
And I must say I loved the combination.
With the Rohu head, it is a different taste.
And with the ilish, it is again different.

I did not add the usual pinch of sugar and loved the change in the taste.

 Pair it with some hot rice and enjoy!!