Besan chila ki dahiwali sabzi ..... part of a vegetarian meal plate

I spent most part of the last week relaxing and catching up with my reading, knitting and some bingeing on some light series on Netflix. They are mostly light romances or just simple stories with a backdrop of a small town and the people there. I had loved Virgin River and am right now on Good Witch.
Somewhere in between, I binged on the K drama Heaven's Garden. And was totally smitten by it. I will start on Crash landing on you soon.

The other day I was reading an article about this current craze for kdramas / Korean tv serials .
If you ask me the reason, I will happily give mine.
For starters, they are extremely well made.
The actors are fine, the stories clean and realistic, beautiful locations and above all, you can watch them forever without having a cringe inducing scene jumping right at you or a burst of foul language that will push you to seek for the fast forward ⏩ button.

Honestly I am totally over our desi series.
They are unnecessarily gory, filled with foul language and over the top crime and extremely distasteful scenes of physical intimacy.
I actually check out the ratings first and then decide if they are 'safe' for me to watch 😄

However I am very much a desi when it comes to home cooked food .
This lunch plate has  -  

Besan cheela ki sabzi : 

Make a thin batter with besan /  gram flour, salt, cumin seeds, hing, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and water. 

Make cheela / crepes on a flat pan or tawa like so. 

Cut into thick strips. 

Beat curd with a little besan and water in a bowl. 
Add turmeric powder, salt. 
Heat a little ghee. 
Add cumin seeds and hing. 
 
Add the curd and cook on low heat till it starts to simmer. 

Let in the chila strips and cook till they soak up enough liquid. 

Serve hot. 

Kale chane ki sabzi : 

Soak and boil black chickpeas. 
Cut potatoes into cubes. 
Chop onions and green chillies. 
Heat ghee. 
Add jeera and the onion. 
Stri fry till pink and add the potatoes. 

Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. 
Cover and cook till just done. 

Add the boiled chickpeas, red chilli powder and the green chillies. 

Cover and cook till everything comes together. 

Sprinkle a little garam masala powder and serve hot. 

My oil free Hing ka achar : 

Mooli ki bhuji 

Cut radish / Mooli into strips. 
Heat oil .... I use 1 tsp of ghee. 
Add jeera / cumin seeds and hing. 
Add in the radish strips and turmeric powder + salt. 

Stir and cover. Cook till done. 

Another look of the full plate. 

 You can see the post here too.  

And here too. 

Enjoy!! 

Dal Baati Churma Thali or Rajasthani Thali ...... a full meal of delectable vegetarian food

I have been getting a lot of requests to post full meal plans on the blog. 
While I do post my daily meals regularly on Instagram as well as on my FaceBook page, I have not been regular in posting here because of the lack of time. 
To post here, I will need to be armed with complete details of the food. 
How, when, why, and then the full recipe. 
Which makes it easier for me to ignore. 

But the guilt overwhelms. 

I started off with the blog first, after all. 
So no matter how difficult it might be, I will try to post my full meal plates henceforth. 

Starting off with the much loved, glamorous Dal, Baati Churma thali that I cooked for B on his birthday last month. 
I make dal baati meals regularly at home ..... it is a huge relief getting a break from rolling out and cooking rotis. 
I just make the dough and set them in the oven to cook. 
Saves loads of time. 

On my plate here is - 

Gatte ki shukhi sabzi 

Cook the Gatte by following the recipe here. 

Cut them up into medium pieces. 
Temper ghee with jeera, hing and add the gatta pieces. 
Toss with turmeric powder, red chilli powder, amchur powder and salt, till all the spices coat the gattas well and everything comes together. 

Chatpata Kaddu / Spicy Pumpkin sabzi : 

This is a family favourite.
Fresh sweet pumpkin pieces cooked with dry spices to make it spicy and tangy.
You will find the recipe here. 

Aloo bhindi ki sabzi : 

Temper oil ( I use ghee ) with jeera + hing + ajwain and add sliced potatoes. 

Stir fry on high, add turmeric powder and red chilli powder and salt. 

Add cut okra pieces and cover and  cook till everything is done. 

Add some dhania powder, mix well. 

Gulab Jamun : 

You will find the recipe here. 

Jeera Rice : 

Heat ghee in a heavy kadahi. 
Add a big dose of jeera ... more than you would add to a sabzi .... and black cardamom. 
Add sliced onions and fry them on low heat till almost brown. 
Add washed and soaked rice, salt and fry for around 5 minutes. 
Add water, cover and cook till the rice is just done. 

Churma : 

You will find the recipe here. 

Makke ka Dhokla :  

You will find the recipe here.  

Another look. 

 How to serve Dal baat : 

Pour the dal into a serving bowl. 
Break a couple of baatis on it. 
Top with a dollop of ghee. 

Enjoy!! 

 

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. 

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.

Narkel Kanchalonka Doi diye Chicken / Chicken cooked with coconut, green chillies and curd

 There are days when you make a recipe.
And then there are days when a recipe makes you.

I was running short of time today as I rushed through my daily chores while something kept nagging at the back of my head.
That something was important ... very important to me ... it had been almost a week since I had eaten a proper non vegetarian meal last.
Barring the one quick stir fried chilli chicken and a boiled egg one day with my soft, phyana bhaat ( if you are with me on instragram or facebook, you will know. )
So as I did the laundry and kept away the dishes, visions of a steaming hot mutton curry and some hot rice danced before my eyes.
By the time it was early noon, I could not take it any more.
More so because B's favourite summer combo meal was almost done.
And there was nothing to tempt me to sit down for lunch.
I had to have some mangshor jhol .... urgently.

The day had not started on a good note.
A sad news regarding a childhood friend's loss had already set a morbid spell and I desperately needed something to break it.
So dropped everything and went out to get mutton.
As luck would have it, there was no mutton ... "You will get it by 2:00 o'clock, Ma'am" was what I got.
I had no intention of waiting till two, so grabbed a half kilo pack of chicken and came home.
And then realised that I have run out of my homemade ginger garlic paste ... not a cube in the freezer.
Thankfully I had some already peeled garlic in the fridge.
And found the chutney jar of my mixer in the fridge .... with a good amount of coconut paste in it!!

I knew immediately what to do. No standing and frying and koshaoing for long.
All I would do was mix everything and set it to cook.
And that is how this beautiful recipe came by to brighten up my day .... or whatever was left of it.

 I had curd in the fridge ... it was a few days old as well as store bought ... which made it slightly sour and was perfect to cook meat with.
I decided to cook all the chicken at once and freeze batches ... that will save me a few hours of cooking for the next few days , when I can concentrate on my sewing.
So mixed the chicken with curd and masalas and let it sit for around 15 minutes while I made the Aamras ( pureed the mango ) for B's meal.
And then sat it on the stove to cook while I went back to my chores.
In less than half an hour, it was done ... slow cooked to perfection.
No frying, no stirring, no checking on, no hassles at all.


I am tempted to call this a no oil preparation but that one spoonful of mustard oil in the marination is holding me back.
Whatever oil you see in the picture is from the curd and the chicken's fat (there was not much ... I am just assuming. )

This curry turned out so darned good that I decided to make a post pronto .... almost as if the flavours will die away if I don't.
While clicking the photos, I had to adjust the gravy and wipe the sides and once I licked my fingers, I just could not get over with clicking and start eating.
It was just so, so good ... if I may say so.

Do give it a try ... I am sure you will love it.

Need :

To make the paste -

Grated coconut - around 8 tbsp
Garlic - 12 cloves of medium size
Ginger - half an inch piece
Green chillies - 2 (depending on the heat )

Run everything with a little water , in a grinder, to make a coarse paste.

For the curry -

Chicken - ½ kilo
Curd - 5 tbsp
Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 2 tsp
Dhania / Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp ( I used a little biryani masala as I did not have garam masala )
Mustard oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste


How to :

Mix all the ingredients and the coconut paste and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Pour in a heavy bottomed kadahi / pan and cover tightly.

Set it on low heat and let it cook till chicken is done and desired consistency of the gravy is reached.

Remove cover and check for salt and sweetness.
If needed, add and cover and simmer for a couple of minutes more.

Or else, remove from heat.

Serve hot.

Goes great with rice, rotis or parathas.
And while it looks rich and heavy, it is one of the lightest of dishes that I have ever cooked. 

Enjoy!!

Dhuli Moong ki Dal / Tempered Yellow Lentils

So spring is in the air.
A few days of stifling heat had led us to believe that summer is here ... bang in the middle of a beautiful February.
But no.
Soon the haze ... read pollution ... in the air cleared and Pune was sparkling again.
The air was so clean that the sun seemed brighter and the night sky was filled with the brightest of twinkling stars again.
We are the lucky few who still get to see the stars at night .... beyond eye piercing led lights and smog, that have taken the rest of the country by the throat.
We still have trees around here, which is why we can enjoy even the lightest of breeze and lots of chirping of birds.

I am loving sitting out in the balcony these evenings.
The sun turns a pink red as it prepares to set, the old peepal turns dark against it, the birds swoop down on my balcony for a last drink of water before returning to their nests as B hands me a cup of my favourite, light Darjeeling tea before sitting down beside me.
We sit there till it turns dark and the first few stars come out, taking in the cooling breeze and the birds' chirping, along with the smell of wet earth from my just watered plants.

I have been cooking regularly but since I have not clicked any photos, I cannot make posts.
Also, I am taking it a little easy these days.
The pressure of cooking a complete meal, along with other chores doubles when I have to click a photo.
All that laying out, arranging the food on the table, arranging curtains to let light in, cleaning up .... everything seems overwhelming at times.
Especially when we have a matter of vegetarian food and non vegetarian food at home.
So balancing B's lunch time, after which I bring out my fish to photograph, at times, throws me out of time balance.
And leaves me too drained to even look at what I am eating.
Therefore, at times,  I just give up , breathe easy , enjoy my food and B's company during lunch.

Like on Thursday, I packed my freezer with some good Rohu and fresh water prawns.
And while doing that, my mind was buzzing with the number of recipes I can post with prawns.
But when I finally fried some yesterday, all I wanted was to sit down with my plate of food and that is just what I did.
No ... did not even click a photo for Instagram too.
And boy! did I love it!
Smooth, sweet life ... no pressure of showing off my plate or my food or my recipe.
At times, we do need to breathe easy and let time pass by.

And that is what I am doing these days .... breathing easy and watching time pass by me.

I may have taken this easy thing a tad too far when we decided to go out for lunch on Tuesday afternoon, instead of cooking at home. B looked up the net and we decided to try the branch of Bhagat Tarachand, a vegetarian restaurant that we had not tried before.
And my phase of disappointment took another step ahead.
We had asked for the thali as we were famished and did not want to go through a huge menu.
After what seemed like ages, we got our thalis.
Each plate had exactly 5 small bowls, two of which had one single little corn tikki and a gulab jamun respectively.
The other three had a mixed veg, that tasted stale, a palak paneer that tasted of raw greens and the last one held a few long dead and limp deep fried cauliflower and a few small potato pieces.
And every single thing was cold.
Except for the rotis that came hot, scrunched up and bleeding oil.

We were so disappointed that I am glad I did not click a photo before eating.
I have seen and eaten at better thali places .... even Sahare, near Pune staion, has better food than this place.

All this eating out at disappointing places made me gear up and cook a light lunch the next day.
Which was when I made this light Moong ki dal ... yellow lentils boiled and tempered mildly.

I do not roast the Moong dal, as Bengalis usually do. This is made in my Rajasthani family and I fell in love with the beautiful flavour of raw moong dal.
While it is usually eaten with rotis, it goes beautifully with plain rice too.

Need :

Yellow Moong dal - 1 cup
Water - 2½ cups ( use the same cup )
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste ( I keep it low )

How to :

Pressure cook the dal with water + salt + turmeric powder for two whistles on low flame.
( I do not soak the dal ... if you do then I think one whistle will be enough. )

Cool cooker and remove cover.

Heat the ghee in a pan.

Add the jeera.
When it starts to splutter, add the red chilli powder and immediately remove from heat.

Pour it in the dal and set it on heat again.

Give a good stir.

If needed, add some more water and simmer for a minute or two.

Remove from heat and serve hot.

We had it with roti, cabbage cooked with vadis, tomato chutney and gajar ka halwa on the side.

Enjoy!!

Mushur Dal Sheddho / Boiled Masoor Dal

To me, summer means a hardworking sun.
Summer means new leaves and fragrant flowers on the mango trees.
Summer means that light, soothing breeze from the pond, in the afternoons, when the fans did not work due to load shedding.
Summer means the sweet, ripe mangoes that were plucked in the morning and kept on wet sand, for us children to wake up  from our afternoon nap and bite into.
Summer means yellow, mango juice stains on white frocks.

Summer meant waking up to the fragrance of the Bel phool ( Mogra flower ) plants under Thamma's window, near her head.
Summer means evenings with a balmy breeze.
Summer means that beautiful smell of dry, thirsty earth when I watered our garden with a hosepipe.

Summer means light food.
Summer means Ma's watermelon juice.
Summer means the bunches of sweet Lichu (Lychee) that Bapi brought.

Summer means Thamma's achars and ambols.

Summer means Dadu's house and paanto bhaat.
With aloo sheddho, dal sheddho, maach makha, bori bhaja and shaak bhaja.
With a drop or two of achar er tel or pickle oil.
Summer means lying on the cool floor of red cement, polished with time, in Dadu's house after a lunch of paanto.
And listen to the repeated creaks of the old fan, that slowly lulls you sleep.

Summer is made of things memories are made of.

I can go on and on.
Though officially summer hasn't set in, not yet.
But the weather outside surely spells summer.
It is extremely hot and given Pune's dry and humid free weather, burning hot is more apt to describe it.
But nature still is in spring and the trees are still bare.
New, baby leaves are yet to come.

And in these days, all I crave is plain steamed or boiled food.
As light as possible.
Given my way of cooking, food can't get any lighter in my home. But I still cannot stand a tempering of spices, leave alone frying pastes and making gravies.
Which is why I am resorting to plain boiled food.

In the Bengali way of cooking, plain boiled food can be made extremely tasty.
If you have made friends with the mustard oil, then you have won the battle already.
And if not, there is always ghee.
One dollop and a boiled and mashed vegetable, with some green chilli mashed in, it tastes like manna from heaven.
You have to try it to believe me.

I make this dal sheddho a lot, both during summer and winter.
Red masoor dal is high in protein and is very healthy.
In winters, I use it to make vegetable soups.
Or just sip on its water when plain boiled , with a drop of ghee or butter and some freshly ground black pepper.
Does wonders to a sore throat.

In summer, I jazz it up with some raw chopped onions and green chillies.
A dash of mustard oil is all that is needed for fragrance and that kick, to take it to the next level.
If having it with the paanto bhaat, I keep it thicker so that it is easy to mash.
And for eating it with rice, I keep it slightly diluted.
Like I did this time, when I made it for lunch.

The recipe is fairly simple.

Need :

Red Masoor dal - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Onion - 1 medium, chopped into very small pieces
Green chillies - 2, chopped
Coriander leaves - chopped ( optional , I use only in winters )
Salt - to taste
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 3 cups ( use the same cup used for measuring the dal )

How to :

Boil the dal with the turmeric powder + water + salt in a pressure cooker.

Remove and cool a little.

Add the chopped onion + green chillies + coriander leaves.
Add the onions only when the dal cools down.

Top it with mustard oil.

Serve warm with rice.

Here is a picture of my light, simple lunch with the Dal sheddho, some Dharosh (Okra)  bhaja  and some biulir daler bora.
Post on Dharosh bhaja is coming up soon.

Enjoy!!

Mooli ki kadhi with no fry pakodas ... a desi vegetable soup for a desi winter lunch

 Hello! Bonjour!!!

Yes, it is me alright.
You know me, so you can ignore the greetings and be just plain happy, like I am right now, to be back on Kitchen-e-Kichu Khonn again.
And that greetings is my hangover from my recent visit to the Big Apple, via France.
Yes, I am just back from a longish vacation, all rested and raring to cook, eat, click and post again.

I had sincerely wanted to make a post or two initially, but after landing in New York, I was so caught up with the sightseeing and eating out and of course sleeping in, when the weather did not permit ... which was a rare one day, I thought I would give myself a proper break.
That way I could focus on the present .... and what a lovely present it was.

The weather was gorgeous and everybody said that I was lucky winter was arriving late this year.
I caught the fall, the fall colours and fell in love a thousand times in one day.
I walked like I have never walked before, taking in the sights and smells and the people and the highrises.
I ate like I had never ate before.
Even though American cuisine is mostly limited to meat,cheese and deep fried stuff, and a lot of salads too, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of vegetarian things on the menus of almost all restaurants.
Feta cheese and spinach ruled the roost but at least there were vegetarian stuff available.
B said the scenario has changed only recently. Earlier he used to have a tough time surviving here as a vegetarian.

I ate at some very good Indian restaurants too.
And can happily say that the quality as well as the taste and flavours are far better than what we get here in India. The Sarson ka saag and makke ki roti that we had one night, prepared by a Punjabi lady, ( you will get the whole story on Country roads later ) belonged to another level altogether.
Even better than what we had eaten in Amritsar.

And no, this is not a glitzy eyed, impressed desi speaking.
The food quality is really good out there.
Maybe because of the standards set; maybe because of the high price. Whatever the reason, I loved eating Indian food in the US of A.

 You will, of course, get to hear all about my trip soon. On my travel blog.
As soon as I sort out my house, my sleep timings, my eating timings and the thousands of photographs too.
I am still jet lagged and am moving around like a zombie.
After sleeping non stop for two days, I dragged myself to the kitchen and made some Chicken jhol and roti ... just to tempt myself to eat.
Today, I made this super simple kadhi with some vegetables thrown and had it for lunch.
Right now, quick, simple one pot meals or one dish meals are my saviours.

So thought of sharing this with you, along with my come back hello!.
Spicy, tangy and extremely light, this kadhi is perfect to slurp on during the winter. Pair it with steaming hot rice and you have one of the most perfect comfort meals ready.

If you have made my Bhindi ki kadhi, you will know how easy this is to make.
I love pakodas or the lentil dumplings in a kadhi, since they are the classic combination.
But I do not deep fry them.
Instead, I just add the dumplings directly into the boiling kadhi.
Works great.
And healthy too.

Need :

 For the kadhi - you will find the ingredients and step by step photos here 

 Radish or Mooli - cut into thin cubes
Okra or Bhindi - cut into small pieces
Fresh green chilli - 2, broken
Whole coriander seeds - ¼ tsp
Whole methi seeds - ¼ tsp
Hing - ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch 
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp ( not Kashmiri chilli powder )
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste


For the Pakodas -

Besan or Gram flour
Red chilli powder
Crushed black pepper
Jeera or cumin seeds
Turmeric powder
Salt
Water

How to :

Prepare the kadhi mix.

Make the pakora mix by mixing everything together.

In a heavy bottom kadahi, heat oil.

Add the coriander seeds, methi seeds and the hing.
Add the green chillies.

Add the bhindi and fry well on high heat.
Add turmeric and fry till it is no longer slimy.

Add the radish and fry well.
Add salt.
Cover and cook for a while.

Remove cover and add the kadhi mixture.
Add a little more water and adjust salt.

Cover and bring to a simmer on low heat.

Remove cover, raise heat and when it starts to boil, make small dumplings from the pakoda mix and drop into the boiling kadhi.

Lower heat , cover and cook for a while.
Do remember to stir in between to help the pakodas to float up.

Cook till the kadhi thickens to desired consistency.

Sprinkle homemade red chilli powder and chopped fresh coriander leaves. 

Serve hot with steaming hot rice.

A healthy, spicy, tangy and soul comforting meal is ready!! 

I will leave you today with a first glimpse of the beautiful Fall colours of the USA that greeted me even before I landed there.
Beautiful!! .... na?!

C'ya all again ... soon!!

Kheema stuffed paratha for Panchami and the festive season

 

 ( Vegetarians can make this using Soya granules as the filling. )

I uploaded these photos at eight in the morning sharp, today. Right after my exercise session.
And right on my first and only cup of tea for the day.
But as soon as I was about to write the first word, the day stepped in.
Breakfast needed to be done ... which was the favourite Aloo paratha. I had prepared the filling last night and the atta was done too.
But they needed to be taken out, brought to room temperature, rolled out and fried.
And just after b'fast was done, I came back and had just sat down when the bell rang.
I knew it right then .... this post will not have today's date.

But I can be very thick headed when I want to.
And I decided that I will make this post before lunch. That's it.
Easier said than done .... especially when the day is 'make lunch for two days' day.
Besides, it is Puja too.
So evenings will be spent at the puja mandap.
Which will mean eating out for me. But not for B.
Since the food stalls have too much of non vegetarian stuff all over, B does not feel comfortable eating from them. There are a few vegetarian stalls too ... but too few and far between.
And they too have only singara / samosas or sweets.
One cannot spend five days or evenings only on them.

(10:00)
So I prepare food for B at home. Either he eats and goes, or packs and eats later with me.
And hence the flurry in the kitchen.
Not to mention the darned weather outside. It has been pouring like there is no tomorrow, for days at a stretch. On Mahalaya, I had played Mahisasurmardnini on Youtube and willed myself to feel that Durga Puja is just around the corner.
But it was so dark and gloomy and wet outside, with the rain dripping down the window panes and a persistent fog hung all around that I stopped at the first song.

But today, the sun has finally emerged and the clouds are passing by a little hesitantly. There is a crispness in the air and it is very, very cold suddenly.
I pray that the weather holds and decide to play the Mahisasur mardini after all. But just as I started to hum, I knew I may not be able to listen to it for a long time now.
Not without my throat constricting and my eyes filling up. Not without thinking of Bapi.
And my home .... that will no longer be the same again.

(1:00)
So, I immerse myself into this load of cooking.
And while I type this, I keep one eye on the pan of rajma simmering away, while the okra is frying in another kadahi for a kadhi.
The third burner holds a deep kadahi full of vegetables and white matar / vatana boiling vigourously.
I am making the very favourite Santula ... bit this time I am adding some matar too. The rest of the boiled matar will go into the making a spicy ghugni that I will pair with Luchis on Shaptami day.
I have just removed a pressure cooker full of spicy Punjabi chole too.
So I am all sorted for the coming days.
Both for lunch and dinner.

Ok .... here is a quick shot sharing with you.

(It is 4:00 now!)

I have been occasionally posting daily food from my kitchen in an album on my facebook page ... so if you are following me there, maybe you will get a glimpse of all these food in the coming days of Durga Puja.
And yes, I plan to make some good b'fasts too ... so will try to post them as well.
Fingers crossed.

I have a beautiful recipe of chicken mince stuffed flat breads today.
Inspite of posting a non vegetarian recipe on my last post, I thought I will put this up for you.
I have used chicken mince here for two reasons .... one, I eat it more often than the mutton kheema; and two ... well ... I get it more easily than the mutton kheema.
And more importantly, it cooks faster and is a breeze to make.

You can follow the recipe here.
Do cook the kheema very dry  ... otherwise, the moisture will make it very difficult to stuff the paratha.
Do not add the curd or onion paste ... they will only  release water.
Do use chopped onions and green chillies though.
If you find it still moist, do add a spoonful of corn flour to it.

Typically, Bengalis make parathas, especially stuffed ones, with maida or refined flour.
But I make them with atta.

Need :


For the dough:


Atta or wheat flour
A little oil
Salt
Warm water

For the stuffing :

Chicken keema .... cooked very dry

How to :

 Knead the atta into a soft, pliable dough.
Cover and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.

Break off medium sized balls from it.

Use some dry flour and flatten the ball. Stuff it with some filling.
Cover carefully.

Roll out into a paratha.
Do use dry flour when rolling, so that the paratha does not break open.

You can refer to any of the stuffed parathas recipe here for the procedure, step by step. 

Heat a flat pan or a tawa.
Put in a paratha and dry roast on both sides first.
Apply oil and fry till brown and crisp on both sides.

Vegetarians can make this Soya kheema for stuffing.

(5:25)
 Serve hot.
You can make some raita on the side.
Or enjoy it with just plain ketchup ... like I do.

Wishing you all a very happy Durga puja and a beautiful Navaratri too!!
Enjoy!!!

(6:24)
There! I did it finally!

Soya Keema and some plans on time saving and cooking ahead

 

 It has already been a week since I made my last post! When I had glanced at the number of posts for May, last, I was so satisfied that I had a smirk on my face just like the proverbial cat who got the cream.
Patted myself on the back for three days straight ... knowing that I will be making a post again soon.
And then, before I know it ... whooosh ... a whole week flies by.
Not good; not good at all.
So, inspite of today being my masala making day, here I am, sitting since morning, editing pics and writing to you.

I think I have already written about the beautiful, beautiful weather we are having here right now.
So won't go into that ... but may I make a passing remark about how cold the mornings have become and how I am just loving that cup of hot, ginger tea and my balcony these days? And did I mention the cold breeze too? I did?! Really?!
And the greenery shining bright all around? That too?

Then I must move on to serious stuff now. No point in rubbing the salt in.
Here's wishing you rains and beautiful weather too in your part of the world.

Just a few days back, a reader, Barnana, requested to make a post on how I planned and cooked ahead.
And coincidentally this same topic came up in one of the groups I am in on FB.
I had given some pointers that I follow religiously in my kitchen and life.
So when I saw Barnana's request, I clicked some photos too.

There were, of course, a lot of yeses and nos, regarding cooking ahead.
But I know how big a help it is if you plan ahead ; and cook ahead too.
If you are single, or working, or both, or a housewife with a small baby, whether you are a family of two or ten,  if you are ill and have difficulty spending long hours in the kitchen ...... planning ahead and cooking ahead is a huge help.

I will not go into purists' criticism of eating food from the fridge.
I believe if you have technology, make it your friend. Especially the refrigerator.
Believe me, it is much better than calling in food from the restaurant ... where food is much older and stale than you can imagine.
Know which is the coldest shelf and which has slightly higher temperature.
And store your things accordingly.
Do keep a track if your area is prone to power cuts and store accordingly.
We do not have power cuts ... so can store things for more than two or three days without a problem.

Cut and store vegetables like lauki, karela, drumsticks, pumpkin, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, etc.
Place a paper napkin on the top and make sure you store them in an airtight box.
Don't cut and store potatoes, beets, brinjals, etc. Basically stuff that oxidise fast should not be cut before hand.

Knead atta for two days. I would not suggest to store it for more than two days.
Make rice for two or more days.
It can also be used later in numerous ways , if you don't want it plain any more.

Soak legumes and store.
This is my batch today - Rajma, White matar for my no masala quick ghugni, green moong dal for cheelas / pesarattu and rice for idli or dosa or handvo.

Pick green, leafy vegetables like the palak/spinach, methi, dhaniya etc. and store in airtight containers with some paper napkins in.
All these can be done when you are sitting down ... like watching the tv.
Involve family members, if possible.  It takes out the monotony of the task as well as allows for time to spend together.
Mummy (mil) brings out her bunch of leafy vegetables when we sit down with our evening tea. All of us join in and it soon turns into a happy get together. Everybody gets drawn to that room and join in with the cosy banter. As well as with the work at hand.

Boil milk and store in the coldest part of your fridge.
Make paneer ... you can make bhurji or parathas with it. 
Boil potatoes and store , but not in airtight containers.

Make sprouts of green moong, kala chana, etc.
I always have a bowlful of fresh green sprouts in the fridge.

They make great salads, can add to muri or puffed rice for a snack or use in upmas, noodles or just make a stir fry when you run out of vegetables.
You can grind them up and make quick and healthy cheelas or pancakes too.


Soak rice and dal for idli batter.
I almost always make it in bulk and store in the fridge.
Other than the idli, you can make dosas, poda pitha, santlano pithe or the plain chakli pithe to eat with curries or bhajas.
Check out this link for a lot of other options.
Works great when you do not feel like making rotis or do not have kneaded atta.
Or when you have sudden guests.

Make dry masalas one day.
Keep a day of light cooking and use the time to make masalas. You can make a one pot meal on that day.
I make coriander powder, jeera powder, bhaja moshlas and some garam masalas at home.
Make in small batches and store in air tight bottles.

Make wet masals on another day.

Grind onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies, tomatoes etc. and store in ice trays.
I sometimes cook all of these together with turmeric + salt + chilli powder + a little garam masala ( kosha moshla) and store in ice trays. Just add a cube or two to vegetables or fish or chicken and you have a dish ready in minutes.

Grate coconut and refrigerate.
I cannot use a grater, so just cut into pieces and run in a mixer ... just one or two pulses will do.

Keep a paper and pen and you can jot down what you need to pick on your next grocery trip, or what to cook for the next day, etc. Menu planning is half the job done.
I have a slate to write down. Or sometimes write straight on the tiles. :)

As you can see, at any moment of time, I have at least two or three lists on my kitchen walls.

Kitchen management is all about time management.
A little planning ahead will help you to great lengths.
And you will have enough time in your hands to follow your hobbies or finish other chores.

Do check out my next post on how to prepare and freeze things for later use.

Hope this helps. 
I will keep updating this post as and when I come across anything new.
Good luck!!

Now to today's recipe.
A quick, spicy Soya curry.
I have been trying to get some protein into B, a pure vegetarian.
Soya granules are a good option as he refuses to touch the chunks.
These granules can be cooked in numerous ways other than this curry ... ideas that I have come up with to mask them and make B eat without knowing .... posts coming up soon.

This resembles the non vegetarian kheema that we usually make with chicken or mutton.
Slightly on the richer side, this makes for a great dinner when paired with parathas or luchis/puris.
Of course, goes great with the good old roti too.

Need :
Soya granules - 1 cup ( I use Nutrela )
Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
Vinegar - 1 tbsp

Onion paste - 1 tbsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Whole garam masala - cloves+cinnamon+black cardamom+bay leaf
Dry red chillies - 2, broken
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander / Dhaniya powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin / Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Fresh coriander leaves - chopped
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( I use mustard oil )

How to :

Soak the soya kheema in enough water for an hour.
Squeeze out the water well.
Take enough water in a big pan and add the soaked soya granules with  water + salt + vinegar + 1 tsp of garam masala powder.
This gets rid of that typical smell that dry soya has.

Heat oil in a deep kadahi or pan.
Add the whole garam masala and the red chillies.


Next, add the onion paste and fry a little.

Now add the ginger paste, garlic paste and fry well.


Add the turmeric + red chilli powder + dhania powder + jeera powder + salt.
Fry till dryish.


Now add the tomato paste and fry well.

Add the boiled soya keema, garam masala powder, salt and sugar.
Mix well.
Add a little water if needed.

Cover and simmer for around 20 minutes.

Remove cover and check consistency of your choice. I make it very dryish.
Check for salt.

Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and cover and let it stand for a few minutes.

Serve hot with rotis or parathas or puris.

This is great on the side with plain rice or with the polau too, if you are making a vegetarian feast.

Enjoy!!