Khichuri with a spicy tempering to soothe the throat

Both I and B are on the way to recovery from a longish bout of cold and sniffles. 

While we are resting as much as possible staying warm, I have been cooking very light and nutritious food for ourselves too. 

Though they are not too different from our regular daily food, I did try to keep some things out and included a few things more.
Like I upped our intake of garlic ... it aids digestion and also provides warmth to the body ... a necessity in this cold winter weather. I have also increased B's intake of lentils for that extra protein.
Today, however, I wanted to deviate for a change and wanted to eat no vegetables.

 And I wanted to eat aloo bhaja .

I told myself that it is ok to indulge my tired body with some loving carbs.

So made a khichuri which is slightly different from the usual way I make khichuri  .

Not the typical Bengali  khichuri . 

How to make this beautiful khichdi...

I toasted 1 cup of yellow moong dal till fragrant.
Added  ½ cup of rice to it and washed it well. 

 Put it in a pressure cooker along with enough water, a little salt, grated coconut, turmeric powder, a blob of ghee and some crushed ginger. 

No need to grate it .... I just gave a big thwack with a pestle 😄

Cooked it for two whistles on low.

Heated ghee in a pan and added a little jeera and lots of chopped garlic and some chilli flakes and a pinch of salt.

Poured it over the khichadi . 

Stir fried some potatoes with kalo jeere / nigella seeds and dry chilli, in a smear of ghee. 

We savoured this beautiful meal that soothed our bodies with warmth as it went down.
I could visualise the nutrition spreading through my body and fill it with strength.

B went for a second helping too.
And just before he finished, mentioned "I feel as if someone has just given me a long, warm hug ".

And I knew all will be well.

When I was clicking photos, the sun shifted and lit up my plate with an ethereal light. 

Stay warm . Stay safe.

Eat well. Eat 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. 

Pineapple Chicken .... recipe for a quick, light and tangy chicken cooked with pineapples

It has been a beautiful morning. 
After the deluge of two days, back to back, it is all warm, sunny and bright all around. 
Just when we thought monsoon is over, it started to rain in earnest again. 
Humid, suffocating days vanished and gave way to torrential rains. Huge pellets of water drops, shooting down like arrows, with a roar and the dark sky rumbled ceaselessly. 
It turned hazy and gray all around and the distant buildings and trees were lost to the vision. 
The trees stood still, accepting the beating of rain. Drinking in quietly. 
The leaves however were happy, shiny and all bright and quivering under the pure water. 

The dry earth drank  to its fill. The little stream by our house started to run again .... dark muddy water happily gurgling and rushing forth with white froth lacing. 
The birds did not come to my balcony for a drink. I could see them sitting on the branches .... near their  nests. The crows and the eagles were soaked through and looked different. 
The Bulbuls were restless and did come out to prance around for a while before diving back into the thickets. The sparrows are nowhere around too. 

Today, everybody was back on my balcony. 
Chirping, cawing and even screeching out to me ... demanding their share of biscuits and my breakfast. 
The water bowl was full with the fresh rainwater ... I did not change it. 
B had cleaned the balcony of all dirt and mud from the plant pots yesterday, as I stood in the rain to soak in the coolness, after I finished with the chores. ( Yes yes, I have already written about this on my instagram post ) . 
So it was good to spend the morning in the balcony. 

I have a  chair in the small space to our balcony and often sit there to take in some fresh breeze, in between my work.
Today, that breeze seemed so fresh, heavy with the damp smell of rains and of freshly beaten green, that it took me back to my Dadu's house back home. 
I could smell the water laden, cooling breeze coming from across the huge pond, carrying with it the smell of damp grass and leaves, along with the fragrance of the flowers of the old Jamrul tree. 

I could see Thamma sitting at the khirki duar ( one of the side entrances to the house ), with her back to me, looking out at the pond and its dark, calm waters that had a very light ripple on the surface, made by the breeze. Her long hair, only slightly white, spread all over her back. Once in a while, she would run her fingers through them .... to help them dry sooner. 

And I realise, that with time, I am slowly turning into my Thamma. 
As I sit in my chair, loving the breeze on me, looking out to the small forest and the stream, I realise this is my khirki duar.
My little door to the world I love to look at. 
And am grateful for that. 
You see, I have always wanted to be like Thamma. 

Coming back, I had cooked this beautiful, quick dish of chicken with pineapple, a few weeks back. 
I loved it so much that I wanted to make a post here .... for my own self to come back to the recipe when I needed to. 

*  I had marinated the chicken pieces before freezing them ... which helped it to cook faster I guess. 
If you are making it fresh, then do keep it marinated for at least an hour. 

* I had some leftover rice, so added it for the carb content and make a full meal. 
You may or may not. 


Need : 

To marinate : 

Chicken pieces - cut into bite sized pieces ( I use the thigh pieces) 
Grated ginger
Grated garlic
Vinegar - a little
Soy sauce 
Honey 
Oil
Salt
Sugar

Mix everything together and keep aside for an hour. 

Other ingredients : 

Pineapple pieces
Onion cut into cubes
Chopped green chillies 
Chopped ginger
Red chilli flakes 
Crushed black pepper 
Oil
Salt


How to : 


Heat oil in a pan. 

Add  the pineapple pieces and toss well. 
Sprinkle some red chilli flakes on them and keep aside. 

Now add the chicken pieces on high heat and sear them well. 
Toss, cover and cook till they are done. 
Remember not to overcook. 

Now raise heat, add the rest of the ingredients and toss well. 
If using rice, add now. 

Add the pineapple pieces.
Mix everything together. 

Serve hot.  

Enjoy!! 

Eat healthy. Eat to your fill. 
And stay safe.


Here is a little reminder about the giveaway I am doing.
Hop over to know the details.






 

 

Burnt Garlic Butter Rice and Roasted vegetables with Boiled Corn on the cob

 

While the whole world goes crazy over roasted corn spiced with salt , red chilli powder and lemon juice, during the monsoons, I quietly boil mine and enjoy it steaming hot.
With a blob of butter.
And maybe some freshly cracked black pepper straight from the mill.
That's what my heart yearns for in the monsoons.
And that's what makes my heart sing.

I fell in love with this extraordinarily flavourful yet simple way of enjoying sweet corn on my first ever trip to Lonavla, a hill station near Pune.
I was a student then and was a part of this boisterous group of young students, from all over the country, much excited at the thought of a trip by a local train into the hills in the rains.
Monsoons turn Pune and its adjoining hilly places into something that dreams or travel brochure pictures are made of.
And the cold weather that comes with it is a bonus.
Soft rain, light drizzles, fog, clouds against the insanely fresh green sprawling landscape and the numerous thin waterfalls that dot the hills .... it seems as if the world has sprung into fresh life.
Every single blade of grass turns green. Every leaf on the trees shines.
Nature turns crazily beautiful.
Dreamy.
Romantic.
And you can enjoy this weather in every way ... be it going out on picnics or snuggling in at home with a hot cuppa soup, ginger tea or coffee .... monsoons in Pune is sure to make you fall in love with life. 

And it was in this beautiful weather that I got to fall in love with the boiled corn on the cob.
As I was saying, I was with my friends in Lonavla , having a whale of a time laughing and joking, getting drenched in the light rain , walking the hilly roads as the clouds would pass by, drenching us with fresh droplets.
And in one of those walks, shivering in the windy cold, we stopped for some hot tea.
And near the small tea stall, there was this lady, with a blue plastic covering her from the rain ... in vain ... selling steaming hot boiled peanuts and sweet corn on the cob.
We hungrily bought some of each and that one bite into the sweet, juicy corn with some butter melting all around it and the steam burning my mouth, took me to another world altogether.
Standing  there in the rain with slush all around me,
oblivious to everything ... the people, the noise, the rush,
I closed my eyes and turned my face up to the cold rain and savoured the burst of flavours in my mouth.

And ever since, come monsoons, my grocery list always has sweet corn in it.

We have been eating a lot of steamed or roasted food recently due to the weather.
Barring the few bhajas with khichuri that is. 😃
And today this was for lunch , as it turned dark again outside ... after a brief spell of brightness.

My go to recipe is to cut up fresh vegetables, toss them with a good glug of olive oil, sprinkle some salt, chilli flakes, freshly crushed black pepper and sometimes crush in some Italian dry herbs too ... and bake at 150 degrees till the vegetables are done.

I had some leftover rice and decided to make something spicy to go with the light vegetables.
So made this burnt garlic butter rice.
Heated some butter ( never too hot ) in a heavy pan and 
added a good amount of chopped garlic.
When they started to turn brown, threw in a pinch of chilli flakes
and a couple of chopped green chillies.
Then added the rice, salt, a pinch of sugar and tossed everything together on high heat.
Done!

 Here is a closer look.

You can pair the roasted vegetables with toasted bread and soup too ... our usual dinner.
Or with boiled macaroni or noodles.
Or just roll them up in a roti or paratha and add some sauces of your choice to make a quick roll.
Any way ... this is one healthy yet very filling plate.

Enjoy !!
And stay healthy this monsoon.

Idli Sambar Podi ... a hearty South Indian breakfast

 

 From the day I got married till date, every morning the one question that I have to face on waking up is 'what to make for breakfast?'.
Every single day. Well, almost.
Earlier, I did not have to bother. At home ... it was taken care of. And how!
When I was a PG, studying, I did not have to bother. I had no time for breakfast ... barring a few days when I would gulp down a glass of milk and rush.
But after I set up my own home, I decided that I would wallow in the luxury of a fulfilling breakfast everyday.
But that was not to happen ... not for a while.
The man had grown up attending morning school ... hence the term breakfast did not feature anywhere near even his peripheral vision.
So after struggling to introduce and willing him to love this beautiful thing for a good few months, I gave up.
Besides, seeing my plates of French toast or Upma or Parathas being rejected for lack of time to eat, was not a very happy thing to happen in the morning.
 So I gave up.
And happily focused on my favourite eggs and bread routine.

I love steaming hot, preferably spicy and savoury breakfasts. No cold milk or cereals for me.
Later, when B started to work from home, our breakfasts started to get more varied and leaned towards vegetarian versions.
Unless he is having milk and cereals, when I happily fry sausages for myself, it is more of traditional cooking.
And then I struck gold ... read learnt how to make the Idli.
Or Dosa, for that matter.
The trick lies in the batter and it took me a while to master it. And am still learning.
But now, I can make a mean dosa or spongy idlis well, if I may say so.
And my breakfast problem is solved .... largely.

I make a big batch of the batter and store it in the fridge. I
The following days see a varied spread of breakfast .... dosa, soru chakli pithe, saantlano pithe, poda pitha, savoury poda pitha, idlis .... the batter is so versatile.
Paired with a simple curry or a dalma or some chutney or sambar, we get a hearty, full and healthy breakfast that happily sees us through  the day.

I have made some posts on idli earlier. But decided to make this one to include the recipe for the Sambar as well as the Podi / dry chutney that I make.


To make the idli : I follow the same recipe for the batter that I have posted in all my earlier posts.
The only difference is that I add a teaspoon of Methi / Fenugreek seeds now.

Soak rice and Urid dal in the ratio of 2:½ along with a teaspoonful of methi seeds, for around 4 hours.
Grind into a paste , add a little salt and keep it covered for around 8 hours.

I usually soak them after lunch, adding a little water at a time and grind it after dinner.
And start using the batter the next morning.
The batter ferments perfectly overnight.
Store it covered well, in the fridge.
Do remember to keep it out and bring it to room temperature before using it again.

Steam the batter (it should be soft and not a very thick paste )  in an idli maker for not more than 20 minutes for plump, spongy idlis.

To make the Podi :

 Dhania / Coriander seeds - 3 tbsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Whole dry red chillies - 4 or more, if you like it spicy
Chana / Bengal gram dal - 4 tbsp
Urad dal - 2 tbsp
Hing / Asafoetida powder - 1 tsp
Whole black peppercorns - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Dry roast the dals on low flame first.
Then dry roast the rest of the ingredients.
Cool and grind into a powder.

Store in an airtight bottle.
I use this Podi on idlis, spread on dosas and mix with plain rice with a little ghee too.

To make the Sambar :

I must make it clear first that since I am a Bengali, I have no idea about the authentic sambar recipe.
I do know there are different kinds of sambar for different meals.
And I do not even know if my version of the sambar will even qualify for a breakfast sambar or as the right companion to the idli.
All I know is this is the way I have always made sambar and love it too.

If  I am making it to eat with rice, I do add vegetables. Will post that version some day.

Soak Urad dal and boil it with some turmeric powder + hing + salt.

Heat oil.
Add mustard seeds + dry red chillies + curry leaves.

When the seeds start to splutter, add chopped onions and fry them till soft.

Now add the boiled dal + tamarind water + red chilli powder + sambar masala ( I use Everest ) + a little water.
Adjust salt.

Bring to a boil and then simmer for a while.

You can enjoy these fluffy idlis with my Tomato Garlic chutney too.
I did ... the next day.

Another look.

Enjoy !!

Chickpeas Fried Rice / Chole Pulao - a spicy plateful to warm your heart when it is pouring outside

No, I did not speak all too soon.
The weather has indeed taken a turn and for the good too.
While the temperatures have continued to dip, the breeze has been steady and is only growing stronger.
I had a bout of sneezing and sniffling yesterday, a result of my carelessness ... I had the window open, the fan on and the ac on too ... yeah, kill me for that ... one of these days, and was punished accordingly.
And promptly too.
The whole of yesterday was spent at trying to sneeze with the lowest possible noise ... yet the more the day wore on, the more the volume increased.
Not to mention my groans.
Cold and flu make me cranky. And if there is someone, anyone, in the vicinity, I become very restless.
Tried to lie down and watch the telly but to no good. The choicest of idiotic movies were on. Listening to music was another pain ... my sneezes would not allow me to listen in peace.
Spent a whole miserable morning before I gulped an antihistamine.
That took care of me and I was in dreamland for the rest of the afternoon and the better part of the evening.
B made a hot dinner of Aloo baingan ki sabzi   , with a little gravy to help my sore throat, along with  plain parathas.
And then I slept again.

Woke up early to a dark, cloudy sky and rain.
That quiet, silent but non stop drizzle that Pune is so loved for.
Looked out and saw the droplets dripping down the leaves and the railings of my balcony.
Snuggled back into the razai again.
But sleep eluded and thoughts turned to breakfast.
And what would a good Bong have for breakfast on a beautiful, rainy morning?
Luchi!, of course.
So while B took his morning call, I quickly  set the shaada aloor chorchori on one burner and kneaded the maida.
Soon we were sitting at the table, looking out of the windows and watching the trees sway, enjoying our breakfast of luchi torkari.
I did post a photo of my plate on the blog's page on facebook.
There is a video too, on my personal page.
Someday I will do a post on how to make that perfect phulko luchi, for sure.

But today, while I am still drowsy ... thanks to Avil, I thought I will give my weekly grocery shopping a miss and just watch the clouds.
And make this post.

I had made this Chana pulao just last week. It was a hurried day and I had some leftover rice as well as boiled chickpeas in the fridge.
Decided to throw in them together and come up with a one pot meal.
A plain raita and some salad on the side and a quick lunch was ready within 15 minutes.

Here is the recipe.

Need :

Chickpeas - big cup, 1 pressure cooked with a little salt
Rice - 1 big cup, cooked
Onions - 2, medium, chopped
Garlic - 6, chopped
Green chillies - chopped
Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Dry mango / Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp (you can skip it if you are vegan)
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

How to :

Heat oil in a kadahi / wok.

Add the chopped garlic and fry till they turn light brown.

Add the onions and fry till they turn pink.

Now add the green chillies + the boiled and drained chickpeas (make sure you do not add any water ), haldi powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder, amchur powder, salt and sugar.

Mix everything well and fry for a while.

Now add the rice and adjust salt.

Add a little more garam masala ( or a pinch of biryani masala will also work fine. I used the Punjabi garam masala that I got from Amritsar ) and mix well.

Add ghee and lemon juice, give a good mix and cover.

Let it stand for around 2 minutes before you switch off heat.

Serve hot with raita and salad on the side.

The raita is just fresh home made curd beaten well with a pinch of black salt and sprinkled with roasted jeera/cumin powder + red chilli powder.

This turns out to be a wonderful one pot meal, especially if you have dryish leftover rice.
Mine was slightly mushy as my rice was a little well cooked.
No change in the flavours though.
And personally I feel well cooked rice soaks up flavours better than just done rice, especially for pulaos like this .... won't work with a biryani though.


Enjoy!!!

Egg fried rice

On the weekend, B and I were at one of our favourite places to grab a bite ... the Yogi Tree at Koregaon park. This place has been our go to when we need a good meal or a light breakfast.
Or spend a quiet evening, chatting over a cuppa.

Earlier, this place used to be very quiet and serene. People, mostly the ones from abroad, sit around with something to eat or drink and with a paper or a book. Away from the noisy main road, the mornings are especially beautiful here ... with the  morning sun streaming in through the few casurinas that dot the courtyard.

Of late, as more and more people came to know about this, it is not as serene anymore. People come in droves, shout and laugh and talk loudly, yell at the servers and demand numerous changes to their menus, etc. etc.
It is because of this noisy crowd that we have almost stopped going there in the mornings. But when in need of a quick homely dinner, we do go down and take a table inside. The fluffy hot rotis, the beautiful dal and very light on spices sabzi satisfies us hugely. And lulls us to a quiet peace .... makes us ready to face another mad week the next day.

This weekend, as we sat waiting for our lunch to arrive, I noticed a group of young men in a table outside. There must have been around 8 or 9 of them .... all well dressed in casuals except two who were in formals. Chatting and laughing a lot.
A couple more joined them later and there was a lot of handshakes, hugs and back slapping and laughing. They arranged chairs and adjusted their seating.

"Must be meeting after a long time", I thought.
I was watching their bonhomie and thought of my college days and my friends .... almost all of whom are now settled in different cities.

And as I sat there watching them, something struck me odd.
And then I knew what it was!
There was no noise or sound coming from them.
All that laughing and talking would have surely created a cacophony by now .... yet, it was very quiet everywhere.
I did notice that they were moving their hands a lot when talking but all that gesticulating did not strike odd to me until I realised that they could not speak or hear!!
They were talking through their hands!

I watched them, totally mersmerised now. Luckily they were outside in the sun, and hence could not see me gawking rudely at them.
The server came and took their orders. They communicated with a lot of smiles.
Then they went back to chatting again.

And I watched them .... with just a little hint of jealousy.
Nobody could know what they were talking or joking about.
They were so happy in their own world.
And somewhere deep inside me, I secretly wished I could be a part of their quiet, peaceful world.

Today's recipe is quick, stir fried rice that I rustled up one day for lunch. I usually make Chinese dishes for dinner, which is why I cannot click any photos and hence hardly get to make a post on them here.
But since this was for lunch, I quickly clicked a few photos.

There is not much to making this fried rice. I follow Kylie Kwong when it comes to Chinese cuisine.
I love her simple, quick dishes with light and fresh ingredients.
I make this fried the same way she had made once on her show.

She had used just spring onions and eggs but I do throw in lots of vegetables to make this a complete,  one pot meal.  Some left over cooked rice from the fridge, a couple of eggs and some of your favourite vegetables ... and you are good to go.

 Need :

Leftover cooked rice - 1 cup
Eggs - 2
Chopped ginger - 1 tsp
Chopped garlic - 1 tsp
Chopped vegetables - I used baby corn, red capsicum, onions, green chillies, green peas, etc.
Chilli vinegar - 2 tsp
Fresh ground pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - a pinch
Cooking oil - 2 tsp

How to :

Beat the eggs with salt + a little chilli vinegar.

Heat oil.
Add eggs and scramble.
Remove while still soft.

Add chopped garlic + ginger + baby corn+ red capsicum + onions to the oil.
Toss well on high heat.

Add left over rice + salt + a pinch of sugar.
Add the eggs.
Toss well on high heat.

Do not lower heat and keep tossing well.

I add a dash of chilli vinegar and soy too. You may or may not.
Add freshly crushed black pepper.

Sprinkle green chillies and serve hot.

Done!
Quick and easy.

Enjoy!!

Bengali Mishti Polau

The mishti bhaat or mishti polau or ghee bhaat ,for Bengalis, is always associated with happy times and celebrations.
Very different from the pulao that we get to see and hear everywhere outside of Bengal, this sweetened rice preparation is usually made during birthdays, anniversary celebrations, family get togethers or when entertaining guests.
Normally, the Gobindo bhog rice grain is used to make this, but since I don't get it here easily, I make it with the basmati rice grain. Works very well.

Yesterday Kitchen-e-Kichu Khonn completed full eight years of its existence. I had started this blog in 2008, with no aim whatsoever. Was a complete novice when it came to cooking and keeping house. Also a struggler when it came to photography ... food photography actually.
Slowly I started to open up and learn as blogger friends joined me along the way. I started to write more confidently. I was a happy soul and I guess that reflected in my posts.

Slowly the years went by. I saw different faces of life. I guess that reflected in my posts too.
I learnt the details of house keeping and kitchen management slowly ... but surely. Also good cooking too.
Came to realise the finer details ... that making a simple dish tasty is far more challenging than one that is doused with masalas. Of course, I learnt to cook with masalas too.
Realised that when played with proper measurements, different masalas can weave different magic.

Today I make most of my masalas, for daily cooking, at home. I have learnt to combine different ingredients to make a whole some dish or meal. I have also learnt the difference between slow cooking and quick, pressure cooking; low oil cooking and deep fried or sallow fried cooking; ... and lots more.

I know my blog does not have too many posts and I have had longish breaks too. They were due to circumstances that were not in my hand to control.
Today, I will not dwell on that.

I will also not dwell on the fact that I missed Bapi like never before, on his birthday yesterday.
I so miss calling him up and discussing recipes or ask him to plan my menu for the day when I had no idea what to cook, on some days.
Yes, I miss him like I will never be able to explain.
But no.
I will not dwell on sad thoughts.
Rather, I will  think on focusing on what recipes and writings my readers will love.
And how I will try to make Kitchen-e-Kichu Khonn more worthy of your valuable time and love.

 I had made this polau long back, when I had made this Chicken in coconut milk and yoghurt.
Ideally, this sweet Polau should be served with a rich, thick mutton curry or the Mangshor jhol. Or the Kosha mangsho.
But had made this to go with the light chicken dish ... which it did very well.
So I guess this makes the perfect post for Kichu Khonn's b'day.

The real mishti bhaat or polau has fried cashews and raisins too.
I do not add them unless I am having guests. I and the family like this lighter version , redolent with the flavours of dalchini / cinnamon and pure ghee.

Need :

Rice - 1 cup ( I use Basmati ) , washed (I do not soak)
Whole red chillies - 2. broken
Cinnamon / Dalchini - 2 medium sticks, broken
Green cardamom / Choto elaach - 2, lightly crushed
Bay leaf / Tej pata - 1 
Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 2 pinches
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Water - 2 cups

How to :

Heat a heavy kadahi.

Add the ghee and let it warm.

Let in the cardamom, chillies, cinnamon and bay leaf.

Fry a little and let in the rice.

Fry for sometime till every grain is coated with the ghee and starts to glisten.

Add the turmeric and stir fry a little more.

Add salt + sugar + water.

(If using cashews and raisins, add now.)

Cover and cook till all water dries up.

Remove cover and check .... the rice should be just done and not very soft.

Fluff it up a little with a fork and switch off the flame.

Cover and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Done!

That is my version of the mishti polau ... light, sweet and raring to go with something spicy with a gravy on the side.
Pair this with some chicken or mutton delicacies and some chaatni on the side, to make a pure Bengali feast.

Happy b'day Kichu Khonn!
Enjoy!!

Ilish er Muri Ghonto / Hilsa head cooked with rice and spices

"There she goes again! She and her Ilish!"

I know, I know. I have a little too many Ilish recipes on my blog.
But then, I am sure you are not complaining. Or are you?
Come monsoons and I do buy at least one Hilsa fish to satiate my cravings for it. After all, I wait patiently the whole year through and never make do with the false ones, from the shores of Gujarat or Andhra, that make their way into the markets through out the year.
And my fishwala never disappoints me too.
"Aapke liye sirf Kalkatta Hilsa", he says.

And when I get that more than one kilo of divinely smelling fish home, I have to rustle up all the recipes I know with the Ilish.
The head, the tail, the petis, the gadas,  the roe ... all have different recipes to go into.
And I make full use of them.
Resulting in a happy me, with a zen like smile on my face, that you can get to see only on a cat after it leaves a kitchen that has just seen fish cooked.
And some good Ilish posts.
And a grumpy B, who has to suffer through these 2 months of monsoons when I get the Ilish home.

But this year, I haven't brought an Ilish home; not yet.
I had a couple of recipes lying around from last to last year and hence making some posts.
The last one and this. I don't think I have anymore.
And I don't think I will be cooking the Ilish this time.
Will go to my current favourite Assamese restaurant when I get the craving.

Of late, I have seen a number of people coming over here, browse through and then only too soon I see a post on their blogs.
Most of them think they are savvy enough to make changes to the recipe by adding a spoonful of an unnecessary ingredient just to make it look different. Like adding jeera to a recipe that has mustard seeds as tempering is so out and out foolish.
And sometimes a shoddy photograph along with one of mine.
I am assuming that they are new bloggers but at times there are older bloggers too.
All I say to them is dear ones, do be a little original.
I know these recipes are common but there can be a whole bunch of changes in them from family to family.
Like picking up my Thamma's recipe and saying it is your cook's recipe is just not done.

And as for plagiarism of ideas, I really have nothing to say.
Have long given up hope of seeing any light in these blokes' brains.

Coming to today's recipe,  I had made a light Ilish er jhol with cumin and ginger paste.
Remember?  If not, it is here.


So I had this masala left and wanted to use it with the Ilish head this time.
Did not want an ambol or tauk.
So decided on the muri ghonto.

I had never made muri ghonto with anything other than the Rui or the Katla head. So this was going to be new.  It does not have any onion or garlic and hence can be called a Niramish muri ghonto too. 

The fact that Ilish has a lot more and much finer bones in the head did not deter me at all.
My Dadu, Ma's father, was well known for his ability to chew and finish off all the bones of  the Ilish head. 
And as his grand daughter, the least I could do was to try it once.


 Need :

For the Jeera paste : -
Jeera / Cumin seeds - around 5 tbsp, soak for around 3 hours
Ginger - 1 and ½" piece
Whole red chillies - 4 (if you like spicy then use around 6 or 7)
Tomato - 2 medium sized

Other ingredients : -

Ilish head - 1 , cleaned and marinated with a little turmeric powder+salt
Tej pata / Bay leaves - 2
Rice - 1 cup, washed and soaked ( I used Basmati )
Cooking oil - 2 + 2 tbsp ( I use Mustard oil )
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Whole red chillies - 2, broken
Lemon juice - 4 tbsp
Bhaja moshla - 1 tbsp
The jeera paste - 3 tbsp 
Salt - to taste
Water - 2 cups

How to : 

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy kadahi / wok.
Lightly fry the fish head, break into pieces and keep aside.


In another kadahi / wok, heat 2 tbsp oil + ghee.

Add the bay leaves + whole red chillies + the jeera paste.

Stir well and keep frying till oil starts to leave the sides.

Add the rice and lightly fry.

Raise heat, add the fish head pieces + turmeric powder + lemon juice + salt + water.

Cover and cook till rice is just done.

Remove cover, sprinkle the bhaja moshla all over, give a light toss and cover.

Switch off heat after 5 minutes and let it stand for another 5 minutes.

Done!

I like to keep the rice grains fluffy and separated though traditionally the muri ghonto is slightly sticky.
You can add chopped potatoes to it too.

I love it just as it is.
As a whole meal, if I do not have guests.

Rustle up a salad or a raita and you are good to go.
Enjoy!!


Here is a list of my Ilish / Hilsa recipes to enjoy in this monsoon. 

Phodni cha Bhaat / Stir fried left over rice

A few months back, February to be precise, my blog post "Savoury Poda Pithe" was selected as one of the top twelve food blog posts in India by Baggout.
I was happy. But was hesitant to go all out and shout from the roof tops. And promptly forgot all about it.
The days rolled on. I had guests.
I had the in laws visiting.
I had guests.
I went home on a short vacation.
I had guests.
And so on.
And suddenly remembered yesterday.
Went back to check if they still had my post with them or have given up and decided that somebody else cooks better.
Nah ... the post was right there.
Checked the mail and saw there was an offer and a choice of adding a badge to the blog too.
No forcing down the throat; unlike other sites.
So I decided I will put it up.
And so there is this badge proudly displayed.
While my readers and friends have always been happy to try out my recipes and given positive feedback, this little acknowledgement was welcome.
This is the first time, out side of the blogging world, that someone has taken note of Kitchen e Kichu Khonn.
And that made me happy.

 I have been posting way too many non vegetarian dishes of late. I wonder why. Since it is the vegetarian food that is cooked almost everyday in my house. Non vegetarian is rare.
No; wait. Not rare actually. Not any more.
But since it is mostly fish that I cook for my lunch, I guess I have been clicking to many photos in my enthusiasm to share them on Fb.
While the more varied vegetable dishes go unnoticed.
Another reason might be that B has his lunch earlier than me. So after I am done with the veggie stuff, I shift them to the dining table and get to work on the non vegetarian things.
By the time I am done, B has had his lunch and I am left with only the fish / poultry to click, if at all I have the energy left by then.

Hence decided to post a pure vegetarian recipe today.
Hunted around in my folders and came to this Phodni cha bhaat that I had cooked on a lazy day for lunch.
I was introduced to this as a Maharashtrian speciality but later came to know that Bengalis make it too. Only they call it Bhaja bhaat.
I don't know much since I never ate this back at home during my childhood.

Exactly three snaps, that too with the phone.
But I really want to share this wonderful, quick fix meal or snack with left over rice.
With the minimum of ingredients and the shortest of time, you have a beautifully flavoured, slightly spicy, tempered rice.

Need :

Cooked rice (left over rice kept in the fridge works best) - 2 cups
Rai / Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - ½ tsp
Onion - 1, chopped
Fresh green chillies - 1, chopped
Curry leaves - 1 small sprig
Peanuts - 2 tbsp (optional)
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste

How to :

Bring the rice out of the refrigerator and keep it in room temperature while you make the preparations.

Fluff it well, separate it well and add haldi , red chilli powder , salt and sugar.
Keep aside.

Heat an open faced, heavy bottomed pan well.

Add the oil.

Add the rai, jeera and the curry leaves.

Add the onions and the green chillies and fry till the onions turn pink.

Add the peanuts and fry some more.

Now add the rice.

Gently and lightly stir it well for everything to mix together.

Cover for only around a minute, on low heat.

Remove cover, give a good toss.

Serve hot with curd or raita or pickles and roasted papad.

This is a great way to use up left over rice.
Makes for a very filling snack or even a meal.

Enjoy!!


Other recipes with Left over rice -here.

Chicken Pulao

When I was a student here, I would often go to my cousin didi's place on weekends to satiate my cravings for home cooked food. The cravings would be for different kinds of food at different times.
Sometimes, it would be for a simple mutton jhol, sometimes for a plain maach bhaja with rice and dal and on another day it would be for chicken.
The cravings would turn worse on the Sundays that I could not go over and our dabba would be missing.
Hunger pangs, nostalgia pangs, homesickness pangs ... everything would set in all at once. And I would feel I will not be able to live one more day if I did not get to eat this particular thing.
Today.
Now.

The result was always a call to Didi.
She would assure me she would get chicken/mutton/fish ... depending on my current craving ... and call me over.
I would calm down. Just for a while though.
Self pity would soon return ... usually early than later ... and I would wallow in tears for a while.
Then shake myself and walk down to the nearest udipi joint to get an Uttapam ... a novelty for me in those days.... smeared thick with coconut chutney and wrapped in a banana leaf, that would usually turn so soggy by the time I unwrapped it that I could easily cut it with a spoon.
After downing the terrible thing, I would reward myself with a local cupcake.
And wait for the next bout of hunger that came with dinner time.
I have never loved Mondays more in my life as I did then.

 Anyway, this post is not about morose memories.
This is about a simple chicken dish that I had learnt during those days.
Saying learnt would be wrong.
On one of my visits, didi's neighbour had brought a plateful of this beautiful, fragrant dish.
One spoonful and we were in heaven.
Didi asked for the recipe and her neighbour described it.
And my head registered it.

Much later, when I had a home and a kitchen of my own, I made this.
It is simple, it is tasty, it is quick.
And absolutely loved it.
I have been making this ever since, but everytime I tried to click good photographs ( yes, there I go again ), I just could not. Hence no post.
This time, a few days back, I made it again for a quick lunch. Fell in love with it all over again.
And resolved to make a post ... good photographs or no.

I will not go into the details of the difference between a pulao and a biryani.
And also, this is a pulao and not the Bengali Polau.

Initially I used to make it in the pressure cooker but now I cook it in a heavy based kadahi or pan.

Need :

Chicken - 6 to 8 medium sized pieces
Lemon juice - 3 tbsp

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Rice - 1 and ½ cups, washed well
Sugar - 1 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon / Dalchini - 1 small piece
Green cardamom - 2
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Beaten curd - 4 tbsp
Tomato - 1, grated ( optional )
Biryani masala powder - 1 tsp
Water
Salt

 How to :

Marinate the chicken with  the lemon juice for half an hour.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadahi.
Add sugar. When it starts to caramelise, quickly add the haldi powder, red chilli powder, cloves, dalchini, and the green elaichi.

Now add the ginger and the garlic paste.
Fry well till oil starts to leave the sides.

Add the chicken, the beaten curd and salt.

Add 2cups of water and cover and cook till chicken is half done.

Remove cover, add the grated tomato and the rice.
Give a good stir and add 2½ cups of water.

Add the biryani masala.

Cover and cook till rice is just done and all water is soaked up.
Remember to check for water in between and if needed add a little more.

Cover and remove from heat, fluff it up lightly with a fork to loosen the rice, cover and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes more.

 Serve hot with some salad on the side.
If you have the time and the inclination to, you can make some raita too.

I had tossed some cucumber, tomatoes, onions and green chillies with some lemon juice, black pepper powder and salt, to go with it.

And this is what my lunch plate looked one early spring afternoon.
Enjoy!!