ALOO DUM (a thick Potato curry)

Hellloooo,

One of the traditional and favorite Bengali recipes is Aloo Dum. No doubt that it's a favorite in my house as well. today, while my mom made chapatis for breakfast, I wanted to have aloo dum with it. But then, my mom had strict instructions not to use ginger, garlic and garam masala, and rather keep it light and less oily because of her indigestion issues. So, there I was, left with a challenge, to prepare Aloo Dum without onion, garlic and garam masala. In short, I had to prepare the curry without it's important ingredients. But tell you what, I felt so good when I saw my mom and dad relishing the aloo dum I prepared. How did I prepare? Well, here's how:

Ingredients:

4 medium size Potatoes, 1 tbsp White Sesame seeds, 1 tsp Ginger paste, Puree of 1 medium size Tomato, 2 tsp Fennel seeds (saunf), 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tsp Coriander powder, 1 tsp Red Chili powder, 2-2 Green Chilies, 2-3 dry Red Chili, 3 Bay leaves, 3 tbsp Mustard oil, 1 tsp Turmeric powder, ½ tsp Sugar, Salt to taste, 3 cups warm Water, a dollop of fresh Cream for garnishing.

Procedure:

Peel and wash the potatoes, and cut them into equal halves. Roast the sesame seeds on low flame, making sure it doesn't burn. When it starts releasing a nice aroma, bring it off the flame. In a blender, drop the roasted sesame seeds, 1 tsp fennel seeds, green chilies and a little water; and blend them to a fine paste. Now heat oil on a pan. Add the bay leaves and dry red chilies. Once the chilies start turning brown, add cumin seeds and 1 tsp fennel seeds. Wait for 5 seconds, and then add the potatoes. Sprinkle salt and turmeric powder, and mix well. Now cover the lid and allow the potatoes to cook on medium flame. Check if the potatoes have grown tender. Then add the tomato puree, ginger paste, coriander powder, red chili powder, and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Finally add the sesame-fennel paste and mix properly. Add 3 cups warm water and ½ tsp sugar. Cover the lid and cook on medium heat until the curry thickens. Garnish with a dollop of fresh cream.

FIRNI SUNDAE

Helllooo,

Well friends, I've already told you how much I'm in love with the mangoes. And since it's summer-time, I thought, why not make a maximum utility of the juicy mangoes by preparing a chilled dessert. But the, mango sundaes, mango ice-creams and even mango puddings are pretty common. Then, an idea hit my mind. I decided to prepare the Indian delicacy 'firni', which is almost the same as 'kheer', with the only difference that the rice is ground here instead of using whole rice. And then, I gave it a mango and creamy and chocolaty twist. This dessert is rich, sumptuous, with outburst of multiple flavors  And I can assure you, this, can never go wrong.

Ingredients:

For the Jelly: Pulp of 1 Ripe Mango, 1 tsp Gelatin, 2 tbsp Sugar, 1/4^th cup Hot Water.

For the Firni: 1/4^th cup Joha Rice, 1 tbsp paste of Mint, 1 tsp Cardamom powder, 6 cup Milk, 4 tbsp Sugar, 1 tbsp Ghee.

 For the Topping: ½ cup fresh Cream, 10-12 Cashew nuts, 1 tbsp Sugar,  few Rose petals, 2 tbsp Rum, 1 tbsp Drinking Chocolate.

For Garnishing: Cherries.

Procedure:

We shall start by boiling the milk till it thickens and reduces to three cups.

While the milk boils, we shall begin our jelly preparation. Blend the mango pulp together with the sugar. Place a pan on flame and pour in the mango pulp. Keep stirring. Meanwhile dissolve gelatin in hot water and pour it on the pan. Mix it with mild hands. Keep the serving cups glasses ready. Pour the mango mixture carefully into the glasses and refrigerate it till it sets.

Now, moving on to our key layer, i.e. the ‘Firni’ coarsely grind the joha rice. If joha rice isn't locally available, basmati rice or any other aromatic rice will do. Heat ghee on a pan and fry the rice in ghee until it becomes mildly golden. Meanwhile, keep aside ½ cup from the reduced milk, and add the fried rice into the remaining 2 ½ cups of milk. Cook on low flame till the rice becomes tender. Once you are sure that the rice is properly cooked, add sugar and cardamom powder, and stir well. Finally add the mint paste, and allow the mixture to cool. The rice would soak in the extra bit of milk, if any; and you will be left with something like a soft, but thick paste. This is your ‘firni’. Finally, place it into the refrigerator.

Coming to our final layer, blend together, cashew nuts, rose-petals and sugar into a fine paste. Pour fresh cream over this paste and mix it thoroughly. Finally pour in the rum and keep the mixture in the freezer for minimum 45 min. This will be our ice-cream

Now take out the glasses from the refrigerator wherein we’d earlier poured the mango pulp. The mango jelly is set. Take 2 tbsp of the firni and spread it evenly on each of the glasses. Next, drop 1 tbsp ice-cream into each glass. Place the glasses back into the refrigerator.

While serving, heat the ½ cup of milk earlier kept aside. Add the drinking chocolate. And pour this hot chocolate sauce over the ice-cream, with a cherry on top. Your FIRNI SUNDAE is ready that has mint, cardamom, mango, chocolate and rum to simply blow away your senses. Give it a shot, and you will surely love it.

BHARVA BAINGAN (Stuffed Thai Eggplants)

Hellooo Friends,

It was my mom's birthday yesterday. Had a few guests at home for lunch. Was just wondering how do I set the menu. I'am a Bong, but I didn't wish to have a typical Bengali menu, because of the obvious reason that I wished to break free from monotony. I think it happens often, especially in India, that our guests are left without any excitement about the kind of food we would serve them, because the menu becomes so predictable, sticking to our respective regional cuisines.. As such I wished to try something different. And amongst all that I prepared, BHARVA BAINGAN, or stuffed eggplant curry became a surprising hit. Of course, I didn't follow any set recipe. And instead of the traditional baby eggplants used in this recipe, I used the skinny Thai eggplants, & made a curry instead of keeping it dry, since I knew my guests love curries. So friends, here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

7 skinny Thai Eggplants, 2 medium Potatoes, ½ tsp Carom seeds, ½ tsp Cumin seeds, ½ tsp Coriander seeds,1/2 tsp Fennel seeds, 2 cloves of Garlic, 1 tsp Garam masala powder (a mix of large cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper & nutmeg), 1 tsp Dried Mango powder (amchur powder)4-5 tbsp Chickpea Flour, 1 bunch of fresh Coriander, paste of 1 medium Onion, puree of 1 medium Tomato, Paste of 3 Green Chilies, 1 tsp Red chili powder, 1 tsp Turmeric powder, Refined oil, Salt to taste.

Procedure:

Boil the potatoes & mash them. Roast together garlic, coriander, cumin, fennel & carom seeds in low flame. Be careful not to burn them. Keep stirring continuously. When they start releasing the aroma, take them off the flame & grind into a fine powder. Add this aromatic powder into the mashed potatoes, along with amchur powder, salt & ½ tsp red chili powder. Mix it properly. Keep 1/4^th cup of this mixture aside, & the rest we shall use for the eggplant stuffing. Slit the skinny Thai eggplants lengthwise, leaving just 1 ½ or 2 cm uncut at the bottom. Now stuff the eggplants with little portions of the potato mixture. Meanwhile, add enough water to the chickpea flour to make a thick batter. Add salt & turmeric powder, & mix well. This will be our coating for the stuffed eggplants. Now smear the eggplants with this batter. Take special care to cover the slit parts of the eggplants with extra batter so that the stuffing doesn't come out while deep frying. Next, heat oil in a deep frying pan. Drop in the eggplants, maximum three at a time. Fry in low flame. Otherwise, the coating will get burnt, but the eggplants won’t be cooked properly. Now for the curry, heat 3 tbsp oil. Add ½ tsp cumin seeds & ½ tsp fennel seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter, pour in the onion paste & fry till golden. Add tomato puree, turmeric powder, chili paste, red chili powder, salt & 1/4^th cup of the potato mixture that we kept aside earlier. Fry for another 1 minute. Finally pour 5 cups of water & bring to a boil. When the curry comes to a boil, add the garam masala powder. Finally, carefully drop in the stuffed eggplants. Cook for not more than 1 minute. Or else the eggplants might become too soft & break. Garnish with fresh coriander. This recipe tastes best with plain steamed rice.

VADA CHAAT

Heeellloooo,

It's just April, & summer seems already here. And  the summers also mark the beginning of the season of my favourite fruit Mangoes. And guess what, like most of the girls, I love mangoes in their green & sour avatar too. Today, I was really in a mood to have something tangy for lunch. I had green mangoes lying in the refrigerator, & a fermented batter made from rice & dal, which mom had planned to make vadas with. So, I decided to prepare a chaat out of all these, which would be filling enough for lunch, & would satiate my appetite for a tangy delight. So, friends, here comes a chaat that has a subtle South Indian touch.

Ingredients:

For the Vada: ½ cup Rice, ½ cup Split Black Gram (urad dal), 4 tbsp Yoghurt, ½ tsp Baking powder, 2 tbsp Lemon juice, 1 tsp Red Chili powder, 8 tbsp Refined oil, Salt to taste.

For the Upma:  1 cup Vermicilli, 1 cup chopped Vegetables (potato, carrot, bean, peas), 1 chopped Onion, 2 chopped green Chilies,1 tbsp Peanuts, 2tsp Split Red Gram (toovar dal), 2 tsp Split Bengal Gram (chana dal), 10-15 Raisins, few Curry leaves, 2 dry Red chilies, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, 4 tbsp Refined oil, Salt to taste.

For the Chutney:  2 Green Mangoes, 3 tbsp Jaggery, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, ½ tsp Cumin seeds, 2 dry Red Chilies, 4 chopped Fig, 3 chopped green Chilies, few fresh coriander leaves, 1 tbsp Refined oil, Salt to taste.

Procedure:

Make a fine paste of rice & dal & leave it overnight for fermentation. Once the batter starts releasing a sour, fermented smell, you know that your batter is ready for the next step. Add salt, yoghurt, lemon juice, baking powder & red chili powder, & mix well. Make sure the batter has a thick consistency. Meanwhile, heat oil on a deep frying pan. Now, take one small scoop of the batter & place it right on the middle of the pan. Deep fry the vada. Continue the process with the remaining batter as well.

While are vadas are being done, soak the split bengal gram & red gram in warm water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil on another pan, & fry the vermicelli till they are golden brown. Add 1 cup water in the fried vermicelli & place it back on flame for a minute until the vermicelli is tender. But be careful not to overcook. Strain the excess water. Now heat 1 tbsp oil on a pan. Add the peanuts & the soaked dal & fry them. Once that’s done, place the dal & the peanuts aside. Add another 2 tbsp of oil on the pan. Add mustard seeds, & dry red chilies. Once the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the curry leaves, followed by the vegetables & the chopped onion. Add salt to taste & cook till the vegetables are done. To this, add the fried peanuts & dal. And then add the raisins. Finally, add the vermicelli & mix well. The vermicelli upma is ready.

Now, for the chutney, blend the mangoes, coriander & green chilies into a smoothie. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds & dry red chilies for the tampering. Once the seeds begin to splutter & the chillies turn deep brown, pour in the mango smoothie. Add the jaggery. Once the jaggery melts, add salt to taste, followed by the chopped fig. The sweet & sour, hot mango chutney is ready as well.

Assortment:

Spread 2-3 tbsp of vermicelli upma on a plate. Tear a vada into 4-5 pieces, & place them over the upma. Pour 1-2 tbsp of the mango chutney over the vada as the final layering. And your Vada Chaat is ready to tickle your senses this summer.

HALWA KEBAB

Hellloooooo,

And I'm back after a long week. Have been keeping unwell since the past few days. However, thanks to some idle laying on the bed, my mind desperately wanted to search something new. And what new could the 'glutton' in me search for than some new dishes! I watched the sumptuous 'moong dal ka halwa' (a dessert made from yellow lentils) preparation on TV that day. Then it struck me, what if a halwa tastes salty rather than sweet, while still remaining close to the essence or aroma of the original dessert. Well, I went on with an experiment. And to my utter delight, I can boastfully say that the experiment came out really well. So friends, here comes an Indian dessert with a salty twist: "HALWA KEBAB".

Ingredients:

1 cup Yellow Lentil, ½ cup grated Cottage Cheese, 2 tsp Chickpea Flour, a handful of roasted Peanuts, 1 tsp Cardamom powder, 2 tbsp Clarified Butter, ½ cup Milk, 1 tsp Fennel seeds, pulp of 1 ripe Mango, 2 tsp Poppy seeds, 5-7 Cashew nuts, 2 tbsp Jaggery, 1 medium sized Apple, 1 tsp Cinnamon powder, 1 tsp Black Pepper powder, 5 Mint leaves, Salt to taste.

For Garnishing: Mint, Cherries & Cashew nuts.

Procedure:

Soak the lentils for 30 mins  Then blend it into a fine paste. But make sure it’s not dry. Add little water if needed to get a medium consistency. To this, add 1 tsp sugar, fennel seeds, cardamom powder & salt to taste. Our aim is to create a salty taste with a hint of sweetness brought in by the sugar. Grind the roasted peanuts and keep it aside. Roast the poppy seeds until it releases a sweet aroma. Be careful not to burn the seeds. Blend the roasted poppy seeds together with the mango pulp, cashew nuts, jaggery & salt, to get a nice, thick smoothie. This will be our sauce. Meanwhile, cut the apple into fine pieces. Add chopped mint, cinnamon powder, black pepper powder & a pinch of salt, and mix well. Now heat clarified butter on a pan & pour in the lentil mixture. Keep stirring; else it would stick to the pan. Drop in the chickpea flour & grated cottage cheese, & keep stirring for 2 mins. Finally add the ground peanuts & the milk, & stir for another 1 min. This mixture is done. Now take small portions of the mixture and make small balls. One by one, press the balls in between your palms so that they become flat enough to fill in the stuffing. Fill them with little portions of the apple mixture & shape them back into round balls. And your kebabs are ready. Arrange the kebabs on a plate. Now pour the mango-poppy seed sauce generously over the kebabs. Garnish with mint, cherries & cashew nuts.

It's fast, simple & absolutely yummy. Do try out. You will definitely love it. :-)

"CORNY" CANAPES WITH "CHEESY" SPREAD

Helloooo,

It's a lazy weekend. And I have decided to watch a nice movie at home, leisurely resting on my couch. And my binging arrangements are all ready. After all, how can movie-watching be fun without binging, isn't it? But, the only difference is that I'm not in a mood to binge on the usual wafers or pop-corns. I thought, why not prepare a simple snack out of corn itself? And since I'am in an absolutely weekend mood, the name of my experiment today might also sound pretty weird & whacky. So friends, here comes "CORNY" CANAPES WITH "CHEESY" SPREAD

Ingredients:

1 ¼  cup Golden corn kernels, ½ cup All-purpose flour, Butter, ½ tsp black Onion seeds, 4 cloves of Garlic, Black pepper powder, 1 tsp mixed Herbs (Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Basil), 1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh Coriander, 2 slices of Fig, 2 Plums, Salt to taste.

Procedure:

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a pan. Add chopped garlic and fry on low heat until the garlic turns golden brown. Now separate the butter from the garlic, & keep the latter aside. Blend 1 cup of the golden corn into a paste. Add all-purpose flour, 1 heaped tablespoon of grated cheese, salt, black onion seeds, 1 tsp black pepper powder & the melted butter into the corn paste. Knead fine dough. Take small portion of the dough & make small balls. Roll out the balls getting thin, round-shaped chapatis. Take a knife & cut in between, dividing the chapatti into two equal parts. Now cut out big ‘A’ shapes from each of the two parts to get triangles (You can also cut out circles if you wish). Brush a little bit of melted butter on both sides of the triangles, & bake them for 10mins at 160 C.

Meanwhile, blend the remaining cheese, ¼ cup of golden corn, the fried garlic into a fine paste. Add 1 tbsp melted butter, 1 tsp black pepper, mixed herbs, lemon juice, grated coriander & salt, & mix them well.

Once the corn canapés are baked, take them out & place 1 tsp of the cheese spread on each of the canapés. Top them with small pieces of your favorite fruits, coriander & corn. I used a sweet & sour combination of fig & sour plum. You may also go for olives, grapes & jalapenos.

PANEER BAHAAR

When we talk of vegetarian delicacies in India, the first thing that comes to our mind is Paneer or cottage cheese. And the most common avatars of paneer are Paalak Paneer (paneer curry with spinach), Shahi Paneer (rich creamy paneer curry made with the paste of cashew nut, watermelon seeds & cream) as well as Matar Paneer (paneer curry made with peas). Although I love all these varieties of Paneer delicacies, I thought of trying to come up with another variety. This recipe that I'am sharing with you today has a lot of dry fruits in it. And I think this goes better with naans & chapatis rather than with rice.

PANEER BAHAAR

INGREDIENTS:

250gm Paneer/Cottage Cheese, a handful of Dry Fruits (cashew nuts, almond, raisins, dry coconut pieces, dry dates), Puree of 1 large Tomato, 4Green chilies, 1tsp Red chili powder, 1tsp Turmeric powder,  1tbsp Poppy seeds, 1tbsp Watermelon seeds, 1tbsp Fennel seeds, 1 tsp garam masala powder (cardamom, cinnamon & cloves), ½ cup Milk, 10-12 Grapes, 3Bay Leaves,  3tsp Sugar, 1tbs Corn-flour, Salt to taste, Cooking oil, 1cup Water, 2tsp Rose water,.

PROCEDURE:

Roast poppy seeds in low flame. Make a fine paste of poppy seeds, watermelon seeds, fennel seeds & green chilies. Blend the dry fruits into a coarse paste. Mash the paneer, & add 2 tsp of the dry fruits paste, corn-flour, ½ tsp salt & 1 tsp sugar. Take small portions of the mixture & make small balls. Mildly press the balls in between palms to get a flattened round shape. Shallow fry them like kababs until both the sides are golden. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the Bay leaves & ½ tsp garam masala powder. Drop in the tomato puree & cook for a minute. Then add the mixed seeds paste, salt, turmeric & red chili powder. Cook the masala for 3-4 mins. Add  milk & water, & bring it to a boil. Finally add the dry fruits paste, grapes cut into halves, few raisins, small dry coconut slices & 2 tsp sugar. Follow them up with the paneer balls, & cook for another 2 mins. Lastly, sprinkle rose water over the curry. Garnish with coconut powder. Serve hot with chapatis, naans or rice.

PS: Cherries can also be used instead of the grapes. It would give a better color as well.