Aam Ras - Mango Smoothie

Mangoes are a very favorite fruit of our family and we love mangoes in all its forms : mango piclkes, raw mango salad and raita, raw mangoes in Dal and curry or the ripened fruit itself. Another very favourite of ours is Aam ras - Aam means mango and ras means pulp or juice. Aam ras is basically mango smothie. It is usually made with Gulab khas mangoes. Gulab khas mangoes are mangoes with a reddish hue and rosy aroma.

Gulab khas Mangoes- Picture from Google images

For making aam ras we need: 

Gulab khas aam ( Or any other sweet variety) : 1 kg

Sugar : To taste ( To be adjusted depending on the sweetness of the mangoes.)

Milk: 1/2 kg ( 500 gms)

The mangoes are to be cut and the stone has to be removed. This is to be blended with the sugar and milk and blended till smooth. The sweetness has to be tasted and adjusted. This is usually served chilled.

My family prefers to have this after meals for desert . May be had with luchi/ puris . In the villages of bengal this is also had with muri ( puffed rice) and khoi. 

Its a very easy recipe and I hope you like it. Wishing lots of happiness.... Moushumi

Fish : Chop n fry

Summer Holidays are on and I am back to some cooking. My colleague who stays by the beautiful River Rupnarayan gave me some Topshe Maach ( Mango Fish) the other day. Topshe has very soft bones and in Bengal it is usually batter fried. Here is mine :

They turn out quite crunchy . The fish needs to be marinaded with a little ginger garlic paste, Vinegar/ lime juice turmeric powder, and salt for around an hour or so. Next a batter of besan, salt, rice flour , a pinch of baking soda , cumin  powder, coriander powder and red chilly powder is made. The marinaded fish is then batter fried. This is served with steamed rice and dal .

Also made some fish chops yesterday evening as It was Sunday and we were all at home. Here is a picture:

And some fish fry today:

Planning to cook up a few more stuff this holidays. Lets see.

Snacks - Dal Vada, Onion Pakora, Soya Cutlets

My family members always prefer to have some snacks with their evening tea . Now that my summer holidays are on I try to make some quick snacks like pakoras or vadas. Yesterday I made some Dal Vadas with Masoor Dal or Red Lentils . Here is a picture of Masoor Dal or Red Lentils,  I just downloaded from Google Images:

Soak around 2 cups of Masoor Dal in 2 cups of water for 3 - 4 hours. After that grind this into a coarse paste. Add salt, red chilly powder, chopped green chillies, turmeric powder, 2 small onions chopped, a little garlic paste and a little ginger paste to taste.One may use chopped coriander leaves too. Heat oil and deep fry into small vadas. Serve with sauce or chutney. This is really a good evening snack. Hope you like it. Wishing happiness, Moushumi Sengupta

Onion Pakora
 Made some onion vada this evening. This too is very easy. Cut the onion. Mix with some Chickpea flour or besan. Add salt, chopped green chillies. Add very little water. Deep fry. In bengal this is a very favourite snack and usually had with puffed rice or Muri.

 

And with sauce and chutney:

Soya Granule Cutlets

The other day I bought a pack of Soya granules:

And made some cutlets out of them:

The recipe is the same as my post on keema cutlets. the granules are to be boiled with a little salt for a couple of minutes and rinsed in cold water. Drain off the water. Add salt , pepper, vinegar, tomato sauce, garlic paste all to taste. Add a couple of bread slices. Shape into cutlets. Dust bread crumbs over them. keep in refrigerator for a couple of hours for the flavour to be soaked. Fry . Serve hot.
Hoping to make a few more items these holidays. Wishing happiness to all. Moushumi Sengupta

Phirni

 

Phirni is a simple yet tasty dessert. Just a little milk, powdered rice and sugar - that's all what it takes. I took around a quarter cup Basmati rice, a quarter cup sugar and around 750 grams of milk. The rice is to be soaked , drained and then ground into a smooth paste. This is added to around half a cup of milk and made thinner. Now this paste is added to all the milk and boiled. It has to stirred continuously till the mixture turns creamy. Now the sugar is added and stirred. 2 green cardamoms are powdered and added to the mixture. Next the mixture is removed from fire and poured into small bowls and decorated with shredded almonds. Chill the mixture in the fridge and serve.  

Also made some malpuas, a Bengali sweet pie,  last week . Hope to be back with a post on malpuas. Till then wishing happiness. Moushumi

Mutton Vindaloo

Cooked this last Sunday. Basically an easy one and tastes rather good. I cooked arond 750 grams of mutton. Other ingredients:
Haldi /  turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Zeera /Cumin , Dhania /Coriander, Poppy seeds, Mustard Seeds : 2 tsp each these are to be slightly roasted and ground to powder. One may use powdered packets too.
 Cloves: 4,Green Cardamom  : 4( To be powdered). One may use powdered garam masala too.
Onions: 3-4 medium
Garlic: 5-6  flakes
Ginger: 2 inch
Oil: ( I used mustard) : 3 tbs
Salt: to taste
Vinegar: 1 tbs
All The powdered spices including the powdered Cloves and cardamom are mixed along with the vinegar . Marinade the mutton using a little of this spice mixture and keep aside for a couple of hours. Keep the remaining part aside.
Grind the onion ginger and garlic to paste. The ginger may be julienned if you so like.
Heat oil in a pan. Fry the onion garlic ginger paste for sometime. Use the remaining amount of spices and fry till oil separates. Now add the marinated mutton. Cook for sometime.Add a little warm water if you want. then transfer to a pressure cooker and let it cook till tender. This may be served with steamed rice or chapatis.

Dimer Chop ( Egg Chop)

I had egg chops at my sister in law Bubundidi's place. Myself and my husband loved it and so I made these the following weekend. I found them very easy but equally delicious. Here's how :
Eggs : 2 (for 4 chops), hard boiled
Potatoes: 4 medium, Boiled and mashed
Tomato Ketchup:2 tbs
Salt: to taste
Red chilly powder: 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
Bread Crumbs: 1 cup approx
Corn Flour: 2Tbs
Oil: 4 tbs
First cut the boiled eggs into halves. Next mix the mashed potatoes with tomato Ketchup , salt, cumin powder, red chilly powder and a little of the  bread crumbs. Cover the eggs with this and form chops.Now make a batter of cornflour and dip the chops first  into cornflour and next into bread crumbs.Repeat this step again.Now the chops are ready to be fried.
Heat oil in a wok and deep fry them. Serve with hot with tomato or mustard sauce.This makes a very good evening snack.
Hope you liked the chops. Till our next post, bye and have a nice time. Moushumi.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chinese Food is very often improvised to suit the Indian taste in many parts of India. In Bengal too Chinese food is very popular and cooked up even in the roadside kiosks as it is very popular among the people. I too used one of my mom in laws recipes of sweet and sour chicken . For this the boneless chicken pieces were first fried in a batter and the sauce prepared separately before they were amalgamated .

Chicken: 500 grams boneless
Green Bell pepper: 2 medium, roughly chopped
Pineapple: 1 can
Onions: 2 medium roughly chopped
Spring Onions: A few strands
Vegetable oil

For the batter:
Flour: 3/4 cup
Cornstarch: 1/4 cup
Egg:1
Water:3/4 Th cup
 Salt
Pepper

For the Sauce:
Vinegar: 1/2 cup
Salt: to taste
Pepper: 1/2 tsp
Tomato ketchup: 4 tbs
Soy Sauce: 1tbs
Garlic Paste: 1 tsp
Sugar: 1 Tbs/ to taste
Cornflour: 1Tbs approx

 Cube the chicken pieces. Now make a batter of Flour, cornstarch, salt, egg , pepper and a little water. Coat the chicken pieces with them and deep fry till golden.
Now add a little oil in a wok and lightly toss the onion pieces. Add a little garlic paste and saute for a minute. Add onion pieces and saute till transparent. Add the  tomato and capsicum pieces,  and the diced carrots and fry for a couple of minutes.Now add water, Vinegar,Soy Sauce, Tomato Ketchup, Sugar, Salt, Pepper and bring the mixture to a boil.Add the fried pieces of chicken at this stage. Now mix the cornflour with water so that there are no lumps. Add this to the wok stirring continuously. The mixture will thicken . Now in a serving bowl place pieces of pineapple and cucumber and pour the hot mixture over it. Sprinkle spring onions. The sweet and sour chicken is now ready to be served.
Hope you liked the recipe. Happy cooking. I also have a post on Minced meat Manchurian. Do have a look.  Bye till we meet. Moushumi.

Meat Ball ( Keema Ball) Manchurian

Well its holiday time and I am cooking up every other day. Made these Chinese Manchurian with minced meat ( keema). For this at first keema balls are to be made. Here are the ingredients for meat ball:

Minced chicken meat ( Chicken Keema) : 250 gms

Vinegar: 1 tbs

Finely chopped onions: 3 medium

Ginger paste: 1tsp 

Garlic Paste:1 tsp

Salt : to taste

pepper : 1 tsp

Breads: 3 slices for binding

Mix all the above ingredients. Make small balls. I made 22 balls out of 250 grams keema. Now dip the balls in the batter of:

Cornflour: 3 -4 tbs

Water: 4 tbs. One may use eggs too to form the batter.Now deep fry the balls in white oil.

Keep aside on a paper napkin for absorbing the excess oil.

Now for the gravy we need:

Onion : 2 medium , roughly chopped

Ginger: 1' shredded finely

Garlic: 6-8 chopped finely

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tsp

Spring onions: 6-8 chopped finely

Capsicum : 2 medium, roughly sliced.

Salt : to taste

Sugar: 2tsp

Black pepper powder: 1 tsp

Chicken Stock :around  2 cups 

Vinegar: 1Tbs

Soy sauce: 2 Tbs

Tomato Sauce: 2 Tbs

Chilly sauce: 2 tsp

cornflour: 1 Tbs

White oil

Heat oil and fry the onion pieces till translucent. Add the Ginger garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Now add the sauces and vinegar and saute a little more..Add salt, pepper ,sugar and cook again for 1min. Now add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the capsicum and gently drop the fried meatballs.Now make a paste of 2 tbs of cornflour and stir constantly till you get the desired consistency of gravy. Sprinkle shredded spring onions. Serve with Chinese fried rice or noodles.Well here's a picture of my fried rice:

Hope you like the recipe. Till our next post, bye and take care.

Mutton Curry

Mutton Curry or Pathar Mangsho as the Bengalis call it is a very favourite of all the bengali household. We love to have this for any special occasion. Not only so even on sundays and holidays we love to have mutton curry! Well this is a very basic bengali mutton curry that I am talking about today. It is cooked with little improvisations in every household and there is no hard and fast rule as mutton cooked in any way tastes good.This is how I do it:
Mutton Curry cut: 500 grams
Tomatoes: 3-4 medium sized  ( one may use curd), pureed
Onions, chopped: 3-4 medium sized
Ginger paste:1 tbs
Garlic paste: 1 tbs
Red chilly powder: 1/2 tsp
Haldi/ Turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin powder : 1 tsp
Dhania/ Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Bay Leaves/ Tej patta: 1
Garam Masala powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil : 4-5 Tbs
Heat oil.Add the bay leaf.Then Fry the chopped onions till brown and add the ginger - garlic paste. Now add the mutton pieces and cook for around 10 mins . After this add the pureed tomatoes and cook for around 12 to 15 minutes. Add turmeric, cumin, coriander red chilly and the garam masala  powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Add salt to taste.Now add a cup of hot water to this depending on the amount of gravy you want. Now, in a pressure cooker cook this till done. ( I usually go for 2 whistles and then reduce the flame till the next whistle is ready. Extinguish the flame at this stage and let the steam normalise on its own. ) . The curry is now ready to be served with steamed rice, Rotis/ Chappatis or parathas.

Chicken Bharta

Chicken is a very favourite dish in my household. My family loves it but not the same old bengali curry every day. Hence I often try my hand out in different types of recipes and experiment with it. And chicken being our favourite my family members approve of it in all its forms. Last weekend I cooked up chicken bharta. There are many recipes on the net but here's how I did mine:

Boneless Chicken: 500 grams

Tomatoes: 3 small : chopped

Tomato Puree: 1 large

Onions: 4 medium chopped

Dhania seeds/ Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp

Red Chilly : Dried: 2

Ginger chopped: 1 1/2 "

Garlic chopped: 10- 12 flakes

Garam Masala powder: 1 tsp

Dhania / Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Aamchoor powder: 1/2 tsp

Kasoori Methi/ Dry fenugreek seeds: 2 tsp

Green chillies:2

At first , the coriander seeds and red chillies are roasted on a tawa and partially crushed.

The boneless chicken pieces are then cut into small pieces. After that oil is heated in a kadai. Chopped onions are fried till brown. The roasted partially crushed dhania is then added along with ginger and garlic for 30 secs or so.

Now the chicken is added and cooked for 5 to 7 mins on a medium flame.

Add the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes and dried red chilly powder and cooked for about 5 more mins.

Now add the garam masala powder, aamchoor powder, dhania powder, salt and thereafter cook covered for around 7 to 8 mins on low heat. Add the green chillies and cook again on low heat till the chicken is done. Kasoori Methi leaves and chopped coriander leasves are used as garnish.

We had this with steamed rice. But it tastes better with parathas or rotis. Hope you like it. Bye for now.

Easy Keema Cutlet(Chicken keema)

Made these quick keema cutlets last week. They tasted really well according to my family. This is one of the many of my mom in laws easy hassle free recipes. For making 10 such cutlets we need:
250 grams minced meat(chicken) or chicken keema
Onion: 1 large chopped finely
Green chilly :  chopped
10 pods garlic: paste
3/4 th inch garlic :paste
Vinegar: 1 tbs
Bread slices:3 Cut off the sides and add a few spoons of water to make them soft
Salt :to taste
Pepper: to taste
Bread Crumbs
Oil for frying
Add all the ingredients together and divide them into roughly 10 parts. Press them flat into cutlets. Sprinkle some bread crumbs. Keep them aside or Freeze the cutlets for a few hours. Then heat oil in a fan and fry them golden . Drain off the excess oil and serve .


Well , I also made some Aloo Tikki today. Cant resist the temptation of uploading its picture for my sister Bandana:

Didi, as you suggested , I used Poto Potato flakes for making these tikkis. Now planning to make some Aloo Tikki chat next weekend using the flakes.So easy! Thank you!

11.6.14: using the same recipe for keema cutlets, I made some soya granule cutlets today:

Punjabi Chicken Curry

Chicken is a favourite with my family. Every Sunday we cook up some chicken . This time I cooked Punjabi chicken curry. Well here's the recipe:

Chicken : 500grams ,curry cut with bones

Oil: 5-6 tbs

Onions:3 large, ground to paste

Ginger: 1 inch piece, paste

Garlic: 6-8 flakes, paste

Tomatoes:2 pureed

Bay Leaf/ Tej Patti: 1 pc

Curd: 1/2 cup

Brown Cardamoms/ Bari elaichi:2

Cloves/Laung:2

Cinnamon /dalchini: 1/2 inch

Turmeric powder/Haldi:1/2 tsp

Coriander powder/Dhania Powder: 1/2 tsp

Red Chilly powder:1/2 tsp

Garam Masala:1 tsp

Hot water:2 cups

This preparation doesnt need marination. At first, oil is heated and the bay leaf, cardamom, Cinnamon and cloves are added . After a couple of seconds, onion, ginger and garlic paste is added and fried. Now the pieces of chicken are added and fried for 15 mins approx. Now the pureed tomatoes are added to it. This is fried again on medium heat. A little water is to be sprinkled from time to time. This is to be done for around 10 mins. Now turmeric powder, red chilly powder,Coriander powder garam masala,and salt is added. Fry for a minute.It is now time to add the curd . The curd must be whippped well . This is  boiled over low heat for 5 more mins approx or till oil separates. At this stage 2 cups of hot /warm water is added to the dish and transferrred to a pressure cooker. This is cooked to one whistle. The dish is now ready to be served.
Well I made some Bengali Mutton curry or pathar jhol as well. Here's the pic:

There are several recipes of Bengali Mutton curry on the net but I will upload mine pretty soon.

Begun Posto( Brinjals with poppy seed)

Posto or poppy seed is very popular in Bengal. Every other veggie is cooked with posto seeds. Yesterday my friend Sanghamitra came to dine with me. So I made some Begun posto.
For Begun posto we need :
Brinjals 1kg
Posto: 75 grams ground to paste.
Onions :3 medium ground to paste.
Garlic paste:1 tsp
Haldi (Turmeric powder):1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder: To taste
Salt
Oil
Tamarind pulp: 2/3 tbs
Cut the brinjals to large pieces.
Fry them nicely in oil and keep aside.
Heat oil. Add the poppy paste to it and saute well.

Now add onion paste,  garlic paste,turmeric powder, chilly paste ,salt and again continue to saute adding a little water from time to time if necessary. Now add the fried brinjals and water . The amount of water depends on the consistency of the gravy you want. After letting this come to a boil add the tamarind pulp. Add slit green chillies. Serve with steamed rice or chappatis. Potatoes cooked with poppy seeds ( Alu Posto) also tastes very delicious. But with alu posto  the tamarind pulp is not added. Poppy seeds also taste good when cooked with shrimps ( Chingri Posto).Here too tamarind pulp is not used. Here's a pic of the chingri posto:

.
Well , there is yet another way to cook Begun Posto and tastes equally good! For this we require all the above ingredients except onions ,garlic and tamarind. For posto or poppy seeds we need around 50 grams poppy seeds and around 25 grams mustard seeds ground together. Cook up in the same manner. After it is done add a little mustard oil ( around 1-2 tsp) to the dish to add some zing. This tastes excellent too!  Try out!! am sure you'll like it.

Black Forest Cake

I made this Black Forest cake with instructions from my sister Bandana. I could bake simple cakes no doubt but did not know how to whip up a pastry. After receiving the necessary instructions from Bandana, I tried my hand out. It basically involves two steps: the first, baking a simple chocolate cake and the next is to use whipping cream , cherries and grated chocolates to transform it into a Black Forest Cake.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup margarine or butter

2 Tbs milk

a pinch of salt

4 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

whipping cream

Grated chocolate

cherries

Sift the flour,cocoa and the baking powder for about 3 times.

Beat the butter and the sugar to cream. Add the eggs till they are thoroughly blended.

Add the flour and the milk and make the batter. Add vanilla essence.

Pour into the cake tray.

Bake in the convection mode of the microwave at 180C for 25 Minutes or till done.

Let it cool. Whip up cream in the mean time.

Now cut the cake breadth wise into three cross sections.

Pour orange juice, brandy or any juice on the pieces to moisten them.

Now generously put cream in each section and put some cherries too.

On the top most layer sprinkle grated chocolate and decorate with cherries.

Keep in the refrigerator.

Serve!

Stuffed Paratha / Daal stuffed parantha

Last week my friend Sayani shared her tiffin with me...It was an excellent stuffed paratha with chutney. So I gave it a try in the weekend with sayani's recipe and the result was a palatable dish of paratha and dahi aloo( potatoes with curd). Stuffed paranthas are quite popular in India and we stuff our paranthas with all sorts of stuffings: Daal(lentils), mashed potatoes(aloo parantha), Raddish( muli parantha), Keema (minced meat) and so on.Here's how I prepared mine:
1 cup Bengal Grams
2 Tbs oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 red chilly powder
1/4 tsp haldi
Paste: 4 chillies
1/2 inch ginger
3 garlic cloves
1 onion
salt to taste

Soak the daal overnite. Make a paste. One may also boil  the daal with water and salt and a little turmeric powder.Then mash.

Heat 1 Tbs oil in a pan . Fry the paste of daal. To this add garam masala powder, haldi powder(turmeric powder),red chilly powder, salt and the paste of ginger, garlic,onion and chilly. Keep frying till the mixture is pretty dry.

Next knead the all purpose flour with 1 Tbs oil, a little salt and water to make a dough. Now take some dough, make a cup and put some daal mixture inside. Pat and roll out a parantha with a rolling pin.

Heat oil in a skillet and fry out the paranthas. One may also deep fry these and turn them into puris.


9.12.12:Well here's a pic of the Methi Paratha I made last sunday:

Panna Cotta

 

My Son recommended this lovely dessert, and i am glad that i tried it out. Its so easy to make. Heres the youtube link for the recipe. Its mango season and me and my husband love mangoes. So we thought of using it instead of the strawberries as per the recipe. You can literally use any fruit you like. 

Recipe credit to Laura Vitale. Check out her site for more exciting recipes.

[Well , I tried out this dish after my sister Bandana recommended . Oh believe me its excellent !! I discussed the possibility of using pineapple essence and sliced pineapples as toppings with Bandana .... when she gave me the green signal I tried it out with pineapples. Yummy was the result!!!  --Moushumi]

Food for thought

During my stay with my sons in Bangalore and Hyderabad
I prepare this dishes and everyone enjoy.

Chicken 65

      .

Add caption

Ingredients

500gms Chicken breast(skinless,boneless),           
1/2 tsp Chilli powder or to taste,                 
1/4 tsp Pepper powder,                                   
1 tsp Ginger garlic paste,
2tsps corn flour,
1 egg,
salt to taste,
1 tsp Cumin seeds,
1 tbsp Chopped garlic,
2 to 3 Green chillies sliced,
10 to 12 Curry leaves,
2 tbsp Curd mixed with 1 cup water,
1/2 tsp Red colour(optional),
1 tsp Lemon juice,
2 tsp oil,
oil for frying.

Method

Wash and cut chicken into 2 inch pieces.
Add chilli powder ,pepper powder, ginger garlic paste ,corn flour, egg and salt.
Mix well, and marinate for 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan to deep fry.
When the oil is hot deep fry the marinated chicken pieces until golden brown.
Heat 2tsp of oil in separate pan add cumin seeds, chopped garlic, green chillies, curry leaves and saute for 1/2 minute, then add curd mix with water and red colour on low flame.
Then add the fried chicken pieces and stir well.
Increase the heat and stir continuously until the liquid is absorbed and it looks dry.
Add lemon juice, garnish with onion rings and serve hot,  ENJOY





Aloo 65

Ingredients:

5 medium potatoes
2-3 green chillies
10 curry leaves
1 1/2 tbsp corn flour
1 1/2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp yogurt mix with 1cup of water
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tsp oil
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste
Red colour (optional)

Method:

Boil, peel and cut the potatoes into cubes.
Mix ginger garlic paste,coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder, corn flour, flour, 1/2 of yogurt and salt. Marinate for 20 minutes,in refrigerator.
Heat oil in a frying pan to deep fry, when the oil is hot, deep fry the marinated potatoes till they turn golden brown and crisp from all the sides.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a separate pan
Add the cumin seeds, chopped garlic, green chillies curry leaves and saute for 20 seconds.
Add remaining yogurt and red colour on low flame.
Add fried potatoes and stir well, increase the heat and stir continuously till the liquid is absorbed and it looks dry.
Add lemon juice and served hot, garnish with onion rings. ENJOY





Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

750 gms chicken pieces
1 1/2 cup  basmati rice
4 tbsps oil
1/4tsp saffron soaked with 1/2 cup of warm milk
3 medium onions sliced
3 medium onions sliced and fried brown
1 cup yogurt
2 tbsps ginger garlic paste
3/4th tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4th tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
3 medium tomatoes chopped
1 1/2 inch stick cardamom
2 bay leaves
10 cloves
8 green cardamoms
2 black cardamoms
2 tbsps mint leaves chopped
1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
4 tbsp butter
salt to taste

Method:

Wash and clean the chicken pieces. Marinate the chicken pieces with yogurt, half of the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and salt. keep aside for an hour.
Cook basmati rice with plenty of water along with bay leaves, 5 cloves, 1 stick cinnamon, 4 green cardamoms, salt and 1 tsp of oil, until  three forth done. Strain the water and spread the rice on a large wide plate. Allow to cool.
Heat 4 tbsps of oil in a pan, add remaining cinnamon, cloves, green cardamoms, add sliced onions, saute till the onions are light brown, add remaining ginger garlic paste, coriander powder, chopped tomatoes, saute for few seconds, add marinated chicken pieces and cook till the chicken is tender.
Take a microwave safe deep bowl. Arrange a layer of cooked chicken at the bottom.Over that arrange half of the rice, sprinkle garam masala powder, half of the fried brown onions, half of the mint and coriander leaves, half of the saffron milk. Repeat this step again. Now add 4 tbsps butter on the top.Cook in the microwave oven for 8 to 10 minutes on 100% power. Let it stands for 5 minutes. Serve hot with raita of your choice. ENJOY



 Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 carrot cut in to 1/2 inch pieces (parboiled)
2 potatoes cubed (parboiled)
1/2 cup french beans cut in to 1/2 inch pieces (parboiled)
1 cup cauliflower florets (parboiled)
1/2 cup green peas
1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 inch stick cinnamon
10 cloves
6 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
2 bay leaves
2 medium tomatoes chopped
2 medium onions sliced
2 medium onions sliced and fried brown
1 tbsp mint leaves chopped
1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 tsp saffron mix with 1/2 cup of  warm milk
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp butter
salt to taste

Method:

Wash and soaked basmati rice for 1/2 an hour.
Boil the rice with plenty of water along with the bay leaves, 1/2 inch stick cinnamon, black cardamom, 3 green cardamoms, 4 cloves, and salt, until three forth done.
Strain the water and spread the rice on a large wide plate. Allow to cool.
Heat oil in a pan, add remaining cloves, green cardamoms, and cinnamon stick, add onion, saute till light brown, add carrot, cauliflower florets, french beans, potatoes and green peas, saute for two minutes, add ginger garlic paste mix with a little water and stir, add chopped tomatoes, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, and saute for few minutes.
Take a microwave safe deep bowl. Arrange a layer of cooked vegetable at the bottom.Over that arrange half of the rice, sprinkle remaining garam masala, half of the fried brown onions, half of the coriander and mint leaves, half of the whisk yogurt, half of the saffron milk. Repeat this step again. Now add the butter at the top. cook in the microwave oven for 5 minutes on 100% power. Let it stands for 5 minutes and serve hot with raita of your choice. ENJOY

Vegetable Chop



Last month due to excessive heat all schools around the state was closed. it was then I made several snacks with our evening tea:Paneer Pakora, Momos,Sanwiches,Fish Egg pakor,Keema cutlet and so on.... Fish Egg Pakora is made out of fish eggs which we call 'Maancher Dimer Bora' in Bengali which is served with lunch n dinner too.Paneer Pakora and keema sandwich also turned out well. Tried my hand out with Tibetan Momos too . The unexpected holidays were a fun!I made some Vegetable Chop one day which turned out pretty tasty according to my family.It is a very popular snack in Bengal.Here goes the recipe for Vegetable chop but first the picture:

Vegetable Chop

Potato:3 medium sized
Carrot:2 small
Beat :2 small
Onion:1
Chilly powder:1/2tsp
Oil:1/2 Tbsp

Coriander powder/Dhania Powder:1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder/Jeera Powderr:1/2 tsp
Bread crumps: 1 cup
White flour:1 cup
Ginger Paste:1/2 tsp
Roasted Peanuts:2 tsp

1.Boil the veggies and smash.
2.Heat oil in a pan. Add onions till translucent.
3.Add Ginger paste,Cumin Powder,Coriander powder,Chilly powder .
4.Add the smashed veggies ,salt and saute.
5.Turn off flame and add the roasted peanuts.
6.Make balls in shapes of your choice;circular or cylindrical.
7. Make batter with flour.
8.Coat balls with the batter and then with the bread cramps.
9. Repeat.
10.Set in the fridge for at least an hour .(optional)
11. Fry and serve hot with tomato sauce.
Well here goes my vegetable chop. One may add cauliflower, peas ,kishmish and chopped coriander leaves with it.
Bye for now!
(P.S.:Rinti Didi/ Jamai Babu: Now you see both the tea n snacks are ready. Will look forward to meeting you when you come to Kolkata....:):)As for now enjoy your trip!!)

  

Doi Manch(Curd-Fish)

Doi Manch or Fish with curd is a popular Bengali dish. There are several ways of cooking Doi Manch. I am mentioning just one of the many ways....

Ingredients:Fish 300 grams

Curd:100 grams

Medium sized onions:2(Grated)

Ginger paste:1 tsp

Turmeric powder:1/4 tsp

Sugar:2 1/2 tsp or to taste

Salt:to taste

Mustard Oil:2 Tbs

Bay leaves:2

Choti elaichi/green cardamom :2

Dalchini/Cinnamon:3/4th"

Cloves/Laung:2

Red chilli powder:1/2 tsp

Green chillies:2/3

Method:Whisk the curd.

Add turmeric powder,red chilly powder,salt and sugar to the mixture.Add the fishes to it.(Do not fry the fishes).

Now heat oil in a pan. Add bay leaves , choti elaichi,dalchini, laung to the oil and after a few seconds add the ginger and onion paste to it. Saute' for a few minutes. Now add the curd and fish to it and bring to a boil. After this lower the heat to sim and simmer for a few more minutes till you get a thickish gravy. (Add very little water only if necessary).Garnish with green chillies.The dish is now ready to be served with steamed rice!

Chicken Chettinaad

Cooked Chicken Chettinaad for my aunt in law with a recipe from the net. ...Not posting the recipe as there r already so many on net.This dish however is pretty hassel free n easy to cook and tastes pretty good!