Peper Ghonto (Raw Papaya Curry)

Ingredients :

Raw Papaya,peeled and grated.....................................................1,medium size

Potatoes,cut into small cubes.......................................................2 ,medium size

Green Chilly,slit................................................................................4

Bay Leaves........................................................................................2

Cumin Seeds whole..........................................................................1/4 tsp

Green Peas,boiled.............................................................................1 cup

Garam Masala Powder......................................................................1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder (Optional)............................................................1 pinch

Salt.......................................................................................................to taste

Sugar...................................................................................................1 tsp

Cumin Powder...................................................................................1/2 tsp

Refined Oil..........................................................................................2 tbsp

Desi Ghee(Clarifiied Butter).............................................................1 tsp

Grated raw papaya

Method :

Peel the papaya and discard the insides.

Wash well  under running water.

Grate the raw papaya and soak in water.

Heat the refined oil in a pan and add the bay leaves and the cumin seeds. Stir a bit and add the potatoes.

Stir fry well and then add the grated raw papaya. Mix well. 

Then add the spices......cumin powder, salt, sugar and green chillies slit.

Add turmeric powder  at this stage, if you wish to add colour.

Add peas and mix.

Put a lid and let it cook on low heat till done.

After 5 minutes remove the lid and mix. Add the garam masala powder and ghee.

Remove to a serving bowl.

This is a dry dish and has no gravy.

It is served with plain rice.

This dish is served as the first course in a meal in a Bengali  family. Raw papaya doesnt have any flavour of its own .

So to prepare this dish the spices added are very important. The spices add taste.

Buddham Sharanam Gachchami

Bengali Aloo Bhaja(Crispy Potato fry)

Ingredients :

Potatoes, peeled............................................5,large

Refined Sunflower Oil....................................1 cup                               

Salt...............................................................as per taste

Turmeric Powder..........................................1/2 tsp

Method :

1)Grate the potatoes with a grater to make really fine, Aloo Bhaja, called Jhiri Jhri Aloo Bhaja in Bengali. 

2)Keep soaked in water. Heat oil in a deep wok. Remove potatoes from water, lightly squeeze the grated potatoes with your palm to take out the extra water and put in a bowl.

3)Mix salt and turmeric powder .

4)Add the potatoes into hot oil, little by little and stir continuously till they start to turn crisp and golden in colour. Stirring will ensure even cooking.

Drain on an absorbent paper tissue.

5)Serve hot.

We Bengali's have it with  Bhaat(Plain Rice), Dal(Lentils) and any vegetable dish.

This Aloo Bhaja is a favourite at all important ceremonies and functions like Weddings and  Puja's.

Christmas Cake

All regularly reading my notes will know that at our place Shruti is the one doing all the baking and this time she decided to do a Christmas cake for all. Her younger sister Sayoni  is in town from her college in Scotland and a family get together was the occasion. So Shruti looked up Nigella Lawson and Gamie Oliver's television episodes and got motivated and inspired.....Here's her recipe for you. 

INGREDIENTS

1)600gms raisins
2) 200gms currants
3)100gms dried sour or glacé cherries
4) 250gms mixed dried fruits – try prunes, apricots, apples, pears – finely chopped
5) 400ml booze, plus extra to ‘feed’ the cake (brandy, sherry, Tia Maria and rum all work well)
6) 300gms butter, at room temperature
7) 200gms dark brown sugar
8) 1 lemon
9) 4 eggs, at room temperature
10) 2 tbsp treacle
11) 300gms plain flour
12) ½ tsp ground ginger
13) 1 tsp ground cinnamon
14) A pinch of ground cloves
15) 150gms ground almonds
16) 150gms walnuts, chopped

11)    The night before, place the dried fruit in a saucepan with the booze and bring to a simmer. Pour into a bowl, cool, cover and leave to soften.

22)     The following day, preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2 and line the base and sides of a 23cm round tin or a 20cm square tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper. You’ll need the side lining to be a good 8cm higher than the tin.

33)   If you’d like your cake to be particularly moist, blitz half the soaked fruit in a food processor to make a paste, and stir back into the rest of the fruit. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Grate in the zest of your lemon and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the treacle. Sift the flour and combine with the spices and ground almonds. Mix into the butter mixture, alternating with the soaked fruit. Finally, fold in the walnuts. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and bake in the oven for about 3 hours. Check after 2½ hours and then every 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

44)   As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush with a little more booze. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then remove, placing it directly onto a large sheet of tin foil. Wrap it up twice to retain the heat for as long as possible. After a few hours, remove the foil and wrap the cake up again in a double sheet of greaseproof paper and a double sheet of tin foil, making sure you can access the cake from the top. Store in an airtight container for 2–12 weeks. During this time, feed the cake the alcohol of your choice by gently pouring it over the top and rewrapping.

Koi Macher Jhol(Fish curry with Vegetables)

Koi Maacher Jhol  Aloo Phulkofi Diye

Koi Mach is also known as Climbing Gouramie. This is one of my favourite dishes of all times. 

Everybody knows Bengali cuisine is all about fish, fish and more fish and koi is a delicacy. This dish is very simple to cook and tastes superb.

Koi Maach can be very tricky to handle, as its very slimy. So its best to get your fish monger cut , degill and prepare it for you. In my childhood I used to watch my ma do it quite easily  at home but I have never been able to master the process so I leave it to my help Anjali. 


Ingredients:

250 gm Koi Fish
Salt to taste
A pinch of Sugar
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 Potato
2 Green Chilli
1 Tomato
1 tsp Ginger Grated / Paste
1 Small Size Cauliflower

Steps:

1)Wash & Clean  the fish. Smear with some turmeric and salt and keep aside for 10 min.
2)Cut potato into lengthwise and cauliflower and tomato into medium pieces.

3)In a small bowl, take 1tsp cumin powder , 1 tsp coriander powder , a little turmeric mixed with some water.
4)Fry the fish and keep it aside.
Heat oil in kadai then add cumin seeds and green chilly to crackle in oil.
5)Then add potato and cauliflower . Fry it well.
6)Add the previously soaked masala ,1 tsp ginger grated, salt , a pinch sugar and small size tomato(sliced). Fry for some time till the masala is cooked. Stir well and add water as required. Lastly add the fried fish. Cover the lid and simmer for 5-10 mins .
7)Serve hot with plain rice.

TAL GURER PAYESH

Tal Gurer Payesh (Creamy Milk And Rice With Palm Jaggery)

Ingredients :

Milk..................................................................1 litre

Gobindo Bhog Rice...........................................6-8 tbsp

Palm  Jaggery (Patali Gur).................................125 grams,crushed

Bay Leaves.......................................................2

Clarified butter (Desi ghee)................................2 tbsp

Cashew nuts & Raisins......................................1/4 cup,chopped

In a pan heat ghee and fry the cashew nuts and raisins till golden. Remove to a dish.

Wash the rice and drain well.

In the remaining ghee, add the bay leaves and stir fry with the rice, lightly.

Bring milk to boil and reduce to half then, add the fried rice along with whatever ghee is there in the pan.

Cook the rice stirring once in a while till soft.

Add the jaggery and mix.

When the payesh thickens add the cashewnuts and raisins.

 Put off the flame and leave in the pan to cool.

When the payesh cools transfer to a serving dish and chill in the fridge.

Serve chilled.

Pic Courtesy : Google

Shreya's Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani.....

Shreya's HyderabadiChicken Biryani

"Ki thanda poreche!! its chilly outside my daughter's announced and so you can take a day off Ma !!"  Baap re,  I said in an under tone, scared of the outcome.....won't say they are bad cooks but the kitchen after they finish is to be seen to be believed ......and I dread  having to clean up....

But as my friend Chumky Mukherjee of Chumkies kitchen wrote in her blog and I quote"this is a real cheaters lunch"prepared by my daughter. She made Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani using a masala mix. It turned out really good, she didnt follow the instructions to the t but did her own thing.

Cook Basmati rice with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder,1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp ghee.

She rubbed the chicken with 2 tbsp of yoghurt and browned it in 2 tbsp refined oil to seal the juices.Then she removed the pieces to a dish and kept it aside.

Then she added 2 tbsp oil in a separate pan and fried the potatoes till golden and removed. Then in the same left over oil she browned 6 small onion sliced fine.

The ready mix Shreya used.

Next, reduce the flame. Take half the contents of the packet, cook it till oil separates and add the fried potatoes . Stir cook the potatoes. Add the chicken pieces along with the potatoes, fry and then add one cup water to the pan. Let it boil and cook. When the potato is cooked through increase the flame and dry the gravy.

Next assemble the dish....

Mix the fried onion to the rice.

Take a handi, first layer half of the cooked rice. Sprinkle saffron water on top.

On  top, layer the cooked chicken, potato and egg along with the masala gravy of the kadhai.

On top, again layer rest of the rice. Sprinkle saffron water, 4 tbsp chopped dry fruits and 1 tsp  ghee. Seal the lid with dough and put on top of a hot griddle (on dum) for 10-15 minutes on low flame.

Serve with chicken Bharta

S with me

Pitha....Assamese style

                         Assam is a diverse state in the northeast of India as you all know. Preserving the sweet memories of Assam and sharing with all of you, is perhaps the best.

                        Assam, I love its people. I think the people of Assam are wonderful. I have memories of the chirping of the kite bird and the smoke of the earthen oven. I still like the tuberos, the lillies, the lotus in the ponds, the curries, the thin walled houses, the small ponds behind every house that supplied water.......I could go on and on. I  spent some great years among the Assamese.

                      I attended  local weddings, had picnics, cooked  impromptu dinners with neighbours , taught little children in a primary school, woke up early in fog filled chilly mornings to travel to far off corners of Assam, fished in the pond and then cut and fried the same fish, went" hunting" with friends in the jungles of Lonka (Yes,there's a place called Lonka in upper Assam).......

                      We couldn't be dissuaded from living in an all Assamese locality when Bengali's were being targeted  in the eighties.......we got more love from the local Assamese people than we got from others. 

                     Jorhat......some 89 kms from Kaziranga national Park, was home to us. People visit Kaziranga  from all over, to see the one horned Rhino's. We were lucky to be travelling all over Assam and quite often as we took the national highway from Jorhat to Guwahati we saw rhino's grazing with the buffalo's  very near to the highway !!

                      Milk was unavailable in those days and we had to use milkmaid or tinned milk"Amulya" in our Tea but in a small sweet shop just outside the Jorhat Indian Oil Depot we tasted steaming hot Rosogolla in  freshly made thin syrup.......oh....heavenly it tasted.... from huge black wok straight into our mouth it went!!

                        Assamese food is similar to its sister, the Bengali cuisine. Most love the Maacher Paturi Bengali style but  the Assamese too prepare baked fish in the similar style. Similarly the Assamese style Maacher Tanga  and Adar Maach are prepared in Bengal too. I learnt a  lot about Assamese food from my land lord Sri Chandra Dutta and his pretty wife, and whenever I prepare these simple dishes I remember them. Come winter and one thing I miss the most is Bora Chaal Pitha. Bora Rice is not available to me so I have given up but I have the recipe for those of you who want to try it....

Pitha : 

You will need:

Sticky Rice (Bora Chaal)............................................................1kg
Jaggery,grated.............................................................................750 grams
Sesame seeds,dry roasted...........................................................400 grams
Coconut,grated..............................................................................1,large


This is how:

Wash and clean the sesame seeds. Dry roast the sesame seeds till golden.
Grate the coconut.
Grate the jaggery.
Mix the sesame with grated coconut and grated jaggery. If you want you can add sugar as well to increase the sweetness.
Heat a griddle. Take a handful of the rice powder and spread thinly in a round shape.
Put the sesame-coconut-jaggery mix in the middle and fold the pitha in half.
Move the pitha to the edge of the griddle while you prepare the rest of the pithas. Keeping the pithas on the griddle will make them crisp. Turn sides.
This pitha can be stored for a week or two in an airtight container. Warm pitha before serving. Serve with fresh cream.

Bengali Broad Beans Curry(SheemChachari)

Ma never taught me to cook. She would always say "you will burn yourself  and I wont be able to find a you a good handsome husband" or "Boy's enjoy their mom's cooking best so its better you master your mother-in-laws style than mine......so it was only after we got posted away from Kolkata and set up home, that I really learnt to cook. Ma however had taken the trouble to write down a copy full of every day recipes like Daal , Bhaat, Maacher Jhole, Sorshe diye maach, Aloo kofir dalna, Porotha, Luchi etc and also what" Phoron" (tempering) to put in each daal.....that helped not only me but my husband and his friends....

When I conceived and left for my Baper bari (Parents place) , hubby dearest had to fend for himself for sometime till his ma came to stay with him.....my ma's recipe khata (copy) was of great help to him. Santida, Santi Ranjan Sarkar a bachelor who lived next door to us and my hubby dearest cooked Bhaat-Daal and Maacher Jhole for themselves.

I learnt from my mother in law who is a very good cook and she, from her mother....dida. Dida was a scholarship holder of rupees three each for academics and cookery which was a big achievement for women in her days. She had in her times, been awarded a certificate  in cookery. In 1925 her achievement made all women very proud. She had an English lady Mrs Brown to tutor her in English as she desired to master the language. My ma in law not only remembers all that dida taught her but at 87 yrs she herself is still eager to learn. Watching Food Food and other channels on television related to food is a favourite pastime.

Sheem or broad beans is cooked in a number of ways in our family. Recently having spent a month's holiday with her sister, ma returned to Kolkata with a bag full of fresh vegetables from her sister's garden.....papaya (both raw and ripe), white Broad Beans, Borbotty, new baby potatoes etc.

So, I prepared Sheem Chachari  and Sheemer Kalia......... 

Gajar Paak

Years ago, my mother passed on her secrets to glowing skin..........use natural products like Carrot, cucumber, tomato, milk etc....I passed these tips on to my girls and they follow religiously......

Shruti, my younger one, uses grated carrot to soothe her skin and tomato pulp as a natural bleach.

Another pack that she uses regularly on her body is rice flour and milk powder mixed with rose water. It gets rid of unwanted hair and also keeps the skin baby soft.  

So when I grated carrots for my carrot paak, immedietely Shruti had to put some on her face, neck and hands. You know how it is with girls... 

My family loves sweets and I sometimes look for easy recipes, being the lazy kind..
So I made Gajar Paak.... 

Gajar Paak is not thick in consistency and full of ghee like Gajar Halwa and can be prepared in a hurry. Its a simple dish, very unlike gajar halwa that takes a lot of time and energy. However though prepared in less than half the time of carrot halwa, it tastes equally good.

Gajar Paak

Ingredients :

Carrot,grated....................................1cup

Milk..................................................1/2 cup

Ghee.................................................4-5tsp

Mawa...............................................1cup

Green Cardamom..............................1/4 tsp

Condensed Milk................................4tbsp

Nuts..................................................2 tbsp

Method :

Heat 4-5 tsp ghee.

Add 1cup carrot grated and saute well till it turns shinny.

In another pan take 1/2 cup milk and keep stirring to thicken.

When it is half the original quantity, add mawa and stir rigorously.

Also add the cardamom powder and condensed milk and nuts. Cook till thick.

Keep stirring all the while so that the dessert doesn't burn.

Add the sauted carrot and mix well.

You can add  crumbled cottage cheese or fresh cream instead of mawa but if you do themn reduce the quantity of milk to only 5-6 tbsps only.

Enjoy gajar paak !!

Gajar Paak

Shruti &Sayoni with their face pack on

Caramel-Vanilla Marble Cake

Park Street at christmas

Some things about christmas never change. One of my earliest memories of christmas is of ma baking a simple ring shaped cake in a round electric oven. Ma used home made white butter. 

Then, ma's expertise at baking increased and thus entered the cooking range into our kitchen.

After my marriage, when I went to live with my mashi in law in Jharkhand I found a ma in her. She, like ma baked simple fresh cakes and the aroma around her kitchen had the same love .....

You can call me a rebel but I thought its was time to change the dish and give ma's and mashi's dish a makeover. While ma held on to her age old recipe mashi was open to change.

The chocolate and vanilla marble cake got a change when my mashi in law Maya Mukherji didn't have "chocolate" in her kitchen. She lived in a very posh but secluded place called Nildih Enclave and it didn't have any shops nearby. So caramel gave the required chocolate colour to this marble cake.

Caramel-Vanilla Marble Cake

Ingredients  used.....

Flour(Maida)................................................................3 cups

Sugar(Chini)...............................................................1 1/2 cups

Cream...........................................................................1 cup

Butter...........................................................................50 grams

Baking Powder...........................................................1 1/2 tsp

Vanilla Essence.............................................................2 tsp

Cinnamon(Darchini)Powder......................................1 tsp

Eggs(Dim)......................................................................4

This is how the cake is made.....

The very first thing to do is to pre-heat the oven.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder 

together and pass through a seive .

Keep aside.

Caramel-vanilla marbel cake

Beat the eggs well.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and cream together. 

Mix in the beaten eggs.                                                                              

Add a cup full of powdered sugar and beat together.

Add maida little by little and mix . 

Add the vanilla essence. 

Take 1/2 cup of sugar and prepare the caramel  by heating it in a pan till golden. 

Cool and powder the caramel. 

Then mix half of the batter to the caramel and get a golden brown colour in your batter. Let the other half be white. 
                                                                                                                         

    

Roll Tutti frutty and nuts of your choice on flour and 
then add to both the mixes. This is optional. 
Avoid if you dont like tutti frutty.

Grease a baking tray. 
Cut butter paper to size and spread on all sides.

Now spread the white cake mix in the baking tin first, top with caramel mix.

Sprinkle the flour coated nuts on top.

Bake for one hour at 180 degrees celcius.

Insert a tooth pick to check whether the cake is ready.

Cut to pieces after the cake is cool and serve.

                 I love the texture of the cake. This is a simple one and I hope you enjoy baking this one. I can assure you its a delightful cake to have.

                 It is a great cake to make for a special weekend ......put some caramel icing on top and serve. I use the caramel syrups sold in the super markets. Spread it evenly and refrigerate to set the caramel topping. 

Robibarer Ranna -When Jamai came home

Recipes for a delicious and memorable meal.

Aloo Korolar Chechki

Ingredients :

                                                                                                               

Aloo (Potato).................................................2,medium
Korola (Bitter Gourd).....................................4,medium

Nigella Seeds(Kalo Jeera)...............................1 pinch
Oil..................................................................2 tbsp
Salt.................................................................as per taste

Method :

Peel the potatoes and the bitter gourds.

Soak the bitter gourd in water to reduce the bitterness. Discard and change the water 3-4 times.

Chop the aloo and korola fine and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot add the kalo jeere.

Let it splatter. Add the chopped korola and saute a bit on high flame.

Add the aloo and salt.  You may add a pinch of turmeric powder also if you like. Mix. Put a lid and let cook on low flame till soft.  When soft remove and serve.

Maach Bhaja

Ingredients:

Rui Maach................................................6 pieces(500 grams)
Maida.......................................................2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder......................................1 tsp
Lemon Juice..............................................1 tsp

Salt............................................................1 tsp

Mustard Oil...............................................for frying

Method :

Clean and wash the fish and dry.

Sprinkle lemon juice, turmeric powder and salt on the fish pieces and smear all over. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a wok till steaming hot and then reduce the heat. Sprinkle the flour (Maida) on the fish and coat. Put the pieces to fry on medium heat till crispy and golden brown. (Flour makes the fish fry crispier)

When golden brown remove and serve immediately.

Moosur Dal

Ingredients :

Musur Dal (Yellow Lentils)..........................1/2 cup

Dry Red Chilly.............................................2

Bay Leaf......................................................2

Turmeric Powder.........................................1 tsp

Sugar...........................................................1 pinch

Salt.............................................................as per taste

Nigella Seeds..............................................1pinch

Green Chilly................................................4, slit

Mustard Oil.................................................1 tbsp

Method :

Wash the dal very well and soak for 1 hour.

Boil the mosoor dal  in water with salt and turmeric powder.

When the dal is soft, remove and keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and add the bay leaves, dry red chilly, nigella seeds and slit green chillies. Stir fry a bit and then add the boiled dal. Give it a stir .

When the dal is a bit thick , remove and transfer to a serving dish.

Kumror Phul Bhaja

Ingredients :

Kumror phul 

Kumror Phul......................................a dozen or so
Beson (Gram Flour)...........................6 tbsp
Cornflour...........................................4 tbsp
Baking Powder..................................1/4 tsp
Rice Flour..........................................2 tbsp
Kalo Jeere(Nigella Seeds)..................1 pinch
Green Chilly,minced............................2
Refined Oil.........................................1 cup

Method :

Clean the flower, throw away the inside portion of the flower. Wash and pat dry.

Mix all the ingredients to make a thick smooth batter.

Heat a cup of  oil in a pan till steaming hot.

Reduce the flame and dip the batter coated flowers in the oil. Fry till golden and crisp.

Muri ghonto (Fish Head with Potato Curry)

Maacher Matha or muro in Bengali is what gives this dish it's name. Matha is fish head in English. It is a dry dish made with fried fish heads, potatoes, little rice and some spices. Usually Rui (Rohu) or Katla fish is used in this dish.
Muri Ghonto  is my son in laws favourite. Muri Ghonto  is a bit heavy on the stomach and is best eaten at lunch on a lazy weekend.

Ingredients :

Fish Heads (Katla Fish Heads)............................................2 heads

Gobindo Bhog Rice.............................................................100grams

Onion,Chopped...................................................................1large

Garlic,chopped....................................................................6-8 pods

Ginger,minced......................................................................1 inch

Green Chilly's,chopped.........................................................2
Desi Ghee............................................................................2 tsp
Potatoes,cubed....................................................................2,medium                
Mustard Oil.........................................................................6 tbsp    
Dry Red Chilly....................................................................2                                
Five Spice Mix (Paanch Phoron)..........................................1/4 tsp                       Paanch Phoron
Bay Leaf.............................................................................2
RedChillyPowder...............................................................................1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder.................................................................1/4 tsp
Salt....................................................................................as per taste
Sugar.................................................................................1 tsp
Coriander Powder..............................................................1 tsp
Garam Masala powder........................................................1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Whole
          Green Cardamom........................................................2
           Cloves........................................................................2
           Cinnamon....................................................................2

Method :

Smear turmeric powder and salt on the fish heads and fry in hot mustard oil till crisp. Keep aside.

Soak the rice in water for half an hour. Drain water.

In the same hot oil, add bay leaves, dry red chilly's, whole garam masala and paanch phoron. Stir fry a bit and then add the garlic. Fry till the garlic browns.
Add the onion. Fry till transparent.

Add the ginger and green chilly and stir fry.

Add the potato cubes and fry.

Add all the dry spices, salt and sugar.

Add the rice and stir. Then sprinkle some water, put a lid and cook on low flame till the rice softens.

After the rice is cooked, add the fish heads and cover. Cook on low heat for another five minutes.

Remove the lid and mix. Sprinkle the desi ghee and serve.

Muri Ghonto

My Jamai

You have my assurance, this dish smells and tastes heavenly. Do try it....