Broccoli Soup

 Broccoli is one of the best sources of folic acid that we women need in plenty in our diets. It is also rich in calcium and protein. There are three types of soups....Clear, thick and Miscellaneous (soups that have chunks of meat or vegetables in them). This one is a thick soup according to me.

This recipe is adopted from cookery expert Tarla Dalal's "Broccoli Broth". As she says, its a soup that's really quick to make and requires just a few ingredients. I have used only those ingredients that were available at home and didn't make any effort to put together those mentioned in the original recipe.

However, I have written all ingredients down for everyone interested....

Broccoli Soup

Ingredients :

Broccoli, chopped.................................................1 cup

Onions, chopped...................................................1/2 cup

Olive Oil/Refined Oil.............................................1 tbsp

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

Wheat Germ..........................................................1 tsp

Processed Cheese..................................................1 tbsp

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

Pepper Corns(Whole)..........................................10

Broccoli Soup

This Is What I Did :

Here, instead of olive oil I used butter. Heat 2 tbsp Butter in a pan. Add the Peppercorns and  Onions and saute till they turn translucent.

I added the chopped Broccoli and stir-fried a bit before adding 1 1/2 cups of water. 

Add the cheese also.

When the whole thing begins to boil and softens a bit remove from flame and cool .

Puree in a blender/ liquidiser and transfer to a pan.

The original recipe said ....add milk,  wheat germ , cheese and bring to a boil but, as  

at my place Mr Hubby  and his mom are lactose intolerant I dropped the use of milk. Wheat Germ I didn't have, so I have avoided that as well.

Add  salt and adjust the seasoning according to taste. Grate processed Cheese and garnish. Add a drop of cream or butter before serving if you like.

Serve Hot.

Enjoy this simple and delicious Broccoli soup .... 

Stuffed Raw Banana Curry (Stuffed Plaintain Balls In Curry)

Stuffed Raw Banana Curry

Kaanch Kolar Kofta Curry


Today , we are having this dish and so I decided to share my experience of making Kaanch Kolar KoftaCurry with you all. These Stuffed Balls of green Banana can be made with a filling or without. The soft balls are really delicious when added to the curry.

My mother and mother in law both prepared this dish and now, I do. Raw bananas were not my favourite and  my bro and I always had to be force fed , so my mom after an initial 
effort entirely gave up making simple raw banana curry and almost always made "Kofta Curry" or "Cutlets". The raw banana Curry  she made sometimes had shrimps in them and at other times were stuffed with minced meat. Those went down very well :)


Preparation :

Raw Banana.............................................4,medium size
Potatoes....................................................2,small size
Salt............................................................as per taste
Sugar.........................................................as per taste
Roasted Cumin ,Powdered....................1 tbsp
Garam Masala Powder...........................1/2 tsp
CornFlour..................................................as required


Boil the raw bananas and potatoes together and then peel. Mash both very well. This needs to be done when they are a bit hot to get a smooth mash. Add enough cornflour  (or refined flour if cornflour is not available). Add all spices while mashing. Now make equal size balls of the mash. 


Take each ball in your hand and make a small hole in the middle to put the filling in it. Press one filling ball inside one banana-mash ball and seal it inside well so that the filling cant come out . Put the filling balls into all the banana balls and seal them. Make perfect rounds. Now roll them all on corn flour and dust off  the excess  and keep ready to deep fry. 


Here I prepared a filling of Khoya and raisins-nuts.

Stuffing

 For The Filling :

Grate Khoya and chop Cashew, Almonds and Raisins (Kaju,Kaat Badam and Kismis).

Mix them together and keep aside. Make equal size balls and keep ready.

To Assemble :

Take a raw banana -potato mash ball in your hand and make a well in the middle.

Now, Press a filling ball into the well and seal from all sides so that the filling doesn't  manage to come out.

Roll each " Ball " kofta in  Bengali ,on cornflour or Refined Flour. (I would not advise you to use gram flour as gram flour has a distinct smell of its own)

Keep ready to deep fry.

For Deep Frying :

Heat 1 cup oil ( Refined Sunflower oil )for deep frying in a deep pan till steaming hot and deep fry the kofta balls in small batches . Putting all  to fry at one  go, will lower the temperature and the balls will all end up sticking to each other or not cook well in the inside.


For the Gravy :


Ingredients :


Onion................................................1 small
Tomato............................................1,small
Ginger,peeled..................................1 inch piece
Green Chilly.....................................2
Turmeric Powder...........................1/2 tsp
Kashmiri Red chilly Powder..........1/2 tsp
Green Cardamom.............................2
Clove...................................................2
Cinnamon..........................................1 inch piece(broken into two)
Bay Leaf............................................2
Refined oil........................................2 tbsp
Ghee(Clarified Butter).....................1 tsp(Optional)




Blend 1 small size onion,1 inch ginger,2 green chillies and 1 small size tomato together.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a deep pan or wok. Add Gota Garam Masala and bay leaves.
Stir a bit and then add the blended paste of tomato, onion, ginger and green chilly. Cook stirring all the while till oil rises to the top.  Add the spices and mix. Add water so that the spices don't burn. 

I don't add potato pieces to this curry, but if you want, do add fried potato cubes  at this stage, cover and let them soften . After 5 minutes remove the lid and check.

Add enough water to make a gravy. The raw banana kofta's will  soak up a lot of the gravy so do add enough water keeping this in mind. This curry does not have a soupy gravy.

Lastly after turning off the flame add 1 tsp ghee and then the stuffed kofta balls.
Carefully transfer to a large flat serving dish.

We had this kaanch Kolar Kofta curry with rice but it taste very good with Paratha or 
Romali Roti as well.


Garnish with some cream !!

My Bankura-Bishnupur Trip

Terracota

Bishnupur

Mandir-Temple

Terracota

Old structures

Indian architecture tells stories,narrates tales of days gone by ,of happy times and prosperous ones.

Houses in Bisnupur

On our last trip to Bishnupur we discovered the town like never before.....

We had gone for the shopping of my daughters trousseau . Bishnupur is a town in Bankura District . Its famous for its temples and sarees. Temples that are made of terracota and sarees that are hand woven by hand in looms in each and every home . The sarees are so exquisite  that a  Bengali brides trousseau is just not complete without a few of these Most famous Baluchari sarees.

We travelled from kolkata to Durgapur and then from there by road through lush green fields and also some very bad roads, I am sure by now they have been repaired, of course. A road trip from Durgapur to Bankura , ensures that apart from seeing nature up close and unfiltered, you get first-hand experience of the lifestyle led by people far away from the main cities. And if you choose the rail-way .....The Purulia Express and Rupasi Bangla Express are two of the options from Howrah station. In the town , we traveled by car but the best way to travel and I would strongly suggest, you hire a Cycle Rickshaw for sight seeing, cause its a small place and also it is very difficult to maneuver a car in the extremely thin streets of the small town .  Besides its a ride you will enjoy, an experience of a lifetime ! The bumpy roads are sure to leave you aching all over. If you want to go on a temple tour then you can never go wrong by choosing a ricksha ride. Rasmancha, The Madan Mohan temple, The Lalji temple, The Radheshyam temple, The Mrinmoyee temple, The local museum, Dalmadal cannon are a few "must-visit"  places in this town.  

Bishnupur is a temple town and the temples are close to each other. The Temples and other important buildings are made of terracota ,burnt(Baked) earth. Now days there is a growing concern for the preservation and rejuvenation of the ecology.  When man is trying hard to strike a balance between development and the environment, there is a lot to be learnt from the old  monumental buildings  of Bishnupur. Conventional methods of building use huge quantities of toxic, non-renewable materials that are harmful.

We stayed at Bishnupur Lodge, looked after by  the West Bengal Tourist Department. The food here is very simple and delicious, typically Bengali in style and strict hygiene is maintained.  Lunch at the lodge with a simple "Thali" and you are set for the trip to the Baluchari Saree shops. After a simple lunch of Rice, Dal, Postor bora, Aloo posto, Kofir tarkari, Tomato r Chatni, Fish curry, Mutton curry, Misti (Sweets) and plain Yoghurt(Doi/curd) we went shopping for Baluchari saris. The dishes were just like home cooked food and were served by men in a simple style. 

After lunch, our first destination was Kaniska Sari Emporium. There are quite a few shops you could visit for saris and  we did , but the place that I bought most from was a shop called Kaniska. There, we got to see men weaving sarees on looms which was a memorable experience. I found some very exclusive saris to choose from. Not only did we take Baluchari but we also choose Swarnachari, Kaantha stitch Sari , Silks, Gorod,  Baluchari cotton  and silk shawls and others. Take your time to choose from the thousand or so. We spent the whole afternoon shopping the famous Baluchuri saris and terracota souvenirs.

Kaju Kaatli

As we visited this time only with the main purpose of shopping we missed out on the Bishnupur Mela, a festival we had earlier been fortunate to be a part of. It is a handicrafts and cultural fair. It takes place from December end to January end and  this small town puts up at least 
5 lakh visitors, both Indian and foreign. On my last visit I had bought home a pair of large terracota horses.

Just as the Poush Mela of Santiniketan, 

The Baul Mela  of Durgapur and The Bishnupur Mela , is very famous and these three festivals are not to be missed. 

Home-Made Chanar Sandesh :

Sandesh

I have tried to recreate the sandesh we had at Bishnupur, the delicious taste still lingers in my mouth .

Full Cream Milk..............................1 litre

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

Sugar /sugar free tablets................12-13

Rose Water.....................................1/2 tsp

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

Kaju/Almonds(Garnish)....................a handful

In a heavy bottomed pan,  put the milk to boil. When it boils remove from flame and add the curd and keep stirring slowly. Slowly the milk will curdle .Put a lid and give some standing time.

Take a clean muslin cloth and put the curdled milk in it and hang the cloth to drain off all water.

In a blender jar, take the chana/cottage cheese, sugar/ sugar free tablets, green cardamom powder and rose water. Churn to a smooth paste. 

Now make small equal size balls  and press each lightly with thumb. Put a cashew or an almond on top of each Sandesh. Keep on a serving tray and serve.

Just like that..........

Delhi is Style City...............anywhere you look you will see enough men and women preening like peacocks

Chennai is a Down To Earth City...........................Anywhere you drive or move you will find people moving away from you giving way.

Kolkata is a Warm City.........................anywhere you go you will always find people to hold your hand.

Mumbai is Rush Outside City...................Always rushing and always outside their homes...........

Bangalore is a Jam City.................................Always you will find yourself caught in a JAM!!

Home made Chocolate Cookies

This is a very simple recipe that I have adopted from the net.  I dont remember from where I had copied it down but I have been using it for a long long time now. I would like to thank  my daughter Shruti who prepared the cookies that you can see in the pictures here.

                                                                                         

Ingredients Used by her :             

1 1/2 cup butter

1 1/2cups sugar

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 1/2 cup refined flour,shifted

1 tsp baking Powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla Essence

4 Grated Chocolate Bars

  Method of preparation :

Pre heat the oven.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together till smooth.

Break in the eggs.

Sift the flour. Mix salt, baking powder and again sift all together. Add this flour to the sugar and butter and eggs slowly and mix together. 

Add the vanilla essence and grated chocolate .  Put a selicon sheet on a baking tray and then put spoonfulls of the batter on the tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes or till the cookies start to brown. Don't allow them to brown.Before they brown take them off and cool.

Serve with tea or milk.

Lau er Khosha Bhaaja

In every Bengali kitchen , vegetables like Potato, Banana, Bottle gourd, Ridged gourd, Pointed gourd  and many other such vegetables and every part of them are cooked to make delicious dishes. Even the peels are not discarded into bins but turned into vegetarian dishes. The peels of Potato, Pointed gourd ,Ridged gourd, White pumpkin(Ash Gourd) are together chopped fine and then steamed together.Then the peel is cooked into a delicious vegetarian dish !!

Here, I have prepared a dish with Bottle Gourd peel. Save the Gourd peel and cook up this dish this week.  But I must warn you if you want to make this dish, peel the bottle gourd  a bit thick or else you wont have enough  in quantity. I mixed Potato, not the peel but the potato itself . Cut bottle gourd peel and  peeled potato real fine. Add Onion slices if you want to.

 This is a vegetable that's eaten for good health. Bottle Gourd is light green on the outside and white on the inside. It is said to be very nutritious. It has a cooling effect and in the coming summer months here  in kolkata we will see a lot of bottle gourd being eaten as it gets really very very hot . In order to peel the bottle gourd, first of all remove the stem. Peel the bottle gourd, keep the thick peel aside for lau er khosha bhaaja and  cook the rest.

Ingredients :

Bottle Gourd Peel..............................................................1 bottle gourd
Potato................................................................................2,medium size
Green Chilly,Slit..................................................................4
Onion,Sliced.......................................................................1,medium(Optional)
Turmeric Powder................................................................1 pinch(Optional)
Oil......................................................................................2 tbsp
Salt....................................................................................as per taste
Sugar.................................................................................1 pinch

For Garnishing :

Poppy Seeds......................................................................1 pinch(Optional)

For the Tempering :

Nigella Seeds (Kalo Jeere).................................................1 pinch
Dry Red Chilly....................................................................2

Preparation :

Chop the bottle gourd and potato fine  and into equal size pieces. Steam the bottle gourd peel to soften them a bit.

Procedure :

Heat the oil (Refined Or mustard) and when hot, add the tempering. When they splutter add the sliced onion and stir fry on low flame.We want the onion to become transparent. If you want to avoid, then please omit .

Next, add the finely chopped Potato, slit green chillies and stir fry a bit. Add the steamed bottle gourd peel after discarding the water.  Add salt, sugar and turmeric (If desired) at this stage and mix well. Cook stirring as it doesn't take very long .When the potato and  all soften , put the flame off and remove to a dish. Sprinkle lightly roasted poppy seeds as garnish or avoid  if unavailable. Serve.

Howrah Station

Aaj  "Antorjatik Matri Bhasha Dibos "    .........

Celebrating Bengali language today, I am Proud to be speaking my mother tongue : Bengali

Borir Golpo (lentil Dumplings)

             Bengali's specialise in making the finest and lightest Bori's. Bori or dried lentil dumplings or little pellets of  lentil paste are added in various vegetarian dishes in Bengali cuisine.

           In the olden days, every family had a set timing for bori making and Our Banerji family had one too. Bori was not made any time one desired but there is a fixed time and procedure. Borir haath or the starting of Bori making was a process. Kolai or urad dal with  skin, was soaked and then the skin rubbed off  (A rough piece of cloth was used for doing this) and the daal was grinded in a motar and pestle to a dough  like consistency along with grated Chaal kumro (white pumpkin) and Mouri( fennel seed),Hing( asafoetida),Ada( ginger )for the ritual.  No spices were added as these two boris were made for the prayer ceremony. Two large size Bori were made by the ladies, Sindoor(Vermillion) was put and Dhaan-Dubbo (new grains) and a prayer was made in the beginning, before the whole process of Bori making started. "Agran maaser sukla pokhe Bori  dewa hoto" Ma declared. Agran month of Bengali calender is from 17th november to 16 th december. Sukla pokho means the period between no moon and full moon (Amabsya and  Purnima). This was considered the ideal time in our family and ladies of the family prepared Bori together and it was a great occassion. The heat of the sun was just right and ladies  in clean clothes after the morning bath  started  preparing bori . Dried and ready Bori was stored  in glass jars for a whole year. Huge amounts  meant half a dozen ladies gathered at one place....next ,the ladies shifted to another house and a huge amount was prepared for that household....

Earlier, everyday a number of fried Bhaajas were made daily to go with Daal and Bhaat, as the fear of having excess oil or pure ghee didn't exist. Bori was not only served in vegetarian dishes , a few were simply fried and eaten with daal and rice. In winter months, different Boris and Achaars were made by ladies. Only in the very recent times Bori and Achaar have started coming packed. Achaar making too  like Bori had a procedure but will tell you that story some other time....

A Few Dishes we prepare at home:

Borir jhaal Sorshe Bata Diye (Motor Daaler Bori)
Bori diye niramish jhol ( Kolai Daler Bori)
Bori Posto( Motor Daler Bori)
Borir Tok ( Small Musur Dal Bori)
Bori Diye Lau er Ghonto (Kolai Daler Bori)
Bori Diye Paalong Saag Bhaaja (kolai Daler Bori)
Bori Diye Paanch Meshali Torkari (Motor or Kolai Daler Bori)
Bori Diye Sukto ( Kolai Daaler Bori)
Bori Diye Maacher Jhol ( Masala Bori with hing )
Bori Bhaaja (Goyna Bori , Musur Daal Bori)                                          

Bori Diye PeperDalna

Bori Diye maacher jhol 
Bori Diye Peper Dalna


                                       

Bori Diye Palong Saak Bhaja

Bori Diye paanch Meshali Tarkari     

Noksha Bori

Musur Dal Er Bori

Bori (Lentil Dumplings)

The Musur Dal Bori & Noksha Bori are fried and eaten with Dal-Bhaat (Rice & Lentils). Noksha Bori was prepared in the earlier days for the "Jamai" of the house.It was ornamental and light ,prepared from "Kolai/Biuli" dal.


Bori Diye Maacher Jhol :



                                                                                                  

Daaler Bori (Hinger Bori)...............................10 pieces

Maach( Rui/ Kaatla/aar)...............................10 pieces

Kalo Jeere(Nigella Seeds)...............................1 pinch

Brinjal (Begun)..................................................1,medium

Aloo (Potato).....................................................2,medium

Green Chilly Paste.............................................1-2 tsp

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

Mustard Oil.......................................................4-6 tbsp

Green Chilly.......................................................4, slit
Salt.......................................................................as per taste

Preparation:

Heat the mustard oil  in a deep pan and fry the fish pieces. Keep then aside.

In the same oil , add the bori, fry till golden and remove.

Now add the kalo Jeere , 2 tsp chilly paste,turmeric paste and salt stir fry all well.

Next add the vegetables, potato&brinjal cut into  pieces lengthwise and fry along with the spices till reddish. Add a few table spoons of hot water, cover and cook till the vegetables soften. Then remove cover and add the fish pieces ,slit green chillies and the bori. Also add enough hot water to the pan to make a gravy and allow all to come to a boil. Tastes best  with plain  steamed rice.

Bori Diye Lau

Bori diye lauer Ghonto or bottle gourd with fried lentil dumplings.....

Kolai Daler Bori........................................a handful
Lau(Bottle Gourd)....................................1 medium size
Whole cumin seeds...................................1/4 tsp
Green Chilly,slit.........................................4
Bay Leaf......................................................2
Fresh Coriander........................................1/4 cup,chopped 
Salt& Sugar.................................................as per taste
Desi Ghee................................................... 1 tbsp(Optional)
Refined sunflower Oil...............................2-4 tbsp
Cumin Powder...........................................1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder......................................a pinch (optional)

Preparation :
Chop the bottle gourd really fine. The finer you chop the bottle gourd the faster it will cook. The " ghonto " preparation  requires you to chop the bottle gourd so fine that the preparation is a mish-mash. Lau cutting shows how good a home maker you are, ma says.
"Lau takia thakle cholbe naa," she says. So if you are in a hurry please don't prepare bottle gourd. But then we all are always in a hurry aren't we ....I have found an easy way out, I pressure cook the gourd so that it becomes really soft and then I mash some of it .

Now after you have pressure cooked the bottle gourd, heat oil in a pan and fry the Bori on a low flame and when they turn remove and set aside. If you don't fry the bori in the beginning, then you wont get the distinct smell of bori in your dish. Each Bori has a different smell, cause each Bori is  made of a different lentil and  has different spices in it.

In the same oil, add the bay leaves, whole cumin seeds and also slit green chilly  and stir fry  the tempering a bit. Next add the soft bottle gourd and then add salt and sugar to taste. If you haven't pressure cooked the gourd, then  it will release a lot of water. 
Add the gourd, cumin powder, turmeric powder(optional), salt and sugar. Put a lid and let the gourd cook in its own juices till it softens and the water dries up fully. 
While it is still cooking, add the Bori so that they become really soft. In the very end add finely chopped fresh coriander and mix .

Serve.

A Lavish Bengali Lunch (Notice the Noksha Bori Bhaja With other Bhajas)

                      

Loita maach

                  My mom prepared Bombil  or Bombay Duck , readily available in mumbai but when I got married  and shifted to kolkata , my mom in law didn't like Loita Maach, so didn't prepare the fish. No one had tasted the fish before as ma hated the texture of Bombay Duck !!! I introduced  the fish to the family.  My Ma prepared this fish in a number of ways.....

                  This tandoori  loita maach  and  Chingrir pur diye  loita maacher fry were two preparations that my  mother cooked and my mother in law learnt from me and loved .  

For tandoori Loita maach, we need Loita Maach about 500 grams, head discarded and cleaned and dried with a kitchen towel.

Smear turmeric and salt on the fish and keep aside to marinate for sometime.
  
 Then after around 15-20 minutes discard water that comes out. 

Now in a mixing bowl take the hung curd, onion paste, ginger paste, green chilly paste and garlic paste.

Mix in tandoori masala , Red chilly powder, Red tandoori colour, garam masala, and  a little salt.  Add 2 tea spoons of raw mustard oil (you may heat and then cool mustard oil to remove the strong  smell and pungency) and also the fish.

Mix all well.

Now transfer the contents to a microwave proof bowl and cook in a microwave oven till done or transfer to an oven proof bowl and cook in an OTG till reddish.

Mix chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Ingredients Used.....

Loita Maach.................................500 grams
Hung curd.....................................about 1 cup
Onion Paste..................................2 tsp
Ginger Paste................................2 tsp
Garlic paste 2...............................2 tsp
Green chilly paste.......................2 tsp
Red Tandoory colouring...........two drops(Optional)
Tandoori Masala.......................1 tsp
Red chilly powder......................1 tsp
Garam Masala............................two pinches
Salt................................................as per taste
Raw mustard Oil.........................2 tsp
Green Coriander,chopped...........2 tsp

The other dish.....Chingrir pur diye loita maach er fry is a more elaborate preparation and I will talk about it some other time.  I  never got together pictures of tandoori loita.....will add them soon.

Happy cooking!!!!