Curried Omelette /Omeletter Dalna for Hurried Days

There are days when I come back home late, totally ignorant of the refrigerators inhabitants only to be stopped short and quizzed by the. Husband with “what’s for dinner?” type of question. Then begins the panic attack. This query follows the law of Murphy to T , hence almost always asked on the days when there is  hardly anything in the kitchen. Ask anyone who has gone through this situation, they’ll tell you that it feels like solving a math problem with time bomb ticking away. Since my numerical abilities are rather questionable, you can imagine the predicament.

Now if you ask why do I run out of grocery Mid-week that too on a frequent basis, then I’ll tell you that cooking is a twice daily affair in my house and for that I need a meticulous weekly plan of grocery and lists, I need to find things in colossal quantities and hodge-podges to run through a week of happily fed family… And as obvious we don’t really follow the rules of a NORMAL eating family of five, I often falter here.

Like when I was young, during the Poush Pabon season my Ma and Mashi(aunt) would flood the house with puli and pethe, and hide it in all hard to reach  cupboards, that very instant me and my brother’s six food sense would kick in and we would hunt it down and we'd make it vanish in our bellies overnight. Desserts never survive us. Curries are conquered. These in-born skills are still intact. Now I have a like-minded Husband and mother –in-law. Just so you know.

This is why I’m lamenting over empty pantries mid-week. I’m certainly not complaining over us Loving food. how can you blame us? it’s the genetics. 

And almost always the answer to the “what’s for dinner?”  question in my house is the Curried Omelette /Omelet-er Dalna. Every Bong Mom’s solution to empty pantry days and busy evenings.

Ingredients

For Omelette
2-3 eggs
1 boiled and cubed potato
1 Onion finely chopped

Make a paste of:
1 Tomato
1 onion
2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 Green chilies (optional)

Spices:
2 tsp powdered Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil and water as needed

Preparation

Starts with making the omelette for this curry. Break the eggs into a medium bowl. Whisk all the ingredients under Omelette section. Heat oil in a flat pan and pour the mixture, cook till firm. Flip to the other side and cook till firm.  Cut the Omelet  as you would like in  your curry, I prefer long rectangles.

For the Curry


Heat the oil in deep bottomed dish.Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, followed by coriander powder and all the ingredients under the spices and  paste section and mix it well. Add some salt and let it cook on medium for a few minutes, till all the spices are mixed well.

Add 1/2 cup water and boil for 2 minutes  and now add the cubed omelets. Top it with cilantro and mix it very well.Serve with rice or roti.

Presto Pasta – in Creamy Mustard Sauce

Presto Pasta Nights– in Creamy Mustard Sauce

Sometimes I go through the phases in which get hooked on something and have to eat it day in and out, more often than not a visit to Café Leopold does that to me…then for days I crave for the rich creamy taste – but then I cant have the creamy sauces for the sake of my ever-growing waist, so it’s a double whammy! To make something at home, I searched and searched and then adapted a recipe from Heart and Hearth to suit my Bengali sensibilities.

The Pasta – in Creamy Mustard Sauce


1 pack pasta around 300 gms (Macaroni, Fuseli, whole wheat...just any pasta u fancy) cooked al-dente

1.5 cup milk

2 tbsp English mustard sauce

1 packet button mushrooms, chopped

½ broccolis (for that green velvety colour and crunch)

2 stalk green onion, coarsely chopped

Salt and white pepper to taste

1 tbsp Cheddar (or any sharp cheese as a topping)

1 tbsp coarsely chopped parsley (as a garnish)

Method

1. Thaw broccoli, then stir fry the mushrooms and broccoli in a cooking pan until slightly browned and cooked yet crunchy.

2. Sauté the green onion until softened. Add in half of the stir fried button mushrooms. Turn off the heat and add the milk and sauce is thick and bubbly. Mix the Cheese till it melts.

3. Sprinkle salt and white pepper as per your liking

4. Serve hot and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

The pasta sauce is tangy and bursting with flavors of mushroom and fresh parsley. The original recipe calls for bacon bits on top – so if you want add fried bits of meat/seafood on top for added flavor. Being a vegetarian, I omitted that part. For Xtra zing you can add more of the mustard sauce!

Sending this entry to More than Burnt Toast   and Once Upon a feast . So Presto Pasta Night's it is .