Rasmalai /Pujor Charte Din - Nostalgia

Pujo is a time that screams HOME , nothing like the smell of notun jama (new clothes) , the cacophony of the honking cars, claustophobic mad queues and accidental meeting of the 'unknown' inquisitive dada boudi (acquaintances)gang...the stuff that I had been complaining for years at my ma baba's place is what I'm crazily longing for now in my phoren land .

 The Pujo days are almost identical. .as far as my memory goes. ..they have always been the same  ..just feels so out of reach now.

Ma would scream at me for dipping my hand in the cookie jar before the Anjali, almost bully me to get inside the bathroom with my crisp new clothes so that I can hurry up and go to the pandal with her. By the time I managed to pull my that dressed up look together,  Ma would've had set with the breakfast table with Luchi Alur Chorchori and Payesh.Something to look forward to right after the Anjali. ..I know the food nostalgia is sweeping me away ..how I wish I could be a part of the chaos and cacophony , and now if the fate allows, I promise to be right on time for Anjali, albeit in my notun jama and make up dabbed avatar totally set for the Instragram selfies. Wishful thinking!

Oh well I know I cant replicate the pujor gondho and alhad , or compete with the talent and aromas of my mom's kitchen , I can certainly make an humble attempt to recreate the rasmalai . The family favorite dish we cook year on year...

There are maestros who have posted step by step recipes with techniques, so I have lazily skipped that step. You can take a look at Garima's blog here


 Rasmalai : 

Ras Malai consists of two main steps , First : make the sponge cheese patty and then second step is to prepare the the saffron-and-cardamom-infused sweet creamy milk to soak the patty.

Step 1:  Prepare paneer by curdling the milk with lime juice, once curdled, remove from heat immediately . know knead till it leaves the fat. Now prepare the sugar syrup with a ratio of 4:1 water:sugar.

Then b) divide into 10-12 portions. and now roll each portion into a ball and flatten it gently between your palms.  Your patty will increase in its size after cooking.

Now once your sugar syrup is boiling , drop the patty one by one. I make in a pressure cooker. I pressure cook on high for one whistle. Then 7 minutes on medium heat and 2 minutes without heat. Then open the lip by pouring cold water on cooker. Now take the patty out and drop them one by one in water. 

Step 2 is preparing the Saffron and Cardamom infused milk . I used 1 litre milk and boiled it in a saucepan on medium heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduced to half . Now add the 1 cup of saffron soaked warm and crushed cardamoms and pistachios. Finally add 1/4 cup sugar . Cook for 5 more minutes. You are set , adjust to taste. Once cooled add the water soaked patty (after draining out the water) and chill for a few hours.  Enjoy!!

Weight Watching with Sabu'r Paayesh/Tapioca Pudding with Mangoes

I have a confession to make.

I have a serious problem. Seasonal ? yes, you can say that.

The season is SPRING. It’s upon me, and of course, I have to look the part. So I started this week by ceremoniously showing some sun to all my pretty, girlie, flowery and short wearable’s, which had been put away for the winter and stacked them back into my regular wardrobe. With only a step short of stepping into them and hop scotching my way into the market, with a bright tote dangling from my shoulder…I realized that the’ only step’  is the pigheaded winter weight.

It’s not that I did not try (err shedding it) before pouring it all out here. I religiously clicked on ALL the health newsletters that popped into my mailbox , with their eye catching headers ranging anything from ‘be bikini ready in 10 days’ to ‘get ready for the summer shorts’, but somehow all this reading up did nothing for my winter waistline. 

I was about to try the detox juice diet for the navratras , started and gave it up by the evening. I convinced myself that I’m a mother and need more calories than Miranda Kerr to sustain herself. Low carb makes me feel dizzy and high protein plays with my entire digestive system (how else could I delicately frame pukish).

If by now you are thinking about shaking the booty, you are right. Gym’s a great option for people my shape.  So finally ,today I  rubbed clean my dusty membership card along with chiding my willpower and  decided to run a few kilometers on the treadmill. After huffing and puffing for a few minutes I felt that my legs have started resembling toothpicks, and I needed some food. I started thinking of all the healthy post workout meals and rushed to the attached food court. There the salad looked stale and way too less for the growling stomach .

I return home (in a listless state!) to a cup full of soaked tapioca seeds and some mangoes in my refrigerator. Fully aware that my spring wardrobe is still waiting.I turn on my thinking cap.What do I do with my oh-so healthy tapioca and fruits , in a precarious self-induced fasting mode? Of course turn it to a feast.

The delicious part is that Sabu'r Paayesh or Tapioca Pudding with Mangoes is the best post workout meal one can have, high on carbs with added nutrients in the form of mango; it almost makes it feel like a plate of warm yellow gold. It’s great for kids and is a go-to meal during the fasting days. I'm so In love with this new mango infusion.

Sabu'r Paayesh/Tapioca Pudding with Mangoes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup tapioca/Sabu/sabudana
1 cup hot water
1 large fresh mangoes ( cut to bite size pieces)
1 large mango puree
3 cups milk (you can substitute with coconut, soy  or almond milk)
Sugar to taste (I substituted with 2 tbsp splenda)

Method:
Soak the tapioca/sabudana in hot water for an hour. One they are swollen and springy in texture, wash then with running cold water and set aside.

Heat the milk till its reduced to 11/2 cups, now add the tapioca, and mix well. Add sugar and cook till its of a desired consistency. Add the mango puree and let it cool. Refrigerate for a few hours and serve chilled, topped with a few slices of mangoes.

You can also serve in a glass by  adding one scoop of cooked tapioca in milk , then add a scoop of mango puree in glass and serve..

A tale of warm Friday Fries

Daily life is boring. In so many years of togetherness, I have learnt that it’s me who is the undisputed kitchen and grocery minister of the house. A post which I have to accept with abandon, and to keep up I have to earn the 'good votes' on a daily basis. Not easy to keep up - I warn you.To survive the position, I get off from work early and set the kitchen fire, of course I have to make it up by working late into the nights (ah well somedays I blog at this hour with a side of red), so I can’t really be complaining, and to top it – I like cooking, so this mumbo jumbo just comes from a lack of direction and plan.

You know, its fun when I have an inspiration and ingredients, and absolute agony when I have the office laptop on the kitchen counter, where an undone presentation is open, and I have a demanding toddler sitting beside it while I’m wiping off the onion tears!  Even though I cover the basics by asking the ' what do ya for dinner' question routinely ,but  its almost always answered by blank stares like I've asked a life philosophy and on days when I get an answer, it’s the ‘fries/pakoras on the side’ please. So much for inspiration, but that’s how it is.

You now where it’s all going. Don’t you?

When you cook keeping the moods and days of the week in mind, it not only increases the happiness quotient of the house, it benefits the wallet, shaves off the restaurant trans-fat & in general creates a festive mood . Fresh and simple ingredients force your skin to say thank you too. This simple selection of summer fries or the more popularly known term pakoras, is usually a stable for long and elaborate bong  lunches, add a side of salad and dip and you have introduced it to the evening bar gang. Tastes best when the vegetables are picked fresh from the market  and the oil is fresh, pungent and mustardy.  Very sophisticated , yet so rustic.

The Friday Fries/Pakoras (Assorted Vegetables Fried in Chickpea Batter)

Ingredients :
1 cup Chickpea flour (besan/garbanzo bean flour)

1 medium Cauliflower (cut into florets) 3/4 cup water

1 Potato (thickly cut lengthwise)

1 Bell Pepper (de-seeded and cut lengthwise)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp choice of seasoning (Garlic, Onion, roasted cumin, Parsley, garam masala) or other spices of choice)

Chat masala to taste

Mustard oil to deep fry (or any other vegetable oil of choice)

Method:
In a bowl mix all ingredients (except vegetables and mix well till its turns into a smooth and thick batter).
Dip the vegetable florets in the batter and deep fry.

You can also choose to grill/bake. All you need to do is brush a little oil on batter dipped vegetables and the baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes at 175 C.

If frying , deep fry till the vegetables are cooked well.

Serve hot  and sprinkle some chat masala before serving.

Shubho Nobo Borsho with Gurer Sondesh.

Traditions are nostalgic, and nostalgia makes us want to relive those moments’ real bad, making us do things which turns the plain vanilla days --Festive.


That feeling is infectious indeed.  It comes in all forms, sometimes it’s a religious rite, a certain aroma you wake up to on a given day every year, It even comes in the form of some awkward family ritual that you are forced to perform every year, no matter how much you cringe and groan silently, all these bits and pieces of traditions bind us and makes us feel like a family.

We miss it, when it’s gone.

And then perhaps comes the cycle of recreating it for our next generation, so that once they are as grow up as us , they feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about it. Just the way I’m musing over it all today.

My fuzzy feeling nuzzles peacefully in the form of this freshly made Gurer Sondesh. Using up all the last bits of patali gur (palm jaggery ) preserved carefully for the nobo borsho celebration, before we bid adieu to the patali till the onset of winters. During my childhood days, all we had to do was to touch the feet of all the elders around we were rewarded with this family favorite (did I mention home cooked?) sweet.

For me , It’s time again  to relive those memories.No feets nearby, but blessing are much awaited.Ma are you reading?

Gurer Sondesh 

Ingredients 
2 litres full cream milk
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup Patali gur (palm jaggery ) or ¾ cup Sugar
Moulds

How to’s 

Bring the milk to boil and while it’s boiling add the lime juice. Lower the heat. The milk will curdle and separate from the whey (a greenish coloured liquid ). Let it sit  for a bit and then strain the whey . Rinse the channa /cottage cheese under running water to get rid of the lemony taste. Now tie the channa /cottage cheese in a fine cloth and weigh it down with a heavy substance (like the mortar and pestle) for a few hours. This will drain out any excess liquid.

After a few hours , you should knead the  chhana with the gur , till it mixes well. You can heat the jaggery in a microwave for a few seconds so that it’s soft enough to knead. The heel of your hand is your best kneading bet here! Once you are done, the channa with start to resemble like a smooth ball of dough in pale brown or white, depending on your choice of sweetener.

Take the dough and cook on a very low heat. Say 5-6 minutes is enough. Once done, switch off the heat and straightaway contour the chana with molds or just toss into balls. They are ready for the celebration.

First Few Steps - with Steamed Yogurt /Bhapa Doi

"You must take the first step. The first steps will take some effort, maybe pain. But after that, everything that has to be done is real-life movement."

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I just put my daughter to a new playschool. It does make me happy to select a nice playschool, with a loving daycare, however it’s not one the most pleasing times for my little one. Changes like these, which calls for a goodbye to her mommy and daddy are painful. She is doing her bit to make the world around her know it by howling and crying with her full might. It does not please me a lot to see her crying either, but as they say, it must be done.

To make up for the advent of the unhappy hours in her day, I have tried to do atleast one happy hour for her, and NO it’s not the Mc Donald variety. My happy hour begins with picking her up and hers begin shortly after that, when I slowly inch our way towards home explaining the surprise I have planned for her.

I don’t think it’s a new concept though. It’s perhaps same as what my mother did for me in school, only difference being that back then she was oblivious to the concept of happy hours, and more of a happy day believer. Welcome to the life and times of a working mom, Ahem! And I don’t mind my taking a shortcut to happiness. After all, it’s all about celebration of the fact that we ‘mother daughter duo’ could laze around playing under the dull spring sun, for about for an hour (or two) after work, enjoying some ridiculously creamy and decadent steamed yogurt (bhapa doi) or crisp parathas  and sometimes a far simpler version of yogurt in  a little glass of summery lassi, all the while decoding the Doremon puzzles!

Of course, being as busy as I perhaps sound here, I will not go beyond basic pantry ingredients. So, I am proud to report that I have whistled away any cooking inertia and successfully turned around bowls after bowls of spring favorite toddler friendly food this week. So my happy week continues. Would you like to a spoonful?

Bhapa Doi or Steamed Yogurt

Ingredients

250 g plain yogurt

250gm condensed milk (sweet)

2-3 green cardamom (crushed fine ) 

A few strands of saffron (soaked in a tbsp. milk)

1 tbsp milk

How I did it : 

Whisk the yogurt and condensed milk together till its of a smooth and creamy consistency, now flavor with the powdered cardamoms.

Heat an oven at 180 degree C.  Put the above mixture in a pie dish or baking cups. Place those cups is a large baking dish filled with sufficient hot water to come halfway up the sides  of the baking  cups. Bake in the oven for around 10-12 minutes.

Lastly add a dollop of the saffron infused milk over each cup and bake for 5-6 minutes  , until it appears to be set.  Cool and then refrigerate till chilled. Serve it chilled. 

Of weddings, Family, Food and some Fish in Mustard Sauce.

Today while browsing an old album, I came across this picture of a prized wedding fish on its way to the bride to be’s family . It was a part of the Gai Holud ceremony.I can still almost taste the delicious lunch that followed the ceremony. Oh dear Fish.

Growing up in a lose knit Bengali family, weddings were a cause of major celebrations, for me it meant: Phamily and Phood , especially Pheesh (Bong babu’s way of pronouncing things, pun intended) ! It meant waking up to the robust smell of fish slices being friend in sharp mustard oil. Fried fish is definitely not a breakfast food, now even for us bongs. The early preparation was perhaps the cooks way of ensuring that the food is done in time for lunch. You see, we bongs have a huge appetite for food, especially on festive gatherings like wedding.

Actually the food or more importantly the fish fetish has a lot bigger role to play during weddings than just being the family favorite dish. In traditional Bengali wedding’s the bride walks in to her new home with a live fish in hand. As the folklore goes, it signifies harmony and healthy children.

Nowadays people make is easier on the new bride by making her carry a dead fish but, that’s only if you allow the bending of rituals and traditions. I  generally don’t , and perhaps it’s not me speaking but my grandmother’s spirit who is peeping at my post from the heaven above is  making me write it. She was so focused on these traditions, right from the symbolism of these rituals to how these fishes should be cooked and served in a correct order, that I now feel it’s my personal responsibility to see that the traditional lineage continues. Afterall they come with a promise of good fortune and prosperity. Greedy me! 

Who can deny.

Now that we are in the topic of traditions, presenting a traditional dish of Fish in Mustard sauce or Sorse Maach.  I have tried to be as authentic as possible, but feel free reason out what proportions will actually make for the best Sorse Maach, which suits your family's taste buds.

Fish in Bengali Mustard Sauce or Sorse Mach

Ingredients

Fish pieces/fillets around 4-5 pieces

Yellow mustard seeds (soaked for a few hours in water) 4-5 tbsp

Green chilies as per taste

Ginger paste 1 ½ tsp

Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Salt and sugar to taste

Mustard oil 2-3 tbsp (Plus 1 tbsp more for drizzling) (you can substitute with other oils if you want)

Cilantro for garnish

Method:

Clean the fish pieces and rub the turmeric and salt over it. Keep it aside for 15 minutes.

Now grind the soaked mustard seeds with a few green chilies in mortar and pestle, or a mixer to a smooth and creamy paste.

In a deep bottomed pan, heat the mustard oil and fry the fish pieces till they are golden brown in color. Keep the fish pieces aside. Now temper the oil with ginger paste and a little salt. Now add the mustard paste and fry on low heat. Add the whole green chilies along with salt and sugar. Adjust according to taste. Add the fish pieces along with half a cup of water and let it cook for few more minutes. The consistency is creamy and thick, not runny. So adjust the liquid accordingly.

Once done, garnish with cilantro and drizzle fresh mustard oil on top.

Serve the fish in mustard sauce over bed of rice.

The Rainy Rishikesh and some Bengali Tomato Chutney

I have been conspicuous by my absence, haven’t I? But the reality is that every now and then, I had this inexplicable itch to come to this virtual world of mine and share these teeny meeny details of life…of what’s making me uber happy…or something that making me cringe”. But then, I kept fighting my feelings and waited.  (Perhaps I’m not alone in this, ask any blogger and they’d tell you how overwhelming this desire to blog about everything around us is)

I waited for a glorious noon like today, for my daughter to take a slightly longer nap so that I could give you a tip toed visit.

And tell you that over the last few weeks I have been:-

Out and about camping with little S and lots of lovely crazy family in the rainy Rishikesh.

Id-eating my little S’s 2nd B’day party

Spending a few lush weeks with my best bud. My mom

Looking for a new play school for little S

Almost forgetting that I have an office to go to,

Reluctantly getting work ready.

Let’s start with my camping trip. So we went to Rishikesh to a secluded beach camp.  Our rafting and other adventurous sport plans were marred as it kept raining throughout. Still it was kind of relaxing to be huddled with close family, away from all electronics and modern trappings which sidetrack us away from the business of being a family.

The toddlers in the group got all the adult attention they could dream of …they did act goofy , got into silly fights , but they gotta be themselves. We gossiped and guffawed, visited the regular touristy spots, rested well and ate even better and came back halfheartedly to the usual humdrum of regular lives.

Disbelievingly I’m already on a countdown for the next smallish trip. I don’t know where I might be heading to next, but I’m impatient for it to be planned. Sometimes I think my life’s so much like these bright firm red ripe tomatoes. Bittersweet, but you want to do away with the odds and hold onto all that's bright red and beautiful, and that’s when I turn to the kitchen to cook and seal the happiness in a jar. If you are anything like the, you too would perhaps head to your kitchen right away and make a pot of Tomato chutney. Once done,be patient enough to cool it and then have a large dollop of it with your rice and lentil curry, or anything else you might want to care to add it to… Making it is easy. You’ll be happy you did!

And I didn't tell any of it any sooner than today as I didn't want my family with all the extended versions of it… tell me one day that “oh – she forgot to talk to us, as she was so busy chronicling about how happy she was in our presence!!”

Tomato Chutney or Tomator Chaatni 


 Ingredients for Tomato Chutney

3-4, ripe tomatoes
1 Tbsp ginger julienne
2 green chilies, deseeded
2 tbsp raisins
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3-4 tablespoons sugar or palm jaggery
Salt

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. once it smokes, temper the oil with de-seeded green chillies,fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaves and lastly add the raisins. Let them all cook together for around 30 seconds, and now add the coarsely chopped pieces of tomatoes and the grated ginger. Mix all of till till mushy.

Add the sugar and salt once its all in a juicy mush. lick -check the spices, as its predominantly sweet.Cook well till most juices are soaked up and consistency is chutney like. Remove from heat. Cool and enjoy with whatever you please.I love mine with rice and dal.

The Quintessential Shukto - Mixed Vegetables Bengali style

I have been avoiding sharing the Shukto recipe -a quintessential Bengali delicacy as long as I could, mostly for various fears. The fear of organization skill it requires, fear of labor that goes behind having all the vegetables in exact proportions and chopped to the precise guidelines and lastly the fear of shaking off my lazy hibernation mode.

Now if you have never heard of Shukto – don’t be put off by my Hyperboles. It’s just the bitter Bengali cousin of the southern Avial or the Indian version of the French Ratatouille. You got the drift – it’s a medley of all vegetables with a hint of bitterness.

Long long time ago when my,mama (maternal uncle ) got married and they were coming home for their post wedding reception, my mother happened to be sitting next to the bride and heard her mumble and memorize the Shukto spices. 30 years have passed since then, and my mami has proven to be a good cook, the story still goes around in my family. So you know, the importance of Shukto does not stop at  it being a classic lunch menu, its much beyond that. A well-made Shukto is considered by many to be the hallmark of a good cook—If you can spice the Shukto correctly, you have made the culinary grade and of course welcomed as a perfect bride, in this case. 

Although in every bong house, the Shukto has its own version. You can certainly adapt the spices and the quantities based on your family’s liking.

Shukto

Ingredients
1 white Radish
1 green Banana (plantains)
4-5 broad Beans
1 small bitter Gourd
2 long thin Brinjal, unpeeled
1 sweet Potato
½+ ½  cup water, 2 tbsp milk
Spices, condiments and Oil

To paste
1 tsp Ginger paste
1 tsp Mustard paste
1 tsp Poppy seed

Dry spices

1 tsp roasted and coarsely ground Panch Phoron (fenugreek, kalonji, cumin seed, radhuni or celery seed and fennel seed in equal parts)
2 bay leaves

Oils
3 tbsp Mustard oil
1/2 tsp ghee (optional)

For garnish
Salt to taste
A handful fried dal bori (dried lentils nuggets)

Method:
Peel and cut all the vegetables lengthwise around 2 inch long ( sweet potatoes, white radish, plantains, broad beans, small bitter gourd and brinjal)

Heat the mustard oil to smoke in a deep dish. Temper with the bay leaf and panch phoron. Now add the vegetables and sauté in low heat. Take care to add the brinjals in the end. Add salt to taste and add ½ cup water, and then cover and cook until the vegetables are done.

Once done and the vegetables are cooked, add the ginger paste, black mustard paste and poppy seed paste mixed in the 1/2 cup water. Finally top it with the fried boris and the ghee, cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the milk, cover and remove from heat.

Serve at room temperature. Sprinkle a pinch of , roasted panch phoron powder on it just before serving.

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.

S-I-X and Counting years, and Bengali Mutton Biryani

Life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites in fruitful harmony.                                                                                                            Martin Luther King, Jr.

 The first time I met the. Husband. He came across as a hermit. He’d think a lot before speaking. During our dates, he’d just nod in agreement at whatever I wanted to order, even if it meant fiddling with food for him. Once, he came to meet me from Portugal and got a small souvenir from there as a gift– he never gave me that present lest I hate it. He was shy and reticent and nowhere near the ‘Happy –go-Lucky’ attitude I sported. Then the oddity happened, the journey of the opposites began.

I continued being me, just the spirited social soirees were re-scheduled for the day and the nights were reserved for the happy home cooking.  It was frowned at but tolerated well. Year after year, city after city. Then, almost six years later I’m practically running the risk of sounding like him. It amazes me how we’ve changed almost effortlessly over the years, it’s cozy to share a life with someone who enjoys watching Little S patiently as I work at my home office or whose idea for a great weekend is selecting the best thriller movies and waiting for me to watch it with him. I know the.husband has come a long way since the day I first met him, when for the New Year’s night he offered to party at chic nightCLUB while I was happy just huddling with my fellas at home.

Of course my daily life is not all that musical as it sounds now.

We have our rough rides every now and then, still in the middle of all the daily chaos and chunks of months that moves in almost a clockwork fashion, I have to admit that I have now started longing for these quiet days at home, with nothingness on the mind and where the only agenda be laughing nonstop with our daughter and cooking a one pot meal before settling in with a movie to watch together—and as I rush to seize these moments, I pray that they will become less rare and more a way of life.

That’s just the beginning of how we've been tied together in time.


Somewhere I suspect, this Bengali version of Mutton Biriyani has a major role to play too. When the extent of our marital disharmony revolved around the debate of Who’s from a better Biriyani place -The Hyderabad vs The Lucknow, this Bengali Mutton Biryani version entered the kitchen to save our souls.

Bengali Mutton Biriyani

 Ingredients

1 kg Mutton/ lamb meat (marinated overnight in raw papaya paste, can use any other tenderizer)
500 gm. of basmati rice(washed and soked for an hour)
3 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
2-3 potatoes cut into big cubes
1 large onion finely chopped
1 cup plain yogurt/dahi
2 tsp. red Chili powder
Kewra essence few drop
Few strands of saffron soaked in 1 tsp warm milk
Salt to taste
1 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Biryani Masala

Biryani Masala (powder roast the masala, or you can use the readymade Biriyani Masala from Store)
7-8 Cloves
3-4 green Cardamom
A pinch of grated Nutmeg
1/2" Mace
1 tsp. Cumin
1tsp of white Peppercorn
2" Cinnamon stick


PROCEDURE
Cook the rice in a deep bottomed pan spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Cook till done, but not mushy, drain the water, add a tsp of ghee and keep aside.

Take oil in a heavy bottom pan or in a pressure pan and once the oil is hot, add chopped onions and fry till they are golden brown. Add the meat pieces sauté on high heat. Now add the ginger, garlic paste and sauté with the meat pieces. Now add yogurt and red chilies powder and add 3 tsp. of the Biryani Masala. Finally add the potato halves add the salt and sugar, and fry all of them together with the meat and spices. Cook in the pressure pan until the meat is tender.Once done, assemble the biryani.

In the serving pan add a layer of rice, then meat and gravy, add the saffron infused milk, then a few drops of Kewra. Repeat the process. Till all the rice is exhausted.This is the easy way out without the dum and cuts my time in half! Let it stand and heat well before serving.

Friday Musings with a cuppa Masala Tea

Voila. It’s Friday already. I’m so raring to pack my bags and take that coveted break this weekend to a historical 17th century art deco fort tucked away in a nondescript corner of Rajasthan . So naturally I lack the patience to talk about things that I naturally would. As you would have realized, that talking those characteristic  long winded sentences take a lot of soul digging and I’m so unable to concentrate now.

So what shall I talk – or shall I rather tell you things you’d never hear me say?

And those are:

“This is such a glaring red.”

“I have too many books already, I don’t need more”

“I can never spend so much on a Hush Puppy shoe ”

“I’m tired sleeping”

“Parking here is easy, C’mon let me do it for you”

“I’ll pass the book reading session by John Grisham”

“I’ve been craving a Chivas Regal!!”

“Another Fort Holiday- Not again!”

“I cannot tread Anita Nair and her brood again”

“One more cookbook for my birthday, Oh man , sucks.!”

 “Tea again? Shall Pass”

So, okay, not to sound like a librarian and I’m rounding off to books again and again, but I heart ektu cha(Tea) and Books, add to it a historically enriched holiday  and I’m all yours. 

Although there no upper limit to tea consumption, I’m certainly partial to the Darjeeling tea variety.I’m sure you've had a sip of Masala Tea with your favorite book too. If not , this is the time . You’ll thank me after your taste buds explode into the gates of heaven upon craving for more, trust me. (Also trust me not to say random things about what I’d rather not say – but excitement has its own version).

Happy Sipping.

Masala Cha (makes 2 cups)

Ingredients

11/2 cups water
½ cup milk
1 tsp. tea of your choice
1.5 tsp. Masala cha spice Mix*
Boil all the above. Then keep on low heat for 2-3 Minutes.
Strain, add sugar to taste and drink.

Masala Cha Spice Mix*
Makes around ¼ cup (stores well)

Ingredients
3/4 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
3 (1-inch) cinnamon sticks, broken
15 whole cloves
15 green cardamom pods
4 teaspoons ground ginger

Method
1. Grind all the spices in a spice grinder, and grind to a fine powder.
2. Now add the ginger to the above mix and stir well.
3. Store in an airtight container.

Try it. This Masala Chai may sound unusual in a Bong home, but it's so wonderful it could be a stand-in for dessert, and of course a perfect accompaniment to my Friday mood.

A Busy Cooks Guide to - Chanar Paayesh (Bengali Style Cottage Cheese and Milk Pudding)

Today I was chatting up with an old friend after a long time.

He casually asked me “how are you? “ and then added a disclaimer – “tell me something other than “I’m very very busy, but life’s good”.

I almost died. I mean that’s true of course, but how come I never realized that this is what I've been telling almost everyone who do mean a lot to me, just that I don't just have the time for a leisurely chat. This sounds such a push off statement, and I have been maintaining this frenzy pace for god knows how many years now. No wonder there are just a handful of folks I can chat with – when I have the luxury of TIME.

Shame on me – and with my head hung low I decide on a few new rules to make peace with this marathon schedule of my daily life. Say no to those who deserve to hear NO and embrace those who are a part of life. Cook the beautiful  family favorite dessert and learn to take a break to be able to savor it. Dump the soap for a walk in the park and fill the day with peals of laughter.

Having downloaded all my morose memoirs unkindly on you, I think you deserve a treat from me for listening through. Yes, this happens to be my slow down dessert – don’t I deserve a little Pat-on-the-back for being nice this one time?!

Chanar Paayesh (Bengali Style Cottage Cheese and Milk Pudding)

Ingredients for Chanar Paayesh:

Homemade cottage cheese / ricotta cheese- 1 cup. (the steps of making this are listed below)
1 liter full fat Milk
1/ 2 cup Condensed Milk
4 tbsp Sugar
A few nuts for the garnish
1/2 tsp powdered green cardamom

Method:

Reduce the full fat 1 liter milk in a heave bottomed pan, and lower the flame when it reduces to half. Now add the condensed milk and keep stirring till it reaches the desired thickness.

Once done add in the chana or the cottage cheese gently and one teaspoon at a time. Keep stirring constantly.  Just remember that there should be enough liquid as the chana/cottage cheese will soak up a lot of the liquid once refrigerated. The consistency of the Chanar Paayesh should not be runny or dry. So adjust the milk accordingly.

Once done, sprinkle pounded powdered green cardamom and mix.

Cool the Chanar Paayesh and top it with slivered nuts and serve

If making a cup of cottage Cheese or Chana from scratch
Heat one liter milk in a deep bottomed vessel. Once it starts to boil pour in 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Reduce the flame to low and stir gently. The milk will curdle and the greenish whey will separate. Wash under the running cold water  and now strain the cheese and tie in a clean cotton cloth to strain the liquid.

I’ll leave you with the words of Osamu Nakamura, an amazing cook and traveler: “Doing nothing all day — it’s difficult at first.  Being busy is a habit, and a hard one to break.”

A Nourished Friendship and some Chirer Pulao (Beaten Rice Savory Snack)

Around my 21st Birthday few awesome things happened to positively change the outlook of my life:

1. I joined a boring office
2. Quit it.

I had high aspirations for myself. But somehow winded up in a really boring office doing even more lackluster job. Of course that is not awesome.

Well the awesome part is: that this small office was where I met this girl let me call her H, and we stuck together ever since. Now the office was so boring and job so worthless, that we conspired every day at work about ways to get out of that rut.

In came college. We decided to get our masters together.

College was fun. New Delhi was not as notorious back then, and to us it felt like living a leash free life with a promise of better tomorrow. Or maybe I’m just recalling it through a young adult’s eye. If that’s true, then I hope I never wake up to reality.


H is the reason I enjoyed college; On dull days her friendly face would light it up, on free days we’d be scurrying from movie to movie catching all the Friday first releases and later share all the scandals and gossip and whispers, she introduced me into the world of the South Indian delicacies and was someone who was always happy to invite me to any ‘family only ’celebrations when no one else would.

H is spiciness of South, warmth of a sister, delicate’ but never proud’ nose, whispered gossips and shared life logic all along.

Like soul sisters we too had our high and low moments, nonetheless every time our lives fell back into same old rhythm of yesterday.

Last November, H reached a *milestone* of motherhood.  I recently went to meet the little one, and my heart was alight with love for the baby princess. Secretly I dreamt of our two little girls to be friends and carry the story forward.This thought made me want to celebrate the day in the simplest of manner and get her stuff she would really like and use. Uh – I know post motherhood all she’s been lamenting about is weight, but there’s nothing in the world that I can do to make her the Sandra Bullock of Miss Congeniality. Can I?

So here’s what I can do. Make a frugal meal of the past, something which talks to her about that 'small office' in wordless ways  and is of course is in tune with her 'weighty' issues of today . And even though I know this is not a magic wand to get her into skinny jeans right away, this will certainly not ruin her chances.

{And I’ll not lie -: I’m pretty sure I’d like to be that Sandra Bullock too if given a choice again. }

Chirer Pulao  (Beaten Rice Savory Snack)

Ingredients for Chirer Pulao

:

2 cups Beaten Rice/Poha (washed and drained)
1 Onion sliced fine
1 Potato
Green Peas (optional)
1/2 cup  Peanuts (roasted or fried)

Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Lemon juice


Spices for tempering
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 slit green Chilly
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp Bengal gram
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tbsp Vegetable oil

Cooking procedure:

Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and temper with the Mustard seeds, once they start to splutter add  all the other spices for tempering and the onions. Fry until it turns pale brown.

Then add the peas, potato,salt and sugar. Cook covered till the potatoes are soft. Now add the drained and dry Poha to the Spice mix. Cook for two minutes while it blends well with all other ingredients.Turn off the flame and add the lemon juice.Top it with the peanuts and its ready to serve.

Sharing this post with Evelyn@My turn forUS, HungryLittleGirl,No Rules Weekend Blog Party by Paula, Simple Sweet Home,HomeMaidsimple,Free Pretty Things For You ,Full Hands Full Hearts,I love my disorganized life and Frugally Sustainable

Ranga Alur Pithe(Sweet Potato Dumplings in Syrup) on Poush Parbon

Festivals stir memories.

Poush Parbon is one such occasion for me. So far my only contribution to the celebratory month of Poush (January) had been eating away the goodies, I've never really given any second thoughts to the origins of the custom. It was then. This year I’m making a humble attempt to step into my mother’s shoes. Bless me.

Sankranti celebrations in my childhood home were nowhere like its big festival cousins called Holi or Diwali, yet its uniqueness lied in its simplicity. Sankranti is a simple Harvest festival which is celebrated in a very traditional manner all over India. It’s the celebration of the season’s bounty, and a way we’ve devised to thank the Gods for blessing us with good harvest.

With time I’ve come to know that every region has its own festive recipe which they prepare with the freshly harvested crop. For us Bengalis it’s the freshly harvested paddy, coconut and notun gur . These ingredients and recipes change as we traverse across our varied nation yet we stand united in the spirit of the festival. Food has an incredible power to remind us of our roots, to recap the rituals for us, and bring us closer to those who taught us of these ceremonials first. Like, I think of my mother every time I shape a Puli, and of my father every time I grate a coconut.

"All good food comes with a story, and the stories need sharing as much as the food'.

The story has been told.It’s the turn for Ranga alur Pithe  or Sweet Potato Dumpling which are fried and soaked in a cardamom flavored syrup. I favor this over others for the sake of simplicity and the option of getting some goodness of the root vegetable this season.

Now I leave you to kinder some festive memories, while I negotiate my way from work to home and brace myself up to mash cook fry and serve this dish to my family and you.

Stay tuned. Will be back with the recipe.

For now let me ask you about your favorite festive memory?

The feast was a hit - here's the recipe : 

Ingredients for Ranga Alur Pithe (Sweet potato dumplings)

3 medium - sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed

1.5 tbsp.  All-purpose flour or Maida

2 tbsp. powdered sugar

For the Filling:

1 cup finely grated coconut

1 tsp - powdered cardamom seeds

3 tbsp - milk

3 tbsp – sugar

For the syrup

2 cup sugar

1 cup water

2-3 cardamoms

How to prepare the filling

Prepare the filling first by cooking the coconut in a pan along with sugar until sticky and golden brown.

How to prepare the Syrup

Boil one cup of water in two cups of sugar and add the cardamoms to it. Boil for10-15 minutes till the water reduces to half and the syrup reaches the desired consistency. Once done, remove from fire and set aside.

How to prepare the Ranga Alur Pithe  or Sweet potato dumplings

Knead together sweet potatoes and flour with 2 tbsb powdered sugar to a smooth dough. Divide the flour into small balls and fill each small ball with a tsp f the filling. Now shape it oval or into a ball with the filling inside.

Now fry in a deep dish to a golden brown colour.

Drain the excess oil and soak in the syrup.

Ready to eat.