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!!

Happy New Year!! Let's say it with some Kalakand.

Here's Wishing all a Very Happy New Year ...hope the new year comes knocking at your door with heaps of happiness, truckloads of love....and all that you've ever wished and dreamed of.

Kalakand/Milk Dessert

 
Agree, Its been my longest hiatus--- ever since this little food nook of mine came into being.
A lot has happened since my last post, and those of you who have been reading me here and wondering whether I really disparaged into the great amazons to look for the perfect bride for my brother, will be relived to know that the answer is a very non-adventurous NO :P...In reality I did move continents...packed...unpacked...and now slowly inching towards a 'settled' mode.

I have practically cooked non-stop in these past few months...ate at perhaps even more athletic speed. My newly acquired double digit dress size is perhaps the lone witness..Nevertheless, there are diets and there are these new year resolutions. Arent't they??

In-line with the diet resolutions and the fact that we always begin a new year with a sweet something, let me present a famous Kalakand recipe...This easy peasy microwave Kalakand recipe happens to be my mashi's specialty and I'm just so proud to attempt and share.

Microwave Kalakand recipe : 

 

Ingredients for the KalaKand : 

2 cups full cream milk powder

I cup heavy cream

1 can condensed milk

1/2 cup grated or chopped skinless pistachios

Method : 

Mix all the ingredients for the Kalakand (omit pistachios here) in a microwave safe bowl and keep whisking till the consistency is very smooth. 

Now set the microwave on high (this High setting suggestion is for a 900-watt microwave) for about 7 minutes and run it, but remember to keep an hawk’s eye on the dish to keep the milk from boiling over. If you see the mixture rising then stop, whisk and start again.

Once the 7 minutes are over in the oven, whisk the Kalakand briskly to break all lumps and set in the microwave for 7 more minutes. Break lumps, but by now the milk solids will be little soft and grainy in texture. Spread on a deep dish or plate and sprinkle with pistachios. Cut to shape when cooled.

Serve at room temperature.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do...

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..

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. 

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.”

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.

Khejur-gurer Paayesh with love that lives on

My grandmother was 14 years old when she first met my grandfather. My Grandfather was 21.They only heard of each other voices behind the veils when they decided to get married. She was a high school student. He was a railway apprentice.

My great grandfather was a progressive man. He wanted his daughters to be educated. This goes back to the day and age where daughters from noble Indian households lived in veiled existence and could only be homeschooled. He chose a bright railway apprentice as his daughters tutor, the only imposed condition was that he could not see the daughters. There was a thick curtained veil between my grandmother, her sister and their tutor.

He spoke to them in Bengali, saying “Amara shudhu Maths, english aar science shikhbo” (We will learn Maths, science and English) She giggled and said “yes”, she was known for her language skills.  “You speak English.” he asked, a little startled. “My father is an English Professor.” She answered as a matter of fact.
And so it began, a love story (of sorts) that began in India in 1943, celebrated the Joy of being in an independent India around four years later with a child in tow. Later landed in a sleepy little British Raj created town called Jamalpur.

I still have vivid memories of this sleepy little town, as almost all my summer vacations were spent there. Jamalpur of the 90s has always welcomed me with a faint smell of young jackfruit and a garden swaddled with overripe Jamun. My afternoons were often spent picking the berries from the garden and rest of the day was whiled away eating it. My entire summer vacation seemed to roll into one laugher filled month full of fun , frolic and food . She was the one who brought that slumbering vacation in that sleepy little town to life, atleast I love to believe that.

When my parents announced that they will be visiting me for a day this week, I thought that there could not be a better time to surprise my mom with my grandmothers specialty the Khejur Gurer Payesh (Milk pudding with date palm jaggery. Topping it with flaky almonds and cashews, toasted pumpkin nuts or nothing at all, this tastes divine.  But, somehow this khejur-gur just doesn't seem the same when it’s consumed without putting a fight with my cousins for an extra helping or enjoyed in a skyscraper which does not overlook a garden smelling of ripe jackfruit.


What it does have is a hint of that veiled love story .

Khejur-gurer Payesh (Rice Pudding with Date Palm Jaggery)

Ingredients

1 lt Full cream milk
50 gm. of gobindobhog rice or kaala-jeera rice
100gms of sugar
50-100 gm. of khejur-gur (date palm jaggery) depending on your sweetness.

How I did It
Wash , clean and drain rice.

Pout the full cream milk on  aheavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil.Now add rice and keep stirring , so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan.  Keep doing it till the rice is cooked and Milk looks thick enough. It took me around 30 minutes.

Once rice is doe , add the sugar and you need to stir again till the extra water from the sugar is evaporated and milk is thick again.

Now that you think that the milk has reached the desired consistency, you can turn off the heat and after a few minutes, add the Khejurer gur.

The heat will aid in the melting process of the Khejur er gur.

Once the Khejur er gur is all soaked up , the color will turn to caramel.

I added toasted pumpkin nuts for some crunch; you can add whatever you fancy.

Linking this to these parties :  Think Pink Sundays , One Creative Weekend , Clever Chicks Blog Hop , Sugar & Slice Sunday , Martha Mondays Link Up Party ,A Round Tuit , Creative Mondays ( Claire & Judy ) , More The Merrier Monday , Make it Pretty Monday , Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Tasteful Tuesdays , Tuesday Confessional Link Party , Tuesday Time Out , Tuesday Talent Show , Crazy Sweet Tuesday , Wednesday Adorned from Above , Whatcha' Whipped Up , Hookin Up with HoH , It's a Party! , Cast Party Wednesday , Wicked Awesome Wednesday, Wednesday Extravaganza , Riverton Housewives Round Up , Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff , Weekend Show Off Party , Full Plate Thursday , SYS Blog Link Party , Creative Thursday Link Party , Blog Stalking Thursday , Creative Juice Thursday , Thursday's treasures ( Christie, Debi & Joan ) , Showcase Your Talent Thursday , Fantastic Thursday! , Tasty Thursday , fridays unfolded , Simply Link{Party} , what's shakin' link party , Friday Favorites , Happy Hour Friday , Delicately Constructed Friday! , Feature Yourself Friday , Shine On Fridays ( Kara & Amy ) , Foodtastic Friday ,  Foodie Friday , Freedom Fridays , Show Off Friday , Do Something Crafty Friday , Farm Girl Blog Fest , Sweets for a Saturday , Strut Your Stuff Saturday ,Serenity Saturday , Sweet Saturday , SHOW-licious Craft Showcase , Your Great Idea Link Party 

Sondesh

Sondesh

This weekend I was off with my colleagues at a wildlife resort for 2 days , shouted screamed and yelled and did everything what calls for, but then I would intermittently retire to my room, do some reading and be back, ready for action …off late I have realized, that I need my better half by my side to complement the moody blues I have, the need to be alone and then with people in a cyclic order …sometimes I miss the lonely comfort of my single room apartment, where even the morning light has to put in a lot of effort to streak in, while I would lie in bed thinking the best way to take on the day via daydreams, those dreams have given way to the realities, not harsh but soft and gooey as a hot fudge with occasional ‘nuts’ thrown in for crunch and twist—do we call them ‘relatives’?:)

On my way back home, I spent about six hours in a bus, even though I was rendered motionless due to paucity of space, arbit thoughts kept dancing around my head all throughout…sometimes it took the shape of wire drawing on the back of paper napkins and at others I aimlessly kept flirting with ideas in my mind

Life was moving on wheels.

Today is Monday morning. Now at my office desk with rest of the people whirling past in a pleasantly fast pace, catching up with the days work, I can easily put aside the ‘dancing thoughts’, but I have an idea, its pleasant to watch the sudden burst of inspiration bubble, gathering the burst boils and culminating them once again, just like unused milk or scraps of cheese…which often makes way to something nice, hurried, but nonetheless savoured to bits.

That particular bit of food is what hubby made yesterday. Its sondesh. Fond memories of my childhood came flooding back at that first bite. Hubby has a way about him. The first thing I did after being back from my trip was to taste his labour of love. We had dinner post that. We watched ‘Friends’. Jut two days away from him—one look into his eyes it’ was hard to look away;) Eating the sondesh, watching friends, I thought how can I just have roller coaster days , may be my love to being completely alone has slowly made me hanker to be with him…two of us comprises ‘alone’ , thinking if its again possible to bookmark the moment. I know I cant, but I can indeed put the recipe of my hubby’s classic creation here—for all the bong husbands or husbands who have bong wives…to rekindle the romance….believe you it works like oysters for the bong belly:)

Sondesh