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.

Bandhakopir Ghonto ( Bengali Cabbage Curry )

Bandhakopir Ghonto 

Every weekend I keep hearing from my friends – the ones who still don’t have kids yet, about the exciting things they do. The pubs, the dances, the parties …. Somewhere I too feel bound to be out doing something helluva interesting and fun. Alas! I feel I’m always at a loss to quite know what it is.

I can’t find enough kid friendly things to do – probably which look as good as the pictures people post on Facebook.

And whatever interesting I do, I can never share the picture. Somehow I can never have her pose…and the moment I leave to click, she behaves like a cabbage. Running around in mysterious a circle.

Tai hobe tahle (Cabbage it is.)

The cabbage behavior is unruly. The cooked vegetable is not. It’s timid, mild and extremely yum and healthy.

Bandhakopir Ghonto 

Ingredients 

½ of a whole big cabbage (makes around 21/2 cups shredded cabbage)
½ cup green peas
1 potato
tbsb oil
1 tsp ghee to top

Spices

½ tsp Turmeric powder
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp Cumin powder
1” ginger julienned
1tsp coriander powder
2 green chillies (optional)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a pan, now add cumin seeds, hear it splutter. Add all spices except the green chilies , cumin powder and garam masala.

Fry and now add the ginger. Brown slightly. Add the cabbage, green peas and potato. Lightly fry. Add around1/2 cup of water, cover and cook till its well done and slightly mushy.

Once done, Top it with cumin powder, garam masala and 1 tsp ghee for the divine smell.

For Variations :

You can looks at fellow bloggers ;
1) Sanoli's Kitchen 
2)Bong Mom's Cookbook 
3)Sayak's Kitchen