Ambrosial Ventures

Baked Tilapia and Garlic Potatoes

2008-08-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was feeling lazy did not feel like cooking, did not want to eat out, at the same time wanted a fine dine experience which does not leave me feeling guilty about the extra pounds and works. This is a great alternative.
SH loves fish and we are just about experimenting with different kinds of fishes.
So here's instant food.
Garlic Potatoes and marinated tilapia wrapped in whole wheat bread crumbs.

Blueberry Cake

2008-08-09T12:46:00.001-07:00

Thus turned real great. The reason for making this was that I bought pounds and pounds of blue berries (they are anti oxidants) and then did not know what to do with all of it other than the fact that I have to consume it all. Hence, rushing though recipes online and deciding on a simple cake instead of a pudding or a tedious muffin stunt.

So there, enjoy.

Blueberry Smoothie

2008-07-17T02:40:00.000-07:00

Au Potato Gratin

2008-07-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago one of my friends threw an impromptu dinner. The lavish spread was so wonderful and fantastic. One of the dishes was Potatoes Au Gratin. Its a french dish, very fattening but I loved it and so, my friend being the ever gracious she is sent me the menu. Here is the recipe.

Potatoes au gratin recipe is finished under the broiler.
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
3 cups diced cooked potatoes
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
1 cup soft bread crumbs

Preparation:
Potatoes au gratin recipe.Place potatoes in a shallow, broiler-proof baking dish. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 6 tablespoons butter. Remove 3 tablespoons of butter to a cup or bowl; set aside. To the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the saucepan, add flour. Stir to blend well; gradually stir in milk. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and smooth. Add cheese and continue stirring until cheese is melted. Pour sauce over potatoes in baking dish; mix gently. Place bread crumbs in a bowl; drizzle with remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter; toss to coat. Sprinkle buttered bread crumbs evenly over potatoes. Bake potatoes au gratin at 400° for about 15 minutes to heat through, then broil until golden brown. Recipe for potatoes au gratin serves 4.

Aam er chatney (chutney)

2008-07-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

I love my trips to Whole Foods Market. Its almost as fun as going to the mall. The whole adrenaline that makes us happy when we buy something cute for ourselves all the while feeling guilty that its over priced but you still do it because this is better that any place other. So, that's what I mean.
We bought, plums, peaches, assortment of black, blue and red berries, and some of the not so exotic fruits like bananas and mangoes. Why? because they are organic taste better and remind me of the India I will see in a few weeks time.

I picked a raw mango and one ripe one. With the raw one I made Chutney the Bengali way it came out so well that now I am reminded everyday that we need to go back to WFM to buy one raw mango and I dread going just right now because it may just not stop at that one thing.

So here is the quick recipe:

Ingredients
One raw mango
dry red chillies
pepper crushed
paanch phoron
garam masala
salt
sugar
lime juice

wash the raw mango and cut it into long thin pieces. I use the seed as well since I like the fibrous seed all dipped in the chutney. Anyways, so. Heat a little bit of oil in a wok and put the dry red chillis, paanch phoron in it. when this starts spluttering add the mango. pour water in it ans let it boil. when the whole thing comes to a boil add the sugar, this will give the chutney a glaze. Now add the pepper and extra chili powder and lime juice if you want. Keep tasting it without burning your tongue. lower the flame and let this simmer for sometime add extra water if you think that the mango has not reached the desired softness. Then let this thicken.

PS: The chutney tastes better day 2 and 3. So I make a lot at one go which continues for at least 4-5days.

Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Home made

2008-06-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Wanted to make some dish with paneer. Checked my kitchen refrigerator and realized that the half packet had gone stale. I did not want to go all the way to the Desi market just to buy a packet of panner. And then let half of it go stale again, although this was the first time that it happened. So I decided to make paneer at home. And this is my method. The measures are mine.

Homemade Cottage Cheese Recipe

Things Required:
milk (full cream) - 1 and 1/2 glass

half a lemon

Directions:
Place the milk on medium flame and bring to a boil.
Take 1/2 a cup of water and dissolve lemon juice in it.
Pour this mixture onto the boiling milk and keep stirring.
Lower the flame and continue stirring till the milk gets thickened.
Once the curd chunks start floating in the yellowish whey/milk plasma and gets completely separated, remove the bowl from the heat.
Next, strain or filter the mixture through a clean muslin cloth.
Now, remove the excess water and hang the cloth for about 20 minutes, so that the whey is completely drained out. Now, put it in a container and press the paneer to give it a solid shape. Finally, take out the slab and cut small cubes out of it or simply scrape it into thick pieces.
Refrigerate or grab your recipe book, as desired.
I did not need to make any cubes since I wanted it for a veggie chochori.

This is what I made of the home made cottage.

Saute Veggie Mix

Kaanch Kola r Chochori

2008-06-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was fabulous. I had a wonderful dinner invitation and that inspired me to no end. This week I made Kaanch kola r chochori, an Indo-Chinese dinner, Blueberry smoothie, a mixed veggie and an elaborate omelette breakfast on the work from home Day, that was on Monday.

But today I will give the Kaanch Kola r chochori recipe. But before that I will give the inspiration of the dish. Just by chance I watched "Bizarre Food" on travel channel. I love travel channel but generally I skip this particular program simply because they show too much of bizarre food. As I was about to change the channel I realized they were featuring India. I stopped had to. What was bizarre about Indian food? I must know and so I sat and watched the whole show.
They featured O Calcutta and their Head chef Joy Banerjee cook Banana flower (mocha), and Banana stem. That's how I was inspired to make kaanch kola r chochori. I knew how to make mocha. quite tedious, I wasn't sure if we had banana stem in the market, but I knew kaanch kola is available. So, I went and brought fresh banana squash and made this dish. It came out nice and I have been asked to repeat my feat.

Can I call this my original since I did not follow any one's recipe?
So this is my original, Yeppeeiiii

Kaanch Kola r chochori

Ingredients -

fresh Kaanch kola
one medium potato
half onion
dry chilli
mustard seeds
turmeric powder
pepper crushed
salt n sugar
green chilli
coriamder powder
garam masala
zeera powder

Procedure-

Cut the banana squash and potatoes into tiny slices.
Heat the oil and add the dry red chillies, mustard seeds. let them splutter, then add the onions. once the onions turn transparent and start turning golden at the end, add the potatoes and banana squash. keep frying them in the oil add salt and sugar. some water will start coming off the bananas and potatoes. let that evaporate and keep frying. In the process mash the whole then and keep stirring to make a mixture of it all in the wok. Now add the masalas, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, pepper crush, all of them.
DO not put the garam masala right now.
keep mixing. now sprinkle some water i it starts getting too dry and sticks to the wok bottom. keep mixing. once you can smell all the masalas and feel the who mixture soften and all the ingredients mixed add the green chillies and garam masala.
it takes about 25-30 min to make the whole thing.
You can garnish it with fresh coriander.

PS- you can use boiled potatoes instead of frying like I do. But I like it mashed while fry cooking.

Its fun.

Weekend Invitation Menu

2008-06-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were invited to a friend's place. This was not the first time we were invited to their place. This needs a mention on my food blog because of the menu that was set for the dinner. The menu was fit for a Royal Loyal Bengali !!
This is the menu 12- course dinner that the 8 of us who were invited feasted. Everything was homemade.

Appetiser- Drumsticks

Main Course
1-Masoor dal
2-posto bora
3-sorse kumro
4-palak paneer
5-phulkopi-allo
6-Puti maach r kaalo jeera jhol
7-ruhii maache r kaliya
8-kosha mangsho
9-dimer dalna
10- aam r chatni

Dessert- Ras malai

Its important to mention that this was the first time ever among my counterparts, that I had such a stupendous meal where each dish was as good as the next. The dishes were pleasing to look at and even better to taste. Needless to say the conversation after dinner was just as wonderful.
No one can complain after such an excellent meal.
This week I am much inspired.

4-course on a week day

2008-06-18T14:15:00.001-07:00

Been long since I did some cooking. Last couple of weeks have been quite lazy in the kitchen front. Last week our meals in general consisted of grilled chicken, fried fishes, eat outs and barbecue. But today I was am ready for some elaborate meal time. SH must also be ready for something more than just dim er dalna and dal.

So the menu today is -

-Muro diye Bandhakopi

- Maach bhaaja

-Cholar dal

- Aloo potol dalna

Muro diye Bandakopi

We had the ilish maach fried and sorshe jhol. Generally I throw the head but this time I did not want to. SH's dida told me that I could make bandha kopi with it. I wasnt too sure about it. But then decided to try it. Called my mother and took the recipe. She has warned me that Ilish has a lot of "kaanta" even in the head. But then I know that ilish kaanta can just be chewed away. So, Ultimately I made it.

Ingredients

Fish head- 1

Bandhakopi (cabbage)- half

red chilli - cumin Powder - pepper crushed - dhania powder - Green chilli
cilantro - garam masala - salt to taste

Procedure-

Wash and clean the head of the fish and rub it with turmeric.

Heat Oil in a wok. Add the fish head and let it fry. deep fry it until it turns golden. In the mean time clean and cut the cabbage. In the same oil. add crushed ginger, and the cabbage to fry. Add turmeric, salt, dhania powder, cumin powder, pepper, chilli powder. Also add the fish head. keep stirring and frying. let the water of the of the cabbage evaporate. keep stirring and frying till the cabbage turns transparent and golden. add the required salt with taste. fresh coconut, Green chillies, fresh cilantro and garam masala.

Aloo Potol Dalna

I used frozen potol for this recipe.

Ingredients

Potol (pointed gourd) - 1/2 pack
Aloo - 2

Bay Leaf

dry red chilli - Ginger - Green Chilli - Turmeric - Coriander - Red Chilli - Cumin Seeds

Salt, sugar ( To Taste )

Procedure-

Wash and cut ptatoes and potol thin, and in length.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the potatoes and potol slices. Once they start browning add the bay leaves, and all the dry masalas. and now mix it till all the water evaporates. now add 2 cups of water and let this sim. When the oil starts floating and the curry color come. This means the curry is done.

Always enjoy your meal.

2008-06-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

All new bee Bengali cooks who were at a lose because Sutapa's Milonee.net no more exists.
Well! its back with a new domain.
I did not give up and went on a search again. And here it is.
Have a wonderful Royal Bengal cook time.

Grilled chicken and Veggie!

2008-06-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Weekends are lazy. I don't feel like cooking. SH has a two week break from his books so I have loaded him with the kitchen responsibilities. That's the reason there has not been an update from me in a while.
The following is SH's speciality. I am a big fan SH's grilled chicken. Its makes a wonderful meal if you are lazy and tired and want to finish up quick.
The white sauce is prepared by me.

Grilled Chicken and Veggies with White sauce

White Sauce

Ingredients-

Maida- 2 tbsp

Butter- 2 tbsp

Milk- 1/2 cup

salt and pepper as preferred

Procedure-

Heat the milk and add the butter and maida. Keep stirring so that the mixture has a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper. Heat enough so that the smell of milk and maida is gone. Simmer and let it thicken but still have a liquid consistency.

Strawberries dipped in chocolate

2008-06-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

If you have extra strawberries in the fridge and don't know what to do with them, because you feel lazy to make a smoothie or a salad and don't feel like eating them just the way they are, below is a wonderful and easy way to a delicious dessert.

Make any occasion extra special.

..wash and clean the strawberries. Remove all the stems and leaves if any.
..Hersey's liquid chocolate is a good option for a dip.
drench the strawberries in the chocolate.

PS- If you are in a mood for even more of the indulgence spray some whipped cream and sprinkle some sugar powder.

Eat Merry!!

Chola dal

2008-06-02T23:10:00.001-07:00

No one at my house is a big fan of chola dal. But I make it a point to rotate all the pulses and lentils and not get stuck at the favorite which is masoor dal for both of us. One of our acquaintances who have now moved to Japan were really good at this particular dish but I never asked for the recipe because I was too busy eating and praising the dish.

This week I made a chola dal the way I wanted to.
Ingredients:
Chola dal- 1 cup
mixed vegetables (beans, carrots, peas and corn)- one cup
onion- quarter of a medium
ginger- 1 in slice
tomato- 1 small one or medium
dry red chilli- 2
turmeric- 1 tsp
cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
coriander- 1 tsp

coconut shredded and sliced

garam masala- 1 tsp
pepper- crushed a pinch
green chillis
salt to taste

Procedure:
Boil the dal with a pinch of turmeric, salt and a green chilli.
Heat a wok, add oil let the cumin seeds splutter, then put the onions and dry red chilli's. when the onions have softened and turned transparent add the tomatoes and let them fry. keep stirring for balanced cooking. add the turmeric, coriander powder, crushed pepper, crushed ginger slices. let this fry for a minute or two. Now add the mixed vegetables. and fry for a couple of minutes. Also add the sliced coconut which will get fried and cooked along with the veggies.
When you feel that the vegetables are slightly fries add the dal and a glass of water or as needed.
this dal is just as good when made slightly dry or with more gravy. Add salt to your taste and the green chillis. Also add the shredded coconut. this makes the dal slightly crunchy and tasty.
Before serving add some ghee to make it even more delicious. A simple meal becomes just a fabulous experience on the dining table.

Shukto

2008-06-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

Sometime ago one of my acquaintance's mother came to visit them and she had prepared a typical Bengali meal for us. The first course in a normal Bengali lunch is something bitter and boiled/steamed. Shukto is one such dish. It is bitter and made of boiled vegetables. And it is such a wonderful dish. It was after such a long since I has tasted it that I felt I was at home for an instance. Well, I knew there were certain specific vegetables used to make Shukto, like sojne data. So I never tried making it. But the acquaintance's mother had substituted the sojne danta with phul kopir data, which i think is brilliant. The end result is fantastic. People use Hing in seasoning but I do not like the smell of hing and so I do not use it. Also using bordii ( vadi) which is usually made of moong Dal, is usual but I did not have them at home so I did not use it. Its a tasty option.

Ingredients: (the veggie list ):

phul kopir danta, bitter gourd, carrot, potatoes, beans
2 tsp mustard and 1 tsp posto
coriander powder- 1tsp
garam masala- a pinch
Seasoning:
paanch phoron
methi seeds
bay leaves
dry red chillies

Procedure:
put the mustard seeds and posto in a warm cup of water for 2-3 hrs and then grind it to a thin consistency.
cut all the veggies to about 1 inch squares or rounds. slice the danta into thin long strips.
Heat oil in a wok and add the seasonings all together. when it starts spluttering add the vegetables and stir it for a few minutes. Once the vegetables soften add the mustard-posto mixture. mix everything and then add some water if needed.
Some people like it dry, some people like it with some gravy, and some love it maakha maakha!!
*wink*wink*

Cheese Cake

2008-05-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a cheese cake for a long time and I finally did it during SH's B'day week. So without a delay here is the recipe. SH is been taking a bite of it and wants to share it with no one. So I think lets call it a hit with the hope that I can repeat the act and this does not become a One Hit wonder cheesy cake!!

I decorated it with fresh strawberries, SH's favorite fruit.
Ingredients:
Cream cheese- 1lb
eggs- 2
Sugar- 1/2cup
Vanilla- 1tsp
1 graham pie crust 9 inch
Garnish
Strawberry as many as you like!!

Procedure
take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator and let it soften in room temperature.
take a mixing bowl. beat the eggs, add vanilla and sugar. Good to use a electric mixer or a stand mixer for this. Add the the cream cheese and blend this to a smooth consistency.
Pre heat the oven at 350to 375 degree depending on the strength of your oven.
let this bake for 40 min.
In the mean time cut the strawberries chill.
When the cheesecake is done let it cool and then let this chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hrs.
Decorate with the strawberries and serve it to your loved one!!!

A B'day menu for you!!

2008-05-23T17:12:00.001-07:00

Today is S 's birthday. So the indulgence of today is of big value.
I am a bake person. I love to bake. But, I resisted from baking a cake since the last party in my house. S loves the cakes and I wanted him to enjoy his birthday cake. Remember abstinence, anybody?? I mean cake is a true pleasure.

So hear is the recipe for my cake special for S
Ingredients:
Maida- 1 cup
sugar- 1 cup
Butter/ICBINB- 1 cup
baking soda- 1tsp
Vanilla- 1tsp
eggs extra large- 2 otherwise 3
roasted almonds- a few
chocolate chips- some

Procedure-
Prepare the oven first. Preheat the oven to a toasty 350 degree. My oven is a professional one and has special heating features for cakes, veggies, meat etc. So I hope you understand the working of your oven. Grease the bake utensil with butter and put it in the oven
sieve the maida and mix the baking soda in it. melt the butter.
Take the raw eggs and beat them. once its frothy pour the sugar in it. beat the batter. pour the butter in this and mix it properly. Now pour the maida mix into this batter and beat it to a smooth consistency. Add vanilla and mix. The cake mix is ready.
Add the almonds and chocolate chips in the batter and pour the mix into the bake dish and set it in the oven.
It generally take 50 min to bake. But keep checking and do not let it get too brown.
The B'day cake turned beautifully so it was a tasty and happy midnight celebration for two before we went to bed. There was a whole day of celebrations and culinary surprises.
I made the traditional payash which is the auspicious dish for Bengalis. My MiL expectations of me cant be over looked and it is a favorite. Still I wanted to do something more. I planned to make Cheesecake first but finally I ended up making pathisapta.
Here is the way I made it.

*****************************************

Patisapta
Ingredients :
Maida- 1 cup
Semolina (sooji)- 2 table spoons
baking soda- a pinch
Khoa- 1 cup
raw milk- half cup
Sugar- half cup
jaggery- half cup
canola oil
Procedure:
wrap:
sieve the maida in a mixing bowl. Add baking soda and semolina. pour a few drops of cooking oil and milk. keep mixing add milk or water and make a smooth fine batter. the consistency is important (if you know how to make pancakes then you know this one). keep this batter aside.
Filling(Poorr)
In a deep pan take a cup of milk bring it to a boil, add the khoa, sugar and jaggery. bring this mix to a boil and keep stirring and let this mixture thicken. Keep aside and let it cool. it will thicken more as it cools.
Heat oil in a flat fry pan. Take the wrap mix and pour it on the heating oil. spread it and make a round wrap like roti/tortilla. toss it to the other side when you think its done on one side. pour a little of the filling in the centre and fold th e wrap from both side. Your first Pathisapta is ready.
ps: I half used half sugar and jaggery which enriches the taste and color.
The surprise does not end here. I made prawn Malai curry for dinner.
will put the recipe for that soon.
Also when I make the cheesecake , I will post the recipe.

Pasta (My Style)

2008-05-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted to prepare pasta last week.
I have this wonderful cookbook aptly called Pasta. And wanted to try some pasta recipes. I enjoy the history of pasta. (The origin of pasta comes from noodles.) But the Italians have given the noodles a total facelift and also renamed it "PASTA". Oregano, parsely and thyme are the kinds of herbs in pasta and wide variety of cheese and wines are used in the recipes.
So there, I sat looking at all the recipes and chose two pasta preparations.
One required dry white wine and bacon while the other needed thyme.
So I did something that most self proclaimed "I can win the top chef contest" would do. combine some of this and some of that and there.... you have an original!! or is it??
At present their is an assortment of vodkas and sparkling wines at home and I did not want to buy anymore before the old ones are absolutely consumed. So no white wine, and the other recipe need some exotic cheeses. The only ones that I have at home are parmesean and medium cheddar. (And our own cottage cheese.)
So I turned innovative and need to add, that the result was very much edible and "you must make this again, please" kinds!!
Here is the recipe to my Pasta original: (serves 2 )
Ingredients
Pasta-
onion- half (medium)
chicken salami- 150 gms
tomato- one (you can use puree too!)
mixed veggies(peas, beans, carrots)- sliced in cubes
parsley- quater tsp
rosemary- quater tsp
pepper- quater tsp
dry chili pweder
dhania powder
medium cheddar- 50gms
parmesean- as much as you want
cilantro
salt to taste

Procedure:
boil water in a deep pan. put the pasta and tsp of salt in the pan for 10 min.
Cut the chicken salami into thin rectangles like matchsticks. cut the onions thin.
Heat oil in a wok and add the onion and salami. let the onion turn golden and when the salami starts turning brown add the tomatoes and stirring for 2 min add the mix vegetables. once the water evaporates and the saute veggies, add the rest of the spices. If need be keep sprinkle some water. Add the cheddar cubes and let it melt as you saute it along with the rest.
The dish to envelope the pasta is read!
Add the cooked pasta and fresh finely cut cilantro.
Parmesan can be sprinked over the pasta along with sprigs of cilantro/parsley.
Awesome pasta for a lazy afternoon is ready!!

Fish Egg Pakodas

2008-05-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday night I made Ilish again. This ilish had eggs and every bengali knows what a delicacy fish eggs are. A lot of fuss is made over fish eggs since its not always that one finds bonus fish eggs. When I was in India and living with my parents in Lucknow, I remember my mother bargaining over fish eggs which were sold separatley according to its weight. Ilish maach is a medium size fish and an expensive one so to find eggs within is a big time bonus. The last Ilish did not have eggs so to find this one with eggs made me happy. While washing and scaling the fish I also took out the eggs and thought of making some fried pakodas of them. Since the fish would be bhapa (steamed), frying the eggs sounded better to me.
After cleaning and separating I realized there was not much of eggs left. I remembered what my mom would do at home so that everyone could relish the special dish instead of a few ones. For me in present times it means to prolong delicacy session.
So this is how I made ilish egg pakodas.
Ingredients:
Besan- Half tsp
onion- little bit according to the amount of eggs
green chilli- 1
ginger-slight touch
pinch of salt, turmeric, red chilli
Procedure
Heat the oil in a tiny wok. mix all the above properly make tiny patties and place it lightly in the heated wok. let them turn them golden. Ready, yum, yum !!

Kolaiyer Dal

2008-05-15T21:18:00.001-07:00

Kolaiyer Dal!! which dal is it?
It took me almost two years to find the answer to this kitchen question. I had heard S repatedly say that kolaiyer dal and allo posto is pure bliss. I already knew how to cook allo posto but what was this Kolaiyer dal? I had barely heard this term. He didn't know the term for "kolaiyer" dal in English or in Hindi. So I was quite stranded there. I asked many of my friends and also my Ma but non of them could help me with their glossary. And then when I decided to make dahi bada and bought Urad dal that my dear S who is so much better with culinary stuff, tells me that, thats what is Kolaiyer dal... Eureka so now I know, therefore declare the Secret to the world. Urad dal is Kolaiyer dal in Bengali.
For quite some time I wanted to make allo posto and kolaiyer dal.
This is S favorite vegeratian meal. There is no explanation required to state that his all time favorite is any dish with fish, chicken, mutton or eggs, as one of the prime ingredient.
So its been long that we had a simple dinner that is a planned one. The unplanned oned are when I boil potatoes with the rice, mash the boiled potatoes, cut onions, green chillis and half tea spoon ghee or mustard oil. A scoop of butter or ICBIB worked wonders too. And fresh hot masoor dal is my instant comfort food.
Well, so this is a much planned one. I have some leftover egg curry too, so the dinner sounds very very good to S. He was very happy with this touch of non-veg.
I am quite modest even though some people may not agree to it, but the dinner was just so much fun ;))

My measures are approx. and serves 2 people and some left for the next day lone lunchtime.
Ingredients:
Split Urad dal : half cup
Grated ginger : half tsp
Green Chillies : 2
Coriander powder : 1/2 tsp
Tumeric powder : 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds : half tsp
Vegetable Oil : 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Soak urad dal for about 2 hours.
You can microwave the dal or pressure cook it. But I boil the dal in a covered pan. Keep checking if its getting soft and then mash it with a spatula.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds in it. Add the ginger and the boiled and mashed dal. Add coriander and turmeric powder. Stir for about 1 minute
Add chillies. Stir for 5 minutes and your dal is done.
Add fresh coriander if you want.

Aloo Posto another time!! ;-))

Paneer with Aloo Matar

2008-05-11T22:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a tough day of cooking. It is generally so after a few days of eating out and to gos.
S is falling into a comfortable routine of working from home on Fridays. So quite often we go out for lunch. There are specific reasons for S and me for such practice. I like the perks of eating out on weekdays which have small portions that are meant for one human being and not a wrestler, and 4- course meal at reasonable rates. Its like eating at happy hours and we need not worry about making a to go of leftovers which is more often than not three shrimps and 2 calamari strips.
Then on Saturday we felt like having some tandooris. Generally, we drive all the way to Kabab and curry which is a good 30 min drive from my home. But, since we were tried after a long day of completing some long stalled errands we went to Shalimar after some long ages. Too tired to eat at the resturant we asked for to go, picked a bengali movie and came home. Needless to repeat have some pleasant memories of food.
So when it came to Sunday which is today, I was much stumped. I wanted to have some vegetarian and S wanted to have fried rice. Too much work for a lazy me.
After much contemplation I decided on Paneer with aloo matar and cinnamon peas rice.
Paneer with aloo matar
250 gms paneer
2 medium size potatoes
half cup peas
some onion,
one flake of garlic,
1 in ginger slice
cumin seeds, mustard seeds
2 green and 2 dry chilli
one medium tomato, a piece of bell pepper/capsicum and a couple of mushrooms.
1 ilaichi, i in cinnamon
Cilantro, turmeric, salt, garam masala to taste

Heat oil in the wok. Add cumin seeds, dry chilli and mustard seeds and let them splutter then add onion, garlic. when the onion starts turning golden add the tomatoes as this gets fried add turmeric, chilli powder, dhania powder. do not allow the food to stick to the bottom. Now add the peas and potatoes. let the water dry and the potaoes stightly golden. Add salt, cinnamon and some water. let it come to a boil add the paneer and mushrooms. bring to a boil. add the garam masala and cilantro.
The rice:
wash the rice. Keep aside. heat a teaspoon oil. add some peas and cinnamon (actually you can add just about any veggie you want) add this to your rice and make it whatever way you do( rice cooker, pressure, microwave).
Today S was not sad about an all vegetarian set table at dinner :-))

Shorshe Ilish

2008-05-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

I am not crazy about fish. But ilish is not just any fish. Uncountable "kaanta" cannot stop a bengali from indulging in this delicacy. With my mood being not very happening today I totally needed to indulge my senses into something that would sooth me. Payesh and ilish are top on the list to raise ones spirits. Thankfully last week I bought two ilish at once with my foresight which insisted that I buy more since this is already a frozen edible and can be refrigerated for a long time.
I thought of taking just 4 pieces and make shorshe ilish : dinner for two.
Ingredients
canola oil
pinch of mustard seeds
tsp poppy seed
green chillies
Few drops of vinegar
1/4 onion
red chilli powder
turmeric powder
green chillis and Dhania for garnish
Salt to taste
Procedure
Take the fish out of the freezer and let it thaw for 1 or 2 hrs.
Wash and Marinate the fish with mustard oil and turmeric.
Soak the mustard and poppy seeds in warm water for an hr or so. Put the soaked seeds, vinegar, green chillis, and grind into a paste. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard- poppy paste and saute. Now add turmeric and red chilli powder.
Add the marinated fish and salt. Mix well and cook on a slow flame.
In the end add a pinch of grinded black pepper and garam masala powder.
Let the dish simmer for 15 min.
Voila!!The dish is done.

Chaler Payesh

2008-05-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is a bengali sweet dish and mostly associated with aupicious occasions and in remembrance of good and prosperous times. But for me it mostly means a comfort food that helps me cope with my occasional bouts of homesickness and depression sessions.
So today being one of those days I thought of preparing this sweet dish along with another regular fav of any fish eating bengali : Ilish maach (Hilsa).
My ingredient amounts are by my intutions and I will keep it like that.
Sorry for the inconvience to the readers.
My mom is the one to blame for this for she never would tell me the measures while I watched her prepare my favorites and bestowed on me the most exasperated expressions each time I had a question. So my measures are obscure but once done, the dish mostly turns up good to look and taste at my end and I pray the very same for you.
Here's the PaYaSh :
Ingredients
3/4 cup of Gobindo Bhog Rice
5 cups of milk
1/2 cup sugar and a tiny piece of gud (jaggery)
2 crushed cardomon
Tej pata (Bay leaf)
some almonds and Raisins
coconut shredded is optional
Method
wash and Soak the rice in water and keep aside.
Heat the milk on medium flame and keep stirring or else it will boil over.
When the milk starts to boil, add the rice slowly to it. Remember to keep stirring the milk continously. when the rice softens add the bay leaf, sugar and jaggery.
Keep stirring and let the milk reduce and thicken. the time may differ depending on the heat and the vessels. When the milk has thickened and the rice grains has become soft, add cardomon to it and stir gently.
Remove the container from flame and add almonds sliced into half and raisins on top.
Cool the payesh. serve it warm or chilled for a couple of hours.
Enjoy the sweet taste of bengal.