Cheese Pakoda

Travelling , work and hectic Mumbai life has been keeping me at bay from blogging. But after a long long time I am back, this time with recipe.
This one was made in a jiffy, but it really turned out quite well.
Ingredients:
grated cheese, finely chopped onion,
finely chopped chilies and coriander,
 ginger julienne, salt to taste, 1-2 bread slices,
1-2 teaspoon of besan, oil to fry.

Procedure:
Add grated cheese, finely chopped onion,
finely chopped chilies and coriander, ginger julienne, salt in a bowl. Scrap off the edges of bread, soak the bread in water, squeeze out the water add to the mixture. Add a little besan just for binding. Drop small balls with a spoon and deep fry.
Enjoy with coriander-mint chutney and piping hot tea.

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Instant suji dhokla in microwave

The story is:  Mr. Husband is not very fond of besan and its recipes. And I am completely in love with besan recipes. Savories like dhokla , cheela and farsan are my favorite snacks. This leads to big dilemma when I crave for these stuff. So the solution being substitute besan with something which will result the same taste. Hence the aforesaid  recipe. Quick and tasty, this makes a wonderful tea time snack or even a nice healthy breakfast.

Ingredients:
A cup of suji
A cup of curd
a teaspoon of eno
salt as per taste
sugar half a teaspoon
grated ginger
chopped chilies, chopped coriander
a pinch of turmeric
For tempering:
2 tsp oil
a pinch of hing
a curry leaves(i didnt have)
half a tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp lemon juice


Mix the salt, sugar, curd, grated ginger, chopped chilies to the suji. Mix well, so that no lumps remain. Add a pinch of turmeric, a little chilly powder(if you love spicy). You can add a tsp of refined oil. Mix well. Keep covered for half n hour. After half n hour, grease a microwaveable container deep enough to let the mixture bloom atleast 3 times. Add eno to the suji mixture. Mix well and immediately transfer the mixture to the greased container. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check by inserting a knife. It should come off clean. Cool for 5 more minutes. Cut into squares or diamond shape. Heat 2 tsp of oil in kadhai. Once oil is hot, throw in a pinch of heeng, a tsp of mustard seeds,  curry leaves, 2-3 slit chilies. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the dhoklas. Sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice. Toss for a minute. Garnish with coriander and serve.

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Phulkopir singara.. The typical bengali Cauliflower samosa

In one of my previous posts "Tale of many cities", I had written about cities and towns where I had stayed briefly or for long. These cities have their own bundle of memoirs. Sweet or savory each city has offered many "MUST EATs". One such city which remained unaccounted for in my post was Agartala. Baba was posted to this capital city for some months. Although because of my studies Ma n me could not shift to Agartala, being an avid traveler like ourselves we did make it a point to visit or rather stay in Agartala for a month(of course during my sem break). And what did I like about Agartala? The lazy and peaceful life for starters, the bengali sweet shops in every nook and corner and the "SAMOSA", crisp and thin on the outside and extremely delicious in the inside. I never liked Samosa so much, except for Ma-made Aloo Phulkopir Singara(Aloo Gobhi Samosa). But this beauty was an exception. Not too large, just the perfect size, this Samosa is To Die For.

We bongs are a weird lot(no offense meant). While we love to have aloo in all our veggie as well as non-veggie recipes, we love our Samosa (or Shingara সিংগারা )with other veggies specially Gobhi along with aloo.Come winters , when the beautiful florets start blooming in the market, its almost customary to make Singara at home. 

I am not bounded by the seasonal constraint here in US as we get Cauliflowers around the year, so I decided to make these favorites at home a few days back.

So here goes the ingredients and the how to make:

For the outer covering:
A cup of flour
2-3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
a pinch of baking powder

Mix the salt, baking powder and oil to the flour. Now start adding water slowly and kneading. Knead till dough becomes smooth and firm. Cover and keep for half an hour.

For the filling:
half or full cauliflower depending on size, cut into small florets
1 medium potato(chopped)
roasted or fried peanuts, crushed coarsely
frozen peas half a cup to 1 cup
a tsp of cumin seed
salt to taste
chopped green chilies(2)
chopped coriander
a tsp turmeric
a tsp aamchur
1 inch of ginger grated
2 tsp of roasted cumin seed powder

Heat oil , temper the cumin seed. Now add the chopped potatoes and cauliflower and green chilies. Toss on high for few minutes, add turmeric and salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Now add all the spices and peas, mix well and toss , sprinkle a little water if needed. Cover and cook till done. Lastly add coriander and roasted peanut. Keep aside to cool.
Now take the dough, pinch out small balls from it. Roll the ball thin to a circle (more like an elongated circle). Cut into half. Take one half. Brush a little water into the straight edge, and form a cone. Fill the cone with mixture. Seal the top perfectly. Deep fry on medium flame.
Enjoy!!

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Cheesy buttery garlic rolls

The other day I baked my first bread. I was contented with my result, but wanted to improve. So again I tried today. And wow, the bread(roll actually) came as wonderful as I could imagine of. Simply simply perfect and sooo delicious. No I am not bragging. Better no more talks.
Here's what I did:
Used: 1 sachet of active yeast(around a teaspoon)
A cup and a half of All Purpose flour(the first day I had used half maida and half aata, the roll was not so very very fluffy as today's)
A teaspoon of sugar
A teaspoon of salt or as per taste
A bunch of cilantro
3-4 pods of garlic
A few green chilies for our Indian palate
around 2 teaspoon of butter
Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
A tbs or two of olive oil

For active yeast proof the yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water and a teaspoon of sugar. Let it bloom for 10 mins. Now in bowl start kneading flour, salt, olive oil with the yeast mixture. You may not require the whole yeast mixture. Use till you get a smooth perfect dough. Keep the dough in a bowl in a warm place, covered for an hour or so. I kept the bowl in my microwave with the microwave door open.
Meantime, blend the butter, garlic , cilantro and chilly to a spreadable consistency.
After an hour, the dough must have risen to twice. Punch it down. Now roll it into a rectangle of approx 1/2 inch thick. Spread the garlic butter . Sprinkle the grated cheese.

Roll the rectangle and then slice into discs. Place them in an oil smeared baking tray. Microwave the remaining butter. Add a little more chopped cilantro. Brush the top with the garlic cilantro butter mixture. Sprinkle a little mozzarella. Keep for another 45 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven at 375F. Bake fore 20 minutes.
Happy Baking!!

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Dahi Kabab (Yogurt Kabab)

I love yogurt and any recipes with yogurt. I got this recipe from NDTV. Carried out the recipe almost word to word. So I would rather Ctrl C , Ctrl V , with my tini-mini changes here and there.
Ingredients:

400 gms yoghurt
100 gms paneer
2 teaspoons chopped onion
1 tsp chopped ginger
Half a handful of chopped fresh coriander

10 finely chopped almonds
7 to 8 chopped raisins
1/2 tsp white pepper powder(didnt use)
1/2 a tsp green cardamom powder
salt to taste
oil to grill
Cornflour to dust
A cup of ready to eat oats(didnt use)

Method:

Hang yoghurt overnight in a muslin cloth.I hung it for 4-5 hrs.
Saute the onion and ginger in minimum oil till the onions turn translucent. Keep aside to cool.
Take the yoghurt in a bowl. Add crumbled cottage cheese, chopped raisins, coriander, almonds, and the onion mixture. Add the white pepper powder, cardamom powder and salt. Instead of white pepper I added chopped green chilies and a little roasted cumin fennnel and pepper powder(my bhaja masala)
Now make round patties with this gooey mix and pat a bit of cornflour on the outside, after giving them a shape.
Crush the oats to resemble breadcrumbs and dredge the patties in this oat powder. I didnt have oats , so used breadcrumbs.
Grease a pan with olive oil, and grill these on a medium hot skillet, till they turn brown.
Serve hot with chutney.

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Ghugni or "The Yellow peas Bengali snack"

Actually the title is not literally correct. A because the Ghugni is not a native to Bengal rather to the East Indian states of Bihar , Bengal , Orissa or Odisha(I recently happened to know that the state's name has got changed, phew God only knows what the achieve by changing names) and B its not just a snack but rather healthy breakfast too. Served in many households along with Luchi (Maida puri) or Muri (Puffed rice), this is a easy , hearty and ever welcome breakfast. And for snacks,Ghugni topped with onions , a little tamarind chutney goes great with the Cuppa.

The best Ghugni of the world award always goes to Ma's Ghugni. No its not just my mom, its the same for all bongs. Ask any bong,the best Ghugni they ever tasted and they would definitely say : "Ma er kora Ghugni" (cooked by Mom), at least I say so, Mr Husband says so, my Ma says so, my bong friends say so(long list). I really don't know whats the secret behind this mystery. So the other day I made Ghugni for breakfast, it didn't turn as wonderful as my Ma's , nonetheless it was quite yummy.
Here's the ingredients:
a cup of yellow or white peas
an onion chopped
a tomato chopped
ginger chili paste
a potato cut into dices
ginger julienne
chopped corainder,
bhaja masala(Dry roast a handful of jeera , saunf, few peppercorns and dry red chilly depending on hotness , then grind ) or roasted jeera powder
a bay leaf
Jeera

Since it was weekday I was making Ghugni , and I did not have much time in the early morning rush hours, I soaked the peas the previous day for 3-4 hours and then pressured cooked them until rightly soft but not mushy, kept the boiled peas in fridge to use the next morning.

Heat oil  in kadhai, fry the potato dices till light golden, keep aside. In the same oil(you may reduce the oil in case its too much), add bay leaf and cumin seeds. Let them splutter. Now add the onions, fry till golden brown. Add ginger chilly paste and chopped tomatoes. Fry for 3 minutes. Add turmeric, salt and keep frying till oil separates. Now add the peas and fried potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped onion and coriander and ginger julienne. Sprinkle a little bhaja masala.
I served it with Muri(puffed rice) and tea

Footnote: We have switched to Green tea as our daily breakfast cuppa. Although not as tasty and flavorful like Darjeeling or Assam or Masala tea and completely sugarless and milk-less, the green has immense health benefits compared to milk tea. And somehow we have come to enjoy this tea more than milk or black tea.

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Instant microwave dhokla

Am I turning this blog of mine into a food blog? Well I don't intend to that, but I could not resist myself from posting this super duper easy recipe which I tried for the first time. And boom!! it turned out so well. Cutting short my blabbers , here's the quick recipe
Ingredients
1 cup Besan,
1/2 cup curd,
a teaspoon salt, half a teaspoon sugar,
a teaspoon of ginger -green chilly paste
a sachet eno, 1/2 cup of water
a pinch of turmeric, one and a half teaspoon oil
For tempering:
1 teaspoon of rai(mustard seeds)
a pinch of hing,
3-4 green chilies slit into long pieces
a teaspoon of lime juice, a little oil
Chopped coriander for garnishing(i didn't have it)

Method
In the besan , add the salt, sugar, haldi, oil, curd, ginger-chilly paste. Mix well so that no lumps are formed. Slowly add water. The batter should have idly-like consistency. Now grease a microwave flat bowl. Add the eno to the dhokla mixture, mix well and transfer the mixture to the bowl.
Microwave for 6 minutes, do not cover it.
Keep aside, let cool for few moments then transfer to a dish. Cut into desired pieces.
Now for the tempering, heat a teaspoon oil in a kadhai , splutter a teaspoon mustard seeds(rai), add a pinch of hing, add chopped curry leaves(I didn't have this either) and slit green chilies. Now you can pour this on the dhokla, but I transferred the dhokla to this kadhai, poured a teaspoon of lime juice a pinch of sugar and salt and tossed the dhoklas for a minute. This gives a nice crispy texture to the dhoklas.
While i njoy the instant dhokla, hope next I return to my blog with an article or a story..

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Kala Chana Chat.. a Healthy snack

After the hush and rush of the whole week, Sundays are usually for pure gastronomical indulgences from breakfast to dinner. But once in a while, its good to go healthy and simple. This Sunday I opted for a simplest and a nutrient packed breakfast..... A tasty Kala Chana chaat.

 Kala Chana..this small black Mr Lentil is rich in minerals, fiber , proteins. But my better half does not like the chana curry, so I keep it more simple.. 

 

I soaked a cup of Kala chana overnight.In the morning, boiled the chana in the pressure cooker with a little of salt and water. Once the chana boiled, in a skillet ,I heated  little oil. Added a pinch of hing, a dry chili, little cumin seeds. Then drained the water off the chana and added the chana to the skillet. Seasoned with salt , I tossed the chana for a while. Meantime, chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, green chillies, coriander. In a bowl , served the chana with the chopped veggies, sprinkled a little of chat powder, a dash of lime juice, and some sev to top it.

And a healthy chat was ready. Goes great with a steamy cuppa. 

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Koraishutir kochuri

Koraishutir kochuri or matar ki kachuri.. come winters and this fellow would elegantly march from Ma's kitchen to our dining table. Koraishutir kochuri was and still is a must for every winters. We three basking in the winter sun , shelling green peas and chitchatting .. gone are those days.. staying at US I am deprived of this pleasure. I mollify myself by making and then devouring the kachuries.
I start with a cup of frozen peas. Once defrosted coarsely grind them with some green chillies and a little peeled ginger. Do not make the paste too smooth, keep it coarse. Now in a kadhai heat a spoon of oil. Add a pinch of hing to it. Now add the grounded peas. Add a little dry roasted cumin powder. Keep stirring till water from the mixture evaporates and it becomes dry. Remove from flame.
For the kachouri.. knead maida with a pinch of salt , a pinch of sugar and little of oil or ghee and water of course. Make a smooth dough. Make small balls of the maida dough. Fill a ball with the peas stuffing and seal it. Roll into puris. Ma's trick: do not roll the puris too big as the stuffing may come out, keep them small and cute. I used a plastic sheet to roll them into puris. Now comes my hubby's scientific idea(he being a physicists). You do not have to roll the stuffed balls. Just keep it inside the plastic sheet and press with your palm. They would be perfectly round and not even a little stuffing would come out.Now fry the puris on medium flame, my hubby did the honor for me.. Enjoy with pickle or chatni.

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Bread Uttpam

I am a great fan of South Indian dishes. During my childhood we(Ma Baba n myself) religiously went to this "Coffee House" a stone's throw distant from my house and devoured the humongous dosa. The dosas were as crispy as paper and the aloo masala inside was divinely tasty and full of kaju kishmish. I have never ever tasted any dosa to compete with the "Coffee House" one's. Dosas , uttapams, idlies , vadas .. are all my favorite.
So instant south indian recipes are always a treat.I had once tasted this bread uttapam somewhere. Today for the Sunday breakfast I thought of trying it out.

What you need:

Few slices of bread, 1/2 cup sooji , 1 cup curd, a pinch of hing, a pinch of baking soda, salt to taste, 

chopped onions, ginger, chillies, coriander.

Mix the sooji, curd, hing , baking soda and salt in a bowl. Keep for an hour. 

After an hour, add the chopped onions, ginger, chillies, coriander to the mixture. Spread the mixture on one side of the bread slices. Heat a non-stick tava , add little butter or oil. Fry the bread slices with the mixture side down. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Flip and fry the other side. Serve hot with sauce.

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Rice cutlets!!

For those who know me from near, I am a big foody.... (oh! please dont laugh, I know my physique doesnt say so). I love to devour on anything thats tasty and I love to try out anything and everything. Ironically my first tryst with cooking came very late in my life, after 2 decades on the planet. When almost all my college friends knew how to cook, I only knew how to boil egg. My baba's strict instruction "No cooking while you are into studies". Since Ma was a school teacher Baba helped her with cooking. But I was never allowed to do so. Once in high school, I was having a holiday. That day before leaving for school Ma had taught me orally(no practical class) how I can prepare rice in cooker. I was asked to keep the rice ready before Baba came for lunch. She (Ma ) had measured the water and rice and kept aside for me in a seperater utensil(of the cooker). Due time came and I kept the cooker with the rice utensil in it........but with no water inside the cooker...and the cooker lid on......... and I waited and waited and waited for the whistle to blow. But poor me , I had no idea why the cooker was slowly turning black.. After half and hour with no desired outcome I switched off the gas oven and waited for Ma. Ma came.. asked me if the rice was done.. I had no clue of it.. She was aghast to see my deed.. So I was kept away from the kitchen for many yrs to come.. Finally when I got my appointment letter from Infosys, I started trying some recipes under Ma's supervision. When at Blore and Pune, I used to call her and ask the details of some recipe. Even today sometimes when I try my hand at some authentic bengali dish, I give her a call for the details.

Enough of boring with old stories.. Now coming to the recipe. It was first tried at Pune with leftover rice (courtesy my roommates). Everyone liked it, and even at Arlington.. Indians and Americans..

All you need is :

Left over rice ,

2-3 bread slices,

Chopped onion, green chillies , coriander

Salt to taste

little chaat masala

Mash the rice well. Cut off the edges of the bread. Soak them in water, take out and squeeze. Add to the mashed rice. Now add the chopped onion, green chillies , coriander. Shape the mix into cutlets. Shallow fry the cutlets.

The rice gives a wonderful crispiness. We can add grated carrots and little of nutrila(soyabean) granules to make it a healthier snack. If you are adding nutrila granules, soak the granules in boiling water for 2 mins and then squeeze out the water.

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