Malpua (Fennel Pancake)

Hi All,

Holi is just round the corner and from the part of the country I come, Malpua is a must on this day. I have always cherished this dish, though I must admit I am not a sweet tooth person but I like this mildly sweet and flavored with traditional fennel seeds Malpua.

Ingredients.

Khoya (Solidified milk) 1/2 Cup Maida (all Purpose Flour) 1/2 Cup Milk 500 ml Fennel Seeds 1- 1/2 Tsp Saffron few Strands Sugar 1 Cup Water 2 cups Ghee (Clarified Butter) 1 cup

Method

Grate the khoya.

Heat the milk and should be warm enough but not boiling. Add ½ cup to the grated Khoya and mix it well. All the lumps should disappear.

One you make a smooth paste add the flour/Maida. Mix it well. At this point your batter will become lumpy once again. Now keep adding little milk at a time and mix it well to make a fine batter. Ensure that the batter is of dosa/Pancake consistency. If you need little more milk (i.e. more than 500ml) add but ensure it’s of pouring consistency. If your batter is thick you will get a thick center and will not soak the sugar syrup well. So please keep an eye on the batter consistency. It should neither be runny nor very thick. 

Add the fennel seeds and let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

In the meanwhile make the sugar syrup. Bring the water to a boil and add the sugar. Let it boil.

You should take out few drops and check when cooled, the syrup should be slightly slimy and just about sticking your fingers when you pinch them. Once you reach this stage shut the heat and add the saffron strands to the syrup and let it cool.

Next you take a nonstick frying pan and add the ghee (clarified butter). Let the ghee heat up and now after reducing the flame pour the flour batter in small round shapes and let it fry. Flip it to the other side only when you start seeing brown edges around the corner.  PLEASE NOTE: FRY IT IN LOW FLAME ONLY OTHERWISE IT WILL NOT GET COOKED UNIFORMLY.

One more thing to check is; when you pour the batter on the pan, the Malpua (Pancake) should not solidify or thicken in the center. If so then your batter need to be thinned little bit by adding more milk.

Once the Malpuas (Pancakes) are fried remove them and cool them for few minutes and then dip them in the sugar syrup. Keep it dipped for 2 minutes only and then remove the Malpua (Pancake) and keep it aside where you want to store. At this point your Malpua (Pancake) will be crispy and you might feel the syrup is not soaked enough but the syrup which is already on the Malpua (Pancake) will get soaked.

Serve it garnished with slithered pistachios and almonds .

Always serve this dish hot and you can also accompany the same with some vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy your Holi with these mouth watering Malpuas.

Thank you

Dhokar Danla (Gram Flour Cake Curry )

Hi, since lots of my vegetarian friends wanted a veg dish this is especially for them.

The name of the dish might sound funny but it’s an amazing dish. This is a Bengali delicacy and is very typical vegetarian dish served in most of the Bengali families. This is a pure veg dish and can be eaten by Jains also as it does not have onion & garlic. Nonetheless the taste is not at all compromised.

Ingredients

For the Cake

Gram Flour                               :                       1cup

Turmeric                                   :                       ¼ tsp

Chili Powder                             :                       ½ tsp (or as per your taste)

Coriander Powder                     :                       ¾ tsp

Cumin Powder                          :                       ½ tsp

Assafoetida (Hing)                     :                       1/8 tsp

Salt                                           :                       to taste (but ensure little less)

Sugar                                        :                       ¼ tsp

Soda Bicarb                              :                       1 pinch

Garam Masala                           :                       ½ tsp (Please click on the link for the                                                                            recipe)

Water                                        :                       Read the recipe below

For the Gravy

Tomato                                      :                       1 large (grind to paste)

Ginger Paste                               :                       ½ tsp

Turmeric                                     :                       ¼ tsp

Chili Powder                               :                       ½ tsp (or as per your taste)

Coriander Powder                       :                       ¾ tsp

 Cumin Powder                           :                       ½ tsp

Whole Cumin                              :                       ½

Assafoetida (Hing)                      :                       1/8 tsp

Salt                                             :                       to taste (but ensure little less)

Sugar                                          :                       ¼ tsp

Garam Masala                             :                       ¾ tsp (Please click on the link for the                                                                            recipe)

Oil                                              :                       3-4 tbsp.

Method

Cake

Mix all the Cake ingredients together except for the water. Add water slowly so that you can reach the cake batter consistency, Beat it well. If you are using hand blender beat it for good 2 minutes. The batter should be smooth. Now oil a baking tin that fits in your pressure cooker or rice cooker. You can cook this in any appliance that has steam cooking.

Place the tin in the cooker and let it steam away for good 15-20 minutes. If you are doing it in a pressure cooker please do not use the whistle.

Once the cake is cooked, let it cool and then remove it in the same way you remove a cake from the tin. Make diamond shape slices and keep it aside.

Heat a non-stick pan and put ½ tbsp. oil. When the oil is heated you put the slices of cake and just fry them to slight brown. Keep the flame high as you just need to brown them and not cook. You might need to add more oil as the cake slices soak them very fast. So do not add too much of oil in one go. No need to deep fry. In this whole process of frying you might need maximum 1 tbsp. or 1 ½ tbsp. oil.

For the Gravy

Make a fine paste with tomato and ginger. Add rest all the gravy ingredients into it and run the grinder just 1 speed. All the ingredients will mix together.

In the same pan where you fried your cake slices, add rest of the oil.

Add the whole cumin seeds, let it splutter

Now add the tomato paste you made and reduce the flame immediately. You will get an amazing aroma of assafoetida (Hing)  along with the other spices. Keep frying it. Add water to the grinder where the paste was made and keep adding that water. Once you see the oil has come up add 1 – 1 ½ cup of water and let it come to a boil.

Just before serving line the fried cakes into your serving bowl and pour the boiling gravy on top of it. Let the dish stand for 5-10 mins and enjoy this dish with steamed rice or crispy paratha

Please note do not soak the cakes for long prior to serving or else it will all smash into a porridge.

P.S. You can add green peas or potato also to the gravy.

Thank you and enjoy a good pure vegetarian dish.

Garam Masala 2

Bengali Garam Masala

Ingredients

Green cardamom                        :        1tbsp.

Cinnamon                                   :        1 ½ (1 inch stick)

Cloves                                        :        5-6 nos

Method

Dry all the ingredients in the sun. Please do not roast…it will spoil the flavor. Keep it in the sun for 4-5 hours and then grind it to fine powder. Store it in an air tight container.

Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients

• Chicken                                                :               1kg
• Onion                                                   :               4 cups (thinly sliced)
• Ginger Paste                                         :               1 ½ tsp
• Garlic Paste                                          :               2 ½ tsp
• Tomato                                                 :               3 large (thinly sliced)
• Garam Masala                                      :               ½ tsp
• Biriyani Masala                                     :               ¾ tsp
• Coconut Milk                                       :               2 cup
• Green Chili                                           :               2 Nos (thinly sliced)
• Mint and Coriander leaves                    :               1 handful (finely chopped)
• Turmeric                                               :               ½ tsp
• Chili powder                                         :               ½ tsp or as per your taste
• Salt                                                       :               to taste
• Whole Garam Masala                            :   1 tbsp. (Black Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mace, black              pepper, nutmeg a very small pc.)
• Oil                                                         :                 3tbsp
• Basmati Rice                                         :                 2 cups

Method

Clean the chicken and keep aside.

Clean and wash the rice and keep it in a colander to drain all the water. Bring the water to boil (almost 4 times the rice, as we need to drain the water out so no need to be precise about the water.) Once the water starts bubbling away add the rice and let it cook till almost done. Just make sure it’s not smash. Drain the rice and spread it on a big plate or tray so that they stay separated.

Now in a thick bottom vessel heat the oil and add the whole garam masala. Let it splutter. Add the sliced onions and fry till they are golden brown. Now add the ginger and garlic paste and reduce the flame so that the mixture cooks slowly. After 5 minutes of frying add the turmeric, chili powder, and salt and garam masala. Cook for further 2 mins and add the chopped green chili. Fry the mixture and add the sliced tomatoes. Mix well and cover the vessel and let the mixture cook in the juice of the tomato for few minutes. Open the lid and stir occasionally. Keep doing this step till you see the oil floating. Now add the Coconut milk (I use the store bought you can also use home made) and mix well. Cook it further for 5 minutes. Now add the chicken pieces and increase the flame. So that the chicken is coated with the mixture and not braised. Once all the chicken pieces are coated with the masala. Cover it and cook for few for minutes till the chicken is cooked. It will leave its own water so please do not add water. If at all your chicken is totally dry and you feel it might get burnt add few tea spoons of water do not add too much of water.

Once the chicken is cooked sprinkle it with finely chopped mint and coriander and the drained rice. Cover the vessel once more but no need to seal. After about 7-10 minutes uncover the vessel and stir very lightly ensuring the rice is not smashed but the bottom of the vessel is also sticking to the chicken gravy. Do this once or twice and then shut the heat off and let the Biriyani stand in its steam for 10 minutes.

Serve it hot with some raita (curd and salad) or chicken Kebabs.

Garam Masala 1

Garam Masala 1

Ingredients

Coriander Seeds                                                :               2 tbsp.

 Cumin Seeds                                                    :               1 tbsp.

Black Cardamom                                              :               3-4 nos

Cinnamon                                                         :               1 ½ (1 inch stick)

Cloves                                                              :               7-8 nos.

Method

Put all the ingredients together and let it get crispy in the sun. Please do not roast them as the flavour of the masala will change. Put it under the sun for good 5-6 hrs. Grind them together to a fine powder and store it in an air tight container.

Biriyani Masala Powder

Hi All
Today I am sharing this biriyani masala which you can keep ready . You can use this for any  type of biriyani...Chicken,Mutton ,egg or veg biriyani .

Biriyani Masala Powder 

Makes - 1/2 cup

Ingredients Needed:

1. Cumin seed – 1 tsp
2. Shah jeera (Caraway seeds) – 1 tsp
3. Fennel Seeds- 1/2 tsp
4. Black Cardamom - 2
5. Cinnamon – 1 big stick
6. Cloves – 7 - 9
7. Green Cardamom – 5
8. Marathi Mogga (Kapok Buds) - 1(Optional)
9. Star Anise - 2
10.  Dagad Phool / Pathar Phool / Black Stone Flower - 3 -4 nos
11. Nutmeg,  – 1/4 tsp
12. Mace – 3 

Method

Roast the masala in the sequence as mentioned....

Start Roasting the Jeera first followed by rest of the ingredients and end it with mace. This is to ensure that the ingredients do not get burnt or over roasted. Ensure the heat is controlled so that you do not let any of these get burnt.

Once Roasted and starts leaving a nice smell...let it cool for sometime. Then grind it to fine powder and store it in an air tight jar.

Once you have this masala ready I will put up the biriyani recipe

Happy Cooking!!!!

Beef Pepper Fry

This dish I am sharing today can be made for snacks or can be eaten as dinner too.

It is very easy and yummy!!!!

You can replace the beef with mutton or chicken.

Ingredients

Beef (boneless)                                                           :               1 kg

Onion Sliced lengthwise                                               :               2 large

Curry Leaves                                                              :               1 cup

Green Chili (Slit lengthwise)                                         :               4-5

Garlic paste                                                                :               1 ½ tsp.

Ginger Paste                                                               :               ¾ tsp.

Turmeric                                                                    :               1 tsp.

Salt                                                                            :               to taste

Oil                                                                             :               2-3 tbsp.

Masala

Black Pepper                                                              :               2 tbsp.

Fennel Seeds                                                              :               2 tsp.

Cumin Seeds                                                              :               1 tsp.

Method

Clean the beef and cut into bite size pieces. Put it in a cooker add little salt and turmeric and pressure cook it for 15-20 minutes or till the beef is just cooked. Add very little water as the beef will leave water too and we want this dish to be little dry and not gravy. Do not make it tender at this point.

While the meat is getting cooked in a separate tawa/griddle roast the pepper and fennel till you start getting the roasted pepper smell. Once its almost done but not burnt add the cumin and give a final roast. Let it cool and dry grind the masala and keep it aside.

In a wok/kadai add oil .When the oil heat up add the onion fry till they turn slightly pink. Add the slit green chilis and ¾ cup curry leave and fry till the onion just starts to turn brownish. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for few more minutes. Now add the boiled beef and add little more salt ...you might need it .Taste and check. Start frying, if you have excess water in the cooker add them little by little and keep stirring the beef at high heat. When you see most of the water is absorbed add the grinded masala and stir for another few minutes to incorporate all the masala.

Add ½ cup water and the rest ¼ cup curry leaves and cover it. After 10 minutes almost all water will be absorbed and you should have a blackish dry gravy.

Enjoy this with Appamg or Idli. You can also have it with Malabar Paratha.

Thanks

Arpita

 PS: If you are doing this with chicken, do not pressure cook but follow all the other steps

                                                                                                                                                                

Bhindi Masala

Hi All

I am back again…have been away for many days….

Today I am going to share a recipe which I learnt from my colleague’s mom. I have learnt it some 12-13 years back but have not forgotten the recipe and I enjoy my Bhindi/Okra this way only. This dish used to be a delicacy in our office and yesterday when I reminded all my friends about it, they all got nostalgic about it. J So I thought of sharing the recipe with all

Ingredients

Bhindi/Okra                          :               500 Gms.

Tomato                                :               1 large

Potato                                  :               1 large

Turmeric powder                  :               ½ tsp.

Chili Powder                         :               1 tsp.

Coriander Powder                 :               ¾ tsp.

Dry Mango powder               :               ¼ tsp. (Amchoor)

Salt                                      :               to taste

Oil                                       :               2 tbsp.

Method

Wash and dry the bhindi/okra. Cut the two ends and slit it lengthwise in the middle till ¾ of the length.

Slice the potato and tomato in medium thickness.

Heat the oil in kadai/wok and add half the oil and fry the bhindi/okra till they turn brown and wilt slightly. Take it out and keep it aside. Add rest of the oil (as I remember aunty used to add lots of oil for the taste but weight watchers can reduce but please do not make this dish in drops of oil) and add the potatoes. Fry on medium heat till it gets brown edges. Now add the all the dry ingredients and fry for few seconds and add the tomatoes and cover it and let it cook on low flame. Uncover it and check the tenderness of the potato and by now the tomatoes must have become mushy. Once you see the oil leaving the gravy add the bhindi and mix it with the masala. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes for all the masala to incorporate. Serve hot with chapattis or parathas.

This dish is dedicated to all my friends with whom I have had one of the best time of my life...

Love

Arpita

Chicken Kheema

Hi All

I am back after a long time… hope you guys are enjoying…today I am going to share a very simple but extremely tasty recipe. This is all time favorite of my daughter, husband and my nephew and many friends.

You need just few ingredients and it’s the dish you can die for.

Its Chicken Kheema. Please note that the kheema /Mince that you buy should be reddish/pinkish in shade. The white ones will turn very dry and tasteless. I use Venky’s chicken kheema rolls but if it not available, just ensure that the color of mince/kheema is Pink/red

Ingredients

Chicken Kheema/Mince                                                    : 500 gms.

Finely Chopped Onion                                                      : 1 Cup

Garlic Paste                                                                     : 1 ½ tsp.

Ginger Paste                                                                    : ¾ tsp

Tomato Paste                                                                   : ¾ cup (freshly grinded)

Salt                                                                                 : as per taste

Chili powder                                                                     : as per taste

Green Cardamom                                                              : 3-4 nos.

Oil                                                                                   : 1 tbsp.

Method

Heat the wok/kadai, add oil . When the oil is heated up crush the green cardamom and put it in the oil. Add the chopped onions and fry till they turn pink. Add the ginger garlic paste and put the heat on low and fry for 5-7 minutes. Now add the freshly grinded tomato paste, chili powder and salt. PLEASE NOTE: NO TURMERIC POWDER. Cover the wok/kadai and let it simmer for some time. Stir in between. When you see oil starts leaving add the kheema/mince. Mix it well and cover. Do not add water. Kheema/mince will leave water on its own. Break the mince block in between and let it simmer for 10-15 mins. After 15 minutes just remove the cover stir well and let the water evaporate. Again you will see the mixture is leaving fat. Turn off the gas and enjoy this with Paratha, rice, etc.

You can use the same mixture for Kheema Paratha , Sandwich or cutlets.

Love

Arpita

Jhinga Postu (Ridge gourd with Poppy Seeds)

Hi All

It’s been a while, I have posted something vegetarian for my friends. You all must have heard about aloo postu (potato in poppy seeds) which is a famous Bengali vegan dish. Today, I am going to post something different with posto (poppy seeds). This is for people who want to avoid potatoes totally. This is made with ridge gourd which is known as Todi in Hindi, dodka in Marathi and jhinga in Bengali.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd                                                      : 250 Gms

Poppy Seeds (khus Khus)                                   : ¾ cup

Green Chili                                                        : 5 nos

Kalonji                                                               : ½ tsp.

Oil                                                                     : 3 tsp.

Salt                                                                    : as per taste

Turmeric powder                                                : ¾ tsp.

Method

Soak the poppy seeds for ½ hr. and wash it clean through a sieve. Then put it in a grinder, add one green chili and little water to make a smooth paste. Please do not omit the chili since it makes the poppy seeds (khus khus) go little bitter without it. Ensure there are no grains in the paste. Grind it really well.

Peel the ridge gourd clean and chop them in cubes, ensure they are not too small. Ridge gourd leaves lots of water and will become totally mushy once cooked. So ensure they are medium sized.

Now heat the kadai/wok. Add the oil and let it heat. Add the kalonji and once it starts spluttering add the ridge gourd. Add turmeric powder, fry it till it starts wilting. Now add the Poppy seeds’ paste and keep frying. DO NOT add salt at this stage. Let the water evaporate as much as possible. When the mixture starts sticking to the wok/kadai wall add the salt. Mix it well, add ¼ cup water, and add the whole green chili (you can split it if you want hot or leave it whole without the stock). This gives a flavour to the dish. Once it become thick remove from heat and enjoy it with steamed rice. It will not become too dry since ridge gourd is high in water content.

Enjoy your meal and do give me feedback once you have tried.

Love

Arpita

Bengali Mustard Fish curry

Hi All

Have been away for some time, hope you all are trying out my dishes. Today I am going to share Bengali fish curry…which is my personal favorite and lots of my friends who are non-Bengalis they like it too. Though I am using Eel (Baam) here you can cook this with any sea fish like seer (Surmai), catfish (Ayer), Muller (Sole)

This dish is made with mustard seeds. There are two types of mustard Bengalis use one is black and the other is yellow. I prefer the yellow one since it’s less pungent and tastes better.

Today I do not have photograph, will post once I get it.

Ingredients

Fish                                                                : 500gms

Mustard seeds                                                  : 2 tbsp.

Kalonji (onion seeds)                                         : ½ tsp.

Oil                                                                   : 3 tbsp.

Turmeric                                                          : 1 ½ tsp.

Salt                                                                  : as per taste

Green Chili                                                        : 2-3 split lengthwise, 1 whole.

Onion Chopped                                                  : 1 tbsp.

Garlic                                                                : 1 pod finely chopped (if small then 2)

Method

Clean the fish thoroughly, marinate with ½ tsp. turmeric and salt and keep it aside for 5-10 minutes.

Soak the mustard seeds for ½ hour and then grind it in a grinder with the whole green chili. Add little water while grinding so that it gets a thick paste consistency. Make the mustard paste smooth. Remove it from the grinder and add little more water so that the paste can be sieved. Keep the strained liquid aside and throw the residue.

 Now heat the oil in the wok, add the kalonji (onion seeds) let it splutter then add the chopped onions and garlic let it fry but do not let it turn brown. Add the fish and let them turn opaque, now add the strained mustard liquid, add turmeric and salt. Let it fry at high heat. Keep stirring gently so that the fish does not break. This way water evaporates and the oil leaves. Add water but not too much …you can add approx. ½ cup water, add the slit green chili and get it to boil on simmer. Once it’s boiled. Remove it from heat and serve hot with steamed rice.

Note: If you want to try with Rohu, Katla, Tilapia or any freshwater fish just omit the onion & garlic and follow all the other process.

Padval Jhinga

Hi All

Today I am going to share a Bengali prawn recipe. There is a myth that Bengali food is all about Kosha Mangsho (mutton in dry gravy) and prawns malai curry (prawn cooked in coconut milk), etc. There are lots of forgotten or lost recipe of Bengal which I am going to share. These recipes are simple and cooked with very less spices but extremely tasty. Since Bengalis eat lots of fish, they do include vegetables in them to make it wholesome.

Today I am sharing a recipe called Parwal Jhinga (Snake gourd with prawns.)

Ingredients

Padval (Snake gourd)                                                    : 500gms

Potato                                                                          : 1 large

Prawns (medium size)                                                   : 300gms

Onions                                                                         : ½ cup sliced

Turmeric                                                                      : ¾ tsp.

Chili powder                                                                 : as per taste

Salt                                                                              : as per taste

Oil                                                                                : 2 tbsp.

Green Chili                                                                    : 3-4 Nos.

Method

Peel and slit the snake gourd lengthwise, remove the seeds and cut into semi circles not very thick. Please refer to the photo.

Peel the potato and slice them as thick as the snake gourd.

Clean the prawns and devein them.

Now take a wok/Kadai and put the oil. Once the oil is hot add the potatoes, once they get slightly wrinkled and edges turn slightly brown add the onions. Put the flame low and fry till the onions become soft. Now add the snake gourd, turmeric, chili powder, salt and green chilies slit length wise. Stir well and keep the heat low and cover the wok/kadai. After 5 minutes you will see that snake gourd, has left water, if not then add few table spoons. Once the potato and snake gourd is almost cooked add the prawns and cover it for another 7-10 minutes. You will see the prawns curling up and turning white. Mix well in the mixture. Put the flame off but keep it covered for 10 minutes as a standing time for the prawns to cook thoroughly in its own heat.

This dish is supposed to be dry but can be enjoyed with steamed rice or chapatti.

Enjoy your meal and see how easy and soothing to eat as the spices are minimal.

Note: 

• You can avoid splitting the green chili, if you do not like it hot. You can add it without slitting and by only removing the stalk. Green chili gives a very fresh flavor.
• I use fresh prawns and they taste better than the frozen ones, but you can use the frozen ones.

Love
Arpita