New Home for Bengali Cuisine

As you all know I had been blogging here in wordpress.com site for the past fourteen months. With the gain in traffic and popularity, I thought of shifting the blog to a new location to Cook Like a Bong. You can find all the old entries of this blog at its present site.

Please update your Bookmarks, Blogroll and Feeds to the new address – http://bengalicuisine.net. I look forward to seeing you there.

Click for Stacks

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

While serving chutneys for dinner last night in my little steel chutney bowls, this idea struck me. The chutney bowls were lying in the kitchen drawer in a pile and I thought to send my first ever entry to Bee and Jai’s Jugalbandi for this month’s Click event  “Stack”.

The picture which I sent for the event and you can find the recipe for chutney here.

The features for the pic:

Camera: nikon D60

Metering: Matrix

Shutter: 1/40

Aperture: F5.3

Focal Length: 38mm

Exposure Mode: Program

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Dal Sukhno/ Dried Masur Dal

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

I have found that Masur dal post on my blog has become the most popular post. In most Bengali households masur or red lentil is the most important of all pulses served. Whenever there is some left out masur dal in the refrigerator my mom always makes the Sukhno dal (Bengali for dried pulses), though it can be prepared with fresh masur dal also. It is a best accompaniment of warm rice served at first of the meal. This preparation had been one of my favorite dishes in lunch. Its simple to cook and absolutely yummy.

Ingredients:

Masur dal (Red lentil): ½ cup

Onions (Peyaj): 2 medium sizes

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ½ teaspoon

Green chili (Kancha lanka): 2

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 2 tablespoon

Salt to taste and 3 cups of water

Preparation:

• Wash the masur dal well and cook as instructed here
• Simmer the dal for further 5 -6 minutes so that the dal gets absolutely dried up
• Serve with freshly chopped onions and mustard oil

My tip: While simmering the dal to dry, constantly stir it so that it doesn’t get stick to the bottom of the vessel.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Macher Dimer Vada

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

In most species of fish, when the fish bears eggs the taste of its flesh reduces, excepting for hilsa. Hilsa’s taste gets enhanced when it bears egg. There is a reason behind this. Hilsa comes to the sweet water, that is, it comes up to the river during monsoon, the egg laying season. The sweet water happens to have an effect on the taste and so the catch from the river is world renowned. Now, coming back to the other fishes; rohu looses its taste during the laying season. Anyways the preparations made out of the eggs are ecstatic.

Fish egg, what we generally call is not only the eggs themselves but it also contains parts of the matured ovaries of the fish, and is called roe. Roe is prepared in different ways in different parts of the world. It is widely used in Asia and Europe. While we Indians mainly fry the roe, people from Japan, Korea and parts of Asia like to have it raw as a side dish with rice. Roe is widely used as a topping over sushi. Roe is also seasoned with salt, lemon, onions, olive oils and pepper powder. In Greece it’s used as a dip. While roe from shrimp, cod, salmon, sea urchin, and many other kinds of fishes are used in preparation, I have used roe from rohu for this preparation.

Ingredients:

Rohu roe (Rui macher dim): 100gms, properly cleaned

Wheat Flour (Maida): 1 tablespoon

Onion (Peyaj): 1 medium size

Green chilies (Kancha lanka): 2

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 1 teaspoon

Rice (Chal): 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ½ teaspoon

Sunflower oil (Sada tel): for deep frying

Preparation:

• Chop the onions finely and mix with the mustard oil, keep for 5 minutes for the onions to soften
• Add all the ingredients excepting the sunflower oil to the softened onions and mix well. If required add little more flour to make the mixture firm
• Make small flattened balls of the mixture
• Heat oil in a wok or frying pan and deep fry the balls till cooked properly. Try putting a fork through the balls; if it comes out clean, the vada is fried.
• Take out of flame and place on a kitchen paper to soak out the excess oil
• Serve with tomato sauce and onions or also use it as an accompaniment with rice and dal.

My note: Macher dimer  vada tastes best when consumed hot, so prepare it just before eating.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Event for Eggs: RoundUp

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

To mark the first birthday of my blog I had announced the event for eggs. There were so many different recipes from so many of you. It was really good to get such nice and varied recipes from you all. There were certain recipes that I have never heard of. Thank you all for taking part in the event.

I received 43 recipes, and the links for all are listed below. The recipes are ordered in the way I recieved, the first one being mentioned first.

1. Asha: Egg Jalfrezi
2. Saritha: Egg Biriyani
3. Saritha: Egg Curry
4. Siri: Tex-Mex Migas
5. Oriya Food: Sunday Ka Anda
6. Radhika Vasanth: Egg Rava Dosa
7. Aquadaze: Egg Curry
8. Nivedita: Eggs and rice noodles
9. Suma: Egg Chicken Fried Rice
10. Pavani: Egg Salad Sandwich
11. Lakshmi: Frittata with Vegetables
12. Lakshmi: Plain Cake
13. Sree: Egg Fried Rice
14. Poornima: Chocolate Meringue Cookies
15. Priyameen: Egg fried rice with toasted boiled egg on side
16. Manjusha: French Toast
17. Usha: Onion Egg Curry
18. Shama Nagarajan: Sweet Bonda
19. Radhika Vasanth: Beetroot Egg Fry/ Poriyal
20. Radhika Vasanth: Spring Onions Egg Fry/ Poriyal
21. Koshy’s Mostafa: Egg-In-a-Hole
22. Sudha: Egg Spring Roll
23. Padma: Egg Dumplings
24. Padma: Egg Omellet Curry
25. Malini: Egg Malai Curry
26. Malini: Eggs in Milk
27. Malini: Pizza Omelet
28. Preeti: Anda Curry
29. Meeta S: Porro
30. Priyasuresh: Zucchini Scrambled Eggs
31. Priyasuresh: Egg puffs
32. Priyasuresh: Egg Kurma & Egg Masala
33. Sanghi: Tomato Egg Fried Rice
34. Sanghi: Egg Dhal Curry
35. Sanghi: Eggs in tamarind gravy
36. Pooja S: Kuku Sabzi
37. Dharani Jagdeesh:  Egg Keema
38. Divya Vikra: Egg Fried Rice
39. Nivedita Thadani: Nutty Egg Omelet
40. JZ@Tasty Treats: Egg biriyani
41. JZ@Tasty Treats: Egg Curry with Coconut milk
42. JZ@Tasty Treats: Pineapple Fried rice
43. JZ@Tasty Treats: Onion-omelette Sandwich with Mushrooms

Choose the best recipe you like, and note it in the comments below.

To see the photos of the recipes click on the photo below:

Event on Eggs

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Mango Marmalade

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

I love mangoes in any shape, any color, and any style. Mango marmalade, mango chutney, mango in dal, mango puree, mango shake, mango kulfi – you just name it and I know it’s my favorite. Start March every year, the markets are filled with the green raw mangoes. My mom prepares various types of mango dishes, and I devour them with pleasure. Mango marmalade is similar to all fruit marmalades, but it’s the best. In Bengal we have a saying; Mango is the king of all fruits; if you ask anybody to justify this they will give you a hundred and one reasons.

Ingredients:

Raw Mango (Kancha Aam): 2

Sugar (Chini): ½ cup

Red Chili (Sukhno Lanka): 3 – 4

Fennel (Mouri): 2 teaspoons

Sunflower or Vegetable oil (Sada tel): 1 tablespoon

Salt (Laban): 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

• Peel off and cut the mangoes into 3 inches longitudinal pieces
• Mix the mangoes with the salt and keep aside for half-an-hour, pat dry the mango pieces
• Heat oil in a wok, add the dry chilies, throw in the mangoes as the chilies start changing color
• Sauté the mangoes till the upper layer is partially hardened
• In another vessel pour in the sugar with 2 tablespoon of water and heat over low flame
• Add the fried mangoes to the sugar syrup and cook over low flame till the mangoes are soft and the syrup is almost dry
• Roast the fennel seeds and pour over the cooked mangoes
• Keep in an air tight dry container

Mango marmalade can be kept without refrigeration for almost a month, and if you keep it in the refrigerator till will stay longer.

Tips: Never use a wet spoon to take out the marmalade and always keep in air tight container

Enjoy the mango marmalade throughout the summer, it’s good for keeping yourself cool and is a good accompaniment at the breakfast table. Look for more updates on this blog, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating.

Sending this post to Srivalli’s Mango Mela ending July 10th, 2009.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Alu posto/ Potato in poppy seed paste

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

Poppy seed is an integral part of the platter in all Bengali households. Preparations with poppy seeds mainly include vegan dishes, but there are also some dishes where poppy seeds are used with fish or meat. The love for poppy seeds among Bengalis started hundreds of years ago. Alu posto is the most common form of poppy seeds use in Bengali cuisine, at times the potatoes are also replaced with ridge gourds, onions, aubergine, or even chicken.

The herbal concoction of the seeds is also beneficial in treating all kinds of nervous disorders. Apart from consuming poppy seeds in its raw form or toasted on bagels and sweet breads, a paste made from the seeds can be used as a poultice in obtaining relief from swellings and joint pains.  Finely ground powder made from poppy seeds can also be consumed to treat insomnia and diarrhea. Apart from adding flavor to food, poppy fields also present an added advantage of providing health benefits to the human body. It also supplies essential enzymes and fatty acids as a form of nutrition. In ancient days, athletes would consume or blend of poppy seeds with honey entwined to ensure strength and good health. The oil derived from poppy seeds is used in various cosmetic preparations for the head and skin as balms and conditioners.

Ingredients:

Potato (Alu): 4 medium sizes

Poppy seeds (Posto): 3 tablespoons

Nigella seeds (Kalo jeera): 1 teaspoon

Green chili (kancha lanka): 3

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ½ teaspoon

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 1 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Make a soft fine paste of the poppy seeds and keep aside
• Cut the potatoes into small square pieces
• Heat oil in a wok over low flame, add the nigella seeds
• Throw in the potatoes along with the turmeric powder, green chilies and salt
• Pour in about a cup of water and let the potatoes get half cooked
• Add the poppy seed paste and cook till the potatoes are well cooked
• Pour in water if necessary

Take out of flame and serve with rice or chapattis.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Kach Kalar Kofta/ Raw Banana Curry

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

Too much of work pressure these few days, so just thought of posting this recipe without writing long sentences. Cook it and enjoy it.

Ingredients:

Raw Banana (Kacha kala): 2

Potato (Alu): 2

Onion (Peyaj): 1 medium size

Bay leaf (Tej pata): 2

Cumin seeds (Jeera): ½ teaspoon

Cumin powder (Jeera guro): ½ teaspoon

Chili powder (Sukhno lankar guro): ½ teaspoon

Ginger paste (Ada bata): 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ½ teaspoon

Garam masala powder: 2 pinches

Clarified butter (Ghee): ½ teaspoon

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 2 tablespoon

Green chili (Kacha lanka): 2, chopped into small pieces

Corn flour: 2 tablespoon

Preparation:

• Boil the raw banana and one potato with a pinch of salt
• Chop the onion into small pieces
• Peel off the bananas and the potato, and mash well with a pinch of salt and turmeric, green chilies, ½ teaspoon ginger paste and corn flour
• Make small balls of one-inch diameter with the mashed mass
• Heat oil in a wok and fry the banana balls till golden brown, keep aside

• Cut the potatoes into eight pieces and fry for 4 – 5 minutes, keep aside
• Add the cumin seeds, bay leaves and sauté in the heated oil
• Throw in the half fried potatoes, ginger paste, chili, cumin and turmeric powder; pour in one cup of water
• Cook till the potatoes are cooked well
• Drop in the fried balls, add the garam masala and clarified butter
• Take out of flame after a minute

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Egg Chow mein

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

Chowmein has a very special place in my hard. It is not because of that I like all kinds of Chinese cuisine but it reminds me of my school days. Chowmein, and for that matter any kind of noodles was my favorite option for the lunch break at school. Everyday when I opened my tiffin box during lunch time, I wished that I had chowmein. When it comes to chowmein I love any type of preparation with it; be that with only vegetables, or with eggs, chicken, prawn, or even mixed. There was a restaurant in front of my school, and my only aim for saving my pocket money was to go there and have a plate of chowmein. When I was cooking chowmein the other evening lots of such memories encircled my mind. Just a plate of chowmein made me so happy. This was probably the best part of growing up; you just feel happy and contended with such little things.  We were five friends and we used to fight on that single plate and then fight over who\’s going to pay the bill for that month. Out of these four friends, I have contact with only one who stays in Maryland, USA. She called me up some days back and we were talking about our chowmein fights. School was fun and the little moments of happiness made it beautiful to recollect.

I went through some of the links in the web to know more about chow mein and people\’s love towards this platter. Wiki had lots of things to contribute to the cause. One sentence caught my eyes which said that the chowmein was introduced by the Chinese in Kolkata. That was something I had no clue, though I had had noodles at the China Town in Kolkata lots of times.

Ingredients:

Chow mein noodles: 2 whole packets

Cauliflower (Ful kopi): 1 medium bowl of small florets

Carrot (Gajor): 2 medium sizes

Green pepper (Capsicum): 1

Potato (Alu): 1 medium size

Onion (Peyaj): 1 medium size

Egg (Dim): 2

Sunflower oil (Sada tel): 2 tablespoons

Soya sauce: 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Cut the vegetables into thin one inch sized pieces
• Put in all the vegetables in a deep pan and half boil them
• Boil water in a pan and throw in the noodles, take them out just after 2 minutes so that the noodles do not become too soft
• Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and drop the eggs, add a pinch of salt; stir well to make scrambled eggs, keep aside
• Heat the rest of the oil in a wok, throw in the onions and fry till they become golden brown
• Throw in the half boiled vegetables along with salt. Fry till they become soft
• Add the boiled noodles and stir well so that the noodles get mixed with the vegetables
• Pour in the soya sauce and stir again
• Take out of flame, garnish with the scrambled eggs and serve with sauce of your choice

I had added cauliflower, potatoes, carrot and green pepper. If you like you can also other vegetable of choice. Along with eggs you can also shredded chicken or fried prawns. If you are a vegetarian then just leave out the non-vegan ingredients.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Announcing: Event for Eggs

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

One year back I had started this blog just in search of a new hobby. 365 days have passed and I am proudly celebrating my blog’s first birthday. I am very grateful to all my blog visitors for turning my hobby into a passion. I had been thinking of how to celebrate this special occasion, and after lots of thinking I thought of hosting an event to mark this special occasion.

Easter is just a fortnight away and the first thing that comes to mind hearing the word “Easter” is eggs. The main ingredient of the event is also eggs. Prepare any kind of food; be that starter, soup, main course, side dish or dessert; but eggs should be the main ingredient of the platter.

Send in your entries to bengalicuisine@gmail.com with the subject line: “Events for eggs” along with the following details:

Your name:

Your blog’s name:

Name of the recipe:

URL of the recipe:

A .jpeg photo of the recipe

If you want to send some of your archived recipes, just update the post with a mention of this event along with the link to this post. Please feel free to use the logo for the event.

Those of you who doesn’t have a blog please send in your entries in a word document file along with the photo of the prepared dish.

The last date for sending in all entries is the last of this month, i.e., 30^th April 2009 midnight IST.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Fried Rice in Microwave Oven

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

Today I thought of helping some people. The first thing that came to mind is those of my friends who are away from home in a completely different country and continent. Many of my friends are away for an onsite job to USA, UK and Australia. Many of them never ever have entered the kitchen, and then are in an absolute soup staying away from home and cooking their daily dinner. The fried rice I prepared is a very simple one. To make the task simpler I prepared it in the microwave oven.

Ingredients:

Rice (Chal): 1 bowl, 100gm

French Beans: 3 – 4

Carrots (Gajor): 2 small sizes

Cauliflower (Ful kopi): 2 -3 florets

Peas (Mator shuti): 1 tablespoon

Sugar (Chini): ½ teaspoon

Cashew nuts (Kaju badam): 5 – 6

Raisins (Kismis): 10 -12

Sunflower oil (Sada tel): 1 tablespoon

Cinnamon (Dar chini): 1 one inch size

Cardamon (Choto elaichi): 2

Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Wash the rice well keep aside for the water to drain out
• Cut all the vegetables into one centimeter sizes
• Break the cashew nuts longitudinally into halves
• Soak the raisins for 10 mins
• In a microwave safe deep vessel pour the oil, the cut vegetables and salt. Put it in the microwave oven and cook on microwave high (800 watts) for 6 to 7 mins
• Take the fried vegetables out and keep aside
• In another microwave safe bowl pour the rice and add 2 bowls of water, the rice to water ratio should be 1:2. Cook the rice uncovered for 10-12 mins on microwave high (800 watts)
• Add the vegetables to the cooked rice along with the sugar and mix well
• Cook on microwave high for 2 mins. Fried rice is ready to serve

Cooking fried rice in the microwave is a very simple task, so cook it and enjoy your dinner. Check out for more updates on this blog, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating.

Sending the recipe to Single Serving Recipe hosted by Spicy Rasam.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Tomato Chatni

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

It seems as if without a bowl of chatni Bengali platter is never complete. The little bowl of chatni at the end of any meal brings a fulfillment to the meal. Chatni, for those who are not so aware of this word, is a sweet serving prepared of tomato, ripe mango, pineapple, or for that matter any sour fruits and even dry fruits. Chatni is prepared in various styles in all Bengali households. The preparation also depends on the season; tomato for winter, ripe mango for the summers, or any seasonal fruits during its time. The main ingredient though a fruit it is often accompanied with sugar or jaggery for enhancing the sweetness of the dish.
The last time when I went home, mom gave me a whole jar of jaggery. I had completely forgotten about it, last night I was cleaning up the kitchen when I found this jar, and the first thing that came to mind was having it with milk and rice. I was thinking of what else to do with that, when I saw the tomatoes. The answer to my question was instantaneous; chatni is the best option.
I prepared it this way; you can prepare it in any way possible. I will try to post some other types of chatni on my following posts. The combination of jaggery and dry chili helps in increasing its shelf life to almost two days without refrigeration.
For this chatni the only spice used is panch phoron. Panch phoron, as the name suggests is a combination of five different spices; “panch”, meaning five and “phoron” is spice. Nigella, cumin, fenugreek, fennel, and mustard mixed in same proportions are used for preparing panch phoron. This combination of spices is an earmark of Bengali cuisine. It is  used in preparations like Khichudi and vegetarian dishes .

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Tomato: 6 medium sizes
Palm Jaggery (Taler gur): 2 tablespoon
Bay leaf (Tej pata): 2
Dried chili (Sukhno Lanka): 2
Cashew nuts (Kaju): 5 or 6, cut into small pieces
Mustard Oil (Sarser Tel): 1 teaspoon
Panch Phoron: ½ teaspoon

Preparation:

• Cut the tomatoes into quarters
• Heat oil in a wok, as it gets heated throw in the panch phoron and bay leaves
• When the panch phoron starts popping put in the tomatoes and red chilies along with the jaggery
• Add little salt and stir the tomatoes well, partly mashing them
• Let the tomatoes be cooked in low flame
• As the tomatoes softens pour in the cashew nuts and take out of flame

Tips: Do not add water for the tomatoes to cook, this will make the chatni taste watery, and that doesn’t feel good.

Check for more updates from my kitchen, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating

Sending this to SWC-Meals on Wheels hosted by Lakshmi.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Harvest: The Festival of Rice: Roundup Part II

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

With many types of rice, it really took me long to come up with the round-up. I would like to thank Hema and Easy to Cook for sending so many recipes for the event. Please let me know if I have missed out any of your recipes. You can see the first part of roundup for this event here.  SGD of  Whims and Wishes also wrote some words about this Harvest festival, and she was very kind to share her thoughts with us.

1. Bajji’s Platter from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
2. Bisi Bela Bhaat from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
3. Bisibelabath from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
4. Black-eyed peas pulao from Asha of Aroma Hope
5. Brinjal Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
6. Capsicum Rice from Shama  of  Easy to Cook Recipes
7. Carrot Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
8. Cauliflower Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
9. Chenna Pulao from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
10. Chicken biriyani from Shama of Easy to Cook Recipes
11. Chilli-Tangerine rice from Anushreeram of Chandrabhaga
12. Cilantro Rice from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
13. Cocnut Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
14. Coconut Milk Vegetable Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
15. Dil se pulao from Sindhura of Bay Leaf
16. Doodh Puli Peethe from Sunanda of Sunanda’s Kitchen
17. Garlic Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
18. Healthy Geen Rice/ Pudina Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
19. Iyengar’s Poliodharai from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
20. Keshari Bhaat (Sweet Saffron Rice) from Sanika of  Sanika’s Spicy&Tangy….Sweet&Yummy!!!!
21. Khasta Kachori from Naveeta of Zaayeka
22. Kondakadalai Sadam/ Red Chana Dal Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
23. Lemon Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook  Recipes
24. Lemony Lemon – A Tangy Tasty Masala Bath from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
25. Medhu Pakora from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
26. Mint Magic (Pudina pulao) from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
27. Mishti Pulao from Aundhuti of Gourmet Affair
28. Mor Koozh from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
29. Multiprotein Rice from Shama of Easy to Cook  Recipes
30. Mushroom Pulao from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
31. Paruppu Keerai Dosai from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
32. Pasta Pulao from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
33. Patishapta from SGD of  Whims and Wishes
34. Peanut Cup Rice from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
35. Poha from EC of  Easy Crafts
36. Prawn/Shrimp Pulao of Homecooked
37. Puliyothaai/ Tamarind Rice from Shama of  Easy to Cook Recipes
38. Puttu~Steamed Rice Cakes from Poornima of Tasty Treats
39. Rice Ball Kheer from Sanika of Sanika’s Spicy&Tangy….Sweet&Yummy!!!!
40. Rice Uppma from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
41. Sharkara Payasam from Poornima of Tasty Treats
42. Shazani biryani from Sindhura of Bay Leaf
43. Spongy Dosa with yum yum coconut from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
44. Tomato rice from Sindhura of Bay Leaf
45. Vegetable Bonda from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
46. Vegetable Pulao from Poornima of  Tasty Treats
47. Vegetable Rice from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
48. Venpongal from Shama of Easy to Cook Recipes
49. Wholesome Moong kichadi from EC of Easy Crafts

With so many recipes, it’s really hard to choose which one is the best. But still, it’s on you to select the best. So go ahead and choose your best recipe and write it down as a comment for this post.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Harvest: The festival of Rice: Round up Part I

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

I am so sorry that I was not able to post the round up for the event. Thanks to all for sending me those wonderful recipes and also for being patient. Everyday of the last month I got so many mails for the event. All the mails had so many different kinds of recipe. To tell you the truth the first time when the idea of this event struck I was not at all aware that I’ll get so many different types of recipes with rice or rice flour as the main ingredient. This is really unbelievable.

Here goes the first part of the round up for Harvest:  The Festival of Rice

1. Ambur Mutton biriyani from Ashwini of Ashwini’s spicy cuisine
2. Bengal Royal Rice from Anushriram of Chandrabhaga
3. Brown Basmati Egg Biriyani with Chickpeas from Anuvidya of And a little bit more
4. Cheppi Surnalli from Namrata Kini of Welcome to Namu’s Kitchen
5. Chicken Dum Biriyani from Dershana of The Footloose Chef
6. Chicken Rice from Priya Sriram of Priya’s Sourashtrian Kitchen
7. Chilli-Tangerine rice from Anushriram of Chandrabhaga
8. Chinese fried rice from Dhanya of My Home Cooking
9. Coriander Rice from Ashwini of Ashwini’s spicy cuisine
10. Curd rice from Deepa Hari of Simple Home Cooking – from Deepa’s Kitchen
11. Kadambam Rice from DK of Culinary Bazaar
12. Lemon Rice from Ramya of Mane Adige
13. Minced Chicken Pulao from Poornima Nair of Tasty Treats
14. Mixed Vegetable Khichdi from Usha of Veg Inspirations
15. Paal Pongal from Rajee of Simply Innocence
16. Pakistani Chicken Biriyani from swapna Pravin of  Cooking with Swapna
17. Pongal from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
18. Pongal, vadai and a tooth from Sunshinemom of Tongue Ticklers
19. Puli Sundal from Chitra of Ratatouille – Any one can cook
20. Recipe for Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash from Vnv of Veggie Monologues
21. Rice Dosa and  Koozh of Chitra from Ratatouille – any one can cook
22. Sakkarai Pongal from Priya Suresh of Priya’s Easy N Tasty Recipes
23. Schezeun Fried Rice from Poonam of Poonam’s Kitchen
24. Tacos with Kidney beans, salsa and rice from Arch of The Yum Factor
25. Tehari from Notyet100 of Asankhana
26. Tondli Bhat from Usha of Enjoy Indian Food
27. Undi (Steamed Rice Balls) from Namrata Kini of Welcome to Namu’s Kitchen
28. Veg Dhum Biriyani from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
29. Venn Pongal and Chakkarai Pongal from Smita Kulkarni of Dabbu’s Recipes
30. Zucchini rice from Anushriram of Chandrabhaga

Go ahead and comment on your most loved recipes. I would love to know about your comments.

Check out the other parts of the round up, till then Happy Cooking and happy Eating .

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Late in posting roundup

Hi All,

I am very sorry to keep you waiting for the round up of Harvest: The festival of rice event. I have hurt my hand a couple of days back, and not able to move it as there is a small crack. So please bear and I’ll put it up as soon as possible.

Banana fritter with chocolate

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

In Bangalore you’ll see lots and lots of banana stalls. I think it’s in whole of South India that you find so many varieties of bananas everywhere. Just today one of my friends who came back from Kerala said that out of the 22 species of banana that are found in India 21 of them grow in Kerala. That is something note worthy. Having bananas everyday has made me repulsive towards this fruits so thought of a little variation.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Bananas (Kala): 4

Honey (Madhu): 2 tablespoon

Chocolate cubes: 3 or 4

Sunflower Oil (Sada tel): 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a flat pan or tawa
• Slice the bananas longitudinally into halves, gently place the half cut bananas on the tawa and fry till it changes color
• Place them on a serving plate and pour in the honey
• Grate the chocolate cubes with a cheese grater and serve immediately or chilled

Though not tested, I presume it will be a good treat for the kids who hate to have bananas. Look for updates here, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Chichingar Tarkari/Snake Gourd Curry

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

Snake gourd to me is a very peculiar type of vegetable. Its white and green stripes and more than 2 feet in length, it really looks quite similar to the reptile from which it has taken its name.

Snake gourds on sale (Courtesy: Flickr)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Chichingha (Snake gourd):  200gms

Peyaj(Onion): 1 medium, fiely chopped lengthwise

Ginger paste (Ada bata): 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 1 tablespoon

Kancha Lanka (Green chilli): 1

Preparation:

• Cut the snake gourd lengthwise into two equal halves.
• Chop the halves into thin semi circles and remove the seeds if any.
• Heat the oil in a wok
• As the oil becomes piping hot throw in the onions, saute for 30 seconds
• Add ginger paste, turmeric powder and season with salt.
• Toss a few times so that the spices get mixed with the vegetable
• As the vegetables start drying add 1/2 a cup of water and cook for 5 minutes under cover
• Remove the lid and add water if necessary within those 5 minutes
• When the snake gour becomes tender take it out of flame

Snake gourd curry is a good side dish for rice and roti both. The cooking time may vary depending on the age of the vegetable.

Look for more updates here till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Mama I’m coming home

After a long long time I am going home. Though the stay is only for 5 days, I’ll be back to Bangalore on Monday with lots and lots of recipes from my mom’s kitchen. If I can I’ll post a couple of posts within these few days. Have a great Sankranti everybody.

Egg Fried Rice

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

No much of a prelude, all I want to put up is my version of the Chinese egg fried. Yesterday, when I came back home from office all tired and repulsive to get inside the kitchen I cooked this up. I used these vegetables because I only had those at home, if you like you can also add small florets of cauliflowers, beans and even some cashew nuts and raisins.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Long grain rice (Basmati chal): 1 cup

Carrot (Gajor): 2 medium sizes

Onion (Peyaj): 1 medium size

Capsicum: ½

Potato (Alu): 1 medium size

Egg (Dim): 2

Cinnamon (Dal chini): 1” size

Green cardamon(Choto elaichi): 2 -3

Cloves (Labongo): 2 -3

Bay leaves (Tej pata): 1

Sunflower oil (Sada tel): 3 tablespoons

Sugar (Chini): 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Wash the rice properly, take it in a boiling pan; cover with water. See to it that the water level is at least one inch above the raw rice. Boil covered for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the rice is cooked. Pour in extra water if necessary. Once the rice is done, drain out excess water.

• Spread the cooked rice over a plate or baking tray and let it cool
• Heat 1 teaspoon of  oil in a frying pan, beat the eggs with salt. When the oil is heat, pour in the egg and scramble it while frying. Keep aside
• Chop all the vegetables into very fine half inch size pieces
• Heat rest of the  oil in a wok, add the cinnamon, cloves and green cardamom. Add the vegetables when the spices start popping. Fry over low flame till the vegetables are well cooked
• Add the rice and sprinkle salt and sugar
• Toss everything so that the rice gets mixed well with the vegetables
• Take out of flame when the rice becomes piping hot, and garnish with the scrambled egg

Fried rice tastes well with non-vegetarian dishes like egg curry, chicken-do-peyaja, or any kind of meat dishes. Those of you who like the vegan part of the platter can try it out with cauliflower curry, dum alu, or anything of your choice. I had it with cauliflower manchurian that my neighbor gave me. I didn’t use clarified butter (ghee) for the frying part, but you can use it, it enhances the taste.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Palak in Paneer Bowl

We’ve moved to own domain name – bengalicuisine.net. You can follow me on Twitter, visit my Flickr photostream.

So the guessing game was fun. Thank you all for the comments. Yes, you all have guessed it right the main ingredients were paneer (famer’s cheese) and spinach. Here goes the recipe for the yummy and delicious recipe from my mom’s kitchen.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For making the paneer bowls:-

Farmer’s cheese (Paneer): ½ kg

Wheat flour (Maida): ½ cup

Spinach paste (Palak shaakh bata): 1 large bowl

Garlic (Rasun): 10 -12 cloves, chopped finely

Ginger paste (Ada bata): 1 teaspoon

Sugar (Chini): ½ teaspoon

Turmeric powder (Halud guro): ½ teaspoon

Chilli powder (Sukhno lanka guro): 1 teaspoon

Sunflower oil (Sada tel): 5 tablespoons for frying

Salt to taste

For making the gravy:-

Cashew nuts (Kaju badam): 30 gms

Poppy seeds (Posto): 100 gms

Green cardamom (Choto elaichi): 3-4

Cinnamon (Darchini): One 1″ size

Cloves (Labango): 3-4

Green chili (Kanch LAnka): 3 – 4

Sunflower oil (Sada tel): 1 tablespoon

Preparation:

For making the paneer bowls:-

• Take the paneer, wheat flour and salt in a large bowl and knead well to make dough. The dough shouldn’t be very soft, depending on the water content of the farmer’s cheese.
• Make two inch diameter spheres from the dough
• Using your hand make them into small bowls to hold the spinach
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok
• As the oil becomes piping hot sauté the onions in it
• Throw in the chopped garlic and ginger paste just as the onions turn golden
• Add the spinach paste when the oil starts separating from the sautéed spices
• Put in the turmeric and chili powder along with salt and sugar
• Fry till the spinach gets dry
• Take it out of flame and let it cool down completely
• Take a large tablespoon of the fried spinach paste and put it into the paneer bowls
• Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the fried spinach paste filled paneer bowls in batches
• Drain the excess oil using a kitchen paper

The fried bowls are an ideal snack for any evening party, or you can even use it as a starter along with tomato sauce. Read on if you want to make it into a curry.

For the curry:-

• In a mixer grinder put in cashew nuts, poppy seeds, green chilies and ½ cup of water, make it into a smooth paste
• Heat oil in a wok and throw in cinnamon, cardamom and cloves
• As they start popping pour in the poppy paste along with salt and sauté till the oil starts leaving
• Carefully add the fried farmer’s cheese bowls to the gravy and cook uncovered for 5 minutes
• Take out from flame and serve with rice, paratha or roti

This dish was a instant hit among all my relatives when my mom cooked it for the first time. Though a little tedious and take almost 1 hour to prepare from the raw materials to the dining table, but the outcome is worth all these hard work. Look for more recipe here, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating .

Also this recipe is heading for the EFM-Savouries hosted by Srilekha.

You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader