Posted by Sudeshna on July 7, 2009
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.
Posted in events | Tagged: bengali cuisine, blog shifted, new home | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Sudeshna on June 30, 2009
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
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Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on June 12, 2009
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.
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Posted in Niramis(Vegetarian), Side dish | Tagged: 15minutes cooking, bangla ranna, bengali cuisine, bengali ranna, dal, dal bhat, dhal, easy cooking, food for pregnancy, iron defeciency, legume, legumes with onions, lentil, masoor dal, masur dal, niramis, peyaj diye dal, simple cooking, simple dal, vegetarian pulses | 3 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on June 5, 2009
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.
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Posted in Dinner, Egg, fish, Side dish | Tagged: fish egg, fish egg pakora, fry fish egg, macher dim, macher dimer vada, pakora, roe, roe balls, roe fry, vada | 4 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on May 22, 2009
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.
- Asha: Egg Jalfrezi
- Saritha: Egg Biriyani
- Saritha: Egg Curry
- Siri: Tex-Mex Migas
- Oriya Food: Sunday Ka Anda
- Radhika Vasanth: Egg Rava Dosa
- Aquadaze: Egg Curry
- Nivedita: Eggs and rice noodles
- Suma: Egg Chicken Fried Rice
- Pavani: Egg Salad Sandwich
- Lakshmi: Frittata with Vegetables
- Lakshmi: Plain Cake
- Sree: Egg Fried Rice
- Poornima: Chocolate Meringue Cookies
- Priyameen: Egg fried rice with toasted boiled egg on side
- Manjusha: French Toast
- Usha: Onion Egg Curry
- Shama Nagarajan: Sweet Bonda
- Radhika Vasanth: Beetroot Egg Fry/ Poriyal
- Radhika Vasanth: Spring Onions Egg Fry/ Poriyal
- Koshy’s Mostafa: Egg-In-a-Hole
- Sudha: Egg Spring Roll
- Padma: Egg Dumplings
- Padma: Egg Omellet Curry
- Malini: Egg Malai Curry
- Malini: Eggs in Milk
- Malini: Pizza Omelet
- Preeti: Anda Curry
- Meeta S: Porro
- Priyasuresh: Zucchini Scrambled Eggs
- Priyasuresh: Egg puffs
- Priyasuresh: Egg Kurma & Egg Masala
- Sanghi: Tomato Egg Fried Rice
- Sanghi: Egg Dhal Curry
- Sanghi: Eggs in tamarind gravy
- Pooja S: Kuku Sabzi
- Dharani Jagdeesh: Egg Keema
- Divya Vikra: Egg Fried Rice
- Nivedita Thadani: Nutty Egg Omelet
- JZ@Tasty Treats: Egg biriyani
- JZ@Tasty Treats: Egg Curry with Coconut milk
- JZ@Tasty Treats: Pineapple Fried rice
- 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:
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Posted in Egg, event | Tagged: blog event, Egg, event | 10 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on May 17, 2009
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.
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Posted in Chatni and Pickle | Tagged: aam, amer morobba, mango, morobba, pickles, raw mango | 1 Comment »
Posted by Sudeshna on April 26, 2009
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.
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Posted in Niramis(Vegetarian), potato, Side dish | Tagged: alu, alu posto, bangla ranna, bengali cuisine, posto, potato, potato in poppy seed paste | 5 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on April 13, 2009
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
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Posted in Niramis(Vegetarian), Side dish | Tagged: bengali curry, bengali kofta, garam masala, ghee, kacha kalar kofta, kalar kofta, koftar jhol, raw banana curry | 8 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on April 8, 2009
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.
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Posted in Egg, snacks | Tagged: bento box, chinese noodles, chow mein, chowmein, Egg, egg chowmein, egg noodles, kids food, tangra, tiffin, vegetables | 7 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on April 2, 2009
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., 30th April 2009 midnight IST.
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Posted in Egg, event | 34 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on March 20, 2009
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.
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Posted in Dinner | Tagged: easy cooking, easy to cook dinner, fried rice, kid food, microwave cooking, simple cooking, veg fried rice, vegetables, vegetarian | 13 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on March 11, 2009
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.
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Posted in Chatni and Pickle | Tagged: bengali chutney, bengali ranna, chatni with jaggery, chutney, gur diye chatni, jaggery, jhola gur, palm jaggery, tomato, tomato chutney, tomator chatni | 10 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on March 1, 2009
Posted in Chicken, Desserts, event, More to rice, Niramis(Vegetarian), Side dish, snacks | Tagged: bhaat, bhat, biriyani, bonda, Chicken, chicken pulao, chinese rice, Dinner, dosa, dudh puli, event, fried rice, harvest, medhu pakoda, More to rice, Niramis(Vegetarian), pakistani cuisine, pongal, pongal lemon rice, pulao, puli peethee, rice, ricem rice flour, Side dish, snacks. Tagged: khichdi, south indian cuisine, steamed rice ball, sundal, sweet, veg pulao, zuchini | 21 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on February 16, 2009
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
- Ambur Mutton biriyani from Ashwini of Ashwini’s spicy cuisine
- Bengal Royal Rice from Anushriram of Chandrabhaga
- Brown Basmati Egg Biriyani with Chickpeas from Anuvidya of And a little bit more
- Cheppi Surnalli from Namrata Kini of Welcome to Namu’s Kitchen
- Chicken Dum Biriyani from Dershana of The Footloose Chef
- Chicken Rice from Priya Sriram of Priya’s Sourashtrian Kitchen
- Chilli-Tangerine rice from Anushriram of Chandrabhaga
- Chinese fried rice from Dhanya of My Home Cooking
- Coriander Rice from Ashwini of Ashwini’s spicy cuisine
- Curd rice from Deepa Hari of Simple Home Cooking – from Deepa’s Kitchen
- Kadambam Rice from DK of Culinary Bazaar
- Lemon Rice from Ramya of Mane Adige
- Minced Chicken Pulao from Poornima Nair of Tasty Treats
- Mixed Vegetable Khichdi from Usha of Veg Inspirations
- Paal Pongal from Rajee of Simply Innocence
- Pakistani Chicken Biriyani from swapna Pravin of Cooking with Swapna
- Pongal from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
- Pongal, vadai and a tooth from Sunshinemom of Tongue Ticklers
- Puli Sundal from Chitra of Ratatouille – Any one can cook
- Recipe for Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash from Vnv of Veggie Monologues
- Rice Dosa and Koozh of Chitra from Ratatouille – any one can cook
- Sakkarai Pongal from Priya Suresh of Priya’s Easy N Tasty Recipes
- Schezeun Fried Rice from Poonam of Poonam’s Kitchen
- Tacos with Kidney beans, salsa and rice from Arch of The Yum Factor
- Tehari from Notyet100 of Asankhana
- Tondli Bhat from Usha of Enjoy Indian Food
- Undi (Steamed Rice Balls) from Namrata Kini of Welcome to Namu’s Kitchen
- Veg Dhum Biriyani from Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen
- Venn Pongal and Chakkarai Pongal from Smita Kulkarni of Dabbu’s Recipes
- 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 .
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Posted in Chicken, Dinner, event, More to rice, Niramis(Vegetarian), Side dish, snacks, Uncategorized | Tagged: bhaat, bhat, biriyani, chicken pulao, chinese rice, dosa, event, fried rice, harvest, khichdi, pakistani cuisine, pongal, pongal lemon rice, pulao, ricem rice flour, south indian cuisine, steamed rice ball, sundal, sweet, veg pulao, zuchini | 14 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on February 2, 2009
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.
Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on January 25, 2009
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.
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Posted in Desserts | Tagged: banana, banana fritter, chocolate, dessert for kids, easy dessert, healthy dessert, honey, kala | 4 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on January 23, 2009
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.
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Posted in Niramis(Vegetarian), Side dish | Tagged: bangla ranna, bengali ranna, chichingha, curry, dhunduli, paduvalakaayi, padwal, tarkari | 1 Comment »
Posted by Sudeshna on January 14, 2009
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.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: bihu, going home, lori, pongal, sankranti | 5 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on January 8, 2009
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.
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Posted in Dinner, Egg | Tagged: bangla ranna, bengali ranna, capsicum, chinese fried rice, egg fried rice, fried rice, potato | 4 Comments »
Posted by Sudeshna on January 7, 2009
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.
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Posted in Dinner, Side dish, snacks | Tagged: bengali, bengali cuisine, bengali ranna, cashew, cashew curry, cashew nuts, cottage cheese, farmer's cheese, guessing game, palak paneer, paneer, paneer bowls, paneer gravy, paneer in cashew and poppy gravy, poppy seed, spinach | 11 Comments »