HCF: Bengali dishes

Showing posts with label Bengali dishes. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Aloo Bhaja , Baigan Bhaja and Spring Onion Pulav - Book Review

This is a very interesting post. It's about book review by fellow blogger Rinku Bhattacharya who blogs at Spice Chronicles. She has few books already published and when she got this one out, The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles, she asked me if I can review her book and I was always fascinated by Bengali cuisine, well who is not, who can say no to Spongy rosogulla or soft sondesh. And everyone loved their Bhaja so I grabbed that opportunity and here I am. There are a lot of vegetarian options and I was so confused about what to make and finally, I decide to do three dishes which can be served as a diner.

I made Aloo Bhaja ( means fried Potatoes) Bhaja means fried, Fried Eggplant and Spring onion pulav. In her book, she explains everything in details so you can understand the history and culture of Bengali cuisine too. I know about bhaja but the spring onion pulav was something new for me. I was little hesitant to make that not knowing how it will turn out but the flavor was amazing. You never know that garam masala and other spices go this well together. In the future, I will prepare a few more dishes from this book that's for sure. In these recipes, you have to use mustard oil for the authentic taste.

Ingredients for Aloo Bhaja

2 large potatoes
1/2 Tsp Turmeric
Oil for deep frying or shallow frying, whatever you choose, I did shallow fry.
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp Rice flour - it is not in the book but I like the crispness of the flour and masala don't get burnt.

Method:

Peel the potatoes and cut in half and then cut into thin matchstick sizes.

Wash thoroughly in plenty of water. Dry the potatoes. and rub them in salt, pepper and turmeric and rice flour mixture.

Heat some oil in a pan. Fry the potatoes till they are done and make sure it's not burnt.

Ingredients for Bhaigan Bhaja (Eggplant Fry)

4 Medium eggplant
1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp salt or as per taste
1 tbsp Rice flour
Mustard oil for deep/shallow fry

Method :

Cut the eggplant into rings. Roll them into masala.

Heat oil in a pan, add eggplant in the oil and fry for about 2 minutes on each side. Don't overcrowd the pan, finish eggplants in batches.

When it's done, take it out on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Spring onion Pulav - Ingredients :

1 tbsp. Ghee
1 cup chopped spring onions
1 cup of rice
1 tsp garam masala
2 or 3 whole bay leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Method :

Heat the ghee in a pan, add the onion and cook till its soft.

Add the garam masala, bay leaves, turmeric, salt, sugar, rice.

Mix it nicely. add enough water to cook the rice.

Bring to a boil and then cook covered on low heat for 20 minutes.

Shut off the heat and let this rest for 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.

Serve hot with any curry dish but I made a meal out of my bhaja.

Her book

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Chanar Payesh ( Bengali Style Cottage cheese Pudding)

Beginning of this year , I promised myself that I will try to explore East Indian cuisine more, because I was borned and brought up in West, had very heavy influenced of South and North Indian Food. So East Indian delicacy just stop at Ras malai and Sandesh or say sweets only . Thanks to blogging other cuisines doors also open.

So I had some milk which gone bad so I made paneer out of it. And was thinking what to make out of this one cup of paneer, didn't wanted to make savory, and just finished my ricotta rasmalai and it taste was still on my tongue so I just searched the Google about this and find this dish. I saw two recipes and both were totally different, so I just use my gut feeling about this dish and basic idea and make this one. It taste just like rasmalai but crumble one , but boy, it was heavenly dessert. If you have not enough paneer to make ras malai , I suggest please make this one and you will love it.

Ingredients :

1 cup fresh Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese)
1/2 can condensed milk (start from half , add more as needed)
6 cups Whole milk
nuts as per your choice, I used almond and pistachio
pinch of cardamom powder

TO make paneer, take 1 gallon of milk, after one boil add vinegar / lime juice in it and mix it, separate the whey and cheese , strain the whey thru cheesecloth and hang the cheese so water get out. If you are making sweet dish out of paneer make sure you washed paneer so no sourness left inside. otherwise your sweet dish will ruin.

Method:

Heat a heavy bottom pan, add milk in it and boil it till it becomes thick. Stir it continuously so it doesn't stick at the bottom.
Add condensed milk and check the sweetness and add more if you need.
Add nuts and cardamom powder and mix it.
Add crumble paneer in it and cook it on low flame for only 3-4 minutes because you don't want your milk to curdle.
Take it out in container and when its completely cool, put it in freeze and serve chilled as it is or with ice cream.

Don't cook more after adding paneer because it might curdle your milk, so thicken the milk before you add paneer in it.

you can use any flavor in it, add saffron, rose water, kevra water, any nuts. Go nuts for the flavoring.

Make sure you wash the paneer before use it and drain it completely too.

It will thicken more once its cold, so don't thicken the milk too much , otherwise add more milk.

Swathi's event hosted by Sathya
Gayathri's WTML event and
Swathi's hearth and soul blog hop
recipeoftheweek-26th April to 2nd May
Kids Delight hosted by PVR Blog
1st anniversary celebration event by cookclickdevour , my favorite recipe from her blog is Mango saffron smoothie, cause i am a big mango fan.
Eat your veg and Banger Mash chat
Raksha's Kitchen: Contest Announcement - Indian Dessert Recipes, 2 People To Win Flipkart Vouchers sponsored by zoutons.com and collegedunia.com.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Instant Microwave Rice kheer

I just love instant dessert, now I have a habit of eating something sweet after dinner. My usual stock was done and that day before I start my diner I was thinking about my dessert. Had a big bowl full of rice, having it since two days and not in a mood to eat it now so thought why not to make instant kheer and that too in microwave. Because rice is already cooked so I don't have to heat up pan and stand in front of gas and do all those things. So made kheer in microwave, when it's cold , put it in fridge, by the time I was done with dinner, it was nicely cold and thick to enjoy it. So whenever you have little rice leftover, thinking what to do, make this and enjoy.

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. Cooked Rice
3 Tbsp. sugar or as per taste
1 cup of full fat milk
1/4 cup Heavy cream
As per your choice Almonds, Cashew, Pista
Few strands of Saffron

Method:

In a microwave safe bowl, add rice, sugar, milk and heavy cream.

Mix it gently.
Put it in microwave for 2 minutes, stir it at one minute and put it back.
When its done, add nuts and saffron and mix it again.

Keep it out till its cool down.

Once its cold, put it in fridge, at least one hour is good.

Take it out when its nice and cold, have it as it is or I just put a dollop of whipped cream and cherry on the top and enjoy it .

If you are fond of warm one, you don't need to fridge it.

ecipeoftheweek | A Mummy Too

Zesty South Indian Kitchen - Tasty Recipes From All Over The World

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Rasgulla | Sweet Cottage Cheese balls in Sugar Syrup

Who don't like and who don't make this one? Everyone right. But this is foolproof recipe as per me to get soft and spongy rasgulla. Well this is not first time I am making this but before that I experiment with Chocolate Rasgulla in Brown Sugar Syrup and Rabdi Rasgulla but never gave you recipe of regular rasgulla. To write down seems like long process but believe me, I was done in less than hour from start to making paneer to put it in sugar syrup. Actually happened that, after coming back from grocery, I didn't had space in the fridge to put old milk gallons, Oh ya, I made this from regular Indian store / Supermarket whole milk. I don't buy any special milk so. Milk was about to expired and was not in the mood to keep the whole gallon jar just because I had little bit of milk in it or didn't wanted to keep it out in glass. So instantly made paneer out of it and in 20 minutes made balls and put them in lite syrup and then little thick syrup and enjoy it next day till its chill. Done. My paneer was not even a cup , so just had 11 or so balls but it is more than enough for two of us because kids won't even touch it. If you don't want this, just made rabdi and squeeze water out of it and add it in milk and you have rasmalai.

Ingredients for Paneer balls

1 cup of fresh paneer (make paneer and wash it thoroughly and leave it for 20 minutes and then start mashing it with your hands)
pinch of saffron - optional

Take the paneer and add saffron and mix till nice balls form up, just take not more than 15 minutes. Make balls and keep it aside.

Ingredients for Light Sugar Syrup:

Since I had not much balls, I made very less syrup. but for large quantity you can take 1 cup sugar and 4-5 cups water and boil it with pinch of cardamom powder or just one whole green cardamom. Add balls in it , if you have too many balls , make it in batch . After adding balls, just cover it and let it cook for 15 minutes. Take it out and put it in cold water.

In that leftover syrup, add 1/4 cup more sugar and cup of water and let it boil and make sugar to dissolve. Once sugar is dissolve, shut off the gas. Once the syrup is cold, add the balls , after squeezing water , into that syrup. Leave it overnight for best result or 2-3 hours in fridge to chill.
Enjoy it once its chill.

Don't throw away that syrup, use it in your coffee or tea or where ever you use sugar. Best way to use up any sugar syrup is , make sweet shakarpara, instead of melting sugar, you already have it, just add it in flour, make a dough and make diamonds and cut it and fry it.