Niramish Ghugni....Veg Peas Curry...No onion...No Garlic...!!!

       

During my childhood days, I used to see that Maa cooked everything separately for Thamma(My Grandma),as she was a widow and didnt want to eat any non-veg preparation,didnt even touch them. Not only that Maa prepared her food in a different"Unun"(oven),using completely different cooking utensils which are typically used to cook the vegetarian foods only.So,anybody can highly imagine what type of restrictions were there in my family and later when thamma was died,Maa continued  the tradition of cooking the vegetarian dishes  for us very often and nevertheless to tell that the taste was just amazing.

One thing, I highly believe that  A good recipe and the highest quality ingredients can only be transformed into a beautiful dish once it gets the Midus touch of the cook.Similarly,after my repeated trials I cant still bring the wonderful taste of a dish like Maa.It's the magic of her hand,with which only using very small quanity of simple ingredients ,her all the preparations become heavenly deliciuos,specially in case of the purely vegetarian dishes.I have hardly seen her to use garlic except ,chicken or mutton.

Anyways, I followed her recipe to prepare this "ghugni" or "dry green peas curry" on a Friday, which we maintain as a purely vegetarian day at my home. But during the preparation I faced a small problem. Although as per my mom’s recipe I should have used sliced and chopped coconut, but I found it putrid in my fridge and couldn’t  able to use it .So,  I decided to use a little coconut milk in place  of chopped coconut. I ought to mention that the result was surprisingly good and I would like to prepare it again in the same way.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Dry Green Peas: 1 cup

• Potato: 1 (medium,diced)
• Coconut Milk: ½ cup
• Ginger paste: 2 tsp
• Cumin powder: 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds: 1/2tsp
• Bay Leaves:2
• Dry Red Chillis: 2 pieces
• Red chili powder; ½ tsp
• Cloves: 2 pieces
• Cardamons:2-3
• Cinnamon Stick: 1-2
• Garam masala powder: 1/2tsp
• Turmeric Powder:1/3 tsp
• Salt:As per taste
• Sugar: 1/4 th tsp
• Mustard Oil:2-3 tbsp.

Process:

• At first soak the  dry peas at least for 3-4 hours(over night soaking will be much better).Then use a pressure cooker to boil it with water and little salt.Normally in pressure cooker 2 whistles in medium flame are enough to boil the peas.But be careful so that the peas are not over cooked.
• Now drain the excess water,using a strainer.
• Then wash peel and cut the potato in small cubes.

• Now mix the ginger paste and the cumin powder in 1 tbsp of water and keep it aside  for atleast 10 minutes.
• Take a large pan or deep bottom vessel ,add 2 tbsp of  mustard oil ,in medium flame add the whole garam masalas,cinnamon stick,cloves and the cardamons.
• Fry them little for 1-2 minutes.
• When the aroma comes out add the cumin seeds,dry red chilli and the cumin seeds.
• When the cumin seeds start to sputter add the potato cubes.

• Fry them with little turmeric powder and salt until golden brown in colour.
• Now add the mixtyre of the ginger and  the cumin paste.
• At this time, add salt,a pinch of turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
• Mix all the spices very well in medium flame and cook them until the oil starts to release at the sides.

• Now add the boiled peas and mix thoroughly with all the spices.
• Check the seasoning, add little sugar and the coconut milk.
• Let it come to boil, if needed 1/2 cup of water may be used.

• Check whether the potatoes are properly boiled.
• Cook until your desired consistancy,normally ghugni has a medium thick gravy.
• Adjust the sugar and salt .
• Sprinkle little garam masala powder.
• Garnish it with chopped cucumber,carrot,lime juice and dry roasted masala of your choice.
• Serve it with luchi, paratha or naan,even I like it with puffed rice(muri) also.

  

                                                 Enjoy Your Food..!!!

Tiranga Paratha....!!!!

        Tiranga Paratha....Paying A Special Patriotic Homage to all the Freedom Fighters of India...!!!

Being  Indian,we used to celebrate our Independence Day,Republic Day or any other National days in different styles and emotions.But mostly,we ,the home-makers used to spend these days in the usual way,inside the kitchen. Instead of being restricted within the daily meals, I think, we could do something new and in this way we could also pay a homage to our country and our Freedom Fighters,The Real heroes. I think in this way I could spread the feelings, emotions and importance of these days to my little daughter as well.


Anyway,I should come to the point now.Tiranga Paratha is a very simple,easy and interesting preparation and yes,it's really good to taste also.


Ingredients:

• Frozen Peas:1/2 cup(fresh peas will also work perfectly)
• Carrot : 1 large
• Salt:As per Taste
• Dry Roasted Cumin Powder:2 table spoon
• Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp
• Sugar:A pinch
• White Oil
• Flour(Maida)

Process:

• At first using a mixer blender make a soft paste of the peas.
• Peel off and chop the carrot and same as above, make its paste too.
• Put a pan in the oven,add little white oil and add the carrot paste first.
• Add 1tsp of dry roasted cumin powder,a pinch of chilli powder and salt and a pinch of sugar and mix the carrot paste very well with all the spices.
• In the medium flame stir it well,until the paste become tight.
• Keep it aside.
• Now in the same pan add little more oil and the peas paste.
• In the similar way add 1 tsp of dry roasted cumin powder,a pinch of chilli powder and little salt and sugar according to your taste.
• In the similar way,when the paste becomes tight(dont make it too hard) remove it from oven and keep it aside.
• Keep the both paste in two different bowls.

• Now take three different medium sized bowl.
• Add 1/2 cup of flour in each of them.
• Now in your first bowl add the carrot paste,1tsp white oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
• Now make a soft dough with your hands.
• Avoid making it too hard, a little water can also be added if required. Keep the saffron color dough aside.
• Now in your second bowl of flour add the peas paste,1 tsp of white oil and 1/2 tsp of salt.
• Make a soft dough which would be of green color and keep it aside.
• While making the green dough also, a little amount of water can be added.
• Now take your third bowl of flour, add the oil and the salt in the same way to make a soft white dough.
• Three different coloured doughs are now ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

                        

 

                                  

• Now take  rolling pin and board.
• Take equal quantity of dough from each of the bowls and arrange them horizontally  as per the sequence of colours in our National Flag.
• Use some dry flour to make it non-sticky and with the help of the rolling pin roll it and  give it a rectangular shape.
• Using a knife cut it properly and give it a flag shape.
• You can make a circle in the middle of it which represents the "Chakra" of our National Flag.
• In this way,make few more parathas.
• Use little white oil / butter / ghee and fry the parathas well.
• Serve it with Achar,Dahi or any Sabji of your choice.

                                                    Enjoy Your Food......!!!!

Tiranga Pulao...Tricolor Pulao...!!

                                  Tiranga Pulao.....!!!!

Though our country, India gained independence on 15th August,1947 but before 1950 it was the colony of Britain. It was 26 th January, 1950 when indian people realized the actual sense of freedom from British Rule. 26 th January, Indian Constitution was officially enforced and India was declared as a sovereign ,secular and democratic nation. Dr Rajendra Prasad took the solemn oath as the first president of Independent India. 





The main Republic Day Celebration is held in the National Capital.,Delhi , at the Rajpath before the President Of India. Ceremonious parades take place, on this day which are performed as a tribute to India.

But now the question is , are we using our freedom in a right way nowadays? Are we, the common people staying safely in this country? I know, this is a food blog and I shouldn't go through all these controversial topics but I think even when are celebrating our 63rd anniversary of Indian Constitution we are still not independent in the actual sense.

Anyway, my daughter is only 4 years old and she only knows the colours of our National Flag and nothing else .I know at this age I can't make her understand what republic day means but just to help her to remember the day I made this Tiranga Pulao, specially for her, which in one hand would be nutritious, very interesting to look and on the other hand would help her to remember the date,26 th January, when mommy prepared this for her only.Though the basic idea was not mine. I saw it somewhere before but I made this completely in my own way.

It's a very simple yet delicious recipe.I would suggest ,try this on a very special day at your home and surprise your beloved ones.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Long Grain Basmati Rice:2 cups
• Water:3 cups
• Ghee:3-4 Table Spoon
• Dry Fruits: Handful.
• French Beans: Chopped(1/2 cups)
• Garam Masala Powder: 3 tsp
• Powdered Sugar:1/2 cup(you may use normal sugar too)
• Salt:As per your taste
• Whole Garam Masala:3 Cinnamon Sticks,8-10 cloves,3-4 Cardamons
• 1/2 cups of frozen peas:Make a paste
• 1/2 cups of shredded carrots:Make a paste.

Process:

Process:

• Take the rice in a large microwave oven safe bowl,add 2-3 cups of water, two table spoon of oil,1/2 tsp of garam masala powder.
• Put it inside the microwave oven and heat it on full power upto 20 mins.
• It will boil the rice 70% .
• Remove the rice from the microwave and drain the excess water using a large stariner and now spread the rice over a flat large plate and let it dry for some time.
• One thing I must mention here that,to save time I used to make rice for polao in microwave,you easily make it in the normal way using gas oven.
• Now using a mixer grinder make a paste of the peas and keep it aside.Dont use much water for making the paste.
• In the similar way,make a paste of the carrot.
• Now divide your rice in three equal parts.
• It will be best if you can use three different pans or kadai for the preparation.
• In the first Kadai,add little ghee ,1/3 rd of the dry fruits(Raisin,Cashews),and 1/2 of the whole garam masala and saute it 2 minutes.
• When the aroma comes out add 2-3 table spoon of your carrot paste and mix very well.
• When the carrot paste becomes little dry add 1/3 rd of the rice.
• Stir it very carefully so that the grains of the rice ramain intact.
• You will see that the Rice grains soon take the colour of the carrot and will be of saffron colour or orange color.
• Now add little salt and sugar and taste to adjust.
• Sprinlkle little garam masala powder on it and give quick stir carefully and keep it aside .
• This is will make the saffron part of the tricolor polao.

• Now in the same pan or in a different pan,add little ghee,the whole garam masala and the dr fruits again and in the same way,after the aroma comes out add the peas paste.
• When the peas paste becomes little dry,add another portion of rice.
• Carefully stir it and soon the greenish grains of rice you will be able to see.
• Adjust sugar and salt.
• Sprinkle garam masala powder.
• In this way ,the green portion is also ready and keep it aside,

• Now it's time for the white rice.
• In the same way,in the same pan or in a different pan add little ghee,whole garam masala and the dry fruits.
• Afetr the aroma comes out add the french beans and fry it little.
• Now add the last portion of the rice.
• Stir it carefully for few minutes.
• Add little salt and sugar and adjust the sweetness and saltiness.
• Add the garam masala powder.
• Now the white rice is also ready and keep it aside.

• Now it's time to serve the rice.
• Take a clean and dry bowl.
• Add some amount of Saffron rice in it and to make the first layer press it little with a spoon.
• Now to make the second layer add the white rice,almost in the same amount and press it again.
• For the third layer add the peas rice and press it little.
• Now invert the bowl in the serving plate.
• Or it can be served in a flag shaped form,as I have shown in picture.
• The Pulao is simply delicious.
• Serve it with your favorite curry or salad.

                                           Enjoy Your Food....!!!

Kesariya Rasogolla...!!!

                                       

 

Like all other bengali people,I just love  to eat rasogolla to celebrate my every occasion,every special moment.And by the way,why am I writing only about the bengali people,I know very well even all the non bengalis also love to eat it.But here,in Mumbai,my experience of getting sweets is literally bad.They charge lot more than the usual price and yet the taste is not at all good,especially in case of rasogolla ,rasomalai etc.


Though I have a high chance of being Diabetic in my later life period due to my family history and our house physician  uncle used to warn me repeatedly but sometimes I just cant get rid of my "Sweet Tooth".What can  I do,bengali sweets are so good in taste that anybody can become addicted to it easily.:D


But here in Mumbai, Bengali sweets are not very easily available or what you get here are not so good as in Bengal. This is the reason for which I tried to start making sweets at home. This time I made rasogolla with the flavour of saffron. I must say, it is not less than any store bought rasogolla and even it can beat the taste of any famous sweet shop. Please don't think that I am praising myself  , try it once at home and you will also start  to love it.

The recipe of Saffron Rasogolla is as follows.


Ingredients:

• Full Cream Milk(I used full cream milk but low fat milk will be perfect too):1 lt
• Vinegar:2 table spoon
• Saffron:2-3 pinch(soaked them in a table spoon of warm milk)
• Water:4 1/2 Cups
• Sugar:1 1/2

Procedure:

• Boil the milk at low temperature.
• While boiling add the vinegar and stir it .
• Your milk will start to curdle and chena(chhana) will be formed after few minutes.
• When you will see a greenish diluted water which is easily separating  from chena,then it's done. 
• Now using a muslin cloth drain the water and wash the chena under the running tap water .If you are using lime juice to prepare chena,this wash will remove all the lemony taste or smell.
• Now tied the two ends of the muslin cloth tightly and let it drain all the excess water for atleast 15-20 minutes.And at this time you may put a heavy weight on thr muslin cloth for better draining.

• Now mash the chena using your palm on the kitchen slab or cuttlery board till it’s very smooth and creamy and  has absolutely no lumps.
• Remeber the mashing chena is the most important step of making rasogolla because the quality of this sweet depends on its smoothness ,sponginess.

• Add the Saffron milk while mashing the chena.
• The chena will turn into lovely yellow(saffron)color and the smell will be wonderful also.

• Now Divide the chena into equal parts. With your palm  give them nice and even ball shape
• The balls should have no cracks otherwise it may break off during boiling
• .It makes about 10 pieces of rasogolla of equal sizes.
• Keep one thing in mind that these ball will be double in size after boiling in sugar syrup.So prepare the balls in that respect.
•  Now make  sugar syrup using the sugar and water in the exact quantity mentioned. The syrup should not be thick and will be on the thinner side. This is very important.

• Then add the prepared balls in this syrup,cover it tightly with a lid and let it boil for 20 -25 mins.

• As the rasogollas  will be almost double in size after boiling ,choose a boiling pan of a big size so that after increased in size they can easily play around in the sugar syrup.

• Now remove the pan from heat.
• Your Rasgulla is ready.
• Serve it hot or chilled. 

                                          Enjoy Your Food...!!!


 

Cauliflower and Prawn Curry(Fulkopi diye Chingri r Jhol)

         

 Cauliflower and Prawn Curry(Fulkopi Diye Chingri r Jhol)...!!!!!

Prawns are always very special in my house,as we love to eat them,Basically it's rare to find people who dont love prawns,except those who are allergic to them.Prawns are something,which can increase the taste of any curry or preparation,in a magical way.Whenever,I see that any vegetable cant make enough good taste by itself,I used to add few fried prawns in them,believe me,the taste becomes ten times better.
Specially,the cauliflowers and prawns have a very close relation to each other.Maa used to cook this preparation more freqently in winter season,due to the easy availability of cauliflowers .The test is far better than the simple cauliflower curry.

Following her recipe I used to prepare it at my home.There is nothing difficult in this recipe.It's a simple and usual preparation.

Here is the recipe:

 Ingredients:

• Cauliflower:1 small
• Potato:1 large(diced)
• Medium Sized Prawns:250 gm
• Onion:1 large(thinely sliced)
• Ginger:1''(make paste)
• Garlic Cloves:4-5(paste)
• Tomato:2 small(chopped)
• Turmeric Powder:1 tsp
• Chilli powder:I used a pinch,you can use as per your choice.
• Salt/Sugar:As per taste
• Garam Masala Powder:1 tsp
• Whole Garam Masala:1 Cinnamon Stick,2-3 Cardamons,2-3 Cloves
• Bay Leaves:2-3
• Mustard oil:5-6 table spoon(any other veg oil/canola oil or white oil may also be used)
• Water:2cups

Preparation:

• Wash and peel the prawns,except the tail(if you want you may keep the heads also),and marinate them with little salt and turmeric powder.
• Add little oil in a kadai and lightly fry the prawns till nice pink in colour and keep them aside.

• Remove the florets of the cauliflower,wash them and fry them in little oil till yellow in a kadhai with little salt and turmeric powder.Keep aside.
• Do the same thing with the peeled and diced potatoes also.Fry them till golden brown in little oil in a kadai with salt and turmeric powder.Keep them aside.
• Now add little more mustard oil in your kadhai,add the whole garam masala  and the bay leaves.
• When the nice aroma comes out add little sugar,fry till brown.
• Add the garlic paste and saute 1-2 minutes.
• Add the chopped tomatoes.
• When the tomatoes become mushy add the onion slices.
• Mix very well.
• Add little salt,turmeric powder,chilly powder and mix well.

• After 2-3 minutes,add the ginger paste and coo kvery well until oil separates.
• Now add your fried potatoes and the cauliflower florets.

• Mix them with all the spices.
• Add water and cover and cook.
• After about 10 minutes,open the cover and check whether the potatoes and cauliflower florets become soft and boiled.
• Now add the fried prawns to the curry and cook few minutes until the prawns are done.
• Now adjust the gravy as per your desired consistancy.If you want to make your curry more liquid you may add little more water but must check salt and sugar again.
• Now,when your curry comes to your desired cosistancy turn off the flame.
• Sprinkle little garam masala powder and serve with hot rice.

                                                           Enjoy Your Food....!!!!!