Mexican Crispy Tortilla Bowl.....

This recipe is excellent for any dinner party and can be served as a starter. The tortilla bowl is made out of whole wheat flour. The bowl is served with vegetables and kidney beans salsa. It is topped with cheese sauce and garnished with grated cheese. 

For making the Whole wheat Tortilla Bowl

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup Whole Wheat flour 

3 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste 

Method 

Add oil and salt to the flour. Mix it well. Add water to make a semi hard dough. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. Take a big mixing bowl. Grease the outer side of the bowl with oil and keep it upside down. Apply oil to the dough and roll out a big circle. Gently pick up the rolled dough and place it on the bowl properly. Cut the extra dough off. Place the bowl on the lower rack of the oven. Bake it at 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes in a preheated oven. Remove the bowl from the oven. Switch on the gas. On medium flame, hold the bowl at one end with a napkin and cook the outer covering of the tortilla from all the sides. This will give a roasted effect. Reduce the temperature to 150 degrees celcius and bake it till it becomes crispy and brown for  approximately 15 minutes . Remove it from the oven.  

P.S. You can use the remaining dough to make another small bowl. 

 

For the easy quick Cheese Sauce

Ingredients 

1 or 2 Cheddar Cheese cube grated 

1 1/4 cup  Milk 

1 tbsp All Purpose Flour 

2 tbsp Butter 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder 

Method

Take a pan, add the butter. Let the butter melt. Add flour, stir and cook the flour until light pink in colour. Add milk and keep stirring it continuously. Add salt and pepper powder

 Stir it and cook the sauce till it thickens a bit. Keep it aside. 

For the Vegetable Salsa

Ingredients 

1 cup boiled Kidney beans 

1/4 cup of each Vegetable chopped mentioned below......

Red, Yellow and Green Capsicum 

Cucumber 

Red Cabbage 

Onion

Spring Onions 

Tomato 

2 Green chillies chopped 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder 

1 tbsp Chilli Mango sauce (Optional )

1 tsp Lime juice 

1 tbsp Olive oil 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl. Add all the above ingredients and mix it well. 

To Assemble 

Ingredients 

Tortilla Bowl 

Vegetable Salsa 

Cheese  sauce 

Few Drizzle of Chilli Mango sauce ( Optional ) 

2 tbsp grated Cheddar cheese for garnishing 

Method 

Take the tortilla bowl. Add the vegetable salsa in the bowl. Drizzle few drops of the chill mango sauce. Pour the warm cheese sauce on top and garnish it with grated cheese. Serve it.

Maccher Dopiaza / Fish Dopiaza....

Dopiaza means 2 onions. It is a  South-Asian Curry dish. This dish was accidentally innovated in the kitchen of Mugal Emperor Akbar. This dish is very popular in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and is adapted as per the communities living in that place. 

The onions are used in two stages. It is prepared with a large amount of onions, once caramelised and another with onion paste. This dish is usually made with non vegetarian ingredients mainly meat,but now a days vegetarian Dopiaza is also made. A souring agent is added to the dish.The other ingredients which are used are meat, onions, ginger and garlic paste, whole spices and powder spices. 

Here I have made Fish Dopiaza in Bangladeshi style. I have used Katla Fish. Any other fish like Rui, Prawns,Telapia,Bhetki can be used to make this dish. I have used tomatoes, but it can be replaced with curd or both can be used in equal proportion. 

Ingredients

8 pieces of Katla Fish marinated with 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder and Salt. 

1 tbsp Ginger - Garlic and Green Chilli paste 

1 small Onion paste

3 medium size Onions cut into thick sliced 

2 medium size Tomatoes cut into thick sliced or 1/2 cup Curd or 1 Tomato and 1/4 cup Curd 

2 Green Chillies silt

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder 

1/4 tsp or more Red Chilli powder as required

1/2 tsp Sugar 

Salt to taste 

2 Cloves

1 Green Cardomom

1 small stick Cinnamon 

5 to 6 Peppercorn 

2 Bay leaves 

Mustard Oil for Frying the Fish 

4 tbsp Oil taken from the same oil in which the fish was fried 

or Ghee for the Gravy 

Method 

Take a pan, add oil and heat it till the smoking point. Reduce the heat. Fry the fish pieces till light golden brown in colour. Remove the fish pieces and keep it aside. Remove the excess oil from the pan leaving 3 tbsp of the oil or ghee can also be used. Add the cardomom, cinnamon, cloves and pepper corn. Sauté it till it crackles. Add the green chillies and bay leaves. Sauté it for another few seconds. Add the sliced onions, sauté it for a minute, add the sugar. Sauté it till the onions become pink in colour. Add the onion paste and ginger - garlic - chilli paste. Sauté it for 2 minutes till the masalas starts to separate from the oil. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder,coriander powder, pepper powder, garam masala powder and salt. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes or curd, stir and cook for 2 minutes till the tomatoes become mushy. Add a cup of water and let the gravy simmer for a minute. Arrange and place the fried fish in the gravy. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the fish pieces and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve it hot with hot steam rice or paratha. 

Kesari Badam Bahar Sandesh Roll...

Sandesh is a sweet delicacy of Bengal. There are different types of Sandesh which are made with the key ingredient Chana / Cottage cheese. This recipe here is an experiment in my kitchen. The outer covering is made with cottage cheese while the inner roll is made with almond powder which is infused with saffron and saffron colour. You get 2 different taste which is the chana / cottage cheese taste from the outer covering and the kesari badam barfi taste from the inner roll and 2 put together the taste is divine. This sweet can be served to friends and family during festive season and since Diwali is next in line, do try it and have a joyous and sparkling Diwali.... 

For the Kesari Badam Bahar Barfi / Inner Roll

Ingredients 

100 grams Almond powder

2 tbsp Milk masala ( 1 tbsp Pistacho powder, 1 tbsp Almond powder, 1/4 tsp Cardomom powder, 2 pinch of Saffron crushed )

6 tbsp Sugar 

2 pinch of Saffron colour 

1/4 tsp Saffron 

1/4 cup Mava / Khoya 

6 tbsp Milk 

Method 

Take a non stick pan, add khoya, stir it continuously for 2 minutes on low flame. Add sugar and stirring it continuously, cook till the sugar dissolves. Add the almond powder, stir and cook for a minute, add 2 tbsp of milk and mix it. Add another 2 tbsp of milk, saffron, saffron colour and milk masala. Stir it and cook it for a minute. Add the remaining milk and cook it till it forms a soft dough. If required add a spoon or 2 of milk. To check, take a little portion and try to roll it. It should form a ball. Take it out, cover and keep it aside. 

For the Sandesh / Outer Roll 

Ingredients 

Home made Cottage cheese made from 1 1/2  litre Milk ( whey has to be completely drained out ) 

6 to 8 tbsp Sugar 

Method 

Mash the cottage cheese well. No lumps should remain. Take a non stick pan, add sugar, stir it on low flame for few seconds. Add the cottage cheese, keep stirring and cooking for 5 to 7 minutes till the sugar and cottage cheese combines well and starts to leave the sides of the pan. Remove it, cool the mixture a bit and add it in a grinder and pulse it 3 to 4 times. It will be come a smooth soft dough. 

To Assemble

Method 

Take a plastic sheet, put the cottage cheese dough on the sheet. Cover the dough with another plastic sheet. Roll the dough into a disc. Remove the top plastic sheet. Take the inner stuffing and shape it into a long cylindrical roll. Place the roll on the edge of the cottage cheese disc. With the help of the plastic sheet, start rolling the cottage cheese disc around the inner stuffing. It will become a cylindrical roll. Keep the roll in the fridge for an hour. Remove it and cut it into disc. Decorate it with edible sliver foil / chandi ka warq

 ( optional ). 

Tomato Khejur Aamshottor Chutney.....

Sweet chutney is a must have Bengali delicacy enjoyed at the last course of the meal with papad. There are various types of chutneys which are served for meals during celebrations and festivals. Tomato, date and dry mango pulp chutney is one of them. It can be kept for approximately 2 months in the refrigerator in a glass bottle. It is so scrumptious that it can be enjoyed with paratha, roti, luchi or just eaten like that. It is aways better to make it a day before as the taste enhances as it is stored. 

For the Spice Powder 

Ingredients 

2 tsp Panch Phoran ( Equal portion of Nigella seeds, Celery seeds, Feaugreek seeds, Fennel seeds and Cumin seeds) 

Method 

The seeds are dry roasted and ground to powder. 

For the Chutney 

Ingredients 

250 grams Ripe Tomatoes cut into pieces

1 tsp Ginger minced or paste 

1 cup of Dry Mango pulp / Aam Papad pieces 

1 cup of Dates / Khejur cut into pieces 

1/2 cup of Raisins / Kishmish

1/2 cup or more Sugar as per taste

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Salt 

1/2 tsp Panch Phoran 

2 Dry Red Chillies 

2 Bay Leaves 

2 tbsp Mustard oil 

Method 

Take a wok, add oil and heat it well. Add the Panch phoren. Let it crackle. Add the dry red chillies, bay leaves and ginger paste. Sauté it for a minute. Add the tomatoes. Stir it, add salt and turmeric powder. Stir it, add the dry mango pulp, dates and raisins. Stir it and cook it for 2 minutes. Add the sugar, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water, stir, cover and cook till all the ingredients combines together and it becomes mushy. Add the panch phoran powder. Mix it well. Let it cool. Serve it with any meal. 

Butterfly Fried Prawns....

This is a Chinese style Butterfly fried Prawns. It can be served as a starter. Eat it hot and enjoy the crispy fried prawns with any sauce of your choice.

For Marinating the Prawns

Ingredients 

12 Medium or Large size Prawns

2  tsp  Garlic Cloves minced 

1  tsp Ginger minced

2 tbsp Soy sauce

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

Method 

Shell the prawns, leaving the tails. Slit the prawns lengthwise cutting through the back, leaving a think layer of meat till the tail. Add the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper powder to the prawns and mix it. Let it marinate for 1 hour. 

To Fry the Butterfly Prawns 

Ingredients 

Marinated Prawns 

1 Egg beaten with a pinch of Salt 

1/4 cup Corn Starch 

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs 

Oil for deep frying 

Method

Take a pan, add oil and heat it. Dip the marinated prawn into corn starch. Then dip the prawn into the beaten egg. Coat the prawn with bread crumbs. Fry the prawn properly until it is golden brown in colour and crispy. Remove and keep the fried prawn on an absorbent paper. Repeat the same process with the remaining prawns. Serve it hot with sweet chilli sauce or any sauce of your choice. 

Mutton Liver Roast.....

As Goddess Durga has already left for her home.. for Bengalis Bijoya Dashami begins. Family and friends get together... adda and feasting continues. Mainly non vegetarian dishes are cooked like Mutton Curry and Mete (Goat Liver) Chorchori  and are served with Rice or luchi and lastly sweet delicacies are served.

This time I tried a different dish instead of Mete Chorchori.. 

It is a semi dry dish and can be served as starters or can be served as side dish with Roti, Paratha or Luchi. Spiciness can be added as per your choice.

Ingredients 

500 grams Mutton Liver cut into pieces 

2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Chilli paste 

1 Onion paste 

3 Onions sliced 

4 Garlic cloves crushed 

2 Green chillies cut lengthwise 

1 Tomato sliced 

2 Bay Leaves 

Salt to taste 

3/4 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

3/4 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

3 tbsp Ghee

1 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped for garnishing 

Method 

Take a pressure cooker. Put the liver pieces, onion paste, ginger - garlic - chilli paste, salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder in the pressure cooker. Mix it and let it stand for 1 hour. Close the lid of the pressure cook and cook it till 4 whistles or until cooked. Let the pressure release, open the lid and keep the cooked liver in a bowl. Take a wok. Put ghee. Let it heat up. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaves. Let it crackle. Add the crushed garlic and sliced onions. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the green chillies. Stir fry it for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onions are brown in colour. Add the cooked liver. Stir it for a minute. Add the remaining turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the sliced tomato. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

Desi Veggie Pizza Spoons.....

This is a delicious desi.. vedeshi.. bite size snack.. It can be served as starter too. The filling can be made with any vegetable like capsicum, onion, potato, mushroom, baby corn etc. Infact any type of filling can be added  like you can make cheesy pavbhaji spoon or keema spoon or dabeli spoon.. The choice is yours. I am sure children will love it.. Try it and you will love it too... 

For the Pizza Dough 

Ingredients 

500 grams Whole Wheat Flour

Salt to taste

1sachet Instant Yeast

1 tbsp Sugar

1 cup Lukewarm Water

2 tbsp Olive oil

Method

Take a mixing bowl. Mix flour, sugar and yeast. Add the salt. Mix it. Add water little at a time and knead the dough. Stop adding water as the soft dough is formed. Keep kneading the dough for 5 minutes. Add 1 tbsp oil and continue to knead for 5 minutes more. Stretch the dough and see. If the dough is stretchable then it is done. Take a bowl, add the dough and apply oil on it. Cover and let it rise. Meanwhile while make the filling. 

For Making the Desi Veggi Pizza Filling 

Ingredients 

1 Onion chopped 

3 Tomatoes chopped 

1 Capsicum chopped 

2 tbsp  Garlic cloves minced 

4 Mushrooms chopped 

1/4 cup Fresh Corns

( More vegetables like baby corn, red and yellow capsicum can be added )

1 tsp Sugar 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1 tsp Kitchen King Masala powder or Curry Powder 

1/2 tsp Dried Basil Leaves

3 tbsp Olive oil or any vegetable oil 

Method 

Take a pan, add oil. Let it heat. Add the garlic and onion. Sauté it till it is light brown in colour. Add the chopped capsicum and corn. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, chilli powder, basil leaves, curry powder or kitchen king masala powder. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushroom. Stir and cook further for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water. Stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes. The filling should not be liquid. It should be semi dry. Keep it to cool. 

For making the Pizza Spoon 

Ingredients 

Pizza Dough

Filling

1 cup Pizza Cheese grated or Mozzarella cheese and Cheddar cheese mix 

1 tbsp Olive oil 

Dried Oregano or Dry Italian Herbs to sprinkle 

Method 

Take the dough. Punch it and knead it for a minute. Make big lemon size balls. Grease the soup spoons. Take one dough ball. Roll it out in to long oval shape. Spread the dough out on the steel soup spoons. Press it well to aquire the desire shape of the spoon. Cut the excess dough out. Repeat it with the other remaining spoons. With the help of a fork, prick the dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Take some foil paper and make lime size balls out of it, place the foil balls below the handle of the spoon , this will give support to the spoons. Add a tbsp of the filling into each spoons. Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake it at 180 degrees celcius for 20 minutes or till the bread turns light brown in colour in a preheated oven. Remove it from the oven. Let it cool. Remove the edible spoons very gently and separate it from the steel spoons. Sprinkle dry oregano or Italian herbs and serve it hot.

Achari Sattu ki Puri...

Most of the time oil and the masala from the pickle remains back. This comes to me quite handy when I want to make a quick spicy dish. Just add some spoons of it to the vegetable or meat or fish and it gives a achari flavour to it. Today I have made Achari Sattu Ki Puri using this achar masala. This Puri is quite flavourful and can be eaten with a cup of tea or accompanied with some potato bhaji. 

Ingredients 

1 cup Sattu 

2 1/2  cups All Purpose Flour 

4 tbsp leftover Oil and Masala from any Achar / Pickle

1/2 tsp Carom seeds 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste 

Oil to deep fry the puris 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl. Add the Sattu, All purpose flour, salt, turmeric powder, carom seeds and 3 tbsp of left over achar masala. Mix all the ingredients together well. Add water little at a time to get a semi hard dough. Knead it well. Add the remaining achar masala, knead it for 2 minutes more. Cover and keep it aside for 15 minutes. Make lime size equal portions. Heat the oil for frying the puris. Take a portion, apply little oil on the rolling board. Roll out the dough in to round shape disc. Fry the puri until golden brown on both the sides. Remove it on an absorbent paper. Repeat the process with the remaining portions. Serve it hot with aloo tarkari. 

Shorshe Mangsho Bhaapa

This a very popular dish of Bengal usually made with different types of fishes. Here I have made it with mutton and cooked it in a bit different way. First the mutton has to be marinated well for 4 to 5 hours and then it has to be half cooked in a pressure cooker and again cooked with mustard paste, mustard oil, salt, turmeric powder and green chillies till it is tender. It taste delicious with hot steamed rice. 

To Marinate the Mutton 

Ingredients 

1 kg Mutton pieces 

1 cup Curd 

1 Onion paste 

1 tbsp Garlic paste 

1/2 tbsp Ginger paste

1 tbsp Chilli paste 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Marinate all the above ingredients and keep it aside for 4 to 5 hours. 

To make the Shorshe Mangshor Bhappa 

Ingredients 

Marinated Mutton 

5 to 6 Green chillies slit 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 cup Mustard paste (3 to 4 tbsp Mustard seeds ground with little water)

1/4 cup Mustard oil 

Method

Press cook the mutton without adding any water. Give 2 whistles. After the pressure releases. Remove the cover. Add the mustard paste, salt, turmeric powder, mustard oil and green chillies. Stir it.  Give another 3 to 4 whistles or until the mutton has become tender. Let the pressure release, remove the cover. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving it hot with rice. 

P. S. While buying the mutton, please remember to buy tender mutton.. After the mutton is cooked and eaten with rice, the mutton should be soft enough to melt in your mouth.

Before grinding the mustard seeds, soak the seeds in water for 30 minutes and then grind them. Strain the paste before using it.

Eggless Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cheese Cake....

My daughter requested me to make a cheese cake.  I asked her that which flavour does she want. She showed me some bananas hanging on the banana stand. After thinking for some time... I thought why not Banoffee Cheese Cake with Chocolate Chips... A combination of cake and cheese on top. I prefer making it eggless. So I came up with this recipe and experimented it in my kitchen. Try it out and experience the taste yourself..😊😊

For the Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cake base

Ingredients 

2 ripe Bananas mashed 

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 

1 tsp Baking powder 

1 tsp Soda bicarbonate 

3/4 cup Brown Sugar 

1/4 cup  Chocolate chips 

3/4 cup Butter 

1 tsp Vanilla Essence 

1 tbsp Coffee powder mixed in 1/4 cup Water 

1/4 cup Curd 

3/4  cup Milk 

Method 

Mix all purpose flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate together in a bowl. Take another bowl. Beat the butter and the brown sugar together till it is fluffy. Add the essence and the curd. Beat it well. Add the coffee. Beat it again. Add half of the flour and half of the milk. Beat it. Add the rest of the milk and flour. Beat it. Add the banana  and chocolate chops, mix it. It has to be dropping consistency. Take a 8 inch spring form pan. Grease it. Pour the batter. Bake it at 180 degrees celcius for 30 minutes. To check, insert a tooth pick, it should come out clean. Take it out from the oven, cool the cake before making the cheese cake.

P.S. The batter will look curdle... but don't worry. 

If you don't want cheese cake, you can just follow the cake recipe and make just the cake. 

For the Eggless Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cheese Cake 

Ingredients 

1 Chocolate Chips Banoffee Cake base

250 grams / 1 cup  Cream Cheese 

2 tbsp Curd

1/3 cup Thick Cream

1 tsp Lime juice 

1/2 tsp of Vanilla Essence 

1 tsp Vegetable Gelatine or Agar Agar powder 

 6 tbsp of Hot Water 

1/3 cup Sugar

3 tbsp Chocolate Chips 

1 tbsp Chocolate Chips for garnishing 

1 small bowl of Chocolate Ganache and a nozzle of your choice..

1/4 tsp Salt 

Method 

Beat all the above ingredients except cream, chocolate chips and veg gelatine in a mixing bowl. Add hot water to the gelatine powder and dissolve the gelatine. Add the cream and veg gelatine beat it again. Add 3 tbsp chocolate chips and mix it. Press the cake lightly with a flat surface. Pour the batter on the cake, sprinkle 1 tbsp chocolate chips on the top of cream cheese. Cover the mould with a foil paper. Keep it in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours. Unmold it and decorate it with chocolate ganache.

P. S. If you are in a hurry then keep it in the chiller for 3 hours and the unmould it. 

Cơm Chiên / Vietnamese Prawns Fried Rice....

Fried rice is one of the very popular dish originated from China, it is very commonly sold on the streets of Asia. In some Asian countries, there are some small restaurants, street vendors and cart hawkers that only serves fried rice. To make the fried rice, leftover rice is generally used as the moisture in freshly cooked rice will cause it to steam instead of fry. It is stir-fried in a wok with oil to prevent sticking. The oil is seasoned with garlic and onion for flavouring before adding the rice and other ingredients to it, which is then stir-fried together in a wok. Other ingredients like egg, meat,seafood, vegetables, salt, pepper, different types of sauces are added as per the choice. It is popularly eaten either as an accompaniment to another dish, or as a course by itself. Popular garnishes that are added into the Fried rice are sliced cucumber, tomato or sliced chilli sprinkled on top of the rice.

Here is my adaptation to the recipe. I have added some green sorrel leaves to it along with other vegetables for a change.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups of Cooked Rice

1 Onion chopped

1 small size Carrot chopped

1 small Capsicum chopped

1/4 cup Green Sorrel Leaves

2 Green Chillies chopped

1 tsp Ginger minced

1 tsp Garlic minced

1 tbsp Red Chilli sliced

2 Eggs

10 medium sized Prawns cleaned

3 tbsp Fish sauce

2 tbsp Rice Vinegar

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Pepper powder

1/2 tsp Sugar

4 tbsp Sesame Oil

Method

Break the eggs in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper and beat it. Take a wok, add  1/2 tbsp oil, heat it. Add the egg,cook it and make a fried scramble egg. Remove it and keep it aside. Add another tbsp of oil in the same wok. Let it heat. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the prawns,mix it. Fry it till it is cooked. Remove and keep it aside. Add the remaining oil in the same wok, heat the oil. Add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger mince. Stir fry for a minute on high flame. Add the capsicum, carrot, red chilli and the green chillies. Stir fry it for 2 minutes. Add the green sorrel leaves and stir it for few seconds. Add the rice, stir fry it for a minute on medium flame. Add the salt, pepper powder, sugar, fish sauce and the rice vinegar. Stir it for another minute. Leaving few pieces of prawns and fried eggs for garnishing, add the rest of the prawns and fried egg pieces in other wok. Stir for it for another minute or 2 until all the ingredients are well co-operated. Garish with the remaining fried egg pieces and prawns. Serve it hot.

Potoler Khosha Bata....

Peel of Pointed Gourd made into paste... 

 "Bata" means paste. It is a kind of a coarsely ground chutney. It is a dish from Bangladesh and West Bengal. It is served as a side dish and eaten with the hot steaming rice. There are different types of Bata, made from any vegetable peel like raw banana, green peas, pumpkin, bottle gourd, pointed gourd etc or green leaves or fish. Earlier days people living in the country sides having large families preferred to use all the parts of the vegetable for cooking. Apparently now with nuclear family, moving into cities and change in generation, this dishes are rare to find. 

You can actually land up eating a good amount of rice with the Bata. Today I making Potoler Khosha Bata / Pointed gourd peel paste. There are different ways to make this dish.. This is my version of making it...

Ingredients

Pointed Gourd peels from 300 grams Pointed Gourd

2 Green Chillies 

1 Garlic clove

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds / Kalonji 

1 tbsp Fresh or Desiccated Coconut 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Sugar ( Optional ) 

1/8 tsp Tumeric powder

1 tbsp Mustard Oil 

1/2 tsp Mustard Oil for garnishing 

Method

Add the pointed gourd peels, 1 green chilli and garlic into the grinder. Grind it into a coarse paste. Take a pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Let it heat. Add the Nigella seeds and 1 green chilli into the oil. Sauté it till the seeds crackle. Add the paste, on a low flame stirring it continuously, cook it for 5 minutes. Add salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Continue to cook for 5 minutes more or till the rawness of the paste disappears. Add the coconut, cook it for another 3 minutes. Before serving add 1/2 tsp Mustard oil. Serve it hot with steaming rice. 

Jamaican Jerk Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaf and Steamed.....

When yesterday morning one of my friend shared with me a Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe..... I instantly fell in love with the easy recipe. The spices in this dish are full of flavours... enough to linger around your tastebuds.. I decided to make it.. with a twist...

I have adapted the recipe as per my convenience and experimented it with fish.. wrapped in banana leaf and steamed it..... This dish can be served as a starter.

For the Jerk Spice

Ingredients

1 tsp  Garlic powder

1/2 tsp Onion powder

1 tsp Hot Chilli powder

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

1/8 tsp Cinnamon powder

1/8 tsp Nutmeg powder

1/8 tsp Clove powder or 2 Cloves

1/2 tsp All Spice powder  ( I did not use the powder... but I have the all spice plant at home so substituted it by roasting 3 leaves and grinding it)

1/4 tsp Chilli flakes

1/2 tsp Brown Sugar

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

1/2 tsp Dried Parsley

Method

Mix all the above ingredients and blend it in a blender.

For the Steamed  Fish

Ingredients

Any whole Fish.. I used 3 medium size whole Pomfrets cleaned and slited

Jamaican Jerk spice

Salt to season

3 tbsp Olive oil

Juice of 1 Lime

Banana Leaves cut into rectangular shape

Method

Take the fish. Rub salt and lime juice and let it stand for 15 minutes. Mix the Jerk spices with olive oil. Rub the Jerk spices and let it marinate for 2 hours or more. To make the banana leaf more pliable, slightly warm up the banana leaves over low flame for few seconds. Apply oil on the lighter side of each leaf. Place the fish on the leaf. Add the marinated juices on the fish. Wrap the fish in the banana leaf. Heat up the pan. Brush some oil in the pan. Cook it covered on medium high flame for 10 minutes on each sides. Serve it hot with lime slices.

P. S. Instead of steaming the fish you can grill it too.

Rasgulla... From the village of Pahala

A sweet controversy....

Uptill now I grew up knowing that Rasgulla's were invented in Bengal by Nobin Chandra Das in 19 th century. The other day when I had posted Rasgullar payesh, a friend pointed out that this is not the truth... According to historians of Odisha, the rasgullas were originated in Puri, as Khira Mohana which later was know as Pahala Rasgulla. It has been traditionally offered as offering  to goddess Laxmi at JagannathTemple in Puri. The Jagannath Temple scholars Laxmidhar Pujapanda and researchers like Jagabandhu Padhi state that the tradition has existed since 12th century.  According to people of Pahala, a village which is on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, had large number of cows and the milk was produced in excess.  The villagers would throw away the milk when it got spoilt. When a priest from the Jagannath Temple saw this, he taught them the art of curdling the milk and including the recipe of rasagulla. Hence Pahala become the biggest market for chhena-based sweets.

This claim is contested by Bengali historians. According to food historians K.T Acharya and Chitra Banerji, that there are no references to cheese (including chhena) in India before the 17th century. The milk-based sweets were mainly made up of khoa before the Portuguese ruled our country. Their influences led to the introduction of cheese-based sweets. Therefore, the possibility of a cheese-based dish being offered at Jagannath Temple in 12th century is highly unlikely. According to Nobin Chandra Das' descendant Animikh Roy and historian Haripada Bhowmik, rasgulla is not even mentioned as one of the chhappan bhog ("56 offerings") in the early records of the Temple. They also state that it would have been a blasphemy to offer something made from spoiled milk to a deity. However,  Michael Krondl argues that Hindu dietary rules vary from region to region, and it is possible that this restriction did not exist in Odisha.

Recently it is declared by an Odia researcher Asit Mohanty (research scholar on Jagannath culture and traditions) that there is mention of Rasagola in the Jagamohana Ramayana of Balaram Das a text of 15th Century.The text mentions that Rasagola, along with other sweets were found in Odisha. There is also mention of many other cheese made sweets like Chhenapuri, Chhenaladuand Rasabali.

However Bengal claims that the spongy white rasgulla is believed to have been introduced in 1868 by a Kolkata based confectioner Shri Nobin Chandra Das. His descendants claim that his recipe was an original, but according to another theory, he modified the traditional Odisha rasgulla recipe to produce this less perishable variant. Yet another theory is that rasgulla was first prepared by someone else in Bengal, and Das only popularized it. In Banglar Khabar (1987), food historian Pranab Ray states that a man named Braja Moira had introduced rasgulla in his shop near Calcutta High Court in 1866, two years before Das started selling the dish.  In 1906, Panchana Bandopadhyay wrote that rasgullla was invented in 19th century by Haradhan Moira, a Phulia-based sweetmaker who worked for the Pal Chowdhurys of Ranaghat. According to Mistikatha, a newspaper published by West Bengal Sweetmeat Traders Association, many other people prepared similar sweets under different names such as gopalgolla (prepared by Gopal Moira of Burdwandistrict), jatingolla, bhabanigolaand rasugolla.Food historian Michael Krondl states that irrespective of its origin, the rasgulla likely predates Nobin Chandra Das.Bhagwandas Bagla, a Marwari businessman and a customer of Nobin Chandra Das, popularized the Bengali rasgulla beyond the shop's locality by ordering huge amounts.

In 2015, the Odisha government initiated a move to get Geographical indication (GI) status for the rasagulla made in Pahala. On 30 July, the people of Odisha celebrated "Rasagola Dibasa" ("Rasgulla Day") to reaffirm Odisha as the place of the dish's origin.In August, West Bengal decided to legally contest Odisha's move to obtain GI Status.

In 2015 The odisha state government constituted three committees to claim over the Rasgulla .The committees submitted their interim report to the government. Noted journalist and food researcher Bhakta Tripathy and a member of the committee had submitted dossier containing historical evidence of Rasgulla origin in Odisha.The Science and Technology department of the West Bengal government also started the process to get its own GI status for the dessert.

In 2016 an official of the West Bengal government stated that they only wished for a Geographical Indications (GI) tag only for the local varity of Rasgulla known as'Rasogolla', stating that "There is no conflict with Odisha. What we want is to protect the identity of our Rasogolla. Their product is different from ours both in colour, texture, taste, juice content and method of preparation."

Based on Net Sources.....

For me a sweet is to indulge, irrespective of the state it belongs.

Here is my adaptation of the dish....

Pahala Rasgulla

Ingredients

Home made Chenna / Cottage Cheese made from 11/2 liters Cow Milk

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Semolina

2 pinches of Cardamom powder

1/2 liter Hot Water

For the Sugar Syrup

21/2 cups Sugar

5 1/2  cups Water

Method

Take the a plate, add the chenna, semolina and sugar. Mix and knead it into a smooth dough for 5 to 7 minutes. Take sugar and water in a pot for making the sugar syrup. First let it boil and and let it simmer on low flame. Meanwhile make equal size balls ftom the dough. Roll it into a balls and drop it in the sugar syrup. Let it cook on medium flame covered for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and let it boil for 5 minutes on high flame. Remove the rasgulla from the sugar syrup and put it in the hot water for 10 minutes. Remove the rasgullas from the hot water. Put it in a bowl and pour the sugar syrup on top of the rasgullas. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes before serving.

Chingri Macher Paturi ......

Macher Paturi is a very popular dish of Bengal. It can be made with fish like Hilsa, Bhetki or Prawns. It is cooked in a banana leaf or incase the banana leaf is available then pumpkin leaf or bottle gourd leaf. The main ingredients for the paturi are fish and mustard paste which is wrapped into a parcel made with banana leaf and then steamed. 

Here is my version of making the paturi. 

To Marinate the Prawns

Ingredients

270 grams medium sized cleaned Prawns 

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Method

Marinate the prawns with salt and turmeric powder and keep it aside for 15 minutes.

For the Paste

Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp Mustard seeds

3 tbsp shredded fresh Coconut or Desiccated Coconut

5 small Green Chillies

1 Garlic clove

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

3 tbsp Curd

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Sugar

1 to 2 tbsp Water 

Method

Soak the mustard seeds in water. Drain the water out.  Blend the mustard seeds and all above ingredients in a blender into a fine paste.

To make the Paturi

Ingredients

Marinated Prawns

5 Green chillies slited lengthwise

5 Red Chillies  (Optional) 

3 tbsp Mustard oil

Banana Leaves

Thread

Method

Take the wet paste in a bowl. Add the mustard oil. Mix it. Add the marinated prawns. Mix it with the paste. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Cut the banana leaves into rectangular pieces. To make it more pliable, slightly warm up the banana leaves over low flame for few seconds.  Apply mustard oil on the lighter side of each leaf. Place 6 prawns along with the mustard paste in the center of the leaf. Place one green and red chilli on top of it and fold the sides of the banana leaf by overlapping each other to make a parcel. Tie a thread around the parcel to secure it. Steam the parcels in a steamer for 10 minutes. Cut the thread to open the parcel before serving it. Seve it with hot steaming rice.