Loitta Maccher Bora / Bombay Duck Fritters

This is an easy recipe for fish lovers. There are many Bengali dishes made from Bombay duck like Jhuri Bhaja, Bhorta, Loitta Maccher Tarkari  etc. Here is a bit different preparation which is an experiment in my kitchen. This dish can be a good accompaniment with hot dal and rice during lunch or with evening tea. Serve it crispy and hot.  I am sure you will enjoy this simple Bombay Duck Fritters.. 

Ingredients 

6 to 8 medium size Bombay Ducks / Bombil / Loitta Mach cleaned 

2 Medium size Onions sliced 

1 tsp Ginger and Garlic paste ( more of Garlic and little of Ginger)

1 to 2 Green Chillies Chopped 

2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped 

1/4 cup Rice flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup Gram flour

Salt to taste

1 tsp Poppy seeds (Optional)

Oil to fry 

Method 

Take a grinder and grind the Bombay ducks into a paste. Pour the paste into a mixing bowl. Add the other remaining ingredients except for the oil and gram flour into the mixing bowl. Add the gram flour little at a time while mixing. Mix all the ingredients very well. The batter will be thick and should not be of dropping consistency. Pour oil in a wok. Let the oil heat up. Add the fritters into the oil and fry it till golden brown in colour from all the sides and crispy on a medium low heat. Serve it hot. 

Shabji Diye Rui Maccher Patla Jhol

 

This is an old traditional dish prepared particularly when any member of the house is sick or if you want to cool your stomach down or prepared if anyone is in a hurry or travelling. This dish is loaded with vegetables and fish. It has a thin gravy / Patla Jhol. If you are unwell make this dish with less spices, more liquidy and avoid deep frying the fish. In Bengali cuisine as each dish has a different style of cutting the vegetables, in this dish the vegetables has to be cut big in size, in wedges or in big pieces and all the vegetables cut has to be in the same proportionate size. Any seasonal vegetables can be added like pointed gourd, raw banana, cauliflower, carrot, French beans, flat beans, potato,tomato, drum stick, raw papaya etc. Urid dal bori is fried and is also added to the Jhol.

Normally the spices are freshly ground into paste, but here I have used freshly ground powder. This is a very quick one pot meal served with hot steaming rice and lime wedges. Absolutely a comfort food... 

This recipe is a must try....

Ingredients 

8 pieces of Ruhi Maach 

1 big size Potato cut into wedges lethwise or big cubes

1 medium size long Brinjal cut into half and made into big pieces 

6 pieces of medium size Cauliflower florets 

1 Carrot cut into half lengthwise and then made into pieces 

1 Raw Banana cut into half lengthwise and then made into pieces

6 Flat beans cut into half horizontally 

1 tomato cut into wedges lengthwise 

1/4 cup Green Peas 

2 Green Chillies silted lengthwise 

1 tsp Ginger paste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Coriander powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Panch phoran 

2 Bay leaves 

1/2 cup Mustard oil for frying the fish and cooking

Method 

Apply 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt to the fish and keep it to marinate for 10 minutes. Take a wok, add oil. Let it heat well. Add the fish into the oil and fry it on both sides till brown in colour. Remove and keep it aside. Remove the excess oil and leave 3 tbsp oil in the wok. Add Panch phoran, bay leaves and green chillies. Wait till the Panch phoran crackles. Add the ginger paste and sauté it for a minute. Add all the vegetables, stir and sauté it for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and all the powder spices. Stir and cook for another minute. Add about 1 and 1/2 litres of water. Stir, cover and cook till the vegetable are almost tender. Now add the fried fish. If you are adding fried boris add it with the fish. Cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve it hot with hot steaming rice and lime wedges.

Whole Wheat Banana and Coconut Cake Loaf...

This is a very easy vegetarian rustic tea time cake loaf. I had few bananas which had completely ripped and that went into the batter along with the other ingredients. Love the flavour of coconut and banana in the cake. 

Whole Wheat Banana and Coconut Cake Loaf...

This is a very easy vegetarian rustic tea time cake loaf. I had few bananas which had completely ripped and that went into the batter along with the other ingredients. Love the flavour of coconut and banana in the cake. 

Ingredients 

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 

1/2 cup Fine Semolina 

1/2 cup Desiccated Coconut 

1 1/2 cup Powder Sugar 

1/2 tsp Cardomom powder 

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder 

1 tsp Soda bicarbonate 

1/4 tsp Salt 

1/4 cup Almond flakes 

1 tbsp Coconut essence 

1 cup Butter Milk  (1/4 cup Curd + 3/4 cup Milk)

1 1/4 cup Milk

3 Ripe Bananas 

3/4 cup Oil

Method

Add the bananas, oil, butter milk, powder sugar and coconut essence into the blender. Blend the ingredients until smooth. Pour the batter into a mixing bowl. Add the cardomom powder and desiccated coconut. Beat it well. Add the semolina and beat it again. Add half of the whole wheat flour and 1/2 of the milk. Beat it again. Now add the rest of the flour, milk, baking powder, soda bicarbonate and salt. Beat it well. The batter should be thick dropping consistency. Add more milk if required to get the right consistency. 

Take 2 and a half loaf tins. Grease the baking tins. Fill in the batter into each tin till the tin is half filled. Sprinkle some almond flakes on the top. Bake it at 180 degrees celcius for 45 to 50 minutes or until done. Remove the cake loafs  from the oven and cool it completely before slicing.

Garlic Coriander Baked Fish with Coconut Milk...

This dish is adapted from Thai cuisine... It's a baked dish and without oil. So definitely a healthy dish. Serve this dish with green cucumber, tomato and rice and enjoy the flavour of garlic, coriander and coconut.

Ingredients

500 grams  Fish Fillets

2 Garlic cloves minced 

1 small bunch Coriander leaves cleaned

1 inch Lemon grass stalk

4 to 6 Bird Eye chillies 

2 tsp Red Chilli flakes

Salt to taste 

3/4 cup Coconut Milk

1 tbsp Honey

2 tsp Fish Sauce 

2 tbsp Lemon Juice 

Method 

Take a chopper, add the coriander, garlic, lemongrass, chilli flakes, fish sauce, lemon juice, honey, salt and coconut milk. Pulse it  3 to 4 times. Take a oven proof baking dish. Place the fish into the baking dish. Pour the mixture on the fish and mix well. Add the chillies. Bake it in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees celcius or until fish is cooked well. Garnish with coriander leaves, cucumber slices, tomato slices and lemon slice.

Gota Sheddho....

Gota Sheddho is made on the day of Saraswati Puja in Bengal and eaten the next day that is Sheetal Shasti. Gota means whole and Sheddo means boiled.  It is made with 5 types of vegetables, spinach with stem and roots (shish palak) and whole mung dal or whole black lentils. Each of the vegetables are taken in odd number like 5, 7, 9 or 11.

Different household has different version of making Gota Sheddho. In some houses, they have it only boiled and some houses makes mashala gota sheddho. 

I tried keeping my mother's traditional way of making mashala gota sheddho.  It is normally eaten with panta bhaat. 

Ingredients 

300 grams Whole Mung Dal 

1 bunch of Shish Palak

11 Flat beans whole

11 Green Peas whole 

11 small size Potato whole

11 small size Brinjal whole 

5 Green Chillies 

2 tbsp Ginger paste 

2 tbsp Fennel seed paste 

Salt to taste 

1/2 cup Mustard Oil 

Method 

Take the shish palak. Cut the stems into 1 inch pieces, the roots are also cleaned and add to the stem, the leaves are cut into pieces and kept separately. Give a slit on the potatoes and brinjals. Take a deep bottom pot. Add 2 liters of water. Add the dal. Arrange the stem and the roots of the palak, sprinkle some salt, then arrange potatoes followed by brinjals. Then add the flat beans, green peas and chillies. Cover the pot and let it simmer on low flame till the ingredients are 50 percent cooked. Add half of the mustard oil. Now add the Palak leaves and sprinkle some more salt. Cover and let it simmer till the dal is cooked. Take the ginger and fennel seed paste in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup water to it. Pour the paste on the gota and add some more mustard oil. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Lastly drizzle the remaining mustard oil and keep it over night. Enjoy the gota for lunch.

Cantonese Style Chicken Sausage and Green Garlic Vegetable Stir Fry...

Cantonese cuisine is a simplified traditional Chinese cuisine which comes from Guangdong province and is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine. The ingredients used in Cantonese cuisine, are spring onion, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, vinegar, scallion oil, and sesame oil, to enhance the flavour, garlic is heavily used in some of the dishes. Ginger, chilli peppers, five-spice powder, black pepper powder, star anise and a few other spices are also used. 

Net source... 

This dish is good for starters. The sugar balances the flavour of the sourness. Love the flavour of the garlic. 

Ingredients 

10 pieces of Chicken sausage cut into pieces

1 cup Yellow and Red Capsicum cut into cubes

1 Onion cut into cubes

2 to 3 Green chillies slit into 2 halves

6 to 8 whole Garlic cloves 

1 cup Green Garlic leaves cut into pieces 

1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar or White Vinegar

1 tbsp Soya Sauce

1 tsp Chilli Sauce

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

1/2 tsp Sugar 

2 tbsp Sesame seed Oil 

Method 

Take a wok or a fry pan, add oil. Heat up the oil. Add the sausages and stir fry for a minute. Add the whole garlic, green chillies and onions. Stir fry on high flame till the onions are light pink in colour. Add the capsicum and stir for 2 minutes. Add the green garlic leaves. Stir for a minute. Add the vinegar, soya sauce, chilli sauce, sugar, salt and pepper powder. Stir for a minute and serve it hot.

Macher Bhappa Cake / Fish Cake Steamed.....

This is an excellent recipe to have with evening tea or as a starter. The fish is boiled and mashed with boiled potatoes and vegetables and then set in a steamer or steamed in any vessel till it sets. This recipe is a heirloom recipe from my aunty’s kitchen and recreated in my kitchen. It has a touch of Bengal as Kasundi is used in it.  It's a very healthy recipe as there is very less oil content which has come from Kasundi and greased container. For the bread crumbs, I have used whole wheat bread crumbs, you can also roast or crisp the leftover rotis to make the breadcrumbs.
For people who eats egg... you can substitute the fish with soya granules.
I am sure you will love my recipe as much as I did making it. I am sure you will try it out.

Ingredients
1 cup / 250 grams  Any Fish boiled, deboned and mashed ( Bhetki, Prawns, Kathla)
1 big size Potato boiled and mashed
1/2 cup finely chopped any colour capsicum
1 small Onion finely chopped
1 tsp Garlic minced
1/2 tsp Ginger minced
1/2 to 1 tsp Green chillies minced
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp Pepper crushed
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
2 Eggs beaten
2 tbsp Kasundi ( Mustard Sauce )
1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1/4  tsp Mustard oil just to grease the container

Method
Take a mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients together very well, except for the oil. Take a greased baking pan. Pour the mixture in to the container and spread it. You can steam it in a steamer or take a wok, add water, place a napkin at the base. Place the container with the lid on. Cover the wok and steam it for 20 to 30 minutes or till the mixture has set. To check, insert a tooth pick. Cool it down. Cut it into pieces and serve it with more Kasundi.

Kasundi Chicken Kosha Tarkari Diya...

This dish taste scrumptious with hot steaming rice. I have used home made Kasundi ( Mustard Sauce ) to marinate the chicken along with the other ingredients. You can use ready made Kasundi available in the market. I have added mushrooms and carrot to the dish. You can add potatoes too. I love little sweetness of the carrot with Kasundi. This is an experiment in my kitchen. Do try it out... I am sure you will enjoy it. 

To Marinate the Chicken

Ingredients 

6 pieces of Chicken Legs

2 tbsp of Kasundi (Mustard Sauce) 

1 tsp Ginger - Garlic - Chilli paste 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Panch phoran powder

Salt to taste

1/4 cup Curd 

Method

Mix all the above ingredients together and let it marinate for an hour. 

To make the Chicken 

Ingredients 

Marinated Chicken

1 big Carrot cut into medium size strips

2 Onions sliced

6 to 8 whole Garlic cloves 

8 to 10 small size whole Mushrooms 

1 Green Chilli slit 

1/2 tsp Panch Phoran 

2 to 3 tbsp Mustard oil

Method 

Take a fry pan, add oil. Let it come to a smoking point.  Lower the flame and reduce the heat. Add the Panch phoran. Let it crackle. Add the green chilli and sauté for few seconds. Add the garlic and sauté for few more seconds. Add the onions and carrots, sauté till the onions are light pink in colour. Add the marinated chicken, stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, let it cook for 10 minutes more. Add the mushrooms, stir and cook till the mushrooms have cooked and the water has reduced. Serve it hot.. 

Gokul Pitha

To make this pitha, first stuffing is made. Then the batter is made. Little portion of the stuffing is taken and dipped in to the batter and fried. Then the fried balls are dipped into the sugar syrup.
For the Stuffing
Ingredients
2 cup Coconut grated
3/4 cup Date Jaggary grated
2 tbsp Sugar or more as per the taste
4 tbsp Mawa / Khoya
1/4 tsp Cardomom powder
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Raisins

Method
Take a pan, add the coconut, sugar, Jaggary and salt, stir it on a low flame till the coconut becomes dry. Add Mawa , cardamom and raisins.Cook for another couple of minutes till the mixture is dry. Pour in a bowl and let it cool down.

For the Batter
Ingredients
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Semolina
1 cup Milk or more
Pinch of Salt
1 tbsp Sugar

Method
Take a mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, sugar and semolina. Mix it. Add milk little at a time to make the thick batter. Cover and let the batter stand for 30 minutes.

For the syrup
Ingredients
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Water

Method
Take a heavy bottom pan, add all the above and boil it to get thick syrup.

For making the Gokul Pitha
Ingredients
Oil for Frying
Batter
Stuffing
Sugar Syrup

Method
Heat the oil in a wok. Mean while make lime size balls of the stuffing. Dip these balls one by one in the batter and coat the balls. Add the balls in the hot oil. Fry on very low heat till they are golden brown in colour. Drain the oil and immediately drop them in the warm syrup. Let it stand for an hour to soften. Gokul pitha is ready to be eaten and celebrate Poush Sankranti.

Khejur Gurer Shoru Chakli ( Jaggary Rice Dosa)

This is made with rice flour and all purpose flour, mixed together with jaggery water an made into a batter. Then the batter is cooked into a kind of a sweet dosa.
Ingredients 
1/2 cup Rice Flour
1/4 cup All Purpose flour
1/4 cup Date Jaggery
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Cardomon powder 
Ghee for Drizzeling on the pan

Method 
Take the Jaggary, salt, Cardomon powder and add a cup of water , let it boil till the Jaggary melts. Take it off the  flame. Take a bowl, add both the flours and mix it. Add the Jaggery water into the flour and mix it to make a thin batter. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Take a pan, drizzle ghee, pour in 1 or 2 ladle of the batter and swirl the batter in the pan so that the batter spreads out evenly, keep it on low flame for 3 or more minutes, so that the batter gets cooked. Keep checking, once one side is done, turn it and cook for another minute. Shoru Chakli is done...

Bhaja Puli

This Pitha is made with rice flour which is kneaded into a dough. A lime size portion is taken from the dough and stuffed with coconut and jaggary. Then it is given a shape and fried in oil.
For the Stuffing 
Ingredients
1 cup Coconut grated
1/2 cup Date Jaggary grated
1/4 tsp Cardomom powder
Pinch of Salt

Method
Take a pan, add the Jaggary, Cardomom and salt, stir it on a low flame till it melts. Add the coconut and stir on low heat till the mixture becomes dry. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.

For the Rice Dumplings 
Ingredients
2 cups of Rice Flour
1 Pinch Salt
Warm water

Method 
To make the dumplings, take the flour and add the salt in a mixing bowl, add warm water little at a time. Knead it into a soft dough. Keep the dough covered as the dough will becomes hard if kept open.

For the Final step
Ingredients 
Stuffing 
Rice Dough 
Oil or Ghee for Frying

Method 
Take lemon size balls from the dough. Flatten the balls with your fingers in the shape of a bowl. The shell would be medium thin. Fill the stuffing into it. Close, fold and seal the edges of the dough. Give it a boat shape with 2 edges pointing outwards. Heat oil or ghee in a wok, Heat the oil or ghee. Add the stuffed dumplings in the oil and fry it till golden brown.

Dudhpuli

This Pitha is made with rice flour which is kneaded into a dough. Then the little portion of the dough is stuffed with coconut and jaggary. Then it is given a shape and boiled in milk.
For the Stuffing 
Ingredients
1 cup Coconut grated
1/2 cup Date Jaggary grated
1/4 tsp Cardomom powder
Pinch of Salt

Method
Take a pan, add the Jaggary, Cardomom and salt, stir it on a low flame till it melts. Add the coconut and stir on low heat till the mixture becomes dry. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.

For the Rice Dumplings 
Ingredients
2 cups of Rice Flour
1 Pinch Salt
Warm water

Method 
To make the dumplings, take the flour and add the salt in a mixing bowl, add warm water little at a time. Knead it into a soft dough. Keep the dough covered as the dough will becomes hard if kept open.

For the kheer
1 liter  Full cream Milk
1 cup Date Jaggery 
Pinch of Salt 
Pinch of Cardomon Powder

Method
Add the milk in a pot and keep it on low flame till it reduces a bit. Add salt, Cardomon powder and Jaggary and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile we will get the dumplings ready.

For the Final step
Ingredients 
Stuffing 
Rice Dough 
Kheer

Method 
Take lemon size balls from the dough. Flatten the balls with your fingers in the shape of a bowl. The shell would be medium thin. Fill the stuffing into it. Close, fold and seal the edges of the dough. Give it a boat shape with 2 edges pointing outwards. Once the kheer has simmer for 15 minutes, add the dumplings into the kheer. Let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more, till the dumplings are cooked.

Nolen / Notun Gurer Roshogolla... Date Jaggery Rasgulla...

This Rasgullas are made with Notun / Nolen Gur / Date Jaggery. Date jaggery is made in winter season and is sold in the market either in liquid form called Jhola Gur or solid blocks called Patali / Nolen Gur or Notun Gur. 

The recipe of the Rasgulla is the same, only date jaggery is added to the syrup. Rasgulla making is a easy task, only few tips to be remembered. Cow milk is best to make the rasgulla. While making the cheena / paneer, after the sour agent is added don't over boil the milk after it curdles other wise the cheena will become hard. Squeeze out the whey completely from the cheena, but at the same time cheena should be moist enough to bind into a smooth soft dough. Knead the cheena very well by rubbing the cheena with the help of your palm on a flat surface. Knead the cheena for 10 minutes. If you feel that the cheena has become hard and it is not binding, then add few drops of milk or water while kneading. I have added suji and sugar. You can also replace suji with flour. 

I am sure you will enjoy making them too. 

Ingredients

Cheena / Paneer made out of 1 1/2 litres Cow Milk

1 tsp Suji / Fine Semolina 

1 tsp Sugar 

For the Syrup

2 cups Sugar

1 cup Nolen Gur / Date Jaggery 

7 cups of Water 

Method

Take a deep bottom pot. Add the sugar, date jaggery and water. Let the jaggery and sugar melt. Let it simmer. Meanwhile on a flat surface, start kneading the cheena, suji and sugar for 10 minutes rubbing the cheena with the heel of the palm until smooth and it binds into a dough. Make small lime size portions and roll them into balls. Drop the balls into the syrup. Cover and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Open the lid and let it cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Switch off the flame, wait till it cools down before serving. 

Orange and Beetroot Jam...

Jam and Jelly making is so much fun. More over it is  home made and without any preservatives added. Only we should know the right time to remove it from the flame. If undercooked it will not set and if overcooked it might be then difficult to use it.

This jam can be used for applying on breads and also can be eaten with parathas and rotis. 

It is an experiment in my kitchen. 

Ingredients 

2 cups Orange juice (strained through a muslin cloth)

2 tbsp Lime juice 

1 cup of Water 

1 small Beetroot grated and excess juice squeezed out 

2 cups Sugar 

2 pinches of Salt 

Method 

In a heavy bottomed pot, add sugar, water, lime juice and salt. Stir and let the sugar dissolve on low flame. Add the orange juice. Stirring it occasionally let the orange juice simmer on low flame. Take a fine skimmer and keep clearing  the scum at the top. Also keep clearing the sides of the pot. Let the juice reduce and thickens up, add the grated beetroot and let it continue to simmer. To check if the jam is ready, take a small steel plate, keep it in the fridge and cool it. Take the plate and pour 1/4 tsp of the jam, if the jam starts to set then it is done. Cool it a bit. Take a clean glass bottle and pour the jam in the bottle and let it set in the bottle. Enjoy it with bread, roti or paratha.

Bhetki Macher Kanta Chorchori...

Bhetki or (Barramundi) is quite a popular fish. We Bengalis have many preparations made from Bhetki. The small size is used to make jhol or jhal. And the big size ones are cut into fillets and made into cutlets, paturi, chops, fish fingers etc. Moreover even the remaining bone along with some flesh and head are also not wasted and it is made into Kanta Chorchori. You will not find this delectable dish in any of the restaurants. It is a very simple traditional dish cooked at home. Simply have it with hot steaming rice and it is divine... 

Ingredients 

Bhetki head and bones cut into pieces marinated for 5 minutes with 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder and salt.

1 tsp Garlic and Ginger paste 

2 Green chillies slit 

2 big size Onions sliced 

2 big size Potatoes cut into wedges 

1 Tomato cut into wedges 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1/2 tsp Sugar 

Salt to taste

1 small stick Cinnamon 

1 Green Cardomom

2 Cloves

1 Bay leaf 

1/4 cup Mustard Oil 

Method 

Take a wok. Add mustard oil. Heat it till the smoking point.  Reduce the flame. Fry the bone and the head till golden brown in colour. Remove it from the wok and keep it aside. In the same oil add the cinnamon, green cardomom and cloves. Let it crackle. Add the bay leaf and the green chillies. Add the onions and sauté it till light brown in colour. Add the ginger - garlic paste. Sauté for a minute. Add the potatoes. Stir fry the potatoes for a minute. Add the tomato. Stir it. Add the salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Stir it and add the fish bones. Stir and add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook till the potatoes are cooked and the water has evaporated. Server it hot with hot steaming rice.

Bata Mashala diya Mangsher Jhol....

Mangsher Jhol is known to all Bengalis. It is cooked on all occasions. In earlier days and still in some household fresh spices are ground for the masala, but now a days mostly powdered spices have taken over. In this recipe in addition to the garam masala used in Bengali kitchen, I have used few more other spices as an experiment in my kitchen, This dish can be eaten with hot steamed rice or paratha or luchi. 

For the Bata Mashala / Wet Paste

Ingredients 

1 Onion chopped 

12 Garlic cloves 

1 medium Ginger piece 

1 medium Fresh Turmeric piece

12 Pepper corns

4 Cloves 

1 medium stick Cinnamon 

3 Green Cardomon 

4 Kabab Chini 

4 Dry Red Chillies

4 Dry Kashmiri Chillies

1 tsp Cumin seeds 

2 tsp Mustard seeds 

1 tsp Coriander seeds 

1/2 tsp Celery seeds (Optional)

Method 

Add all the above ingredients into a grinder and add little water. Grind all the ingredients into a fine paste. 

For the Mangsher Jhol / Mutton Curry 

Ingredients

1 kg Mutton Pieces 

2 Big Potatoes cut into big chunks

1 Onion sliced

2 Tomatoes chopped

2 Green Chillies slit 

2 Bay Leaves 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/2 cup Curd 

Bata Mashala / Wet Paste 

1/2 cup Mustard Oil 

Method 

Take a pressure cooker. Add mustard oil. Let it heat till the smoking point. Reduce the flame. Fry the potatoes till brown in colour. Remove it from the oil and keep it aside. In the same oil, add the onion, chillies and bay leaves. Fry the onions for a minute, add sugar and fry till light brown in colour. Add the mutton pieces, stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the bata mashala and salt. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add the curd. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes on low flame. Remove the cover and add the potatoes. Stir and add 6 cups of water. Close the lid of pressure cooker. Give 4 whistles. Switch off the flame. Let all the pressure release. Serve it hot. 

Chocolate Chips Banoffee Smoothie with Chia...

If you are lazy and want to avoid solid food... you can enjoy this drink. It fills up your stomach while you enjoy the chilled smoothie. Love this drink and I am sure you will love it too... 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup Milk 

1 Banana chopped 

1 tbsp Chia soaked in water

1 tsp Coffee powder 

1 tsp Honey 

1 tbsp Chocolate chips 

1/2 tsp Chocolate chips and Chocolate syrup for garnishing 

1 Cake toast cut into thin strip for garnishing 

Method 

Take a blender. Add milk, banana, chia seeds, coffee powder, honey, 1 tbsp chocolate chips and few pieces of ice in the blender. Blend all the ingredients. Take a glass. Add the a tbsp of chocolate syrup. Pour in the smoothie in the glass and garnish with 1/2 tsp chocolate chips and cake toast. 

Sri Lankan Egg Curry without Coconut Milk ( My Style ) ......

I absolutely love this egg curry or this Sri Lankan curry powder that I have used in this curry. This curry powder can be used for any curry you make. You can make this in large batch and it can be stored. 

I have added potatoes, but it is optional. You can enjoy this with hot steamed rice... 

For the wet paste... 

1 Onion chopped 

1 Tomato chopped 

6 Garlic cloves

1 small piece ginger

Method

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste. 

For Sri Lankan Curry Powder....

Ingredients

5 Whole Red Chilies

2 tbsp Coriander Seeds

1 tbsp Cumin seeds

6 Cloves

6 Pepper Corns

2 Cardamom

1 stick Cinnamon

1 tbsp Rice

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds

1 tsp Fennel seeds

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 

Handful of Curry Leaves

Method

Dry roast the curry leaves in a pan and keep aside to cool. In the same pan, dry roast all the whole spices and allow it to cool. In a grinder, add all the roasted ingredients including curry leaves and grind to make a powder.Store it in an air tight jar.

For the Egg curry...,

Ingredients 

6 Eggs boiled 

2 Potatoes cut into big chunks 

1 Onion sliced 

1 Tomato cut into wedges

Few Curry Leaves

Few Coriander leaves for garnishing 

1/2 tsp Tumeric powder

1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

1 tbsp Sri Lankan Masala

1 Dry Red Chilli slit

1 tsp Jaggery 

1 tsp Tamarind paste

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 cup Oil 

Method 

Take a wok. Add oil. Let it heat. Fry the potatoes until light brown colour. Keep it aside. Give a slit on the boiled eggs. Fry the eggs till light brown in colour. Keep it aside. In the same oil, add the mustard seeds, fennel seeds, and dry chilli. Let it crackle. Add the curry leaves and sauté it for few seconds. Add the onion and sauté it till light pink in colour. Add the wet paste, stir and cook it for 2 minutes. Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, Sri Lankan powder and pepper powder. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, stir and add 4 cups of water. Cover and cook till the potatoes are cooked. Add the eggs, tomato, tamarind paste and jaggery. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving. 

P. S. Water can be added as per your requirement. 

Dutch Speculaas Cookies.....

Speculaas cookie is a type of spiced short crust biscuit, traditionally baked on or just before St Nicholas' day in the Netherlands that is 5th December, In Belgium it is December 6th and around Christmas in Germany. Speculaas are thin, very crunchy, caramelized, slightly browned and, most significantly, have some image or figure (often from the traditional stories about St. Nicholas stamped on the front side before baking and the back is flat. 

Traditionally speculaas are made by pressing the dough into a mold before baking in the oven. Using a springerle rolling pin (a rolling pin with a pattern carved into it) is an easy way to impress a shape into the cookies. If you don’t have a speculaas mold or a springerle rolling pin, you can just use regular holiday cookie cutters to make festive shaped cookies instead or just roll them out, and cut them into squares with a knife. While baking the whole house is filled up with aroma and makes you feel like holiday season.

Net source ...

Ingredients

2 cups All Purpose Flour 

1/2 cup  Butter

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 tsp Cinnamon powder 

1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder

1/4 tsp Clove powder

1/4 tsp Dry Ginger powder

1/4 tsp White pepper powder

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

2 tbsp Curd 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl. Beat the butter and brown sugar together till fluffy. Scrape the sides with a spatula and add the vanilla essence and curd, beat it well. Add all the spice powder and beat it. Add the flour and the baking powder. Beat it again and knead it until all the ingredients incorporates well and forms a dough. Sprinkle some flour on the platform. Place the dough on the platform. If you using the springerle rolling pin then roll the dough out into 1/2 inch thick sheet with a plain rolling pin. Dust the springerle pin with flour then roll over the dough, pressing it firmly to make a 1/4 inch thick cookie dough, with imprint. Cut the dough along the springerle grid lines with a sharp knife or pizza cutter and place the cookies on a baking tray.If using a cookie cutter, roll the dough out until 1/4 inch thick with a plain rolling pin and cut out cookies and place on the baking sheet. Bake it in a preheated oven at 170 degrees celsius for 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before enjoying... 

Recipe adapted from Irvin Lin

Eggless Non alcoholic Super Moist Rich Christmas Fruit Cake.....

As Christmas arrives my memory runs down through those beautiful moments of my life where I stayed for so many years, a place where you could hear Christmas tune flowing in the air. Adult and children from different parish would walk down the road singing carols. There would be romance in the air. so nostalgic..... Every household would make sweets and cakes.... The aroma of baking would be everywhere. All the main roads and  Gaothans would be decorated and lite up with colourful stars and lights. Food and drink would flow in parties along with the music and dance. More over fun to attend the midnight mass with friends. 

One of the must in the menu is the fruit cake. The dry fruits are soaked in alcohol for many weeks before makingthe cake, but today, I made a cake without eggs and alcohol... which was equally good in taste. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup Raisins chopped 

1 cup Trutti futti

1/2 cup Red Canned Cherries chopped

1/4 cup Lemon Candy Peels chopped

1/2 cup Cashew nuts chopped

400 ml  Orange juice

1/3 cup Honey

3/4 cup Oil

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour 

1 tsp Baking powder

1/tsp Soda bicarbonate 

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Mix spices powder  ( 2 pinches of Cinnamon powder, 2 pinches of Nutmeg powder, 2 pinch of Ginger powder and 2 pinches of Cloves powder) 

1/4 cup Club Soda or Drinking Soda 

Method

Pre heat the oven at 160 -180 degrees. Mix all the dry fruits, orange juice and honey and keep it over night in the fridge. Take the soaked dry fruits and drain the juice out. Keep the juice and the dry fruits separately. 

Take oil and sugar. Beat it well till both the ingredients are well incooperated. Take the dry fruits and the cashews and mix it. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of the flour into the dry fruits and mix it. Now take a cup of the juice. Add the juice into the oil and sugar mixture little at a time along with the remaining flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate and salt and beat it. Add the mix spice powder and the dry fruits into the batter and gently fold in the batter. Add in 1/4 cup of the club Soda and gently mix it. Now take 2 mould of 500 grams. Grease the moulds. Add the batter into the mould. Fill in 3/4 of the size of the mould. Bake it for 45 to 50 minutes at 160 - 180 degrees. Insert a tooth pick and check. Cool the cake completely and then slice it. 

Eggless Christmas Cookies...

As Christmas is just round the corner, I wanted to share this colourful eggless cookie recipe which I had made 2 years back before having a blog. The Christmas tree cookie presentation idea was taken from Sandra Denneler. This is an excellent idea for decorating your table for Christmas parties. 

Ingredients

1/3 cup Powdered Sugar

Or 

1 cup Sugar Free Natura

1/3 cup Amul Butter

1 tbsp Curd

1/4 tsp Baking powder  

1 cup of All Purpose Flour and 1/3 cup of Almond powder

1 tsp Almond essence (or whatever essence you prefer)

2 Perk Chocolate bars

Melted Chocolate for sticking the cookies

6 different Food colours

1 cup Sugar (Displaying your Cookies)

Method

Beat the sugar with butter, curd and essence. Now combine all the dry ingredients together, and then gradually add them to the sugar-butter mixture. Split dough into 6 equal portions and keep a very small portion for the star.Add food coloring to each of the dough balls until desired color is achieved. Take 2 lime size portions from any of the coloured dough. Keep them on a plate. Similarly take another 2 portions from another colour dough. This portion has to be little smaller than the previous portions taken. Keep repeating. The portions keeps decreasing in size as we take different colour dough. The yellow colour dough can be cut into a star for the top. Flatten the dough balls. First place the bigger size cookies on the greased baking tray. Start with baking at 170 - 180 degrees for 3 minutes in a pre heated oven. Then remove the baking tray from the oven and add the next smaller size cookies, bake it for more 3 minutes. In the similar manner, keep adding the cookies and baking it for next 3 minutes. So the total time for baking will be 20 minutes.Cool of the cookies completely. Cut a full-sized perk  bar in half. Get the 2 halves together and stick it with melted chocolate. Take a plate. Add the sugar for display into the plate. Add melted chocolate on top edge of the perk bar to secure the bottom cookie. For more stable trees, keep adding melted chocolate in between each cookies layer as you stack them. Stack the largest cookie in the bottom, graduating to the smallest size on the top. Add the star cookie on top. Take the leftover dough and roll it into a sheet and with the help of a Christmas cookie cutters cut out different shapes and bake it at 180 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy them during Christmas.