Fresh Cream Pineapple Birthday Cake (Eggless ).....

Ordered by a wife for her beloved husband on his birthday... 

This is a fresh cream cake with pineapple compote in the centre and pineapple juice infused in the cake. The roses and other decorations are made with fresh cream...(Eggless)....

Pineapple Sponge Cake...

Ingredients 

100 grams All Purpose Flour 

50 grams Milk Powder 

1/2 tsp Soda bicarbonate 

1 tsp Baking powder 

75 grams Caster Sugar 

1/2 tbsp Pineapple essence 

150 grams Butter Milk  (Milk and 3 tbsp Curd mix )

50 grams Butter 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl , add sugar and butter. Beat it till fluffy. Add 4 tbsp butter milk. Beat it. Add the pineapple essence. Beat it. Add milk powder. Beat it. Add the half the butter milk and flour. Beat it. Add the remaining butter milk, soda bicarbonate and baking powder. Beat it well. Take a baking pan. Grease it. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan. Tap the baking pan. Bake it at 180 degrees celcius for 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Cool it completely before frosting. 

Pineapple Compote...

Ingredients 

1 small size or 2 cups  Pineapple chopped 

1 cup Sugar 

1/2 cup Water

2 Pinch of Salt 

Method 

Take a pan, add sugar, water and salt. Boil it and then let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pineapple pieces and let it simmer for 5 minutes or till the pineapple are tender. Remove the pineapple pieces from the juice and keep it aside. Let the juice simmer on low flame till it recuces to 1/4 it's quantity. Pour the juice on the pineapple. Cool it down before using.

Aloo Morich ar Chirebhaja....

It’s a favourite breakfast at our place. It’s a very simple dish made in all Bengali household for snacks. 

 
For Aloo Morich
Ingredients
1 big potatoes boiled and cut into cubes.
1 green chilli slit
1 tbsp ghee
Salt to test
1/2 tsp pepper pd.
Method
Take a wok, add ghee and heat it up. Add green chilli. Stir it for few seconds. Add the potato, salt and pepper. Stir fry it for 2 minutes.

For Chirebhaja
Ingredients
1 bowl Thin Flatten Rice
3 tbsp Peanuts (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
2 tbsp Mustard oil

Method
Take a wok. Add oil, let it heat. Add the peanuts. Fry it till brown. Fry for for few seconds. Add the thin flatten rice. Add salt and pepper. Stir fry till crispy.

Burger Pizzas and Handmade Flat Bread Pizza....

Burger Pizzas and Handmade Flat Bread Pizza... 

I call it "Quick Fix Pizza"... 

When my friend called me, it was 7:30 pm in the evening. Uncle (her father) wanted to visit us. I had already planned to invite him over dinner, so then I decided why not today itself... My initial though was to order food from out, but my friend said that since children wanted to have Pizza Burger, we would order the burger pizzas from out, but from the time I have started baking, I hate to order pizzas from out... But to make the Burger Pizzas, first I have to bake the burger buns and then make the pizza.. It was already 8:30 pm.

 So tried some tricks to save some time on baking the burger bread and then to make the pizza burgers on time for the children to enjoy. I did save some time, but for the children to enjoy was bit delayed... 

    Let's see how to proof the bread dough in a warm oven to save the time for baking, especially when the kneading time is also reduced. 

You need a warm place for the yeast to rise quickly when you are lacking time... This method some what solves the problem.

Let's see the recipe......

Since I made Vegetarian Pizza burger and Pizza, I used lots of vegetables cut into small cubes..... 

Onion, Green - Yellow - Red Capsicums, Mushrooms, Baby Corns, Green - Black Olives, Pickled Red Chilli sliced, Pickled Gherkins and Tomatoes too. (Which I missed)

1 block of Pizza Cheese or 50:50 Cheddar Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese 

Pizza sauce 

Sprinkle of Dry Oregano and Chilli flakes.. 

2 tbsp Milk, 1 tbsp Oil and 1/2 tsp Honey for the wash

(Keep all the above ingredients ready while proofing the bread.)

For a Quick Pizza Sauce.....

Ingredients

6 Ripe Tomatoes cut into cubes 

6 big size Garlic pod chopped

1 big size Onion chopped 

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Dry Mix Herbs or Fresh Basil Leaves chopped 

1 tsp Pepper powder 

1 cup Tomato purée

2 tbsp Olive oil

Method

In a wok, add olive oil. Add garlic and sauté for a minute, add the onions. Sauté till translucent. Add the tomatoes, stir and cook it for 5 minutes. Add the tomato purée, salt, pepper powder, sugar and mix herbs, stir and let it simmer for 5 minutes more. Keep it aside.

For the Burger Buns.....

Ingredients 

500 grams Flour ( Whole Wheat + All Purpose Flour ) 

                                      60          :           40 

2  and 1/4 tsp Dry Yeast or 1 Dry Yeast Sachet  

1/2 cup + 1 1/4 cups Luke Warm water 

2 tbsp Sugar 

Salt to taste

3 tbsp Olive oil 

Sprinkle of Dry Oregano (optional) 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl. Add the flour and salt and mix it. Take 1/2 cup lukewarm water, add sugar and mix it. Add the yeast, stir and dissolve the yeast in the water and let it stand for 10 minutes to rise. 

( This is the first step... Very very important... The yeast has to rise. )

Make a well in between the centre of the flour. Add the yeast water, 1 1/4 cup water and 1tbsp of oil in the centre of the flour. Mix it with a wooden spoon. Lightly knead it for 2 minutes. The dough is bit sticky at this stage.. ( if you feel the dough is very sticky, then sprinkle some flour and knead it. ) Add 1/2 tbsp oil and continue kneading for minute. Add 1/2 tbsp oil again and continue kneading for another minute. 

( Instead of 10 minutes, I kneaded it for just 4 minutes. Saved 6 minutes.) 

Now apply the remaining oil on the dough, cover the bowl, wrap the bowl with a napkin and keep it in the oven at 60 to 70 degrees Celsius.. (The oven has to be warm and not hot.) keep an eye on the bowl. After 3 to 4 minutes please feel the bowl.. If it has become hot.. Remove it from the oven and keep it out till it cools down. Keep it back in the oven. In 30 to 40 minutes the dough will rise. 

 ( Saves almost 30 minutes of stage 1 proofing time ) 

Remove the bowl from the oven. Punch the dough and knead it for a minute. Make 9 equal portions of the dough ( 100 grams of each portion ) the remaining dough would be made into hand made flat bread Pizza.. Grease a baking tray. Take a portion, to make the burger bun, push the dough from in between the thumb and index finger. It will form a ball. Now gently roll the ball with the help of the palms. Place the rolled dough on the baking tray. With the help of the fingers, lightly flatten the ball. Repeat the process. Keep the dough balls at a distance from one another. Cover it with a napkin and keep it in the oven for 20 minutes for rising at 60 to 70 degrees celcius. Now take the tray out of the oven, remove the napkin. Increase the oven temperature to 190 degrees celcius. Keep the oven for preheating. Meanwhile apply the milk wash on the buns. Sprinkle dry oregano on the buns (optional). Bake the buns for 10 minutes. Remove and apply another milk wash. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove again and apply the last milk wash. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes more until brown in colour. Remove it out from the oven. Brush in oil on the buns. Remove the buns from the tray and cool it.

To make the Hand made Flat Bread Pizza........

In between baking the buns.. Grease another baking tray. Take the remain dough, stretch it with your palms and spread the dough uniformly on the tray and cover up the tray completely. Grate the cheese over the dough. Apply the pizza sauce. Arrange all the cubed vegetables, olives and pickled vegetables. Put some more grated cheese on top. As the buns are ready, increase the oven temperature to 200 degrees celcius and bake the pizza for 25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the edges of the bread has become brown. Take it out from the oven and keep it for 10 minutes before cutting the pizza.

To make the Burger Pizza......

Take the burger buns and cut the buns horizontally. Take a baking tray. Place the lower portion of the buns on the tray. Put the grated cheese, then put a tbsp of the pizza sauce, put the all the vegetables one after the other. Finally put some more grated cheese. Bake the buns at 190 degrees celcius for 10 minutes or  till the cheese has melted. Take the. Tray out from the oven, place the top portion of the buns on the cheese. Put the tray back into the oven and back it for 10 minutes more. Remove the tray and serve it hot..... 

Dimer Tadka / Anda Tadka / Egg Tadka .......

Dimer Tadka / Anda Tadka / Egg Tadka .......

In and around Kolkatta there are many Punjabi roadside dhabas. Tadka dal is one of the very famous dish found in those dhabas. As a child every time, I visited Kolkatta, I would make it a point to eat this dal made by my Masi ( Aunty ) at her house.  Dal Tadka made with yellow lentils is otherwise available everywhere in India, but Tadka dal made with whole green gram / moong dal and the way it is prepared is only available in Kolkatta and it's surroundings. Egg or Chicken or Mutton is added to it. It can be vegetarian too. It is eaten with hot phulkas / Roti. There are many ways of making it. The eggs can be scrambled and added later or the egg can be dropped on the tadka at the end and simmered till the eggs are cooked. 

This is one of the way of making it. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Moong Dal washed soaked and boiled 

2 Eggs 

1 medium Onion chopped 

1 medium Tomato chopped 

6 Garlic cloves minced 

1 small piece Ginger minced 

3 Green Chilli minced 

1/2 tsp Turmeric 

1/2 tsp Coriander 

1/2 tsp Cumin 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Kasuri Methi 

1/2 tbsp Butter 

2 tbsp Oil 

For Garnishing 

Few Ginger juliennes 

1 Green Chilli slit 

Few Coriander leaves

 Method 

Take a deep bottom pot or lagan. Add oil and heat it. Add the garlic minced, sauté it for a minute. Add ginger minced and  chopped onion. Fry it till light golden brown in colour. Add the green chilli minced, stir it. Add the tomato, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add salt and 4 tbsp water, stir and cook till the tomatoes have become mushy. Now break the eggs into the pot and stir it for 2 minutes till the eggs have cooked. Add the boiled dal. Stir fry it well for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and stir it.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garam masala powder, Kasuri methi and butter. Stir it. Garnish it with coriander leaves, ginger juliennes and green chilli. Serve it hot with hot rotis... 

P. S. You can have a dry version or add more water as per you requirement.

Macher Roast / Fish Roast

Marcher Roast / Fish Roast 

This recipe is adapted from the book "Thakur Barir Ranna". I have recreated this recipe by adding whole garam masala and green chillies and made it as per my convenience... It is a semi dry dish. This is a very simple and easy to make dish. Even though there are no spice powder added in the recipe , yet it is so tasty.  It can be eaten with hot steamed rice.

 Ingredients 

3 Whole Tilapia Fish cleaned 

1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Chilli paste 

1 Onion made into paste 

4 Green Chillies slited 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tbsp Sugar

1 Bay Leaf

Whole Garam Masala crushed  (2 Cloves, 5 Pepper Corn, 2 Cardamom and 1 small stick Cinnamon)

2 to 3 tbsp White Vinegar or Curd 

3 to 4 tbsp Ghee 

Method

Marinate the fish with onion paste, ginger - garlic - chilli paste, salt and vinegar for about an hour. Take a flat bottom pan, add the ghee. Let it melt, add the whole garam masala and the bay leaf. Sauté it for few seconds till the garam masala crackles. Add the fish pieces into the pan, fry it till light brown in colour on both the sides. Remove it from the pan and keep it aside. Add the remaining marination into the pan, sauté it till light brown in colour. Add the green chillies and sugar, sauté it for a minute more. Add 3/4 cup of water and let it simmer till the gravy reduces a bit. Adjust the salt, stir it and add the fish. Cover and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Open the cover and turn the fish gently. Cook for a minute more. Serve it with hot steaming rice.