This is one recipe i can take absolutely full credit for since it has not been inspired by anything ive ever tasted or seen before....it's a pure figment of my imagination and an ingenious experiment whose result have left a very happy hubby and me.
All attempts to find recipes for stuffed mushrooms led to Continental food websites containing cheese and ingredients i had never even heard about. A few Indian recipes found were for starters. As they say "Neccesity is the mother of all Invention/Creativity", i set about to discover my own recipe for Stuffed Mushroom masala. All i knew is that i wanted to stuff my mushrooms with spinach and i also wanted a creamy gravy as a base. Here's what i did....
Ingredients:
1/2lb big size button mushrooms
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 cup shredded spinach
2 chopped green chilies
1/2tsp chilli pdr
1 tsp garam masala
7-8 cashew nuts
2 tsp curds
1 tsp vinegar
salt
oil
Method:
Clean Mushrooms well and cut out the stems to create a hollow space. Dice the stems seperately.
Lightly steam the spinach.
Add a tsp of oil and lightly saute the mushroom cups in it. Keep aside.
In the same pan, saute garlic, green chillies and onions till colour changes. Add diced stems
Add salt, chilli pdr, garam masala.
Add spinach and vinegar and saute for a few min.
Stuff the mushooms with some of this mixture. Keep aside
The rest of the sauteed mixture, grind together with cashewnuts and curds to form a creamy paste.
In the same pan, add some oil and saute the grinded mixture.
Add the stuffed mushrooms.
Cover and cooks for 5-7 mins.
Serve hot with flavoured rice. I served it with fried rice. It was wiped off so fast. I had to immediately write this post before the recipe gets wiped off from my memory. Just in case my hubby ask me to recreate this magic again.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Konkani Fare
Having experimented with a lot of Bengali food..i decided to go back to my roots and dish out some of my comfort foods...and to my delight my Bengali Hubby enjoyed them as well.
Konkani/Goan food known to most are the Portuguese influenced dishes commonly served in restaurants. There are a whole range of dishes never known to the outside world since they are only cooked at Konkani homes.This is my humble effort to introduce you to some authentic dishes cooked by my mother.
Starting the series with simple saatvik dishes made out of lentils and dals generally cooked during Ganpati festival. This is the most important festival for any Goan Hindu. Describing the amazing experience of Ganpati celebrations deserves another blog. Coming back, today i will introduce you to Mugagathi, green sprouts cooked in a mild gravy of coconut milk, accompanied with Daliche Wade, chana dal wadas. Konkani cuisines uses chana dal very sparingly. The only other dish known to be made with it is Mangane, a sweet dish. Watch out for my next post for more details.
Mugagathi
Ingredients:
1 cup green moong
1 half cup coconut shredded
4-5 green chillies
1 small ball of tamarind
1 big spoon grated jaggery
1 tsp Turmeric pdr
salt to taste
2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp hing
4-5 curry leaves
7-8 cashewnuts halfed
Method:
Soak the green mung in water 24 hrs before you plan to cook this dish. After about 8 hrs , they would have enlarged. Remove them into a cloth and tie them tightly. Leave it aside overnight to germinate. Once ready, you can either remove the skin or cook it by itself. I prefer to retain the skin since its enriched with proteins and flavour.
At the time of cooking, add some water to the sprouts and cook them.
Saute chillies in 1 tsp of oil
Grind together coconut, sauteed chillies, turmeric pdr and tamarind.
Add this mixture to the sprouts when they are half done.
Add jaggery and cashew nuts and cook till the sprouts are done.
In another small pan, add 1 tsp of oil and give tadka of mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Once the curry leaves get aromatic, Add this mixture to the cooked sprouts.
Mugagathi is ready. A mild coconut moong gravy with a hint of spicy, sweet n sour touch.
I served this with plain white rice and another konkani side dish called Daliche wade.
Daliche Wade
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chana dal
1 small onion chopped
1 small piece of ginger chopped
3-4 green chillies chopped
few strands of coriander leaves chopped
salt to taste
oil for frying
Method:
Soak the dal for about half an hour. Grind coarsely.
Add the remaining ingredients to it.
Heat little oil in a shallow pan. Drop small portions of the mixture and flatten it with the back of your spoon. Make small 5cms diameter circular wades. The wades have to be shallow fried.
Cook till brown n flip over. Brown the other side too.
Daliche wade is ready.
Serve as side dish with any meal or as an evening snack with chutney or ketchup.
Both dishes are very high on the health quotient and taste as good. Stay tuned for more exciting Konkani homemade dishes!!!
Konkani/Goan food known to most are the Portuguese influenced dishes commonly served in restaurants. There are a whole range of dishes never known to the outside world since they are only cooked at Konkani homes.This is my humble effort to introduce you to some authentic dishes cooked by my mother.
Starting the series with simple saatvik dishes made out of lentils and dals generally cooked during Ganpati festival. This is the most important festival for any Goan Hindu. Describing the amazing experience of Ganpati celebrations deserves another blog. Coming back, today i will introduce you to Mugagathi, green sprouts cooked in a mild gravy of coconut milk, accompanied with Daliche Wade, chana dal wadas. Konkani cuisines uses chana dal very sparingly. The only other dish known to be made with it is Mangane, a sweet dish. Watch out for my next post for more details.
Mugagathi
Ingredients:
1 cup green moong
1 half cup coconut shredded
4-5 green chillies
1 small ball of tamarind
1 big spoon grated jaggery
1 tsp Turmeric pdr
salt to taste
2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp hing
4-5 curry leaves
7-8 cashewnuts halfed
Method:
Soak the green mung in water 24 hrs before you plan to cook this dish. After about 8 hrs , they would have enlarged. Remove them into a cloth and tie them tightly. Leave it aside overnight to germinate. Once ready, you can either remove the skin or cook it by itself. I prefer to retain the skin since its enriched with proteins and flavour.
At the time of cooking, add some water to the sprouts and cook them.
Saute chillies in 1 tsp of oil
Grind together coconut, sauteed chillies, turmeric pdr and tamarind.
Add this mixture to the sprouts when they are half done.
Add jaggery and cashew nuts and cook till the sprouts are done.
In another small pan, add 1 tsp of oil and give tadka of mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Once the curry leaves get aromatic, Add this mixture to the cooked sprouts.
Mugagathi is ready. A mild coconut moong gravy with a hint of spicy, sweet n sour touch.
I served this with plain white rice and another konkani side dish called Daliche wade.
Daliche Wade
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chana dal
1 small onion chopped
1 small piece of ginger chopped
3-4 green chillies chopped
few strands of coriander leaves chopped
salt to taste
oil for frying
Method:
Soak the dal for about half an hour. Grind coarsely.
Add the remaining ingredients to it.
Heat little oil in a shallow pan. Drop small portions of the mixture and flatten it with the back of your spoon. Make small 5cms diameter circular wades. The wades have to be shallow fried.
Cook till brown n flip over. Brown the other side too.
Daliche wade is ready.
Serve as side dish with any meal or as an evening snack with chutney or ketchup.
Both dishes are very high on the health quotient and taste as good. Stay tuned for more exciting Konkani homemade dishes!!!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Bengali Servings
Most Indian meals are served in a thali with all dishes neatly arranged in a pattern. I actually remember being chided by uncle for not serving the Taat(Plate) according to the set norms. In my Konkani home, esp on festival days, all the dishes cooked for the prasad, has to be served in a defined pattern on a banana leaf.
Now married into a bengali family, i was exposed to a whole new world of food n etiquette.Bengali cuisine may be well know for its diverse cuisine but what i found interesting is their serving style. It follows a 5 course meal pattern similar to the West but with an Indian touch.
The first course is lighter, easier on the stomach kind of menu consisting of rice, dal, vegetables cooked in mild sauces(alu poshto/dalnas) and a fried option(alu bhaja/begun bhaja). Second course is rice with some fish serving. Third course is the main course - a meaty option, generally with chicken or lamb dishes. The fourth course is part fruity-part vegetable dish called Chaatnis. But unlike the usual chutneys used as accompanements, these chutney are eaten as a dish by itself. They are gen sweet, rich with dry fruits and in a semi liquid state (Tomato-Khajur-Raisin/ Pineapple Chutuney). Lastly they end their meal with a wide range of famous bengali sweets.
Coming from a non bengali family, i always wanted to serve a complete bengali meal to my bengali hubby. With recipe advise n lots of support from my mother-in-law, i actually managed to achieve this feat. Since my hubby is vegetarian, my sec and third course got combined into one heavy duty vegetable option called labra.
For this meal i made rice, masoori dal, alu poshto, pumkin fry, labra, tomato-rasin chaatni and ended the meal with store bought rossagullas. Need i say how happy n excited my hubby was that day.
Today i will be blogging the recipes for Labra and Tomato Raisin Chaatni.
Labra:
This dish requires 9 different vegetables. But its very important to have the said vegetable to maintain the bengali taste. This is a typical bengali Saatvic dish with no onion garlic.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin
Bottle gourd (Doodhi)
Ridge Gourd (Parwal)
Small parwal (called Zinga in bengali...looks slightly bigger than a tendeli)
Eggplant
Sweet Potato
French Beans
1-2 pieces of radish(Just for flavour)
Potato
If any one of these vegetables are not available, you can substitute with squash or turnip.
1 tsp mustard oil
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp panch phoran
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp turmeric pdr
1 tsp sugar
2-3 green chillies, chopped
2 tsp ghee
1 tsp wheat flour
salt to taste
Method:
Chop all vegetables to medium-to-large size pieces.
Heat a mixture of both oils.
Add panch phoran n bay leaves. Saute till aromatic.
Then add all the vegetables. Mix well. Add salt.
Lower the flame n let the vegetables cook in their own juices.
When almost done, add some more water, then add ginger paste, turmeric, sugar, chillies n ghee and mix well.
Add atta lastly n cook for a while.
All vegetables should get mushy and becomes as one. Thats when the dish is done.
It may not look very appealing but the subtle taste of ghee n panch phoran takes it to a whole new level.
Tomato-Raisin Chaatni
This chaatni has many variations. You can make it with only tomatoes, or with tomatoes and raisins or with tomatoes-raisins-dates. The possibilities are endless.
Ingredients:
3 big tomatoes. chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp garlic juliens
1 tsp ginger juliens
2-3 slit green chillies
1 tsp panch phoran
2 tsp mustard oil
3 big tsp sugar
1 tsp crushed methi seeds
3-4 dry red chillies
salt to taste
Method:
Heat 1 tsp oil and add panch phoran.
Once aromatic, add ginger, garlic n chillies. Saute for a while
Then add the chopped tomatoes
Let this mixture cook for a while.
Just when the tomatoes are losing shape, add sugar and raisins
Let it caramelise.
Lastly add little salt.
Heat the other tsp of oil in another pan.
Add methi seeds and red chillies. Saute till chillies turn dark brown.
Add this tempering to the tomatoes and cook for some more time.
The dish is done when the tomatoes have mashed well n u can smell the red chillies in it.
This dish is sweet slightly spicy preparation.
Now married into a bengali family, i was exposed to a whole new world of food n etiquette.Bengali cuisine may be well know for its diverse cuisine but what i found interesting is their serving style. It follows a 5 course meal pattern similar to the West but with an Indian touch.
The first course is lighter, easier on the stomach kind of menu consisting of rice, dal, vegetables cooked in mild sauces(alu poshto/dalnas) and a fried option(alu bhaja/begun bhaja). Second course is rice with some fish serving. Third course is the main course - a meaty option, generally with chicken or lamb dishes. The fourth course is part fruity-part vegetable dish called Chaatnis. But unlike the usual chutneys used as accompanements, these chutney are eaten as a dish by itself. They are gen sweet, rich with dry fruits and in a semi liquid state (Tomato-Khajur-Raisin/ Pineapple Chutuney). Lastly they end their meal with a wide range of famous bengali sweets.
Coming from a non bengali family, i always wanted to serve a complete bengali meal to my bengali hubby. With recipe advise n lots of support from my mother-in-law, i actually managed to achieve this feat. Since my hubby is vegetarian, my sec and third course got combined into one heavy duty vegetable option called labra.
For this meal i made rice, masoori dal, alu poshto, pumkin fry, labra, tomato-rasin chaatni and ended the meal with store bought rossagullas. Need i say how happy n excited my hubby was that day.
Today i will be blogging the recipes for Labra and Tomato Raisin Chaatni.
Labra:
This dish requires 9 different vegetables. But its very important to have the said vegetable to maintain the bengali taste. This is a typical bengali Saatvic dish with no onion garlic.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin
Bottle gourd (Doodhi)
Ridge Gourd (Parwal)
Small parwal (called Zinga in bengali...looks slightly bigger than a tendeli)
Eggplant
Sweet Potato
French Beans
1-2 pieces of radish(Just for flavour)
Potato
If any one of these vegetables are not available, you can substitute with squash or turnip.
1 tsp mustard oil
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp panch phoran
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp turmeric pdr
1 tsp sugar
2-3 green chillies, chopped
2 tsp ghee
1 tsp wheat flour
salt to taste
Method:
Chop all vegetables to medium-to-large size pieces.
Heat a mixture of both oils.
Add panch phoran n bay leaves. Saute till aromatic.
Then add all the vegetables. Mix well. Add salt.
Lower the flame n let the vegetables cook in their own juices.
When almost done, add some more water, then add ginger paste, turmeric, sugar, chillies n ghee and mix well.
Add atta lastly n cook for a while.
All vegetables should get mushy and becomes as one. Thats when the dish is done.
It may not look very appealing but the subtle taste of ghee n panch phoran takes it to a whole new level.
Tomato-Raisin Chaatni
This chaatni has many variations. You can make it with only tomatoes, or with tomatoes and raisins or with tomatoes-raisins-dates. The possibilities are endless.
Ingredients:
3 big tomatoes. chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp garlic juliens
1 tsp ginger juliens
2-3 slit green chillies
1 tsp panch phoran
2 tsp mustard oil
3 big tsp sugar
1 tsp crushed methi seeds
3-4 dry red chillies
salt to taste
Method:
Heat 1 tsp oil and add panch phoran.
Once aromatic, add ginger, garlic n chillies. Saute for a while
Then add the chopped tomatoes
Let this mixture cook for a while.
Just when the tomatoes are losing shape, add sugar and raisins
Let it caramelise.
Lastly add little salt.
Heat the other tsp of oil in another pan.
Add methi seeds and red chillies. Saute till chillies turn dark brown.
Add this tempering to the tomatoes and cook for some more time.
The dish is done when the tomatoes have mashed well n u can smell the red chillies in it.
This dish is sweet slightly spicy preparation.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Fusion Corn
My earliest introduction with CORN was the ubiquitous "Bhutta" which was available during the monsoon season. Bhutta is a perfectly roasted corn on a bed of coals held within a Shedgi or stove. The bhutta bhaiya would fan the coals to create the required heat to roast the corn. After roasting, he would dip a lemon piece into a mixture of salt n red chillie pdr and apply this spicy-sour-salty mixture to the bhutta. That was the perfect snack for a rainy day.
For a long time, this was the only form of corn i ate. Till we had a brigade of fusion food in Mumbai...from American Bhelpuri to the now famous Corn in CUP. Now that ive experienced the taste of fresh corn, its founds a way into multiple indian dishes...creating a new fusion experience everytime. Today was one such experiment. I converted the usual palak paneer to a new fusion dish Alu Corn Palak. And it tasted really good. This recipe can also be used to make only Alu palak or only Corn palak.
Alu Corn Palak
Ingredients:
Bunch of spinach leaves, blanched n pureed
1 big potato, chopped
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1 onion
1 inch ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
2-3 green chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tomato..pureed
1 tsp turmeric pdr
1 tsp red chilli pdr
1 tsp cumin pdr
1 tsp coriander pdr
1-2 tsp yogurt or fresh cream
salt to taste
1 small tsp sugar
oil
Method:
Heat some oil, add cumin seeds..let them sizzle
Grind together onion, ginger garlic green chillies. Add this mixture to the oil. Saute till brown.
Add tomato puree and the masala pdrs. Let the mixture cook till aromatic
Saute potatoes in little oil. Then add potatoes to the masala mixture and cook till almost done. Can add little water if mixture is drying up.
Next add the pureed palak and corn. Cook till done.
Lastly add cream or yogurt.
Adjust salt n sugar
I serve it hot with jeera rice and dhaniya ka bada. Truely Fusion Experience!!!!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Comfort Food
My idea of comfort food has always been steamed rice, dal and potatoes in any form. This is the simplest, fasted and easiest meal to prepare and taste divine after a feasting episode.
Today was one such day when i wanted to keep it basic but was itching to try something different. The only form of dal which i had never cooked or eaten was the (Red) Masoor dal. Somehow it was never cooked at my mom's place but my hubby used to always rant about how nutritious it was and how great it tasted when cooked in bengali style. A brief search on Wikepedia confirmed it. With 26% protein, lentil is the vegetable with the highest level of protein other than soybeans. And i found a authentic bengali recipe on this blog.
So began my expt....since i was cooking on a friday, when i cannot eat sour, i omitted the tomatoes n lime juice from the recipe and added a few things of my own but it tasted just as great.
Masoor Dal
Ingredients:
1 cup masoor dal - boiled
1 big tsp of Panch Phoran( bengali mix of 5 spices..luckily i found a pkt of it)
1 medium onion
1 small piece of ginger chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic chopped.
1 tsp pf turmeric
2-3 green chillies slit
1 tsp of sugar
ghee or oil
water
Method:
Mash the boiled dal and add the turmeric pdr to it
Heat up a tsp of oil and add panch phoran to it. Let the flavours of the spices come out. Do not let it burn.
Then add green chilles, ginger & garlic. Saute
Also saute the onions.
Lastly add the boiled dal. Adjust salt n sugar.
Add water to maintain a watery consistency
It supposed to be fun to slurp it as it runs thru ur fingers. It can also be had as a soup on a rainy day. Masoor dal has a very distinct nutty taste and the nutritious punch added can have you asking for more.
I served masoor dal with steamed rice n Alu Bhaja...another bengali classic. Its a spicy brother of the french fries.
Alu Bhaja
Ingredient:
2-3 Potatoes
1 tsp turmeric pdr
1 tsp chilli pdr
salt
oil for frying
Method:
Cut potatoes into match size pieces n soak in salt water for sometime.
Drain out the water and add turmeric and chilli pdr. Adjust salt.
Heat up the oil and fry pototoes till golden brown.
Take care as the oil may spurt due to the water in the potatoes.
A comforting meal of steamed rice, masoor dal and alu bhaja was served to lift our spirits after an unusally busy day.
Today was one such day when i wanted to keep it basic but was itching to try something different. The only form of dal which i had never cooked or eaten was the (Red) Masoor dal. Somehow it was never cooked at my mom's place but my hubby used to always rant about how nutritious it was and how great it tasted when cooked in bengali style. A brief search on Wikepedia confirmed it. With 26% protein, lentil is the vegetable with the highest level of protein other than soybeans. And i found a authentic bengali recipe on this blog.
So began my expt....since i was cooking on a friday, when i cannot eat sour, i omitted the tomatoes n lime juice from the recipe and added a few things of my own but it tasted just as great.
Masoor Dal
Ingredients:
1 cup masoor dal - boiled
1 big tsp of Panch Phoran( bengali mix of 5 spices..luckily i found a pkt of it)
1 medium onion
1 small piece of ginger chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic chopped.
1 tsp pf turmeric
2-3 green chillies slit
1 tsp of sugar
ghee or oil
water
Method:
Mash the boiled dal and add the turmeric pdr to it
Heat up a tsp of oil and add panch phoran to it. Let the flavours of the spices come out. Do not let it burn.
Then add green chilles, ginger & garlic. Saute
Also saute the onions.
Lastly add the boiled dal. Adjust salt n sugar.
Add water to maintain a watery consistency
It supposed to be fun to slurp it as it runs thru ur fingers. It can also be had as a soup on a rainy day. Masoor dal has a very distinct nutty taste and the nutritious punch added can have you asking for more.
I served masoor dal with steamed rice n Alu Bhaja...another bengali classic. Its a spicy brother of the french fries.
Alu Bhaja
Ingredient:
2-3 Potatoes
1 tsp turmeric pdr
1 tsp chilli pdr
salt
oil for frying
Method:
Cut potatoes into match size pieces n soak in salt water for sometime.
Drain out the water and add turmeric and chilli pdr. Adjust salt.
Heat up the oil and fry pototoes till golden brown.
Take care as the oil may spurt due to the water in the potatoes.
A comforting meal of steamed rice, masoor dal and alu bhaja was served to lift our spirits after an unusally busy day.
Dhaniya ka bada
I had taken a break from blogging as my blogs werent doing the right justice to the food without the tempting pictures of the dish. I had vowed to get back only after having the resources but in the process, i was losing out documenting a lot of amazing experitments which turned out in flying colours. Hence ive decided to carry on posting the recipes and adding the pictures later.
One such successful experiment was making Dhaniya ka bada as they call it in Bengali. My only tryst uptill now with Coriander wadas was Kothimbir Wadi made by Maharashtrains. I assumed it would be almost the same but was in for a plesant surprise. This dish taste like a cross between Kothimbir Wadi n Khasta kachori but it taste great anyways.
Here it goes...
Ingredient:
Bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 big tsp besan pdr
2 big tsp rava
1 big tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp turmeric pdr
1 tsp chilli pdr or 2-3 green chillies chopped
1 big tsp sugar
salt to taste
oil for frying
water
Method:
Mix all ingredient except the oil and make a thick paste.
Let the oil heat up in tha kadai
Drop small portion of the mixture into the hot oil and fry it till golden brown.
The results are amazing crispy Dhaniya badas with a mixed flavour of Corainder, fennel n slightly sweet. They taste great by themselves but u can also pair them with any chutney of your choice.
Keep in mind that the besan is only for binding and shouldnt influence the taste. If the first batch of badas taste like normal bhajis , add more rava to the batter to balance it.
Enjoy!!!!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Unusual Combination
Few weekends back we were invited for dinner at my hubby's friends place. It was a perfect evening with wine, good food and good company. The highlight being the dessert served. The hostess had made my all time favourite gulab jamuns!!! Though i dont have a sweet tooth, this is one exception i really relish. Infact its always being associated with all birthdays and anniversaries at my mom's house. We had a very interesting ritual wherein all of us would be up till midnight, the day before such a occassion. Mom would lovingly make the most amazing gulab jamuns. Then at the stroke of 12, she would feed the celebrity(s) of the day, all of us would sing wishes, gobble down a few gulab jamuns and retire for the night. Ive had some beautiful memories associated with this ritual.
Anyways coming back to this the dinner party, the hostess had prepared amazing gulab jamuns with the right texture n sweetness level. But what amazed me was the style of serving. She had served the gulab jamuns topped with Vanilla ice cream!! Though im a die hard fan of the tradional serving style, i must say this was a very interesting and tasty combination. The creaminess of the ice cream attached a special touch to the gulab jamuns. This is definetly worth a try!!!
Also another interesting combo hosted on rediff.com caught my eye. These gulab jamuns were really intoxicating. They were dipped in a mixture of sugar syrup and alcohol. Wow!!! Im not sure how that would taste, but sure sounds interesting!!!. Anybody willing to try??? Will let you know the outcome if i ever do try it.
Anyways coming back to this the dinner party, the hostess had prepared amazing gulab jamuns with the right texture n sweetness level. But what amazed me was the style of serving. She had served the gulab jamuns topped with Vanilla ice cream!! Though im a die hard fan of the tradional serving style, i must say this was a very interesting and tasty combination. The creaminess of the ice cream attached a special touch to the gulab jamuns. This is definetly worth a try!!!
Also another interesting combo hosted on rediff.com caught my eye. These gulab jamuns were really intoxicating. They were dipped in a mixture of sugar syrup and alcohol. Wow!!! Im not sure how that would taste, but sure sounds interesting!!!. Anybody willing to try??? Will let you know the outcome if i ever do try it.
Monday, January 8, 2007
My First Experiment
Though ive been a food lover and an IT professional for a long time, i had no idea about food blogs till few months back. Ever since ive been browsing thru and experimenting various recipes. Its been a very enriching experience and i feel obliged to share a few of my successful experiments with you.
I married into a bengali family almost 3 yrs ago, but never had a chance to learn about their food and recipes. Last weekend my hubby's uncle paid us a visit. Being a food freak himself, he offered to teach me a few bengali recipes.
Bengali women have been known to slave for hours over their stove. Maybe one of the reason which kept me off their cuisine since im an instant cook. But this recipe surprisingly is a easy and fast meal. Also it made me realise that recipes without onion garlic and tomatoes can also taste great. This is one such recipe. Also the subtle use of ghee n ground spices is a refreshing break to my apetite and nasal senses. Here it goes...
Squash Dalna
1 squash - peeled and cut into cubes
1-2 potatoes - peeled and cut into cubes
1 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp Turmeric pdr
1 tsp red chilli pdr
1 tsp Ghee
1 tsp freshly ground garam masala - cloves, cinnamon, cardamon.
1/2 cup water
Procedure:
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and bay leaves. Saute till aromatic.
Add the squash n potato pieces.Saute till potatoes change colour
Add the turmeric and chilli pdr. Add enough water to cook the vegetables.
After they have cooked. Add the ghee and ground spices. Mix well and cover. Switch the gas now.
The ghee and ground spices will flavour the vegetables.
Serve with steamed rice and dal.
I married into a bengali family almost 3 yrs ago, but never had a chance to learn about their food and recipes. Last weekend my hubby's uncle paid us a visit. Being a food freak himself, he offered to teach me a few bengali recipes.
Bengali women have been known to slave for hours over their stove. Maybe one of the reason which kept me off their cuisine since im an instant cook. But this recipe surprisingly is a easy and fast meal. Also it made me realise that recipes without onion garlic and tomatoes can also taste great. This is one such recipe. Also the subtle use of ghee n ground spices is a refreshing break to my apetite and nasal senses. Here it goes...
Squash Dalna
1 squash - peeled and cut into cubes
1-2 potatoes - peeled and cut into cubes
1 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp Turmeric pdr
1 tsp red chilli pdr
1 tsp Ghee
1 tsp freshly ground garam masala - cloves, cinnamon, cardamon.
1/2 cup water
Procedure:
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and bay leaves. Saute till aromatic.
Add the squash n potato pieces.Saute till potatoes change colour
Add the turmeric and chilli pdr. Add enough water to cook the vegetables.
After they have cooked. Add the ghee and ground spices. Mix well and cover. Switch the gas now.
The ghee and ground spices will flavour the vegetables.
Serve with steamed rice and dal.
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