Chicken Kurma(Chicken cooked in coconut milk)

This is a dish for people who do not love very spicy food.I decided
to try it out when I had some friends over for dinner and they liked
this preparation for its simplicity and minimum use of spices.The
coconut milk gives it a fresh taste and does not overpower the taste
buds as well.

Ingredients:
Chicken 1 kg cut to medium pieces.
Black mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10-12
Oil
Salt
Sugar - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - - 1 tsp
Turmeric - - 1 tsp
Coconut milk(fresh or tinned) -approx 100-150 ml
Onion - 2 large
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 3
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp


Method:
1.Rub a little salt,turmeric and chilli powder on the chicken pieces
and set aside for 30-45 minutes.
2.Grate onions to a paste with green chillies
3.Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan.When hot, add mustard seeds and
curry leaves(they splutter a lot so be careful).
4.Add the onion paste, a little salt and turmeric and start frying
till golden brown.Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.
5.Add the chicken pieces and fry on medium flame till lightly browned.
6.Add the cumin and coriander powder,mix and cook covered.
7.Take care that the chicken does not burn,sprinkle water from time
to time if required.
8.Test the chicken by inserting a fork into the thickest part of the
meat.Once it is soft and almost cooked, remove the lid and add the
coconut milk and sugar.Mix well and let it simmer on a low heat for
10-15 minutes.Add water to get desired gravy consistency.
9.Check the seasoning and add salt if required.Serve hot with
rice/paranthas.

Puli

Puli pitha
This is a sweet often made during Makar Sankranti in January.The dry version keeps well for few days.Molds to make the casing are available in the market but I decide to do it the traditional way, as it looks much more elegant.

Ingredients
--------------
For the filling:
Grated coconut - 2cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
For the casing:
Flour/Maida - 1 1/2 cup
Refined Oil
Method
-----------
For filling:
Put the coconut and sugar in a thick bottomed pan,a non-stick pan would be ideal for beginners, and keep cooking it till the sugar melts and the mixture turns a little transluscent and sticky.Add cardamom powder and leave it to cool completely.You can prepare this a day in advance if required.

For the dough:
Knead flour with a little oil and add water gradually till the dough is soft and stretchy. A 10 min kneading should be good.Make small balls from the dough and roll it into disks.Spoon the filling onto the dough and close it in the form of a semi circle.Use a little water, if needed to seal the edges.Start from one end of the semi-circle and make small curls until you reach the other end(see picture for reference).Do it slowly so as not to puncture the dough else it will crack in the oil.
Once the pulis are ready heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and fry them till golden brown.Set aside on some tissue to absord excess oil.Cool and store in an air-tight container.

Dum Aloo with Luchi

This Dum Aloo was created by chance during my stay in UK, and turned out to be a favourite with most people I served it too.Have been requested for repeats, so guess it should find its way on this blog. Goes well with anything, but it is an unsaid Bengali tradition to serve Dum Aloo with Luchi,the fried bread made from flour(Maida) so I shall oblige too!!..here goes:

DUM ALOO-
Ingredients
------------
Baby potatoes (approx 250 gms serves 2)
Cumin seeds
Nigella seeds (Kalonji)
Bay leaf -1
Dry red chiily - 1
Salt,Turmeric
Cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder
Garam masala powder
Mustard oil
2 tablespoons thick yogurt
Sugar

Method:
----------
Wash the baby potatoes and boil them with some salt.Peel and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of mustard oil in a pan. When hot, add the red chilly,cumin seeds,nigella seeds and a Bay leaf.
Add the potatoes, a little salt and turmeric and fry till crisp and golden.
Add 1 tsp Cumin powder,1 tsp coriander powder, red chilli powder (to taste), sprinkle a little water and mix well so that the spices don't burn.Keep adding water at intervals but not too much.
Once the oil starts to separate from the masala add yoghurt and 1/2 tsp of sugar.Mix well, adding a little water.Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
Add 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder and mix. Check the seasoning, add salt if required.
Cook for 1 min and your Dum Aloo is ready.

LUCHI-
A little tricky , and the measures are just approximate. It takes some practice to get the perfect luchis, but unless you try, how can you taste??

Ingredients
------------
Plain flour - approx 100gms
Refined oil - for kneading and frying
A pinch of salt
Water for the dough

Method
---------
Mix the flour and salt, add about 1 1/2 tbsp of refined oil and mix well with your fingers so that no lumps remain in the flour.
Add water ,little at a time and make a dough.It should not be too soft.
Knead the dough vigorously for 10 mins to release the gluten and make it elastic.
Make small balls and roll out the luchis. They should be as even as possible.
Once 6-8 luchis are rolled out, heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and when hot, fry the luchis.It takes only a few seconds on each side.
Serve hot with Dum Aloo.

Prawn Biryani

Prawns are one of my favourites, and I cook them in numerous ways. I shall share all the recipes in due course.
A biryani is very quick and easy to jostle up, and a very good variation from eating prawn curry all the time.
Have a lime pickle handy, it goes really well with this dish.

Ingredients:
---------------
Medium Prawns(peeled and deveined) - 250 gms
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Whole garam masala ( 3 cloves, 1 bay leaf, A small piece of cinnamon, 3 cardamoms)
Turmeric powder
Red Chilli powder
Salt
Biryani masala
Onions
Oil
Dry fruits for garnish

Method:
----------
1. Wash the prawns. Coat them in salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric and red chilli powder and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes.After 30 minutes strain the water and set aside.
3. Slice onions finely and fry them in oil till brown and crisp.The trick is to drop only a small amount of onions in oil and fry them quickly on high heat, taking care not to burn them.
4. In a thick bottomed pan, put 2 tbsp of oil, add the whole garam masala and 1 1/2 tsp of biryani masala. Add the rice and salt and fry for 2-3 minutes.You can add turmeric for colour.Add 2 cups of boiling water and stir well so that no rice sticks to the bottom. Let the rice cook and absorb the water.Add more if necessary.In the end there should be no excess water left and the rice should be about 90% cooked.
                                                                      OR
If you find cooking rice in an open pan daunting,cook rice in a pressure cooker and just add the cooked rice to the masala in the above step (Made your life easier :-)).Fry it off and set aside.
5. Spread the rice on a plate taking care not to break the grains.
6. In a deep and thick bottommed pan, add 3 tbsp of oil. Fry the prawns for about 5 mins or till the water they ooze out gets dried.
7. Add the rice,dry fruits and fried onions to the prawns and give it a little mix. Cover tightly and cook on low flame for around 10 minutes.Check occassionally to see if the biryani is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Serve hot with lime / any spicy pickle.

Dhokar Dalna - Bengal gram dumplings in potato gravy

Valentine's Day 2012 - cannot understand the hype surrounding this day, so no special plans except.....Dhoka...what an irony on this day as 'Dhoka' in Hindi means to cheat... maybe I can cheat everyone into believing the dish turned out awesome ;-)

Wanted to try this classic for many years but could never muster the courage...it is known to be tricky...nevertheless gave it a go..lo and behold..beginner's luck paid off!!!

Ingredients:

--------------
Chana Dal (Split Bengal gram) - 1 1/2 cup
Asafoetida (Hing) - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
Bay leaf  - 1
Oil
Cumin powder - 1tbsp
Coriander powder - 1tbsp
Red chilli powder - to taste
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Potato - 1 medium,diced
Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Method:
------------
1. Soal the Chana dal for 6-8 hours.Blend to a thick paste in the mixer.
2. In a non-stick pan, add 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds,salt,1/2 tbsp of Asafoetida and some red chilli powder.Add the dal and stir quickly to mix the spices. Do not let it dry.
3. Apply oil on a plate and spread the warm mixture evenly on it.Try to keep the thickness uniform.Remove lumps if any had been formed in the dal.
4. Once the mixture has cooled cut into squares/ diamond shapes.These are the Dhoka See picture.
                                     
5. Fry the Dhoka in oil till brown on both sides.This step could play spoilsport as the Dhoka will split if the consistency of the dal mixture is not right.Thankfully, mine were safe.Here's how the fried pieces look like.

6. Add oil to a deep kadhai/pan.Add 1 tsp cumin seeds,1/2 tbsp asafoetida and a bay leaf.When the seeds splutter, add the diced potato,turmeric powder, salt and fry till golden.Add cumin and coriander powder, ginger paste and red chilli powder as per your taste.Cook the spices, adding a little water if needed.Once the oil separates, add water for the gravy.Let it simmer till the potatoes are cooked.You could add tomato puree to make the gravy thick.
7. Add the fried Dhoka pieces and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.Add the ghee and garam masala and take off the heat.Serve with white rice/pulao.

Egg (Cube??) Curry

At first glance...are you thinking..paneer??I would, you know.When I came across this recipe, I decided to try it just for the sheer fun of it. It is really simple to make..and you even get the wows :). So for all egg-lovers,here goes...

Serves : 2

Ingredients:
--------------
Eggs - 2-3
Onion - 1 medium, grated
Tomato - 1 medium,pureed
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds -1 tsp
Green chillies - 2- 3, chopped, or grated with the onions in the mixer
Red chilli powder -1/2  tsp
Cumin powder - 11/2 tsp
Coriander powder-  11/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - 3/4 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves - to garnish
Oil

Method:
----------
1.Break the eggs in a bowl. Add salt,chilli powder and whisk till slightly frothy.
2.Boil water in a pressure cooker or large saucepan.Cover the bowl containing egg mixture and place it in the water.The level of water should be below the halfway mark of the bowl. Let it steam for around 10 minutes.Check in between to see if the mixture is thick.You can insert a knife and check if it comes out clean. We don't want it to be too solid like paneer, but a little softer.
3.Set the bowl aside to cool.Then tip the Egg out of the bowl and cut it into cubes.Fry lightly and set aside.
4.Heat oil in a frying pan.Add the cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the onion- green chilli mixture and turmeric powder,and fry on a medium flame till golden brown.
5.Add the cumin and coriander powder,ginger-garlic paste,salt and fry for 1 minute.Then add the tomato puree.Fry till the mixture separates from the oil.
6.Add water for the gravy, just enough to have a thick consistency. Bring to the boil.Then simmer for 2-3 minutes.
7. Add the egg cubes and garam masala and stir through.Let it simmer for 1 more minute.Check seasoning, add fresh coriander leaves and serve hot.

Patishapta - Bengali dessert (Semolina and flour pancakes with coconut filling)

 Makar Sankranti, in my family, is mostly celebrated as a festival of making and eating special sweets, called Pitha, and usually I associate with it memories of a get together at my maternal grandmother's house, where we would all take part in making the pitha and devouring them as quickly. Pitha are generally made of flour and semolina with a coconut stuffing,but in some households rice flour is also used. Some of the Pithas are dipped in syrup, while others are eaten dry.

Patishapta is almost one of the mandatory sweets made on this occasion.It is simple to make, but one may not get it right the first time.Following is a recipe for the crepes as well as the filling. The measurements may not be exact, and may need a little tweaking as per the taste/ quality of base ingredients.

For the filling:

--------------

1. Grated or dessicated coconut - 100 gms

2. Sugar - 50 gms , add more if you want the mixture sweeter, can be substituted by jaggery also.

3. Water

Heat the sugar and coconut over a medium flame. Sprinkle water if the mixture gets too dry.Keep stirring all the time till sugar melts and the mixture sticks together a little.Keep aside to cool.

For the crepes:

----------------

1. Semolina/ Sooji - 75 gms

2. Plain flour - 100 gms

3. Sugar - 3 tsp (optional)

4. Water

Soak the semolina in water for around 30 minutes.Add the flour and sugar and add water to make it into a paste.Dissolve all lumps.Add water till it comes to pouring consistency (like cream).

Heat a flat frying pan/ tawa(preferably non-stick),and apply a little oil on the surface.Drop a ladle full of the crepe mixture onto the pan.Turn the pan to spread the mixture into a circular shape.When slight bubbles begin to appear below the surface,spoon a tablespoon of the filling onto the crepe.Start rolling the crepe to seal the mixture and form a cylindrical shape(as shown in the picture above).

These can be served hot/cold . A filling of fried spiced vegetables etc,can be substituted for people averse to sweets.

Live to Eat

Hello friends,

I decided to create this food blog to indulge my culinary inclinations.
Cooking, I believe, is something which brings pleasure not only to the person being fed but more to the cook.

I wish to cook all the traditional dishes that I have come to know of,which are hardly eaten nowadays by people of our generation.I also want to come out of my comfort zone and try many new recipes and ideas.
I hope to meet many like minded people who are passionate about cooking and eating.

Cheers to great food!!