Shitkalin Niramish Tarkari

I absolutely love winters. The variety of fresh vegetables that you get to eat during winter is fabulous. I always love simple home cooked vegetables. One of the winter vegetable dish is  Niramish Tarkari - Vegetarian Sabji. The ground roasted masala that is added in this recipe is different. It enhances the flavour of of this dish. The vegetables cook in its own water. My Ma use to make this dish, this can be eaten with roti, chapatis or parathas. 

For the Roasted Powder 

Ingredients 

6 to 8 Black Pepper Corn

2 Green Cardamom 

2 Cloves 

1 small piece of Cinnamon 

2 Dried Red Chillies 

1 tsp Coriander Seeds

1 tsp Cumin Seeds 

1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds

1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

Method 

Take a pan, add the pepper corn, cardomom, cloves, cinnamon, red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds. Roast all the ingredients until you get some good aroma. Switch off the flame, let it cool. Add the ingredients in the grinder and grind the ingredients into a powder. Keep it aside. 

For the Vegetable

Ingredients 

1 big bowl of mix vegetables cut into cubes. 

1 Capsicum 

1 Carrot 

1 Sweet Potato

3 Cauliflower florets 

5 tbsp Green Peas

8 to 10 French Beans cut into medium size pieces 

1 Tomato chopped and keep it separate 

1 small piece of Ginger chopped 

2 Green Chillies cut into pieces 

2 Bay leaves 

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

Roasted Masala Powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

2 tbsp Ghee

Method 

Take a wok, add ghee, let the ghee melt. Add the ginger, green chillies and bay leaves. Let it sauté for few seconds. Add the cumin seeds, let the seeds crackle. Add the mix vegetables. stir, cover and let it cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Open the lid, add the tomato and stir for a minute. Add the sugar, salt, turmeric powder and the roasted powder. Stir and cover the wok and continue to cook on a low flame until the vegetables are done. Serve the vegetables with hot rotis, chapatis or parthas. 

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.