Chirer Pulao

Chirer Pulao

It is a delicious healthy dish eaten for breakfast or snacks. This is a popular dish of Bengal, but only made at home.  This dish is made with flatten rice (Poha) and different types of winter vegetables. 

My mother use to add little grated ginger, which I have not added in this recipe. 

Ingredients

2 cups of thick Flatten Rice washed 

1 small Onion sliced 

1/4 cup of each vegetables cut into strips 

Carrots, French beans, Cauliflower, Potato and Capsicum) 

4 tbsp of Green Peas

2 Green Chillies cut lengthwise 

1 tbsp Peanuts

1 tbsp broken Cashews 

1 tbsp Raisins 

2 to 3 Bay Leaves 

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Sugar 

1 tsp Garam Masala powder

3 tbsp Ghee 

Method

Take ghee in the wok. Let the ghee heat up. Add cumin seeds. Let it crackle. Add bay leaves, peanuts and cashews. Stir and sauté until light brown in colour. Add the hard vegetable first one at a time. To begin with add the potatoes. Stir for a few seconds. Add the cauliflower. Stir and let it cook for a minute. Add the carrot, continue to cook for a few seconds. Add the french beans. Let it cook further for a minute. Add the green peas and capsicum. Stir for a minute more. Add the onion. Stir and let it cook on low flame for another minute. Finally add the green chillies and stir. Now add the raisins, sugar and salt. Stir and cover the wok with a lid. Let the vegetables cook until tender. Remove the lid, check if the vegetables are cooked. Add 1/4 cup of water,stir,  add the flatten rice. Stir and cook for few seconds. Add the garam masala powder and some more salt. Stir it once more. Serve it hot. 

Egg less Almond Cake Loaf

Egg less Almond Cake Loaf

Ingredients
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp vinegar
1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/3 cup almond powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup powder sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp almond essence
4 tbsp almond flakes

Method
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees and grease  the cake loaf  pan. Beat  the vinegar into the almond milk and keep aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, almond powder, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar powder, oil, essences and almond milk mixture. Mix all the wet ingredients together. Now add all the dry ingredients and beat it well till all the ingredients combines well. Pour into the prepared cake loaf pan  and sprinkle the almond flakes from top and cook for 30 – 35 minutes at 160 - 170 degrees, or until the edges brown. Cool it on a wire rack.

Mini Gola Ruti with a twist ( Egg mini pancakes ) with a twist

Mini Gola Ruti with a twist
( Egg mini pancakes ) with a twist
This recipe is from Bengal and it is served as a quick snacks.
Ingredients
6 eggs
250 grams of wheat flour
2 onion chopped
3 green chillies chopped
1 tbsp coriander chopped
1 cup milk
Water to make the batter
Salt to taste
Slice cheese cut in to pieces
Shezwan sauce

Method
Take a mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients together except for the cheese pieces and Shezwan sauce and make a batter.Take mini uttappa pan and put a spoon of batter in each of the cavities. Put a drop of Shezwan sauce and a piece of cheese on top. Cover the pan and cook on slow flame. Serve hot.

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

Ingredients
1 kg Chicken pieces
1 tbsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
1 small onion chopped
2 green chilies chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
3 cloves
3 cardamoms
1 piece cinnamon
1 inch piece lemon grass
2 tbsp Sri Lankan roasted curry powder
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 small tomato chopped
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan take the chicken pieces. Add in salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, tamarind paste, curry powder, ginger - garlic paste and  mix all ingredients together .Marinate for about 30 minutes. Take a pan and add oil. Put whole cardamon, cinnamon and cloves. Add onion, curry leaves and green chillies saute for some time.  Add the marinated chicken, lemon grass and tomatoes. Saute it for 10 minutes and add 1 cup of water and allow to chicken to cook in to medium heat. When the chicken cooked, add coconut milk and bring to boil, without covering. Serve with rice.

Roasted Sri Lankan Curry Powder

Ingredients
1 tbsp  uncooked rice
4 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2-inch cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
5 cardamom 
5 cloves
4 sprigs curry leaves

Method
Roast each ingredient separately in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until
browned. Remove from heat, cool, and grind together in a coffee grinder. Store in a glass jar in the fridge
Please note that roasted Sri Lankan Curry powder can be used in many kinds of dishes including vegetarian dishes.

Veg Shortcrust pastry

Veg Shortcrust pastry
Ingredients
250 g wheat flour
2 pinches of Salt
110 g butter cubed
Cold water as per required to make a dough.

Method
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter.
Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that is like coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps.
Stir in just enough of the cold water to bind the dough together. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 10-15 minutes before using.

Vegetarian filling for the pie
Ingredients
1 medium  potato diced
1 big onion diced
1 capsicum diced
2 carrot diced
1/2 cup French beans chopped
1/2 cup spinach chopped
2 tbsp garlic chopped
1/2 tbsp green chillies chopped
1/2 tsp ginger chopped
1/2 tsp pepper powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

For White sauce
3 tbsp wheat flour
2 tbsp butter
1 big cup milk
Salt to sprinkle

1/2 cup grated cheese

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Take a pan add oil. After the oil heats up add garlic and onions. Saute it for some time. Add rest of the chopped vegetables, salt and pepper powder. Cover the pan and on a slow heat, stir the vegetables occasionally till cooked. Keep it aside.
Now take another pan to make the white sauce. Take butter and add in the flour. Keep on stirring the flour on a low heat so that the flour does not stick to the pan and burn. As the flour changes it's colour, slowly add in the milk little at a time and keep whisking so that the lumps don't form. When the sauce begins to thicken then sprinkle some salt and mix it well. Now add the sauce to the vegetable mixture. Mix the two together. Now take a medium size non stick  pie pan. Take the dough and roll the dough out in to a round sheet. Place the sheet into the pie pan covering the full pie pan. Flatten it out by pressing it with your finger tips. Rest it for 5 minutes. Now add the vegetable mixture and spread it and add the grated cheese on top. Roll out another dough sheet and cover the vegetable mixture from top. Now press the sizes of the dough with your finger tips or fork. Cut of the excess dough from the sides. Brush in with milk and butter on top and bake it for 25 minutes at 180 degrees. After the pie is done then cool it for 5 minutes before cutting the pie and serving.