Neem leaves, potatoes and brinjals stirred fried in mustard oil, Ash gourd ( Petha) Tarkari , Sponge gourd ( Turai) and potato Postor Tarkari, Karai Dal (Urid)

My simple rustic Bengali Vegetarian meal for the afternoon....... My Ma use to cook this kind of meal when I was a kid, but as kid I never liked lots of vegetables and made lots of fuss ... Now she is no more ... But now as I am ageing, my liking for typical Bengali food is growing stronger and and of course my Ma's culinary skill has been ingrained in me. So sharing some of her simple yet delicious recipes cooked today.......
Brinjal, Pumpkin and potato dipped in gram flour batter and fried in hot oil, Neem leaves, potatoes and brinjals stirred fried in mustard oil, Ash gourd ( Petha) Tarkari  , Sponge gourd ( Turai) and potato Postor Tarkari, Karai Dal (Urid), Ammer Chutney, Dahi, gondharaj lime and chill served from my balcony garden.....

Neem - Aloo  Begun Bhaja ( Neem leaves fried with Potatoes and brinjal )
Few tender Neem leaves
1 cup brinjal cubed
1 potato cubed
1 green chilli slit
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp mustard oil
Salt to taste

Method
Take oil. Heat the oil well. Add all the above ingredients and stir it well. Cover and cook on low flame stirring occasionally. Once the vegetables have become tender take it of the gas. Serve it with hot rice....

Ash gourd ( Petha / Chalkumro ) Tarkari
Ingredients
1/4 cup Bori fried
1 cup Ash gourd grated and some water squeezed out
1 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 dry red chilli
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp grated ginger
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
Method
Take a kadai. Add  and heat the ghee. Add cumin seeds, red chilli and bay leaf. As the cumin seeds crackles add grated ginger. Sauté for few minutes. Add the grated Ash gourd, sugar, salt, green chilli, garam masala powder and cook it till the water has dried up and the Ash gourd has become tender. Take it of the gas. Add coconut, sprinkle garam masala powder, few drops of ghee and fried crushed  Bori for garnishing.

Postor Tarkari
Ingredients
4 Sponge gourd cubed
2 potatoes cubed
1 green chilli
1 3/4 tbsp mustard oil
Salt to taste
1/2 turmeric powder
3 tbsp poppy seeds soaked in water and make paste with 1 green chilli

Method
Take a kadai, add 1 1/2 mustard oil. Heat the oil well. Add potatoes and sponge gourd , stir well and cooked till half fried. Add salt and turmeric powder. Add poppy seed paste , and cook with the lid on till the vegetables have become tender and vegetables have dried up. Add few drops of mustard oil for flavour from top. Serve with hot rice.
Postor Tarkari can be made with only potatoes or onions, snake gourd , Parwal can be added.....

Karai Dal (Urid dal Bengali style)
Ingredients
1/2 cup Urid dal soaked in water
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 whole red chilli
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp panch phoran
1 pinch hing
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp sauf ( fennel ) seed powder
1 green chilli

Method
Take a cooker. Add oil and heat it. Add panch phoran, hing , red chilli and bay leaf. As panch phoran crackles add the dal and 1 1/2 cup water, salt, turmeric powder, ginger, green chilli and fennel seed powder. Cook the dal till tender. Add water according to the thickness required and boil again with out the lid for 10 minutes..... Serve it with hot rice and  Postor Tarkari...

Chanar Misti Polau or Chanar Zarda

Chanar Misti  Polau or Chanar Zarda
Chanar Misti Polau is a very popular Bengali sweet dish. As a kid this was one of my favourite sweet dish and still is. I always wondered if I would be able to make this anytime at home. From past few days I had it in my mind to make it. So today on the occasion of Gurupurnima I wanted to try making this sweet dish.

For the Sugar syrup
Ingredients
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Water
1/2 tsp Lemon juice
2 Cardamom crushed
1 small stick of Cinnamon
1 Bay leaf
Few drops of Kewda essence (Optional)

Method
Boil the sugar, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamon, lemon juice  and water. Make 1 string  sugar syrup. Add Kewda essence. Keep it aside.

Chanar Zarda / Chanar Polau
Ingredients
1 cup Cottage cheese ( water should be drainer out completely )
8 tbsp Milk powder
2  tbsp Cornstarch
1/4 cup All purpose flour
2 tsp Sugar
Pinch of Salt
1 tbsp Ghee
Few drops of Yellow and Orange food colour
Ghee + Oil for frying

Method
Take a mixing bowl. Add all the ingredients in the bowl to make the Polau except food colour. Mix all the ingredients very well and knead it for 5 minutes to make a soft dough. Make around 20 small balls. Keep it aside. Now divide the remaining  dough into three parts. Mix few drops of yellow food colour in one portion of the dough. Mix orange food colour in another portion of the dough. Leave the third postion of the dough as it is. Take a grater. Grate the dough with the help of the grater. Take oil and ghee mix. Heat the oil on medium heat. Fry the paneer balls till brown in colour , dip it in the sugar syrup and keep it aside for 20 minutes.  Fry the grated paneer on a medium heat for 3 minutes. It should not lose its colour and become brown at the same time it should be bit crispy. After frying put it on the tissue paper to remove excess oil. Then add it into the  sugar syrup , cover it and keep it like this for 10 to 15 minutes . Strain the Polau from the syrup and spread it in a wide dish so that it does not stick to each other. Garnish with Almond and pistachio flakes...

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
2 chicken cut into 4 parts each - 8 pieces
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
Salt to taste
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1/2 tsp normal spicy chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 pepper powder
1/4 tsp carom powder ( Ajwain)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp lime juice
Vegetable oil for brushing
Chat masala and lime juice for garnishing

Method
Wash and wipe the chicken with a kitchen towel. Add all the ingredients except ingredients for garnishing. Rub all the ingredients well on the chicken and marinate it for 5 hours... Cook the chicken on the charcoal till tender. Squeeze lime and sprinkle chat masala on it. Serve it with sliced onion and mint chutney.

Fish cake

Fish cake
300 grams boneless fish
1/2 cup boiled potato mashed
1 pieces of bread mashed
1/2 tsp ginger grated
1/2 tsp garlic chopped
1 green chilli chopped
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup capsicum chopped ( red and yellow or green)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated or slice cheese optional
1/2 pepper powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp oil
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp spring onions chopped

Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Boil the fish and mash it. Take a pan and add oil. Heat the oil and add garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute. Add onion chopped, green chilli and capsicum chopped and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Now add the curry powder, pepper powder and salt. Stir it well. Add the spring onion chopped, mashed fish, mashed potatoes and mashed bread. Mix it well add the egg and mix it again. Now take a baking pan. Grease it with oil. Add the mixture. Sprinkle bread crumbs from top add grated cheese or slice cheese and bake it for 15 to 20 minutes or bake it till the cheese has melted and browned.

Indo- Western Mithai shots....

Indo- Western Mithai shots....
I had some leftover cake crumbs and some rasogullas. So this idea came to me to make these Mithai shots. They are superbly delicious. Do try them at home and treat your family and friends.
Makes 12 shot glass
Ingredients:-
4 rasgullas cut into 3 parts
12 tbsp chocolate Ganache ( 100 ml cream added to 250 grams of dark chocolate and melted for 30 seconds to a minute in a microwave and mixed well)
2 grated carrots
8 tbsp condensed milk
1 tbsp peeled and chopped almonds
1 tsp ghee
A pinch of cardamom powder
1 cup of cake crumbs
12 tblsp of rose syrup
1 cup milk
1 tsp vegetarian gelatin
2 tbsp of hot water
12 tsp fresh cream
Method
Take a cup of milk and keep it to boil on a slow flame and reduce the quantity to 1/2 and add 4 tblsp of condensed milk. Now take hot water and add the gelatin and mix well till no lumps should remain. Add the gelatine to the milk and mix well. Now take 12 shot glasses and fill  1/4 part of the shot glasses with milk. Keep it in the fridge to set.
Take a vessel and add ghee. Add the grated carrots and saute it. Add 4 tbsp of condensed milk and a pinch of cardamom powder cook it on slow flame till the condensed milk has dried up. Add the chopped almonds. Now take out the shot glasses from the fridge. Make 12 small balls of carrot mithai and add them into shot glasses on top of the milk gelatine and flatten them with your finger. Now add 1 tbsp of chocolate Ganache  in each glass. Then add the cake crumbs and fill the glass till little portion of the glass is empty. Keep it in the fridge. Before serving the Mithai shots, take the glasses out from the fridge and microw wave the shots for 15 seconds. Then add one part of the rosogulla and pour 1 tbsp of rose syrup on top and garnish it with fresh cream on top. And it's ready to be served.