Cheesy Herb Bread

Cheesy Herb Bread
Ingredients
1 Fresh Ciabatta
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Oilve oil
2 tbsp grated Cheddar cheese
2 tbsp Grated Mozzarella
2 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup Mix chopped Fresh herbs ( Coriander leaves, Rose Mary, Thyme, Chives )
1/2 tbsp Chilli flakes
1/4 tbsp Pepper powder
Salt to taste

Method
Take a mixing bowl. Add the butter, olive oil, Mix herbs, garlic, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, chilli flakes, Pepper powder and salt. Mix it well. Take the ciabatta and slice the ciabatta half way through into thick slices, (don't slice it completely so that the whole ciabatta remains together). Spread the cheesy herb butter in between bread slices.  Wrap ciabatta in foil and bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees in a pre heated oven or until butter is melted. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Spicy Stired fried Mutton liver with Vegetables

Spicy Stired fried Mutton liver with Vegetables
Ingredients
250 grams Liver cut into thick strips
1 big size Potato cut into thick strips
2 Onions cut into thick slice
2 Green Capsicums cut into thick strips
2 Tomatoes remove the seeds and cut into thick strips
2 Green Chillies slit
4 Bird's eyes red Chillies slit
3  Garlic Cloves chopped
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Honey
2 tbsp Oil
Few chopped coriander leaves...

Method
Take a pan, add oil and heat it. Add garlic. Saute it for few seconds. Add the onions and green chillies,  stir fry till translucent, then add the Capsicum. Stir fry on full flame for 3 minutes, add the potato and stir fry for another 3 minutes. Add the liver and stirring occasionally on full flame cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper powder, honey, worcestershire sauce,tomatoes and red chillies. Stir fry and cook till the potato and liver is cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with bread.

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup with Almonds

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup with Almonds
Ingredients
6 Mushrooms cleaned and sliced
2 Garlic cloves minced
1 tsp Fresh ground Pepper
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 cup Almonds soaked and ground into fine paste. Add 3 cups more water after grinding
Few Almond flakes

Method
In a pot, heat 1/4 tbsp olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook it till tender. Take the mushrooms and grind it into paste. Keep it aside. Add the 1 tbsp  oil and heat it, add the garlic, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and stir it occasionally till the raw flavour of the flour has gone. Add 1/2 tsp ground pepper and salt. Add 1 cup of the almond milk little at a time whisking it so that lumps don't form. Cook it till it becomes a smooth paste.   Now add the mushrooms paste to the almond sauce. Add the remaining almond milk. Whisk the soup till smooth. Let it simmer on low heat till it becomes thick and creamer. Serve it hot, sprinkle ground pepper, add some almond flakes and drizzle with few drops of Olive oil before serving......

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...