Oats and Dry Fruits Samosa Kolkatta Style

Oats and Dry Fruits Singara / Samosa Kolkatta Style
Eat healthy and live healthy... Enjoy food guilt free. This is a healthy snack made with oats and nuts. Oats and nuts are rich in minerals and vitamins. One must eat them regularly. This recipe is baked the use of oil is very less.....

Ingredients for the stuffing
1 big Potatoe cut into small cubes without peeling the potato
2 Green chillies Chopped
1/2 tsp grated Ginger
6 to 7 black Raisins chopped
6 to 8 Almonds chopped
4 Walnuts chopped
1 cup Oats
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Bhaja Masala (Roast 1 tsp of Cumin seeds, 1 tsp Coriander seeds and 2 dry Red Chillies and grind it into powder)
Rock Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Ghee

Method
Take a pot, add a glass of water and potatoes and boil it, when done keeping 1/4 cup water remove the excess water out. If the water is less then add water till 1/4 cup water is there. Add the oats and stir fast. It will soak in all the water. It oats should not over cook. It should be moist. If oats looks dry then  sprinkle water while stirring, add salt, garam masala powder, ginger, chillies, almond, raisins and walnut. Stir it till all the things combine well. Take it off the gas. Add the Bhaja masala and stir.

For the Dough
Ingredients
2 cup Wheat flour
1/4 cup Oat flour
Rock Salt to taste
2 tsp oil

Method
Combine salt and the flours together. Add 1  1/2 tsp oil. Mix it well, add water little at a time to make a semi soft dough. Knead it well for 5 minutes. Add the remaining oil and knead it. Cover and keep it aside for 30 minutes.

For the Samosa
Ingredients
Stuffing
Dough
1/2 tsp oil + 1/2 tsp Ghee mix

Method
Divide the dough into equal portions. Brush oil on the dough balls. Roll out a dough and cut into half. Take one half and take two corner ends of the dough. Get it in the centre, one side overlapping over the other side by 1/2 inch. Press the edge. It will become a triangle pocket. Fill in the stuffing and seal the edges. Repeat till all the samosas are made. Take a baking tray. Brush oil on the tray. Brush oil on the samosas too. Grill it for 15 minutes at 200 degrees in a preheated oven.  If required brush little more oil on the samosas. Turn and grill again for 15 minutes. If required turn and grill for 5 minutes more until crispy and brown. Serve hot...

Chana ar Oats er Jelebi in Apple Syrup(Cottage cheese and Oats Jalebi)

Chanar Jelebi is a very popular sweet dish of Bengal. Authentic Chanar Jalebi is made from mixing cottage cheese, sugar and All purpose flour or Samolina. Here I wanted to give a twist... It is then deep fried in ghee. I wanted to reduce the usage of ghee, so I used a pan and tried to shallow fry it instead of deep frying it. Then it is deeper in sugar syrup. I wanted to avoid sugar. So I used Apple juice. I reduced the Apple juice to 1/2 the quantity. Dipped it in hot Apple juice and let it stand for an hour... and the taste was Out of the world.

Chana ar Oats er Jelebi in Apple Syrup(Cottage cheese and Oats Jalebi)

Ingredients

1 cup Cottage cheese

3 tbsp of Oats or more 

1/2 tsp Sugarfree 

Pinch of Cardamom powder

Pinch of Rock Salt

1/2 tsp  Almond and Pistacho flakes for garnishing (Optional)

2 tbsp Ghee.

Method

In a mixing bowl, mix cottage cheese, oats, cardamom powder, pinch of salt and sugar free. Knead it very well  for 5 to 10 minutes to make a soft dough. Divided the dough into equal lemon size balls. Take a chana ball and smoothen it with your palm. While rolling check if it is cracking then add more oats and knead again. Place it on a flat surface and start rolling it back and forth with your palms. Do not put too much of pressure and try to keep the same thickness.  Make a 4 inches long rope and roll and give it a spiral shape. Prepare all the jalebis and keep them aside. Cover and keep as there can be crackes if expose to open due to air. Take a big pan, heat the ghee. Place the jalebis as many as possible. Fry and put it on the tissue paper. Then add it in the Apple syrup and soak it for an hour or more. Serve it hot and garnish with almond and pistachio flakes. (Optional)

P.S. Please use fresh full cream Cottage cheese to get soft and creamy texture and also odd cottage cheese will not bind properly and will cracke. If the Cottage cheese is made at home then drain the water completely before making the sweets.

Apple Syrup

Ingredients 

2 cup Apple juice 

2 tbsp Sugarfree (Optional) 

1 crushed Cardomom 

1/2 tsp Lime juice

Method 

To make the syrup add Apple juice,sugar free,  crushed cardamom and lime juice together and boil it till the quantity reduces to half.

P.S. I used 4 big size fresh apples to make the juice. Blend the chopped apples in the blender and strain the pulp out completely  as we require only the juice. This will not be so sweet; as I have not used Sugarfree.  If you want it sweet then you can also use ready made Apple juice or Honey. 

Panta Bhat served with Ilish Mach Bhaja, Murgir Bharta, Aloo Bhaja, DalBhate & Aam Tel

Panta Bhat 

Panta bhat known in Bengal or Poitabhat in Assam is a rice-based dish. It is prepared by soaking left over rice in water overnight. Traditionally served in the morning with salt, onion and chilli.It is traditionally considered as beneficial in feverish conditions.It is consumed in Bangladesh and the eastern Indian states of West Bengal and Assam. Panta bhat is especially popular in rural areas and amongst the poorer community. It is a popular dish on the day of Bengali new year. It is often served with fried fish or vegetable curry. Panta bhat or poita bhat is often garnished with Mustard oil, Onion, Chilli, Pickle, and served with Shutki mach (dried fish), Machher jhol(fish curry), especially Shorshe Ilish (Hilsa cooked with mustard), Aloo bhorta or Aloo pitika (mashed potato), Begun bhorta (mashed brinjal) and other Bhorta or pitika (mashed food). A similar dish consumed in the Indian states of Orissa and Chhattisgarh is known as Pakhal, Pokhalo, Pakhala or Pakhal Bhat. It differs from Panta bhat in seasoning as yoghurt is sometimes added prior to the fermentation process. This cold and wet food, is suitable for summer mornings, but in winter dry foods, such as Chira (flattened rice) and Muri (puffed rice) are more preferred.
It has been described in documents from 17th century.During the Mughal Era, members of socio-cultural organizations performed open air concerts, the audience listening to the concert preferred eating traditional food, particularly Panta bhat. Friar Sebastian Manrique a Portuguese Catholic priest of the Augustinian Order reported from his visit of Bengal in 17th century that the people of all communities, according to Manrique, were contented then with the daily meal of rice, often panta bhat, salt and green vegetable (shak). The better-off elements of the society consumed gh, butter, milk and sweetmeats.
In Bangladesh, it is a part of the Pohela Boishakh (Bengali new year festival) festivities. On that day it is consumed as breakfast by urban people. Panta is also served at high-end eateries in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Among Hindu Bengalis, it is consumed during the Ranna-Puja (Bengali cooking festival). In Assam, offering Dudh Panta(milk with stale water-soaked rice) is a part of the marital ritual. In Northeast India, there is a belief that taking painta or panta bhat gives the strength of a tiger.
Panta Ilish - a traditional platter of Panta bhat with fried Ilish slice, supplemented with dried fish (Shutki), pickles (Achar), dal bhate, green chillies and onion - is a popular serving for the Pohela Boishakh festival.
Information from the Net...

My Panta Bhat platter consist of
Ilish Mach Bhaja (Hilsa Fry)
Murgir Bharta (Chicken Bharta)
Aloo Bhaja (Potato Fry)
Dal Bhate (Mashed Dal)
Aam Tel (Mango Pickle)
Sliced Onions
Green chillies
Kagaji Lebu

PantaBhat
Ingredients
Leftover Rice
Water
Salt to taste
Drizzle of Mustard Oil

Method
Take a earthen pot or any vessel. Add the rice and water. Cover with a thin cloth and leave it over night to ferment. While serving add salt and drizzle with mustard oil.

Ilish Mach Bhaja (Hilsa Fry)
Ingredients
2 Pieces of Hilsa
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
Mustard Oil to fry

Method
Marinate the fish with salt and turmeric powder. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Heat the mustard oil till smoking point, reduce the flame and fry the fish till brown on both the sides.

Murgir Bharta (Chicken Bharta)
Ingredients
1/2 cup fine Chicken minced
1 big size Onion sliced
2 to 4 Green chillies minced
4 to 5 Garlic cloves minced
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Mustard Oil

Method
Take a wok, add oil, heat it. Add the onion slices, garlic and green chillies. Sauté the onion till translucent. Add the chicken minced, salt and turmeric powder. Sauté and stir the chicken occasionally. Cook till the chicken is done.

Aloo Bhaja (Potato Fry)
Ingredients
2 Potatoes cut into small strips
1 big size Onion sliced
2 to 4 Green chillies slit
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
2 to 3 tbsp Mustard Oil

Method
Take a wok, add oil, heat it. Add the onion slices and green chillies. Sauté the onion till translucent. Add the potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Sauté and stir the potatoes occasionally. Cook on medium high flame till the potatoes are done.

Dal Bhate
Ingredients
1/2 cup Massor dal
1 Green Chilli chopped
1/2 Onion sliced
Salt to taste
Few drops of mustard oil

Method
Wash and boil the dal with very less water. Once the dal is boiled and if any water remains then drain the water and boil till all the water dries up, take it off the gas. Add onions, green chilli, salt and mustard oil. Make it into a ball.

Aam Tel
This is a mango and spiced flavoured oil, that is used in Bengali Cuisine. This oil is used for mashes vegetables that we call bhate or used to flavour puffed rice that is eaten for snack.

Ingredients for the Powder Masala
1 tsp Panch Phoran
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
2 Red Dry Chilli

Method
Roast all the ingredients together and let it cool, dry grind the ingredients into powder.

Ingredients for Aam Tel
1 medium size Raw Mango washed, dried and cut into medium size cubes.
1/2 tsp Panch Phoran Roasted
4 Whole Red Dry Chilli Roasted
Dry spice powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 cup Mustard oil, heated and cooled down

Method
Take the mango pieces, add turmeric and 1 tsp salt, rub the mangoes well, spread the mango pieces on a clean cloth and dry it for 2 to 4 hours under the sun. Take all the ingredients and the mango pieces in a bottle. Keep it in the sun for few day. It’s ready to be used.

   

Carrot and Cinnamon Sponge Cake with Cinnamon and Walnut Frosting

A healthy homemade cake recipe with the goodness of carrots.

Love this cake that I have been making... hope that you will enjoy it too. 

Ingredients for the Cake

1 1/2 cups All purpose flour(Maida)

3/4 cup  Caster Sugar

1  tsp Baking powder

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder 

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Beaten Curd + 1/2 Milk = Butter Milk 

1 tsp Vanilla essence

1/2 cup Grated Carrot 

3/4 cup Butter 

Method

Grease 8 inch square tin with butter. Whisk the butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add the essence and carrot into the batter and stir the ingredients together. In a bowl sieve flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate, salt and cinnamon. Sieve all the dry ingredients together. Add little of the flour and buttermilk into the batter and whisk it, continue to add little of buttermilk and flour until the batter is of thick dropping consistency.  Pour this batter into the prepared tin and bake the cake in a  preheated oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 35-40 mins. The baking time varies from oven to oven, hence keep an eye after 30 mins. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to check. If the toothpick comes out clean then the cake is done. Remove the tin from the oven and let it sit for 10 mins on the cooking rack.  Run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake and gently turn it upside down onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Cinnamon and Walnut  Frosting 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups hung Curd

1/2 cup Cream Cheese 

 1/2 cup to 1 cup Icing  sugar as per the sweetness required 

1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder

 2 tbsp Walnut powder 

Method 

Beat the Icing sugar, cinnamon powder, curd and cream cheese  together. Cut the cake horizontally from the centre. Apply the frosting. Sprinkle some walnut powder. Place the top part of the cake on the frosting. Spread the frosting on top of the cake. Sprinkle walnut powder on top of the frosting. Take 3 tbsp of the frosting, add orange colour and mix it. Take a small piping bag and put the frosting in it to make the carrot. Now take another 1 tbsp of the frosting, add green colour and mix it. Put it in a small piping bag to make carrot leaves. First use the green frosting and make leaves for the carrots. Then make the carrot with the help of orange piping bag. Shape and texture it with the help of the blunt knife. Cut the cake into rectangle pieces and enjoy. 

Aloo Begun diye Ilish Marcher Jhol Hilsa with Brinjal and Potatoes

Aloo Begun diye Ilish Marcher Jhol
Hilsa with Brinjal and Potatoes
Ingredients
6 pieces of Hilsa
2 Potatoes cut into thick strips
2 Brinjal cut into strips
1 Tomato cut into strips
4 Green Chillies slit
1 small pieces Ginger
1 tbsp Mustard paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Panch Phoren
1 Bay Leaf
Mustard Oil for fry
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Method
Marinate the  fish with salt and turmeric powder, let it rest for 15 minutes. Heat the oil. Fry the fish in mustard oil till brown on both the sides. Keep it aside. Remove the excess oil from the wok. Add Panch Phoren, bay leaf and green chillies, let the Panch phoren crackle. Add the vegetables, sauté it for 2 minutes. Add mustard paste, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, and cumin powder. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Add 2 to 3 cups of water as per the gravy required. Cover and boil till the vegetables are tender. Add the fish and cook for 2 minutes. Add coriander leaves for garnishing. Serve hot with rice.