Methi or Mix Dal Shorba ( Fenugreek Leaves and Mix Pulses Shorba)

Methi or Mix Dal  Shorba ( Fenugreek Leaves and Mix Pulses  Shorba)
Ingredients
1/2 cup Mix Pulses soaked in water for 2 hours
( Equal portions of  Whole Moong dal, Tur dal, Masoor Dal, whole Urid dal, Chana)
1 cup Fenugreek Leaves
1 Tomato chopped
1 small Onion chopped
2 green Chilli crushed
6 Garlic cloves crushed
1 small Piece Ginger Grated
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp Ghee
2 tbsp Milk or Cream

Method
Pressure cook the pulses, 1 1/2 cup water, fenugreek leaves, adding salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder to the pulses. Cook till the pulses are tender. After the pressure releases , open the cooker. Add 4 cups of water to the pulses. Blend it with a blender. Take a pan, add 1/2 tsp ghee. Heat it. Add onion, tomato, crushed garlic and chillies. Sauté it till onions are brown in colour. Add the onion and tomato to the Shorba. Simmer it, for 10 minutes. Add remaining ghee, grated ginger and milk or cream. Serve it hot.

Bengali Thali

Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra, is one of the most important  Hindu  festivals. The name Dussehra is derived from Sanskrit. Dasha-hara literally means Dashanan ravan (the name of Ravan and in short  Dasha  and  Hara  (defeat) referring to Lord Rama's victory over the ten-headed demon king Ravana. The day also marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasur. The name Dussehra is also derived from  Sanskrit Ahaha, which means day. For example, Aharnisha is derived from Ahaha+nisha. The Goddess fought with evils for nine nights and ten days. The name Vijayadashami is also derived from the Sanskrit words "Vijaya-dashami", literally meaning the victory on the dashami (Dashmi being the tenth lunar day of the Hindu calendar month). Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated twenty days after Dussehra.
Information Net source....

People celebrate Dasara with good food and sweets. In Bengal Mutton is cooked on this day. 

Dasara lunch
From below Left to Right
Korola Begun Bhaja (Bitter Gourd and Brinjal fry)
Kocho Chingri Bhaja (Small shrimps Fried with Onions)
Shokto (Mix Vegetable gravy)
Mangshor Jhol (Mutton Gravy)
Misthi Doi (Sweet Curd )
Malai Chamcham
Sandesh
Kher Kadam
Aam Chutney
Pan
Sweets are from Sweet Bengal..

Korola Begun Bhaja (Bitter Gourd and Brinjal fry)
Ingredients
2 Bitter Gourd cut into small pieces
2 Brinjals cut into cubes
1 Green Chillies slit
1 Red Dry Chilli
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Mustard oil

Method
Take a wok. Add oil and heat it. Add red chilli. Sauté for 30 seconds. Add the bitter gourd and stir and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the brinjals, chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Stir occasionally and cook till the bitter gourd and brinjals have cooked.

 

Kocho Chingri Bhaja (Small Shrimps Fried with Onions)
Ingredients
1 cup small Shrimps cleaned
2 Onions sliced
1 Tomato cut into to strips
2 Green Chillies slit
6 Garlic cloves whole
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Mustard oil
Few Coriander leaves chopped

Method
Take a pan. Add oil. Heat it. Add the onions, garlic and chillies.  Fry the onions till brown in colour. Add the shrimps, tomato, salt and turmeric powder. Sauté on medium flame till the shrimps are stirred fried. Garnish with coriander leaves.

 

Shokto (Mix Vegetable gravy)
Ingredients
Mix Vegetables
02 medium sized  Potato cut into 4 pieces length wise
2 medium sized  Brinjals cut into 4 pieces lengthwise
1 Drumstick cut into pieces
1/2 Radish cut into pieces length wise
4 to 5 Flat green Beans cut into 2 pieces
1 small Bitter Gourd  cut into pieces fried
1 tsp Ginger Paste
Few piece of Boris fried
1/4 tsp Panch Paran roasted and ground
1/4 tsp Panch Paran
1 Bay leaf
1 Red Dry Chilli
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Poppy seeds
1/2 tsp Celery seeds
4 tbsp Milk
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Ghee

Method 

Take 1/2 tsp oil, add bayleaf, Panch Phoran and red chilli. Sauté it for 1 minute. Add ginger and saute it for few seconds. Add the vegetables. Sauté it for 4 to 5 minutes. Add water, stir and let it simmer till the vegetables have cooked. Add salt. In a blender add milk, mustard seeds, poppy seeds and celery seeds. Make a paste out of it. Add the paste to the gravy, add fried bitter gourd and the boris. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add ghee and sprinkle roasted Panch Phoran roasted powder. 

Mangshor Jhol (Mutton Gravy)

Ingredients 

1 kg Mutton pieces

2 Potaoes cut into big cubes 

2 Bay leaves 

2 tbsp Mustard Oil 

1/2 tsp Ghee 

1/4 tsp Garam Masala 

For the paste grind all the below ingredients 

2 Tomato chopped

2 Onion chopped

3 to 4 Green chillies

1 small piece of Ginger

4 to 5 Garlic cloves

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Coriander seeds

2 Red Dry Chilli 

2 Cloves

1 small stick Cinnamon 

2 Green Cardomom 

Method

Marinate the mutton with the paste for 2 hours. 

Take a pressure cooker. Add Mustard oil. Heat it, add the potatoes and fry it. Remove and keep the potatoes aside. Add the marinated mutton. Stir and cook for 10 minutes on medium flame. Once the marinated juices reduces add  4 cups of water or more as required and add the potatoes. Cover and give 3 whistles or cook till the mutton has cooked. Add ghee and sprinkle garam masala powder. Serve hot. 

Caribbean Cake...

Caribbean Cake...
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Oats
1/2 cup Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Cottage cheese
1/2 cup crushed Pineapple
1/4 cup desiccated Coconut
2 pinch Nutmeg powder
1 tsp Soda bicarbonate
1 tsp Baking powder
1 small pack Coconut milk
1/4 tsp Butter

Method 
In a bowl, mix Oats, wheat flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate, desiccated  coconut and Nutmeg.  In another bowl mix cottage cheese crumbs, crushed Pineapple and coconut milk. Mix it well. Add the dry ingredients little at a time. Mix it well.It should be a thick dropping consistency. Take a baking tin. Grease it with butter. Pour the batter. Bake for 45 minutes at 180 degrees celcius. Take a toothpick and insert inside the cake and check, if it comes out smooth then it is done. Cool it completely.

For the the frosting
Ingredients
1/2 cup Coconut cream
1 tbsp Butter
1 cup Icing Sugar
Few Pieces of chopped Pineapple
2 tbsp of Roasted Desiccated Coconut
1 tbsp of Fresh Fruit Spread

Method
Chill the coconut  cream. Beat the coconut cream. Add butter and icing sugar little at a time. Add beat it. Spread the cream on the cake. Sprinkle the pieces of pineapple. Sprinkle the roasted coconut.  Decorate the cake with  fruit spread.

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.