Aamer Ambol / Aamer Tok / Aamer Jhol

It’s a traditional sweet and sour summer treat, in a Bengali home. We make this almost every alternate day for lunch. It’s is served at the end of the meal. You can have it cold as it taste better and it can be kept for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. It’s a drink for your soul. Panch phoran powder is optional. I have added 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds for seasoning - that is also optional. Try it. 

Ingredients 

2 to 3 Raw Mangoes cut into pieces or wedges 

2 tsp Mustard Oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds - Optional 

2 Dry Whole Red Chilli broken into pieces 

2 Bay leaves 

1/2 cup or more Sugar as per the sourness of the mangoes 

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Panch Phoran roasted and powdered - Optional 

Method 

Add oil in a wok, let it heat. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and bay leaves. Let the seeds crack. Add the mango wedges, salt and turmeric powder. Stir it. Add sugar and 2 to 3 cups of water, let it simmer till simmer and let the mangoes become tender. Sprinkle the panch phoran powder and switch of the flame. Let it come to a room temperature, server it with the meal. You can drink the Ambol at the end of your meal.

Cadburylicious Sandesh

I was very happy to be invited by The FBAI for the launch of the super fabulous new spread in town called the Cadbury Diary Milk Spready and the Chocolate Cook book with 70 chocolate recipes written by none other than the famous chocolatier Zeba Kohli at Courtyard Marriott. It was a great pleasure to meet Saloni the founder of FBAI. I was also happy to meet many more people from the industry. The evening was well spend.

We had the opportunity to taste the delicious Chocolate cake made with Cadbury Dairy Milk Spready.
 Anil Viswanathan the Director of Marketing introduced us to the Cadbury Dairy Milk Spready and launched the Chocolate cook book along with Zeba Kohli. The session was made interactive with a cooking competition using the chocolate spready.

I got a bottle of the Cadbury Dairy Milk Spready as my daughter loves chocolate spreads. I was sure that she would love this one too. She did the honours of opening the bottle and tasting it and she loved it. Since I had to make some sweet dish for Saraswati puja, I thought why not use the chocolate spready for a change and create a fusion. We Bengalis love Sandesh. The Sandesh I made is called jolbhora where Date Jaggery is added, so I gave a twist to the traditional recipe and added the spready.

Cadburylicious Sandesh
Ingredients
* 250 grams mashed Cheena / Cottage Cheese
* 2 tbsp Sugar
* Cadbury Dairy Milk Spready
* 6 Raisins

Method
Take a non stick pan, add the mashed cheena and sugar, on a low flame continuously stir the cheena for 2 to 3 minutes. Add a tbsp of Cadbury Dairy Milk Spready. Continue to stir until the cheena has become smooth and began to form a dough. Switch of the flame. Take the cheena dough on a plate. Now we have to make the Sandesh fast as the dough tends to dry up fast. Take the jhol bhora Sandesh mould or a modak mould will also do. Apply ghee on the mould. Take a portion of the dough and press it into the mould, with the help of your finger, create a cavity. Pour a blob of the chocolate spready into the mould. Take a little more dough and cover the cavity. Now gently remove the Sandesh from the mould. Repeat the same process until the cheena dough is used up. Keep the Sandesh on a plate and place raisins on all the sandesh pieces. Tadaa, it’s ready to be indulge.

#Cadburylicious  #CadburyDairyMilkSpready

Aloo r Chop in an Appe Pan / Potato Fritters Bengali Style made in an Appe Pan

Aloor Chop is a famous street food of Kolkata. It is found in any Tele Bhaja shop (Shop which sales fried food) in any corner of the street. It is normally had in the evening with garm... garm.. chai ( hot... hot.... tea) and served with Muri (Puffed Rice). Today I have made these aloo r chops in an appe pan using very less oil.

Ingredients 

2 medium size Potatoes boiled and mashed

2 Green chillies chopped

1/4 tsp Ginger paste 

1 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped 

1/2 cup Gram Flour 

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp Carom seeds 

2 pinches of Soda Bicarbonate 

1 tsp Bhaja Masala 

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Mustard Oil

Method
Take the boiled potatoes in a bowl, add ginger, chillies, coriander leaves, Bhaja Masala and salt. Mix the ingredients well. Keep it aside. Take a mixing bowl with gram flour in it, add the salt and turmeric powder, mix the ingredients together, add the soda bicarbonate, mix it. Add the carom seeds, mix it. Now add little water at a time and mix the ingredients together into a thick smooth batter. Take the appe pan, add 1/4 tsp of oil into each cavity. Heat the oil. Now dip a potato ball in the batter and place it into the appe pan cavity. Repeat the process. Cover the appe pan and let it cook for 2 minutes. Open the pan, check the chop, turn the chop and continue to cook until golden brown from both the sides. Serve hot with Muri (Puffed Rice).

Shitkalin Niramish Tarkari

I absolutely love winters. The variety of fresh vegetables that you get to eat during winter is fabulous. I always love simple home cooked vegetables. One of the winter vegetable dish is  Niramish Tarkari - Vegetarian Sabji. The ground roasted masala that is added in this recipe is different. It enhances the flavour of of this dish. The vegetables cook in its own water. My Ma use to make this dish, this can be eaten with roti, chapatis or parathas. 

For the Roasted Powder 

Ingredients 

6 to 8 Black Pepper Corn

2 Green Cardamom 

2 Cloves 

1 small piece of Cinnamon 

2 Dried Red Chillies 

1 tsp Coriander Seeds

1 tsp Cumin Seeds 

1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds

1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

Method 

Take a pan, add the pepper corn, cardomom, cloves, cinnamon, red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds. Roast all the ingredients until you get some good aroma. Switch off the flame, let it cool. Add the ingredients in the grinder and grind the ingredients into a powder. Keep it aside. 

For the Vegetable

Ingredients 

1 big bowl of mix vegetables cut into cubes. 

1 Capsicum 

1 Carrot 

1 Sweet Potato

3 Cauliflower florets 

5 tbsp Green Peas

8 to 10 French Beans cut into medium size pieces 

1 Tomato chopped and keep it separate 

1 small piece of Ginger chopped 

2 Green Chillies cut into pieces 

2 Bay leaves 

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

Roasted Masala Powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

2 tbsp Ghee

Method 

Take a wok, add ghee, let the ghee melt. Add the ginger, green chillies and bay leaves. Let it sauté for few seconds. Add the cumin seeds, let the seeds crackle. Add the mix vegetables. stir, cover and let it cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Open the lid, add the tomato and stir for a minute. Add the sugar, salt, turmeric powder and the roasted powder. Stir and cover the wok and continue to cook on a low flame until the vegetables are done. Serve the vegetables with hot rotis, chapatis or parthas. 

Murgir Jhol / Bengali Chicken Gravy

This dish is very commonly made in any Bengali home. The method may differ as per the house. This is how I make a quick chicken gravy at my place.  It can be enjoyed with hot steamed rice. 

Ingredients 

750 grams Chicken cut into pieces 

Ground paste made with 2 Onions, 6 Garlic Cloves, 1 small piece of Ginger and 2 Green Chillies 

1 medium Tomatoe chopped 

2 Big size Potatoes peeled and cut into big chunks 

2 Bay leaves 

2 Cloves 

2 Green Cardomom 

6 Pepper Corns

1 small piece of Cinnamon 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

1/4 tsp Bengali Garam masala - 1 Cloves, 1small piece of Cinnamon and 1 Green Cardomom ground 

4 tbsp Mustard Oil

1/2 tsp Ghee

Method 

Take a pressure pan. Add mustard oil, let it heat up. Reduce the flame. Add potatoes and fry them. Remove the potatoes and keep it aside. In the same oil add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper corns and green chillies. Let it crackle. Add the ground paste, sauté it for a minute. Add the sugar, salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Continue to sauté for another minute. Add the chicken and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir. Add 2 cups of water and cover the pan with the lid, let the gravy simmer for 5 minutes. Open the lid, add the potatoes. Now close the pressure pan lid and allow 3 to 4 whistles. Switch off the flame. Let pressure release. Open the lid. Drizzle the ghee and sprinkle the garam masala powder. Serve it hot with steamed rice.