Kumro Pata Diya Chana Bhapa / Steamed Paneer with Pumpkin Leaves

Steamed Paneer is a Bengali vegetarian side dish. I have added pumpkin leaves, as pumpkin leaves are good for our health and when it grows in my balcony, then definitely it is good to use it in the dish. I have used homemade Aam Kasundi, but you can use mustard and any pickle masala oil incase Kasundi is not available.This dish is normally eaten during lunch. Serve this dish with hot steamed rice. 

For the Wet Paste 

Ingredients 

3/4 cup Fresh Grated Coconut 

2 tbsp Aam Kasundi or use 1 tbsp Mustard seeds and 1 tbsp any pickle masala oil 

2 Green Chillies  

2 to 3 Garlic cloves 

3 tbsp Hung Curd 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste. 

To make the Steamed Paneer 

Ingredients 

250 grams Paneer cut into small pieces 

10 Pumpkin leaves chopped 

4 to 5 Green Chillies slit into half and then cut into pieces 

Wet Paste 

2 tbsp Mustard Oil 

A big piece of Banana Leaf - optional 

Method 

Take a bowl, add all the ingredients in the bowl, mix all the ingredients together and keep it aside for an hour. Take a container with a lid. Lay the banana leaves at the base of the container, it’s optional. Add the marinated paneer into the container. Close the lid. Take a steamer, add water into the steamer. Keep the container into the steamer. Steam the paneer for 20 minutes. Once done, enjoy this dish with hot steamed rice. 

Easy Grilled Chicken

An easy delicious chicken recipe... that can be enjoyed as starter... Grilled chicken can also be served with sautéed vegetables. Chicken can be substituted with fish, prawns or paneer. 

Ingredients
250 grams Boneless Chicken cut into big pieces 

Juice of 3/4 lime

1 tsp Garlic powder 

1 tsp Dried Mixed Herbs 

¼ - 1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes 

Salt or Pink Salt to taste 

2 tbsp Melted Butter 

Method 

Marinate the chicken with all the above ingredients for an hour. Take a grill pan, let it heat. Grill the chicken pieces on a low flame until cooked and golden brown on both the sides. Remove the chicken pieces from the grill and cut the chicken into smaller pieces. Drizzle the juice on the chicken that was left on the grill. Serve it hot. 

Stuffed Chicken Mushroom Bombs

This dish is extremely tasty. It’s crispy from out and juicy from in. This dish is best to serve as starter.

Ingredients 

100grams Chicken minced  

1 packet of Mushroom

1 tbsp minced  Onion

1 tsp minced Garlic

1 tsp minced Green Chilli 

1 cube Cheddar Cheese grated 

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1/2 cup  All Purpose Flour 

Water as required 

1/2 cup or as required Bread crumbs 

Oil for frying 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl, add the chicken, garlic, onion, cheese and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well and keep it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Take the mushrooms and remove the stems. Take little portion of chicken stuffing and fill the stuffing into the cavity of the mushroom. Repeat the process. In a small bowl take all purpose flour, add salt to taste and little water at a time and make a thick batter. Take bread crumbs in a plate, add garlic powder and little salt. Mix the bread crumbs. Take a wok, add oil. Let the oil heat up. Lower the heat. Dip the stuffed mushrooms into the batter and then coat the mushrooms with bread crumbs. Fry the mushrooms until golden brown. Serve it hot with any dip or ketchup. 

Kheer Kamala / Kamala Lebur Kheer

This is a seasonal sweet dish from Bengal. It’s made with oranges. When the oranges are added to the reduced milk... it takes the dish to a different level. As this being my favourite sweet dish, after marriage when ever I visited my Ma during the orange season, she would make this dish along with alur dom and luchi or korisutir Kochuri. Ma Ke haat ka khana can never be forgotten. 

This dish is easy to make with only 3 ingredients, it taste heavenly.

Ingredients 

1 1/2 litres Milk

3 Oranges 

1/2 cup Sugar or more as per required 

Method:

Heat the milk in a thick-bottomed pan till it comes to a boil. Reduce the flame, and allow the milk to simmer, stir the milk occasionally until the milk reduces to half the quantity. Add the sugar and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more. Keep the milk aside. 

Meanwhile peel the orange, separate out the orange segments. Remove the skin, seeds and the fibres from the orange segments. Cut them into  small pieces. 

Once the reduced milk cools down, then add the chopped orange segments and pulp to the milk and mix it. Refrigerate the kheer. Server it cold.

Date and Walnut Cake

Merry Christmas to all... may peace and happiness fills your heart 🎅🏼

We all have some sweet and naughty stories to tell of our childhood..... This recipe takes me back to my teenage, almost 30 years back. I being a teenager, was learning to open up my wings... exploring new things. I was always found of cooking.. as my school always encouraged us for the extra curricular activities - we had cooking class in our school. I had got this recipe from one of my neighbour Aunty, since this recipe content rum... me and my friend became very excited about this recipe. We use to buy a quarter bottle rum... half went into the cake and the other half into our stomach... with Bryan Adams songs playing at the background....

and my mother screaming at another end.

Later there was a Savvy magazine contest about the dishes you can store for a longer period of time... I had posted this recipe to them and this recipe was selected...

This cake can be prepared for any occasions... 

This cake is moist and the taste is amazing. Please eat a day after you bake... this cake can be store for 2 months in the freezer. Wrap it in a foil and then in a sealed bag..

Ingredients

500 grams of Dates deseeded and chopped

200 grams of Walnuts chopped

50 grams of Black Raisins deseeded and chopped

50 grams of Truti Fruti

500 grams Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 to A cup of Rum

6 Eggs

4 tbsp Ghee

3 1/2 cups of Whole Wheat flour

3 tsp Soda Bicarbonate

3 cups of Water

Method

Soak the chopped walnuts in rum for a day or more. Boil 3 cups of water, switch off the flame. Add the dates, raisins, truti fruti, sugar, salt, ghee and the soda bicarbonate. Cover and keep it aside to cool. Beat the eggs. Add the eggs and the the flour gradually into the date mixture and beat it. Add the walnut soaked in rum and mix it again. Take 4 baking mould - 2 of 1/2 kg and 2 of 250 grams each. Grease the baking moulds. Pour the batter up to 1/2 the baking mould. Bake the cake at 180 degrees for an hour approximately in an pre heated oven. Check the cake by inserting a tooth pick after 50 minutes, as different oven has different temperature levels. Once done, remove the cake. Cool the cake and remove from the mould. Cool it further on a cooling rack. Enjoy the cake the next day... this cake can be stored in a freezer for 2 months. Wrap the cake in a foil paper and then keep it in a sealed bag.