Tuesday, 26 September 2017

Durga Pujo ar Misthi Mukh


Durga Mai ki Jai.... 


The sound of Dhak, Dhunochi r Naach, Smell of happiness in the Air, New Clothes, Dressing up, offering Puspanjali, Bhog, Meeting friend's and family, Adda and feasting means Pujo, ar Bangali mane Mishti.... 
Ar Shes Pate Mishti - at the end a sweet dish has to be there... 
Here are some of the festive sweetdishes you can try out... The links are given below each picture. Please click on the link for the recipe... Happy Durga Pujo... 



Chanar Pantua 


Langcha 


Nolan Gurer Roshogolla


Pan Bahar Sandesh


Keshri Babam Bahar Sandesh Roll


Raj Bhog


Chitrakoot


Rosogollar Payesh 



Oats ar Chanar Diye Gurer Payesh


Malpuas 


Rasgullas


Perakhi


Narkel Naru


Chanar Misti Polau 


Misti Doi


Chandrapuli


Malai Chumchum


Ranga Alur Pantua ( Sweet Potato Pantua )

Monday, 25 September 2017

Fish Caldino / Caldin ( Mild Fish Curry )


It's a Goan dish. It's a mild yellowish colour curry which is served as a side dish. This curry can be made with any vegetables or fresh fish. Surmai, pomfret or prawns are used to make this curry.  The curry though mild, is quite flavorful.
This can be served with hot rice or pav.

To make the Caldin Juice
Ingredients
1 fresh Coconut grated
4 Garlic cloves
2 Cloves
1 small piece of Cinnamon
10 to 15 Black Pepper Corn
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
2 cups of warm Water

Method
Blend all the above ingredients together in a blender along with the warm water.  Strain this through a strainer to get a thick Caldin juice. Add 1 cup of water to the residue and strain out a thin juice. Keep it aside.

For the Curry
Ingredients
3 medium Pomfret sliced and cleaned 
1 medium size Onion chopped 
1 medium size Tomato chopped 
1 tsp Ginger minced 
2 Green Chillies slit
1/4 tsp Sugar 
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Oil 

Method 
Take a wok, add oil. Let it heat. Add the chopped onions, sauté it till translucent. Add the chopped tomato, ginger and green chillies. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the thin juice and let it simmer. Apply little salt on the fish. Add the fish into the wok. Let it simmer for a minute. Turn the fish. Add the thick juice and continue to simmer. Add the salt and sugar. Let it simmer till the fish is cooked. Serve hot with steamed rice or with pav.

Friday, 22 September 2017

Putu Ayu Ketan Hitam (Black Glutinous Rice and Coconut Steamed Cake)


It's an Indonesian steamed cake recipe. It's can be served as snacks and believe me it is moist, healthy and super tasty.
I have followed Anna dina's blog for this recipe, but I have reduced the quantity of the ingredients to half and recreated the recipe as per my convenience.
The Black Rice was one of the ingredient that I had received as prize from Original Indian Table in collaboration with Commeat. I have plated it on a Tapas plate which again was one of the prizes I had received from Le Creuset...

I made the rice flour at home. I took 125 grams of rice and ground it. Then sieved it. I have used dried grated coconut, but the fresh coconut is more preferred.
Black Rice known as forbidden rice, it is less popular than the other rice varieties, it is also an ancient grain that has been eaten in Asia for thousands of year. It has a powerful disease-fighting antioxidants, and it also contains dietary fiber, anti-inflammatory properties, and has the ability to help stop the development of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and even weight gain.

For the Coconut Layer
Ingredients
50 grams grated Coconut
3 drops of Vanilla Essence
A Pinch of Salt
1 Pandan Leaf

Methods
Add the coconut, salt, vanilla essence and pandan leaf into the bowl. Mix the ingredients and steam it for 2 minutes. Let it cool. Discard the leaf and keep it aside.

For the Cake
Ingredients
120 grams of Black Glutinous Rice Flour
60 grams Caster Sugar as per the sweetness required
A Pinch of Salt
1 Large Egg
100 ml Coconut milk
1 Pandan Leaf
Oil for greasing

Method
Boil coconut milk with pandan leaf. Let it cool then remove the leaf from the coconut milk. Boil a liter of water in a pot. Grease the putu ayu moulds or mini bundt moulds with oil. Put 2 tsp of the coconut into the mould. Press the grated coconuts well until it sets. Keep the mould aside.
Remove the pot of hot water from the flame. Take another bowl which can fit onto the pot. Add the egg, sugar and salt into the bowl. Beat on low speed until the sugar dissolves. Increase the speed of the beater and  beat until the batter becomes thick and pale. Add the flour in the batter in batches. Beat it further till the flour has mixed well. Now gradually add the coconut milk little at a time and continue to beat the batter until the ingredients are well incorporated.
Fill the moulds with the batter until full till the edge, steam it for 15 minutes or till the cake is done. Let the cake cool down before remove it from the moulds.

Monday, 18 September 2017

Ratafia Biscuits



This are small light textured, round, almond flavored biscuits similar to Italian Amaretti biscuits.
Traditionally Ratafias were made from the kernels of apricot, almond or peach instead of a flour. 
They are light and crispy but chewy. They are served after dinner with coffee or as snacks. They are also used making cakes, puddings and trifles. They can be stored for a month in an air tight container. 
I have adapted this recipe from epicurus.com. 

Ingredients
2 Egg Whites
1/2 tsp Almond Essence
30 grams Butter 
1 tsp Butter for Greasing 
120 grams Almond meal
1 tbsp Rice Flour
175 grams Caster Sugar


Method
Place a baking paper on the baking sheet, grease the sheet with butter and keep it aside.
Beat the egg whites until it begins to form peaks. In a different bowl add in sugar and butter, beat it till the sugar forms soft crumbs. Add the essence, beat it until its softens further. Gradually add the rice flour and almond meal,continue to beat till the all the ingredients incorporates well. Add the egg whites and beat it again till it forms a sticky dough. Take a normal round nozzle. Use a piping bag for piping out the biscuits into small balls. Another alternative is that you can wet your palms and take small portions of the dough and form round balls. Keep a distance between the 2 balls. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 180 degrees celsius in an pre heated oven till it becomes light brown in colour. Cool it completely before removing the biscuits from the sheet.

Wednesday, 13 September 2017

Coorgi Koli Saaru / Coorgi Chicken Curry


 Koli Saaru is a delectable Chicken dish from the region of Coorg. The curry is made with freshly ground spices which enhances the flavor of the curry. It's simple to make. It's served as a side dish, it's eaten with Akki Roti or Rice. I have used pressure cooker to speed up the time, but you can also slow cook it in a pot. 

To Marinate the Chicken
Ingredients
750 grams Chicken pieces washed and cleaned
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Chilli powder
Salt to taste


Method
Marinate the chicken with turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt for 1 hour.

For the Masala powder
Ingredients
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Black Pepper corns
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
5 Cloves
1 medium stick Cinnamon

Method
Dry roast the mustard seeds, black pepper,coriander seeds and cumin seeds till a strong aroma releases. Cool it and grind them into a powder.

For the Wet Paste
1 Medium size  Onion chopped
1 Medium size Tomato chopped
6 Garlic Pods
1 Inch Ginger
2 Green Chillies
1/2 tsp Roasted Poppy seeds - I have not added
1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated Coconut

Method
In a grinder, grind the Onion, Tomato, Garlic, Ginger, Green Chillies and Coconut into a paste.

To make the Curry
Ingredients
Marinated Chicken
1 medium size Onion finely chopped
Few Curry Leaves
Wet Paste
1/2 tsp Kachampuli (Black Vinegar)
OR
1 tsp Tamarind paste
1 1/2 tbsp Dry Masala powder
Salt to taste 
3 Tbsp Oil

Method
Take a pressure cooker. Add oil, let the oil heat up, add the onion and curry leaves. Sauté on the onion medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the wet paste, stir it and cook for 3 minutes on a medium low heat. Add 1/4 cup water and continue to cook for 2 minutes more. Add the chicken pieces, stir and cook for a minute. Add the powder masala. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of water. Stir for a minute. Cover the pressure cooker and allow 4 whistles. Switch off the flame and let the pressure release. Open the lid. Add salt and tamarind paste and stir the curry. Let it the curry simmer for another 2 minutes. Serve the Koli Saaru with Akki roti or Rice.