Bird’s Nest

Every time I visited Singapore, I was very inquisitive to see and know more about Bird’s nest, but didn’t get the chance. I had seen it on National Geographic Channel. So this time, while roaming in one of the local market, I happened to enter a Chinese store. As you enter the Chinese store you will find many varieties of herbs, ginseng, dried mushrooms, dried fish, bird’s nest and many more products.
 Bird's nests is one of the expensive animal product that is edible and are made from the saliva of the Swiftlet bird. This bird’s nest are harvested and it holds a prized possession in Chinese culture due to its high nutrient value and flavour. Chinese believe that it promotes good health.
It’s extremely a difficult task to get this bird’s nest. In nature these are found high up in the caves. It’s a very dangerous task for the harvesters. They climb the top with the help of the rope and ladder. It takes lots of effort cleaning them, before it’s sold in the market.
It is categorised as per the type, shape, colour etc and then priced as per the category.  Now a day you get fake ones too, so you have to be aware about the product before you buy it.
While speaking to the shopkeeper, I came to know that it’s like gelatine, after it’s cooked it becomes thick and is used mostly for making sweet soup, but it’s also used as a ingredient to make other dishes due to its gelatinous texture. Bird nest soup is a delicacy for the Chinese people.

Stir Fried Salmon cooked in Orange and Garlic Sauce

This an amazing dish made with Italian flavours for lunch. The dish is sweet and tangy in taste. This can be served with bread or rice. 

For the Stir Fry

Ingredients

10 pieces of Salmon Fillets

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Pepper Powder 

3 cubes Butter

Method 

Apply salt and pepper on the fish fillets. Take a pan, add butter, let it melt. Stir fry the fish until  brown on both the sides. Remove the fish and keep it aside. 

For the Sauce

Ingredients 

Stir Fried Salmon Fish 

400 ml of Fresh Orange Juice 

2 tsp Garlic chopped 

1 tsp Pepper Powder 

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste 

2 tbsp All Purpose Flour 

1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary 

Sweet Basil for garnishing 

Butter left in the pan 

Method 

Take the same pan, use the leftover butter. Heat the pan, add the chopped garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the all purpose flour, sauté it for another minute. Add the fresh orange juice. Stir and let it simmer. Add the sugar, salt to taste, Pepper powder and dried Rosemary. Stir and let it continue to simmer until the gravy begins to thicken.  Add the fish. Switch of the flame and add the sauce over the fish. Garnish with Basil leaves. Serve it with Bread or Rice. 

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).