Poila Baishakh celebration with Veg Pulao and Chicken Kasha

April 13, 2016, 3:07 pm

≫ Next: Snalthy ~ A New Healthy and Yummy Snack in the market

≪ Previous: How to make your Poila Baishakh Celebration an unforgettable one

Today We are celebrating Bengali New Year. It usually falls on the 14^th or 15^th of April every year. First day of the month, Boishakh, is known as “Poila Boishakh” where Poila means the very first. Each Bengali living in Bengal or outside Bengal, celebrates this day with great gusto and fervor. This year it falls on 14^th of April and it’ll be the Bengali year of 1423.

For me also this day is as special as for other Bengalis. Every Bengali waits for this day just like they wait for Durga Puja with similar excitement and enthusiasm. In past days, the preparation used to include cleaning and painting the house exterior, decorating the houses with a traditional alpona or rangoli and obviously a lavish spread to enjoy the day with family and friends. But in today’s busy lifestyle, painting or giving an alpona is not possible for many families, but cleaning was and still is an integral part of Bengali New Year celebration. Cleanliness not only brings wealth and prosperity to our home but also needed to maintain a healthy and hygienic life. Cleaning our home also includes our kitchen which obviously needs an extra attention. On the onset of summer, cockroaches tend to appear more and contaminate food and utensils which can cause food poisoning, diarrhea etc. Making kitchen cockroaches free is a dainty task as they tend to hide in dark and damp places like sink outlet pipe, under the cylinder, under the fridge and under the dustbins. To get rid of them, I use Godrej LALHIT(red one), a product from Godrej, its deep reach nozzle helps to reach every nook and corner of my kitchen, even in places where cockroaches hide and make our kitchen dirty. Not only before the new year, I spray Godrej Lal Hit once a week to keep the cockroaches out of my kitchen forever. It's equally important for a healthy lifestyle just like having healthy food. Bengali New Year is just round the corner, so my cleaning spree is going on in full swing nowadays.

After cleaning the house, I decorate my house with earthen pots and diyas and with fresh flowers to give it a festive look. Visiting a nearby temple is must for me to start a new year with God’s blessings. It’s a tradition for Bengalis to wear a new cloth on this day and I make sure to gift a new cloth to my kids, husband, parents, parents-in-law and off course one for myself. Every year, I plan for a get-together with our close relatives in my home where each family brings a Bengali delicacy and together we enjoy a lavish spread and have a quality time together.

This year I planned to make a Bengali Vegetable Pulao and Kasha Murgir Mangsho(Chicken Kasha) for all. I’m going to share the recipe with you all.

Veg Pulao

Ingredients :

Basmati Rice : 500 gm.

Mix Vegetable : carrots, green beans, capsicum, cauliflower etc.

Ginger : 1", grated

Cumin seed : 1 tsp.

Onion : 1, thinly sliced

Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.

Salt and black pepper powder to taste

Oil : 1 tblsp. + Ghee : 1 tblsp.
Bay leaves : 2
Cardamoms : 3-4 nos.
Cinnamon : 2 sticks
Cloves : 3-4 nos.

How To :

In a big pan, add water and washed rice and put it on heat. Add 1 bay leaf, cardamoms, cinnamons and cloves. Add a pinch of salt and let it cook till rice are almost cooked. Drain all the water from rice and then spread it on a big plate.
In a pan, add just a little oil and saute the mixed veggies till they are just done, but not over ccooked. Remove from hear and keep aside.
In the same pan, add 1 tblsp oil and 1 tblsp. of ghee, temper with a bay leaf and cumin seeds, immediately add grated ginger and turmeric powder, add the fried vegetables and mix well. Now carefully add rice little by little in the pan and mix well with everything. Add a pinch of salt and then again add next portion of rice. Mix well everything. Lastly, season with black pepper powder to taste.
Your Veg Pulao is ready to serve. garnish with fresh coriander leaves if possible.

Serve it with any kind of fish, chicken or mutton delicacies. Pair it with a salad and you are good to enjoy a lavish meal.

Chicken Kasha or Kasha Murgir Mangsho
This is a dry type of Bengali style Chicken curry with potatoes where a thick gravy coats the chicken and potato pieces and it's a beloved chicken dish of Bengalis. This typ of chiekn curry perfectly pairs with any pulao or any kind of Indian flatbreads like paratha, naan or chapathi.

Ingredients :
Chicken : 750 gms.
Yoghurt/curd : 1/2 cup
Onion : 2, medium, thinly sliced
Ginger-garlic paste : 2 heaped tblsp.
Green chilli paste of 2 chilles
Tomato ; 2, big, finely chopped

Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.

Red chilli powder : 2 tsp. or as per taste

Cumin powder : 2 tsp.

Coriander powder : 1 tsp.

Salt to taste

Oil : 2 tblsp.

Bay leaf : 1

Cardamom : 2-3 nos.

Cloves : 2-3 nos.

Cinnamon : 2 sticks(1")

Roasted Garam masala Powder : 1 tsp.( roast cardamoms, 3 cloves and 1 " stick of cinnamon on a hot tawa till fragnant and grind them to powder)

How To :

Wash the chicken pieces and drain the water properly so there is no water left. In a big bowl, take curd, all the spice powders, 1 tblsp. ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste and 1 tsp. salt, mix everything well. Marinate the chicken pieces in this spice paste for at least an hour.
Heat oil in a pan, fry the potato pieces adding a pinch of salt and turmeric powder till they are golden brown, keep aside. In the same oil, add bay leaf, and cardamom, cinnamons and cloves, when they start to splutter, add sliced onion. Saute till they got transparent, add 1 tsp. of sugar and continue stirring till onions turn golden brown.
Then add 1 tblsp. ginger-garlic paste and chopped tomatoes. Saute again till tomatoes turn soft. Add the marinated chicken and mix well with the onion-tomato paste. Chicken can release a little water at this moment. Cover the lid and let it cook till all water evaporates. continue stirring till oil seperates the masala.
Add fried potato pieces in the curry. Add about 1 cup of warm water in there and cover the lid. let it cook till chicken and potatoes are cooked. Lastly, open the lid and add the garam masala in there and mix well. Cook till gravy dries up and nicely coats the chicken and potato pieces. Chicken kasha is ready to serve.

Wishing everyone visiting this space and to all my readers a very Happy Bengali New Year or Shubho Nababarsha

You can know more about Godrej Lal Hit, here "
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Disclaimer : This post is in association with Godrej Lal Hit

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Snalthy ~ A New Healthy and Yummy Snack in the market

April 18, 2016, 11:50 am

≫ Next: Lau Moong or Bottle gourd cooked with yellow Moong dal/Split Green Gram Dal

≪ Previous: Poila Baishakh celebration with Veg Pulao and Chicken Kasha

As a mother of small kids, it's a challenge for me to find a healthy and filling snack for the kids or for the whole family. When I go for grocery shopping, I always look out for healthy snacks which I can happily pack into my kids' lunchbox or for evening snacking with tea for us. There are few healthy snack brand available in the market nowadays which are so tasteless that kids' just not like them after one bite. And finally, I end up making some for my family. But in today's busy life, it's impossible to always have time to make even the snacks at home.
Few weeks back I jumped with joy after I got a mail from Snalthy because my prayers got answered finally. If you are wondering what is Snalthy, then it's a snack brand who are making single serve snack packets which are oil, chemicals and preservative free.They wanted me to try out their new initiative. Their brand name and tagline, "Snacks Made Healthy" made me interested to try their products. Without wasting time I said yes and they sent me 12 packets of different varieties of snack packets which included cookies, chips, rusks, crackers and many more.

Snalthy is a brainchild of three buddies who used to eat junked foods often and one day they realized that they are doing something wrong and started to experiment with healthy snacking ideas. After 1000’s of trials in last 2 years, healthy, tasty &nutritious recipes with all natural ingredients and zero added chemicals are developed that are first of its kind in India.Snalthy has a huge variety of healthy snacks ranging from Baked Chips & Sticks, Cookies, Biscotti, Bars, Toffee, Crackers, Rusk, Brownie Thins, Macaroon Drops, and Millet Porridge.

All the snacks come in limited calorie (Less than 180 Calorie) single serve air tight pack with nutrition in every bite that satisfies instant hunger, and also to make it a most value for money snack. The price for this snacks ranges from Rs. 98 to 210 with a variety of combos.These packs can fit in kids snack box, backpacks, car dashboards, travel pack, office worktables and lots more.

The facts that Make Snalthy, a "Healthy" snack for your family ::

Sourcing : The raw materials are sourced only in India mostly from farmers.

Recipes : Nutritionist crafted recipes with Nutrition in every bite with all natural ingredients and zero added chemicals. Snalthy do not use Refined / Bleached flour (Maida), Refined white sugar, Hydrogenated fat (Vanaspati), Baking powder, Baking soda, Emulsifiers, Artificial colours, Artificial flavours, etc., which are commonly used in other snacks.

Preparation : Products are made in-house hygienically from scratch with state of art production unit

Cooking : Baking, roasting, toasting and seasoning are adopted . No oil frying or re-use of oil.

Taste : Snalthy brings you authentic healthy snack with its original taste in a convenient way to your door step.

Package : Limited calorie (Less than 180 Calorie) single serve air tight pack with nutrition in every bite that satisfies instant hunger

Affordability : 60 different variants of snacks at an affordable price range from Rs.98 to Rs.210 along with a variety of combos

Here are some of the snacks they sent me :

Cookies and Rusk :
Almond and Cocoa Almond- both the cookies are made of whole wheat flour and tasted very nice, my teenage daughter specially loved these cookies. Mixed seed rusks are also made of wheat flour and a combination of watermelon seed and flax seeds. The taste was also surprisingly good.

From top : Garlic Bread Sticks, Salted Baked Potato chip and Spinach Crackers(left)

Chips and Crackers :

Garlic Bread Sticks are good, very crisp but garlic flavour was less prominant. Baked potato chips are good, quite addictive made with rice flour and Spinach crackers are made of a combination of wheat, ragi, rice and kambu (unknown to me) flour and has a flavour of Spinach, onion and green chilli. By texture these are quite crispy and tasted good, too.

Crispy Mexican Chips(left) and Crispy Methi Crackers(right)

These crispyMexican chips are made of potato and rice flour, therefore has a crispy texture, these are very addictive and has an interesting Mexican flavour. Methi Crackers were are made of wheat, ragi and Kambu flour combination and has flavouring of methi, onion and green chilli. They are quite crispy and tasted good.

Sticks :
Salted Apple sticks are made of a combination of wheat, rice and corn flour and tasted good, it has no sugar but a very less amount of salt, which doesn't taste salty at all. My 8 year old sons loved them and finished within a minute. Orange banana Sticks have similar combinations of ingredients with orange and banana in it and are sweetened by just the right amount of honey. I have liked these a lot, even the kids. Both apple and orange banana sticks will be winners among kids that I'm sure.

Last but not the least, Sesame Raisin Bars will be a hit among adults which has a good dose of dates and Raisin in it and a shower of black and white Sesame seeds. These reminded me of Dates laddoo I make with sesame seeds on top. A pack of these Sesame Raisin bar will definitely provide one adult with their daily dose of fiber. And the Caramel Toffee, I kept totally for myself and didn't share with anyone at all, as I am the most Caramel lover in my family. And I must say it was a treat for me.

Verdict as a whole :

I liked all the snacks, all of them are quite different from what we get in the market. After being made with whole grains, all the snacks tasted really good. No evidence of excessive salt and excessive sweetness in any of the snacks, just like we as a mother would love to give our kids and family members. I would recommend all my friends and relatives and the visitors and followers of this blog, who are reading this post, to at least try these snacks for once and judge yourself.

Ordering and Delivery :
Snalthy snacks are prepared on the day of order placed through web and are delivered at door step with minimum lead time anywhere in India with no compromise on taste and freshness of the snacks. Snalthy also has monthly subscription option at special price. Snalthy is the one point where you can buy all healthy snacks for everyone in your family according to their taste and need. Buy it once or subscribe for your convenience.

Order in the web www.snalthy.com or Call @ +91 80155 80150 or Mail to @ info@snalthy.com.

Finally, I want to thank Snalthy for such an initiative of serving healthy snacks to our society.Also thanks a lot for sending me these yummy and healthy snacks.

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Lau Moong or Bottle gourd cooked with yellow Moong dal/Split Green Gram Dal

April 20, 2016, 12:48 pm

≫ Next: Salter Cucumber Lassi

≪ Previous: Snalthy ~ A New Healthy and Yummy Snack in the market

Bottle Gourd is mainly a summer vegetable but it is available all year round in India. Even though it is not so popular in Western World, but it is widely used in India. Bottle gourd has many healing powers, it is valuable treating Urinary disorder, balancing Liver Function, treating High blood pressure and heart disease, treating Insomnia and other nervous disorders and many more. Ayurveda, the traditional Indian Herbal medicinal system, suggests bottle gourd juice once daily early in the morning helps treating graying hair, stomach acidity, digestive disorders and ulcers.

Lau, as bottle gourd is known in Bengali, in other parts of India, it is known as Lauki or Dudhi, is very low caloric vegetable and very low in fat. Because of its high water content, it's very cooling, calming, diuretic and easy to digest. Therefore, it's a great summer food. It is rich in iron and also has vitamins C and B complex. It is high in fiber, thus very effective for light, low calorie diet, people with digestive disorders and constipation. If you are planning to loose weight, add it to your diet daily.

There are varieties of ways we cook this vegetable. Here are some I already blogged :

Today I'm going to share another delicious recipe where we add yellow lentil or Moong Dal in finely chopped bottle gourds and very few delicate spices and create a flavourful, delicious and a filling vegetarian side dish which goes well with freshly made hot rice or even with rotis. So, let's move on to the recipe...........................

You Need :
Bottle gourd(medium) : 1, peeled and cubed in small pieces
Yellow lentil/Moong Dal/split green gram dal : 1/2 cup, washed and dried
Tomato : 1/2, chopped
Green chilli : 1-2 nos.
Ginger(grated) : 1/2 "
Dry red chilli : 1
Bay leaf : 1
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Red Chilli powder : 1 tsp.(optional)
Cumin powder : 1 tsp.
Oil, mustard oil preferably : 1 tblsp.
Salt to taste
Ghee : 1 tsp.
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

How To :

Wash the moong dal or yellow lentil very well, then spread on a paper kitchen towel to soak the water for 10 minutes. Heat a griddle or tawa, roast the dal on medium heat till they are reddish brown but not burnt, stir continuously otherwise dal gets burnt quickly. When you get the roasted aroma, take out from heat and keep aside.
Cook the dal : in a big pan, boil water to cook the dal, add roasted dal, a pinch of salt and turmeric powder and cook till dal looks soft but retain its shape and not mushy. when done, drain and keep aside.
Cook the bottlegourd : Heat oil in a pan. temper with bay leaf, dry red chilli and cumin seeds, when seed crackle, add chopped tomatoes and green chillies. When tomatoes are soft, add grated ginger and turmeric, red chilli and cumin powder one by one and mix well. Cook the spices adding 1 spoon of water.
When spices are cooked, add chopped lau or bottle gourd, mix well with the spices. Add little water, as bottlegourd can release some water. Season with salt. Cover with lid and cook till bottle gourd is half done. Now add cooked green gram or moong dal in the bottlegourd. Mix well and again cook covered till moong dal and bottlegourd both are cooked.
Lastly, add ghee in it and mix well, cook for another 1 minute. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves.

Serve it with piping hot rice and any kind of dal(lentil soup).

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Salter Cucumber Lassi

April 29, 2016, 12:59 pm

≫ Next: Lau Ghonto and Lau-er Khosa Charchari ~ Two Bengali Veg dish of Bottle Gourd

≪ Previous: Lau Moong or Bottle gourd cooked with yellow Moong dal/Split Green Gram Dal

Lassi is a popular and traditional Indian drink, originated in the state of Punjab. It is made of Yoghurt with water, salt, sugar, pepper and flavoured with spices.Lassi can be sweet or salty. Different flavours of lassi are also made using different seasonal fruits. Lassi is enjoyed chilled with ice cubes during hot summers and it's a real thirst quencher. It has the goodness of yoghurt and we all know that yoghurt has many health benefits, starting from helping in digesting food to burning body fat. In this previous post of mine, you will get to know three lassi recipes and several health benefits as well.

Addition of cucumber, yogurt, mint and coriander leaves takes this humble lassi to a all new level. I can't tell you how refreshing this drink is, you have to try it to believe me. Almost no addition of sugar make it more guilt free and healthier option in this scorching summer heat.

You Need :

Cucumber (big) : 1, peeled and chopped
Yoghurt/dahi/curd : 1 cup
Chopped mint and coriander leaves : a handful
Black Salt : 1 tsp.
Sugar : 1 tsp.
Ginger : 1/2 inch, chopped finely
Green chilli : 1/2 to 1(to taste), chopped [optional]
Chaat Masala or roasted cumin powder to garnish

How To :

Peel the cucumber and chop in squares. In a blender, take the cucumber, ginger, green chilli, mint and coriander leaves and salt. Blend till smooth.
Now add the curd or yogurt in it and blend well. As cucumber releases lot of water, so there is no need to add more water. You can add a little water in it if you want.
Your Cucumber Lassi is ready to indulge in a jiffy.

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Lau Ghonto and Lau-er Khosa Charchari ~ Two Bengali Veg dish of Bottle Gourd

May 5, 2016, 1:05 pm

≫ Next: A 4-star Business Hotel Golden Tulip is in town, in City of Joy

≪ Previous: Salter Cucumber Lassi

Lau, as we call it in Bengali, in other parts of India, it is known as Lauki or Dudhi, is very low caloric vegetable and very low in fat. Because of its high water content, it's very cooling, calming, diuretic and easy to digest. Therefore, it's a great summer food. It is rich in iron and also has vitamins C and B complex. It is high in fiber, thus very effective for light, low calorie diet, people with digestive disorders and constipation. If you are planning to loose weight, add it to your diet daily.

Bottle gourd has many healing powers, even though it is not so popular in Western World, but it is widely used in India. Bottle gourd is valuable treating Urinary disorder, balancing Liver Function, treating High blood pressure and heart disease, treating Insomnia and other nervous disorders and many more. Ayurveda, the traditional Indian Herbal medicinal system, suggests bottle gourd juice once daily early in the morning helps treating graying hair, stomach acidity, digestive disorders and ulcers. During summer, consume this Bottle Gourd Juice to cool yourself from inside.

Today, I'll share a very simple lauki/lau recipe from bengali cuisine, which is called"Lau Ghonto".
Another, from the same bottle gourd peel, "Lau er Khosa Charchari". One bottle gourd, two recipe. Bottle gourd's peel is equally delicious and nutritious. So to consume the nutrition form the peel, try this dish, you'll be amazed.

LAU GHONTO :::

Ghonto, is a cooking style in Bengali cuisine, where vegetables (cabbage, gourd, radish etc.) are chopped or grated very finely and cooked with a tempering(like, jeera/ panch phoron) and very few ground spices. Non-vegetarian ghontos are also made, where fish or fish head are added with vegetables. The famous Murighonto is made with fish head and cooked rice.

You Need :
Lau/lauki : 1 ( medium/big)
Dry red chilli : 1
Bay Leaf : 1, optional
Cumin seeds/jeera : 2 tsp.
Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.
Green chilli : 1 or 2(chopped)
Salt to taste
Sugar : a pinch
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

How To :

Peel the whole gourd. Don't throw away the peels. In Bengali cuisine, we have many delectable dishes made from it, like crispy fries(lau-er khosa bhaja) or charchari from it.
For cutting the vegetable very fine, first cut the gourds in round rings. Take 3 or 4 rings at a time and chop them as finely as you can. Continue with the other rings.
Heat oil in a pan, temper with broken dry red chilli, bay leaf and cumin seeds. When chilli turns dark and seeds crackle, throw chopped up gourds. Stir for a while, water will come out. Wait for water to dry up. When water evaporates, add salt, turmeric and green chillies. Mix well, stirring for few minutes.
Add very little water and in medium flame let it cook. Gourds cook very fast. Check the seasoning. When all the water evaporates and gourds are quite soft and mushy, remove from heat. Throw chopped fresh coriander leaves, mix well and serve with hot steamed rice.

Lau-er khosa Charchari :::

It's a great dish, made from peels of bottle gourds and pumpkin. This dish, I've tried from Sharmistha's blog Cook-a-doodle-doo. I had no idea of this dish , until She shared her mother's recipe. Instead of throwing all the highly nutritive peels of gourd, we can dish out a great simple relish. To make any dish with peels, do not peel but cut with little flesh on with a sharp knife. I recommend all to try this dish who loves bottle gourd.

You Need :
Bottle Gourd Skin : chopped, skin of a large bottle gourd
Pumpkin : 1 small bowl, chopped lengthwise & thinly
Whole dry red chilli : 1, broken in half
Kalojeera/Kalonji : 1 tsp.
Green Chillies : 2-3, as per taste
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Mustard paste : 2 tsp.
Grated Coconut : 2-3 tbsp.
Coriander leaves : finely chopped
Oil : 1 tbsp.

How To :

Finely chop the skin of bottle gourd. Steam the chopped skin after adding a pinch of salt. Drain the water and keep aside.
In a wok, pour oil and temper with Kalo jeera/kalonji and whole dry red chilli. Add the sliced pumpkin, saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the steamed bottle gourd peel. Add salt, sugar and turmeric powder.
Add 1/2 cup of water and cook on medium flame for around 7-10 minutes or till the veggies are done. Add the mustard paste and grated coconut. Mix well.
Lastly, add fresh coriander leaves and remove from heat. Serve with dal and plain rice.

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A 4-star Business Hotel Golden Tulip is in town, in City of Joy

May 9, 2016, 12:16 pm

≫ Next: Dahi Sandwich or Yogurt sandwich

≪ Previous: Lau Ghonto and Lau-er Khosa Charchari ~ Two Bengali Veg dish of Bottle Gourd

On 7th May, 2016 it was the day when Golden Tulip Hotel, a mid-scale 4 star business hotel launched their Kolkata branch at the heart of city, Salt Lake, sactor-1. It is very conveniently located just 10 kms from the airport and 5 minutes walking distance from City Centre 1, Salt Lake shopping mall and activity hub. It is a business hotel with 55 rooms, well suited for travelers to Kolkata. It is a part of The Louvre Hotels Group, the 8^th Largest Hotel Chain with over 1100 hotels in over 47 Countries with 7 brands.

The hotel was inaugurated by quite a few eminent personalities from Bollywood and Tollywood like Mahima Choudhry from Bollywood, Saheb Bhattacherjee, Ridhima Ghosh, Swastika Mukherjee, Hina Panchal from Tollywood and off course by Mr. Ashish Mittal, MD of Golden Tulip, Kolkata.

During the inauguration, Mr. Mittal said,“The hotel with its refreshing decor, gracious hospitality and warm ambience combines to form a memorable experience for the guests. It’s just ideal for hosting social & corporate gatherings while food lovers in search for the real flavours can satiate their taste buds here.”

Now about Golden Tulip :

Golden Tulip Salt Lake City Kolkata, stands out for its elegant 4 star accommodation and breath-taking views in the heart of the city. Whether one is traveling for business or leisure, you can relax and enjoy the highest standard of international hospitality in exquisite surroundings. It is conveniently located in close proximity to the International Airport.

Gold Finch - Meeting Rooms : An ideal venue for hosting Social gatherings, events, conferences, board meetings, an exhibition, launch parties, corporate parties, kitty parties, special theme functions and more. It has a rare mix of old-world hospitality in its theme and decor and is loaded with modern hi-tech facilities. In it one can get numerous combinations and possibilities of space and seating arrangements, accessibility to most modern audio-visual equipment, creative menu options, and of course themes which make business a pleasure at Golden Tulip Kolkata not usual but extraordinary. Can cater upto 300 people.
Noir - Open Air Lounge : Situated on the 8^th Floor Terrace alongside the Jacuzzi Pool, with breath taking views of the City’s Sky line covering the Salt Lake area. Ideal for Special & Private parties.

Deluxe Rooms : Rooms with required amenities, King Size beds with 12” mattress for comfort, Rain showers, HI Speed wireless internet access , Satellite TV channels, Direct Dialing phone services, minibar, tea/coffee maker, individual temperature controls.

Executive Rooms : Rooms signed in a modern contemporary style with required amenities, King Size beds with 12” mattress for comfort, HI Speed wireless internet access, Multilingual international TV Satellite channels, minibar, tea/coffee making facilities, individually controlled air conditioning, sound proof windows and safety lockers in room.

Suite Rooms : The Suite Rooms come well equipped with all the business class features & facilities, Multilingual international TV Satellite channels, minibar, tea/coffee making facilities, individually controlled air conditioning and safety lockers in room, Complimentary newspapers and periodicals, High-speed Wi-fi connectivity, Complimentary slippers, Complimentary airport/railway station pick-up or drop, Executive writing desk with business kit, complimentary bottles of packaged drinking water, Herbal toiletries, Complimentary shoe shiner.

Club Deluxe Rooms : Exclusive Rooms on Club floors are designed in a modern contemporary style with required amenities, comfortable beddings, shower, wireless high Speed internet access, satellite feed with deluxe TV channels, direct dial phone service, minibar, tea/coffee making facilities, individually control air conditioning sound proof windows and safety.

Club Executive Rooms: Exclusive Premium Rooms on Club floors offering a breath taking View of Salt Lake City, designed in a modern contemporary style with required amenities, comfortable beddings, bathtub, shower, Speed wireless internet access, satellite feed with multilingual international TV channels, minibar, tea/coffee making facilities, individually controlled air conditioning, sound proof windows and safety box in room.

Club Suite Rooms: The Suite Rooms on Club floors provides separate living room with a dining area and a bedroom with breathtaking views of the Kolkata skyline covering the Salt Lake City. The room is well equipped with all the business class facilities, Multi-channel color television with satellite TV, In room temperature control, In room tea coffee maker, Individual digital in-room safes, mini bar, Complimentary newspapers, High-speed Wi-fi connectivity, Complimentary slippers, Complimentary airport / railway station pick-up or drop, Executive writing desk with business kit, complimentary bottles of packaged drinking water, Herbal toiletries, Complimentary shoe shine.

GUESTROOM FEATURES:

o Blue tooth connectivity in Executive & Suite Room Categories

o In room temperature control

o High-speed Wi-Fi connectivity

o Individual digital in-room safes

o Executive writing desk with business kit

o Complimentary bottles of packaged drinking water

o Herbal toiletries

o Air conditioning with individual control units

o LCD TV with 24 hour local and satellite programs

o Tea and coffee making facilities

o Personal Mini-bar

o Hair dryer

o Iron and ironing board (available on request)

o GYM

o Daily newspaper

o Car & Travel arrangement

The Coffee shop "Anti Pasti" is open 24 hours for both in house guest and outside patrons. The restaurant offers wide choice of buffet breakfast and multiple options of Cuisines for lunch and dinner. Our Specialty Hookah Bar "Thrilophalia" located on the 7th Floor has a fantastic view of the city and is open for early sun-downers to late nightcaps.

Anti-Pasti: Multicuisine Restaurant 24x7: Located on 3rd floor is open all day offers wide choice of buffet breakfast and Multiple options of Cuisines for lunch and dinner for both in house guests and outside patrons. The buffet breakfast features variety fresh Beverages, cold cuts, cereals, breads, egg preparations, salads, apart from Indian and international hot dishes. A la-carte menu for lunch and dinner consists of Indian, Oriental and Tandoor favorites apart from snacks.

Thrilophalia: the signature Hookah Bar, located on the 7th Floor with fantastic views of the city. Open daily for early sun-downers to late night caps, with a wide variety of Select Beverages from Fruit Juices, to the latest international concoctions and Mocktails.

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Dahi Sandwich or Yogurt sandwich

May 23, 2016, 8:01 am

≫ Next: Barcelos ~ A New entry in Kolkata serving Portuguese Cuisine

≪ Previous: A 4-star Business Hotel Golden Tulip is in town, in City of Joy

In this scorching summer heat, yogurt plays the role of a savior for my family, keeping our body cool from inside and helps to keep our digestive system in track in this humid hot summer season. So, I use yogurt in different ways during this season throughout the day, like making a yogurt sandwich/a big spoon of yogurt with my cereal for breakfast or making some lassi for afternoon or eating with rice in lunch and even using yogurt in my salad dressing.

I often make this yogurt sandwich or popularly known as "Dahi Sandwich" for breakfast. They are very nutritious, loaded with vegetables and totally fat free and hence a guilt free, nutritious and healthy breakfast option for everyone.

You Need :
Bread slices : 4 or more
Carrot : 1, shredded
Capsicum/bell pepper : 1, finely chopped
Tomatoes, deseeded : 1, finely chopped
Ginger : 1/2 " piece, finely chopped
Green chilli : 1-2, chopped
Yogurt/sour curd : 2 heaped tblsp.
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves : finely chopped, a handful
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp.
Oil : 1 tsp.

How To :

Put the yogurt/curd in a fine cloth, hold the cloth tight and squeeze the water as much as possible. Take out the curd from the cloth and take it in a wide bowl, add all the ingredients except mustard seed and oil.
In a pan, heat 1 tsp. oil and temper with mustard seeds. when seeds crackle, take out the pan and pour the tempering into the curd mix. Mix it well. Your sandwich filling is ready.
Now fill between two breads and then grill it on a sandwich toaster or toast it over a tawa/pan.

Enjoy with a hot cuppa of tea or coffee on breakfast.

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Barcelos ~ A New entry in Kolkata serving Portuguese Cuisine

May 25, 2016, 1:48 pm

≫ Next: Recipe Junction got its own domain

≪ Previous: Dahi Sandwich or Yogurt sandwich

Quite new in Kolkata's food scenario, Portuguese and Middle eastern Cuisine has come in the name of "Barcelos", a newly opened Food Chain who are famous for their flame grilled food from Portugal, house of Peri Peri. Located at the top most floor of Acropolis mall in Kasba, it's very easy to locate. Barcelos opened its first store in Pretoria, South Africa back in 1993. Using recipes mastered by the Portuguese hundreds of years ago, the flame grilled flavours became so popular that Barcelos can be found now in Worldwide and India is their newest destination. In India, Kolkata is their second outlet just after Delhi.

Barcelos has kept their name after a quaint Portuguese town, Barcelos which is very famous for their Peri Peri Sauce. Peri Peri, a chilli, a small member of the Capsicum genus. There is a interesting story behind the town of Barcelos. According to the 17th century legend, " a pilgrim seeking food and water in Barcelos, was accused of stealing from a landowner. The pilgrim was sentenced to hang despite his protests of innocence. In a last minute appeal to the judge, who was enjoying a roasted rooster for dinner at the time, the pilgrim boldly stated, “If I am innocent, then that rooster will get up and crow!” Suddenly, a gorgeous scarlet-plumed cockerel rose from the plate, crowing loudly. The man was acquitted of course!" Today the town’s shops and streets are decorated with colourful ceramic roosters, and it is still a place to have a leisurely and hearty meal or a slow cup of coffee.

When we, Kolkata Food Bloggers, got invited for a bloggers review meet at Barcelos, I had a faint idea of the famous peri peri sauce and Portuguese Cuisine but honestly speaking, I've never tasted them before. So I got excited and went there with lot of excitement with three of my other food blogger friends from Kolkata Food Bloggers. After reaching any restaurant, my eyes always revolves around the interior of the place. This time too, I went on to check the interior of Barcelos and got pleased with their Modern wooden decor with two full-walled painting of the city of Barcelos and their social life. In one wall, they have the world map showing the countries and cities, Barcelos is opened highlighted with yellow light. And in one corner, they kept a red colored closed booth for smokers which is very similar to London Phone booths. So the ambiance and seating couches are quite comfy for a relaxed family eat-out or friends hangout and this is obviously going to be a plus-point for Barcelos.

Interiors of Barcelos

Once you are seated, each table gets their four signature Peri Peri sauces

(directly imported from South Africa) served at the table. Three types of Peri Peri sauces are named according to their spice level are - Mild Peri, Very Peri and Supa Peri where Supa Peri is the spiciest and a Tangy lemon sauce beside the Peri Peri sauces. At first, we four were served the four glasses of mocktails or as they call it their "Molecular drinks" - First one was "Kiwi Cooler" served in a tall glass which is basically Kiwi puree twisted with spices and sprite/soda added.The second one was "Hey Rosey" served in a short round glass made up of rose syrup mixed with cardamom and topped with rose petals and sprite/soda. And the Third one was "Tangy Mango" served also in a tall glass where tangy mango puree seasoned with spices and Sprite/soda added. As all these were molecular drinks, servers very eagerly were pouring liquid nitrogen us after serving on the table, which was giving the drinks a smokey effect. I tried the Tangy Mango one and it was a bit too tangy according to my taste but overall not so bad and quite refreshing. Other than few more mocktails, they have quite a few cocktails or drinks with alcohol too for alcohol lovers.

Molecular Drinks/Mocktails

Pic. Courtesy : umekitchen.blogspot.in

After drinks were served, it was time for appetizer and the servers brought a big basket full of goodies which they call "Arabic Maze Platter" which consists of Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Peri Hummus,Yogurt Dip, Tabouli, Falafel, Lavash with 3 Pitas. The platter is sufficient for 2-3 people if you are not hungry like lion.Along with it, came the non-vegetarian starter, which is by the way their one of Portuguese signature dish, Chicken Espetada, is basically flame grilled bite-sized chicken breasts, onion and bell peppers skewed on a hanging long skewers which is served on your table and you have to pull out from the skewers to serve yourself with some crispy french fries and lettuce mayonnaisee dip. It will be a crowd-pleaser that I'm sure as the whole appetizer part has surely won my heart.

Chicken Espetada(left) and Arabic Maze Platter(right top) and the grilled chicken breast(right Down)

There is also Veg Espetada available for Vegetarian crowds. Also some more Portuguese exotic dishes are shining bright with exotic names on their menu card which you have to try out on our own risk as we havn't tasted those. Just kidding...

After these yummy appetizer, they brought in some coloured burgers which I havn't seen or heard before. As a food blogger, I've heard a lot about different whole-grain burgers but never heard or seen any colored burger which has all natural color and no artificial color. A good innovation I would say in the Burger World. They also have some amazing number of wraps, Middle-eastern Pitas along with a huge variety of Burgers. The list of burgers are also not a few, some are regular burger, some are colored burgers made with whole wheat, what they call, "World's Healthiest Burger". This colored burgers already made a buzz and a must-try main coarse item in Barcelos. The fact that made these burgers healthy is that they are made with all natural colors and wholemeal flour. The Red bun is made of tomato powder, chilli powder and wholemeal flour. The black bun is made of roasted wheat, spinach extract, herbs and wholemeal flour. The white buns are made of milk powder, coconut and plain flour. The buns tasted really healthy and tasty filled with veg and chicken patties along with peri peri sauce, pickled jalapenos, onions and cucumbers etc. We 4 were served 4 of these healthy burgers and we had to take one bite from each to taste all of them. 2 of them were veg and 2 of them were non-veg. Anyway, all of the burgers were juicy and soft but each of them tasted quite similar having peri peri sauce inside them. I personally don't like much sauces and mayonnaise in my burgers, but my friends found them quite appetizing and Its highly recommended. But I must say, those black, red and white buns were melt-in-the-mouth texture.

For the main course, we were served Grilled Trout Fish (another signature Portugese dish) with yoghurt dip and french fries. They suggested to try the fish with a mildly spiced yellow rice. The fish was fresh but found a bit under-cooked and I didn't like the preparation at all even with the rice which was also very mild to my taste. I love grilled fish but this preperation was nothing like it, I'm really sorry to say that there was nothing to taste other than their peri peri sauce.

Grilled Trout Fish with Spicy Rice, FRench Fried and Yoghurt Dip

To rescue our taste bud, came their Peri Peri Chicken, their most signature dish, the flame grilled chicken with Peri peri sauce off coarse was just the opposite in taste. The chicken was quite juicy and moist and perfectly grilled. I drizzled their Tangy lemon sauce(served at the table) on grilled chicken and it remarkably changed the taste and I enjoyed every bite of it. Its highly recommended for the first time go-ers who love chicken. As this joint is famous for its grilled chicken, the signature dish of 1/4 chicken, 1/2 chicken, full chicken, chicken steak are a must try. These can be selected with one or two side dishes which include spicy rice, mashed potatoes, green salad etc.

Flame Grilled Chicken in Peri Peri Sauce

After we were done with this, we were almost full but still waiting for the next or last coarse, dessert to come just like other International food joints. But after 20 minutes of waiting when nobody served anything else, we decided to leave the place. But I realized later that they didn't offer any dessert as they don't have much of a dessert in the menu card other than some milkshakes. Nothing to worry, Other than the dishes mentioned here, Barcelos offers a huge array of food like, a huge list of appetizer, veg and non-veg sizzlers, awesome salads, Special Kid's menu also some Afro-Portuguese fusion dishes. Check out their website before you settle down there for lunch or dinner: http://www.barcelos.co.in/our-menu.php

Kolkata Food Bloggers team(front right) busy understanding the food, discussing and clicking pics in between tasting, a food reviewers job is not easy you know

Plus Points about Barcelos:

An awesome array of dishes
Both Vegetarian and non-vegetarians options are present
Kid's Menu available
Awesome ambiance, perfect for a relaxed family day-out/friend's hangout
Great service and quite pocket-friendly

My recommendation :

Mine one and only recommendation to Barcelos is to add some Portuguese desserts in the menu, because first of all Kolkatans are famous for their sweet tooth and second of all, as much I know Portuguese have sweet tooth too and are very famous for their Egg Custard and Arroz Doce or rice pudding and for some pastry shops.

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Recipe Junction got its own domain

May 27, 2016, 2:13 am

≫ Next: Bengali Dhokar Dalna(Fried Lentil cakes cooked in a gravy)

≪ Previous: Barcelos ~ A New entry in Kolkata serving Portuguese Cuisine

Hi All!!!
This post is to inform you that Recipe Junction hos moved to its own domain. We have just moved from riappyayan.blogspot.com to www.recipejunction.in
Don't worry. If you have bookmarked any recipes to previous address, all will work properly. Keep visiting me and supporting me like before. Thanks in Advance....................

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Bengali Dhokar Dalna(Fried Lentil cakes cooked in a gravy)

May 31, 2016, 8:07 am

≫ Next: Yeast Free Basic Sandwich Loaf

≪ Previous: Recipe Junction got its own domain

This is one of the most favorite dishes of Bengalis which is completely vegetarian that means no onion and no garlic added in making gravy or making these lentil cakes. Dhoka is a shallow fried cake made from two types of lentils(dal) and then cooked in a curry with potato and very little spices, sums up DhokarDalna. Dalna, is a cooking term that means any vegetables or eggs cooked in a medium thick gravy seasoned with ground spices, specially with Garammasala and a touch of ghee.

You all must be wondering why this dish is called "DhokarDalna". I am not sure how this highly addictive lentil cakes got its name as Dhoka which literally means "Cheat". But I have a theory. I think, from outside you won't realize how awesome this dish tastes. When you will taste, you will be surprised, in a good way, off course. When you are bored with your regular cooking, try this dish out. It's a mouth watering dish...may be I am little overboard....bec' I love this dish.
This is one of the niramish(veg.) dish of bengalis. For bengalis, niramish or completely veg. means not only no meat, no fish, no egg, but also no onion and garlic. Specially, in fasting days or on some puja days, there will be no onion cooking at homes. This is one of the recipe which is cooked on those puja days. In Bengali Cuisine, most of the veg. dishes are without onions and cooked with very less oil and less spices to make vegetable more nutritious.

Now to the recipe.............................

You Need :
For making Dhoka/Lentil Cake :
Cholar dal (chana dal/bengal gram) : 1/2 cup
Matar dal (yellow split pea) : 1/2 cup (if you don't have matar dal, only cholar dal also works fine-then take 1 cup of it)
Ginger Paste : 1 tsp.
Green chillies : 1-2 or as much you want
Salt to taste
Sugar : 1 tsp.
Roasted cumin seed powder : 2 tsp.(take 1 tsp. cumin seeds and roast them on a tawa until light brown and grind them into powder)
For the curry :
Potato : 1 or 2, parboiled and cubed
Tomato : 1, medium, chopped
Ginger : 1" (grated)
Green chillies : 2
Turmeric powder :1 tsp.
Chilli powder : 2 tsp.
Cumin powder : 2 tsp.
Coriander powder : 1tsp.
Ghee/clarified butter : 1 tsp.
Oil : 3-4 tblsp.
To Temper :
Bay leaf :1
Cardamom :2-3
Cinnamon stick :1 (1")
Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp.
Garam masala : 2 tsp.

How To :

Wash and soak two types of lentils overnight. Drain water and grind the lentils with 1-2 green chillies to a paste with very little water (as needed) in a mixer.
In the lentil mixture, add 1 tsp. ginger paste, season with salt, little sugar, if you like add little chilli powder (optional) and roasted cumin seed powder. Mix all of them well.
Now heat a pan, pour 1 tblsp. oil, pour the lentil mixture over it and in low flame stir it until all the moisture evaporates and lentil mixture looks dry and sticky but not completely dry.

Grease a wide plate with little oil. Pour the lentil mixture evenly on the plate and spread it with the back of a spoon in about 1 inch high. Press lightly with your spoon so that it sets properly. Cool and cut into square or diamond shapes. These dhokas set in about 30-40 minutes.

Heat 2 tblsp. of oil and fry the dhokas in medium flame to light brown on both sides. Do not over-fry them, then the curry won't go inside the dhokas and don't fry so little then dhokas will break easily in the curry. Remove and keep aside. Fry the potatoes in the same oil with little salt to light brown and keep aside.

To make the gravy, heat a pan with 1 tblsp. oil, add bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and cumin seeds. when all the whole spices turn little brown, add rest of the ginger paste and tomatoes together. Stir till tomatoes turn soft.
Add turmeric, chilli, cumin and coriander powder and mix well with tomatoes. when masala is cooked and oil separates from the spices, add potatoes. Then add about two small cups of water and salt. When the potatoes are half-cooked, then add the dhokas and simmer for 4-5 minutes. (Note : do not stir so often and vigorously, dhokas will break)
Potatoes will be cooked by then and gravy will be also thick after 5 minutes, now sprinkle garam masala powder and little ghee over it. Cook for another minute or two in low flame and take the pan off the heat. Dhokar dalna is ready to serve.

Serve with plain rice or chapati or puri. Try this out when you want to eat something light yet delicious food or in your fasting days. You'll be hooked to this dish, that I can guarantee.......

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Yeast Free Basic Sandwich Loaf

June 26, 2016, 11:45 am

≫ Next: One Pot Creamy Mexican Pasta with Sausages

≪ Previous: Bengali Dhokar Dalna(Fried Lentil cakes cooked in a gravy)

     There is no better feeling than baking a bread for your family. We Indians, mostly prepare our meals at home which is fresh and off course healthiest rather than eating in a restaurant. With that if you can also make bread for your family, there is nothing like that but unfortunately, in today's busy life it is quite impossible to make every food we eat at home.
      But recently, when I read an article that the bread we are buying from market, adds an additive to prolong its shelf life, is cancerous, I've decided to bake my bread at home whenever we feel like eating it and also making more Indian breakfast fresh at home. Nowadays, people are being slow-poisoned everyday from every food we buy from market.
      In this verge of making bread at home, I was one day looking for an easy bread-making recipe which needs no yeast proofing, as I was out of it. And my good luck, I found an easy bread making video on YouTube which was a life-saver for me. It was just like we make our chapati dough, put the dough on oven and bake. You'll get a healthy loaf in no time without much hassle.
     I found the recipe really easy and helpful for many, so thought of sharing with you all. As I was making the bread for first time, I didn't take the step-by-step pics but next time I make, will definitely update this space with pics. You can check the recipe video here : https://www.youtube.co/watch?v=O5nCeq05cis

You need:
All-purpose Flour : 1 and 1/2 cup
Whole-wheat flour : 1 cup
Milk : 2 cups(in room temperature)
Vinegar : 1-2 tblsp.
Milk powder : 2 tblsp.
Sugar : 1 tblsp.(powdered)
Salt : 1 tsp.
Baking Powder : 1 tsp.
Baking Soda : 1/2 tsp.
Butter/oil: 1-2 tblsp.

How To :

Take both the flours in a large bowl. Sieve 2 times before you proceed. In the milk,a dd vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes. You'll see milk is curdling, this is nothing other than buttermilk. when milk totally curdles, give a good stir with a spoon and keep aside.
Then in the wide bowl, add baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and milk powder( milk powder makes the bread taste really good). Mix all well. Now slowly add prepared buttermilk little by little and try to bind the flour. Use the whole milk and make a sticky dough. lastly add 1 tblsp. oil in the dough and knead again. The dough will be a sticky gooey after you use the whole milk. Knead for another 2-3 minutes.
Now prepare your baking pan, I used a load pan, grease it with 1/2 tsp oil or butter and then dust with flour. Shake off the excess flour. Now your baking pan is ready.
Preheat your baking tray at 180 degree C. Pour your sticky bread dough carefully in the baking pan, dab a little oil on the top of the dough and cut the center of the bread dough lengthwise with a knife, so that bread bakes well from the center. Now first bake it in the middle rack for 20 minutes in 180 degree, then lower the temperature to 170 degree and bake for another 25-30 minutes.
Once your bread is done, let it rest for 10-20 minutes. Then apply little melted butter over the top of the bread to keep the bread moist. When it comes to room temperature, remove from baking tray and cool on wire rack until it completely cools down.
It is best to use the bread next day, that means cool it overnight and use it the next morning.

If anyone has any queries regarding this recipe, then write your questions in comment section. Try this recipe and a special thanks to the person in the video.

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One Pot Creamy Mexican Pasta with Sausages

June 29, 2016, 5:29 am

≫ Next: Safed Paneer or Paneer in white gravy

≪ Previous: Yeast Free Basic Sandwich Loaf

In today’s busy life, there comes often the moment when we thought if we could have gotten just an extra hour in a day, so that we could have completed some office work or studies or something very important. On those days when 24 hours are not enough, we need some one-pot wonders, so that we can save some time by cooking just one wholesome dish and we are done cooking and one pot to clean so there also we can save some precious time.
I always look out for one-pot meals so that I can save some time to finish some important chores. Today I’ll share an one-pot Mexican Pasta for that you just need a big pot, a lid and a ladle. That’s all. And off course need some pasta, veggies or chicken too. So let’s proceed to the recipe……

You Need :
Pasta of your choice(Penne, Fusilli, Macaroni, Rigatoni etc.)
Vegetables(carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, corn etc.)
Chicken Breast/chicken sausage: cut into bite-size pieces
Tomato : 3, pureed
Onion : 2, sliced
Garlic : 4, big cloves, chopped
Paprika or red chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.
Cumin powder ; 1 tsp.
Chicken broth : 2 cups
Milk : 2 cups
Cheese : ½ cup, grated
Salt and black pepper to taste
Oil : 1-2 tblsp.
Taco seasoning : 1 tblsp. (if available)

How To:

Take a deep and wide pan, heat oil, add chicken breast stripes/chicken sausages and in medium heat sauté for 2-3 minutes with salt added from all sides. In the same pan, add sliced onion, sauté for a minute, then add potatoes and carrots and sauté for another 2 minutes. Lastly add capsicum/bell peppers and corn. Saute for just a minute.

Now add chopped garlic cloves and tomato puree, Paprika or red chilli powder, cumin powder, mix it all well. Then add chicken broth and uncooked pasta. Let it boil in medium heat till broth dries up.The pasta, chicken and veggies will be almost cooked by now.

Now lower the heat to low, and add milk slowly into the pan. Do not increase the heat, as milk can curdle. In slow heat, let pasta cook some more. Add grated cheese, season with salt and black pepper according to your taste.

Lastly, add taco seasoning if you have, otherwise just skip it. When milk dries up and pasta, chicken and veggies are cooked and you have a creamy pasta, remove from heat. You can sprinkle some chilli flakes if you want just before serving.

Bon Apetit !!!!!!!!!!!

Sending this one-pot wonder dish to Kolkata Food Blogger's Online event, theme : One Pot Meal, theme is brainchild of fellow KFBian, Chitrangada who blogs @Colors and Spices, an amazing food blogger and photographer. Visit her blog for many such wonderful recipes and visual treats.

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Safed Paneer or Paneer in white gravy

July 15, 2016, 12:09 pm

≫ Next: Cake decorating tutorial ~ Train cake for Kid's birthday

≪ Previous: One Pot Creamy Mexican Pasta with Sausages

This week, as a part of Kolkata Food Bloggers event, we are posting something on the theme based on "Chef's Challenge", i.e., we are featuring our favorite chef and his/her recipe on our blog. The theme is given by our fellow blogger, Kamalika Chakraborty who blogs at Silence Sings With KamalikaC, who happened to be the founder of Kolkata Food Bloggers. She is such a creative person and an amazing photographer too. She runs a homebased bakery and always trying her best to take Kolkata Food Bloggers to a new height. As a blogger also, she posts very useful and easy-to-make recipes. Visit her blogs for some amazing food photos and recipes.

As, we have to feature our favorite chef's recipe for the event, I am featuring Mrs. Tarla Dalal as my favorite Chef. I am following her recipes for long and adapted many in my daily cooking. She has a huge lists of traditional recipes along with some international recipes which are easy-to-follow and healthy too. Here I have found some info about her :
"Tarla Dalal (June 1936 – 6 November 2013) was an Indian food writer, chef, cookbook author and host of cooking shows. Her first cook book, The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking, was published in 1974. Since then she wrote over 100 books and sold more than 3 million copies. She also ran the largest Indian food web site, and published a bi-monthly magazine, Cooking & More. Her cooking shows included The Tarla Dalal Show and Cook It Up With Tarla Dalal. Though she wrote about many cuisines and healthy cooking, she specialized in Indian cuisine, particularly Gujarati cuisine and Bengali cuisine. She was awarded the Padma Shri by Government of India in 2007,which made her the only Indian from the field of cooking to have been conferred the title.She was also awarded Women of the Year by Indian Merchants' Chamber in 2005. She died on 6 November 2013 following a heart attack.
Over time, her popularity grew and she became a household name, with housewives and chefs swearing by her recipes. Tarla Dalal is credited with introducing and popularising foreign cuisines to the masses. She made vegetarian versions of a lot of non-vegetarian recipes from foreign lands. She revolutionised the cooking industry and is the most sold cookbook author in India. Her books have been translated into languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Dutch and Russian. She also published cooking magazines. In 2007 she started her 'Total Health Series' cookbook series."Source : Wiki.

I have adapted many of her recipes in my kitchen and I have posted also in my blog. Today I'll share another one of her recipe. Safed Paneer or Paneer in white gravy is a regular in my kitchen and it is one of my daughter's favorite recipes of Paneer. There are many versions of this recipe available, but I found this extremely tasteful and also not so rich. Let's move on to the recipe......

You Need :
Paneer : 1 cup, cubed
Milk : 2 tblsp.
Fresh Cream : 1 tblsp.
Garam Masala : 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil/Ghee : 1 tblsp.

To be ground into a smooth paste
Onion : 1 cup chopped
Cashewnut : about 1/3 cup
Garlic : 3-4 big cloves
Green Chilli : 1-2 nos.

How To :

Dunk the paneer cubes in a bowl of lukewarm water. No need to fry them.
Heat ghee or oil in a pan, add the prepared paste. Saute in medium flame for 2 minutes. Add the garam masala and salt. Now add milk and cream, cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring continuously.
Now add paneer and slowly mix. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook on a medium flame till gravy thickens.
Serve hot with roti or any Indian flatbread.

This was a small tribute to the great chef Mrs. Tarla Dalal.

This is going to be a part of Kolkata Food Blogger's Chef's Challenge event.

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Cake decorating tutorial ~ Train cake for Kid's birthday

July 26, 2016, 5:48 am

≫ Next: Chicken Momo ~ A Tibetan Delicacy and a mildly spicy Chilli-Garlic Chutney

≪ Previous: Safed Paneer or Paneer in white gravy

Today I'll share a cake decoration tutorial first time on my blog...

I love baking and I love to do decorative cakes as and when I get a chance to make one. I do birthday cakes for all in my family. I am an amateur and still learning. But I know practice makes all perfect. So I never miss a chance to practice.

This train cake I made on my twin sons' birthday this year who love trains. This year it was just family function and I was in short of time to make a elaborate birthday cake. But I had to fulfill their demand too. So, I made a train cake which needs very less time to make and assemble.

I made an eggless and butterless lemon sponge cake. You'll get the recipehere. You can also make an eggless Vaanilla flavoured sponge cake too, get the recipe here. You can also opt for a Chocolate cake too. Here is the recipe for Chocolate cake(eggless) and chocolate cake(with egg). For making this cake, you need 2 8-9" loaf cake.

Now for the decoration and assemble part :

1. First I made two cakes in loaf form. Then cut in small rectangular portions to make the compartments of the train.
2. I made a buttercream frosting and coloured with different colour and then assemble them in a shape of a train.
3. Then I decorated them with colored Gems and other colored goodies. For wheels I used Oreo cookies.

How to make buttercream frosting :

21/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened in room temperature
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 to 2 tblsp. milk or as needed
food color for coloring the frosting

How To :

In a bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.
Gradually add just enough milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.

How To Assemble :

Make the cake beforehand and cool. It should be in room temperature. Now cut the cake into small pieces for train compartments. 4 to 5 is enough or you can add more if you want. I made For the engine, I took a big piece and cut a small triangular piece diagonally from the front.
Divide the frosting into 3 to 4 parts and add few drops of different food color to color each frosting. Now apply different color frosting to train compartments.
Now assemble all pieces on a serving tray. First put the engine pieces at the front. Then put one train compartments (rectangular pieces) on top of the engine at the back side. Then arrange other compartments(rectangular pieces) one after other in a row. Now your structure is ready and it's time to decorate the train with some goodies kids love.
I pasted two Oreo cookies on both sides of each compartments as wheels. Then arranged some colored Gems candies on to of each compartments as train is carrying some goods. You can decorate the train any way you want with other stuffs kids like. I put two yellow Gems as a headlight of the train. And we are done.
It was not very good looking train but I tried my best to decorate the train within 30 mins. time.

My kids and everyone present in the party enjoyed the cake and that matters the most. If you like the cake or have made this cake using my tutorial, then let me know.

Happy baking and creating wonderful food !!!!!!

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Chicken Momo ~ A Tibetan Delicacy and a mildly spicy Chilli-Garlic Chutney

August 8, 2016, 1:28 am

≫ Next: Hilsa fish Festival at Aaheli, The Peerless Inn, Rajarhat

≪ Previous: Cake decorating tutorial ~ Train cake for Kid's birthday

My city, Kolkata is heaven for streetfood. Where bengali Kachori, Pakora, Phuchka(pani puri), egg or chicken roll were people's favorite lists of street food for ages, there nowadays a Tibetan delicacy, Known as MOMO has entered into Kolkatas streetfood scenario and made its place in people's heart. Not only because, it's quite tasty but also quite healthy as it steamed. So lot of health conscious people are choosing it over fried stuffs like pakora(in bengali, we call chop) and rolls.
Momo, a South Asian delicacy native to Tibet, Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan is also known as Dim Sum or Wonton is nothing but a steamed savoury dumplings. It has now become popular in almost whole World now, especially in USA, UK and allover India. Momo is nothing but a steamed savoury dumpling with a filing which varies from mixed veg, noodles, meat, tofu and shrimps. Another variety of momo is fried where stuffed dumplings are deep fried in oil.

The outer layer or wrapper is made out of flour just like we make a chapati dough. The filling can be made of any filling based on your choice and taste. Making of momo at home could be time consuming. But if you have a helping hand, then it can be made within 30-45 minutes. The wrapping of the outer cover is the main tricky part of momo making. But you don't have to be pro to try it at home. The wrapping style doesn't effect the taste of momo any way. It just to give the momo a good look.
At my home, my daughter is a die hard fan of these cute looking savoury snackies. She forced me to buy a steamer at home so that I can make momos for her at least 3-4 times a week. Because of her, we all have fan of these cuties. The bast thing about momo is it is totally a gulit-free and healthy snack. Instead of frying if you make it by steaming then its quite nutritive and healthy. It can be a good snack or a meal itself as they are quite filling.

You Need :
For making the wrapper or outer layer
All purpose Flour : 1 cup
Oil : 1/2 tsp.
Salt : a pinch
water as needed to make a soft pliable dough

For the filling of Chicken Momo
Chicken : 100 gms., boiled and minced
Onion : 1, small, finely chopped
Spring onion(green part) : a little, finely chopped(optional)
Garlic : 1 clove, finely chopped
Ginger : 1 tsp., finely chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
Soy sauce : 1/2 tsp.
Oil : 1 tsp.

For the filling of Veg Momo
Mix Veg(cabbage, carrot, green beans and capsicum) : 1 cup, finely chopped
Onion : 1, small, finely chopped
Garlic : 1 clove, finely chopped
Ginger : 1 tsp., finely chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
Spring onion(green part) : a little, finely chopped(optional)
Soy sauce : 1/2 tsp.
Oil : 1 tsp.

How To :

Firstly, to make the dough for wrapper, in a bowl, mix flour, oil and salt together. Add water little at a time to make a soft pilable dough. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside.
Meantime, prepare the filling. To make the filling of chicken momo, heat oil in a pan, add onion, saute for a minute, then add spring onions if using, chopped ginger and garlic and finely minced chicken. Add soy sauce, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix well everything and stir fry in high heat for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat. Keep aside to cool for sometime.
Similarly, make the filling for Veg momo. Heat oil in a pan, add onion, saute for a minute, then add spring onions if using, chopped ginger and garlic and finely chopped vegetables. Add soy sauce, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix well everything and stir fry in high heat for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat. Keep aside to cool for sometime.
To make the outer layer or wrapper, make small size dough balls from the dough. On a lightly floured or oiled surface, place each dough ball and roll it outwards as thin as possible. But do not make too thin, then it may break when you put the filling and close the wrap. After you rolled it out, put 1 tblsp. or as much filling it can hold in the center of the roll. Then bring the outer part together and secure in the center. Make other moms similar ways.
Prepare the Steamer : Always grease your steamer before you place the prepared momos. Place them one after another and steam for around 10-12 minutes. I do it in my Tupperware steamer which I use on stove-top

Chicken Momos are ready to indulge. Have them with a spicy chutney.

Spicy Chilli Garlic Chutney ::::::::

I got this recipe from the aunty who sells Momos in my neighbourhood. Originally she is from Sikkim but staying in Kolkata for years and makes perfect momos. She was quite reluctant at first to share her recipe, then as I am quite frequent in her shop, she agreed to share her recipe. Usually, this spicy chutney is made with red chilli and garlic, but to mild the spiciness, I always add a medium size tomato in the chutney. It was a tip from that shop aunty, when I said I want to make a mild chutney. Tomato, red chilli and garlic make a great chutney together, when I don't get time to make chutney, I use Maggi hot & sweet chutney to go with hot momos.

Ingredients-----
Red chilli : 2-3 nos.
Garlic cloves : 6-7 big cloves
Tomato : 1, medium
Soy Sauce : 1/2 tsp.
Vinegar : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Sugar : 1 tblsp.
Oil : 1 tblsp.

How To :

Heat a bowl of water, bring it to boil, add the whole tomato and the red chillies. Boil for 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and cool down tomato and red chillies.
In a blender, add red chillies, garlic cloves and other ingredients along with tomato after peeling off the skin from tomato. Add about 1/3 cup water to make a smooth consistency sauce. If the consistency is too thin, then heat the sauce on pan and cook in medium heat for 3-4 minutes, take care not to burn the sauce.

Sending this to Kolkata Food Bloggers' Ongoing event, "StreetFood Expedition" where we are showcasing streetfood made in healthy way. Check Kolkata Food Bloggers' Facebook page for more such recipes. This event is a brainchild of Moumita who blogs at Peek n Cook.

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Hilsa fish Festival at Aaheli, The Peerless Inn, Rajarhat

August 14, 2016, 4:51 am

≫ Next: How important water is for weight loss ?

≪ Previous: Chicken Momo ~ A Tibetan Delicacy and a mildly spicy Chilli-Garlic Chutney

Monsoon and Hilsa(known as "Ilish" in bengali) fish are synonymous to Bengalis.

This is the only time (2 months of monsoon) when we can devour this fish. Bengalis become crazy over Ilish these two months. It gets cooked in every household almost daily but nowadays because of the scarcity of the fish it becomes awfully expensive and most of the people can't afford to devour it frequently.
However, how much this fish gets expensive, the fascination for this fish will never die for Bengalis. These days, City's famous restaurants are also having some special weeks dedicated to the delicacy of this fish, Ilish. There are very few restaurants in Kolkata who specializes in Traditional Bengali Cuisine. Aaheli, the restaurant in the 5 star hotel chain The Peerless Inn is one such restaurant who are catering traditional Bengali cuisine to the people of Kolkata for years now. So, this year throughout this August month they have organised a festival dedicated to the delicacy of Hilsa Fish, "Ilish-e Guri".
Our group, Kolkata Food Bloggers were invited to preview their delicacies and me along with another blogger friend, Devpurna represented our group and reached Aaheli, in their new branch, in the 4th floor of Axis mall, Rajarhat, Kolkata on a rainy afternoon. The decor of this place is very soothing and has a touch of Bengal in its every corner. The table setting, the brass plates and glasses, brass diyas and the stewards dressed in traditional punjabi-dhuti, all these will take you to the older days of Kolkata. I thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance and the people there were very polite and friendly just like we bengalis behave with our guests.

The table where they displayed all their delicacies was looked like this and I was awestuck seeing so many varieties of traditional Ilish dishes in one table. Some of the dishes were quite common in every Bengali household in this Hilsa season and some were very traditional which has almost became obsolete nowadays - all were on the table. Each dish has been curated with utmost care and a loving touch by the Chef personally. The festival will go on till 31st of August for lunch and dinner. They have One Thali and 13 side dishes for this festival. There is no buffet, only a-la-carte. Each dish contains 2 fish pieces.

Decor and table setting in AAHELI

Here are the dishes Aaheli has to offer for this Ilish festival :

1. Ilish Dim-er Bora ( Roe of hilsa fish deep fried with onion) : For bengalis, each part of hilsa fish is a delicacy and hilsa fish roe is one of them, a must try for a non-bengali or a first-time hilsa fish eater.

2. Bhaja Ilish-er Moja(a big chunk of fish deep fried and served with the aromatic fish-fried oil)
If you're one of them who are trying Hilsa fish for first time, you must try Fried hilsa fish as one can get the real taste of this fish from the fried fish. And the oil the fish is fried is another thing you should not avoid.

3. Ilish Patishapta (A savory pancake stuffed with mashed boneless Hilsa fish cooked with spices)
This is not a traditional dish. Its a very innovative and delicious way of using Hilsa fish, I must say. It tasted really yummy and a must try.

4. Pui Saag-e Ilish Matha (Fish head added to malabar spinach) : A very simple dish of Pui Saag or Malabar Spinach and few other vegetables mixed to make a mish-mash and hilsa fish head is added to take this simple dish to a new level. A must try.

5. Ilish matha diye dal (Yellow lentil cooked with fish head) : Again a delicacy and a traditional dish, fried fish head is added into a simple lentil dish to enhance the taste. A must try.

6. Kancha Ilisher Jhal (Poached Hilsa fish cooked with black cumin seasoning) : A regular in bengali household, non-fried but poached fish cooked with almost no spices and just a single seasoning.

7. Ilish-er Ullash (Hilsa fish cooked in onion gravy) : Hilsa fish cooked in onion-tomato gravy, not so traditional but nicely balanced curry to enjoy with hot rice.

8. Ilish Macher Tenga (Hilsa fish cooked in tamarind gravy) : A very traditional dish which is simply lip-smacking to taste.

9. Aanarasi Ilish (Hilsa fish cooked with pineapple) : A delicately cooked dish with a touch of pineapple, a must try.

10. Ilish Begun-er Talmil (Hilsa cooked with brinjal and black cumin) : A common in every bengali household in Hilsa season which is very simple to cook but taste like heaven. Hilsa fish cooked in a simple curry adding brinjal pieces and black cumin seasoning with very very little spice added. Again a must try.

11. Doodhe Ilish (Hilsa fish cooked in milk and yogurt gravy) : Another traditional but not-so-common Hilsa delicacy cooked with milk and yogurt in a creamy consistency.

12. Narkeli Ilish (Hilsa cooked in coconut gravy) : Coconut and Hilsa fish always go well together, an awesome combo and a must try delicacy of Hilsa.

13. Aam Tel Ilish (Hilsa fish cooked with the pickle oil) : A traditional delicacy of Ilish but now almost an obsolete delicacy of Bengal which Aaheli has revived through their creations, a must try dish of this festival.

14. Ilish Khichurir Talmil (Fried Hilsa served with Bengali Khichuri) : Khichuri is a rice and lentil mishmash and enjoyed by every Bengali with a generous servings of ghee(clarified butter) and fried hilsa fish by the side. Aaheli has this too in their menu.

15. Ilish Thalir Sanjog (A complete thali with different hilsa preperation) : The thali contains a dal, a sabji, a fried fish, a fish vada and a fish curry preperation.

The spread is quite impressive, right? So what are you waiting for? Visit Aaheli at Rajarhat, Axis Mall on 4 floor with your family or friends and enjoy a lavish Bengali spread which you'll never ever forget in your life, I guarantee.

P.N. : you can also order other dishes from their regular menu along with this Hilsa Festival menu.

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How important water is for weight loss ?

August 18, 2016, 7:05 am

≫ Next: Rainbow Zebra Cake

≪ Previous: Hilsa fish Festival at Aaheli, The Peerless Inn, Rajarhat

Today I am sharing something different other than recipes. In my weight loss journey, I have found this below information very helpful, so thought it would be helpful for my readers. So sharing with you all but enquire or do a research before you implement all these in your life. I always do so.

Most women struggle with weight loss at some point of their life compared to men. Obesity is becoming a fast growing problem in India and Indian women are more likely to be obese than their male counterparts. There are some who follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly, do not have any other health issues but are still unable to lose weight. If you identify yourself as belonging to this category of women, then it’s time you watch your water intake. Your body requires water to burn fat and if there is an insufficient intake of water then the body metabolism is slowed down, making it impossible to lose weight. Obesity leads to reduced life expectancy and increased health problems. However, losing weight does not have to be a herculean task anymore; simply drinking water half an hour before each meal can help.

Water regulates the body temperature, transports nutrients to cells and helps the body get rid of toxins. Apart from this, water helps you lose weight, according to the latest study made by the University of Birmingham. A group of 84 obese adults divided into 2 groups participated in a study that proved the effectiveness of water as a weight loss aid. One group was required to drink 500 ml water half an hour before breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for 12 weeks. The other group was required to avoid drinking water before each meal. All participants received advice on diet and exercise plans. Participants that drank water before each meal lost an average of 4.3 kg over a 12-week period, while the other group lost only an average of 0.8 kg. This could be because water makes you feel fuller thereby making you eat less or it may mean that water increases metabolic rate temporarily.

Now that you realize how important water is for weight loss, your first thought would be how to chug a jug full of water down your throat. Here’s the next advice. Do not gulp a large quantity of water, instead take frequent sips throughout the day. Gulping a bottle of water in one shot is only going to dilute your digestive acids and cause a problem with digestion. Also take care not to drink iced water. Take sips of warm water or at least water that’s maintained at room temperature. Aim to drink a glass of warm water on an empty stomach as soon as you wake up in the morning. This can increase your body’s metabolic rate by at least 24% and jumpstart your weight loss journey. Apart from weight loss, adequate intake of water gives you blemish free skin. If the cells in your body are not hydrated, your skin appears dull and wrinkles are more prominent. Remember that your body can only absorb a certain amount of water each hour, the rest is eliminated. So it makes sense to drink water in sips and not gulps.

Apart from that there are many ways to lose weight. Many supplements are available in teh market to lose weight. You can buy this supplement from leading website Healthkart, Shopclues, Amazon and more. Avail these supplementupto 40% discount by using discount coupons.

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Rainbow Zebra Cake

August 18, 2016, 9:23 am

≫ Next: Tal Kheer or thick sweetened Palm fruit pulp

≪ Previous: How important water is for weight loss ?

I love Zebra pattern on cake and my kids love them too. So instead of usual chocolate and white batter, I tried making the pattern with three very unusual color on one of my birthday. It was so colorful that my boys wanted to cut the cake pushing me aside. And they only cut the cake and the whole cake was gone within few hours. This is the magic of color, I think. Color always lift anyone's mood for sure.

There is a simple two color -chocolate and white zebra cake on my blog. I followed the same pattern just added different set of colors, rasperry pink, lemon yellow and green. Together they made a mind-blowing color-effect and pattern. I'll recommend everyone to try this cake. This time I tried making it eggless. So sharing the eggless version here. Who like to add eggs, try this with egg version and follow the pattern as it is.

There are many ways we make an eggless cake resulting in soft and fluffy texture. One can use condensed milk, or just adding oil (instead of butter) and yoghurt makes a soft fluffy textured cake. Another way which never goes wrong is using buttermilk in your cake batter. It always gives a soft, moist and fluffy cake/cupcakes. Here is the recipe .................

You Need :

All purpose flour : 1 cup

Whole Wheat Flour : 1 cup

Sugar : about 1 cup (grind to fine powder)

Baking Powder : 1 tsp.

Baking Soda : 1/2 tsp.

Salt : a pinch

Oil (any kind of vegetable oil) : 1/2 cup

Milk : 3/4 cup(or as needed) + vinegar : ~1 tblsp.

OR Substitute milk and vinegar with 3/4 cup Yogurt(dahi)

Milk(warm) : as needed to make a smooth batter

Vanilla essence : 2 tsp.

How To :

Prepare your baking pan by greasing with little butter and dust it with little flour. Dust off excess flour. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C or 375 degree F.
In a bowl, mix vinegar in room temperature milk and give it a stir, keep aside for 2-3 minutes. The milk will curdle. Remember to mix it thoroughly before adding it to the batter.
Prepare your dry ingredients by mixing two types of flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together very well and keep aside. This is your dry ingredients.
Now in another big mixing bowl, take oil and sugar, mix a little, add vanilla essence and mix well. Now pour buttermilk and flour mixture one after another starting and ending with buttermilk.
You can add warm milk as much needed to make a smooth and creamy batter.
Divide the batter in three equal portions, add three different food colors in three portions as per your choice, I added raspberry red, lemon Yellow and green.
Preparing the pattern: Grease a round baking tin with butter and dust with flour allover the pan. Now take a tblsp. full of 1st batter and pour in the center. Wait a little, then pour 2nd color on top of 1st color in the center, next pour the 3rd color on top of 2nd color. This way complete the all 3 batter and your patter will be ready.
Preheat your oven to 180 degree C, then put the baking pan inside on a lower rack. Bake for 45-50 minutes or a toothpick inserted comes our clean. Tip : for a crack-free and flat-top cake, wrap a wet piece of towel on the outside of the baking pan and secure with a safety pin. This does not let the cake crack from the middle.

ENJOY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a colorful piece of cake !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Tal Kheer or thick sweetened Palm fruit pulp

August 24, 2016, 8:28 pm

≫ Next: Murgir Korma (Chicken Korma in Bengali Style)

≪ Previous: Rainbow Zebra Cake

With the onset of monsoon, India specially in Northern part of India, get to see properly ripened Palm fruit. Because of its heavenly smell, this palm fruit is quite popular among bengalis and bengalis are famous for making sweet delicacies out of anything. This fruit is also associated with a festival which is very dear to bengalis, i.e., Janmastami, the birthday of Lord Krishna.

This festival is celebrated throughout India in various manners. In my state, West Bengal, devotees celebrate Janmastami by fasting and staying up until midnight, the time when Krishna is believed to have born. Images of Krishna's infancy are placed in swings and cradles in temples and homes. The next day is called "Nanda Utsav" or the joyous celebration of Krishna's foster parents Nanda and Yashoda. On this day, people break their fast and offer various cooked sweets to Lord Krishna during the early hours, as he was very fond of sweets. It is said that Lord Krishna loves to eat the sweet delicacies made of palm fruit. So at every homes in Bengal, these delicacies are made and offered to Lord Krishna on his birthday and also enjoyed by all in the family.

The most important sweet without which Janmashtami is not complete in Bengal is "Tal-er bora", where tal is Asian Palm and Bora means fritters. This Asian Palm fritters are made from fresh ripe and juicy palm fruit. I love this fruit and its aroma and obviously the delicacies made with it. Last year I postedTal'er bora or a fried fritter made with the palm fruit pulp. This year I already made a batch of these taler bora and another sweet made with the pulp, tal kheer or thickened palm fruit pulp. I am going to post the recipe of tal kheer today.

You Need :
Palm fruit pulp : of one whole fruit
Milk : approx. 1 cup or little less than 1 cup
Sugar : 1 cup (add less or more as per your taste)
Grated Coconut : 3/4 cup

How To :

Process of taking out the pulp ::
At first, you take out the outer skin, then you can see two to three fibrous palm kernels inside it. On a hand grater, rub the kernels until all the pulp has come out. Collect it in a bowl. Follow the pics to better understand the process. For this recipe, the process is same, just add little water while grating it, so the pulp will be thin this time.

Take a deep pan and heat. After removing the pulp, pour the pulp into the pan and in medium heat let it boil for 2 minutes. Then add sugar in it and mix well. Add coconut and let it boil again for 5 minutes. Don't forget to stir the whole thing continuously.
Now add milk slowly and mix well into the thickened pulp. Let it boil again for about 5-6 minutes or until you get your desired consistency of pulp. Check the sweetness level and add sugar if needed.
Remove from fire and cool. Serve a room temperature or chilled.

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Murgir Korma (Chicken Korma in Bengali Style)

September 8, 2016, 9:53 pm

≫ Next: Chapter 2 introduces 21 course Lunch Buffet

≪ Previous: Tal Kheer or thick sweetened Palm fruit pulp

In Bengali cooking dictionary, "Korma" means any curry, cooked with mostly non-veg., meat or chicken or egg, in a mild yogurt based gravy with ghee instead of oil. Korma has its urdu origin, influenced from Bangladeshi cuisine, is not so much exploitedin Bengali cuisine. Though many non-veg dishes like Chicken or Mutton Korma, Dimer Korma(egg korma) are few which are beloved among bengalis.

Originally, in korma recipe a large amount of nuts, poppy seeds are used along with yogurt to make a rich gravy. But this recipe I am sharing today, got from a recipe page(Senskitchen), is not so rich and spicy but extremely flavourful and delicious. It is good for everyday cooking which really goes well with plain warm rice or even with pulao.

You Need :

Chicken - 750 g, cut into medium chunks
Potato : 2-3, cut into halves/quarters
Onions - 2-3 medium (about 300 g), sliced
Ginger paste - 1tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp, grated
Green chillies : 2-3, sliced thinly
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Plain Yoghurt/Doi - 2 tbsp, heaped
Coconut - 1/2 cup, grated
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2-3 tbsp
Fresh Coriander leaves - a bunch, finely chopped
Fresh mint leaves - a little, finely chopped(optional but recommended)

To temper :
Bay leaves : 2
Cardamom : 3, Cinnamon- 2 sticks, Cloves : 3-4

How To :

Marinate the chicken pieces with ginger, garlic, coriander powder, turmeric and salt for 20 minutes. Cut potatoes in medium size chunks and marinate with salt for sometime.
Heat oil in a pan. Fry the potato pieces in the oil and keep aside. Temper the oil with bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Add the onions and sliced green chillies immediately after that and fry with constant stirring on medium-high heat till they are golden brown. Add marinated chicken and fry on medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
Mix 2 tbsp water into yogurt and add to the chicken. Cook for couple of minutes on medium heat. Then add chilli powder, grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add fried potatoes.
Add 1 cup warm water. Season with salt. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or till potatoes and chicken are done. Adjust gravy consistency as desired.
Serve hot with plain rice or pulao.

Try this and let me know how you have liked it. I served it with hot plain rice and it was a heavenly, leisurely Sunday lunch.

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