Recipe Junction

The newest and the most happening culinary destination of Kolkata has nestled down in the heart of the city, in Mani Square mall, along the Eastern Bypass by the name of Chapter 2. Two brothers, Mr. Shiladitya Chaudhury and Mr. Debaditya Chaudhury, are behind this newest and happening restaurant who has also opened Oudh 1590, a fine dining restaurant with two outlets one in Salt Lake and one in Deshapriya Park.

Chapter 2, is made on the theme of old time Park Street night club culture with Anglo-Indian food and live music shows. A side-stage full of musical instruments, life size Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, also a life size drum on the wall depicts the night club atmosphere in a very artistic way. Another attraction of this place is a classic red color Cadillac which brings a feel of old times to this place. Every little decoration of this place showcases the great sense of taste of the owners and their love for cars, bikes and music. Chapter 2 is a 70-cover restaurant with a Private Dining Area for hosting 20 pax. Apart from the food, the major attraction of Chapter 2 is the retro live music that is being performed every evening by some of the oldest bands of Kolkata.

On an invitation from Chapter 2, I went there with my co-group member Urmi Ghosh to represent Kolkata Food Bloggers on the occasion of their launching of LUNCH BUFFET. Their 21 course lunch buffet will be available from Monday to Friday, every week. Renowned actor, Mr Soham Chakraborty was also present to launch the menu. The elaborate menu consists of Chapter2's speciality Continental cuisine and also Kolkata's favorite Chinese Cuisine.

The owner Mr. Shiladitya Chaudhury stated, " We have noticed that there is a dearth of continental items in the buffets that are served in standalone restaurants of the city. Thus, keeping in mind the peoples love for gourmet continental cuisine we are introducing this one of a kind 21 course buffet and have even kept the price very economical."

Co-owner Mr. Debaditya Chaudhury stated," Though continental cuisine is the speciality of Chapter 2, we have recently introduced Kolkata's quintessential favorite Chinese cuisine in our a-la-carte menu. Hence, we decided to include some of our signature Chinese preparations in the menu."

The buffet menu comprises of 2 soups, 4 salads, 3 starters, 4 main dishes, 3 staples including rice and noodles, 2 types of breads and 3 desserts. Some of the items which will be part of lunch buffets are Chicken Talumein Soup, Chicken lemon coriander soup, Cream of tomato soup, cream of Mushroom Soup, Kimchi salad, Cold Chicken Salad, Egg Potato salad, Daikon Salad, Chicken Ceasar Salad, Drums of heaven, Kung pao Chicken, Chilli Shrimp, Pan Fried chilli fish, Fish pepper salt, Nachos tomato salsa, Corn mushroom toast, Chicken stroganoff, Chicken Tetrazzini, Chicken in red bell pepper, Prawn in sweet chilli sauce, Garlic prawn, Grilled fish lemon butter, Vegetable Cannelloni, Chilli tofu, vegetable lasagne, Babycorn Florentine, Egg chicken fried rice, Vegetable Hakka noodles, Burnt garlic fried rice, Spaghetti tomato sauce, buttered rice, Darsaan, Brownie, fruit custard and last but not the least, Ice Cream.

These are the few things we were served and got to taste ::

MAIN COURSE : :

DESSERTS ::

The buffet is priced at Rs. 399 plus taxes per person. The good thing about this buffet is that the menu is not fixed and will be changed everyday to add a wide variety to the food lover's palate. Another plus point, a glass of Four Seasons wine will be given complimentary to each adult with the buffet.

Buffet Timing :: 12-3.30 pm (from Monday-Friday)

The food :: The food we tasted were all very delicious and some of them were really very appetizing, like, Prawn on the toast, veg cannelloni, Pan fried Chilli fish, Kung Pao chicken and even the salads were quite delectable.

My recommendation ::

If you love to devour Continental and Chinese Cuisine along with some music then don't think twice. The price is also very economical, as for such a lavish spread, the price is quite less comparing other such fine-dining restaurants.

Bengalis(Indians native to Eastern part of India) are known for their sweetness in allover India. I am a Bengali and yes I can vouch for this. We can be sweet in many ways, first of all we love sweets, secondly we speak the sweetest language of the earth, Bangla (I am not saying, all non-speaking bengalis say this) and we are the sweetest host if we have a planned or even a sudden guest visit. Bengalis offer their level best, even more to their capabilities to their guests. Outside Bengal, bengali cuisine is always summed up either by Aloo posto(potatoes cooked with poppy seeds or Misti Doi which literally means the sweet yogurt. And I am proud of that. Definitely, this chilled sweetened yogurt is just divine. The red hue from the caramelization of sugar makes it more attractive and irresistible. It is the most beloved sweet/dessert of bengal and no other regional cuisine of India has this sort of sweet yogurt in their cuisine. Yes, bengalis has experimented enough with this humble yogurt in many ways, during mango season Aam Doi or mango yogurt, chocolate yogurt and so on.

The biggest festival of Bengalis, Durga Puja is just around the corner, in just 3 weeks. The preperation of this festival is going on in its full form everywhere in my state now. From making the idols, shopping for new clothes, building the pandals for the pujas in every nook and corner of the city, lighting up the roads, there is a festive atmosphere all around. As a blogger, while checking my recipe list, I found that I havn't posted the most beloved sweet of Bengal, Misti Doi yet in my blog. At the same time, my foodie group, Kolkata Food Bloggers has also announced an event, "Festive Desserts" for this week where we have to post a festive dessert and I took this opportunity to post my Misti Doi recipe for the event.

The traditional way of making this dessert is a bit time-consuming. As I said before, the beautiful pinkish-red color of misti doi which we get by caramelizing the full-fat milk with sugar. Full-fat milk is first thickened and cooled. Then the milk is set to ferment overnight in an earthen pot along with some fresh non-sweetened yogurt added to it which works as culture for fermenting. Earthen pots are traditionally used to set this yogurt as it brings the right temperature for fermentation.

While growing up in the Bengal, I never tried to make this at home, as we could get it anytime we wanted from nearby sweet-shop. But during my living outside India, I had to make this at home whenever we had cravings for this. But there is always a short-cut method of every recipe for busy people and there is a baked version of Misti Doi also available which brings out the perfect color, taste and texture of this superbly delicious dessert. So whenever my family demanded some misti doi I opted for this recipe and it never disappointed me and I served chilled perfectly sweetened misti doi to my family. Today I'm sharing this easy-pesey baked version of making Misti Doi with you all too. Try it at home and let me know the result.

You Need :
Non-fat/Low-fat Normal Yoghurt : 1 litre
Evaporated milk : 1 tin (14 oz./~200 ml.)
Condensed milk : 1 tin (14 oz./~200 ml.)

Method :

In a bowl, mix everything and give a good stir. Then in an oven-safe bowl, pour the mixture. Condensed milk is added here for the sweetness. You can use the whole tin of condensed milk or add as much according to your taste, how much sweet you want. I usually use 3/4 of 1 tin. By using condensed milk, you will also get the light reddish color, what bengali Misti Doi has.
If you don't get evaporated milk, then just thicken some milk to half of its original quantity, similar to the quantity mentioned in the ingredients list and add in there.
Pre-heat oven in 170 degree C/ 340 degreeF. Cover the bowl with an aluminium foil and put the bowl inside oven in lower level of your oven. I like to make it in low heat for longer time, it sets very good. It will take about 1 and 1/2 hour or so. When yogurt is set well, remove from oven.
Take out and let it cool in room temperature. Then refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving. It well set some more after chilling.
Your Misti-Doi is ready.

As I mentioned before, this is a post specially for Kolkata food Bloggers'

ongoing Event, "Festive Dessert", the theme is the brainchild of my fellow group member and blogger, Sarani Tarafder who blogs from "Back to Basics.." and she is our featured blogger of the week. Visit her blog for very innovative and healthy recipes and also visit our Facebook page for more such Festive Dessert.

I think this monsoon season I havn't posted one single Hilsa Fish recipe yet. If you're wondering why I'm associating Hilsa fish with monsoon, then I must tell you that In India, The safest period of eating Hilsa fish starts with the onset of Monsoon till the beginning of Autumn, i.e., around early October. During Durga Puja, Bengalis love to devour some Hilsa fish. Then again around February we can eat the fish again.

Durga Puja is just around the corner, so thought to post something special I have experimented with this fish and it came out quite tasty and my family liked it a lot. This is not a traditional recipe of making Sorshe Ilish but just a variation. I have tried adding coriander paste to the recipe as I tried with other fish like this as I love the flavour of coriander leaves with fish and even I tried with chicken too. But never did I try to experiment on Hilsa Fish. But one day, the experiment genie inside me pushed me hard to give it a try and I did finally this monsoon and with very steady hands and an open mind I did the cooking and it was so tastyand from then it has become staple in my home.

Ingredients :

Hilsa Fish/Ilish Mach : 4 pieces

Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.[1/2 tsp. for coking and 1/2 tsp. to marinate the fish]

Salt to taste + salt to marinate the fish

Ginger Paste : 1 tblsp.

Black Cumin seeds/kala jeera/Kalonji : 1/2 tsp.

Black Mustard seeds : 1 tblsp.+ yellow mustard seeds : 1 tblsp.

Coriander leaves : a big bunch

Green Chillies : 2-3 nos.

Oil : 1 tblsp. for frying the fish + 1 tblsp. for cooking

Sugar : a pinch

Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

Preperation : 1. Marinate the fish pieces with 1/2 tsp. turmeric and 1/2 tsp.salt. 2. Soak both the mustard seeds for 1/2 an hour in little water. Then wet grind mustard seeds with 2-3 green chillies or as much you can tolerate and coriander leaves with a pinch of salt and few teaspoons of water. Add water to make a smooth paste. When the paste is ready, take it in a bowl and add ginger paste, 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder to the mix and mix well.
Cooking : Heat oil, preferably mustard oil for frying the fish. Add the fish pieces in oil and in medium heat fry the fish till they have just changed the color on both sides. Take out and keep aside.
Heat little more oil in the same pan, add kalajeera/kalonji/black cumin seeds, when the seeds start to splutter, lower the flame, add the mustard-coriander paste to the oil.
Add a pinch of sugar. Mix and let it cook in medium flame, when oil starts to separate, add the fish pieces and slowly cover them with the paste. Now add about 1/2 cup of warm water and add it to the pan. Season with salt and cook until gravy thickens a bit.
Remove from heat and garnish with some more of chopped coriander leaves.
Bengalis love this fish preparations with warm plain rice.

This recipe is going to take part in Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event, "Durga Puja with family signature recipes", the theme choosen by our Featured blogger of the group Debjani who blogs at Debjanir Rannaghar

Hyatt Regency Kolkata, one of the finest 5 star deluxe business hotels in Kolkata.

It is located 15 minutes drive from the Kolkata Int'l airport and down town. The hotel is also just 10 minutes’ drive from IT hub of Kolkata (Sector V & Eco Space - Rajarhat) makes the most convenient hotel for business travelers.
This hotel is also offers facilities like highly flexible meeting spaces and event venues for corporate meetings, cocktail evenings, exhibitions and wedding venues and business center. The banqueting and conference space include a pillar less Regency Ballroom, outdoor Regency Lawn and best conference halls in Kolkata. This is the best business hotel in Salt Lake, Kolkata, appointed with state-of-the-art technology infrastructure offering broadband connectivity and Wi-Fi, technology and meeting concierge, recessed projector screens and light racks, along with a dedicated events services team at your service to ensure the success of every event.
For such busy hotel who are offering so much to their guests, its not necessary to mention that their restaurants or eateries will be also state-of-the-art. Hyatt Regency has three restaurants - Waterside Cafe, Guchhi and La Cucina. From a world cuisine to authentic Italian or a true taste of Indian delicacies, the hotel offers various choices for all kinds of guests. Few days back I was their Waterside Cafe on invitation to preview their ongoing Food Festival "Pan Asian Food Festival" representing my blogger group, "Kolkata Food Bloggers". This festival have strted from 22nd September and will go on till 2nd October.

The Waterside Café at Hyatt regency, Kolkata a spacious and stylish 24hours café located at the ground floor is famous for the beautifully landscaped gardens and water view of the property. Its high ceiling overlooks the atrium lobby, floor to ceiling window overlook the fountain and pool side. Relaxed sofa lounge seating along with regular comfortable and stylish sitting arrangements are available for guests to witness a classy world cuisine throughout the day. Waterside Café is considered as one of the famous restaurants in Kolkata by the foodies. Guests go gaga for the range and variety of the buffet lunch and buffet dinner in Kolkata. The breakfast layout is guest’s favorite. Overall with such an interesting food spread, Waterside Café is considered as one of the best buffet restaurants in Kolkata.

Chef Bikram Das

I was amazed to see the elaborate spread Waterside Cafe has planned for the festival. House Chef Bikram Das, who has joined Hyatt Kolkata recently after serving in Hyatt Bangalore was very courteous and totally down-to-earth person. He has shared his experiences with us and how he have learnt Asian cuisines in details. Then he shared that the buffet will consist of soups, salads, starters, main coarse and dessert. In all categories there will be enough option for Veg as well as non-veg people. As the buffet is showcasing Pan Asian Cuisines, so the buffet spread will cover most of the Pan Asian country cuisines like, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indonesian and off course Indian cuisine. The buffet is for everyday lunch and dinner and also for Sunday brunch. The price is 1650 plus taxes per person.

Here are some of the snapshots of the food served :

*****Appetizer/Starter*****

In appetizer, we were served Chicken Gyozo and broccoli & Asparagus Dimsums and both tasted awesome.

*****Soups and Salads*****

Hyatt has a huge variety of salads for the event and all were better than the others. Okra salad was one of my favorites. In soups, there were Tom Yum Soup with vegetables and Chicken and cilantro broth, both were really appetizing.

*****Main Course*****

In main course they have huge array of dishes prepared for the event. Jasmine rice with tofu and vegetables, hakka noodles, Sesame BBQ Grilled lamb, Shower fried fish in black bean sauce, Saigon Beef, Stir fried Asian green, Wok tossed haricot dry chilli and Kaeng Phet Koongat or prawns in creamy and spicy gravy are some of the delicacies from allover Asia being served there and I'm sure you're already drooling seeing these delicacies. So, don't wait any more and Visit Hyatt Regency, Kolkata, just beside Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata.

***** Dessert*****

In desserts they have everything from cakes, mousse to Creme Brule.

Final Word :: I'll recommend everyone to visit Hyatt this week and savour these awesome delicacies prepared by chefs in Hyatt, Waterside Cafe for lunch and dinner buffet(from Mon-Sat) and for Sunday brunch. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Kolkatans to enjoy so many varieties of Asian dishes under one roof.

Here are some of links that will be useful to you :

Hyatt Regency Kolkata:https://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html?src=kolka_prop_np_influencers

Waterside Café:https://kolkata.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/dining/WatersideCafe.html?src=kolka_prop_np_influencers

Pan Asian Food Festival :http://www.hyattrestaurants.com/event/pan-asian-food-festival-in-salt-lake-city-center-hyatt-regency-kolkata-waterside-cafe-event/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=Asian%20Food%20Festival

We, the people of Bengal, are having the best time of the year right now. Because, the biggest festival of Bengalis, Durga puja is going on in full swing. All well-dressed people of all ages are on the road, walking mile after mile to experience some great art-work displayed in the puja pandals in almost every locality and off course to see the divine mother "Maa Durga". The puja organisers spend numerous time thinking of a theme or a message and then they start planning on pandal decoration like, what art-form they want to showcase. It's not a month or two job, they spend several months on planning and then executing the result, showcasing all kinds of artwork, from traditional to modern. Some feature a special thing and build a big pandal out of it in a very creative manner.

Any kind of art form always attracts me and I love to see all those hardwork they put to showcase an art form. Me and my family hop from one pandal to another for hours and witness some amazing artworks in these four days. While on the road and walking miles after miles, you are bound to be hungry and thirsty. To satiate people's hunger and thirst in this humid weather, there are numerous food stalls are found on the both side of the road. Phuchka(gol-gappa), rolls, bengali chops(fried fritters), Momo, Biriyani, Ice creams and what not. The people of Bengal cannot think of a home-cooked meal these four days, as there are so many varieties of food to offer on roadside stalls or restaurants these festive days.
This year the weather is hotter and while pandal hopping, I am just craving for something cold all the time. While looking for something cold, I found a roadside shop, which was selling Ice creams from various companies. While kids were opting for vanilla or mango flavour ice-creams, my eyes were struck upon a flavour, which I love from my heart. It was nolen gur ice-cream from Mother's Diary. I suddenly yelled, " I want Nolen gur Ice cream". I was acting just like a kid who was treated with an ice-cream after long time. And when its Mother Dairy, I don't opt for anything else. I use many of their products like milk, sour yogurt, paneer, cheese spread, cheese slices etc. Yes, Mother Dairy has recently introduced this flavour in Kolkata market. The reason of me being so happy is that I once tasted this same flavour of Ice-cream in a 5-star restaurant which was priced more than 300 rupees for a small bowl of ice-cream. When I found that Mother Dairy has launched the same flavour for lot more cheaper price, my joy was boundless and I screamed for my favorite ice-cream.

Nolen Gur or date palm jaggery is quite popular in eastern part of India, specially among bengali people. We love anything made with date palm jaggery or nolen gur. One spoonfull of this ice cream, and I forgot all my tiredness and roamed for some more time doing pandal hopping. Even my kids stole few spoon from me and they loved it. They made me promise that I have to bring home this ice-cream soon. Perfect blend of sweetness and flavour will take you to another world alltogether.

Mother's Diary has made it in pack sizes of 750ml & 90ml and priced at Rs 150/- & Rs 20/- respectively. Treat your kids' ocassionally or serve your guests this nolen gur Ice cream at the end of a festive meal or just devour yourself. Choice is yours. It's going to be a regular in my home, that I'm sure.

Disclaimer : This post is in association with Mother Diary.

Bengali's favorite and biggest festival, Durga Puja is over now. It's like vacation for bengalis. After 7 days of festivity, pandal hopping and eating out, my mind is refreshed and it's time to pay some attention to my blogbaby whom I totally ignored last few days. Again Diwali or Deepavali is coming soon, but before we get into festivity again, I want to post a quick and easy-to-make rice dish I make often but didn't get to post yet on the blog.

Yes, it is Coriander Rice, which is nothing but a vegetable rice dish made with freshly made coriander leaves paste along with some assorted spices. This is such flavourful dish you don't need anything to go with it. Just a simple salad/kachumber and a bowl of raita(spiced yoghurt) and you have a hearty meal. You can make this in a jiffy and satisfy your hunger when you are short of time to make any elaborate meal.

This rice dish is good for packed meal like in lunchboxes for kids as well as adults. Add some mix-vegetable to make this dish more nutritious and delicious. Best thing is you can make this rice dish with leftover cooked white rice also, if that is not so overcooked or mushy.

You Need :
Basmati Rice : 1 cup
Carrot : 1-2, cut into small cubes
Green Beans : 1/3 cup, cut into small cubes
Cauliflower : 1/2 cup, cut into small florets
Green peas and Corn kernels : 1/2 cup
Onion : 1, sliced
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil : 1 1/2 tblsp.
Bay leaf : 1-2,
cardamom : 2
Cinnamon : 1 stick
Cloves : 2-3
Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp.
For Coriander paste ::
Fresh Coriander leaves : 1 bunch
Green chilli : 1-2, according to your tolerance level
Ginger : 1 inch
Garlic : 2-3 medium cloves

How To :

Clean and soak the rice in little water for at least 30 mins. to 1 hour. In a wet grinder, take all the ingredients listed under "for coriander Paste". Add 1-2 tsp. water and make a smooth paste and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, temper with bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and cumin seeds. Immediately, add sliced onions and diced up vegetables. Saute for few minutes adding a pinch of salt and turmeric powder. Then add the prepared coriander paste. Mix well.
Now add soaked rice in there and mix well with the coriander paste. Season with salt. Now add about 2-3 cups water or as required according to your quantity of rice. Add some extra chopped coriander leaves in the pan and cover with a lid and in medium flame let it cook.
Stir time to time so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Check the seasoning, add if required. Cook in low flame till all the water evaporates. Fluff up the rice time to time.
When rice and vegetables are cooked through but still in shape (i.e., not overcooked), remove from heat and serve hot from the pan.

Serve it with Raita or spiced yoghurt and a Kachumber and enjoy a flavourful, nutritious hearty meal made in no time.

Kachumber is an Indian salad usually made with cucumber, tomatoes, and onions or all sorts of tiny vegetables, flavored with salt, pepper and lemon juice. It goes with any Indian dish like, Pulao, dal(lentil preperation), veg. or non-veg. preperations. The varieties can be endless.

Kali Puja, is another major festival for the people of Bengal. Just after nineteen days of the completion of the Durga Puja, the city again geared up with the same enthusiasm to celebrate another popular festival, the Kali Puja. When rest of the India worships Goddess Lakshmi on the occasion of Diwali/Deepavali, in Bengal Goddess Kali is the chief deity for the occasion of Deepavali, the festival of lights. Kali Puja is celebrated on the Amavasya or the no moon night in the Hindu month of Kartik (October/November). This date of Kali Pooja coincides with Diwali, the North Indian New Year or
the Festivals of Lights.
Just as people in North India light lamps to welcome Goddess Lakshmi in their houses, people in West Bengal celebrate Kali Puja by lighting lamps in honor of Goddess Kali. Houses are decorated with lamps. Kali Puja is carried out in the late evening. Nobody sleeps at that night and takes blessings from Maa Kali. The main purpose of the puja is to seek the help of the goddess in destroying all evil. The most popular event during Kali Puja is the burning of crackers. Children as well as adults set off to fire the crackers. The whole city is decorated with lights.

After two days of kali Puja, another festival that is very dear to bengalis, is Bhai Phota or Bhai Duj in North India. Bhai Phota is a festival that strengthens the beautiful bond of love and affection between a brother and a sister. Sisters' fast all morning till the ritual is completed. Married sisters' invite their brothers to their houses. In Bhai Phota, the phota or the tilak applied on brother's forehead is made of ghee, sandalwood (chandan) paste and kaajal. The elder of the brother and sister gives the younger ones rice and durba or grass because Rice is a symbol of plenty and the evergreen Durba is symbolic of longevity. Sisters apply ‘Phota’ or ‘tilak’ on their brother’s forehead with the little finger of her left hand with the chanting of mantras. Then sisters offer sweets and gifts to their brothers and pray for the long and prosperous life of their brothers. Brothers also promise their sisters to protect them from all hardship in their lives. Brothers also pamper their sisters with lots of gifts. It ends with lots of good food and having a good time with relatives and family members.

And when there is so much celebration, there has to be a sweet or dessert for so sweet occassion. I'll share a quick sweet recipe which can be made within an hour from preperation to finish and there won't be anyone in this World who won't love the taste of this sweet. Coconut and mawa burfi is one such sweet which is loved by all and a very popular sweet during this festival of lights and Bhai Duj.

You Need :
Coconut(freshly grated) : 11/2 cup
Khoya/Mawa : 3/4 cup (in room temperature)
Sugar : 1/2 cup, use as per your sweet tooth
Mixed Nuts(cashews, almonds, Pistachios) : 1/2 cup
cardamom powder : 1 tsp.
Ghee/butter : 1 tblsp.
Grated coconut : 1 tblsp. + chopped Pistachio : 1 tblsp. (For Garnish)

How To :

Take fresh coconut and grate as fine as possible. Mawa or Khoya should be in room temperature. Crumble it and keep aside. Chop the nuts and make a fresh crushed cardamom powder from the black seeds of green cardamoms.
Now heat 1 tblsp. of ghee in a pan and add grated coconut. Stir continuously otherwise coconut will change its color and coconut should not change its color. Lower the flame and stir the coconut for 2-3 minutes. Then add the sugar and again in medium flame, stir the sugar and coconut mixture till sugar melts completely.
When sugar melts completely, add crumbled khoya/mawa and mix it with coconut, stirring continuously. Add chopped nuts in the mixture. Increase the flame a bit. Stir for another 4-5 minutes or till coconut mixture doesn't stick to the pan any more.
Lastly add cardamom powder and mix it well in the coconut mixture. Do not dry them too much, the mixture should be sticky. Then it will set nicely and the texture of the burfi will be also soft.
You can make these burfis also in one layer and no food color added. As I wanted to make these more colorful, so made this in two layers. Divide the dough into 2 parts and in one part, add 3-4 drops of red/pink food color and mix evenly in the mixture.

When the mixture is still hot, grease a plate with ghee or butter, and spread the pink/red layer first on the plate. After that spread the white layer carefully over the red/pink layer. Lastly sprinkle grated coconut allover the white layer, then sprinkle chopped pistachios and press a little with back of the spoon to set them.
Set in refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours and then cut into desired shape and size.

Beans and lentils are an integral part of Indian diet. Being a great source of Protein and other vitamins, I just like other Indian families, incorporate lentil almost everyday in some ways. Nutty and earthy in flavor, lentils have a huge nutritional value and provides our body a huge amounts of benefits. If you havn't include it in your diet yet, then read below the benefits it provides to our body.

The 7 most distinguished health benefits of lentils are :

1. Lowers Your Cholesterol : Lentils help to reduce blood cholesterol since it contains high levels of soluble fiber which reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.
2. Makes Your Heart healthy : High fiber foods like lentils reduces your risk of heart disease. Lentils are also a great source of folate and magnesium, which are big contributors to heart health. Magnesium improves blood flow, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
3. Helps in Digestion : Insoluble dietary fiber found in lentils helps prevent constipation and other digestive disorders.
4. Stabilizes Blood Sugar : Adding to the many benefits of fiber, soluble fiber traps carbohydrates, slowing down digestion and stabilizing blood sugar levels. This can be especially helpful for those with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.
5. Source of Good Protein : Of all legumes and nuts, lentils contain the third-highest levels of protein. 26 percent of lentil’s calories are attributed to protein, which makes them a wonderful source of protein for vegetarians and vegans.
6. Increases Energy : Lentils increase steady, slow-burning energy due its fiber and complex carbohydrates. Lentils are also a good source of iron, which transports oxygen throughout the body and is key to energy production and metabolism.
7. Weight Loss : Although lentils include all these beneficial nutrients like fiber, protein, minerals and vitamins, they are still low in calories and contain virtually no fat. One cup of cooked lentils only contains about 230 calories, but still leaves you feeling full and satisfied.

Masoor Dal or Red lentil

Though these are the basic benefits lentils have, but not all the lentils have the same nutritional elements. So it's always better to study about the food before you incorporate it in your diet according to your health status.

Today I'll share a Bengali lentil recipe which is very beloved to me. And this is my most favorite dal/lentil recipe, too. This is an absolute comfort food for me. Comfort food in the sense that this dal gives me immense pleasure to my soul. I prepare this dal quite often but as I will definitely make this dal when I am home after a tiring day or after a long vacation.

This dal is called "Tomato Dal" and for this, we use red lentil or Masoor dal. Here red lentil is cooked with lots of seasoned red tomatoes. Usually, this dal is made during winter when seasoned best tomatoes are available. But because nowadays tomatoes are available throughout the year, I make this dal often in my kitchen. It's very easy-to-make but tastes divine with a bowl of hot rice. I just need hot boiled potato(aloo sedhho)/mashed potatoes to go with it and some fried papads. These papads/appalams are very special to me as my blogger buddy, Deepasri of Hamaree Rasoi has brought these for me from Chennai and I enjoyed them with this hot bowl of freshly made Tomato dal. Just divine, try this to believe me..............

You Need :
Red Lentil/Masoor dal : 1/2 cup
Tomatoes : 2, cut into bug chunks
Dry red chilli : 1
Mustard seed/rai/Sorshe : 1 tsp.
Green Chilli : 1-2 nos.
Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil : 1-2 tsp.

How To :

Clean and wash the lentil at least 2-3 times. In a big saucepan, take about 2 cups of water and add the lentil. Add a pinch of salt and 1 tsp. turmeric powder. Add green chillies and tomatoes. Bring it to boil and then reduce the flame to low. The red lentil takes very less time to cook. While the lentil is cooking, something little foam appears on the upper surface, remove the foam carefully with a ladle. When lentils and tomatoes are cooked, remove from heat and with a wire masher, mash the lentil slightly with the water, take care not to mash the tomatoes completely.
Heat oil in a pan, temper with a dry red chilli broken into 2 and mustard seed. When the mustard seed crackle, pour the boiled dal or lentil into the pan. Then again in medium heat, let it cook for 4-5 minutes to incorporate the seasoning into the dal/lentil. Season with salt.
Your Tomato dal is ready to enjoy with steaming hot rice and a fried papad.

This comfort food of mine is going to take part in Kolkata Food Blogger's

ongoing event, "Comfort Food" and we are featuring one of our fellow member of KFB and an awesome food blogger, Sayantani of A Homemaker's Diary where she shares traditional Bengali dishes, almost lost bengali dishes, other regional Indian recipes and excellently creative baked goodies by her home bakery.

Pound cake believed to be a northern European dish, that dates back to the early 1700s. The name "pound" was given to this cake because the original recipes contained One pound each of butter, sugar, egg and flour and the result was always a softest textured crumbly cake which will melt in your mouth in no time. But nowadays, this proportion is not strictly followed because of health reasons, but still it has to have a fair amount of butter and eggs to get a soft, moist and crumbly texture with a lovely golden brown crust.

There are numerous variations of the traditional pound cake, with certain countries and regions having distinctive styles. These can include the addition of flavouring agents, such as vanilla to make a vanilla pound cake, lemon extract to make a lemon flavoured pound cake or orange extract to make Orange Pound cake and so on.

Though I have tried a pound cake using buttermilk Pound cake which gave an excellent result, I wanted to try the traditional way of making Pound cake and I have tried this recipe from Joy of Baking, where she has not used the usual way of mixing ingredients, but some "one bowl" or "quick method" way(also known as "dump cake" method), where we mix all the dry ingredients first, then add butter and egg mixture and then cream the batter. This method of mixing reduces the gluten formation in the flour and gives more softer and more tender texture. But one thing you have to remember while following this method is to have all the ingredients in room temperature and and have to follow the exact instruction of mixing. Pound cakes are usually made in bundt pan or in a loaf pan.

You Need : [makes a 9" or medium size cake]
All purpose Flour(APF) : 1 and 1/2 cup
Eggs : 3
Butter(unsalted) : 3/4 - 1 cup(more the better)
Sugar : 3/4 cup
Milk : 3-4 table spoons
Baking Powder : 1 tsp.
Salt : 1/4 tsp.
Vanilla extract : 1 and 1/2 tsp.
Almond slivers to garnish: A handful

How To :

Preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Grease your baking pan with butter or spray, sprinkle with some flour and dust off excess flour from the pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients - eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
In another big mixing bowl, take all your dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, powdered sugar (I always powder the sugar in my dry grinder and then mix in batter) and salt. mix them all for 30 seconds. Add the butter and half of the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened.
Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for one minute to aerate the batter. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake's structure. The batter should be creamy texture.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and carefully pour into your prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with a back of a spatula and carefully sprinkle some slivered almonds on top.
Place the pan in the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake, comes out clean.
When done, remove the pan from the oven and place on wire rack and cool for 10-15 minutes. Then remove from pan and cool completely.

As this cake is quite rich in eggs and butter, but this can be made for any celebration once in a while or it's a perfect accompaniment with your evening tea or coffee or for a friend's meet up. As holiday season is coming, try to make this cake for your family and enjoy this melt-in-the-mouth cake with your whole family. Your family will love it for sure.

Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of a community called the Nattukotai Chettiars,

or Nagarathars as they call themselves, from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu state in South India. Chettinad cuisine is perhaps the most renowned fare in the Tamil Nadu. It uses a variety of spices and the dishes are made with fresh ground masalas. Chettiars also use a variety of sun dried meats and salted vegetables, reflecting the dry environment of the region. Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments such as dosais, appams, idiyappams, adais and idlis.
The Chettiars have traditionally been vegetarians. Their feasts at lifestyle ritual functions remain vegetarian. But trade once had them criss-crossing the southern reaches of peninsular India and absorbing non-vegetarian influences from the Malabar Coast, where Christians of the Orthodoxy of West Asia and Muslims lived in large numbers and Hindus too tended to non-vegetarianism. Further non-vegetarian influences became entrenched in Chettiar food habits from the late 18th Century after they established businesses in Ceylon, Burma, the Dutch East Indies, French Indo-China and what is now Malaysia and Singapore. So did non-vegetarian fare from other parts of India through which they traveled en route to their overseas businesses. In Chettinad food, major spices used include star anise, lichen, tamarind, chillies, fennel seed, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, peppercorn, cumin seeds, and fenugreek.

The spice rack of Chettinad Cuisine at The Gateway

Are you curious why I'm saying you about Chettinad cuisine? Yes, because You can taste this exquisite cuisine at the Buzz, the multi-cuisine restaurant of Gateway near Ruby Hospital, on EM Bypass, Kolkata. The Gateway Hotel who has a legacy of venturing off-beat yet popular cuisines of not only India but Global Cuisine, continues its quest towards the South of India, the very famous Chettinad Cuisine and Kolkata Food Bloggers got the invitation to attend the festival, me and another KFbian Sayantani Mahapatra were present there to preview the amazing spread at The Gateway.
Authentic dishes from Chettinad cuisines, like, Chicken Chettinad, Mutton Sukka, Chettinad chicken/mutton/fish/vegetable biriyanis, Kotthu Paratha, Idiappams, lemon and coconut rice, Chicken 65, all sorts of bajjis and vadais, Plain Dosa and Kari Dosa, in desserts Ada Pradanam and Paal Paniyaram ----- all are there to mesmerize your taste bud, and also there is the special Kumbakonam Degree Coffee to complement all these delicacies at the end of a lavish meal.
Master Chef T. Jabaraj from The Gateway Hotel Chennai who has been appreciated by several national celebrities is executing this festival with House Executive Chef Ashis Roy.

Here are some of the dishes they served us to preview but there are plenty others in the menu .....

1. Beverage :
Rasatini(Chiiled Rasam with Vodka), Jigar Thanda(cold milk with badam, pisin, cream, sabja with ice-cream) and Neer Moru(buttermilk made with curd) are in the list of Beverages.

2. Soup :
Neerkai Rasam( made with gooseberries and toor dal) and Kozhi melagu Saaru(chicken soup made with South-Indian spices) are there to choose in Soup.

3. Appetizers :
All sorts of Bajjis and vadais, Dosa, Kari Dosa, Banana flower bajji, Chicken 65, Prawn Fry, Fish Fry are there to choose from huge lists of appetizers.

Non-Veg. Appetizers

Veg. Appetizer

4. Main Course :
There are plenty of side dishes are there to combine with Lemon and Coconut rice like, in Veg, Cauliflower mushroom dry preperation with vechhu paratha, Mixed vegetable with chettinad masala, Paneer and green peas with cream coconut curry, dry roasted potato with spicy masala gravy, Vegetable stew. In Non-veg, chicken cheetinad curry, Mutton sukka, Fish made with roasted and ground coconut paste, chicken stew, deep-fried lamb meat fritters, Kotthu paratha which is a popular street food of South India with all sorts of fillings to serve. And not to forget Chettinad Biriyanis with fish, chicken, mutton and vegetable options.

Non-Veg. main course

Veg. Main Course

5. Dessert :
Famous desserts of Chettiars are there to satisfy your sweet craving at end of your meal, like Ada Pradanam, Paruppu Payasam, Paal paniyaram are there in the list of desserts.

Hot Beverage :
Finally, after this remarkable feast, drink this popular Kumbakonam Degree Coffee served in traditional manner in a small brass glass and you are sure to relaxed and comfortable.

A Steward is mixing the sugar and coffee in front of the guests. The coffee was a complete stress-reliever.

There are plenty of options for both Veg and Non-Veg. people. You won't be disappoint there and I'm sure those delicacies will satisfy your taste bud to the fullest. This festival will go on till 27th of November,'16 and it is on for lunch and dinner. The dishes are not a buffet but a-la-carte, priced around 1000+taxes for two person.

Me with fellow KFBian and with other bloggers at the Chettinad food Festival at Buzz, the multicuisine restaurant of The Gateway.

Pasanda is a popular North Indian and Pakistani dish, derived from a dish served in the court of Mughal Emperors. The Word "pasanda" in Urdu/Hindi means "favorite", traditionally made with lean meat of Lamb. But nowadays this dish is made using Chicken, Prawn and also with Paneer in restaurants. It is basically a creamy and mildly spiced gravy made with pureed onion, tomato and cashewnut paste.

I wanted to try pasanda recipe for long. This Pasanda recipe I found on Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's website which is made using paneer. As it was my first try, I also went ahead with paneer. I found it a really interesting dish which has creamy gravy made with onion, tomato and cashewnut along with some roasted spices.

Do give it a try for any special occassion at your home and surprise your guests. Let's move on to the recipe............

You Need :

Paneer Cubes : 300 gms.
Tomato : 3, medium
Onion : 2, medium, finely chopped
Ginger-garlic paste : 2 tblsp.
Cashewnut : 10-12 nos.
Sugar : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil : 2 tbslp.
Fresh Cream : 1 tblsp.
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Spices to be grind :
Dry red Chilli : 1-2
Cumin seed : 1 tsp.
Coriander seeds : 1 tblsp.
Cloves : 2
Cinnamon : 1 inch stick
Poppy seeds/khuskhus : 1 tblsp.
Grated Coconut : 2 tblsp.
Sunflower or Melon seeds : 1 tblsp.

How To :

Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and saute the cottage cheese/paneer cubes till light golden. Drain onto an absorbent paper and set aside. Also fry cashewnuts in the same oil till light golden.
On a hot tawa/pan, dry roast red chillies along with poppy seeds, coconut, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, sunflower seeds, cloves and cinnamon. Now in a wet-grinder, take chopped onion, fried cashewnuts and all the roasted spices and grind to a paste using a little water. Also puree 3 tomatoes separately.
Heat 2 tblsp. oil in a pan, add the ground paste and fry for 4-5 minutes till you get a nice aroma or oil leaves the masala. Add tomato puree, sugar, salt and half cup of water. Add the fried cottage cheese and cook further on low heat till gravy thickens. Remove from heat.
Lastly stir in the fresh cream and garnish with fresh coriander leaves
Serve hot.

Enjoy this creamy Paneer dish with Pulao or any kind of Indian Bread like paratha, Naan or Roti.

Dundee cake is a famous traditional Scottish fruit cake with a rich flavour. It was first commercially developed in Dundee on the Scottish east coast in the early 1800s, but the cake has roots more than 350 years ago. Today, Dundee cake remains one of the most popular Scottish food and drink specialties. It is said that the cake was originally made for Mary Queen of Scots in the 16th century. Legend has it that she didn’t like cherries, which were traditional in fruit cakes at the time. Local bakers made a version with almonds instead of cherries, decorating the top in a beautiful fashion with concentric circles of almonds. It became a Dundee favourite, hand baked by those wanting to serve up the finest cake with luxurious, rich ingredients. This happened in the early nineteenth century, and the cake soon spread to other bakeries across Scotland.

This cake is stuffed with dry fruits, lots of almonds and glazed cherries and coated with a sweet glaze. I stuffed my dundee cake with dates, figs, raisins, lots of almonds and cherries. Dundee cake is often sweetened with some jam or preserve and flavoured with some allspice or a mixture of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg powder.

I didn't decorate the top in traditional manner but in flower form with halved almonds and cherries.

You Need ::

All-purpose Flour : 2 and 1/4 cup

White/brown sugar : 1 and 1/4 cup(powdered)

Eggs : 3

Warm Milk : 2/3 cup(as needed to make the batter)

Butter(unsalted) : 1/2 cup

Oil : 1/4 cup

Apricot/orange jam : 3-4 tblsp.

Baking Powder : 1 tsp.

Almonds : 150 gms. (approx.)

Raisin : 1/2 cup

Dates : 7-8 nos.(chopped)

Figs : 7-8 nos. (chopped)

Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

Cherries : 6-7 nos.(chopped) + 4-5 (for decoration, if doing the flower decoration like mine)

Spice Powders : 1 tblsp. (ground spice mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon & cloves)

GLAZE :

Milk : 1 tblsp.

Sugar : 1 tsp.

How To ::

Process to Peel off the skin of almonds :

Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
Place your raw almonds into the boiling water.
Drain the almonds immediately in a colander or strainer and rinse them with cold water to cool them.
Blot the almonds dry with a paper towel.
Use your fingers to gently squeeze the almonds and loosen the skin from them. This is the easiest way to peel off the skin of almonds.

How to Bake the cake :

After peeling off the skin, chop about 10-15 almonds in small cubes and cut into halves from rest of the almonds.
Put the butter in a large bowl and beat well until soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the creamed butter and sugar, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add oil in the batter and mix well. Stir in the orange and lemon zest and apricot jam.
In another bowl, sieve together the flour and baking powder. In the same bowl, add all the dry fruits, chopped almonds, cherries and spice powders. Mix well everything. Now pour this flour mixture slowly into the butter-sugar-egg batter little at a time. Beat in between to mix well. Add in milk as much needed to make a creamy batter. Beat in high speed for couple of minutes and our dundee cake batter is ready.
Preheat your oven to 180 degree C. Grease your baking pan well and pour the batter into greased baking pan. Label the top with a spatula. Now decorate the cake with halved almonds and cherry. I arranged them in flower pattern for a change and placed a half cherry in the center of each flower. You can arrange the almonds in traditional manner also, arrange the whole almonds close together in neat circles on the top of the cake. (see pic below)

Place the pan in the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake, comes out with little crumbs. After 45 minutes of baking, remove the cake from the oven, put the milk and sugar into a small pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Brush over the top of the cake and return the cake to the oven for another 5 mins. Checking Guidelines ----- When it’s done it should have just a few crumbs attached. It’s important not to overcook this cake so the center will be a little soft.
Remove and allow the cake to cool in the tin. Rest the cake for at least 4-5 hours before cutting.

Sending this Christmas special fruit cake to Kolkata Food Blogger's Christmas Baking event

Cauliflower is the most popular vegetable during winter season. Though we get it all year round, but it tastes best during winter. Though I make diffrent recipes using cauliflower, this recipe is my most favorite. If you want a quick, hassle-free yet healthy and delicious recipe, then you must try it. It goes well with anything, warm rice, roti, paratha, naan.
I got this recipe from Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor's website and immediately loved the idea. As I love the gingery smell in anything. So without much EDO, here is the recipe....

You Need :
Cauliflower : few florets, cut into medium pieces'
Potato : 2-3, cut into medium chunks
Tomato : 1, small, chopped
Green chillies : 1-2, chopped
Ginger paste : 1 and 1/2 tblsp.
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Red Chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.
Cumin powder : 1 tsp.
Yogurt/dahi : 2 tblsp.
Sugar : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

How To :

Boil the potatoes till they are just done. Sprinkle little salt and turmeric powder over cauliflower pieces and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
Heat 1 tblsp. oil in a pan, add cauliflower florets. In medium flame, saute the cauliflower florets till they are nicely brown and semi-cooked too.
Heat 1 tblsp. oil in the same pan, temper it with cumin seeds, then add 1/2 tblsp. ginger paste and chopped green chillies, immediately add chopped tomato and boiled potatoes. Saute the potatoes for sometime, then add cauliflower florets. Add turmeric, cumin and red chilli powder.
Mix well everything, now add yogurt, rest of the ginger paste and sugar. Saute for another 2-3 minutes. Now add just 1 small cup of water. Season with salt.
Wait till water evaporates and a nice thick gravy covers all the cauliflower and potato pieces. Lastly sprinkle fresh coriander leaves allover and remove from heat.

Have it with rice, roti, paratha or any other Indian flatbread............................

Christmas can't be complete without a rich fruit cake. A rich fruit cake is very moist and delicately flavoured with spices and loaded with all types of dry fruits and nuts. Recipe of aDry fruits and Nuts cakeand an Eggless & butterless version of this fruit cake can be found on my blog, which I posted last year.

To make a rich fruit cake, there is a strict process you have to follow. Traditionally, Christmas cake is made using dry fruits and nuts that has been soaked in alcohol for at least 3 months or even up to a year. The cake is baked couple of weeks ahead of Christmas. This is to mature the cake which make the cake more rich in taste. After which, you “feed” the cake with the same alcohol that was used for soaking. Feeding the cake ensures the cake taste much better as they age or mature. It is done by making small holes on the top of the cake with a small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of the same alcohol. This is done only once a week and should not exceed more than 3-4 times in total. Else, the cake will be too moist and will crumble. If you are making the cake two or three week ahead of Christmas, then "feed" the cake once for each week, then wrap it in cling wrap, that should be also brushed with alcohol, cover it in 2 layers of foil, keep it in an airtight tin and store in a dark place.

I'm so sorry that I couldn't post this earlier this year, but for next year please follow this for a rich fruit cake. I don't soak my dry fruits and nuts fully in alcohol, but partly. I prefer to soak them in orange or apple juice and add little amount of Rum inside. But anyway, if you are soaking in alcohol or fruit juices, process is the same. Just make sure you are giving enough time to soak your dry fruits and nuts for a moist Fruit cake.

The core ingredients for fruit cake are all sorts of dry fruits and nuts. The most commonly used dry fruits are dates, figs, black and golden raisins, glazed Cherries, orange and lemon peels. You can also use dried peaches, apricots, prunes if you can get hold of these. In nuts, you can use cashewnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans etc. But make sure you chop all of them into bite size pieces to make a nice bite.

You need :(I used)[enough for 3, 8-9 " Fruit cakes]

Black raisins : 200 gms.
Golden raisins : 200 gms.
Dates : 100 gms.
Figs : 100 gms.
Orange and lemon peels : 100 gms.
Orange Zest : zest of 4 oranges
Glazed Cherries : 75 gms.
Cashew nuts : 100 gms.
Almonds : 75 gms.
Walmuts : 75 gms.
Tutti-frutti(candied fruit pieces) : 50 gms.
Orange/Apple juice : 2-3 cups or as much needed to completely soak all the dry fruits and nuts
Rum : 4-5 tblsp.

How To :

Do this at least 2 weeks in advance for better results.

Chop all your dry fruits and nuts in bite size pieces.
Do this in any non-reactive container, best in glass container.
Pour the brandy or your choice of alcohol or in orange/apple juice into it till all your dried fruits and nuts are fully drowned. Mix.
Close the container with a tight lid and keep it in dark place.
Shake the contents at least every alternate day till you are ready to bake the cake.
If you notice after few days that the alcohol or juices level have gone down, then pour some more to cover them fully. It's because fruits have absorbed the alcohol, nothing else.

So if you have decided to bake a fruit cake this Christmas and havn't soaked the dry fruits and nuts yet, then do this right now. Never bake a fruit cake at least soaking them for few hours or overnight.
WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!!!!!!!
Come back soon for another Christmas Cookie recipe I'm going to post soon......................................

Wish You All A very Very Merry Christmas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas, the last celebration of the year surely brings joy and merriment in our lives and we all eagerly wait for the new year. Almost whole December month, I become a baking God and try to bake as many new things I can for my family and friends. I don't know why but this happens every year with me. I think this is the charm Christmas brings. This year too I made Dundee Cake for the first time, baked some Shortbread cookies and this Pinwheel cookies which was in my to-try list for so long now. Finally I attempted on last weekend.

In these cookies, first cranberries are cooked and made into a jam like consistency, then it was filled inside cookie dough, rolled and cut into round cookies. Though the step looks little tricky, but it's absolutely very easy-to-make.

Ingredients : [yields 3 dozens cookies]

For dough-

All purpose flour : 2 cups

Sugar : 1 cup

Butter : 50 gms.

Oil : 1/3 cup

Milk : 1/3-1/2 cup, in room temperature

Orange zest/essence : 1 tsp.

Baking Powder : 1 tsp.

Baking Soda : 1/4 tsp.

For cranberry filling-

Cranberry : 1cup

Honey : 1 tblsp.

Orange essence : 1 tsp.

Procedure :

Make the dough first. In a bowl, add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar. Add oil, milk and orange zest or essence. Beat for 2-3 minutes and mix well everything. now add the flour mixture little by little in the butter-sugar mixture. Add half of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Mix rest of the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until evenly incorporated. If the dough is too dry to hold together, stir in up to 1 tablespoon more milk. Divide the dough in two portions, wrap in cling film and refrigerate both the dough for 30 to 45 minutes.
Making cranberry filling: Combine cranberries, honey, orange essence and 2-3 tblsp. water in a medium saucepan and bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook, stirring, until the cranberries soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Let cool slightly. Transfer to a food processor and puree. If the mixture seems dry, stir in up to 2 teaspoons water. Transfer the mixture in a container.
Take out the dough, divide into into 2 portions. Spread some butter paper on a plain surface. Sprinkle some flour on the butter paper and roll out the dough up to 1/4 inch thickness. Now, spread some cranberry filling evenly on the rolled out dough in a thin layer. Now roll the dough tightly inwards till the end in a log shape. At this time, you can refrigerate the cookie logs for 10-15 minutes. Similarly, prepare the other dough.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Now cut the cookie logs with a serrated knife into 1/4 inch thick slices and place them on baking tray, keeping 1/2 inch space in between each cookie.
Bake in 180 degree Celsius, for 15-18 minutes. Remove when done and cool completely. After baking, cookies will feel soft but after it cools down, it gets hard and crispy.

Sending this to Kolkata Food Bloggers'"Christmas Goodies" event

Kohlrabi, also known as knol-khol or German Turniporin hindi it's known as Gaanth Gobi andin my language, Bengali, we call it Shalgam. Itis a stout, round, tuberous vegetable in the Brassica family, the family that also includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. This stem vegetable is native to Europe. Mildly sweet, crispy textured kohlrabi is notably rich in vitamins and dietary fiber; however, it has only 27 calories per 100 g, a negligible amount of fat, and zero cholesterol. This attractive stem vegetable is available at its best during winter months from November until March.

Health benefits of Kohlrabi (Knol-khol)

Fresh kohlrabi stem is rich source of vitamin-C; provides 62 mg per 100 g weight that is about 102% of RDA.
Kohlrabi, like other members of the Brassica family, contains health-promoting phyto-chemicals that are supposed to protect against prostate and colon cancers.
It especially contains good amounts of many B-complex groups of vitamins such as niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, pantothenic acid, etc., that acts as co-factors to enzymes during various metabolism inside the body.
Knol-knol notably has good levels of minerals; copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, and phosphorus are especially available in the stem. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme.
In addition, its creamy color flesh contains small amounts of vitamin A, and carotenes.
Kohlrabi leaves or tops, like turnip greens, are also very nutritious greens abundant in carotenes, vitamin-A, vitamin K, minerals, and B-complex group of vitamins.

This image I got from https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetable/health-benefits-of-kohlrabi.html

So here I gave you enough reason to add this vegetable in your daily diet. Here I'll share How I cook Kohlrabi or Knol-Khol or Gaanth Gobi. This was an experiment and it was successful and it tasted great. So sharing and recommending you all to try it once.

You Need :
Kohlrabi/gaanth gobi : 3-4 nos.
Green chillies : 1-2 nos.
Black Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.
Red Chilli powder : 1 tsp.
Sugar : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Mustard seed : 1 and 1/2 tsp.
Oil : 1 tblsp.

How To :

Wash, dry and then peel the thick skin of kohlrabi. Then grate them very finely. Make a fine paste of mustard seed and green chillies. You can also omit the green chillies if you want.
Heat oil in a pan, temper with black cumin seed, let it fry for a minute. Then add grated kohlrabi. You will see little water is coming out of the vegetable, let it dry. Then add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Stir for a minute and two.
Then pour 1 cup of water and let it cook further by covering the pan with a lid. When it's half done, add the mustard paste and mix well with the vegetable. Add sugar in it and stir fry the vegetable by continuous stirring. Season with salt if needed.
When all the moisture dries up completely, remove from heat. Can also sprinkle some fresh coriander leaves if you wish.

Serve it with just hot rice...enough for a full meal.

I believe in eating seasonal vegetables. It's Winter and we must devour the winter vegetables and fruits before they vanish for our own benefits. Broccoli is one such vegetable that we get only in winter and it is considered as one of the "super foods" available. The huge health benefits it carries is no longer unknown to all. Broccoli belongs to a family of vegetables called cruciferous vegetables and its close relatives include brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage.

Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin C, chromium and folate. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin E, manganese, phosphorus, choline, vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids), potassium, Iron and copper. Itis also low in calories. Its components are highly beneficial for Cancel Prevention, Cholesterol Reduction, Reducing Allergic reaction and inflammation, Detoxifying and Alkanizing your body, Bone Health, Heart health. It's a Powerful anti-oxidant and Smart Carb.
While comes to cooking broccoli, it's better to steam them rather than boiling. Steaming can retain the nutritional value more than boiling and can also keep the shape and tastes better. I cook broccoli in various way possible, but I have never tried to make pesto and use in Pastas before. Though Broccoli taste quite good, but most of the kids find them gooey and hate it completely. My kids are one of them and so I have made this time pasta with broccoli this way and they even didn't recognized it at first and to my surprise they loved it. I was a happy mother. Now I know how to feed them broccoli. I found the recipe on BBC Good Food and immediately decided to try it. I tweaked the recipe a bit to our liking and I'll share my version here. Try this recipe for your kids and they'll love it I guarantee. And this way, we're getting the whole nutrients in our dish.

You Need :
Pasta of your choice
Broccoli : 1 medium head
Carrot : thick long slices
Garlic : 2-3 fat cloves, grated
Milk : 1/2 cup
Mozzarella/parmesan : 2/3 cup, shredded
Salt and black pepper to taste
Oil(Vegetable or olive oil) : 1 tblsp.
Dried Chilli flakes : 1 tsp. (optional)

How To :

Cook the pasta in a big bowl of boiling water till al-dante. I dropped few carrot slices in there and cooked along. When done, strain and keep aside.
In a microwave safe bowl or in a steamer, steam or cook the broccoli till they are cooked. Broccolis should be little soft as we are going to mash them for pesto. Drain and keep aside.
In a pan, heat oil, add grated garlic cloves, saute for a minute. Then add broccoli pieces, mash them completely with the back of your ladle. Now add cooked pasta along with carrot slices. Add seasonal fresh peas if you like. I did. Season with salt, black pepper and chilli flakes. Mix well and keep sauteing for a couple of minutes.
Now add milk and shredded cheese. In a medium flame, mix everything well till cheese melts and nicely coasted pasta. By now, your pasta will be nicely coated with mashed broccoli and cheese. Season as per your liking and remove from heat.
Serve immediately from the pan. You can also add other vegetables if you want.

Makar Sankranti/Poush Sankranti is a harvest festival and is celebrated allover India with a great zeal and enthusiasm. As it's a harvest festival, we celebrate it making something sweet with rice. Every time I make something traditional but this year I tried something different, I tried some Sankranti special sweet, called Pitha from my neighbouring country, Bangladesh. I'll share the recipe but let's get to know about Sankranti first.
Makar Sankranti, a major Hindu festival falls on, 14th of January every year, sometimes on 13 or 15th January(leap year) with exception . Unlike most of the other Indian Hindu Festivals, the date of Makar Sankranti is fixed. Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition/movement. This popular Indian festival is celebrated as "Harvest Festival" and is also regarded as the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian culture. It is said as the 'holy phase of transition'. It marks the end of an inauspicious phase which according to the Hindu calendar begins around mid-December. Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights, i.e., Sankranti marks the termination of winter season.
It is one of the major Indian festival celebrated in every part of the country in myriad cultural forms and in different names. Like, in Punjub, it's celebrated as 'Lohri', in South India, it is celebrated in the name of 'Pongal'. Every region celebrates it in their own ways, according to the localization, culture and traditions.

In Bengal, from where I belong, it is known as "Poush Sankranti/Poush Parvan", named after the Bengali month(Poush) in which it falls (last date of this month is sankranti), is celebrated as a harvest festival. A special kind of sweet, named "Pitha/Pithe", made with freshly harvested rice, coconut and date palm jaggery(Khejurer Gur), which is only available during this season, are the main ingredients. Different varieties of pithes with elaborate methods are made through out the month to celebrate the harvest. I also prepare few varieties of Pithes every year for my family and also blogged some before. I'll link them at the end of this post.

Now about the recipe, I made Tel Pithe, a deep fried Pithe, very popular sweet of Bangladesh, made with only few ingredients and it's very easy to make. It's such an addictive you won't able to control yourself. Let's move on to the recipe............

You Need :
Rice : 1 cup or rice flour : 1 and 1/4 cup
Flour(maida) : 3/4 cup
Semolina(Suji) : 1/2 cup
Jaggery : 1 cup (better to use date palm jaggery)
Coconut : 1 cup
Oil for deep frying

How To :

I used solid date palm jaggery, what we call "Patali", as round hard disc of date palm jaggery. In a pan, grate the jaggery and add just a few tablespoons of water, in low flame just liquidise the jaggery. When done, remove from heat and keep stirring the pan.
Soak the rice overnight and grind the rice with little water in a mixer very finely. Or you can use store-bought rice flour. But better to use home ground rice.
Now take a deep bottomed pan, mix grounded rice or rice flour, maida, suji, coconut and liquid date palm jaggery. The batter should not too thin nor too thick. If you think the batter is little thick, can add little milk in there. Whip the batter very well so there is no lump. Add sweetness according to your taste.
Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan. Check the heat of the oil, drop a little batter, it should stay under the oil for a moment and then should come up, just like we fry puris.
When the oil is ready, drop one ladle full of batter into the oil, wait for a minute,when it starts to puff up, flip it to the other side and fry this side well. Always fry one at a time and complete the batter. You can also store the batter in refrigerator and use it later.

Here are some other Pithe recipe from my homeland, Bengal/West bengal :

1. Nolen Gurer Patishapta
2. Mung Daler Puli Pithe
3. Kheer er Malpoa
4. Gokul Pithe
5. Doodh Puli Pithe
6. Patishapta nad Gurer Payesh

Sending this recipe to Kolkata Food Bloggers' ongoing event, "Makar Sankranti Special"

During Winter, our stomach gets warmed up frequently because of the warm clothes we wear all day long. So we need to cool down our stomach frequently. The juice of Bael fruit works wonder on stomach and gives us relief from inflatulences, indigestion and many problems related to stomach. Therefore, I make this bael fruit juice very often during winter. I made a video of making this Bael Fruit juice, too.

The wood apple tree is native to India, but is also found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and various other regions in the southern part of Asia. Their shell of the Bael fruits are tough, and the inside is yellowish pulp, when ripe and has many small white seeds.When ripe, it tastes sweet but raw one tastes bitter. The Bael fruit, in actuality, is an herb with the botanical name of Limonia acidissima. Bael fruit has other names like wood apple, elephant apple and monkey fruit. In some parts of the world, this fruit is called elephant apple because it’s a favorite food of elephants, while in other areas, it gets the name wood apple because of its hard wooden shell. It is actually considered sacred by Hindus, the leaves of this tree and the fruit is used in worshipping God. So it is widely cultivated and eaten in India.

Bael fruits is great source of Vitamin C, Calcium, Phosphorus, fiber, protein and iron. It is highly beneficial for constipation, indigestion, peptic ulcer, piles, respiratory problems, diarrhea and dysentery. It also boosts the immune system, fights off bacterial and viral infections, reduces inflammation and various inflammatory conditions and also prevents Cancer.

The basic health benefits of Bael fruits are

Cures Respiratory problem
Prevents Curvy - a vitamin C deficiency disease
Purifies blood and removes toxinx
Aids in digestion
excellent energy booster
helps to improve kidney health
boosts the immune system

Caution : Like any other food/fruits, we have to take some precautions when consuming the Bael fruit. Excessive consumption of Bael fruit causes flatulence in the abdomen, so people with gastric troubles should be careful. Also, if you have never consumed bael fruit before, try a small amount and see how your body reacts.

Now How to make Bael Fruit Juice

You Need :
Bael fruit : 1
Sugar : 4-5 tblsp.(depends on the sweetness the fruit has)
Water

How To :

The shell is quite hard, so you have to bang it on floor or on the wall to break it or hit hard with something heavy. Then take out the pulps with a spoon or scoop out with a scooper and keep them in a bowl. Then mash with a masher or with your hand and carefully take out the white seeds.
After you mash it completely, add water and sugar according to your requirement. Continue mashing it and take out the wiry fiber like thing from the juice. Squeeze out the pulp from the juice completely.
Finally, you can strain the juice and serve it, but I like to drink with a little pulp in it rather than wasting the pulp while straining.

Video 1

Video 2

Kothu Parotta or Paratha is a famous street food of Tamilnadu, South India. Kothu means chopped. Here chopped parathas are stir-fried with just a few spices adding chicken, egg or both or just adding vegetables and got their versions of names accordingly. The whole stir-fry process goes on the big tawa teh roadside stalls have. I had no idea about it till I tasted this here in Kolkata at a Chettinad Cuisine festival hosted by The Taj Gateway and it was finger-licking good. Actually I loved the whole idea of chopping the parathas and stir-fried it with cooked chicken or egg or vegetables. I remember the saying of The chef of Taj Gateway that leftover chicken curry can also be used for this paratha.
I wanted to prepare it at home, Few days back, I had a good portion of leftover chicken curry and suddenly it clicked me to prepare Kothu parotta at once. I started making Paratha immediately. Prepared a salad and a raita with it and my dinner plan was ready within an hour.

Today, I am not giving the paratha recipe here. Nowadays, readymade Parathas are easily available in supermarkets. From this post you can see how parathas are made.

You Need :
Parotta/Paratha : 3-4 nos.
Chicken curry : little
Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp.
Mustard seeds : 1 tsp.
Curry leaves : 5-6 nos.
Onion : 1, finely chopped
Ginger and garlic : 1 tblsp., finely chopped
Green Chilli : 1, chopped
Tomato : 2, medium, chopped
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Red Chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.(as per taste)
Coriander powder : 2 tsp.
Black pepper powder : 1 tsp.
Tomato Ketchup : 2 tblsp.
salt to taste
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

How To :

Make the parathas and tear them into small pieces. I also seperated chicken pieces from gravy and then chopped chicken pieces into small bite size pieces.
I tried to make it on tawa but couldn't manage in my small one, so transfered it into a pan. Heat 1 tblsp. oil in a pan, temper with cumin and mustard seeds, when they crackle, add curry leaves and immediately add chopped onion. Saute till they start to chnage color. Now add chopped green chilli, ginger and garlic. saute again for a minute or two.
Then add chopped tomato. When tomatoes are almost soft, add chicken pieces and gravy together. Keep sauteing and mix the chicken pieces with tomatoes. Add all the spice powders (except black pepper)and salt. Add a little water and mix the spices well.
When spices are mixed well, add chopped parathas little at a time and mixed with the chicken and onion-tomato mixture. Add all the chopped parathas. Now add the tomato ketchup and black pepper. Check the seasoning and add salt if needed. Tip : Once you add parathas, after process has to be fast, otherwise the parathas will get hard.
Lastly, add fresh coriander leaves and remove from heat.

As you see, it is a quite heavy meal itself, serve it with a bowl of Raita and salad.

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Shalgam Chenchki (A Dry dish of Kohlrabi in Bengali Style) ~ A Winter Delicacy

Broccoli Pesto Pasta

Tel Pithe ~ A Pithe variety from Bangladesh

Bael er Sarbat (Bael/Wood Apple Juice)

Chicken Kotthu Parotta ~ a popular streetfood of India