Coming back after a long Gap.

It's wonderful to be back after a gap of more than 4 years. During the days I had been way from my blog, I was busy with my Social activities and other activities of life. But even though busy with my other schedules, cooking is always part of my life which I enjoy a lot. I do often click pictures of what I was cooking and many a times I was always in a hurry that I missed out on clicking. Right now, even though my schedule is more tight than before, my passion for cooking has increased. So, I would love to squeeze in the task of sharing my recipes of the exotic cuisines of this part of the world.

I hope everyone would join me on a journey of trying out some of the exotic cousins from this part of my world.

Colocasia Kabab - Arbi Kabab

September rains is here and hot coffee with home cooked snacks on a rainy day is always great.. It has been raining cats and dogs since the last 48 hrs and there is no question of going out for a walk or moving out elsewhere. So, off to the kitchen to do my favourite exercise....  the exercise of cooking something scrumptious for my family to be enjoyed together in such a lovely weather. A quick recap in my mind of what is in stock that can be cooked and I  remembered the Arbi(Colocasia) which I had boiled and kept in the fridge last night. That's it... my rainy day snack is going to be Arbi Kabab. I took the arbi out, pealed it's skin and kept it aside as I checked on all the other ingredients needed for it. Mint leaves not in the fridge... so went upstairs to my terrace garden to get a handful of fresh mint leaves. Got drenched in the rain but it was worth it as my Kabab turned out to be Lajawab!

Ingredients :

Arbi - 300 gms..boiled, pealed and mashed.

Mint leaves - a handful finely chopped

Green Chiles - 4 finely chopped

Ginger - 1" piece grated.

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Salt - according to taste

Oil for shallow frying the kababa

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Chicken masala - 2 tsp (can use Chaat masala or Kitchen king or Fish masala. Each masala will give a different flavour to your kababs)

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Method :

In a bowl mash the colocasia. Add all the ingredients and mash well so as everything gets evenly mixed. Grease your palm with a little oil and roll into small balls. Once done, flatten each ball by pressing it between your palms. Heat a pan with some oil in it. Place the flattened kababs in it and fry in medium heat. Flip the kabas over and fry until both sides are golden brown. Your kabas are ready. Serve hot with chopped onions and mint leaves. 

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Shilot Saugri Bora - Roselle Leaves Pakoda

It's the Monsoon season and I love the rains and when it rains, it's pakoda time for me and my family. Mom makes scrumptious pakodas which we all enjoy from time to time, be it a rainy day or a bright sunny day. Her's tend to be a bit on the spicy side and our guests love the way she makes it. She makes them in such a way that they are soft and spongy from the inside and crispy from outside. Her Boras are really yummy. Me too, I love and enjoy making pakodas and I do have my own way of making them. I prefer less of spice, a good amount of herbs and the use of various vegetables..... Potato slices, eggplants, pumpkin slices, ash gourd slices, raw banana, banana flower, banana stem slices, spring onions, onion rings and the list goes on. At times I go for boiled eggs, cottage cheese, fish or chicken too. I keep on experimenting and Sougri Ananba(Jute leaves) and Shilot Sougri - Roselle leaves turned out to be a delight to my taste bud when made into pakodas. Here is a picture and recipe of my Shilot Sougri Bora which I made some days ago. 

Ingredients : 

1. 2 cups besan( chickpea or pea flour)

2. 1 tsp. coriander powder

3. 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder

4. 1 tsp. turmeric powder

5. 1/2 tsp red chili powder

6. A pinch of Sodium bicarbonate

6. Salt to taste

7. 3 green chilies chopped finely.

8. A bunch of green coriander chopped finely.

9. A bunch of Chinese chives chopped to a length of 1/2 to 1 cms.

10. Water to make batter.

11. Broad Roselle leaves washed and drained.

12. Oil to deep fry.

Method : 

Mix all the ingredients to make a thick batter. The consistency should neither be runny nor too thick. It should be such that when the leave is dipped in it the batter sticks to it. Keep aside.

Put oil in a pan and let it get heated.

Take a few roselle leaves and dip them in the batter. See that each leave is well coated and then fold the left and right sections of the leave as if arms getting folded. 

Put them one by one in the hot oil and fry them in medum heat. Using a laddle try to saperate the pakodas before they get stuck to each other. At times they do get stuck but it is ok if you cannot saperate them. After the bottom side gets cooked, turn over the pakodas in the oil and fry for about a minute or until done. Take them out and drain the oil in a strainer or by placing them on kitchen tissues. Let the oil heat a bit more before you put in your next batch. When your pakoras are ready, serve hot with chutney or tomato sauce.

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Guava Stew

A delicious desert which I really really enjoy. A recipe which I picked up from my better half.

Ingredients :

1 Kg unripe or semi ripe guavas. Can be apples or peers too.
150 gms sugar or more if you wish it to be really sweet.
7 or 8 Cloves
2" piece of Cinamon broken up into smaller pieces
9 or 10 black pepper corns
A pinch of salt.
1 cup water.
Few drops of food coloring if desired.
Fresh cream to serve with.

Wash and cut the guavas into big pieces. Put them in a pressure cooker. Add all the other ingredients except the fresh cream and pressure cook for 7 whistles. Release the pressure immediately and cook opened until the sauce thickens. Serve in serving bowls with a generous topping of fresh cream. I am sure you will love this yummy treat.

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Praws in Green Coriander Gravy

For those who love prawns, here is a lovely recipe. Prawns in green coriander gravy.  Takes only a few minutes to cook yet so delicious. The green color of coriander gives the green to the gravy and makes the dish look so colorful and the aroma of coriander leaves and spices definitely makes one go hungry immediately. 

Ingredients :

250 gms. Prawns shelled.
200 gms Coriander leaves
1 tsp Mustard seeds
2 tsp Fish masala
1 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp Red chili powder
2 Bay leaves torn
1 tbs Ginger garlic paste
1 big Onion diced.
2 tbs Oil.
Salt to taste.

Method :

Wash the prawns and keep aside. Grind the green coriander leaves to a paste along with a half a cup of water and keep aside. In a pan heat 2 tbs of oil and add the torn bay leaves. Once it leaves it's aroma in the oil, take them out and discard. Add the mustard seeds and once it begins to sputter, put in the ginger garlic pastes and stir so as the sputtering seeds gets mixed up with the paste and does not escape out of the pan. The diced onions goes in next. Keep stirring for about a minute. Then add the fish masala, turmeric, red chili powder and the salt. Keep stirring until a nice aroma of the cooked masala comes. Now add the coriander leaves paste and mix  well with the masala. Add 1 cup of water to it. Raise the heat and cook covered. Bring it to boil and on medium heat cook for about 4 minutes until the gravy gets cooked. Finally the prawns go in the gravy. Stir and then keep cooking for another 4 minutes or more until you get the right consistency of the gravy. Your delicious and lovely prawn curry is ready to be savored with rice or bread or roti. I prefer to enjoy it with plain rice. How about you?  Don't forget to leave a comment here after you try this recipe.

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Mango Pickle - Heinou Achar

The season of mangoes is here and now is the time to enjoy the taste of mangoes in every possible way. Raw mangoes, semi ripe mangoes, ripe mangoes….. I enjoy taking them inside my kitchen and  transforming them into delicacies which  pleases my palate. I love ripe mangoes in my fruit salad, my milk shake, my yoghurt. I use the semi ripe ones for sweet sour chutney. Mango pickle is a must for me when raw mangoes are available in plenty. My wait for the time to lay my hands on raw mangoes begins the day when mango trees begin to flower. The fruit laden tree looks so beautiful that I prefer to leave the lovely green mangoes on the tree until they ripen and as for my pickle, the market is there where I can chose the perfect ones. From my bought stock 2 or 3 of them usually 

end up getting scraped or grated and lightly mashed with salt, red chili powder, finely chopped green chilies and a few mint leaves. ‘Heinou singju’ or 'Heinou Metpa' (mango mash) is relished by most people in this part of the world. Now back to my main task…the task of pickling green mangoes. Just a couple of hours of labor and my pickle would be ready to be stocked or eaten from day one. As eveyone knows, normally it takes about a month for the pickle to be perfect but mango pickles are too tempting and I always start enjoying it the moment I finish making it. So here it is…My instant mango pickle.

Ingredients :

2 kg  raw mangoes sliced or diced into big cubes.

300 gm. Mustard oil                      
2 Tbs Salt

2 tsp Turmeric

100 gm Cumin powder

100 gm Coriander powder

50 gm Ajwain(Bishop's weed) powder

20 gm Fenugreek whole

10 gm Black pepper powder

1 Tbs Red chili powder

100 gm Mustard powder

2 tsp Fennel whole

2 tsp Nigella seeds.

Method :

Mix all the spices together and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan until it smokes and then put off the fire. In it add the spices and stir. Then add the sliced or diced mangoes and stir well until all the mangoes pieces are properly coated with the oil and spices. Let it cool down and then put the spiced mangoes inside a glass or a pet jar. Pour mustard oil in the container until all the spiced mangoes are submerged in oil. Tightly cover and put the jar out in the sun as much as possible for about 15 to 20 days. The pickle would be perfect in about a month's time and the longer you keep it, the tastier it will become but I am sure you will be tempted to start eating it the moment it is being pickled. Enjoy your pickle with rice, roti, paratha, puri etc.





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PANEER BHURJI

 Scrambled Cottage Cheese

A big cup of green tea marks the beginning of my day. Next is a filling breakfast which makes me keep going until lunchtime or very often throughout the day. One dish which I really enjoy is Paneer Bhurji which is Scrambled Cottage cheese curry. Paneer Bhurji  with bread and a glass of fruit juice to go along with it. But with or without the accompaniment of the juice, my hot n spicy  Paneer Bhurjee is quite filling and leaves me with the energy to carry on throughout the day. It goes well with roti or  paratha too but my preference is always with brown bread for breakfast. Here is how I cook it.  

                                                     

Ingredients :-

200 gms. Paneer crushed.

4 medium sized tomatoes chopped.

10 green chillies slit.

2 or 3 bay leaves.

2 tsp garam masala.

1 tsp. turmeric powder.

1 onion sliced

2 tsp. ginger garlic paste.

2 Tbs refined oil.

A bunch of green coriander chopped finely.

Salt to taste.

Method :-

Heat the oil in a pan. Tear the bay leaves and put it in the hot oil. Add the ginger garlic paste, the sliced onions and stir. Slow down the gas flame or the heat on your induction and add the garam masala, salt and turmeric powder. Keep stirring until the masala emits a lovely cooked aroma. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook covered. Add a little water, stir and keep cooking until everything which has been added becomes a nice paste. Add the green chilies and cook for a few minutes. One can reduce or increase the amount of chilies depending on how hot n spicy you want your bhurji to be. I always prefer it to be hot and chewing the cooked green chillies which are infused with the taste of the cottage cheese and the masala is a tasty delight for me. Next the crushed Cottage Cheese goes in. Crush it tenderly between your fingers so as it might not get totally meshed. Keep stirring and cook for another 3 minutes. Finally add chopped green coriander and cook covered for a minute or two. Your Paneer Bhurjee is ready. Serve hot with bread or roti or paratha and enjoy it anytime of the day. Be it breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner, you will definitely enjoy relishing it. Bon Appétit.

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