Sweet craving

I started this blog as part of my assignment. I am really enjoying the blog world and would most likely continue blogging even after this course is finished. 

Going back to foods from east of India, Sondesh is the probably the most common sweets in Bengal. Being a Bengali I also love it. Sondesh is basically made from homemade cottage cheese. There are so a lot of different varieties of Sondesh and it can be made in different shapes & sizes. 

Sondesh

Ingredients:

Milk 1.5 litres
Vinegar         2 tablespoon mixed with half cup of water
One small cup full of orange juice
Powder Sugar 4 tablespoon (You can add more sugar)
One teaspoon vanilla essence

How to make the cheese:

Boil the milk. Lower the flame and churn it by adding orange juice & vinegar mixed with water. Drain it in a colander lined with a cheese cloth. Hang the cheese cloth ( I usually tie it around my kitchen faucet) at least more than one hour that all excess water drained out successfully.

Preparation:

Mash the cheese. Add 2 tbsp of sugar and mash it again. Add vanilla and keep on kneading it until it forms soft dough. Adding the sugar will make the dough little runny so cook it on a non-stick pan till the water absorbs.

Let it cool and then mash it again adding another 2 tablespoon of powdered sugar and give them a shape of your choice. Decorate them with chopped pistachios & few raisins.

Paneer Tikka

When it comes to barbeque, the first thing that comes to my mind is either chicken or fish. Most of our friends eat meat but Some of them don’t. For them, I just make something which can be barbequed in the same tandoori way but in vegan style. This is for all my vegan friends.

Mouth-watering Paneer Tikka

30, 2" cubes of paneer (cottage cheese) 

3 tbsps Tandoori Masala 

1 large onions cut into 1" square pieces

5-6 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil

2 tbsps Chaat Masala

Salt to taste

Lemon wedges to garnish

One trip to your nearby Indian grocery store and you will find everything to make this recipe.

Preparation:

Mix 2 and 1/2 tbsps of Tandoori Masala with the yogurt, 2 tbsps cooking oil and salt and make a smooth paste.

Put the paneer chunks in a bowl and pour the above Tandoori paste on to it. Mix gently to coat all the paneer well. Cover and keep in the refrigerator to marinate for two hours.

Mix the remaining 1/2 tbsp of Tandoori Masala with the onion pieces to coat them well.

Thread the marinated paneer and onion pieces onto bamboo skewers in a combination of your choice. (Tip: Soak your bamboo skewers in water ahead of time. This will prevent your tikkas and vegetables to get stuck on the skewers)

Bbq on low to medium flame. Put the paneer skewers on it and brush with a little cooking oil. Grill till paneer is light golden and the onions soft. Do not overcook or the paneer will become rubbery.

My summer pick

I am always curious to find out the origins of the recipes which I love. I am always experimenting with my foods so I wonder how did the original chef get the idea. The unique history of the Tandoori Chicken dates back to the time of the Mughals. Grand feasts were conducted by the kings in their palaces. Its popularity however, expanded across India in more recent times. Just before the partition of India, there was a man called Kundan Lal Gujral who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Peshawar (now in Pakistan). In order to keep the customers interested and add a touch of variety to the menu card, he started to cook the chicken on clay ovens and serve them red hot on the plate. The customers who visited the shop were delighted by the new preparation and welcomed its arrival. Later on, he moved to Delhi and his restaurant attained enormous popularity. Even, the first Prime Minister of India, Mr. Nehru was greatly impressed by this Tandoori Chicken delicacy. 

Since we are in the barbeque session, I thought of this recipe.

Plan ahead, this one takes time. It needs at least 8- 10 hours of marinating. I prefer marinating it overnight. The cook time is just 45 minutes, and it is worth the prep time to achieve the maximum flavour.

You will need:

Chicken leg quarters: 6 pcs

Make slits through the thick areas all over the leg quarters. 
Mix 1 tbsp chilli, powder, 1 tsp salt and ½ lemon juice and forma paste. Rub this marinade on the chicken. Make sure you reach out every slit you made. This will help to bring the flavour even if you cook with marinating.

Now the actual marinade:

6 tbsp of thick yogurt (1 tbsp for every leg quarter)
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp each
Chilli pdr – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Pepper powder – ½ tsp
Fenugreek leaves – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Coriander Powder – 1tsp
½ lime juice
Few drops of red food color

Mix everything nicely. Add the pre marinated chicken with chili powder, salt and lime into this mixture. Rub it all over. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to this. Mix it and let it sit in your refrigerator for 8 to 10 hrs or overnight. I usually put everything in a big ziploc bag and throw that in the refrigerator. Saves me space. 

Next day, just throw them in your bbq and cook them over medium heat. This will give you a crispy crust but a juicy and moist inside.

Serve them with fresh onion rings and lime pieces.

Enjoy!

Something with Chicken

I suddenly realized that I have only shared my favourite recipes so far. I left my poor husband. My husband loves Chicken Badshahi.  Named after the Persian word for Imperial – this medium spiced curry certainly meets the grand expectations this name sets. Every time I make it for him he tells me I can make it for him every day and he’d be fine.  So this one is dedicated to my Husband.

Ingredients

1 Chicken, cut into pieces
1 Lemon, juice
2 Onions, thinly sliced 
400 ml Yogurt 
1 tsp Black pepper, ground 
2-3 tsp Chili powder 
1 tsp Turmeric
1 inch Cinnamon
2-3 Cardamoms
3-4 cloves
1 inch Ginger, paste
2 cloves of garlic, paste
2 black cardamoms
A few seeds of whole black pepper
200 ml cream
A little oil
Salt to taste 

How to cook

Squeeze the juice of one lemon on the chicken and mix everything thoroughly.Marinate for 3 – 4 hours.

Heat oil in a pan. Add chicken and cook for 15-20 minutes until water goes out.

Take the chicken out and fry the onions in the same oil till they dissolve.

Pour yogurt into the pot together with all the spices, garlic and ginger. Cook on low heat.

When the gravy becomes thick, add the chicken.
Add cream and garam masala.

Garnish with fresh, chopped green chilies and coriander leaves.
Serve with rice or naan.

Rabdi

I just cannot separate enjoyment and cooking. Last week we had a potluck in our house and I was requested to make a dessert. I found this recipe on you tube but I made it with some variation. It was an instant hit.

Rabdi

Ingredients

3 cups full-fat milk

2 fresh bread slices

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 tbsp sugar

For The Garnish

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method

Remove the crusts of the bread slices and discard. Grind the bread slices in a food processor to make fresh bread crumbs and keep aside.

Bring the milk to boil in a broad non-stick pan. The broad pan will help the milk to evaporate the milk quickly and this will reduce the cooking time.

Add the fresh bread crumbs, sugar and condensed milk, mix well and cook on a medium flame for approx. 8 to 10 minutes, while stirring continuously and scrapping the sides of the pan.

Allow it to cool completely and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Serve chilled garnished with cardamom powder.

khichuri's companion

The one thing  I relish with my Khichuri apart from the hilsa fish is the onion fritters. It is very simple to make. It’s is never enough at the dinner table. Usually when I am making them, half of the batch just vanishes as the family members becomes the tasting experts all of a sudden including the kids. You can enjoy them too.

You will need:

Large Onions : 3-4
Chick pea flour (besan): 4 tbsp
Red chili pdr:         ½ tsp
Onion seeds (kalonji): ½ tsp
Baking Powder: a pinch
Salt to taste
Water to mix
Oil to deep fry

Procedure:

Finely slice the onions and put them in a bowl. Add all the ingredients except oil. 

Sprinkle water on the flour and start mixing. You will need very little water. Remember by adding the salt to the onion, they will release their own water. You would like to get a think consistency paste.

Once mixed properly, let it sit for 5 minutes.

While the mix is resting, add oil to a heavy bottom pan. When hot, add spoonful of the mixture and deep fry them. Take them out when they are golden brown in color and place them on a plate lined with paper towel.

Enjoy these with your khichuri.

The monsoon season

In West Bengal, the monsoon is a much anticipated season after a long and scorching summer. Of all the sights and smells of this lovely season, the one that lingers in my mind is the unique smell after the first few drops of rain touched the hot soil.

I think all Bengalis have only two things on their mind when monsoon arrives….their beloved khichuri and ilish mach bhaja (a wholesome meal of rice and lentil cooked together with a little bit of spice and fried hilsa fish). Being in Canada, I don’t get hold of hilsa fish all the time so I replace it with onion pakoras (fritters).

I could eat my mother’s khichuri every single day. Whenever I saw a few drops of rain, I would ask her “Maa khichuri banabe?” (Maa can you make khichuri?). Maa used to say “roj brishti porle ki roj khicuri khabi?” (Do you have to eat khichuri even if it rains everyday?).

So here it goes:

Khichuri (Rice cooked with lentils)

Basmati Rice:         100 gams
Moong daal (yellow lentil): 30 gams
Masur daal (red lentil): 30 gams
Onion (large):         2 
Potatoes (small):         2  
Fresh Coconut: 2" piece 
Turmeric powder:         1 tsp. 
Red chili powder:         1 tsp. 
Cumin seeds:         1 tsp. 
Garam masala:         1 tsp. 
Garlic:         6 cloves 
Ginger:         1 piece 
Green chilies : 5-6 nos. 
Ghee As required 
Oil As required 
Salt to taste

Directions:

Wash and soak the dal and rice, chop onion and green chilies finely. 
Mince the coriander leaves, ginger and garlic. 

Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes. Chop the coconut into fine pieces. Fry onions in a combination of 1 tablespoon ghee-1 tablespoon oil. When the onions are light brown add the minced garlic, ginger and green chilies.

Then add the garam masala together with the chopped coconut. Fry for a while. Pour warm water . First add moong daal and after 10 mins add masur daal and rice. Add water till it is about 2 inches above the level of the rice. If the water dries up, more warm water may be added.

Add potato cubes and salt. When the water starts bubbling, lower the heat and simmer till rice and daal are cooked.

Serve hot with onion pakoras. (I will post the recipe soon)

P.S You can add some other vegetables like cauliflower, peas, beans etc. in your Khichuri . Just cut them into small pieces and add them along with the daals.