Rainy Day Special : Khichudi and Tomato Chutney

Hello Everybody, hope all of you are doing fine !! Last 2 weeks I was very busy, so could not post any recipe. But I have prepared some dishes which I will be posting soon. I couldnt take some pictures with our camera as the charger was not working properly. So few, including these two, were taken with iphone cam, so the resolution might not be that good. My husband has bought a new digital charger and I hope to take good pics hereafter :)

Its been the same weather over here.... everyday hovering over 102 degrees !! But last saturday, when we got up in the morning, we were thrilled to see its raining , for a change !! :) My hubby immediately told me that we will have khichudi today !! Rain and khichudi.... its something which is incorporated inside us since childhood. Both of us just love to eat khichudi...whether simple or with spices...doesnt matter !! We had khichudi here even when it wasnt raining and the temperature was 45 degrees centigrade :P But last saturday was an ideal day to relish it.... so I made amish (with spices and onions) Khichudi along with aloo-kopir torkari , tomato chutney and fulkopir bora. It was an awesome lunch that day !! :)

I generally use basmati rice to make this, but completely forgot that day, instead used normal long-grain rice that I use everyday !! But nonetheless, it tasted great with the spices and ginger-garlic paste !!

Let me post the recipe now ... :)

Khichudi

Ingredients :

Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups

Moong dal - 1 1/2 cups

Water - 10 cups ( I have tried with 4 times water, i.e. 12 cups for 3 cups of total rice and dal in pressure cooker ... but it was a bit more liquidy, this time 10 cups touched the upper mark in pressure cooker ... but when it was ready, the consistency was perfect ... so for 3 cups rice+dal, 9-10 cups is fine)

Onion - 1 small/medium , chopped

Potato - 2 medium, cut into halves

Cauliflower - 8-10 florets

Peas - 1/2 cup ( I dint give this time)

Tomato - 1 medium, chopped

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp

Cumin and Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chilli - 1, slit along the length

Bay leaf - 1-2

Salt

Pinch of Sugar

Oil and Ghee

** Khichudi can be made without onion, ginger garlic paste and the spices, and then also it tastes great. We generally have without these spices during Puja. In that case, just omit those and cook in the same way.

Method :

In pressure cooker, roast the moong dal till golden brown. Wash the daal and keep it aside.

Wash the rice very well and mix with the daal.

Add 1 tbsp of oil and fry the cauliflower florets till golden brown and then keep them aside.

Then fry the potatoes slightly and keep aside.

Add 1 tbsp oil and little ghee and when its hot , add cumin seeds and bay leaf ( tejpata).

When they start crackling, add the onions and fry them till soft . After that, add ginger and garlic paste and fry till the raw smell is gone.

Make a paste of the turmeric, cumin & coriander and red chilli powder with little water.

Add it to the onion and fry till oil separates out.

Then add the rice and dal and mix them properly. Also, add the potatoes, cauliflower , peas and tomatoes and mix well. Add about 1 tsp salt and a pinch of sugar.

Put 10 cups of water in the pressure cooker and taste for salt. I did it like this, had to add more salt . The salt was perfect this time.

Mix everything nicely and close the lid. Mine doesn't give whistles, so i cant tell for how many whistles it needs to be cooked. But slightly less than it needs to cook daal completely.

I cooked it for about 3 to 31/2 mins after the pressure regulator started rocking steadily. After it was done I kept it for few mins off heat and removed the lid.

Add 1 tsp ghee on top of it before serving !! :)

Tomato Chutney

Ingredients :

Tomato - 2 big, chopped into small cubes

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Whole red chilli - 1-2

Sugar

Roasted Panch Phoron - I made it as Mom told, by roasting panch phoron and then grinding them in the mixer.

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add red chilli.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they get mushy.

Add sugar and mix with tomatoes well.

Add very little water so that the chutney doesn't become too dry. Keep on adding sugar till it tastes right.

Take off the heat and sprinkle the roasted panch phoron on top of the chutney.

Enjoy as dessert after rice or khichudi !! :)

Shukto : Entry for Shanthi Krishnakumar's Event

Shukto

Updated : 11th Sept, 09

I am back !!!! Its been long since I posted any recipe in my blog. It was a very busy and important week for us. Now, I will post all the recipes one by one that I prepared recently. But before I post any new recipe, let me complete this post first !! :)

Shukto is an authentic bengali dish ( vegetarian) which is bitter in taste, a very healthy dish as prepared with veggies and minimum spices and served in the beginning of a traditional bengali lunch. There are many variations , but I am giving the recipe which I have learnt from my Mother.

Ingredients :

Potato - 1, cut into cubes

Eggplant - 1 small, cut into cubes

Bitter Gourd - 4-5, cut into cubes, i used cut frozen pieces

Drum Sticks - cut into small pieces

Other veggies that can be added - green banana, papaya, beans, sweet potato, pumpkin, gourd (lauki) etc.

Can add vadi too.

Ginger paste- 1tsp

Oil

Salt & Sugar to taste

Mustard paste/ Posto paste (optional) - 1 tbsp

Milk (optional)- 2-4 tbsp

For tempering :

Panchphoron - 1tsp

Whole red chilli - 1

Method :

Nowadays, I soak mustard seeds overnight and then grind in my magic bullet, earlier it used to become bitter, but soaking the seeds overnight makes them soft, so the paste turns out great !! I do the same with Poppy (posto) seeds, but these doesn't need to be soaked overnight. Then grind them along with little salt.

Vadis must be fried first and then kept aside.

Then saute the eggplants and other veggies, bitter gourd being last. ( This step can be skipped and the veggies, except eggplant, can be added for steaming directly, ).

Keep aside the sautéed veggies.

Add panchphoron to the oil. Let it splutter. Add the Red chilli.

Add all the veggies with some salt. ( At this stage, very little turmeric powder can be added, I didnt use).

After mixing them properly, add little water so that the veggies can be cooked. Cover and cook for about 10 mins.

Then add little sugar , ginger paste, mustard/poppy paste and add the milk. Let it cook for some time. This dish has little gravy, so dont add too much water. After the veggies are almost done, add the vadis.

Remove from the heat when the veggies are completely done. Ghee can be added before taking off the heat, which will give a nice aroma to this dish.

Serve with white plain rice in the beginning of lunch.

[Original post : Hmm...this is actually a draft post, publishing it coz I need the URL :P

I came to know from Shanthi of shanthi krishnakumar's cookbook that she is hosting state special event and when I checked, I saw today is the last date !! The event is so interesting that I would really like to participate. But no time to cook today :P So I searched through my pictures and found one snap of 'Shukto' that I had prepared few months back. This is a traditional bengali dish that is served in all occasions.

I am sending this recipe for her State Specials Event .

I will be really busy for next few days, will be back with the recipe very soon. :) ]

Updates : I am very happy that I could participate in her event, and it is very sweet of her to give all the participants this "Participation award".

Thank You Shanthi. :) Hope to participate in your events again !!

Home-made Phuchka ... :)

Well well... it just took me one second to decide which one to post first from the list... :D yeah, it has to be Phuchka.....as I was soo happy after making these !! Phuchkas are famous street-food available all over India. Known as Pani puri or Golgappa outside Bengal, Phuchkas are hot favorite among all age groups in West Bengal !! But the actual charm in eating these is, I guess, while standing on the footpath, in a circle around the phuchka-wala holding those shalpatar-bati :) Back in Kolkata, one will rarely think of making these at home. It reminds me of the Durga Puja days, when we used to go pandal-hopping and eat phuchkas without miss !! We, the Kolkatans, have these with mashed potato inside the crispy balls along with hot and spicy tamarind water. So, that day when I found this website full of cooking videos, I just couldn't wait to try these myself. And guess what... after about 40 mins...we were munching on phuchkas !! It is really soo easy and the video is awesome... many of you might be aware of Manjula's Kitchen and her recipes. Those who are not, do have a look in her website... lots of veg recipes, which are both easy to make and yummy for our taste buds !! I must say, I have followed her instructions in to-to and the phuchkas came out perfect. Only I substituted tamarind water in place of mint water.

Phuchka ( Pani Puri/ Golguppa)

I wanted to make 20 phuchkas , so I took 1/3 rd of the flour and suji as shown in the website.

Ingredients:

• Semolina/Sooji - 1/4 cup
• All purpose Flour/ Maida -1/3 rd of the amount of Sooji : that makes 1/12 th cup or 1/3 rd portion of a 1/4 measuring cup
• Water- 1/6th cup ( as needed )
• Tamarind paste
• Salt to taste
• Red chilli powder
• Potatoes -2, boiled and mashed
• Green Chilli -1-2
• Bhaja Masala ( Roasted cumin seeds and red chilli ) - to sprinkle on mashed potato.
• Oil for frying

Method :

Mix the flour and sooji with water and make a soft and plaible dough.

Keep it covered with damp cloth for 10 mins once its done

Then make 20 small balls from the dough, keep them covered with damp cloth to prevent from drying.

Take two kitchen clothes , wet them , and place one on the counter-top.

Start rolling the balls into 2 inch diamter puris/luchis and keep them on one damp towel and cover them by the other damp towel. According to Manjula Ji, this step helps the puris to puff on all sides.

Heat the oil in medium high, shud be at least 1 and half inch high in pan ( like we take while frying luchis).

When the oil is hot, start frying the rolled puris. Press them lightly on one side, and when they puff up, turn over and press lightly on the other side.

When they are golden-brown in color on all sides, take them out of the pan and place on paper towel.

I made 20 phuchkas, all were very crispy - but 10 were puffed up. This was because when i was putting them in the pan, some got folded as they were moist. As the oil was very hot, I cudnt unfold them properly, thus 10 turned out to be papris !! :D With them I made papri-chaat the next day. Will post that also sometime.

Make tamarind water by mixing tamarind paste with water, red chilli powder and salt . This can be done in better way, I hurriedly added these as I cudnt wait to eat the phuchkas !! :P

Then make a hole on each phuchka , put some mashed potato and tamarind water ..... and Enjoy !! :)

I have some very important things to do in the coming week. Will post again when I am done. Till then, take care everybody !! :)

P.S. Can anybody please suggest me how to keep my kitchen roach-free ?? Two rounds of fumigation done by the pest control dept. and daily Raid spray is not helping !! Its such a menace !! Any tips, friends ?? Thanks :)

Rui Machher kalia

A very Happy Independence Day to all Indians !!!! I am proud to be an Indian !! :)

We bought Rohu fish yesterday...we generally have tilapia fillet and sometimes salmon. But rohu has a special corner in the hearts of bengalis, which I have realized after coming here since we dont get to eat this frequently. At home we used to have katapona and different other fishes most of the days in a week. But here, its not available always. So we literally long for it. We have a Bangladeshi store across the road who bring these fishes from NY . After a long time we again bought rui machh, this time 7 lbs !! What to do, cut pcs are more expensive and will last only for 2 days atmost. So we decided to buy the whole fish, and keep it frozen !! :D

Today, I made Rui machher kalia, a very popular Bong dish, served splly during any occasion. It is a rich and spicy dish based on onion and tomato gravy. I had made this once last year and made it again today and had with basmati rice. :)

Rui machher kalia ( Spicy Rohu Curry)

This is how I made ...

Ingredients :

Rohu fish - 6 pcs ( steak-like)

Potato - 1

Onion - 1 medium

Tomato- 1 big

Cardamom- 3

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon - 1 " stick

Bay leaf - 1-2 small

Green chilli -2

Turmeric powder - 1tsp

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp ( according to preference)

Cumin powder - 1tsp

Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri mirch powder - 1/2 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste - 1tsp

Yogurt - 2-3 tbsp

Mustard oil ( or white oil)

Sugar- a pinch

Salt- to taste

Method:

Clean the fish pieces very well (removing the scales is an ordeal !! ) and pat them dry. Rub with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1tsp salt and keep them aside for sometime.

Meanwhile, chop the onions in slices, tomatoes in cubes and potatoes in longitudinal pieces.

Then heat mustard oil in a pan and put the fish after making sure the oil is very hot, otherwise the fish will stick to the pan. Let it fry for few mins and after that turn them and fry for few more mins till it is golden brown. Do not turn when the fish is sticking to the pan. That means it is not yet fried properly.

After they are done, take it out from the pan and keep them on a tissue paper to soak the excess oil.

Then fry the potatoes with a pinch of turmeric and salt in the same oil.

In another vessel, heat some more oil ( about 2 tsp) . After its hot, add the bay leaves and the whole garam masala and let it splutter. After that, put a pinch of sugar and let it turn brown. This caramelises the onions and gives a nice color to the gravy.

Then add the onions and fry for few mins till it turns golden brown. Takes about 7-10 mins.Stir frequently.

Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry for sometime.

Make a paste with the masalas with very little water and add to the onions. Fry for 4-5 mins till oil separates out.

Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry till they get mushy.

Take the yogurt in a bowl and beat it well so that it doesnt form lumps in the gravy. Add it to the gravy and mix well. Add salt and very little sugar and bring it to a boil.

It is a gravy based dish, so add water very carefully, I added slightly more than a cup.

Add the fried potatoes and cook for sometime.

When the potatoes are half done, add the fish pieces and cook for few more mins. Then remove from the heat.

Cilantro can be added for garnishing. I ran out of it, so didnt add.

Serve with plain hot rice !! :-)

I am sending this recipe to Appyayan's 1st event hosted by Indrani di. :

My First Recipe Post: Ilish machher Jhol

I was browsing through the blogs and incidentally came to know that Indrani di of Appyayan is hosting an event for Fish !! I have been seeing this events for long, but dont quite know what it is and how it works. Actually I will be very busy till 1st week of August and so I coudnt post any recipe in my blog till now. Seeing this,I was immediately tempted to post a recipe in my blog. I made Ilish machher jhol sometime back and have the picture. Since blogging was nowhere in my mind that time, i didnt keep count of exact amount of the ingredients. Both me and my husband love Ilish machh/Hilsa fish the most. So what could be better than to start my recipe post with Ilish mach...favourite of all bengalis :)

Ilish Machher Jhol ( Simple Hilsa curry with potatoes and eggplant)

Ingredients :

• Ilish mach/ hilsa fish
• Eggplant/ Begun
• Potato
• Green chillies
• Turmeric powder
• Chilli powder
• Kalonji
• Mustard oil ( & white oil)
• Salt to taste

Method :

First, cut the fish pcs , wash them and rub with little turmeric and salt.

Heat 2 tbsp white oil in a pan and fry the potatoes along with little bit of salt and turmeric powder till light brown. Keep them aside.

Then fry the eggplant pieces till brown and keep them aside.

Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil and add half tsp kalonji and 1 green chilli to it. Then fry the fish pieces lightly for 2 minutes (or less) on both sides.

Make a paste of turmeric powder and chilli powder with little water and add to the fish and fry for some more time.

Add about 2 cups of water , 1 green chilli and salt to it.

After it comes to boil, add the potatoes and simmer for about 5 mins.

Then add the eggplant pieces and simmer for 5 more mins/ till potatoes are done.

Enjoy with plain white rice ... :)

It turned out really good and after having this at lunch, my hubby sms-ed me " khub valo hoyeche"... :P

I will be sending this recipe to Appyayan's event Spotlight : Fish :)

This is my first ever try to write a recipe. There was a day, not so long back, when I had to call my parents in India and write down the recipe of daal, palong shak , mangsho etc etc.... !! There might be a lot of different ways to make one dish, but I will be posting them just the way I make them in my kitchen. Let me know your opinions regarding this ... :)