Happy Valentine's Day with Moghlai Paratha

Hiiii ... I am back !! :-) It had been very busy past few months...hope all are doing well :) I started writing this post on Valentine's day but could not finish it. So I am not changing the heading :P I feel everyday should be Valentine's day because we need to make our loved ones feel special always !! :)

Sometimes I have this crazy urge to make something right now... so I search thru recipes over the net and rush to the kitchen !! :P At times I let my hubby know what I am upto....and even though he is feeling like eating something else...I convince him to try it out because I am craving to make it today itself !! :P Last night (read : day before V'day) was something like this...when I felt like making (and eating as well) moghlai paratha...so even though he was thinking of having American dinner, we decided to go ahead and have moghlai paratha and keep the other idea for tonight. So, that's how I made Moghlai paratha which actually came out very good :) Hmmm...let's see what happens tonight with the plan to make lasagna for the first time which we have not even eaten before. ( Update: I made it yesterday, recipe coming soon :D ) I made some new dishes in between which I will posting one by one and of course, visit my friends' blogs which is pending for loong !!

I searched through a few recipes for moghlai paratha and ultimately followed Dolon's recipe. Here is a link to her blog. Check out Sayantani's moghlai paratha too :)

I made a simpler version of aloor dum with small cubed sized potatoes first, which can be eaten as side for other breads also. Then I prepared the parathas.

Aloor-dum

Ingredients I used :

Potatoes - 3 big, chopped in small cubes

Onions- 1 large, chopped finely

Tomatoes- 2 medium, chopped in cubes

Green chillies- 2, chopped

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Cumin and Coriander powder- 2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Red Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala powder- 1/2 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste- 1tbsp

I dint have cilantro, so cudn't use it. But it gives a nice smell when added before removing from heat.

Method :

I made this curry a bit differently than the way I normally make Aloor-dum because here the main dish was moghlai paratha and I wanted to start with that as soon as possible. Special aloor-dum is there for luchi na !! :D

Here is how I made it :

Heated 2 tbsp oil in pan. Added Cumin seeds when oil was hot and let them splutter. Added the potato cubes and fried them medium high heat. When they were slightly done, I added the onions and fried well. Then I added the ginger-garlic paste and kept stirring till the raw smell was gone. Made a paste with all the masalas except garam masala , with water and added to the pan. Kept stirring till oil separated from the side of the pan. Then I added the tomatoes and cooked in low heat till they became mushy.

After that I added one and half cup of water and let it boil. Then I cooked it in medium heat till potatoes were done. I sprinkled garam masala on top and covered with lid and kept it off heat for atleast 10 mins.

I made the curry before paratha as I would be using some curry as stuffing and also we could eat the parathas hot as soon as they were ready.

Moghlai Paratha

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/Maida - as much as needed

Warm water to make the dough

Salt to mix in dough

Oil

For the stuffing:

Eggs- 3

Onion- 1 medium

Salt

Green chillies

Black Pepper

Method:

I made the dough for paratha just like I make for luchi/poori, mixing the maida with salt and oil and kneading for about 5 mins. Then making a firm dough with warm water, as needed. I kept the dough covered with wet cloth for about 15-20 mins.

In the meantime I prepared the stuffing by beating the eggs and mixing with chopped onions, green chillies, salt and black pepper. Also, I smashed some potato curry in a bowl also to be used as stuffing.

Then I made balls from the dough big enough to roll out a roti of approx 8 " - it was the size of my 'chaki' (the round wooden board on which I make rotis - belan-chaki). But actually it led to small parathas after folding, so making bigger than this would lead to bigger parathas just like street side shops.

After rolling it, I put 1-2 tbsp of egg mix in the centre of the roti and added potato curry on top of it. Then I folded the round roti from four sides so as to cover the stuffing thus leading to a square-shaped paratha. I sealed the sides with wet fingers.

I already kept one skillet on heat with sufficient oil. Once it was hot, I put the paratha in it very carefully so that it doesn't open up !! Once the bottom side started browning, I flipped it over and then waited till brown spots started coming up. Once the parathas were done, I drained excess oil and served with potato curry and onion slices. It felt soo good to have these after such a long time !!

Today is a very special day for me...... it's my parents' anniversary.....Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad !! :)

Let me know if you have already posted other versions of this great dish in your blogs, I could add the link here with this post.

Take Care... :)

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 :)

Down The Memory Lane with Broiled Corn on the Cob

Broiled Corn on the Cob

Since the day I saw Sharmila's post on roasted corn on the cob in her blog Kichu Khon , I was eagerly waiting when I will make this myself !! I simply love bhutta (corn on the cob) but had no idea that I can make this at home before I read her post !! Thanks a lot Sharmila !! :)

When I was small, my Dad used to bring this for me almost everyday while returning from office. Even when I grew up, this almost became a rule during the bhutta season... whenever he returned in the evening, I used to search his bag for bhutta... :D

I used to buy this myself as well, while waiting for a bus in the stand and relish it with lemon and salt !! :P

So, the moment I read her post, I made my husband bring two bhuttas from Safeway last friday!!

I do not have a open flame stove here, its glass-topped. So i thought of broiling it in the oven just the way I make ' begun-pora' ( roasted eggplant) .

I had smeared the corn with little oil , but later realized its not required. Then put them on the grill and broiled them in high for about 5-7 mins and turned them over. I kept on checking so that it doesnt get charred too much. Then i rubbed it with little salt and lemon juice.

And then...... I cudnt wait to have it !! :D But first I needed some snaps for which I call my hubby most of the times :P Photography is his passion... so even before he can taste a preparation, I request him to take a pic for me !! :P

The first bite was awesome...but then we realised its a bit sweet, so the taste was not exactly the same as the ones bought from the bhuttawallahs. Nonetheless, it was great... and I hope to make it again !! :) I was so happy to have the bhutta at home just like Kolkata streets....oh, I miss those phuchkas and churmur soo much !!

Yesterday I completed one full year of my stay in US. Today we had a house cleaning done and the stove-top is again as shiny as it was when we rented the apt. And now, I will be arranging my kitchen just the way I did on 11th last yr. One year flew by so fast, away from our parents, with two big exams in between for me and loads of lab-work for my hubby. We will miss Durga Puja this year also, though we hope to attend the puja here. Lots of important things are coming up in life, I pray to God that our dream is fulfilled !!

Writing up this post brought back so many good old memories... so thought of listening to one of my favorite songs... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr_Vk7IaXQc

Rabindra sangeet amar bhishon priyo...satyi-i "purano sei diner kotha...bhulbi kire haay o shei chokher dekha...praner kotha...se ki bhola jay..."

Shobai valo theko... Everybody take care ... :)