Of Parfaits and summers!

Now that summer is here.... and with the heat and sun and long afternoons ,I decided to whip up a cool treat for C. It had to be healthy and tasty and of course cold. And so I decided on a fruit parfait... well mine was slightly different since I was not using granola. I had some very colorful fruits and some vanilla yogurt... and so parfait it was!


It was so scrumptious and cold and full of flavors !

What you need:

ripe papaya-1/4 cup diced
banana-1/2 of ripe one sliced
apples-1/4 cup diced
grapes-halved and de seeded
cashews- 1/2 cup chopped
vanilla yogurt- 1 and 1/2 cup (depending on the size of serving cups)
sugar-1/2 tsp
lime juice-2 tbsp
whipped cream can

Dice the fruits into small bite size pieces and toss them with the lime juice and sugar.
Alternatively you can also use honey.
Whip the yogurt smooth and add the chopped cashews.
Take the serving glass and start layering alternating the fruits and yogurt.
Top it off with whipped cream...ooohhhh lala!LOVELY!

Topshe Maach bhaja...or crunchy Topshe Fry

This is a personal favorite and every time I am home I make sure Bhalomashi (my maternal aunt) cooks this for us. A simple fish dish and really easy to make... that is if the fish is available.
Topshe is a typical sweet water fish with a central bone . The flesh is chunky and cooks very easily. There is not much kaanta or bones and so quite easy to manage.
And Topshe maach bhaja is a traditional Bengali way of preparing this fish. I have had this fish only this way.... deep fried and served hot and crispy..

Prepararion of the fish:

topshe fish- 5-6 cleaned and descaled
turmeric-3-4 tbsp
onion-ginger paste-4 tbsp
chickpea flour batter-5tbsp dissolved in water without any lumps (note that the batter should not be watery)
salt
oil to deep fry

Rub the fishes with turmeric, onion-ginger paste and salt and keep them aside for an hour before serving.
Make the batter and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan .
When the oil is smoking, dip the fishes in the batter, coat evenly and fry to a golden brown on both sides.
Serve piping hot and.... Enjoy!

Bora r jhal or Lentil Dumpling curry

the dumplings cooking in gravy
Borar Jhal and pea rice
These days I am so much into vegetarian food. I am amazed just how delicious the veggies are without any onion paste or garlic or any other masala paste...Lovely.... isn't it? And healthy too...
The first real taste of authentic vegetarian food ... ie., without any onion or garlic was from Dimma 's (grandmother) kitchen.She was an amazingly talented woman. She sewed the prettiest of table cloths and pillow cases, made the most adorable dolls, embroidered the lovliest designs on bedcovers and knitted the best fitting sweaters during winters. And ...when she cooked..... oh! I have never quite tasted vegetarian food ..the kind she made...so simple yet the best tasting ever.... it was her Hather gun.....I guess....the amazing paturis, cutlets, chochhoris, chenchkis... they just tasted so delicious when she cooked them...
So this humble blog post of is my way of remembering her....

How to make Borar Jhal:

For the dumplings:
matar dal (split pea lentil)- soaked overnight and made into a fine paste ~ 1 cup (the paste must not be runny)
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
salt
oil for frying

For the gravy:
potato- 2 medium sized ones diced
tomato- one large roughly chopped
ginger paste-1 tbsp
cumin seeds-1 tsp
bay leaf-1
garam masala powder-1 tsp
coriander leaves-a handful
green chillies- 3-4 slit
ghee-1/2 tsp
turmeric
oil
salt
sugar

Grind the lentil to a fine paste with salt .Add the cumin seeds. Now heat oil in a fry pan and add one tbsp of the lentil paste to the smoking oil. Fry to golden brown. (Be careful not to make the paste too watery.) Continue frying the dumplings.
Remove and drain the extra oil.
In the remaining oil add the potatoes and lightly fry them.Remove and drain the oil.
Next add the chillies, sugar(a pinch ),cumin seeds and the bay leaf and let them sizzle.
Add the ginger and tomatoes and turmeric. Lower the heat , add a little salt and let the tomatoes soften.
Now add a cup of water, cover and cook until the potaotes are done.
Carefully spoon in the elntil dumplings in the simmering gravy so that they are soaked.
Season with salt and add garam masala. Add the coriander.
Let the dumplings cook in the gravy for a minute or two.
Just before removing from heat stir in a the ghee.
Note that the lentil dumplings soak up all the gravy. So add more water if you want a little jhol(gravy).

Serve hot with pea rice or just white rice or just take it in a bowl and enjoy...just like that!:)

Bata maacher jhal

I love fish. And being a Bengali just any kind of fresh water fish is a favorite. Be it the delicate Bhetki, or the chunky Rui, or the small Tyangra, or the crispy fried Topshe or the seasonal Ilish.....fishes have always been delights.I remember as a child when I would sometimes accompany Baba to the fish market and marvel at the glimmering silvery fishes stacked neatly, people haggling over the prices,some of them expertly commenting on the quality of fish by just touching them....Oh! the fish market was such an interesting place(the fishy smell was a tad dampener though!).
This particular fish Bata as we call it.... is a favourite of mine and Baba's.It is very tasty but if you are not comfortable with fish bones, you migh find it a little difficult . Maach bechhe khaoa.. is the traditional way of eating fishes where you use your hand to separate the flesh from the bones...and Baba taught me that loooong back.....
This country never ceases to surprise me and so of course when I discovered this fish at our fish shop... I was elated....

How to make Bata maacher Jhal:

Bata fish-5-6 cleaned and descaled
turmeric-3 tbsp
mustard oil-about 1/3cup
ground mustard-2 tbsp
nigella-1 tsp
tomatoes-1/2 of a large tomato diced
boris(optional)-a handful fired and kept aside
green chillies- 2 slit
salt

Marinate the fishes with salt and turmeric.
Next fry the fishes in mustard oil until both the sides are browned.
Remove the fishes and drain the excess oil.
In the remaining oil sizzle the chillies and the nigella.
Add turmeric and tomato pieces and mustard paste. When the tomato softens add 1 cup of water.
Let the gravy come ot rolling boil.
Add the fishes and season with salt.
Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes in medium heat. let the gravy dry up a bit.
Add the boris and serve with white rice.... Love it..!

Soupy..!

I remember , whenever we went out for dinners, baba and me would order soups and I wanted only Chicken Sweetcorn soup! I was totally in love with it and it was such a tasty appetizer......healthy yet incredibly tasty. I loved the boiled chicken pieces, the sweet corns and the egg white....
Since then, soups have been a hot favorite.So when C was craving for a hot and sour soup I decided to give it a try at home.... and it turned out fine...

What you need:

chicken stock:1 cup (I used 1 bullion dissolved in 1cup water)
sweetcorn, baby carrot, broccoli, beans- chopped fine 1 cup
chicken-2 tender breast pieces
chinese egg noodles- half of a packet boiled and kept aside
ginger -1 tsp fine paste
pearl onions-2 diced
thai chilli sauce-4-5 tsp
vinegar-1 tsp
soy sauce-1tsp
white oil -2 tbsp
lime juice-2-5 tsp
salt
pepper

Boil the vegetables and keep them aside. Do not overcook them.
Cut out small chicken strips or the way you would like in your soup.
Season with salt and pepper.Fry in medium heat with white oil with the onions and the ginger.
Now in a saucepan , add the chicken stock and 3 more cups of water. Add salt according to taste.
Once the stock comes to a boil add the vegetables and chicken.
Next add the sauces and the vinegar.
Just before removing from heat, add the noodles.
Sprinkle lime juice and serve hot.

Shimai er payesh... or Vermicelli milk pudding

Birthdays always bring back fond memories of home.The nostalgia sets in big time and my mind flies back home. There were no elaborate parties but the food was always there...sumptuous and made with a whole lot of love .
And payesh is one such thing which is definitely my mother's birthday specialties.
Back home we made this traditional Bengali pudding/kheer with rice. But at in-laws place Shimai is preferred instead of rice. And over the last two years I too have grown to love this sweet delicacy.I love to see C's face lighting up when he sees his bowl of payesh.

What you need:

milk (full cream!) -1 lt
gur-1 cup crumbled
chopped cashew-a handful
shimai/vermicelli-1/3 cup
oil/ghee-2 tbsp
sugar-2 tsp

In a saucepan start boiling the milk at low temperature. Careful not to scald the milk at the bottom. This is a long process as the heat is low medium.
Meanwhile add ghee /oil to another pan and lightly fry the shimai until they turn deep brown.
When the milk has reduced to half add the shimai and keep stirring.
When you think it is the desired consistency add the sugar.
Next add the gur/jaggery and let it dissolve into the milk and watch the as the color turns a rich chocolaty brown. Add the gur according to taste... depending on how sweet you want your payesh.And the sugar is added before the gur so that the milk does not curdle even if the gur has some impurities in it.
Remove from heat and add the chopped cashews.
Cool and serve.

So long..... enjoy your payesh... and day dream about home.....!:)

Lau chingri.....and a rainy afternoon

Well no ... not rainy exactly.... but cloudy certainly and very depressingly gloomy....
I was debating whether to have lunch or just have anything that was in the fridge.I usually refrain from keeping cooked food for more than 2 days.(C does not like it) and so usually you will not find anything very edible stored in the fridge other than milk, sauces, jams and raw vegetables.
So very stealthily I opened the fridge praying to find something and there it was..... no no... to be more precise... there was 'nothing'.. readily eatable.... (Poor me!sob!)...
But by then my hunger pangs had grown severe and I decided to cook something that would take me less than 20 minutes.
I fished out a gourd ( half of which we have had two days back) and found a quarter pound of kucho chingri (small shrimps) in the deep freezer.
So there it was Lau Chingri... a very traditional bengali recipe and very light and healthy.
You can spice this up with coconut shavings and boiled bengal gram lentil.... but without these condiments too this dish is simply delectable.

Ingradients:

Bottle gourd: half of a medum sized one peeled , washed and chopped finely
Shrimp: 1/4 lb
Mustard seeds:1/2 tsp
Panch foron:1/2 tsp
light coconut milk:5 tbsp
ginger paste:1 tbsp
dry red chilli:2-3
coriander leaves:a hanful
oil:4 tbsp
salt
sugar

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and lightly saute the shrimp with a pinch of salt.
Set them aside.
Now heat the remaining oil and sizzle the mustard seeds, chiilies and the panch foron.
Add the bottle gourd. Add a pinch of salt and stir.
Now cover the pan ,put the heat on medium and let the gourd cook in its own juices for 7-8 minutes.
When the gourd is soft add the ginger paste and stir again.
Add the shrimps now with the cocnut milk and cover and cook for 2 more minutes.
Now remove the cover and add salt and sugar according to taste.Note that the coconut milk should dry up before you remove form heat.
Add the coriander and serve hot with white rice...YUM!

P.S. Paanch foron is a Bengali spice mix comprising of paanch or 5 spices. This is mainly used for tempering or foron. It comprises of whole
1.Fennel
2.Fenufreek
3.Nigella
4. Mustard (black)
5. Cumin