The urban dictionary defines the word “Father” as the guy who criticizes you for everything you do, and never admits that he is wrong. But whether you admit it or not, fathers’ are the best support. He was there during your first knee bruise, your first breakup and even to celebrate your graduation.  And, of course fathers are the ATMs (read, all-time money). It’s just a month left to celebrate a day for this awesome man. Father’s day is generally celebrated on the third Sunday of June in some countries and in other dates in the different parts of the world.

It would be interesting to know how Father’s Day came into practice and celebrated worldwide with an equal sincerity and respect as any other significant holidays. Here’s a short history on the holiday, and meaning of the different colors of roses to be worn that Day. You may even refer the page to others to share the information by clicking on the link given below.

About 4,000 years ago a young boy named Elmusu wished his Babylonian father good health and a long life by carving a Father’s Day message on a card made out of clay. No one knows what happened to Elmesu or his father, but the tradition of having a special day honoring fathers has continued through the years in countries across the world.

The Countries, where the Catholic Church were of significant influence on the culture of the society, Father’s Day is celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day (March 19). However, a more secular celebration which is not associated with any religion is followed in recent times to highlight the increased diversity among people from all over the globe coexisting together in one place.

Father’s Day is celebrated popularly on 3rd Sunday in June in many parts of the world. The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. President Nixon, in 1972, established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father’s Day was born as a token of love and gratitude that a daughter cherishes for her beloved father. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.

Just a month to go for Father’s Day and we at Cook Like a Bong are here to celebrate with you all. Send in your dad’s favorite recipes, your stories about your father, and any gift ideas for the day, or just send a photo of yours with your father – we’ll publish here on Father’s Day (19^th June, 2011).

Blogger friends can write about it in your blog adding a link to this post, and we’ll be happy if you use this logo in your posts. Non-bloggers can send in your entries directly to us as a .doc file. The image size must be less than 80Kb.

Send in your entries to bengalicuisine[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject line  “Father’s Day entry”. The last date for sending your entries is midnight 15^th June PST. The best entry will win a surprise gift from Cook Like a Bong.

Mention your

• Name:
• Blog Name:
• Type of entry: Recipe/Stories/Gift Ideas/Photos
• Blog URL:
• Post URL:
• Attach the photo along with the mail.

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All thanks to Lakshmi and Mallika Basu for this wonderful event. The event was originally started by Zlamuska and now carried on by Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles. All my thanks to Lakshmi for letting me host this event. And, of course a many thanks to Mallika for letting us borrow her recipes. She is the proud author of Miss Masala (you can get the book from Flipkart and Amazon). Here’s the list of entries for this wonderful event:

Ksenia of Tales of a Spoon has sent us a Jeera aloo recipe.

The Goan Prawn Masala recipe comes from Swetha of Our Cherished World and the Goan Shrimp Masala from Denny of Oh Taste n See.

Talking about the most prized possession of the Bengali culinary art, Kankana Saxena of Sunshine & Smile has shared the recipe for Fish Curry in Bengali Style

How can we neglect the harvest of the winter season, Gobhi Matar comes from Anamika of Taste Junction.

Curry Leaf of TastyCurryLeaf has shared the recipe for Tamatar Shorba.

To end with a sweet note, here’s Usha of MySpicKitchen sharing the recipe for Bhapa Doi, Bengali Cheese Cake

You can find the original links to Mallika’s Quick and Easy Indian Cooking blog down here:

• Jeera Aloo
• Goan Prawn Masala
• Fish Curry in Bengali style
• Tamatar Shorba
• Bhapa Doi, Bengali Cheese Cake

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I am very honored to declare that Cook Like a Bong will be hosting this month’s Tried and Tasted event. The event was originally started by Zlamuska and now carried on by Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles. All my thanks to Lakshmi for letting me host this event.

For this edition of the event, we have chosen the Quick Indian Cooking blog. The blog is hosted by a very dear lady, Mallika Basu. Mallika started this blog back in September 2006 and had been spreading the spices and charms of Indian cuisine since then. You can choose from a variety of recipes from her blog including vegetarian, fish, chicken, and mutton recipes. She also is the proud author of Miss Masala (you can get the book from Flipkart and Amazon).

The rules are simple:

1. Cook any recipe from Mallika’s Quick Indian Cooking and post about it. Stay as true to the original recipe(s) as possible. Therefore, there is no need for re-posting it, simply link to the original post.
2. There is no time-frame for the original recipe. It can be as old as my grand-mother or new ones.
3.Have you cooked from Blog of the month before? As this event is all about tasting and reflecting on the taste, older posts are also welcome. Simply link to this post and mention T&T event.

4. Link your post to this announcement and to the Lakshmi’s post . Please always link to both sites, so both blogs are given credit and you are avoiding copyright issues. We would love to see the event logo on your post.

5. Send an e-mail to bengalicuisine[at]gmail[dot]com with the following details-

• Your name
• Name of your blog
• Recipe name
• Your post URL as well as the original URL
• A picture (300px by height, please).

6. The last date for entries is January 20, 2011 and the round up will be posted within a week.

7. Non-bloggers are more than welcome to participate. Simply e-mail me with your experience of what you cooked and if possible please include a picture.

A special thanks to Ksenia for creating our Logo each and every month.

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In addition to the entries listed for the Cooking with Seeds – Poppy event, here’s some more.

Biscuits with dates from Jayasri of Samayal Arai

Aloo Posto (Potatoes in Poppy Seeds Paste) from Arundhati of  My Saffron Kitchen

White Vegetable Korma from Denny of  Oh Taste n See

And, last but not the least an entry from a non-blogger friend, Subit Datta. I am writing the recipe for Papaya with Poppy Seeds here.

1. Grate a small papaya.

2. Make two tablespoon poppy seeds into paste with 1/2 green chillies.

3. Heat  one and a half tablespoon vegetable oil in a non-stick pan.

4. Put in 1/2 teaspoon onion seeds (kalojeerey).

5. Add grated papaya. Add salt. Cover and cook.

6. Add poppy seed paste. Keep stirring till dry.

7. Garnish with green chillies.

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Poppy is one of the oldest recorded spices in the world. It’s used in various culinary and medicinal purposes. It is obtained from the poppy opium (Papaver somniferum) plant. As mentioned in the wiki page of poppy seeds, the plant had been grown by the Sumerians. Poppy has also been mentioned in Egyptian papyrus scrolls as early as 1550 B.C.

Poppy was at first used as a sedative and then as a spice. But, this kidney shaped seed with its unmatched taste and aroma has stolen the hearts of thousands of foodies across the world. So, when I got to host the Cooking with Seeds event, the brain child of Priya of Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes, I chose poppy.

Poppy is extensively used in Bengali cuisine. Starting from stir fried poppy paste with a little garlic and salt to the famous alu-posto and dim posto sorse. Be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish poppy finds its place everywhere in Bengali preparation.

I have categorized the entries into four different classes depending on the type of the dish and without further ado here’s the list. Hope you enjoy it.

Vegetarian:

Nithu Bala of Nithu’s Kitchen –
Beetroot Kurma

Priya of Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes –
Sprouted Kala Channa Kurma,
Bittergourd Masala,
Broad Beans & Potato Stir fry,
Banana Blossom Dumplings Gravy

Roshan of Roshan’s Cucina –
Green Pea Kurma

Pavanisrikanth  of FoodLovers–
Aloo Kurma

Sangeetha of Sangi’s food world –
Potato pakoda kuruma

Preethi Ram of Preethi’s Culinary –
Navratna Kurma

Non – Vegetarian:

Roshan of Roshan’s Cucina –
(Tomato Pilaf with) Mughlai Chicken

Nandini of Nandini’s Food Page –
Fish Kurma
Egg Masala

Desserts:

Sangeetha of Sangi’s food world –
Poppy seed Almond Basundi

Priya of Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes –
Poppy Seeds Kheer

Jaya of Tamalapaku –
Pala Poli

Nandini of Nandini’s Food Page –
Bottlegourd and Moong Dal Payasam/Kheer

Miscellaneous:

Ayantika Ghosh of Eat Drink n Rock –
Jam filled poppy seed cookies

Priya of Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes–
Poppyseeds & Quinoa Spice Powder

Gayathri of Gayathri’s Cook Spot–
Poppy Seeds Dinner Rolls

Tanvi of Sinfully Spicy –
Bengali Beet Chops

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“Sarat kal” – does that ring any bell? Of course it does. Other than the brilliant blue sky dotted with soft white clouds it’s that time of the year when you let go of all worries and enjoy the four days of Durga Puja. For our non-Bong friends, Sarat kal is the autumn season according to the Bengali calendar. Durga Puja, doesn’t only mean worshipping the goddess of feminine power, but a lot more – shopping before the puja, pandal hopping during the four days, and of course eating and eating and more eating.

I’m sure you all have left your health conscious souls at home and gorged on the wonderful street foods. I just can’t think about passing a puja without gulping on some phuchkas (fuchka) and biting on egg rolls. What’s your Puja special dish, do let us know?

Just after Durga Puja is Lakshmi puja. The goddess of wealth and well being is ushered to almost every Bengali household (though some people worship the goddess on Kali Puja day). This year Lakshmi Puja will be celebrated tomorrow.

After numerous calls, e-mails, wall posts and scraps from friends from all over the globe, I decided on posting something which is specially made for this occasion – murki and mowa (pronounced as moa).

Murki is made from a special variety of puffed rice called Khoi in Bengali and is mixed with molasses or gur. Mowa on the other hand can be prepared with Khoi, mudi or even chidde. Here’s how my mom prepares both these two sweet ambrosia. The basic method of preparation is the same.

Ingredients:

For murki:

½ kg of Puffed Rice (Khoi)

250gms of Molasses/ Jaggery (Gur)

Preparation:

• Start stirring the jaggery over low heat.
• As it turns sticky and sticks to the back of the ladle, take out of flame
• Pour of the khoi and mix well
• Keep aside in air tight container

For mowa:

• Take about 350gms of jaggery
• Mix the jaggery and khoi/muri/chidde together
• With the help of your palm make big balls
• Store in air tight containers

Mowa is still in the making, will put up the photo as soon as its done.

Don’t forget to have a copy of our Festive recipe e-book and the October calendar. And do send in your entries to the ongoing event Cooking with Seeds – Poppy, a brain child of Priya from Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes.

If you like this post, please consider linking to it or sharing it with others. I’ll love to hear your comments too. You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

Poppy: The Gastronomic King

Poppy is one of the most widely used spices or rather seeds in any cuisine. The seeds though tiny have a huge influence in art of the gastronomy. As the wiki page on poppy rightly claims poppy had been essentially grown for medicinal purposes as a sedative, but more for its famous counterpart, the cuisine delights.

Poppy in Cuisine

Uses of poppy seeds find its preliminary element as a classic add-on to buttered egg noodles, fruit salad dressings and fragrant yeast breads. Poppy seeds lend a nutty flavor and texture to cookies, cakes, breads, strudels, pastry crusts and pancake, including even waffle batters. The seeds of the poppy plant are used extensively in and on umpteen food delights such as bagels, bialys, muffins or cakes and not to forget the famous alu posto (patato in poppy paste). The seeds can be crushed to manufacture poppy seed oil, which can vastly be employed in cooking. The primary flavor compound for poppy is 2-pentylfuran.

Poppy  – The healthy seed

Poppy seeds add a distinct flavor and taste to food. But that is not the only reason why they are consumed; poppy seeds provide quite a number of health benefits too. Poppy seeds are considered to be an excellent source of vital minerals like magnesium, zinc, calcium, etc. that are needed for the smooth functioning of all human organs. As they provide the body with a good source of carbohydrates, they add loads of energy in the body. The fatty acids aid in digestion as well as supplying other important acids required to break down food in the stomach. Poppy seeds contain linoleic acid and oleic acid. Linoleic acid protects the heart from many heart diseases and conditions, while oleic acid is known to help in prevention of breast cancer. Calories in poppy seeds is also comparatively less than other spices and herbs.

As it does not contain a lot of alkaloids, one of the poppy seeds nutrition facts is that it is used to treat all kinds of nervous disorders. It is given in minimum quantities to treat insomnia. It also helps to alleviate asthma and whooping cough symptoms. It is also used to treat diarrhea and other stomach related conditions. Its use in medicinal products and medicines is highly regulated though. Oil extracted from poppy seeds is also used to make drugs and medicines.

Poppy – The Event

With all these benefits in mind and also for its wonderful taste, when I thought of being a part of Priya’s Cooking with Seeds series, I instantly chose poppy to be the theme for this month. All through this month we’ll be hosting the Cooking with Seeds event, the brain child of Priyasuresh of Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes.

Send in your entries to bengalicuisine [at] gmail [dot] com with the following details and “Cooking with Seeds – Poppy” in the subject line:

• Name:
• Prepared dish:
• URL of the recipe:
• Name of website/blog:
• URL of your site:
• Image of the prepared recipe:

Entries will be accepted throughout this month till 31st October, 2010 12 midnight IST.

The entries can be recently posted during this month or can also be archived posts, but please update your posts with a link to Cook Like a Bong and Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes. We’ll love if you can add this logo to your posts.

Those of who don’t have a blog please send in your entries to the above email-id along with your details and the recipes. We’ll put up the recipe as a guest post in our site and include those on the round-up to be published in the first week of November.

We would love to know your suggestions and comments. Don’t forget to have a copy of our Festive recipe e-book and the October calendar.

If you like this post, please consider linking to it or sharing it with others. I’ll love to hear your comments too. You can also Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email, or Subscribe in a reader

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Wish you all a very Happy Holi

Enjoy the Spring festival with colors. Some snapshots from my neighborhood this morning

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Subscribe to BengaliCuisine by Email

Thank you all for your great response at the first part of Monthly Mingle RoundUp and as promised here comes the second part of roundup. Of the five different categories – soups, bakes, fruits, sides and others, I have posted the former two yesterday and here’s the last three. Which one did you like most?

Fruits

Oz of Kitchen Butterfly is crazy about poached pears, and so is her husband. So no points for guessing this one, she sent a wonderful Simply delicious pear recipes served with creamy rice pudding

When most of us are braving the winter chill (and some even hails), Quinn of Quinn’s Baking Diary is having a hard time in Australia coping with the mercury rising as high as 41̊C. That didn’t turn her down and here she is with a Roasted Corella Pears with Vanilla Bean & Lemon for the event.

Soma of e-Curry has brought the colors of her recent Disney world in her kitchen, if you don’t agree check out Moroccan Carrot & Orange Salad which says it all with those vibrant shades.

My Experiments & Food has a healthy Grape Raita to serve.

Sides

Spinach and Popeye are inseparable indeed. That’s what Shankari of Sacrameto Spice has to share with us – Sauteed Spinach with Raisins & Pine Nuts

Indrani of Appayan has a list of all the veggies that supply you with the nutrients just right for this dry and chilling winter. She puts in all to make this wholesome Bengali Winter Vegetable Medley

Another vegetable medley – Bandhakopi Palang Kablir ghonto from another Bong cook, Jayashree of Spice and Curry

Santhy Sankar of Appetite Treats enjoys the US winter with a Cauliflower Stir Fry

Coaxing her children to eat greens Deeba of Passionate About Baking has some colorful recipe to share with us, it’s a Chargrilled Broccoli with Chilli & Garlic

Herbs are an integral part of the winter market. Nandini of Usha Nandini’s Recipes had this spicy Masala Beans with Fenugreek leaves and Vegetables with Almonds to share

Shama of Easy to Cook Recipes had three recipes in mind – Green Pigeon Peas, Butter beans curry and Mochhai curry/ Field beans curry

Koki of Cooking With Koki has sent a lovely dish for the event – Pachai Mochai kootu as a part of her four day celebration of Pongal.

Kalva of Curry In Kadai started her new year with a lovely Moms Spicy Vegetable Kurma.

Enough of vegan. Lets take a short break and enjoy Chicken Saag, a chicken preparation with seasonal herbs, by Arundhuti of Gourmet Affair.

Others

Solange of Pebble soup had sent a lovely Risotto al Cavolfiori for the event.

Noodles can only mean Chinese. But ask Sudha of Malaysian Delicacies, she has something else in mind, a Noodles in Gravy (Mee Rebus Johor)

Well, you can’t talk about winter in North India without referring to Winter special-makke di roti and sarson da saag. Pari of Foodelicious has rightly contributed this all in one healthy delicacy.

Faiza of Faiza Ali’s Kitchen has prepared a Mexican dip, Guacamole for this occasion. Try it this winter along with chips or quesadillas.

Want to have a real treat? Try this Cauliflower Patties with Coriander from Graziana of Erbe in cucina (Cooking with herbs)

Well, enough heavy recipes here, lets have a cold drink. A Grape juice from the Kanchan of Kitchen Gossip

Which one did you like?

Here’s the photos of all the entries for this event:

Monthly Mingle – Winter Fruits and Vegetables

Ongoing Events

Don’t forget to take part in

• Salad Carnival ending February 14
• Healthy Fast Food event, ends February 5th. This event is being hosted by Radhika at her blog and I am the co-host

Do send in your lovely entries for the events

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A month earlier, I announced Monthly Mingle for Winter Fruits and Vegetables. I’m kicked with the response – 34 entries from 32 bloggers of 13 countries. Read on for a sumptuous winter treat.

A note of thanks

Since I started food blogging back in April 2008, Meeta had been an inspiration with her posts and photographs quality. So, when she agreed to let me to host her already famous monthly blog event – Monthly Mingle, I got excited. Meeta even designed the logo for the current event. Meeta, can’t thank you enough.

Event Theme

Choosing the event theme wasn’t easy. I being the 23^rd blogger to host this event, you can pretty much assume that almost all types of food and accompaniments have been covered earlier. This being Winter, so thought of a very simple theme – Winter Fruits and Vegetables.

The Round up

I’ve tried to group the entries into 5 categories – Soups, Bakes, Fruits, Sides and Others. Due to post length, I’ve split the round up into two posts. Part 1 will talk about Soups and Bakes.

Which one did you like?

Soups

A potato and carrot soup from Divya of Dil Se, just perfect for the chilly winter evenings.

Tigerfish of Teczape- An Escape of Food had something else in mind. She thought of a good heart-healthy seasonal soup for winter. Best way to use the seasonal produces in her Kale Winter Vegetable Soup with Salmon and Tofu.

Aoife of The Daily Spud found a little hope to cope with the ice cold winters of Ireland with this wonderful Ukranian soup called Borscht, which she learned from a cookery lesson in Moscow school cafeteria.

PJ of Ginger & Garlic has a thick and spicy soup to share with us, the name Parsnip soup with kale and roasted garlic says it all.

Sarah of Maison Cupcake, UK has a healthy and ‘immediate’ soup to cater in this winter, the Immediate Butternut Squash and Chestnut Soup is good deal to pamper your taste buds.

Though that’s not what we mean when we say ‘soup’, but the Mango Cauliflower Rasam from Ruchika of Ruchika Cooks is a must have for all of us who would like to drink healthy this winter.

Bakes

With winter, comes Christmas bells and with comes the delicious Christmas cakes. Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasure has something special to share, it’s a Cranberry upside down cake.

Joanne of Eats Well With Others took a new year resolution of not bringing back breads to home, the only breads allowed inside her kitchen are the ones prepared solely by her. Here’s her first step. She sends an amazing Fried Eggs on Toast with Cheddar and Avocado.

This French lady, Gaelle of WhatAreYouFeedingYourKidsTheseDays is happy to serve her family with a simple yet delicious dish, the Gratin of Baked Winter Vegetables. It’s an adapted version of a very traditional French dish that was perfect for the freezing temperatures of Philadelphia: a Gratin Dauphinois (baked potatoes).

Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey? sent a lovely looking Kohlrabi Turnip Gratin, never thought turnip would look so tempting.

Saveur from The Taste Space has a wholesome dessert to serve – Apple Cranberry Oat Crumble.

Nandini of Usha Nandini’s Recipes dared to add some oranges to her biscuits, and look what she has got – flower shaped Orange Biscuits (note the beautiful orange tinge).

Further Reading: Think Spice -Think Turmeric, Eggs, Festival of Rice Part 1, Part 2, Sweet Tooth, Non Veggie

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