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“Jai Mata Di”
This is the first post of this New Year at Cook Like a Bong. I wish you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was good too. I went out for a short trip to the Himalayas, specifically to Vaishna Devi. For those who are not aware of this holy Hindu shrine, let me give you a little information. The shrine is one of the holiest temples among Hindus, and one of the few temples where the Goddess is worshipped not in the form of any idol but just a little piece of rock. The shrine is located in the Northern State of Jammu & Kashmir and is a 13km trek from a little hill town called Katra. Vaishno Devi or Mata Rani is a manifestation of the mother goddess. As with all Hindu temples and shrines, the Vaishno Devi temple also has some mythological significance, to know more about those stories here.

Amidst a cloud covered sky we reached Katra. The following morning was our trek to the shrine, but the rains and cold were about to wash out everything. Fighting with all natural hazards we still could make out to our destination with a 6 hour trek – walking and by pony at times. The cloud and fog never let us have a view of the mountains, and we were almost heart broken. The aarti and visit to the shrine was a divine experience. After a long and tiring journey, a visit to the temple really had its charming effect. All done, we were to head back again the next morning. Thanks to the all night rain and little snowfall, the next morning was a wonderful experience. We started our journey when it was still dark, and could see the first rays of sun slowly falling over the snow capped mountain. I have watched this very scene many times at different places, but the first ray of sun turning the snow to gold is always a mesmerizing view. We took a helicopter to come down. It was to save time and also to have a once in a lifetime experience in a helicopter. The trip lasted just 3 days with loads of troubles including cancelled flight, lost items in the flight cargo, rains, cold, wet sweaters, walking bare foot on the ice cold stone steps – these incidents made me feel really bad. But while writing this post, I realized I really enjoyed the trip.

Coming back to food, I just thought of writing about this egg in mustard-poppy paste recipe. I had clicked the photo quite some time back, and was waiting for the right time to post it. The first post for this year, rather this decade seemed to be exactly the right time for it. It is an easy recipe and can be had be one and all.

Serves 4
Preparation time 10min
Cooking time 30min

Ingredients:
Egg (Dim): 4
Potato (Alu): 1, large
Mustard seed (Sarse): 4 tablespoon
Poppy seed (Posto): 4 tablespoon
Onion (Peyaj): 1, medium
Turmeric powder (Hau guro): ½ teaspoon
Chili powder (Lanka guro): 1 teaspoon
Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 10-12 tablespoon
Garam masala: ½ teaspoon
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Preparation:

Hot Tips- If you want to make the gravy spicier then add some more mustard and poppy seeds to the paste.
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A fort night back I had posted with a week’s resource of “Breakfast with egg”. Egg is the best way to have a wholesome and yummy breakfast. Out of these recipes the Mughlai Paratha recipe has become an instant hit.
Talking about eggs, I am sending this photo to Jugalbandi’s Click contest for this month, the theme being Bicolor.

Broken egg
“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked” – Bernard Meltzer
The final recipe for the “Breakfast with eggs” series is Egg roll. I’ve posted six different easy to cook and quick egg recipes for the morning meal. Previous posts in the series:
But I just couldn’t finish the series without a little flavor from the street food of Calcutta (Kolkata). Though many different Asian countries claim for the origin of this dish and among them southern China has the most number of votes, but this particular preparation very well known to everybody who hails from Kolkata or even those who had a visit to the city is typically from the make shift stalls on Kolkata foot paths.
There was one such stall near my dance school called Iceberg (quite contradictory for a joint that sold everything hot), and every month it was a ritual for our gang of friends to have an egg roll from there. I still remember it cost just seven rupees then, but still that was quite expensive for a school-going girl like me. At home, outside food was a taboo and so I always had to cook some stories to have those egg rolls. But alas, eventually mom found out my secret and instead of scolding me I was offered with two egg rolls the next day at tiffin, of course prepared by my mom in her kitchen. School days have passed a long time ago, but I still can’t forget the taste of those road side egg rolls, though my mom’s were quite similar but not that good. My father suggested that the dirt from the road made it taste better.
The egg roll in Kolkata is similar to Frankie of Mumbai and resembles the kathi rolls prepared in many roadside stalls throughout India. Egg roll in Kolkata was probably first introduced by Nizam’s, a very popular restaurant in Kolkata serving Mughlai dishes. Another famous joint serving egg roll in Kolkata is Haji Saheb in Behala (Hazi Saheb for some), it’s my personal request, don’t miss it if you ever visit this place.
Preparation time: 10mins
Cooking time: 8mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Hot tips – You can put in a filling of mashed potatoes seasoned with chili powder and salt or even a filling with chicken or mutton kebab tastes great.
What variety of Egg Roll do you prefer?
Further reading – Nizam’s Kathi Roll, When in Kolkata, Egg Paratha
Nutrition calculator – 1 egg roll
| Calories 580 |
| Total Carbohydrate 46gms |
| Dietary fiber 3.9gms |
| Protein 35gm |
| Total fat 28gms |
| Cholesterol 365mg |
| Sugar 2gms |
| Vitamin A 20% |
| Vitamin C 0% |
| Iron 10% |
| Calcium 8% |
Sending this to NTTC#5 event hosted by Sneh of Gel’s Kitchen.
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“Life is like a sandwich – the more you add to it, the better it becomes.” – Anonymous
Continuing the series on Breakfast with Egg Recipes, we’ll talk about Boiled Egg Sandwich today. [Part 1 was Mughlai Paratha, Part 2 was French Toast, Part 3 was Scrambled Eggs and Part 4 was Banana Pancake].

Sandwich with chips
Sandwich became popular among the European aristocrats during the late 17th century as a late night meal. But the first use of the word “sandwich” was mentioned much later in 19th century. It was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. During Montagu’s long hours of gambling he used to order meat in between two bread slices so as not to grease his hands and spoil the cards. Others saw this, got inspired and started ordering for the same food, eventually calling it sandwich.
As the quote above says, it is very true that the better the filling of the sandwich better is its feeling. The one I prepared was a very simple and quick to cook sandwich. You can check this other variation of egg sandwich. Poached egg seasoned with peppercorn and salt can also be used as a sandwich filling.
Preparation time: 6 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- Bread slices (Pauruti): 6
- Eggs (Dim): 3
- Freshly grounded peppercorn for seasoning
- Salt to taste
- Cheese/ Butter or other fat spread
Preparation:

Boiled Egg Sandwich
Hot Tips – The ideal time to prepare hard boiled eggs is 10mins and then keep those for sometime in cold flowing water. If you want to have a soft boiled egg then just cook for 6 – 8 mins. I used whole wheat bread to prepare the sandwiches; the nutrition count is based on that.
Further readings – Egg potato sandwich, Different sandwich fillings
Nutrition Calculator – 1 sandwich
| Calories 300 |
| Total Carbohydrate 13.7gms |
| Dietary fiber 1.9gms |
| Protein 22.7gm |
| Total fat 16.9gms |
| Cholesterol 635mg |
| Sugar 3.6gms |
| Vitamin A 20% |
| Vitamin C 0% |
| Iron 10% |
| Calcium 8% |
Sandwich on way to Divya’s yummy event on “Show me your sandwich” , NTTC#5 event hosted by Sneh of Gel’s Kitchen and to Neha’s blog for the event CFK: Healthy Lunch boxes.
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“In a big family the first child is kind of like the first pancake. If it’s not perfect, that’s okay, there are a lot more coming along. ” – Antonin Scalia
Continuing the series on Breakfast with Egg Recipes, we’ll talk about Pancake today, Banana Pancake to be precise. [Part 1 was Mughlai Paratha, Part 2 was French Toast and Part 3 was Scrambled Eggs].
What we call pancakes today might have originated more than two millennia ago. It wasn’t like the ones served at our dining table, but was a concoction (mixture) of milk, flour, eggs, and spices, and was called “Alita Dolcia” (Latin for “another sweet”) by the ancient Romans. They were probably prepared on flat rocks smeared with grease. The modern day pancakes were invented in Medieval Europe.
Pancake is also called: hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks in US and Canada; pannekoek in Afrikaans community; Apom Balik in Malay; Ban Chian Kuih in Chinese; chatamaari in Nepal; Blini in Russia.
There are numerous variations of Pancake prepared in different cuisines, based on changes in ingredients (flour, eggs and milk remain constant, rest vary) the cooking implements (flat rocks, hearths, griddles, microwave oven), the look and taste of the final product (thick or thin, spicy or sweet).
In India too, there are several variations of pancake – pitha (or pithy) in Bengal and Assam, Dosa in South, Meetha Pooda in Punjab. We’ll prepare yet another variation, Banana Pancake, today. Get ready for a sweet sensation to the taste buds.
Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 8 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Preparation:

Banana Pancake with toppings
Hot Tips: Banana pan cakes taste great with freshly sliced banana and honey or maple syrup. Along with mashed bananas, other soft fruits like mango, strawberries, blue berries can also be added to the batter. Fruitless pan cakes can also be made; it depends on what you want to put in.
Further Reading – Mango Nutella Pancake, Easy Pancake, Besan ka puda, Banana Pancake Trail
Nutrtion Count - 2 Banana Pancakes
Calories 240 Total fat 7 gms Total Carbohydarte 41gms Cholesterol 20mg Dietary fibre 2gms Sugar 9gms Protein 5gm Vitamin A 2% Vitamin C 8% Calcium 8% Iron 15% Sending this to NTTC#5 event hosted by Sneh of Gel’s Kitchen and also to the event Heart of the Matter hosted by Michelle, this month’s theme being “Budget-Friendly Foods.” .“Twenty-four-hour room service generally refers to the length of time that it takes for the club sandwich to arrive. This is indeed disheartening, particularly when you’ve ordered scrambled eggs.”
Fran Lebowitz
Looks like the series Breakfast with Egg recipes is well received by the readers. Each of Part 1 (Mughlai Paratha) and Part 2 (French Toast) has received over 50 views. Thanks for the encouragement. Continuing the series, this post will talk about Scrambled Eggs (Jhudi bhaja, or Dimer Bhujia in Bengali).

Scrambled egg
Interestingly, scrambled egg was the alternate name for Beatles record winning song “Yesterday” from the album Help! I couldn’t figure out why Paul McCartney named the song so. Talking about origin of scrambled egg, WikiAnswer page says that it originated in Ireland, and that too because of a mere accident.
Scrambled egg, though a very easy-to-cook preparation, has different versions spread throughout the world. In India, there are at least two styles – the Parsi style called Akoori and Anda bhurji in Punjab.
In Europe and America scrambled egg is prepared whisking milk and egg together with little salt and frying it in butter till the eggs coagulate. Though the basic ingredient, egg remains the same while the other constituents (herbs and spices) vary with geography. Parsis add cumin, mint, ginger, garlic and many other herbs to their most popular traditional dish, Akoori, while in Nigerian cuisine the scrambled egg is made with thyme, green pepper and fried in ground nut oil.
The one I prepared was a simple one with little amount of herbs and spices in it. You can prepare this sumptuous breakfast with herbed cheese spread over brown bread and the smoking scrambled egg.
Preparation time: 5mins
Cooking time: 5mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Hot Tips: To make the breakfast heavy you can add minced meat, bacon, cottage cheese and/or shredded cheese, or anything you like.
Further Reading – Scrambled egg with Cavier, Anda Bhruji, Akoori Masala Dosa
Do you know of any other version of Scrambled Eggs?
Sending this Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Lynne of Cafe Lynnlu and to NTTC#5 event hosted by Sneh of Gel’s Kitchen.
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“An Egg today is better than a Hen tomorrow.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Yesterday, we started the series Breakfast with Eggs Recipes. Today, we’ll present French Toast (Part 1 was Mughlai Paratha).
French toast is a very popular breakfast in the Western world, but with globalization, French toast has become a part of our cuisine too, albeit with some variations. A little research on the web revealed some interesting facts about the dish.
The French toast made in Europe and America contains milk along with eggs as one of the main ingredients for soaking the bread slices. They even use cinnamon, granulated sugar as addendum, and have it with Maple or any other syrup. Here’s a googly – French toast isn’t necessarily of French origin. It finds its earliest mention in a 4th century Roman cookbook – Apicius. Frying the day old stale bread solved the problem for unappetizing crunchy bread. The book, apparently, is arranged in a manner similar to modern cookbooks.

French Toast
Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Hot tip: To reduce the calorie intake, you can use brown bread instead of milk bread.
Further reading – French toast, Wiki, Cheftalk, Baked French toast
French toast on way to NTTC#5 event hosted by Sneh of Gel’s Kitchen.
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“We plan, we toil, we suffer – in the hope of what? A camel-load of idol’s eyes? The title deeds of Radio City? The empire of Asia? A trip to the moon? No, no, no, no. Simply to wake just in time to smell coffee and bacon and eggs.”
~J.B. Priestly
The wikipedia defines an egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of any number of different species, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves. Most edible eggs, including bird eggs and turtle eggs, consist of a protective, oval eggshell, the albumen (egg white), the vitellus (egg yolk), and various thin membranes. Every part is edible, although the eggshell is generally discarded. Nutritionally, eggs are considered a good source of protein and choline.

In an (Egg) shell
Well, that’s hardly why we eat Eggs though. Simply put, we eat eggs because we love ‘em. Eggs taste good, are a great source of protein (and amino acids) and most of all, are easy to cook. Traditionally, Bengalis (or for that matter, Indians) didn’t have non vegetarian breakfast. With times, food habits have changed too. Boiled eggs, bread omlette, scrambled/poached eggs are a routine these days.
Starting today, this blog will feature egg recipes for breakfast. These easy 15 (or max 20) minutes easy to cook recipes will help folks who stay alone (office goers/students) and mommies who have a hard time finding that illusive nutritional, easy-to-cook, and tasty breakfast for their kids. We’ll present dishes where egg is present but isn’t necessarily the main ingredient. We start with Mughlai Paratha today.
Mughlai Paratha, as the name suggests, should have dated back from the Mogul (Mughal) days, though we couldn’t find its history in the web. The filling can be of many things, keema (minced meat), potato etc along with other ingredients.
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 12mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Refined flour (Maida): 1 cup
Eggs (Dim): 2
Grated coconut (Narkel korano): ½ cup
Onion (Peyaj): 1 medium, finely chopped
Ginger Garlic paste (Ada rasun bata): 1 tablespoon
Green chili (Kacha lanka): 2, chopped
Sunflower oil (Sada tel) to fry
Salt to taste

Mughlai Paratha Preparation
Preparation:

Mughlai Paratha Ready
Further Reading – Peter Cherches, Wiki How, Mughlai Cuisine
Mughlai Paratha goes to NTTC#5 event hosted by Sneh of Gel’s Kitchen.
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I received 43 recipes, and the links for all are listed below. The recipes are ordered in the way I recieved, the first one being mentioned first.
Choose the best recipe you like, and note it in the comments below.
To see the photos of the recipes click on the photo below:
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| Event on Eggs |
I went through some of the links in the web to know more about chow mein and people\’s love towards this platter. Wiki had lots of things to contribute to the cause. One sentence caught my eyes which said that the chowmein was introduced by the Chinese in Kolkata. That was something I had no clue, though I had had noodles at the China Town in Kolkata lots of times.
Ingredients:
Chow mein noodles: 2 whole packets
Cauliflower (Ful kopi): 1 medium bowl of small florets
Carrot (Gajor): 2 medium sizes
Green pepper (Capsicum): 1
Potato (Alu): 1 medium size
Onion (Peyaj): 1 medium size
Egg (Dim): 2
Sunflower oil (Sada tel): 2 tablespoons
Soya sauce: 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Preparation:

I had added cauliflower, potatoes, carrot and green pepper. If you like you can also other vegetable of choice. Along with eggs you can also shredded chicken or fried prawns. If you are a vegetarian then just leave out the non-vegan ingredients.
Check out for more updates here, till then Happy Cooking and Happy Eating
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