Cook like a Bong » veg

Khichudi

Sudeshna Banerjee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 06:36:15 +0000

Khichudi, the name reminds me of those rainy days and rainy nights. Khichudi had always taken a special soft corner in my heart. Mom used to cook it whenever it started and rain means no going out and so everybody at home. The whole family waiting impatiently for the hot and yummy porridge to be served at the dining table. I especially remember one night. It was raining cats and dogs; mom was very ill that night and couldn’t even get up from bed. But we were all in full mood to enjoy khichudi. So what to do? The answer came from my dad, let’s prepare it ourselves. Hearing that my mom started screaming, here to mention at that time my dad was a terrible cook, though with the passage of time and because of his transferable job he has learnt a lot about cooking. Now let’s go back to that night. So here we were me and my dad in the kitchen preparing porridge. That night at last we had to call a nearby restaurant to deliver food, that porridge was absolutely burnt and had to throw away everything.

Khichudi with potato fry

Days have passed, a lot has changed, but still I can’t separate monsoon rain and porridge. I have learnt to prepare it myself and so whenever it rains, you can smell khichudi in my kitchen. Oh! I missed out something. To make this delicacy something more special don’t you forget to fry those hilsa pieces or at least an omelet. This combination is just awesome.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Rice (Chal): 150 gm

Pulses (Massor dal): 150 gm

Turmeric powder (Halud Guro): 1 teaspoon

Chilli powder (Sukhno Lankar guro): 1 teaspoon

Onions (Peyaj): 3

Garlic (Rasun): 4 /6 cloves

Ginger paste (Aada Bata)

Panch Phoron: 1 teaspoon

Green chilli (Kacha Lanka): 2/3 pieces

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Preparation:

So we are ready with the ingredients, now before we start just a few word. Cut one of the onions into half and the other two julienned. You can add some vegetables like potato , cauliflower (cut into small florets), carrot, peas, etc.

Wash the rice and dal together.
Take water in a handi and heat it just for 2 minutes.powder,
Add the rice, dal, half cut onion, garlic cloves, vegetables, turmeric powder, chilli green chilli and salt.
Now leave it and let it cook by itself.
Add water whenever required.
When the rice is almost cooked, heat oil in an wok and add the left out onions and panch phoron. Sauté it.
Add this to the cooked rice.
Then cook the rice for 2 minutes more and your porridge is ready to serve.

Khichudi with ladies finger fries
You can have it with any kind of fries, or even with chutney and papad (poppadam). There are some more ways to cook porridge, check out my following posts to find out how.

Tips: Porridge tends to become very dry, so before you take it out of the stove ensure that it has not become too dry and so leave out some water.

Panchmeshali Tarkari

Kalyan Banerjee — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:27:49 +0000

Here I am at my father’s place and enjoying all kinds of Bengali dishes cooked by mom. She is preparing all kinds of dishes that I love. Tonight was as usual one of my favorite platters at the dinner table. It’s a mixed vegetable curry cooked in without any kind of spices and is a delight to have as a light dinner or as a breakfast side dish along with paratha or roti. So this one to all you people who loves to shed off that extra carbs.

Ingredients:

Ridge Gourd (Jhinga) : 50gms

Pumpkin (Kumro): 50gms

Radish (Mulo): 50gms

Potato (Aalu): 50gms

Italian flat beans (Sheem): 50gms

Brinjal (Begun): 50gms

Green chilli (Kacha Lanka): 2 / 3 pieces

Mustard oil (Sarser tel): 2 teaspoons

Wild celery (Radhuni): 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves (Dhone pata): for garnishing

Preparation:

Slice the vegetables in 2 inch small slices.
Take the oil in a wok and add the radhuni to it. Sauté for 30 seconds and add the sliced vegetables.
As the oil gets mixed up with the vegetables, add water and salt.
Boil the vegetables till they become soft. Add more water if required.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
Serve with rice, roti, paratha.

You can add other vegetables like beans, gourd, etc. Happy cooking and happy eating till next time.

Ful Kopir Tarkari

Sudeshna Banerjee — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:19:51 +0000

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Serves: 4

Winter has gone away, but it has still left us with many vegetables to feel that dry cold winter afternoons. Cauliflower is one with which you can experiment out a lot many things. For today is the most simple one, I would be writing about the some more recipes with cauliflower in my following posts.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower (full kopi): 1 medium size

Potato (aalu): 2 pieces

Tomato: 1

Green chilli (kacha lanka): 3 / 4

Turmeric powder (haluder guro): ¼ tea-spoons

Chilli powder (sukhno lankar guro): 1 tea-spoon

Ginger paste (aada bata): 1 tea-spoon

Cumin seeds (gota jeera): 1 tea-spoon

Cumin powder (jeera guro): 1 ½ tea-spoon

Mustard oil (sarser tel): 2 table-spoons

Salt to taste

The Ingredients

Preparation:

Cut the cauliflower in 1“ size florets and the potatoes also of the same size.
Pour oil in a wok and fry the cauliflower and the potatoes separately. Keep aside.
Add the cumin seeds to the heated oil and let it fry a bit.
To it add the ginger paste and the tomato, cut into one-fourth.
Take 2 table-spoons of water in a small bowl. Add the cumin, chilli and turmeric powder and make a smooth batter. Add this to the wok. Cook for 1 minute.
When the gravy starts boiling add the fried cauliflower and potatoes.
Cook till they become soft. In between add little water for the vegetables to cook well.
Serve hot with rice, roti, paratha.

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Potato Tibetan Style

Sudeshna Banerjee — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:06:32 +0000

Hi, had been writing about Bengali cuisine all these time, so just thought of changing your taste a bit. There was a Nepali cook at my place a long time ago; he used to cook the potato in Tibetan style.

Well I was in school then and this had been my lunch during the break for many a days. It tasted so good with roti or paratha. All my class mates used to run behind me to have a spoonful of the curry.

So here it goes for you all.

Ingredients:

Potato (aalu): 5 large ones, peeled and cut into dices of 1 inches size

Onion (peyaj): 1 finely chopped

Fenugreek powder (methi guro): ½ tea-spoons

Garlic (rasun): 2 cloves finely chopped

Ginger paste (aada bata): 1 tea-spoon

Turmeric powder (halud guro): ¼ tea-spoons

Tomato: 2 medium sized

Olive oil: 2 table-spoons

Green chilli (kacha lanka): 3

Preparation:

Sauté the fenugreek seeds in a pan until they become golden brown.
To it add the chilli, garlic, ginger paste, and onions. Fry till the onion wilts.
Cut the tomato in quarters and add along with the turmeric powder. Fry for 1 or 2 minutes more.
Add the whole sautéed masala in a blender and puree until it becomes smooth.
Boil the potatoes and fry little.
Add the puree and gently cook for a minute.
Serve with roti or paratha or just have it over an evening chat.

Potato Tibetan Style
If you don’t want to add olive oil , then cook it with sunflower or mustard oil also. You can also add some coriander over it as a garnishing just before serving.

Happy cooking.

Aalur Malaikari

Sudeshna Banerjee — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:35:38 +0000

Serves 6

Thanks all for making my post in the 100 hits list of blogs. So lets have something special one this occasion. It goes to those potato lovers, who still don’t give a damn to the extra weight. For those who really do, you can sacrifice that for a day and try this out.

Ingredients:

Potato (aalu): 8 big ones

Onions (peyaj): 4 medium sized

Ginger paste (aada bata): 2 table-spoons

Garlic (rasun): 6 cloves

Curd (doi): 200ml

Coconut milk (narkeler dudh): 1 ½ cup

Garam masala (only Elaichi and cardamon)

Green chilli (kachaa lanka): 4

Turmeric powder (halud guro): 1 tea-spoon

Coriander leaves (dhone pata): for garnishing

Sunflower oil: 3 table-spoons

Preparation:

Cut the potatoes in halves and boil them without peeling. Ones they soften take them out and peel them off. Keep aside.
Heat the oil in kadai. Add the elaichi and cardamom, sauté for a minute.
Add the onions, garlic, and ginger paste. Fry till the onions become golden brown.
Add the boiled potatoes and fry. Add salt and turmeric powder. You can avoid turmeric if you don’t want to make the curry colored.
When the potatoes become half fried add the whipped curd and cook for 2/3 minutes.
Add coconut milk and leave it for the gravy to become bit dry.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with roti, luchi, parota, or the all time Bengal favorite rice.

If you don’t want to make it vegetarian , i.e, without onions, then just avoid oinions and garlic.

Badha Kopir Tarkari

Sudeshna Banerjee — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:40:28 +0000

Serves: 4

Its Monday today, most of the houses prefer to vegetarian food, no difference at my place too. So cooked cabbage today and of course Bengali style. My maternal gets a credit for this, she cooks this dish, just too well. I have never tasted somebody cook better badha kopir tarkari than her.

There are lots of option to make it spicier and tastier, I will start with the basic requirements and eventually add the addendums.

Ingredients:

Cabbage (Bandha Kopi): 1 medium sized

Ginger paste (Aada bata): 2 table spoons

Potatoes (aalu) : 2/3, diced to make 4 pieces out of each

Tomato: 1 big

Turmeric powder (Haluder guro): 1 tea-spoon

Cumin powder (Jeera guro): 1 table-spoon

Chilli powder (Sukhno lankar guro): 1 ½ tea-spoon

Green chilli (kacha lanka): 2

Sugar (Chini): 1 tea-spoon

Bay leaves (tej pata): 2

Garam masala: ½ tea-spoons

Mustard oil(Sarser tel): 3 table-spoons

Optional items:-

Peas (matorsuti): ½ cup

Macher matha: 1

Preparation:

Boil the cabbage till it become soft. Drain out the excess water and keep the cabbage aside.
Heat oil in a kadai, fry the diced potatoes and keep apart.
Heat oil in the kadai , and add the ginger paste, bay leaf, tomato and just sauté.
Add the cabbage and the potatoes and just let it cook by itself. Put a lid over the kadai for faster cooking.
Check after 5/6 minutes whether the potatoes have softened, if not then add little water.
Cook in simmering flame and turn it around after regular intervals so that it doesn’t stick to the base of the kadai.
You can add the peas and let the whole curry to dry as much as possible without letting it to stick to the bottom.
If you want to add something non-veg to it then go ahead. Fry the smashed fish head and add it to the cabbage and let it cook.
When it becomes almost dry, add little garam masala and serve hot with rice or roti.

Badha Kopir tarkari

Enjoy your meal, happy cooking.