Flwoke...flavors off the wok

Moong Lau (bottle gourd with fried lentils)

2010-09-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

When it comes to veggies, like any other person I too try to choose the ones which seem apparently fresh. Frankly, I'm not an expert and 'am not able to judge them by just trying to feel the weight or smelling them. In this context, I do remember my dad doing these weird exercises when as a youngster accompanied him to the local market. I not only felt embarrassed but also as I grew older I

Daal Palak (Spinach in a spicy lentil stew)

2010-09-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: Toor Daal – 1 cup Spinach – 1 cup chopped fine Onions – 1 medium chopped fine Garlic – 2 pods chopped fine Ginger – ½ ” grated fresh Tomato - ½ chopped Turmeric – 1 tsp divided. Red Chilli powder - ½ tsp Mustard seeds - ¼ tsp Fenugreek (Methi) seeds - ¼ tsp Dried whole red chilli – 1 Salt to taste Garam Masala - ½ tsp Oil for cooking Ghee – 1 tsp Method: Pressure cook the daal

Chicken Reshmi Kabab (Silken Chicken Kabobs)

2010-08-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

I started feeling guilty the past weeks due to not being able to post at all. In spite of the fact that my good friend ABM kept on pushing me for this recipe, I still could not make in time. I really felt bad because I promised her and could not keep it. The excuse has been the good old saga of a working mom who is in dire need of extra hours in her 24 hour schedule. However, as I started to pull

Kheer-Narkel Malpoa (Dumplings with coconut and milk solids in syrup)

2010-08-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: • All purpose flour(maida) – 1 cup • Semolina (sooji) – ¼ cup • Khoya (milk solids)– ¼ cup grated • Coconut – ¼ cup grated • Milk – ½ cup (warm) • Sugar – ½ cup (for the malpoa-s) • Sugar – more for the syrup • Ghee for frying the malpoa-s • Cardamom pods – 5 or 6 • Fennel seeds – ½ tbsp. Method: • Mix the flour and the semolina along with warm milk. • Blend in the khoya,

Ilish Dim-er Chorchori (Hilsa egg spicy stir fry)

2010-07-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

A few months back, when I was in an Indian (Bangladeshi) store, I picked up some packaged Hilsa Eggs. These have been my all-time favorite since my childhood. Not only that, the demand for this is very steep in my home. I might sound unbelievable, but I’d actually have to trick my 2 year old to get a bite of it. Generally, I’d keep it simple, and following my maa’s footsteps, I’d fry them with

Baingan Bharta (Mashed eggplants spiced mildly)

2010-07-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes after a long day or on a Sunday night especially after a busy weekend, what I really want for myself is a simple dinner, with least amount of fuss. The idea of warm soft chapatti (Indian bread) along with some simple less spicy curry, followed by a cup of hot tea seems to be just right for the occasion. Baingan bharta is one of those preparations which are less spicy yet quite

Red Curry with Chicken (Thai Style)

2010-07-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I was in a Thai restaurant with my Mom, trying to expose her to Thai cuisine. We had ordered “green curry with tofu”. My mom was curious about various other dishes and I was trying to explain the contents of those to the best of my knowledge. One of them was the “red curry”. Last week, I was not in a mood to make anything typically Indian, and since we had this discussion

Tadka Daal with Egg (Green lentil curry with egg)

2010-06-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite lentil curries to eat with naan or chapatti is the green moong daal. As many Indians are aware, this dish is a Punjab (Northern India)specialty and is available widely in the dhabas (roadside eat-outs) along the highways. I still remember as a kid, how I wished our driver stopped our car near one of those, to get some water or for something else and I could get the chance of

Aam Kheer (Fresh mangoes in sweetened milk)

2010-06-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

The summer months always bring a lot of different colors with it. Though we are constantly finding our ways to beat the heat, we actually enjoy this fight. This is because the rewards are simply awesome. We get a chance to revisit the wardrobe and make a list of swimming gears and summer clothes that we need to buy. We get to plan on the summer vacation when the school is out. However, to top the

Enchorer Shammi Kabab (Green Jackfruit Kabobs)

2010-06-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about making something different out of green jackfruit than the usual curry. I remember, last time when I was in India, we had this nice lunch at “Oh! Calcutta” and one of the things that I ordered was “mochar shammi kabab”. That dish, in a way, was my inspiration to make enchorer shammi kabab. Now if you want, you can even have a taste of this. That is, without actually

Paneer Paratha (Indian bread with spicy cottage cheese stuffing)

2010-06-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

The team building … I would perhaps never forget the day when, for the first time, this dream became a reality in my kitchen. It was our marriage anniversary, and the big boy and I were driving home from work. As we finished planning the evening, a very dear friend called us to wish. It was a pleasant surprise for me because I did not expect anyone to call us for this occasion. After the initial

Butter Chicken (Chicken pieces in a smooth and spicy gravy)

2010-06-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I received several requests for chicken recipe. The recipe I am going to describe today is that of one of my favorite party dishes. This is also one of those preparations with which I started making chicken dishes. With several slight modifications made to the recipe over the years, the present form is quite different from my first venture on it. I have used game

Paneer Posto (Indian cottage cheese in poppy seed paste)

2010-05-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

This week, I thought of sharing something simple that can be prepared quickly. On top of that, I was not in a mood to deal with onions or garlic or even ginger. This lead me to prepare something with poppy seed paste or what is popularly known as posto in Bengali. Originally, I got this recipe from my very good friend and my idol in cooking, Boishali, one of the best cooks I have ever known. I do

Fish Fry (Indian-Bengali style)

2010-05-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog a couple of weeks back, I had received a request for this recipe. That was really helpful since it drove me to standardize my measurements. “Fish fry” in Kolkata, India is a typical appetizer item for most weddings and other such occasions. Although globalization has infused some western culture into the common man’s food-habit, fish-fry still seems to hold its position

Kadai Gosht

2010-05-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

Mutton off the wok!!!... For a while, I have been thinking of doing something with mutton that I had never done before. Though a few ideas were floating in my mind, nothing solidified until a few days back. I still remember, back in India, there was a little fast-food joint near our house. They used to sell a mutton-roll which was absolutely beyond this world:). The tender yet crispy meat

Introduction (Why and How?)

2010-04-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

Around the beginning of this year, some of my friends suggested that I should start writing a blog on cooking. Not that it was not on my mind, but with a 24x7 job i.e. being a mom of a 2 yr. old and with a full-time job, not to mention also managing the BIG boy of the house; I could hardly get a minute to think about a possible theme for my blog. So by stealing 5 minutes a day for the last 3

The B’day Bash…

2010-04-24T19:15:00.001-07:00

The first time I picked up the khunti (spatula) was 8 years ago, when I arrived at this country after the holy knot with the BIG boy. It was the day before his B’day and as a new wife, I was thinking hard about how to impress him. All of a sudden, came the Eureka moment! How about Fried-rice and Aloor-dom (potatoes in rich gravy)? Nervous, trying to remember how maa made it, I slowly started with

Fried Rice w/Govindabhog

2010-04-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: • Rice (cooked and cooled down) - 2 cups • Whole Garam Masala (Cinnamon, Cardamom & Cloves) – 2:1:1 • Mixed Vegetables (e.g. peas, carrots, beans, cauliflower)- 1 cup • Cashews & Raisins - a handful • Ghee (clarified butter)- 1.5 tsp • Lemon juice - a few drops • Canola oil or any other Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp • Salt – to taste • Sugar – a pinch or 1/8th tsp • Saffron Strands(

Aloor Dom(Potatoes in rich Gravy of Cashews and Char-Magaz)

2010-04-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: • Small round (red or yellow)potatoes – 1lbs (approx.) • Onion paste- 1/3rd of a medium sized onion • Garlic paste/grated fine – 2 cloves(approx.) • Ginger paste/grated fine- 3/4th tsp. • Green Chillies (Thai or small Indian ones) – 2 to 3 • Cashews – 1 ½ tbsp broken • Char-Magaz- ¾ tbsp (approx.) - as shown below • Garam Masala – ½ tsp. (approx.) • Turmeric – ¼ tsp. (approx.) •