Color and Spices

Nolen gur er Sondesh...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 13:36:00 +0000

As you all know how much I love winter, given I do not have to shovel a snow covered path to get into my car. The pleasurable winter in Kolkata is most welcoming, not only does it give us a break from the humid heat we experience most of the year, but it also offers an array of different vegetables, fruits and specialties like nolen gur or date palm jaggery. If you haven’t tasted nolen gur or khejur gur or date palm jaggery then you are missing something in your life. The complex layered taste of this jaggery is difficult to express in words. It has a caramel, burnt taste with subtle sweetness.

It's a ritual in every Bengali households to make desserts like pithe, payesh, etc using date palm jaggery during winter. Or you can simply enjoy the jaggery with some hot roti or parathas or even with some dudh bhat (boiled rice and milk). All the sweet shops are flooding with varieties of sweets made using nolen gur, sondesh being the most popular one.

Sondesh is a traditional Bengali dessert made from freshly made cottage cheese or chana. There are countless varieties of sondesh available, depending on its flavour, shape or the main ingredients used for making the sondesh. During winter one can find a very special variety of sondesh on every sweet shops in Bengal, the nolen gur or date palm jaggery sondesh.

Date palm trees grow everywhere in West Bengal, as the climate is favourable for their growth. To collect the sap from the date palm tree, the tappers climb the tree, cut the end of the flower cluster and hang a clean container under that to collect the sap that drips out. The seasonal date palm jaggery is processed from the sap of date palm trees and the sap is cooked to make the caramel flavoured brown syrup called the jaggery.

My father used to get the best quality of nolen gur from a specific shop, but now I can get the best quality nolen gur or date palm jaggery delivered to my home, thanks to Kwidi.in.

I made some nolen gur er sondesh using this jaggery from Kwidi. If you are in India and want to taste some good quality date palm jaggery then you can trust Kwidi. I have tasted date palm jaggry from various places and I can guarantee this is an authentic source.

I do have a norom paak er gur er sondesh recipe, you can check that here.

Ingredients to make Nolen Gur er Sondesh:

Milk: 2 ltr
Lime juice or vinegar: 3-4 tbsp
Date palm jaggery: 1/3 cup
Ghee to grease

(I have used full fat milk for this recipe)

Steps of making Nolen Gur er Sondesh:

Take milk in a heavy bottom pan and let it boil. As the milk boils add the lime juice or vinegar and stir well. The milk will curdle.
Line a colander with cheese cloth and strain the curdled milk, this is freshly made chana or cottage cheese. Wash the chana under cold water to wash off any smell of lime juice or vinegar.
Let the chana rest in the cheese cloth to drain off excess water.
Take the chana on a large plate or on the kitchen counter and knead for 12-15 mins or till no lumps are there.
Grease a non stick pan with few drops of ghee, add the chana and jaggery, cook over low heat till the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan. Keep stirring the mixture.
Let the mixture cool down a bit, grease the moulds with ghee. Take the mould on your left hand and take a round ball of chana mixture on your right hand, and press the mixture on the mould to cover it. Take time to shape it evenly. Then take it out from the mould gently. If you do not have any moulds then you shape it into rounds, or cut into squares or use cookie cutters to shape the sondesh.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Instagram (@colorandspices) for recipe updates and food photography tips and behind the scene. If you have cooked any dish from my blog share the picture of that dish via message or email (colorandspices@gmail.com). Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or message me, Thank you..!!!

Brownies...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 15:07:00 +0000

Who doesn’t love some chocolate over-loaded brownies? There may be hundreds of reasons for loving brownies and for me it’s the way their packed with chocolate and how easy to make they are. The cracked uneven surface and the rustic look makes it more tempting. Brownies are not a simple piece of chocolate. Brownie can be of different types, fudgey, gooey, cakey, sticky, with addition of fruits or nuts depending on your choice. You can use the same recipe to make muffins, brownie cookies (brookies) And it can be a versatile dessert too, serve a slice of brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or bribe your picky eater with a piece of brownie along with his or her glass of milk. So here I'm sharing the recipe for the timeless classic that works as a happiness booster.

Before jumping to the recipe of brownies, let's talk about some photography tips. The above shot was taken while I was making the brownies. The texture of cocoa powder and chopped chocolate appeared so attractive that I couldn't help but take a picture. Previously I struggled while taking macro images, then I realised it's all about the depth of field, that is the area in focus. The mistake I used to make was keeping the f-stop or the aperture to a low value, resulting in a smaller depth of field that led to a blurry image.

While taking macro shots always remember to keep a narrow aperture, so you can have a wider depth of field, which helps to capture the beauty of the texture of the subject. I would love to share a few things that I have learned while taking macro images, a tripod helps a lot, keep the aperture narrow (at least 9), use directional light and above all practice. Hope this will help you, if you have any questions regarding photography drop an email or message me.

Coming back to the recipe, making brownies is the easiest thing to do, just mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a whisk and pour the batter in a baking tray and bake the brownie in the pre-heated oven.

I have made a video for the brownie recipe for your better understanding.

Ingredients for Brownies:

Butter: 200 gms
White sugar: 1 cup
Brown sugar: 1 cup
Flour: 1 cup
Cocoa powder: 1 cup
Eggs: 4
Vanilla essence: 2 tsp
Chopped chocolate or chocolate chips: 1/2 cup

Steps of making brownie:
(Please check the video for better understanding)

Pre-heat oven to 325 F or 160 C.
Line a brownie pan or a baking tray 13 inch by 9 inch with parchment paper. Keep aside.
Take the butter in a large mixing bowl, melt it in the microwave oven. You can also use a double boiler to melt the butter. I have used salted butter. If you’re using unsalted butter then add a teaspoon of salt to the batter.
Add white sugar and brown sugar to the melted butter and mix well with a wire whisk. Use granulated sugar.
Add one egg at a time and mix well.
Add vanilla essence, mix well.
Add flour, I have used all purpose flour. Mix well.
Add cocoa powder, I have used unsweetened natural cocoa powder. Mix well.
Add chopped chocolate pieces or chocolate chips, mix well.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray. Spread the brownie batter with a spatula. Tap the tray to get rid of air bubbles.
Bake in the pre-heated oven at 325 F or 160 C for 20-25 mins. Take out and let the brownie cool on a wire rack. You can drizzle melted chocolate on the brownie. Cut into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature. You can store the brownies in a air tight container for 4-5 days,

Grilled tomatoes...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 16:19:00 +0000

So we are in a new year, leaving 2020 behind, looking forward to going back to normal life. Many have labeled 2020 as the worst year of all, but was it really? Personally it was as shocking as it could be. Losing my mother just 5 days before her birthday and that too all of a sudden. It was devastating for us. But life goes on and we all find a way to survive. I picked up my camera, started taking photos and I decided to blog again. I don’t want to label the past year as the most dreadful or horrible but I take it as a learning of my lifetime. Happiness does not come from getting everything you want in life. Happiness is a choice, nothing will make you happy unless you decide to be happy. The pain, the emptiness will be always there but doing what I love most is something that makes me happy and a better person, and there is no bigger happiness than seeing the seeds that you’ve sown grow into lush green plants and find its stems pouring with bright orange cherry tomatoes.

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know about these homegrown cherry tomatoes. I love to grow my own herbs, like mint, basils, curry leaves etc., but I’ve never tried growing vegetables. This year we decided to grow some vegetables too. Thanks to the men of the house, my father and my husband, what a wonderful harvest we are getting! These golden cherry tomatoes are simply delicious, tangy, juicy and perfectly go with fresh homemade breads. I used the tomatoes to make curries and also had it in our sandwiches but there were more than we could eat. So I decided to grill the cherry tomatoes and preserve them in olive oil.

Making grilled tomatoes are super easy. You can use any type of tomatoes, preferably seasonal and fresh. I mixed some red and green tomatoes along with these home grown cherry tomatoes while grilling. Added a few cloves of garlic and dried herbs, with a drizzle of olive oil and grilled the sliced tomatoes in the oven. The process of making grilled tomatoes are very simple and quick.

Ingredients to make Grilled Tomatoes:

Tomatoes: 2 cups
Few cloves of garlic: 10-12
Dried rosemary: 1 tsp
Dried parsley: 1tsp
Salt to taste
Olive oil to drizzle + to preserve

Steps of making Grilled Tomatoes:

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C or 400 F.
Wash and pat dry the tomatoes. If the tomatoes are large then slice them into thick slices. For cherry tomatoes cut into halves.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lay the sliced or halved tomatoes into a single layer along with the cloves of garlic. Sprinkle dried herbs, salt and olive oil.
Place the baking tray into the oven and grill the tomatoes till brown spots appear.
Let the tomatoes cool down. Take a clean dry glass jar with a lid and place the grilled tomatoes in the glass jar and pour olive oil in it. Store the jar in the refrigerator.

These tangy sweet grilled tomatoes tastes great on a slice of toasted bread or along with pasta. We tried it with freshly baked pizza too and loved it. Do try and let me know.

Wishing all a very happy and healthy new year.

Steamed Bao...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 09:27:00 +0000

I enjoy different types of bread. Whether it's a fluffy soft, buttery bread or a crusty sourdough or may be a hot chapati, I relish them all. I try to recreate different types of bread from around the world in my kitchen. If you are familiar with my blog, you know how much I love baking and that I am fond of making bread. So here is another one on the list, Bao. Bao is a yeast-leavened steamed bread stuffed with meat or vegetables from Chinese cuisine. Bao can be of different types, like closed round dumplings or open buns. And for your better understanding this post includes a video of how to make bao.

Today I have made Gua Bao, which is more like a sandwich or hotdog. The bun is folded then steamed and a stuffing is added in between the folds. This type of bao are better called Gua Bao (translates to cut bread). I have tried my best to explain the entire process of bao making with a video. Being a newbie to video making it was a struggle for me. Hope to improve it in the near future. I have also shared a video of assembling the gua bao with bbq pork.

Ingredients for making Bao:
(This will make 16 bao)

Flour: 3 cups + a little for dusting and rolling
Active dry yeast: 1 tsp
Lukewarm Water: 1/4 cup + 1cup
Sugar: 3 tbsp + 1 tsp
Milk powder: 2 tbsp
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Oil to brush

For assembling the gua bao:

Lettuce
Pickled carrot
Chilli garlic oil
BBQ pork
Fresh coriander
Green chilies

Steps of making Bao:

In a large bowl or in the bowl of the stand mixer, add active dry yeast, one teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup lukewarm water, mix well. Cover and wait for 5-6 mins or till the yeast bubbles.
Add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk powder and the rest of the water and mix well. Knead the dough for 10 mins into a soft ball. Grease the bowl with oil, place the dough, cover and let rise for 1 hour.
After an hour, when the dough is double in size, take it out on a floured surface and make a round ball. Cut into 4 equal parts. Make round balls of each part.
Cut each part into 4 more parts. So you have 16 dough balls. Make round from each dough ball.
Take one dough ball at a time and roll into a 5 cm round disc. Fold the rolled dough into half and place a parchment paper in between the dough. Repeat this step for all the 16 dough balls. Cover and rest for 30 mins. (please refer the video)
Boil water in a large container or a steamer. When the water starts to boil and the steam becomes visible, reduce the heat. Line the steamer with parchment paper and make few holes so the steam can reach the dough, and place the rolled dough on the steamer, cover and steam for 10 mins. I have used a bamboo steamer, you can use any other steamer available to you. Even a idli stand works very well.
The bao will rise and become pillowy soft. Take out the bao and fill it with your choice of filling, meat, vegetable, the options are endless. This time I added pork cooked in bbq sauce, along with fresh lettuce, pickled carrot, fresh coriander and homemade chilli garlic oil.

Bao can be stored for several days. Take the bao in a baking tray, freeze for an hour and put them in a ziplock bag and freeze it. When you want to eat the bao, take it out and steam again.

Savoury star shaped bread...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 18:29:00 +0000

I personally like savouries over sweets. But any festival calls for loads of sugary stuff and Christmas is no different. Cakes, cookies, pies, sweet breads everything is delicious but too much of sweetness is not something I prefer. So today I prepared a savoury bread and keeping the festive mood of the Christmas I have chosen a star shaped bread. So here is my Christmas savoury star shaped bread filled with roasted red bell pepper and tomato sauce and lots of cheese.

The star shaped bread may look intimidating to make, but actually it’s not that complicated. The base of the star shaped bread is same as a pizza base. You need a little patience and a steady hand while layering and cutting the dough. This was the first time I made this bread, so wasn't sure about the result. But it came out really good. Next I will try to take a video of the steps.

I used active dry yeast for making the bread. While using yeast always proof the yeast before adding it to the flour. Proofing means to check the whether the yeast is alive or not. Or else the dough will not rise. To prrof yeast add a little warm water and sugar in a bowl or glass and mix the yeast in the water, cover and wait till bubbles appear.

While dividing the dough I used the weighing scale for precision, but you can always eyeball the amount of dough.

I prepared a special homemade sauce to layer the bread. I like to incorporate red bell peppers in my cooking and we get plenty of fresh red bell peppers during this time. So I roasted the bell pepper directly on fire, and added that to the tomato based sauce for the bread.

I used a mix of grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese for the filling along with the sauce.

Place the small bowl at the centre before cutting the bread.

The star shaped bread looked like this before baking.

This bread can be done with various different fillings, from sweet fruit jams to savoury pestos, whichever is the choice.

Ingredients to make the star shaped bread:

For the dough:

Flour: 3 and 1/2 cup
Active dry yeast: 2 and 1/4 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Sugar 3 tbsp
Olive oil: 1/4 cup
Garlic powder: 1/2 tsp
Oregano: 1 tsp
Red chili flakes: 1-2 tsp
Warm water: 1 and 1/4 cup

For the sauce:

Red bell pepper; 1
Tomatoes: 4-5
Onion: 1
Garlic: 5-6 cloves
Oregano: 1/2 tsp
Thyme: 1/2 tsp
Basil: 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder 1 tsp
Sugar to taste
Paprika powder: 1 tsp
Olive oil: 1/4 cup

To assemble

Pizza dough
Red bell pepper tomato sauce
Cheese
Olive oil

Fresh herbs to garnish

Steps of making star shaped bread:

In a bowl add the yeast, a teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 cup of water, give it a good stir. Cover and let it sit for 5-6 mins or till bubbles appear.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 2 cups of flour, olive oil, salt, oregano, red chili flakes and mix at low speed for 2-3 mins.
Add the bubbled yeast to the flour and mix at low speed. Add rest of the warm water and keep mixing. Add rest of the flour and mix till the dough comes together. Increase the speed and knead the dough for 10 mins. Grease the bowl with olive oil, cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours or till the dough rises to double.
While the dough is rising, roast the red bell pepper on fire. Let it cool down, remove the charred part and cut and clean the bell pepper and make small pieces. Grill the tomato and other ingredients (except the olive oil) for the sauce on a pan. Cool down and make a smooth paste along with the olive oil. The savoury sauce is ready.
Take the dough and divide into 4 equal parts. I used the weighing scale for exact measurements.
Take each dough ball and make a round flat base of 20-22 cm diameter.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the round base. Brush it with olive oil, spread a the red bell pepper tomato sauce, grated cheese. Place the next rolled dough. Keep repeating with all the dough.
After finishing stacking all the 4 rolled with the filling, place a 6 cm round small bowl or cookie cutter at the centre. This is the centre of the star shaped bread. Using a pizza cutter cut 16 even strips, from the edge of the stacked dough to the edge of the bowl at the centre . The centre will be intact.
Grab two adjacent strips and twist away from each other and press the ends together to form a pointed end. The star bread will have 8 pointed ends.
Pre heat the oven 350 F (175 C).
Brush the dough with olive oil and bake for 30 mins. Take out the bread and let it cool down for 10 mins on wire rack.
Serve hot.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Instagram (@colorandspices) for food photography tips and behind the scene Thank you..!!!

Rum raisin cake..

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 15:40:00 +0000

Are you feeling the festive vibe? I was really not in the mood for Christmas. For me Christmas is more than a religious festival, it's about having fun with your family and friends, cherishing the beautiful winter days and enjoying the decked up City of Joy. It's also about decorating the house, arranging parties, going out, buying gifts, planning to surprise my daughter and baking loads of delicious cakes and breads for my friends and family. Unfortunately with all these restrictions due to Covid19 the usual excitement is missing and I was feeling less enthusiastic. But when I saw all those images of Christmas cakes and cookies on my Instagram feed, I felt the happy festive vibe and decided to bake a cake, a boozy flavourful Rum Raisin cake with orange glaze.

For this Rum Raisin cake you need to prepare at least a day prior to baking. As the raisins get the flavour from the rum, it needs to soak for at least 24 hours. To bring the zesty orange flavour I added orange peels to the raisin and rum mixture. Make sure to get rid of any white part from the orange peel, or else it will taste bitter.

I used my electric mixer to prepare the batter for the Rum Raisin Cake. You can use either a stand mixer or an electric mixer. I advise grinding the sugar before mixing, this will make the mixing process easier and faster. I have used a bundt pan to bake this cake, you can use a 10 inch round or square baking tin.

Ingredients to make the Rum Raisin Cake:

Butter: 100 gm
Brown sugar: 1 cup
Eggs: 4
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Orange juice: 1/4 cup
Raisins soaked in rum: 1 cup
Flour: 1and 1/2 cup
Baking powder: 1 tsp

For the glaze:

Orange zest: 2-3 tbsp
Confectionery sugar: 4-5 tbsp
Water: 1-2 tsp
Rum: 1 tsp

To make the rum soaked raisin:

Golden raisins: 1 cup
Cinnamon powder: 1 tsp
Rum: 1/4 cup
Orange zest: 1-2 tbsp

Notes:
*I have used salted butter so I didn’t add any extra salt, but if you are using unsalted butter then add a teaspoon of salt to the batter.
*I have used brown sugar, but this can be done using white sugar as well.
*Instead of using golden raisins you can use dark raisins or sultanas.

Steps of making Rum Raisin Cake:

A day prior to baking, soak the raisins in rum along with the cinnamon powder and orange zest, and keep it in an air tight container for at least 24 hours. You can do this weeks before and store the container in the refrigerator.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F or 175 C.
Grease the baking tin with butter or oil and dust generously with flour
In a large mixing bowl add butter (at room temperature) and brown sugar, Cream the butter and sugar well. Scrape the sides of the bowl and cream the mixture well.
Add one egg at a time and beat the mixture well. Scrape the sides of the bowl in between.
Add vanilla extract, and mix well.
Take a large mixing bowl, and mix, flour and baking powder. Sieve the flour mixture and add gradually (1/3 cup at a time) to the wet mixture. Gently mix the flour with a ladle. Add the orange juice in between adding the flour. Keep mixing till 1/3 cup flour is left.
Drain any excess liquid from the rum raisin mix. Add the liquid to the batter and mix. Mix the left over 1/3 cup flour with raisins and add the raisins to the batter, gently fold the batter with a spatula.
Pour the batter in a prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 mins or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Take out the cake from the oven and let it cool down for 10mins. Take out the cake from the tin and drizzle the cake with orange glaze.

Roasted Green Tomato Salsa...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 04:36:00 +0000

I always prefer dishes that can be done quickly yet taste delicious, especially for snacking. Who likes to spend hours preparing for an evening snack? I always keep few things handy to satisfy the little hunger pangs of my family members and it helps a lot when you have a teenager at home. Frankly speaking during this pandemic when the man and kids are at home and craving for snacks every now and then quick simple healthy snacks are bliss. Here is one such make ahead snack idea, roasted green tomato salsa.

I was introduced to Mexican cuisine during my stay in Austin, Texas. I simply loved it. I do miss the delicious, flavourful tex-mex dishes and whenever possible try to recreate those delicacies at home. I often make salsa for my daughter as she enjoys spicy food. I use either red or green tomatoes for making salsa, depending on whichever is available. The roasted tomato salsa is not only great as a snack but also as a party food. You can make a plenty of this to go with tortilla chips to welcome your guests.

Here, in Kolkata we get plenty of fresh green tomatoes during winter, so I make roasted green tomato salsa more while these sour tomatoes are at hand. Aren't they absolutely gorgeous, I couldn't help but take a few photos of these green beauties before I made the roasted green tomato salsa.

In Mexican cuisine they use white onions while making salsa, so I used the white bulb of the spring onion while making this roasted green tomato salsa. Also I have used kashmiri red chilies as I do not have any Mexican chilies in my pantry. If you can get some guajillo or ancho chilies, then do try those, the best option for making salsa.

Other than the green tomatoes, rest of the ingredients are readily available. If you do not find green tomatoes then go ahead with red tomatoes, it will taste equally good. During summer, when green tomatoes are not available, I make this salsa with red tomatoes and everyone enjoys it. The flavour that makes this salsa special is roasting the ingredients before making the salsa. You can either use the oven or the stove to roast the ingredients. I do it on stove top, in a heavy bottom pan. I roast each ingredient separately and let it cool down and finally put them in the food processor and pulse the mixture to a coarse paste. Make sure not to make a smooth paste while making the salsa, the coarseness brings the feel of texture to the salsa.

Ingredients for roasted green tomato salsa:

Green tomatoes: 6
Garlic: 6-8 cloves
Green capsicum: 1 small
Green chilies: 3-4
Spring onion (green and white bulb): 2
Dry red chilies: 2
Fresh coriander: 1 cup
Cumin seed: 1 tsp
Black pepper: 1/2 tsp
Lime juice: 2 tbsp
Olive oil: 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

Steps of making roasted green tomato salsa:

Wash all the vegetables. Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Remove the seeds and white part of the green capsicum. Remove and clean the roots of spring onion and coriander. Chop the fresh coriander and keep it aside.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy bottom pan. Roast the ingredients one by one till the vegetables get a charred look.
Roast cumin, black pepper, dry red chilies too.
Cool all the ingredients and put it in a food processor along with rest of the olive oil and make a coarse mix using the pulse option to keep the texture of the salsa.

Serve with tortilla chips. This can also be served with quesadillas or used as enchilada sauce. You can put the salsa in a jar and it can be a wonderful gift option.

Simui-er Payesh...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 05:48:00 +0000

An easy quick dessert that can be made in a jiffy is always my favorite. Simui-er payesh is one such dessert. A simple sweet dish that is very common in every Indian household. My Sejo-jethima (aunt) used to make the best simui-er payesh. I was and I'm still not fond of sweets. But the simui-er payesh prepared by my aunt was my favorite. She used to serve the payesh in a small bowl along with some perfectly puffed luchi or crispy triangle shaped parathas and a spicy curry. I remember how I used to dip the roti or paratha or luchi into some freshly made simui-er payesh by her. I miss her cooking so much.

As this year all the celebrations are happening in a different way and we are mostly confined to our homes, I'm cooking various food to keep myself busy and my family members cheerful. Other than lunch and dinner, I have also made many sweets during this festive season. Starting from Durga puja, then Laxmi puja and now for Diwali so many sweets are being made in my kitchen. Today I wasn't sure what to make for Diwali. I wanted to do something quick, so I made this simui-er payesh or sevai kheer or vermicelli kheer. I know it's a very familiar dish to all, still thought to share the process I follow to make this simple dessert.

Things needed to make Simui-er Payesh:

Simui/ Sevai/ Vermicelli: 1/4 cup
Milk: 500 ml
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Green cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp
Ghee: 2 tbsp
Raisins: 12-15
Cashew nuts: 10-12
Pistachio and almonds to garnish
Dried rose petals to garnish

Steps of making Simui-er Payesh:

1. Boil the milk, keep aside.

2. In a pan or kadhai heat ghee, fry the cashew nuts and keep aside.

3. In the same pan add the vermicelli and fry them on low heat. Keep stirring.

4. When the vermicelli turns to light brown add the hot milk gradually.

5. Cook the vermicelli over low heat for 12-15 mins or till done.

6. Add sugar and green cardamom powder, mix well. Cook till sugar dissolves. Cook further till desired consistency. On cooling the kheer will thicken more, so keep that in mind.

7. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with fried cashew nuts, pistachio, almonds, rose petals. It can be served both hot and cold. I prefer my vermicelli kheer (simui-er payesh) chilled, so I keep it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hrs.

Wish you all a very happy Diwali. Stay at home, stay safe.

Kumror bhorta...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 09:34:00 +0000

The recipes I share mostly come from seeing my grandmother, mother, and aunts cooking while growing up. Knowingly or unknowingly we absorb the techniques and processes of preparing everyday food watching our elders and with time recreate the familiar taste that we had grown up with. This process of learning never ends. We learn as an adult too. After my marriage I learnt a lot from my mother-in-law, who's an excellent cook. Then there are friends and neighbors, with whom we share food and recipes. Along with cookery shows, magazines, luring us with tempting food photos and recipes. And not to forget about the vast ocean of information available to us now-a-days , the internet. Where we can learn almost anything, if interested and willing to, be it cooking or film making. Being foodies we simply soak up everything about good food.

The recipe I'm sharing today is a simple and humble common Bengali dish. But I never had it while growing up. I've learnt it quite recently, after a visit to the local Bengali restaurant. The Sunday Buffet spread was ever so tempting, but the name Kumror Bhorta (mashed pumpkin) caught my eye. When I tasted it, I was bent on getting the recipe. I asked the cook of the restaurant, searched the internet and turned through the pages of old Bengali recipe books, and everything amalgamated to a finger licking good dish, a new family favorite 'Kumror bhorta', which literally translates to mashed pumpkin.

To prepare this dish try to get a sweet, ripe pumpkin, which is naturally sweet. As the sweet pumpkin is cooked it caramelizes and the dish gets its signature taste. I would recommend using mustard oil for this particular dish, no other cooking oil can bring that authentic taste. Another star ingredient for this dish is the 'Bori', sun-dried lentil nuggets, a common ingredient from the Bengali kitchen. The crispy fried bori brings the contrast in texture to the soft mashed pumpkin dish.

Things needed to make Kumror Bhorta (Bengali style mashed pumpkin):

Pumpkin (peeled and cubed): 200 gms
Onion (thinly sliced): 1 large
Green chilies: 3-4
Dry red chilies: 1-2
Fenugreek seeds (methi): 1/4 tsp
Bori (sun-dried lentil nuggets): 1/4 cup
Fresh coriander: a handful
Mustard oil: 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Steps of making Kumror Bhorta (Bengali style mashed pumpkin):

Steam the peeled and cubed pumpkin. Do not overcook, the pumpkins need to be fork-tender. Keep aside in a colander to drain any excess water.
In a kadhai heat mustard oil, fry the bori till golden brown, keep aside.
In the same kadhai (add a little more mustard oil, if needed) add fenugreek (methi) seeds, dry red chilies, green chilies. Do not burn the methi seeds.
Add the thinly sliced onion and cook till the onions turn red.
Add the pumpkin, and cook over high flame. As the pumpkin is cooking, mash it using a potato masher. Add salt. Keep stirring continuously. The pumpkin should get charred.
Add chopped fresh coriander and mix well. Add fried bori, keep some to garnish. Transfer into a serving bowl, sprinkle some raw musard oil and the rest of the fried bori and serve with steamed rice.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Spicy stir fried prawn...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 03:06:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a quick recipe? I always prefer a quick delicious dish for a weeknight dinner. And I choose fish or seafood for that, as the cooking time is much less compared to other proteins. Last week I tried this quick, easy, ready in a jiffy spicy stir fried prawns to go with some steamed rice. The spicy prawns were perfect to go with both stir fried noodles and plain rice.

Growing herbs at home is so much fun and the best part is, you can get fresh herbs whenever you need them. I used my homegrown lemongrass and thai basil along with some fragrant spices and a bunch of spicy chilies to prepare this dish. I love spicy food , but you can adjust the amount of chilies as per your preference.

Things needed to make spicy stir fried prawns:

Prawns: 10-12
Shallots: 1 (small)
Garlic: 2-3 cloves
Ginger (grated): 1 tbsp *
Lemongrass: 2 inch
Cumin: 1/4 tsp
Coriander: 1/4 tsp
Fresh chilies: 4-5 (according to taste)
Fish sauce: 1 tsp
Lime juice: 2 tsp
Thai basil: 12-15
Lime leaves: 2-3
Honey: 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste **
Fresh coriander to garnish
Vegetable oil to cook

*If you can get galangal then use it instead of ginger, I didn't have galangal so I used ginger instead

** If you are using fish sauce then use very little salt as fish sauce is very salty

Steps of making of spicy stir fried prawns:

Clean and devein the prawns. You can discard the head, but I kept it as it imparts a lot of flavour. Marinate the prawn with lime juice, salt and black pepper powder for 10 mins.
While the prawns are marinating make a paste of shallots, garlic, ginger (or galangal, if your using it), lemongrass, cumin, coriander, chilies, thai basil, lime leaves and fish sauce and honey. Make a smooth paste.
Heat a wok or pan, then hot add oil. I used sesame oil, you can use any vegetable oil of your choice.
Add the prawns immediately. Cook for 1-2 mins.
Add the freshly made paste and mix well with the prawns. Cook for 3-4 mins. Switch off the heat. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with fresh coriander and lime slices. It can be served as a side dish with steamed rice or starter.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Homemade curd...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 12:33:00 +0000

Having homemade curd (dahi or doi) with our meal is a common practice. I set curd every alternate day, it's a routine in my household. I have seen my grandmother, mother, aunts doing it and I do it too. Use of curd in Indian cuisine stretches back to the ancient Vedic times. Our cuisine may be diverse but when it comes to curd or yogurt every single cuisine uses it, be it in making the gravy for the curry or a dessert or as a dip or serving at the end of the meal. The naturally fermented curd is so very healthy and good for the gut, so I insist that my family members have their share of this probiotic goodness everyday.

Setting curd at home is a common practice in India. In Bengali we call it 'Ghore pata doi', which literally translates to homemade curd. And like most other everyday food I have learnt setting curd at home from my mother, she used to do it everyday. The steps are very easy. Once you understand the basic science behind the curd making, it becomes super simple. It starts with milk. When we add the bacteria, that is the curd or yogurt culture, to the milk, under the right temperature the milk turns into a pudding like sour food. Don't get intimidated by the word yogurt culture, I simply use a spoonful of curd from the previous day and mix it with milk to set the curd. To set the curd properly you need to keep it in a warm place. I don't face any problem regarding the right conditions of setting curd, as I live in a hot and humid country, but if you are living in a cold country you need to create the perfect environment for the curd to set, or else the bacteria that works with the milk to create the curd won't survive.

Things needed to make Homemade curd:

Milk: 2 cups (480 ml)
Curd: 2 tbsp
Milk powder (unsweetened): 2 tbsp (optional)

Steps of making homemade Curd:

1. Boil the milk. As the milk boils, reduce the heat and let the milk bubble for 5-6 mins. Keep stirring. Switch off the heat.

2. Let it cool down for 5 mins, add the milk powder (if your using it). Mix well so there are no lumps. You can always skip this step of adding milk powder, but adding milk powder makes the curd creamier and tastier.

3. Bring the milk to a lukewarm temperature (100-110 F, 43 C). Make sure it is not cold, the milk must be lukewarm.

4. Take a bowl with lid, take the curd from the previous day, and gently beat it with a spoon. Gradually add the lukewarm milk and keep mixing. The yogurt or curd culture and the milk must be mixed well. For better result you can strain the mixture once.

5. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm place, I keep it on my kitchen counter. Or you can keep it in the oven with the light on. Or you can heat the microwave for 2-3 mins and place the bowl inside the microwave. It takes 4-5 hours to set the curd, but if you are on cold country it may take 8-12 hours.

Note: Using whole milk will make the curd thicker and creamier, also adding milk powder will do that. Reduce the milk a little while boiling also gives a thicker creamier curd. The choice is yours. For everyday curd I use toned milk.

There are a thousand different ways to use curd, using it for baking, for making breakfast parfait or having the curd just like that. Here I'm sharing a quick easy raita (yogurt dip) recipe.

Pomegranate Raita:

Beat the curd is a bowl with rock salt and roasted cumin powder. Squeeze some pomegranate to get the juice and add that too. Add some pomegranate seeds and chopped mint leaves. mix everything well and serve.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Idli..

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 13:41:00 +0000

What's for breakfast? This is the first thing that comes to my mind when I open my eyes in the morning. Still not completely awake, wanting to spend a little more time curled up, my routine-following brain whispers to me telling me to leave the comfort of my bed while the lazy side of me wants to relax a little bit more to enjoy the warmth of the bed . Then finally the alarm beeps and I have no option but to get up. And again it strikes me, what's for breakfast?

When it comes to my everyday chores, by nature I'm a very disciplined person . I try to stick to my routine and mostly follow my weekly meal plans. Yes, I do that regularly, a MEAL PLAN. Because I find it difficult to prepare food without prior planning, I hardly serve processed or packaged food to my family. All the meals are prepared from scratch. Meal planning is not rocket science. One needs to sit down with a pen and paper with a clear mind. How do I do it? First I make a list of the food I'm going to prepare for each meal for seven days a week. Then I list down the items I need to buy and things I need to prepare beforehand. I like to bake bread for sandwiches, or the stuffing for parathas, or a big bowl of sambhar to go with some dosa and idli. Try it once and your life will be much more easier. Do I cheat? Do I deviate from my original plan? Yes, sometimes, but I mostly stick to my plan.

So, as I was talking about breakfast, if you know me then you must have noticed dosa and idli is a common breakfast at my place. I make them very often, but I never shared the recipe for it. So today I thought to share one of the easiest, healthy, gluten free breakfast recipes with you all. A simple humble idli recipe. I serve it with sambhar and coconut chutney.

While making the sambhar I find the colors of the ingredients are very attractive, and click a few shots. It is a great practice to photograph the ingredients. If you are into food photography, you must do it everyday.

For idli I make the batter using per-boiled rice and urad dal, in a 3:1 ratio. Soaking the rice and dal properly for at least 7-8 hrs makes a lot of difference. It helps to grind the rice and dal into a smooth paste. I use my mixer grinder to make the paste. First I grind the dal then the rice. Try to avoid adding too much water while grinding. I keep the batter in a large pot, cover it and let it sit overnight on my kitchen counter to ferment. If your room temperature is too cold you may need more time for proper fermentation. Or you can keep the batter inside the oven with the light on. In Kolkata it's mostly hot throughout the year, so I have never gotten any trouble while fermenting the batter, even during winter it rises up well,but it may take a few hours more than it takes in summer.

I left the batter to ferment overnight, so I can work with it the next morning. See a little planning makes thing so much easier. For making idli I use my idli maker. You can use any large utensil to steam the idli. Many of my readers complain about de-moulding the idlis. They say the idlis break as they try to take it out of the mould. There's only one solution to this, make sure to coat the moulds with oil generously.

I added some curry leave and mustard seed infused oil to coat the idli moulds It came out really good. Heat vegetable oil in a small pan and when the oil is hot add curry leaves and mustard seed, use this oil to coat the moulds. This gives a nice flavor to the idli.

Things need to make Idli:

Rice (parboiled): 1 cup
Urad dal: 1/3 cup
Fenugreek seeds: 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves: 15-20
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil to brush the moulds

Steps of making Idli:

1. Wash and soak the rice and dal separately. Add the fenugreek seeds to the rice. Soak at least for 7-8 hrs or overnight.

2. Grind the dal first and pour it into a large container.

3. Grind the rice and add to the dal and mix well. Avoid using too much water while grinding.

4. Cover and let ferment overnight or till the batter rise to double the size. After proper fermentation the batter should be very light and porous.

5. Put water into the steamer and let it boil.

6. While the water start to boil grease the idli moulds generously with vegetable oil. I used the tempered oil to bring extra flavour to the idlis.

7. Pour batter into the moulds. Tap the moulds lightly to spread the batter evenly. sprinkle little salt over the batter.

8. Place the moulds in the steamer, lower the heat, cover the steamer and cook for 12-15 mins.

9. Carefully take out the mould and with the help of a spoon remove the idlis. Serve with sambhar and chutney.

I also make dosa with the same batter. Will post about my dosa making process very soon.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Sugar free date walnut cake

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 13:01:00 +0000

Hi, I'm back after a hiatus. I took quite a long break from blogging and social media. During this time I have cooked a lot new dishes, dug deep into bread making and even managed to raise my first batch of sourdough starter, yet somehow I lacked the energy and enthusiasm to share it on social media. But during this worldwide Covid-scare and lockdown restrictions I felt an urge to connect with others and share my thoughts.

It's really difficult to cope during this wearisome time. It feels like there's no escape, but sharing your thoughts in social media works like therapy. You'll always find people who resonate your thought and the feeling, that you are not alone, is reassuring. To keep away from unnecessary anxiety, I decided to stop reading the newspaper and stop watching news channels. Those depressing broadcasts had a negative effect on me. I made up my mind to engage myself in things I love to do. For instance, I have started painting. Though I have no formal training in painting or drawing, I simply love Indian folk arts and I have been trying my hand at Madhubani and Gond paintings. And of course there is my true love of cooking and food photography. If you are feeling helpless and can't see an end to this pandemic, please do what you are passionate about, enjoy every single moment and stay positive. It's a difficult time but we'll definitely come out of it as winners.

You can check my updates on recipes and food photography on Facebook and Instagram. If your following me on either of these platform you've seen the beautiful ingredients I shot a few days back. As you know I love to photograph the textures and colors of raw ingredients before preparing the dish. So while baking this cake I couldn't resist but take a few shots of these gorgeous dates and walnuts. I'm sharing behind the scenes and phone photography tips on Instagram. If you have any queries related to food photography drop a message on Facebook or Instagram.

Ok, enough of these walnut and date photo shoots, let's come back to the details about the cake. As mentioned above this is a sugar free cake. I'm trying my best to cut off proceeded sugar in my food. I have used honey in this and I must say I will not use sugar from now on to bake my cakes. The cake tasted so much better with honey, also the color came out an attractive brown.

Things needed to make Sugar free Date Walnut Cake:

Honey: 3/4 cup
Butter: 1/2 cup
Eggs: 3
Flour: 1.5 cup
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence: 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder: 1 tsp
Ginger (grated): 1 tbsp
Dates (pitted and chopped): 1 tsp
Walnut: 1/2 cup + extra to sprinkle

Steps of making Sugar free Date Walnut Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C. Line a 9/5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. If you do not have Parchment paper then grease the pan with butter or oil and dust it with flour. Keep the pan aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl (or you can use a stand mixer) cream the butter and honey, scrape the sides and mix them well. Add one egg at time and keep mixing with the hand blender or stand mixer whichever you are using. In between scrape the sides of the bowl.

2. Add Vanilla essence, cinnamon, grated ginger and mix well.

3. Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda 1/3 cup at a time and fold it into the liquid part.

4. Take the pitted and chopped dates and walnut and generously dust with flour. If you add the dry fruits directly to the cake batter it will sink to the bottom of the cake.

5. Add the dry fruits. Fold them into the cake batter with a spatula.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle some extra walnut on top. Bake on the middle rack of your pre-heated oven for 50-60 mins or till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Pan seared fish with spicy coriander pesto...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 04:22:00 +0000

We all need quick easy recipes for weekdays meal. Specially in hot and humid country like ours, spending long hours preparing and elaborate cooking is really stressful. Here is one such easy recipe that can be a instant hit. I had some bhetki or betki fish in the freezer and was not sure what to prepare with that.

I was not very kin to make the usually Bengali fish curry with that. So combined the delicious fish with a quick coriander pesto. Add garlic and a good dose of green chilies, you can always reduce the amount of chili as per your taste. Ingredients are very simple, fish, fresh coriander, ginger, garlic, green chilies and lime juice. The only time it takes is while the fish is marinating in the paste, or else it can be done in else than 15 mins. I used bhetki, but any other fish or shrimps can be used, and fish fillets can also be used to prepare this dish. Even paneer or tofu can be a good choice for vegetarian and vegan people.

Things needed to make Pan seared fish with spicy coriander pesto:

Fish/ shrimp: 400 gm
Coriander: 2 cups
Garlic: 4-5 cloves
Ginger (grated): 1 tsp
Green chilies: 4-5
Salt to taste
Lime juice: 2 tbsp
Olive oil: 2-3 tbsp

Steps of making Pan seared fish with spicy coriander pesto:

1. Wash and clean the fish (you can use paneer or tofu). Rub salt and lime juice on the fish pieces and keep aside.

2. Make a paste of coriander, garlic, ginger, green chili, salt. Do not make it very smooth, I used a morter pastle to get that rough pesto consistency.

3. Marinate the fish with this paste, leave it doe 15-20 mins

4. Heat a heavy bottom pan, add olive oil. When the oil is hot cook the fish for 5 mins each side, along with the green paste. Serve hot with lime wedges.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Uchche chochori...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 04:55:00 +0000

It feels great to come back and write a new post. I've promised myself to post at least once a week, though not sure whether I'll be able to keep that promise to myself.. The reason behind the hiatus is my health, I was not well. Since the year 2018 started I was visiting the doctors and hospitals, went through an operation. Right now I'm feeling much better but still under regular check ups. I think not posting or not clicking and taking this long break is not solely because of my health. It's more of a mental state that put a barricade around me. I was so dispirited and needed time to look inside myself to understand what I want. The most important thing I realized during this time, we all get only a single chance to enjoy this beautiful life and we must not give up on things that we like to do and love to do. One must keep doing it, without any expectation or reward. I took up the camera and started clicking again and felt free. My blog has been always my creative outlet for me, so I will continue to do that. Thanks to all my readers and followers who encouraged and supported throughout.

The recipe I'm sharing today is a simple and humble one. A recipe that I regularly prepare in my kitchen and very common in any Bengali household. People around the world assume Bengalis only eat rice and fish (মাছ আর ভাত), but in reality there are thousands of pure vegetarian preparations in Bengali cuisine and we can survive without eating fish. Here is one such vegetarian dish that is served at lunch during the first course. Any bitter tasting dish is serve during first course, as it cleanse the palate and of course no one would like to finish off there meal with a bitter taste.

Though bitter gourd (করলা or উচ্ছে) is not a likable vegetable because of its bitterness, I somehow love it. I can have it in all possible ways, from boiled to fried or traditional curries. The best way to reduce the bitterness is to cook bitter gourd with other naturally sweet vegetables like pumpkin, potatoes etc. Adding other vegetables balances the bitterness. This time I added potato, pumpkin and eggplant/ aubergine to prepare the mish mash.

Things needed to make Uchche Chochori:

Bitter gourd (cut into cubes): 1 cup
Potato (cut into cubes): 1/2 cup
Pumpkin (cut into cubes): 2 cups
Bori (lentil nuggets): 10-12
Panch foron (benagli five spice mix): 1 tsp
Green chilies: 3-4
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Mustard oil: 3 tbsp

Steps of making Uchche Chochori:

1. Wash all the vegetables well. Peel potato and pumpkin. Cut all the vegetables into cubes, more or less same size. If the bitter gourds have hard ripened seeds then discard the seeds.

2. In a kadhai or wok heat a tablespoon of oil, when the oil is hot fry the lentil nuggets or bori. If you do not have bori in your pantry skip this step. Take out the fried lentil nuggets and keep aside.

3. In the same pan add more oil, fry the potato cubes till little brown spots appear. take out and keep aside.

4. In the same pan add green chilies and bengali five spice mix (panch foron) to the leftover oil. As the seeds start to splatter add the cubed bitter gourd, turmeric powder, cover and cook for 4-5 min. Stir in between.

4. Add the fried potato and pumpkin, sprinkle salt, mix well, cover and cook till the vegetables are done.

5. Add the fried lentil nuggets, sprinkle a little water (2-3 tablespoons), mix. Cover and cook over high heat for 3-4 min. Mix well. Uncover and cook for 2-3 min over high heat. Transfer to a serving bowl, serve with steamed rice.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Batabi lebu makha...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 03:38:00 +0000

Batabi lebu known as pomelo in English is a citrus fruit with a thick green outer covering. The pulp inside may be yellowish white or pink in color, when ripe tastes sweet. But some may taste sour and bitter. This vitamin C rich citrus fruit is loaded with goodness. It's good for our skin, hair, as well the high potassium content is good for the heart too. This anti-oxidant rich fruit is great for fighting urinary tract infection. One can eat the pulp of the fruit directly or fresh juice can be prepared.

In a Bengali household pomelo or batabi lebu is very common as a fruit. Being a seasonal fruit, it's available after the monsoon in India, though not for long. I personally love this fruit, provided it's ripe and naturally sweet. Frankly it's too simple to be noted down as a recipe but the beautiful pink pulp of the fruit forced me to pick up the camera and click. As you can understand the images were clicked when the fruit was in season, due to my absence from blogging I'm posting the details now.

To prepare the salad after peeling off the outer thick spongy skin the pulp is taken out and mixed with salt and pepper and eaten. We call this batabi lebu makha, that is mixing the fruit with salt and chilies and other ingredients and served as a salad. The salt balances the tartness if any and the chilies spike up the taste. Here is how I prepare batabi lebu makha or Bengali style pomelo salad.

Things needed to make Bengali style pomelo salad or batabi lebu makha:

Batabi lebu or pomelo (only the pulp): 3 cups
Rock salt: 2 tsp
Sugar to taste
Green chilies (finely chopped): 2

Steps of making Bengali style pomelo salad or batabi lebu makha:

1. Cut the ends of the fruit, score the skin, and peel off the thick fleshy skin. Cut and separate each segments and remove the thin white skin and the seeds and the pith or any white spongy skin. Carefully take the sections of the pulp without turning it into juice. This can be kept chunky or the pulps may be loosen gently.

2. In a bowl take the pulpy sections, add salt and sugar and finely chopped green chilies. Amount of sugar depends on the sourness of the pomelo. Some are naturally sweet and some are not, taste a little portion and add sugar as required. If you can't handle the heat of green chilies, add black pepper powder. Mix the pulp with salt and sugar and chilies and let it rest for a while.

Peyajkoli diye tyngra mach er jhal..

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 03:06:00 +0000

Exploring the affair of fish and Bengali would be nothing less than an epic. The varieties of fishes we eat is almost endless. And the way they are prepared also varies from one household to the other. If you don't eat fish and rice everyday then there is a big question about your true 'Bong' blood. Fortunately or unfortunately I do fall in that category, and my other family members curiously ask me if I don't eat fish and rice for lunch and dinner then what other alternatives do I have? No it's not that I hate fish or don't like them, it's just I like to consume all other kind of proteins to keep a balance. And who wants to eat the same fish curry and rice everyday, at least not me. The commonest of common fish one cook in a Bengali kitchen is either Rohu or Katla, typically made into a simple jhol (curry) or sorse bata jhal (semi gravy with mustard paste). It surprises me how one can eat the same curry everyday without complaining. I try to eat fish at least thrice a week and that too of different varieties. As winter is offering us its bounty of vegetables, I love to combine the fishes with the goodness of the veggies too.

Today I made tyngra mach, a native fish of Bengal. A type of cat fish these tyngra are very tasty. I cooked the fish with onion stalk or peyajkoli. The spicy, dry curry was a delicious mid-week lunch and I enjoyed it with steamed rice without caring about the calorie count.

Among many other vegetables of winter I ardently wait for peyajkoli or onion stalks, these are green hollow stem of the onion that grow upward to bear the flowers. There are different ways to cook onion stalks, it can be simply stir fried to go with rice and dal or else combined with other vegetables or fishes.

If you are new at cooking fishes you may find the tyngra mach quite slippery and a layer of slime on it. The easiest trick to get rid of the slime from the fish is to rub the fishes with lots of salt and wash under cold water. Like any other fish preparation, the cleaned and washed fishes are marinated with salt and turmeric powder and fried in mustard oil. If you can't find mustard oil use any other vegetable oil.

Things needed to make peyajkoli diye tyngra mach er jhal:

(serves: 4)

Tyngra mach: 20
Peyajkoli or onion stalk : a bunch
Potato: 1
Nigella seed (kalo jire): 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: 2 tsp
Red chili powder: 1-2 tsp
Green chilies: 4-5
Salt
Mustard oil to cook

Steps of making peyajkoli diye tyngra mach er jhal:

1. Sprinkle the fish with salt and turmeric powder and let it marinate for 12-15 min.

2. Discard the white flowers of the onion and cut the green stalk into two inch length pieces, wash well, drain the water and keep aside.

3. Peel a large potato and cut into thick frech-fry like long stripes. Wash and drain water.

4. In a kadhai or deep pan heat mustard oil. When the oil is hot fry the fishes for 3-4 mins on each side. Take out the fishes, keep aside.

5. In the same pan, add stilted green chilies and nigella seeds, as the seeds splatter add the potato and onion stalk, sprinkle salt, turmeric powder, cover and cook till vegetables are soft.

6. Add the fried fish, red chili powder, green chilies. Sprinkle little water, cover and cook for 5-6 min. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Whole mung bean curry..

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 03:55:00 +0000

Dal or lentil along with rice and roti is an usual affair in every Indian kitchen. A wide variety of lentils are consumed and preparations vary from region to region. My family is no exception, almost everyday or the other I prepare dal. To make sure it doesn't get boring I use all the different varieties of lentils I know and also try to prepare them in different ways to bring variations in the menu. I already have different recipes involving lentils on my blog, here is another one to add to the list. This time, I have made a whole mung bean curry.

Lentils have many health benefits, apart from being a rich source of protein, it is low fat, cholesterol free and high in fiber too. Besides the taste and nutritional value I like lentils for some other unusual reason too, I found lentils to be very photogenic. The colors, the texture, lentils are truly a delight for a photographer. So before I started cooking I clicked few shots of the lentils, as I usually do. If you are regular to my blog you must know by now how much I enjoy to shoot ingredients before cooking them.

Being a self taught food photographer, every time I take an image I learn something new. Just for instance, when I looked at the above image it appeared so empty. To fill the frame I used the spice containers form the masala dabba (Indian spice box), that added colors to the frame too. And as the spices in the containers were also part of the recipe the whole scene makes a perfect sense. I would love to hear from you all about these two images, feel free to comment.

Coming back to the lentil recipe, I followed a simple recipe to prepare the whole mung beans. It's advised to soak the lentils for at least 3-4 hrs before cooking to reduce the cooking time. But there are many instances I have forgot to soak the lentil and cooked directly. So even if you forge to soak the lentils don't worry, simply use a pressure cooker to cook the lentils, whole mung beans do not take much time to cook.

Things needed whole mung bean curry:

Whole mung beans: 1 cup
Onion (finely chopped): 1 cup + 1/4 cup
Garlic: 2-3 cloves
Garlic paste: 2 tsp
Ginger (paste): 1 tbsp
Ginger (cut into julienne): 1/2 tsp
Tomato (roughly chopped): 1
Cumin: 1 tsp
Cardamom: 3-4
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Cloves: 3-4
Dry red chilies: 2-3
Green chilies: 3-4
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tsp
Hing (asafoetida): a pinch
Kasuri methi: 1 tsp
Mustard oil: 2-3 tbsp
Ghee (clarified butter): 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Steps of making whole mung bean curry:

1. Wash the whole lentils, soak for 3-4 hrs.

2. Take the soaked and washed lentils in a pressure cooker along with water, 1/4 cup chopped onion, Chopped green chilies, 2 cloves of garlic, salt, turmeric powder, half of the ginger paste and cook for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure releases.

3. In a kadhai or deep pan, heat oil. When the oil is hot add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, as the cloves start to splutter add the chopped onion and cooked till brown. Add garlic paste, rest of ginger paste, cook for 3-4 min.

4. Add roughly chopped tomatoes and cook till tomato is cooked or for 5-6 min.

5. Add red chili powder, cook till oil separates.

6. Add the cooked lentil, salt if needed, little sugar to taste. Add water if needed. Mix well well, let it boil and cook for 5-6 min. Add kasuri methi, mix and cook for 2-3 min. Transfer the lentil in a serving bowl.

7. In a pan heat ghee, when hot add hing (asafoetida), cumin, dry red chilies, julienned ginger, as the seed start to change color switch off the heat and pour the tempering over the lentil. Serve hot with rice, roti, paratha.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Pineapple chutney...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 07:38:00 +0000

A Bengali meal is incomplete without a chutney. A formal Bengali meal starts with a bitter preparation and ends with a sweet and sour chutney, with different dishes like dal, sukto, vegetable curries, fish or meat preparations, served in between. Serving chutney along with papor (a deep fried wafer made from either lentil or sago) signals the final part of the meal, where different sweets are served, ending the meal with a sweet note. One can enjoy this kind of grand meal during the ceremonial occasions. We do not follow this elaborate meal structure for our daily routine, but it's a common practice to have little chutney even after a simple meal of rice and fish curry.

Chutneys are made from all possible ingredients, from seasonal fruits to vegetables to fishes, which is served and relished during the final part of a meal. Today I prepared a pineapple chutney. I absolutely love pineapple, as a fruit or as topping on my pizza or some grilled pineapple slices served with a dollop of ice cream.

Though I love this fruit, I find it pretty difficult to cut this spiny fruit. I prepared a typical Bengali style pineapple chutney or Anaros er chutni as we call it. I used fresh pineapple as they are in season now, canned pineapple can also be used.

This chutney is flavored with fennel seeds and dry red chilies. The flavor of fennel with sweet and tangy pineapple is a perfect match.

For this chutney the pineapples can be cut into small chunks or grated. It can be done both ways, depending on one's choice.

If you roughly chop the pineapple into small pieces the chutney will end look like the above image. And it nice to bite into some chunky pineapple pieces. If you grate the pineapple then it results to an awesome texture, I personally prefer to grate the pineapple.

I like to make few bottles of the chutney while fresh pineapples are in season and I store them in air tight glass jars. This way I can either gift a jar of chutney to someone or enjoy the fruit anytime of the year.

Things needed to make pineapple chutney:

Pineapple (roughly chopped): 2 cups
Fennel: 1 tsp
Dry red chilies: 2
Raisins: 1/4 cup
Sugar as per taste
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Lime juice: 1-2 tsp
Mustard oil: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch (optional)

Steps of making pineapple chutney:

1. Roughly chop or grate the pineapple into small pieces. Collect all the juices released while chopping or grating the fruit.

2. In a pan heat oil, I used mustard oil but any other vegetable oil can be used.

3.When the oil is hot add fennel and dry red chilies. As the seeds change color add the chopped or grated pineapple along with the juices. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt, mix well.

4. Add sugar. The amount of sugar depends on the tartness of the pineapple. The pineapple I used was very tart so I needed almost 2 cups of sugar.

5. As the sugar melts, add soaked raisins, cover and cook the for 10 mins. .

6. Switch off heat, add lime juice and let the chutney cool down. Transfer into a glass jar with lid.

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Kankrol er pur..

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 04:11:00 +0000

Kankrol or kantola is a common summer vegetable in India. This spiny green vegetable is aptly translates to teasel gourd for their spiny appearance. Though not as widely used as other vegetables, teasel gourd is full of health benefit and tastes good too. The egg shaped vegetable is mildly bitter in taste and prepared in different ways, from crispy fried to stir fried dry curries. As a kid we used to call it the sweeter version of bitter gourd, as the spiny outer part resembles bitter gourd but tastes much less bitter. Ma makes a simple kankrol bhaja (fried teasel gourd) with it. She cuts the teasel gourd into thin roundels and fries them till crispy, I still love to have my Kankrol bhaja that way along with steamed rice and dal.

Other than the fried teasel gourd Ma also makes a stir fry with onion and green chilies, sometime she adds shrimps to it, making the simple dish exquisite. After my marriage I got introduced to a new recipe, where the teasel gourds are stuffed with a coconut, mustard, poppy seed paste and deep fried. I learnt the details from my mother in law, and it's a mandatory dish to make every summer when teasel gourds are available. The dish is known by different names, pur bhora kankrol, kankrol er pur, though all translate to stuffed teasel gourd. As my mother in law calls it kankrol er pur, I do too. She dips the stuffed teasel gourd in rice flour batter, I exactly follow her recipe. But chickpea flour can also be used instead of rice flour.

As the process involves many steps, I have tried to explain it through the following video.

Things needed to make Kankrol er pur:

Kankrol: 10-12
Freshly grated coconut: 1 cup
Poppy seed: 3 tbsp
Black mustard seed: 1 tbsp
White mustard seed: 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar: 1 tsp
Green chilies: 3-4
Rice flour: 1 cup
Flour (maida): 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder: 1/4 tsp
Kalojire (nigella seed): 1 tsp
Mustard oil to fry

Steps of making Kankrol er pur:

1. Take large teasel gourd, cut them lengthwise into two equal halves. Scrape the outer spiny skin, wash well.

2. Boil the teasel gourd till fork tender. I used a pressure cooker for this, I cooked the teasel gourd for 1 whistle. Let the teasel gourd cool down. Scoop the inner part of the teasel gourd.

3. Take freshly grated coconut, poppy seed, mustard seed, green chilies, little salt, sugar and make a smooth paste. Try to use as less water as possible.

4. Stuff the teasel gourd with the coconut paste.

5. Mix rice flour, flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, nigella seed, little salt with water to make the batter.

6. Heat oil in a deep pan or kadhai, when hot, dip the stuffed teasel gourd in the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Serve hot with steamed rice and dal.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Bhuni Khichuri...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 03:40:00 +0000

The overcast sky with monsoon cloud pouring at times are most awaited relief after the blazing summer heat. Nonetheless we start to complain, the gloomy sky, the non-stop rain, water logged roads and many other reasons that make our daily life challenging. But food makes everything cheerful. It's an usual affair in a Bengali household to have Khichuri when it rains heavily. Khichuri is an one pot meal where rice and lentil are cooked together. cooking this particular dish has become a common practice during a rainy monsoon day simply becuase when the roads are waterlogged and it's difficult to go to the market to buy fresh veggies or fish or meat, it's convenient to conjure up a dish with basic ingredients in hand. Moreover, the steaming hot Khichuri warms up the chilly rainy days.

Bengalis cook Khichuri in several different ways, not only as a survival dish on rainy day. The most common way is to slow cook the lentil and rice in a risotto like consistency with minimal spices and served with a dollop of ghee and omelette or deep fried vegetables or fried papad. Vegetables like potatoes, cauliflowers, green peas are commonly added to the khichuri, making it a complete meal. Other than a rainy monsoon days, Khichuri is also prepared during Puja, as offering to the God. That special version is known as Bhoger Khichuri and has a unique taste and flavor which can only be experienced during the auspicious days of Puja.

Khichuri can be made with or without onion. Even there are versions where meat, fish, prawns are added to the Khichuri making it an exotic dish. Today I'm sharing a Khichuri recipe where the texture is more of pulao. I cooked the rice and lentil with aromatic spices and assorted vegetables. As the rice and lentil are cooked in ghee with spices then slow cooked to more like pulao, this is called Bhuni Khichuri or Bhuna khichuri.

I didn't follow any particular recipe for this, followed my instinct and the end result was fantastic. I used Basmati rice and yellow lentil, with carrots, cauliflower, frozen peas. I also added raisins for natural sweetness and cashew nuts for crunch. I tried to cook the dish using minimal oil and ghee.

I served the dish with pickled onion and raita. Monsoon or not, I must try dish for all.

Things needed to make Bhuni khichuri:

(Serves: 4)

Basmati rice: 1 cup
Yellow lentil (mung dal): 1/2 cup
Onion (finely chopped): 1/4 cup
Ginger (grated): 2 tsp
Cauliflower (cut into florets): 2 cups
Carrot (cubes): 1 cup
Green peas: 1/2 cup
Green chilies: 4-5
Dry red chili: 2
Bay leaves: 2
Cumin: 1 tsp
Cardamom: 2-3
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Cloves: 3-4
Nutmeg (powder): 1/8 tsp
White pepper powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste (about 4-5 tsp)
Raisins: 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts: 1/4 cup
Vegetable oil
Ghee
Water: 3 cups

Steps of making Bhuni khichuri:

1. Soak the rice and lentil separately for 30 min. Wash well, drain in excess water. Keep aside.

2. In a large heavy bottom deep pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and ghee. When hot fry the cashew nuts till brown. Take out and keep aside.

3. Fry the cauliflower florets and cubed carrots, take out and keep aside.

4. In the same pan add another tablespoon of oil and ghee. When hot, add bay leaves, dry red chilies, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cook till the cumin changes color. Add the chopped onion and cook till red. Add grated ginger mix well.

5. Add the soaked rice and lentil, turmeric powder and cook over medium heat for 5-6 mins. Keep stirring gently. The rice and lentil should be fried well. If needed add a teaspoon of ghee.

6. Add the fried vegetables, green peas, raisins, salt, sugar, nutmeg powder, white pepper powder. Mix well.

7. Add water (use hot water), let it boil. As the water boil reduce heat, cover and cook for 12-15 mins or till all the water is absorbed. Sprinkle the cashew nuts, little ghee and serve hot with pickled onion and raita.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Mango ice cream...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 03:34:00 +0000

What do you do when you have bagful of homegrown mangoes? I know choices are endless. Other than enjoying the mangoes as fruits I have also prepared different kinds of desserts using them. Here is the easiest one I'm going to share. An ice cream recipe that doesn't involve any cooking, neither an ice cream maker nor any kind of fancy gadgets. I prepared this creamy perfect ice cream with only three ingredients, and a wire whisk.

The most common problem we face while making ice cream at home is it turns icy while freezing. There are many reasons for that. Go through my date palm jaggery ice cream recipe for the details. But this recipe is bit different as it doesn't involve making any ice cream base as such. I mixed all the ingredients and whipped it with a wire whisk. Yeah, it was a bit energy consuming, but was a good exercise for my arms.

The problem I faced with the ice cream was during shooting the ice cream. I'm very finicky about my photography. I like to play with the entire set up and light for a long time before deciding the final arrangement. Though I chalk out the basic plan beforehand, but while working with the camera I believe in the creative instinct. But I must say one can never have time while shooting ice creams and that too in a 100% humid weather with 34 C (93 F) temperature. The ice cream was melting in no time. I felt so frustrated, but somehow managed to capture few images to share with you all. And that's my alibi of the melting ice cream images here.

Like my daughter said to me, 'Ma ice creams are meant to melt so don't worry', as she licked clean the bowl of the ice cream. The ice cream tasted really good, the texture came perfect.

Things needed to make mango ice cream:

(all measurements are according to US measurements, 1 cup= 240 ml)

Mango puree: 2 cups
Heavy whipping cream: 3 cups
Condensed milk: 1/2 cup

Steps of making mango ice cream:

1. Take all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk it with a wire whisk. As the mixture doubles up in volume, cover with a cling film and put it in the freezer.

2. After one hour take out the bowl from the freezer and again beat the mixture with the wire whisk. Repeat the process 3 to 4 times.

3. Cover the bowl and let freeze overnight. Serve chilled with mango cubes and mint leaves.

This post is going to the Summer fruit event by Kolkata Food Bloggers

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Meatballs with mango glaze...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 03:29:00 +0000

When I was asked to submit a recipe using summer fruits for an blog event, surprisingly the first thing came to my mind was not a dessert, but a savory dish. May be because I personally inclined to spicy savory stuffs than sugar loaded dishes. It's common to incorporate juicy pulpy summer fruits to a dessert or some frozen good. Specially when we are talking about mangoes. But I used it to glaze the chicken meatballs. The natural sweetness of mango, heat of dried red chilies and tartness of lime juice created a magic. Try it before the mangoes vanish from the market.

What I did here is very simple. I prepared the chicken meatballs, to avoid gluten I used oats as the binder instead of using breadcrumbs. I shallow fried the meatballs, they can be baked or deep fried as per choice. I'm lucky to have homegrown mangoes from my in-laws place. I used those sweet mangoes to make a relish and glazed the meatballs with the relish. The end result was finger-licking good.

Things needed to make meatballs with mango glaze:

(serves: 4)

For the meatballs:

Minced chicken: 250 gm
Onion (finely chopped): 3 tbsp
Garlic (minced): 1 tsp
Green chilies (chopped): 2-3 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Black pepper: 1/2 tsp
Apple cider vinegar: 1 tbsp
Egg: 1
Oats: 1/4 cup

For the mango relish:

Mango: 1
Onion (finely chopped): 2 tbsp
Ginger (finely chopped): 2 tsp
Cumin: 1 tsp
Lime juice: 1-2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Others:

Oil to cook
Fresh coriander
Sesame seeds to garnish

Steps of making meatballs with mango glaze:

1. In a bowl take all the ingredients for meatballs, mix well, cover and let it stand for 1 hr. Divide the meat mixture into small round balls. I made 14 balls from the mixture.

2. Heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil is a pan, when hot fry the meatballs till golden brown. Keep aside.

3. Remove excess oil from the pan, wipe the pan clean. Add a tablespoon of oil, when hot add cumin seeds and dried chilies. As the cumin seeds change color add onion and ginger, cook till the onions turns to pink. Add the chopped mangoes, salt and cook till cooked or for 15 mins. Add little water in between. Reduce heat, add lime juice to balance the taste. The mangoes were very sweet so I added two tablespoon of lime juice. It's better to taste and adjust accordingly.

4. Add the meat balls and toss in the relish to coat well. Add chopped coriander. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve hot.

This post is going to the 'Summer Fruit Event' of Kolkata Food bloggers. Click on the image below to check KFB's facebook page and find other recipes.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Black forest cake...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 05:13:00 +0000

I have crossed the milestone of 200 posts on my blog. It turns out that the last post was the 200th post. Today as I'm writing the 201st post I would like to thank everyone who visit my blog, read and try my recipes and shower me with their kind words through messages and comments. Thanks to all my Facebook and Instagram followers, and all the co-bloggers for inspiring and encouraging me.

It is an exciting milestone for me. When I started blogging five years back I never thought of having 200+ recipes on my blog. It was more spontaneous than planned, to note down how I cook at home and to list all the recipes I have learnt and tried over the time. It is all your support and encouragement that helps to me to keep going. So I'm in a celebratory mood and every celebration needs something special, so here is my and my daughter's favorite cake, the Black forest.

Blogging for last five years has helped me learn more about food and cuisines from different parts of the world and appreciate the art of food photography. So along with the recipe here are some snaps taken while I was making the delicious cake. It's a difficult job to prepare an elaborate cake like Black forest and photograph all the steps, I have tried my best to do so.

I used my KitchenAid stand mixer for making this cake. Frankly speaking the stand mixer makes the work very easy, but one can use an electric hand mixer.

Things needed to make black Forest cake:

(makes a 10 inch double layered cake)

For the cake:

Eggs: 5
Sugar (granulated): 2/3 cup
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Flour: 1/2 cup
Cocoa powder: 1/2 cup
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Salt : 1 tsp
Butter (melted): 3 tbsp

For the whipping cream:

Heavy whipping cream: 2 cups
Sugar (powdered): 3 tbsp
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp

Cherries:

Cheery: 2 cups + more to garnish*
Water: 3 cups
Sugar: 3 tbsp
Brandy: 1 tbsp**

*Canned cherries can be used instead of fresh cherries.

Others: Chocolate sprinkles or chocolate shaving to garnish

Steps of making Black Forest cake:

1. If using fresh cherries, pit the cherries (keep few cherries whole for garnishing). In a saucepan boil water, sugar and brandy. Add the pitted cherries. Lower the heat and cook for 5-6 mins. Switch off the heat. Let the cherries cool down. Store in a air tight container in the refrigerator.

2. If using canned cherries, drain the cherries from the syrup. Add a tablespoon of brandy to the syrup and mix. Add a tablespoon of brandy with drained cherries and keep aside. Traditionally Kirsch, a cherry brandy is used. Any other fruit brandy or rum can also be used, if Kirsch is not available. Or else one can completely opt out the alcohol and use the syrup of the canned cherries.

3. Pre-heat oven to 375 F or 180 C.

4. Grease and flour a 10 inch round cake pan, line the cake pan with parchment paper.

5. Take a saucepan one third filled with water and let the water boil. In a heat proof bowl take the eggs and sugar. Mix well with a wire whisk. Place the bowl over the saucepan with boiling water and beat the egg and sugar with the wire whisk till the egg mixture feels warm to touch.

6. Transfer the egg mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer and beat the egg with the paddle attachment for 5-6 mins on high speed. The egg mixture will expand and will turn pale yellow in color.

7. Sieve flour, cocoa powder, baking powder to the egg mixture. Do not add the dry ingredients at once. Add one third of the dry ingredients and mix gently with a wire whisk or spatula. Keep mixing till all the dry ingredients are added.

8. Take the butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt it. Add the butter gradually to the cake batter and mix gently with a wire whisk or spatula.

9. Pour the batter in the prepared cake pan and bake at 375 F or 180 C for 25 min.

10. Insert a skewer at the center to check whether the cake is done or not. Take out the cake and let it cool on a wire rack.

11. When the cake is completely cool. Slice the cake into two with a serrated knife.

12. While the cake is cooling down beat the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla extract till soft peaks are formed. I used the stand mixer with wire whip attachment and beat the cream for 4-5 mins on high speed.

13. Drizzle the cherry syrup on both the slices. Add dollops of whipped cream on the first layer. even the cream with a spatula or a pallet knife. Place the other half of the cake on top. Cover the cake with whipped cream. Garnish with cherries and chocolate. I used star nozzle to pipe the whipped cream and homemade chocolate cake sprinkles to decorate the cake.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Mach er matha diye dal...

noreply@blogger.com (Chitrangada) — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 04:02:00 +0000

Every Bengali can relate to the image above, a typical Bengali lunch, steamed rice, fried potato roundels and yellow lentils with fish head. Bengalis' are known for their fondness of fish. No meal is complete without fish in it. Fish itself is considered auspicious, and is cooked and served during every festivity and special occasions. It may seem surprising to some when they see how a giant Rohu/Katla head specially bought and cooked with utmost care to celebrate someone's birthday or to welcome the newly wed groom, but in our part of the country, fish head has always been considered a symbol of affection and respect depending on whom it is served to. In early times it was mandatory to serve the fish head to the the head of the family or the earning member of the family, a gesture of the gender-biased patriarchal society Times may have changed but I know there are families who still believe in this hierarchical legacy.

Luckily in our family we never experienced such bias. I'm quite fond of eating fishes specially the fish head. Though it was not always like that. Between the age of 4-10 I didn't touch anything associated with fish. Here comes my daughter's favorite story of my childhood, the story of how I became scared about any food with fishes in it. I think at this point you must have guessed that the culprit was those tiny little fish bones that gave me the scare. Yes, true. The story is simple. One day a fish bone got stuck in my throat when I was barely 4 yrs old. Surprisingly I can recall that horrible day vividly, may be a scary memory lasts longer than a happy one.

Being a part of a huge joint family I went through several home remedies to get rid of that fish bone. They made me swallow gallons of water, pieces of bananas, dollops of steamed rice, so that the fish bone would go down with the water or the food. But everything went in vain. So next stop was to see a doctor, who suggested to take me to the hospital. Yes, a small fish bone and hospital visit, I'm sure you can get the horror part of the story. What happened next changed me even more , the nurse put a machine in my mouth to keep my mouth wide open and the doctor took out the fish bone. It was hardly 5 minutes but I swore to myself not to touch fish ever in my life. I still remember how I used to feel the fish bone inside my throat even after the doctor took it out, like a memory that took long to fade away. So I completely excluded fish from my life. My parents tried hard to convince me. My uncles, aunts, cousins all tried their best but I was determined not to have fish.

Now comes the happy ending, a quick jump to 'after 6 years'. I was in fifth grade and still scared of eating fishes, but someone changed that. On my way to school I had a companion, one of my class mates, 'A'. We used to go to school together in a car. Being an avid foodie, most of the time 'A' used to talk about what she had for her lunch and dinner. It's true there is no sincerer love than the love of food. The way she used to describe the flavor, the texture, the aroma, believe me no one could have resisted falling in love with food after that. I did too. 'A' convinced me to try fish, and specially the fish head, as that's the part with almost no tiny fish bones. One day after school I asked my mother whether she can give me the portion of fish head. Ma was surprised and happy to know that I wanted to eat fish. And that was the beginning, gradually slowly the love grow. And I remember my mother gave a big treat to 'A' for convincing me to eat fish again.

Fish head can be cooked different ways, mixed with various vegetables, with rice, with lentils. As I mentioned earlier fish head is prepared during special occasions, this lentil with fish head or mach-er matha diye dal, as we call it in Bengali is one of the most common dish during any auspicious ceremonies. Usually large fish heads of rohu, katla are fried in mustard oil then dunked in yellow lentil soup among with various aromatic spices. The creamy yellow lentils with bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and fried fish head cooked together bring an extraordinary flavor and taste. I often make it at home and enjoy with steamed rice and fried potatoes (alu bhaja).

Things needed to make lentil with fish head:

(serves: 4)

Yellow lentil: 1/2 cup
Fish head (rohu or katla): 1
Bay leaves: 2
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Dry red chilies: 2-3
Green cardamom: 2
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Cloves: 4-5
Onion (chopped): 3-4 tbsp
Garlic: 1-2 cloves
Ginger (grated): 1 tsp
Turmeric power: 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Mustard oil to cook
Ghee: 2 tsp

Steps of making lentil with fish head:

1. Wash the fish head, remove the gills. Rub salt and turmeric powder on the fish head to season it and let it marinate for 30 mins

2. In a deep pan or in a pressure cooker dry roast the yellow lentil (mung dal). Keep stirring and take care not to burn the lentil.

3. Wash the roasted lentil and cook it for 2 whistles.

4. In a deep pan heat mustard oil, when hot fry the fish head till golden brown on both sides. Take out and keep aside.

5. In the same pan heat oil, when hot add bay leaves, cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, dry red chilies. As the cumin seeds start to change color add the chopped onion and crushed garlic. Cook till onions turn red.

6. Add grated ginger, turmeric powder, mix well.

7.Add cooked lentil and fried fish. Usually the fried fish head is broken into pieces while adding it to the lentil.

7. Add salt and sugar to season. Add water depending on the required thickness. Let it boil, reduce heat and cook for 5-6 mins. Add ghee and serve hot with steamed rice.

If you like to get regular updates from me go to my Facebook page and click on the Like button. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Kcolorandspices) and Instagram (@colorandspices) Thank you..!!!

Color and Spices

Nolen gur er Sondesh...

Ingredients to make Nolen Gur er Sondesh:

Steps of making Nolen Gur er Sondesh:

Brownies...

Ingredients for Brownies:

Steps of making brownie:(Please check the video for better understanding)

Grilled tomatoes...

Ingredients to make Grilled Tomatoes:

Steps of making Grilled Tomatoes:

Steamed Bao...

Ingredients for making Bao:(This will make 16 bao)

For assembling the gua bao:

Steps of making Bao:

Savoury star shaped bread...

Ingredients to make the star shaped bread:

For the dough:

For the sauce:

To assemble

Steps of making star shaped bread:

Rum raisin cake..

Ingredients to make the Rum Raisin Cake:

For the glaze:

To make the rum soaked raisin:

Steps of making Rum Raisin Cake:

Roasted Green Tomato Salsa...

Ingredients for roasted green tomato salsa:

Steps of making roasted green tomato salsa:

Simui-er Payesh...

Things needed to make Simui-er Payesh:

Steps of making Simui-er Payesh:

Kumror bhorta...

Things needed to make Kumror Bhorta (Bengali style mashed pumpkin):

Steps of making Kumror Bhorta (Bengali style mashed pumpkin):

Spicy stir fried prawn...

Things needed to make spicy stir fried prawns:

Steps of making of spicy stir fried prawns:

Homemade curd...

Things needed to make Homemade curd:

Steps of making homemade Curd:

Pomegranate Raita:

Idli..

Things need to make Idli:

Steps of making Idli:

Sugar free date walnut cake

Things needed to make Sugar free Date Walnut Cake:

Steps of making Sugar free Date Walnut Cake:

Pan seared fish with spicy coriander pesto...

Things needed to make Pan seared fish with spicy coriander pesto:

Steps of making Pan seared fish with spicy coriander pesto:

Uchche chochori...

Things needed to make Uchche Chochori:

Steps of making Uchche Chochori:

Batabi lebu makha...

Things needed to make Bengali style pomelo salad or batabi lebu makha:

Steps of making Bengali style pomelo salad or batabi lebu makha:

Peyajkoli diye tyngra mach er jhal..

Things needed to make peyajkoli diye tyngra mach er jhal:

Steps of making peyajkoli diye tyngra mach er jhal:

Whole mung bean curry..

Things needed whole mung bean curry:

Steps of making whole mung bean curry:

Pineapple chutney...

Things needed to make pineapple chutney:

Steps of making pineapple chutney:

Kankrol er pur..

Things needed to make Kankrol er pur:

Steps of making Kankrol er pur:

Bhuni Khichuri...

Things needed to make Bhuni khichuri:

Steps of making Bhuni khichuri:

Mango ice cream...

Things needed to make mango ice cream:

Steps of making mango ice cream:

Meatballs with mango glaze...

Things needed to make meatballs with mango glaze:

Steps of making meatballs with mango glaze:

Black forest cake...

Things needed to make black Forest cake:

Steps of making Black Forest cake:

Steps of making brownie:
(Please check the video for better understanding)

Ingredients for making Bao:
(This will make 16 bao)