It’s starting to rain at Bangalore these days. I love the rains. I miss the fact that it rains here usually in the afternoon. When I was growing up at Ranchi, there were no such timing. In fact there were quite a few days when it rained 5-6 days continuously. I have special memories of the lunch mom used to serve during these days. After coming back from school, I had to have bath (else no lunch). And after that she used to serve traditional Bengali recipes. Believe me, I was not fond of vegetables but during rains when served hot I used to relish them. And the best such combination was Khichudi (or Khichdi) served with Papad and Aloo Poshto. It used to be both me and my brother’s favorite.

Aloo Poshto is a traditional Bengali delicacy. There are various methods of preparing it. But there are 2 major styles of it, East and West Bengali style. In the East Bengali style (which is what my side of family follows), we usually have it dry and by adding turmeric. West Bengalis (Sumi’s side of family) on the other hand love it plain white (without any turmeric), and usually as a watery curry. In fact Poppy Seeds are so famous among the West Bengali households that they literally “pop” them into any vegetable preparation. Sumi loves it that way. And I love our way of preparation.

Today I will post my mom’s version of the dish. It is the East Bengal style of preparing it. We will post the other version, when Sumi decides to make it and write about it because I have no clue how that one is made. Also this version is completely vegetarian (means it doesn’t use any onion and garlic too). Hope you all enjoy it.

Ingredients

• Potato – 4 big
• Poppy Seeds (Khus Khus) – 100gm
• Green Chillies – 3 to 4
• Kaalo Jeera (Black Cumin Seeds) – 1 pinch
• Heeng (Asafoetida) – 1 pinch
• Chilli Powder – 1tsp
• Sugar – 1tsp
• Turmeric Powder – 2 pinches
• Mustard Oil – 4 Tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Coriander Leaves – For garnish (Optional)

Method

Grind the poppy seeds and 2 green chillies into a paste (usually you need to dry roast the poppy seeds, then grind coarsely along with the chilies by adding little water). Make sure you make a proper paste but don’t make it runny. Keep aside.

Wash the pototoes. Peel and cut them into small cubes. Keep aside.

In a wok, heat mustard oil. Add a pinch of black cumin seeds and asafoetida. It will start sizzling immediately.

Add the potato cubes to the mixture and keep frying. When they start to get fried, add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and sugar. Slit 2 green chillies in the centre and add them to the mixture. Mix well.

Now reduce the flame and cover the wok and let it cook. In regular intervals, remove the cover and stir it nicely.

When everything mixes well and get fried properly, add the poppy seed paste that was kept aside. Mix well.

Cover the wok and let it cook. At regular intervals keep turning and stirring the mixture well and keep changing the flame from slow to medium and vice versa. The idea is to cook it well without burning the spices.

If the potatoes don’t get boiled properly, sprinkle water on the mixture and keep turning.

Once the complete mixture get fried properly and the potatoes are boiled well, remove from the flame.

Garnight with coriander leaves.

Related posts:

1. Aloo Gobi
2. Bhindi Aloo Dry

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Nirameesh Aloo Poshto

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Well from this month, I joined a “Your Best Recipe” Roundup that is promoted by Nancy from The Spicie Foodie

The roundup is really awesome. There are such lovely recipes included in it and I love going through them all. Sumi and I have even decided to try some of them. Hopefully they are as good as the original.

I submitted my recipe Pancharangi Chaatni.

Click below to go to the April Roundup Page.

No related posts.

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here April YBR Round Up

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Paneer remains my all time favorite. When I was a kid (I am not one now despite what my mom wants me to believe), mom always made a paneer dish once a day. Lunch always used to contain fish, which is obvious as we were a typical Bengali family, but on Saturdays it was no fish. Instead we had a paneer dish. As far as I was concerned for me it made no difference. I loved fish, chicken and paneer equally. In fact some days when we had leftovers, I had to select between paneer or chicken and it used to be a very difficult decision indeed. So it is no surprise that when we visit Kolkata these days (that too once a year), paneer is an important ingredient in mom’s dishes. In fact this time when we visited, she made 4 different paneer dishes. Yummy!!

So today I am posting one of those 4 dishes. It is a classic in North Indian cuisine. Bengalis, however, have paneer usually in other forms. But my mom loves to make paneer with peas. And I just love the dish. Hope you all enjoy it too.

Ingredients

• Paneer – 400gm
• Peas – 100gm
• Onion – 1 sliced into small pieces
• Onion – 2 whole (cut into big slices)
• Cashewnuts – 50gm
• Green Chillies – 6 sliced
• Tomato – 1 (cut into big slices)
• Capsicum – 1 big (slices into small pieces)
• Salt – to taste
• Kasoori Methi (Dried Fenugreek seeds) – 1 pinch
• Jeera (Cumin) Powder – 1/2tsp
• Dhaniya (Coriander) Powder – 1/2tsp
• Chilli Powder – 1/2tsp
• Garam Masala Powder – 1/2tsp
• Shahi Paneer Masala Powder (if present otherwise not needed) – 1/2tsp
• Tomato Sauce – 1/2 small cup
• Butter – 50gm
• Refined Oil – 4Tbsp
• Fresh Coriander Leaves for Garnish.

Method

Grind and create a paste of 2 whole onions (cut into big slices), cashewnuts, tomato, and green chillies, in a mixer. Keep aside.

Cut paneer into small cubes. In a non-stick wok, add oil and fry the paneer cubes till they turn light brownish and remove from oil. Keep aside.

Fry the capsicum slices and keep aside.

Now add 1 sliced onion to the wok and fry. When brown, add the prepared paste from the first step and keep frying. When it becomes well fried, add all the remaining spices.

Now add the peas and fry well in the spices.

In a different utensil, heat little water and add the kasoori methi.

Now in the main wok, when the peas get fried well, add the kasoori methi water and butter. Bring it to a boil.

When the mixture starts boiling, add the fried paneer cubes and capsicum. Keep cooking till everything get mixed and the water evaporates. Now add more water and cook further. When fully cooked, add tomato sauce and garam masala. Mix well and switch off the flame.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Related posts:

1. Paneer Vegetable Delight
2. Paneer Noodles Quickie

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Matar Paneer

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

It’s been ages since we posted a recipe. Things haven’t been very smooth at the home front. We have been extremely busy with our work. My parents are visiting us and there were lots of trips to the hospital to check whether everything is alright with them. Things are looking better now. The past few months haven’t been exciting cooking wise. We ate pretty regular stuff as mom wanted to eat regular food. My diet went for a toss as I really wanted to stop the low carb diet for few days. So over and all there was not much to blog about. However as I was looking at my notes, I stumbled upon my mom’s recipes which Sumi and I jotted down when we went to Kolkata during the winter. So over the course of next few posts you will find her delicious recipes.

Chutneys are a regular in any Indian menu, mostly as appetizers. But among Bengalis, it prominently features as a dessert quite logically as a sweet. The tomato chutney (Chaatni in Bengali) is a regular and is also a special dish prepared on festivals. There is also the date chutney, jaggery chutney (khejuri gurer chaatni) and lots of other varieties. My mom makes a special chutney with 5 fruits and vegetables (hence the name pancharangi). It tastes different as in each spoonful you might find some other fruit My mom made quite a lot of it that was supposed to have gone on for few days but the big mouth in me gobbled almost half of it in 1 day hehehe. Hopefully you all love it too.

Note – Some ingredients are typical Bengali ones. I have tried to explain it as best as I could. You can try a variation of spices though depending on what you get from your nearby Indian shop.

Ingredients

• 6 Tomatoes
• 1 Apple
• 1 Carrot
• 50gm Aamsotto (fruit leather made out of mango pulp mixed with concentrated sugar solution and sun dried)
• 20gm Cherry
• 8-10 Cashewnuts
• 20gm Raisins
• Sugar (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Paanch Foron (Indian five spices)
• 1tsp Bhaja Mosola Guro (Indian five spices dry roasted and grounded to powder)
• 1Tbsp Refined oil

Method

Chop all the vegetables and fruits and set aside.

In a wok, add the oil and then the paanch foron and saute for 10-15 sec till the fragrances come out. Add the cashew, raisin and the other chopped fruits and vegetables and cook covered for 15-20 min sauteing in between. Take care that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Just when it is cooked, add the sugar (add sugar as per your taste – usually it is 1 cup).

Keep sauting till the the gravy thickens. Take it out and add the powdered spice on top. Garnish with extra cashews. You can set it aside in fridge for better taste.

No related posts.

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Pancharangi Chaatni

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Due to our diet and erratic cooking habits we always try to find the fastest way to cook food – be it chicken, fish or prawns. It’s been quite a few time, Sumi cooked prawns with the shell on. To be frank, I have never been a huge fan of prawn, leave alone cooking it with the shell on. But Sumi was adamant this time and the result was fabulous. Not only did she cook it faster, the prawns were soft, moist and tasty. I am sure you all would love it too.

Ingredients

• 500 gm prawns
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 green chillies chopped
• 1″ ginger sliced
• 8-10 small onions
• 4-5 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp mustard oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Marinade the prawn with all the ingredients (except oil) and set it aside in refrigerator for 2 hrs.

Heat mustard oil till it smokes out, add vegetable oil, put the prawn and fry in medium heat for 5 minutes. Cover and cook till another 10 minutes.

Garnish it with chopped coriander. Eat by removing the shell.

Related posts:

1. Lau Chingri
2. Kaju Chingri Curry
3. Palak Stew with Fresh Cream

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Quick Delicious Prawns

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Sumi and I love Roast Chicken. However we always wanted to try and cook it ourselves. Alas all the recipes everywhere showed how to prepare it with the help on an oven. And since we live in a rented flat which doesn’t have the provision of an oven fitting, we are always at a loss. Everywhere we read, they said that Roast Chicken cannot be done in a microwave. So we finally decided to give it a shot anyways. Ultimately if it doesnt work we can always cook something out of it.

So with bit of this and that, we finally got it made. When Sumi ate it, she said it was the best chicken she ever made. Well I didn’t correct her. It was really awesome. So now we plan to bring home whole chicken whenever we get a chance. After all, practice makes a man perfect.

Note – The picture is of the chicken when it came just out of the microwave so pardon the untidy look of it :p

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 5-6 cloves of garlic crushed
• 2 medium onions cut into 4 pieces
• 2 twigs of thyme
• 10 green chillies
• 2 tbs soya sauce
• 4-5, 1″ginger slit
• Salt to taste
• Yoghurt (200gm)
• Turmeric 1 tbs
• Vinegar 1tsp
• 2 lts of water
• 2 lemons cut into 4 peices

Method

Marinate the chicken with all ingredients and keep it dipped in water for 24 hrs so that all vegetables and the chicken gets mixed properly.

Take few of the marinated onion pieces, garlic, thyme and chillies and place them inside the chicken. Now in a microwave safe pan, drizzle some olive oil and salt, put the chicken and drizzle some olive oil again and put the wings folded below.

Pre-heat the microwave oven to 220 degrees celcius. Now put the microwave in Combination (Micro + Convection) mode with the microwave set at the average power and the convection temperature set around 220 degree celsius. Cook the chicken for 30 minutes.

Keep the chicken in the oven for 10 minutes before taking it out and serve it.

Related posts:

1. Chicken in Tangy Sauce
2. Plain Chicken Fry
3. Low Carb Cheese Cake

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Roast Chicken

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Happy New Year everyone. It’s going to be an exciting year ahead. We wish to thank all those readers who have started reading our blog last year. Your support means a lot. This blog almost stopped getting any updates due to our real lives but thankfully we revived it towards the later part of 2011. Our total recipe count stands at 22 now. Not a great number but this year we promise to be regular in our posts.

So what are our plans for this year. Well personally my resolution is to make my low-carb diet work. I have just been able to lose little weight ever since I started my diet. The main reason being I was never consistent. Due to my past tryst with stomach ailments, the moment I felt I was feeling not well, I went back to carbs. But not anymore. We plan to follow a regular plan (with bits of treats for us in between of course). Sumi’s target is maintaining her weight (she is within 3kg of her ideal weight). My target is reaching my ideal weight+5. I know it is achievable, I just need more discipline.

With regards to this blog, we have plans to update this blog regularly with minimum 2 recipes per month.  That should be a good start. But personally I would like to see that go up to 1 recipe per week. We are in good shape for the first few months as we have a bunch of recipes in the pipeline. I also have a collection of around 16-17 recipes by my mom which I wrote down and tasted during the New Year break when Sumi and I visited Kolkata. Of course none of them are low carb recipes, but then I do not follow the diet when I visit my parents.

So today I don’t exactly have a recipe for you. I just wanted to wish you a great year ahead and it already being 15th of Jan, I think  I am already behind. So I simply show you a salad arrangement done by Sumi last year. This should inspire me to stay healthy. You all remember the last ice cream arrangement I posted about. Well this salad arrangement was done just 3 days before that. Sumi is really creative and she loves doing these. I hope she stays like this thoughout and I get to post more wonderful creations from her.

Happy 2012 everyone again. May you all have a peaceful and fulfilled year.

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© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

This is going to be the final post of the year. We have not been regular with our posting this year too but things have picked up since November and I am happy for that reason. We are visiting our parents right now and we’ve been here since 24th and we will go back to Bangalore on 1st. Sumi is still following her diet (minus the first day when she just couldn’t resist Mom’s cooking). In contrast, I have simply decided to forget that I am on a low carb diet for these days. That means yummy sweets and wonderful dishes from one. I have requested mom to stay simple. I want to have simple home cooked meals. The result is a fabulous collection of 7 recipes so far in 4 days – not bad at all. And we have 4 full days left. All these recipes will come up on the site and trust me you will love them.

Back to the post, Sumi wants me to close the “being fishy” series now. I have 1 more of the fish recipe from that day in my archives and it was another of those yummy ones that Sumi made. This time it was from the frozen fish fillets that we got from the Super market. I love this brand. It is called Ocean Fresh Fish Fillets. It tastes yummy even with a simple preparation. It has no fishy smell and its very clean. Hope you enjoy this recipe.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I look forward to 2012 and everything that the year has in store for me.

Ingredients

• 3 frozen fish fillets thawed (approx 250gm in total)
• 2 Tbsp coriander paste
• 1 Tbsp cumin paste
• 1 tsp red chilli paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 stalk of leek thinly sliced
• 1 tomato thinly sliced (8 slices)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• Vegetable oil as required
• Salt as per taste

Method

Marinade the fish fillets with salt, turmeric and lemon juice and set it aside for 15 min.

In a non-stick pan, add vegetable oil sufficient to shallow fry the fillets. Now add the fillets and fry for 3-4 minutes in medium heat. Turn them after 2 min. Fish cooks in very less time. Take care not to fry too much as it will become flaky. Set aside the fried fish fillets.

In the same pan, add coriander paste, cumin paste, red chilli paste, garlic paste and ginger paste.  Sauté for a min. Now add the sliced onion, leeks, tomato and sauté again for 2-3 minutes. Once the paste is fried just enough, you will get a good aroma of ginger garlic and oil separates from the paste.

Now add the fillets back in the pan and add 80-100 ml of water and increase the flame. Coat the fish fillets with the gravy.

You can make it more interesting by adding 100ml coconut milk instead of water.

Serve hot with rice.

Related posts:

1. Fish Fry with Yoghurt Sauce

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Yummy Fish Fillet

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Monday is vegetarian day at our home. All because of that woman in my home :p She was following this for a long time so even though I argue, I usually give in. So today we were out of options. There was no paneer, which we usually have on Mondays, and almost no vegetables barring few spinach bunches and little bits of this and that. I don’t know what got into Sumi but she decided that it’s high time she tried something new with spinach.

We had this awesome spinach soup at a restaurant before and ever since wanted to try it ourselves. The main problem Sumi faces is washing the spinach leaves properly. We do not get a good quality in our locality store here and it usually has loads of sand and dirt. So this is what she spent the maximum time on. Honestly I would never have the patience to wash each and every bunch (and leaves) and then cut them nicely. But that’s Sumi for you. Anyways after this strenuous preparation, she cooked the stew surprisingly faster. And the end result was very yummy. Oh the joys of wifey cooking for you, I tell you.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of fresh spinach stems removed
• 1 medium capsicum sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes sliced
• 1 big onion sliced
• 2 green chillies chopped
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 small green cardamom
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 50 ml fresh cream
• 80 g butter
• Canola oil as required
• Water/Vegetable stock  100ml
• Salt as per taste

Method

In a wok add some vegetable oil; now add chopped garlic, green chillies, onion, capsicum, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir for 4-5 minutes till onions are translucent.

Add spinach, black pepper, tomatoes and cook for 5 min. Now add the stock and cook again for 15 min till gravy reduces. Add salt as per taste.

Mix well with butter, cream and parsley.

Serve hot.

Related posts:

1. Lau Chingri

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Palak Stew with Fresh Cream

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Mom taught me baking cakes. I loved how she made elaborate preparations days before the actual day of baking. The regular ovens which are available at the US and which my friends tell me about are not that common in India. My mom never ever had one and I don’t think Sumi and I will have it soon. Hence it is difficult to follow the traditional recipes. Mom used to do lots of trial and errors before she found the right combination to bake. I have baked around 12 cakes so far by myself. But only 2 after marriage. Sumi is not comfortable with cakes so it is up to me to initiate them. Since we are so much into the diet, I decided to try my hand at a cheese cake today evening.

Now there were few restrictions (or limitations if you want) that I had to deal with. First, I had never ever prepared a cheese cake before. Second, we have a microwave oven so I could only use its Convection Mode so all specifics with respect to a baking tin etc. which happens in regular ovens will not work here. Third, I would not be able to use many ingredients like crumbled cookies etc. as per Sumi, due to the diet. She only allowed very less variety of ingredients. So with all these restrictions in place, I set about baking my cake.

As you can see, the cake is slightly granular. It should have been more smooth but we didnt have a blender to get the completely smooth whisk. I kept on whisking for so long that my hands started paining LOL

Ingredients

• 250gm Ricotta Cheese
• 125gm Mascarpone  Cheese
• 2 eggs
• 10 sachet of Sugar Free (or as per your taste. Remember mine was low carb so I tried with as less sugar I could)
• 10 drops of Essence of Vanilla
• 20gm Butter
• 3-4 Chocolate pieces

Method

Take the Ricotta and Mascarpone cheeses and mix it well together whisking them slowly.

Add the eggs one by one while whisking slowly. Mix well.

Now add the butter and mix it well.

Start whisking a bit faster and keep adding the sugar and the essence of vanilla to it.

Finally add the chocolate pieces by grinding them.

Mix the batter carefully to get a smooth consistency.

Preheat the microwave oven (convection mode) to 220 degree Celsius. Now in a microwave safe utensil (I used a microwave safe glass tray), add the batter, level it carefully and bake it in the oven for 30-40 mins.

Let the cake stand in the oven for around 10 mins inside the oven. Now take it out and let it cool and then chill for minimum 1 hour.

You can garnish the cake with icing sugar or plain sugar-free.

No related posts.

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Low Carb Cheese Cake

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness