Mashed potatoes- Alu Makha

Alu Makha

I have learnt a lot of Bengali cooking from my pasher badir mashima, my neighbour aunty. Alu makha which is mashed potatoes in Bengali cuisine is one such dish. It is absolutely yum.

Ingredients ( Serves 2 )

Potatoes 2 boiled and mashed roughly

Onion 1 large finely chopped

Green Chilli as per taste finely chopped

Coriander leaves finely chopped 2 tbsp

2 tsp cumin seeds and 3 whole red chilli dry roasted and powdered

Lemon juice 2 tsp

Mustard Oil 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Mash the potatoes roughly.. Do not mash it to fine, then you will get a crunch with every bite. Add all the other ingredients to the potatoes and mix well. Serve with hot rice and dal/lentils.

• 

Ghugni.. White Peas In Gravy

Ghugni is one of the most popular dishes in Kolkata.. It can be had just as a snack on its own or with luchi/puri or bread toast

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 cup (250ml) of white peas soaked in water for at least 8 hours

One medium onion finely chopped

One tomato finely chopped

2 inches ginger ground into fine paste with 1 green chilli

One small potato chopped into small pieces

Salt to taste

1 tsp each of cumin powder, coriander powder and Kashmiri red chilli powder

Dry roast 1 inch cinnamon, 3 pieces cardamom, 1 bay leaf, 3 whole dry red chilli, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp coriander seeds. Powder this.

Mustard oil 1 tbsp. You can also use refined oil if you wish.

2 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped

3 whole green chillies

Method

Pressure cook the white peas with salt to taste, turmeric powder and 2 slit green chilli. Take care not to over cook it. One whistle on high flame and 3 whistles on low flame should be enough but then it also depends on the pressure cooker you are using. Take mustard oil in a pan and fry the potato pieces till golden. Remove from oil and set aside. In the same oil add finely chopped onion and saute till translucent. Then add the ginger paste and saute for a minute. Then add finely chopped tomatoes with salt to taste just for the gravy as we have already added salt for the peas. Now cover and cook for 5 mins on low flame. Then add the fried potatoes with the cumin powder, Coriander powder and Kashmiri red chilli powder and mix well and cover and cook again for 2 minutes. Then add the white peas with a cup of water and cook for 10 mins till the potatoes are cooked and the white peas are nicely mixed with the seasonings. Now add the dry roasted powder and mix well. Finally garnish with coriander leaves and green chilli. Serve hot with raw onion sliced and bread toast or puri.

Appam

My husband is extremely fond of appam with stew, especially the one available in Koshy’s in Bangalore. I decided to learn the same and realised that it is one of the easiest dishes to make. All you need is a well fermented batter and an appam pan.

• 

Ingredients

2 Cups of parboiled rice

One handful of Beaten rice/ Poha

1 Tsp of Methi Seeds

½ Cup of grated coconut

1 Tsp of Yeast

1 tsp of Sugar

60 ml warm water

Salt to taste

Soak 2 cups of parboiled rice with a handful of poha/Beaten rice and a TSP of methi for 5 hours. Grind this along with ½ cup grated coconut into a smooth paste. Now activate 1 TSP of yeast by adding 60 ml warm water and a TSP of sugar. Add the activated yeast to the batter with salt to taste and ferment for 8 hours. Once fermented the appams are ready to be made. Add a ladle full of appam batter and rotate the appam pan making a circle. Cover and cook till the middle portion gets cooked and the sides become crisp. Remove and serve hot with Vegetable or Mutton Stew.

Stuffed Green Chilli

The big Green Chillies, the pakode wale mirchi , can be made in a different way..No need to make it heavy by dipping in gram flour and deep frying. Sharing a yummy recipe that will go well with rice and roti. And as usual it is the easiest to make.

Ingredients

Big Green Chillies – 4 slit and deseeded

Potatoes – 2 boiled and cut into small pieces

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece grated

Nigella Seeds/Kalaunji – 1 tsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Red chili powder to taste

Garam Masala Powder 1/2 tsp

Method

Deseed the pakoda chilli and sauté in a little oil and set aside. In the same oil add onion and grated ginger… Then add kalaunji and haldi and fry till translucent. Then add boiled and diced potatoes and salt.. Cover and cook on slow fire till a little crisp.. Last add the red chili powder and garam masala pwdr.. Mix and remove from heat. Now stuff this into chilli and grill in otg till nicely roasted. Serve hot with Rice or roti

Stuffed Potol/Pointed Gourd

I love potol/pointed gourd..it is indeed a versatile vegetable which mingles with any spice that you use..rainy season is the season for fresh potol and I make a dish with it every other day..sharing the stuffed potol recipe..the Bengali non veg version has fish mince in it…I either use potatoes or paneer..do try

Ingredients

Potol/pointed gourd 4 pieces – Remove the inside of the potol..use the flesh and the seeds only if white in colour..discard if yellow. Scrape the skin of the potol very lightly

1 boiled potato/50gm paneer..use either of the two

Onion 1 finely chopped

Green chilli 1 finely chopped

Ginger half inch grated

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Method

Take oil in a pan..add the cumin seeds. Then add the onion, ginger and green chilli with turmeric powder and sauté till translucent. Then add the inside flesh of the potol and sauté for a minute. Now add the mashed potatoes/grated paneer with salt to taste..mix well..lastly add the red chilli powder..mix and switch off gas. Once the mixture cools down, stuff it into the potol shells. Shallow fry covered till done. Do not worry if a little stuffing comes out while frying..scoop it out of the oil and RE stuff once the potol is done. Enjoy with dal and rice.

 

Potoler Dolma

I have been really lazy the past few months. But I plan to get out of this state of inertia and what better way to do so than by sharing the recipe of my favourite dish.

For all my friends interested in Potoler Dolma…Basically .. the Non-veg version has meat stuffed in it…So my mom used to make without stuffing with only the gravy and it is indeed yumm..

Ingredients

Take 6 pieces pointed gourd/parmal/potol..scrape the skin…Remove the ends And slit 1/4 on both sides taking care not to halve it…it should be whole.
Chop 1 tomato very fine

Coriander Leaves finely chopped 1 Tbsp

Whole Green Chillies 2

Grind together
2 inch Adrak
2 whole Red Chilli and 1 Kashmiri for colour
Saunf/mowri/fennel seeds 1 tbsp

Method

Take oil in a kadhai..add the potol and saute on high .. do not let it turn brown though..Remove from oil…Now in same oil add bayleaf/tej patta…add the ground masala , haldi, a pinch of sugar..the tomatoes…saute for 2 mins…add the potol and salt to taste…mix…add water just to cover it…and cook on simmer till done. GArnish with green chilli whole and corainder leaves.

 

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.

Hare Matar Ki Nimona/ Green Peas Pureed with Indian Spices

I am a great fan of Food Shows on TV and every once in a while come across a recipe which is worth trying. This time I tried Nimona after watching it in Utsav Thalis of India and it was just fantabulous. The ingredients here are celebrated to the optimum and the dish is delicious.

Ingredients (For 2 as an accompaniment)

Fresh Green Peas 100gm – Ground coarsely

Tomato 1 Medium sized – Blanched and pureed

Potato 1 medium size – Diced

Ginger 1/2 inch and Green Chilli as per taste- ground together

Coriander Leaves- 1 tbsp finely chopped

Red Chilli powder- a pinch

Coriander Powder- 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds/ Jeera- 1/2 tsp

Cloves/ Laung – 2 pieces

Asafoetida/ Hing- A pinch

Bay Leaf/Tej Patta- 1

Salt to taste

Clarified Butter – 2 Tsp

Method

Take the clarified butter in a pan and saute the potato until golden brown and set aside. In the same clarified butter add whole red chili, cumin seeds, asafoetida, cloves and bay leaf. To this add the ginger and green chilli paste and saute. After a minute add the pureed tomato and the red chilli powder and coriander powder. Saute till the ghee separates. Now to this add the ground green peas and salt, mix, add a little water and cook it for 3-4 mins. Finally, add the fried potatoes and give it one more boil. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis. Yum!!

 

Kadhai Paneer

One of the most popular dishes in North India, this dish too has many variants. However..at the end of the day, it is indeed heaven to bite into succulent pieces of the capsicum matched with Paneer/Cottage Cheese, a match surely made in heaven. I share the recipe that I follow.

Ingredients (Serves 2 )

Cottage Cheese/Paneer 100 gm cut into 1-inch pieces

Tomato – 2 chopped fine

Ginger- 1 tsp finely grated

Green Chilli – 1 cut into two pieces

Tomato – 1 deseeded and cut into cubes

Onion- 1/2 cut into cubes

Capsicum – 1 cut into cubes

Salt to taste

Clarified butter/desi ghee – 2 tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Kasuri Methi – 1 tsp

Powder together

Red chilli as per taste and Coriander 1 Tsp dry roasted

3 cardamom, 3 cloves and an inch of cinnamon

Method

Take clarified butter in a pan and add the tomatoes and the ginger and saute until soft. Now add the cubed capsicum, tomato and onion and mix well. Add the powdered spices and saute for 2 mins. Now add the cubed cottage cheese, along with the garam masala, salt to taste and kasuri methi. mix well. Add a tbsp of water at this point so that all the spices mix well. Cook till totally dry. Kadhai Paneer ready to be served with phulkas.

 

Tadka/Dal Makhani

When we were young… We used to go for a family outing once a month… To a Punjabi Dhaba for dinner. Not one of those posh restaurants but literally a shack which churned out the most amazing dishes. During each visit, one dish always featured in our order and that would be the amazing Dal makhani. My mom managed to befriend the cook there and took the recipe from him. This recipe is very different from most of the dal makhani recipes that you will find on the internet but believe me when I say that I am yet to taste this kind of Dal makhani anywhere else… Sharing the recipe with you all

 

Blackgram lentil/Black Udat Dal.. One small Cup/katora. Soaked for at least 6 hours

Onion 1 big finely chopped

Tomato 1 big finely chopped

Ginger/Adrak ½ inch grated

Garlic/Lehsun 3 pieces grated

Whole garam masala ..brown cardamom/elaichi 1.. Green cardamom/elaichi 2..cloves/laung 3.. cinnamon/Dalchini ½ inch

Cumin/Jeera pwdr

Coriander/Dhaniya pwdr

Red chilli powder

Garam masala pwdr

Cream 1 tsp

fennel seeds/Moti Saunf 1 TSP

Tejpatta 1

Salt

Oil

Coriander leaves and green chillies for garnish

Method

Boil the dal with the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and all the whole garam masala and cumin pwdr, coriander pwdr and red chilli pwdr. Pressure cook till very well done; It takes about 20 mins on simmer. Mash well. Take 1 TSP oil in a pan and add the fennel seeds and tejpatta. Be careful at this point as fennel seeds burn easily burns easily. Add the mashed Dal immediately and Salt as per taste. Give it a boil. Add a TSP of cream and garam masala… Garnish with coriander and green chillies… Try it this way.. It comes out amazing 🙂

 

 

Coriander Pulao

This is one of the first complicated dishes that I learned to make on my own 🙂 It is simply delicious when you are yearning for a variety in Pulao.

Ingredients ( Serves 2)

Grind Together the following

Coriander Leaves 1 small bunch

Shallots 6 pieces

Coconut Grated 1 Tbsp

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Green Chillies as per taste but this pulao tastes better when spicy

Ginger 1/2 inch piece

Other Ingredients

1 Onion sliced long

1 Tomato sliced long

1 potato cubed

1 cup Basmati Rice soaked for 15 mins

Whole Garam Masala- 3 cardamoms, 3 cloves and a stick of cinnamon

Clarified Butter/Ghee – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method

In a pressure cooker add the clarified butter and the whole garam masala. Then add the onion and saute until transluscent. Add the tomatoes and the potatoes and saute until the tomato is soft. Now add the ground masala and saute on high until all moisture is absorbed. This is important as otherwise, the pulao will become soggy. Then add the rice and salt and 1 1/2 times water. Cover the pressure. Cook on high for one whistle and on low for 6-7 minutes or 1 whistle whichever is earlier. Serve hot with Raita.