Chana Dal Pakora Curry(Split Chickpea Fritters Curry)

Lunch ideas: Chana Dal pakora curry (Split Chickpea fritters curry)

A very easy to cook recipe without onion and garlic. A simple and immensely tasty dish, goes best with steaming rice but can be surely tried with hot fulkas/parathas...

We are going through one of the darkest periods in history. Engulfed in fear and anxiety, passing days in lockdown because a virus has killed and infected over lakhs worldwide....a mortal combat to protect ourselves and others from these deadly microbes Corona. To take my mind off this grave situation and challenged by the constraints of going out and procuring whatever I wish, I have started with my experiments again with a handful of ingredients readily available in every kitchen.

Dum Aloo ~ Without Onion And Garlic

Dum Aloo Bong Style when offered to deity as bhog during puja/festival is cooked without onion and garlic but is one of the front runners in taste and flavour amongst all the vegetarian dishes. The beauty of the dish lies in the fact that it’s cooked sans onion and garlic which aids the bursting of flavours of various spices like cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, asafoetida, whole red chillies, ginger etc in every mouthful. The dish pairs brilliantly with luchi/puri, pulao, jeera rice, roti/parantha. Cook this Bengali ‘Aloor Dum’ whether festival or no festival, occasion or no occasion and see the beauty of simplicity in the dish. It’s a very easy and quick dish, no hazards, no exotic ingredients but an amazing result in three simple steps. The cooking medium should essentially be mustard oil and nothing else.

Aloo Posto (Potatoes In Poppy Seeds/Khus Khus Paste)

Today I’m posting a dish which can be called the soul-food of Bengal. 'Aloo Posto' or Potatoes in Khuskhus/Poppy Seeds Paste is some thing with which I’m sure every Bong can connect with. Whichever part of the world may a Bong live in, he/she is bound to have a soft corner for ‘Aloo Posto’. A Bengali platter is never complete without it. It’s one of the easiest and simplest of dishes that I know of but the taste …can any vegetarian dish beat it in taste? It’s without onion and garlic, requires the minimum of ingredients but those who haven’t tasted it must make it today to fall in love with the quintessentially Bong ‘Aloo Posto’.

ATypical Bong Platter of Aloo Posto, Masoor Dal(Lentils), Plain Rice

#Summer Cooler Recipe 3 ~ Melt-In-Mouth Lauki Muttar (Bottle Gourd With Green Peas)

Summer Cooler Recipe 3
 

This is the third in this series of summer cooler recipes that is becoming quite regular in my kitchen nowadays. It is another healthy, easy and fit for summer recipe yet extremely delicious to make you addicted to it. It’s flavourful, melt-in-mouth, without onion and garlic and cooks so fast, a perfect dish to provide you respite from this gruelling heat, at the same time being easy on your stomach. Bottle gourd/Lauki and muttar/peas are combined with some flavourful whole spices and pressure cooked to give a brilliant result. Try it out today….

#Summer Cooler Recipe 2: Seem Baingan (Flat Beans With Brinjal/Aubergine)

Summer Cooler Recipe 2

This is the second in the series of summer cooler recipes that I have been posting. It is a very simple and easy-to-cook recipe ready in 7-10 minutes saving you the trouble of staying in the kitchen for long hours in this heat. This is a vegan recipe with the least number of ingredients and without onion and garlic. The dish is healthy as well as delicious slightly on the sweeter side and can be relished with either roti/ Indian bread or rice.

# Summer Cooler Recipe 1: Flavourful Dahiwale Aloo (Baby Potatoes In Flavourful Yogurt Gravy)

Summer Cooler Recipe 1

Summer is truly a testing time for me. In Delhi’s inexorable heat I prefer to cook something that’s not too spicy, light on the stomach, fast to cook, yet not compromising on the taste. As the availability of variations in veggies is limited I innovate something with whatever at hand. The other day I had some small/baby potatoes lying in the kitchen and some fresh dahi/yogurt in the fridge. Made Dahiwale Aloo putting together some more ingredients that were readily available in the kitchen. Very easy to cook and extremely delicious, this recipe is a must try in the summers.

Tomato Khajur Aampaapad Chutney (Khejur Aamshottor Chutney)

During the winter months this is a must accompaniment with lunch at home specially in the weekends. Though much loved for its perfect combination of sweet and sour taste with an extra bit of tickle for your tongue because of the addition of dry red chilli, it’s pretty easy to make and gets ready in a jiffy. The zing attributed to the dish comes mainly from two ingredients dates/ khajur and aam paapad or aamshotto, the Bong name given to dried leather of mango pulp and sugar syrup. I always have a stock of aamshotto handy in my fridge for this chutney and for those depressing times to eat just like that. Often having just a slice of aamshotto uplifts my mood. So whenever I chance to go to C.R.Park I pick up quite a few of them.

 

Tomato Khajur Aampaapad Chutney

Vegetable Croquettes/Chops

Vegetable Croquette or Bhegitabil chop as we Bongs lovingly call it is a recent request from a very dear friend. She wanted a very easy and simple recipe. So Reshmi the simplest way to make this delectable, all time favourite snack is here for you. Though I knew the main ingredients but always have this habit of calling up Maa to ensure them. I followed the process she told me over the phone. Beetroot, carrots and potatoes are the vegetables generally used for the stuffing, but you can add other veggies like beans, peas if you desire. These crispy, delish croquettes are a delightful nosh with a cup of tea in the winter evenings with the obvious accompaniment of Bong Adda….

Vegetable Croquettes

The Authentic Bengali Malpua

We shifted to our new house about twelve days back. This is my first post here since I managed to get the broadband connection yesterday only after much follow up. There are several other works piled up, setting up of a new house is so much trouble and labour. Carton full of clothes, books, other household items etc. are lying around but nothing can keep me off my passion, cooking and blogging for long.

Authentic Bong Malpua

Kolkatar Singara ~ Samosa Bong Style

The Bengali New Year or Poila Boishakh is just round the corner and this is a special recipe for the special occasion. Also it will complete one year of my blog. This is the first one in the series. ‘Kolkatar Singara’…. does this stir up any pleasant memory in your mind? Well, it does for me. A Bong at heart I can never erase these wonderful gastronomic experiences in Kolkata during my younger days there. Singara is a Bong name for samosas, a triangular Indian pastry with mainly savoury stuffing of spiced potatoes, peas etc., but the flavour is strictly Bengali. The stuffing, taste, texture everything is just out of the world, a class apart, incomparable with any samosas I have tasted after that.

Alu-Phulkopir Singara

Sattu (Toasted Bengal Gram Flour) Poori and Mughalsarai Station's Alu Subzi (Potato Curry)

India is a treasure cove of several lip smacking regional delicacies. Different regions have their own ingredients, style of cooking and delicacies. Those on an Indian culinary tour must not miss these rustic tastes or their gastronomic journey would be incomplete. One such food is Sattu Poori which is a jewel from Bihar. Sattu is toasted Bengal gram flour which is healthy, delicious and filling, a staple of Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh region. With this I served the famous Mughalsarai Platform’s Alu Subzi, a heavenly potato curry often served with pooris at the Mughalsarai station platform. Mughalsarai is a major junction in Eastern UP and the platform food is very popular among those frequently making train journeys through this station. This Alu Subzi is so simple and tasty, you will be amazed at the rustic flavour of this dish with such few ingredients. Both of these delicacies made an incredible matching and we had a dinner to remember. However you can savor this magical alu subzi with plain pooris or paranthas too.

 

Sattu Poori

Restaurant Style Shahi Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

Shahi Paneer (Cottage Cheese) is one of the best and most glamorous North Indian paneer dishes. Though this dish needs no introduction just writing a few lines for those who are not familiar with it.  Essentially Punjabi, Shahi Paneer has become popular owing to its super delectable taste and magnificent color and texture. This dish has a thick, smooth gravy of tomatoes, cashew nuts, fresh cream and different condiments. The beautiful mix of flavors makes this dish unique, the tomatoes give the tanginess the cashew and cream give the richness to the gravy and justify the name ‘Shahi’ given to it. It is a must-feature in any north Indian thali in a restaurant and goes brilliantly with any Indian bread, but you can try it out with jeera rice or pulao too.

Shahi Paneer

Sukha Chatpata Aloo (Spicy Dry Potatoes Sans Onion And Garlic)

What do you do when you have nothing in the refrigerator to treat a surprise guest at your place? Yes, if you have only a few potatoes lying somewhere in the kitchen, you can serve a delightful meal with hot pooris and sukha chatpata aloo. I thought this post would be all the more apt with the Navaratras on because this delicious spicy potato is sans onion and garlic. It requires minimum time and fewer ingredients, everything that is readily available in the kitchen and is totally hassle free.

Sukha Chatpata Aloo

Rava Kesari (Golden Semolina)

Rava Kesari is a delicious South-Indian sweet dish mainly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka made usually on religious festivals or auspicious occasions. This is the simplest of desserts that can be made and one of the regulars in my kitchen. The addition of saffron or kesar, the most expensive spice in the world makes the dish breathtakingly beautiful and gorgeous. Naturally it conquered the hearts of Indians from other parts of the country as well, gained fame and is now loved all over India. Though the golden semolina is thought to be most befitting as an offering to the Almighty, you can treat this vegetarian dessert to your guests too any time because it’s so easy to make and is ready in a jiffy.   

 

Rava Kesari