Friday, August 09, 2019

Bengali Rice Congee or Phenaa Bhaat



Bengali rice Conge or Phenaa Bhaat

Phenaa Bhaat in all Bengali Homes == Bengali Rice Congee in a restaurant.

Few days back, I was talking to Pritha Di( the famous Pritha Sen) about typical Bengali breakfasts served in Bengali middle class homes until a few years back.

" Don't tell me about Luchi, Parotta, Kochuri. Tell me something else, " I said.

That is when memory of this ubiquitous dish, ever present in our childhood mornings, came back.

For the first ten years of my life, I remember rushing through the morning, sleepy eyed and grumpy to catch the school bus somewhere around 8 AM. What I cannot fathom is, how I managed to eat a hot breakfast of soft cooked rice, mashed potatoes and boiled eggs with a pat of melting Amul Butter, that early!! My daughters can barely finish a bowl of cereal in that time.

But it wasn't me alone. Millions of Bengali kids fortified themselves with a similar breakfast and probably still do. It is a healthy, one pot meal. easy for the mothers to cook and definitely good for the kids who swallow the soft morsels hurriedly in the morning.



In PrithaDi's home it was known as "Jau Bhaat". In mine "Phenaa Bhaat" and if the starch was drained then "Seddho bhaat" or "Bhaate Bhaat".

In those days, we had no idea that other Asian kids, strewn around China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Myanmar are probably eating a similar gruel called Congee as their breakfast.

The key to the Bengali "Phenaa Bhaat" is the rice. It has to be a short grained rice and if a fragrant one, all the more better. So the natural choice is Gobindobhog rice. In its absence you can use Kalijeera or any other local short grained rice. The rice is to be cooked with lots of water and vegetables to a starchy gruel like texture. The vegetables vary with season and shouldn't overpower the dish. During summer it is usually potatoes, and then you pick couple of choices from okra, pumpkin, radish and green papaya. In the winter, there is carrots, sweet peas, cauliflower and of course potatoes.



Once cooked, the vegetables can be mashed separately and served with the dish. Some of the vegetables like pumpkin, potatoes and papaya can just be roughly mashed into the rice itself. My mother used to also serve fried fish with the seddho bhaat when she was pressed for time. All of this would be topped with Ghee or a pat of golden Amul butter.

I like it when the dish has a silky and smooth texture and served with eggs. I also like to dress it up with some green chili and ginger slices fried in mustard oil.



Sunday, August 04, 2019

3 Ingredient Oreo Cookies Ice cream



Summer temperatures have been high around here and that can only mean ice cream and more ice cream.

This "No Ice cream Maker" recipe is so easy that any kid could do it and that's what Little Sis did. Well she is not that little any more. Almost eleven.

But what I am saying is, this recipes is so easy that any kid in elementary school who can follow some instructions should be able to make this ice cream.



Honestly taking a photo of this ice cream was more difficult than making it. Since the oreos had been crumbled and the rest devoured by the girls, we couldn't find any Oreo cookie to style the ice cream photo. That is when Big Sis suggested to put a tiny piece of brownie (she had just made a batch for her friend) on the ice cream. That is what you see there and Li'l Sis said it was a good addition to the ice cream actually. Sugar on Sugar.

But then that's what our short lived summers are for.

3 Ingredient Oreo Cookies Ice cream

What you Need



Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream -- 1 Cup

Condensed Milk -- 1/2 Cup or 4oz (a little less than this is okay)



Oreo Cookies -- 10-15 Oreo Cookies crumbled (Either crumble them with a rolling pin or use a mixer)
Note: We had Thins so used about 15

How I Did It

Beat heavy cream/whipping cream at high speed setting until soft peaks form. Speed setting 6 for 6 minutes. This was our KitchenAid setting.
You could use a hand mixer or even beat with a whisk but the latter would take longer time.

Add Condensed Milk to the heavy cream and stir to mix.

Add the crumbled Oreos. Mix well.




Pour this heavenly mixture in an air-tight glass container. Cover with lid. Put in freezer.

Take out after 8-10 hours. Ice cream will be set by then.

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