tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975Wed, 30 May 2012 01:13:16 +0000VeggieRecipe from BlogsSquashPeasjackfruitMineMustardHealthy EatsMintGreensPancakeTraditional BengaliWeekly MenuOf Chalks and ChopsticksTeaPostoMushroomGaramMasalaceleryDesi PunditPanch PhoranNon-traditional BengaliBengali Recipe BookBottleGourdFoodFictionRecipe from FamilyBengali Tomato ChutneyChutneyRiceSandwichChristmasFishGuacamoleMySpicepMethiChickencakesGingerMy BookMa-in-LawSummer GardenRecipe from FriendsMuriPumpkinTurmericDetoxPepperBengali RecipesEventFestivalMiriRecipe from BooksCorrianderBengali KitchenMangoDalPeppersWeekendBreakfastShrimpNon BongSnackBitter GourdBeans7 Day ChallengesalmonFruitsGeneralBeetPaneerCarrotDessertCabbageSaladBesanNonVegDrinkKidsSouplight lunchKids MenuBrown RiceKochuri-LuchiMuttonGreen ChiliRecipe IndexOne Pot MealPastaEggsMilkRCI BengalCauliflowerCoffeeHouseMaEggplantPotatoesdatesPatolSoyGiveawayA Bong, a mom & a cook...http://www.bongcookbook.com/noreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)Blogger391125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-349452975289880326Thu, 24 May 2012 04:18:00 +00002012-05-24T00:31:24.482-04:00I don't know if a Burrito Bowl has anything to do with summer at all. I just wrote that. I wrote that because I love the seasons in the East Coast and I have come to deeply appreciate the earth's tilt at a current angle of 23.44 degrees. I love seasons as much as I do the park system here. And I am not even going into the National Park Service. Not even the Sate Parks. The mere county parks http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/05/burrito-bowl-speaks-of-summer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-4058793324273579489Fri, 18 May 2012 02:53:00 +00002012-05-17T22:56:41.705-04:00 When the parents are here we eat a lot of fish. Almost everyday. Mostly it is the sweet water familiar fish from back home which we get from our Bangladeshi grocers. Rui, Ilish, Koi, Pabda. The fish is rock solid, frozen and 12 years back I would have never believed it tastes nice in a halka jhol. If you are unsure about such stuff I would suggest you do your own evaluations and not make it http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/05/tel-koi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-8833356858407831400Mon, 14 May 2012 16:29:00 +00002012-05-14T13:02:28.749-04:00cakesSnackNon BongKids MenuRecipe from BlogsDessertKidsEggsYesterday was Mother's Day. I am sure you had a nice one if you are one or made it nice for some Mother if you are not one. Mine started on Friday itself with a Mother's Day Tea at Little Sis's school. I am very excited about these pre-school activities as I get to see the child in a different scenario than I am used to and this time I was going back to the same school where I had attended http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/05/piyas-orange-chocolate-cupcakes-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-7386501573223831757Thu, 10 May 2012 16:56:00 +00002012-05-10T13:14:30.265-04:00Healthy EatsMineBreakfastlight lunchVeggieNon BongEggsNow that the writing for my book is towards the end and is at a point-- where I am having the I-want-to-scratch-the-whole-thing-and-start-all-over-again-but-even-then-I-am-going-to-write-the-same-thing-so-we-will-wait-for-the-editor syndrome -- I find myself with some time after 9:30 at night . Since I keep referring to the book as my third child I must tell you this was kind of similar to http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/05/no-crust-quiche-or-baked-frittata.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-6645182400453242710Fri, 04 May 2012 16:25:00 +00002012-05-04T13:26:11.750-04:00PaneerMineVeggieNon BongMilkRecipe from Blogs Yesterday Little A chopped off her hair. Not all of it. Few strands. She took the pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer which she uses to cut paper. She said she wants to cut paper. But did she cut paper ? No. Instead she cut off some of her own hair. I told her never to repeat the act again and at that she cried so much that Big Sis had to volunteer two dolls from her collection to get http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/05/paneer-korma-in-spiced-yogurt-sauce.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-6894748133665257310Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:09:00 +00002012-04-26T22:42:01.011-04:00MaNonVegBengali KitchenFishBengali RecipesRecipe from FamilyTraditional BengaliBengali Recipe Book Amidst the umpteen other things that my Dida(maternal grandmother) cooked, there was an Ilish Maccher Tauk. Heads of ambrosial Ilish suspended in a thick, brown, sweet and syrupy liquid that was sweetened with jaggery and soured by ripe tamarind. To call it a "Hilsa Head Chutney" would be plain blasphemy. It was a backstage kinda dish. I mean while the choicest pieces of Ilish were fried andhttp://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/04/ilish-maacher-tauk-heady-memories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-4300571163393270266Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:13:00 +00002012-04-22T21:19:11.940-04:00 This was a breakfast from last Sunday when it was sunny and bright. The radiant looking chutney powder is a treasured gift sent by my dear blogger friend Vani of Mysoorean. I had won a Giveaway at her blog for a Cookbook but when the large sized package arrived from her it contained lot more than the book. There was a sweet chutney powder which mixed with ghee and smeared on soft Idlis makes http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/04/breakfast-idly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-5100095099800738918Sat, 21 Apr 2012 02:43:00 +00002012-04-20T22:43:58.083-04:00PepperHealthy EatsMineVeggieGreensNon BongSaladI think I should come out clean and let you know that most days I do not cook elaborate meals. I have neither the time nor the energy for it. It also helps that I am kind of lazy. But then again I am a believer in home cooked food with a certain aura of health around it. Ask my friends, at times my healthy cooking spree drives them 56 miles away from my home. But I stick to it with the samehttp://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/04/spring-mix-roasted-sweet-pepper-mango.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-5197918450143662659Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:30:00 +00002012-04-18T22:36:43.858-04:00MaVeggieCauliflowerTraditional BengaliThis post, the recipe part of it had been written way back when my Mom was here and whipping up such stuff. Then on another day when I was feeling kind of "over-the-top" senti, the prelude to the recipe was jotted down(which you will come upon on further scrolling down). Well I still feel that way but then today I simply had to write a little about LittleA---stuff totally unrealted to the http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/04/kopir-dantar-chachari-stalking.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-8457126501283356495Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:25:00 +00002012-04-13T21:25:13.815-04:00General Wishing you all a very Happy Bengali New Year.http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/04/shubho-naboborshor-priti-o-shubhechcha.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-6127200812122116668Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:39:00 +00002012-04-11T23:10:16.216-04:00Recipe from FriendsNon BongDessertWhile in my last post I lamented on friendships lost, today I will sing paeans of the ones that sustained, with no effort of mine. And this past Spring weekend we got a chance to spend time with two of them -- T and R-da. We have known T for a long long time, so long that she is practically family. My daughters love her and her husband much, call her T pishi and draw her and R-pisho in family http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/04/ts-tiramisu-one-so-good-that-i-dare-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-1207357878796089203Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:09:00 +00002012-04-03T12:13:57.503-04:00NonVegRecipe from FriendsNon BongChicken....Or maybe the Nawab's lazy harem. I mean the Nawab never cooked anyway so it must have been either the Harem ladies (which I seriously doubt) or the chief bawarchi's sous chef(more probable) who took this shortcut approach to Chicken Kababs. It might also have been the Harem ladies in their Kohled eyes and betel juice stained lips who made these when economy was bad and they could not afford ahttp://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/04/h-mans-chicken-kabab-from-lazy-nawabs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-5079811004674363151Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:26:00 +00002012-03-27T08:58:27.078-04:00My BookGeneralFor the longest time I have wanted to sit cozy and gossip over a cup of chai. Legs drawn together, feet tucked under, sitting close, a cup of warmth in my hand, speaking in hushed tones.javascript:void(0) About what ? I have no clue. I have friends with whom I talk mostly over the phone. We discuss everything from Romney to the Jupiter and Venus in the night sky. The sad part is none of them havehttp://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/03/come-have-chai-for-i-have-news-to-share.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)154tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-1300503989604899485Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:41:00 +00002012-03-19T12:56:48.907-04:00BreakfastMilkKids MenuPancakeKids Ever since I saw this event "Edible Book Festival"  announced I wanted to take part in it. A fun way to spend a weekend with the girls I thought. But I wasn't sure what exactly to create until one fine night under the comforter we read "Pancakes, Pancakes" for Lil Sis.(by Eric Carle) "Pancakes" it hit me. "We can do pancakes". "We can color it", said Big Sis who always tries to find an excusehttp://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/03/ladybug-pancakes-for-edible-book.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-4476307621259589381Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:22:00 +00002012-03-07T23:58:17.296-05:00MaVeggieBengali RecipesPotatoesTraditional Bengali Bengalis and only bengalis can come up with a term like "Niramish Alu Dom". I mean isn't it plain common sense that Alu Dom IS a "niramish" aka vegetarian dish. But Bongs are so fastidious about their vegetarian food that they divide it in two categories --- (1) the regular vegetarian cooked with vegetables but may contain onion and garlic and (2) the strict satvik vegetarian which uses no onionhttp://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/03/niramish-alu-dom-mas-recipe-for-holi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-6944436625039866116Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:28:00 +00002012-03-05T22:29:42.802-05:00MaMySpiceRecipe from Family Every Monday, ok most, I wake up all anew, striving to be a "Good" Mother. Not "Very Good". Not Excellent. And definitely "Not Bad". Just plain, simple "good" Like I have all along wanted to be. Good girl, good student, good whatever...an uncanny desire for goodness. Only this time it is harder than most. How do I decide how much I need to nag for Piano Practice without it falling into the http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/03/my-mothers-bhaja-masla.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-3655059433729767180Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:32:00 +00002012-02-24T22:36:04.715-05:00NonVegShrimpFishMa-in-LawBengali RecipesTraditional Bengali This is my Ma-in-law's recipe. I think it is. At least this is how I remember she made it last time. And my Ma never makes anything with this particular stress on Cumin. So it must be the Ma-in-law's. I admit I didn't bother to verify and check again. But I always make this particular dish this way and attribute it to her. I have done it so many times that now even the husband agrees. "Yes,http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/02/chingri-jeerer-jhaal-way-ma-in-law.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-5699870685875132590Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:22:00 +00002012-02-19T23:25:13.485-05:00MethiMaVeggieBengali RecipesRecipe from FamilyTraditional BengaliMy Mother's forte is the simple unassuming everyday Bengali meal which she cooks everyday. Even if there is two vegetables, a dal, a fish curry; all in their cold corning ware whites stacked up in the refrigerator, she cooks. I shout at her asking her to stay away from the kitchen, to relax; but at the end of the day, there is always a pyrex bowl resting on the counter, still warm and smelling http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/02/methi-begun-way-my-ma-makes-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-8879148382134305847Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:35:00 +00002012-02-14T13:49:45.770-05:00MiriGeneralRaji Shanker, blogs at Peppermill Recipes. I call her Miri.Even after I knew her real name, I called her Miri. Today she is no more with us. I cannot believe it.All I have done today is thought about her. And then I decided I needed a closure. For Peace. Rest in peace, my dear friend. This post is for you and the Goshtu recipe that you mailed me will be for dinner tomorrow. This was from a http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/02/miri-miss-ya-remmeber-ya.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-125392512340894695Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:23:00 +00002012-02-08T12:25:45.002-05:00NonVegRecipe from FriendsFishBengali RecipesTraditional Bengali If you have been reading me for a while you know that I do not have a personal profile on FB. I have my own reasons for that. And anyway I am a late bloomer so I might get on finally when I am the last one standing. I did my eyebrows only in the late twenties so I still have a chance. I am that kind of a person. I however have a Page for my blog on FB which you can checkout by clicking on the http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/02/sunetras-peyajkoli-maach-fish-with.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-2955106659483127760Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:27:00 +00002012-02-06T11:27:32.417-05:00TeaI often complain about how I want to drink my tea in peace. In fact I complain so much that if BigSis makes a card for me listing a few things that I love-- right there at # 1 is "Mommy loves to Sleep" and # 2 is "Mommy wants to drink tea in peace". She has REALLY given me a card and two like that. I don't know if she is trying to get a message across---child psychologists would know better--- http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/02/mera-wala-chai.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-6425438191889827003Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:46:00 +00002012-02-02T20:49:55.749-05:00Recipe from BooksNonVegMineNon BongChicken When I was younger, nubile(not), nymph like(not) I adored guys who wrote mushy love letters and chose white befuddled pigeons as their choice of courier. Mailman were passe. In between they would have saved the world, brought justice, developed six packs and delivered hot kisses. Now I am in love with Dads who stay calm, rock solid and raise foul mouthing hormonal girls, trying to bond with http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/02/ajwain-wali-chicken-chicken-with-ajwain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-3062322706586809202Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:49:00 +00002012-01-27T11:52:49.742-05:00VeggieSoupNon BongOne Pot Meal"Khai Se" -- said with an East Bengal accent followed by scratching of head or any other decent body part translates to "Oh My Gosh(OMG)" And no not the "OMG!OMG!!! you look so pretty" said to the bride. Rather "OMG! #$%#$%!!! I am so sorry. I spilled my greasy butter paneer on your wedding saree" kinda "OMG". So I wanted to say I made "Khao Soi" because that is what my heart was set on. And http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/01/curried-noodle-soup-almost-like-khao.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-1675101832599078582Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:34:00 +00002012-01-21T22:36:58.231-05:00MineVeggieSoupNon BongOne Pot Meal Everybody and their nephew must already know how to make a Sweet Corn Soup. I didn't. Before Jan 16th that is. I didn't even want to know. Sweet Corn Soup wasn't the kind of soup I ordered at a restaurant. At a restaurant I usually skip the soup. Except of course if it is Thai where I can practically live on the soup. And if it is Panera where I go to torture myself. But on Jan 16th after all http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/01/vegetarian-sweet-corn-soup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35578975.post-8408232504771842519Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:18:00 +00002012-01-15T00:19:53.227-05:00MaBengali KitchenMilkBengali RecipesDessert I really had no intention to make a dessert again today. Sankranti, Columbus Day, Republic Day -- no, I wasn't going to celebrate them by making anything sweet. Enough !! My Ma though had other ideas. She had already made the coconut-kheer stuffing and was all ready to launch into Poush-Parbon frenzy. "Nah, no more sweets. Do you realize how much of sugar we have consumed all through December?"http://www.bongcookbook.com/2012/01/pati-shapta-on-sankranti-with-touch-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bong Mom)28