Showing posts with label RCI Bengal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RCI Bengal. Show all posts

Friday, May 02, 2008

RCI Bengal: Round Up Stage II


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The second and last RCI-Bengal Round up is the sweetest. This series has Chutney, Dessert, Snack, Drinks and Non-Recipe write ups.


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Photo Courtesy: Flickr


As I said earlier for a history of Bengali Cuisine please refer to the article "Bengali Cuisine" from Wikipedia , I found the article very interesting and informative. For many of you who might not be aware of the history of Bengali cuisine, the various terms used and its delicate intricacies this article is a treasure. Even for those who are aware of the cuisne this article throws new light about the historical influences etc.

I would also like to mention that RCI-Bengal was an event where Bloggers cooked and sent their version of recipes of Bengali Food, as they saw it.Many of them might have adapted the original recipe to suit their taste, preference, local ingredients, whatever. So,this is not necessarily a compilation of authentic or original bengali cooking.

I thank everyone for making this event a success.



The Chutney

Anarosher Chaatni -- the only chutney entry, a beautiful pineapple chutney from Bee and Jai at Jugalbandi

Bengali style Raita -- a new dish from Mythreyee at Paajaka recipes



The Dessert




Kesar Badam Sandesh -- a delicious light creamy delicacy from West Bengal made with fresh home made paneer or chenna is from Medhaa at Cook With Love



Rasgulla -- the all time favorite sweet looks so scrumptious that you would love to pick it up right off her blog, from Dhivya at Dhivya's Cuisine



Sandesh -- the pristine white beauties made from paneer/chenna are from Cham at Spice-Club



Kala Jamun -- a gorgeous step-by-step demo of making kala jamuns which is known as Kalo Jaam in Bengali is from Dhivya at Culinary Bazaar



Choco Mava Peda -- delightful looking pedas from Nirmala at Amma's Special




Rasgulla -- sweet, juicy delights from SunshineMom at Tongue Ticklers



Cham Cham -- they look so professional and are so beautifully presented you would want to grab one off the screen, sweet delights from Sandhya at Sandhya's Kitchen



Rasagulla -- sweet, juicy, spongy rasagullas made for her Appa's Birthday and of course RCI from Kamala at Moms Recipes




Bengali Sandesh -- melt in your mouth sandesh from Priya at 365 Days of Pure Vegetarian



Bhapa Doi -- delectable bengali cheesecake flavoured with saffron and cardamom served with dollops of humor from Mallika at Quick indian Cooking



Rasmalai -- a fabulous tasting and definitely great looking dessert from Arundati at Escapades



Mishti doi -- a sweet yogurt, a bengali favorite served with sweeter memories from Sunita at Sunita's World



Jibe Goja /Fried pastry coated with syrup -- a simple yet household favorite from Rinku at Cooking in Westchester



Rasmalai -- a great looking dessert from Swapna at Swapna's Cuisine




Patishapta -- a very traditional Bengali dessert of thin crepes filled with a sweet coconut & kheer stuffing from Archana, mama of twins at Archana's Culinary Adventures



Mishti Doi -- a lovely dessert in a lovely pot from Renuka at Fusion




Rasgulla -Bengali Mithai -- one more dessert with a "eat me up" written all over it explained with detailed steps and tips from Mansi at Fun n Food


Kalakand -- decadent looking sweets from Mallugirl at Malabar Spices



Shrikhand -- this lovely dessert does not have any bengal connection that I know of, but then who am I to give verdict in the larger scheme of things so I am including this beautiful entry here from Jan at Food with a Pinch of Love (Jan had asked me if this dessert could be considered but I am welcoming all entries with open arms)




The Snack or JolKhabar




Jhaal Muri -- with a dash of mustard oil this tasty snack of puffed rice is from Meera at Enjoy Indian Food




Koraishutir Kochuri -- kachuri stuffed with a spicy sweet pea filling, one of the Bengal's winter breakfast or snack favorite is from Raaga at The Singing Chef




Oven baked Paneer Shingaras -- healthy and delicious samosas or shingaras from Siri at Siri's Corner




The Drink




Rasamadhuri Sherbet -- a pretty sherbet with an equally pretty name from Uma at Essence of Andhra




No Not a Recipe



Day 2: 16th March 2008 -- a travelogue on Kolkata with some beautiful Pics from Anjali at Swachchanda. She also shares an article on Haldiram's Food City in Kolkata here.



Traditional Bengali Curries - One Page Cookbook -- an entry from Ramki. This is entirely his version of Bengali Cuisine as he sees it. (But please can we not say "curry" for every dish. Also I am no authority on Bengali or any cuisine but I felt a lot was "Lost in Translation" in this writeup)

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

RCI Bengal : Round Up Stage 1


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Phew….finally the round up is done. Never did I think that I would slog in the blog world and work late into night to meet deadlines which were not even there. Is this why I took up blogging as a hobby, I lament. No I took it to run away from pressure and deadlines of the real world.

But what do I see, there are tough task masters here too and even without the fear of the pink slip dangling over my head I am bowing down to them. Why am I up late into the night, browsing recipes, reading bloggers who have sent me entries and whom I have not yet chanced upon, jumping from their RCI posts to others which catch my fancy, categorizing hoards of recipes, why oh why then ?

And I realize it's for the love all of them have shown in cooking for an event, for their enthusiasm in trying out something new which might not be to their liking, for their courage in buying unknown spices and giving them a place in their comfortable kitchen, for their effort in digging out authentic recipes and reliving memories.

Thank you all my dear friends for all the enthusiasm and the cooking. Thanks to Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine for strating the event RCI (regional Cuisine of india) and letting me host RCI-Bengal. Thanks to Vani and Rajitha for telling me, I could ping them if I needed help with the round up.



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Photo Courtesy : flickr


Wiki says, "Bengali cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in Bengal, a region in the eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Indian state of West Bengal and the independent country of Bangladesh". The style of food preparation varies across various regions of Bengal, from the hills in the North to the Plains by the Ganges, from the east Bengal Kitchen to the one in West Bengal.

For a history of Bengali Cuisine please refer to the article "Bengali Cuisine" from Wikipedia , I found the article very interesting and informative. For many of you who might not be aware of the history of Bengali cuisine, the various terms used and its delicate intricacies this article is a treasure. Even for those who are aware of the cuisne this article throws new light about the historical influences etc.

Edited To Add: In lieu of some of the comments etc. I would like to mention that RCI-Bengal was an event where Bloggers cooked and sent their version of recipes of Bengali Food, as they saw it.
Many of them might have adapted the original recipe to suit their taste, preference, local ingredients, whatever. So,this is not necessarily a compilation of authentic or original bengali cooking.



Now without further ado I will let you jump onto the recipes.
This is Part I of the round up with recipes in the following categories Rice, Veggie Side Dish, Dal, Complete Meal, Seafood, Meat and Eggs.
Part II will have Chutney, Dessert, Snacks, Drink and Non-Recipe write ups

Within each category the recipes are ordered in accordance to their arrival order at my Inbox. If I have missed anyone or any details of your recipes, please leave a note.


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RCI-Bengal Round Up -- Part I



The Rice

Bengali Royal Rice (Pushpanna) -- a flavorful Rice Dish from Anu Sriram at Chandrabhaga

Khichudi -- not just rice but a nourishing and tasty mix of rice, dal and veggies, a complete meal if you prefer it that way from SunshineMom at Tongue Ticklers

Bengali Prawn Pulao -- a pulao with rice, moong dal and prawns from DG at DG's blog

Ghee Bhat (Rice with Clarified Butter) -- rice flavored with cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon and ghee from Priyanka at AsanKhana




Bengali Ghee Rice -- one more rice flavored with ghee and spices from Nags at For The Cook In Me


Khichuri -- with a recipe straight from a Bengali friend this comforting medley of rice, lentils and vegetables is from Nupur at One Hot Stove




Khichuri -- a new take on the authentic Khichuri with a very different spice mix from Trupti at Recipe Center



The Veggie Side Dishes

Aloo Posto -- a simple yet bengali household favorite from Gaurav at Gastronome By Choice


Veg Chop Inspired Sabji -- inspired by the delicious Vegetable chop this novel sabji follows the same recipe that goes in making the stuffing for the chop, from Gauri at Guj Food Guide


Alur Dom -- her grandmom made a mean alur dom which was spicy and red hot, recreated for us by Mandira at Ahaar

Paneer and potatoes with panch phoron -- flavored with ground panch-phoron powder this unique new dish is from Linda at Out of The Garden

Begun Bhaja -- a Bengali hot favorite flavored with spices from Trupti at Recipe Central


Saak er Ghonto with Bori -- a very authentic recipe of greens with other veggies and boris made at home from MS at Food Travails


BandhaKopir Ghonto -- another authentic veggie dish of cabbage, potatoes and peas along with a vivid write up from Vineela of Vineela's Cuisine


Dhokaar dalna -- with another recipe from her Bong friend, this delicious & very traditional Bengali dish described as pieces of fried chana dal burfis in a delicious gravy, is from Nupur at One Hot Stove

Dum Aloo -- spicy aloo dum from Divya Vikram at Dil Se


Shukto -- a non-traditional adapted version of Shukto with her own distinct touch of coconut milk from Bhagyashree at Taste Buds.

The Dal


Chollar Dal -- the delicious chana dal garnished with cocnut pieces and cooked the authentic Bengali way is from HomeCooked at HomeCooked


Bengali Dal -- one more tasty take on dal with bengal gram from EasyCrafts at Simple Indian Food


West Bengali Mung Bean and Tomato Soup -- a mung bean and tomato dal with a perfect balance of flavours and fragrances from Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen

Vegetable Dal With Panch Phoron -- a unique & tasty dal flavored with Paanch Phoron from Zlamushka at Zlamushka's Kitchen

Tetor Dal -- a Dal with bitter gourd and yet not bitter from the ever creative Pooja at My Creative Ideas & An attempt to spread love by cooking

Bengali Red Dal -- a gorgeous dal from Maninas at Maninas: Food Matters

Cholar dal -- one more glamorous chana dal from Bhawana at Tastes of India


The Complete Meals



A Delicious Bengali Spread -- ... and this includes delicious Alu-Potoler Dalna (Potato Parwal gravy), Maacher Sorse Jhol (Fish in Mustard gravy), Ghee Bhat (sweetish Bengali rice Pulao), Porota (Flatbread), Lankar Achar (Green chillies pickle)and Patishapta (sweet flour crepe with sweet aromatic coconut filling and topped with Saffron cream). All this from none other than Asha at Foodies Hope


Saffron Rice and Bengali Egg Curry -- a spicy Egg Curry served with Saffron Rice from Namratha at Finger Licking Food

Phulko Luchi ar Aloor Dom with Misti Doi -- puffed up luchis served with spicy alur dom and sweet mishti doi from Srivalli at Cooking 4 all Seasons


Musuri Dal and Alu Posto with Bittergourd Bhaja -- a very comforting and everyday meal in a Bengali Home from Srivalli at Cooking 4 all Seasons


Narkol Bhath and Palang Saag Curry -- rice flavored with coconut and her own spinach creation with Paanch Phoron is from Vani at Mysoorean


Piaj koli, alu piaj tomatar tarkari and Masoor Dal -- a very delightful and homely bengali meal of Masoor Dal with a sabzi of scallions, potatoes and tomato from Nandita at Saffron Trail

Rui aaloo phulkopi,Moog dal served with Rice and Nikhuti Payesh -- Rui aloo phulkopi(carp fish cooked with cauliflower potao and peas),Moog Dal(split green gram cooked and tempered with cumin,bayleaf and red chillies) and Nikhuti Payesh(Cottage cheese Oblongs deep fried and served dipped in flavoured condensed milk) along with some beautiful write up from Saswati at Potpourri


The Egg

Egg Malai Curry -- a very novel & fusion Bengali recipe in the lines of prawn malai curry from Sra at When My Soup Came Alive


The SeaFood


Topshe Macher Bhaja (Fish Fry) -- a favorite in a wedding feast, this delicious batter dipped fry is from Jayashree at Spice and Curry

Doi Maach -- another fish delicacy from Dee and Chai at Two Sisters and Their Culinary Journey


Sorso Bhaate Maach(Fish in Mustard Gravy) -- a delicious fish dish in mustard, poppy seeds and coconut paste from My Comfort Food at My Comfort Food Network


Narkel Chingri -- a very tasty shrimp dish in coconut and mustard paste from Meera at Enjoy Indian Food


Fiery Hot Crab Curry -- this absolutely mouth watering and indeed fiery crab curry made for her family is from Arundhati at Bong Working Mom


Chitol muithas -- a very intricate and immensely delicious recipe made with a fresh water fish called Chitol from Mallika aka Eve's Lungs of The Wok of Life


Doi Maach -- delicious looking yogurt based fish curry from Mallika at Quick Indian Cooking


Maach Charchari -- a dry fish dish with potatoes and eggplants from Sandeepa of Bong Mom's CookBook

Alu-Kopi diye Macher Jhol -- a simple and light fish curry with potatoes and cauliflowers from Sandeepa of Bong Mom's CookBook


The Meat

Country Captain and Khichuri -- an Anglo-Indian chicken dish which originated in Calcutta and has stayed there is served with nourishing Khichuri by Maya at Konkan World

Mutton Rezzala -- a delicious and decadent meat dish from SJ of A Pinch of Spice

Murg Kalia -- a fiery looking chicken dish which she claims is easy-breezy from Sig at Live To Eat



Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Fish n Fish for RCI Bengal


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Yes, I have done it. I am late for my own event. I had never hosted an event since I started food blogging. I spend enough time chasing Moms at DMC to host a theme every month and the rest of the time chasing life, so I never thought I would have time to host a Food Blog Event, how much ever I love it.

I would often be awed by everyone who hosts these food blog events by their diligence and time management. I would wonder that if I ever host one, would I be running late in doing the round up or would I be lacking in leaving a comment for everyone who contributes for the event or would I be the last one to contribute for my own event. Well, I needn’t have wondered, I am kind of doing all of them it seems.

Today is the last day and I had to simply had to post my dish by today. I have not been doing my best in the health department as I had said earlier and as a result have been cooking real simple meals. On top of that little S was down with stomach flu over the weekend and throwing up like a fountain, which reduced simple meals to mashed potato and rice. Today, I roped in the hubby and he chopped the veggies while I made two real simple fish dishes.

So fish it is from me who craves fish and fish it is from the hubby who sadly doesn’t crave any

Fishy we are but not as much as the Bong guy who said “Pleesh come to my house, I make very good piish, you shiit and I make piish for you”

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I have two fish dishes for RCI-Bengal both of which I love immensely. Somehow I end up cooking stuff that I love most of the time. Call me selfish

One is CatFish Charchari, it is a dry dish with fish, potatoes and brinjal. The original fish of choice for Macher Charchari is Tangra or Mourala but I make do with the cat fish fillet when I don’t get these. This recipe I am going to post tomorrow.


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The other one is a Alu-Kopi diye Macher Jhol. This again is a simple light curry best suited for everyday meal and I mean really every day.


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My Ma makes awesome fish curry with potatoes and cauliflowers. It is a light curry, a patla jhol as we say in Bengali, to be had with rice and is served for homely meals as opposed to meals served in a wedding or on special occasions. Given a choice I prefer light fish curries to the rich ones and would happily have them at weddings but sadly that is not done. These curries taste good when the fish is fresh and sweet. i.e. fresh water fish is a better choice for these kind of gravies.

So when I got this fish called croaker at the American grocery and it looked very fresh I thought to satiate my craving for alu-kopi’r patla jhol with it. My good friend N, suggested a little different way of tempering and I followed that this time. It was a very satisfying jhol and with steaming hot rice took me a step closer to heaven.


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Alu Kopi diye Macher Jhol/Fish in a light Gravy with Vegetables



What You Need

The fish curry was sufficient for only 2 persons, maybe 3 at the most

Croaker Fish ~ You can use any other variety of fresh water fish. Get the fish cut in steak pieces. The fish I had was a medium sized one and made 5-6 small pieces

The Veggies

Cauliflower ~ 7 – 8 medium sized cauliflower florets, size as in the gravy pic
Potato ~ 2 medium sized chopped in quarters
Green Chillies ~ 4 slit through the middle
Tomatoes ~ 2 small sized canned & peeled tomatoes or a medium sized fresh one finely chopped

For tempering

Hing/Asafoetida ~ a pinch
Jeera/Whole Cumin seeds ~ 1 tsp loosely packed

For masala

Dhania Powder/Corriander Powder ~ 1 tsp
Ginger paste ~ ½ tsp

Salt
Turmeric ~ ½ tsp
Oil

How I Did It

Wash the fish pieces in warm water, pat dry & and mix them with a teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt.

Heat Oil till it is smoking. Fry the fish in oil, till it is a nice golden brown color on both sides. The only draw back of this is most of the oil goes to waste as you discard most of the oil after frying.

Heat Oil again in a Kadhai

Separately fry the potatoes and cauliflower florets with a sprinkling of turmeric till they take on a light golden hue. Keep them aside. They should be just lightly fried

Temper Oil with Asafoetida and Whole Cumin Seeds

Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till they are mushy

Add the ginger paste, the Corriander powder and Green Chillies and fry the masala with a sprinkle of water

Add the potatoes and the cauliflower

Add salt and sauté till the masala coats the veggies

Add about 2 and ½ cups of water and cover and cook till veggies are done. Take care that the cauliflower florets are not over cooked

Add the fried fish pieces and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. The gravy will be light and have a soupy texture

Serve with steaming hot rice and a lemon wedge on the side



I am posting Pacific time if you insist. But for late comers like me, I give you one more day to post your recipes for RCI-Bengal

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Icon for RCI Bengal


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I finally got some time to come up with an icon for RCI Bengal. Please feel free to use the above image in your posts for RCI Bengal.

The image I have used here is of the painting "Ganesh Janani" by the famous Bengali Artist Jamini Roy

Here is another version with a border


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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

RCI Bengal


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Hello, hello, hello. Here I am rising from my stupor only to insist and prod that you cook Bengali Food for RCI-Bengal.
Light years ago I had signed up to host it and then promptly forgotten all about it until Dear Asha poked my memory which was hibernating through the cold North East Winter.

There are apologies due and then there are more apologies due to all those who came and found nothing on my blog all these days, yes not even a reply to the comments. "Cheeeeeeeee, how rude that Bong girl is", hushed people in dark corners of the Blogosphere, given that they didn’t have better things to hush about on a boring blog day.

And in response all I have to say is let bygones be bygones and don your apron, scour the net and cook up a Bengali dish. If you don’t want to eat it at the end of the day, I don’t care, just take a nice, alluring pic and post the recipe on your blog anytime between now and eternity. No sorry, that’s too long, let’s say the next one month. So the deadline is fixed at April 15th, 2008.

Send me a mail in this format:

Recipe Name
Recipe URL
Blog Name
Blog URL
Blog Author

No need to send me the pics, but do have them in your own posts, as the saying goes “Proof of the Cooking is in Clicking it”

You can add more things in the mail like the offer to transfer funds in millions from your bank in Timbuctoo to my account or the promise to enhance appendages I don’t even own. But all this is not necessary and will NOT be posted as part of the round up.

Given that I was away too long and am not sure why I don't see Dining Hall and whether Food Blog Desam is up and whether people still visit my blog, I would rely on any of you hitting on this post to spread the word around.

So pamper me and bring on your entries for RCI-Bengal, a event started by Lakshmi and hosted this time around by humble me. And mail me at rcibengal@gmail.com

Also remember to link back to this post from your entry posts in your blog