Nutella Covered Crackers

If you land up on a random day at my home with kids in tow, you will not find a pack of Oreo cookies, sack of Doritos or a bag of soft chewy cookies in my pantry.

It is not that my kids survive on carob chips and spelt flour cookies. I don't even know what they are, just wrote them like that. But because if I do have the oreo and the doritos, the conversation every 15 mins goes like this.

"Can I have a oreo? Pleaaase" with a big smile and the best of behavior.  No

"Then Dorito chips?" smaller smile but hopes still high.  No

"You are being mean. I don't like you," followed with lots of tears and feet stamping. Good.

If things get still worse, a white paper is scribbled with "I Don't Like Mommy" and presented to me with much flourish. Remind me who said that crap about Motherhood and divinity ?

Usually it is the younger one delivering the above dialogs. The nine year old is pretty aware about healthy eating, what with the school enforcing it and nothing but fruits or veggies being allowed for snack in school. The younger one though a fruit lover will eat cookies/chips and candy if she can set an eye on them.I am still monitoring Valentine Day candies and rationing 4 M&M's a day.

So I have stopped buying the kind of junk snack I don't want the kids to eat unless of course they are on vacation and I want peace.

However when it comes to Nutella, my views are pretty relaxed.
I like to believe Nutella is made with flax seeds and has Omega 3. What ? It doesn't ? Oh bummer.

So when I came across the Chocolate covered Graham Crackers at Tasty Kitchen, a voice in my head whispered "NUTELLA"

We have been making nutella covered crackers since then.

It is child's play. Literally. And it is the 9 year old child who does it except for handling the hot bowl or tray part.

We have used different kinds of crackers as base -- Marie biscuit, saltine crackers(the ones like cream cracker) and club crackers. The club crackers taste the best and the girls love it. They add sprinkles and stuff to pretty the crackers up and are very happy to have their own homemade chocolate crackers. Well, after the first few times LS lost interest in these crackers though. She however hasn't asked for oreo either.But BS loves them and it works perfect for her snack.

For the recipe of these crackers and a review of Chitra Banerjee Divakurani's latest children's book "Grandma and the Great Gourd" head over to my Kids' blog.

These lovely Lunch Skins reusable sandwich bags were gifted by my blog friend Indosungod. It was a pleasant surprise when they arrived on Friday. The amazing thing about these bags which can be used to pack sandwiches, cookies etc. is they are reusable. Cleaning is also very easy as they can be put in the dishwasher. Thank you so much Indo. The girls loved their bags and cannot wait for Monday. In fact BS liked them so much that she put her crackers in them and clicked the above pic.

Thank you Indo.

Chicken ChaaNp or Chaap-- Mughal influence on Bengal

Chicken Chaap

I wish I could have said this recipe is my Mother's given to her by her great-great-grandfather Wajid Ali Shah's master bawarchi.

I wish I could have said I was born into this recipe. But sorry to disappoint. Many of you have been born into it for sure as you have been with recipes of creme brulee and chocolate gateau. But nope. Not me. Darn, my Ma.

In fact for a large part of my childhood, the chaanp and biriyani, the Mughlai influence on Bengali cuisine eluded me. You see we were probashi bangalis, the clan of Bengalis that live and breathe oxygen outside the state of West Bengal or rather Calcutta. In the town steeped in history that we lived, chaap or chaaNp was not a much known affair. At least wasn't in the years when I was a 8-9 year old. When we ate out, it was largely Naan and chicken curry, dosa and sambhar, even chowmein and chilli chicken. But never a "Chicken ChaaNp".

In our annual pilgrimage to Calcutta, the heart of Bengal, during the winter vacation, the "chaaNp" and "biriyani" should have showed up frequently. But surprisingly it didn't with that much regularity. My maternal grandparents lived in North Calcutta, a more traditional neighborhood where sweet stores like "Kalika Mistanno Bhandar" selling karapak sandesh and mishti doi in earthen pots and small telebhaja stores selling beguni and chop, dotted the streets. Moghlai Parota and fish kabiraji were still to be found, but in those years, restaurants like Rahmania and Aminia had not stretched their franchise hand to the Northern paras with rezalas and nawabi biriyanis.

The Mughlai restaurants like Nizam, Shiraz, Sabir, Aminia and others were all concentrated around Park Circus and Park Street areas where clientele were much more varied and there was a larger Muslim and anglo-Indian population. You must remember I am talking about the fag end of 70s and early 80s here. So we rarely tasted  a"Chicken chaaNp" or a "rezala", those being earmarked for the one day we would traipse down New Market. On all other days of the vacation I was happy to eat Dida's koraishutir kochuri, puffed and filled with sweet paste of sweet green winter peas and a soupy magur maacher jhol and rice.

So you see my childhood memories were not inundated by the rich and exquisite Mughlai cuisine that has seeped into Kolkata's restaurant culture

"The influence was reinforced in the Raj era, when Kolkata became the place of refuge for many prominent exiled Nawabs, especially the family of Tipu Sultan from Mysore and Wajid Ali Shah, the ousted Nawab of Awadh. The exiles brought with them hundreds of cooks and masalchis (spice mixers), and as their royal patronage and wealth diminished, they interspersed into the local population. These highly accomplished cooks came with the knowledge of a very wide range of spices (most notably jafran saffron and mace), the extensive use of ghee as a method of cooking, and special ways of marinating meats. In Bangladesh, this food has over time become the staple food of the populace.

In West Bengal, however, this has remained more than the other categories, the food of professional chefs; the best examples are still available at restaurants. " - Source Wiki

It was only in the early 90's when being in college and traveling more on my own and with friends in Calcutta, that I became familiar with the "chaaNp" or "chaap". This was also the time,  rezala from Sabir's and Biriyani from Shiraz became food that I came to adore. I was smitten by the Mughlai cuisine that Bengal had adapted.

However I did not try to learn to cook it. It was always available and in the 90's pretty easily. Also I rarely cooked then.

The Chicken ChaaNp that I am going to write about today is a recipe that has built itself over days. The base came from a friend, on that I added bits of experience and flavors of my own Garam masala, the idea of charmagaz(melon seeds) and rose water came from Sayantani's post which I adapted and replaced with poppy seed-cashew paste, the lust for it came from Indrani's chicken chaap and Preeoccupied's Kosha Mutton ChaaNp.

Though Mutton Chaap is made with usually ribs, the chicken chaaNp I have had were always made with leg quarters in a thick but not clingy gravy with a fine layer of oil floating on top. The key to the recipe is marinating the meat in a onion-ginger-garlic-garam masala-kewra water paste and then cooking in ghee over slow heat on a pan with a flatter surface. I however have used only very little ghee. The slow cooking anyway releases a lot of oil at the end so I feel the amount I use is fine. You are welcome to use more ghee for a richer version.
The poppy seed-cashew paste gives a thicker texture to the gravy, the kind I remember and the kewra water gives it the Mughlai scent.

The dish actually is pretty easy to make. Do not get intimidated by the Steps under Prep. They are all very simple. So if you are all set for a Nawabi evening go ahead and indulge yourself. Serve this dish with some biriyani but I would say store-bought Naan does most justice to the dish and also cuts your effort in half.



Prep

Make Garam Masala powder according to my recipe. My Garam masala has cardamom, clove, cinnamon, little javetri(mace) and dry red chillies. It is really aromatic and will add more flavor to the dish. We will use about 1 tbsp of this Garam Masala

This is my favorite step.
Instead of chopping onions in fine thin slices ,I will just chop
2 medium sized onion in large chunks. 
Chop, chop done
Now boil the onions till just soft but not mushy
Cool  
Note: I use boiled onion for two reasons. Raw onion paste tends to get bitter at times. It also takes longer to cook raw onion paste. If you want, go ahead and use raw onion paste but remember to cook it for a longer time.

Make ginger-garlic paste with
8 fat clove of garlic
1 heaped tbsp of chopped ginger
splash of water
Almost 2-3 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste in all

In a blender jar add
the boiled onion
1/2 cup of thick hung yogurt/greek yogurt
and make a paste

In a bowl add
the onion + yogurt paste you just made
the ginger-garlic paste 
1/2 tbsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
2 tsp Turmeric powder
few drops of Kewra water
few drops of Rose water
and mix
We will use half of this as marinade and rest half in gravy. So store half of this paste in a separate container to be used later.

In a large-is tray put the washed pieces of chicken.
I had 4 leg pieces. Total weight 2.5lb(~1kg)

Make slit in the chicken pieces and rub with salt and about 1/2 tbsp of Garam Masala powder.

Next add half of the marinade to the chicken pieces and mix well. Leave it overnight for the flavor to seep into the chicken. If not overnight at least 3-4 hours is recommended,

Start Cooking

In a pan with a flat bottom heat
2 tbsp oil
+ 1 tsp ghee
Note: I try to cook most of my food low in oil and ghee and so my oil and ghee proportions are much less than what you might see in other recipes. I am perfectly ok with this as we are not too much into oily food. But if you want to make the dish richer do increase the ghee a little

Temper the oil with a 2" stick of cinnamon and a Tejpata

Now add a tsp of sugar to the oil and brown the oil by swirling the pan.

Next lower the heat and add in the onion-yogurt-ginger-garlic-spices paste you had prepared and stored. Fry this paste for about 5-6 minutes at low medium heat.

Shake off excess marinade from the chicken pieces and add them to the pan. Do not overcrowd them and the pieces should lie side by side. Cook/Fry the chicken pieces till their raw coloring is gone and they have taken on a light yellow coloring. Do not deep fry the chicken and they should not turn brown.

Now add a wet paste of
1 tbsp poppy seeds
+ 1 tbsp cashew
Note: Soak poppy seeds and cashew for 10 mins and then make the paste

Also add the remaining chicken marinade and some salt to taste. Gently mix and cook for 6-8 minutes.

Cover the pan now and at low-medium heat let the chicken cook. Usually the chicken will release water and will get cooked in its own juice. No need to add any extra water. However if it is getting too dry, add little water judiciously. It will take around 30-40 minutes for the chicken to get fully cooked.

Once the chicken is done and a thin layer of oil has surfaced, taste the gravy and adjust for seasonings. At this point if you wish, you can also dry off the gravy a little. Add few more drops of kewra water at this point if you wish.

Serve with Biriyani or Naan. I have seen the gravy and chicken tastes much better when had the next day. So give some time for the flavors to mingle before you serve.


More such recipes around blogs:
Sukanya's Mutton Chaap

Grated Kaancha Pepe'r Tarkari -- grated raw papaya

Fifteen years ago if a tarot card reader had told me that fifteen years later I would not only be cooking and eating raw papaya with a smile on my lips but also forcing others to do so, I would have balked. I would have have also "pooh-poohed" away the whole idea and not paid the tarot card reader in full.

Ten years back if my daily horoscope in TOI predicted "raw papaya eating days in the near future", I would have stopped reading it then and there. Wouldn't have waited five more years. To stop reading TOI I mean.

Five years back when my Ma said I should buy raw papaya once a week and ripened papaya twice a week, I ho-hummed. "Okay, what the heck. We can do this once in a while," I told myself.

I still do it once-in-a-while. Do not have the devotion towards it like my Ma. But maybe soon. Five more years to go and we will see.

I really do not understand the Bong's uncanny diligence towards random health food items like beler paana, kaanchakolar jhol(raw plantain curry), kaancha peper tarkari(raw green papaya sabzi) and chirotar jol( a drink so bitter that it will scald your soul and detox you like no other). Either it is karma or it is evenings spent eating out egg-chicken roll, tamarind water phuchka, engine oil deep fried telebhaja and heavy on ghee(or is it dalda) biriyani. Of course too much of the latter needs to be balanced out with at least some of the former.

The bowel, and that too the Bong bowel, not to be confused with Bong baul, can take only so much.

But poor me does not eat too much of the roll and phuchka these days, and I don't have many fond memories of kaancha pepe to share. I was one of those kids who would suffer through chicken pox, mumps, measles, jaundice and typhoid in an entire school year and the jaundice only made sure that I had my fill of mulo seddho(boiled radish) and pepe seddho(raw papaya boiled) at an early age. Too much of anything good is bad for you and so there went my papaya devotion at an early age.

But this grated raw papaya sabzi is very different from the usual raw papaya curry.It elevates "pe(n)pe" to a different status. This "pe(n)pe" is fit for high heels and bejeweled chiffon. Maybe Nigella (Lawson) eats it on Saturdays. I am not sure but who knows. Not that it is better than a kosha mangsho but it is better for you.

The recipe for this grated kaancha peper tarkari is sourced from my Ma. Also my friend's Mom makes a similar dish. It is a simple dish but what with the papaya being grated and the addition of coconut makes it really good. And when I say "Papaya is good" you have to believe me. If you still have doubts go ahead and add some shrimp. It can only get better from here.

Grate half of a medium sized raw papaya in a grater.

Heat Mustard Oil

Temper the hot oil with Kalonji and slit green chillies.

Follow with a clove of garlic finely minced and quarter of an onion thinly sliced. Saute till onion becomes soft.

Next add the grated papaya. Sprinkle some turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and mix well.

Add 4-5 more slit green chilli and saute at medium heat. Cover and cook until papaya is almost done.

Add sugar to taste and some grated coconut. I used frozen grated coconut. Mix well and cook till everything is done. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Serve with rice.

For the shrimp option, saute some small shrimp with salt and turmeric and at the last stage mix with the papaya sabzi.

Shorshe Roshun Mushroom -- with Kasundi

Shorshe Mushroom

Since I have made the aam kashundi, my week night dinners have gotten easier.

I have been slathering and pouring that kashundi on E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G

Palong Shaak Bhaja -- Check

Tilapia -- Check

Chicken -- Check

Alu Seddho -- Check

Salmon -- Check

Bath Water -- Check. Ok, no scratch that. Not bath water but other than that on E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G

Last year inspired by Sharmila @KichuKhon and another reader(Mahua Maharana), I had made a Shorshe Roshun Mushroom -- Mushroom in mustard, garlic sauce. It was so good that since then if I ever make mushroom at home it has to be that. The garlic with mustard is the greatest idea on earth. That time I had just used the Cookme Mustard powder and garlic paste and the result had been delicious. You can see the set of pictures on FB here.

Now you can just imagine the level to which the dish was elevated when I used Aam Kashundi.

Awesomness, thy name is Shorse Kasundi Mushroom

Heat Mustard Oil to really hot or as they say in English "smoking". Don't skimp on the oil

Temper the oil with
1/4th tsp of Kalonji/KaloJeera/Nigella seeds
5 slit green chilli

When the spices hiss add the chopped up mushroom. I used a whole big box of button mushrooms.

The mushrooms release a lot of water. A lot. And it is necessary that you dry the water up.

Once the water has almost dried up add
2-3 heaped tbsp of kashundi (aam kashundi)
4 more hot green chillies slit
salt to taste(careful as kashundi has some salt)

Note: If you do not have Kashundi, you can just make mustard paste and mix it with garlic paste. To make Mustard paste --> soak 2 tbsp Mustard Seeds + 2 tsp poppy seeds in water. Drain and then add to the mixie jar. Throw in some green chilies. With splashes of water make a paste

Mix everything together and cook with frequent stirring till the 'rooms are done.

Finish off with slight drizzle of mustard oil.

Heaven.On earth. Is this

Busy Day's Egg Masala -- with some tips

If you are a Mother, like me or you are a Father, unlike me, you will appreciate what I am going to tell you about today's egg masala. In fact even if you are not a parent you should certainly appreciate the wisdom imparted in the post.

But if you are a parent, and if you have kids,
and the kids have homework,
and piano,
and taekwondo,
maybe even swimming 
or add some bharatnatyam to the mix
and you are the one who makes sure that all of these get done
and in spite of all this you insist the kids eat a good home-cooked meal at the end of the day
you will really really appreciate a peek into my cheat sheet.

At least I did, when years ago in my noveau blogging days I had landed on the blogs which showed me how to make the "All Purpose Masala". Those had saved my life on many busy evenings. But as it happens one day you are making and freezing masalas like a maniac and then next you are not. I still make ginger-garlic paste and fried onion pastes but for a while I had not frozen these all purpose masalas.

Then when I made this egg masala a few days ago, I did it again. Only I did not have any more ice trays, so I just froze a portion enough for two curries. And did it help me on a busy Wednesday. Phewwww. I saved so much time that if I wanted I could have got a pedicure done. But of course I didn't. The pedicure I mean. Instead I read a book. The Hindi-Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan being one of them and Yes Chef by Marc Samuelson the other.

So what is your cheat sheet ?

Busy Day's Egg Masala

Make the all purpose onion-tomato-ginger-garlic masala

Chop 1 red onion in chunks

Chop 1 tomato in chunks

Peel 4-5 fat cloves of garlic

Peel and chop coarsely 1" knob of ginger

Now we will make an ubiquitous, everyday masala with this.

Heat 1-2 tsp of Olive oil in a frying pan. Add the above chopped onion-tomato etc.. Saute. Sprinkle some salt. Fry the onion tomato till onion is soft and pink, tomato is cooked down and garlic, ginger is softer. You can fry them more till onion is browned etc. but this stage works well too. Now cool the above, put in a blender jar and with only splashes of water make a thick paste.

Ta-Da. This masala paste will serve as your savior in most week days. Use it as a base to make different gravies.

Cook Egg Curry

For the egg curry now boil 4 eggs. Once the eggs are cooked and peeled we will fry them. For this purpose, heat a tsp of oil in the same frying pan. Add about 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Add the eggs and fry till the skin of the eggs blister and gets a pretty golden brown.

Remove the eggs and keep aside.

Heat some more oil for the gravy. Temper the oil with 1/4 tsp of Cumin seeds and 2 tej-patta

When the spices sizzle, add half of the the onion-tomato-ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Next add
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch
1/2 tsp cumin powder
and 1/4 tsp coriander powder
Fry the masla with a sprinkle of water.

Add a tbsp of Tomato ketchup and cook the masala.

Once you see the oil seeping or that there is no raw smell, add about 1/2 cup of water, salt to taste, little sugar and let the gravy come to a boil.

When the gravy is boiling, check and adjust the seasonings.
Now add about 1/4cup of whole milk and mix well. Lower the heat and let the gravy simmer.
Crush/warm a tsp of Kasoori methi between your palms and add that.

Halve the fried eggs and add them to the gravy.
Also add about 4-6 green chilies cut in halves along their length.
Finish off by garnishing with chopped coriander leaves.

Shorshe Kashundi Murgi -- Chicken in Mustard Sauce

 

This had been a hectic weekend.

Wrapping up the final touch up for the book; the fonts, the typos, the excitement, the elation and then the depression.

Until Saturday night I was on a high. Half of Saturday night had been spent online, working with my editor in India and chatting more working while she corrected those last little things. I went to sleep around 3:30 AM Sunday morning and by the time I woke up late on Sunday, it was like I had downed several tequila the night before. And this, when I don't drink and have never really experienced a hangover.

If you have had a baby, painted, created music, worked on a project that sapped your soul, written a book, did anything that you loved so much  --- you would understand what I am trying to say. My editor summed it up as "Post partum depression". And she was right. That is what it felt like. There it was, "my baby", the one I nurtured, fed, gave my everything, going out into the big bad world. No longer did I have any control on her fate. She was now left on her own, to chart her own path and be what she wants to be. I will be there to help, standing by the sideline, my heart in my mouth, but my work is done.

I really, truly hope you all will welcome her like your own and be kind. For everything else I will be here.

And if all this talk sounds too cheesy, wait, for there are sharper things in the next para.

So anyway to quell the butterflies in my tummy I made a Shorshe Murgi yesterday night. Again. That pungency and hot green chilli will help clear my sentimental sinuses, I thought.

Since I have made the homemade Kasundi, this dish has become easy peasy and I have done it couple of times in just the last few days. My Ma did this with mustard and garlic ground together to a paste with little yogurt. She added some grated coconut if she had some. I, the new BongMom with a can of coconut milk always in her pantry, used that instead. The result was really good and if you know me, I don't brag. Okay, okay, but only sometimes

Now instead of homemade, if you have a bottle of store bought Kasundi , go ahead and use that. The only thing I worry is, that the quality of your Kashundi will control the dish then. If that bottle is not pungent enough, you can make a little shorshe bata(mustard paste) and add that to supplement the bottled kasundi. Whatever you do, go by the taste and smell and you will arrive at your  destination...err at your Shorshe Kashundi Murgi.

So raising a toast to my parents, my daughters, the husband, my friends, you guys and everyone who bore the brunt of my writing, with this " jhanjhalo shorshe murgi". For my excellent editor and her team, I owe you this and more.

The book goes to print tomorrow. Amen.

Shorshe Kashundi Murgi

Marinate about 3/4-1 lb of chicken in
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
salt
turmeric powder
1 tsp Mustard oil

Now if you have bottle of Kashundi or you have made Kashundi from my post, USE THAT.
That is the best option.

If you do not have that, which is a shame, make a mustard paste as follows
Soak
1 tbsp Mustard seeds
in a tbsp water for 30 mins

Make a paste of
the mustard
2 fat clove of garlic
1 tbsp yogurt
2 green chilli
salt to taste 
with a splash of water



Heat 2 tbsp Mustard Oil for cooking

Temper the oil with
1/4th tsp of Kalonji
5 slit green chilli

When the kalojeere sputters and the chilli hisses add
2 tsp of ginger-garlic paste 
Note: I add homemade ginger-garlic paste. You can add minced garlic or just garlic paste


Cook for half a minute and add the chicken pieces.
Sprinkle some more turmeric powder.

Saute the chicken pieces till they loose their raw color and turn golden yellow
If the chicken is releasing water , wait till some of the water dries up.
This takes about 10-15 minutes

Next add
3 tbsp of your Kasundi
OR
the mustard paste you made
Note: When using store bough Kasundi depending on its pungency you may have to use more. If it is not hot enough, you need more green chilli too


Mix well and cook for couple more minutes

Add
1/2 cup of thick  Coconut Milk (more if you want more coconut flavor)
1/2 cup Water
salt to taste
5 more slit green chili

Mix well and  then cover and cook till chicken is done. Taste, adjust and reduce the gravy till your desired thickness. Should be on the thicker side. Drizzle few drops of mustard oil to finish.

Serve with steaming white rice. Sniff. Sniff.

I need a hug. And some tissue.


Similar Recipes:

Another version of shorshe chicken is at Deepasri's blog

Aam Kashundi -- the Bengali Mustard Sauce

Before I write even one more sentence, let me dispel any doubts about this being the traditional recipe for real Kashundi or Kasundi.

It is not.

I don't know how to make the traditional Kasundi. My mother never made it. I don't think my grandmothers did it either.

But my father's grandmother and grandaunt did. They were the designated Kashundi makers of the family. In the days when Kashundi was not bottled and sold, they were the ones who kept up a steady supply of that pungent, sharp Bengali mustard sauce in our home.

My father's grandmother "Baro Ma",  a highly esteemed foodie and a lady famous for her culinary skills, passed away when I was a mere year-old child.Sadly, I wasn't intelligent enough to absorb her kashundi making process in that early year of my life. My Ma as a relatively new mother at that time probably thought the task to be too daunting and never learned it either.

Mustard seeds, mango, garlic, green chilli

My father's grandaunt then continued the tradition in her own home, and other than receiving couple of bottles of that mustardy goodness every year and discussing how grandaunt with her frail health still kept up at her kashundi making, no one in my immediate family ventured in that direction. "Khub shokto", "Very Difficult" is all that I heard. "The kashundi can be made only on certain days with utmost cleanliness and respect. You can not talk or touch anybody while making it. A little carelessness, and all that hard work will have gone to waste as the kashundi will get spoilt".

By the time grandaunt stopped making Kashundi, small cottage industries and then brands like Radhuni etc. were selling bottled Kasundi like hot cake. We bought Kashundi from the stores and a need to make it at home never arrived.

Those days, in absence of food processors and spice blenders, the brown and yellow seeds of mustard were to be ground on the sheel, the pockmarked slab of stone which is a major landmark in a Bengali kitchen. That must have been the "hard work" part. Now, when I pause and look back, I understand the "cleanliness" part, it was the same thing with achhar(pickles) and bori. In absence of any preservatives or refrigeration, it was necessary to maintain these standards for the finished condiment to have a long shelf life.

Though my grandmother did not make Kashundi, she made bori in the dry sunny days of winter. It was an elaborate affair with the dal being soaked overnight and then ground next day in batches. Early next morning the bori making would ensue at the terrace where washed and starched spun cotton saris and dhotis would be stretched out, their corners secured by rectangular red bricks. My grandmother would take a quick bath, change her clothes and then arrive at the scene. Small dollops of the lentil pastes would be dropped on the those stretched cloth and left to dry in the winter sun.

Younger children or the house help would be assigned the job to keep away birds from those raw boris, waiting to bake in the sun. However we were not allowed to go near, touch or poke those small mounds of lentil pastes. Those mornings we were not allowed to run around on the terrace either. The whole affair was shrouded in an environment of sanctity and we looked at "bori making" with lot of respect.

Now here in the US, I get my yearly supply of Kasundi from India. This means I use it with much care, using it sparingly and trying to get most for the tablespoon of kasundi I use. I cannot be as generous with kasundi as I can be with soy sauce. The niggling doubt of what-if-my-stash-of-kasundi-does-not-last-until-Ma-visits consumes me on my worst days.

So a few years ago when my blogger friend Sharmila @ KichuKhon vouched for another blogger Delhibelle's Aam Kasundi, I thought what do I have to lose. It also helped (a lot) that her recipe was super simple and involved nothing of the word "shokto" aka difficult. It used raw mangoes with mustard seeds to produce the tangy spicy taste. Maybe it does not exactly taste like the real Kasundi but so what, it comes close, very very close and believe me it tastes awesome.

I have made this couple of times in the last year and recently made another batch. I refrigerate the bottles as I am not sure if they will stay good outside. Refrigerated they stay well for weeks. I mostly use it in dishes like shorshe salmon or bhapa ilish or in a shorshe murgi which I will share soon. It is also very good as a dip and with a bottle of it in your collection you will not miss the real Kasundi all that much.

Aam Kasundi

Delhibelle's Original Recipe

Here is how I made it

Soak in water
4 tbsp Mustard seeds ( a mix of brown and yellow gives the best color but I had only brown this time). Ideally soaking for 30mins to an hour is best as it softens the mustard seeds for grinding.

Grate a small mango to yield
3/4th-1 cup of grated raw Mango
(I put peeled and cubed raw mango in the mixie to get roughly grated mangoes.)

In a blender jar add
strained mustard seeds
grated mango
5 fat clove of garlic chopped
8-10 hot green chilli chopped

Add a splash of vinegar (approx. 2tbsp) and 1/3rd Cup of Mustard Oil to the blender jar. Make a smooth paste. Try to make the paste in one go instead of pulsing.

When the paste is almost done
drizzle 4 tbsp mustard oil (more is better but I went low)
a pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
sugar (about 1 tbsp but more depending on the tartness of the mango)
Give a final whizz and your Aam Kasundi is ready

Pour out in a glass jar with lid. Top off with Mustard oil and leave it on the window ledge for a couple of days.

Prerna's Strawberry Chutney

Sometime back I received my signed copy of  Prerna's The Everything Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook. Need I say, I was thrilled.

The author Prerna Singh is also the author of IndianSimmer, a beautiful blog in its own rights. I have been a long time admirer of her blog and I was looking forward to her book. Given that I am not much of a slowcooker person and do most of my cooking on the stove top and use my pressure cooker far more than the slowcooker, I was curious too. But I must tell you that book is a treasure of recipes and they are delicious, slow cooker or not.

I liked the section "Basics of Indian Cooking" a lot which explains many of the cooking terms and spices used in Indian cooking.There is also a section on Basic Sauces and Spice mixes which has recipes for Pav Bhaji Masala and Tandoori Maslaa which I am making next for sure. There are fifteen chapters in total with an array of about 300 recipes encompassing appetizer to beverage.

I tried the Five-Spice Strawberry Chutney spiced with paanch phoron from her book and though I did it on the stove top it turned out great. It is a simple chutney spiced with the fragrant paanchphoron and sweetened with jaggery and the naturally sweet strawberries. The chutney turned out really good and for recipes of that and more  check out her book on Amazon

Miri's Gosthu(Eggplant in a tangy tomato gravy)

For the next couple of days, I will do a series of posts which were actually intended for February. I had planned to do them the week of Saraswati Puja because she being the goddess of  knowledge and art and art and creativity was what my posts were going to celebrate. But things often don't go according to plan. Well actually things NEVER go according to plan. So instead of February, I will do the posts over the next few days.
*****************

The entire month of February, I thought of Miri. Off and on. Off and on. I would go to one of my older posts and her comment would be right there. I browsed through her blog , going through her older posts, expecting new ones. And then I thought it was only befitting that I share the Goshtu recipe that she had sent me. The post was there on her blog but not the recipe and I had asked for it in the comment. She had promptly sent it by e-mail.

Hey there Sandeepa!

Hope you had a great Diwali...

here's the recipe I used - didn't want to post it because its Blog Bites and you are supposed to link to the original!

Gosthu

Ingredients
Moong dal – ¼ cup
2 cups diced - (eggplant, carrot, potato)
Onion - 1 big sliced
Tomato – 1, chopped
Tamarind – 1 tbsp paste dissolved in 1 cup water
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
1 tbsp sambar powder
1 tsp chilli powder

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – few

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp, chopped

Oil – 1 tbsp
Salt

Method
Pressure cook moong dal until soft.

Heat oil, add mustard and when it splutters add the curry leaves
Add onion and saute for 5 minutes till soft. Then the tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder and sambar powder and saute some more till they are mushy.
Add the vegetables and stir fry for 10-12 minutes till they are half cooked.
Add tamarind water, salt and one more cup of water. Bring to boil and then simmer covered for 20 minutes.
Finally, add the cooked dal, mix well and boil for another 5 minutes or simmer till it has thickened. Add coriander leaves and serve.

I had actually been looking for an eggplant dish, I had tasted way back in an Office cafeteria in Bangalore and the Goshtu though similar had Dal which the cafeteria eggplant did not.

So I said

"Dear Miri

Thanks so much for the recipe. Now that I read it, I realize though that this wasn't the cafeteria eggplant, this is like the one a Tam colleague used to get here. I have had this and really liked it. The cafeteria one had no dal as far as I remember."

And then she said

"You are welcome!... the cafeteria one must be with onions and tomatoes, but also sambar powder - I make a version of that with drumsticks and brinjal and its really nice. "

That is what I decided to make, a variation of her Goshtu

But for a long time, I did not make it. It was one more of those recipes you treasure but don't always cook. Today I made it and it tasted delicious. Why was I waiting, I thought ? But we all do that. We wait and wait and wait until the moment has passed and things are not as they used to be. And then a known flavor, an unknown scent reminds us of what could have been.

Today Miri lived in my home through her food that she had shared many months ago and I wish her and her family the best always. I am not posting a pic of the finished dish because hers looked infinitely better than mine, the eggplants in my dish were not as soft. I rather we remember the dish as it looks on her blog post. Perfect.

This post is dedicated to Miri and her Gosthu and also to all my blogger friends who continue making this blog world richer, colorful and appetizing with the aroma of their home-cooked food. Joining Manisha of Indian Food Rocks for the same

Sweet Potato Broccoli Parmesan Tikkis

These tikkis or croquettes are inspired by two people. Mandira of Ahaar and The IKEA people. But before diving into them, let me pique your interest by showing you my picture, as rendered by our in-house artist LS.

Did you see it ? Did you see it ? Ain't it cute ?

She has made me look so good in there. My adult acne and thick moustache has been totally covered up and my flowery feet and similarly flowery fingers have been accentuated. My arms look toned and my ears round and well formed. That girl sure knows how to bring out the best in her subjects.

And did you see the belly button ? My belly button ? That big round circle with a dot is apparently my belly button. She pushed up my shirt and confirmed that body part. "Oita tomar belly button", she said with conviction.

"Really ? " I thought. "It pops out like that ? Why did no one ever tell me about this wardrobe malfunction of mine? Or is that my tummy is so big that it surfaces as the most prominent part like the tip of an iceberg ?"

No idea which is what, but it must be true, given that it is the artist's view and all. I had thought that after completing its foremost important job of connecting me to my Mother, the belly button had taken a retirement package. Looks like it has resurfaced.

So any of you interested in getting a better-than-real portrait drawn, e-mail me please. We are still accepting orders.

Edited to add: The picture also shows my computer/laptop and a wireless mouse. Go find them

Now to these tikkis which I had set my mind on when I first saw them as cutlets at Mandira's Ahaar.

Then one fine weekday morning, I had the rare opportunity to go to Ikea. I had never seen the interiors of IKEA on a working weekday morning before and I am telling you, it is an experience. Whole lot better than a weekend one. The best thing was the cafeteria, where for once there was more food than people.Over and above the fixed menu items, there were many other edible stuff and the broccoli and potato medallions which I added to the tray as an afterthought was the best find after the Hemnes mirror. Those were really good and I could only think that it would only get better with Mandira's sweet potato idea.

When I came home and googled though for Ikea potato and broccoli medallion copy cat recipes, I got this. I had no whipped cream but I had parmesan. Also I wanted to use sweet potatoes. When done, those Sweet Potato Broccoli tikkis turned out great. I have packed them for school lunch along with bread. You can make a sandwich with them as the patty but BS did not like that idea, instead she wanted them separate. You can also wrap them in a roti and that is how she had them for dinner.

For the recipe of  Sweet Potato Broccoli Parmesan Tikkis check my kid's blog where I am storing Kid's Lunch Box ideas.

Keema Matar or Keema Koraishuti

After a long long time I bought Goat keema today. Made fresh at the meat store.

It was natural that I would make a Keema Matar with it. What we call Keema Koraishuti.

That one dish serves a lot of purpose and also freezes well. So, today we are going to have just the keema matar with rice for lunch. Tomorrow, I will dry up some of it, add a boiled egg and make sandwich. On Wednesday I will defrost the portion I am freezing today, toss it with rice or something and concoct one more dish. If I am feeling particularly creative, I might also toss some pasta in it.

This is going to be an easy week. Good job Keema Matar.

The recipe is exactly same as my old one --  Keema Koraishuti. Only this time I used the pressure cooker.

Shorshe Salmon Jhaal -- Tomato Roshun diye

Jhaal in Bengali means hot. Not warm hot. Not "pink hot". But spicy hot.

But "jhaal" when in the name of a dish describes a gravy based dish (should have said curry, but don't want to add to curry culture) usually with mustard sauce that is thicker than a soupy "jhol" but not as rich as a "dalna". Confoosed ? Confused ? Okay forget it.

Jhaal and hot brings to my mind a very funny incident. I know a little girl, a neighborhood friend of my daughter who watches a little too much of Disney Channel. Well probably a lot of Disney Channel. If you are not a parent  or do not subscribe to cable, both good choice, you are probably at a loss here. "Disney" you think is all cutesy innocence, magic kingdoms and animated characters. Well, welcome to the Disney Channel on cable and spend some hours in the evening watching the shows they offer, and then come back and read this post. It is better for young kids  to watch back to back DDLJ than watch iCarly .

So any way this kid who watched a little too much of the channel, one day comes to my home in a new dress and tells me ," BM auntie, you know I am hot".

Being genuinely worried, I touched her forehead and said, "Do you have a fever ? your forehead is cool. You are not sweating either".

Balking at my ignorance, she exasperatedly said "No. Not that hot. Hot -- like in hot pink".

By now I had a grasp of what she had in mind, but knowing her for a long time and her obsession with the channel which probably led her to this imaginary self-obsession, I tried to play it down.

"Actually Hot in English language has only one meaning -- having a high temperature. And in some cases we use it for food which is very spicy. Never have I heard that being used to describe a person," I said, acting innocent.

Seeing that this was going nowhere and probably thinking of me as some bummer from an Indian village, she gave up on me. She also stopped all her preening and twirling and got down to more earthly business. "Can I have an oreo cookie ? Or two ?" she tried to negotiate.

"You can", I said. "But don't you say you are hot unless running a fever or feeling warm. You need to be older to understand different meanings of a word and only then use it".

Don't know if it had any effect on her but she is a good and smart child and I hope the self-obsession was momentary.

What do you do when faced with kids saying "grownup words" or acting "much older than their age" ? Do you give a stern scolding ? Do you sit them down and give them a lecture ? What do you do ?

Back to the food, this shorshe salmon is a quick dinner option on a weekday. All you need to make is the mustard paste. And then the best thing is, you make it different from the regular mustard paste. The way I do it, I make the mustard paste with mustard seeds, poppy seeds, green chillies, tomato and garlic, flavors which go very well with the stronger taste of salmon. If you don't want to do the jhaal,  you use the paste as a marinade and bake the salmon instead.

Else you make the Shorshe Tomato Salmon Jhaal.

Shorshe Tomato Salmon Jhaal 

When I buy salmon fillet I ask the skin to be removed. Then if I am making the jhaal I cut each fillet in 2x2 squares. Okay, maybe some other dimension but small squares or rectangles. Toss the pieces with turmeric powder, pinch of garam masala and salt and keep aside. For this dish I had two fillet of salmon

Soak
1 tbsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp Poppy seeds
in a tbsp water for 30 mins

Make a paste of
the mustard + poppy seeds
2 fat clove of garlic
1 small tomato
2 green chilli
salt to taste 
with a splash of water


Heat 1 tbsp Mustard oil to smoking

Temper the hot oil with
1/4 tsp kalojeere(kalonji) and
4 slit green chilli.

Add the fish pieces and lightly fry till the fish loses its raw coloring.

Next add the mustard paste you made. Lower the heat and mix with the fish till fish is a pale golden color. Do not over fry fish or crisp it. Add warm water enough for gravy, salt to taste, cover the pan and let the gravy simmer.

The gravy should be on the thicker side and clinging to the fish. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Oven baked Begun Bhaja -- and a book review

Definition of "Bossy" according LS with real life example -- "Bossy maane....bossy maane. Ei je dhoro tomar ei room ta clean korar kotha. Kintu tmi korcho na. Ar tumi amake bolcho clean korte jate tumi araam kore cha khete paro. Tar mane tumi Bossy."

She says, "Bossy means...well bossy means. Ok, lets take you. It is your job to clean this room(at this point she looks at me pointedly). But, you don't do it. Instead you tell me to do it so that you can sit and drink your tea. That means you are being bossy".

Point noted.

Everyone knows that a Bong loves his or her Begun Bhaja. Slices of purple eggplant, tossed in turmeric powder and salt and then shallow fried in hot oil. With a good quality eggplant, the flesh of the fried being is so soft that it is not wrong to call it "buttery". Growing up, the begun bhaja was a standard side with dal and rice and a fish curry in my and many Bengali's home. I never liked it nor did I spare any thought towards it. It was that one more bhaja served with dal.

Today, I do not make  a begun bhaja all that often simply because I don't want to do the frying, an eggplant sucks up oil fast and is as much a gas guzzler as a Hummer H1. I would rather eat a begun pora than a bhaja, I claim.

And then a reader(if you are reading this and had suggested this oven method please leave a note brilliant Lavanya Krishnan) said that she does it in the oven. "Click". Went the rusted switch in my brain. I chopped the eggplant, tossed them with turmeric, salt and couple tsp of olive oil and popped them in the oven.  They came out near perfect like a bhaja.

Then to get more experimental I dusted them with cajun seasoning and sprinkled some paprkia.

Next I wanted to rub them with cinnamon powder and nutmeg. But I restrained. This far and no further was the mandate. "Don't mess with my Begun Bhaja",  was a familiar cry around home.Hah! tell me who is "Bossy" around here.

Traditionally the Begun Bhaja is fried. In Mustard Oil. As in this Begun Bhaja. In the oven version I used olive oil instead of Mustard but you can use the latter too.

Wash 1 slender japanese eggplant in water and pat dry

Chop the japanese eggplant in rounds, each 1/2" thick.

Toss the slices with
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp Olive oil
salt

Grease a baking tray. Arrange the eggplant slices on the tray. No piling or overlapping.

If you have a cooking spray, spray the surface of the eggplant slices. Or else you can smear them with drops of olive oil.

Pop in an oven. I used a toaster oven where I baked them at 300F for about 30 mins. After 15 mins from start I turned the tray and sprayed the slices once more. Towards the end, I flipped the slices, sprayed with little more cooking spray and did it for 5 more minutes.

Oven temperature and timing will vary. The larger oven temp should be about 350F. Also depending on the quality of the eggplant timing will vary. Just check that the slices are not getting dry and take them out once they are soft and cooked. If they are getting dry but not cooked, cover the bake tray with a aluminum foil and then bake.

Sometimes I might brown them further on a greased fry pan on the stove after they are done but mostly that is not necessary for this variety of eggplant

Now that we have the begun bhaja out of the picture and you saw the simple psychology that made me happier to bake them as opposed to frying them, I will introduce you to Scott Haas, food writer and psychologist. Yes, a deadly combination.

In his newest book, Scott explores what goes on inside a chef's mind in the back of a professional kitchen. Intriguing, haan ? Wait and hear the rest. In the book, "Back of the House-- Secret Life of a restaurant" Haas looks at famed Boston restaurant Craigie on Main, where chef Tony Maws basically gave him free reign to observe for the past year and a half. If you want to know what inspires a chef, if you want a peek into the racing drama in a restaurant kitchen and want the drama to unfold like a novel, this book is for you.

Now available on Amazon

I have my own copy which I am not going to share  but I would be very happy to send a copy of this book to one of the commenters in this post.. Winner will picked by random.org and book will be shipped in US only.