Beguni -- ar Ashare Goppo

Eggplant coated in a batter of chickpea flour and deep fried

This post was first posted in 2010. It is being reposted.

The rain had started out strong, not meek like other days. Huge blobs of water, hit the warm earth rapidly, with an urgency to quench out its parched dryness. The rain was now hitting down hard on her window, with that drumming sound, she loved about rains.

Outside the windows, the world seemed painted by Monet. She could hardly make out anything, even the Krishnachura by Bubai's house with all its red flowers was barely discernible. She sighed and returned to the open pages of the Resnick-Halliday, trying to figure out the resonant frequency of some stupid string of length L while the rain drummed on merrily on her windows.

"I will put these up for drying in your room", Ma said, a pile of still wet clothes on her arm, droplets of water clinging on to her jet black strands. Not waiting for a response, Ma started putting up a makeshift clothes line, right above her study desk. As the fan whirred slowly trying to dry out the clothes she sat beneath Dada's dancing pajama legs still trying to figure out the string.

She could hear Ma in the kitchen now, the pots clinging, the whoosh of water down the sink. And then she could feel the sharp smell of Mustard up her nostrils. The hot oil now hissed as something hit and then there was the familiar sound of "chyank-chok", repetitive it went, the same rhythm, a "chyank" followed by a "chonk". Ma was making Beguni, brinjal slices dipped in a chickpea flour batter and fried crisp. There would be Khichuri and Beguni for lunch, a rainy day staple. She hated brinjal and didn't care much for a Khichuri. But Ma would make an omlette for her, even one for Dada, she knew and smiled to herself.

"PING"!! The sound startled her.

She looked up and outside the huge glass window, the rain had trickled down to a drizzle now. The lights on the Empire State building glowed against the gray slated sky.
She looked back at her computer. Her husband was on the IM.

He wrote, " So shall I get some eggplants? what about Beguni and Khichuri tonight ?"

Smiling she gathered her laptop and her belongings. She didn't want to miss the 6:15 subway home.

***********

This is my first attempt at Food Fiction inspired by the fantastic tales of Kalyan@Finely Chopped. I often write about the past in my posts. The past is not perfect, the present more not so. While I write my regular posts, I stick to the reality, the truth, I don't transcend the fine line from reality to fiction. But this category of Food Fiction, lets me mingle my memories with bits of imagination, so the emotions and the nostalgia is still there but also there is a little bit of the author's creative mind in play.

*Ashare Goppo == Monsoon Tales.Depending on its usage it also means "made up tales"

Beguni or eggplant slices dipped in a chickpea flour batter and then deep fried is a long time Bengali favorite. Actually anything deep fried is a popular Bengali or for that matter popular Indian snack. With Bongs, the thing is they adore their eggplants and so not being satisfied by Begun Bhaja alone they go a step ahead to make Beguni.

The Beguni is a popular side kick to the Khichuri on rainy days and that is how we had it last week amidst pouring rain. If it is a high-dry day and no one wants Khichuri, Beguni is still very much welcome as an evening snack with muri aka Puffed Rice or as one of the fried veggies accompanying Dal for Lunch.

Read more...

Beguni -- Batter coated eggplant fritters

Makes about 20 small begunis

What You Need

Eggplant ~ Eggplant chopped in thin rounds or semi circles. Depending on the kind of eggplant you are using, chop about 20-25 mini rounds and semicircles

Chickpea Flour/Besan ~ 1 cup
Water ~ 3/4 cup
Baking Powder ~ 1/4 tsp
Red Chili Powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Rice Flour ~ 1 tbsp
Salt ~ to taste

Chaat masala -- for sprinkling on the fritters(optional)

Oil ~ for deep Frying

Update: As one of the readers said, instead of Rice Flour you can also add 1-2 tsp of poppy seeds to the batter for a crunch. Also a little Kalonji/Nigella seeds in the batter may be added for an alternate version.

How I Did It

Wash the eggplant well and chop in thin rounds or semi circle. Smear with turmeric and salt and keep aside for 10 -15 mins

Make a batter of chickpea flour with all the ingredients listed under batter. Add water gradually to make a batter as thick as a Pakoda batter.

Heat Oil for deep frying in a Kadhai

Dip the eggplant slices in the chickpea flour batter so that it is uniformly coated and then gently slide into the hot oil. Fry till golden brown on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Sprinkle some Chaat Masala on the Beguni for that additional zing.

Similar Recipes:

Alur Chop ar Muri -- also has a khichuri recipe in there

Dahi Vada -- Doi Bora with no hole

LS's kindergarten class has a very interesting activity every year and it involves hatching chicks. Yes, fun isn't it ?

They have a farmer bring in a hen and rooster to school and then set up an incubator with dozen eggs. Every day the kids are asked to rotate the eggs ever so gently and wait for the eggs to hatch. It is a week of great anticipation and I can imagine the level of excitement in her class.

So after a week of waiting, 11 of the chicks hatched on one Tuesday in May. And the kids got to name them. Little Sis named hers "Rosie". Rosie, Rosie....why Rosie I wondered.The next day they were also allowed to touch and pet them. LS was pretty excited about the chicks and said that they were soft to touch and pooped a lot.

I think I expected some kind of a reaction when we cracked eggs to make an omelet at home after this experiment but it seemed she was very aware that the eggs in her school were different from the ones we buy. "The ones at home are not fertilized eggs so it is okay to crack", she told me. "If you by accident get an egg by the side of the road and don't know if it is fertilized or not, then don't make omlette", she warned.

Now to the Dahi Vadas which both Little and Big Sis seem to like. My Mother made lovely Dahi Vadas all her life. Perfect donut shaped vadas, with a neat hole in the center dunked in a sweet and tangy yogurt sauce. I of course loved the yogurt more than the vada. And I also liked mine with some Tamarind Chaatni unlike a Bong Doi Bora with a sprinkle of Bhaja Moshla. However what held me in awe about the Dahi Vada was the perfect hole at the center of the disk. My Mother would take a bit of the dough on her palm, do some magic trick, slide it into the hot oil and there would be vadas with a hole frying in the hot oil, like savory donuts, only then I had no idea about donuts. I could never ever crack that code.

"How do you make a hole at the center of the Vada" -- seemed to be the greatest mystery of my life.

Then one fine day, our babysitter from last year, who was a Gujarati and a really good cook, made Dahi Vadas.

And she did not make a hole. In the Vadas that is.

Her vadas were round balls like bigger pakodis. Maybe they were called "Bhallas" and not "Vadas". I am not sure. Honestly, you could have called them a "Bhatia" or a "Patel" and I wouldn't have cared.That one could make Dahi vadas without a hole at the center was a revelation to me. Without that hole, the lentil dumplings were mere dumplings which were not that hard to make.

Well, there were still more things to crack like why did the vadas turn hard on some days , why do I worry all the time, why oh why it is June already...etc.etc.

But until then here is how we make Dahi Vadas at home. And I still like the yogurt far more.

Dahi Vada or Doi Bora

Makes about 15-20 medium sized vadas

Soak 1&1/2 Cup of Urad Dal in water for 10-12 hrs which means overnight.

Next drain the water and in a blender jar add
the Urad Dal
2" of chopped ginger
2-3 green chillies(optional)
Adding minimal water make a thick paste. The water should be just enough to make the blade spin and should not make the batter liquid.

Pour out the batter in a wide mouthed bowl and add
1 tsp of salt(add more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
1 tsp of Fennel seeds(optional)
A friend suggested adding raisins to the batter and I did do it once but it is totally optional

Whip the batter well with a fork for 5-6 minutes. This will make the batter fluffy and airy which in turn will result in softer vadas.

Now heat enough oil for deep frying the vadas/lentil dumplings. First test if the oil is hot by putting in a pinch of the batter. If it bubbles and rises to the surface the oil is ready

Drop the batter with a spoon, a small scoop or with your fingers into the medium hot oil just as you would do for a pakodi. Don't worry about the shape, they will be spherical but not necessarily uniformly so.

Fry the vadas till they are golden brown. Take out with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil on a paper towel.

Wait for about 6-8 minutes and then dunk the vadas in lukewarm water. Let the vadas soak for about 15 minutes.

You will notice that the vadas have swelled on soaking. Take out each vada and put it at the center of your palm. With the palm of your other hand press gently to squeeze out the excess water. Do this for all vadas and keep them lined in a serving tray

Now get the Yogurt ready. My favorite part.

In a big bowl add
2.5 Cups of  thick Whole Milk Yogurt
1/2 cup of Milk

Whisk the yogurt well so that you get a smooth, creamy texture.

To this yogurt now add the following according to your taste
salt
sugar ~ about 1 tbsp
Chaat masala ~ 2 tsp
a pinch of Kashmiri Mirch
Give a good mix. Taste and then adjust the above until yogurt is sweet and tangy.

Now pour the yogurt over the vadas so that all the vadas are submerged in yogurt.

Sprinkle some more red chilli powder, chaat masala, kala namak and bhaja masala(or roasted cumin powder)

Drizzle tamarind chutney and garnish with coriander leaves while serving

A is for Aloo Posto and Aamer Tauk

Yesterday I asked a question on my FB page
"If we did a A-Z of Bengali Cuisine, what dish would you choose to start with A?"

There was a huge response of about 78-77 answers and guess what ? The winner was Aloo Posto, as I had feverishly hoped.Please God, please, let the folks say Aloo Posto and then I can have one more reason to cook and eat it. Not that eating Posto needs any reason or season but it is always nice to have some validation. 

This Posto is made with potatoes and other vegetables. The traditional Aloo posto has only potatoes

Now "Aloo Posto" or Posto with Potatoes is actually  a dish of posto or poppy seeds where the aloo (potato) is simply a qualifying adjective. This posto in Bengali cuisine is so versatile that we could do a whole A-Z of Posto with Aloo Posto, Begun Posto....Zucchini Posto and not even so much as glance at any other dish.But still the general consensus was that "A for Aloo Posto" is uniquely Bengali and even though there might be a North Indian aloor dom or a Mexican Mango Chaatni, there could never ever be an Aloo Posto that spoke anything but Bangla.

Given the season and abundance of green mangoes, coming a very very close second in this poll was  Aamer Tauk which I have blogged about in Aamer Chaatni or Ambol and Aamer Chaatni Version 2

The other A dishes that make a Bengali proud

Aloor Dom

Aloor Dom Niramish

Aloor Chop

Aloo Seddho or Aloo Bhaate

Aam Doi and Aam Kheer keeping in mind the mango season 

Aloo posto was one of my very first dish on this blog some eight long years back. A lot of water has flown in the Ganges and Hudson since then but this dish is still a favorite in my home and heart.

"Posto or Poppy Seed is an oilseed obtained from opium poppy. The seeds are harvested from dried seed pods and have no narcotic effect. Posto or the dried white poppy seeds are hugely popular in Bengal. It was actually the food of the people of Rarh, the "land of red soil" on the westernmost corner of West Bengal. More so for the people of Bankura and Birbhum district in this area. This region has a very dry and hot climate and they believe posto has the effect of a coolant and protects them against the heat. In the days when there was no restriction in cultivating Indian poppy and farmers in this area grew poppy in abundance, the posto seeds became an integral part of their diet. A mid morning meal of posto and bhaat protected the farmers from the searing, dry heat as they worked in the open fields.

But the reason why they started growing posto or poppy seeds goes back to the 18th-19th century when the last Bengali Nawab was dethroned by the British East India company. The East India company found that opium generated huge profit not only in local markets but also in China. Thus started the Indian Opium trade. The conditions in Birbhum-Bankura area were probably most suitable for poppy cultivation and the reason why the British colonists forced farmers in that area of Bengal to grow mostly poppy on all available agricultural lands. It was natural that farmers in those areas had little choice but to incorporate posto, the dried poppy seeds a by-product of the crop, in a suitable form in their daily meal. They ground the dried seeds to a nutty flavored paste(posto bata) which they had either raw with some seasonings(kaancha posto bata) or cooked with whatever little vegetable they could avail of. Little did they know that a dish invented out of necessity would one day be representative of Bengal."

Posto was mostly cooked in my home during the summer months keeping its cooling properties in mind and so it felt perfectly the right dish for a sunny, warm day in May today.


Traditional Recipe

Prep 

Soak 1/4th Cup of  White Poppy seeds in water for 10-15 minutes. Next strain the water and then wet grind the seeds in a grinder with little splashes of water. Ideally the seeds would be ground on a flat block of stone called shil-nora. The grinding should ensue a creamy white paste.

Alternately, you can also dry grind the seeds to a fine powder in a spice grinder. mix water with the powder to make the creamy paste.

Peel and chop 1 large potato in small cubes.

Start Cooking

Heat 2 tbsp Mustard Oil in a kadhai

When the oil is smoking hot, temper the oil with
3/4th tsp of  Kalonji/kalo Jeere/Nigella Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli
2-4 Green Chilli slit along the center

When the spices start popping, add the cubed potatoes.

Saute the potatoes with a sprinkle of turmeric powder. Now this turmeric is  a cause of much consternation as there are two camps-- one who believes in turmeric in posto while the other doesn't. Choose which party you belong to.

Saute the potatoes until they are a pale golden brown. Don't over fry them. Now add the posto bata aka the poppy seed paste. Mix well and saute for a few more minutes making sure that the posto has coated the potatoes.

Now add water(about 3/4th cup), salt to taste, give a good stir and cover and cook.

Check for potatoes to be done. Once the potatoes are cooked, open the cover and drizzle a little Mustard oil. Give a good stir and cook for a few more minutes until the water has dried off.

Serve with white rice.

Modern Touch

Now on most days I throw in some vegetable or the other along with the potatoes and posto. The most recent usage by the husband-man has been about half cup of frozen vegetable mix(a mix of carrots, beans, corn and peas). He defrosts half a cup of this vegetable medley and throws them in with the potatoes. It tastes oh so good and looks as good as in the first picture.

Roasted Asparagus with Nigella seeds, Kashundi and then Pesto

 

For six or more months, the trees here are bare, the air sharp with cold and frost, the grass bleached under a shifting layer of snow, and the birds far far away. But when spring arrives, they all come back with a vengeance.

The grass sprouts a bright green and the dandelions stand upright, their tiny yellow flowers looking boldly towards the brilliant blue sky. Yeah, they may be weeds, but so what ? It is spring, isn't it ? The leaves unfurl magically and all of a sudden the trees have a wild unruly head of green, like a little girl in need of a haircut. The birds arrive from God knows where and tweet urgently early in the morning. Tweet-Tweet.They continue their conversation throughout the day, short sharp busy tweets interspersed with slow lazy longer ones, talking of the far away land they visited and probably dissing those distant relatives who boarded them in winter.The flowers bloom in all colors, stretching their limbs, fresh and raring to go for a ball, after the long winter slumber.

It all seems very fairy-tale kind.

Magical.

How did it all happen ? Who tapped the wand?

I have been in this country for a fair amount of years now and yet every year Spring mesmerizes me.I am awed by the resilience of nature around me. Chin up, head held high, giving a repeat performance year, after year, after year.

"This is our time and we will give it our best shot." They say. "We will pick the most vibrant of all greens in the palette, the brilliant of all blues in the paint box, the boldest red and yellow and purple of our crayons and we will paint a picture that you will carry in our heart even when the colors have wiped off and the canvas is white.And we will come back and do it again."

It is hard not to be carried away with such a show of fortitude and so I spend almost all of my weekends and afternoons, sitting outside, drinking my tea, admiring every weed and bud, and planting anything I can lay my hand on. I am hardly a gardener and so I choose the easy and hardy petunias or marigolds to color my garden. It is little that I  do but there is so much joy to be just under the tent and play a tiny role in spreading that magic that it seems only fair to be outside.

I am hardly in the kitchen therefore. Making quick easy meals is the call of the day.

And this asparagus fits the bill perfectly. I never used to like Asparagus and I have to say it was my friend N's recipe which first pushed me towards trying it. It is so simple that it isn't even much of a recipe really. Once I got the hang of it, I experimented, doing this or that, still keeping it simple. However I have a fondness only for the tender spears and once they get fat and chewy, I lose my interest in asparagus and prefer to wait until next year.

This particular recipe is for a Roasted Asparagus in the oven flavored with Nigella seeds, Kashundi and Pesto.

The key is to get fresh, tender asparagus spears. Which by the way can happen easily in spring.

You then chop and discard the tough bottom portions. Wash them well and pat dry.

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Next take a shallow baking dish or foil covered oven tray and drizzle with 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Add 1/4 tsp of Kalo Jera/Kalonji to the oil and pop the tray in the oven for 3-4 minutes.

Now take out the tray and arrange the asparagus spears in a single layer on the tray.
Sprinkle a little garlic powder(very little). You can also use minced garlic.
Sprinkle some salt to taste
Drizzle a tsp of Kashundi.

Roll the spears so that they are all coated with olive oil+ kalonji + salt + Kashundi + garlic

Pop back in the oven for say 15-20 minutes or so. Time depends on your oven power and the quality of the asparagus. There have been times when 15 minutes was enough for them to get cooked, while at times it also takes 25 mins.

Once the asparagus are done, take them out and eat.

We rubbed those cooked spears with some pesto+green chilli paste. It was so so good.

Almost Magical. Like Spring.

Bread Pulav or Pau(n)rutir Pulao -- for school lunch

Many of you send me mails asking about ideas on snack and lunchboxes for kids. I had started a blog last year where I could record the lunch I send for Big Sis but after few weak attempts, I have now realized that I did not post many lunchbox recipes there. Now there are multiple reasons for this and I will just list the general points about a school lunch in our home:

1. Though I try to send a wholesome lunch from home on most days, they are not spectacular by any means. In the morning rush, while I am warming and packing the thermos, I fail to take a pic of the said lunch, even if it is a phone pic. So on most days there is no living proof of the packed lunch.

2. The lunch I send is kind of repetitive. As in, it repeats every week or so. Big Sis wouldn't want to see any surprises at lunch. She is not the kind.
A general idea of  the lunches that I pack for the 10 year old is -- Pasta tossed with veggies and store bought sauce, pasta with veggies and olive oil, Upma, Leftover rice that has been stir fried and a side of yogurt, Stir fried Noodles, occasionally a Nutella sandwich, sometimes paratha and at times mini wontons or ravioli from Costco.

3. The 10 yr old also has a snack time sometime around 10 or 11 and for that I send one of these -- usually fruits(banana or berries), cheese and crackers, granola bar and sometimes store bought yogurt cups.

4. I usually have the lunch ready in portions the night before. The next morning all I have to do is heat and pack the thermos.

5. At least once or twice a week, Big Sis eats lunch offered by the school cafeteria. The menu is sent out at the beginning of the month and she picks days on which she thinks the food will be to her liking. The main complaint about the school food I have heard from her is that the portion is too less. I have not seen it and from the sound of it, it does look wholesome and appetizing (barring certain days). It might be a portion control thing which the cafeteria is trying to impose, which is not all that bad, but then again I cannot be sure unless I have seen the food.

This week since we had too many loaves of bread in the pantry, I made this bread pulao for school lunch. My Mother, the avid snack and tiffin maker, would make this bread pualo very often. The husband-man has been so enamored by the idea after my Mother taught him, that he makes it often for weekend. His version has sausages and eggs and is very filling.Usually we have it for weekend brunch but with the overload of bread, this pulao seemed like the right thing to do for school lunch last week.

Big Sis's school has something called the "Battle of the Books" for which they have been reading a variety of books suggested and loaned by the teachers. I have not had a chance to read them and so she very kindly reviewed few of those books in my Kids' blog.If you are looking for book suggestions for 9-11 year olds, check them out. She promises to add more books to that list in the next post.

Do you have any book suggestions for 9-11 year olds ? Please add your suggestions to the list. Summer vacations are yet to happen here.

Bread Pulao -- for the lunchbox

Warm six slices of bread lightly. Then cut each bread slice in cubes. I leave the crust on and use whole wheat bread.

Heat Olive Oil or any Vegetable oil.

Flavor the oil with a clove of garlic finely minced

Then add some finely chopped onion and saute till onion is soft and translucent.

While onion is frying, microwave a bowl of mixed vegetables. I use a mix of carrots, corn and green beans. You can use any vegetable you fancy.

Add the partly cooked veggies to the frying pan and saute for few more minutes

Now here is the point where you go out on a limb and add any ONE of this to the frying pan

1. You can add a tsp of soy sauce and 2-3 tbsp of Ketchup

2. You can add some tomato-basil sauce from a jar(around 3 tbsp)

3. You can add some red chilli powder and dhaniya-pudina chutney (or green sandwich chutney)

After you have added the base sauce, let the vegetables cook

Once the vegetables are done, add the bread pieces and toss quickly with the vegetables and sauce.

Add salt and some black pepper powder to taste. Go easy on the salt if you are adding cheese later

Now since I use whole wheat bread which doesn't get soggy, I drizzle about 2 tbsp of milk on the bread at this point. This helps the bread to soften a little. If you see bread pieces are coarse, you can also drizzle a little olive oil on them.

Once I have tasted and checked to see everything is right, I add some parmesan and give the bread and veggies a last toss.

On cooling, I pack it in portions for lunch next day.

To add some protein to this dish, add a chopped boiled egg OR chopped sausages OR some boiled black eyed peas OR fried peanuts

Aam Doi -- Mango Flavored Sweet Yogurt

My Dad is a big health freak. He also has a huge sweet tooth. So he has convinced himself and everyone around him that eating sweets is healthy.

Isn't that brilliant ?

Have you ever had the pleasure of feeding "high calorie-full fat-non vegan-decadent-deliciously- sweet-desserts" to someone who thinks it is actually healthy ?

It is a shocking experience, I tell you.

It gives you so much pleasure that you feel like you are doling out "world peace" by the quarts. You think you have a halo around your head and angels are practicing Mozart on their harp.

It is such an uplifting thing after hearing requests of "only a spoonful" from svelte-skinny jeans-types or skinny jeans-wannabe aunties-like moi that you tend to go overboard, throw out your anti-depressants and start making Mishti Doi every week

That is what happened to me in the last few months while the pater was here. I made Mishti Doi or Bhapa Doi several times and then I made something similar, only with mango pulp and called it Aam Doi. I have never tasted the real Aam Doi and I don't even know how the real one tastes. But from my previous attempts of mixing mango with the yogurt I felt a layering works and tastes better. That is the reason I like to make Aam Doi or Mango Flavored Sweet Yogurt in small ramekins perfect for single servings.

This was good enough with a very nice Mango taste. Everyone loved it but given a choice dad wanted the old Mishti doi back

Read more...

Aam Doi

This recipe was updated on May,2014 with more exact measures

This recipe serves about 4-5 people

If you are using regular low fat yogurt strain 1 heaped cup of yogurt on a strainer for 25-30 minutes till most of the whey has been drained. If using Greek Yogurt no need of straining.

Now we can do this Aam Doi two ways. When Mangoes are in season, of course we will use fresh sweet mangoes. However when getting a mango is in your dreams, just get a Can of Mango Pulp.

With Fresh Sweet Mangoes

In a bowl or blender jar add
flesh of 1 large sweet and ripe mango
1 cup of strained yogurt,
1 cup Evaporated Milk
about 1/2 of a can of Condensed Milk
Mix well
Check the sweetness of the yogurt mixture and add a little more condensed milk if needed.

Pour out this yogurt mix in individual oven safe ramekins/bowl OR pour it out in a large oven safe bowl(a 24oz round bowl should be good)

Add a few of strands of saffron to the mixture.

Pre heat oven to 350F

Fill a oven proof tray half way with water. Put the ramekins OR the large bowl in it. This acts as a water bath.

Put the tray+ramekin in the oven. Check in 30 minutes to see if the yogurt has set. Gently tap on the sides to see if yogurt has set. In most cases it will set in 30-35 minutes but may look a little wobbly in the centre. That is fine. (cooking time will increase if you increase the amount, say 45 mins for double this recipe)

Now take the ramekins/bowl out and put in the refrigerator to cool. Let it cool there for at least 6-12 hours. Serve chilled.

Right before serving, garnish with crushed pistachios and slices of mango. Total delicious.


With Mango Pulp from a can

In a bowl or blender jar add
1 cup of strained yogurt,
1 cup Evaporated Milk
about 1/2 of a can of Condensed Milk
Mix well
Note: Since we will be using Mango Pulp which has its own sweetness, check the blended mix for sweetness and add more condensed milk if you wish.

Make your own Mango Pulp or use a can. Whisk in 1 Cup of Mango Pulp to the above mix. Crush a few saffron stands(about 1/4th tsp of saffron) with your fingers and add to the mix

Add about 1 Tbsp of mango pulp so that you get a thin layer of mango pulp at the bottom of each ramekin.

Add the yogurt mix on top of this till each ramekin is filled a little below the brim. Add a couple of strands of saffron to each.

Pre heat oven to 350F

Fill a oven proof tray half way with water. Put the ramekins in it.

Put the tray+ramekin in the oven. Check in 30 minutes to see if the yogurt has set. Gently tap on the sides to see if yogurt has set.

Now take them out and put in the refrigerator to cool for 6-12 hours. Serve chilled.

Right before serving, garnish with crushed pistachios and slices of mango. Total delicious.


Upadted on 05/31/2013: Quick easy version of aam doi

Blend 1 cup of thick greek yogurt(or strained yogurt) + 1 sweet mango

Take 3 small ramekins. Drizzle little maple syrup. Fill each ramekin halfway with the the blended mango+yogurt

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Fill a oven proof tray half way with water. Put the ramekins in it.

Put the tray+ramekin in the oven. Check in 30 minutes to see if the yogurt has set. Insert a fork gently or tap on the sides to see if yogurt has set.

Now take them out and put in the refrigerator to cool. Serve chilled

Similar recipes:

Bhapa Doi/Mishti Doi

Looking for a recipe? Check out Readers Digest

Tyangra Maach er Jhaal Charchari

Tyangra Maach or Tangra Maachh is a small fresh water fish of the cat-fish family. I have no idea about its english or scientific nomenclature
To say that I like Tyangra Maach is an understatement. It is a fish which stirs waves in my heart. Troughs and crests of love, passion, hope and some times disappointment. There was a time when its taut silvery body gleaming like a shiny rupee coin in the morning sun would send delicious shivers through my spine. Given a choice between taut, sinuous Farhan Akhtar and "Tyangra", I would have picked Tyangra even as a teenager on hormones.

And that is saying a lot since that guy is one of my favorite Bollywood actors.

But frozen tangra in the US has mostly been disappointments, more so if the taste of the fresh fish is deeply ingrained in your brain. So we rarely buy the frozen Tyangra these days. In fact we rarely buy fish from the Bangladeshi store as the girls love salmon, the husband-man is not particularly interested and I am all for ease and comfort of baked salmon, tilapia and bassa. If the universe does not want me to remove scales -->fry fish-->then make a jhol, am I an idiot to to take that chore upon myself ?

However things are different when family from India visits. Then we want the fish from the Bangladeshi store, cut in "bengali cut". For a few days we revel in the pleasure of rui, pabda, ilish and tyangra. We promise ourselves that at least twice a month we will get our Bengali fish haul from the Bangladeshi store. We nod our heads in agreement that the Tyangra is pretty good even if a tad small and the Rui is actually better than what we have had in India. We renew our piscean vows in earnest. After all we are the "Fishy Bongs".

On those days, the kitchen fan is always set at high as we fry fish in Mustard Oil to be later put in different curries and the Jasmine scented Yankee candle works overtime to dispel the scent. Big Sis, moves around the house, her fingers pinched around her nose, careful that not a single note of fish scent should enter her system. Little Sis is excited about fish that has bones and eats rui and tyangra with much relish. She watches in amazement as I crunch down the fish head and lick with pleasure at the bones.

"Would you even eat us Mommy when we were small?" she asks in trepidation and breaths relief that she is indeed too big for me to chew on her bones.

But before that pleasurable chewing, me and the husband-man stare at the slowly defrosting fish in the sink and ask grave questions

"Shorshe Jhaal or Charchari?".

"Dim(fish roe) ache or not?"

And then, "Eki, maachh ta porishkar kora nei?" (Whaaat, has the fish not been gutted and cleaned?) followed with loud wails and hair tearing.

Then we start imposing heavyweight blame on each other.

"Didn't you even ask at the store if the fish was cleaned? Incorrigible"

"I didn't even want to buy Tangra. It was you who insisted. Always making wrong decisions"

As is clear, I was in total shock when after defrosting I realized that the Tyangra was neither gutted nor cleaned of its innards. I wanted to bawl my heart out, leave the fish right there in the sink and go read my Lila Majumdar. I needed serious consoling. However, as you might know(or not), I am a middle aged woman and though 21st century women's right dictates that middle aged women are not supposed to know home cooking, forget cleaning Tyangra, I felt a tad ashamed of my lack of fish cleaning abilities.

The husband-man offered to clean the fish but again women's rights popped up in my head and I said "what a man can do a wo-man can do better". Honestly, any being, a smidgen more intelligent than me would have known that anything is better than cleaning that fish. Anyway words are like arrows, once you let them go, it is hard to retrieve or some such thing as Krishna had told Arjun.

So acting all cool and confident, I checked around google a bit and asked Ushnishda (who should actually upload a video of the said fish cleaning some day). I also tried hard to recall what my Mother did when faced with fish like this. With all that knowledge I realized cleaning a fish like Tyangra is actually pre-t-t-y easy. Since this fish has no scales, you don't need to remove scales. But you need to gut the fish. Yeah, you heard me right and here is how you do it for small fish like Tyangra.

1. You take a kitchen scissor or a sharp knife and snip the fish around it is neck, at the base of the gills, making a narrow slit. ***Not as gory as it sounds***.

2.Then you prod the innards with your finger, spreading the cavity in the process and pull out the gills from the head region. You also pull out the entrails, a blackish looking string kind of thing from the stomach region.

3. Now rinse the fish inside out with water.

It was okay and not difficult to do but given a choice I would rather get the fish cleaned than doing it again.

With all that Tyangra, I made a spicy dish with potatoes and eggplants. I am not sure if you call it a Jhaal or a Charchari so I am calling it Tyangra Maachher Jhaal Chorchori. I did not add any mustard paste thought it is a jhaal but you can add a tsp of Kashundi along with the other spices. If the fish is very fresh, you should fry it only very lightly to make this dish.

The recipe reads long only because I have broken up the recipe in parts. It is indeed a simple and quick everyday kind of dish. Well, my Mother's every day kind of dish. Once you get past the fish frying part, it is done fast and tastes great with rice.

Tyangra Maachher Jhaal Charchari -- Fish with potatoes and eggplant

Prep

Wash and clean the fish. Tyangra does not have scale and so that is a good part. If your fishmonger has cleaned and gutted the fish for you, you are one lucky person. Pat the fish dry and toss the fish with salt, turmeric powder, little red chilli powder and keep aside
I used about 10 Tyangra fish for this particular dish

Chop 1 medium potato in half moon pieces.

Chop half of a medium onion in fine half moon slices

Chop 1 slender japanese eggplant in 2" lengths

Mince 2 cloves of garlic

Slit 5-6 green chilies along the center

Frying the Fish

Heat enough oil for frying the fish. Mustard Oil is the best bet. I used a frying pan with a bigger surface area as I was going to fry several batches of fish.

The oil should be smoking hot but not burning. Check by tossing a small piece of onion in the oil. It should rise up to the surface and sizzle.

Sprinkle some turmeric powder on surface of the oil. I have a theory that this reduces the risk of oil splattering a bit. And I also have a splatter screen handy to save me from any hot oil playing truant. Ta-Da!

Slide the fish gently into the hot oil. Do not drop them in like pakori batter. The fish should lie side by side on the pan and not heaped one over the other.

Now keep the gas temperature at medium-high. Let the fish cook on one surface. Trying to flip it before it is cooked will cause it to break. After about 3-4 minutes, give a gentle nudge to see if it is cooked on the underside. Once the fish is easily flippable, flip and let the other side cook. Please note that Tyangra should not be fried crispy so do not fry too much.

Take the fish out with a slotted spoon, shaking off any excess oil. Repeat process for all fish

Once all the fish has been fried we will make the charchari

Now all that oil for frying will not be needed in the dish. So save that oil for future use or get rid of it save the amount needed for the charchari.

In the same frying pan, heat 2-3 tbsp Mustard oil(fresh or the fishy one).

Next add the eggplant slices. Sprinkle some turmeric powder, little salt and saute the eggplants until their skin chars a little and the eggplant becomes a tad softer. They need not be fully cooked at this point. Remove the eggplant and keep aside.

Temper the oil in the frying pan with
1 tsp of Kalonji
5 slit green chillies

When the spices pop add the minced garlic. After a quick saute add the onion

Saute the onion for 3-4 minutes until it softens. Onion will soften but not get crispy.

Next add the potato slices, sprinkle some more turmeric powder and saute for 3-4 minutes. Cover the frying pan and let the potatoes cook. Intermittently remove cover and stir around the vegetables and sprinkle water if they tend to stick to the frying pan.

When potato is almost done, take a small bowl and to it add
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri mirch(more red chilli powder if you like it hotter)
1/2 tsp of Cumin powder
and little water to make a watery paste

Add this masala paste to the frying pan. Add the fried eggplant and toss the potatoes and eggplants around for a couple of minutes. Next add about 1/2 Cup of water at room temperature and salt to taste. Add more water if you think so. Let the gravy simmer and come to a boil. Make sure that the potatoes and eggplants are all cooked

Now add the fried fish and cook for a few more minutes until most of the water has evaporated. The dish will have little gravy.

Add some chopped fresh coriander leaves and finish with few drops of mustard oil. Serve with rice.

Posto Bhape or Bhapa Posto in Microwave

This post is about Posto Bhape but first we will not talk about Posto Bhape. Instead we will talk about Little Sis. If you can think of nothing but Posto then scroll down the page.
 

This is something way back from February and I have been meaning to write it down here but I always forget

Little Sis telling me about her Valentine's day project in school, " Mommy in our art class today, we made love."

Since a lot of this conversation happens in the car, my hands on the wheel wavered.

Big Sis gave her a look and said "LS, how can you make love in art class?"

My hands wavered again.

LS with an air of non-nonchalance " Oh very easy. You cut out L, O, V and E from pink neon paper and then spread glitter over it. Done"

***********

Little Sis's class was learning about deserts in school.

The Big Sis, trying to act smart because she is ten after all asked "Which Dessert ? The one you eat?"

LS went into deep thought and then said, " Yes, you can eat there if you want. Deserts have some kind of cactus which we can eat"

I choked on my laughter as LS has a temper and gets very angry if I laugh at anything she says. She is very confused with "laughing at someone" and "laughing with someone". So if any natural action on her part ellicits laughter on our part, she doesn't like it. However when she makes goofy faces or a joke which I do not understand, I am supposed to break into peals of laughter or she gets mad again.

*************

LS has a friend in class called S. I have met her only briefly but from what I gather S is a spunky little girl. So LS comes home from school and calls me at work, to talk about S.

"Mommy, S is K and R's boss", she said with an air of finality, K and R being two spunky boys in her class.

"Okay, but why ?", I asked

"Because they are in the same bus and also in the same class, she is their boss. And they have to do anything that she asks them to. HAVE TO."

I was very impressed by this logic and also by the said S who has concocted this rule.

So this little girl S apparently being the boss of K and R, did something which irked K and R and they wanted to complain to the teacher. S however forbade them to do so and this is what Little Sis explained to me, "If K and R complain to the teacher, then the teacher might tell her parents and S's Mommy and Daddy will think S is not a good girl. But S wants them and everyone else to think that she is a good girl so K and R should not complain about her."

I was as amused by LS's logic as by S's antics.Go Bossy.

***************

LS knows the right moments to call me and get her things done. Every day around 2:30 in the afternoon, she calls and asks if she can have a cookie or a pack of fruit snacks. Now usually these are not part of her everyday snacks and so I ask her to have yogurt or some fruits instead. But she knows that I don't haggle much over the phone and she tries her best with pathetic calls every few minutes.

Now to explain "Persuasive Writing" to BigSis, I was giving her LS's example and how she uses "pathos" to persuade me. BS thought for a minute and then said, "Not only "pathos" she also uses "threatos" a lot. She always threatens to cry if things are not her way."

***************

Now to this Bhapa posto which is my friend J's recipe. Among all the different dishes made with Posto, the very basic is Kaancha Posto bata or raw poppy seed paste where the wet poppy seed paste is mixed with raw onion, green chilli, salt and mustard oil and then had cold with rice. It is a solution to many of our Friday night dinners. When J, who is an amazingly good cook suggested this one more step which would take all of 3-4 minutes beyond the raw and whip up posto in a new avtaar, we had to try it. And of course we have been hooked since and also buying a packet of posto every other week.

This Bhapa Posto (Steamed or baked Posto) was traditionally steamed in a small steam bowl along with the rice or later in a steel tiffin box placed inside the pressure cooker. Cooking it in the microwave is the most modern you can get. And yet the taste is the same. Clean, fresh, pure and of course delicious.

More Posto Fun
Postor Bora -- Poppy seed fritters
Jhinge Chingri Posto
Aloo Posto

Soak about 1/2 cup of posto/poppy seeds in 1/4th cup of water for 15-20 minutes

Then make a smooth wet paste of the seeds -- posto bata-- in your wet grinder. I use my magic bullet for this purpose. While making the paste add splashes of water, only as little as necessary to aid in grinding.

Alternately, you can also dry grind the posto in a dry spice grinder or coffee grinder. Mix the dry ground posto with water to make a thick wet paste.

Take the wet poppy seed paste in a bowl.

To it add
finely chopped onion(half of a medium)
finely chopped tomatoes(a smal one or half of medium)
4 green chillies finely chopped
1 tbsp mustard oil
salt to taste

Mix and then put in the microwave. Cook in MW for 2 minutes. Mix and then cook for 2-3 more minutes until the posto turns a little brown in color. If your MW is a lower power than mine you might have have to cook for few more minutes

Add more Mustard Oil. VERY VERRY IMPORTANT.

Eat it with hot steaming rice

Baked Omelette er Jhol -- Baked eggs in a curry

Baked Omlette is an oxymoron. Or so I thought. But apparently not so. Google has solved my problem.

Still "Baked Omelette er jhol" is like "shonar pathorbati" or a "gold stone bowl" and our little Miss Perfect aka BigSis noticed that out and out.

"This", she said, pointing at the all-clad stainless steel saucier plonked at the middle of the little round table in the kitchen. He fingers pointed at the gravy -- thin and runny, with half-moon slices of potatoes floating around lazily and strange UFO shaped structures nestled in between.

"This is not Omelette er Jhol", she said, her eyes squinted, her face honest.

I snapped at her. "Decide the name of the dish when you cook your own," I said.

She kept quiet and ate her lunch. "But it is good," she said.

"Not as good as the fried omlette er jhol," I sighed.

Omelette er jhol or Indian style Omlettes in a gravy, is one of my favorite egg dishes. There is something about an omelette basking in a thin curry and growing fat and pillowy, all so that you can bite into its softness and let the curry juice trickle down your throat. It makes an omlette far more sensuous than an omlette.

But then of course I cannot let sleeping dogs lie or fried omelettes fry.

So this time around, I baked them. And I did it in cup cake molds. Just like I make these egg muffins. You can of course bake them in a baking dish or even steam them in a cooker like I do for this Dim er Dhoka.

Or you can simply fry an omelette.

At the end all of them gets dunked into the jhol. Kind of like us. No matter what and how we are born, at the end we are all dunked in the jhol of life.

Thanks for all your suggestions in the last post, it helped a lot. I will be back soon, with some vacation pics and announce the winners. Until then enjoy your own Omelette er Jhol.

Omelette er Jhol -- omelettes in a curry

First take 3-4  large eggs. Or more eggs if you so wish. Let us not even go into the conundrum of which comes first "Chicken or the Egg"

Now comes the difficult part. Break the eggs in a bowl.

To it add
half an onion finely chopped
3-4 green chillies finely chopped
salt to taste
2 tbsp of milk
2 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves(optional)
Beat them to a smooth mix

Now with this egg you can do any ONE of the following three. A flowchart would have helped but what the heck.

1. Make an Omelette. Heat oil in a frying pan. Pour out the egg batter on the pan and swirl till the batter is evenly distributed and let it cook. Cut the thick omlette in cubes to be dunked into the jhol

2. Pre-heat Oven to 350F. Pour this egg mix in a greased oven safe bowl because it needs to be baked. The size of the baking dish is important and make sure that the batter does not form too thin a layer. I think a 8" x 8" baking dish would be good for this many eggs. Bake for 30-35 mins until the crust starts turning golden. Take out of the oven and carefully cut in large cubes.

3. Pour out the batter in greased cup cake holders. I had six silicone cup cake liners and I used them. Bake for 30-35 mins until the crust starts turning golden.

Making the thin gravy for Omlette er Jhol. You can make a richer and thicker gravy if you so wish.

Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a Kadhai/Saucier

Temper the Oil with
2 TejPata
1 tsp of whole cumin seeds

When the seeds pop add half of a medium onion chopped fine + 2 green chillies slit along the length. Saute till onion softens

Toss in 1 potato cut in thin half moon shapes. With a sprinkle of turmeric powder, saute the potatoes until they turn golden.

Next add a chopped tomato. But since I did not have any tomatoes at hand, I added 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup.

Now add about 1/2 tsp of ginger paste. Saute for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile in a bowl add
1 tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch/Red Chilli powder
pinch of turmeric powder
and mix well so that you have a smooth paste

Add this masala paste to the potatoes in the kadhai and cook at low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add about 2 cups of warm water, salt to taste and mix well. Let the gravy come to a simmer.

Cover and let the potatoes cook.

Once the potatoes are done, taste the curry and adjust for spices. You might like to add a little sugar to the jhol at this point.

Once the jhol/gravy is ready add the baked pieces of egg or the omelette  into the gravy and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. 

Serve hot with rice. If you let the egg soak in the gravy for a longer time, it will soak up all the liquid like a sponge so be careful.

A Gift for Shubho Naboborsho -- welcoming the Bengali New Year

The Bengali New Year, Poila Boishakh--the first day of the month of Boishakh is around the corner. Thankfully signs of spring have started showing up in my corner of the world too. Looks like Winter has finally taken a break and gone to vacation land.

To celebrate the New Year and to thank all readers of Bong Mom's Cookbook I am sharing with you my love for tea and tea/coffee mugs. My talented blog friend "Rhea Mitra-Dalal" who blogs at euphoRHEA makes these amazing hand painted mugs and plates and all kinds of hand painted crockeries.  She made these lovely tea cups for me and then I asked her if she could please make a few more for you guys too.

Browse the euphoRHEA album.

 

Aren't they really pretty ? See, why I wanted to share them with you ?

To win a cup  all you have to do is tell me "What would you like to see in my blog in the future?". Leave your comment with your contact e-mail and the country where you are from. Readers from India have a special advantage this time as the winner gets this cup and one other item of their choice from euphoRHEA.

 I will see you all next week.

Note: Due to shipping restrictions etc. this giveaway is restricted to India and US only. 

Indrani's Kumro Begun Chingri Charchari -- with fresh Methi greens

I have been in a vegetable rut for the last one week and I have realized that no one makes simple, subtle vegetable dishes as well as the Bongs do. Call me biased but honestly the variety of vegetable dishes that a Bengali will cook is mind boggling. Remember, I am not saying vegetarian dishes, because no Bong can beat the masala dosa or the dhokla, but I am saying "vegetable dishes" as in preparations which have vegetables beyond potatoes and cauliflower in them. Not that those aren't vegetables but you get my point. Why, those vegetable dishes might even have shrimp in them.

I do believe that a person's association with food is deeply rooted in his genes. We have a natural fondness towards the food our fore fathers ate. Gradually we branch out and diversify from that core cuisine and yet we never go so far as to lose our anchoring the core. We are ready to be reeled in like a kite flying high and wide in the right moment. And it is not only an emotional attachment but the body too seeks the comfort of the familiar. Take me for example. I love a mean pasta, a hearty coconut-y Thai curry, a kadhi-chawal and yet after 2 weeks of eating straight through any of those, my body protests and looks around for aloo-posto. In those times, it never ever craves for a pulled pork sandwich or a creamy macaroni cheese.

This realization donned on me only recently, when after a week of eating dal, garlicky sarson saag, spice coated chole and aloo-gobi, my soul and body craved for some subtle vegetable dish. Something light, with no over powering smell of  musky cumin, earthy coriander or any other masala. A simple tempering of PaanchPhoron or Kalonji and some green chillies is all it wanted. As much as I loved the chhole, my body protested, veering me around, pushing me towards what my Bengali grandmother ate. I am thinking, this phenomenon has also something to do with age because a younger me would have waded through months of noodles and dosa without a worry.

I was out of idea, as to what vegetable to cook and hence eat. So, I asked on my FB Page and many many excellent suggestions tumbled in.

Of all of those, on that particular day, Indrani Bhattacharya's "Begun Kumro Chingri" inspired me. It was just the kind of thing, my body wanted and of course the soul always wants some chingri/shrimp. Always.

So I went out to get some Kumro(Pumpkin) and also got some methi greens which looked dusty and bored but fresh sitting on the grocery aisle. And then I had to get some Uchhe aka bittergourd as those are my daughters' favorite veggies. Back home, I decided to add the fresh methi and uchhe to this charchari too, kind of like a one pot vegetable dish that you cannot get enough of. Because though there are vegetables is this dish, there is also chingri aka shrimp in there. Didn't I tell you, no one treats vegetables better than a Bong does.

The shrimp made it a favorite for the 10 year old Big Sis who is inching towards becoming a vegetarian these days. LS will not eat a shrimp but she too loved this dish with white rice.

I asked Indrani Bhattacharya to say a little about herself. And here she is in her own words

"I am a mother of two girls (7 and 3 years). I love to eat and try out different types of food. I didn't know anything about cooking until I got married. Now I enjoy and love cooking. For the last 3 years I am not working and enjoying my time with the kids. My husband inspires me the most for cooking. He always appreciate my effort."

Thank you Indrani for sharing your recipe with us.

Don't forget to check the new post on the kids' blog about a simple experiment to understand Newton's third law.

More Readers who shared their recipes:

Ahona Gupta's Methi Machhi
Sunetra's Piaayjkoli Maach
Piya and Chandrani''s Dhonepata Bata Sheem

 Kumro Begun Chingri Charchari -- with fresh Methi greens

Chop 1 eggplant in cubes. Soak in salt water for 15 minutes.

Chop half of a pumpkin in cubes

Chop 1 small Karela in half moon slices

Snip a bunch of methi leaves so that you have about 1 cup of methi greens

Chop any other veggie like carrot or zucchini if you want

If using fresh shrimp de-vein and clean them. Then toss them with turmeric powder and salt. If using frozen shrimp just defrost and toss in turmeric powder and salt.

Heat Oil in a Kadhai. Mustard Oil is best but I also use Olive oil if there is no fastidious foodie around.

Add the cubed eggplants and saute them with turmeric powder until the eggplant softens a little. It will not be fully cooked yet. At this point, remove sauteed eggplant cubes and keep aside.

Add little more oil to the same kadhai and heat.
Temper the hot Oil with 1/2 tsp of Kalonji/Kalo jeere and about 4-5 green chillies. Note: Another option is to use paanchphoron for tempering as Indrani does in the original recipe.

When the spices pop add the chopped bittergourd. With a sprinkle of turmeric powder, saute bittergourd for 3-4 minutes.

Next add the pumpkin and carrots(if using). Saute for a few minutes and then cover the kadhai. Occasionally remove cover and give the veggies a stir.

When pumpkin has softened, add the eggplant and toss all vegetables together.
Add salt to taste.
Add 1/2" ginger minced or grated

Now push the veggies to the side and add the methi leaves. Saute the methi leaves along with the other vegetables for a couple of minutes. Now cover the kadhai and let all vegetables cook. You won't need to add any water as the softer veggies will provide enough moisture to cook.

Once veggies are all done and have kind of lost their individual identity, taste the dish. Add salt or sugar as needed.

Now move the vegetables towards the edge of the Kadhai and add a little more oil at the center. You will have to do this only if you have started with less oil in the first place.
When the oil has heated up, will only take a minute, add the shrimp. Saute the shrimp until it loses its raw color. Toss the shrimp with other vegetables.

And there your vegetable dish is done. Done. And ready to be devoured with some dal and rice.

Mutton Korma/Mangshor Korma -- with coconut and cashew

This has been a busy month for us with friends visiting and the girls' schedule brimming with what they call "stuff". In between, there has been Mutton Korma and Mangshor jhol but first let me talk about the stuff.

This "stuff" seems to have taken over their lives, making me and their dad run around, dropping, picking up, taking off work to attend school meetings that discusses new test patterns and such obscure stuff and then off to attend more obscure events where I am supposed to help my kindergartner make dolls for Heritage Day.

Yes, you heard it right. Dolls !!! At first when the school sent home a letter seeking volunteers for the event, I quickly trashed it. I had volunteered at LS's class for Valentine's Day and enjoyed myself immensely but I had also found that the class-moms were super craft-y, so no way was I going and making a fool of myself in this project, I decided. Them Dolls, I am not making, I had reassured myself several times.

In a couple of days however LS started complaining. A few of her friend's parents had come in to help make the doll and she wanted me to be there too. "Their doll is going to be perfect. Mine will be made by Mrs.Z and it will not be that good", she wailed.

Apparently the child has more faith on me than her teacher. God, don't prove her wrong. Please. So very hesitantly, I e-mailed the teacher and landed in her school one day, only to hear that LS did not want her doll to be Indian.

"M and S have already made Indian dolls. I want to make a doll from another country", she said

"Err LS...but it is for Heritage Day. You have to make something from the country where your parents and grandparents are."

"But I don't want to do your side of the family. I want to do Baba's side", she said

Now her Baba is more Bengali than most and speaks nothing but Bengali at home and not even an alien from Jupiter would mistake him for a non-Indian.

"What do you mean his side ? He is from India too," I tried to drum reason in to her.

"But Thammi doesn't live in India. They live in XYZ", she wailed, XYZ being a suburb about 3 hours from Calcutta.

She was visibly depressed at the revelation that XYZ was indeed in India and then her interest in the doll took a dive. Thankfully, the kids had already done the cutout and the drawing etc. in class. All we had to help was with the costume and hair. With the variety of supplies available in school, this did not seem as daunting a task, as I had imagined. And guess what I learned in Kindergarten ? How to use a glue gun!

Picture of her doll is in the Kid's Blog.

The best thing amidst all this running around, was the Holi party that we pulled off on a whim, one Saturday. With temperatures dipping to 40s on most days and it being really chilly, the idea did not seem great at first. But then how is a Holi party, Holi if done in May ? Tell me? So, after checking weather.com umpteen times, when Saturday showed promised of going into higher 50s, we bought abir, took a day off to cook and played Holi.

I have never been a Holi fan to be honest. What with  my OCD and such, behind every colored face all I see is hours of clean up. But for this once, I steeled my resolution, shoved my OCD into a closet and shut it tight. And guess what ? The colored faces turned out to be happy and very easy to clean. The girls and their little friends loved the riot of colors and had a blast.

Though I was afraid that BigSis might not like the mess, she enjoyed her first time playing Holi thoroughly.
LS enjoyed herself at the beginning but with color permeating in her hair, she soon got fidgety and wanted to take a shower. At least one of them has got my genes.

Now to this Mutton Korma which I made one weekend for the husband-man's friend. My Mother makes a Mutton dish like this but hers is more heavy on spices. Along with coconut she also grinds whole coriander and garam masala to make a spice paste. Mine is based on this Chicken Korma but I have used little coconut here to make the dish more rich and creamy. It was a good dish, different from our regular Mangshor Jhol


Start off with 4 lb of mutton, cleaned and washed. Get the back leg or front shoulder of goat from your butcher

In a blender jar add
1/2 Cup Yogurt
6 pods of garlic(I get real fat pods of garlic here but the smell is not too strong)
2" of ginger
and make a paste

In a big bowl marinate the mutton in following
the ginger+garlic+yogurt paste
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of Kashmiri Mirch/Red Chilli Powder
salt
1 tsp Mustard oil

I usually marinate mutton overnight but if you are short of time an hour or two should be okay.

Now heat some oil in a wide mouthed pan.

Temper the oil with
2 Black Cardamom
4 small green cardamom
4 clove
2 small tej patta
2" stick of cinnamon

Once the spices sputter add
3 cups of sliced onion(about 1&1/2 large onion chopped in thin slices)
Fry onion till soft, pink and translucent

Now add the mutton along with the marinade.

Add
1 tbsp Coriander powder
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp Kashmiri Mirch

Now "bhuno/kashao" the mutton for next 30-35 mins. Water will release from the mutton and you will see oil surfacing.

Make a paste of
1/2 Cup of soft grated coconut
1/4 Cup of Cashew
with a splash of water


Add this coconut-kaju paste to the mutton and cook for another 15 minutes.

Now transfer the mutton to a pressure cooker. I also added potatoes to this dish on this particular day but usually the recipe does not call for potatoes

Add
1/4 Cup of beaten yogurt mixed with 1 Cup of water
salt to taste
2 dry Red Chillies
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
and mix well


Close the lid of the pressure cooker. Once the steam has reached, lower the heat and cook mutton at low heat for about 20 mins. Next, raise the heat and cook for another 5 mins.

Let the pressure cooker release steam naturally. Open the cooker to an awesome arora and serve the Korma with rice or pulao.