Pasta with Roasted Peppers, Greens and Ricotta

Today was one of those days. The kind of day when you have a long To-Do list and nothing on it gets done.

Wait. Actually that is not today, that is everyday.

But while everyday, I just push off the today list to tomorrow, "today" some of the things on there had to be done. Simply had to. And one of them was to get Valentine's day gift or treat or some such thing for LS's class. Yes, for a class of four year olds who care the sheeshkabob about Saint Valentine. All they I am sure want is some colored candy which unfortunately I wasn't going to give.

Now all these years I have never sent gifts to school on V day. I have sent treats for the party but not individual gifts for the kids. "We just did this for Christmas. Why again in February?" was how my general train of thought went.But this year in a moment of weakness (or maybe it was the moment when I was busy clicking a food photo)I promised LS that I would send goody bags on Valentines Day. I promised but did not lift even one of my fat fingers towards that promise until I made the TBD list for today. "Buy V G.Bags", was scrawled on it along with several other illegible stuff which may  have included "Go to Gym" or may not.

To keep that promise, I came home; took a shower; drank tea with one several Marie Biscuit; quickly made a Pasta with roasted sweet pepper, spinach and ricotta because the tub of ricotta in the refrigerator was inching towards its expiration; donned a jacket and then rushed out to the nearest available store that sells stuff that can qualify for "V G.Bags". Thankfully the husband was around to take the kids to their taekwondo class and I could scratch that from my list.

So the main thing is, I donned a jacket and rushed out. When I say donned a jacket, I "donned" it on whatever I was wearing at home while sipping tea and cooking pasta. If you know me or in the case that you don't, it is high time you understand the way I function. I do not sip tea or cook pasta in designer wear. Forget desinger wear which I don't even own, I actually prefer drinking tea and stirring pasta in tracks which have been through the wash cycle so many times that they are now super comfy and in t-shirts so frayed at the edges that they might work better to mop my counter than covering my body. The only reason I like winter, is zipping up that jacket hides my wardrobe inadequacies in most places.

Comfortable in the super cape power of my jacket I breezed through the aisles of the store trying to figure which pack of valentine cards will give most bang for my buck, all the time feeling like I was being hit by a cold draft. But there was too much on my mind, like Winnie or Dora,  to pay attention to drafts and winds.

Finally all set, when I was at the checkout, the young guy at the counter was extra nice and kind of treating me like he would an older senile lady. You know, how you are extra nice and gentle and sweet when you encounter a ninety year old who is slightly woozy in the head. Well she has a reason, her sleep medication is doing that. "What is my excuse", I thought. It was then that I glanced down and what do I see ? The jacket that I had so confidently zipped up at home, had somehow unzipped midway and split up exposing my threadbare tee and holey pants. I surely looked like someone whose upper storey needed some repair work. Struggling with that zipper did not help at all and I quickly gathered my stuff and walked to the car. Fast.

Now I need a foolproof jacket. That tee and track pants are here to stay,

That said this Pasta with Roasted Red Peppers ,Greens and Ricotta was pretty good. A pinch of Garam Masala and some garlic made it better. It was inspired by a recipe in NY Times and will be packed for school lunch tomorrow. Of course it works perfect for a dinner too.

The recipe is in my kids' blog where I am storing lunchbox ideas.

Bhoger Khichuri and Anarosher Chutney

Bhog er Khichuri is the Khichuri, a Bengali will offer to the the Goddess on Durga Pujo, Lokkhi Pujo or Saraswati Pujo. If done on any other day it will just be the Bhaja Moog Dal er Khichuri or a Khichdi made with Roasted Moong dal or a Rice and Lentil dish akin to Risotto if I try going international.. The same Khichdi when mixed with devotion, faith, respect and fragrance of incense, is lifted to the sublime and is called Bhog er Khichuri.

Along with a mixed vegetable dish of Labra, different kinds of  fries called bhaja and Tomato Chaatni, this Khichuri was offered during Pujo, in heavy plates with raised edges made of kansa (bell metal) or brass. Water was served in similar glasses. Sweets and several fruits cut and cubed made up the other edible arrangements. Fresh flowers, heavy fragrance from incense sticks and dhuno made up the complete atmosphere.

In addition to all this there was something offered called noibiddyo, small mounds of small grained raw rice that had been soaked, raw yellow moong soaked, some sweet sondesh, pieces of ripe banana were arranged in portions in a separate plate. Though Noibiddyo or Naivedhya means "offering made to the Gods" and so everything offered should actually have fallen under this category, we specifically labelled this offering of raw rice et al as Noibiddyo. You will get a clearer image of this from this pic I found in Flickr.

After the pujo was over, these small mounds of rice, sondesh and bananas were mixed together in a kind of mash. The raw rice due to the overnight soaking was soft but had a bite and the sondesh and banana sweetened the whole deal. More than the khichuri, it is this thing called chaal-kola makha, distributed with prasad at the end of  pujo, is what I waited for.

Saraswati Pujo is on Friday. My parents are going to have an elaborate pujo back home as usual. Friday being a working day, I will have a small pujo at home in the evening where I will do almost nothing according to tradition except offer sweets and books, pray and ask her for knowledge and wisdom.

On Saturday, we will have a pujo at a larger scale in a friends' basement. There we will have Khichuri and labra and also much fun. I am trying to teach the girls to sing a Saraswati Vandana for the pujo there and given that I cannot sing a single note in tune, I have roped in help from YouTube. So every night for ten whole minutes I play a simple Saraswati bhajan on my laptop and the girls' join in singing at the top of their voice. It does not sound very musical and the little one keeps saying "Naamo Sharada Maatha" instead of "Maata", which is kind of funny given that "Maatha" in Bengali means "head". The ensuing cacophony is enough to drive any Saraswati up the wall but we are hoping that the Goddess and audience has more patience.

In prospect of this wonderful future (ahem!), I made a Bhaaja Moog Dal er Khichuri today. Since I did not offer it to the divine, I cannot say it was bhog er khichuri yet. Instead of Tomato Chaatni, I made Anarosher Chaatni or Pineapple Chutney. The Begun Bhaja or fried eggplants I baked in the oven taking cue from a reader who had suggested this method. I lighted up some incense sticks and then deliberated on eating it, since Khichuri does not feature in the top 20 things I want to eat stranded in a desert island. Furthermore Khichuri without an omlette holds very little charm for me. So I made an omlette, something which would have been impossible on the actual day of Pujo and then ate it all up myself. I mean I also fed it to the rest of the family.

You don't have to wait for any divine intervention, any day you want a one pot meal, make this and offer yourself.



Some of my previous posts on Saraswati Pujo are here and here. Here is my Labra, Begun Bhaja and Anarosher Chaatni recipe to complete the meal. There is another version of Khichuri I make called Bhuni Khichuri which is a spicier and richer version of this.

The very nice people from masalamommas had asked me a few questions and that article up on their site. Go check if you want. Thanks Salima, the lovely lady who did the piece. And btw that picture is of Salima's. 

Bhog er Khichuri 

 

A liitle prep

Chop 1 medium potato in quarters.
Chop half of a small cauliflower in about 6-8 large-ish florets
Defrost about 1/4 cup of frozen peas (or use same amount of fresh green peas)

Wash 1 cup of rice(short grained rice like gobindobhog, kalijeera etc. preferred, I used sona masoori) and soak in water

Roast 1 cup of Yellow Moong Dal till you get a nice nutty aroma. About 50% of the dals should be a light brown on roasting. Rinse the dal lightly in water and keep aside. Approx. 4 minutes.

In a separate frying pan, fry the potatoes and cauliflower with sprinkle of turmeric powder till they are a shade of light gold and the cauliflower florets have some brown spots.Throw in the green peas and saute them too.

After we are done with the prep part we will start on the actual khichuri

Heat Vegetable Oil + 1 tsp Ghee in a deep and heavy bottomed pot.

Temper the oil with
4 green cardamom
4 clove/laung
1 thin stick of cinnamom
1 Bay Leaf/tejpata
2 Dry red chilli
1 tsp of whole cumin seeds/jeera

When the spices pop to the oil add
1-2 tbsp mince or grated ginger 

Add 1 medium tomato

Add
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Garam Masala 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder(or Kashmiri Mirch)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
all made into a paste with water Saute for 2-3 minutes

Next add the roasted moong dal and mix with the masala. Saute the dal along with the masalas for couple of minutes.

Add 1 cup of pre-washed ned rice now

Now add about 8 cups of warm water to the pot. Add little salt. Cover the pot and let the water simmer to a boil.

2-3 minutes after the boiling starts add the potatoes, cauliflower and peas. Add 1-2 Cup more water if needed.

Once you see the water boil, lower the heat, cover and let the rice and lentils cook. In between, remove the cover, gently give a stir and check if they are done or if more water is needed.

Once the rice, lentils and vegetables are cooked, sprinkle about 1 tsp of sugar and a pinch of Garam Masala. Mix gently. Drizzle a tbsp or more of ghee . Serve hot.

Pressure Cooker Method:
To cook in pressure cooker, after you have added the vegetables, do not add any more water. Close the Pressure cooker lid and cook for 2 whistles or 3 minutes if in Futura pressure cooker.

Once the pressure has released naturally, open the lid and check the consistency of  Khichuri. Add little more water if needed and adjust for salt and seasoning. Add Garam masala if needed.

At the very end, heat 1 Tbsp ghee in a small frying pan and roast some cashews and raisins until golden. Add them along with the ghee to the Khichuri. Serve hot.

Egg Butter Masala or Egg Malai Masala

This Egg Butter Masala was inspired by an Egg Malai Masala a colleague's wife had cooked. Since I did not have her recipe and based this on my Paneer Butter Masala recipe, I decided to call it Egg Butter Masala. The end product looks and tastes very similar to what my Punju colleague had brought.

Now , honestly, I am not a big fan of butter masala kind of gravies. It is ok. I like them but I don't go ga-ga over them. However I have noticed that a large percentage of Indian population and still larger percent of non-Indian population goes absolutely crazy over this dish. My girls also love it. I guess it satisfies different palates and tastes. And for this reason, I have found that a dish like this helps a lot in a party or a potluck where you are not very sure of the food choices of the other person. This one is sure to please.

As you can well guess, I made this for a potluck at work. The recipe is almost same as my Paneer Butter Masala but this one is easier and more creamier. In the other one, I did not use cream. Instead I added cashew paste and evaporated milk. For this one, I thought, "What the heck ? If those people are going to eat 2 more tsp of butter or cream it is not going to harm anyone. Also my life will become simpler". With that thought I skipped the cashew paste and added about 1/2 pt of light cream. I also had to make it borderline spicy and could not use as much Kashmiri Mirch I wanted to. So to get some color I added tomato ketchup taking cue from Nag's blog.

The end result was very good and definitely easy to make. I cooked the gravy a day ahead. You can do it even a week before and freeze, only in that case, don't add the cream until you are ready to heat and serve it. To make it a malai masala substitute water with milk while making the gravy. I added eggs but really you can add anything to it. Both my girls loved it and you can sneak in veggie puree into it if that is your goal.

And for all those who have been asking about the book, we are now at the stage where my erudite editor is on her final edits and I am making small changes here and there. The book cover has been decided on and we have got some sketches to be included. The book is not a cookbook and intertwining the recipes and narrative has been both fun and hard work.Also with a work outside home, kids and the blog, I have been missing the deadlines set by my editor quiet often which means the book gets delayed just that much. Hope you all appreciate once it is out and anyone with a single negative comment about it will get a time out. Serious.

Ok, just kidding !

Egg Butter Masala

First let us make the gravy

Fry one red onion chopped in large chunks till soft. Cook and make a paste. You can also use raw onion paste but it sometimes tends to get bitter and also takes longer to cook so I like it this way.

Heat 1tbsp butter + 1 tbsp oil

Temper the hot oil with 1/4tsp of methi seeds and whole black cardamom lightly bruised

When you get beautiful flavor of methi, which is really really fragrant, add the onions paste. Fry for about 2 minutes

Next add
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp Kashmiri mirch(more to taste)
a sprinkle of turmeric powder
Saute for couple more minutes

Now add about 3/4th cup of pureed tomato. I used canned whole tomatoes to make the puree, good juicy fresh ones will work well. You can also use tomato paste but in that case you will be using only 2 tbsp of it.
Add 2tbsp tomato ketchup

Fry till the raw smell of tomato is gone. This takes about 6-8 minutes, at end of which you will see oil separating from the edges

Now add about 1 tbsp of Kasoori Methi warmed between your palms
Add salt and 1/4th-1/2 tsp of Garam Masala.
Add about 1/2 tsp of sugar
Mix well

Add 1 cup of warm water and let the gravy simmer and come to a boil. For a richer version add milk instead of water. At this point taste and adjust for seasonings. Add more Kashmiri mirch or salt or sugar depending on your taste. Simmer till gravy is the right consistency for you, remember you are going to add cream to this.

When you are happy with the simmering gravy, lower the heat and add 1/2pt of light cream. Yes lot of cream but you alone are not going to eat it. At low heat let the gravy simmer for 4-5 mins.

You have the Butter Masala gravy ready.

Now add the Eggs

While you are making the gravy boil about 6-7 eggs. Cool and peel shells. Now you can fry them with a sprinkle of turmeric to a golden brown or just let them remain the way they are. To serve, halve the eggs, sprinkle with little salt and add to the gravy. Simmer for a few seconds. Serve warm.