Friday, August 09, 2019

Bengali Rice Congee or Phenaa Bhaat



Bengali rice Conge or Phenaa Bhaat

Phenaa Bhaat in all Bengali Homes == Bengali Rice Congee in a restaurant.

Few days back, I was talking to Pritha Di( the famous Pritha Sen) about typical Bengali breakfasts served in Bengali middle class homes until a few years back.

" Don't tell me about Luchi, Parotta, Kochuri. Tell me something else, " I said.

That is when memory of this ubiquitous dish, ever present in our childhood mornings, came back.

For the first ten years of my life, I remember rushing through the morning, sleepy eyed and grumpy to catch the school bus somewhere around 8 AM. What I cannot fathom is, how I managed to eat a hot breakfast of soft cooked rice, mashed potatoes and boiled eggs with a pat of melting Amul Butter, that early!! My daughters can barely finish a bowl of cereal in that time.

But it wasn't me alone. Millions of Bengali kids fortified themselves with a similar breakfast and probably still do. It is a healthy, one pot meal. easy for the mothers to cook and definitely good for the kids who swallow the soft morsels hurriedly in the morning.



In PrithaDi's home it was known as "Jau Bhaat". In mine "Phenaa Bhaat" and if the starch was drained then "Seddho bhaat" or "Bhaate Bhaat".

In those days, we had no idea that other Asian kids, strewn around China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Myanmar are probably eating a similar gruel called Congee as their breakfast.

The key to the Bengali "Phenaa Bhaat" is the rice. It has to be a short grained rice and if a fragrant one, all the more better. So the natural choice is Gobindobhog rice. In its absence you can use Kalijeera or any other local short grained rice. The rice is to be cooked with lots of water and vegetables to a starchy gruel like texture. The vegetables vary with season and shouldn't overpower the dish. During summer it is usually potatoes, and then you pick couple of choices from okra, pumpkin, radish and green papaya. In the winter, there is carrots, sweet peas, cauliflower and of course potatoes.



Once cooked, the vegetables can be mashed separately and served with the dish. Some of the vegetables like pumpkin, potatoes and papaya can just be roughly mashed into the rice itself. My mother used to also serve fried fish with the seddho bhaat when she was pressed for time. All of this would be topped with Ghee or a pat of golden Amul butter.

I like it when the dish has a silky and smooth texture and served with eggs. I also like to dress it up with some green chili and ginger slices fried in mustard oil.



Sunday, August 04, 2019

3 Ingredient Oreo Cookies Ice cream



Summer temperatures have been high around here and that can only mean ice cream and more ice cream.

This "No Ice cream Maker" recipe is so easy that any kid could do it and that's what Little Sis did. Well she is not that little any more. Almost eleven.

But what I am saying is, this recipes is so easy that any kid in elementary school who can follow some instructions should be able to make this ice cream.



Honestly taking a photo of this ice cream was more difficult than making it. Since the oreos had been crumbled and the rest devoured by the girls, we couldn't find any Oreo cookie to style the ice cream photo. That is when Big Sis suggested to put a tiny piece of brownie (she had just made a batch for her friend) on the ice cream. That is what you see there and Li'l Sis said it was a good addition to the ice cream actually. Sugar on Sugar.

But then that's what our short lived summers are for.

3 Ingredient Oreo Cookies Ice cream

What you Need



Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream -- 1 Cup

Condensed Milk -- 1/2 Cup or 4oz (a little less than this is okay)



Oreo Cookies -- 10-15 Oreo Cookies crumbled (Either crumble them with a rolling pin or use a mixer)
Note: We had Thins so used about 15

How I Did It

Beat heavy cream/whipping cream at high speed setting until soft peaks form. Speed setting 6 for 6 minutes. This was our KitchenAid setting.
You could use a hand mixer or even beat with a whisk but the latter would take longer time.

Add Condensed Milk to the heavy cream and stir to mix.

Add the crumbled Oreos. Mix well.




Pour this heavenly mixture in an air-tight glass container. Cover with lid. Put in freezer.

Take out after 8-10 hours. Ice cream will be set by then.

If you like what you are reading, get Bong Mom's Cookbook in your mailbox
Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Saffron Rose and Honey Ice cream -- No Ice Cream Maker needed

Saffron Honey Rose Icecream


Last year for Spring break we were on vacation.This year, it's summer and I have not finalized our vacation plans yet.😭😭

So, of course I am wallowing in my own sorrow and perusing pictures of the past. And that is when I remembered this Gelateria in a small town called GELATERIA DONDOLI IN San Gimignano, Italy. #throwbacktoholidays



Dumping us off at this quaint medieval town in Tuscany, the pretty Italian tour guide had ended her historic spiel about the town with "And don't forget to have gelato at the Gelateria Dondoli which has the best gelato in the world. it is the winner of the Gelato world cup( that's a thing?)"

Tossing her auburn curls she wagged a finger and warned "When you enter the piazza, there is one more store with a sign "World's Best Gelateria"-- but don't go there, it is fake😱. The only real World champion is Dondoli and you will see it."😎

Armed with this knowledge we strode into the beautiful piazza surrounded by medieval stone houses in gothic architecture, towers and beautiful church. But of course I paid little attention to this as my focus was on Gelato. True to the guide's words there were couple of gelaterias all proclaiming themselves to be winners of "Gelato World Championship". Modest crowds hung at each and I pitied the tourists who did not have my knowledge and thus would never taste the world's best gelato.

Unfortunately there were plenty prepped like us by the guide and there was a serpentine queue in front Gelateria Dondoli. To taste a World Champion gelato, you do need to put in some hard work after all.

Since the girls only wanted gelato while we wanted to see the town too, we went on a quick round of the small town while the girls waited patiently in queue.

By the time we were back, our turn had come but the hardest part was still not over. The hardest part being, choosing a flavor in the deluge of the flavors that Dondoli offered. The unique thing about the gelato here was they had a range flavored with spices and herbs like rosemary, lavender, saffron and more aromatics. We were very excited to see a flavor dedicated to Michelle Obama and I of course took that one. It had saffron and was delicately sweetened with honey.

I don't remember if it was the best as I loved almost every gelato around every corner I have had equally but I do remember the girls getting very excited that there was a photo of Priyanka Chopra as well as Michelle Obama in that tiny gelateria.

I am not yet sure if Sergio Dondoli makes the best gelatos but he indeed is a genius in creating unique flavors.



Inspired by Dondoli's Michelle flavor, and remembering his gelato, I made a Saffron and Honey flavored ice cream today.  

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of  "crocus saffron". It is the stigma and styles of these flowers. Known as Zafran it is grown mostly in Mediterranean regions.   I love Zafran or Saffron but since it is expensive, I always use it sparingly. For this ice cream I used half of a 1 gram pack.

Of course mine was not a gelato but generously flavored with fragrant saffron and hints of rose water, the ice cream did taste delicious. I added honey and reduced the amount of condensed milk for sweetness. This gave the ice cream a subtle sweetness which I really liked.

And it was my favorite 3 ingredient ice cream that requires no ice cream maker. I had learned this ice cream recipe from my neighbor and use it as a base to add different flavors. The Nolen Gur er Icecream too is based on the same recipe.