Rasogolla ‘r Payesh -aka- ‘faux’ Rasmalai

I remember a play me and my brother (who was a year senior to me) along with some others enacted in our high school. Me (Grade 11th) and my brother (Grade 12th) were both very good at stage dramas and participated in most of them. Our much-loved chemistry ma’am, also my class teacher had this play for us for some occasion that I do not recall right now. I do not recall the name of the play as well, but given a chance now I would name it – ‘Heal the world’ and have the MJ song with the same title play at the end / beginning of the play. So this play was about the world (called Mr. World and played by my brother) which was battered and injured and bleeding. I remember making the costume for Mr. World using my grandmothers plain beige shawl, sticking a world map and making fake red stains (to show it bleeding) and fake holes in it. Attempts would be made to heal this world. Some of our friends represented money, power, etc., etc. (I do not remember the rest clearly) and they would then try to heal the world but with no success. Finally towards the end I would enter the stage, dressed in pristine white, representing ‘Love’, will give a small speech on how I could heal the world from all the vices and its injuries. It ended with the world being a cleaner and a nicer place.

The moral of this play was understood clearly by all of us, but somehow today I understand the real implication and lesson behind it. The lase week had been a rough one and had made me anguish over the fact that the world was becoming such a chaotic place. So much is happening around us that should not be. No country is unscathed from man-made disasters (as I like to call them) as if natural disasters weren’t enough. To think of what kind of world we will be leaving to our next generation – it really bothers me. The entire last week I had been scrolling through all the newspapers and reading so many awful crimes that made me feel so sullen. But I am trying to keep myself away from the newspapers for a while and boost my spirits by trying to think of good things… And that brings me back to my blog.

This is a long due post and I made it for Holi. Back at home we call this Rasogolla ‘r Payesh but I guess it is a sort of ‘Rasmalai’ made with Rasogollas. I remember this as my Dida’s (maternal garndmother) special dish and she makes it using milk and sugar. However, I had it the easy way and used some evaporated milk and some condensed milk.

Ingredients:

• Rasogollas – 10 – 12. (My Dida used the large ones and would cut it into half but mine were mid size so I kept it as it is.)
• Whole Milk – 3 cups roughly
• Condensed milk – 1/4 of a 14 oz can
• Evaporated milk – 1/2 of a 14 oz can
• Cardamom powder – to garnish

Note: You can use either the above mentioned combination, or you can choose to adjust the proportions, or omit the condensed milk and/or evaporated milk. If not using condensed milk add sugar as required. In the latter case it will take a little more time to thicken the milk.

Method:

• Put a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. Add the evaporated milk and whole milk and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring in between.
• Add the condensed milk and stir well. Add sugar at this stage if not using condensed milk.
• Meanwhile using hands gently squeeze out the sugar syrup (without squashing) from the rasogollas and keep it aside.
• Once the milk is sufficiently thickened to your liking and sugar adjusted, add the squeezed out rasogollas and let it simmer for almost a minute. Do not stir much as the rasogollas, being soft, might break.
• Sprinkle some cardamom powder for garnishing and let the rasogollas absorb the milk.
• Transfer to a serving plate or bowl; refrigerate till chilled and serve.

Note:

• If you are not sure of handling the squeezed out rasogollas you can also put them in a serving plate or bowl and pour the thickened milk over it and let it soak.
• If you have the thickened and sweetened milk in excess, like I did, use only what is required and keep the rest aside and chill. You can serve it later as a ‘sort-of-thandai’.

Hara Bhara Kabab – Green Kabab

2011 September – Dubai Airport  – I am traveling with my husband to India via Dubai… tired… excited and yearning to see my family, to celebrate the festive season and to be in my city. Another couple of hours for my connecting flight, have already seen enough of the airport (which is very very nice) and so am stretching out on one of the lounge chairs, my husband on my right and an unknown lady to my left. In no time the two of us are engrossed in a conversation with the lady. She is a Dutch, hailing from Holland and is going to visit a couple of friends in Kolkata for the Durga Pujas. We talk a lot about the countries and culture we belong to and I tell her about my city of joy. That amidst all the colors and the beauty of the place she may find it a little noisy and cluttered, and that I find those very traits make the city so much alive, specially at this time of the year. As we talk aimlessly the time for our connecting flight draws near and we bid good byes. The last glimpse I have of her is in Kolkata airport as each of us stand in the immigration line. Two people – from different parts of the world meet for a while and then carry on to their respective destinations.

She is forgotten… I do not recall her name any longer… just one of the many people we met on a long distance journey. The chances of us meeting again is null – zero. Holland is not a place I plan to visit very soon. And I do not expect her to be in Kolkata ever again.. well neither in US. So that is the end of our story.. the chance meeting with an interesting person … good conversation and time well spent.  One of the benefits of staying in different places and traveling is that you get to meet many kinds of people, you get to hear many kinds of stories, different experiences… different lives. And I am always enchanted by good stories. The stories make me think .. make me imagine… make me long.

12 months later…

2012 (October) – Dubai airport - I am going to India for 4 weddings in the family, one of which is my own brother’s. All geared up for the major preparations… the only not-so-good part is that I am traveling alone. The husband will follow me a month later. I have my books and music to give me company but I was already missing him. I managed to chat with a couple of my co-passengers (all of them going to Kol). I am about to reach the specific Gate allotted for my next connection when something familiar crosses my eyes – or someone. I am not sure if my memory serves me right – but – I know I am right – It is her !

Not able to withstand any longer, I reach up to her… to check if I am correct, to check if she remembers me from a year ago. And voila – she is the very same lady from Holland and she remembers. For a couple of seconds I feel I am in a déjà vu. What was the probability of us meeting again, in the same airport, traveling on the same day and around the same time of the year ( just a 2-3 days left for Dushera as last year). I had thought  none and was gladly  mistaken. We hug each other as if long-lost friends. We click our pics, talk for some time, exchange mail ids. I am happy, so elated. I want to share this with BBC, the strangeness of the whole situation has affected me strongly. And as I hop onto my flight I am smiling.

Life is, after all, so full of surprises; and the world around us is becoming smaller day by day. I now have a Dutch friend and a reason to plan for a trip to Holland someday. As Oprah says – “… chance encounters aren’t necessarily accidental; in fact, you can make your own luck by opening yourself to the world. ” I want to be receptive to new things in my life… new people, new places, new experiences. And one day I do hope to begin to understand the mysterious ways of this universe.

P.S. – As I posted this to the blog, I updated my Facebook browser and a birthday reminder pops up – its that of my Dutch friend. How strange that today is her birthday and unknowingly I dedicated today’s post to her. (Happy Birthday dear friend!)

Today’s post Hara Bhara Kabab is inspired from Tarla Dalal’s recipe. Hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

• Paneer (Indian Cottage cheese) – 1/2 cup
• Spinach leaves – 1 cup tightly packed
• Chana Dal – 2-3 tbsp
• Ginger, finely chopped – 1 tbsp
• Garlic, finely chopped – 1 tbsp
• Green Chillies, chopped – 3-4
• Green Peas, boiled – 1/4 cup
• Water – 3/4 cup
• Salt – to taste
• Chaat Masala – to taste
• Garam Masala – 1 tsp
• Bread Crumbs – 2 tbsp
• Oil/Oil Spray – as required

Method:

• Grate the paneer or process it in a food processor.
• Clean, wash and blanch the spinach as mentioned. On a high heat bring a large pot with water to boil. Add the spinach leaves to boiling water. Cover and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove the leaves using a slotted spoon or drain using a colander. Wash the wilted leaves with ice cold water. Drain water and squeeze out any excess water from the leaves.
• Pressure cook chana dal with ginger garlic and green chillies with 3/4 cup of water for 2-3 whistles or until the dal is cooked. Drain the dal and remove excess water.
• Blend the cooked dal with boiled peas and blanched spinach leaves to a fine paste. If required use only 1-2 tsp of water.
• Combine this paste with the grated paneer.
• Add salt, garam masala and chat masala to the mixture.
• Add bread crumbs and mix well.
• Take a spoonful of the mixture and shape it into a round ball. Press the balls to get a round flattened shape like that of a cutlet. You can keep the round shape or form cylindrical shapes as well. However I find this shape easy to cook on stove top.
• This is an optional step. If you want your kababs to be have a crunchy coating you can roll them onto some additional bread crumbs or else you can omit this step and fry the kababs as it is. I tried coating them with bread crumbs but did not appreciate the result. Additionally the bread crumbs were giving it a burnt look. You can try it both ways for the first time.

Cooking the kababs:

1. Stove top: I used this method and it is definitely a healthier option. Heat a skillet on a medium flame and spray some oil. Place the kababs and cook them well turning around for even cooking. If required keep spraying oil or drizzling melted butter on each side as they get cooked.
2. Deep frying: You can deep fry the kababs till they turn golden brown. You can also make a batter of flour/maida, dip the kababs, roll them on bread crumbs and deep fry them.
3. In the oven – Preheat oven to 350 F and bake them on both the sides till they are cooked. This should take 15 – 20 mins (10 mins approx. on each side) depending on the oven size. Baste them with oil / melted butter on both the sides when you flip them.

Serve them with any chutney, tomato sauce or dip.

Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian

What do you say of a nice romantic date? I say maybe we go out to a fine place for a cozy candle light dinner… or I make you sandwiches and you carry a picnic hamper as we head out to the beach… lets go back to our teens and catch a nice movie in a theatre with a huge bag of popcorn and coke… if not then lets shut down all the gadgets and let me cook you a nice dinner that we will then have on bed, we can tuck our feet into the comforter, maybe share a glass of wine and chat aimlessly like those initial days. Will it bring a smile on your lips? Will that make you happy? I know it will…

To the good times then, now and forever…

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower – 1/2 medium, cut into small florets
• Oil – for deep frying

For the batter:

• All purpose flour – 5 tbsp
• Cornstarch – 3 tbsp (flour:cornstarch will always be in 5:3 ratio)
• Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
• Salt – to taste (If you are adding Soy sauce which already is salty, add accordingly)
• Black Pepper powder – to taste
• Red chilli powder – to taste
• Soy Sauce – 1 tbsp (optional but adding it gives a nice deep color)
• Paprika – optional, to be used for extra red color
• Water – to make a thick batter

For the sauce:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Onion – 1/2 medium, finely chopped
• Garlic, finely chopped – 3-4 colves
• Green chillies, finely chopped – to taste (since you are adding chilli sauce adjust accordingly)
• Soy Sauce – 1 tbsp
• Chilli Sauce – 2 tsp (adjust to taste)
• Tomato Sauce – 1 tbsp
• Salt – to taste (soy sauce has some salt in it so add accordingly)
• Sugar (optional) use only if required – sometimes if the sauce becomes too tangy you might need to add little sugar, check the taste first and then decide if you need to add it.

Note: The quantities for the sauces mentioned are approximates since I never measure them while pouring. Just eye ball it, add little at first,  taste it and add more if required.

For Garnishing: (use any of these)

• Chopped Cilantro
• Chilli vinegar – optional but adds a great flavor. Follow instructions mentioned below on how to prepare this.
• Chopped green chillies – for extra spice
• Spring onions, roughly chopped – I did not use it this time

Method:

Marinate and deep fry:

• Soak the florets in hot (not boiling) water for 2-3 minutes. Drain completely and pat dry.
• In a bowl add all the ingredients for the batter except water and mix well. Add little water at time and keep mixing with a whisk to get a thick batter of pouring consistency. Do a taste test and adjust the spices accordingly.
• Add the florets and mix them so that they are well coated with the batter. You can add some extra flour if the batter is too thin or add extra water if it is too thick.

• Keep aside the marinated florets for almost an hour to a couple of hours, the longer the better.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer / pan. Once hot add the florets in batches and fry them till they are cooked and turn golden. Do not over fry or they will turn mushy.

Note: The first time I was making this, I got the proportions messed up so that batter was falling off when frying. Once the entire batch was done, I added the fried florets in the leftover batter again and re-fried them.

• Drain the fried florets onto a paper towel.

Prepare the sauce:

• Heat up a pan and add 1 tbsp of oil. If using the same pan as used for deep frying the florets remove the oil leaving almost a tbsp of oil.
• Add the chopped onions, garlic, green chillies and fry for a couple of minutes until the onions turn translucent.
• Add all the other ingredients – sauces, salt and sugar (if needed) and mix well.
• Sprinkle some water and cook for a couple of minutes so that it comes to a light boil. Check taste and adjust salt and the sauces accordingly.

Note: If you want you can prepare the sauce before hand. Fry the florets just before serving as they will loose the crispiness if kept for a while. You can assemble the dish just before eating.

Assemble the dish:

• Reheat the sauce if made previously.
• Add the florets to the sauce. Mix gently.
• Garnish with any of these – chopped cilantro, green chillies, chilli vinegar or chopped spring onions.

How to make chilli vinegar:

You can use this for any Chinese / Indo-Chinese cooking. So if you need it very frequently make in large quantity or else if you are going to use it once in a while like it do make a smaller portion.

• Take 3-4 tbsp of white vinegar.
• Roughly or finely chop 2-3 green chillies and add them (along with the seeds) to the vinegar. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
• Use it for garnishing.

Serve it as a side or a starter.

Irish Soda Bread (Buns)

Happy St. Patrick’s day!
(Belated… actually, since by the time I could not finish compiling all the pictures yesterday.)

And the day began on a very – very happy note. My brother-in-law and his wife were blessed with a baby girl. We had been hoping for some good news since yesterday night and she chose to decide her own sweet time of arrival. Both mamma and the little princess are doing great and the whole family is celebrating! So we woke up to a festive mood. Had long chats back at home and with the proud father which made me, for a while, reflect on the wonders  of life. Creating a life and nurturing it for months and then finally holding it in your arms is a big feat. A big congrats for that.

From now on St. Patrick’s day will always be celebrated in the big “C” family, though a little differently than the traditional Irish meals and beer. No, our families hardly have heard of this day; even I realized the significance of this day after I came to the US.

This year I decided to make something Irish.The recipe had featured in the NYTimes and BBC had found it for me yesterday. So what better than today to make the Irish Soda Buns.

I have to thank dear husband – who is the ‘photographer’ in the family – for today’s pictures. Though I usually click almost all the photos for my cookbook (with an exception of one or two), this time I was glad BBC was home and eager to do the shoot. In fact yesterday when he came to me with the recipe he told he would click if I made it. So there you are … I have a number of pics – step by step – for a better illustration. (Click on the pictures for a better visibility.) I got him to do the shots and he delighted me by saying we were a good team – in his word – “you cooking and me clicking”. Secretly, I do like him taking some interest in my cookbook but I am not sure I would like him clicking all my cookbook photos from now on. Not that he will be able to give that time to my ‘little projects’ as he calls them. After all I do enjoy the whole process – the recipe research, then cooking, clicking and editing and finally writing. Enough of the blabbering for now and time for the recipe.

Note: To me, these buns are almost the same as Scones so maybe they are Irish Scones. The name comes from the fact that baking soda is used as the leavening agent. This uses buttermilk but since I did not have it at home I made a substitute for it. Refer to the end if you need to use a buttermilk substitute.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour – 1 1/4 cup
• Whole wheat flour – 3/4 cup
• Sugar  – 1/4 cup
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Baking Soda – 3/4 tsp
• Baking powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Butter, cold and cut into small pieces or grated – 3 tbsp
• Egg – 1 large
• Butter milk – 2/3 cup + some more for brushing. For buttermilk substitution go to the end of  this post
• Golden raisins – 2/3 cup, can use dried currents or cranberries
• Caraway seeds – 1 1/2 tsp (as mentioned in the recipe though I did not use it)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare a baking tray by lining it with a parchment paper or lightly greasing it with oil / butter. I udually use 2 layers of parchment paper as using only one it for me. Am not sure why but I use the one from Costco.
2. In a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, wheat flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk it well so that there are no lumps.
3. Add the cut or grated butter and mix it well with a pastry cutter or two knives or using your fingers. Mix it well till all the flour is well incorporated and it looks like coarse crumbs. For better understanding check the method used in the Scones recipe.
4. In a separate bowl whisk buttermilk and egg.
5. Add the egg – buttermilk  mixture to the dry mixture, mix it lightly.
6. Add the raisins or currents or cranberries and the caraway seeds (if using) and mix it till it combines into a moist dough. Do not over handle or over mix the dough.
7. Sprinkle some flour onto a work surface and transfer the dough.
8. Knead it lightly and pat it into a 1 inch thick round. Sprinkle some more flour if the dough is too sticky.
9. You can either use the whole round for baking or cut them into small rounds and then bake. I preferred the latter one.
10. Using a lightly floured cookie cutter (I did not have that so instead I used the rim of a wine glass) cut the dough into small rounds and place them on the baking tray.
11. Gather the leftover dough, reform into a circle and cut again.
12. You can also cut into small wedges (refer Scones recipe) and either bake them as it is or shape each wedge into a ball. Either way the tastes remain the same.
13. Place the cut rounds or wedges onto the lined baking sheet spacing each a few inches apart. Ensure there is some spacing in between each bun as it will spread a little.
14.  Using a lightly floured knife cut lightly a cross (‘X’) onto the top of each bun. Refer the pictures.
15. Brush the top with buttermilk with a pastry brush. I did not have one I used a spoon to do so. This process is called ‘glazing’ and it helps the tops to brown while baking.
16. At this stage if you want you can sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of each bun.  I forgot to sprinkle any sugar before baking, therefore I did it after they were baked. This is an optional step.
17. Bake them in the preheated oven at 375 F for 15 – 18 minutes or until done. Mine took 12 mins to bake, but the time may vary from oven to oven. If you are not cutting the bread into smaller buns the baking time will be almost 45- 55 minutes.  The buns are done when a tooth pick inserted into it comes out clean. Remember the bread will keep cooking for some more time even when out of oven and onto a cooling rack so do not over bake it.
18. Once done transfer it on a cooling rack. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
19. If baking a whole bread cut it into thin slices.
20. Serve it with some butter or cream and enjoy!

Buttermilk Substitution: If you do not have buttermilk at home (like me) prepare the substitute as follows:

• Using white vinegar: Add 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Add milk (little less than 1 cup) to the vinegar / lemon juice so that it reaches the 1 cup measure. Stir it and Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. The milk will curdle lightly. Stir and use as much as your recipe calls for.
• Using yogurt: – Add 2 tablespoons milk with enough plain yogurt to equal one cup.

Chicken with Fennel – Mouri Murgi

This post goes out to my friend ‘Appy’. I should have posted this a long time ago, but I just never got to click the pics. Usually on weekdays I cook regular stuff for lunch and anything ‘good’ for dinner. And I like to click mostly in daylight, the lighting in my kitchen is not that great so evenings don’t work for me. Weekends are, therefore, the best time when I cook elaborate meals for lunch and have the perfect light for the shots. The only problem is that I never seem to get much time for the shots as we both are eager to devour the food rather than wait for the perfect shots. So most of the times I have to be satisfied with the ‘not-so-good’ clicks and try to make it up with post-processing.

Appy gave me this recipe a long time ago and since then I have made it innumerable times and served it with parathas or various rice preparations. And every time I have sent a short note of thanks (silently) for this wonderful recipe that we have come to love so much.  If I remember correctly she had told me this was originally a recipe for mutton. Since we hardly buy mutton and its mostly chicken for us, I never tried out the mutton version of this, but if anyone out there tries it out do let me know how it turns out to be.

Now, I must tell you about this friend of mine, as this post is actually her recipe. When I ventured into the world of cooking she played a very significant role in inspiring me. I have gathered so many recipes and tips for cooking from her kitchen. We have shared so many discussions about cooking and kitchen + home management. I had also envisioned us cooking together like Hetal and Anuja from Showmethecurry – hah..! Guess that will have to wait for some other time – maybe – when we both stay close by and that does not seem very likely to happen anytime soon. Till then I am very happy with my blog and that I get a chance to compile all the recipes which I can pass on to someone someday….

I was not sure what name to give to this recipe, so I just named it the first thing that came to my  mind. But feel free to suggest some good name for it, if anyone can. Also since we Bongs love to have aloo/potato with chicken I often add it. It up to you, go ahead and add some potatoes if you want it, or skip it if you don’t.

Hope you try this recipe and like it. Look forward to your feedback and suggestions.

Bon Apetit!

Ingredients:

• Chicken – 600 gms (approx). I used half of a whole chicken
• Fennel seeds – 1 tbsp
• Black Peppercorns – 1 tbsp
• Yogurt, well beaten – 1/2 cup
• Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
• Onions, thinly sliced – 1 large or 2 small
• Green Chillies, slit length wise – 7-8, adjust according to your preference. Can also add red chilli powder if you want.
• Bay leaf – 1 large
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 3 tbsp
• Green chillies finely chopped – (optional) to garnish
• Lime juice – to garnish
• Cilantro, finely chopped – to garnish

Method:

1. Dry roast fennel seeds and black peppercorns. Let them cool down and then grind to a powder.
2. Marinate chicken with well beaten yogurt, ginger garlic paste, and half of the ground spice powder. Keep the marinated chicken in the refrigerator for anytime between half an hour to 10 hours. The more you marinate, the better.
3. Heat oil in a deep pan.
4. Once hot, add a bay leaf and the onions. Fry them with a pinch of salt.
5. As the onion starts browning add the remaining ground spice powder and mix well.
6. Next add the marinated chicken and fry on high for a couple of minutes.
7. As the chicken starts browning reduce the flame to a medium and cover and cook. Keep stirring in between and if required add a few drops of water. Usually I don’t have to add any water as this is not a curry dish and there will not be much gravy.
8. Adjust salt and if required add red chilli powder. I usually add a lot of green chillies.
9. Once the chicken is completely cooked garnish it with lime juice and finely chopped cilantro. Add some extra chopped green chillies if you want it to be extra hot.
10. Serve it hot with Paratha (Indian bread), or rotis or with pulao.