Aam Panna.....How to preserve for 2-3 months

Hello, my foodie friends......Summers are going on in a full swing in many parts of the country and we always find ourselves opening the refrigerator and searching for some cold and refreshing drinks. Until now you might be knowing that I always prefer homemade food and of course, drinks are no different too.

Anything homemade is always healthier and more hygienic than the store-bought one. I would suggest you to keep 2-3 different varieties of homemade fruit juices in your refrigerator. They will not only refresh you but have great health benefits too. I have already posted few summer cooler recipes on my blog:

• Mango Lassi
• Mango Kulfi
• Mango Icecream
• Pinacolada
• Cucumber Lime Mojito
• Virgin Watermelon Sangria

Aam-Panna is a very popular summer drink that rejuvenates you immediately. It is prepared from raw green mangoes and it's sweet and tangy flavor is enjoyed by all. It not only helps in fighting the summer heat but also helps in digestion. A glass full of this chilled cooler makes you feel relaxed and gives you instant energy. Try this nourishing cooler this summer and believe me your family will thank you for this refreshing drink. Moreover, I have also shared some tips to store the Aam Panna concentrate for 2-3 months.

So, without any further ado let's begin with the recipe:

Soft & Spongy Rasgulla

Hello, my foodie friends hope you all are doing fine. Being a Bengali we all have a sweet tooth. We Bengalis can start our day with sweets and end it too with a sweet dish. Today's post is all about Rasgullas or Rosogolla (as we Bengalis say). This post is very special to me as I made these Rasgullas on our wedding anniversary. 

Rasgullas are so commonly found in Kolkata that we never think of making them at home but due to the current situation, we are avoiding all the store-bought food items as much as possible. So, to make the anniversary special I thought of making Rasgullas at home. 

Rosogolla and Bengalis are synonyms. You cannot imagine one without the other. It doesn't need any introduction in the Indian subcontinent. But for those who don't know what it is then let me introduce them with this signature Bengali sweet. Rosogollas are homemade cheese balls cooked and soaked in sugar syrup. Bengali's love for Rosogolla is endless. 

You can already find a recipe for Rasgulla on my blog but over the years I have got a number of questions so I thought of making a full proof recipe and share it again. This recipe of Rasgulla is a no-fail recipe. So, let's begin:

Raw Banana Kofta Curry

Hello, my dear friends, I hope you all are doing fine and staying at home following the lockdown guidelines. I know it's a long time since we all are stuck at home but believe me we shall together overcome this situation. YES, one thing we need to understand and follow religiously and i.e. social distancing for the next couple of months or more. We need to adapt ourselves to this Corona situation. 

Anyway, the thing which is keeping us happy in this situation is nothing but the food. This time I prepared Raw Banana Kofta Curry. Usually, we buy riped bananas from the market, peel it and gulp it down but do you know what amazing health benefits are hidden in raw bananas? They are not just good for making banana chips but they have numerous nutritional values too.

The green banana is eaten either cooked or boiled but you can fry it too. They are good source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and contain starch that may help control blood sugar, manage weight, and lower blood cholesterol levels.

So, considering all those nutritional values in mind, I thought of posting a recipe with Raw Bananas. With that said, why not make Koftas from them. They are incredibly delicious and go well with rice or any kind of parathas or chapatis.

Let's begin with the recipe:

Vegetable Pulao in Rice Cooker

           

Hello my Foodie Friends.....Hope you'll are doing great. By the way how's summer treating you in your place? For us, it's still yet to come in full swing, so we kinda dwelling in between.

Coming on to today's post let me first ask you: are you a Roti/Paratha/Naan lover or a Rice lover? If you ask me hands down for Rice, anytime. I have shared quite a few rice recipes on the blog, you can check them out here (click here).

Today's recipe is Veg Pulao in a Rice Cooker. I have already shared the recipe of Bengali style Veg Pulao in a Pan. You can check it out here (click here). This time it is a bit hassle free way to cook Pulao. Pulao is a very popular main course dish in India and its subcontinents. We can also find this Pulao in many marriage ceremonies menu card too. 

This recipe is very easy to prepare and can be made by beginners and bachelors as well.  I have made this Pulao in Rice Cooker. You can make this in Pressure Cooker or Pan too.

Rice Cooker comes handy when you have some guests coming your way or you want to go out of the house. Just add in the rice and water, plug in the rice cooker and forget about it. Your rice will be ready within 30-40 mins depending upon the brand of Rice Cooker you're using. I use mine to cook from Steamed Plain Rice to Pulao and Biryani too. 

For this post I'm cooking Veg Pulao in which I'm using the vegetables which was available to me in my refrigerator but you can use any veggies of your choice. Moreover, I'm cooking this Pulao in Vegetable Oil but you can use Ghee (clarified butter) too or a mixture of both depending upon your preference.

So, without doing any further ado let's begin with the recipe:

Mango Phirni

             

As we all know Eid is just around the corner so something special dedicated to Eid has to be there on the blog. What's better than celebrating a special occasion with a dessert. I have already shared many dessert recipes on the blog. You may check them out here (click here).

Phirni or Firni is a kind of rice pudding which is very popular in North Indian and Mughlai cuisine. This pudding is also prepared during the holy month of Ramzan and to celebrate festivals like Holi, Diwali etc.....

It's a very easy and quick dessert which needs very few ingredients. It's very similar to Rice Kheer but the difference lies in the kind of rice being used. Phirni is prepared from ground rice while the later is prepared from whole rice. 

So, let's celebrate this Eid with your friends, family members and Mango Phirni. 

Ilish Bhapa in Frying Pan

               

We Bengalis go mad over this fish, and we call it Ilish which is also known as Hilsa.....nobody else in the world can understand a Bengali's love for Ilish.

llish Bhapa is one of the signature Bengali dishes which can be enjoyed with steamed white rice. Today we’ll make Sorse Ilish or Hilsa in Mustard Sauce Gravy. It's a very easy peasy recipe and the fish retains its flavor because of the very few ingredients are used to cook this delectable dish. Just mustard seeds paste, coconut milk, salt, turmeric and you're done. 

I have already shared a recipe of how to cook Ilish Bhapa in microwave. You can check the recipe here,but this time we'll make this dish in frying pan. Either way you cook this dish taste awesome. 

I have used coconut milk here instead of grated coconut you because that gives a smooth texture of this dish without comprising upon the taste. You can use whatever you like. So, let's start with the recipe:

Sorse Ilish......HIlsa in Mustard Sauce Gravy

            

We Bengalis go mad over this fish, and we call it Ilish which is also known as Hilsa. Nobody in this world can understand a Bengali's love for Ilish.

Today in this video we’ll make Sorse Ilish or HIlsa in Mustard Sauce Gravy. It's a very easy peasy recipe and the fish retains its flavor because of the very few ingredients are used to cook this delectable dish. Just mustard seeds paste, salt, turmeric and you're done. 

Nolen Gurer Sandesh......Date Palm Jaggery Fudge (Revisited)

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR 2017. May this year brings lot of happiness in your life. Hope you all had enjoyed the festive season and the new year celebrations with your friends and families and of course with lot of food. 

For Indians, the festivities are not over yet. It's that time when we all celebrate the Harvest festival which is known as "Makar Sankranti" in India. We Bengalis called this festival as "Poush Sankranti" as this festival marks the ending of Bengali month called "Poush". This festival is also known for the reason of making "Pithes" so another name for this festival is "Pithe Parbon".

To embark this festival of "Pithes" I thought of making Gurer Sandesh with our favorite Nolen Gur or Date Palm Jaggery. Since, my parents came to visit us from India they had brought few beautiful molds which are used to shape these sandesh. This recipe is very simple to prepare, you just need to keep an eye so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. 

Let's begin with the recipe:

Date Palm Jaggery Fudge/ Gurer Sandesh

The name of Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery) is enough to make any Bengali nostalgic. Date Palm Jaggery or Nolen Gur can only be found in some parts of India including West Bengal and few North Eastern states. However, the downside of this jaggery is that you can get this only during winters.

In order to enjoy flavors of Nolen Gur all year around, I usually stock up enough jaggery for the entire year in refrigerator and use it whenever I wish to. In that way you can enjoy the flavors all year long.

Few posts back I promised to post few recipes which I decided to post during the entire winter season here in India. I think I was able to keep that promise and posted each and every recipe except Gurer Rosogolla. 

In order to compensate that I thought of preparing Gurer Sandesh which is equally enjoyed in each and every Bengali household during the entire winter season. Though I prefer Gurer Rosogolla over Gurer Sandesh but both of them have their own delicacies.

Sandesh means Fudge. You can get numerous flavors in Sandesh throughout Kolkata but among all Nolen Gur is my favorite. Making Sandesh or Fudge at home is a child's play. You just need to have Cottage Cheese and the choice of flavor.....that's all!!!

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Peas Kachori/Koraishutir Kochuri

Hello my dear foodies, it's been a long time since I posted anything on my blog. Actually lot of things happened on my side; lot of friends and families visited our place, family functions and I suffered from cold and flu too. 

Since so many things happened so, I was not in the mood of blogging anything. Even this post was lying in my drafts folder from long time so I decided to complete and publish this post. In that way I can think what to blog next. Believe me I don't have any ideas what to 
blog next, can you provide me some ideas?

Anyway, this post is about one of the most popular winter delicacies in West Bengal and i.e. Peas Kachori or Koraishutir Kochuri (as we Bengalis call it). In Kolkata, January is the month of Picnics. People organize lot of picnics with their friends, families, office colleagues, schoolmates, college mates, commutation mates etc......Whomsoever you picnic with the breakfast (in Picnic) begins with Koraishutir Kochuri and Aalur Dom (Dum Aaloo). This delectable dish is also a common affair in Sunday Breakfast in most of the Bengali households.

This palatable dish is mostly enjoyed in winters as Peas are available in abundance during this time but thanks to the supermarkets where you can find frozen peas year long. 

Koraishutir Kochuri is generally enjoyed with Aalur Dom but you can also have it as it is. I enjoy it with stuffed green chilli pickle. So, without any further babbling let's begin with the recipe:

Patishapta.......Crepes with Coconut Filling

Last week we all celebrated the Harvest festival which is known as "Makar Sankranti" in India. As India is a very diversified country this festival is known by many names; Bhogali Bihu, Pongal, Magha Sajji, Suggi, Sankrat to name a few. We Bengalis called this festival as "Poush Sankranti" as this festival marks an ending of Bengali month called "Poush".

For us this festival is known for the reason of making "Pithes" so another name for this festival is "Pithe Parbon". I still remember the tradition of making Pithe-Paayesh in my family. My Mom along with my Grand Mother used to make lots of Pithes to celebrate this festival.

To keep the spirit alive I too make some Pithes which I learnt from my Mom. I have posted few recipes of Pithes here. You can have a look here:

Golap Pithe/ Edible Rose Garden

Hridoy Horon Pithe/ Heart Shape Pithe

Malpua/ Sweet Indian Pancakes

Gajorer Patishapta/ Carrot Crepes

Gurer Paayesh/ Rice Pudding with Date Palm Jaggery

As these days Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery) is widely available in West Bengal, so I wanted to combine the goodness of Nolen Gur with the awesomeness of Patishapata. So, let's begin with the recipe:

Gurer Paayesh....Rice Pudding with Date Palm Jaggery

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR 2016. May this year brings lot of happiness in your life. Hope you all had enjoyed the festive season and the new year celebrations with your friends and families and of course with lot of food.  

In every bengali household Rice Pudding embarks auspicious occasions and no party is complete without this. There are two ways of preparing rice pudding one with Sugar and the other one with date palm jaggery. 

Date palm jaggery a.k.a Nolen Gur in Bengali, is very special and every Bong's favorite.  It is the first extract of the palm juice. The juice is boiled, a little salt is added to it to act as a preservative, so the jaggery does not taste too sweet. It is then cooled and poured into a long cone made of palm leaves. The cone is then wrapped in rice straws and preserved. At the time of use, the cone is finely sliced, so that the jaggery is cut into a disc with a palm ribbon around the edge. Unfortunately, you get Nolen gur only in winters in West Bengal, Bangladesh and some parts of Southern India.  

As this is the season of Palm Jaggery I thought of preparing this Rice Pudding with Nolen Gur. We Bengalis like to prepare rice puddings with a special kind of rice called as "Gobindo Bhog Rice". Many people prepares it with Basmati Rice too but I believe using Gobindo Bhog Rice takes this pudding to a new level. 

This recipe is very simple to prepare, you just need to keep an eye so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Without any further a let's begin with the recipe:

Veg Pulao....The Bong Way!!!!

Hello all, wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year ahead. I hope you all are enjoying this Holiday season and ready to say a "Bye Bye" to the year 2015. Undoubtedly, this festive mood fills my heart with ecstasy. Everything becomes bright colored and sparkling like stars. You can see decorations and fairy lights all around. Even if you don't celebrate this festive season it's very hard not to get enticed from these lights and decorations. 

When it comes to this time of the year, I am sure you are no far from baking; that's the way of celebrating this season at least. The aroma of freshly baked cookies and cakes embarks holidays. I have baked some Vanilla Cupcakes and a simple vanilla cake with lots of dry fruits and tutti-frutti but couldn't click any pics; may be next time.

If you're looking for some holiday special recipes of cakes, cookies and desserts, please check out these links:

• Eggless Mango Mousse
• Cardamom Flavored Cookies
• Strawberry Swiss Roll
• Strawberry Shortcake Shooters
• Strawberry Mousse Cake
• Palmiers
• Skinny Mango Cheesecake
• Créme Caramel
• Raspberry Pannacotta
• Carrot Fudge
• Vanilla Cupcake

As I was already having so many holiday special recipes so I decided to post Bengali style Veg Pulao which I paired with a very simple Chicken curry. Local markets are usually flooded with lots of winter special veggies, so making a Veg Pulao is no big deal; adding few dry fruits give extra punch to it.

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Nimki

Hello fellow foodies, hope you all are doing good and trying to lose the extra calories gained during this festive season; yes, that's a big issue which we foodies have to deal with. Whenever we eat something unhealthy yet delicious (trying to keep the unhealthy factor aside) the only thing spins in our mind is how much calories we gained from it.

These days I'm trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle by making few changes in my daily routine. Trying to walk rather than taking a rickshaw wherever I can, eating less oily food and avoiding fried and junk. If you're following a particular diet in the weekdays than try to give yourself a treat on weekends and eat the things that you like though in limited  quantities. 
 

I believe if you make these kind of little changes in your daily routine you can lose at least few calories in a long run. You can't lose kgs of weight in a week or a month, it's important that you set achievable target otherwise you will be disheartened.  

Anyway, let me cut all this for now and jump straight into today's post. As I mentioned in my previous post that I had visited my parent's place this Diwali to celebrate Kali Puja and Diwali, I posted few pictures of the celebration that you can have a look here. I made few snacks and desserts at my parents place.

I also posted recipe of Gulab Jamun (the link to the recipe is here). This time I'm posting the recipe of Nimki which is a very popular Bengali snack and goes well with hot cup of tea. So, let's begin with the recipe:

Gulab Jamun....and some Diwali Celebrations

 Lately, I was so busy with my personal life that I had to give my blogging life a break for a while. I chose to enjoy this break with my friends and family. We celebrated so many festivals starting from Durga Puja, Lakhmi Puja, Halloween, Diwali, Kali Puja etc. Moreover, Thanksgiving is around the corner too. I was in a festive mood and did lot many things that I had planned for this festive season.

Last week India celebrated the festival of lights: "DIWALI". On this occasion we visited my parent's place in Nagpur to celebrate Diwali and Kali Puja. Yes, we have a small committee of Bengalis there who enthusiastically wait for this time of the year and celebrate Kali Puja for 3 days.

This time I prepared Gulab Jamuns to celebrate the occasion and managed to take few pics before they all were vanished. I have already posted the recipe for Langcha (Click Here for recipe). Both the recipes are almost similar except their shape and size. I'm glad to share few pics of Kali Puja and Diwali decor at my Mom's place. Hope you'll like it.

So, let's get started:

Rasmalai.....Bijoyar Mishti Mukh

Durga Pujo.....whenever we Bengalis hear this word the image of Maa Durga-the goddess of power and strength comes to our mind. According to mythological stories Maa Durga was created by the most powerful Gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh in order to defeat the demon Mahishasur.

Durga Puja is the most popular and glamorous festival of Kolkata. It's not only a festival for us but it's a blessing for us. You can judge our madness for this festival by the fact that as soon as we get the new calendar the first thing we see is when is the Durga Puja? 

The city of joy-Kolkata get's decked up like a newly wedded bride. The whole city gets embellished with lights. You can find fairy lights on every nooks and corners of the streets, buildings and even on trees. Thousands and thousands of pandals and idols are prepared months before the celebration. Idols are mainly prepared in Kumortoli. 

This carnival of madness is the celebration of love, color, light, enthusiasm and most importantly Food. We Bengali's can't imagine any festival without impeccable food. 

People start their shopping months before the festival and make different plans what to wear, when to wear, how to deck up on different days of Puja, where to go for Pandal hopping, what to eat, where to eat and the list goes on and on and on.......

This year I got a chance to be a part of this carnival. Though I enjoyed the festivities in Nagpur, Maharashtra (I grew up there) but missed all the fun and frolic of Kolkata. We went for shopping, did lot of Pandal hopping with friends and family, enjoyed Bhog in our complex Puja, tasted different varieties of food starting from street side to fine dining restaurants and finally bid a tearful adieu to the goddess at my Uncle's residence Puja.

Due to this reason I took a break from the blogging world and enjoyed the largest and biggest festival of Bengali's. During the 5 days of Durga Pujo I prepared different varieties of food and for the climax i.e Dashmi I prepared a special dessert for my family: Rasmalai. 

Rasmalai are creamy cheese dumplings dipped in cardamom and saffron infused creamy milk. Firstly, cheese dumplings are prepared the same way you prepare Rasgulla (for the recipe of Rasgulla Click Here). Once they had soaked enough sugar syrup, press to release the syrup. Secondly, Rabri is prepared and flavored with cardamom powder and saffron (for the recipe of Rabri Click Here). Finally, the dumplings are dipped in this Rabri and garnished with chopped almonds and pistachios. 

So, let's begin with the recipe of Rasmalai:

Steamed Shrimp Curry/ Bhapa Chingri

Shrimp/Prawns/Chingri whatever you call it, they are our (Bengali's) all time favorites. We can use it in each and every vegetable, you just name it and with the blink of eye we are ready with the dish. Moreover there are number of recipes that can be made out of it. Such is the love of Bengali's for "Chingri".

One of the most popular recipe cooked with Shrimp is Chingri Malaikari (recipe here) which is a signature bong delicacy. 

The recipe which I'm sharing today is a quintessential recipe of Bengali Cuisine i.e Bhapa Chingri or Steamed Shrimp in Mustard and Coconut Gravy. I still remembered my Mom cooking this delectable recipe in a pressure cooker and as soon as it's done I use to run to the kitchen and open the cooker to get the whiff of this flavorful dish.

Bhapa Chingri is cooked in mustard paste with coconut milk and a generous amount of mustard oil and slit chillies. Some recipe calls for poppy seed paste but I like it this way. This recipe is very similar to another very popular recipe i.e Ilish Bhapa (recipe here). Just replace the Ilish/Hilsa fish with Chingri/Shrimp.

Traditionally this recipe is prepared using a pressure cooker. All the ingredients are mixed together and placed in a steel container with airtight lid. This container is then placed in the pressure cooker and steamed for 8-10 mins. But, I have used microwave method for preparing this recipe. 

So, without any further ado let's start with the recipe:

Ilish Bhapa/ Hilsa in Coconut and Mustard Gravy

 We Bengalis go mad over this fish, we call it Ilish a.k.a Hilsa.....nobody else in the world can understand Bengali's love for Ilish or Hilsa. This fish can also be called as the King of all fishes because of its look, taste and texture.

There are lot of recipes we can make from Hilsa but there are some signature Bengali dishes which are: 

• Ilish Bhapa (Hilsa in Coconut and Mustard Gravy)
• Sorshe Ilish (Hilsa in Spicy Mustard Gravy)
• Doi Ilish (Hilsa in Yogurt and Mustard Gravy)

Among all, I love Ilish Bhapa. It's a very simple recipe and the fish retains its flavors because very few ingredients are used to cook this delactable dish. Just mustard seeds paste, grated coconut, salt, turmeric and you're done!

I have seen my Mom making this finger licking recipe using the traditional way where fish steaks are coated with all the ingredients and then steamed it in a pressure cooker and our home used to get filled with its fragnance. 

When I was in USA I tried to make this recipe in Microwave and trust me there's no difference in the taste at all. Since then I use the microwave method to make this recipe. Today I'm going to share this delicious recipe using the same method. So let's get started.