Stuffed Coconut Ladoos

As peeps.........hope you all are doing good and geared up for the festive season. We Kolkatans are ready to welcome the most-awaited and biggest festival of the year......The Durga Pujo. As the monsoon bids adieu, the days become shorter, the morning air feels cooler and the sky is full of wooly clouds. This marks the beginning of Pujo-Pujo feeling. But definitely, this year festivals will be quite different from the other years. 

Nariyal Ladoo or Coconut Ladoo don't need any introduction in Indian households. We as Bengalis have great significance for Narkel er Nadu (Nariyal/Coconut Ladoos). These small coconut balls are made are usually made during the festivals, especially during the Ganesh Puja/Durga Puja/ Diwali/ Lokkhi Pujo/ Lakhmi Puja. 

As the name suggests it is made up of Coconut, Milk, Sugar, and Cardamom to add some flavor to the Ladoo. The Ladoos are of two kinds one made with Jaggery or Gur and are deep brown in color and the other made with Sugar and are pristine white in color. My personal liking is the later one (the one made with Sugar). I have already shared the recipe of Traditional Coconut Ladoos during my early phase of blogging (I think that was my first post). 

This recipe of Coconut Ladoos is a bit different from the traditional ones as I have stuffed them with Khowa/ Mawa. This tastes a bit different from the traditional ones but really tastes awesome. Moreover, I have added condensed milk to the Coconut mixture which uplifts the flavor of these Ladoos. So, this festive season make these Stuffed Coconut Ladoos and enjoy them with your friends and family.

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Coconut Ladoo/ Nariyal Ladoo........Instant Diwali Desserts

            

Hello my Foodie Friends......hope you all are enjoying the festive season and must be busy in shopping, travelling, eating, cleaning etc etc etc. Navratri and Kojagari Lakshmi Pooja is over and hope you have enjoyed it thoroughly. Festive season fills us with good vibes and energy. 

Now it's time for another major festival and i.e. Diwali. I know you all are busy in cleaning your home, planning and shopping for Diwali decor items and preparing Diwali snacks. While we're so much into Diwali cleaning and planning, it's obvious that cooking takes a side track and we then switch to store bought sweets and snacks.

To solve this issue we have come up with instant Diwali desserts and snacks so keep an eye on this space. So, the first recipe in this series is Instant Coconut Ladoo or Nariyal Ladoo which is very easy to prepare and takes very less time.

Nariyal Ladoo or Coconut Ladoo don't need any introduction in Indian households. It is usually made during the festivals especially during the Durga Puja/ Diwali/ Lokkhi Pujo/  Lakshmi Puja. As the name suggests it is made up of Coconut, Milk, Sugar and Cardamom to add some flavor to the Ladoo.

The Ladoos are of two kinds one made with Jaggery or Gur and are deep brown in color and the other made with Sugar and are pristine white in color. My personal liking is the later one (the one made with Sugar) and that is what I am sharing with you all.

So, let's begin with the recipe:

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. 

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:

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.

Chingri Malaikari/ Shrimp Malaikari.......A Signature Bong Delicacy

Fish and rice is every bengali's comfort food. Ilish, Chingri, Rui, Katla, Koi, Tangra, Pabda, Bhetki and the list goes on and on and on.........We love every variety of fish but amongst all Ilish (Hilsa) and Chingri (Shrimp/Prawn) are our all time favorites.

Since I had been raised outside Bengal we were not privileged to relish some of the very common varieties of fish. We use to get only Rui, Katla, Koi and sometimes Chingri. But whatever variety we would find my Mom always came out with finger licking delicacies. 

Chingri Macher Malaikari is one of the signature dishes of Bengali Cuisine. Every Bong family prepares this delicacy on special occasions. I had seen my Mom preparing this scrumptious delicacy with lot of patience and hard work, she used to delicately clean and devein the shrimp first, then grate the coconut and extract the coconut milk out of it...OMG!!!! Thanks to the supermarkets as we can easily find both the things readily available on the shelves and making this succulent recipe with the blink of an eye.

I have made this Malaikari using head on Shrimps as they add another dimension to this dish. If you want you can use headless Shrimps too. Coconut milk is the key ingredient of this dish. I have used grated coconut along with coconut milk you can use canned coconut milk or make it at home by scraping and soaking the coconut in hot water and then make a fine paste (add a little bit of milk if required). Strain it, your coconut milk is ready to use.

Let's start with the recipe:

Pinacolada

Yes, I know my last few posts revolved around Beverages and why wouldn't they be as Summer was at its peak in India and there's nothing much satisfying than having a glass of cold drink after returning home from scorching and soaring outside temperature.

To wind up my series of "BeatTheHeat" , I thought of making Pina Colada finally. A single sip of this tropical drink gives you a feeling of relaxing at the beach and enjoying the sea view. 

My take on this recipe of Pina Colada calls for Non-alcoholic version. A good virgin Pina Colada recipe starts with the same basic ingredients as the Alcoholic version. But trust me the alcoholic flavor is so empowering that it's better to eliminate the alcohol part and just enjoy the actual flavor of this tropical drink.

I replaced alcohol with coconut milk as pineapple and coconut complement each other very well. If you want then you can add rum too but for me it's optional. Let's start with the recipe: