Lemon Flavored Yogurt

My daughter was down with fever and whenever she is unwell she becomes a yogurtarian. So I decided to make something yoghurt based but still yummy and health for her. This lemon flavored yoghurt has no color, no chemical additive, 100% healthy and yet a very tasty dessert.

My husband decided to work from home that day and was so happy with the yoghurt that he right-away posted the pictures on Facebook. Generally when I write post it lands at the end of a queue and takes few weeks to appear on my blog. This is an exception as I bumped up the priority based on demand :)

Ingredients

• 4 cups yogurt OR 3 cups Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar ( Increase or decrease the amount depending on your taste)
• Zest of 2 lime
• A pinch of saffron
• Few mint leaves for decoration

Procedure

1. To make the thick yogurt place a strainer on a deep bowl and keep yogurt on the strainer. Keep this in an refrigerator overnight to get thick yogurt or chakka. By morning all excess water will be drained out. Make sure to keep in the refrigerator or else the yogurt will become too sour. Transfer the yogurt into a mixing bowl. If you are in hurry you can use Greek yogurt instead of plain one and you can start preparing right away.
2. In a pan take the lemon juice, sugar, saffron strands and heat it on low flame. Soon the mixture will start getting thick. Once it reaches to a jelly consistency add lemon zest to it and turn off the heat.
3. Pour half of the lemon mixture you just made in step 2 to the yogurt and mix well. This mixture should be lump free.
4. To the other half of the lemon mixture add few spoons of water and keep it on stove on the lowest heat. This will keep this mixture in pouring consistency by the time you are ready to garnish.
5. Take each serving bowl and fill half with lemon flavored yogurt. Pour few spoon of lemon juice mixture (from step 4) over it. Fill the rest with yogurt again and then top it off with another spoon of lemon juice mixture. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
6. For those who love mint flavor here is another option. Finely chop few mint leaves and mix it with yogurt along with the lemon juice mixture.
7. Chill them in refrigerator before you serve,

Korola Pyaj Posto (Karela and Onion in Poppy seed paste)

This recipe has been waiting in the queue for quite a while now. Couple of months back we went for a 10 days road trip to California. We really had a fun time together. The super sunny weather, 6000 km driving, traffic, visiting new place, restaurant food all together it was overwhelming. At the end of the trip we just wanted to eat some home cooked food.

Since we managed to reach home ahead of lunch, I made a super fast two course meal with karola pyaj posto, dal and omelet. My today’s post will be karola pyaj posto. The sweetness of caramelized onion was in great contrast to the bitter crunchy karela (bitter gourd). The smooth posto (poppy seeds) induced a real good sleep in that afternoon as well.

Ingredients

• 2 bitter gourd finely chopped
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 2 – 3 tbsp. poppy seed ground to a thick paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• Salt
• Oil

Procedure

First take the dry poppy seeds in a chutney grinder or coffee grinder. Dry grind it for 15 – 20 seconds. Add little water and a pinch of salt and mix. Now finally grind them together to make a paste.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped bitter gourd followed by turmeric powder. Turn the heat low and fry them on low heat till they are done. Remove and keep aside.

Take another 2 tsp. oil and add onion slices to it. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and fry on medium heat till they turn golden brown.Add fried bitter gourd along with poppy seed paste. Mix everything together and keep cooking on low heat for few more minutes till it turns dry.

Serve at the beginning of a Bengali meal with plain rice. 

Goat Steak

Finally getting around to post our new-year dinner :).

My husband loves eating steaks, however, my meat choices are limited to the traditional bong palate. Hence we cannot go out eating steak. So for this new year I made goat-steak at home.

We also use this as a common healthy yet tasty dinner option. I know that Goat and healthy is already raising some eyebrows. We were raised identifying goat with red-meat and something which is unhealthy and to be avoided. However, this is a total myth, goat is actually more healthy than chicken and is definitely not among the real red-meats (beef). To debunk this theory let me put the nutrition values of goat (left) and chicken with skin(right) side by side (source http://nutritiondata.com)

 

Isn’t it an eye opener that chicken is 80% more in calorie and 6 times more in fat?

Leaving calories and fats aside, lets come to the more interesting things. Goat steak is yum :) as my daughter calls it. Also this recipe works equally well with Lamb steak.

Ingredients

1. 4 medium sized goat steaks
2. 1tbsp. chopped garlic
3. 1tsp. chopped ginger
4. 2tbsp. plain yogurt
5. 1tsp. chopped mint leaves
6. 1tsp. dried basil
7. 1tsp. cumin powder
8. 1/2tsp. dried red chili flakes
9. 1tsp. black pepper powder
10. 1tsp. dark soya sauce
11. Juice of one lime
12. 1/2 cup red wine
13. Cooking spray (or cooking oil)
14. Salt

Procedure

First take a mixing bowl and mix all ingredients other than wine and cooking oil. Take the steaks and coat both the sides with the marinade. Keep them in a refrigerator for 2-3 hrs.

Apply cooking spray on the skillet and place the steaks in a single layer. Keep the marinade reserved for sauce. Grill the steaks on medium high heat for 15 minutes and then flip them over. Again apply some cooking spray all over and grill for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime make the sauce. Take a pan and transfer the left over marinade into it. Add wine and cook it over medium heat till it thickens.

Place the grilled steaks on a serving plate and drizzle some sauce over to keep them moist. Garnish with little sour cream or Greek yogurt of your choice.

Lau Shaager Morich Jhol

I suddenly discovered bottle gourd creepers (lau saak) at the local farmer’s market. I had never imagined that I’d be able to get freshest of lau saak here in US. I tried to ask the Chinese lady selling them how they eat it. However, her English was too limited for me to figure out the recipe.

I brought them home and cooked it following my mom’s traditional lau-saak recipe. I didn’t use bottle gourd itself with the vegetable because my mom used to tell me that you never cook fruit along with it’s plant because cooking mom and kids together isn’t really a good idea. So I used pumpkin instead.

The same recipe can also be used with pumpkin twigs with bottle gourd (remember no same plant and it’s fruit :))

Ingredients

1. 1 lb. bottle gourd twigs cut into 2” pieces
2. 1/2 lb. orange pumpkin cut into cubes
3. 2 medium potatoes cut into cubes
4. 2 green chilies slit lengthwise
5. 1tsp. kalonji ( Nigella ) seeds for tempering
6. 1tsp. whole wheat flour (Atta)
7. 1 tbsp. nigella seeds and 1 green chili grind into fine paste
8. 1 tsp. sugar
9. Salt
10. Oil

Procedure

Start by heating mustard oil in a pan. Drop nigella seeds and slit green chilies. sauté them for 1-2 minutes. Add potato and pumpkin cubes in the midway of your sautéing process. Sprinkle salt and sugar and fry the vegetables for 3-4 minutes on low heat. Add a cup of water and continue cooking till they are half done.

Now add bottle gourd twigs and mix everything well. Continue cooking covered till all the vegetables are tender.

Adjust consistency of the gravy to how you like it Traditionally it is runny. Stir 1 tsp. of whole wheat flour in 1/2 cup of water and pour it over. Gently mix it. It will give a mild thickness to the runny gravy.

Now last but not the least add nigella and green chili paste to it and mix well before you finish.

Enjoy with plain rice.

Baked Salmon Steak with Asparagus

Just has people in my homeland is crazy about Hilsa, folks in US North West is absolutely crazy about Salmon. They go to great length to protect them. Like let cars skid around crazily in Winter snow, but still avoid spraying salt and other anti-skid material on the road, so that they don’t land in the streams and hurt these fishes.

When the first copper river salmon arrives in Seattle it gets a red carpet welcome and the flight captain carries it out to the waiting arms of the best Seattle chefs.

No wonder that it has turned into one of our favorite food. Salmon is best cooked without too many spices and eaten without condiments so that it’s true flavor is appreciated.

Ingredients

1. 1lb salmon cut into steaks
2. 10-12 steams of asparagus  
3. 2 tbsp. lemon juice
4. 1 tsp. grated ginger
5. 1/4 tsp. clove powder
6. 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder
7. 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
8. 2 tsp. butter
9. Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash the asparagus and trim off the hard part of the stem. Apply salt and black pepper powder to it and let it rest.

Clean the steak and pat it dry. In a bowl mix all the ingredients with butter and slather it on both sides of the fish steak. Keep it marinated for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 350F. Now place the marinated steak and the asparagus  on separate baking dishes and bake it for 15  minutes.

Check whether the steak is fully cooked or not.The flesh should no longer stay clear and turn whitish pink by this time. If you touch it with a fork it must look flaky. Asparagus will become crunchy after 15 minutes. If you want them soft take them out after 10 minutes.

Arrange them on a serving plate and enjoy.

Baked Salmon on Quinoa Bed

Quinoa is the new super grain which is making rounds in my circle. One of my close friends have turned into the unofficial brand ambassador of Quinoa. However, even with all her effort, it never really made it to our table.

After a hiking trip my husband came and reported he had his favorite baked Salmon on a bed of Quinoa at a small restaurant in North Bend, WA. He was impressed enough to drag me there to taste it. After we all enjoyed it, it had to make it’s way into our home.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup quinoa
2. 1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
3. 1 tsp. garlic paste
4. 1 lb. salmon fillet
5. 2tbsp. lime juice
6. 1 + 1 tsp. black pepper powder
7. 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
8. 2 tbsp. olive oil
9. Salt to taste

Procedure

In a strainer wash quinoa thoroughly under running water and drain. In a saucepan combine quinoa with 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Now cook it covered on low heat till the water is completely absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff it with a fork.

In a skillet add 1 tbsp. olive oil and toss cooked quinoa with baby spinach. Season with salt and black pepper powder.

Transfer the tossed quinoa on a serving plate.

Wash the salmon fillet and marinate it with garlic paste, lime juice, mayonnaise, black pepper powder and salt for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven at 350F. Drizzle a spoonful of olive oil on the marinated fish and bake it for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and gently place it over the bed of quinoa.

Enjoy your light dinner with a glass of white wine.

Shukto

Traditionally everyday Bengali meal comprises of five to six courses. In contrast to other parts of India we just don’t manage on Roti and a sabji. Every meal is a kings dawat :). The meal starts off with something bitter like Neem begun, shukto, ucche alu bhate followed by dal (lentil soup), fries, fish curry, chutney and sweets. The first bitter course is supposed to cleanse your system and reset the taste buds to receive the tasty food that follows.

Of these Shukto is really hard to make and has taken a permanent position in the lunch menu of most Bengali functions. Once I was told by a professional cook that the aroma of Biyebarir (Wedding lunch) shukto predominantly comes from Radhuni.

Radhuni is a dried fruit and is a first cousin of Ajwain (carom seed). Radhuni is rarely available outside Bengal. I used to get it during my yearly Kolkata visits. In US, I make Shukto without radhuni. Some folks suggest to use wild celery seeds instead of Radhuni. But they are really different things and I don’t use it.

Ingredients

1. 1 bitter gourd (Karela) cut into thin slices
2. 2 plantain (kacha kola) cut into medium sized wedges
3. 2 eggplants cut into wedges (skin removed and then cut)
4. 2 drumsticks cut into 1.5" pieces .( I used frozen precut drumsticks.)
5. Few sheem (flat beans)
6. Few sundried lentil dumplings (bori)
7. 1 cup of milk
8. Salt
9. Sugar
10. Mustard oil
11. Make a fine paste of the following ingredients
    1. 1" Ginger
    2. 1 tsp. Fennel seeds
    3. 1 tsp. Mustard seeds
    4. 1 tsp. Poppy seeds
12. For Tempering
    1. 1 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
    2. Dry roast and coarse grind the following spices. I make in a little larger quantity and keep in a air tight container for further use.
       1. 1 tbsp. paanch phoron
       2. 1 tbsp. mustard seeds

Procedure

Heat oil in a wok (kadai) and fry Bori till they are brown. Remove from oil and drain it. Add the karela slices to the oil and fry till they are crispy. Remove and drain it on a paper towel. Discard the oil.

Heat oil in a kadai and add plantain (kacha kola), egg plants and flat beans to it. Sauté for a while. Now add 2 cups of water to it and bring it to a boil. **Once it starts boiling add drumstick pieces. Season with salt and sugar. Cook it covered on medium heat till the vegetables are just done and the water thickens.

Add 1 cup of milk followed by the fried bori and the spice paste you made before. Mix it well and check the seasoning. Now cook it for another 3-4 mins till the gravy reaches your desired consistency. Add the fried karela pieces and keep this aside.

In a separate pan heat ghee on medium heat and temper with the dry roasted ground spices. Once they start to splutter, pour on to the vegetables.

Serve with hot rice.

**Note: Drumsticks generally disintegrate if you add them before the water boils.

Baked Salmon with Spinach

Law of taste: Taste is inversely proportional to the health-value of a food.

They say exceptions prove a law, this is one of those exceptions. I frequently make this as dinner for my husband, who is striving hard to loose some extra pounds.

One of the benefits of living in Washington state is that we live in the Salmon capital of the world. The waters around Washington yields the freshest and tastiest salmon ensuring copious supply to our household.

Ingredients

1. 1lb salmon fillet
2. 1 tsp. chopped garlic
3. 2-3 tbsp of mayonnaise (low-fat)
4. 1 tsp. black pepper powder
5. 2 tsp. lime juice
6. Half cup of spinach leaves finely chopped
7. Oil (preferably cooking spray to reduce usage of oil)
8. 1 tbsp. olive oil
9. Salt

Procedure

Preheat the oven at 350F.

Wash the fish fillet and pat it dry.

In a mixing bowl add all other ingredients and mix  well. Take a baking dish coated with cooking spray (this further reduces fat). I use Pam cannola Spray.

Place the fish fillet on the tray, skin side down. Spread the mayonnaise and spinach mixture over it. Drizzle one spoon of olive oil and bake it for about 20-25 mins or till the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Serving Tip: Today I baked thick slices of onion, yellow bell pepper and cabbage smeared with salt and black pepper powder along with the fish to serve as an accompaniment.