Recipe Trifle Pudding

I had my first trifle pudding at my neighbor Deepti’s place. She made it with ice-cream. Here’s an alternate recipe that I use which utilizes fat-free cool-whip instead of ice-cream and hence is more healthy. In case you want to indulge in ice-cream just replace the cool-whip in the recipe with vanilla ice-cream.

First the Cake

You can either choose to bake your own base layer cake or you can use sponge cake bought at the store. So if you are lazy run to you nearest store and skip to the next section.

Ingredients

1. 1cup all purpose flour or Maida
2. 1cup granulated sugar 
3. 1/2 stick salt free butter
4. 2 eggs
5. 1tsp baking powder
6. 1tsp vanilla extract

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a bowl mix the baking powder and flour and keep aside
3. In a mixing bowl mix the butter and sugar till they are frothy
4. Next add eggs one by one followed by flour mix (the one made in step 2 above)
5. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. You can also use a regular blender or cake mixer to make this process faster.
6. Grease a 9" baking pan with butter and pour the cake mixture into it.
7. Bake for approximately 45 mins. Insert a knife or toothpick inside the cake, if it comes out clear (nothing sticking to it) you know the cake is done.
8. After removing the cake from the pan let it cool.

 

For Pudding

Ingredients

1. 1 packet instant pudding mix, or custard powder of your choice. I use JELL-O instant pudding mix (vanilla flavor)
   
2. Milk

Procedure

1. Follow the  the direction of the package to make a flowing custard or pudding and cool it in the refrigerator for about 2 hrs

Bringing Them All Together

Ingredients

1. 1 can fat free whipped cream
2. 1 can pineapple chunks 20oz
3. 1cup sliced banana
4. 1 cup sliced red grape
5. 1 cup sliced green grape
6. For Garnishing
7. 1 bottle of canned cherries

Procedure

1. Take a dessert bowl make a layer of cake.
2. Pour the cold pudding over it so the pudding covers all the cake pieces
3. Now sprinkle some pineapple juice you get from the canned pineapple and make a layer of fruits.
   
4. Cover it up with whipped cream.
5. Again start making a layer with cake pieces followed by pudding, juice, fruits and whipped cream. Continue doing till you utilize all your ingredients. Make sure to finish it up with a layer of whipped cream (top most layer).
6. Garnish it with fresh fruits and cherries.
7. Set in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 hrs.

Your trifle pudding is now ready to be served.

Alu/Kopi Diye macher Patla Jhol (Potato/Cauliflower Fish Curry)

Today we woke up with a light frost covering all the roofs around our home. As if a light white blanket has been spread on them. In the bygone times when vegetables were bought fresh and were truly seasonal, winter meant a lot of special treats. So I decided to make one of those special treats for today.
This stomach friendly light fish curry is simple yet very tasty. Even though I am using cauliflower, feel free to be creative and use other vegetables and different spices for tadka or phoron.

Ingredients

1. Fish (Rohu, Catla or Grass carp) cut into 6 steak pieces
2. 1 large potato cut in wedges
3. 8-10 medium sized cauliflower florets
4. 2 tomatoes finely chopped
5. 1tbsp ginger paste
6. 1tbsp coriander
7. 1tsp chili powder
8. 2tbsp turmeric powder
9. 5 green chilies
10. 1tsp whole cumin seeds
11. 1 fistful of chopped coriander leaf
12. Mustard or any other white oil

Procedure

1. Wash the fish steaks and pat dry. Smear them with salt and turmeric powder.
2. Take oil in a pan and heat  till it is smoking. Note don’t burn the oil though. Fry the fish steaks till both sides are golden brown, remove from the oil and keep them on a kitchen towel. Discard the oil.
3. Again take oil in the Kadai and heat it Temper the oil with whole cumin seeds. Add potato and cauliflower florets and fry them. The vegetables should be lightly fried. 
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till they are soft. Add ginger paste, coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder and sauté it with little water.
5. When the vegetables are well coated with all the spices and there is no smell of raw ginger add two cups of water. Cover the pan and cook till all the vegetables are done.
6. Once the vegetables are cooked (don’t overcook and make them mushy) add the fried fish pieces along with the green chilies. Cook it for another 5-6 minutes. The gravy will be light and runny.
7. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander.

Some times when I feel too lazy to take out my grinder and make ginger paste, I mix coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder and turmeric powder in half a cup of water and use this mixture to sauté the vegetables. Rest of the procedure remains same. It reduces my cooking time a lot without compromising the taste.

Ilish (Hilsa) macher matha diye chalkumro

The folks in East Bengal is noted for creating interesting food out of stuff which others will easily throw away. Fish is no exception and Bongs will eat almost every part of the fish. So once you are done with having Hilsa Bhape and Hilsa Jhol it’s time to put the fish’s head to good use.

Ingredients

1. White gourd (also known as Ash Gourd) finely chopped
2. One head of Hilsa halved and cleaned.
3. One small onion chopped
4. Two fat cloves of garlic finely chopped
5. One teaspoon whole cumin seed
6. 2/3 Dry red chilies
7. 1 teaspoon coriander powder
8. Turmeric powder
9. Mustard oil
10. Salt
11. Sugar

Procedure

When you buy the fish ensure that they cut it in half (symmetrically). Smear the fish head with salt and turmeric and keep aside.

Heat mustard oil in a kadai or wok till it smokes and fry the fish head till golden brown. Remove it from the oil and keep it aside.In the same oil add whole cumin seeds and broken red chilies.Sauté for a while.

Once you start getting the fragrance of the added spices, add chopped onions and garlic. Fry it for about 3-4 minutes. Now add the fried fish head, turmeric powder, coriander powder. Cook it for a while.

Now add chopped white gourd, salt, sugar. Give it a nice mix. You don't have to add any water as it will be released by the gourd itself. Cover and cook till the gourd is soft.  At this point you can remove the lid and cook it uncovered till all the water released from the gourd is dried.

This dish is served with plain white rice.

Lobster with chili garlic sauce

This part II of the fried-rice lobster combo that I cooked.

 

Ingredients

1. 2 lobsters cleaned, deveined and cut into medium sized cubes
2. 1 large onion cut into thick cubes
3. 1 green bell pepper cut into medium cubes
4. Minced garlic - 2 tb spoon
5. Chili garlic sauce - 2 tb spoon
6. Oil for deep frying

For Marination

1. Garlic paste - 1tbspoon
2. Ginger paste -  1tbspoon
3. Black pepper powder - 1 teaspoon
4. Corn flour - 3 to 4 tb spoon
5. Egg -  1 beated
6. Salt

Procedure

Take the lobster pieces and add salt, black pepper powder and ginger, garlic paste to it. Mix it well and marinate for an hour. Now add 2 tb spoon of corn flour to it Gradually add the beaten egg and make a thick batter.

Heat oil in a wok or kadai until it starts smoking . Release the marinated lobster pieces into the hot oil and fry them till they turn golden brown in color.

Take couple of spoons of oil in a wok from the oil you used for frying the lobster pieces and heat it. Add the chopped garlic and sauté it for a while on a high flame without browning it.

Now add the onion and toss them around. While the onions are still pink add the bell pepper.

After cooking the bell pepper with onion and garlic add chili garlic sauce.

Whisk the remaining corn starch in half a cup of water and add little by little when the sauce starts boiling in the wok.

Keep mixing it continuously so that it doesn't form any lump. Give it a taste test to check the salt.

Now add the fried lobster pieces and toss it in the sauce. When the lobster pieces are coated with the sauce finish it with chopped green chilies and black pepper powder.

Shrimp Fried Rice

The other day we were at Costco and bought some good sized lobster. So at dinner I cooked lobster with fried rice. In this post I’ll cover how I made the fried rice and in a later post the lobster.

Ingredients

1. Basmati or any Long grain rice - 500 gms
2. Carrot - 1 cup finely chopped
3. Beans - 1/2 cup finely chopped
4. Green Bell Pepper - 1 cup finely chopped
5. Garlic Paste -  1tb spoon
6. Shrimp - 1/2 cup cleaned (you can avoid if you want to)
7. Black pepper powder - 1 tea spoon
8. Salt

Procedure

Boil the rice in a open pan and drain the water. You need to be careful so the rice doesn't get over cooked. If you are not confident enough to drain the water safely, you can cook the rice as you would in a ratio of 1:2 of rice and water. Now spread the rice on a plate and keep it in the refrigerator for 30 mins. It will prevent the rice from breaking while frying.

Now take a wok or a frying pan and fry the chopped vegetables and keep them aside. Fry the shrimps and remove them.

Heat oil in a frying pan and  add the garlic paste. Fry it in a low heat and slowly add  rice, fried shrimps and vegetables. Add salt and black pepper powder to it. Mix it well and fry it for about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Your fried rice is ready to be served

Part III - Tomato Khejur-er Chutney With Dried Black Currant

This is the part-III of the Khichuri-Labra-Chutney post

While this can be had as is  or with a variety of other main-course, having it with Khichuri and Labra adds that extra dimension to the palate.

 

Ingredients Of Chutney

1. Tomato 1 lb cut in halves
2. Dates - 20 cut in halves
3. Dried Black Currant - 1/2 cup
4. Grated ginger 1 tb spoon
5. A mixture of black Mustard seed, Fenugreek seed, and fennel - 1 tb spoon
6. Salt
7. Sugar 1/2 cup or more
8. Roasted Panch phoron and Dry Red Chili Powder - 1 teaspoon  

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with fennel. mustard and fenugreek seed. When they start sputtering add grated ginger and tomatoes and sprinkle salt over it. Sauté it for a while and cook it covered until the tomatoes are soft and pulpy. Now add black currant and dates. You can add Aamsatta/ mango papad or dehydrated mango pulp cut in cubes at this stage.

Add sugar and water and mix it well. Bring the mixture to a boil. Check the consistency, it should be thick. Taste the sweetness, add more sugar if required. Sprinkle the dry roasted masala powder before serving.

Part II - Labra (A medley of vegetables)

This is Part II of the Khichuri/Labra post.

Ingredients

1. Potato - 2 medium sized peeled and cubed
2. Red pumkin or Butter squash - Half pound
3. Brinjal or Eggplant -1 medium sized cubed
4. Cauliflower 1 medium cut into big florets
5. Cabbage - 1 small cut into large pieces
6. Carrot - 2 cut into cubes
7. Beans - 10 cut into 1inch long pieces
8. Asfoetida or Hing - 1 pinch 
9. Dry red chili - 3 to 4
10. Paanch phoron - 1 teaspoon
11. Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon
12. Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
13. Chili powder - 1 teaspoon
14. Salt
15. Sugar

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with hing, paanch phoron and dry chilies . Once the spices pop up add the vegetables followed by the ginger paste and turmeric powder.

I prefer to add ginger paste and turmeric powder after adding the vegetables so that they don’t get burnt on contact with the hot oil and make the food bitter.

Sauté the vegetables for a while then add chili powder, salt and little sugar. Fry it in medium heat. Once the vegetables are coated with the oil and spice cover it up and cook.At this stage you don't have to add any water. The salt will help the vegetables to release water (reverse osmosis anyone :P). Keep an eye to it, your vegetables and spices should not get stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add little water if required and keep mixing the vegetables and cook till the veggies are done. Your labra should be a little moist and not completely dry.