Kolkata Egg Roll

If you have a guy like this close to your home, then count your blessings and skip this post. In case you don’t and this is one of those days when you can do anything to fly across the world and stand in a queue in front of him, then read on :)

Ingredients

For 5 rolls

1. Pack of 5 ready to cook Paratha ( You can make your own parantha as well ). I used
   
2. 5 eggs
3. 1/2  cucumber
4. 1/2 red onions
5. 2 green chilies chopped
6. 1/2 lemon
7. Tomato ketchup
8. 5 tbsp. oil
9. Salt
10. 1 tsp. black salt or beet noon

Procedure

		Folding the roll VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Heat a non stick pan and fry the paranthas on both the sides by using the package direction. Remove and keep them aside.

Make thin slices of onion and cucumber and keep them handy.

Beat eggs one at a time with little salt.

Heat nonstick frying pan with one tsp. of oil. Pour the egg mixture and swirl it. Immediately before the egg sets place a fried parantha on top of it. Press it gently. Lower the heat. Flip it over when the egg is done and cook the other side for a while. Remove and place it on a flat board with the egg side up.

Divide sliced onion, cucumber and green chili in equal portions and line them up in one side of the parantha. Squirt some lemon juice. Squeeze little tomato ketchup over it. Sprinkle a pinch of black salt before you roll it up.

Start rolling from one side and wrap the bottom 1/3 part with grease proof paper to hold.

Your wait is over

Back from the City of Joy!!

Sorry for my long hiatus from blogging. As you can make out from the title, I am just back from Kolkata.

This was one of my longest trips back home and the best. Given that I went back after the longest time, it had to be.

Something's have never changed and will never change in Kolkata, the yellow taxi and old new market and not so interesting new new market.

Being a foodie I had to gorge in my favorite restaurant. That would be…

Oh the buffet at Mainland china is out of the world!!!

Also being sane I had to skip the food which the vendor lovingly served with his sweat drenched hand. The cut cucumber and onions was being marinated by the road dust and various other by-products which 1000s of passerby generated. Yeah I know, I never cared about these when I was in college, but below 20 you don’t really care about anything other than the taste, which by the way is world class.

However, even these thoughts couldn’t deter me from my “cut” from the local sweet shop. Panna sweets at Behala is the best.

I just have pity for folks who have Rasgulla from cans. If you never had fresh hot rasgulla served in an earthen pot, you never had Rasgulla. Please never claim so.

I scouted various ingredients at their source, like this huge mocha at my in-laws house

Even my daughter had a gala time going around the neighborhood to pick guavas and lamenting on the fact that the mango trees had already been emptied. Thamma was more than happy to escort her to the terrace and pull the tree branches closer so that she can grab handful of the sweetest kashi’r peyara (red apple guava). She also had the last produce of our ancestral mango garden which is being sold off this year.

Obviously I didn’t go to India to just eat. I had some other agenda as well, like meet my old friends for some pure adda. Friends who haven’t changed even after being aged for two decades (unlike the scotch in their hand) but have become more precious (just like the scotch). Getting to tell weird stories of your friends to their spouses entertain to no extent. Unfortunately my friends didn’t get that pleasure as I was classmates with my husband along with all of them.

 

It was also a pleasure to take my daughter back to her and our roots. Seeing her play “kumir-danga” with her new friends made my day. I initially thought she’d have trouble adjusting. However, these words are just made up in grown up minds, she had four friends by the end of the first day.

Having cows visit us each day thrilled her to no extent

She even got some security training at the rathe-r mela.

She got to meet her pishi, Santuda and Sumo dada. Who were more than happy to indulge her in pizza each time she wanted to, unlike “mom” who’d start a rant about eating healthy.

I hope she understood the value in the frock she got from Puja mashi (who seems to be still growing in height) which came from her first salary.

Meeting little versions of our friends was fun for us and her as well. She made friends with them. Kachumoni was super sweet

The rains never failed to make me happy. Even the dreary weather of Seattle couldn’t knock that off. I love the rains, the real rain that is, not the pitter-patter they call rain in Seattle

The rains, the gazillion other people or the traffic jams couldn’t deter me from my other main agenda. Street side shopping.

So what’s in it for you, my readers? Obviously I learned a bunch of recipes from my pishi’s and neighbors. My 4 pishis took all the trouble and came from all around the city with home cooked food, especially the batter fry which is beyond description and coming soon to a blog near you. Not sure if my daughter will ever get this experience when she grows up.

Now that I’m back and the hangover is over, back to being the bongcook

Bhuna Mutton

When my husband calls me from office and tells me that he is inviting someone over for dinner, the first question I ask him is “Are they vegetarian”? If the answer is no, Bhuna Gosth it is with ready to cook paratha. You can make this with chicken as well.

Ingredients

• For marination
  1. 2lbs. lamb or goat meat cut into medium pieces on bone
  2. 2 medium onions finely chopped
  3. 5-6 cloves of garlic paste 
  4. 1'” ginger cut into Julian (Thin strips)
  5. 3-4 small tomatoes cut into halves
  6. 1tsp. turmeric powder
  7. 1tbsp. red chili powder 
  8. 1tsp. sugar
  9. 2-3 tsp. mustard oil
  10. Salt to taste
• 2-3 tomatoes cut into quarters  
• 2-3 tbsp. roasted ground spices (Dry roast and grind into a powder 2tsp. whole cumin seed + 2tsp. whole coriander seeds + 5 black cardamom + 3 green cardamom)
• 1 tsp. ghee(clarified butter)

Procedure

In a big mixing bowl take everything listed under marination and mix well. Allow it to rest for an hour in a refrigerator.

Take it out half an hour before you start cooking.

Transfer the marinated mutton to a heavy bottom pan. Fry them all together on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Soon you will see water releasing from the meat. Now lower the heat and cook covered on lowest heat for an hour.

By this time there should not be any excess moisture left in it. If you still see any excess water  let it dry by boiling on a high heat. Check the seasoning and adjust accordingly.

In a separate pan heat ghee and sauté quartered tomatoes on high heat for a while. Add roasted ground spices to it. Let it sizzle, then pour it over the cooked mutton and mix it. Simmer for another five minutes and then its ready to go!

Goes well with Indian non fried bread like naan, phulka or rumali –roti.

Dimer Paturi

One of my mashi is married to a family who is better known in their neighborhood as paturi bari. Ilish (Hilsa) paturi being the most famous, they make paturi with shrimp, egg and even with dal. Paturi is the process of cooking fish in mustard sauce inside a banana or plantain leaf wrap.

I am not a connoisseur of ilish, so whenever I visited my mashi she used make either egg paturi or shrimp paturi for me.

This time when I got a big packet of banana leaf at Indian store I picked it up without even giving a second thought. My initial plan was to make shrimp paturi. However, I thought I’d make it with eggs so that my eggeterian friends could also enjoy it.

Ingredients

1. 4 hard boiled eggs
2. 2 medium sized potato boiled and peeled
3. 1 medium red onion sliced
4. 1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
5. 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
6. 1 clove garlic
7. 4,5 hot green chilies
8. Few cilantro chopped 
9. 2,3 tbsp. mustard oil
10. Salt to taste

Procedure

First the marinade has to be made. Make a wet paste of mustard seeds with 2 green chilies and garlic. Add a tsp. of turmeric powder to it.

Now remove the shell of the boiled eggs  and cut them into quarters.

In a separate plate take the boiled potatoes and mash them. To it add sliced onions, cilantro and the pieces of eggs.

Pour the marinade over it along with some salt.  Mix them gently using hands instead of spoons. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

By this time season the banana leaf for wrapping. Wash it under running water and wipe it dry.

Now turn the heat on and just swipe it over the heating coil or the flame. This will make the banana leaf more pliable so that it won’t tear when you try to fold it.

Alternatively you can dip the leaves under hot water to make them soft.

Now take two rectangular piece of banana leaf and place he marinated egg in the center of it. Fold the sides by overlapping each other to make a packet and secure them by tying with your kitchen twine. I used my quilting thread to tie them up.

Arrange the packets on a frying pan and allow them to cook covered on low heat till the outer leaf of the packet turns brown. Turn it over and allow it to cook the other side as well. Alternative you can arrange the packets in a microwavable dish and microwave it for high power for 10 minutes.

Remove and snip off the thread. You may drizzle some extra mustard oil over it. 

Enjoy with hot rice.

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.

Chaanar Dalna

Most of our guests these days turn out to be vegetarian. Serving authentic bong food to them becomes a hard chore. I have already gotten tired of the same old gazillion combinations of paneer. So this authentic but a little hard to make variant of paneer or chanar dalna comes as a welcome change.

Ingredients

1. 500 ml of full cream milk
2. 2 medium potatoes cut into cubes
3. 1/2 cup frozen peas
4. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
5. 2,3 green chilies chopped
6. 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
7. 1/2 tsp. + 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
8. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. chili powder
10. 1 tsp. sugar
11. 1 tsp. ghee (Clarified butter)
12. 2-3 tbsp. chopped coriander leaves
13. For tempering
1. 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
2. 2 green cardamom pods
3. 1’” cinnamon stick
4. 2 cloves
5. 2 bay leaves

Procedure

Step1: Making the Chana

Take 500 ml of milk in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil. Once it rises to the surface of the vessel, lower the heat and add lemon juice to it. Stir it well to mix it. You will see milk curdles and separates out from the whey. Pour the contents in the strainer and drain out the whey.

Now add chopped coriander, chopped green chilies, 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin powder to the paneer and mix. Transfer it to the cheesecloth. Bring the four corners of the cloth together and twist it. Hang the cheese cloth from the water faucet for about 30 minutes to drain out the last drop of whey.

Now place the cheesecloth with the paneer in it on  a flat surface and put something very heavy on it for another one hour to squeeze out the residual whey. I used my wooden chopping board and a water filled stock pot for this purpose.

Now take out the block of paneer from the cheesecloth and cut it into squares to give them a structure.

Step 2: Making Chaanar dalna

Heat oil in a kadai and fry the paneer cubes till the edges turn brown. Remove and keep aside.

Temper the oil with whole cumin, bay leaves, and whole garam masala. allow them to crackle. Add potato cubes to it and sauté for a while.

Gradually add ginger paste, turmeric , chili and cumin powder one by one. Fry them along with the potato cubes till the raw smell goes away.Sprinkle some water in between so the spices don’t get burnt. Keep cooking till you see the oil separates out from the spice mixture.

Pour about 2 cups of water followed by salt and sugar. Mix it well and let it cooked on medium heat till the potatoes are just done.

Check the seasoning and adjust. Throw the frozen peas and fried paneer cubes to it and allow it to simmer for another 5 minutes. Add  green chilies and a spoon full of ghee to it. Sprinkle Bengali garam masala powder to finish.

Goes best with plain rice.  

Raw jackfruit with Mutton

Ripe jackfruit is something which I dislike from the core of my heart. However my feelings just take a 180 degree turn when its raw. If a jackfruit is cracked open you can find pods inside it. Pods are nothing but a fleshy covering of the seeds. When it is raw the texture of the fleshy covering is remarkably similar to that of goat or lamb meat. This has made raw jackfruit an excellent vegetarian substitute for meat.

My todays post is about a jugalbandi of Goat meat and raw jackfruit. My dida (Grandmom) used to make it quite often. Years and continents later I encountered the same food in a Bistro named Rangoli in Vancouver, Canada. Even the taste matched it perfectly.

Ingredients

1. 1 can of raw jackfruit drained, washed and cut into meat sized chunks
2. 250gms of mutton on bone ( I have used goat meat )
3. 2 medium onion finely sliced
4. 1 tsp. ginger paste
5. 1 tsp. garlic paste
6. 2 medium sized tomatoes cut into quarters
7. 1 tsp.turmeric powder
8. 1tbsp. chili powder
9. 1tsp. sugar
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil
12. 1 tsp. bengali garam masala powder
13. For Tempering
1. 2,3 Bay leaves
2. 1” cinnamon stick
3. 2,3 cloves
4. 2 green cardamom pods.

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the jackfruit pieces till all the sides take a brown hue. Remove and keep them reserved.

If the oil remaining is sufficient for the rest of the cooking go ahead or else you can add little more to it.

Temper the oil with all the whole spices listed under tempering. Allow them to sizzle a bit. Now add onion slices to the fragrant oil and fry them on low heat till they turn light brown. This process is a bit lengthy. You can add a pinch of salt to the raw onion slices to make the process faster.

Add mutton pieces to it and sear them on high heat till it looses its raw color.

Add ginger garlic paste to it and sauté along with the mutton pieces. Next add tomato  to it along with turmeric and chili powder. Fry on medium heat till the tomatoes become mushy.

Season with salt and sugar. Cook it covered on low heat till the meat is half cooked. You can use your pressure cooker as well to make this quick.

Now add the jackfruit pieces you have already fried. Mix everything together. Give a taste test and adjust accordingly. Cook it covered till both meat and jackfruit are tender.This will have a thick gravy. So adjust the water either by boiling the extra off or by adding little more.

Sprinkle garam masala powder and keep it covered till you serve.