Bengali Aloo Phulkopir Singara (Samosa)

In my last trip to Kolkata, I reached Delhi airport in the wee hours of the morning. As we were departing out of the international arrival I overheard another fellow Bengali talking loudly over the phone. He was instructing his parents at 4:00 in the morning to ask their driver to buy Singara from “Bhola’s shop” while coming to pick him up from the Kolkata airport. I could really understand his craving for Singara. This is something we miss dearly on weekend breakfasts and when friends come over for some pure Bengali “adda”. We get Samosa’s here but they differ considerably in their filling with the traditional Bengali Singara.

Last week we were heading out to our friends home to meet their new-born and to spend the evening there. I decided to make some traditional Bengali Singara with cauliflower and potato filling. Thousands of miles away from home the “adda” got a special authentic touch.

TIPS

Singara is not that hard to make, however, there are some common pitfalls. You need to ensure that you have the right “moyen” which is the amount of oil in your dough. This will decide how crisp your singara will be. Too much oil results in brittleness. The local stores use dalda and other stuff to make over-crispy samosas, so that they can sell it through out the whole day. It’s not healthy and we will refrain from that.

Similarly the temperature of the oil in which you fry is also very important. It should be low so that the shell gets evenly cooked and it remains crisp for a longer time.

Also note that re-heating the Singara in Micro-wave makes them go soggy. Make them fresh or re-heat in conventional oven.

Ingredients for the Filling

1. 5 medium sized potatoes boiled and peeled
2. 1 cup cauliflower florets
3. 1/2 cup green peas
4. 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
5. 1”ginger grated
6. 2 green chilies finely chopped
7. 1/2tsp. turmeric powder
8. 1/2tsp. dry red chili powder
9. 1tsp. whole cumin seeds (jeera)
10. 2 – 3 tsp. bhaja masala (dry roast whole cumin, coriander seeds along with dry red chili and grind them into a powder)
11. 1tsp. sugar
12. Salt
13. 1tbsp. vegetable oil

Procedure For the Filling

Bring a pan of water to a boil and add cauliflower florets and peas to it. Cook them covered for 2 – 3 minutes and then drain the water. Break all the vegetables ( Potatoes + Cauliflower) in uneven shapes with a spoon.

Heat 1tbsp. oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Let it sputter and then add roasted peanuts and green chilies to it. Fry for a while and then add cauliflower and peas. Keep them frying before you add boiled potatoes to it. After potato add grated ginger, turmeric powder and chili powder. Keep frying till everything mixes well. Since all the vegetables are cooked be gentle while frying so that they don’t become mushy.

Season with salt and sugar and fry till there is no traces of moisture. Now add bhaja masla and mix again once more before you turn the heat off.

Ingredients For Shell

1. 3 cups all purpose flour (maida)
2. 4tbsp. clarified butter (ghee)
3. 1tsp. salt
4. 1tsp. sugar
5. Enough oil for deep frying

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take flour, salt and sugar and mix them well. Add 4 tbsp. of ghee and rub it with flour using your finger tips. Knead the flour into a tight dough by adding some water. Let it rest for at-least 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into lime sized balls.

Apply oil on a wooden board or kitchen counter and start rolling each portion of dough in oblong shape with the rolling pin.

Cut the rolled out dough into halves.

Brush water on both sides along the straight edge and then fold the edges to make a cone. Fill 3/4th of it with the potato  stuffing.

Now smear the open edge with water and make a fold just opposite to the join of the cone. This is important to do otherwise the shape will not be retained after frying. Seal the ends by pressing gently with your finger tips.

Take enough oil in a wok and put it on low heat. Add samosas to the oil. Essentially the oil should not be hot. This will make the samosa uniformly crispy which will last longer.

Fry them on low heat for 6-7 minutes and then on high heat for another 2- 3 minutes. Remove when they turn golden

Make sure the temperature of the oil is low enough before you add the next batch of samosa.

Serve hot with masala chai.

If you want to make them ahead of time make sure you reheat them in a oven and not in a microwave.

Home Made Tawa Naan

When we make naan at home in the proper way (in the oven) it becomes very tiring on our feet. We have to continually run around opening and closing windows to air out the apartment to stop the blaring fire-alarms. Somehow the fire-alarms do not like the naans (maybe it prefers Biriyani).

The alternative I use is to make naans on the tawa. The results are pretty good and it’s easier to make that way. Here’s the recipe to make naan on a gas or electric stove-top.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups all purpose flour ( maida )
2. 1/2 tsp. salt
3. 1tsp. sugar
4. 1tsp. baking powder
5. 1/2tsp. baking soda
6. 2tbsp. oil
7. 1/2 cup plain curd ( Yogurt )
8. Butter

Procedure

Sieve flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda in a mixing bowl. Add sugar to it and mix well.

Drizzle 2tbsp. oil to it and rub with the dry ingredients till you get a texture of crumb.

Add plain curd little at a time and start kneading. Knead till you get a soft pliable dough. If needed add little milk to it.

Keep the dough covered with a damp kitchen towel for 15 – 30 minutes and knead it once more before you start rolling.

Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and on a floured surface roll them out into flat uniform discs of 8 – 9 inch diameter. The size and thickness depends on your preference, I prefer mine to be a little thick.

Heat a non stick tawa and brush it with butter.

Place the rolled out naan to it and lower the heat to medium. Keep it partially covered and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove the lid and you will see the bread has risen. Brush the top surface of the flatbread with butter before you turn it over. Cook till you get golden brown patches all over its surface.

Remove and serve hot. 

Café Frappe and Valentines day

For me Valentines day has an association with café frappe. However, not in the way you’d expect. Many years back my husband had to be admitted for a surgery on valentines day. After the hectic and tense day when I was heading home I stopped by a Café Coffee Day and had a glass of café frappe. I really needed to unwind and the coffee helped a lot. For the next week or so each day after the stream of visitors died down and he was settled in after his dinner, I’d head off to the hospitals Café  Coffee day for the same. It became a daily ritual for a week.

Now valentines day are generally a more happier occasion but I still yearn for the café frappe. Even though we are in the coffee capital of the world (head quarters of Starbucks) I just don’t get my choice of coffee. I do not consider the burnt charcoal syrup Starbucks serve as coffee. I have tried to explain to them what I exactly want and each time they get me an even more weird tasting concoction. So for now I have settled to make my own frappe’s.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups ice cube
2. 1 cup milk
3. 4tbsp. sugar
4. 1cup extra strong coffee at room temperature
5. 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
6. 1tsp. instant coffee powder  ( I used Nescafe )
7. Chocolate syrup ( Optional )

Procedure

Chill the serving glasses in the refrigerator.

Place two cups of ice cube along with a cup of extra strong coffee in a blender and crush well. Add a cup of milk and sugar to it and shake well. Blend on high speed until smooth. Taste and adjust the sweetness.

Pour the blended mixture into the chilled glass and top it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle a pinch of coffee powder over the ice cream  and drizzle some chocolate sauce around the rim to finish.

Enjoy.

Maan Kochu Baata (Taro Root Paste)

In Bengali households you will hear about various baata’s all the time. Bata is essentially some paste which are simple, and easy on stomach. These are eaten at the beginning of a traditional meal. Depending on the seasonal availability, baata has a wide range from posto baata (poppy seed paste) to maan kochu bata (taro root), kolar khosha bata (plantain peel paste) and in winter dhane pata bata (cilantro paste).

Traditionally baata always involves mustard paste, green chilies and a generous amount of pungent mustard oil in it. Occasionally depending on the main ingredient, freshly grated coconut also plays an important role.

In this post I will share with you  my Dad’s favorite maan kochu bata recipe. I had to do an international consultation with my aunt before finalizing it.

Ingredients

1. 1 lb. maan kochu (taro root, I got from local Asian store)
2. 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
3. 1 tsp. mustard seeds
4. 2-3 hot Thai green chilies (I put some ripe red ones along with it)
5. 1 tsp. sugar
6. 2 tbsp. mustard oil
7. Salt to taste

Procedure

In a grater grate the taro root. Take the grated taro root on a big strainer or colander and put it under running cold water. You will see that the water running out of the strainer is milky white. Continue rinsing till the water runs clear. This step prevents the itching in the throat.

Once you are done with rinsing squeeze out any excess water out of it.

In a grinder make a past of mustard and green chilies with a pinch of salt.

Now add freshly grated coconut and taro root to the grinder and grind everything together to a fine paste. The paste will be thick and not slurry.

Add sugar and adjust salt. Drizzle mustard oil all over.

Eat with hot rice.

Salmoner Jhaal

When we first arrived in the US we were not aware of local Asian or Bangladeshi stores. So we used to buy local fish and either bake or fry them. However, soon the Bong in us won over and we switched to jhol and jhaals with local produce like Salmon.

This fusion works remarkably well when you know how to blend it with Indian spices. Since Salmon has a strong taste it doesn’t work with milder recipes. So when I initially tried potato-cauliflower based curry with Salmon, it was a flop. In contrast mustard works very well with salmon and it’s pungent taste mellows down that of Salmon.

Ingredients

1. 4 pieces salmon
2. 1 ripe tomato
3. 1 tbsp. mustard paste ( I used yellow mustard )
4. 2 tssp. turmeric powder
5. 1 tsp. chili powder
6. 1 tsp. kalonji seeds ( Nigella )
7. 2, 3 whole green chilies slit lengthwise
8. 1 tsp. sugar
9. Salt
10. Mustard oil
11. Few coriander leaves

Procedure

Take salmon pieces and marinate with little salt and turmeric powder for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a wok and shallow fry the fish pieces till all their sides turn golden yellow. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

You can use the same oil for gravy or if you find it too less you can add little more to it. Temper oil with kalonji seeds and green chilies. When they stop sputtering add tomato to it. Fry tomato on medium heat till mushy.

In a small bowl mix mustard paste with turmeric and chili powder. When tomato is done add this spice paste to it and sauté on low heat till oil oozes out.

Add a cup of water to it and season with salt and sugar. Stir it well and let it come to a boil. Gently slide the fried fishes in the boiling gravy. You will see the gravy stops boiling after you have added the fried fishes. Wait for another boil to come. Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with plain rice.

Moong Palong / Spinach with yellow lentil

Our last couple of dine outs have been to African restaurants. Interestingly I saw that Ethiopian and Moroccan food has heavy use of lentils. It is served as one of the main course in both Queen Sheba and Marrakesh restaurants that we visited. It reminded me of some of the traditional Bengali lentil recipes. These are not the traditional daal soup or curry but more dry and filling.

In Winter when fresh spinach hit the markets my mom used them with yellow lentil to make a thick dry side dish which we used to have with white rice. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup yellow moong dal
2. 1lb spinach coarsely chopped
3. 1" grated ginger
4. 1tsp. cumin seed
5. 2,3 bay leaves
6. 3,4 dry red chilies
7. 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
8. 1 tsp. ghee ( clarified butter )
9. Oil
10. Salt
11. Sugar

Procedure

Dry roast moong dal on medium heat till you get a nutty smell and the dal turns light brown. You need to stir it continuously.

Once you are done, wash dal thoroughly. Now cook dal with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker with one cup of water. If there is any excess water allow it to dry on high heat. Don't overcook the dal.

In a pan heat 2 tbsp. of oil and temper it with whole cumin seeds, bay leaves and dry red chilies. Wait till it sputters. Add grated ginger to it. Next to go in is chopped spinach. Season with salt and a tsp. of sugar.

Mix well and cook it covered on medium heat. Soon the leaves will start wilting and release enough water. Remove the lid and cook it on high heat allowing all the water to evaporate. Add boiled dal to it. Mix the dal well with spinach. Check seasoning and adjust accordingly. Let it cook together till all excess moisture dries up.

You need to stir frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add a dollop of ghee and turn off the heat.

Enjoy with hot rice.

Chicken Cutlet - Bengali Style

My first love is Mutton Braised cutlet. I used to always head to our neighborhood “Ashoka Café” to get my fix. However, sometimes I used to land there on Thursdays. Thursdays in Kolkata is a no meat day and slaughter houses and butchers are closed and most restaurants do not serve meats other than fish and chicken. So the only option was to eat chicken cutlet. I know I am making this sound bad, but in reality the chicken cutlet is pretty tasty.

Ingredients

1. 10 pcs. thin cut boneless chicken breasts cut into rectangles 
2. 12 fat garlic cloves
3. 1” ginger
4. 5 – 6 green chilies
5. 1 lime
6. 1tsp. black pepper powder
7. Salt to taste
8. 1 egg
9. Enough bread crumb for coating
10. Refined oil for deep frying

Procedure

If the chicken pieces are not thin enough, wrap each of them in a plastic and pound them with the flat side of your meat tenderizer.

In a grinder make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chilies. In a separate bowl take this spice paste and add black pepper powder, salt and lime. Whisk everything together.

Take the chicken pieces and apply this mixture on both the sides. Keep them marinated in a refrigerator for 5 – 6 hour. Take them out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you want to fry them. Break the egg and mix it well so the chicken pieces get a coating of it. Spread bread crumbs on a flat platter and roll the cutlets in it. Define the edges by pressing the blunt side of the knife against it. Once the coating is done let them rest in the refrigerator for 1/2hour.

Heat enough oil in a kadai till it smokes. Now reduce the heat to medium high and gently slide the cutlet in. Let that cook till both sides turn golden brown and crispy.

Remove and place on a paper towel with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle black salt and serve with some salad and mustard-sauce or tomato ketchup.