Spinach Pakoda

Sunny summer days are something which folks living in the Pacific North West really cherish. Sun sets late in the night after 9 p.m. and we head out to the lush parks around town for some picnic pot-lucks. This is one of the items which I took last time as my pot-“luck” was to make starters.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of chopped spinach
2. 1 small onion finely chopped
3. 1 tsp. chopped ginger
4. 1 tsp. chopped garlic
5. 2 – 3 green chilies finely chopped
6. 1 tsp. roughly crushed coriander greens
7. 1/2 tsp. chili powder
8. 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 1/2 cup besan (Chickpea flour)
10. 1/2 tsp. baking powder
11. Salt to taste
12. Oil for deep frying

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take all ingredients other than besan, baking powder and oil. Mix all ingredients with your hands using gentle pressure. Soon they will start releasing water. Add besan little at a time just to hold the ingredients together. Sprinkle baking powder and mix once again.

Heat oil in a wok till it smokes. Reduce the heat and add small portions of the mixture in the hot oil. Fry on medium heat till all sides are done and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil on a paper towel. Sprinkle black salt and your favorite chat masala before you serve.

Musur Daal Paanchphoron Diye

This is one of those simple foods, which the Bengali heart craves for now and then. After our super long 6000 km road trip to California where we ate all kinds of stuff from across the world, what I really wanted when I stepped into our home was some simple daal. This simple dal flavored with our very own paanchphoron, sukno lonka and accompanied with begun bhaja becoms delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 cup musur dal (red lentils)
• 1 pinch turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. paanch-phoron (generally available in Indian grocery stores)
• 2-3 dry red chilies
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. mustard oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash dal thoroughly and pressure cook it with a pinch of turmeric powder, salt and 2 cups of water on high heat till the first whistle. Let the pressure settle down on its own.

In a pan heat mustard oil till it smokes. Temper it with broken red chilies and paanch phoron. Wait till you get a sharp fragrance of the spices. Be careful as to not burn them. Turn off the heat immediately and pour the spices along with the oil  in the dal. Season with sugar and salt and mix them well. Let it simmer on high heat for a minute.

Serve with plain rice with a wedge of lemon and begun bhaja.

Bhaja Mooger Dal

Bhaja Mooger dal is a Bengali delicacy specially for winter. Here yellow moong dal is dry roasted to bring out its nutty aroma and then cooked with fresh winter vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow moong dal
• 1/2 cup cauliflower florets cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh green peas (I used frozen)
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
• 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. ghee (Clarified butter)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp.canola or any refined oil
• For Tempering
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise

Procedure

Take a pan and add dry moong dal to it. Dry roast on medium heat till you get a nutty flavor and the grains take a light brown hue. Remove immediately from the heat and allow it to cool down. Wash them thoroughly once it is cooled.

In a pressure cooker boil the roasted dal with 2 cups of water, turmeric powder and grated ginger for one whistle. Let the steam escape.

In another pan heat oil and temper it with cumin seed, bay leaves and green chilies. Sauté till the oil turns fragrant. Add cauliflower florets to it and fry on low heat till you get a nice aroma of fried cauliflower. Transfer this content to the pressure cooker.

Add green peas. Season the dal with salt and sugar. If this meal is planned for the kids then remove the green chilies now and add during the time of garnishing. Simmer dal along with the vegetables on low heat till the dal and the vegetables are cooked. You can add little water if required.

Pour the dal in a serving bowl and garnish with freshly grated coconut and finish it off with a spoonful of ghee.

Serve with plain hot rice. 

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. 

Molto Bene Penne

My husband’s office café has a chef exhibition area where different kinds of food are made each day. One of those days is the pasta day. In case I am in the vicinity I drop by those days to have lunch together. I love the Molto Bene Penne which in Italian means “very good penne”. Based on the taste I tried re-creating it at home and this comes pretty close.

Ingredients

• 1 cup penne pasta cooked according to the package direction
• 1/2 cup chicken keema (minced meat)
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. chopped red onion
• 4 small tomatoes cut into halves
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 2 tbsp. chopped green onion
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. chili flakes
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. crushed fennel seeds (mouri/sauf )
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 2 tbsp. butter
• Salt

Procedure

Heat butter in a pan and let it melt. Add crushed fennel seeds and minced garlic. Sauté on low heat till you get a nice aroma. Add chopped onion and fry till it turns translucent. Add minced meat to it and fry on medium heat till its cooked. Add peas, tomato halves and fry lightly along with it. Turn off the heat.

In another pan melt 1 tbsp. butter and add 2 tbsp. flour. Sauté on low heat for about a minute. Pour milk and cream and mix them well. Let it simmer for about 5 – 8 minutes till it has reduced by about quarter and starts to thicken. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to keep the sauce from sticking.

Stir in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper powder.

Add the meat mixture to this sauce and mix well. Keep aside.

How to serve

Transfer boiled penne in a serving bowl and pour 2 – 3 ladleful of sauce over it. Garnish with chopped green onions, cilantro and chili flakes.

Lemon Cake

One of our hiking tradition is to stop on the way at a Starbucks. Among other things we always pick up their lemon pound cake. On the hard hike up, we look forward to munch on those cakes high up in the mountains.

Cakes are in general heavy and is not something which I enjoy on hot days. However, I realized that I like the lemon cakes on the hot hikes because it has a refreshing flavor. So now in summer I generally favor baking these over other rich fruity cakes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup white granulated sugar + 1/4 cup
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon (Grated yellow skin of firm and plump lemon)

Procedure

Preheat oven at 350F and place the rack at the center of the oven. Butter a 9” cake pan and then line it with a wax paper.

In a bowl beat butter and sugar with an electric hand blender until they are light and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla extract. Now add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the pan as needed.

In another bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and lemon zest. add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with lemon juice. Mix till you get a smooth batter.

Pour the batter in the prepared cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Insert a toothpick at the center and take it out. If it comes clean your cake is done. Let it cool and then invert it on a plate.

Grind 1/4th cup of sugar into a fine powder and sprinkle it through a strainer on top of the cake.

Its ready to be enjoyed with some nice light tea.

Medu Vada

Medu vada or vadai is a common South Indian snacks. Everyone seems to make them at home. However, really good quality medu vada simply stands out and is very hard to get even in the Southern parts of India. My husband is a vada fanatic. He hates waiting in line to get food, but would still queue up at Chutneys in Hyderabad at 3:30 waiting for their specific vada maker to come in at 4:00 and make scorching hot vadas. He judges a Southern café or restaurant just by their vada and most fails that test, some of the exceptions being Chutneys, Kamath, Saravana Bhavan and the likes.

Good vada has a super crunchy exterior contrasted by a soft yet well cooked interior. The vada has to be served right after making it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup urad dal whole or split (Black lentils without skin)
• 2 green chilies
• 1/2” ginger
• 5 – 6 pepper corns crushed
• 1/2tsp. asafetida (Hing)
• 1tsp. whole cumin seed
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Wash and soak urad dal in enough water for 5- 6 hours.

Drain and grind it into a coarse paste with green chilies and ginger. You might need to add very little water. Water should be just enough to make a soft but not watery dough – as its the consistency of the batter that determines the shape and softness of the vadas.

Transfer the paste in a bowl add add salt to it. Now beat it with your hand till the batter is light and fluffy. To make sure it’s right, run the following floating test. Take a cup of water and drop a little dough into it. If the dough immediately floats up, your dough is ready. If it sinks you need to beat it some more.

Add hing, cumin seeds and crushed pepper corn. Mix once more.

Heat oil in a kadai.

Wet your hand and take a portion of the mixture and start giving it the shape of vada by making a hole at the center with your thumb. When the oil is really hot upturn your hand and carefully slide the vada in oil.

Deep fry till both sides turn golden brown.

Note:

• Make the vadas as soon as the batter is ready as they will absorb too much oil if left for a long time.
• Add the vadas when the oil is really hot. It will make the outside of the vadas crispy while keeping the inside soft.

Remove and drain on an absorbent paper and serve with coconut chutney.