Pistachio Sandesh - Ring in the Festival of Lights

Sandesh is a confectionery from Bengal and a very popular one at that. It is made from fresh paneer and sugar and flavoured /coloured with essences and additional items like nuts ,dryfruits, coconut, saffron etc. There are several types available ranging from simple mixing of sugar and fresh paneer to elaborate ones. I have made a simple almost no cook sandesh flavoured with pistachio nuts. 

Ingredients:
Fresh paneer /channa : prepared from 1 l of milk : almost 3/4 cup I got
Pistachio Powder: 2 tbsp alteast
Powdered Sugar: 4 tbsp or more as per taste
Pista extract: 1-2 drops (optional)
Pistachio Nuts:few lightly toasted and chopped for garnish

Preparation:

Lighly mash paneer with hands till it sort of feels light. Make sure you use dried paneer -it should not give out liquid on mashing. But incase it gives out liquid or becomes wet at any stage of cooking, then cook the paneer or the mix at that particular stage of cooking in a deep pan for a few minutes, making sure it does not change colour.

Once you mash the paneer and it is ready,mix in the pistachio powder and sugar and mix well together till you get a doughy texture. 

Pinch small balls from the dough and shape it into rounds or whatever shape you require. 

Serve garnished with toasted and optionally chopped pistachios.

This was a simple sandesh which did not require any cooking except for making channa or paneer. You can add your choice of flavouring or nuts or even cocoa  or dry fruits for making your own version. You can avoid the extract if you do not have any and optionally add green colouring for the green eyed festive look.

Bengali Bahu Khuda Pulao - The Hungry Bride's Pulao

This is a simple pulao recipe that I found in old issues of UpperCrust magazine. It is from the book Pulaos and Biryanis: A tribute to Indian Cuisine by Katy Dalal.She is an expert in cooking and has few books to her credit,especially Parsi cooking .The magazine also mentioned the catering store she runs in Mumbai. I was attracted by the name of the dish and also how different it is from other rich pulaos that we normally see.

Normally in conservative Indian households wives were supposed to eat last or atleast after the husbands and other elders were done.This was irrespective of the regions or state and even continues in some homes even today,though thanks to the career woman it has reduced.Even our weddings has ritual where the wife has to eat the leftover from the husbands plate.But in those days most of the times,the  wives were left with little or no food and the new brides who were just starting to settle down were the most tortured lot as they were not yet used to this.So this dish which could be made in a jiffy was invented so that a bride is not deprived of her meal till she also joins the old wives' club!. :).

The dish is supposed to be cooked in mustard oil,but ghee is a best alternative especially if you are not used to mustard oil.I am posting the original recipe by the author, though I reduced the amount for serving 2-3 people.

Ingredients:
Basmati/Long grained rice/Jeera Sal Rice: 700 gm
Onions: sliced: 6 large
Green Chillies: long,slit and deseeded
Coriander Leaves: 1 cup chopped
Mint Leaves: 1/2 cup chopped
Coriander Seeds: dry roasted(broiled) and coarsely ground
Peppercorns: 10 coarsely ground
Turmeric Powder: a pinch
Mustard oil or Pure Ghee

Preparation:
Deep fry the onions in ghee or oil till golden brown and risp.Set aside.

Cook the rice adding ,one-fourth of fried onions,slit green chillies,coarsely ground coriander seeds,black peppercorns,turmeric,salt and about 2 tbsp of ghee.You can do this is a pressure cooker,rice cooker or stove top.Cook till rice is tender and fluffy.

Serve rice in a serving plate sprinkling the top completely with remaining onions and fresh chopped coriander and mint and optionally fried cashewnuts.

 The author suggests items like rasgollas,fried prawns,radish salad and mutton gravy as accompaniments to this dish.I simply served it with raitha or spiced yogurt. It is a quick and easy dish and I actually had it as itself without accompaniments.The crunch of coriander seeds,the heat of chillies, the crispness of  fried onions added while garnishing,the tender herbs,the sweetness and softness of onions added while cooking rice,each one takes you to food heaven.

I deep fried onions in vegetable oil.Also the second time I made it I avoided even adding the ghee while cooking rice.This did not affected the taste as per me and also makes the dish completely vegan.Also coriander powder will be a poor susbstitute to coarse seeds in this recipe.The seeds has to be tasted in the final dish which is lost if powder is used.Similar with pepper corns.Deseed the green chillies only if you cannot take the heat.

Well, I do not mind eating last if this one is served. But what about you,do you still eat after everyone else at home?



Bengali Cuisine/Bangla Ranna

Bengal has a varied cuisine as does most states of India.Be it the rice dishes,sweetmeats like mishti doi or fish dishes.Its variety of vegetarian dishes is also a gastronomer's delight.It is said that there are several courses of items even in a modest Bengal household.Here I am trying to present a simple Bengali thali with Khichidi/khichuri, Doi Begun and Subz Bhaja.

Khichidi/Khichuri

This is actually vegetables and spices cooked with rice and moong dal/yellow split lentils,similar to Pulao.I used this recipe as a base but adjusted it as per taste and availability of items.This is simple and easy to prepare pulao dish and tastes great with or without raita.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice: 1 cup
Moong Dal: 3/4 cup
Vegetables: 1 cup mixed (Potatoes,peas,beans,carrot,cauliflower etc)
Onion: 1 medium
Ginger:1 inch piece
Garlic: 1 clove
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt:as per taste

Spices to be crushed:
Bayleaves: 1 or 2 small leaves
Jeera:1/2tsp
Cardamom:1/2tsp
Cinnamon: 1/2 tsp
Clove:1/2 tsp

Garnish:
Coriander leaves
Ghee(optional)

Preparation:

Roast moong dal till it turns lightly brown.Wash and soak the rice.Chop onions finely .Crush/mince garlic and ginger or paste them.Crush the spices.

Heat oil in a pan,add jeera,bayleaf and other crushed spices and saute.When it splutters,add chopped onion and minced ginger and garlic and slit chillies.As the onion turns brown,add the cubed veggies and turmeric and salt and mix well till the veggies are coated well.Add dal and rice and mix well.Add enough water and cook till done.Add more water in between if needed and when done garnish with coriander leaves and ghee.

Doi Begun /Eggplant Raita
This is a simple eggplant raita.I found several versions and found one that was easy to make and modified it.

Ingredients:

Eggplant: 1 small
Yoghurt: 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder:1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt:as per taste

Preparation:

Cube the eggplant pieces and apply salt.Leave them in the colander for about 15 minutes to remove the bitterness.Squeeze the eggplant pieces carefully and place them on a greased baking sheet.Mix in half turmeric and chilli powders on the eggplant pieces and drizzle little oil on top.Bake for 12 minutes on a pre heated oven at 475F for 12-15 minutes.Once done,allow to cool for a few minutes and mix in with remaining spice powders,little salt and yoghurt.Serve chilled with the rice/pulao.

Subz Bhaja/Vegetable fritters

I found that Khichuri/Khichidi is always accompanied by vegetable fritters.I found this recipe and modified as per items available in my pantry

Ingredients:

Rice flour: 1tbspn
All purpose flour:2 tbspn
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Onion seeds/kalonji: 1/4 tsp
Mixed vegetables:1/2 cup(I used spinach and potatoes)
Salt:as per taste

Preparation:

Mix flours,salt,chilli powder and onion seeds into a thick batter.You can also use grm flour/besan instead of all purpose flour and even avoid rice flour.I have added rice flour as it gives crispiness to the dish.Chop the vegetables-slice the potatoes and chop the leafy vegetables .Marinate them in the batter and deep fry in hot oil.Serve as a snack or a side dish with Khichuri.

It was a delicious meal,but you know what,I am still reeling under Sia's magic, so past few weekends I am trying out thali meals from other Indian states.But Thank GOD,its not International!.To be honest,I was a bit sceptical about Khichuri,because Bengali is something that I have not tasted except for rasgullas,but once I inhaled the aroma wafting from the pan,I started working on other accompaniments.

Sending this simple Bengali thali to SWC:Bengal hosted by Sowmya of CookingStation and Laksmi of tasteofMysore,Hope you enjoy this too.