Holi Hai !!!

Hope you all had a wonderful holi .I had not one but two holi parties, both super fun.

Party Number 1..we played paint ball(messy but fun game) and followed it up with punjabi food( makke ki roti, sarson ka sag, paranthas, chole bature etc), played impromptu holi outside the restaurant and had some more fun later


Party No 1..in the restaurant, everyone's clean!!!


everyone after playing holi

party Number 2 ..very fun as well, this was a pot luck party for which I cooked tomato paneer, Paneer and raisin pulao and gulabjamun.We played with colors and danced and played card games..

clean one moment


Unrecognisable the next


The group Mug shot(do we have any colors left?)

Fantastic way to end the week, I say bring more such celebrations...

Here are pictures of what I cooked. Recipes coming soon:)

What I cooked for the Holi potluck


Tomato Paneer


Paneer and Raisin pulao


The wonderful, the evergreen Gulabjamun:)


ENJOY & HOLI MUBARAK !!!

Christmas Recipe 1- Mushroom and shrimp pulao

I enjoyed writing about my afternoontea experience in British Columbia and based on the comments from some of you ,you all seemed to have enjoyed reading it too(apparently it took us all back to my Enid Blyton days).Thanks for reading and getting back to me.Hearing back makes me feel that Iam talking to someone and makes it all worthwhile :)

Some of my loyal blog friends read my xmas post and asked for the recipes for the Cornish Hen, Mushroom &shrimp pulao and bean salad .Here Iam posting them one at a time .

While I was writing the recipe for this dish,I also realised that while I have posted pictures of some of my food ,I havent posted recipes for those .I guess thats how I started out,unknowingly titillating some of the readers with the pictures.yeah ..just pictures.(Gosh ,I was almost sadistic)

Well,high time I share the recipes .You ask which ones ???Well,I have piyaaz maach(fish cooked in spicy onion and garlic paste), aloor dom(bengali style),keema with vegetables,Doi maach(fish cooked in yogurt),khichudi, Labda (a lovely sweet-savory vegatble mix, bengali style),bandakopi torkari(cabbage with peas),baigun bhaja(panfried aubergine slices ),tomato chutney,khejur guder payish(rice pudding in date palm jaggery),rumali roti)...amongst others..Phew!!I need to stop,the list is getting too long)

Anyhow, so shall return to posting those unposted recipes intermittently .For now ,let me just get back to the pulao I made for Xmas :-)

You need:
2 cups -Basmati(or any other long grained rice)
1 cup sliced button Mushrooms
1 cup (thawed)- Shrimp (frozen precooked baby shrimp)
1 large sliced onion
1 Tsp- Cumin
2 Tbsp- Ghee or Oil
Salt to taste
Chopped corriander to garnish

This is how you make it:
Heat oil /ghee in a skillet and add the cumin.Once the cumin starts popping add the the sliced onions.Saute them till they are golden .Then add sliced mushrooms and shrimp and cook till they they are soft .

Now Add the 2 cups of rice and pour 4 cups of the water into the skillet .Add salt to taste and cover .Cook on medium heat Keep checking for doneness and cook about 20 minutes.Once the rice looks cooked , turn off the heat and let it sit.This leaves the rice fluff up.

Enjoy with Cornish hen, bean salad and yogurt:)

A very Merry Xmas

Hope everyone had a great Christmas .I know I did...good food and great times with family..what else does one need? Here's a picture story of all the food and festivities .


Here comes Santa Claus

The stage is set and Dinner is served


Cornish Hen with Fresh Herbs and roasted potatoes

Mushroom and shrimp pulao


Green Bean Salad

Shahi Tukda

Soyabean Matar Pulao with Basmati Rice

Alright, alright -I admit to to being spoilt .After eating long grained , fragrant and beautiful basmati rice which literally melts in your mouth, all my life ..I find it difficult to adjust to coarser, thicker rice .Eating freshly cooked basmati rice is like eating fluffy ,little white peices of heaven .I will also admit that with passage of time I have come to understand the virtues of different varieties of rice..

Did you know that the word ‘basmati’ means fragrant, and refers to the nutlike flavor and aroma of this small, but long grained rice. It has been used in India and Pakistan for thousands of years and is excellent with curries. Several varieties are now grown in the U.S., such as Texmati and Kasmati, and all are growing in popularity. (One U.S. company has made an effort to patent Basmati rice and trademark the name). Their flavor is very good, but not quite up to real imported Basmati. (www.foodreference.com)

The other main ingredients of my pulao which are soyabean and peas are rife with proteins .I make matar pulao often but soyabeans make this dish much more protein packed and give it a twist .I love it and think you all should try it .

So let's get cracking

You need :
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 black cardamom seeds
6 whole black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup cooked soyabeans (boiled in salted water)
2 cups uncooked basmati rice, rinsed and drained
4 cups water
salt to taste

This is how you make it :
Heat the oil in a deep heavy skillet over low heat. Add thecumin, cardamom seeds and peppercorns .Cook for a few minutes to bring out the aroma of the spices. Add the green peas to the pan, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 4 cups of water and rice to the pan. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the cooked soyabean and cook until the rice is tender and the water has been absorbed.

Cover the skillet and let the rice sit for a while .S erve when its fluffy with cool cucumber raita and pickle .

Tilapia with wild rice

Fish and rice are wonderful ...I love fish and always look to making fish in different ways -baked, broiled, poached, fried , cooked in foil ...different herbs, marinades etc .Ofcourse there's always so many different kinds of fish availabe to choose from-salmon, tilapia, sea bass, catfish, mahi mahi, snapper, cod ..the list goes on and on .

This time I chose Tilapia..which is a fresh water fish and takes on new flavors easily .Tilapia species are native to Africa and the Levant (for example the sea of Galilee, where according to legend Jesus used it to feed the 5000, resulting in the nickname St. Peter's fish).

Wild rice also called Indian Rice, Water Rice, or Water Oats is considered a delicacy, has long been an important food of North American Indians and wild rice is not related to, related to rice (Oryza sativa). I once ate cornish hen with wild rice and was inspired to cook it more often or atleast try it a couple of times . So without further ado , lets start cooking .

You need
2 tilapia fillets !
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil for marinade
Olive oil to pan fry
black pepper
salt to taste
chopped corriander

1 cup wild rice
3 cups water or chicken broth
salt to taste
seasoning to taste (Maggi Chicken Flavored Bouillon )

This is how you make it
Marinate the tilapia fillets in olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt ,black pepper , chopped corriander and set aside for 15-20 minutes.

Cooking the rice
Wash 1 cup uncooked wild rice thoroughly. Add to 3 cups boiling water or chicken stock(I use chicken stock for extra flavor) , salted and seasoned to taste(add maggi chicken seasoning according to taste), in a saucepan. Return water to boil and stir. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 50-60 minutes or just until kernals puff open. Uncover and fluff with table fork. This will give you 3-4 cups of cooked wild rice.

Now , heat some olive oil or any other oil in the pan and pan fry the fish so that the it turns brown on both sides and flaky .Take care not to move the fish in the pan or it will break .

Your tilapia is now ready. Serve it on top of a bed of fragrant wild rice. Add salsa for that extra zing and enjoy .

Kesar Pulao

I had posted a picture of this back in December 2005 but did not share the recipe back at that time. I am doing that today .

I have always wondered what is the difference between pulao and biryani and here's what I found .

Before biryanis became Mughlai food, they were part of Persian culture in the royal courts of Delhi during the medieval period. The word biryani comes from the Persian "birian", which means "fried" or "roasted". The Persians had a major rice dish in their pulao.

There is a subtle difference between the biryani and the pulao.

In a biryani, the parboiled rice is layered twice or more between the spices and the meat, and they are all cooked together. In a pulao, the stock of meat forms the base and the rice is cooked with the spices so that it absorbs the flavor of the spices. A pulao is like an assembly of cooked rice and meat.

Some of the other differences would be:
Pulao is made by the absorption method of cooking rice. Biryani is made by the draining method of cooking rice.In pulao the base ingredient is mixed with the rice, while in biryani the main ingredient is at the base of the vessel. In biryani lot of aromatic masala is used. Pulaos are relatively less spiced (www.uppercrustindia.com)

Talking of Kesar Pulao , it is a special rice dish that is usually made in North Indian or Muslim weddings or for other important functions. It is a very aromatic dish and has a wonderful blend of spices and Kesar (saffron).

You need :
3 cups basmati rice
6 cups water
7 in number cardamom (elaichi)
7 cloves
1 cup mixed dry nuts (cashews, almonds, raisins)
1 tbsp saffron water (put 1/2 tsp of saffron in 1 tbsp of hot water and dissolve)
3 tbsps ghee (clarified butter)1 tbsp.
salt to taste
green boiled peas , 1 tomato and chopped coriander to garnish

This is how you make it
Wash and soak the basmati rice for about 1 hour.(always preferable as this makes the rice cook faster and look better)
Add 2 tbsp ghee to the pan and put in the cloves, cardamom and half the nuts (you can use oil too, just that ghee has better aroma)
Fry the nuts for till they start to turn golden and the raisins start to swell up .
Add the rice and water , salt to taste and the add in the saffron water.(If you want to just add strands of saffron, that should be fine .The more saffron you put , the deeper the color.)
Cover the pot or pan you are cooking in ,When the rice is done .Fry the remaining dry fruits in the remaining butter and sprinkle on the top of the cooked rice .
Garnish with boiled peas, chopped coriander and a tomato floret.

Serve hot with other delectable curries (veg or non veg) and enjoy

Simple yet Complete

After a hectic day at work most people come home and grab the nearest and the easiest thing to eat .Calories and vows to work towards a better body are forgotten ..All that matters is taking care of the hunger thats poking holes in your stomach ....

I often try to live up to my vow(pun intended ,wink!!) There are few days when I dont care for anything but boiled eggs (atleast they are healthy) and other days when I am capable (and thats mostly the situation) when I cook up a 2-3 course , healthy meal ...

The picture represents just that...boiled or steamed rice , yellow lentil soup(in india its called toor or arhar dal ), minced mea(called keema in india) with vegetables ,yogurt and some fresh salad ..A meal like this mostly takes care of my body , soul and my hunger and gets rave reviews..

Bon appetit :-)

Durga Puja fare

I become extremely nostalgic when Durga Puja is around the corner and miss home ..The pandals ,the endless fun, the camaraderie and the food...Since I no longer get that food I decided to make it myself and fill the void.For those of you who dont know what Durga Pooja is,Well, it is a prominent festival amongst bengalis in India .

My menu had the quintessential Khichudi(a mixture of rice, lentils ,veggies and spices),cabbage with peas,Labda(a funny name but dont get mislead by it )a delicious,aromatic& sweet-salty mix of vegetables like squash, aubergines and potatoes,seasoned with five spices and cooked in mustard oil),tomato chutney(I also added dates,rasins and cherries to the mix), Begun bhaja(sliced aubergines marinated in turmeric and salt and panfried in mustard oil) and the dessert was khejur gud paish (rice pudding cooked in palm sugar)...

Shubho Bijoya everyone !!



khichudi


Labda (yeah say that again ..its a funny name):-)


cabbage and peas


begun bhaja (aubergines pan fried in mustard oil)


tomato chutney


khejur gud paish(rice pudding made with palm sugar)

Rock Fish fillet in Red Curry

Last evening I did'nt feel like eating fish grilled or the Indian way ,so I decided to go Thai.And cooked some Rock fish in thai red curry.

Cooking the curry :
This involves dicing rock fish fillets in medium sized cubes .Diced a large red onion into cubes and chopped soem baby carrots.Heated some sesame oil to which I added a couple of dried red chillies and then sauted the vegetables.When the veggies were a little soft added the fish cubes ,salt,red pepper flakes ,black pepper and some fish sauce .When the Veggies and fish were almost cooked ,added some thai red curry paste to which I had added coconut milk .Simmered the vegetables in sauce for a little while and there you go.

Cooking the Rice :
The rice that I cooked to accompany the fish curry was'nt the traditional jasmine rice but long grained basmati rice .For this ,I heated some ghee(clarified butter) and then added Nigella seeds(kalonji),whole red chillies and a couple of bay leaves .Added water and salt and then when the water was hot and bubbling , added the rice .And then cooked the rice on slow heat till it was done.



The fish in red curry



Fish curry and rice

Satisfied customers :-)

Suchita , my freinds younger sister was visiting me on july17,2005 and had been deprived of home made food .She's bengali and Iam part bengali too so I thought I would treat her to nice Bengali food .

I cooked pulao(rice with spices,ghee and salt),kosha mangsho(spicy chicken bengali style),dim curry(egg curry),aloor dom( baby potatoes in spices),luchi (pooris) and added yougurt and salad to the mix .Suchita enjoyed the food and I had a great time making it .Even more fun looking at the happy and satisfied faces of Suchita and Pankaj .

I will discuss recipes in the next post, Till then here are some pictures I would like to share .Enjoy


The spread


Suchita and Pankaj clink their beer glasses


They seem satisfied