A Reunion and a Breakfast

College Reunions seemed always to be something older people were attending and suddenly I was attending one myself. They say life begins at 40 and yeah, some parts of life were beginning all right! The excitement and anticipation built up as we found class mates and friends through our best online friend finder, Facebook. And then one Friday after frantically finishing work, we were off to Pune to our beloved Deccan College to meet friends we hadn't seen for years. Some we last saw roughly 16 years ago. Much revelry, much fond abuse and many hugs later there we were, together again.

A reunion is a strange animal...it brings back memories of a time long past but that time feels like it was just yesterday or the last week. The intervening years feel like the blink of an eye. I felt I could simply reach out and touch that past, touch the person I was, the people we all were. So much has changed for all of us yet there we were, the same as we were all those years ago. The same sense of friendship, of closeness, of belonging. Everything had changed yet nothing had changed at all...

A regular haunt in the old days was Vohuman Cafe near Jehangir Hall hospital. With Hormazd uncle reigning supreme at the counter shouting at Mohammad or Satish to hurry up and collect the toast butter, or at some poor hapless customer for not having change to the loud buzz of conversation, the smell of eggs frying and butter melting on to hot toast, it was all familiar and comforting to be back. Prices have gone up and the place is a bit spruced up - a fresh coat of paint and a new false ceiling with lots of lights - but the feeling of being back at Vohuman is as wonderful as ever.

Here is a picture of Hormazd uncle with big star Salman Khan, that uncle insisted we all admire :)

And here's Hormazd uncle again, the eternal ladies' man..

Endless plates of bun maska, toast butter, masala omlette, double half fry (palti marke) and chai after chai after chai. What a perfect breakfast we all had as we sat around the old marble topped tables joined together higgledy piggledy.

Replete after a huge breakfast and a flood of memories we were all quite full.

One never quite grasps the impact a reunion has till one has been there. For hubby and me it was a journey back in time as we relived our courtship, completed writing his PhD thesis, attended endless excavations across the country, sat up endless nights playing cards, drank litres of booze, learned about archaeology and about life. It was like it happened again. I spent nearly 10 years at Deccan College, undoubtedly the best years of my life... I would go back in a heart beat.

Photo credits go to my friends Tridib and Jubal. Thanks :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares by Nigella

The first Nigella book I bought was How to be a Domestic Goddess and it is one of my most favourite books of all time. Not just among cook books, but among books in general. After drooling over the pictures and sighing over the delicious recipes and enjoying her seductive writing style it was time to get into the kitchen and try out some of the goodies for myself.

The recipe for Peanut Butter Squares called out to me! They were, she said, a homespun version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Now these are never available here in India and if I had a chance to recreate them in my own kitchen who would dare get in  my way?!

So I did try them out and they were gorgeous..simple, no fuss, straight forward gorgeous. What makes me like them even more is how ridiculously easy it is to make them. No cooking involved, no fancy techniques, no fiddly equipment, nothing. A cake tin, a couple of mixing bowls, a spatula, a fork and a microwave, if you have one. If you don't, a saucepan works just as well.

So here's how you make the Peanut Butter Squares. My recipe is slightly adjusted using ingredients that I had.

50 gms dark demerara sugar
200 gms icing sugar
50 gms butter (unsalted if you can get it, I used regular Amul )
200 gms smooth peanut butter

300 gms chocolate
1 generous tbsp butter

1 8x10 square brownie tin

Take a clean mixing bowl and mix the two sugars. Make sure the icing sugar is not lumpy. If it is just whizz it in your mixer and it will be fine. Add the butter and the peanut butter and mix it all up. Use a fork and work it together till you get it all fairly well mixed. Butter the tin and dust with a bit of icing sugar. Press in the peanut butter/sugar/butter mix to cover the entire base of the tin and press nicely into the corners. Smooth out the top with your spatula or just go in with your hands and flatten it out nicely.

Melt the chocolate in your microwave or in a double boiler. Heat water in a saucepan and place a heat proof bowl on the bubbling water with the chocolate in it. Be careful, don't let water get into the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted add that tablespoon of butter and blend it in nicely. Your chocolate should glisten beautifully. You can use plain dark chocolate or a combination of dark chocolate with milk chocolate, whatever works for you.

Pour the chocolate onto the Peanut butter base in the brownie tin. Smooth the surface and let it cool in the fridge till it is set absolutely firm. Resist temptation and leave it alone for at least a couple of hours so it sets properly. Cut into squares and enjoy!

As simple as it is to make them, these little babies are sinfully rich. Indulge only occasionally :)

Going, Going, Goa!!

Going to Goa is like a pilgrimage for me. We look forward to a lazy week of doing nothing, eating plenty of superb food, reading and generally lazing around. K and I like to drive from Mumbai all the way to Goa. Well, he does all the driving, I just enjoy the ride! And there were, once again, on our way back to that wonderful place, Goa.

At Mangaon we stopped at a little shop on the main road itself for some fresh mango kulfi. K enjoyed it so much we stopped here again on the way back. This massive slab of kulfi cost all of Rs.25.

We usually stop overnight somewhere on the way. We have stayed at Ganpatipule on one trip and this time since we were going for a shorter period, decided to drive all the way to Sawantwadi before stopping for the night. If you are ever there and need to stay the night, The Mango is a great option. Exceptionally clean rooms, well furnished, prompt and friendly service and the best prawn curry I've ever eaten! Sawantwadi is also known for its papier mache and wooden handicrafts.

We stopped for lunch at a new highway restaurant on the ghat section before Chiplun. The food was fresh, flavourful and surprisingly not hot with chillies. We found this to be the trend at all the highway stops on the way to Goa and on our return trip too.

Refreshed after a good night's rest at The Mango in Sawantwadi we proceeded towards Goa. There's a major section of the highway being broadened and work was on in full force.

And then there we were! In Goa! We stayed at a resort in Benaulim, further south from Margao. We first stopped at our favourite shop in Margao and stocked up on some ready masala paste packets and choriz pau to munch on. The taste of Goa...fresh and spicy!

Once we'd checked in and dumped our bags we went in search of lunch. Now if you're familiar with Margao you know about Longuinho's. We found a restaurant bearing their name in Benaulim itself and we trooped in ready to pig out on some good Goan grub. Crisp batter fried prawns, Beef chilly fry, and king fish curry with rice. Bring it on!

In the next few days we ate at many places across Goa and made some amazing discoveries too. Whenever I remembered to whip out the camera I took pictures. At other times I was too busy enjoying the smells and flavours so I have no pictures.

If you're in Goa check out Branco Bar and Restaurant in St Inez. The Salted beef tongue was simply divine.

Rava fried Mussels

The Salted Beef Tongue

Pan fried squid with LOTS of garlic!

If you are in South Goa come to Pedro's on Benaulim beach. The best crisp fried squid on Earth is here, I promise. We ordered it twice and they were consistently good. This is one meal I regret not having pictures of.

The drive back was an adventure in itself. It took us roughly 48 hours to get back because we had car trouble. It also was a chance to really connect with locals at Kharepatan and then again in a little village before  Hathkhamba. The car finally said enough a couple of kilometers outside Sanghameshwar so we spent the night there. And discovered amazing food in a hole in the wall little eatery. There were modaks made with Kopra Paak (grated sweetened coconut) with fruit pulp added. It seems this is a local speciality. Sitafal, strawberry, chocolate (!), and mango were available. K proclaimed the mango ones to be the best.


No journey on the Indian highways is complete without stern and sometimes philosophical warnings to drive carefully. Here's my favourite one.

"You are a traveller, not a competitor"

And then there are kulfi and falooda vendors too

Learned people say that the journey is as important as the destination. Truer words were never spoken. What a wonderful country we live in.

Chinese Breakfast on the Street

This morning I woke up seriously early, at 5.30am. The motivation was that strong! We were going to try out the breakfast sold on the street at Poddar Court, somewhere beyond Esplanade in Kolkata. I looked on good old Google and found that we had to go to Sun Yat Sen Street. This turned out to be a little beyond Benticnk Street which, I was told, is full of shoe shops.

Well, we found Poddar Court quite easily and looked for the Chinese vendors. There were a bare handful and I saw more luchi torkari (puri and potato sabzi) sellers than the Chinese guys. However, the few that were there made our morning.

The first thing I saw was a tray laden with glistening pink and white fresh pork sausages. I immediately bought some.

Then as I glanced around to see what all was on offer, Dada walked up tome with a plate full of fish momos.

The sausage seller agreed to keep my parcel while I sampled the goodies from the others. The fish momos were quite nice. Not spectacular but nice. 

We wandered over and checked out one seller who seemed to be doing brisk business. We tried the Pork fried momos. He offered us steamed fish momos too but we'd already tried those from someone else. This quite offended the fellow and he very sulkily commented that his were made with 'pure' fish..no onions, and were the real thing. We tried them out to appease him and they were quite nice too though I will admit, they were different. 

The street is quite messy and the stalls are all higgledy piggledy sharing space with a tea stall, vegetable vendors and even flower sellers. One one side was a lady selling soup with rice dumplings. The was even a table where you could stand and enjoy the soup. The table was provided with a caddy of soup spoons, forks, chopsticks and little steel saucers for the garlic sauce.

The soup was lovely! Hot, mild broth with tender green garlic shoots, and two delicious rice dumplings that were flavoured with fish and pork. Just perfect for a nippy morning.

By now we were quite stuffed so we looked around to see what else there was and keep it in mind for next time. There was this one man selling Pork rolls and pork chops. No, not the pork chops you'd imagine but the typical bengali potato covered chops made with pork! A marriage of Chinese and Bengali cuisine, no doubt. He also had these interesting flat large puris studded with decent sized whole prawns. We will try these out next time.

 On the opposite side of the road was a vegetable vendor selling a variety of leafy greens - mustard greens, radish greens, Kolmi shaak, methi leaves, green garlic, bok choy and Chinese lettuce. And there were flower sellers too with a medley of colours making the morning bright and cheerful.

And of course we brought some goodies home..
Here's one. This is the size of the dinner plate and is stuffed with rice. We shall find out just how it is at lunch today.

If you're in Kolkata and are up for an adventurous and delicious breakfast check out Poddar Court very early one morning. Everything's gone by 8am so come in early! You can eat like a king without spending even Rs.100 here.

Oh, and Merry Christmas to you!

At home with Moni

So here I am back in Kolkata again. This is my fifth trip here in less than two years and I am beginning to enjoy being here so often. Now most people look forward to going home to their mother's house, especially for all the good food that their mum will cook. Unfortunately my mother hates cooking... and the irony is that she's a great cook. Anyway, since I have just arrived she has enthusiastically shopped and is all set to cook a whole lot of goodies.

My visit here has begun with her signature manghshor jhol. Every Bengali Mom has her own version that her children weep with joy over..and Moni (that's what we call my mum, short for Manisha) made this Bong classic for me. The epitome of comfort food and mother's love all rolled into one, manghshor jhol is one of my all time favourite dishes. And it was simply superb! Mama was sent to the particular mutton shop in Jagu bajar to buy the mutton, mashi brought it over to our house in Dhakuria and Moni marinated it the day before I was to arrive. She cooked it in the morning and I feasted on it at night.

This morning I asked Moni to cook some veggies in the typical Bengali style. So she made Shaak Ghonto. This is essentially palak or spinach cooked with a medley of vegetables. Brinjal, radish, potato and raw banana or plantain along with the spinach were cooked with ginger and 'mouri' or saunf paste. As with most Bengali dishes, a dash of sugar makes an appearance and this dish is finished with milk. Bori or daal vadi is fried and then crushed and sprinkled on top of the finished preparation. The resulting ghanto was simply superb!

I find cooking vegetables extremely tedious, especially with all the precise cutting and chopping involved. But Moni cut everything meticulously into tiny squares and patiently cooked this beautiful medley of vegetables. She might say she doesn't like to cook but I think I disagree :)

Well, I'm here for two weeks and I have lots to look forward to, that's for sure!

Chicken Curry in a Big Hurry

I'm a great devotee of short cuts, ready marinades, spice mixes and marinades that make cooking quicker. I love to cook and if I can cook something quickly, there's nothing I like better!

So there I was on a Sunday morning, not really in the mood to cook something elaborate but I wanted a good lunch nonetheless. So it was one of my favourite dishes that I opted to make. I always have the ingredients for this in stock and it took me about half an hour to put it together. This chicken curry needs just a few ingredients and is really easy to throw together.

1 Chicken, cut into pieces
2 pkts Knorr Punjabi Chicken Curry masala
1 pkt Dabur Coconut Milk

2 onions sliced
2 potatoes, cut into fat chips

oil
salt

Marinate the chicken in the masala from one packet of the Knorr PCC masala. Add water to make a paste and coat the pieces well. Let it sit for a bit if you have the time or cook it straight away. of course, waiting is always better.

Heat oil in your wok or large pan. Fry the potatoes till they redden nicely. Add in the sliced onions. Stir and fry till the onions are pink. Dunk in the marinated chicken pieces and cook it all well. Let the pieces sear nicely and then simmer for a bit.Add the second packet of the Knorr PCC masala. Mix the chicken and the onions and potatoes well and let them all cook a bit. Say 5 minutes, undisturbed and covered. Add very little salt as most of these ready mixes have salt in them already.

Snip open your tetrapak of Dabur Coconut Milk and pour it in. Stir it well and add half a cup of water if needed. Stir it nicely and let it come to a boil. Simmer again covered. Leave it alone for another 10 minutes or so. Once the chicken pieces are cooked through and the potatoes are done, it's ready to serve.

Add some fresh chopped coriander leaves for an extra punch. Serve with plain hot rice if there's lots of gravy or have it with rotis, parathas or bread.

Pickled Pink! Parsi Prawn Pickle

I had been planning to make a batch of Prawn Pickle for a while..a few months, in fact. I've also been meaning to get back to writing this blog again. So here I am today, fulfilling two goals in one day!

Prawn Pickle by Katy Dalal

This pickle is tangy and sweet and has a nice bite to it too. With vinegar, red chillies and jaggery melding together their distinctive flavours and the prawns showcasing it all, this is one of my favourite pickes.

4 cups Prawns, shelled, deveined, and washed

curry leaves

8 - 10 Green Chillies

2 tsp salt

2 cups Kolah's Sugarcane vinegar

Make a paste in 1/2 cup vinegar with:

16 dried red Kashmiri chillies

2 whole pods Garlic

3 Tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp Methi or Fenugreek seeds

1 tsp turmeric pwd

1/5 tsp Badisaunf

1 & 1/2 cup jaggery

2 cups oil

Take a largeish saucepan and heat 2 cups vinegar. Put in the prawns with the green chillies, curry leaves and salt. Bring to a boil and cook till the prawns are nearly done. Leave aside to cool.

Heat the 2 cups of oil in a large karhai or wok or pot. Make sure you really use two cups...this is a pickle! Once the oil is nice and hot put in the ground masala paste. Stir the paste to mix well into the oil. Be careful here because the masala takes time to separate and meld with the oil. Don't stir too vigorously or you might splatter hot oil on yourself. Mix thoroughly till all the paste is combined and is frying nicely. Once the oil separates and the whole spice mix is giving out its wonderful aroma add the jaggery. You might want to adjust the amount of jaggery according to how sweet you like the pickle to be. Blend it in well.

Ladle the prawns into this mix without the vinegar. Just use a slotted spoon. Stir and mix it all in well. Pour in the vinegar a little at a time, maybe half a cup, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil adding vinegar to make a sufficient amount of 'gravy'. Cook for about five minutes checking that the prawns are cooked.

Your Prawn Pickle is ready!

Cool it really well and decant into clean glass bottles.

This recipe is from my Mom in law's first cook book Jamva Chaloji. I learned to love food and to respect fresh ingredients from her and I also learned to eat well and enjoy good food. She, and hubby introduced me to a world of great food and many different cuisines. I wish she was here cheering me on as I discover more food things every day...

Red Hot Chilli Prawns

My brother is here and I'm trying to spice up my cooking. He's just back from a holiday in Indonesia where he didn't really enjoy the food....so these days i do try to cook something special every day.

Today I was thinking of making my usual prawns in coconut gravy but I needed to spice it up. I ended up making something completely different indeed!!

1 cup large prawns
1 tbsp jeera garlic red chilli paste
1 large onion minced
2-3 hot green chillis
1/2 tsp jeera
200 ml coconut milk.
turmeric
salt
chilli pwd
oil
curry leaves
3 cloves, an inch sized stick of cinnamon
Chopped fresh coriander leaves.


Heat oil in a wok and drop in the cloves and cinnamon, add the jeera and let it sizzle. Add the curry leaves and the chillies, slit or in pieces. Stir for half a minute or so and add the finely chopped or minced onion. Don't let the onions burn. Stir well and once they are mildly brown add in the spice paste. You can make this paste yourself or buy it off the shelf (as I do). Mangal makes a good one and so does Atash. Add the salt, turmeric and a spicy chilli powder and a bit of water so the dry spices don't burn.
Once the spices are mixed in well, stir in the prawns (shelled and deveined, of course!). Mix well to coat with the spices. Pour in the coconut milk and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Keep an eye on the prawns and be careful not to over cook them. Add in a generous amount of chopped fresh coriander leaves and you're done!

Serve with fluffy hot steamed rice and some poppadums.

Pancakes!!!

I learned how to make pancakes when I was ...maybe...9 or 10 years old. I made them recently for breakfast, after a really long time and was flooded with memories of my childhood. This was one of the first things I could cook from scratch without anyone's help and ma allowed me to make it quite often :)

The thumb rule that I remember for pancakes is 1+1+1.

1 cup of milk
1 egg
1 cup flour, sifted.
Mix all three in a large bowl and add some salt. Let it rest in the fridge, covered, for at least half and hour.
In a small non-stick pan, add a little oil and ladle in the batter, enough to cover the base. Once it bubbles, flip the pancake and cook the other side. This should take about 3 to 4 minutes in all.

You can make them thick or thin, as you prefer. To make thin pancakes, simply add some milk to the batter.





Serve hot with honey, peanut butter, Nutella, cheese spread, jam, marmalade, sauteed mushrooms....whatever you like!! We had ours with honey and with bacon rashers.

Akuri- Masala Scrambled Eggs, The Parsi way..

4-6 Eggs
1/4 cup milk.
1 cup Tomatoes, Chopped
1 cup Onions, Chopped fine
Chillies
fresh Coriander, Chopped Fine
A sprig of curry leaves
Ginger Garlic Paste
Jeera powder
Turmeric
Chilli powder
Salt
oil

In a non stick frying pan heat oil and fry the onions on a medium flame till almost caremalised. Don't burn them. Add the tomatoes and the chillies, the sprig of curry leaves, a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste, half teaspoon each turmeric, chilli and jeera powders, mix well. Cook till tomatoes are cooked through and the oil is released. Lower the heat. Add salt and the chopped coriander and mix well.
In a cup or bowl beat the eggs and milk. Pour it slowly into the pan, stirring constantly till all is poured in. Keep the heat low or the Akuri will thicken too fast. Remove from heat when it comes to the consistency you like- loose and runny or firm or somewhere in between...
Serve with rotis, warmed Brun bread or with regular sliced bread.

Add a dollop of butter just before serving :)

Grilled Chicken Livers

This is what Hubby has requested I make this evening to have with drinks...
Its an extremely simple recipe, practically cooks itself...and with delicious results.

Chicken livers, cleaned.
Cajun seasoning
salt
neutral oil

Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning liberally over the chicken livers and let it marinate for a while. Add salt too.
Heat some oil in a non stick pan and fry the livers quickly over a high flame. Reduce heat after a minute and let it cook further. Don't cover, let the moisture evaporate while cooking. Once the livers have turned pink inside, they're done.
Serve in a pretty platter with toothpicks and napkins.

In case you don't have Cajun seasoning, make a mix of some fried garlic, chilli flakes, a little pepper, salt and you get quite ggod results using this combination too.

Sorse Ilish or Ilish in Mustard Sauce

We were at the fish shop this morning and I chanced upon a small Ilish, all silver and glistening. We have friends coming home for dinner tonight so I snapped it up. As soon as I got home I called up my mum and asked her how to cook this Bengali classic dish.

Here is what I did-

Sliced Ilish pieces, washed.
3 green chillies
Mustard paste
mustard oil
kalonji seeds
salt
turmeric
Fresh coriander leaves.

Wash the fish pieces and coat with salt and turmeric. Keep aside. Heat the mustard oil in a kadai and drop in the green chillies and the kalonji seeds. Let them all splutter. Slide in the fish pieces and fry on a low flame. Be gentle as the fish tends to break. Pour in the mustard paste and some water. Let it cook covered for a few minutes till the fish is cooked through. Remove to your serving bowl. Pour a tablespoon of mustard oil on the dish and sprinkle with well washed fresh coriander leaves.
Serve with hot rice.



This is one of the very few recipes where neither ginger nor garlic paste, not even onions are used. It is an extremely simple recipe, ready in less than 15 minutes....but sublimely delicious to eat.

Chicken Salad with Home-made Honey Mustard Mayo

This divinely simple salad is what we had for dinner yesterday...thanks to my dear hubby..

We were both tired of the usual rice/roti/dal/subzi routine and I was a bit off the cooking wagon. So hubby volunteered..

The salad is quite simple-

Take a cup each of cubed carrots, potatoes and medium cut french beans, all boiled but firm. Boil them separately. Cool and combine in a bowl.

Boil some chicken with salt and pepper. Once cooled, chop into small cubes or strips. Add to the veggies.

For the mayo-

Crack two eggs in your blender, add a tablespoon of honey, a good squeeze of mustard, a pinch of salt, two tbsp vinegar, some pepper and start blending with a thin stream of neutral oil. About a cup or a bit more is what you'll require.
Once the mayo is done, add as much as required to the salad and refrigerate the rest in a closed container.

Mix the salad and add a dash or two of tabasco for a bit of bite.

Serve the salad absolutely chilled.

Of course you can add other veggies to the salad- beetroot, cucumbers, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, whatever you fancy. Of course ham, salami, chopped boiled eggs will work wonderfully well too. Hubby used what we had at home.. The true joy of the salad of course was in the mayo- not your generic store bought variety but home-made and absolutely delicious and simple.

Hubby's tip- use chicken leg meat, preferably as breast meat tends to dry out and taste stringy.

As usual it was polished off before I could take a picture...

Mangsho'r Jhol or Bengali Mutton Curry

Didin is what I called my maternal Grand mom. And like most of us do, I loved her immensely!! All holidays as a child were spent at the big rambling house in Calcutta being spoilt silly by her and a myriad aunts, uncles and other relatives. We (my brother and I) would descend upon them every summer and rampage around their houses for a full 2 and a half months till summer ended and the new school year beckoned…

One of the ‘tastes’ of these holidays were ‘Mangsho’r jhol’ or mutton stew eaten with plain hot rice. This was my absolute favorite and was made every three or four days, or at least once a week if I remember correctly. Chicken was not on the menu very often. Bengalis prefer mutton.

The mutton would be bought from a particular shop, and the butcher would be given a severe warning- the grandchildren are visiting, so make sure you give tender mutton that they will be able to eat easily, not an old animal which will make their jaws ache from chewing and chewing!!

I would be excited waiting in anticipation, hovering near the kitchen, watching to see how far the cooking had progressed. Very often Didin would give us a small bowl of the Jhol with a piece or two of mutton and a nice piece of potato to ‘taste’ and then verify that it was quite alright … how I miss her indulgent love..

Here’s how Mangsho’r jhol was made in Didin’s house.

1 kg tender kid
2 large onions, sliced fine
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces.
4 carrots, peeled and cut into thick sticks or large cylinders.
100 gms, fresh curd
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Turmeric, chilli , coriander and cumin powders
Salt
Whole garam masala- cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise,
Mustard oil

Wash the meat and drain excess water. Don’t wash too much, just a quick rinse. Take a clean vessel and put in the meat to marinate. Add the fresh curd, ginger garlic paste, powdered spices, salt and mix thoroughly. Make sure the meat is well coated in the marinade. Let it marinate in the fridge for a good 3 or four hours.

In a pressure cooker heat the mustard oil till it just smokes. Reduce the flame and fry the potatoes till golden, infact even a dark brown… remove to a plate.




Then put in the whole spices. Increase heat if required. Stir for a minute till the aromas are released and then add the sliced onions. Stir well so the onions don’t burn. Let them fry on a low flame till they turn brown. You must keep an eye on them. Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar and mix well to let them caramelize.

Add the marinated mutton to the onions and mix well. Let it fry for about 10 minutes turning and stirring every 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining marinade if any is left in the bowl. Mix thoroughly. Once the meat has changed colour evenly, add the potatoes, carrots and a cup and a half of water. Use your judgment - there shouldn’t be too much water or the gravy will be thin and watery. Shut the pressure cooker and let it cook on a high flame. At the first ‘whistle’ simmer down the heat and let the mutton cook under pressure for 10 minutes by the clock. Once you have switched it off, let the cooker cool completely before opening.

Your mangsho’r jhol is ready to serve. It tastes great with rice and also with plain parathas.

Traditional Dhansakh

Dhansaakh

(Dhaan + Shak or Rice + Cooked Vegetables)
The name dhansakh implies rice eaten with the famous daal cooked with veggies in it. The rice is not plain white steamed rice but is a rich caramelized rice, cooked with a mix of whole spices. The daal of course is famous..

So here’s how the two are made-

For the rice-

Good quality Basmati rice, washed
whole spices- Bay leaves, cassia Bark, Cloves, pepper corns, Black cardamom (elcha), Star Anise, Javitri (mace)
Sugar

In a pan make caramel with the sugar. About 1 tbsp of sugar for a cup of rice. Add a cup of water to the caramel moments before it burns. Take off the heat and keep aside. You want a liquid, not thick hard caramel.

Make rice as usual adding the caramel water and whole spices, salt (optional)and a tablespoon of oil or ghee. The rice should be brownish in colour.

Garnish with long fried onions.

The Daal

masoor daal
Tuvar daal
Red Pumpkin
Brinjals, small pink ones
spring onions
baby methi sprouts
tomatoes
Curry leaves
Dhansakh masala powder
turmeric
Salt
Ghee
Kairi Sambhar powder (not south Indian sambar masala) Available at Motilal masala, Grant rd, East, available under the Mangal brand.


Wash equal quantities of both daals, about a cup each. Add chopped pumpkin (200gm), brinjals (200gm), spring onions (1/2 bunch), one bunch methi sprouts, half a tsp of haldi, salt and pressure cook with enough water.
Once cooked, puree the whole thing.

In a kadai heat ghee and add the curry leaves and the masala powders, and fry. Add chopped tomatoes and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Smash up the tomatoes while cooking. Add the mashed daal puree to this and mix well. Add water if required. Let it come to a good rolling boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Traditionally dhansakh is made with mutton, though chicken is often used these days. To use either, marinate the meat in ginger-garlic paste, salt, and braise before pressure cooking along with the daals and veggies. (Remove before pureeing). Alternatively you can cook the meat separately and add to the cooked daal/veggie puree later. But the first way tastes far better!

Dhansakh is not a celebration dish, contrary to popular belief. Traditionally dhansakh is served on the fourth day after a funeral.
Of course, it is not restricted to such sombre occasions and is often on the menu for a family Sunday lunch :)

Parsi New Year and a lot of food....

We're just recovering from a very hectic week indeed. There were 3 important days of the Parsi calendar- Pateti, Navroze and Khordad Saal. All are celebrated with enthusiasm and of course, food!
Pateti is the last day of the Parsi calendar. A lot of people mistake it to be the New Year day. It is, in fact, a slightly solemn day, the last day of the year. One reflects on the year past, thinks about what one has done in that time and looks back in penitence over the mistakes made, the sins committed and promises to do better in the forthcoming New Year. The day is also full of hope for the coming New Year, so it is sombre and hopeful, sad and happy together.
The menu this year for Pateti was-

Russian Pattice
Patra ni Machhi
Pisela Badam Darakh ma Marghi
Mutton Pullao with Dhansakh Daal
Lagan nu Custard


Navroze is New Year's day...a joyful and hopeful day looking forward to a brand new year. As is done in all commuities, Navroze is celebrated with much celebration and plenty of good sumptuous food.

The Menu this Navroze was-

Bheja Cutlets
Sahs ni Machchhi
Chicken Mhaiwahlan
Sali Jardaloo Mutton
Prawn Pullao with Dhansakh Daal
Lagan Custard

The 6th day of theNew Year is Khordad Saal, or the Prophet's Birthday.

We had-

Mutton Cutlets with gravy
Baked Fish Florentine
Coq au vin
Paella or Spanish rice
Chocolate Mousse.

For the Vegetarians, yes, Parsis do eat vegetarian food (!!), there was-

Vegetable Cutlets
lagan nu Istew
Paneer Makkhanwala
Vegetable Pullao with Dhansakh Daal.

The recipes will follow soon..

Since work was insanely hectic I didn't get a chance to take any pictures.

Potato and Green Pea Samosas or a Lesson in Kitchen Geometry

These are my hubby's favorites. He loves them over any shop bought samosa, even the non-veg ones :)
I make them rarely as both he and I are struggling with being fat!!
But anyway, they're quite easy to make, I think. And they're delicious!!

maida
a little ghee
a pinch of salt
water

Potatoes, boiled and peeled. mashed roughly.
green peas
salt
turmeric
jeera
chilli powder
oil

To make the dough for the samosas mix the maida with the other ingredients till you get a smooth and soft dough. It shouldn't be very soft as it will turn sticky. You can also add some wheat flour for a healthier and quite tasty variation. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

For the filling, heat a little oil in a kadai. Sizzle the jeera and then add the potatoes. Add the spices and salt and mix well. Add in the boiled green peas if using fresh ones or thawed peas if using frozen ones. Mix well and let it cool.

To make the samosas, take a largeish lemon sized ball of dough. Flatten a bit on your board and roll out a small disc. Fold in half to make a half-moon. Roll out to elongate the semi circle and then join the two 'points' and fold. You'll get a rough triangle. Roll it further to make a larger triangle, about 6 inches on each side.



Put some of the filling in the centre and bring two points of the triangle together. Pinch along the sides to seal. Pick up the third point and shut the samosa. You should get a 4 sided pyramid.
Make up the samosas.



Heat oil in a deep wok and fry the samosas two or three at a time.



Serve hot with a chutney or tomato ketchup.

Note: I have no pictures of the samosas after they were fried...err, we forgot. We ate them to soon, too fast!!! But I'm sure you all understand :) :)

Tarela Boomla - If you're Parsi you gotta love these!!!

Every monsoon my family (the in laws side) goes crazy with yearnings for Bombay Ducks or 'Boomlas'. These small longish 'gel-like' fish are a gastronome's delight and a gourmand like me's heaven :). I can, with pride, out eat anyone in the family where these babies are concerned!! Boomlas are a no-fuss fish. The best way to have them is fresh, deep fried, hot off the pan with some flavourful fresh-squeezed lemon juice. MMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Here's how I make them.

20 fresh Bombay Ducks, cleaned.
salt/turmeric/chilli powder
Chana atta/besan/chick pea flour
Oil to deep fry in.
Fresh limes to serve with.

Marinate the ducks in salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Use salt sparingly as the boomlas are naturally salty. Be sure to drain off any excess water after washing the fish or the marinade becomes watery and falls off the fish.

In a flat plate or on newspaper spread the chick pea flour and roll each fish individually, pressing a bit to coat well.



Heat any neutral oil in a large flat pan. Let the oil heat up well and then fry the fish till golden. regulate the heat so you don't burn the outside. Turn the fish and cook the other side too. Be gentle when turning as the fish is delicate and might break.



Serve immediately with lemon wedges and INSIST that they are eaten hot!!



They are just delicious!! You can make simple daal and rice to go with them. I eat them with no distractions!!

Simply Delicious Shortbread

This is a recipe I have used time and again.. it is from The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits (Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook Series). It's an easy recipe and suitable for vegetarians too.

Here goes!!

You will need 250gms butter, softened.
2 tbsp rice flour/ground rice
2/3 cup icing sugar
2 cups plain flour.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Rub the butter into the mix. Turn out on to a lightly floured board or table top and knead untill smooth.

Grease a 9x9 baking tin and press the dough into the pan. Level the top with a spatula. mark squared with a blunt knife and poke lightly with the tines of a fork.

Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes at approx 170 C.
Cut while warm and let it cool after. Cut and serve with coffee. Store in an air tight tin, of course..