G : TOMATO-MUSTARD BRINJAL

QUANTITY :

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS :

Brinjals, large, 2 whole (cubed)

Mustard seeds, 1 ½ tbsp

Onions, 1 large (chopped)

Ginger ½ inch (chopped)

Tomatoes , 1 medium (chopped)

Turmeric Powder, ½ tsp

Coriander Powder, ½ tsp

Red chilli powder, ½ tsp

Salt ( adjust to taste)

Oil - 3 tbsp

METHOD :

Soak mustard seeds in ½ cup water for 1 hour. Discard the water and make a paste of mustard seeds, ginger and 2 tbsp water.

Heat oil, add chopped onions and sauté well.

Next add the mustard-ginger paste and fry well.

Add tomatoes and sauté well till tender.

Add brinjal/eggplant to it and mix well. Reduce heat.

Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder to it and sauté well.

Cover and cook, stirring frequently, till the brinjal becomes tender.

Check the seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Serve hot with rice or chappatis/rotis.

G : DOODH LAU (SQUASH WITH MILK)

This is usually considered a very healthy dish in summer in West Bengal because of the few spices it involves, the high water content of squash and the fact that the medium of cooking is less of oil and more of milk, which as you know, always provides a sense of satisfaction to health freaks like me. The best part is that you don't have to compromise on taste !

QUANTITY :

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS :

Squash/lau/lauki, 3 medium-sized (cubed)

Paanch phoron (5 spices), 1 tbsp

Whole dried red chili, 1

Milk, 1/2 cup

Flour, 3 tbsp

Salt, adjust to taste

Sugar, adjust to taste

Oil, 2 tbsp

METHOD :

Heat oil, add paanch phoron (5 spices) and red chili. Allow to splutter.

Add squash in instalments, stir-frying all the while.

Mixing well with spices, fry for several minutes till tender and watery.

Introduce the flour, mix briskly to prevent the formation of lumps.

Season with salt and sugar.

Add milk, bring to boil, stir frequently.

Once the water reduces slightly, reduce the heat and cover.

Cook on low heat, stirring often, till the desired consistency of gravy is attained.

Serve hot with rice or chappatis.

G : BREAD POHA

QUANTITY :

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS :

Bread, 10 slices (crumbled with fingers)

Onion, 1 medium (finely chopped)

Tomato, i medium (finely chopped)

Peas, 1/4 cup (fresh)

Yogurt/curd, 1/4 cup (beaten)

Mustard seeds, 1 tsp

Curry leaves, a handful

Salt, adjust to taste

Sugar, adjust to taste

Black pepper powder, adjust to taste

Turmeric powder, 1/3 tsp

Oil, 4-5 tsp

METHOD :

Heat oil.

Add mustard seeds and curry leaves, allow to splutter.

Add onion, stir till golden brown.
When onion is almost done (looks glassy and soft), add tomatoes.

Next, adding peas and sprinkling a little sugar, cover for 2-3 mins so that peas are cooked.

Add crumbled bread to fried vegetables.

Add turmeric and stir well.

Season with salt and pepper.

Turn over poha lightly and cover on low gas for 5 mins.

Add curd and mix poha well so that all bread slices are covered with curd.

Lightly saute for 1-2 mins.

Remove from gas and keep covered for a few mins.

Serve hot for breakfast or as an evening snack.

TIPS :

You can leave out the yogurt altogether, substituting with a few drops of lemon juice.

G : PALAK PANEER

This time, I was a bit apprehensive since :

1) K has begun to entertain high hopes from me, especially when it comes to paneer-based preparations.

2) I'd heard that palak or palong shaak recipes are usually tricky. If they come out well, you are lucky. If they don't, you'll have to eat it all by yourself.

3) I was trying to effect a mix-and-match of 2 net recipes.

Well, since it was obviously my lucky day, I dare to divulge my own take on the net recipes :

QUANTITY :

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS :

Spinach/palak/palong shaak ( 1 or 2 bunches)
Paneer cubes (500 g)
Onion (1 medium)
Tomato (1 medium)
Green chilli (quantity according to taste, 1 would do)
Salt (to taste)
Kasoori methi (a pinch)
Ginger-Garlic paste (1 tbsp each)
Coriander powder (a pinch)
Cumin powder (a pinch)
Oil

METHOD :

Pluck the spinach leaves, wash and boil them.
Puree the boiled spinach.
Puree onions and tomato separately.
Fry the paneer cubes till golden. Retain the oil.

Keep the paneer cubes immersed in mildly hot, salted water for about 20 mins.

Heat oil.
Add kasoori methi and onion paste.
Add ginger-garlic paste.
Add the pureed tomato
Add the pureed spinach.
Add salt, coriander powder and cumin powder.
Add green chilli.
Add a little water, cover and cook for 5-8 minutes.
Add the drained paneer cubes, cover and cook till tender.

TIPS :

Do not fry kasoori methi for too long, as it tends to impart a bitter taste to the dish.

Add a little flour dissolved in whole milk (for a richer, creamier gravy).

Adjust the water added according to preferred consistency of the gravy.

Bon appetit !

G : BLUEBERRY VANILLA CAKE

I shall ever remain indebted for this recipe to Moumita. It not only remains special to me because it was the first cake I baked, but also because it was the first thing I had ever baked. Some recipes are vague and leave a lot for the cook to be puzzled over or spend hours figuring out, but her ingredients were in the exact proportion needed to produce a perfect, rich cake. Moreover, it turned out so perfect at the very first attempt that I had to pinch myself to find out whether I might incidentally be dreaming !

INGREDIENTS :

Butter, 1/2 cup

Sugar, 1 1/4 cup

Eggs, 2

Flour, 2 cups

Baking powder, 1 tbsp

Salt, 1 tsp

Milk, 3/4 cup

Vanilla, 1 tsp

Fresh blueberries, 1/2 cup

METHOD :

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy in a bowl.

Add the eggs and beat the mixture well.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Add the flour mixture slowly to egg- butter mixture, beating well.

Then add the milk and vanilla.

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F.

Fill the mixture in a greased, floured baking pan .

Sprinkle the blueberries with flour and scatter them on the surface of the cake mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 35 mins until cake springs back when lightly touched near center.

TIPS :

You can replace the blueberries with other items like cherries or nuts or pineapples or strawberries. I even use fruits from jams, which worked out quite well too.

Last words :

Sudeshna Di gave me a huge surprise by first asking me to email the details of the recipe to her, and then actually getting it published in The Telegraph, Kolkata (Salt Lake supplement) for me. I had absolutely no idea what she was upto, so you can imagine how speechless I was when my mother and sister congratulated me !

The scanned article (from The Telegraph) :

G : GINGER CHICKEN

QUANTITY :

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS :

1 three-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (about 1/2 cup)

Canola oil , 2 tablespoons

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 1/2 pounds (cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks)

Onion, 1 large (thinly sliced)

Garlic, 2 cloves (minced)

Soy sauce, 1/4 cup

White vinegar, 2 tablespoons

Sugar, 2 tablespoons

Scallions/green onions (pneyajkoli), 1/2 cup (sliced into fine rings and steamed or fried)

METHOD :

Soak ginger in cold water 10 minutes; drain.

Heat oil in a skillet over high heat.

Brown chicken in batches, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

In same skillet over medium heat, cook ginger, onion, and garlic, stirring until browned, 7 to 8 mins.

Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.

Cook over high heat until thick, 3 to 4 mins.

Add chicken; cook till tender.

Stir in scallions/green onions.

Remove from heat.

Serve with noodles, rice or rotis/chappatis.

STUFFED MASALA BRINJAL

QUANTITY :

Serves 5

INGREDIENTS :

Brinjals, 10 (choose fresh and small ones)
Tomatoes, 1 large (finely chopped)
Onions, 1 large
Chilli powder, 1 tsp
Green chilli, adjust to taste
Oil, 6 tsp
Mustard seeds, ¼ tsp (whole)
Cumin (jeera), ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder, ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves-, 2 tsp (finely chopped)

Stuffing mixture :

Peanuts/cashew nuts, 6 tsp
Coconut, 2 tsp (grated)
Ginger-garlic paste, 2 tsp
Garam masala, 1tsp
Salt to taste

METHOD :

Wash the brinjals without removing the stem. Slit them vertically and horizontally like a plus sign (starting from the other end of the stem) without breaking them into halves.


Grind the ingredients to a fine paste.. Stuff the paste into the brinjal slits.

Heat oil.

Add mustard seeds and jeera.

When the former begin to splutter, add onions and green chillies.

Saute till well mixed and then add the brinjals and the remaining paste.

Fry for some time and add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and half a cup of water.

Cook covered on low flame and keep stirring gently every 5 minutes, taking care not to smash the brinjals.

This takes a long time ( almost 30 minutes) to cook.

Remove from heat when brinjals are tender and when the oil begins to separate out.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice/ rotis.

G : JEERA PANEER

This one's a legacy from Ma, the fate of whose dishes depends invariably on her moods. But it seems she was in a good mood when she bequeathed this gem to me, for it turned out amazingly well, the very first time I tried it out. Actually, K's college batchmate Prasenjit and his wife Gopa, who had recently moved from Michigan to New Jersey, were expected for dinner one evening. The menu was simple : chicken biriyani, chilli prawn, chilli paneer and icecream. K went out in the evening to buy a couple of things and enquired whether I needed anything, to which I offered a confident negative. However, the moment I started making preparations for the paneer (everything else had been cooked by then), I was annoyed to discover that we were out of soya sauce. This recipe saved the day, especially since I'm not the type to try out my culinary experiments on my guests. I suggest you don't do it either, unless you're really out to scare away your friends !


QUANTITY :

Serves 4


INGREDIENTS :

Paneer 500 gm.
Capsicum/bell-pepper, 1 whole, thinly sliced
Ginger, 1 tbsp
Cumin (whole, roasted and grinded), 1 tbsp
Cumin Powder, 1 tsp
Black pepper, adjust to taste
Salt, adjust to taste
Sugar, 1 tbsp
Milk, 1 cup.
Garam Masala, 1 pinch
Oil

METHOD :

Heat oil. Fry paneer cubes till golden. Retain the oil.
Keep the paneer immersed in mildly hot, salted water for about 20 mins.
Re-heat the oil.
Fry capsicum/bell-pepper at low heat till soft.
Add roasted cumin.
Stir till well mixed.
Add ginger and cumin powder.
Stir well at low heat till well mixed.
Add milk slowly, while stirring.
Allow milk to boil for 5 mins or until concentrated.
Add salt, sugar and green chilli.
Cook on low heat till the gravy is thick in consistency.
Add drained, pre-fried paneer.
Cook uncovered for 5-7 mins.
Add garam masala and pepper.
Remove from heat when paneer is soft and well cooked.


The best part about this dish is how fast you can usher it up in...which is nominal !

G : CREAMED MIXED VEGETABLES

I've been trying to experiment with a simple mixed veggies preparation for quite some time now and this one's come up trumps each time, so I thought I'd share it with all you guys. Here's the recipe :

QUANTITY :

Serves 4



INGREDIENTS :

Butter/Margarine – 3 tbsp
Flour – a pinch
Milk – half a cup
Table Cream/Sour Cream/Plain yoghurt – 1 tbsp
Onion -1 medium, finely chopped
Potato -2 large, cubed
Salt – adjust to taste
Sugar – adjust to taste
Crushed Black Pepper Flakes – 1 tsp

A big serving bowl of mixed vegetables:

E.g. Tomato – finely diced
Capsicum –finely diced/cut into thin strips
Beans – finely sliced
Carrots –finely sliced
Mushroom – finely sliced
Corn
Peas


METHOD :


Boil potatoes for about 10 min. Keep aside.

Heat butter on low flame till frothy.

Add a pinch of flour and stir immediately to prevent lumps from forming.

Add onions and increase the heat to medium. Stir often.

Add boiled potatoes. Stir well and often till mixture is fragrant.

Add milk and stir well and often.

Season with salt, pepper and sugar.

Add tomato and capsicum.

Keep stirring till well mixed and you can smell the cooked capsicum.

Add the rest of the vegetables. Decrease heat.

Cook alternately on high and low flame till the mixture emits water.

Add the cream/yoghurt and stir thoroughly.

Remove when you have enough gravy and all the vegetables are tender.



TIPS :


To dilute the preparation or re-heat, add a little milk.

To concentrate gravy, add a pinch of flour and/or cream.

To add depth and flavour to the preparation, add paanch-phoron (Indian 5 spices) to heated butter.


Have fun !