Corn and spinach au gratin

Corn and spinach au gratin

Ingredients: 

1 cup spinach chopped (palak)
1 cup sweet corn kernels 
2 pods garlic 
1 onion 
2 tsp olive oil 
1/2 tsp pepper powder 
1/2 tsp oregano powder 
Salt for taste
3/4 cup mozzarella Cheese 

For white sauce:

4 tbsp all purpose flour (Maida)
4 tbsp butter
3 cups milk 

Method

1. To make white sauce - Dilute the maida in milk and mix it thoroughly without lumps. Melt the butter in a pan. Simmer the stove, pour in the diluted milk mixture and stir Continuously until the sauce thickens. Finally add salt and mix well.
2. Chop onion and garlic finely. Steam the corn and remove kernels.
3. Heat olive oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and garlic and saute till they turn light brown.
4. Add the chopped spinach and corn and cook on medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper and oregano and mix well. Now add the white sauce and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Transfer this to a baking dish and sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top and grill in an oven till the cheese melts down.
6. Serve hot and enjoy eating.

Sama and potato patties

Sama and potato patties

Ingredients:

 
1/2 cup sama/maraiyo/mordhan/varai
4 potatoes boiled
1.5 tsp green chilies chopped
1 tsp ginger chopped
3 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
1 tsp pepper powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1.5 tsp mango powder
Salt to taste
Cooking oil/ghee to shallow fry

Method

1. Add sama and 1 and 1/4 cup water in the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 3 whistles on medium heat.
2. When cooker cooled down completely then take out the cooked sama in a bowl and mash with a spoon and then let it come to room temperature.
3. Mix together grated potato,sama and all the ingredients and mash well.
4. (the proportion of cooked sama and boiled potato mixture should be almost same) Grease your palms and make patties of same size from the mixture.
5. Heat oil/ghee in a flat nonstick pan and shallow fry the patties on medium flame till they become golden and crisp from both the sides.
6. Drain on a paper napkin and serve hot.
7. Serving suggestions-serve with aam papad chutney, fruit and Nut chutney or any tangy dip of your choice.
8. Makes about 25 pieces

Wood apple rice

Wood apple rice

Ingredients: 

1 - wood apple/elephant apple
2 cups - cooked rice
1 tbsp - peanuts 
1 tsp - mustard seeds
1 tsp - chana dal 
1 tsp - urad dal
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
3-4 - green chillies 
3 - dried red chillies 
1 sprig - curry leaves 
1/8 tsp - asafoetida
Salt to taste
2 tbsp - oil 

Method

Break the wood apple and scoop out the pulp.
In a pan, cover the wood apple pulp with water and cook for 5 minutes.
Switch off the heat and after it cools grind into a paste.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal and peanuts.
Once they start to splutter, add the slit green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves and hing and fry for a minute.
Then add the turmeric powder and wood apple paste and fry for a couple of minutes.
Switch off the flame and add the cooked rice and salt.
Combine well and serve.

Thandai ice cream

Thandai ice cream


Ingredients: 

1 litre full fat milk
300g sugar
20g cornflour
300g cream
A few strands of saffron 

To be ground finely for the thandai flavouring
1/4 cup almonds
2 tbsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
2 tbsp Lucknowi saunf (fennel seeds)
1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
20 white peppercorns

Method

Dissolve the cornflour in 1/4 cup of cold milk. Keep aside.
Dissolve the saffron in 2 tbsp of warm milk. Keep aside.
Place the rest of the milk in a heavy bottomed pan and bring it to a boil.
Add the sugar and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the dissolved cornflour and simmer for another 5 minutes while stirring continuously, till it is of a coating consistency.
Remove from the fire and allow it to cool completely.
Add the thandai flavouring to the milk.
Strain the mixture through a sieve.
Add the cream and dissolved saffron to the milk mixture. Mix well.
Pour the mixture into a shallow freezer-proof dish and freeze till slushy.
Remove and whisk until smooth and creamy.
Freeze again until firm for about 4 to 6 hours.

Khoya - Kala Jamuns

Khoya - Kala Jamuns

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups -sugar
2 cups - khoya (available in indian stores)
3/4 cups - paneer (indian cottage cheese)
2 to 3 tbsp - plain flour
1/2 tsp - cardamom powder
milk to bind, approx 1 to 2 tbsp
4 cups - water
pinch - saffron
few drops - rose essence (optional)

Method

Grate the Khoya and Paneer and mix well.
Add the flour,cardamom powder and mash them all together till everything gets combined well.
For the store bought varities, a potato masher would be a great idea(!!).
If dry, add few drop of milk to bind them together.
Meanwhile prepare the sugar syrup. Combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil.
Simmer till the syrup reaches a single thread consistancy.
Add the saffron and the essence and stor well.(Dip the spoon in the syrup, take it out carefully (it wud be HOT), touch it with the tip of your forefinger to pick a drop of syrup.
Touch your forefinger with your thumb and pull apart slowly, to see how many threads are stretched between your finger and thumb.
When you get a single thread, switch off the heat)
Now make small balls, about the size of ping pong balls making sure the surface is smooth.
You can shape it into an oblong or just a round.
Heat Ghee -for deep frying - ( it tastes much better than jus vegetable oil and this is the authentic preparation),
drop a pinch of dough in it, and if it comes up immedietely, then lower the heat to a minimum and drop the balls in the ghee.
The trick is to keep the heat minimum and cook the balls for a long time till it gets dark.
If on high heat, the outer layer gets cooked faster but the insides remain uncooked.
Drop them in the syrup immedietely.
Usually when the temp is v low, the syrup starts becoming a solid mass soon, so keep it inside a preheated Oven to keep it in a liquid state.
Soak it for a while and you are ready to feast a Bengali special!.
Decorate it with dessicated coconut or nuts :)

Pizza with Indian spices

Pizza with Indian spices

Ingredients: 

3 tomatoes, chopped
2 capsicums, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped 
1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste 
1 small tin baked beans 
1 tsp. garam masala powder 
1/2 tsp. chilli powder 
1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped 
Oil as needed 
Salt to taste 
8 pizza base, readymade 
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated 
1/4 cup chilli garlic sauce

Method

Heat 3 tbsp. oil. Add onions. Stir fry.
Add capsicums and tomatoes and stir fry till tender.
Add powdered masalas and baked beans.
Add salt and coriander leaves.
Cover 8 pizza bases with the mixture.
Cover each with the cheese and dot with sauce.
Grill for 8 to 10 minutes and serve hot.

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Poha pakoda

Poha pakoda

Ingredients: 

2 cups - aval/poha 
3 - onions 
1 tsp - red chilli powder 
1 handful - coriander leaves, chopped 
4 - potatoes
Oil to deep fry
1 tbsp - maida/cornflour 
Salt as needed

Method

Cut the onions into fine pieces.
In a big bowl, add poha, onions, salt red chilli powder, maida and coriander leaves.
Mix it nicely.
Let this mixture sit for 1/2 an hour.
Meanwhile cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker up to 5-6 whistles.
When it is done, peel off the skin and allow it cool.
Now mash them nicely with the back of a fork and mix it well with the poha mixture.
Make it into small, tight balls.
Do not add any water to the mixture.
The water oozed out from the onions is enough to make balls.
Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying the pakoda balls.
When it is hot put the balls in batches and fry it till they turn golden brown.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup.