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KHICHURI Recipe
(Bengali style "Khichdi")
All that you need:
• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1/2 cup yellow moong dal
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3/4 tsp ginger paste
• salt to taste
• ghee
Spices -
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
Vegetables -
• 1/4 cauliflower (about 6-8 flowerettes)
• 4 baby potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
• 1/2 cup peas
(or carrots, beans, bell peppers etc.)
Paste -
• 3 green cardamoms, peeled
• 1 small piece of cinnamon
• 2 cloves
Procedure:
Roast moong dal on low heat until golden. It will take about 5-6 minutes and
the aroma is hard to miss. Let cool. Grind the
ingredients for the paste with half to one teaspoon of water. This can be difficult
in a coffee grinder or blender so powder them in a mortar beforehand then mix
with water. Wash dal and drain in a colander. Wash rice till water runs clear
then drain in a colander. Heat oil in a deep saucepan till hot. Add bay leaves
and cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add ginger garlic paste. Stir. Add dal, rice,
vegetables and spice powders. Mix well. Season to taste. Add 2 1/2 cups of water
and stir once. Bring to a boil on high heat. Cover with lid, lower heat and
cook until done. Add more water if necessary. When rice and dal are cooked (not
mushy), add the paste and 1-2 teaspoons of ghee. Mix well and serve hot. Khichuri
is served with fried (coated) eggplant, cauliflower, pumpkin, potato slices
or any fry (bhaja).
N.B. Style of cooking
Khichdi varies from region to region.
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CURD RICE Recipe
All that you need:
• 3 Cups plain curd
• 6 Cups cooked rice
• 1 Sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 2 Chopped green chillies
• 1 Chopped small ginger
• 2 tsp Chopped coriander leaves
• 1 Dry red chilli
• 1 tbsp Cooking oil
• Pinch of hing
• Salt to taste
Procedure:
Mix chopped ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt with curd. Take
Rice and add the mixture into it. Again mix thoroughly. Put dry red chillies,
mustard, curry leaves and hing for flavor. Curd rice is ready. Serve it with
any pickle.
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ARISELU Recipe
All that you need:
• 1/4 Cup sesame seeds
• 1 kg Rice
• 3/4 kg Jaggery
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
• Oil for deep-frying
• 1 Cup water
Procedure:
Wash the rice and soak it for about 6 hours. Drain the water and keep the rice
on a cloth for drying. Make fine powder by grinding it in a mixie. Shred the
jaggery and put it in a pan. Add water to the jaggery and dissolve it by boiling.
Make thick syrup of this mixture on low flame. Gradually add ground rice to
it and stir constantly. There should not be any lump formation. Remove the pan
from fire. Prepare balls out of this mixture. Press the balls on a plastic sheet
to shape them in the form of round puris. Roll the puris lightly in the sesame
seeds. Heat oil in another pan. Deep-fry these puris on low flame till dark
brown. Ariselu is ready!
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PAYESH Recipe
(Bengali style "kheer": flavoured rice cooked in flavoured, condensed milk)
All that you need:
• 200 gms Rice
• 2 Litres milk
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
• 200 gms Soft jaggery
• 2 tbsp Chopped pistachios
• 2 tbsp Chopped almonds
• 6 Strands of kesar
Procedure:
Wash 200 gms rice and leave it for drying. Boil the milk for about 15 minutes.
Add rice. Cook till rice is well done and milk becomes thick. Add cardamom powder,
kesar and nutmeg powder. Add jaggery now. Stir till jaggery melts. Take out
from the fire. Garnish with chopped almonds and pistachios. Payesh is ready.
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PESARATTU Recipe
All that you need:
• 1 Cup green gram pulse
• 3 Finely chopped onions
• 1 Cumin seeds
• 3 Green chillies
• 3 Red chillies
• Coriander leaves
Procedure:
Soak green gram pulses for about 4 hours. Wash them and grind to make smooth
paste along with the chillies. Chop the onions and add it to the paste. Add
chopped coriander leaves and salt. Put on a griddle. Give it the shape of round
pancake. Sprinkle little oil on its sides and cook it. Turn over and cook again.
Serve it hot with coconut chutney or jaggery.
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SWEET PONGAL Recipe
All that you need:
• 1 Cup rice
• 1/3 Cup green gram dal
• 1 1/2 Cups powdered jaggery
• 1/2 Cup water
• 1 tbsp Cashewnuts
• 1/4 Cup pure ghee
• 1 tbsp Raisins
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
Procedure:
Roast gram dhal in a pan till it turns light brown. Wash roasted dhal along
with rice. Put it into a container for pressure-cooking with 4'/2 cups of water
for about 10 minutes Completely dissolve jaggery in half cup of water in a shallow
pan. Remove the dirt by straining it and heat once again until you achieve one
string consistency. Now mix cooked pongal into it and keep on a medium flame
for few minutes. Remove the mixture from the flame. Fry cashewnuts and raisins
separately in ghee. Mix it to the pongal and add cardamom powder. Sweet Pongal
is ready to serve.
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TIL BURFI Recipe
All that you need:
• 1 Cup til (sesame seeds)
• 1 Can condensed milk
• 1/2 Stick butter
• 1 Cup milk powder
Procedure:
Roast the sesame seeds. Grind them coarsely in a blender. Mix all the ingredients
along with ground sesame seeds in a glass dish. Microwave the mixture for about
3 minutes. Grease a tray with butter and leave aside. Stir the mixture properly
and microwave again for 3 minutes. Remove it when bubbling starts. Stir till
it becomes thick. Spread the mixture on greased tray. Cut in squares when cool.
Til Burfi is ready.
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TIL LADDU Recipe
All that you need:
• 1 Cup til (sesame seeds)
• 2 Cups jaggery
• 1/2 Cup peanuts
• 4 tsp Ghee
Procedure:
Roast the til dry till it turns slightly brown. Also dry roast the peanuts.
Make powder of both ingredients. Heat the kadhai for 5 minutes. Put jaggery
in hot kadhai and mix well till it melts. Now add ghee and the powder. Mix well.
Make laddus from it immediately. Til laddus are ready.
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TIL PAPDI Recipe
All that you need:
• 200 gms White sesame seeds
• 5 Pistachios, thinly sliced
• 150 gms Sugar
Procedure:
Roast sesame seeds lightly and leave aside. Melt sugar in a small pan. Add roasted
sesame seeds and mix well. Keep this pan in a large bowl of hot water. Take
small portion of this mixture at a time. Make it flat with the help of a rolling
pin. Sprinkle with few slices of pista on top. Roll quickly. You can smear rolling
pin, palms and work surface slightly. Transfer the role to a clean plastic sheet.
Allow it to cool. Separate the papdis with squares of plastic. Cool and place
in an airtight container.
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KAJJI KAAYALU Recipe
All that you need:
• 100 gms 'endu kobbari koru'/ grated dry coconut
• 75 gms jaggery / sugar (powdered)
• 8 to 10 cardomoms peeled and powdered
• 1 tsp khus khus
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 25 gms roasted cashew nuts
• 10 grms raisins
• 2 tbsps roasted groundnuts
• Oil to fry
• 150 gms maida
• 1 tsp ghee (neyyi)
Procedure:
Add melted ghee to maida and mix well. Make dough of it adding enough water
and leave it covered for an hour. Mix all the filling ingredients and set aside.
Knead the dough and make it into small lime size balls. Roll them like 'poories'
- thin, flat and round. Place one and a half tablespoons of the prepared filling
on the left side of the 'poorie' and fold the other side over and press the
ends together securely. You may cut the edge with the serrated edge of a knife
or with the other end of a spoon to make it look decorative. Repeat the procedure
till the filling is over. Heat oil in a thick pan / wok and fry two or three
at a time till golden brown and remove. Stored in air tight containers they
easily last for a couple of weeks.
N.B. If the edge is not closed firmly,
the kajji kaayi may break open while frying and the contents of the filling
spill into the oil, thereby creating a mess. To secure the ends firmly dip your
forefinger in water and run it lightly on the inner part of the poorie's edge
before folding it together. Variation The filling can vary. In place of grated
dry coconut roasted and powdered sesame seeds or `kova' may be used along with
a blend of sliced cashew, almonds, dates, walnuts and raisins, all of which
are quite delicious.
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BANDARU LADOO Recipe
All that you need:
• 250 gms 'senaga pindi' / Bengal gram flour
• 250 gms sugar
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• Oil to fry
• 50 gms cashew nuts fried in a tbsp ghee
Procedure:
Heat 4 tb spoons of oil and add it to
'senaga pindi'. Mix well with hand and knead it into dough using water. It should
not be too soft or too hard. The consistency should be like that of poori dough.
Place the disc with medium size holes in the muruku press. Fill it with dough
leaving space to place the upper part of the press. Heat the oil and carefully
press the dough, like spirals and without overlapping, directly into the oil,
keeping the bottom of the press 2 inches away from the oil. Take proper care
that the hot fumes of oil does not reach your hands. Turn it over and remove
when golden brown. Drain the oil and repeat the procedure till the dough is
over. Powder them in a blender, measure and set aside. Take equal measure of
sugar and make light syrup / 'letha paakam'. Add the powdered spirals, cardamom
powder and the cashew nuts to it and mix well. Turn off the flame and make big
lime size balls of it by smearing ghee to your palms.
N.B. There is simple and easy way
of doing it (provided there is no connoisseur in the family) for those who do
not have the muruku press or time and patience. Powder sugar in a blender, fry
`senaga pindi' lightly in 2 tbsps of ghee and mix them along with the roasted
cashew nuts and cardamom powder. Add a little more ghee for consistency while
making the laddus.
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PAATISHAPTA Recipe
All that you need:
For the batter
• 200 gm rice flour
• 50 gm sugar
• 150 ml milk
For the filling
• 200 gm coconut, grated
• ½ lt milk
• 100 gm khoya kheer (dehydrated/condensed milk)
• 200 gm khejur gur (date palm jaggery)
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
Procedure:
For the filling,
m
Mix all the ingredients and cook in a pan till it thickens. Allow it to cool.
For the batter,
Mix rice flour, milk and sugar and make a batter of medium consistency, adding
some water if required. On a non-stick frying pan, pour a ladle full of batter
and spread evenly to form a thin pancake. Now take a small portion of the filling
prepared above, place on one corner of the pancake and roll it to form the Bengal's
famous patishapta.
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