KAKHARU SAKRA (SOURY PUMPKIN)

Ingredients :

Pumpkin 250 gms
Oil 1 tbsp
Panchphuran 1 tsp
Dried red chilli 2
Curry leaves 7-8
Buttermilk / tamarind juice 2 cups
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Mustard paste 2 tsp
Rice powder 2 tsp

Method :

Chop the pumpkin into medium sizes and cook them in water. Heat oil in a pan. Add panchphuran, dried red chilli and curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds till the panchphuran pops. Add the cooked pumpkin to it. Saute for a min. Now add buttermilk / tamarind juice. Add turmeric powder, salt and mustard paste. Let it boil. Add rice powder mixed in water to the buttermilk / tamarind mixture. When the mixture becomes thick, serve it with rice.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

ARISA PITHA

Ingredients :

Rice powder 750 gms
Molassses (Gud) 500 gms
Sesame seeds 2 tsp
Aniseed (saunf) 1 tsp
Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Water ½ cup

Method :

Boil water in a pan. Add molasses (gud) to it. When the syrup becomes of a thread like consistency (you can check by pouring a drop between two fingers.When you press the fingers together and it leaves a thin string when opened, it’s done ). At this stage add 1 tbsp rice powder at a time and blend it well with the molasses. While mixing add the sesame seeds, aniseed and cardamom powder. Mix well. Let it cool for a while. Make small balls and flatten with palms to make like small puris. Heat a kadai and deep fry the puris on low flame. Serve it hot.

PN: It’s specially made during festivals. Goes well with kheer.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

KHUDMA

Ingredients :

Maida 1 cup
Kalajeera 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil as required (lukewarm to knead the dough) + to deep fry
Water as required to make the dough.

Method :

Take maida, kala jeera and salt in a bowl. Add lukewarm oil to it. 1 tbsp at a time and mix well. When you press the mixture in your palm and it retains it’s shape, that’s when you know it’s done. Now add as much water as required to make a dough. Make balls out of the dough. Roll each ball with a rolling pin and make a circle. It should be a thick one. Now make horizontal cuts all through with a knife .Then make vertical cuts. You would get a diamond shape. Deep fry them till golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and let it cool. Serve it with tea or as snacks along with shakes.

PN : You can store these in an airtight container for a week or two.
Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India.

BHENDI KHATA

Ingredients :

Ladiesfinger 250 gms
Oil 1 tbsp
Panchphutan 1tsp (mixture of 5 spices - jeera, meethi, sarson ,saunf & kala jeera)

Curry leaves 7-8
Tomato chopped 1 medium
Yogurt 1 cup
Water 1 cup
Mustard seeds 2 tsp
Green chilli 1
Gramflour / Rice powder 1 tsp
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves 1 tbsp (optional)

Method :

Chop ladiesfinger into small pieces. Heat oil in a wok. Add panchphuran and curry leaves. Let it pop. Then add tomatoes and sauté till it becomes soft. Mash it properly. Mix yogurt, water and mustard and green chilli paste. Whisk it well. Add gramflour / rice powder and whisk again for a few seconds. Add to the wok. Add turmeric powder and let it boil. When it starts boiling add the ladiesfinger, salt and let it boil again for 5 mins. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with plain rice.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

PODA PITHA (URAD DAL CAKE)

Ingredients :
Urad dal broken (Biri dali) 1 cup
Rice (Chaul) 2 cups
Bay leaves (Tejpatar) 3-4
Coconut chopped (nadia ) 50 gms
Mixed nuts 50 gms
Sugar (Chini) 2 tbsps
Salt (Luna) ½ tsp
Baking powder ½ tsp
Ghee 1 tbsp

Method :
Soak urad dal and rice in water for 5-6 hours. Grind it with water to make a fine batter. Add sugar, salt and baking powder and leave it to rest for 3-4 hours. Grease a microwave safe dish with ghee. Add bay leaves to the batter and mix well. Pour the batter onto the greased dish and sprinkle nuts and coconut on the top. Microwave it for 6 minutes or till done. When you insert a knife into the cake and it comes out clean, you can know that it’s done. Savour this as a breakfast or snack. This is healthy, quick to make and quite yummy.
PN : You can also bake this cake in an oven.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

MACH PURGA (Steamed small fish)

Ingredients :

Burji Mach (small fish) 200 gms
Yogurt 4 tbsp
Tomato 1 medium (chopped length wise)
Salt to taste
Turmeric ½ tsp
Mustard oil 2 tsp
Mustard seeds ½ tsp,Cumin seeds ½ tsp,Garlic cloves 5,Green chillies 2 (Blend it with water to make a paste)
Dhania patta (coriander leaves) 1 tsp chopped
Kari patta (curry leaves) 1 tsp

Method :

Add everything to the fish and mix well. Cook it for 4-5 mins and serve it hot with rice and dal. You can make it liquid or dry as you like according to your taste.Goes well with rice and dal.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

CHAT PATTA BHENDI (TANGY OKRA)

Ingredients:
10-15 Okra (bhendi) two inches long sliced
2 Onions (piyaj) chopped
2 Tomatoes (paatal ghantaa) chopped
1 Potato (aalu) two inches long sliced
2.5 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste (ada lesun bata)
¼ tsp Turmeric (haldi) powder
½ tsp Cumin (jeera) powder
½ tsp Coriander (dhania) powder
1 tsp Garam masala
¼ tsp Red Chili (lal marich) powder
2 tsp Sugar (chini)
Salt (nun) to taste
2 tsp Vegetable Oil (kheba tel)
{Coriander and mint leaves for garnishing (dhania aaru pudina patar sajaba lagi)}

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. When hot enough add the sliced onion and fry till light brown, add a pinch of salt .Later add ginger garlic paste to it and fry for 2 min. Add chopped tomatoes, haldi, jeera, dhania and red chilli powder. Then add sugar and salt as per your taste. Saute it for another 5 mins then add garam masala and cook for 1 min .Add long and sliced potatoes and ladies fingers and mix well .Cover it and cook for few minutes on medium flame.Don’t add water .When the potates are cooked properly garnish with coriander and mint leaves and serve it hot with rice or roti.

Contributed by : Kabitanjali Behera, Mahabirpada, Bhawanipatna .

AAM CHUTNEY (Mango Chutney)

Summer without mangoes are unheard of in India.Here i was lucky enough to get raw mangoes on my trip to the Indian shop last weekend.So today i made this easy,simple and quick mango chutney.Delicious and tangy chutney made me nostalgic.

Ingredients :
Green mango (Peeled and chopped into 2 inch squares) 1 small

Green chillies 2-3 (according to your taste)
Sugar 2-4 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method :
Blend the mango chunks, green chillies, salt and sugar.Mix well and serve with plain rice and toor dal (harad dali) or any tarkari (curry) of your choice.It adds a zing to even plain rice and dal.Simple and quick to make this is a wonderful side dish to relish in the summer.You can also use this chutney as a dip along with pakoras ,paneer tikkas, seekh kebab or with finger strips of cucumber,fried or baked potatoes.Try them and let me know your views.Enjoy it whenever you try them as much as i did.

Source : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Suji Halwa (Semolina sweet treat)

Ingredients :

Ghee 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp to be added at the end
Bay leaf 1 (optional)
Milk 2 cups
Semolina (suji) 1 cup
Sugar 4 tbsp
Nuts (almonds,raisins,pine nuts,cashewnuts) chopped 1 tbsp

Method :

Heat a pan.Add ghee.Check with a wooden spoon if it sizzles when dipped in ghee then add the bay leaf (optional). Saute for a second. Add semolina and fry till it turns light brown.Be careful not to burn it. Take it off the heat and keep aside in a plate. In the same pan pour milk and let it simmer on medium heat.Add sugar when the milk starts boiling and mix properly.Later add the semolina. It would soak all the milk after a min or two so add a little ghee at this stage. Take it off the pan.Garnish with nuts and serve hot.

Note : You can add elaichi powder while boiling the milk.Don’t add bay leaf if you want to use elaichi powder.Oil can be used instead of ghee.I prefer ghee as it lends a special aroma and enhances the taste of the dish too.You can increase or decrease the amount of the ingredients according to your preferences.

Lembu Bhat (Lemon Rice)

Ingredients :

Rice (boiled with salt added to it beforehand ) 1 cup
Butter 4 tbsp
Oil 1 tbsp
Kari patta 2 sprigs or about 8-10 leaves
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies broken 2
Urad dal 2 tbsp
Chana dal 1 tbsp
Capsicum (chopped fine) ½ of a big one
Turmeric powder 2 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 ½ tbsp
Nuts (almonds,pine nuts, cashewnuts) 2 tbsps (optional)

Method :

Heat a pan or kadai (a non-stick one is better).Add butter and oil (adding oil to the butter ensures that butter doesn’t get burnt). When hot add mustard seeds,kari patta and red chillies. Saute for a sec. Add the urad dal and chana dal. Saute till they turn light pink. Add capsicum and sauté till it turns soft. Add turmeric powder. Mix well. Add rice little by little and mix well. Make sure that each grain of rice gets coated with turmeric evenly. When all the rice grains are done add lemon juice mix well and serve hot after garnishing with the chopped nuts.

ALOO BHAJA (Fried potatoes)

Ingredients :

Potato 1 small (cut into round layers)
Besan (Gramflour)/ Rice powder 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Jeera powder ½ tsp (optional)
Water as required
Oil to deep fry

Method :
Make a batter of besan / rice powder, salt, turmeric powder and jeera powder with water. The batter should be thick enough to coat the potatoes thinly. Heat oil in a wok or kadahi and deep fry the potatoes. Serve it with rice, dal and curry of your choice.

PN: You can also use different vegetables along with / instead of potatoes like cauliflower, raw banana, onion, pumpkin, pumpkin flowers, bitter gourd (karela), etc.I prefer rice powder to gramflour as it adds a crispiness to the veggies fried .

PIYAZ ALOO SANTHLA (Stir fried onion & potato fingers)

Ingredients :
Onion 1 large (sliced into long thin straps)
Potato 1 large (cut into long fingers ½ inch wide)
Oil 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Jeera whole 1 tsp
Jeera powder 1 tsp (roasted and crushed)
Salt as per taste

Method :
Heat oil in a pan . When hot enough, add the whole jeera. Let it crackle. Add onion, potatoes, turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Cover and let it cook on low heat .Use your spatula to check if the potatoes are done. If the spatula pierces through the potato fingers without any pressure from your hand then it’s done. Sprinkle jeera powder. Mix well and serve hot with roti or paratha.

ALOO KOBI TARKARI (Potato cauliflower curry)

Ingredients :

Potato 1 large (peeled and chopped into medium pieces)
Onion 1 small (chopped finely)
Cauliflower 1 small (cut into florets)
Jeera whole 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Garam masala 1 tsp
Coriander leaves 1 tbsp (chopped)
Salt as per taste

Method :
Heat oil in a pan . Add jeera and let it splutter. Add onion and sauté till it becomes translucent. Add potato, cauliflower, salt, turmeric powder, garam masala cover it and cook on low heat till done. If the spatula can pierce through the potato pieces without using pressure then you can know that it’s done. Add a little water if the potato or cauliflower starts sticking to the bottom of the pan. Garnish it with coriander leaves before serving. It is sufficient for 2 persons. If you like you can also add tomato or tomato puree after the onion becomes translucent and later add potato, cauliflower, etc.

KHIRI (Rice pudding)

Ingredients :
1 handfull basmati rice
1 lt milk
250 gms condensed milk
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp dry fruits
1 tbsp dessicated coconut

Method :
Clean the rice in a kadahi properly. Add little milk to it and boil. When the milk becomes thick add a bit more (just to bring it over the level of rice). Be careful not to let the milk burn. Keep on repeating this process till you come to the last amount of milk left. When adding this amount add sugar,dry fruits,dessicated coconut & condensed milk too. Serve it hot or cold as you wish.

Contributed by : Mrs Nandika Mishra,Tokyo,Japan.

KAKUDI SAKRA (CUCUMBER IN SWEET AND SOUR YOGURT SOUP)

Ingredients :
Cucumber 2 small (cut into thin long 8 pieces each)
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil 1 tbsp
Panchphutan 1tsp (mixture of 5 spices - jeera, meethi, sarson ,saunf & kala jeera)
Tomato chopped 1 small
Yogurt 1 cup
Besan 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 2 tsp
Green chilli 1
Sugar 1 tsp
Coriander leaves 1 tsp (for garnishing)

Method :
Boil the cucumber pieces with salt and ½ tsp turmeric powder till done. Blend the mustard seeds and green chilli to a fine paste. Take yogurt in a bowl and add besan ,1/2 tsp turmeric powder, blended mustard and green chilli paste and mix well. Keep it aside. In a pan heat oil. When hot add panchphutan. Let it sizzle. Add the chopped tomatoes .Saute till the chunks get mashed. Add the boiled cucumber pieces. Saute for a minute. Now add the yogurt mix and keep on stirring. Add sugar and salt. Let it come to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes after it comes to a boil. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

GOROS KOBI NADA SIJHA (Cauliflower stems in milk)

Ingredients :
Eggplant cut into small pieces 1 small
Potato cut into small pieces 1 medium
Red chickpeas ½ cup soaked in water overnight (Nagchana)
Kobinada cut into small pieces ( 1 big cauliflower) (Cauliflower stems)
Cauliflower leaves chooped ½ cup
Oil 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Dry red chilli 1
Milk 2 tbsp or more according to your taste
Badi chura (sun dried urad dal dumplings fried and crushed) 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method :
Pressure cook or boil the cauliflower stems, potato, red chickpeas, cauliflower leaves and eggplant pieces till done. If using the pressure cooker cook it till 1 whistle. In a pan heat oil. When hot add mustard seeds and red chilli broken into two pieces. Let them sizzle. Then add the boiled veggies and cook till the moisture evaporates. Add salt. Mix well. Add milk and mix well and cook for a minute or two. Add the badi chura (sun dried urad dal dumplings fried and crushed) at the end. Mix properly. Let it stand for a minute and serve it hot with rice and dal.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

BESAR KOBI NADA (Cauliflower stems with mustard paste)

Ingredients :
Stems of cauliflower cut into small pieces ( 1 big cauliflower)
Eggplant cut into small pieces 1 small
Potato cut into small pieces 1 medium
Oil 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Mustard seeds 2 tbsp
Green chillies 2
Tomato chopped 1 medium
Panchphutan 1tsp (mixture of 5 spices - jeera, meethi, sarson ,saunf & kala jeera)

Method :
Pressure cook or boil the cauliflower stems, potato and eggplant pieces till done. If using the pressure cooker cook it till 1 whistle. Blend the mustard seeds and green chillies to a fine paste. In a pan heat oil. When hot add panchphutan and let it sizzle. To this add chopped tomatoes. Saute for 1 min then add the boiled veggies. Add salt and turmeric to this. Mix well and cook for 2-3 mins till the moisture evaporates. Then add the blended mustard and green chilli paste and mix well. Let it cook for 2-3 mins or till done. Serve it hot along with rice and moong dal.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

SUJI MANDA (Semolina balls)

Ingredients :
For the Suji manda –
Water 2 cups
Suji (semolina) 1 cup
Sugar 5 spoons
Salt (a pinch)
Oil for deep frying

For the filling –
Cottage cheese 1 cup
Sugar ½ cup
Cardamom powder 1tsp
Black pepper powder ½ tsp

Method :
For the filling add all the ingredients of the filling mentioned above .Keep it aside. Now for the manda (balls) heat water in a pan. Add sugar and salt to it. When the water starts boiling add the suji (semolina).Be careful so that the suji (semolina) doesn’t form lumps. Then make balls out of it by spreading a little water on your hands .Fill the balls with the filling kept aside. Deep fry the balls and savour them.

P N : You can use any kind of filling you like .Grated coconut can also be used by replacing cottage cheese.

Contributed by : Mrs Meena Panda, Kolkata , West Bengal, India

CHHENA PODA (A sweet dish made of cottage cheese)

Ingredients :
Cheese 1 kg
Semolina 150 gms
Sugar 500 gms
Cashewnuts 100 gms
Raisins 50 gms
Cinnamon 50 gms

Method :
Mix the cheese, semolina, sugar and knead it properly to get a homogeneous batter. Add a little water if required while kneading. Add cashewnuts ,raisins and cardamom to the batter .Put the same in the dish container of oven leaving about one inch at the top of the container empty. Preheat the oven. Now bake the batter for about 1 ½ hours or until the top appears brown. Take the container out of the oven. Allow it to cool. Cut into desired shapes before serving.

Source : oriyanari.