Recipe of the day: Kalar Bara (Banana Pakora)

Hello lovely foodies! Hope you all are doing very well in this festive season! How was your Raksha Bandhan celebration? Any special dish have you made for your brother? I will share in my next post, what I had made for my brothers!

Today is the Birthday of Lord Krishna! Last year, I shared a special recipe from Bengal. But, this year, I want to share a special recipe, what I have learnt from my mom-in-law! This year, I’m going to make “Kalar Bara” not “Taler Bara” for my Gopala in ‘Janmashtami’! Have a look to the recipe; and try it now for your Nanda Lala! It’s so simple!

Kalar Bara (Banana pakora)

 

 Ingredients:

1. Banana (fully ripe):                          10pieces
2. Coconut (grated):                            4 cups
3. Coarse flour (Atte):                        4 cups (250gm.)
4. Rice flour:                                       1/2 cup
5. Semolina (Suji):                               ¼ cup
6. Sugar:                                             to taste
7. Salt:                                                a pinch
8. Refined Oil:                                     for deep frying

Method:

1.   Mix all above ingredients  very well. Mixture should be of dropping consistency.

2.  Heat the oil in a deep fry-pan or karhai.

3.  Take a small amount of mixture and drop in oil in form of small ball. Similarly add more balls. 

4.  Fry till golden brown.

5.  Serve to Lord Krishna when these become cool.

Recipe of the day: Tel Koi

Hello lovely foodies………here I’m today to celebrate with you two spacial occasion together with you all! Firstly, this is the 69^th year of India’s Independence! It is a proud moment for all the Indians!And the 2^nd proud moment for me and all the foodies in this family is – this is the 2^nd anniversary of the blog! I want to share this great pleasure with all of you; because, without your love and support, I never can go such smoothly in this journey! Thank you so much my friends………hope we will go together many more years……..

Today, I’m going to share an authentic Bengali recipe with a little bit of personal touch! It is the Independence Day, and I think, I have the freedom to change any authentic recipe to make a fusion; which increases its taste with almost the same ingredients! Hooah! L-o-n-g speech! Ha... ha... ha…….. Let’s go for cooking!

‘Tel Koi’ is a popular cuisine in Bengal. I tried to find its origin; but some said it is a Bangladeshi cuisine some said it is from Bengal; actually, this dish is popular in both of Bengal and Bangladesh! Koi mach (Climbing Perch Fish) usually made their appearances in the monsoon and winter fish market. You can prepare it in various ways, with cauliflower or cabbage, but the most famous dish is “Tel Koi”. The authentic cuisine is made with just green chilies, Kalo Jira (black cumin), ginger and cumin; but I add curd, onion and garlic to increase its taste! Hope you like it……….

 Tel Koi

 

 

Ingredients

1.  Koi fish -                             4 pieces
2. Green chilies-                       5-6 pieces
3. Curd-                                    1/2 cup
4. Onion Paste:                         2tablespoon
5. Ginger paste:                        1/2 tablespoon
6. Garlic paste:                         1tablespoon
7. Tomato (chopped):                1 piece
8. Turmeric powder-                 1/2 tsp
9. Red Chili powder-                  1/2 tsp
10. Cumin powder-                      1/2 tsp
11. Coriander powder:                 1/2 teaspoon
12. Bay leaf:                               1 piece
13. Oil-                                       1cup
14. Salt-                                     as per taste

Method

1. Marinate the fish with turmeric and salt. Leave it aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. When it is warm enough, add the fish. Fry the fish for 2-3 minutes. Take the fried fish out of the pan and keep it aside.
3. Add the bay leaf in the same oil. Fry it until it becomes brown.
4. Now add the onion paste and fried until it becomes golden brown. Then add ginger paste, garlic paste, tomatoes and mix well. Fried 2-3 min.
5. Now, add some water, turmeric, red chili, cumin, coriander powder and salt and mix well. Then add the curd to it and mix again well.  Let the curry cook till it starts oozing water.
6. Add some water, the fried fish and green chilies; cover and cook for 3-5 minutes until the oil separates from the gravy.
7. Serve hot with rice.

* Tel koi is taste best with steamed rice.

** The richness of mustard oil makes tel koi more delectable, so please do try it with mustard oil only, it is essential and integral to this dish.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Recipe of the day: Dhokar Dalna

Hello lovely foodies! How are you all? Yesterday was the day of Guru Purnima; the Teacher’s Day of India! How you all celebrated the day? We have Satya Narayan Puja in our place and also my mom worshiped her Gurudev (religious teacher), who gave her the ‘Gurumantra’. I cooked so many vegetarian dishes Yesterday and we have eaten vegetarian (‘Niramish’ in Bengali) dishes in all the day. Today, I’m going to share a recipe from my veggie-kitchen, that’s - Dhokar Dalna!

Dhokar Dalna is one of the traditional ‘Niramish’ (Vegetarian) dishes in Bengali Cuisine. The lightly spiced lentil cakes or dhoka are fried and then simmered in gravy made with potato. We Bengali are very strict to call a dish ‘vegetarian’! We are not allowing even onion, garlic to vegetable family! Funny, right? But it’s true! So, in Dhokar Dalna, there are no place to add onion or garlic.

The actually meaning of ‘Dhoka’ is "to cheat" and it is known by almost all the Indians; but I don’t know, why this delicious lentil cakes are named like this! Dalna is a central part of Bengali cuisine. It is cooked in medium thick gravy; seasoned with ground spices, especially Garam Mashala and a touch of Ghee. It can be cooked with vegetables or eggs. It's still an unknown fact that who first created the dish- 'Dhokar Dalna'.

         Dhokar Dalna (Bengali-Curry with Lentil Cakes)

  

Ingredients:

For Dhoka or the Lentil Cakes:

1.  Chana Dal (Bengal Gram):        1 cup
2. Green Chilies:                          3 -4 pieces
3. Ginger:                                     1"
4. Black Cumin Seeds:                  1/2 tsp
5. Hing:                                        a pinch
6. Sugar:                                      ½ teasp.
7. Salt:                                         to taste
8. Cooking Oil:                              for deep frying

For the Dalna or Curry:

1. Potato -                                    1 big
2. Oil -                                          1 tbsp
3. Bay leaf:                                   2 small
4. Cumin Seeds:                            3/4 teasp.
5. Tomato (medium) -                    2
6. Ginger paste:                            ½ teasp.
7. Curd:                                         1/2 cup
8. Coriander Powder:                     1 teasp
9. Cumin Powder:                           1/2 teasp
10. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder:        1 teasp
11. Turmeric powder:                      ½ teasp.
12. Garam Masala Powder -              1/4 teasp
13. Ghee -                                        1 teasp.
14. Sugar:                                        1/3 teasp.
15. Salt:                                           to taste

Method:

  

For the Dhoka or Lentil Cakes:

Grinded Chana Dal in the pan to cook

 

The dal-paste after cook and spread

•  Wash and soak Chana Dal in water overnight.
• Wash again the dal before cooking and drain the water.
• Take the dal with green chilies, salt, ginger and grind to a fine paste. Add little water if need.
• In a non stick pan, heat oil and temper with Black Cumin seeds and Hing. Fry for couple of seconds.
• Now add the grinded dal paste and sugar in it. Stirring continuously to avoid the dal getting struck to the sides. Cook until the mix comes off the sides clean. The dal should be cooked until it becomes soft but not runny or hard.
• Once it is cooked, spread to a greased plate as a 1 1/2 inch width cake. Cut the cake into 2 inch square or diamond shape dhoka.
• Heat the oil in a kadai and deep fry the lentil cakes till they become golden brown on both sides.

For the Dalna or Curry or Gravy:

The fried Dhokas

• Peel and chop the potatoes into small pieces. Wash them and keep aside.
• In a cup, mix the curds with Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Kashmiri Red Chili Powder and turmeric to make a fine paste. Keep it aside.
• Deep fry the potatoes with salt and turmeric powder in the same oil that you used for frying the lentil cakes. Keep it aside.
• Now temper the Oil with Bay leaf, Cumin Seeds and a pinch of Hing.
• Add the ginger paste and tomato in it and saute till tomato is well cooked.
• Add the curd paste, salt and sugar to the Kadai and mix well. Cook for 2-3 min. at low heat.
• Add the fried potatoes in it; mix well and cook for 2-3 min.
• Now add about 1&1/2 cups of water and mix well. Cover the kadai and cook till potatoes are done.
• Adjust for any seasoning, add a pinch of sugar. Next add Garam Masala and Ghee and gently mix.
• After the potatoes are well cooked; gently add the pieces of dhoka or the fried lentil cakes. You may add some water, as the dhokas will absorb water. Cover it for couple of minutes to let the dhoka soak up the gravy.
• Remove the cover and add the ghee and Garam Mashala powder.
• Serve hot with smoked rice or rotis.

* Using a non stick pan for sautéing the dal paste; it works the best!

** The ‘Dhokar Dalna’ tastes best with smoked rice.