at 21:39

Black Forest Gâteau

                                                           Black Forest Gâteau

Since we met in Delhi, in 1996, we never celebrated our birthdays without a black forest Gâteau or cake. As students, our luxury was to get black forest from Grand Plaza in Model Town, Delhi. And of course, there were those days when eating black forest from chacha’s in Kamla Nagar meant a day being made.  From then to now we have come a long way together with our love for Black Forest intact. Although now I make them at home, yet the Black forest from GP or chacha’s remains the best I have ever eaten. This cake was made in July 2012 for R’s birthday. It is a tribute to our shared life in Delhi and the joy GP or chana’s gave us through their lovely Black Forest.

The measurements are mine. I do not like to use canned cherry or cherry in syrup, which is most commonly used in Black Forest Gâteau. I do not like the fermented taste of fruit. Therefore, I used fresh cherry. In case you like the authentic version, please use canned or cherry in syrup. I do not use butter at all as well. Instead I make all my caked with low fat vegetable spread which are heart friendly. Please use butter in case you like the taste and not as fastidious about butter as I am.  

Ingredients for the Cake
4- Eggs
240gm- Flour
200gm- Light muscovado Sugar (or brown sugar or plain sugar)
100gm- Light vegetable spread (I used flora pro cholesterol) (you can use butter if you like, however I can safely say that my cake was fine as it was polished off in 20mins by just 6 hungry hangoors)
1oogm-Coco Powder
1-teaspoon baking powder
¼-teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the Filling

1pound- in weight fresh cherries deseeded and   sliced
2 tablespoon Kirsch (optional)
5tablepsoon any sweet fruit juice

 For the Icing and decoration:

600ml-Fresh double cream
200gm- good quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
50gm- dark chocolate for shaving
 

Method:

1.    Pre heat the oven to 170c
2.    Lightly butter loose bottom (spring form cake tin) and dust it with little flour. Line the tin with baking paper
3.    Shift flour, baking powder and salt together and keep aside
4.    Place the vegetable spread (or the butter or oil), sugar in a bowl and beat with a electric mixture until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg one at a time
5.    Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt mixture in the egg, butter and sugar mixture.
6.    Fold carefully not to disturb the air bubble in the cake mixture
7.    Shift the mixture in the prepared cake tin
8.    Bake for 40-50 mins until firm and springy.  Insert a screwier in the middle of the cake. It comes out clean, that meant sake is done. The timing might vary depending on oven used  
9.    Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack
10. Once cold, cut the cake horizontally into three separate rounds  and spread them o three different places
11. Sprinkle the fruit juice over all the round cakes.  The cake should be moist. Use more fruit juice if needed
12. Pour the cream in to bowl, add bit of powdered white sugar (optional but very little sweetness in cream tastes wonderful)  and whip either by hand using a balloon whisk or hand mixture.  Whisk them until they forma soft peak (Lift the mixer and if the little peaks gently curves that is soft peaks)
13. Place the last layer of the cake on a cake base or wherever you want to have the cake. Spread one of the cake discs with cream then cover with half of the sliced cherries, pressing them in lightly.
14. Top the first layer of cake with second layer of the cake and repeat the process.
15. Place the third layer of the cake on top of second layer. However, do not spread any sliced cherry on top of the third layer. The top of the third layer should remain plain. Press the whole cake to glue them together
16. Keep it in refrigerator to cool it for while. Put the cream in fridge as well in the fridge
17. Mean while prepare to make chocolate curls and caraque for decoration
18. For chocolate shaves: use a potato peeler and pare off the thick curls of chocolate from bar. The curls can be made thicker by using a chunky bad of chocolate and by angling the peeler to get thicker curls.
19. For chocolate caraque: melt the chocolate and spread it in a thin layer on a cold clean and plain surface like a plastic chopping board.
20. Leave it to cool until the chocolate is set but not brittle
21. Push a clean scrapper or a thick knife across the surface of the chocolate holding it about 30 degree so that chocolate starts to roll in loose curls. Transfers the caraque to a baking sheet and chill in the fridge before you use it
22. Bring the cake out. Spread the rest of the cream on the whole of the cake
23. Spread the  chocolate saves on the side of the cake
24. Make cream flowers on top and place whole fresh cherry on the top
25. Finish of the decoration by arranging the chocolate caraque
26. Serve cold

 

at 00:17

Mocha r Paturi (Banana flower wrapped and cooked in banana leaf)

Mocha r Paturi ( Banana flower wrapped and cooked in banana leaf)

Mocha (banana flower) is a very favorite dish of ours.  I am not exception although cooking mocha takes patience. One needs to peel each layer of the flower and bring out the stem (which almost looks like small banana actually). Then you will have to take each stem in hand and bring out the central pith.  This whole process in very time consuming and I usually do it a night before cooking while watching TV. However, once you have done this, the cooking itself is very easy and taken very little time.

This recipe is my mothers. She just decided to cook the mocha like that, just the way she keeps cooking various things like chicken Paturi, dim Paturi, dal diye chicken Paturi, chicken mocha etc etc. Trust me, she does not have access to net nor does she read cooking book. Moreover, she does not eat out side expect for that one time in year when we are home and take her out. She is my regular bong ma who invents cooking on a regular basis. Then I get very surprised eating those dishes outside in places like Aheli in kolkata and think how incredibly innovative my ma is.

 I am cooking this dish today for my friend Shikha as she complaint that I never do anything vegetarian. I wanted to do something for her. Therefore, I decided to cook my mocha r Paturi vegetarian. You can add chicken, fish, prawn, or even panir in the dish if you like, the taste will be same if not better

Banana Flower aka mocha

Ingredients:

1- Large Mocha (Banana Flower)
1- Medium potato, cut into small pieces
½-cup grated coconut
1 ½ -tablespoon black mustard
1-teaspoon turmeric
1-green chili
2-tablespoon mastered oil
1-big banana leaf or aluminium foil ( I used foil this time as I could not get hold of banana leaf)
Salt to taste

 Method:

1. Peel each layer of the flower and bring out the stem (which almost looks like small banana actually). Then you will have to take each stem and tear out the central pith. Throw the central pith ( it is hard and you will not be able to cook it)

2.       Cut the stems ( without the central pith) in to small pieces almost like mince

3.       Add salt and turmeric and boil for while or until soft and cooked

4.       Discard  the boiled water and keep aside the minced mocha

5.       Fry the potato with little turmeric and salt

6.       Grind the coconut, black mustard seed, green chili and make a paste

7.       Add little salt immediately otherwise the paste might turn bitter

8.       Combine the above paste, salt if you need more, turmeric, mustered oil, potatoes, boiled mocha together very well using your hands to mix them really well

9.       In case you are using banana leaf, hold the banana leaf over gas flame so that you can easily fold it. otherwise it will not fold properly

10.    Put the mocha mix in the flamed banana leaf and wrap it well

11.   Then grill it on a tawa for 10/15 mins, keep turning until both side of the banana leaf is brown

12.   If you are using aluminium foil, just wrap the mocha mix in foil, put them on a hot tawa and grill it like you will do for banana leaf. The taste does not differ much but the smell of the banana leaf will be missing

13.   It should not take more than 25/30 mins

14.   Sprinkle little mustard oil  and grated coconut over the mocha r Paturi before serving with hot rice

 

at 00:22

Muri Ghonto-Noakhali Style (Bengali Fish head Dish cooked in Noakhali, Bangladesh style)

There is so many things going on in my head at the same time, I am unable to give form on any one of them. At one end, I am excited about a recipe requested from a childhood friend, on the other I am forcing my urge not to write about my new chapter.  Why I am stopping myself from writing about it? Is it too early, too new, and too unknown! Or is it the fear of being found critiquing too early? I used the word fear and that is that! There is so many do’s and do not’s in the place that it feels very regressive. ‘This is what our policy says and we do not do otherwise as then we will have to do for others’. Isn’t that a very statist response: we have a policy that fits all and we do not discriminate. Both actually takes away the importance of context and assume that person who is asking to be considered or challenging the decision is total irresponsible. Can advocacy organisation have policies that cannot accommodate individual context (assume that person who is asking is responsible not a moron)

Well, I am too tired to think now. Let me just get on with cooking my Muri Ghonto.  NKK this is for you and your husband and thank you for asking! I am cooking Muri Ghonto (Bengali Fish head Dish) in Noakhali ‘Hindu’ style of my mother or didon (maternal grandmother).  I like everything my didon cooks and I feel privileged to be able to carry her recipes forward. Talking to my ghoti friends, I realised that ghoti’s (people who are originally from west Bengal, India) cooks Muri Ghonto very differently from Bangal (people who are originally from  then East Bengal now Bangladesh but settled in West Bengal, India now). And interestingly enough, as per one of my friend’s mother the cooking of Muri Ghonto differs between religion: Hindu’s from and in Bangladesh cook the dish very differently from Muslims from and in Bangladesh.  According to her, a Muslim kitchen whether Bangal or ghoti would use garlic and onion in the Muri Ghonto, which many of my ghoti (Hindu) friends uses as well. However, Hindu bangal’s or Bangladeshi’s will not use any garlic but may use onion depending on which district of Bangladesh they come from. Complicated isn’t it? Nevertheless, very interesting.

Most important thing is Bangal, ghoti, Hindu or Muslim:  every Bengali speaking mortal loves Muri Ghonto.  So does the Assamese and Oriyas. Hey, Kids do not forget, YOU MUST EAT FISH HEAD FOR BUDDHI and to do well in onkya (mathematics) porikhya (exam) and if you do not eat, you will fail and not get into IIT.  Therefore, you know why it is so very loved by the intel bongs!

Eat Muri Ghonto and be cleaver.

Ingredients
1-Fish Head (I used Rui/Rahu fish (Labeo rohita) head but you can use sea bass too)
5-Potatoes (each potatoes cut to four pieces)
1-cup rice or chira (Flatten or Beaten rice), (I used chira)
2-teaspoon turmeric
½-teaspoon red chili powder (depending on taste)
½ -teaspoon cumin powder
1-teaspoon ginger paste
½- teaspoon fennel seed
3/4 cardamom
1-inch cinnamon
2-bay leafs
4 tablespoon oil (make your own judgment. I use very little oil in my cooking and used 2 tablespoon)
Salt to taste

Method:

1.       Marinate the fish head with salt and turmeric
2.       Soak chili powder, cumin powder, ginger paste and turmeric in little water
3.       Heat oil and fry the fish head. Fry it well and try to break it into medium size pieces. Keep aside.

 From here on, I am giving three different ways of cooking the Muri Ghonto:

Version 1: traditional version of my didon using fried rice:

 1.       Fry the rice, it will take a lot of oil and keep aside. Do not deep fry.
2.       Heat oil and add fennel seed and fry for 1 mins
3.       Add the potatoes and fry for a while. Add bay leafs
4.       Add soaked spices to the potatoes and fry the spices with potatoes
5.       When  spices are fried   and separated from oil, add the fish head and mix well with the spices
6.       Add water and add the fried rice,  add salt
7.       Cook until potatoes are soft, rice is cooked, and the consistency of the gravy is thick but not dry
8.       Add cinnamon and cardamom
9.       Serve with white steamed rice

Version 2: my mother’s version using just washed rice:
1. Heat oil and add fennel seed and fry for 1 mins
2. Add the potatoes and fry for a while. Add bay leafs
3. Add soaked spices to the potatoes and fry the spices with potatoes
4. When spices are fried   and separated from oil, add the fish head and mix well with the spices
5. Add water and add the washed rice, add salt
6. Cook until potatoes are soft, rice is cooked, and the consistency of the gravy is thick but not dry
7. Add cinnamon and cardamom
8. Serve with white steamed rice

Version 3: what I did-used chira
1. Heat oil and add fennel seed and let them fry for 1 mins
2. Add the potatoes and fry for a while. Add bay leafs
3. Add soaked spices to the potatoes and fry the spices with potatoes
4. When spices are fried   and separated from oil, add the fish head and mix well with the spices
5. Add water
6. Cook until potatoes are soft and cooked
7. Add chira and cook until the consistency of the gravy is thick but not  dry
8. Add cinnamon and cardamom
9. Serve with white steamed rice

 

at 00:24

Thai Green Curry Chicken

                      Thai Green Curry with chicken

I had one of the longest day and wanted to eat something warm yet quick. Hence, Thai green curry chicken. It is easy to make, smells wonderful: a perfect blend of texture and aroma!


Ingredients for green paste

Ingredients for green paste

2- Green chili
1- Inch ginger or galangal
2-teaspoon garlic
1-Onion/shallot
1-lemon leaf
1-tablespoon limejuice
1-teaspoon coriander seed
1-teaspoon cumin
1-tablespoon chopped coriander
3-tablespoon lemon grass (2 long lemon grass stick cut in 3-inch length)
1-teaspoon shrimp paste (optional)
½ -teaspoon of black paper
Pinch of turmeric


Thai Green Curry Paste

 Ingredients for Curry
 800gm Chicken cut in to small pieces
2-tablespoon fish sauce
2-tablespoon soy sauce
1-carrot cut to big sizes
½-teaspoon sugar
10-Mushroom each cut into 4 pieces
2-thai red chili deseeded and sliced
500ml coconut milk
Handful of Thai Basil (optional)
2-tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Cooking in  Progress

 Method :

1.  Making the green paste: Put all ingredients in blender and make paste. Make sure that lemon grass is mixed really well; otherwise, the fiber from the lemon grass can spoil the paste. If not sure, whether the lemon grass will churn well or not, then leave the lemon grass out and use them whole. use as much green paste as needed for the curry and rest freeze for use later

2.      Heat oil and fry the chicken.
3.      Add fish sauce and soy sauce
4.      Add 4/5 tablespoon of green paste.
5.      Add the lemon grass in case if you have not churned it already
6.      Cook the chicken for 10mins
7.      Add carrot and mushroom
8.      Add coconut milk and little more paste ( add paste according to your taste) and cook until chicken is well cooked
9.      Add little salt per taste ( careful as you will be using fish and soy sauce and both of them have salt , sugar and lemon leaf
10.  Add red chili and basil and stir a little
11.  Serve with steam rice.


Ready to be served

at 20:54

Chicken Sausage Muffins

Chicken Sausage Muffins

As promised, sharing another of my sugar free treats that I made for my father. This is really easy and if you make them once, you will come back to them again and again with your own innovations!

Happy Baking!

Makes: 6 large or 12 small like mine
Preparation time: 15 mins
Baking time:  25-30mins approx


Muffin batter          

Ingredients:
2-eggs
200gm flour
50ml milk
1-teaspoon baking powder
50gm low fat spread or butter at room temperature
2- Medium or 1- large chicken sausage (you can use any sausage you like) cut in to small dices
¼-red bell pepper cut in small dices
½-onion chopped into small pieces
1-teaspoon English mustard paste (or mustard sauce)
1-tablespoon coriander chopped
6-12 muffin cups
30gm Parmesan cheese, shredded (optional)
½ -teaspoon black pepper
1-tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Method:

1.       Pre heat oven at 160c.
2.       Place 6-12 (depending on how many you want to make) muffin cups on muffin tray. Substitute muffins cups by greasing muffins tray
3.       Heat little oil on a frying pan and fry the onion, red bell pepper, chicken sausage
4.       Sift flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a bowl
5.       Whisk the egg, butter, mustard
6.       Add flour etc mixture into the wet ingredient  and combine
7.       Add the fried chicken, onion, bell pepper with the flour-egg mixture and combine
8.       Add the coriander  and milk and combine but careful not to make it too runny
9.       Spoon the mixture on the arranged muffin cups or on muffin tray
10.   Sprinkle with shredded on top of the uncooked muffins
11.   Bake for 25-30mins or until risen and golden brown. Insert a sharp stick inside the muffin centre. If its comes out dry, then muffins are done
12.   Serve warm


Chicken Sausage Muffins

at 11:11

Grilled Fig with Yoghurt

The fruit stalls now are full of gorgeous purple colored figs and I am so tempted to buy them. However, I never buy them as I know that it will be total waste as we will end up not eating. But yesterday I just could not resist the temptation of the rich color of the fruit and brought two of them for breakfast today.  And voilà!

This is what I did this morning:

1.      Pre heated the grill on 180c

2.      Cut the figs in cross and pressed from the bottom so that they open up like flowers

3.      Put two dollops of butter on each fig’s centre

4.      Scattered some nuts piece (any nuts should so. I used cashew)

5.      Sprinkled one teaspoon of sugar

6.      Sprinkled some cinnamon

7.      Sprinkled one teaspoon of dark soy sauce

8.      Gilled in oven for 5/8 mins

9.      Served it with some yoghurt

And it was magic. The subtle tartness of the yoghurt with the sweetness of the figs and then caramelized nuts together with very very little salt from the soy sauce was wonderful. Then of course the fragrance of cinnamon with caramelized nuts was just awesome.  Try it please. I promise it will be worth experiment . I would love to serve it not  just as breakfast but as light dessert after a heavy dinner!

at 11:35

Salmon pan-fried in coriander coconut paste

I realise that it is dangerous to call a recipe mine, but this really was born out of desperation using ‘whatever was there in the fridge’. Also, this is the first recipe of Salmon that I cooked back in 2008 when we moved to UK. I never eat Salmon before, so it was like, a true use of trial and error method in cooking. And bingo! Since then it is a smashing hit at home. I love it!

Later I found a similar dish by Anjum Anand where she uses pistachios and garlic for the recipe. Although, my recipe do not have garlic or pistachios but I tried her’s and it is yummy!  Go ahead, and add 5/10 pistachio and 1/2 garlic pod in this dish like Anjum Anand’s, if you like. or you can just stick to mine!

And, I will like to call this my recipe, J keeping in mind that any similarity to any other dish is purely unintentional and hey hey, don’t genius’s think alike?! Ha ha ha!

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 mins, 10 mins marinating
Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients for paste:

4/5-tablespoon grated coconut

5/6-tablespoon chopped coriander (a bunch really)
1-teaspoon of black mustard seed and little extra for frying 
½-teaspoon of cumin seed
1-inch ginger
1- green chili (increase quantity depending on taste)
5/6 tablespoon lemon juice

 Ingredient for cooking:

3-Fillet of Salmon cut into bite size if you like or leave them as they are (you can use any fish you like even Hilsa)

1-tablespoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
2-tablespoon oil

 Method:

1.    Marinate Salmon with salt and lemon juice and keep aside
2.    Put all the ingredients for paste together  (except lemon juice) and make a paste using a blender or mortar pestle or the traditional  ‘pata’ ( Bengali word)
3.    Heat 1 tablespoon  oil in a pan and add the extra mustard seed
4.    When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the paste, add salt and fry it a little or until the paste is semi dried. Add lemon juice
5.    Marinate the Salmon with the fried paste for sometime
6.    Add rest of the oil in a frying pan and heat.
7.    Pan fry the marinated salmon
8.    Serve with roti or rice or just as starter