Kheerer Luchi / Bengali stuffed sweet puri

    Kheerer Luchi ,as the name suggests, is a luchi (puri) stuffed with khoya stuffing and then soaked in thick kheer gravy. In Bengal, by Kheer, we usually mean, thickened milk. 

I have been planning to try this recipe since long,but was a little apprehensive at first, that the luchis might not come out well. 

But then somehow mastered the courage and decided to give it a try. The result was more than I expected. The dish came out really really tasty with soft luchis soaked in thick kheer. 

Believe me, it was not as difficult to make, as I was thinking at the begining 😄. The process,of course, is a bit elaborate. But,I have tried to make it as simple as I could. Just follow my recipe, and you can easily make those divine tasting Kheerer Luchis at home. 

The original recipe, as the name suggests, calls for mava/ khoya stuffing. In did not have khoya at home. So, I made my own version of khoya 😃, which tasted no less than the mava stuffing. You can,of course, go with the traditional method of mava/khoya stuffing.

Without wasting more time in describing it, let us start preparing the dish. I will describe the recipe step by step, making it easier to comprehend.

 Things required : yields about 18 to 20 luchis

1. Full cream milk -  3 litres plus 1 cup
2. White vinegar - 2 tbsp
3. Maida (All purpose flour) - 2.5 cups 
4. Sugar - 2 cups ( adjust according to taste )
5. Milk powder - 2 tbsp
6. Oil - to fry and 2 tbsp extra for kneading
7. Cashew paste - 2 tbsp (gives the kheer a nutty and thick texture )
8. Pista - finely chopped or ground - 2 tbsp (for garnishing )
9. Green cardamom - 2/3 (powdered) to add to the milk,while boiling

Process :

1.  in a deep saucepan, bring 2 litres of milk to a boil. Let it boil on a low flame and reduce it to a condensed milk like consistency. Add crushed green cardamom (choti elaichi) while boiling.
2.  For the stuffing. In another saucepan, bring the rest 1 litre of milk to a boil. When it boils, add the vinegar and let the milk curdle. Switch off the flame. 
3. in a clean cotton cloth, strain the curdled milk, wash it a little and hang for at least 3/4 hours in order to get your chunk of paneer without any extra moisture.
4. Mash the paneer with your hands. Blend it in a blender jar along with 3/4th cup of sugar and a cup of milk. You will get a smooth thick paste.
5. Heat a non stick pan and cook this paneer paste on it over medium flame. Cook till all the liquid evaporates and you get your crumbly stuffing ready. 

 This will be your stuffing for your Kheerer Luchi and as I mentioned earlier,this is equally good in   taste. You can always go for mawa stuffing,if you like. You can prepare the stuffing one day prior,so   that you can make the dish faster.

While the milk is boiling, keep stirring it occasionally. 

Let us prepare the maida in the meantime :

1. In a big mixing bowl, add 2 and a half cup of maida and 2 tbsp oil and knead with your hand,till it is crumbly.

 Make a smooth and firm dough by using warm water,little by little. When the dough is ready, rub a little oil over it and keep aside for an hour.

    

 Check the consistency of the milk. When it is reduced to about a third of its original quantity, add the sugar ,cashew paste and milk powder, stir well and mix. once it is ready, switch off flame and let it cool.

You can understand from this picture...the upper mark of milk shows,how much it has been reduced to.

Now for the luchis...knead the dough once again for a minute and make small balls from it. There should be about  18 to 20 luchis from this dough.

Start rolling each Luchi, put a teaspoon of stuffing on it, fold it like momo and then again roll it to the size of Luchi /Puri. 

  In the meanwhile, start heating oil in a kadhai. You have to deep fry the luchis. When the oil is hot enough, start frying the Luchis one by one. When luchis are light brown on both sides, take them out and keep in a wide serving bowl or tray. Try not to stack the luchis one above the other. Or else, when soaked in kheer, they tend to get stuck to each other . 

 

Getting fried.

The fried luchis, before adding kheer.

When all the luchis are done, arrange them well on a wide dish or serving tray and pour the kheer over them. See that all the luchis are soaked equally. Garnished with chopped pista. Refrigerate for 2/3 hours and serve.

 

kanchakolar Koftar malaikari / Green Banana Koftas cooked in coconut milk gravy

Kanchakolar kofta or green banana kofta curry is a very common item in any Bong kitchen. Usually, no part of the Banana tree is discarded...Each has its own use. The stem, the blossom and of course the fruit are very much savoured in our kitchen. Banana leaves are used in some types of cuisine and is also used for serving food. They contain lot of health benefits. They are rich sources of calcium, potassium, vitamin C, Iron to name a few. 

Green banana is used in a varied way in Indian cuisine. Even the peel of boiled green banana can be made a delicious curry.

As I have mentioned already, koftas made with green banana ,known as Kanchakolar kofta is a favourite among Bongs. Usually,the bananas are boiled,mixed with some spices,fried into koftas and made a curry using different spices. There are usually two versions of this curry...the veg one is made with coriander,cumin and ginger paste and onion paste is added in the the non veg version. In Bengal, Onion and garlic are considered non vegetarian.

This time,while making these koftas, I thought of making it in a little different style....not the usual one described above 😀. Than I came up with the idea of cooking them in a mild gravy,which will be milk based and a little sweetish in taste. So, I made this Malaikari of the raw banana koftas,the main ingredient of which is, coconut milk. I have added a little cashew paste to make the gravy thicker and creamier. I have used very little spice here...and believe me,it came out really really tasty . 

So,here is the recipe.....

Ingredients : 

• Green / raw banana - 4
• Potato - 1 medium
• Besan / Gram flour - 2 tbsp
• Onion - 2 medium and 1 big
• Ginger paste - 3 tsp
• green chillies - 6/7 (slit)
• Chilli powder - half tsp
• salt and sugar - to taste (the gravy should be a little on the sweeter side)
• Thick coconut milk - 1 cup (I have used nestle coconut milk powder...mixed 2 tbsp in a cup of warm water +normal milk)
• Unsalted cashew - 10/12 (soak in water for an hour and then grind to a fine paste )
• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Oil - to fry and to cook ( Usuallly,these koftas are deep fried. But I made them in an Appe pan,which reduced the amount of oil used to a great extent. In an appe pan, you just brush with very little oil and get equally good soft koftas ) 

Process.....

• Cut the bananas and the potato into half and boil them in pressure cooker. Discard water ,cool and peel them. Mash them and keep aside.
• Chop 1 medium sized onion very finely
• In a big bowl, mix the chopped onion, 1 tsp ginger paste, salt and a little sugar, gram flour, chilli powder and the banana potato mixture. You can add 1 tsp finely chopped green chilli also. Now, with hand or a hand masher,mix all the ingredients nicely and make a smooth dough.
• Make small balls from this mixture and fry them. Usually,they are deep fried. I have used Appe pan,to reduce the amount of oil.
• Get the coconut milk ready.
• Cut the big onion into thin slices , make beresta (deep and crispy fried onion) and keep aside.
• Cut the other medium sized onion and boil it in a little water. after it is boiled,cool it and grind it to a fine paste. as this dish is whitish in colour ,we shall be using boiled onion paste,so that,we don't need to cook it for long and make it brown.

Let us start the cooking now...

• Heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp ghee in a pan.
• Add the boiled onion paste and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Add the remaining ginger paste,salt and sugar and cook for a few more minutes,till the raw smell of ginger is gone.
• Add coconut milk,stir and cook for 2/3 minutes.
• When it starts to boil, add the cashew paste and let it cook. Add a little warm water...depending on what type and quantity of gravy you want. The gravy should not be runny,rather,it will be thick and creamy.
• Check seasoning...add salt or sugar,if needed.
• Add the koftas and let it boil for a couple of minutes.
• Add the remaining 1 tsp ghee and slit green chillies. Cover and switch the gas off.
• after 2/3 minutes of standing time, pour the malaikari into a serving dish, sprinkle the beresta over it and serve.
• This dish goes very well with naan, paratha,rice or pulao.

Garlic Butter Naan ( on tawa )/ supersoft naans /step by step recipe

Here is a simple recipe of Garlic Butter Naan ,which can be made easily and without any oven or tandoor. It can be made it with a few simple ingredients,which are usually available in our kitchen. It is packed with taste ,nutrition and freshness of home cooked food and the flavour of fresh garlic.

It tastes no less than the one from your favourite restaurant and much cheaper too, but unlike restaurant bought naans,it remains soft for longer. I had one left in my fridge for three days, and even after three days,it was as soft as fresh. Just a few seconds of reheating was needed. 

If you don't like the garlicky smell, you can make plain naan, methi naan or even mint naan with the same dough. simply brush plain butter for plain naan, crushed mint mixed butter for mint naan or crushed methi leaves mixed butter for methi naan. 

These naans can be prepared beforehand and kept in fridge....only you have to put a piece of aluminium foil or butter paper in between the rolled naans. Thaw them before eating and cook as described below.

Without wasting more time, let us start preparation for our supersoft garlic butter naa

To make our naan, we will need.....

• 3 cups maida...about 400 grams (all purpose flour) and a little extra (you may need while kneading)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Lukewarm milk (about 8 ozs)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 teaspoons plain yoghurt (dahi)
• 3 tbsp any white oil....soya,sunflower,canola or any
• 2 tbsp crushed or grated garlic ...about 12/14 flakes
• 1 tbsp nigella seeds...to sprinkle
• half a cup finely chopped coriander leaves or cilantro ...to sprinkle
• 3 tbsp butter (room temp) ....to brush over the naans

Gadgets you will need... non stick pan or iron skillet , a spatula, basting brush and a chapati wire mesh

Step 1.... prepare the dough

•   Take a big bowl and sieve the flour and salt in it and keep aside.
•   Add the sugar and yeast with the warm milk and rest it in a warm place for about 10/15 minutes   or till   the yeast activates. I preheated my microwave for 30 seconds and kept the milk in it. it   worked out   very well. You will know,when it is bubbly and frothy on top.
• Once the yeast is activates, transfer the mixture into a bigger bowl and add the yoghurt and oil in it. mix lightly.
• Add this liquid to the flour and salt mixture and start kneading. 
• Add half the garlic too.
• Knead well. If it is too sticky, you can add a little more flour.
• The dough will be sticky, but do NOT add too much flour to make it dry and firm. Add just as much flour,as needed for making the dough not too sticky.
• Knead the dough for a few minutes more . Once it is done, rub it with a little oil and keep it in a warm place ,covered . Here again, you can make use of your microwave oven.
• Let the dough rest for at least 2 hours. It will become double in size, as it has become aerated. Punch it lightly to release the air and knead again for 2/3 minutes.
• Make equal sized balls from the dough. Your dough should yield about 6 or 7 naans. Your dough will tend to stick to you hand because,it is very soft. 
• Cover the balls with a wet towel and keep aside in a warm place for 10/15 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare your garlic butter.

Step2 .... Garlic butter

• In a small glass bowl , melt the butter in microwave (30 secs) . when it melts,add the rest of the garlic and mix well. Keep it aside along with basting brush. you will need it to brush on the naans,when they are ready.

        Let us start preparing the naans. 

        I made these naans on non stick pan. You can make them on an iron skillet too.

 

Step3 ...Rolling the naans

• Roll each ball into an oval shape. Apply a little oil on the balls before rolling. Naans will be about 8/9 inches long and 5/6 inches wide.        
• Rub a little water on one side of the naans, sprinle some nigella seeds over it and transfer the naan to the frying pan / skillet. 
• Let it cook for a couple of minutes. You will see bubbles appear on the surface of the naan.
• Flip it and cook for a few seconds on the other side too
• Transfer the halfcooked naan onto the wire mesh and roast lightly over direct flame. Cook on both sides. Brown spots will start appearing and it will get cooked well from inside. It takes about 20/30 seconds.  Prepare all the naans in the same way.
• Transfer the naans to a Dish /tray and generously brush garlic butter on it. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top.
• Your garlic butter naan is ready to serve. Enjoy it with a vegetarian or non vegetarian dish of your choice. 

BHAPA DOI / BENGALI STEAMED SWEET CURD (WITHOUT OVEN)

Bhapa Doi  or Steamed curd is a slight variation from the traditional Bengali Mishti Doi recipe. I tried this recipe and trust me,it came out really delicious . 

It is very simple to make, tastes as good as Mishti doi (Lal Doi ) . I did not use any oven to make this.You will need only gas burner and a pressure cooker and very few ingredients for this recipe. It is less effort and time consuming, than the lal doi or mishti doi. 

I will describe the recipe in a very simple way,so that,it will be easy even for a very nauvice cook to try it.

 

Without wasting any more time ,let us start preparing......

Ingredients : 

• Sweetened condensed milk - 1 tin (room temperature)
• Normal sour curd - 2 cups (1 cup: 200 ml approx...room temperature )
• Curd Condensed milk ratio to be adjusted according to taste and sourness of the curd.
• green cardamom powder : half teaspoon

Process : 

 

• In a deep bowl, beat the curd for a few minutes,until it is smooth and without any lump. 
• Add the cardamom powder and the condensed milk and beat to a smooth thick batter again. 
• Beating should be done with hands. Use of beater or mixi will make it runny.
• Sit the pressure cooker on gas burner . flame should be high. 
• The bowl,in which you are going to steam the curd,should fit in the pressure cooker. Otherwise, you may use a big and deep vessel with cover,in place of pressure cooker.
• Pour water in the pressure cooker or the big vessel to a level,so that your cooking bowl is submerged in water only to the lower level. 
• Cover and bring the water to a boil.
• In the meanwhile, grease the cooking bowl lightly and pour the curd condensed milk mixture in it.
• Keep a steel dish or separator in the boiling water. This will keep your cooking bowl steady while steaming.
• Now cover the cooking bowl and carefully place it on the separator. 
• Remove the vent weight (whistle) from the pressure cooker lid. Cover the pressure cooker and let it steam for about 15 minutes.
• If you are using any other vessel in place of pressure cooker, the cover should be heavy. You can put some weight over the cover.
• Your Bhapa doi should be ready in 10 to 15 minutes. If needed, steam for 2/3 minutes more. Remember, if you steam for too long, it might turn hard.
• switch the burner off. The contents might look slightly soft. don't worry. Let it cool down. Then refrigerate it for 3/4 hours. Then Bhapa Doi will be completely set.
• Serve chilled and enjoy the delicious taste of Bengali Bhapa Doi. 

Note :

•  Bhapa doi is usually whitish in colour, It is not the usual mishti doi or Lal doi. Still, if you want to give it a reddish colour, you can add 3/4 tablespoon of caramelized milk with the curd condensed milk batter. 
•  Heat 1 tea spoon ghee. add 2 tea spoon sugar in it and keep stirring until the sugar melts and takes a dark brown colour.
• Add half a cup of milk and bring it to a boil. 
• Cool it a little. It should be warm,not hot or totally cold. 
• Than add it to the curd condensed milk mixture. 
• You can also make this doi in microwave. In a large microwave safe bowl/ container, fill some water so that , the bowl with curd mixture  is submerged about 1to 2 inches only, when you place it in the bigger bowl . Bake it for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees.
• you can garnish it with chopped nuts or strands of saffron or raisin....anything,according to your choice. 
• Enjoy.

Kheer kamla/Kamla lebur payesh / Orange kheer

Kheer kamla, kamla lebur payesh or orange kheer, whichever way you put it, is a very flavourful and yummy dessert,very unique to West Bengal. 

At times,when oranges are abundant in the market and you have had enough of them raw, you might,sometimes think,what shall I do with these oranges now ? This recipe will come very handy at such times. Just give it a try,you will love it's taste and aroma.

This recipe does not require too many ingredients or too much of effort. The two most important things to keep in mind are: 

1.select oranges,that are fresh, juicy and sweet . Otherwise your kheer may taste bitter at times,if the oranges are not sweet.,

2. Careful peeling of the segments. I will demonstrate the peeling procedure by the help of pictures. I assure, you will be able to make this kheer easily. 

I made this kheer with 2 litres of full cream milk and 4 oranges. Other ingredients you will need are, sugar according to taste and a handful of chopped cashew or mixed nuts and about a tbsp of fine aromatic rice.

Bring the milk to boil in a deep vessel, on high flame. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and keep stirring occasionally. After the milk is reduced to 3/4th, wash the rice (basmati or gobindobhog) and mix it in the milk.

Let the rice get cooked in milk. You have to reduce the milk to a little less than half. 

In the meantime,peel the oranges and keep aside.

Separate each segment of the oranges, with the help of a knife, peel the tissue like cover from them and also remove the seeds. You only need the pulpy part present inside. If needed,with the knife, remove the tissue cover from the lower part of the segments. Make small pieces of the pulp and keep aside.

 Keep stirring the milk and rice. Check if the rice is fully cooked.When the rice is cooked,add sugar according to your taste. Let it boil for a few minutes. 

When the kheer reaches desired consistency, add the cashew / nuts,switch the gas off and keep aside,covered. Let it cool. 

When it is completely cold,add the orange pieces and mixed with a gentle stir.

Cover and refrigerate. 

Your orange kheer is ready. You can serve it chilled. My recommendation is to keep it refrigerated for at least 10/12 hours,so that,the flavour of orange gets nicely infused into the kheer and gives it the tangy sweetness that makes it unique.

Enjoy your kamla lebur payesh / kheer.

Note :  Traditionally,this recipe is made without rice. I have added the rice in order to give it a little volume. You can omit the rice from the recipe,if you wish.

Vegetarian Egg Curry

This is an unique 'egg'  curry ....yummy , less cholesterol ,especially for the Vegetarians. But,I am sure, everyone will not just 'like', but will Love it. I saw this  dish in a tv programme long back.I got the idea from there. But,this recipe is entirely my own. I have followed  my own instinct. Here it goes.... 

     

Ingredients  for the 'eggs' :

• Boiled and mashed potatoes : 2 (medium)
• Paneer : 1 cup (crumbled)
• Cornflour : 2 tablespoons
• Salt : 1 teaspoon (or,to taste )
• Ginger paste : 1 teaspoon
• Sugar : 1/2 teaspoon

Ingredients  for the 'yolk':

•  Chana dal (Bengal gram) : 1 cup
•  Salt : 1 teaspoon
•  Sugar : 1/2 teaspoon
•  Haldi /Turmeric powder : 1/2 teaspoon
•  Red chilli powder : 1 teaspoon

Ingredients for the gravy :

• Onion : 1 large
• Tomato : 1 medium
• Ginger : 1 inch piece
• Haldi / Turmeric powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Chilli powder : 1 teaspoon
• Cashewnuts: 2 tablespoons
• Garam masala powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt : to taste
• Sugar : 1 teaspoon

Oil,to fry. 

Method : 

• Mix all the ingredients under 'eggs' group together. Mix well,make a smooth dough. I have used home made paneer ,which is softer and easy to crumble. 

• Wash and soak the Dal overnight ,or,at least for 4 hours.
• Grind this dal alongwith all the ingredients in the 'stuffing' group. Try to add least amount of water while grinding.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep pan.
• Add the ground dal and cook it,stirring continuously.
• Cook till all the moisture dries up and the ground dal takes a dough like consistency.

• Now, make balls from the potato dough of the size of a small egg. 
• Make  small balls from the dal dough of the size of a small lemon.
• With moist palm, flatten the potato dough a little ,on your palm.
• Put the ball of dal over it and wrap the potato dough around it,giving it a shape of an egg.

•   Prepare eggs using all the mixtures. 
•   Fry these eggs,batch by batch carefully over medium flame. It may get burnt over high flame.
•  Once all the eggs are fried,keep them aside.
• 
  
• Now,let us start preparing for the gravy.
• 
  
• Gring all the masalas together, except the garam masala polwder. 
• 
  
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep pan and add the ground masala. Cook over medium flame.
• 
  
• Add salt and sugar and keep cooking,stirring in between.
• 
  
• Once, the masala is cooked and oil starts separating from the masala,add 2 cups of hot water and let it come to a boil.
• 
  
• Now,add the fried eggs and let it boil for 2/3 minutes. 
• 
  
• Now,your yummylicious veggie egg curry is ready to serve. Garnish with garam masala powder and slit green chillies and serve hot with chapati /paratha or plain rice. 

We are not adding too many spices in the two doughs,because,that may change the colour of the white or the yolk of the yolk.

  

Shahi tukda with rusks

Shahi tukda is a very well known Indian dessert,traditionally  made by frying bread slices and adding condensed milk and nuts to it. But,here I have made some change in the basic ingredient,in order to give it a healthier aspect. Because, whoever has made it,knows,frying bread slices consume too much of oil /ghee ,which is not at all good for our health as well as pockets.
So...here it goes..no fry shahi tukda.....

Ingredients :

Slightly sweet rusk biscuits : 10/12
Sugar : 6 tablespoons (or,to taste)
Full cream milk : 1 litre
Milk powder: 2 tablespoons
Chopped/sliced almonds : 2 tablespoons
Kishmish (raisins) : 1 tablespoon
Cherries : 6/7 (I used tinned ones)

Method :

• Bring the milk to a boil in a deep saucepan. 
• Reduce flame slightly when it starts to boil.Stir occasionally.Reduce the milk to half its quantity.
• Add sugar,mix well and boil for another 5/6 minutes.
• Let the thickened milk cool down a little.Then add the milk powder to it and mix well.
• Arrange the rusks in a serving dish.
• Pour the thickened milk (kheer) over it.
• Sprinkle chopped walnuts and raisins.
• Cut the cherries in to half and decorate them.keep it in the refrigerator for some time to cool completely,before serving.It should be served immediately after taking out from the fridge.
• Your guilt free shahi tukda is ready to devour. 
• Diabetics or those who have  problems with sugar can use unsweetened rusks and sweeteners in place of sugar.

Hung curd tikkis in gravy

                                        

A very tasty and healthy dish,made with hung curd and spices. 

Ingredients :for the tikkis 

Hung curd  : 1 cup
Paneer (cottage cheese) : 2 tablespoons (crumbled)
Ginger paste : 1 tablespoon
Chopped ghreen chillies : 1 teaspoon
Salt: to taste
Sugar:half a teaspoon
Dry roasted besan(gram flour) : 4 tablespoons
Oil to fry

For the stuffing : *

Finely chopped cashew nuts : 2 tablespoons
Chopped kishmish (raisins) : 2 tablespoons
Moong sprouts: 2 tablespoons 

For the gravy :

Onion paste : 2 medium onions 
(peel,boil and make a fine paste)
Ginger paste : 1 tablespoon
Tomato : 1 (chopped)
Jeera(cumin)powder : 1 teaspoon
Dhania(coriander)powder : 1 teaspoon
Haldi(turmeric powder) : half a teaspoon
kashmiri red chilli powder : 1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder : half a teaspoon
Salt : to taste
Sugar : half a teaspoon
Cashew paste : 1 teaspoon (you can add 1 teaspoon of fresh cream instead of cashew paste.It gives the dish a rich colour)
Oil : 2 tablespoons

Method :

• Hang the curd in a muslin cloth for at least 6 hours.After all the water in the curd drains out,you will get a chunk of curd ..called chakka dahi in Hindi.
• Dry roast the besan in a pan for a few minutes.Add it to the curd chunk.
• Add all the other ingredients under tikkis,except oil, mash and make a smooth dough.
• Mix all the ingredients under stuffing in a bowl.
• Put oil to heat in a pan
• Wet your hands,take a small ball from the curd dough,flatten it slightly on your wet palm,put a little of stuffing mixture on it,and carefully cover the stuffing with the dough with your other hand. 
• Your palms should be wet while doing all these. otherwise,dough will get stuck to your palm and it will be difficult to shape the tikkis.If needed,keep a big bowl of water ready at hand and dip your palm in it whenever needed.

                                       

• Gently drop the tikkis one by one in the hot oil and shallow fry them over medium heat.
• Keep the fried tikkis in a dish and start preparing the gravy. **

                                                    

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add Ginger paste,boiled onion paste,salt and sugar and fry for a few minutes. 
• Now add haldi,chilli powder,sugar and chopped tomato, mix well ,cover and cook over medium heat for 5/7 minutes.
• When the tomatoes have completely melted and oil starts separating,add the cashew paste / cream and mix.
• Add warm water,about 2 cups and bring to a boil.
• When it starts boiling, add the tikkis and and sprinkle garam masala powder.
• Switch gas off.
• Keep covered until serving.
• Serve with Pulao, roti or paratha or enjoy it as you feel like.Don't forget to let me know how you liked it. :D

* You can make stuffing of your own choice. I had sprouts at home,so I added them. You can omit them if you like.

** These tikkis can be enjoyed simply as snacks,without putting them in gravy. 

NB : I have used boiled onion paste,because,that way,it absorbs lesser oil. Other than health reasons,it is particularly useful,if you want your gravy's colour not too dark.

Hara Dhania Chicken (chicken cooked with coriander leaves)

                                             

A simple,not so spicy and "no onion" chicken dish,and yummy in taste. And,it does not take that long to cook this recipe.

Ingredients :

• Chicken : 500 gms
• Garlic paste : 1 tablespoon
• Ginger paste :1tablespoon
• Green chillies : 6/7 - chopped (or,to taste )
• haldi (turmeric) powder : 1 teaspoon
• Hara dhania (coriander leaves) : finely chopped (1 cup)
• Tomatoes : 2 large (chopped)
• Salt : to taste
• Sugar : 1 teaspoon
• Sunflower or canola oil : 2 tablespoons
• Potato (optional) : 2 medium (boiled and cut into 4 pcs each)

Method :

• Clean chicken pieces and marinate them with garlic paste,ginger paste,haldi and chopped tomatoes.Keep refrigerated for at least 2 hours.
• Heat oil in a deep pan. Add the marinated chicken. Stir and cook over high flame for 5/7 minutes.
• Add salt,mix well,cover, reduce flame to medium and cook for at 10 minutes,stirring occasionally.Mix the potatoes .
• Check if the chicken is cooked. If not,stir and cook for a few more minutes.
• Add the sugar,chopped green chillies and chopped dhania.Mix well. Switch the gas off. Keep the pan covered till serving.
• Goes well with steamed rice.

Dim er dhoka (egg dhoka curry )

Dhoka is essentially a delicacy from West Bengal ,usually made from dal paste and different spices. In this version of dhoka, I have tried to make it a little different....giving it a non vegetarian touch. 

• Ingredients - for the dhoka :
• Eggs : 5
• Potato : 2(medium)
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Sugar : half teaspoon
• kashmiri chilli powder : half teaspoon
• Ginger paste : 1teaspoon
• Oil to fry 

For gravy :

• Onion : 1 large or 2 medium ( peel and grind)
• Ginger paste : 2 tablespoon
• Haldi (turmeric powder) :half teaspoon
• kashmiri chilli powder : 1 teaspoon
• Salt : to taste
• Sugar : 1 teaspoon
• Tomato : 1 medium
• Potatoes : 2 medium (boiled and cubed)
• Garam masala powder : half teaspoon

Method :

• Boil the potatoes,peel and mash them well.
• Beat the eggs and it and the other ingredients under dhoka,except oil and mix well.Keep aside.
• Bring to boil enough water in a big pan. 
• Take a steel dish,grease it and pour the egg potato mixture on it. 
• When the water starts to boil,put the dish over it and cover it.Let it steam for at least 15 minutes.Give a little more time if needed. Switch off the gas,when the egg mixture is completely done.

• With the help of a knife,gently take out the cake into another dish. Cut it into square shape. These are your dhokas.
• Heat oil in a frying pan,fry these dhokas batch by batch and keep aside.
• In a big pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil.Add onion paste and ginger paste. Fry for 3/4 minutes. Add tomatoes,salt,sugar,haldi powder,chilli powder and cook over medium flame.
•  When the tomatoes melt ,the spice is completely cooked and oil starts separating,add the boiled potato pieces. You can omit the potatoes,if you like.Add 2 cups of warm water and bring to boil.
• Add the fried dhokas when the gravy is boiling. let it boil fora minute. Swich the gas off and take the pan down.Sprinkle garam masala powder and keep covered for a few minutes.Do not worry,if the gravy is too runny,because the dhokas will absorb the water.
• Serve with plain rice or roti.