Mughlai Parota | Moglai Parota | Spicy Potato Curry -- a hack on Kolkata's favorite street food

Mughlai Parota | Moglai Parota | Spicy Potato Curry

Mughlai Parota or Moglai Parota,  a very popular street food in Kolkata, is a  rectangular shaped flaky, crispy, fried bread with a filling of eggs, seasoned and cooked ground meat, onions and green chilies. It is served with a spicy potato curry (aloo r tarkari), slices of red onions and sometimes ketchup. The paratha dough is made with flour, water and oil but a good Moghlai paratha will have thin layers and a flaky texture due to rolling tricks unlike the regular parathas. Here, the husband-man has used a genius hack to make exactly those flaky, crispy layered paratha with minimum effort.  Read on.

Jump To recipe

Having lived most of my life in small towns far away from the cultural and food mecca of Bengal. Moglai parota for us was a rare treat. My maternal grandparents lived in North Kolkata and it was our annual "mama r bari" sojourn that promised all of these delicacies. From Flury's pastries to Kheer er Shingara, from egg rolls to aloor chop - the list was endless.

During one of our Kolkata holidays my mamas aka uncles asked if I wanted Moglai Parota for dinner. It was around the time that I had just been introduced to the Mughal empire courtesy of Amar Chitra Katha. As a child I was an avid reader and quick to draw up imaginary visuals in my age. So naturally given its  Mughal name, I conjured up a setting of scintillating chandeliers, silken tassels, brocade couches and ornate utensils and could not contain my excitement.

Imagine my situation when instead I was ushered in to a small restaurant with rickety wooden tables and chairs and curtained cubicles called cabins. I was crestfallen and suspicious of those swinging wooden doors of the cabins. I do not remember if it was Anadi Cabin but I was definitely crestfallen by the restaurant and suspicious of those swinging wooden doors of the cabins. That young couples with guilty and flushed faces entering or coming out of them did not help either! I guess I had all the qualities of a judgmental "Bong Mashima" even at that young age.😝

However all of that vanished when the Moglai Parotas and aloo r torakri was served and sheer joy ensued when I took a bite of that Moglai. Later we would also get Moglai parota from a trusted street side stall near my Mama r Bari. They would come wrapped in newsprint packets and perfume our evenings with their delicious, fried fragrance and taste.

The cabin restaurants dated back to the British Raj and the cabins were designed to give privacy to women and also young couples in a society which abhorred any PDA between young lovers. These restaurants, primarily in North Kolkata, were very popular with middle-class Bengalis until the late 80s.One of those restaurants, Anadi Cabin, a 94 year old establishment is what has made Moglai Parota a dish to salivate over and crave for most Bengalis.

Though it is believed that the Mughlai paratha originated during Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s reign (1569-1627) and it was a creation of his cook Adil Hafiz Usman, the Moglai Parota gained popularity among the common man as a street food. Most Bengalis, including me, have no idea about Jahangir but we all know that the best Moglai Parota always comes from, a street side stall, the one on wheels with an aluminum counter top and a kerosene stove raging fire or from one of the old North Kolkata restaurants.

Now since we do not get Moghlai Parota here, we tried many methods to recreate it. Since my rolling skills are pretty bad, we could never get the flaky and layered parota taste which is the USP for Kolkata Moghlai for us. The husband-man therefore came up with this brilliant idea of using Phyllo Dough sheets to make the parota or bread and it was a huge hit. He has been making it for a few years now but the only problem is he doesn't make it frequently :-(

Now what is Phyllo Dough ? Filo or phyllo is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and börek in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. We get packaged phyllo dough sheets, which are flaky, layered sheets of tissue-thin pastry dough. The husband-man used sheets of that to make the Moghlai Parota. 

Video Link for How to Make Moglai Parota

Bengali Ghugni | Instant Pot Ghugni Recipe

Bengali Ghugni | Instant Pot (IP) Ghugni Recipe

Ghugni or Ghoognee is a very very popular snack in Bengal and in parts of Bihar and Orissa. It is made with dried white peas and cooked with myriad spices including Bhaja Masla. While the Northern India has its Chhole, Bengal has its Ghugni. An authentic Ghugni is made only with Motor or White Peas(sold as White or Yellow Vatana in Indian grocery stores), not chickpeas. Garnished with onion, green chilies, and the very Bengali addition of coconut, it is a mouthwatering snack.

My original recipe of Ghugni was posted several year ago following Somnath's directions. I have made Ghugni in Instant Pot using the same recipe. The Instant Pot version is easier and little quicker.

Original Ghugni Recipe non Instant Pot | Jump To IP Ghugni Recipe

Two amazing things happened this weekend!

1. My IP did not scream Burn on me. It did not give up on me. I successfully made Ghugni in my IP. This has been my life long dream. To make Ghugni in IP as my Pressure cooker is not large enough for a week's worth of Ghugni. Small victories in a big gadget filled world.

2. I went to my first every stand-up comedy show. Given that I have a special fondness for all things funny and eagerly watch the stand-up comedy shows on Netflix , it is surprising that I had never been to a live one. So when we heard Vir Das is in town,  a bunch of us eagerly got our tickets for his show.  And it was truly an amazing experience. 

I have loved his  shows on Netflix but being right there in the audience, just 6 rows away from the stage, in a theater throbbing with energy and laughter was something else! HILARIOUS.

Maggi Shakshuka | Shakshouka with Maggi

Maggi Shakshuka | Shakshouka with Maggi

Shakshouka  is a Maghrebi dish from Northwest Africa, of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. According to Joan Nathan, shakshouka originated in Ottoman North Africa in the mid-16th century after tomatoes were introduced to the region by Hernan Cortés as part of the Columbian exchange.We love and make Shakshuka often. It works out best as a quick brunch just by itself.  Since I love Maggi, in this recipe I have added  my favorite Maggi to my another favorite Shakshuka.

Jump To Recipe

For us, children of the 70s who had never heard the word "fast-food" , Maggi was  a revolution. Before that, fast food was food that you ate fast, quickly so that you didn't get caught -- like that whole pack of Bourbon biscuits, or half of that Tamarind pickle left out in the sun, or that two tablespoon from the Amul Milk Powder tin. Anything that had to be cooked took time and was slow!

And then Maggi came with its promise of 2-minutes and smiling faces on telly -- the happy Mom and the happier kids. Fast cooking was their keyword.

A collection of Maggi Ads that boosts my mood.

Maggi soon became a special treat in our grocery list. However my mother, totally skipped the key word 2- Minutes. 

Instead she chopped carrots and green beans, sautéed onions and tomatoes, cooked Maggi,  then fried the cooked Maggi with the vegetables, scrambled eggs, mixed the egg with the Maggi. In total it took at least 20-30 minutes!! This was at least better than some of the other Kakimas in the neighborhood who added curry leaves, potatoes, peanuts, turmeric and everything but eggplant to Maggi.

None of that reduced my love for Maggi though. It was not a regularly allowed treat and so I think the love kept increasing. And of course it was the first thing I learned to cook. Even my kids love Maggi and Maggi cooked in microwave was the first food they were allowed to on their own.

There are many different ways we eat Maggi. My kids like it in its most basic 2-minute from. Like my Mother though, I always make Maggi a greater than 2 minute noodle.

Now, Shakshouka  is a Maghrebi dish from Northwest Africa, of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. According to Joan Nathan, shakshouka originated in Ottoman North Africa in the mid-16th century after tomatoes were introduced to the region by Hernan Cortés as part of the Columbian exchange.

Both me and the husband-man love and make Shakshuka often. It works out best as a quick brunch just by itself, even no bread is needed. 

Since I love Maggi, I thought why not add my favorite Maggi to my another favorite Shakshuka. At least I am not adding curry leaves or eggplant. Wait! Maybe next time I will do that.

Nonta or Jhaal Koraishutir Patishapta - Bengali Crepes

The deluge of Pithe and Patishapta photos on my social media feeds finally got to me. I wasn't feeling exactly inclined to making anything as both my mother and in-laws have been not that well, and my mother, the trooper that she is did not have the energy to make anything for Sankranti.

But then the "hyangla" person in me got the better of me. If I did not make anything for Sankranti, how would I eat at least a patishapta ? It is not that we have a mishti'r dokan across the street selling perfectly rolled patishaptas or doodh puli or roshobora bobbing in syrup. Btw, all this patishapta and pithe being commercially sold is a very recent affair. There used to be pithe utsab etc but never were these found in neon lit glass shelves of mishtanno bhandars. It was always a made-in-the home affair.

So finally, I got my fat behind off the couch and made two kind of stuffing on Thursday night -- the traditional coconut-jaggery stuffing and a savory green peas stuffing. Now the problem with stuffing is, they are so good by themselves that it is hard to wait to make the actual thing that goes around the stuffing. It needs lot of mental strength to not keep eating them.

Now why the green pea savory stuffing? Because my girls are not fond of the sweet coconut jaggery stuffing. On the other hand, they both like the green pea stuffing that goes in a koraishutir kochuri. 

So the easiest workaround to do ek dheel e dui paakhi, is to make the nonta or jhaal patishapta with the same koraishuti filling and the regular sweet patishapta with the coconut-jaggery stuffing.

Chirer Pulao | Poha the Bengali way

Chirer Pulao | Poha the Bengali way

Bengali Chirer Pulao or Chirar Polao is largely similar to a Poha, with small differences like the former does not usually have kari patta, is sweeter and is overall Bong. Made with flattened rice, called chire or poha, the Bengali version is studded with vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and sweet peas in winter. Garnished with fried peanuts or cashews, coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime it is a sweet and tart delight, prefect for breakfast.

Jump To Recipe

Food happiness is when your food takes you back to a happy place. It is like a short vacation to a place where you will probably never return to or at least not for now. The few minutes in your mind makes up for it and the warmth of the memories are enough to piggyback on for rest of the day. Like this Chirer Pulao today took me back to my home in the small town that holds a special place in my heart. I will never be able to go back to that home and the sepia toned memories, now colored in my mind, makes it all the more special.

Winter is a season of beauty and fresh vegetables in the plains of Bengal and nowhere else it makes as much as a show as it does in the smaller towns and villages.

 In the small town that we lived, every house or rather quarter/bungalow had a stretch of overgrown lawn in the front and a patio at the back called uthon. The uthon which was usually cemented had a few trees, a koltola (an area for washing clothes and utensils) and a water storage tank called choubachcha, as water supply through the pipes was only twice a day and water had to be collected in large quantity for later use. I loved our uthon with its huge mango tree and spent most of the winter sitting there under the sun with my books.

The front lawn however was a different story. Depending on the interest of the dwellers, the front lawn could be a fully maintained vegetable farm producing everything from potatoes to cauliflowers or a flower garden that could put a prize nursery to shame or even a rectangular badminton lawn.

 

Unfortunately our front lawn was none of these. It was just a large expanse of green grassy lawn from the gate to the front porch bordered by orange marigolds and shadowed by a huge banyan tree in a corner. The banyan tree took all the attention, praised for shade and breeze in summer and blame for blocking the sun in winter -- oi ashwatha gaach wala bari ta was how our house was identified.

Towards the back of the lawn were a couple of guava trees, and a patch of kitchen garden on the side by the kitchen, tended by my mom. Her kitchen garden in winter boasted mostly of juicy red tomatoes, some carrots and coriander. Not much compared to the huge haul of vegetables that our neighbors would produce. However we did get the occasional cauliflower and potatoes as gifts from the neighbors. 

Even otherwise, vegetables at the nearby haat were as fresh. All local. All organic. Smelling of earth, air, water and manure. I don't know if winter vegetables just tasted better in their texture and taste  but I was way more fond of cauliflower, carrots and sweet peas than the summer veggies of parwal and lauki!

So in winter, Chirer Pulao studded with tiny cauliflower florets, orange jewel like carrot pieces and emerald green sweet peas was a favorite for breakfast or school tiffin.

As far as I go Chirer Pulao is largely similar to a Poha, with small differences like the former does not have kari patta, is sweeter and is overall Bong. The experts may differ. My Mother made chirer pulao with a tadka of cumin seeds and finished it with lime juice and fresh coriander leaves. Sometimes she seasoned it with mustard seeds and curry leaves. It would be a little sweet and tart. That chirer pulao would be studded with crunchy brown fried chinebadam pale on the inside, alu bhaja -- finger length potatoes fried and soft, crunchy florets of cauliflower sautéed to a soft golden brown and luminescent green jewel like sweet pea motorshuti . It was a simple dish, I thought.

The first time I tried to make it on my own in the US, my self-esteem took a good beating. The chirer pulao turned into a chirer khichuri. And it all happened in the split second that I was searching for the mustard seeds while the poha was soaking. I did not know of a term called "mise en place" and I did not know I was using thin poha. It was the wrong kind. The thick poha stands a better chance of holding its own and is the poha of choice for Chirer Pulao.

Having survived that tragedy, I have been making the chirer pualo the way my Mother makes and it is still a favorite. I add more vegetables than the Poha and I also add cooked Oats at times to the same recipe,

Doma Wang's Prawn Toast -- easy, quick delicious

Prawn Toast

I didn't know Doma Wang until last year. I knew she was from Kalimpong and her restaurant Blue Poppy was famous for its momos and chilli pork, but I didn't "know" know her.

Then last year on Mother's Day, I wanted to send my Mom some food from a restaurant in Kolkata. She was not able to venture out much due to her knee pain and I thought it would be a nice surprise. I also thought it would be easy with these apps like Swiggy, Zomato etc.

Guess what? I couldn't use any of them in India with my US ph#. At this brink of frustration came a very kind restaurateur from Kolkata. Doma Wang who owns a restaurant called Blue Poppy in Middleton row.

She messaged me on FB and took upon herself to deliver food from her restaurant all the way to my Mom's for Mother's Day Lunch..And the food was so delicious. My parents loved the garlic prawn balls, noodles, chili chicken and the momos.

Then last year when I visited Kolkata, on my wish list was to eat at her restaurant. However it did not work out. So I called her to ask if she delivered food. I was desperate to eat her famous momos. The day before I was to leave for the US, she sent me her famous momos and pork sapata. They were so delicious. The pork sapata flew across oceans with me, and the husband-man as well as the girls wre blown away by this dish.

When I saw her and her daughters cooking Prawn Toast during this Quarantine, I knew I had to make this dish. It seemed to be very easy and if it was her recipe I was sure it would be delicious. So last weekend, I made these delicious Prawn Toasts at home. The perfect snack with a cup of tea. I am definitely going to make this as starters for parties too.

It was super easy to make. Just my kind of dish.

Easy, Quick and Delicious

ChurMur from Calcutta's Phuchkawala

ChurMur from Calcutta's Phuchkawala

Churmur | Kolkata Phuchkawala

Churmur is a very popular road side snack in Bengal, served by the Phuchkawalas

We have been in official quarantine now for just over a week. The schools have been shut down for two weeks.

Online classes are going fine. For the high-schooler, it is more regimented with defined periods from 8AM to 1PM every weekday. She has online quizzes and loads of assignments to complete, keeping her busy during the day. Major plus for her is she doesn't have to wake up and catch the school bus at 6:30 in the morning. She gets a good nights sleep finally.

For the 6th grader, online classes are from 9AM to 1PM but it's bit flex and most days she finishes her assignments by noon. Every other day from 4pm to 5PM she joins her gymnastics team. On Sundays an hour long dance with the group.

In all, I see that they are getting little more time to relax and that is helping them. Hope the schools learn something from this and reduce the work load for the kids after the quarantine.

Food has not been a major issue at home yet. We are low on meat and fish but the girls are okay with that. For dinner, I am trying my hand at Rotis and Parathas these days. I am not good at making them but since evenings are no longer rushed, I am learning. Also I see that with Roti, it is easy to have a meal with just one more dish, which is a great advantage.

Lunch for me on a work day is usually light and quick. Of all the groceries I did before lockdown, there were 3 boxes of Golgappas I bought. Yes, what foresight :-D

So some days my lunch can be just this. This tangy, spicy, lip-smacking ChurMur!! For all others it doubles up as snack.

Churmur is a very popular road side snack in Bengal, served by the Phuchkawalas. For us, standing around our favorite Phuchkawala outside the College gates, it was usually the last stage of the Phuchka rounds, when we have had enough of phuchka and now wanted the phau phuckas (the free ones) crumbled into a ChurMur.

Chur-Mur if you say it aloud, rolling around your tongue is the sound of crunching of crispy golgappas. A plate of spiced and boiled potatoes, some boiled kala chana, raw onions, green chilies, green coriander leaves, spicy sweet and sour tamarind water and topping that some crumbled crispy Phuchkas. That's ChurMur for you. An explosion of tastes and flavors in your mouth.

I haven't had a street side Phuchka for years now, but I do pray that those favorite Phuchkawalas get back into business soon and serve their unique Churmur, dirt and grime be darned.

Bajri Pearl Millet Pancakes

The last week, I have been desperately trying to stay off carbs in my diet. Not an easy feat for aluseddho-bhaat loving Bengalis.

But I have been eating like a glutton and wanted to give the whole digestive system, a short break between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Add to that my recent woeful experience while clothes shopping in Kolkata.

I love going to stores like Pantaloons, Biba or Big Bazaar back home. Being used to departmental stores in the West, where store assistants hardly pay a glance, careful not to intrude my privacy by suggesting any opinion unless clearly asked for,  the overload of shopping assistants in the stores at the Kolkata Mall, makes me feel very special.

They are always asking "Madam, ki chai?";then suggesting designs that they profess will look good on me; if I am throwing a tantrum that nothing matches they are eager to hunt down the right color leggings for my Kurta. In general they are pretty good people, showering attention as if I am buying a 900 rupees kurta for the royal wedding.

But with every pro, comes a con. And in this case there is plenty. One of them, of course is the intrusion which I am now old enough to take in stride. I have bidden enough time standing in long queues for the public bus in my college days, with Aunties suggesting all kind of skin and hair care routine. From staying off "oily food" to some Baba's miracle ointment, I have heard it all. That has toughened my self confidence.

So we will not talk about intrusion. Instead I would like to ponder upon why size of clothes in Indian stores is a variable. It is not a constant and is always shifting. What is a M today is not a M tomorrow in the same brand. What used to be an XL is now non-existent.. Folks in Kolkata are slimming down at an alarming rate so that size S is becoming a smaller size every year.

Until 2017, I was a size M with Kurtas that I bought in India. With most US brands, I can still get into a size S! But this time back in Kolkata, I could barely breathe in even M sized Kurtas.

At the Big Bazaar, which is close to my parent's home, and so a favorite haunt, I asked one of the young nymph like store assistants, "Are you guys just becoming more thin, or why does a M not fit me anymore?"

The young girl gave me a once over and without a smile said, "Didi, try a L, that will fit you!"

And of course it did. But that is when I made up my mind to stay off carbs for a week. But only after I had polished off all the Norom paak mishti and Nolen Gur er Ice cream of course!!!

Bajri Flour or Pearl Millet flour is a very common flour in some regions of India. It is high in complex carbohydrates and a rich source of protein and dietary fiber. I therefore cheerfully bought a small pack of Bajri flour while planning the low-carb week's menu. 

However I have never had Bajri flour while growing up and I doubt if my Mother has used it even once. All I knew is this nutty coarse flour is used to make a type of thick flat bread called Bakhri, which I was not keen to make. My neighbor then suggested making a Chilla with bajri flour as it is easier to make than a Bakhri.

I took it a step further, added eggs, spices, onion, green chilies and made savory crepes instead. I had these crepes with a ground chicken keema and avocados. I really loved the robust flavor of the crepes. The kids thought it was "meh" but then they are kids, so we will ignore them. For now, I am hooked to Bajri Crepes!!!

Goat Sukka -- a spicy dry meat dish to blow you off

Goat Sukka | Goat Sukha

Goat Sukka or Goat Sukha is a dry mutton preparation, which is native to the Mangalore and Udupi region. Many attribute the origin of this dish to the neighboring region of Goa where culinary influence of Arab and Turkish traders can be seen in the meat dishes. The recipe probably amalgamated with  the signature ingredients of the western coastal region of India and is thus heavy on spices like peppercorns and fennel and a good amount of coconut.

Jump To Recipe

Though I am not fond of winter or cold or snow, I love the festive spirit that is all around during this time of the year. Shopping around for little gifts to be sent to school, lighting up the house, putting up the Christmas tree, each tiny thing seems to be filled with light and joy. There is something to look forward to every evening. And the houses look so pretty shining brightly against the winter sky.

Also this is the perfect time to cook the spiciest, richest dishes as both the food and process of cooking warms you up. Like this Goat Sukka which I will tell you about but I need a preamble...

Many years ago when I had started blogging, it was a small, close-knit community of Indian bloggers. We read each others blogs, commented on posts, cooked from each others blogs, and slowly via food became familiar with a sliver of their lives.

Slowly though the community disbanded, they are still there but they don't blog as much. If I have to search for a recipe and I google it, there are thousands thrown at me and I have to cautiously scroll through to find the one that will work. There is always some that will work but I don't trust them blindly any more.

So all this reminiscing is because of one single dish called Goat Sukka. It might actually have been Goat Sukha, given that it is a dry meat preparation but I have seen it blogged as Sukka and I like to call it that way. Goat Sukka is a dry mutton preparation, which is native to the Mangalore and Udupi region. Many attribute the origin of this dish to the neighboring region of Goa where culinary influence of Arab and Turkish traders can be seen in the meat dishes. The recipe probably amalgamated with  the signature ingredients of the western coastal region of India and is thus heavy on spices like peppercorns and fennel and a good amount of coconut.

I had first made Goat Sukka from SigSiv's blog. We loved it too much and I bookmarked her recipe. It had just the right amount of fennel, peppercorns and whole coriander, the perfect aroma of kari patta, a little bit of coconut, and was way easier than making kosha mangsho. I made it a few more times and then I forgot about it. These things happen. I get obsessed about some dish, cook it every other day, and then bam I forget all about it for the next 2 years.

So after this long gap, I felt a strong urge to cook goat sukka again. To refresh my memory I clicked on the url I had so carefully saved. And guess what happened ? I got a "This site cant be reached error"!! I tried hacking around and yet nothing. In desperation I sent Sig a Facebook message to see where her blog was. Turns out she hasn't blogged for a while and now her domain has expired. In the process she has also lost her blog posts.

I was so depressed by the news that I decided not to make Goat Sukka at all. But I had already bought 5 lb of mutton and no one wanted a mangshor jhol or kosha mangsho again. So I googled and pages upon pages of Goat Sukka washed over me, none of which seemed liked my old Goat Sukka. Then I searched up another favorite and very very reliable Konkani blog Aayis Recipes and no wonder she had the chicken sukka recipe.

Based on the old recipe I had in mind and with help from the one that Shilpa of Aaayis Recipes had, I made the Goat Sukka again. It turned out to be so so good. I also didn't want to risk losing it again and so right away got down to blog about it.

Diwali in a Jar -- or Spiced Nuts

In the neighborhood that we live, we have a lot of Indian neighbors, and as a result invites for Indian festivities like Haldi-Kumkum, Lakshmi-puja, or Kanya puja on Ashtami are in abundance. Most of these festivals are done by the women folk, who are very open with welcoming new people into their house or sharing their home-made goodies with others. Puri-halwa-kala chana on Ashtami days, sundal and small packets of haldi-kumkum on the Lakshmi puja days and boxes and boxes of delicious sweets on Diwali are shared with much love and joy.

Now, although I celebrate Diwali with as much merriment as any other, making sweets on Diwali is not a tradition I grew up with. Very practical too, as we are done with our sweets like naru and sondesh making first for Bijoya Dashami, then Lokkhi Pujo and now we are prepping to make more for Bhai Phota. In between Diwali is when we light up candles, enjoy some fireworks, do Kali Puja and enjoy sweets gifted by other people!!!

However this year, I wanted to share some Diwali gift with my neighbors too. I had already shared Roshogolla with them for Durga Pujo and it didn't make sense for me to make more sweets. I was enjoying the besan laddos and gulab jamuns that were piling up in my house.

So I decided to gift them Diwali in a Jar!!! It all started with a 40% coupon for Michael's the craft store and the dozen Mason Jars that I brought home from there. It was to be my project for a relaxing evening. I would sip tea, watch some sitcoms and decorate mason jars. The plan was to put some Diwali trinkets and chocolates in the jar. The main focus was decorating the jars and me having a "relaxed evening". But did that happen as I planned ? No. Never does.

The moment I sat down with all the bling craft jewels and the shiny ribbons, LilSis joined me.

"I want to do one", she said. Well, so, yeah why not. She pulled away the jar from me and started sticking the jewels. I hovered around, hoping to guide. But she was doing a fabulous job anyway.

Soon BigSis came downstairs and whined, "I never get to do anything fun. All I do is homework. I want to do this too"! Oh, boy! Here goes my jar and "relaxed evening", I thought. Both the girls sat around intently decorating the jars with so much enthusiasm and artistry that I did not have the heart to ask them to stop. So they decorated all the 12 jars, and did a beautiful job of it too.

All you need to make these jars is:

1. Mason Jar
2. Variety of stick on Jewels (from Amazon or any craft store)
3. Satin Ribbons (from Amazon or any craft store)
4. Creative ideas

Meanwhile I roasted some nuts following this recipe. The only thing is I changed the spices and used all Indian spices like Bhaja Moasala and Chat masala. Once the spiced nuts were cool, we filled the jars with nuts and chocolates. These sparkling jars filled with spicy nuts and chocolates was our Diwali gift for our lovely neighbors. I am hoping they had a good time snacking.

Don't you think these would make excellent holiday gifts too? It is easy, simple and surely a keeper.

Bengali Shingara -- not a samosa

There are samosas,the unique conical shaped Indian pies(in lack of a better word) made with pastry dough and stuffed with spiced potatoes, peas or mince meat and fried in hot oil, and then there are shingaras, the Bengali version of the same. Now don't you go and offend a Bengali, by saying that a shingara is same as samosa but only smaller. Never say that!

Bengalis are very possessive about their shingara, a popular snack served with steaming cups of tea, be it Darjeeling tea served in fancy china or sweetened bha(n)rer cha served in earthenware cups. While many upscale Bengali mashimas will look down upon aloor chop or telebhaja from the street, they will not blink a eye when offered these small triangle shaped delights from the neighborhood Kalika Mishtanno Bhandar, stuffed with potatoes-cauliflowers-sweet pea(the aloo phulkopir shingara being the favorite) in winter or potatoes and peanuts at other times of the year.

Growing up in Bihar, I was more familiar with the larger samosas from the stores, which I of course loved. The Bangali Shingara was something that was home made. Come winter, my Mother would be up in arms, steaming potatoes and cauliflowers, making conical structures from dough, like magic and frying up hot, hot shingaras. They were delicious and you could have as many of them. They were home made after all.

Potato-peas filling for shingara

Later, when we moved to this small town in Bengal, the shingara war was won by the local sweet-maker, Shotu, who fried batches of perfect shingara and made heavenly cream-chops in his shack like store known famously as "Shotu'r Dokan"!

Shotu'r shingara showed up at snack time, in our house, almost two or three times a week. Every afternoon around 5 in the evening,a huge black kadhai filled with oil would be put on the coal stove, at his store; mounds and mounds of alabaster white dough made of maida would be rolled into circular discs on glistening wooden boards; they were then stuffed and sealed in the blink of an eye; and suspended in the hot oil where they would be fried to flaky golden brown perfection.

My mother still made shingaras on some Sundays. Unlike me, she is one who fries stuff just because she wants to and not needs to. I mean, if I got perfect shingaras hot off the oil from a store, 2 miles away, I would have never made them at home.

Heck, I don't make them even when I don't get it at any store in my driving radius. We make do with samosas from the Indian stores, but I don't really like their stuffing. We love the Chicken samosas from Trader Joe's but there covering leaves a lot to desire. Sometimes for parties, we get the frozen samosas from the Indian stores, Swad or some such brand. They are ok. But honestly, none of them is a shingara.
There is my favorite Bengali caterer who does make great shingaras, with fried peanuts et al but he makes them only when there is a large order and that does not happen very often.

Sanhita's Nonta Bhapa Pithe | steamed rice flour dumplings

Nonta Bhapa Pithe  | Jhaal Pithe | Steamed Savory rice flour Dumplings

Pithe is reminiscent of the times when paddy was harvested in the months of December-January and the new crop was celebrated by making dishes that used rice, date palm jaggery(khejur gur also collected in the winter months) and coconut. There are a variety of pithe and puli made from these ingredients - patishapta, doodh puli, gokul pithe, bhapa pithe, chitoi pithe etc. While most of these have a sweet coconut-jaggery stuffing, the Nonta Bhapa Pithe is a steamed rice flour dumpling which has a nonta aka savory stuffing. It is also called jhaal aka spicy pithe because of the stuffing.

When the world around us is in a tumultuous state, among the few things that bring sanity, is food that has ties with our roots. Those ties might be frayed and not often remembered but it is there, a gentle reminder of who we are and how our journey has been. How in this global world, we have all immigrated, far from our roots, whether it is within the country or outside. There is comfort in knowing recipes that are old and yet have stood the test of time and movement. Knowing that this was the food prepared and consumed by my kin, in a different era, different world, in times of different beliefs, gives us strength in its perpetual persona.

Pithe,is reminiscent of the times when paddy was harvested in the months of December-January and the new crop was celebrated by making dishes that used rice, date palm jaggery(khejur gur also collected in the winter months) and coconut. Poush Parbon or Nabanno was a celebration of the new crop of rice, which was the mainstay for the then agrarian society. We have moved many years forward from those times where rice is now GMO and harvested multiple times and grated coconut can be found in the frozen aisles of grocery stores. Yet, we still take the effort to celebrate poush-parbon, in our home to honor those simpler times when we revered soil and its bounty, instead of taking it for granted like we do now.

Usually during Poush Sankranti, I hover between my fail safe recipes of paati-sapta and gokul pithe. I have never tried to make pithe with rice flour which is quintessential part of poush parbon for Bengalis. My Ma makes puli pithe which are rice flour dumplings shaped like a small rugby ball and stuffed with nice things like kheer or coconut. These "pulis" are then steamed and dunked in a milk based paayesh. I have never been fond of them or tried to make them. There was a nonta pithe or bhaja pithe that my Ma used to make with sweet pea stuffing. Those I loved butI have never worked with rice flour so didn't try making those either.

That doesn't mean, I miss those though. I know an amazing bunch of folks who are all very talented when it comes to cooking. One of our friends Sanhita, is an expert when it comes to whipping up traditional Bengali delicacies. Every year during Sankranti, she takes it upon herself to make all kinds of pithes and pulis, and then invites all of us over to her home for a pithe party. Didn't I say, I had amazing friends?

Pyarakia or Gujiya -- sweet and savory

I had no intentions of making anything for Sankranti. As I always say, I don't want to eat any more sweet in January and the only things  I can make for Poush Parbon are sweet -- Paati Sapta and Gokul Pithe. I am not confident to make the puli pithe, seddho pithe or any other kind of pithe. Then last night I was talking to my Mom and I was ho-humming over whether I should make Koraishutir Kochuri today. The girls love Koraishutir kochuri and making the pea stuffing is not a difficult task with frozen shelled peas. Then my Mom suggested that I make Pyarakia.

Pyarakia is basically half-moon shaped dumplings made with flour and stuffed with a coconut-khoya filling or a kheer filling. The dumplings are deep fried and dunked in sugar syrup. I loved the ones with a kheer stuffing as a kid. My mother would make them pretty often and I would refer to them as the "binuni wala mishti"-- the sweet with the braided edge.I don't know if everyone calls it Pyarakia as I have often seen this thing going also by the name of gujiya.

Combining kochuri and the pyarakia, I decided to make savory Pyarakias with sweet pea filling. I also made some with a coconut-khoya stuffing but unlike my Mom, I did not dunk them in sugar syrup.

The girls loved the ones with the pea filling better and so did I.

Make the coconut-khoya filling


Take 1 cup of grated coconut. Fresh is better but I used frozen. Microwave the frozen one, to make it soft and fluffy

In the Kadai or Frying Pan mix the grated coconut with 1 cup sugar and mix with hand, pressing a little, so that the coconut will become slightly moist because of the sugar. This step is before the pan is put on the stove.

Next Microwave 1/2 Cup khoya to make it a little soft

Put the Kadhai/Frying pan with coconut mix in it on the stove and stir at medium heat.
Add 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom

Add the khoya and keep on stirring till the mixture turns a light brown and is sticky. At this point the mix should not dis-integrate but should look like a light brown slightly sticky granular substance. It took me almost 30 mins to do this


Make the sweet pea filling

Defrost 1 cup of frozen sweet peas. I usually prefer the Microwave for such purpose.

Put in a blender
the peas
1 tbsp of peeled and chopped ginger
1 green chili(optional)
very little water, a tsp to start with
Make a fine paste

Heat Vegetable Oil in a frying Pan

Add 1/4 tsp of Cumin seeds + a pinch of Hing/Asafoetida. I will insist on this as it lends an awesome fragrance. 

Add the pea paste that you just made. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of Dry Roasted Cumin + Red Chilli Powder(Bhaja Moshla). Add salt to taste. If your peas are not sweet enough add a little sugar. If you like it hot add some Red Chili Powder. Improvise.

Now keep stirring till the water from the pea mix totally evaporates and the mixture becomes dry, thicker and congeals. This takes a good 20-25 minutes or more. Basically it should come to a stage where you can make a small ball for the stuffing.

Make the Dough

In a bowl take 1 Cup of Maida/AP Flour. Add a pinch of salt.

To it add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil or ghee. Mix with the tip of your fingers to get a crumbly texture.

Add warm water gradually to make a stiff dough. The dough will not be as soft as the one you make for luchi/poori/kochuri.

Wrap the dough with a cling wrap or damp cloth and keep aside for 15-20 minutes

These are the two stuffing I made -- sweet coconut-khoya and savory sweet pea

Take a small gooseberry sized ball of the dough and roll it out in a circle. Take a small ball of the stuffing and put it in the centre of the circle.

This one has the sweet coconut filling

This one has the savory sweet pea filling

Fold the circle to make a half-moon shape. Press and seal the edges with the tip of your finger. Make sure the edges are sealed properly, else the stuffing will come out while frying.

You are ideally supposed the braid/pleat the edges as you can see in the photo below. I was not good at that and so with the back of a fork made the empanada style markings to seal the edges

The husband-man could braid the edges. Yeahhh!!!!

Heat enough oil in a deep bottomed kadhai  for deep frying. Ignore the black edges. This is our deep-frying kadhai and this is how it is supposed to look.

When the oil is hot, gently put a dumpling in the oil. Fry each side for about 30 secs by which time it will be a nice brown. Flip and fry the other side.. Take it out with a slotted spoon and put on a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain the excess oil

The girls loved the ones with the spicy pea filling

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Shrimp in a garlic-chili- basil pesto -- quick appetizers

I have been away from my blog for a while. There were more important thing at home that needed attention and so though I was cooking our daily meals, I was not in the mood to take pictures and post them! You know how it is right ? I bet each of you have been through the highs and lows of the ride that is called life. I can only be very very thankful that we have been through it with everything ending on a positive note. **fingers crossed**

Now let's get back to business and discuss finger foods or appetizers for the New Year's eve party. Whether you are having a "dhamaka" party or a quiet family time ushering in the New Year , we all do understand that the most important part is the "food". The New Year will bring many things with itself, the foremost being loads of resolution on diet and exercise. In face of that, lots of lip-smacking appetizers at the year end party, seems like a good start.


1. Shrimp in a Garlic-Chili-Basil Pesto

To make this easy-peasy you start off with store bought Basil pesto and off course store bought Shrimp.

If shrimp is frozen, defrost it by putting it in cold water. Never ever microwave it or defrost in hot water.

Shrimp -- 12 medium sized shrimp

Next, in a blender add
2 heaped tbsp of basil pesto
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 green chili
1 tbsp Olive oil
Make a smooth paste

In a bowl marinate the defrosted shrimp with
salt,
garlic-chilli-pesto you just made
keep aside for 10-15 minutes

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Put the shrimp in it in a single layer. Drizzle some more Oilive oil

Bake in oven for 7 mins. Then turn the tray around and bake for 7-8 more minutes. The shrimp will be cooked by total 15 minutes.

Take it out. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice


2. Puff Tartlets with different filling

This is a very popular snack with the kids. You can do a potato filling, a fish filling or a keema filling. You can prep the stuffing a few days ahead and then you have less work to day on the day of the party

3. Chicken Meatballs

This is another quick and easy favorite

In a bowl add 
1 lb of ground chicken

To it add
1/2 of a red onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1 geen chilli minced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Tandoori Masala(Raja Brand is good)
1/4th cup Bread Crumbs
Finely chopped mint and coriander leaves. Dried mint also works very well.
Salt and pepper
few drops of olive oil
Work everything well into the mix and keep aside for 30 minutes

Fashion balls or patties of this mix. Freeze them in single layer. Note: Usually I will make one ball, fry and do a taste test. I will then adjust the seasonings in the mix and proceed to make the other meatballs.

You can either fry them or bake them to serve. While frying very little oil is needed if you have shaped them in small flat rounds.

If you are baking, bake at 350F on a greased tray for 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked. Then take the balls out and shallow fry in a frying pan to brown the outside

For shallow frying, make small round and flat patties. Shallow fry them in hot oil

Serve them on a bed of fresh salad or with a yogurt dip

Another recipe for similar meatballs is here

4. Stuffed mushroom with mascarpone

This stuffed mushroom is my absolute favorite. Read the recipe, there is a version with mascarpone cheese, I absolutely love. If you like mushrooms, you are going to love that one.



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Neem-Phol aka Grandmother's sweet

Sometimes families have recipes no one has heard of. Not recipes already around, that they make in their own special way and give a special name like "Dinajpurer Mangshor Chaap"(I don't know what it is but honestly I saw this on a menu). Nor are they the one time wonders I make almost every other day and forget soon after.

These are recipes that have been handed down with careful instructions from one generation to next and are cooked periodically or on demand. They are much cherished and yet, no one outside the family has ever heard of it. It has not crossed anyone's mind to ever talk about it.

I was introduced to one such dish, well not exactly a dish, but a sweet picker-upper at my in-law's home. I think it was one of those times, when we were leaving for the US after a short vacation. The last two days of a India vacation invariably ends in gathering edible stuffs that we can carry across oceans in sturdy samsonites. While I usually rush around in those last hours buying Mukhorochak chanachur, Mongini's cheese straws and Sunrise mustard powder, the husband-man reaches out for specialities found only in his small town. It is his duty to get "lero biskut" and "madoan kat kati" -- tiny square pieces of spicy biscuit with hint of sweetness .

In addition to those, there are all kinds nimkis and narus that my Mother is frying and rolling until the last minute and stuffing in steel containers called koutos. So among all this jars and packets and boxes that we had to carefully wrap and tuck in, there was my Ma-in-law with one more. A glass Horlicks jar filled with with tiny balls,not exactly spherical but ovoid in shape and deep brown almost black in color. Each were the size of a fat pea and had fine white crystals of sugar on them.It wasn't anything I had ever seen before.

The husband-man's face lit up at the sight of that jar. "Neem Phol!!!" he said with a child like glee.

Neem phol?? Fruits of the neem tree whose leaves are famous for bitter taste and medicinal properties?? The nomenclature itself shut me off. The husband-man has this uncanny love for all things bitter and so I thought his Mother had gathered one more of her son's favorite bitter fruit and made something with it. I was not at all excited to say the least.

"Try it," said the husband-man. It was his favorite apparently.

I was hesitant but my curiosity made me pick up a single one to give it a try. And surprise! It was crunchy, sweet and very very addictive. Reminded me of the "murki" that my Dida used to make and carry for us in similar glass jars. The murki was lighter brown and softer while this was denser and had a crunch to it. It was very hard to stop at one and the jar had to be snatched away from me, else I would have finished it all.

Since then, a jar of "neem-phol" is a staple along with the nimkis, narus and chanachur we pack from India. I have never tried to get a recipe for it though. I kept procrastinating and relying on the jar from India. Last year when my in-laws came visiting, as usual there was a jar of "neem-phol" tucked besides the achhar and bori. Little Sis, opened it and had one.Soon she was having more and was utterly smitten by what she called "Thammir mishti". When it was time for my in-laws to leave, Little Sis wanted to make sure that there was more of that mishti for her. So "thammi" was coerced into making another batch of "neem-phol". And though I have never tried to learn how to make neem-phol earlier, I stood around to follow the steps so that if LittleSis ever asks again and this jar is over I can make some more.

Though at her own home, my mother-in-law makes it with khoya-kheer, here she made it with store-bought khoya aka mawa. They were basically small balls of kheer, deep fried and then tossed in thick sugar syrup.

High in cholesterol and sugar. Utterly delightful in taste. Isn't that how it is always ?

"Where did you learn this recipe from?" I asked the ma-in-law. 

She said, it was her mother's, who made it mostly during poush-parbon. Once all the pithes, pulis and patishaptas were done and still some of the "khoa-kheer" remained, her mother would make these little balls of delight with the remnant kheer. 

"And why did she call it neem-phol?", I asked expecting a long story. 

"It looks like neem phol, fruits of the neem tree, that is why," she said simply