Malai paneer my way

Blended half onion, ginger, garlic, ripe chilies 🌶 and tomato for the gravy and cooked in oil + 1/2 tsp ghee. Salt, turmeric and kashmiri mirch to taste. Added paneer cubes and almond paste (can use cashew too. I had some almonds paste already so used it) Added malai and kasuri methi in the end. You can use coriander powder too.

Nectarine cocktail with pineapple vodka

I added bite sized nectarine pieces with minced mint to 1 glass of water, 750 ml sugarcane juice, pineapple vodka to taste and agave nectar for a concoction I am experimenting with for a grill party.

Shrimp ball curry/ চিংড়ি মাছের কোফতা

Method:

         For the shrimp balls

1. Boil shell, de-vein, and clean the shrimp. Boil them. Drain on a strainer. Or use precooked shrimp.
2. Make a paste in a processor. Add salt, chopped chillies, cilantro and spices like bhaja masala (dry roasted and ground cumin, coriander and dry red chilies). 
3. Beat and egg and mix with the shrimp paste. Roll into balls when the mix is ready. Keep in the fridge if you need to dry the water more.
4. Fry in oil. keep aside.
   
   For the gravy
5. Heat cooking oil (and 1/2 tsp ghee), add bay leaves, clove and cinnamon stick. Then fry ginger paste. 
6. Add coconut cream and cook well. Add the shrimp balls and shimmer in low flame (about 10 mins) 
7. Add chopped cilantro for garnish if you want. Serve with steamed white Basmati rice.

Thai Eggplant with Goda Masala

When I was a kid, my mom would shoo me away if I wandered around the kitchen, saying, ‘পড়াশুনা করো গিয়ে, রান্না বান্না করার জন্যে সারা জীবন পড়ে আছে ' (Go and study. You have your whole life to cook) Maybe she feared that I would lose out in the rat race if I got distracted by other things.

 The kitchen has been always a magical place for me where simple ingredients turn into delicious dishes with a pinch of this and a dash of that. Needless to say, my mom is one of my greatest champions now even when it comes to my cooking. I try to respect her conventional palate but sometimes I nudge her to try new things. Recently, I have seen her being more adventurous with food and enjoying different flavors that could appear outlandish to her. In the picture is Thai eggplant cooked with goda masala, coconut flakes, jaggery and peanut paste. Added sliced onions and green peas to add complexity. You can add tamarind too.

Method:

1. Cut the eggplant (preferably small sized one for aesthetics) into bite sized pieces
2. Fry sliced onion in cooking oil until uniformly browned. Add the eggplant pieces and sauté for a while. 
3. Add goda masala
   Ingredients link
4.  When the eggplants are almost done, add jaggery powder, coconut flakes , and peanut passte. You may alos add tamaring if you want it to be tangy.

Enjoy with roti (Indian flatbread) or as a side to a bigger meal with rice.

Thandai recipe

Grind poppy seeds, raw almonds, raw cashews, fennel seeds, white peppercorn (cardamom optional) to a powder. Add sugar to taste, saffron strands, rose water, and raw cold milk.
You may also use rose syrup or Rooh Afza as a variation.

Chicken recipe ideas

Some of my more successful experiments in the kitchen include:

1. Habanero chicken
2. Chicken with crumpled lime leaves, matchstick ginger, and coconut milk
3. Grilled chicken with roasted tomatillo salsa verde
4. Black Pepper Chicken

Will expand on the recipes when I can.

Moringa or drumstick leaves (সজনে পাতা) dal with toor and masoor mix

Method

1. Wash and pressure cook equal parts toor dal and masoor dal with salt and turmeric. You can cook with only toor or only masoor dal (red lentil) too.
2. In a wok, heat 2 tsp cooking oil, whole cumin seeds, dry red chilies, chopped garlic and drumstick leaves (destem and wash them before cooking). You may add mustard seeds and curry leaves too. Slit green chilies and 1/4 tsp ginger paste will also enhance the taste, 
3. Saute for a bit and add the cooked dal to the spices. Cook to a boil.