Mushroom Matar Malai (Mushroom and green pea in cream)

1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add diced onions, crushed garlic and break a cinnamon bark into several pieces.
2. Cut button mushrooms into quarters. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly. Toss into the pan. Cover and cook on slow flame. Add green peas and kasuri methi (dry methi leaves). Cook further and add 1 tbp of cream (I used Nestle for this recipe). Taste for salt. You may add red chili powder and a pinch of turmeric if you want.

I sauteed the remaining mushrooms for breakfast the following day with onions in olive oil , salt and pepper with a sunny side up.

Poha / Chirer Polao

Chirer polao or aloo poha is a favorite for breakfast in winter. And surprisingly easy to make too.

1. Wash the poha (flattened rice) in cold water and drain in a colander.
2. Finely chop onions, green chilis. Julienne/matchstick ginger if you prefer to add them.
3.  Dice potatoes, cauliflower in small bits.  (You might want to add a little salt here)
4. In a wok, heat vegetable oil and add mustard seeds, onions, then potatoes, cauliflower, frozen green peas. Stir.
5. When the veggies are about done, add curry leaves, Whole mustard seeds, green chilis, ginger, dry roasted peanuts. (you can use your favorite snacking peanuts too.)
6. Add the moist poha (you can add salt and a tsp sugar uniformly before you add it to the wok), stir well and serve warm.

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I always try to think what I can have for breakfast- I had almost forgotten how good a well toasted bread tastes in warm milk. Yum.

Aloo tikki

There are several versions available, I found the following a convenient way to make aloo tikki. Put them inside a bun and you will get a Aloo tikki burger. Serve them with ghugni for aloo tikki chaat. They are yummy on their own with ketchup.

1.  Boil 3 potatoes, some green peas and bengal gram(soaked overnight) in a pressure cooker.
2.  Remove the skin of the potatoes and mash them with hand or a spoon. Don't make it too gooey. Mash  the peas and gram in a food processor with ginger and green chilis. Mix well with black salt, dry roasted cumin seed powder, and your fav spice.
3. Shape them into patties and fry in oil or grill. 

Leafy greens

When I was a kid, my mom always urged me to eat all my greens, insisting it was good for my eyes. I can't say I appreciated them much then. But the local Asian market in the vicinity of my current residence provides a lot of interesting options. In fact, a whole aisle is dedicated to bok choy and the likes. Spinach is a permanent member of my grocery selection. Here are some options you can try, if you want to include more leafy greens in your diet.

Pea greens sauteed with minced garlic, red chilies ( Kalonji optional ), and green peas. And soft cream cheese if you must . Or go Asian style with soy sauce and oyster sauce.

Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce

Ingredients:
Leafy greens like spinach or snow pea leaves
Minced garlic anout5-6 cloves
Kalonji, a pinch
Dry red chilies, 2-3 broken in halves
Green peas, less than you think- the leaves will wilt in heat and reduce in quantity.
Soft cheese of your choice, or Feta


Method:

1. Wash the leaves well under running water. I use a colander to strain the water.
2. Tear them with your hands. You may  use a knife to chop.
3. (Optional)Boil water and cook the greens till tender.
4. Heat oil in a wok/frying pan. Add kalonji, minced garlic. Take care not to brown the garlic, as it will turn bitter.
5. Add the leaves. The water from the levaes will prevent the garlic from drying up. No extra water in needed.
6. Add green peas. Stir well till done. Break and add dry green chilies
7. You may add cream cheese if you prefer. Feta goes well too.

You can make spinach purse or Indian samosa (similar to Greek Spanakopita or Turkish Borek) filing similarly. or on portobello caps as sides with a nice steak.

Aloo matar tamatar (Baby potatoes with green peas and tomatoes)

Method:

1. Dry roast cumin, saunf, coriander seeds, whole pepper corn, cardamom, cinnamon , and cloves. then grind in coffee grinder.
2. Add kalonji seeds in a hot ghee and diced onions and  tomatoes with a pinch of black salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and hing.
3. Add boiled, skinned baby potatoes and stir in the mix. Add the ground masala, turn to coat well.
4. Add yogurt in little water and bring to boil. Add frozen green peas. Cover and simmer,

Taste for salt, serve with freshly chopped cilantro and hot rotis or luchi (phulke)

Keema -matar (minced meat and green peas) with mint leaves

Ingredients
1 pound Minced meat (I usually prefer turkey. Chicken, beef. pork, lamb or goat is ok too)
3/4 cup - Green peas
1 big - Onion, chopped finely
1 piece - Ginger, chopped finely
1 tbsp - Garlic, grated
3 green chillies or 1 jalapeño chopped. You can use 1 habanero if you want it really hot !
2 small - Cinnamon sticks
2 pods - Cardamom seeds, crushed
3 - Cloves
1 - Bay leaf
1/2 tsp - Whole Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp - whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp meat masala
Salt to taste
3 tsp yogurt or sour cream
Mint leaves to garnish


Heat oil in a pan and fry onions until golden brown. Add garlic, ginger, cardamom, cinnamom, cloves, bay leaf, coriander seeds, peppercorns, green chillies and fry for 3 - 4 minutes.

Add minced meat, peas and fry for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until meat turns brown. Use a hand mixer to mix evenly. Add yogurt. Cover and cook on low heat until meat is cooked . Garnish with mint leaves.

I love the crunchy coriander seeds and peppercorns in this dish, and the mint flavor. If you don't fancy mint much, you can add cilantro instead, or other seasoning. It is good with rosemary or kasuri methi too.

Recipe for Aloo Keema

Bengali Vegetable Medley (Panch mishali)

Version 1

 Version 2: Added beets for some color

Ingredients:
Chopped cabbage- half
Butternut squash- a quarter
Radish: 1 medium
Roma tomatoes: 2
Potatoes: 1 or 2
Green Peas : 1/3 cup
Dry red chili: 1 (break into 2) or  2 Green chilis slit in halves
Panch phoron: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: a pinch or so ( I don't like too much turmeric in my food)
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Oil: 2-3 tbsp.
Fresh coriander leaves/cilantro for garnishing

Method :

1. Cut radish, butternut squash, tomatoes and potatoes into cubes. Chop cabbage leaves, thaw some frozen green peas.
2. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp. oil, temper with Panch phoron, and bay leaves.
3. Add vegetables, salt, turmeric powder and a vegetable masala (like Badshah Sabji masala or dry roasted cumin/coriander powder) if you prefer. It is good simply with grated ginger and green chilies too.
4. Stir-fry together for 20-30 minutes in medium flame. Bengalis usually add a spoonful of sugar and ghee at the end. If you add pumpkin or butternut squash in the recipe, you don't need extra sugar for sweetness.
5. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves/cilantro. (or add before you stop the flame/heat)

You may also use other vegetables like carrots, beets, cauliflower or drumsticks. I prefer the radish-butternut squash combination and then I add/subtract other vegetables on whim or availability. It is a  great way to clean to clean your fridge before your weekly groceries.

You can add fresh spinach leaves and chana dal for tempering as a variety. You may also add chopped banana blossom (mocha) or fried lentil fritter (dal er bora) for a different flavor.