Tomato chutney with dates and jaggery

Method:

1. Slice pitted dates into strips and soak in water if necessary 
2. Chop tomatoes into bite size pieces. 
3.  In a sauce pan, add about 1 tablespoon refined cooking oil. I don't like my chutney oily. Best if you can cook it without oil while dry roasting the spices.
4. Add a pinch of panch phoron, take care not to burn the spices.
5. Add the tomatoes and dates. Cook well. Mash some tomatoes with your laddle. You may also blend a portion of the chutney now to make it thicker.
6. Add jaggery to taste. You may also add julienned ginger and raisins.

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.

Bok choy with potatoes and eggplant

You can make this recipe with Yu choy sum, spinach (palak) or Vietnamese/Malabar spinach (Pui) too.

Method:

1. Heat Mustard oil in a wok. Temper with nigella seeds (kalonji/kalo jeere/কালো জিরা )
2. Add cubed potatoes and diced bok choy, Add eggplant. If you are using other greens like spinach or Vietnamese spinach, you can add the stalks first and leaves later. Add salt to taste and turmeric.
3. Stir-fry until almost done. Add slit green chilies and nigella seed paste (optional).  Boil water in a saucepan. Add for gravy.
4. You can add deep-fried lentil dumplings (ডালের বড়া) and mustard paste (সর্ষে বাটা ) for extra punch.

I added the core of banana blossom, steamed and chopped into thin slices for variety. Good source of fiber and vitamins. Good recipe to eat in Summer.

Paneer Cutlets

This post is dedicated to Suroshree Di who asked for the recipe. 
Otherwise, I feel too lazy to post food recipes nowadays. :D

You may use grated paneer and boiled mashed potatoes or leftover aloo-matar-paneer for the recipe. Some people also add grated cabbage and carrots to the mix for variety.

1. Add chopped ginger, chopped green chilies, chopped cilantro, chat masala, black salt, roasted and ground cumin-coriander-dry red chilies (bhaja masala) and crumble the paneer (if using leftover sabji) with your hands.  The masher or food processor can be tricky to get desired granularity here. Use whatever is convenient for you.
2. Add ghee roasted cashews and washed and squeezed raisins to the paneer-spice mix that will become your delectable filling. You just elevated it into a regal dish :D
3. Shape the mix into patties and dip first into gram flour batter (besan) and then in breadcrumbs. Repeat the coating process a second time to make the patties tighter, so they don't break when deep-fried. 
4. Deep fry in mellow tasting cooking oil.  Keep on a paper towel to soak excess oil. Transfer to a serving dish later.
5. Serve with your favorite chutney or sauce.

Kacha kolar kofta (raw banana/green plantain dumplings)

For Sujaya di

Method:

For kofta

1. Cut the bananas into 3-4 pieces, pressure cook up to 3 whistles. Drain in a colander. (overnight if necessary)
2. Peel the skin, mince or chop finely with a sharp knife. Mash the banana flesh(you may prefer to stir fry them to reduce water content further. Optional step). Add salt and coriander powder. Make round balls. Coat with all purpose flour or maida. Deep fry in oil. Set aside on paper towels to drain excess oil.

For gravy

1. In a wok, heat mustard oil. Add Bengali panch phoran, tej pata. Let it splutter. Take care not to burn the phoron or it will taste bitter. Then add ginger paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt to taste. On medium low flame. (Flame button turned to about 4 o'clock)
2. Add chopped tomato, ginger, green chilis (you may add fried potatoes pieces if you want. I add green peas too). Add boiled water for gravy. Cook till a boil.
3. Add ghee, garam masala. Add the kofta balls to the gravy. Turn once. Alternately, if the balls are too soft, add the gravy to the balls after it has cooled a bit.

Kora, bata, and the likes

A long time ago, we had a cook named Hari Kaku. He was scandalized to know that we throw away vegetable peels. When he asked Ma to let him cook opo peels (লাউয়ের খোসা), I was amused. She took me to another room and said- Don't laugh at him. He has many mouths to feed. He has to be resourceful. And vegetable peels are nutrient rich. Let's give him a chance. He made it for us, and it was a hit. We never threw away opo peels again. Today, I made pointed gourd peels (পটোলের খোসা বাটা) with garlic and nigella seeds and it reminded me of Hari Kaku. RIP.

Here are some the baata/paste recipes that I have been trying:

Potoler khosha baata /pointed gourd peels paste with garlic
Process pointed gourd peel and garlic into a thick paste Stir fry in heated mustard oil and nigella seeds with turmeric and salt to taste.

Cabbage paste/ badhakopir baata
Parboil cabbage leaves in salt water. Add garlic cloves, green chilies and process to a paste. Heated mustard oil in a non-stick frying pan, add nigella seeds. Stir fry with a pinch of cumin powder, chili powder, turmeric, salt to taste. Add asafetida/hing and narkel kora/coconut flakes for a very special dish.

Beet greens and Kashmiri Dum Aloo

I used to throw away beet greens until now.They are quite delicious when sauted with minced garlic and nigella seeds.

I also made Kashmiri Dum aloo à la Sanjeev Kapoor Except that I parboiled the potatoes instead of deep frying them.

Linguine with homemade basil pesto, grape tomatoes and wilted spinach.

Method:

1. Boil a saucepan of water, enough to cook the pasta al dente. Stir once to separate.
2. Remove from heat and drain pasta in a colander, running through cold water.
3. In a non stick pan, saute sliced onions, celery, and garlic. Add grape tomatoes cut into halves, some baby spinach, salt and pepper.
4. Add pasta to the pan and the homemade pesto (I used basil, garlic powder, olive oil, salt and pepper).
5. Sprinkle grated parmesan and serve warm.

Chal Potol (Pointed gourd with rice)

চাল পটল 

Ingredients: 
2 packets frozen parwal/potol/pointed gourd or about 15-20 fresh (cut in halves)

Pre soaked kalonji rice- about 1/4 cup
1 tbsp ginger paste
1/2 medium sized onion paste
Cumin powder
Garam masala
Ghee
Cooking oil

Optional:
Dry red chilies 2
panch phoron powder (a pinch)

Method:

1. Heat mustard oil. Temper with whole cumin, bay leaves and 2 red chilies (broken into halves).
2. Add onion-ginger paste, stir fry and add the pointed gourd (you may shallow fry them if you are using fresh vegetables)
3. Add pre-soaked kalonji rice to the vegetables. Add turmeric, salt, cumin powder, panch phoron powder (a pinch). Stir.
4. Slow cook till the water released by the vegetables dry off and the rice is cooked thoroughly but is not mushy. Add garam masala and ghee. 

Doi fulkopi posto diye (Cauliflower in poppy seed- yogurt sauce)

1. Cut cauliflower into bite sized florets. Microwave them for 4 mins in water with diced potatoes . Drain the water in a colander.
2. In a frying pan (with cover), add 2 tsp mustard oil, 1/2 tsp ghee, 1-2 bay leaves, 1/4 tsp nigella seeds (kalo jeere or kalonji), 4-5 slit green chilies. Add the vegetables. Cover and cook.
3. In a coffee grinder, add 3 tsps cashews, 8 peppercorns, 3 tsp poppy seeds, 3 green cardamom, 1/2 cinnamon stick- ground to a fine powder. Add it to the vegetables, evenly.
4. Stir and cook till the poppy is well roasted. Beat 3 tbsp yogurt with water, add evenly.
5. Cover and cook until the oil separates and the vegetables are well done. You may slip in a few golden raisins and a spoonful of sugar.

For other recipes with posto (poppy seeds), see:

Aloo bean posto kaju

Jhinge aloo kaju posto

Doi begun posto

Chana dal with zucchini

1. Wash well and then soak chana dal in clear water over night.
2. Add black pepper corn, red round Chile pepper, 1-2 star anise, green cardamom,  salt, turmeric and aamchur (dry mango powder) in a pressure cooker, cook till the steam appears.
3. In a frying pan, add diced (half-moon) zucchini (green or yellow), panch phoran, and halved heirloom tomatoes. Add salt, kashmiri mirch and bhaja masala (dry roasted- cumin-coriander-red chilies). Cook till oil separates.
4. Add the zucchini mix, a pinch of hing (asafoetida)  and ghee (for smell). Simmer till done.

Kanch kolar kofta kadhi (plantain/green banana balls in gram flour-yogurt gravy)

This recipe is like a Punjabi munda marrying a Bangali meye. I wanted to make kancha kolar kofta but I didn't want to use the traditional Bengali gravy and thought of making it in kadhi gravy that uses besan (gram flour) and yogurt.

Method:

1. Boil 4 potatoes and  3 medium-sized plantains in a microwave safe bowl for 10-15 minutes with water. (makes about 10- 15 balls)
   
2. Peel and mash the vegetables. Add salt, turmeric, dry roasted cumin-coriander-red chili powder, minced cilantro, green chilis and ginger. Roll into balls. 
   
3. Deep fry in batches. Turn frequently.
   
4. For the gravy, beat yogurt with salt, turmeric, kashmiri mirch powder,  bhaja masala, and besan.
   
5. In a wok, fry minced onions, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, 2 red chilies broken, and 1 bay leaf broken in half.  Add the gravy and cook in low heat till it boils, adjust water, salt and spices for taste.
6. Finally, add the kofta balls, simmer for a while. Serve with rice or roti. 

(You may add curry leaves in the gravy)

Aloo pepe dalna (Potatoes and green papaya curry)

1. Peel and dice green papaya and potatoes into bite sized pieces. Microwave for 4 mins
2. In a wok, add mustard oil, panch phoron, bay leaves, papaya, potatoes, slit green chilies, grated ginger, asafoetida. Cook covered. Add a cup of warm water if necessary.
3. Add 1 tsp ghee, freshly ground Bengali garam masala (cardamom, cinnamon and clove)  or basic bhaja masala (dry-roasted and ground cumin, coriander and dry red chilies)  and chopped cilantro.

You may also add fried shrimp to make it a non-vegetarian dish.

For more vegetables with shrimp recipes, click here

Eggplant with tomatoes, Italian breadcrumbs, and Parmesan

.. Inspired by Parmigiana Di Melanzane. (Eggplant Parmesan)

Eggplants, sliced, 1 medium

Tomatoes, diced 1 medium

Italian bread crumbs

Olive oil for baking

Salt to taste

Grated cheese (Parmesan preferred)

1. Wash and wipe eggplants, trim both ends and cut them into fans or slices. Try to make them evenly thick for uniform cooking. 
2. Dice tomatoes and stuff them into the eggplant. (Remove seeds if you want. I do)
3. Add salt, Italian bread crumbs. Bake for 10 mins at 350 F or microwave for 3 mins (Essential, to reduce oil intake later). 
4. Then, pan-fry at very low heat until brown. Sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan.
5. Serve warm. You can also use it to stuff wraps.

You may use other soft vegetables like zucchini and string beans to make a similar dish.

Vegetables with squash greens

I have been meaning to make this for a while, but something else in the pantry runs into my arms to get cooked first. You can add lentil fritters (daler bora) or vadi. I wanted to make the vadi first, and hence the delay. You can also use store-bought substitutes.

Vadi preparation: 

1. Wash Urad dal, soak overnight. Remove excess water and grind in a food processor with salt.(I use Magic Bullet). Add Nigella seeds when the paste is done.
2. Pat oil on a plate and make desired shapes out of the dal paste. Smaller sized ones dry faster but bigger ones are easier to break on drying, if you prefer crumbled vadis.
3. Dry it in the sun for a day or two, then store in an airtight container

Ingredients:

Squash greens (Got it from Mountain View Farmers' Market)

Potatoes

Radish/Daikon

Pumpkin or Acorn squash

Nigella seeds

Mustard oil

Method:

1. Clean and cut the vegetables into small sizes. 
2. Dry roast the vadis. Keep aside.
3. Heat mustard oil in a kadhai/wok, add Nigella seeds. Add the potatoes, squash greens and radish first, the softer vegetables like pumpkin later. (You may use eggplant too)
4. Warm a bowl of water in microwave, add it to the vegetables. Simmer till done.
5. When they are about done, you may add mustard powder (I use a coffee grinder to grind mustard seeds), slit green chilies.
   
   My mom uses the squash stalk (kumro'r data), potatoes and vadis  to make fish broth in winter. You just have to add fried fish steaks/fillets
   
   You may also use Bok Choy for this recipe [Bong Mom's Cookbook].

Mocha aloo tarkari (banana flower with potatoes)

It's actually banana inflorescence, but who cares, right? That which we call a rose etc.This is one of my favorite Bengali dishes. The preparation takes a while, and can be done before to reduce cooking time- except that it may turn dark. Soaking them in a bowl of lemon juice might help to prevent that.

1. Discard the outer purple layers and work with the stalk-like flowers. You have to discard the anthers or else your dish will turn bitter. Two generations ago, when you had ample help around kitchen in big families, women used to pluck them one by one. now you just need to hold the knife at an angle and behead them all at once,and the anthers will come out with the heads. Chop.
2. Microwave in a bowl with water. Drain out the water, and any extra bitterness.
3. Dice potatoes into small pieces, fry with cumin seeds in oil. Add the steamed flowers. Add turmeric and salt to taste. Cook covered.
4. You can add garam masala and ghee for the traditional taste. Some prefer a sprinkle of sugar.

You can make a variation by adding shallow-fried shrimps. You can also make mochar chop (croquettes) using the mix.

Version 2:

Add shallow-fried shrimps

Bengal gram salad (boiled chana)

Banglay, pati chola siddho. :P

My mom used to say germinating Bengal gram is very nutritious and tried her best to make us gulp some down with a bit of jaggery every morning. I loved it in a different avatar though. Boiled, non-germinating ones with a dash of lime juice, black salt and minced onions -as an evening snack. Dry-roasted peanuts (or Planters Heat peanuts), cilantro and green chilies make a decent entourage. Topped with a fire-roasted crumbled papad.

Bengali Ghugni (oil-free recipe)
This is so easy to make and healthy. Soak yellow vatana in water overnight. In  a pressure cooker, add minced onions, matchstick ginger, minced garlic, cloves, cardamom, bay leaves,  dry roasted & ground cumin and coriander seeds, black salt, dry mango powder (amchur)  turmeric,(I add aloo bhaji masala too). Cook and serves with pico de gallo or khacumber 

It is as simple as that, but always a hit with the guests. Goes well with Indian puffed bread or puri. (luchi in Bengali). I like it with fish kachori too.

Aloo Kabli

Ghugni chaat
You can boil chickpeas and potatoes in pressure cooker (like ghugni recipe) and serve it with diced onions, cucumber, 1 tsp yogurt , chaat masala and  nimboo natkhat or other spicy sev.

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.

Suji Upma/ Nonta Suji

Ingredients
1 cup semolina (rava/suji)
1 tbsp grated ginger (adrak)
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 tbsp chopped green chillies
Curry leaves
Peanuts
Mustard seeds
salt to taste
oil for cooking

You can add green peas, diced potatoes, jalapeños too.

Method
Heat the pan and dry roast peanuts,add mustard seeds, green chillies, curry leaves, and then the semolina stirring continuously.
Add the water and make a thick consistency batter.
Add the salt and mix gently.

Aloo palak (Potato Spinach)

Ingredients

Cooking oil
Bay leaves
Pinch of cumin seeds
2 dried red chili broken
Turmeric powder, salt to taste
Crushed garlic
Cubed potatoes, microwaved or boiled, add a little salt
Fresh spinach, blanched or microwaved for 10 minutes, add a little salt
Bhaja masala-dry roasted cumin, coriander and dry red chilis

Method:

1. Blend the blanched spinach into a smooth paste.(You may also use finely chopped or frozen spinach)
2. Add the bay leaves, cumin seed, red chilis and let it splutter.
3. Add  potatoes. Sprinkle salt, turmeric, bhaja masala and fry till golden. Add chopped spinach. Simmer for a few minutes. Sprinkle some water if it gets too dry.

You can make aloo methi (potatoes with fenugreek leaves) by using chopped methi instead of spinach. Or add cubed eggplant to aloo palak to make a delicious aloo-palak-baingan. You just need to temper mustard oil with nigella seeds and dry red chilies for a quick side dish.

You may add cottage cheese (paneer) instead of potatoes for palak paneer recipe. Green chillis and onions  may also be aided as a variation. It also help to soften the cottage cheese in salt water if you can't get fresh paneer.

*Yet another way of cooking paneer is to rub salt, turmeric, red chili powder and amchur on the paneer cubes and shallow fry them first, before incorporating in the gravy.