Chili shiitake noodles

For Paro,

Carrots from @farmfreshtoyou
Shiitake mushrooms from @farwestfungi, and
Green onions from garden and voila !


Method:

1.  Bring a sauce pan of water to boil. Boil noodles, strain.
2. While the noodles are cooking, slice shiitake mushroom and the carrots. Dice some onions and green onions
3. Sauté the mushrooms in oil. Add the carrots. Add red chili flakes, dark soy sauce and chili vinegar.
4. Add the noodles. Mix. If you have noodle powder, add it while stirring continuously for uniform coating. Add the green onions. Do not overcook.
5. Serve piping hot. With coffee.

Waldorf salad

Waldorf salad with Granny Smith apples 🍏

Waldorf salad is named for the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, where it was first created for a charity ball given in honor of the St. Mary's Hospital for Children on March 14, 1896. The original recipe was just apples, celery, and mayonnaise.

I also added grapes, raisins, cashews (walnuts preferred). You may use yogurt instead of mayo for the dressing. Citrus zest or lemon juice add another layer of flavor to it.

বাগানের ডাটা দিয়ে রুই মাছের ঝোল / Fish curry cooked with chard stems and mustard paste

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.