Paneer Kalia ~ Bengali style

I love Bengali food, thanks to my dear friend Deltu who got me into the habit of eating true Bong food. This was many years back. Through her I got to learn the importance of Paach Phoron, a blend of five spices which add the authentic taste to any Bong dish; numerous ways to make Koccha Kela, serve the raw banana plantain vegetable as a side dish with chopped vegetables cooked in mustard oil or pan fry them with little Haldi, I also learnt how to make Begun Bhaaja which is tiny thin slices of Aubergine marinated liberally with Haldi and Salt and then pan-fried in mustard oil. This along with host of other dishes like Aam Tok, Maccher Jhol, Jhaal Muri, Aloo Posto, Fish r' Chop, Kolkata Kathi Rolls, I could go on. Though I must confess, Aloo Posto is my favorite and the dish can roll me into a peaceful slumber for good 2-3 hours in the noon.

Recently, I tasted Paneer Kalia at a Bong friend's place. This is my version of Paneer Kalia as per the faint memory of the dish I sampled. The taste of this dish is very faint and non-spicy with subtle flavours of Yogurt making it ideal for kids and tiny tots. I am not a big fan of Yogurt however the flavour of yogurt disguised in a curry took me by surprise. Traditionally, Kalia dishes are thick and semi-dry in texture and do not have a runny curry like texture opines my Bong friend, I added little broth to my curry since I was pairing it with Roti and ginger-garlic paste to spruce up the flavour.

~ Paneer Kalia ~
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:
Paneer (cubes) - 2 cups
Green Peas (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup
Yogurt - 1 cup
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin-Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Tomato paste - 3 tablespoon
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Salt
Ghee/Oil

Method:
In a deep bottomed pan, heat few spoons of oil/ghee, coat the bottom of the vessel evenly with ghee/oil, add ginger-garlic paste and tomato paste. Saute for a while till it forms a clump and oozes out oil. Add the spice powders now and switch to a low flame. Add Yogurt as well, don't worry if it begins breaking down. Add the Paneer pieces and Green Peas and adjust water and salt as desired. Cook on low flame for about 2-6 minutes or till completely cooked. Serve hot with Rotis.

Mushy Rice With Green Chillies (Tanni Anna/ Panta Bhaat)

Many a times when we were kids, leftover rice would be aptly used for this recipe - Tanni Anna or Panta Bhaat - the Bong version of this rice. I am talking about days when scorching summer would annoy to no end and refrigerators were owned only by the rich, if you know what I am saying. Mom used to soak the rice in cold water at night before sleeping, make a comforting meal for 1100 noon next day morning for us. Anna is Rice in Konkani, Tanni is cold in Kannada. Even during days when there is no leftover rice, I keep some cooked rice aside to prepare this soul-warming comfort meal! This is a depleting recipe yet very very silly one so to say. I sometimes think that lesser mortals like me are the only ones hounding their Grandmoms and Aunts to offer gyaan on such simple recipes. But I wanted to document this to aid the sprawling, curious bunch of posterity in my jumbo family.

The science behind this recipe is the rice gets lightly fermented in water giving it a very mushy texture. Next day morning the rice is squeezed from the water, mixed with little green chillies crushed in a mixture of salt and oil. All the gooey mass mixed in together to form a mushy kid meal. But mind you, this recipe is not for the faint hearted. The green chillies pack in quite a punch, so reduce you green chillies if you are not ready for spice and heat. I prefer soak time of 2 hours and use the rice thereafter. Do not oversoak as you run the risk on over-fermentation of rice. My Ammama made this and Paej frequently when she had to feed an army of kids, grand kids in a joint family. The recipe is close to my heart for the sheer paltry ingredients it needs and the simplicity it carries. It is also known as a Paupers meal owing to the simple stuff its made of and was prepared by poor people during olden days as resources were scarce so says my Grandma.

Few years later further to my discovery, a Bengali friend of mine informed me that they have a similar version amongst Bongs, known as Panta Bhaat. The only difference being, the seasoning is some lime juice, red onions chopped and green chillies instead. Panta = soaked in water and Bhaat = boiled rice in Bengali. Panta Bhaat is made during key Bengali festivals. In Konkani homes (atleast the ones I know), this is a hush-hush secret recipe to devour the leftover rice. My Grandmom was to embarassed to discuss the details and laughed it off saying it was 'silly' and too easy. I think its too precious to be passed off and ignored what she said! :)

Soaking time - 8-10 hours

Processing time - 5 minutes

Ingredients:

Cooked rice (2 cups) - soaked in double the quantity of cold water

Green Chillies - 1-2

Coconut oil

Salt

Method:

Soak cooked rice which is cool, in water for 8-10 hours. Once soaking time passes, squeeze the rice out of water. Mix salt and oil and crush green chillies in them. Mix all of this together and devour with relish. Remover green chillies while serving if required. For more authentic flavour, use Coconut oil.

Calcutta Egg Roll/ Kathi Rolls

I first sampled the Egg Rolls or Kathi Rolls at a friends lunch party in Bangalore. My friend A, makes lot of yummy Bengali dishes. I wanted to ask her the recipe but then sooner or later, it got buried. The taste still lingered in my mind. I later sampled the Rolls in one of the Calcutta joints in Bangalore. I like the Calcutta food especially the lighter food items like Ghoogni- a pasty dish of Chickpeas cooked in mild spices, Jhaal Mooree - puffed rice with spices, onions and cilantro, Lebu Chaa - lemon tea which is soothing and subtle, Puchkaa - the good old Pani-Puri Calcutta style et al.

The other day when I was blog hopping, I came across Sandeepa's blog of Bong Mom's Cookbook fame. I was blown away with the recipe of Egg Roll. Much to my amusement, I also found Kawan - Malaysian Paratha for binding in the roll at local Asian grocery store. The final outcome was very tasty, aptly coupled with a Coke Can! Now, we regularly munch on Parathas and snack big on different variations of this roll. Thanks a lot Sandeepa. I tweaked the spice and stuffing; this recipe is a saviour when you want to snack on something easy, quick and tasty.

Recipe Source: Bong Mom's Cookbook

Preparation + Cooking time: 30 minutes ~ 4 rolls

Ingredients:

Paratha Stuffing -
Kawan Paratha - 4
Onions (sliced) - 1/2 cup
Tomato Ketchup - As per taste
Mozzarella Cheese - 1/2 cup
Chaat Masala - 1 tablespoon
Lime Juice - 4 tablespoon
Green Chillies (chopped) - 2

Egg Topping -
Egg (beaten with 1 tsp milk each) - 4
Salt - As per taste
Pepper powder - 2 teaspoon
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Foil - 4 strips to hold the wrap

Method:
Take an individual Kawan Paratha from the freezer and fry immediately on a heated pan. This requires no oil and can be used straight out of fridge. One need not thaw the Parathas before use. Pan-fry the Paratha evenly on both sides till the dough is cooked and fried on both sides.
Separately, break an egg; whisk with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of milk. Beat well to make it fluffy, spread this mix on side of the the Paratha and flip over till the eggs gets cooked on both sides.
Transfer to a plate with the Eggy side on top. Add the topping of onion slices, chaat masala, mozzarella cheese (shredded), green chillies, tomato ketchup, some salt and pepper. Finally, squeeze fresh lime juice and roll half the Paratha with a foil. Serve hot with desired beverage.

Bhindi Bhaaja

I sampled this dish at my friend's place and simply loved the flavours. I loved the taste especially of the spices and immediately thought of trying it out yesterday. It turned to be pretty easy and the taste was very different. This dish gels pretty well with hot phulkas.

Serves: 2-3 individuals

Ingredients:
Okra – ¼ kg (chopped vertically and further chopped into 1 inch size)
Mustard oil – 2 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoon
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Fennel powder – ½ teaspoon
Green Chillies – 2 (sliced vertically)
Salt – as per taste

Method:
1. Wash the Okra and chop and keep aside. Heat sesame oil in a sauce pan and sauté the green chillies.
2. Now add the Okra (chopped) and add the masala along with salt.
3. Keep on low flame and stir once in a while. Turn off flame once the vegetable is completely cooked.
4. Serve hot with Phulkas.

Update - The oil used here is Mustard oil. I realised using a different oil as base just changes the flavour of the subzi.