Rakhi Special

I have not expected and planned much about this year’s Raksha bandhan. R being down with fever for almost a week has made me less enthusiastic and low. It is almost a month now that my darling is not keeping well. It started with cold and cough, then stomach upset and now this fever! Since we shifted to our new home, it is everyday something or other that is troubling including, electricity, water supply, domestic help, small (actually crucial) carpentry, plumber related, gas-supply related problems and finally an unwell kid. To add to these was S’s back sprain on Saturday. Fully exhausted!!! and could not plan anything for Rakhi.

Rakhi is a day when only veg meal is served at my place. I had nothing at home- no vegetables nothing. Only I had 2 ltrs of full cream milk. At around 9 pm on Saturday, my sis-in-law called and said that she’s making malpua and will bring for tomorrow’s occasion. Finally, after that call I sat to decide what to make. Outside food was not an option as R was not well. I wanted to go for easy and tasty but those items that my family would love.  

I thought of making something different but easy with the milk. Payesh or kheer was not the option because that I have made for many times now. So, I thought for Bhapa sandesh/ steamed Sandesh- a low sweet soft Bengali desert. But this is the dessert- I have to plan for the starters and the main course menu as well. Dahi vada was the only thing that I could think of as a starter. A famous way of having malpua in Bihari style is to have it with alu matar or dam aloo type sabzi. Accordingly, I thought of making alu matar paneer (potatoes, peas and paneer) ki sabzi. This will be absolutely well if accompanied by rice. I also needed to make a bhujia (sabji cooked in low flame, less oil and no water). But I could not think of that. Then Rai, my niece, was there. She said she would love to make a cake. With this, I initiated the celebration atleast.

I made the bhapa/ steamed sandesh on previous day night. This is made out of chana, i.e., curdled milk. This is how I made it.

Ingredients for 15-20 pieces bhapa/ steamed sandesh

Full Cream milk 2 ltr

2tbsp vinegar

8-10 tbsp sugar

Pinch of cardamom powder/ or cardamom pods

Method                                                                                                                               

Boil the full cream milk in medium flame and stirring often.

Lower the flame, when the milk is boiled and add vinegar.

Switch off the gas and stir the milk and leave for 2minutes.

Place the curdled milk on a strainer and separate the water. Keep it for at least 10-15 minutes to allow the extra water to be strained. But remember not to make it dry. In this dish we want the chana to be moist. That would give soft sandesh.

Now, add cardamom powder/pods and sugar and mash and mix well.

When it is done grease a covered bowl that would go into your pressure cooker. Place the mixture in the covered bowl. Put little amount of water in the cooker. Be careful about the quantity of water, as it should not enter into the bowl while steaming. Remove the weight form the cooker and close the lid. Cook in a low flame for 15 minutes.

After that open the lid take out the steamed chana on a plate. It looks more like a cake now. Cut it in desired shape and serve or refrigerate for an hour and serve.

Note: I have read many where to run the chana in cold water to avoid the smell and/taste of the vinegar. But I had never done that. My chana dishes had no effects smell or taste wise without this step.

The picture is not good at all but the outcome was good. None of the pieces were left J This pic was taken before refrigeration. 

This is the Picture of my starters and deserts- Dahi wada, steamed sandesh, malpua (made by sis-in-law),  cake(neice) and Laddu(store bought). 

Lentil Soup

Now, the Bottle gourd soup was quite a hit. So last night’s dinner was accompanied by Lentil soup. Give the credit to the cold weather of Pune or my culinary skill whatever, even the lentil soup was also a success. So here goes the recipe of this simple soup.

Courtsey Google Image

Ingredients

Orange/Red lentils 100 gms

1 big onion sliced

3-4 fat garlic cloves sliced

3-4 coriander sprigs

Salt and black pepper to taste

Butter (as per your choice)

Method                                                                                                                               

Wash the lentils.

Add salt and butter and pressure cook the lentils with onion, garlic slices and coriander leaves. Give moderate amount of water.

After 4 whistles remove from heat and let it cool down.

Now, separate the stock and in a blender blend the cooked lentil.

Heat the stock in the pressure cooker and mix the blended part.

Add black pepper.

Add salt if required.

Remove from heat when the consistency is thick.

Serve hot with  butter and pepper. 

Oil less Cream Drop Bottle Gourd/ Lauki Soup

These days I am going through a somewhat hectic/ stressed days. There are different reasons. Shifting to a new house and making R adjusted to that being the primary one. As usual I was engrossed with my own problems- cursing, crying and what not of my luck. Then I heard some of my friends and colleagues discussing the odds of life. Realized once again and thanked the Devine Mother to make me remember how Beautiful Life actually is.

Why I said all these things here…No, actually I do not know. My only intention was to give the readers (if anybody actually read this blog J or else just a self declaration) the excuses behind my long absence.

Well, in spite of these stressed days, the only relief is this that my parents are visiting me now and my mother is around. Such a relief!!! Shifting all my worries to her I am happily coming to office and doing my daily chores. Thanks to the Devine Mother once again for making ‘Mothers’. She is actually my Matri Rupena Samsthita (I see the form of Devine Mother within her).

The rain has regained its lost power in Pune and it is raining almost continuously for the last few days. R was not too well and my parents need some well cooked vegetable in curry or dal to dip the roti for dinner. There were not too many vegetables with me and I did not want to make dal as it was already there for lunch. A hot soup will actually serve all my purposes. A soup from bottle gourd was my idea. 

Following is the recipe-

Ingredients

Bottle Gourd/ Lauki  300 grams cut into small cubes

1 big onion sliced

3-4 fat garlic cloves sliced

Salt to taste

½ tsp oregano

2 tbsp cream

Method                                                                            

                                                   

Pressure cook the Bottle gourd cubes, onion and garlic slices with salt with moderate amount of water. After 3-4 whistles remove from heat and let it cool down.

Now, separate the stock and in a blender blend the cooked Bottle gourd cubes, onion and garlic slices.

Heat the stock in the pressure cooker and mix the blended vegetable.

Add oregano.

Add salt if required.

Add 1 tbsp of cream when the consistency of the soup is moderate.

Remove from heat and add the other tbsp cream in drops.

Serve hot. 
You can add butter and pepper. 

Mango Flavored Kalakand

First of all please forgive me as I could not post this recipe within due time. I had made it when mangoes were happily present in the market. There were lot of mangoes at home and all three of us were bored of having juice, mango shakes and so on apart from having them as whole fruits. So this was the idea.

Ingredients for 10 pieces

Full Cream milk 1 ltr

Milkmaid 200gms

1 ripe mango

½ tsp butter

Method     

                                                                                                                          

Make paneer out of the full cream milk.

Peel the mango and take out the pulp.

Add the paneer, milkmaid and the mango pulp and mash with hand till all the ingredients mix well.

Now heat a deep bottomed pan and in medium heat cook the mashed mixture till oil comes out.

Let the mixture cool.

Grease a plate or square box. Put the mixture and cut it into squares.

Refrigerate for atleast  3-4 hrs to set the mixture.

Eggless Whole Wheat Banana Cup Cake

Baking is my recent addiction. I do not have any professional training and I am an amateur. The same thing goes for my cooking as well. The only advantage to the latter is that I have watched my mother and grandmother (no less than the professional cooks when it comes to taste) and developed that taste bud. Mummy is the only one of whom I can think of when I get stuck while cooking anything. But baking! Nobody ever did that in my family. So with the readings from different professional cooking blogs and different beautiful posts on FB this was my first attempt to make an eggless whole wheat banana cup cake.

The cakes turned out soft and spongy and were finished within a day by my hubby and daughter. The result was inspiring of the first baking and maybe I will try some new things as I get time. For now here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat

1 cup curd

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

4 tbsp butter

½ cup sugar powder

3 ripe bananas

Method

In a blender, blend the bananas. Melt the butter. Sift and mix whole wheat, baking soda and baking powder. Add butter and the wheat mix to the blended bananas. Now add curd and sugar to this and mix well.  There should not be any lumps.

Preheat the oven in 250 degree C. Pour the mixture in the cake moulds. If you do not have moulds, add the mixture in a microwave safe bowl. In the convection mode bake it for 30 minutes in 200 degree C.