Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad 

For me the best feeling in the world is breaking bread with friends and family over laughter at the dinner table. I would happily spend the entire day in the kitchen preparing dishes and if my guests like what they are served that does make me happy but at the same time it gives me equal pleasure to prepare a dish for myself alone.

As a freelancer who works from home I am not required to step out of my home unless for that trip to the market or a quick visit to the bank or courier service . Then there are times when I want to go out and enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

Anyway the point is I would put in the same amount of effort when I am cooking for myself as I would when I cook for 8 guests.

So on a mundane Wednesday afternoon with Lana Del Rey's songs to keep me company I made this salad for myself which includes some of my favourite ingredients. I somehow like a sharp tart taste more than anything else . Hence I used hung curd for this salad and its not just to make the salad healthy. Another favourite ingredient is the humble potato. The softness of the boiled potato alongside the crunch of iceberg lettuce and the sweet taste of dried figs with the creamy dressing made this mundane Wednesday a little less mundane. I do not like overcrowding my dishes with too many flavours hence I used one herb alone.

My father did take a  small serving and he liked it mostly for the yogurt which is quite cooling for this sultry weather.

Here is some absolute random thought from my end :-

"Just because I appear to be a blank page

Do not take the liberty to think that you may scribble all over it 

For I have written all over it with my invisible ink " 

Makes 2 servings :-

Cup used holds 210ml liquid

1.5 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2 large boiled potatoes
6 to 8 dried figs

For the dressing :-

200gm curd which you make into hung curd by tying it in a cloth and letting the excess liquid drip away for 2 hours
1 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
Salt as per taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil


Boil the potatoes but take care not to over boil the potatoes because if its over boiled it breaks easily and you would be unable to chop them up to a shape of your choice. Cube the potatoes. Chop the figs.

Shred the lettuce and chill the lettuce , figs and potato cubes.

Just before serving make your dressing by whisking the hung curd, EVOO, salt and finely chopped parsley and pour over your salad and enjoy a healthy meal.

Potato Mushroom Soup

Potato Mushroom Soup 

I love soups especially a healthy one which is creamy. I was a complete mess during the past 3 days. With a terrible deadline I was working 10 hours a day and with little sleep, no exercise and bad food which meant I ate take out and  stir fried rice I was feeling very uneasy by the 3rd day which is when I decided that if not anything else I must eat healthy.

So I started my day with a filling potato frittata and went on to have a fresh smoothie and then decided I needed some comforting soup. For some reason I have always loved soups even though I was born and brought up in a hot country like India.

This is one of the easiest soups ever.

Makes 4 servings

4 medium sized potato
1 large onion
2 large cloves of garlic
1 tsp fresh thyme
Salt as per taste, I required about 2 tsp and a pinch
6 whole black pepper
3 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock
1/2 cup of toned milk
1 tsp oil
200gm mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil and add the garlic and onion and stir a bit and then add the potatoes and 1.5 cups of  stock and bring to a boil and then add the black pepper and half the thyme and simmer covered till the potatoes are cooked. Once cooked allow it to cool and blend to a smooth puree. Now transfer it back to the pot and add the remaining stock , milk and salt as per taste and bring it to a boil on low heat stirring frequently and then simmer for 2 minutes and before serving stir fry the mushrooms on high and serve the soup by transferring it in bowls and adding the mushroom from the top.

For a healthier version you may steam the mushrooms. 

Creamy Potato Spinach 'Aloo palak malaiwale'

Creamy Potato Spinach 'Aloo palak malaiwale' 

There here are some dishes which you anyway know are going to be delicious because butter and cream makes everything extra delicious. Now normally I don't even bring in fresh cream in my house because the thought of those extra kilograms hanging from everywhere on my body  is not something I relish thinking about but then there are those special occasions when you can actually indulge and my mother-in-law's visit is reason enough to make a creamy lip-smacking Aloo Palak Malaiawale aka Creamy Potato Spinach.

Now before I share the this recipe let me tell my readers from before that any substitution of the ghee or cream used here will not render the same results at all. In case you want to not use ghee the only other substitute for ghee can be mustard oil but even that cannot give it that delicious taste that ghee gives .

Anyway moving on to the recipe

Serves 3 to 4

4 medium sized potatoes cubed into medium size
1 large bunch of spinach
1.5 tbsp minced garlic
1 inch ginger chopped julienne
1 green chili julienne
Salt as per taste
4 cups of water
4 heaped tbsp fresh cream
2 heaped tsp clarified butter 'ghee'
Pinch of asafoetida 'hing'
Garam masala made with 1/2 black cardamom, 1 green cardamom, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 blade of mace, pinch of nutmeg, 1 bay leaf , 1/2 inch cinnamon, 3 cloves
3 to 4 green chilies
Dollop of butter

Start by dry roasting the ingredients for your 'Garam Masala' and then grinding it to a fine powdery consistency.

Now ever since I read this Italian chef's tips on maintaining the green colour of spinach I have never had  trouble with maintaining its colour. Its simple actually. Wash the spinach well. The easiest way to make sure you get rid of all the dirt is to fill a bit pan with water and then chopping off the end of the spinach and soaking the leaves in the water and rubbing them and cleaning them. This mostly gets out all the dirt.             Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil. Now add the chopped spinach leaves and let it boil for exactly 2 minutes and immediately take out the spinach and there you have boiled green spinach. Reserve the water in which you have cooked the spinach.

Cube the potatoes and heat the ghee and add the asafoetida 'hing' and when it splutters add the minced garlic, ginger and chili  and saute till softened and add the potatoes and cook on medium heat to saute the potatoes and add the reserved spinach water and bring to a boil and add salt and then simmer covered till the potatoes are mostly cooked. It might take anything between 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

In the meantime make a paste of the cooked spinach and 3 green chilies.

Now add half the garam masala and remove the cover and cook till the curry dries up. Add the spinach paste and mix well and then add the cream and mix well and simmer for 2 minutes . taste and add salt if required. Serve with a dollop of butter on top with soft chapatis or hot fluffy rice.

Potato Cutlets

Potato Cutlets 

To be fair these Potato cutlets which I made on a particularly lazy Sunday without the internet in-between back to back episodes of Til' Death was mainly for the husband. My husband loves eating in which should be a boon for a cooking enthusiast such as myself but then at times his want to eat at home bites me hard. It was one of those days when I knew was going to be those overly lazy ones so I decided instead of going out for Dosas I would be prepared with ingredients for a quick snack.

In Bengal the easiest snack that I was served as a child was puffed up rice with the beautifully aromatic green mango and chili flavoured mustard oil and lots of fried potatoes. Now as much as I love fried food I am trying to avoid it these days and so I decided for the husband who suddenly becomes a fry obsessed maniac on holidays I would boil potatoes and make something.

I was about to make the Indian potato cutlets 'Aloo Tikki's which is one of my favourite Indian snacks but then I simply cannot imagine Tikkis without the fiery Green chutney hara bhara chutney and sonth ki chutney (a sweet and tangy sauce) and because I was feeling lazy I ditched the idea of Indian potato cutlets and simply made potato cutlets

Serves 2 (In our case my husband gobbled up 1.5 serving :) )

Here is what you need :-

2 big potatoes
Half a large onion finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
Salt as per taste
1.5 tsp Fresh Thyme leaves
1 tsp Freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp cornflour

Olive oil for shallow frying

Simply mash everything except the oil together and make 4 cutlets and let them rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This helps them harden up a bit and hold shape when frying.

Heat oil and shallow fry on low heat till its golden brown on both sides. Enjoy by itself or team it up with some mustard.

Garlic Potato salad

Garlic Potato salad 

Sometimes cooking becomes easy . Well if you have a kitchen where you have all the equipment such as a gas-stove, oven ingredients then preparing a meal becomes much more easy but I came to Bombay all for love and ah well the husband uses an induction cooker. 

Having landed at night the first night was all about some ordered food but today morning once the other half left for some conference or training I was feeling smug about having bought my Darjeeling tea when I realized I am terribly hungry. Here is what I had, tomatoes, some fruits, oats but no milk and just when I was feelign annoyed that I woudl have to go out ah there I spotted one of my favurite things in the world, potatoes.

I looked in the cabinets and there was some extra virgin olive oil, garlic and chili flakes. Well I didn't need anything else. The best part is this dressing can be stored and can also be used as a dip.

So here is a simple recipe for a simple potato salad

Serves 1

1 medium sized potato

For the garlic dressing :-

1 head of garlic
1 tsp chili flakes
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt as per taste
A good splash of white wine vinegar

Simply boil and peel potatoes and blend the ingredients for the dressing. You'l need round about 1/2 to 3/4th  tbsp dressing and you can store the rest for later usage.

Healthy Leek and Potato Soup

Healthy Leek and Potato Soup 

For me the perfect weekday dinner is a warm hearty soup. Sadly most creamy soups come with a heavy price. I mean laden with butter or cream it sure tastes amazing but it is a heavy price to pay for that expanding waistline. I had fresh leeks in the refrigerator and so I looked up recipes for a leek and potato soup. The potato would give me the required carbohydrate and it would be a creamy soup. Most of the recipes contained a good amount of the forbidden ingredients. So I made a basic soup which is simple and with minimum usage of ingredients it brings out the flavours of the leek and is a hearty healthy treat

Serves 1 to 2 (depending on how this is served, if its just the first course it should be divided between two else it makes for a healthy meal by itself)

2 medium sized potatoes
Half a large leek
1.5 cups of chicken stock (cups which hold 210ml of liquid)/ vegetable stock
Salt as per taste
Half a cup of skimmed milk
A bit of finely chopped parsley for garnishing
Half a tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil  (optional)


Simply wash and peel the potatoes and cube them and then finely chop the leek . Now heat the olive oil and lower the heat and add the potato and leek and saute and then cover and let it be for half a minute and stir it and add 1 cup of  chicken stock and bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 8 minutes to 9 minutes to 10 minutes. Now let it cool down for 5 minutes or so and blend it smooth in a blender and add the remaining chicken stock and milk and now put it back in the pot and bring to a slow boil while stirring in continuously.
Serve it hot with the finely chopped parsley as garnish. You may add the extra virgin olive oil or not depending on your preference.

Tips :-

For the last boil be very careful to stir continuously because the soup would be of a very thick consistency and can easily form lumps.

Mashed Fish salad

Mashed Fish salad 

I dedicate this recipe to my friend Surupa. Strange thing is you never know when you meet a beautiful human being.  This dear lady is someone who has encouraged me ever since I became an active member of a culinary group and to be fair there was something in the way she would write her sentences which made me look forward to her encouragement. After a while we quite obviously became friends and that is when I actually was glad to know someone as elegant as this lady. From the few photographs of hers I did see she was a lady who was gorgeously beautiful but behind that beautiful face and amazingly volumnious hair there is a witty, charming , compassionate person and one who sees beauty. I didn't ever tell her but those posts of Claude Monet's work always puts a smile on my face. So she posts a few pictures of some gorgeous dishes she has had from a newly opened cafe this morning and just by looking at them I suddenly was struck with my idea for lunch .

I knew it had to be something creamy and fishy but the only fish I had was the humble 'Pona' a fresh water fish with tiny needle like bones all over. I have always hated this fish with a passion because it neither has that exotic taste of some varieties of fish we get in this Eastern part of the country such as 'Tangra' 'Parshe' 'Gule' etc nor is it boneless but I suddenly knew what I wanted so begun the hanging, the chopping, the pounding, the boiling the mashing and I must say the result was quite nice. And the best part is it is 100% healthy and completely low calorie in nature.

So here is what you need for 2 servings :-

150gm to 200gm fish with bones or boneless
6 to 7 garlic cloves
 1 inch ginger
4 green chilies
1 large tomato and 1 small tomato
1 medium sized potato
1 onion
Chives 1 tsp
1 tsp xtra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp vinegar (any kind will do , I used Apple cider vinegar)
Juice of lemon (About 2 tsp)
200gm curd hung
Salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Hand the curd in a muslin cloth. Boil the potato. Cool it down and dice it in small pieces. Dice the tomatoes and onion and then chill them  .

Meanwhile skin the garlic and ginger and make a smooth paste of ginger garlic and green chilies and then boil the fish with as little water as possible along with the ginger garlic paste and 1 tsp vinegar . Boil the fish till all the water evaporates and the ginger garlic and chili stick to the fish . Now spread it out , discard the fat and mash it well with a fork and when cool enough to handle pick out the bones carefully. It will take a bit of time owing to the fine bones . Once the bones are taken out chill this as well. before serving simply add a squeeze of lemon juice to the fish and mash again and add it to the diced salad  and add salt, freshly ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil , chives and the hung curd and mix well and serve. It does taste quite nice.

Egg Potato Salad

Egg Potato Salad 

The best part about being part of some amazing virtual platforms is that you can never run out of inspiration when it comes to recipes . So Claudia , a wonderful chef posted about this boiled potato based Italian salad and I knew it had to be my lunch today. Its really simple and well I did adapt the recipe, so I substituted capers with stuffed olives and replaced the herbs with what I had at home  but the end result was delicious indeed.

Now potatoes are highly misunderstood. You see they are widely known as the reason for obesity but wake up and see the truth people. Its not the potato that is unhealthy but the method of cooking. So fry it and you pile on the pounds roast it or boil and you have a perfectly healthy food item. Of course it is a source of carbohydrate so ideally if you are taking potatoes you need not worry about extra intake of bread or rice or pasta etc 1 medium sized boiled potato contains about 211 calories. I used two small sized potatoes but they were not baby potatoes

So here goes a healthy salad which serves 1

2 small sized potatoes boiled and chilled
1 medium sized tomato
1 small sized onion
5 to 6 stuffed olives halved
1 tsp fresh onion green chopped finely
1 hard boiled egg cooled sliced and chilled
Sprinkle of paprika - I used 1/4th tsp you can use 1/2 tsp as well
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp chives - I used dried ones
Fat pinch of oregano
Salt as per required

Simply slice them in circular patterns and chill but do not mix the salt, balsamic vinegar and oil from before. Before serving toss the chilled salad with the Extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sprinkle salt and serve. You have a healthy meal ready to be enjoyed.

Aloor Dom (bengali Dum Aloo)

Aloor Dom (Bengali Dum Aloo) 

The truth is the same dish is prepared in a number of ways across this vast country called. India. Take the simple Dum Aloo. A dry potato gravy which is served across North India. Now Bengal is in the East of India but when The Nawab of Awadh relocated to our lovely state he brought along with him the delightful cuisine that is Awadhi cuisine and so the influence of North India can be seen in many of the dishes from this Lush green state yet it has its own distinct taste. For one, our dishes are much more subtle . Now to be fair even among families in Bengal there are different recipes followed for a dish . So while my paternal Grandmother puts in curry leaves , my Mimi (the perfect culinary wizardess) from whom I learnt msot of my Bengali dishes keeps it rather traditional using her mother's recipe.

Now Mimi herself is a young 65 year old and this recipe handed down from her mother would definitely make it a heritage one. Taste as we all know is subjective. So for some this might seem too subtle while some would find it delightful. I myself quite obviously love it enough to make it my one and only Bengali Aloor Dom. What gives this its distinct taste is the absence of onions and garlic.

Serves 3 to 4

6 medium sized Potatoes halved

The wet spices

Ginger chili cumin paste (made with 5 green chilies , 1 inch ginger and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds)
5 tbsp Tomato paste (I required 1 large tomato)
1/4th cup whisked curd

The dry spices

Pinch of asafoetida aka hing
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green cardamom given a light pounding
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
Salt as per taste
Pinch of turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
1 cup water (200ml)

1/4th cup mustard oil for frying the potatoes
2 tbsp ghee

For garnishing

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
2 slit green chilies

Start by making the green chili ginger cumin paste, then make your tomato paste and parboil the potatoes with their skin on. Once cool enough to handle peel them and heat the mustard oil and fry the potatoes on medium heat till they turn a lovely golden colour but do not brown them. Drain them and keep aside. You will be left with the mustard oil which you can use for other dishes. Now heat the ghee and add the asafoetida and then add the cumin seeds and when they splutter immediately add the ginger green chili cumin paste and saute for 2 minutes and add the tomato paste and saute till the oil separates and add the whisked curd and keep stirring on high heat. This constant stirring prevents the curd from splitting. Now add the water and bring to a boil stirring constantly and then simmer on low heat for 5 minutes and add the potatoes and bring to a boil again and then simmer for another 10 minutes to 15 minutes till you get a thick gravy. Now many people like ti completely dry but since we usually pair Aloor Dom with Luchi ( a special fried puffed up flatbread from Bengal)  , it helps to have a bit of gravy to dip the puffed up fried poori in. And then again taste is subjective. So do what would best suit you. Garnish and serve

Enjoy

French fries

French Fries 

Alright when you have tried all methods available for the one basic Fries and then hit the jackpot you feel a kind of calm which gives you pure joy.

Truth be told the secrets in the fat , yes pork fat which retains the yellow colour makes it perfectly crispy yet soft inside.

Here is what I did :-

4 large potatoes chopped in finger sized sizes
Vegetable Oil
50gm pork fat
Salt as per taste

Bring a large pan of water to boil. Now her is the trick there are different varieties of potatoes across the globe and the time you take depends on where you live so you have to look out and feel things with your hands. You have to boil the potato sticks till its firm yet not soft or completely cooked. I took exactly 4 minutes to reach the stage.

Now heat the oil and chop the fat and melt and then when it turns dark brown take the fat out and fry the poattoes batch by batch on low heat for 5 minutes and then re-fry on medium heat till it turns crispy. take them out and leave on a paper towel but not for too long else they become cold and then mix well with salt and serve

Chatpata Mix chat

I believe the little changes in your dietary habit can help you a lot. Now as someone who loves potatoes I advocate the use of potatoes. It is a complete misconception that this nutritious carbohydrate is fattening. It is your method of cooking which usually determines a dish's calorie etc. So deep fry it and you murder it of all its nutritional value but boiled or baked at 77 calorie for 100gm this is one of the healthiest snacks or food items ever.

Now healthy eating means you have to plan extra carefully to appease your taste buds. A wise man once told me that no diet would ever work if your taste buds remain unsatisfied. Having said that a little change helps a lot. For instance if you crave some mushy potato on any given afternoon or anytime that you want to have snacks replace the french fries or aloo tikkis (a famous spicy potato patty dish from Northern India) with some chaats made with boiled potatoes. The recipe I follow is nothing new. I add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil for extra health and to suit my taste. Try it for a quick snack session.

This mix chat takes me back to my school days as well. Those were the days when the street food hawkers would line up in front of every school luring children with lip smacking dishes. While most of my childhood was spent in longing for them since my parents never ever allowed me to have street food with logical fear for my health because tasty they are but lets be honest most of these items aren't that hygienic. Of course the moment I started getting my pocket money it was a different issue altogether. I would gorge on these delectable snacks throughout school, college and university. In those times it felt as if the chatwallahs had some magical potion. I later realized you can make the same stuff at home. The magic was the work of spices. So I hereby present by spicy chatpata meaning lip smacking snack. I have given it a healthy minty twist. You can even have this as a salad for a main course in which case you shall probably need to double or tripe your portion of salad.

Serves 4

You need

2  large potatoes
3 medium sized firm tomatoes
1 large onion
1 cucumber
2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Juice from Half a medium sized Indian lemon
Rock salt as per taste
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp dried mango powder
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 green chili de-seeded and finely chopped

Boil the potatoes and if you are in a hurry simply drain them and place them in a bowl of ice water. It shall cool down in no time. Peel and cube them in bite sized cubes. Cube the tomatoes, onions , cucumber after peeling it. Mix the vegetables and potato with the extra virgin olive oil , spices , lemon juice , herbs and green chili. Enjoy your lip smacking snack.

P.S. You can always increase the number of chilies used. 

Placki Ziemniaczane (Polish Potato pancakes)

Santa paid a visit to my home in the middle of the night. My Ping Pong came back. I was sadly sleeping with Ting Ting when at 4 in the morning I heard a maeow which got my heart racing. I shot away to the kitchen to find my mother feeding a dirty , half his original sized Ping Pong.

Ah the joys of having my darling return back to us. (A Bengali would say "ghorer Chele ghore phireche" The boy has returned back to his family where he belongs). I actually had a motive for waking up that early. I did have the little bit of work from a Project left and somehow I always find that I produce my best work after a good night's rest early in the morning when the silence is your only companion and then comes the chirping of the little winged friends.

I knew that the day would start off with celebrations and what better way to start a day than try the one recipe I had been eyeing for a pretty long time. You see this one comes straight from Poland. Someone's Nanna (grandmother) passed on her recipe and her sweet grandchild was kind enough to share the recipe. So Placki Ziemniaczane it was today morning. Delicious hearty potato pancakes served with sour cream. I did replace sour cream with my homemade Chili Garlic dip . Of course somehow Poland always makes me think of sausages, juicy tender, delicious sausages though I have never been to Poland or tasted its famous sausages and of course Warsaw and in turn the second movement of Moonlight Sonata , that one is all on Roman Polanski.

I have this habit of trying to simply know more about a recipe and a quick search made me realize how the world is connected with this one recipe. There are variants of the recipe across Eastern Europe and even one from one of the land of Kebabs, Iran. It can be served as a savoury dish topped with meat sauce with a side of sour cream or even served sweet with apple sauce.

Of course some recipes with their ingredients scream success right from the beginning. with Polish Nanna's recipe in hand I happily grated the potatoes, onions mixed by batter, shallow fried them and we had a beautiful family breakfast. Everyone declared it a raging success. And why wouldn't it be delicious it has potatoes, eggs, flour . I know not of any person who dislikes potatoes. I am not saying there isn't that odd man in an ocean of potato lovers but no I haven't seen it. Serve this for breakfast for your kids and see them gulp down this delicious pancake.

P.S. The glowing happiness of my grandmother on hearing her "Ping- oo" is back is a moment I shall carry with me forever. Unfortunately her allergy of eggs exempted her from the family fun but I have something planned for her for later during the day. Today I shall celebrate till the sun  waves goodbye and the stars shine brightly and beyond as well.

This recipe is as easy as a recipe can get

You need:
3 large potatoes
1 large sized egg
1/4th and a little bit extra all purpose flour
1 small to medium sized onion
Salt and pepper as per taste
Oil for shallow frying

Sour cream for serving

Start by grating the potato and onion and squeezing out every last drop of its juices. I not only squeezed them with by hands. I left them on a big mesh strainer for 20 minutes after squeezing them . There will of course be the starch at the bottom of the pan on which you place the strainer which you would have to discard  . Now simply beat an egg and add a bit of flour and a bit of potatoes and make a smooth batter with salt and pepper . Take a girdle and use 1 to 2 tablespoonful of oil per cake , shape them with wet hands (wet hands help in shaping them easily) into flat circular patterns and shallow fry on both sides till golden brown on low to medium heat. Once you put the batter on the girdle spread out a bit with the back of your spatula to make thinner cakes if you desire so but after flipping them do press them for quicker cooking. Simply serve this with sour cream or a garlicky dip. i cannot wait to get my hands on some fresh sausages and next time eat it with meaty sauce on top. Ah the joys of life. :)

Potato Cauliflower Curry

Aloo phoolkopir dalna with a special twist 

Here is why I love making cottage cheese(Bengali "chana" / Hindi "paneer) at home. Not only does it result in the softest and tastiest cottage cheese you have the leftover whey which adds such a magical touch to other dishes or even the cottage cheese gravy it makes things just extra delicious.

This time I made "Palak Paneer" (a creamy spinach based dish in which you have clarified butter sauteed homemade paneer) and the dish does not require any extra water and so there I was left with over 750ml of whey and was I unhappy . Oh No. I knew it would have a very very special special place.

So I decided on a cauliflower potato curry the day after making palak paneer and straightaway reached for the stored whey. Now one might wonder what is so special about "aloo gobi" or "aloo phulkopir dalna" . Here is why, the whey will add so much taste that going back to ordinary water based dalna would be impossible after this. so make this dish when you make cottage cheese from 1 litre full cream milk. It wouldn't taste the same with toned or skimmed milk.

What goes in :

1 big cauliflower head
1 potato (Now despite the great love affair that Bengalis have with potatoes I am not a fan and while i never leave out the great potato I use very little so that the thunder still belongs to the cauliflower)
750ml of whey which is gotten post making homemade cottage cheese
1 big bay leaf
Salt as per taste
turmeric
1 medium sized tomato skinned and blend well
2 tsp ginger garlic chili paste made with 2 green chilies and 1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
Pinch of asafoetida
1 to 1.5 inch cinnamon
2 green cardamom
1 to 2  tsp ghee (clarified butter, its just not the real curry without the delicious aroma of clarified butter)
Mustard oil to saute the cauliflower and potato
2 slit green chilies
Sugar as per taste

Start by first chopping the potatoes in bite sized pieces and the cauliflower in little florets and then slit the back of the cauliflower florets as shown in the picture.

Make a paste of the ginger chili cumin and then the  tomato separately . Now I know most people out there do not still use the slab of stone and the stone pestle "sil nora" for grinding but its just not the same with those electric appliances. So using a mortar and pestle has its own benefits of resulting in the smoothest of pastes with small amount of ingredients. make the tomato paste as well.

Start by first sauteing the cauliflower and potatoes and leave aside. Take 1 tsp clarified butter and add the asafoetida and cumin seeds, bay leaf , green cardamom and cinnamon . Once the seeds splutter immediately add the ginger chili cumin paste. This quick as a cat business is required so that the cumin does not burn. Add the tomato paste. Keep stirring to make the spice on medium heat till the raw tomato is completely cooked and blends well with the other spices. Add the potatoes and mix well. See potatoes take a longer time to cook and so in order to prevent the cauliflowers from over cooking the potato is first added and cooked halfway before adding the cauliflower. Add the whey before adding cauliflower and bring to a roaring boil and salt, turmeric and sugar and then simmer covered for sometime till the potatoes are half cooked and add the cauliflower and bring to a boil again and then simmer covered till the potatoes and cauliflower is cooked thoroughly, cook for a little extra time without the cover to dry up the gravy and then simply transfer everything in a bowl. In the same wok add to slit green chilies and 1 tsp to 2 tsp water and on medium flame quickly stir to get any stuck up spices and when it all but bubbles pour it over the vegetable curry. This makes sure the chilies preserve their green colour.

Being from the western part of erstwhile undivided Bengal I am naturally drawn to using a bit of extra sugar but adjust it as per taste.

This goes very well with hot steaming rice and even chapatis but I shall post another recipe which is thicker for those lovely puris called "luchis" made of all purpose flour with the reputation of being paper thin.

If you have children do please reduce the total number of chilies from 4 to 2 or even 1

Potato Soup

Creamiest of the creamy healthy soups (Potato celery) 

I love this time of the year. The weather is cool , there is the promise of chilly days for maybe two weeks in January. Christmas is approaching which means feasts :) You can walk all you want and not perspire and puff as much as the rest of the year. There are comforting nights to look forward to where a mug of hot cocoa and a good book are your companions under a thin blanket. The markets are filled with colours.

Sighted the movie poster called "hanuman.com" (monkey.com) , well so apt with all the monkey caps that Calcuttans insist on wearing. Its hilarious and so sweet.  Though how they do not sweat and fele hotter than a volcano shall always remain a mystery to me.

Anyways has it ever happened that a fresh ingredient dictates what you prepare. Ah two days ago I came back home with the freshest of celery leaves. For some unexplained reason all I wanted to have was potato celery salad. Then the evenings became cooler and well decided on a cream of potato soup. With potatoes, celery , onion, skimmed milk , a bit of pepper and a bay leaf  , 1 sausage crumbled and of  course replacing the 50gm butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil this was my magical Thursday. You see there was the one left and I wanted to badly have it :D Besides I once saw a soup being prepared with crunchy bacon crumble on top and that has always tempted me. So though mine were not crunchy bacon the beautiful sausages had their own magical power. The creamiest of soups I have had in sometime. This one is so comforting that all you want to do is to have bowls of soup. In case you have bread with this just skip the sausage, though 1 sausage crumbled and  shared between 3 people is not that unhealthy. Cheers to health and taste. Not to forget the chicken stock which lends its magical taste to the soup.

Its simple, its easy

You need:

100gm potatoes
5 stalks of celery minus the leaves
2 tsp finely chopped celery leaves
1 medium but on the smaller side onion
700ml chicken or vegetable stock. Here is a recipe for Chicken stock
300ml of toned milk
1 tablespoonful of olive oil
1 sausage . In case you are not using the sausage increase the amount of olive oil to 2 tablespoon.
Salt and pepper as per taste

So dice the potatoes and celery and onion and sausage. Gently heat the oil and saute the sausage and quickly add the rest of the matter and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes covered and all . take out the sausages and keep aside. Now I always have chicken stock in the freezer so used 700ml of that (in case the stock is too salty with too much flavour  dilute with water and use that, mine was very salty and so I used 450ml of water and 250ml of stock)  , freshly ground pepper and covered and cooked for 12 minutes or till potatoes are easily mashed with a fork. Drain and then make a smooth blend of the vegetables with the stock so that everything is smoother than a smoothie. Add all the stock and 300ml of toned milk. Bring to a very gentle boil. Add salt if necessary. Remember that the chicken stock would already have some salt in it and so adjust accordingly. Potato being starchy and the key ingredient of creaminess will otherwise burn and become lumpy. Crumble sausages and add that and serve garnished with finely chopped celery leaves. If not using the sausage use bread and 2 tsp butter :)

P.S. For those who are living in Calcutta I srongly recommend paying a quick visit to Kalman's Cold storage at Free School Street for their amazing Hungarian sausage. While there you can pick up some deliciosu cold cuts and meat as well.

Creamy potato salad

So salads can be as healthy or as hearty yet well rich and beautiful as you want them. So the occasion was Roast chicken and somehow I wanted some creamy potato. With a little help from Chef Turner's recipe I give you creamy  potato salad. can be served both warm or cold

I used 10 baby potatoes boiled whole in their skin and then skinned them                                                     2 tablespoonful of finely chopped celery stalk
1 tablespoonful of chopped onions or shallots or spring onion. I used the crisp onions of which I ahd made a bed for my chicken roast

Ah creamy dressing thou art mine

3 egg yolks
salt as per taste
pepper as per taste
1 tablespoonful of red wine vinegar
3 heaped tea spoonful of clotted cream or well just cream that has been stored in the refrigerator so that it is very thick and almost hard / for a healthier version use hung curd
Pinch of paprika
1 heaped tsp homemade mustard sauce
1 tsp honey
150ml oil refined or olive

Boil potatoes but do not over-boil them. 1 whistle in the pressure cooker is enough. the trick is to keep them covered post cooking. Just before serving add the finely diced onions and celery.

When making your dressing add everything but oil and slowly add oil bit by bit and blend to get the creamy satisfaction of your choice. Sometimes you might not even need the entire amount of oil.

Serve the dressing in a separate small jug or bowl for guests to help themselves.  Enjoy a hearty dish. if all is not used simply store in an air-tight jar for the next few days.