BHAPA DOI

 

Yesterday was my  wedding anniversary.  :) I thought of making a different but traditional dessert for the occasion . My husband wanted an Indian dessert .We all started to think for the right item . My elder son suggested gajar halwa, my younger one, as usual, wanted chocolate ice-cream.  I had little time to debate on. I had to finalise something soon , Why not "bhapa doi", I blurted out, spontaneously . ;) My husband looked at me confused. "wao !! what is that'? he said.....I explained,  it's a traditional recipe of curd from West Bengal.  My husband had lived in Kolkota, during the initial days of his career . He knew a little bit about Bengali cuisine ."Fine", he said. That settled the issue--  Bhapa Doi for today's dessert.

 Bengali cuisine is known for its subtle flavours and its has a huge spread of desserts and confectioneries too. Mustard oil is prominently used while making non vegetarian items and vegetables in this region. Daily meal is usually partial to fish with vegetables and lentils served with rice.

Now something about today's recipe. Bhapa means steam-- it could be applied to preparing  fish, meat or vegetables with spices. Bhapa Doi is basically a kind of Indian cheese cake. Now how to make bhapa doi ??? How can you steam curd ???? I am sure you must be wondering  as well.  Don't you worry ...I will tell you a very easy way to prepare this .It is a very simple and delicious recipe . The recipe is as follows -

The ingredients needed are -
Curd-1cup
Milk -1cup
Condensed milk -1cup
Dry fruits of your choice - Sliced thinly for garnishing

Method -
1)Beat the curd nicely with a beater so that no lumps are formed. Add milk and condensed milk to the beaten curd. Mix well .
2)Take ramekin molds, pour the curd mixture into them . Garnish with sliced dry fruits of your choice. Cover  the molds with aluminium foil.
3)In a steamer, heat water , put the ramekin molds in the steamer . Steam them for 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean .
4)Cool them completely and store them in the refrigerator.
5)Serve chilled.
6)Enjoy!
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MUTTON BIRIYANI

Married to an IT professional for the past 13 years , I have had the opportunity to travel to various cities in India and  different parts of the World . I have been living in the "City of Pearls" for the past 9 months now  . The Charminar, Golconda Fort , Hussain Sagar ,  Nagarjuna Sagar dam are some of the places one needs to visit when one is in this city . 

As a food blogger, however, my interest will be on the cuisines of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad will be the capital of both the states for a decade now ). Biriyani is woven into the life of Hyderabad. You get the best Biriyanis here . During Eid you will find biriyani, haleem, and sewayeyan in every nook and corner of Hyderabad. 

Hyderabadi cuisine is basically a meat and rice oriented cuisine, it contains a variety of ingredients that are commonly used, ranging from vegetables, spices, meats, flavors to fruits . In the city of Hyderabad and its suburb, use of flavors, tomato and tamarind are the most common ingredients. Meat (such as mutton and chicken) dishes are prepared by the technique of dum—(sealing the dish with dough and gently simmering its ingredients over a slow fire to facilitate absorption of aromatic spices.).The Nizams served some 26 varieties of biriyanis for their guests .

Today is  "Sunday" and  the weather is perfect  to relish home made Mutton biriyani ! Here goes the Biriyani, the way I prepare my perfect Sunday meal for my family . You may as well try this to make a memorable and prefect Sunday lunch for your family and loved ones !

Ingredients-

Mutton: 1kg
Basmati rice: 500 gm
Cumin (jeera): 1 tsp
Whole garam masala:  2 tbsp
Garam masala powder:   2 tsp
Garlic-ginger paste: 2 tbsp
Golden-fried sliced onions: 2 cups
Mint leaves: 1 bunch
Curd: 2 cups
Turmeric powder: 1 pinch
Saffron: 1 pinch
Coriander leaves: 1 bunch
Salt: As per taste
Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 tbsp
Oil: 5 tbsp

Procedure -

For the marination of mutton 
Wash mutton, pat dry and add garam masala, salt, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli paste, and 2 cups of curd. Mix well and store it in a clean container and keep it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

Method
1)Boil the water, add oil, 1/2 tea spoon jeera, salt and half-cook the rice.
2) Fry thinly sliced onions until golden brown. Add a pinch of salt . Add 1/3 of the golden-brown onion to the mutton marination and rest keep aside.
3)Now in a handi (deep pan) add the marinated mutton in the bottom and top it  with half cooked rice, add mint leaves, coriander leaves and top it up with fried onions. In a separate bowl, add some warm milk to soak saffron. Once the colour comes out from the saffron , add it to the handi.
4)Cover the handi or pan with a airtight lid or close the lid with dough on the edges. Cook for 45 minutes. To ensure that the  biriyani does not burn from beneath , place the handi over a tawa - Skillet.
5)Serve hot with raita and mirchi ka salan.


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PAPAYA AND ALOO CURRY

Green papaya is a very useful fruit, full of essential nutrients and enzymes to promote digestive health.
Since enzyme levels decline as the fruit ripens, raw papaya is preferred  to make the best use of all of its natural enzymatic qualities.

Yesterday morning when I was cooking lunch for my family , I noticed a green big papaya in my refrigerator. Should I make use of it? I thought. None in the  family has ever liked eating papaya at all. For that matter, not even the elders . They know all the benefits of the vegetable; but when it comes to papaya ...its always a NO!  :D 

Anyways, I thought of taking a chance and made it  in a different manner. May be they will like it. :)

Ingredients -
Papaya-1 medium sized, cut into cubes
Potato- 1small,boiled, and cut into cubes
Onion-1  small one,  chopped
Garlic- 1 tea spoon chopped
Green chillies -1 chopped
Pudina leaves- A few
Salt -To taste
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tea spoon
Oil- 2 tablespoon

Method-

In a non-stick pan ,heat oil, add chopped onion and garlic.Saute for a few seconds till the garlic and onion are done properly and have no raw smell. Add papaya cubes, salt and turmeric powder and mix well. Cover with the lid and let the papaya cook on low flame till it becomes tender . When the papayas are done ,add potato pieces ,tomato ,salt to taste . Add pudina leaves and 1/2 cup of water. Cover the lid and let it simmer on slow flame for five minutes. Serve it hot with parathas .Enjoy !

To continue with what happened next -

I made the papaya and alloo curry in the process described above and you will not believe , all had it.  Even my five year old son, said "badhiya heyichi , eyeta kana? "( What is this ,it is tasty ) I smiled :)

You also make the curry exactly the way I have described , and , I am sure, you will love to have a green papaya in your refrigerator always.  Happy cooking .






 

CHEESY BESSAN CHILLA WITH ONION.

Children's Day is recognized on various days in many places around the world, to honor children  globally. It was first proclaimed by the World Conference for the Wellbeing of Children in 1925 .

Universal Children's Day takes place annually on November 20^. First proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954, it was established to encourage all countries to institute a day, firstly to promote mutual exchange and understanding among children and secondly to initiate action to benefit and promote the welfare of the world's children. Children's day in India is celebrated on Pandit Nehru's birthday as a day of fun and frolic, a celebration of childhood and Nehru's love for them .   

Today is 14th November and to mark this occasion, I present this simple but tasty recipe for children . I usually make this for my boys. They love it!!

I am sure the children of my viewers would also love this. This is a very healthy and  tasty dish .  Here goes the recipe....

Ingredients -
Bessan -1cup
Hing (asefotida )-A pinch
Kasoori methi -1 tea spoon
Salt - To taste
Onion - Sliced 1/2 cup
Grated cheese -As required
Oil- As required 
Water -To make the bessan batter

Method-

Take bassan in a bowl. Add salt to taste  , hing, and kasoori methi . Add water slowly and make a smooth batter and take care that no lumps are formed. The batter should have the right consistency  and should not be watery . However, it should be of pouring consistency . Heat a frying pan , take a ladleful of batter and spread on the pan.

The Picture on top has been taken while the chilla is on the pan 

 

 Don't make the chilla very thin . It should be medium thick. Add sliced onion over the chilla .Take oil in a teaspoon and spread it around the side of the chilla. Turn the chilla . Add oil on the sides . Let the onion turn a little brown. After it is done , remove it on to a plate. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the chilla when it is still hot. Give it to your children , they will relish !!

Picture below has been taken after the chilla is done.

P.S...You may even add tomatoes with onion .

CHEESECORN BALLS

Winter has sent in . During this season some hot cheesy is a good bet as snacks for children and the elders. In a winter afternoon, we were all sitting dull and gloomy, staring at the sky. It was raining outside  and was cold .It was a Sunday !!! I looked at the clock; it struck 3. I got up and went into the kitchen . Opened the fridge to figure out if everything was there what I required for my recipe. Slowly but surely I arranged everything on a plate. Hurray  !!I said to myself and started my preparation. Here is how i made it -

Ingredients -

Cheese -1cup ( Grated ) 

Capsicum -1/4th cup 

Sweetcorn -1/2cup

Chilli powder -To taste

Oregano -1/4 tea spoon 

Pepper powder -1/4tea spoon 

Salt -To taste 

Potato -1 small (boiled and mashed )
Oil -For frying

For the outer covering -

Maida- For coating
Water - 1/4 cup
Breadcrumbs -1 cup


Method-

In a bowl take the grated cheese , mashed potato, corn , capsicum. Add salt to taste, chilli powder to taste , pepper powder and Oregano.

Mix together well . Make small balls and keep aside. In another bowl make a paste of maida with water. In a plate take 4 to 5 tablespoon of maida in one side and breadcrumbs on the other side.

Take a ball , roll it on the dry maida, then on the maida paste and then over the breadcrumbs. Repeat this process till all the balls are rolled on the breadcrumbs. Now refrigerate them

for 15 minutes . When you have to fry the balls , take them out from the  refrigerator. Heat oil and slowly fry the balls till golden brown colour. Serve hot with tomato ketchup .Enjoy !

ONION AND TOMATO CHUTNEY

Ingedients

Onions - ( Chopped )
Tomato-2 (Chopped)
Coconut-1/2 Cup ( Grated)
Garlic pods - 4 ( Crushed )
Red chillies-6
Green chillies-2
Oil- 2 table spoons
Urad dal -1 tea spoon

For the tempering-
Mustard seeds -1 teaspoon
Curry leaves- 6-7
Red chilli-1

Method-

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add urad dal ,onion ,garlic, red chillies and green chillies .Add a pinch of salt. Sauté for a minute or  till onion turns brown. Add tomatoes and cover the lid till they are done. .Keep aside the mixture. Let it cool down completely. Grind into a fine paste with  grated coconut and a little water. Heat one teaspoon oil in a pan and add the tempering ingredients. Saute for a few seconds. Add the tempering on the paste. Adjust salt to your taste. Mix well and enjoy the chutney with dosa, idili or pakodas.