Chalta, as known in Bengali, or Outenga in Assamese, is known as Elephant Apple or Wood apple universally(Dillenia Indica as scientifically) is native to Southeastern Asia, from India, Bangladesh and Sri lanka, east to southwestern China and Vietnam, and south through Thailand to Malaysia and Indonesia.
         In India, chalta is found in forests along the base of Himalayas from Nepal to Meghalaya.  It is also found in dry hilly regions of Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh in north and Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in south India.  It bears green fruits which resemble large apples. Hence, it got its name, "elephant apple". It is a tropical acidic fruit, is eaten both ripe and unripe. It is common in chutneys and other pickled dishes. The fruit comes into season in the fall months, depending on the region, with maturity in October and November in Malaya and a longer harvesting period, October through March, in India.
     The fruit : The fruit of the elephant apple tree is enclosed in a hard husk, which must be cracked to get at the fruit. This can be accomplished by hurling the fruit at a hard surface or by using a hammer to crack the husk open. The elephant apple itself is very fleshy, with Astringent and resinous notes. It also has a strong smell, along with numerous small seeds.

 http://www.fruitipedia.com/chalta.htm

http://pt.treknature.com/gallery/Asia/India/photo174378.htm

• The wood of the elephant apple is very hard and prized for construction applications in which durable wood is needed.
• During the rainy season, the tree exudes a gum that is used in some parts of the world to replace gum arabic, and it appears in watercolors, inks, varnish, and other applications in which gum arabic might normally be used.
• Products of the elephant apple tree are also used in some traditional Indian medicine, and the plant is said to be soothing to the digestion.  
• The fruit is said to possess tonic and laxative properties, and is used for abdominal pains. It is also known as anti diabetic and has cooling effect on body.
  
• The bark and leaves are astringent.
• Dried leaves are used as a substitute for sand paper in polishing ivory and horn.
• Culinary use : Fleshy sepals form the edible portion. Though the fruits contain sugars, still these taste pleasantly sour due to predominance of acid.  These are seldom eaten raw and are mostly used as flavouring in curries. These are also made into jams and jellies. The juice is sweetened with sugar to make a cooling and refreshing drink.
• Do not use if pregnant

The recipe I want to share today of this fruit, is called Chaltar Ambol, is from Bengal(Bengali cuisine), my native place Kolkata. This is basically a sweet and sour Chutney, but little different from typical chutney. Chutney can be both sweet and sour, but Ambol is always a sour dish, served at the end of the meal to provide the refreshing touch of tartness to make the tongue anticipate the sweet dishes which is served just after Ambol or chutney. Ambol, is a cooking style of Bengal, where a sour dish is made either with some fruit or vegetable or even with small fish, the sourness is being produced by adding Tamarind pulp. But in this dish, as chalta, itself is an acidic soury fruit, jaggery is used to make it little sweet.


How to cut this fruit : The fruit flesh comes into layers and its outer covering is very hard. You have to be careful while cutting, as inside pulp is very slippery because of the gum. After you cut through the middle by a sharp knife, discard the central or the most inside seeded part. Then seperate layers and cut into thin lengthwise pieces.
For this recipe, we need not too ripe or not too young fruit, a yellow greenish elephant apple.

Chalta(elephant fruit) : 2
Sugar Cane jaggery(akher gur) : 250 - 300 gms.(or use accrd. to your taste)
Dry red chilli : 1
Panch Phoron : 2 tsp.(is a mixture of cumin seed,     
black cumin seed, mustard seed, fennel seed and
fenugreek seed-mix each in equal quantity--No. 5 in the image)

Turmeric powder : a pinch
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Salt : a pinch
Flour(APF/Atta) : 1 tblsp. (optional, but recommended)

• After cutting into thin slices, pressure cook it for 10 minutes with a pinch of turmeric. Take out and discard the water.
• Heat 1 tblsp. oil in a pan, add whole dry red chilli and 1 tsp. of panch phoron. When seeds turn light brown and you get the aroma of fried seeds, throw the elephant apple or chalta pieces. Add little salt and stir for 2 minutes. Then add about 1 cup of water. Cook with covered lid for 7-8 minutes. 
• Add the jaggery. Do not add jaggery all at a time, add little by little, let it melt, taste and if needed add some more. It will be a little sweet, more sour kind of taste. How much jaggery is needed depends on the sourness of the fruit. The consistency is kind of liquidy(you can see in the image). If you think, yours is very liquidy, mix 1 tblsp.of flour with 2 tblsp. of water and add into it. This will thicken the gravy and add some taste.
• When you get the right consistency, pour into a serving dish. If a small pan, heat 1 tblsp. of oil, add rest of the panch phoron, when it splutters, pour this with oil into your serving dish over the ambol. This will add a fresh tempering flavour to the dish.
  
• Chaltar Ambol is ready to serve. Serve in room temperature. Leftover can be kept in refrigerator and consume cold. It tastes even better.

This post is my entry to Weekend Herb Blogging(WHB)#209,
hosted this month by Paulchen's Foodblog, event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now the event is managed by
Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything.
This is my second time contribution to this awesome event ...every time I feel proud to be a part of WHB event.

My today's recipe is  hot favorite among bengalis...you ask any bengali about this...they can die for this awesomely cool comfort food, I mean if you give us a choice of a five course meal and this combo, any bengali will choose this one without any hesitation. ( I am sure?????..... at least me)
Kalai-er dal is a dal made of split (skin removed) white Urad dal. The special about this dal is the use of fennel seed unlike other dal has the usual cumin seed or panch phoron(mixture of five different seeds) as tempering. this dal has two versions, both are awesomely tasty. One is with roasted dal and another without roasting. As urad dal is little slimy or slippery in texture, if you roast the dal before making it, the slimy texture will go away. I love both versions and will give you both recipes, inredients are almost same in both versions, but the process varies a bit...you know what accompanies with this dal...yes, the famous Aloo posto (Potato in poppy seed paste). if you want a leisurely comfort food in a relax weekend lunch, have this combo and you'll love it, I guarantee you................

Now to the recipes....first Aloo posto...it is a dish made with potato and a paste of poppy seed. You can make this dish in many different ways, this time I made this with onion..so it is Pyaj-Aloor posto (Potato N Onion in poppy seed paste)

Potato : 2(medium)
Onion : 1 (medium)
Poppy seed : 2 tblsp.(heaped)
Black cumin seed(kalonji/kala jeera) : 1 tsp.
Tomato : 1/2 (chopped)
Green chilli : 2 (more or less accr. to your taste or omit)
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 1 tsp.(optional)
Salt to taste

• Cut potatoes in small cube like pieces. Grind the poppy seed coarsely with green chillies in a coffee grinder. Do not make it too fine.
• Heat oil in a pan, temper with black cumin seed, when the aroma rises, add onions. Fry for a minute and then add potatoes. Add salt and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add turmeric powder and give it a good stir. 
• Add chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder mix it well and then add poppy seed paste. Cook on medium heat for few minutes, so that the paste can coat nicely with potatoes. Add enough water to cook the potatoes. Add little salt over it.
• Cover the lid and wait till all water dries up and potatoes are cooked. After the water dries up, check the seasoning, add if needed and stir fry the whole thing vigorously for 2-3 minutes to make it more dry and fried.
• Take out from heat and serve hot with any dal and white rice.....................

Split white Urad dal : 1 cup
Dry red chilli : (Break into 2)
Fenugreek seed(methi dana) : 1 tsp.
Fennel seed(mouri) : 2 tblsp.(dry grind into powder)
Ginger : 1"(grated)
Green chilli : 2-3
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.
Salt to taste

• Soak urad dal in water for about 1/2 an hour as it takes comparatively more time to cook. Soaking before cooking it, will need less time to cook. Pressure cook the dal until it is soft and done. When done, open the cooker. If water dries up, add 1 cup of water. With a wire masher, mash the dal. Add little salt and turmeric powder and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Keep it aside.
  
• Heat oil in a pan, when it is really hot and smoky, lower the flame, add dry red chillies, green chillies and fenugreek seeds. When seeds slightly change colour(turn brown, not dark brown---do not burn fenugreek seeds, the whole dal will taste bitter), pour the cooked dal over it. 
• Cook for 2-3 minutes. Finally, when you have your desired consistency(it is not a thick dal, and also not so watery, kind of a smooth consistency) of dal, check the seasoning. Add ginger juice (squeeze the ginger paste and add only the juice) and powdered feneel seed. Cook for 1 minute and take out from heat. Your dal is ready.

Now the recipe of fried one, i.e., Bhaja kalai er dal

Ingredients are same as above, only no fenugreek seed. I dont have the picture of this version, next time I make it, I'll add it for sure.

• Dry roast the dal and then wash and soak the dal as above. Then pressure cook it until done.
• Add 1 cup of water, with a wire whisk, mash the dal and give it a smooth texture. Add little salt and turmeric and cook for 2-3 minutes. Keep it aside.
• Wet grind fennel seed and ginger to a fine paste(ada-mouri bata). 
  
• Heat oil in a pan, when its hot and smoky, add dry red chilli, green chilli and the paste of ginger and fennel seed (ada-mouri bata). Fry the paste for a while in medium flame, when you get the sweet smell of the paste, add the dal. Check the seasoning and cook for 2-3 minutes. Your dal is ready. 
• Enjoy with Aloo posto and hot white rice............
  

TRY AND LET EM KNOW IF YOU LIKED IT OR NOT............

It's time for me to convey my gratitude to all my followers who have encouraged and showed their support, commented with nice and encouraging words throughout my blogging period. So, this set of awards are for my followers...Thank you all for your love and moral support..you all are the inspiration of my blog..thank you so much...........please accept these awards from me
This "A Fabulous Blog" award has passed on to me by one of my followers, Babli of Khana Masala..Thank you dear Babli ..Now I want to pass you this set of awards..pl.accept them
Followers/Friends, when you see my post on your reader, please come and acceprt these awards and let me know, Please..................Thank you again 
My followers are :
Ushnish Ghosh, Prasu, Pria, Sanghi, Dithi, Sarah Naveen, Rituparna, Sangeetha, raje, lakshmi venkatesh, Priya, Tina, RV, Shanthi, Kimmie, Tulip, Arti, Aysha, LG, Nithya, Babli, Divya, SGD, Renu, Pinky, Adlak's tiny world, Chitra, Ann, Mrs. kannan, Sunanda, Gayathri, Angel, Oriya Food, Subhie_br, Mydhily Naidu, shaista tabrez, hurby-kh, Cayla, தேவன் மாயம், Mom, my blog, Amrita Banerjee and Sowmya.

Reposting my older post Chinese Kidney Beans & Potato Fry for  JFI : Rajma, hosted by Divya of Dil Se and event started by Indira of Mahanandi

Vindaloo is a meat dish of Portuguese origin, which derived from Portuguese word Vinho(vinegar) and Al'ho(garlic), which are two key ingredients for this dish. Due to its ability to preserve well, vindaloo was carried by Portuguese sailors on their sailing trips and found its way into Goa by this route. Now Vindaloo has become a popular and integral part of West Indian cuisine. It also a very popular among Parsis too, who imigrated from Persia, recent day Iran to Gujarat, the Western most State of India about 1000 years ago. As Parsian cuisine is very much influenced by Portuguese cuisine, So Vindaloo has become a very popular meat dish of parsian community. It differs a little from the Goan Vindaloo recipe. Today, I'll share the Parsian style Mutton Vindaloo recipe...It is basically a fiery-hot curry sauce and a real delight who loves hot and spicy curries. Traditionally the Parsis make vindaloo with duck, but mutton can be substituted, even with chicken or pork. 

The image was taken in a hurry, couldn't take a good one, as hungry people were already on the dinner table, so had to hurry...really sorry for that



500 gms mutton cut into small cubes
6 tblsp oil
3 small tomatoes, chopped
3 small potatoes peeled and cut into round pieces
2 onion chopped in slices
250 gms boiled peas (I omitted)
Bay Leaves : 1 or 2
Curry leaves : 6-8 pieces(crumbled)
salt as per taste

6 dry red chillies (adjust as per your tolerance level)
3 cloves
5 cardamoms
6 black peppercorns
1/2" cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
6 garlic cloves
1" piece ginger
1 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tblsp.Vinegar

• Dry roast until lightly browned all the spices from dry chilles to coriander seeds(vindaloo masala section). Then ground with rest of the ingredients. it should be a smooth paste.
  
• Cut mutton pieces in small cube like pieces. Clean and pat dry. Marinate them with vindaloo masala paste, crumble up curry leaves and add to it, salt and 2 tblsp. of oil. Keep aside for at least 2-3 hours. More is better.
  
• Heat rest of the oil in a wide pan, fry potatoes with salt and keep aside. In the same oil, add bay leaves for flavour, when they change colour, add onions and fry until lightly browned. Then add chopped tomatoes, stir till tomatoes are pulpy. Then add marinated mutton pieces in there. 

• Stir-fry for at least 15 minutes or spices are well blended with mutton pieces. Add about 5 cups of water and let it cook in medium flame until mutton are tender and the curry is thick. Give it an occassional stir. Add salt as necessary. When mutton are almost tender, add potato pieces in it.
  
• If using green peas, add when mutton and potatoes both are done.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or any Indian flatbread like chapati, naan or paratha.  

I'm sending this parsian Mutton Vindaloo to Meera of Enjoy Indian Food

who is celebrating Parsi Cuisine for this edition of  
RCI(Regional Cuisine of India), this event is started by  
Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine

Hi Friends, I'm back after a quite long break. Even after coming from vacation, last 10 days, the man of the family was terribly sick with fever. So couldn't even think of blogging a bit...Now he is fine, so tried to post something...I don't know why it feels little weird to write down something after such a long break, it feels like I havn't ever did this before...but I've to say that, I terribly missed blogging,...
Any way,  Beguni or Brinjal Fritters is my recipe today...........

Beguni is a famous bengali snack made from brinjals. We call brinjals "begun", so the fritters or pakoras made out of it is "beguni". This fritter is so beloved in bengali community, it is served as an evening snack with tea (mainly in demand when it rains outside) or is a famous accompaniment with Khichdi(a lentil-rice combination), a popular appetizer in any special occassion menu like birthdays, Puja, even in marriage functions. You can serve this as a side dish with any dal and rice. During Durga Puja, it is served with Khichdi in puja pandals and even it is made at bengali households,too. I also made this during puja time at home.
The most important aspect of this fritter is the shape in which the brinjals are cut. First, cut in 1/8 inch thick round slices and then cut each round one from the middle (resembling the shape of half-moon). Another way to cut the brinjals is to make thin slices of the brinjals vertically. For best results, always use the dark purple brinjals. Now to the ingredients, you need very less ingredients for this fritter...

Thick Purple Brinjal : 1
Besan(chick pea flour) : about 1 cup
Chilli powder : 2 tsp. (according to your taste)
Turmeric powder : a pinch
Kalonji or black cumin or onion seed : 1 tsp.
Poppy seed(posto) : 2 tblsp.(for extra flavour & crunch)

Baking powder : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Water
Oil for deep frying

• Sprinkle a pinch of both salt and turmeric powder over the brinjals and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
  
• To prepare the batter, take besan in a bowl, mix all the ingredients in it except water and oil and mix them together.Then add enough water to make a semi-thick consistency of batter. It shouldn't be runny or not too much thick.Whip the batter for 2-3 minutes to make a smooth and lump-free batter.
  
• Heat enough oil in a wide vessel to deep fry. Dip each eggplant piece in the batter, check if it is coated from all sides. then deep fry in medium heat until lightly browned. 
• Serve hot immediately after frying.............................

This is going to take part in my ongoing event ,       
"Sunday Snacks : Festive snack of Navratri & Diwali"....Friends, send in your entries soon to me, I want to know Which snack you've served to your family & friends during this festive season.  

In the month of October and November, the famous event of blogosphere "Sunday Snacks" is nestling here in Appyayan. This event is a brainchild of Hima of SnackORama, but Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy has took over since Hima has moved to India. Few months back, when I saw Pallavi is asking to guest host the event, as she is pregnant with twin girls. I just had to help her and took this great opportunity to host this great event. I knew how hard is going to be for her, as I went thru the same experience 2 years back and now a proud mother of twin boys. Wishing her all the best...it was quite a good experience for me and hoping the same for her........................
As I'm hosting on the month of October-November, the theme was obvious...it's the month when we, Indians are in festive mood. Three main festivals are celebrated this time - Navratri, Dusshera and Diwali. While North and West Indians celebrate Navratri and Dusshera, same time East Indians celebrate Durga puja to worship Devi Durga. And then comes Diwali or Deepavali, the festival of lights, which is celebrated all over India.


Festivals in India are incomplete without delicious food. These festivals offer a great opportunity for people from different regions to enjoy the traditional delicacies that are cooked using the traditional recipes which have been passed on from generations to generations. So I want to know what snack do you make during this festive season. Share traditional or your family's favorite recipes from your part of India.



Each recipe being submitted for the event, must have a link to this post..even if it is reposted grouped with others, every individual entry must have a link to this announcement, even your archived ones .. Linking with logo is preferable as it's made for this event only, but not compulsory.

the duration of this event is 2 months. due date will be the last Sunday of November, i.e., 29th November, 2009 (Round up will be posted by the next week with a new theme announcement for the future edition)

There is no restrictions with the ingredients...vegetarian and non-vegetarian entries are allowed. But no beef, please.........

Send as many entries as u like

Anything from archives is ok. Reposting is not necessary but again you must link each and every individual post/entry to this announcement.

Please submit your recipes via email. Please include your name, where are you from and recipe text and images are compulsory.


Email your entries to indranidh@gmail.com with subject line as Sunday Snacks - Festive snacks of Navratri & Diwali 

Picture of the Dish : Max. 300 px.

Sunday Snacks :Fry it
Sunday Snacks : Bake it 


With this post I'll take a break from blogging for 2-3 weeks, as I'm visiting Kolkata for Durga Puja...Hope to see you all soon and keep making festive snacks and send me your yummy yummy entries...wish my readers, visitors and blogger friends a happy and healthy Navratri and Dussehra............I'll see you before Diwali

Bread is now so important part of our diet...without eating bread day's diet can't be complete. But always choose wholemeal bread over white bread or white flour bread. The basic difference between these two types of bread is during production of wholemeal flour the whole grain is used. This type of flour has an extraction rate of 100%, which means nothing is removed during milling. White flour is refined. The bran and nutrient-packed germ are separated from the rest of the grain losing many nutrients. The wholemeal flour contains all parts of the grain: the fibre-rich bran (outer layer), the endosperm (middle layer) and the germ (inner layer). The bran provides fibre, B vitamins, minerals, protein and other phytochemicals. The endosperm contains carbohydrates, proteins and small amounts of B vitamins. The germ is packed with minerals, B vitamins, vitamin E and other phytochemicals. The regular consumption of whole grain foods has been linked by researchers to a reduction of several diseases including heart disease and cancer, especially colon cancer.
My family likes bread than cereal or any other breakfast stuff. So I'm in a constant look for something different to serve them with bread. Few months back, I came accross one such recipe which can be served as a breakfast and also for evening snack. My daughter loved it and now every day she wants only this for her evening snack...so try it some time and let me know how your kids have liked it...........

Bread Utthapam........It's very easy to make and simply delicious bread snack recipe, which will be loved by all ages. If you don't know what a uttapam/utthapam is, it is dosa like dish made from same batter like dosa, but it's thick and not filled like dosa and different grated veges spread over it and fried.

Bread ( any type of bread) : 6-8 slices ( I used Focaccia, it was just yummy)
Curd/yoghurt/Dahi : 1/2 cup
Semolina/Suji : 1/4 cup
Grated Onion : 1/2 cup
Grated Carrot : 1/2 cup
Grated Capsicum : 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped tomatoes : 1/2 cup
Grated Ginger : 1 tblsp.
Finely chopped Green chillies : 1 tblsp.(Omit if cooking for kids)
Finely chopped Coriander leaves : 1/2 cup
Chilli powder : 2 tsp.( as per taste)
salt to taste
Butter/Margarine : as needed
Oil/ghee(clarified butter) : 2 tblsp.

• In a big bowl, take curd/yoghurt, whip it a little. Then add all the ingredients except oil and bread. 
• Spread butter or margarine in only one side of your bread. 
  
• Heat tawa or a wide pan, put butter side of the bread down, let it brown, on the top side, spread the yoghurt batter evenly in a thin layer. Once the down part is done, pick it up with a flat spatula, drop 1 tsp. of oil, flip to the other side. 
• In medium heat, let it brown. Remove from tawa. Prepare other slices same way.
  
• Serve hot with a ketchup or any sauce of your choice.

I'm sending it to Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes
for her event, "Sunday Snacks : snacks with bread". I've the priviledge to host this event next month, so friends and foodies come to my place for the announcement and please participate and make it a success........

Also want to share my daughter's recent favorite snack with Srivalli of Spice your Life, who is celebrating her first blog anniversary with the theme, "Kids Delight"

Bengalis call their desserts course as mishti. It was many years ago that every household made its own sweet dishes. The principles of economy and the skilled required for the popular preparations led to families specializing in confectionery – making, where expertise was handed down from father to son. The community, known as Moiras, has developed sweet-making into a fine art and specialities like rosogulla and sandesh are made. The sweet shops of Bengal known as "Mistannan Bhandar" (Sweet House). But, to one’s belief, Bengali sweets are not only Sandesh,  Rosogulla or Misti Doi. There are even lots more varieties to Bengali Desserts, which might not be available, commercially in the market, nor in the sweet shops, but typically home made, like different "Pithas"(which are basically rice-wheat-coconut based sweets, some are stuffed , some not, some are stuffed and dipped in thickened milk and so on), Rasbara( made from pasted Urad dal, whipped till frothy, then fried in round balls and finally soaked in syrup), Narkel Naru(coconut laddoo) and Malpoa to name some of them..

 
I'll share this home made delicacy with you today, which is made during festival time,too. I always make this on my husband's birthday, as he just loves this. Being a bengali, he has less sweet tooth than me, he'll prefer this over any cake. So I made them on last weekend for his birthday. 

Malpoa : It is made with all purpose flour(maida) and semolina/suji, made into a thick batter. The batter is then drop into hot oil in a form a small round pancakes which are deep fried and then dipped into hot sugar syrup. You can add also crushed fruits in the batter, like banana, mango or pineapple for different taste. But my family just love the natural flavour of fennel seeds and coconut. This is the basic recipe of malpoa.



Ingredients :  

• In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients except oil. Using your hands, make a smooth batter free of lumps. use milk as needed to make a semi-thick batter,little thicker than pakora batter.
  

• Meantime, in a wide pan, prepare sugar syrup, adding cups sugar in 2 cups of water and let come to boil. Add crushed green cardamoms and Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Note : remember syrup thickens when cooled so do not boil to a thick consistency.
• Heat the oil to smoking in a wide pan/kadhai. Turn the flame down to medium. Using a ladle, pour in a full measure of the batter in a form of small circle of 3" diameter into the oil.  
• Fry for approximately 3-4 minutes until deep brown on medium heat, so the batter can cook through. Flip over and fry other side to deep brown.

• Remove and add directly to the hot sugar syrup, boil them for 3-4 minutes in syrup and then take them out. Meantime, fry another batch of malpoas and dip in sugar syrup. 
• Tips : If your syrup dries a bit during process, add some more water and sugar if required. But don't let syrup thicken much.
  

• Serve in room temperature. you can store the rest in refrigerator and can keep them for 7-10 days but before eating, warm them up a little. 

I would like to share this festive sweet with Sudeshna who is

hosting an event " Durga puja Food Festival" @ her place Cook Like A Bong....
And to EC of Simple Indian Food for her Festive treat Event
And to Shanthi Krishnakumar's event Dusshera, Dhanteras and Deepavali

In another note : Recently, Some of my blogger friends has passed me a loads of awards to me, which I couldn't acknowledge before for lack of time. My heartfelt thanks to Pinky of Esho-bosho-aahare showered me with so many awards that I just totally drenched with excitement and enthusiasm, Thanks dear for your support and love....


Lissie of Salt and Spice has shared her awards with me.....My heartfelt thanks to Lissie

Murukku in Tamil, Muruku in Telegu, or Chakli in Marathi or Kannada, is a popular South-Indian teatime Snack, but now popular in allover India. It is one of the popular snack during "Diwali", the festival of light, which is right around the corner. Murukku is typically made from a mixture of urad dal(split black gram dal) and rice, both made into flour, added salt and flavourings such as chilli, asafoetida or hing, ajwain(celery seed) or cumin or sesame seeds. Both flour mixture is made into a dough and then filled into murukku press, formed into any shape, like spiral or coil, and then deep fried to a crisp.

I just love this snack, but never tried to make this at home as it is easily available ready from market. After joining Srivalli's event Indian Cooking Challenge, we're learning all regional delicacies from scratch. This month, we're learning this great mouth-watering snack. To make Murukku, you need Murukky press, which comes with many discs with thin holes, bigger holes, star shaped holes and flat rectangular holes, can make murukku of different shapes.
I had this cookie press for years, I make sometimes different shaped cookie with this, had no idea that murukku press also look the same. It has these different shaped tips and many other different shaped discs for making cookie. I made these murukkus with the smallest star shaped tip.

Raw Rice - 4 cups
Urad Dal - 1 cup
Water - app 1/2 cup or more
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds- 1 tsp
Asafetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter - 75 gms

• Wash and drain the rice. Shade dry the Rice for 1/2 hr. Dry roast the Urad dal to light brown. Allow it to cool. If you are using more quantity, you can get it ground in rice mil, else use your mixie to grind both Rice and Urad dal.
• First grind rice into a fine flour, keep it aside. then grind the urad dal to fine powder.
• In a wide vessel, take both the flours along with salt. Mix well. Add cumin, Sesame seeds to the flour, mix well. Whether you use Asafetida powder or the solid ones, you got to mix it in water, make sure it is dissolved before adding to the flour. If its not dissolved properly, when deep frying the muruku, there are chances for the hing to burst our due to air bubbles.
• Mix in the hing to the flour and finally add the butter. Gather everything well and you will get more of a crumbling mixture. Now slowly add water and knead a dough which is little more softer than the puri dough.
• Heat a kadai with oil enough to deep fry. Once the oil is hot enough, simmer to low flame. Take the Muruku Aachu, wash and wipe it clean. Then divide the dough into equal balls. Fill the Muruku maker with the dough. You can either press it directly over the flames or press over a paper and gently slide it down the hot oil. But since the quantity mentioned here is less, you can press it directly over the kadai.
• Cook over medium flame, using a slotted spoon, turn it over to other side to ensure both sides turn golden colour. You will know by seeing the colour that its cooked. Remove to a kitchen paper and store it in a air tight container.
  

You can store in an airtight container, it stays good for weeks, which is quite impossible unless you forget about them.

Want to color your life healthy? Then eat bright colour fruit and vegetable.  
Brightly colored bell peppers, are rich sources of some of the best nutrients available. Bell peppers, also known as sweet peppersor capsicum, are like the Christmas ornaments of the vegetable world since they are beautifully shaped, glossy in appearance and come in a variety of vivid colors such as green, red, yellow, orange, even in purple, brown and black. Bell peppers are not 'hot' like other peppers. They contain a recessive gene that eliminates capsaicin, the compound responsible for the 'hotness' found in other peppers.
Brightly colored bell peppers, whether green, red, orange or yellow, are rich sources of some of the best nutrients available. To start, peppers are excellent sources of vitamin C and vitamin A (through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), two very powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants work together to effectively neutralize free radicals, which can travel through the body causing huge amounts of damage to cells. Free radicals are major players in the build up of cholesterol in the arteries that leads to atherosclerosis and heart disease, the nerve and blood vessel damage seen in diabetes, the cloudy lenses of cataracts, the joint pain and damage seen in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and the wheezing and airway tightening of asthma. By providing these two potent free radical destroyers, bell peppers may help prevent or reduce some of the symptoms of these conditions by shutting down the source of the problem. So it creates Protection against Free Radicals, Cardiovascular Disease, Promote Optimal Health, Promote Lung Health, Protection against Rheumatoid Arthritis and Better Eyesight...


RED PEPPER :          Vitamin A  45%,     Vitamin C 240%
YELLOW PEPPER :  Vitamin A 2%,        Vitamin C 230%
GREEN PEPPER :     Vitamin A  4%,       Vitamin C 60%

Now, you already know what my recipe contains today....Yes, yes, Bell peppers, I just love to add them in our diet..Because of their hollow appearance, we love to stuff bell peppers. Almost every cuisine has their own stuffed bell pepper recipes. With Rice, meat, lentils, vegetables, nuts and cheese and so many more things are used to stuff the bell peppers. I love to stuff bell peppers with potatoes. Normally, I just stuff peppers and brown them and serve them with pulao or other things. Few days back, while I was browsing thru Indira's Blog, Mahanandi, I found her stuffed bell pepper recipe and she made a peanut-sesame seed sauce with it. After seeing that colorful sauce I had to try it and I made and served my guests. They were spellbound. It was worth all the effort, it's such an unique recipe, thanks, Indira for sharing the recipe.
BTW, The stuffing recipe is mine. Let's move on to the recipe, it's going to be big...couldn't take a good pic, sorry , had no time..




Bell peppers(any color) : as needed( try to get smaller sized capsicums, bigger one doesn't look good for this curry)
For stuffing --------
Potato : 3 (big)
Green peas: 1/2 a cup
Onion : 1(chopped)
Ginger-garlic paste :L 1 tblsp.
Tomato : 1(small-chopped)
Green chilli : 2(finely chopped)
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 2 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.
Cumin-coriander powder : 2tsp.
Roasted peanut (raw peanuts roast and ground) : 1/2 cup (not totally powdered, but ground into very small chunks)
Fresh coriander leaves : a bunch(chopped)


Sesame seed : 1/4 cup
Raw Peanuts : 1/4 cup
Cloves : 2-3
Cinnmon : 2(1" pieces)
Jaggery powder : 1 tblsp.
Tamarind juice : 1 tblsp.
Salt to taste

Oil : 4-5 tblsp.

• Pick small sized capsicums. Wash and trim the top off, remove the seeds and membrane and make a hollow space. Dip in a bowl of salted water for 10-12 minutes.
• Boil the potatoes, mash and keep aside.
• For stuffing, take a pan, heat 1 tblsp. oil, add cumin seeds. Then add chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and tomatoes. Saute for a while, add all powdered spices, thena add mashed potaoes, green peas and mix well. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and add roasted peanuts. Mix well, add chopped coriander leaves, mix well with the potaoes and remove from heat. Your stuffing is ready.
• Fill bell peppers with the potato stuffing to the top. Take a big and wide frying pan, add 2 tblsp. of oil, place bell peppers neatly in a circle. Cook them covered on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Turn them to sides in between, so they could get brown from all sides. Caution : Be careful while handing these beauties, as they are tend to break if overcooked. Just cook them until they are browned and tender to touch. Mine has also become little overcooked.

• Meantime, roast peanuts and sesame seed for the sauce. Take them in a grinder with all the other ingredients. Grind them to a smooth paste.

• Heat 2 tblsp. oil in another big and wide frying pan. Add the peanut-sesame sauce and about 2/3 cup of water. Mix well. Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add salt and a bit of sugar to adjust your taste. Place browned capsicums directly from the other pan to this pan of cooked sauce very carefully, put little sauce over the bell peppers. Cook covered for another 8-10 minutes in medium heat.

Serve hot or in room temperature with rice, chapati, naan or with any Indian bread...I know, it's a labory, time consuming dish, but when you taste it, you will feel it's worth the effort...enjoy these beauties.....................

Sending this royal and festive dish to Sudeshna of Cook Like a Bong ,

who is celebrating upcoming Durga Puja with Durga Puja Food Festival....send her your festive recipe,too, friends......................deadline 22nd September,'09
And to EC of Simple Indian Food for her Festive Treat event

In the beginning of Autumn season, when the sky looks beautifully blue in bright sunshine, kash flower sway with wind, sweet scent of white 'shiuli' flowers fill the air, it's the time to celebrate bengali's most beloved festival of the year, "Durga Puja", which is just 10 days away. Even though, nowadays, the scene has changed quite a bit for last few years, the sunshine part has vanished and Kolkata is under threat of T-strom and heavy rain from one month before the puja starts. But it can't shatter the mood of bengalis they get into with the onset of Autumn season.

If you're wondering, what's shiuli flower, check this out, shiuli phul is also known as Parijat flower
(image source : http://flickr.com/photos/abhijitc17/2209784394)
 Image of beautiful Kash phul(flower) dancing with the wind under the blue sky
(image source : http://bdshots.com)

ABOUT MAA DURGA

Durga, in Sanskrit means "She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach." Goddess Durga is a form of Sakti worshiped for her gracious as well as terrifying aspect. Mother of the Universe, she represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of a female dynamism. The manifestation of Goddess Durga is said to emerge from Her formless essence and the two are inseparable.

Info source : www.durga-puja.org

The festival can never be complete without good food. Bengalis do not need special occasions to have a delicious lunch or dinner. To them, having food with friends and family members itself is a big occasion. And when special occasions come, Bengalis appetite knows no bound. Kitchen in all Bengali houses remain crowded day and night with women, who put their best efforts to prepare delicious dishes for their family members and relatives. During this time, all the delicacies are cooked at home from fish to meat, veg. dishes to dessert or sweet.
Today, I'll share one such chicken recipe My mom used to make during this festive time or on some special occassions.........

Chicken Shahi Korma

(Korma, is a term of cooking, where meat is cooked  in yoghurt based sauce in ghee, instead of oil, shahi means Royal, as some royal food items like almonds, safforn, kewra water are some key ingredients of this recipe-very simple but yummy )

Ingredients :

Chichen : 1(whole)
Onion : 4-5(medium)
Ginger-garlic paste : 3 tblsp.(2" piece of ginger and 6-7 cloves of garlic)
Curd or yoghurt : 1 cup
Turmeric powder ; 2 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 2-3 tsp.(as per taste)
Garam masala powder : 2 tsp.
Kewra water : 1-2 tsp. ( can be found in Indian grocery stores)
Saffron Strands : 1 tblsp.
Whole black peppercorn : 10-12(grind into powder)


Almonds : 12-15 pcs.

Bay leaves : 2-3 pcs.
Salt to taste
Sugar : 1 tsp.
Ghee(clarified butter) : 4 tblsp.(I combined2 tblsp. oil and 2 tblsp. ghee)
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method : 

• Cut the chicken into pieces and apply salt and 2 tsp. black pepper powder, keep aside for 1/2 an hour. Chop the onions and beat the yoghurt with 2 tblsp. of water and keep aside.
  
• Soak almonds in water and take out the skin and grind into powder. Soak saffron strands in kewra water. If you don't get kewra water, soak in 1 tblsp. milk. After 10 minutes, make paste.
  
• Heat ghee in a pan, add the bay leaves and 1 tsp. of sugar, add onions before bay leaves turn dark brown. Saute till onions get soft and transculent. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few more minutes. Add turmeric, red chilli powder and rest of the black pepper powder. 
• When oil seperates the masala, add the chicken pieces, mix well with the masala paste and saute for 10-12 minutes. Add 2 cups of hot water and let it cook covered with lid.
• When chicken is 2/3 done, add beaten curd, almond paste, sugar, garam masala and mix well. Season with salt. Let it cook for another 5 minutes.
• There should be no water left, it's a dry gravy based dish. Lastly add saffron paste. Mix well with the chicken, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serving Suggestion :

Serve with Pulao(Bengali sweet Pulao) or any Indian bread like puri, paratha etc.
Check out my last year posts on Durga puja :
1. Dura puja is on our doorstep - know all the rituals of bengali durga puja
2. Pujor Diner Khabar(festive food of Durga puja) - Part 1 and Part 2


Sending this entry with above mentioned older entries to be featured on Durga puja Food Festival, organized by Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong

Friends, I have a good news to share with you...Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong, who is a famous bengali blogger, has loads of authentic bengali recipes in her new site. She is doing so much more than just blogging. Recently, she surveyed the web and enlisted Top 7 Bengali food blogger and Friends, I am in her list. I still can't believe this. This recognision just after 1 and 1/2 years of blogging, I am just delighted and so much thankful to Sudeshna and Kalyan. Thanks a lot, you both. She is going to publish the our interview, too in her site soon.
For this joyous occassion, I 'll share our family's favorite breakfast sandwich recipe which I make quite often ... its very filling and you can pack this sandwich for your and kid's lunch-box, too. It's a very healthy evening snack option for kids.



Bread : any bread of your choice
Butter or margarine
For filling ::
Potato(medium) : 2(boiled and mashed)
Egg : 2
Onion(medium) : 1
Green chilli : 2(chopped)
Tomato(small) : 1(chopped)
Fresh coriander leaves : a handful(finely chopped)
Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 1 tsp.
Chaat masala : 2 tsp. or Lemon juice : 1 tsp.
Oil : 1 tblsp.
Salt to taste
Black Pepper powder to taste
Lettuce leaves, Cucumber, Onion and tomato slices(few)

• Boil the potatoes and mash them finely with a pinch of salt. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry onion and green chilli till onion turns brown, add chopped tomatoes. Wait till tomatoes softens.
  
• In a bowl, beat 2 eggs vigorously to mix egg white and yellow. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to the egg and add in the pan and mix well with onion and tomato.
  
  
  
  Vegetarians skip the above step and follow rest of the steps for spicy potato sandwich
  
  • Stir and break the fried egg into small pieces, just like you make scrambled egg, keep the eggs soft, not too much fried. So do it in medium low flame. Now add the mashed potato in it. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, chaat masala or lemon juice and coriander leaves. Season with salt and keep stirring until everything is well mixed. It should be a dry mixture. Remove from heat, your filling for sandwich is ready.
  
  

• Now toast bread slices, put some butter or margarine. On down piece of bread, place few lettuce leaves, spread some of the filling on that, place 2 slices of cucumber, onion and tomatoes each, sprinkle some black pepper powder on that and finally place your top bread slice.
• Your sandwich is ready. Give a big bite.........yummmmmmmmm
  

Sending this to Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes for her event "Sunday Snacks : snacks with bread"