Bengali Aloo Patta Gobi (Potato with Cabbage)

aloo patta gobi

So you don't like cabbage? Try this bengali style aloo patta gobi sabzi and you will change your opinion. I had a first hand experience with my hubby who didn't much like patta gobi but when I cooked this sabzi, he asked for second helping. The original recipe asks for rich amount of ghee but I have used oil and in lesser quantity keeping health in mind.
Recipe of bengali aloo patta gobi
1 small patta gobi (cabbage) - finely shredded
2 medium aloo (potatoes) - peeled and cubed
1 large tomato- diced
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)
1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp oil or ghee
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadhai or a pan. Add aloo and patta gobi.
2. Add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well and cook covered on a low heat till potatoes are 3/4th cooked. Stir occasionally.
3. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a separate small pan and add tomato. Add rest of the spices and cook till tomato is soft and mushy.
4. Add 1-2 tbsp water to tomato masala. Cook till it forms a paste.
5. Add this to aloo patta gobi and mix well.
6. Cook potato and cabbage sabzi till potatoes are well done. Turn off the heat and serve aloo patta gobi hot with roti, paratha, poori or rice. 

(Bharwa) Stuffed Parwal

bharwa parwal

Parwal vegetable is a squash like gourd also known as pointed gourd or potol. Parwal is popular in North Indian cooking. There are many ways to cook parwal including aloo parwal that is parwal with potatoes both in curry and dry sabzi form.

Recipe of stuffed parwal or bharwa parwal sabzi

250 gms parwal (potol/ pointed gourd/ parval)

3/4 tsp fennel powder (saunf)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

1 tbsp mustard oil or any other oil

parwal

scraped and slit parwal

1. Scrape parwal in a manner that hard skin remains there. Wash them. Make a slit lengthwise on 1 side of each parwal. Remove any ripe, mature seeds. Keep parwal aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix salt and all the spices except turmeric powder and hing. Stuff them in the parwals with the help of a spoon.

3. In a pan, heat mustard oil to smoking point that is till vapors start coming out of it.

Add hing and turmeric powder and mix with the oil. Add stuffed parwal and lower heat to medium-low.

4. Cook covered for 20-25 minutes turning over twice in between. Cook till done. Serve hot stuffed parval sabzi with roti or paratha.

Ghugni (Bengali Version of Chickpeas)

ghugni

Ghugni is a Bengali version of chole or ragda. Here I have used kabuli chana or chickpeas but green peas or matar is also used for making ghugni.

Recipe of ghugni/ ghoogni

1 cup kabuli chana (chickpeas/ garbanzo beans)

1 onion- chopped

1 tomato- chopped

1 bay leaf (tej patta)

1 black cardamom

1 green cardamom

2-3 cloves (laung)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 1/2 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

1 onion- cut into rings for garnish

1. Soak the kabuli chana overnight. Drain.

2. Pressure cook chana with salt and water. Let 1 whistle come, then cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok. Add bay leaf, cloves, cumin seeds and cardamoms. Let them splutter.

4. Add onion and sauté till light brown.

5. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 1 minute.

6. Add tomato and rest of the spices and salt. Cook till oil begins to separate.

7. Crush a handful of chana and add along with rest of the boiled chana.

8. Boil on a high heat for 3-4 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Cook till you get the desired gravy consistency.

10. Garnish with onion rings and serve hot ghugni with either roti, luchi, poori or rice.

Microwave Aloo Posto (Potatoes in Poppy Seeds Paste)

aloo posto

Aloo posto or aloo poshto is a Bengali dish of potatoes cooked in poppy seeds paste or khus khus as it is known in hindi. Posto or poppy seed not only add great flavor to aloo but it also has great medicinal value. Poppy seeds are used to treat nervous disorders and insomnia. Here is my blog post of aloo posto cooked in microwave.

Recipe of microwave aloo posto/ poshto

1/2 kg aloo (potatoes) - peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup poppy seeds (posto/ khus khus) - finely ground into a paste

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

2 green chillies- slit

1. Pour oil in a micro-safe dish and add aloo and mix. Cover and cook on High for 5-6 minutes.

2. Add red chilli powder, salt, poppy seeds paste, and green chillies. Mix well and add 2 tbsp water. Cover and cook on High for 5 more minutes.

3. Serve aloo posto hot as a side dish with rice or roti.

Luchi (Maida ki Puri)

luchi

Luchi is a type of Bengali puri.  In a way luchi is similar to bhatura as both are made from maida or all purpose flour but they are different in the sense that bhatura dough is fermented and luchi dough is not. Luchi puri is very tasty and generally had with ghughni.

Recipe of luchi (puri)

2 cups maida (all purpose flour/ refined flour)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil + for deep frying

1. Mix salt with flour. Add 1 tbsp oil and rub flour between your fingers so that oil coats the flour evenly.

2. Add lukewarm water to knead the flour into stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.

3. Heat sufficient oil in a kadhai/wok. Take a small lemon size ball out of the dough and roll out into 3 inch round luchi.

4. Gently place the luchi in the hot oil and fry till they puff up and turn pale cream. Fry from both sides.

5. Drain the luchi on an absorbent paper and similarly make rest of the luchi with remaining dough. Serve luchi hot with potato curry or ghughni.

Aloo Parwal ki Sukhi Sabzi (Potatoes with Pointed Gourd)

aloo parwal ki sukhi sabzi

Today I cooked aloo parwal ki sukhi sabzi with phulkas and it really tasted yum. Parwal or pointed gourd is more famous in Bengal and Orrisa side of India. They call this sabzi aloo potol.

Recipe of aloo parwal ki sabzi

200 gms parwal (pointed gourd/parmal/parval/potol)

2 big potatoes- peeled

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

Salt to taste

3/4 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

1 tbsp oil

1. Scrape parwal with a knife and wash (do not remove the peel). Cut each parwal lengthwise into 4 pieces. Similarly cut potatoes into fingers.

2. Heat oil in a pan or a kadhai/wok. Add cumin seeds and when they change color, add hing.

3. Add aloo, parwal, salt and all the spices except amchoor. Give it a good mix. Turn the heat to low and cook covered. Stir occasionally.

4. Cook till parwal gets tender. Turn off the heat and mix in amchoor. Serve aloo parwal ki sabzi with roti or paratha.

Bengali Sandesh (Indian Cheese Fudge)

sandesh

Sandesh, shondesh, sandes are some of the names by which this mithai is called. Recipe of sandesh is very easy and it can be made within no time. Although sandesh is a Bengali mithai, it is loved in other parts of India as well. This soft mithai never failed to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Recipe of sandesh

Makes about 20 sandesh

2 cups chenna (cottage cheese)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder

1. Add sugar to the chenna and knead.

2. Place the mixture in a kadhai/wok and cook stirring constantly, on a low heat. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Consistency of the mixture should be that of the very soft dough, neither too dry nor too moist.

3. Remove from heat and mix gently till it cools down a bit.

4. Divide into equal portions and make balls out of it. Garnish with cardamom powder and place in fridge. Serve sandesh chilled.

Mishti Doi (Bengali Sweet Yogurt)

Mishti doi

Mishti doi or mitha dahi is a Bengali yogurt dessert. Mishti doi is prepared from thickened milk which is sweetened and then set into curd.

Recipe of mishti doi/ mitha dahi

1 liter milk

1/4 cup sugar + 2 tsp sugar

2 tsp curd (dahi/yogurt)

1. In a pan, bring milk to boil. Reduce the heat to low and stirring frequently, cook milk till it thickens and reduces to 1/2 of its original quantity. Add sugar and let it dissolve.

2. Turn off the heat and allow the milk to cool down to temperature which is comfortable to touch but still warm.

3. Heat a separate shallow pan and add 2 tsp sugar. Turn the heat to low. Let the sugar turn to light brown colour (caramelize).

4. Add this caramelized sugar to thickened milk. Add 2 tsp curd to milk and stir well.

5. Pour milk in earthen bowls. Keep aside covered so that it sets into curd.

6. After turning into curd, refrigerate these bowls. Serve mishti doi chilled.