Bhapa Mach- Steamed Fish in Mustard sauce

After experiencing terrible heat for the last few days, today the wind is whistling outside, the sky dark and looming with a streak of lightning flashes once in a while. The stage is set for the rain. The wind, the rain, the thunder and the lightning ... all dance in perfect sync. And I watch outside like a curious child waiting for an answer.As I sit to pen down this recipe which I learnt a long time ago from my old Bengali neighbor who was a fabulous cook herself. Memories come flooding, how she makes me understand  this recipe in her characteristic motherly way. Wish I could meet her now to tell her how grateful I am for this as I don't know where she is now. 

Bhapa refers to a dish of fish or vegetables, steamed with spices. Steamed fish is a traditional Bengali delicacy where Ilish /Hilsha Or Bhetki is steam cooked in a tangy mustard sauce. Mustard oil is used for an authentic taste and flavour. It is best enjoyed with hot steamed rice.But I have made this dish using Rohu, which is a freshwater fish as my son is averse to eating hilsa for its numerous bones. I still remember her advice to saute the fish lightly in oil before steaming it , when we use fresh water fishes such as Rohu or Katla.

Cuisine: Bengali

Prep time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients:

•  4 pieces Rohu Fish 
• 2 tbsp Mustard Oil (for frying fish) + 1 tsp
• 1 tbsp. Black Mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp Yellow Mustard seeds  
• 1 tbsp.Poppy seeds
• 4 nos Green chillies
• 1/2 tomato thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp Curd/yoghurt 
• Salt to taste
• Fresh Coriander leaves, chopped

 

Let's Learn How to make this recipe:

•  Marinate the rohu pieces with turmeric and salt for half an hour.

• Meanwhile soak the black, yellow mustard and the poppy seed in a little water for about 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes grind the soaked mustard and poppy seed along with 1 green chili and a little salt to a fine paste.

• Fry the fish in hot mustard oil. Make sure you do not deep fry the fish. The fish should just be fried lightly to get rid of the rawness.

• In a bowl, take yoghurt, above prepared paste , salt to taste. Mix together and keep aside.

• First take a steel tiffin box or any steel vessel with tight-fitting lidin a single layer (not one on top of the other). Place the fish pieces as well as the gravy in this vessel and drizzle a little mustard oil over the bowl. Drop 1-2 slitted green chillies and thinly sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves. close the lid tightly and  steam it for 10-15 minutes.

• Alternatively you may even bake in the fish in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for about 15-18 minutes.

• Remove from the steamer (or oven if used) and serve with steaming hot rice.

 

Badi Chura

One best thing about Bhubaneswar is that you get plenty of cool breeze in the evening, such a pleasant respite from the humid heat. With the summer on with full swing and the scorching sun, this recipe will do wonders to help you rejuvenate and beat the heat.Pakhala with badi chura is the ultimate desire for all during summer months in Odisha. Pakhala is the one we would have most often during summer.Also if you want to have a peaceful sleep after the day’s work, then you should go for this.Not to forget the onions and green chilly which add a zing to this recipe.  

Pakhala is eaten in Odisha since time immemorial.A peculiar habit of Odia people are they think of food all the time. A typical meal constitutes of Rice, Dali, a gravy dish, a dry dish, a sour-sweet chutney, some crispy side dish and a proper dessert.One among the crispy side dish is Badi Chura. The dish is crunchy, crispy, savory that makes the lunch menu complete. Badi is a sun dried lentil dumpling which comes with many variations.

Badi Chura is made by grinding badi with green chili, onion and garlic. It is basically a side dish. If you want to get its real flavour, then you must try this with Pakhala. Anyone and everyone can make this badi chura. It is a constant fixture in Odia meals, especially with pakhala. Badi is dried lentils and is usually made in fall and stored away for the year. It comes in handy as a quick side dish when you have to put a meal together in a jiffy. 

Badi Chura

Ingredients:

• 15-20 Urad Dal Badis
• 6-7 flakes of Garlic
• 3to 4 baby Onions
• 2 Green Chillies
• 2-3 tsp of Mustard Oil
• Salt to Taste

Let's Learn how to make this Badi Chura:

• Heat a pan. Roast the Badis.
• Coarsely grind Garlic, Onion, Chillies, and Badis.
• Add salt and Mustard Oil to the above mixture.
• Your dish is ready. Serve it with Pakhala.

If you want to see what a typical non veg pakhala thali looks like  do check it here. So entice your taste buds with some amazing, mouthwatering combo of Pakhala and badi Chura this summer.

Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce- Learn how to make this simple Indo-Chinese recipe

Indo Chinese cuisine is the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes through a larger offering of vegetarian dishes. This type of cuisine is said to have been developed by the small Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century. ( Source: wiki) .

Simply put, Indo Chinese cuisine aims at catering to our desi palette with an array of vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. There is a huge difference between the authentic Chinese recipes and the Indo Chinese  version of it. The Cantonese cuisine is sweet, Sichuan is spicy, shangdong is crispy and tangy making the Chinese cuisine more diversified like Indian cuisine.

When we think of Indo Chinese cuisine, Chilli Chicken, Chow mein, Fried Rice, Manchurian tops the list in our mind. The use of cabbage, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic , baby corn are quite common ingredients in Indo Chinese food. These are the food we grew up with since our college days. This was pure luxury at that time.  Indo-Chinese cuisine is probably the second most loved food in India, after it’s local street food fair.

 

 So when the theme for this week’s Foodie Monday Blog Hop was #IndoChinese recipes, what better way could have been to try this crowd favorite at home. This week was quite hectic and thinking of making an elaborate meal in this hot and humid climate was absolute no for me. So I decided to make this simple and quick vegetables in Hot garlic sauce and serve it with some Hakka Noodles .

Cuisine: Indo-Chinese
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes
Serves:4

Ingredients:

• 250 gms Button Mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum, cut into 1 inch squares
• 1 carrot, cut into long strips
• 8-10 french beans, cut into 1″ pieces
• 4-5 babycorns, cut diagonally into two
• 1 large Onion, diced into 1 inch squares
• 8 to 10 large  Garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3-4 Green Chillies, finely chopped
• 1 inch cube Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1½ tbsp Dark Soya Sauce
• 1-2 tbsp Red Chilli Sauce
• 1 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce 
• ½ tsp Sugar 
• 1 tsp Pepper Corns powder
• 1½ - 2 tbsp Corn Flour
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 3 to 4 cups water 
• Salt to taste
• Spring onions to garnish

let's Learn How to make this recipe:

• Dissolve corn flour in ½ cup of water and keep it aside until needed.

•  Heat oil in a pan to smoking hot and add finely chopped garlic and green chillies. Give it a quick stir for half a minute and add diced onions.

•  Stir fry the onions on high heat for a minute or two till the edges start to brown.

• Mix in diced bell peppers and all vegetables along with finely chopped ginger and stir fry for a minute or two on high flame.

• Add mushrooms along with soya sauce, red chilli sauce and sweet chilli sauce and stir fry for 2 minutes on high flame.

• Next pour 3 to 4 cups of water and mix in sugar and salt to taste and bring to a boil .

• Once the mushrooms are cooked through, add the corn flour dissolved in water little at a time stirring continuously to avoid forming of lumps.  Let it cook for 2 minutes on medium heat so that the vegetables remain  crisp and tender.
• Turn off heat and garnish with spring onion greens.

• Serve with Fried Rice or hakka noodles, it tastes awesome anyway.

Sending this recipe to our 37th Foodie Monday Blog Hop theme of #IndoChinese Cuisine

 

Wood apple Tamarind Aquafresca- Fruity Refreshing drink for Summer

This light, refreshing non-alcoholic drink served throughout Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, as well as Mexican cafés  are made by combining fresh fruits, grains, seeds, with sugar and water.One of the best way to enjoy fresh fruit is in agua fresca form. Agua frescas are nothing but refreshing fruit drinks made with fruits , water, lime juice and a bit of sweetener.

 

 I am sure you must be familiar with bael or woodapple pana if you have roamed along the streets in Bhubaneswar on a hot Summer day. Since childhood I am used to having the Bela Pana my mother used to offer us, more than the taste, her recipe is about using the bael fruit for the health benefits. I have given the traditional Bela Pana a modern twist suiting to our palette,if you have seen it but never had it before, you must try it once.

 Cuisine; Mexican

 Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS :

• Pulp from 1 medium size Wood Apple( Bael /Bela)
• 2 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 4 tbsp jaggery 
• Juice of one Orange( optional)
• 1 tsp Black salt / kala Namak
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 4 to 5 crushed mint leaves
• 4 glasses of Chilled water
• Ice cubes to serve
• oranges wedges for garnishing

Let's learn how to make this Agua fresca:

• Crack open the Wood apple, scrap out its entire pulp using a spoon into a glass bowl/vessel.

• Fill up the bowl with 2 glasses of chilled water till the entire pulp is covered in water. Mash the pulp so that it completely dissolves into the water. Use a large strainer and strain the entire thick pulpy wood apple juice into a larger bowl, you may need to stir and press down the pulp with a spatula to completely extract the juice.

•  Discard the remaining seeds, fibers etc left in the strainer.

• Add the jaggery,tamarind, mint leaves, roasted cumin powder and the remaining chilled water. Stir well, you may pulse it in a blender for a smother consistency.

• Stir in the orange juice and black salt, you may keep in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

• Pour into serving glasses and garnish with fresh mint and a slice of orange with loads of ice.

Buta Dali Aloo Kakharu Tarkari – Chana dal with potato and pumpkin curry

Buta Dali Aloo Kakharu Tarkari – Chana dal cooked with potato and pumpkin is a a very sought after dish in every odia household. This daal is liked by all for it’s amazing taste of spicy lentils blended with sweetness of pumpkin. It is a nutritious and a wholesome dish which goes very well with rice or poori. This daal is prepared with Buta dali or Chana daal or Bengal gram as popularly known as along with bay leaf, potato, pumpkin , ginger and coconut mostly on festive occasions and does not include onion or garlic in it. This simple no onion garlic aromatic daal is easy to make and taste absolutely divine.

This tarkari made out of Bengal gram is quite different from the other lentils prepared in rest of the country. Buta dali or Bengal gram is a little hard compared to other daals which when cooked holds it’s shape better than other lentils.The use of potato and pumpkin in this daal along with the richness of coconut makes the daal creamy and luscious and makes your dining a never to forget affair of odia traditional cuisine.

Now if you want to cook this simple, extremely tasty, authentic odia dish on a week day or specially for Sunday lunch for your family and friends, donot wait too much, go ahead and check this recipe below. This daal goes extremely well with Pooris  or rice and serve with a sweet kheer as side dish.I have literally grown up eating this daal prepared every alternative day as we have a tradition of not eating non veg food during 4 days a week. Every time I prepare this daal, it reminds me of home and of childhood.

Cuisine: Odia

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

serves:4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Buta daal (channa daal)
• 1 cup pumpkin  diced
• 1 large potato diced
• 1-inch ginger grated
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
•  2 to 3 dry red chillies
• 1 tsp Roasted cumin and dry red  chilli powder(3 teaspoons cumin seeds
  8-10 dried red chillies)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ghee
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 1 tsp sugar
• Chopped coriander and coconut  to garnish
• Salt to taste

Let's Learn how to make this recipe:

• Dry roast the cumin seeds and red chilies for the cumin chili powder  till you get the aroma. Care should be taken not to over roast and burn the seeds.Grind it and store it in an airtight container.

• Wash and cut the potatoes in cubes along with the pumpkin and keep aside.

• Soak the Buta dali for 30 minutes.Wash Buta Dali and bring to a boil along with potato, pumpkin, salt and turmeric in a pressure cooker up to one whistle. Do not overcook the daal.

• Heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds , dry red chiilies and bay leaf .When they start to splutter, add grated ginger and stir for a minute.  Add chopped tomatoes and cook till done.

• Add the boiled dal to the above masala, grated coconut  and simmer for few minutes. Garnish it with cumin and chilli powder and chopped coriander leaves and chopped coconut .

•  Serve it with Puri or Rice. The consistency of the dish is a personal preference. So add water accordingly and enjoy.

Mango Pomegranate & Tender Coconut Salsa- How to make easy Salsa Recipe for Summer Picnic

Every summer has  a  story. With the mercury rising here, it brings with it sweet memories of my childhood, when we would wait for the summer vacation to start so that we can visit our grandparents home. Though I never had a chance to meet either of them as they had passed away before I was born, but the stories I heard from my mom about them have still in my memories. Holidays at that time would mean loads and loads of mangoes, coconut water and sugarcane juice and playing in the huge backyard.

Back to present, even some years back, the weather here is so pleasant that we would drive to the nearby beaches, enjoys some great food and come back by evening. By the way, let me tell you, the sunset is awesome, we would never feel like coming back from there. But now a days the soaring heat and studies are keeping us most of the time indoors. 

There is something exciting about a picnic, which nobody can deny. We usually go for winter picnics where the food is lavishly cooked and there is no packed food concept. But Summer picnics occur at the height of the fresh fruit and vegetable season. And the more colorful produce you add to your menu, the healthier the meal could be. So for this week’s theme of #GetSetPicnic of Foodie Monday Bloghop, I decided to make the most use of the bounty of the season and fill our picnic basket with luscious summer produce to make the most loved mango Salsa with pomegranate and tender account.

I have always been attracted to try this mango salsa but somehow it could not reach my blog.  I am a bit crazy as far as mangoes are concerned and love eating and buying them, to top it all, my parents send me my share of mangoes from home every year without fail. So I am always spoilt for choices. I have already tried the Aam Panna with the raw mangoes, Sweet & Sour Mango pickle with raw shredded magoes as condiment, Raw mango Rice Mango, baked Mango yogurtand Salsa was one of the mandates to try last year. I love the idea of mixing up the sweet, salty and spicy flavours of summer fruits and  cannot wait to taste the texture that the soft pulpy mango, tender coconut  and the crunchy onions and pomegranate  would bring together. Do try this recipe before the mango season is officially over.

Salsas  always go well with a platter of Chips, Tortillas and even with Papads khakras, which are a slightly healthier version when compared to chips. I prefer the Mango salsa the most for it’s perfect burst of flavors with the sweetness of mangoes which is balanced with the acidity from lemon and the heat from the chillies but you can make various salsa varieties with fruits and vegetables during their respective seasons. I have used the 'Banginapally' variety of mango which is flooding the local market now to prepare my mango salsa, but you can use any variety of mango to make this .

Cuisine: Mexican 

Prep time:15 mins

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled, diced
• 1 cucumber dices
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
• flesh of 1 tender coconut cut in one inch strips
• ½ cup red onion, chopped
• ¼ cup coriander leaves chopped
• 1 chilli  finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Black salt to taste

  

Let’s learn how to make this Mango Salsa:

• Dice the mangoes and cucumber and keep aside. Deseed the pomegranate and take out the flesh of the tender coconut.

• In a large bowl, combine diced mangoes, cucumber, chopped onions,pomegranate seeds, tender coconut, chopped chilies and chopped coriander leaves.Add lime juice and salt to taste. Mix well.

• Let this sit for 10-15 mins for flavors to mingle together.Serve it with papads or chips.

• For outdoors, scoop them in paper cups and serve it with scoop type chips or papads .

Go ahead enjoy your Summer with so much of  fun and have this delicious Mango salsa to complement the lovely weather.

Sattu ka Panna - Celebrating Maha Bisubha Sankranti

Pana Sankranti or Maha Bishubha Sankranti is celebrated as the Odia New Year.This day marks the beginning of the New Year in the traditional Odia calendar.Pana Sankranti, like all other new year festivals, is the celebration of the end of the old year and the beginning of new. People pray to God at the beginning of the year so that the new year brings joy and happiness to everyone's life. Farmers pray for a better harvest and good rain. Hence Pana Sankranti is a grand celebration in Odisha and people participate in the celebrations with great enthusiasm.This day is also known as Jala Visuva Sankranti which is the first day of the Baisakha month.

 

There is an interesting story of Maha Bishubha Sankranti associated with Bhishma in the Mahabharata .‘Bhishma after being defeated by Arjuna in the Mahabharata war was lying on a bed of arrows (Shara Sajya). Pandavas and Kauravas had assembled near him and he asked for some water. Then Arjun aimed an arrow in the ground and from the crevice created by the arrow appeared Holy River Ganga to thirst the quench of Bhishma. Out of contentment and compassion Bhishma said that those people who would offer cold water to thirsty people on this day would not only be free from all sins, but also the departed souls of their ancestors as well as the Gods in heaven would be pleased. In remembrance of this day people in Odisha distribute water and a popular drink called Pana on this day.

 

In Odisha, Bisubha Sankranti or Pana Sankranti festival is observed with great sanctity in various forms. On this day Chhatua (Sattu), Pana (sweet water), umbrellas ( Chhata), fans(made out of palm-leaves or bamboo-strips known as Barada patra Binchana) and Paduka (wooden slippers or Kathau) are offered to Brahmins and the poor people. All these are the remedies for the scorching Sun. 

Water as the vital source of life becomes more symbolical in another ritual of the festival.Above the Tulasi plant- which is a must in every Hindu household of Odisha, a shed is prepared with branches of green leaves and a small pitcher filled with water is suspended with a rope hanger. Beneath it a small piece of straw which is fixed to a hole in the pitcher through which water is drained drop by drop on the Tulasi plant. This is called ‘Basudhara’ (the stream of the earth). Here, Tulasi plant symbolizes the human life and it is to be saved from the scorching sun by resting in the shed and taking enough water.

This act symbolically represents that water being the most important constituent for sustaining life in the earth, should be provided to all in the month of summers.A special drink called Pana, prepared from the mixture of Bael fruit and yoghurt is offered to the Tulsi plant on this day. Besides this a pana made with a mixed chatua or sattu is prepared and offered to the deity on this day.

Sattu ka Panna is an energizing drink that not only quenches our thirst but also protects us from the intense summer heat. Sattu was originally known as Sat-Anaj (seven cereals, millets and pulses). All across the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha,  Sattu is eaten daily in various forms.There are two versions of sattu drink – meetha (sweet) and namkeen (savory). Sattu a ghol is a salted version where black salt, black pepper, roasted cumin powder, lemon juice and mint leaves are used.In Odisha we mostly use the sweeter version of this drink named as Sattu Panna . 

Cuisine: Odia 

Prep time:10 minutes

Serves:4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Chatua or sattu
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 2 nos of ripe banana mashed
• 1/2 cup jaggery
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup chena
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/4 cup chopped mango
• a pinch of black pepper powder
• a pinch of salt
• Ice Cubes
• Mango slices for garnishing
• chilled water as needed

Let's Learn How to make Sattu Panna:

• Take equal quantity of wheat, green gram, Rice, Peanuts, Chana dal and dry roast them on slow heat till brown separately and keep aside to cool.Once cool, grind them along with 3 to 4 green cardamoms to a fine powder and store in an airtight jar to be used later. Or else you can buy Sattu powder available in the market and do this recipe.

• Now in a mixing bowl, add chena, mashed banana, grated coconut, jaggery,grated ginger, chopped mangoes, salt, pepper powder and mix well. 

• Add the chatua powder or Sattu to it and mix well. At this point it will be too dry. Add 2 glass of chilled water and make it a little runny.Taste the sugar level, if needed add more jaggery.

• Keep this Sattu panna  in the refrigerator till serving. While serving put ice cubes on tall glasses and pour this drink over it.

• Garnish with grated coconut and raw mango slices and serve chilled.