“The Indian subcontinent owes a deep debt to the Muslim community, for it is they who introduced the gamut of biryanis and pulaos to us.”- Pratibha Karan

My first taste of Biriyani was when I was 7.

and for that first time, I was lucky enough to taste the real deal- cooked by khansamah from Lucknow and served as a community meal.

So here are the promised recipes for the panta and few of it's many accompaniments. Guess I have written enough on my previous post about this meager meal so now let me delve into the recipes right away.

Here I have given an idea of how much of what is to be used. Giving an exact quantity is quite difficult. Follow your taste preference and you would be fine.

All the recipes given here are for 4 servings

Panta Bhat

Q. What kind of rice to use? Sundried or Boiled (seddho or atop)?

A: I have seen normal non-hybrid variety, boiled rice (seddho chal) lends itself better to the process of making Panta. They soften and disintegrate naturally and bring in a slightly tangy flavour. You can even use sundried rice (atop) but it has a distinct flavour which I personally do not like in my Panta.

Similarly, short grain rice is better for this recipe.

Summer is upon us at its full throttle. Too soon I say as I still am confused how come the weather took such a sharp turn. Maybe I was too busy with the kiddo's exams, my first Pop-up (will post about it later), a competition I took part in Mumbai and the painting work at home that I forgot to notice when the weather warmed up and became nasty. Gone are the days to walk long miles early in the morning and looking up to the mellow winter sun to warm up our cheeks and hands. 

Shubho Nababarsho to every one. Though Belated but like everyone else's they mean the best for you.

Big changes are taking place at home and with a fragile health am finding it difficult to cope up with the stress. but among all these chaos my recipes got published again on Ananda Bazar Patrika for their Nababarsho special issue on 14th April, 2018. Many have requested for the recipes as they were published in Bengali. Hopefully can update them one by one.

Its wonderful what 20 minutes of brisk walk in a chilly evening can do to your mood. I am not good at selfcare, I have never been. and with two small kid and plethora of work that needs to be done no matter what i hardly get any time to call my own. But this year I made a concious effort to niche out some 'me time' to do things that makes me happy inside out. and the first I did was to commit to a 20 minutes brisk walk everyday. For the kind of lifestyle I have I know I need to go for a more serious commitment but right now am happy with my small step towards my goal. 

But then most days especially the days when I go out with the day light still there the kids love to tag along. That definitely slows me down as they wonder about everything on our way and ask plethora of questions. It's like a full on blabbering session with one running after the butterfly and the other collecting leaves and flowers, playing with a sprig of twig as an imeginary car steering and what not. Those days definitely my 'all by myself' time is lost but I gain another perspective that us mothers  need to be flexible with our self care routine too. Our precious me time might look different everyday but no matter how disturbed it is we need to carry on and there still would be a certain joy. because we always know it in our hearts that this phase soon will go away and we would all be left to ourselves. 

For the first 21 years of my life I had no idea that a savory recipe with sabudana does exist. till that time sabudana for me meant an anemic looking 'Sabu' or a sweet gloopy mess of sago pearls which we would get as a meal during long suffering sickness. I though loved the other sweeter version of the same sago which is soaked and mixed with freshly grated coconut,milk and sugar, A fasting dish that maa or Dida would consume while following some religious ritual  and refrain from consuming regular grains like rice or wheat.

This is my go to rice recipe for any formal meal. With the dry fruits and ghee this is festive enough to serve to guests as a fancy meal yet with a few pantry staples comes together really really quickly. What differentiate this dish to other fried rice recipe is it's mild sweetness and the restrained use of ghee as an aromat. Unlike the other pilaf or rice recipes this is not steeped in oil and doused with garam masala powder rather a very delicate recipe that pairs really well with rich gravy dishes.

I have been wanting to start this series for quite sometime and with the temperature and humidity killing us in India, I guess this is the best time to start. this would not only save us from toiling in the kitchen for long but also help us to make scrumptious, healthy meal ready at the table in a ziffy. So the idea here is to start a new category of egg preparation which I will post as a series in the coming months. All the recipes would be linked to Meat and Poultry category on the right side bar for your easy reference.

This series feature one of my favourite ingredient...EGGS. I cannot think of a more versatile, satisfying ingredient than this humble protein. It’s a shame that most of us associate eggs with breakfast and often forget that if prepared properly it could also make a fulfilling meal. So in my quest I have tried to scr… around the world and find out unique egg preparations which are easy, quick, healthy and balanced.

Remember just a few months back I was talking about appointing a cook, well the news is she suddenly left the job this month due to shifting to another place. Which leaves me in a queer position not knowing whether to be happy or sad. 

Happy because she bunked most of the days especially on days when you needed her the most she would not be seen anywhere near our place. Also she used too much oil, read more than 7 liters per month for a family of four, and always made sure to cook a huge batch for us to eat leftovers for at least a couple of days. 

Gota Seddho or literally translated 'boiled whole' is not only a dish but a tradition that many Bengali families have. The recipe is quite simple, all you do is boil minimum 5 types of whole vegetables with several types of whole lentils with salt and little spices but is said to be good for the season, and by that I mean many believe that with seasonal fresh vegetables this dish prevents pox that plays havoc during this season. I don't know the truth but I would like to trust it.

Now like any other dish the gota seddho differs from family to family. As per tradition you make it on the day of Saraswati puja and eat it the next day which is called Sheetol soshti. I know many families including my in laws where a big batch of this is made with many types of whole vegetables and lentils and is hared among neighbours and relatives.

Seed the rise #seedtherise is an fund raising initiative to support and give back to the Indian farmers, who work day in and day out irrespective of the harsh weather for us to get our daily meals on the table. If you are aware then you might have read about the poor condition of the Indian farmers in many states. The extreme and fluctuating weather conditions, the erratic demand in the market, the changing policies of the importing countries, Price cut and steep competition from other exporting countries are making their condition worse and in many states the distressed farmers are left with no choice but to commit suicide to maintain their dignity. The study says that on an average one farmer commits suicide every 30 minutes. 

In such circumstances Mahindra has come up with this noble initiative to help them overcome the odds. They plan to collect Rs.2 Crore from People and they will match the same amount. The money will go to 5 impactful projects  run by NGOS working towards improving the lives of the farmers and their families. 

How many times have you heard the words 'keeping it simple', 'less is more' etc etc. If you are an avid Masterchef Australia fan then you know that it's the best advice that the judges like to give the contestant. Respecting the ingredient, it's colour, form. taste, texture, flavour is the key and developing a recipe to celebrate the beauty of seasonal local produce is the mantra of modern day cooking.

"Can I try that?" I asked the tired husband with my finger pointing to a picture of black stone bowl holding some assorted ingredients, that looked like raw vegetables and egg.

"Whatever! Am ordering a thali meal from the indian counter" replied a visibly irritated husband.

He had every reason to get annoyed as it was our second week in Japan and I almost wanted to try out new things every time we went out. More often than not I could not finish the dish because of some ingredient unknown to me and we had to go up and order yet another burger from MacD.

But that day was not the same. The Dolsot Bibimbap that I got afterwards was delicious to boot. While ordering I requested them to poach the egg and while serving they gestured me to handle the blisteringly hot stone bowl carefully. The meal that followed afterwards was like an one pot wonder. It had everything from Crunchy sauteed vegetables, marinated pickle, stir fried sprouts, Little bit of meat, one fried egg with a shiny orange yolk and a big dollop of gochujang, a Korean spicy chili paste that brings all the flavour, texture and taste together. We literally licked the bowl clean and went back the next day for another serving.

My Maa has plenty of time saving kitchen tricks up her sleeve. Same goes for her ability to use up leftover dishes. Though I can not fathom the crisp chapatis that she fries up every other day for breakfast but pretty much follow her ideas for other things.

This bhat bhaja (bhat means cooked rice, bhaja is frying) is perfect to use up the short grain par boiled rice that most Bengalis eat on regular basis. For the uninitiated Parboiled rice is the result of a process where rice, still in its brown rice grain form is either parboiled or steamed and then dried in its husk. The milling process comes next. The resulting grains are lest brittle, yellow in colour and have more nutrients as the Thiamine moves from its husk to the grain. but this process also causes a gelatinisation of the starch in the grains and therefore par boiled rice are often thicker than regular milled white rice. (info:Wiki)

There definitely is more than a nip in the air these days in my part of this World. The air is crisp with a sharp chillness to it and the days are short, very short with limited time to finish our chores. But no, we definitely are not complaining. As this is the time of the year that we look forward to. With all year around humid, hot, Balmy, tiring temperature this is the time that gives us respite.

Are you in the same mood as me to shake your head vigorously to all offers of festive snacks and sweets? 

After all these days of eating out, feasting on ghee laden bhog (prasad), relishing on fried snacks and gorging on sugary sweets all my body needs is a break... a simple light nutritious meal that will nourish my body and soul. According to Ayurveda this time of the year is best to go for a Detox diet to flush out toxins and impurities out of your system. Every year I try to incorporate a 7 day detox plan in our schedule with a month long light balanced meal, but this year am not supposed to do that. So all I want to concentrate is to give my diet and body a chance to balance out all the processed foods I have gorged on in the last few days.

God Bless the man who invented Microwave. I don't know about others but for me gone are the days when I only used it for re heating my leftover food. Now a days I use it constantly to cook, to steam, to boil, to broil, to bake, to roast and yes to re-heat as well. The bottom line is just cant think of my life without my microwave. If am in the kitchen its constantly in use to make my life super easy, efficient and time saving.

After yesterdays Rakhi party at home I am damn tired today. I have not been keeping well for quite sometime but rakhi is a day which I cannot miss. Its a pleasure to have my brothers and cousins over at my place and see them lovingly tucking in all the food that I prepare for them. Its an occasional chance for us to have a get together where almost every one is present. Provided there work schedule I appreciate their effort to keep the rakhi evening free for me. I guess my enthusiasm has rubbed on them and now a days they look forward to the day as much as I do.