Hello friends! I welcome you all to my space Dish Of Delight once again!

Today I am sharing a simple soya chunk curry with you all. My little daughter is very fond of chicken. She would demand for chicken for her every meal. So to trick her, sometime I cook this soya curry and give her telling that these are small chicken pieces I especially made for her and she readily and happily finishes her meal and would even compliment me saying, “mamma the small chicken was delicious!”

So let’s check the recipe for small chicken…. oops! Soya chunk curry.

Ingredients

Soya chunks 1 and 1/2 cup parboiled for 2 minutes in salted water

Potatoes 2 medium sized cut into small cubes

Green peas 1/2 cup

Onion 2 small sliced

Tomatoes 1 medium chopped

Green chillies 3 or 4 slit

Ginger paste 1/2 tbsp

Garlic 3 or 4 cloves crushed

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 + 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Coriander powder 1 tsp

Black pepper powder 1 tsp

Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp

Salt as per taste

Sugar as per taste

Oil 3 + 2 tbsp

Procedure

• Heat 3 tbsp oil in a kadhai at medium high flames. Once heated, add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and then add the potatoes.
• fry potatoes untill the turns light golden brown in colour. Once fried strain and take out the potatoes from the kadhai and keep aside
• in the same kadhai, add the soya chunks and fry them for 2 minutes. Once fried take them out from the kadhai and keep aside
• now add the remaining 2 tbsp oil in the kadhai and let it heat up. Once heated temper it with the cumin seeds
• then add the sliced onion and stir and fry untill they turns golden brown in colour
• add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies and stir and cook untill the tomatoes turn mushy
• then add the ginger paste, crushed garlic and sauté for sometime untill their raw smell disappears
• then add the powder spices except the garam masala, salt, sugar, a tbsp of warm water and mix and roast the spices well
• once oil stars separating from the spices, add the potatoes and the green peas and cook them along with the roasting spices for about a minute
• then add the soya chunks and stir and mix well with the other ingredients. Cover and let it cook for a minute
• open cover, give it a good stir and then add 1 cup hot water. Stir and bring the curry to a boil.
• once it starts boiling, reduce the flames to minimum and cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes
• then open cover add the garam masala powder and mix well with the curry and again cover
• switch off the flames and let the curry rest for sometime and then serve hot aloo matar soya curry with rice or roti to any dish of your choice.

Hello friends and fellows! Welcome back to my space Dish Of Delight once again!

Plantain kofta curry is quite a popular dish of the Bengalis. People have different recipes to cook this curry. However, in cooking this recipe they have most of the time used curd and sometimes also used cream, but I prefer to keep the curry simple and light.

So, let’s move to the main recipe.

Ingredients

For the koftas:

Plantain 2 cooked to 1 whistle at high flames and pealed

Split yellow pea lentils 1/4 th of a cup soaked overnight

Ginger 1/2” piece

Green chilli 4 or 5

Roasted cumin powder 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/4th tsp

Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil 4 tbsp for shallow frying the koftas

For the curry:

Tomato 1 large chopped

Raisins 1/4 th cup

Green chilli 2 or 3 slit

Ginger paste 1/2 tbsp

Green chilli paste 1/2 tbsp

Cumin coriander paste 1/2 tbsp

Bay leaf 1

Cinnamon 1” stick

Cardamom 3 or 4

Cloves 3 or 4

Whole cumin 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp

Salt as per taste

Sugar as per taste

Ghee 1 tsp

Oil 2 tbsp

Procedure

• Grind the split yellow pea lentils, ginger, green chillies together to make a semi smooth texture
• in a mixing bowl, take the cooked plantains and mash them
• into this add the ground lentil mixture, and all the other ingredients for making koftas, except oil and mix them well
• heat oil for frying koftas in a non stick pan at medium high flames. Once heated, reduce the flames to minimum low
• now take small portions of the mixture, give it a round flattened shape and add it to the hot oil.
• This way make all the koftas and shallow fry them from both sides untill they turns light golden brown in colour. Do not over crowd the koftas. Fry them in batches, with 4 or 5 koftas in one batch.
• once all the koftas are fried transfer them to a plate or bowl and keep aside
• now heat the remaining oil in a kadhai at medium flames. Once heated temper it with the whole spices
• into this, add the chopped tomatoes and stir and cook untill the tomatoes gets mushy
• then, add the ginger paste, green chilli paste ad sauté for a minute or untill the raw smell disappears
• add cumin coriander paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder,salt, sugar and a tbsp of hot water and stir and mix all the ingredients well
• roast the spices well untill oil separates from them and then add the raisins and mix well
• then add 1 small cup of hot water and stir well. Once the curry starts boiling reduce the flames to minimum.
• cover and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. After this open the cover, stir well and add all the koftas in a single layer and the slit green chillies. Cover and cook for 1/2 a minute
• open cover, flip the koftas to the other side, add ghee and garam masala powder all over the curry and then switch off the flames
• let the curry rest for some time and then serve hot with steamed rice or roti or any dish of your choice.

Hello my dear friends and fellows! I welcome you back to my space Dish Of Delight once again.

Today I am sharing another veg delight, cauliflower potato curry. Cauliflower has been used as the key ingredients in lots of delicious dishes. A few of these are cauliflower roast, cauliflower manchurian, cauliflower in poppy seed paste gravy, cauliflower pakoras, etc. I have earlier shared the cauliflower rezalla recipe with you all. Today I am sharing a simple cauliflower curry which you can prepare any time.

Let’s move to the recipe.

Ingredients

Cauliflower florets medium sized 2 cups

Potato 2 medium sized, cut into 1” cube pieces

Green peas 3/4th of a cup

Onion 1 small sized sliced

Green chilli 3 or 4 slit

Ginger paste 1 tbsp

Greenchilli paste 1/2 tbsp

Garlic 2 or 3 crushed

Turmeric powder 1/2 + 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp

Cumin powder 3/4th tsp

Coriander powder 1 tsp

Garam masala powder 1 tsp

Bay leaf 1

Cinnamon 1” stick

Cardamom 4

Cloves 4

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Sugar as perpaste

Oil 2 + 2 tbsp

Procedure

• In a saucepan add 2 or 3 cups of water, add the cauliflower florets and set on high flames.
• once the water starts boiling, wait for 1/2 a minute and switch of the flames. remove the florets from water and keep aside
• heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai at medium high flames. Once heated, add the cauliflower florets and fry untill light golden brown spots appeared. remove the florets from the kadhai and keep aside.
• In the same oil add 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and add the potatoes. Fry the potato pieces untill these turns light golden brown in colour. remove the potatoes from the kadhai and keep aside
• add the remaining oil in the same kadhai and heat it. Once heated temper it with the whole spices
• add onion slices and stir and fry untill they turn golden brown in colour
• Then, add the ginger paste, green chilli paste, crushed garlic and sauté for about a minute or untill their raw smell disappears
• then add all the spice powders, salt, 1 or 2 tbsp of warm water and stir and mix well. Keep roasting the spices untill oil starts separating from them
• at this point add the fried potatoes, green peas and mix well with the spices. Stir and cook for about 1/2 a minute
• now, add the cauliflower, slit green chillies and stir and mix well with the other ingredients for another 1/2 minute
• then, add sugar and mix well and then add 3/4 th of a cup of hot water. Stir and mix well and bring it to a boil.
• now, reduce the flames to medium low and cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or untill the veggies gets cooked
• remove cover, add garam masala powder, mix well with curry and cover
• switch off the flames and allow the curry to rest for some time. Serve the cauliflower potato curry hot with rice, roti, parantha, Pulao, puri or any dish of your choice.

Hello friends! Wish you all a very happy Makar Sankranti, popular as Poush Sankranti among Bengali. Welcome back to my space Dish Of Delight once again.

Paneer or cottage cheese is one of the favourite food amongst the vegetarians. It is my favourite too. Today I am sharing a paneer recipe in which I have used baby potatoes and green peas as the other ingredients. New baby potatoes especially available during the winters, is one of my favourite ingredient and I include these in many of my winter special recipes. Now let’s move to the main recipe.

Ingredients

Paneer or cottage cheese 200 gm

Baby potatoes 200 or 250 gm, boiled to 4 whistle at high flames and peeled

Green peas 1 medium cup

Tomato 1 and 1/2 of medium sized, chopped

Ginger paste 1 tbsp

Green chilli paste 1/2 tbsp

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Coriander powder 1 and 1/2 tsp

Black pepper powder 1 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 + 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 + 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder 1 tsp

Bay leaf 1 big or 2 small

Dry red chilli 1

Cinnamon 1” stick

Cardamom 4

Cloves 4 or 5

Salt as per taste

Sugar as per taste

Ghee 1 tsp

Oil 2 + 2 tbsp

Procedure

• In a kadhai, heat 2 cups of water, add 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder and about a tsp of salt and mix well. Bring the water to a boil
• while the water is getting heated, cut the paneer into 1” cubes. Once the water starts boiling, add the paneer cubes into the boiling water one by one, gently stir these for few seconds and switch off the flames
• Remove the paneer cubes and set aside.
• heat 2 tbsp of oil in a kadhai at medium high flames. Once heated add 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and stir a little. Add the potatoes and fry until these become golden colour.
• Remove the potatoes from the kadhai and keep aside. In the same kadhai, add the remaining oil and temper it with the whole spices.
• Now add the chopped tomatoes and stir and cook until these turns mushy.
• Add ginger and green chilli paste. Stir and cook until their raw smell disappears
• Now add the spice powders except the garam masala, salt as per taste, about 2 tbsp of warm water. Stir and mix well. Keep roasting the spices until oil start separating from them.
• Now add the fried Potatoes and green peas and roast them along with the spices for about 2 mins. Add a little water in between if the spices gets too dry.
• Add sugar as per taste, mix well and then add about 1 big cup of hot water. Stir well and bring it to a boil by increasing the flames.
• Once the gravy starts boiling, reduce the flames to medium low and cover and cook for about 5 to 7 mins.
• After the cooking time is over, remove cover and check consistency of the gravy. If there is too much fluid, increase the flames and evaporate away the excess water
• Add the paneer cubes, ghee, garam masala and gently mix them with the gravy.
• Switch off the flames, cover and let the curry rest for some time.
• Serve it hot with rice or pulao or roti or anything of your choice.

Hello friends and dear fellows! Welcome back to my space Dish Of Delight.

Today I am sharing yet another veg recipe of the Bengali. There are a number of Bengali veg dishes which are cooked even without onion and garlic. When we eat ‘niramish’ that is veg we don’t even include onion and garlic in our cooking. Generally, during certain poojas or traditional ceremonies we follow strict ‘ niramish bhoj’ i.e vegetarian food. My today’s recipe, Matar dal kofta curry is one of such dishes.

Ingredients

Matar dal or split yellow peas 1 cup, washed clean and soaked overnight

Potatoes 2 medium sized, cut into 1” cubes

Green chilli 5 or 6 split

Ginger paste 1 tsp + 1 tbsp

Green chilli paste 1 tsp

Cumin coriander paste 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 + 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp

Garam masala powder 1 tsp

Kalonji 1 tsp

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Bay leaf 1

Cinnamon 1” stick

Cardamom 3 or 4

Cloves 4 or 5

Salt as per taste

Sugar as per taste

Oil 2 tbsp for shallow frying the koftas + 2 tbsp

Ghee 2 tsp

Procedure

• Drain the water from the soaking lentils and grind it to a coarse paste without adding any water
• take the ground lentils in a mixing bowl, add kalonji, salt as per your taste, green chilli paste, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and mix well. Be cautious while adding salt as the koftas will also soak in some salt from the gravy
• heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai at medium flames. Once the oil is heated, take small portion of the lentil mixture, give it a round flattened shape with the help of your palms and add to the hot oil in the kadhai.
• This way make all the koftas and shallow fry them from both sides untill they turn golden colour. Do not over fry the koftas or else they won’t soak juices from the gravy and would remain hard.
• remove the koftas from the kadhai and keep aside, once they are fried.
• in the same kadhai, add the remaining oil and increase the flames to medium high. Once the oil is heated, temper the oil with the remaining whole spices
• add the potatoes and fry untill they turn golden colour
• While the potatoes are getting fried, in a small bowl, add the remaining ginger paste, cumin coriander paste, remaining turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt and mix well to make a fine paste along with a little water
• once the potatoes turn golden, add the spice mixture paste and stir and mix well with the potatoes
• keep roasting untill oil separates from the spices.
• At this point add sugar, mix well and add about 1 and 1/2 cups of warm water. Stir well and cover and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes or untill the potatoes are well cooked
• remove the cover, stir well and add the koftas in a single layer and add the split green chillies. Reduce the flames to minimum and again cover and cook for 1/2 a minute
• remove cover, gently flip the koftas to the other side, add ghee and garam masala and cover.
• Switch off the flames and allow the curry to rest for sometime and then serve hot with steamed rice.

A warm welcome once again to all my friends at my cooking corner, Dish Of Delight!

As I have mentioned earlier in my previous Dum aloo ( spicy potato curry) recipe, that I prepare dum aloo in several ways. Today I’m sharing another dum aloo recipe in which I have used baby potatoes.

Without much unnecessary lengthy writing, let’s move on to the main recipe.

Ingredients

Baby potatoes 400 gm, washed clean and cooked to 4 whistles at high flames and pealed

Green peas 3/4th of a cup

Chopped coriander leaves 2 tbsp

Ginger paste 1/2 tbsp

Green chilli paste 1/2 tbsp

Cumin powder 2 tsp

Coriander powder 1 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder 2 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 + 1/2 tsp

Bay leaf 1 + 1

Whole red chilli 1 + 1

Cumin seeds 1 + 1 tsp

Coriander seeds 1 tsp

Black peppercorns 10 to 12

Cinnamon 1” stick

Salt as per taste

Sugar as per taste

Ghee 1 tsp

Oil 2 + 3 tbsps

Procedure

• Dry roast 1 bay leaf, 1 dry red chilli, 1 tsp cumin seed, 1 tsp coriander seeds, black peppercorns and cinnamon. Let it cool down and then grind it to a powder and keep aside
• heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai at medium high flames. Once heated, add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, stir well and add the potatoes
• fry the potatoes from all sides untill it becomes golden yellow. Once done, remove them from the kadhai and keep aside
• in a small mixing bowl, add the ginger paste, green chilli paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, remaining turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and mix well along with 1 tbsp of water to form a paste and keep aside
• add the remaining oil in the kadhai. Once heated, temper it with the remaining bay leaf, whole dry red chilli and cumin seeds
• once the cumin seeds starts spluttering, add the spice mixture paste and sauté untill oil starts separating from the spices. Add a little bit of water if the paste is too dry or else the spices may get burnt
• add the potatoes and the green peas and roast them well along with the spices for about 5 to 7 minutes with occasional stirring. Add a little warm water and sugar in between the roasting process when the spices gets too dry
• then add a cup of hot water, stir well and cover and cook for about 5 to 7 more minutes
• remove cover and check the salt and consistency of the gravy. Adjust to your desired consistency by evaporating away or adding water
• then add ghee and 1 tbsp of the roasted spices powder. Give it a good mix
• finally add the coriander leaves mix well and switch off the flames. Cover and allow the gravy to rest for some time and serve hot with steamed rice or peas pulao or basanti pulao.

Today I am sharing a Bengali pulao recipe, Basanti pulao. Pulao is an umbrella term used for a variety of rice preparations. The rice grains used in making pulao is, a good quality aromatic ones. Various parts of our country have been producing varieties of these aromatic rice over the years and area specific people have used their regional good quality produce in making these rice preparations. However, most of the time when we stay away from our native place, we generally pick up a good quality long grain Basmati rice, which is easily available at all stores, and fits well in all these rice preparations.

In West Bengal, people generally choose Gobindobhog rice for their pulao and khichdi preparations, which is not easily available at other parts of the country. So, for today’s recipe I have used Basmati rice for making the pulao. Generally, pulao is a spicy rice preparation, but this is a Bengali pulao recipe, which is prepared without using any spice, except few whole spices. This is generally a bit sweeter than the other pulao preparations. 

Ingredients 

 

Basmati rice or you can use Gobindobhog rice if available, 3 cups

Cashew nuts 1/2 cup

Raisins 1/4 th cup ( optional)

Bay leaf 1 or 2

Whole dry red chilli 1

Cinnamon 1” stick

Cardamom 5 or 6

Cloves 5 or 6

Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Sugar a bit more than the salt

Ghee 2 tbsp

Procedure 

 

• Wash the rice clean and soak in water for 30 to 40 minutes. After the soaking time is over, drain the water and keep the rice aside.
• heat ghee in a heavy bottomed saucepan at medium flames. Once hot, temper it with the whole spices and add the cashew nut in it. Stir and fry the cashews for few seconds.
• then add the rice and stir well for few seconds. Now, add the turmeric powder and the raisins and again stir well for about a minute, such that, the rice grains gets well coated with the turmeric powder. Since, this pulao is yellow in colour as the name suggests ( basanti ), I have used turmeric powder to give it yellow colour. Some people also use the yellow food colour for this purpose. So, it is totally your choice to use turmeric powder or yellow food colour.
• now, increase the flames to maximum and add 6 cups of water ( double the amount of rice ) and salt. Stir a little and bring it to a boil. Use the same cup to measure rice and water. 
• Once the water starts boiling, reduce the flames to minimum, stir once and cover and cook for about 5 minutes without disturbing it
• after 5 minutes, the rice will soak in maximum water and you will not see any extra water on top. At this stage, add the sugar, give it a very light stir to mix the sugar and again cover and let it cook undisturbed for another 5 to 7 minutes.
• after 5 to 7 minutes, open cover, check the rice and switch off the flames. Basanti pulao is ready to be served. Pair it up with any veg or non veg side dish of your choice and enjoy.