Chhana ( Deep fried) Manda Pitha

Chhana Manda Pitha

Manda pitha is a steamed pitha which is prepared in all parts of odisha during every Puja and festivals.  But there is another variation of these pithas. They are chhana pitha or Nan Mohan pitha.  Basically these chhana pitha made with saji or atta stuffed with coconut and chhena stuffing.  These pitha are very tasty to eat and easy to prepare. 

Janmastami is round the corner. For every Janmastami I prepare different variety of dishes like chhana Manda,  kakara pitha,  Chuda ghasa, suji Khiri,  Dalma and many more.  But this year I gave little twist to the authentic recipe.  Everyone loved the pitha.  Here is my Version of these pitha. 

For outer coating

Maida- 1 cup

Suji-1 cup

Grated Jaggery/ Sugar- 5 tbsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Sounf- 1tbsp

Milk- 1cup

Water -  2 cups

For stuffing

Coconut- 1

Chhena (paneer) - 1/2cup

Green cardamom powder- 1tsp

Grated Jaggery/Sugar- 4 to 5 tbsp

Ghee- 1tbsp

Sugar- 1tbsp

Ghee for frying pithas

In a plate add maidan and suji and mix together.  

In a kadai add milk and water and keep on the flame.  Add sugar, salt,  sounf  and Ghee to it.  Let it mix properly and boil.  Add the above suji and maida mix to the hot liquid and stir properly.  Do this process in low flame.  Mix it properly without  lumps to form a soft dough.  Keep aside to cool down a bit.  When it is warm to touch knead the dough properly adding little water and Ghee if needed. Keep aside. 

Scrap the coconut and keep aside.  

Heat Ghee(1tbsp) in a kadai,  add scraped coconut,  Chenna to it and saute it.  Add sugar and cardamom powder to it.  Saute all these up to dry.  

Heat ghee in a kadai for deep frying.  Bring the dough and make equal balls out of it.  It should be like a bigger size lemon. Take the ball, roll on the palm and make a hole with the help of the thumb.  In that hole stuff the above stuffing and seal it.  As we stuff Allo parathas.  Make little flat between palms sealing properly.  Like this make all these pitha.  Deep fry the pitha in ghee up to golden brown in color.  

It can be served hot or cold. 

Palak malai kofta curry

Palak Malai Kofta Curry

Sometime back While reading a magazine I came across an interesting recipe. That's is palak Malai Kofta Curry. It is a combination of two famous dishes. Creamy Malai Koftas in flavourful palak gravy. Two deadly dishes combined together to make another awesome dish.

Malai Kofta Curry and Palak Paneer are two famous north Indian dishes. Malai Kofta Curry originated from Muglai cuisine. While palak paneer is from Punjabi cuisine.

When I prepared this dish every body in family liked the creamy paneer balls in green gravy. I made it again for some guests. They also loved it very much. Here is my version of the Palak Malai Kofta Curry

FOR KOFTAS

Milk- 1/2 lit

Vinegar - 2 to 3 tbsp

Boiled potatoes - 2

Chopped vegetables - 1cup

(Carrot, Cauliflower, Peas, Beans and Capsicum)

Onion- 1small

Garlic- 3 to 4

Ginger- 1/2inch

Salt to taste

Green Chilli -1

Cornflour - 4 to 5tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2tsp

Garam masala - 1/2tsp

Kaju- 7 to 8

Kismish- 7 to 8

Haldi- 1/2tsp

Red chilli - 1/2,tsp

Oil for deep frying

FOR PALAK GRAVY

Palak - 1bunch

Onion- 1medium

Garlic - 5 to 6

Tomato - 1

Ginger- 3/4inch

Green Chilli - 1

Haldi- 1/2tsp

Red Chilli Powder - 1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar- 1/2tsp

Ghee- 1tbsp

Cream - 1tbsp

Garam Masala - 1tsp

Milk- 1/2 cup

Oil- 2tbsp

Zeera- 1/2tsp

Bring the milk to boil and add vinegar to split the milk. Spread a cheese cloth on a colander and strain the split milk. Hang the cloth for 30 mins to drain One can use ready-made paneer for this.

Clean the chopped vegetables properly. In a pressure cooker add vegetables, 1/2 cup of water and salt 1/2 tsp and pressure cook the veggies up to 2 whistles. Let it cool down naturally and strain the veggies up to dry and reserve the stock.

Peel and chop onion and green chilli, grate ginger and garlic and keep aside.  Chop kaju and kismish- and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients for Koftas except corn flour. Mix properly and make lemon size balls out of it. Spread corn flour on a plate and to roll these balls on it. Deep fry the Koftas. One can make it in appe pan. It will be a healthier version.

FOR GRAVY

Clean and soak palak leaves in water for 10 mins to remove dust and sand. Strain the palak leaves. In a bowl add palak leaves and half of cup of water and boil for 6 to 7 mins.  Then strain the boiled palak and let it cool down a bit. Reserve the water for future use. After cooling down make puree out of the boiled palak.

Peel and chop onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli and keep aside. Clean and chop Tomato and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai, add zeera to it and let it crackle. Now add chopped onion and saute upto it turns golden. Add chopped garlic and ginger to it and saute again. When aroma come add chopped tomatoes and all other dry spices except garam masala. Cook the masala till oil separates. Now add reserved vegetables stock and palak puree to it and cook again. Add half a cup of milk to it and cook again. Now add garam masala and ghee to it and cook for 2 mis. Then add Koftas to the gravy and cover and cook  for another 3 mins. Switch off the gas and garnish with cream.

Serve hot with any bread or rice item. 

Paneer Jhalfrezi

Paneer Jhalfrezi

Paneer is my most favourite ingredient for experimenting my cooking skill. It is my favourite because it is not only tasty but also versatile. It goes great with any flavour, any sauce or any masala. In my family anything with paneer is super hit.

Jhal means hot or spicy in Bengali and frezi is the derived word of fried. Hot and spicy stir fried is Jhalfrezi. Paneer Jhalfrezi means stirefried paneer with veggies in masala. It is believed that Bengali cooks are the inventor of this recipe. But now it is very common in restaurants. It is simple, quick and easy. Here is my version of Paneer Jhalfrezi.

Paneer – 200 gms

Red capsicum- 1

Green capsicum- 1

Tomato- 1

Green chilli- 1

Tomato- 2

Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp

Zeera- 1/2tsp

Kalonji- 1/2tsp

Onion- 2(medium size)

Salt to taste

Sugar- 1/2tsp

Coriander powder - 1tsp

Kitchen king masala- 1tsp

Garam masala - 1/2tsp

Chopped coriander leaves- 1tbsp

Peel and clean onion and slice it and keep aside.

Take tomatoes and make puree and keep aside.

Make Julian from red capsicum, green capsicum and Tomato.

Slice paneer and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add kalonji and zeera to it. Let it crackle and then add sliced onion and fry upto pink in color. Add ginger and garlic paste and fry in high flame for 3mins. Then add Tomato puree and lower the flame and sauté again. Add all dry masalas, salt,and sugar except garam masala. sauté upto masala separates from oil.

Add veggies Julians and 1/4 cup of water to it. Let the veggies cook. Now add paneer to it and toss it with the masala and cover and cook for 5mins.

Now add garam masala and chopped coriander leaves and switch off the gas.

Serve hot with roti, paratha or nan

Fish Curry with a mustardy twist

Fish Curry with a Mustsrdy Twist

Fish is the very favourite food for the odias and bengalis. They love fish in every way. There are different ways of cooking fish. It differs from region to region. Bangali and odia people love mustard flavour in their fish Curry. This is an authentic odia Mustsrdy flavour fish Curry.

My childhood was great as I was surrounded by many talented cooks. They are moms, grand mom, badi grand mom, chachis and bua.  They never let me cook. Watching them cook is the only way to learn anything from them. This dish was taught me by my mom. She cooks very good fish Curry. I can die for the particular fish Curry from her hand. Here is the learnt version of the fish Curry.

For marination  

Rohu fish - 10pieces (except head and tail)

Haldi- 1tsp

Salt- 11/2tsp

Red chilli - 1tsp

Mustard oil - 1tsp

Mustard oil for frying fish

For curry

Mustard Oil- 3tbsp

Onion- 3(medium size)

Ginger garlic paste- 2tbsp

Tomato - 1big

Salt to taste 

Haldi- 1tsp

Red chilli powder - 1tsp

Zeera powder - 1/2tsp

Dhania powder - 1/2tsp

Whole mustard- 2tbsp

Sugar- 1tsp

Boiled potatoes - 3

Chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Descale and clean the rohu fish pieces properly. In a bowl add rohu fidh, salt, haldi, chilli powder and mustard oil and keep for 20 to 25 mins for marination.

Clean and grind the mustard paste to a smooth paste and keep aside. One should rest the mustard paste for 30mins before adding to the curry . So that gravy won't be bitter in taste.

After 20 mins heat mustard oil in a pan up to smoking point and slowly slide the marinated fish to the oil. When one side is done flip the fish and fry upto golden in colour. Don't need fry much. Similarly fry all the fish

Peel, clean and chop the onions very fine. Clean and chop tomatoes too.

Heat mustard oil (3tbsp) in a kadai . Add sugar to it and allow it to caramelize. Be careful it shouldn't burn. Add chopped onion to it and fry up to golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste to it saute it in high flame for 3 to 4mins. Then add chopped tomatoes to it and saute again. Now add all the dry masalas to it and saute again.

Peel and cut the boiled potatoes in cubes. Add the cubed potatoes to the masala and saute again. Add water for gravy as required and allow it to boil in high flame . Then lower the flame and cook for 4 to 5 mins.

Add the fried fish to the gravy and cook for 3 mins. Add 3 to 4tbsp of water to the mustard paste. Now strain the mustard paste and discard the skin of the mustard. Add the mustard water to the gravy and allow to boil for 2 more mins. Now switch off the gas and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves.

This fish Curry goes great with rice.

Garlic chicken

Garlic Chicken 

Chicken is the most common poultry in the world. It is the meat which can be experimented with different flavours. Almost all flavours go great with this meat. So I thought of trying my hand preparing a simple but flavourful garlic Chicken.

Garlic Chicken name itself suggests garlic flavoured chicken curry. Garlic gives a different flavour to every dish. Here this flavour make magic. Everyone in the family loves the flavour. Here is my Version of garlic chicken.

For marination 

Chicken - 1kg

Curd- 1cup

Salt - 1tsp

Haldi- 1tsp

Ginger- 11/2 inch

Garlic - 10 to 12 cloves

Onion- 3 to 4

Green chilli - 2

Garlic - 6 to 7

Haldi- 1tsp

Red chilli - 1tsp

Tomato - 1big size

Garam masala - 11/2 tsp

Green cardamom - 2

Clove- 4 to 5

Salt to taste 

Oil- 3 to 4tbsp

Coriander leaves for garnishing 

Peel and clean 11/2 inch ginger and 10 to 12 garlic. In a grinder jar add ginger and garlic and make a smooth paste and keep aside.

Clean the chicken properly . In a mixing bowl add cleaned chicken, salt, haldi, ginger and garlic paste and curd. Mix properly and keep aside for at least for 2hours. The longer time you keep for marination, chicken absorbs the masala properly.

Clean and chop onion properly. Peel the garlic cloves and crush and keep aside .

After two hours heat oil in the kadai. crush green cardamom and cloves and add to the hot oil and allow it to release it's flavour to the oil . Add crushed garlic to the oil and fry up to golden brown in color. Now add chopped onion to the oil and saute up to golden in color.

In the meantime chop the Tomato and add to the masala and cook upto oil separates from the masala. Add the marinated chicken to it and cover and cook up to the chicken is cooked properly. By this time gravy should be very dry. If not dry then keep the curry in high flame and let it dry. But it shouldn't stick to the pan. Add garam masala to the curry and switch off the gas. Garnish the curry with fried garlic pieces and coriander leaves 

Serve hot with nan, paratha or roti

Gram flour cookies

Gram flour Cookies

Gram flour(besan) and Nigella seeds( kalonji) these are commonly found ingredients in everyone's kitchen. We use it for different recipes. We used to combine it for some recipes too. This combination is a classic in itself. While preparing pakodas or bhaji I used to add some kalonji (Nigella seeds) to the besan batter( gram flour batter) which give a different kick to the bhajis. So I thought of making Cookies with this combo.

My experiment with the combo was very successful. Everybody love the flavour and combo too. It became a perfect tea time partner. Here is my recipe of gram flour Cookies.

Gram flour (besan)- 1cup

Maida- 1 3/4cup

Castor sugar - 3/4cup

Rava(suji)- 3tbsp

Kalonji- 2tbsp

Salt - 1/2tsp

Baking powder - 1tsp

Oil- 1cup

Green cardamom powder -1tsp

Shift besan, maida and baking powder together. Add in Nigella seeds and rava and mix properly. Keep aside.

In another mixing bowl add sugar and oil beat properly upto the sugar dissolves totally in the oil . Add cardamom powder to it and beat again. Now add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix properly like a soft dough. Keep in the fridge for 15mins.

Preheat the oven in 200 degree for 10mins . Line the baking tray. Bring the dough  out of the fridge.  Make small balls and place on the baking tray. Now with hand or fork press a little. Don't forget to keep some gap between two cookies.

Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 mins in 180 degree. Baking time of the cookies may differ from oven to oven. So while baking have a watch on the cookies. Bake up to golden in color . Keep on the wire rack to cool down and then store in the airtight container. It can be stored for 15days

Radha Ballavi with Hing Wali Allo Curry

Radha Ballavi With Hingwali Allo

Radha ballavi is the staple bongo food. They love it so much that they can have daily. It is prepared as an appetizer during lunch and dinner at marriage functions. It is prepared during special pujas and occasion. Though it is a calories loaded dish as it is deep fried but it is very tasty and addictive. Radha ballavi is an 

Urad dal stuffed pooris ( flat bread). It is usually thick pooris and it is served with cholar dal and hing wali Allo ki sabzi.

This dish is my hubby's favourite dish. I wanted to prepare this special dish for my dad. Some other guest also came that night. All the People loved the food and kids loved it too. This version of the dish taught to me by one of my cosister ( jethani) shibani. But I made some changes according to my choice. Here is my version of the dish.

For filling

Urad dal - 1 cup

Castor sugar - 2tbsp

Salt to taste

Amchur- 2tbsp

Haldi - 1/2tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2tsp

Ginger- 11/2inch

Oil- 2tbsp

Green chilli - 1

Hing- 1tsp

Nigella seeds- 2tbsp

Fennel seeds - 2tbsp

Zeera- 1tbsp

Red chilli - 2

 For dough

Maida- 2cups

Oil- 2tbsp

Salt to taste

Water to knead

Oil for deep frying

Clean and rinse urad dal and soak for 5 hours . After 5 hours in a grinder jar add soaked urad dal, ginger and green chilli make a smooth paste and keep aside

In a pan dry roast red chilli and then dry roast zeera separately. Make a powder and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl add urad dal paste, salt, castor sugar, amchur powder, haldi, red chilli powder and roasted zeera and chilli powder and mix properly. Taste the mixture and balance the taste.

Heat oil in a non stick kadai add hing, saunf ( fennel) and kala zeera (Nigella) and let it release it's flavour in the oil. Add urad dal mixture and fry properly. The paste will stick to the buttom of the pan but don't worry after cooling down it can be scarped off. Fry up to very dry and keep aside to cool down.

In a big mixing bowl add maida, salt, oil and rub properly. Add water and knead to a soft dough and cover wet cloth. And keep it for 20 mins.

Make small balls from maida dough. Stuff the above masala and make ball again. Heat oil in the kadai for deep frying. Roll the balls and make pooris. Deep fry the pooris in hot oil up to golden and transfer to the kitchen towel or tissue paper. Fry all the radha ballavis like this.

Hingwali Allo ki Sabzi 

Boiled potatoes - 5

Salt to taste

Hing- 1tsp

Red chilli powder- 1/2tsp

Red chilli - 2

Zeera - 1tbsp

Panch phutan- 1tbsp

Oil- 2tbsp

Ginger- 1inch

Tomato- 2

Heat kadai add zeera and red chilli dry roast properly and separately and make a powder.

Heat oil in a kadai add red chilli and punch phutan and let it crackle. Add hing saute again. Add chopped ginger and saute upto red. Add chopped tomatoes and fry upto oil separates. Break the potatoes randomly with hands. Add boiled potatoes and saute properly. Add water as per requirement and allow it to boil for 5mins. Add zeera and chilli powder to it. Serve hot with radha ballavi.