‘Mishti Doi’ A.K.A. ‘Bengali Style Sweetened Yogurt ’

I remember growing up Appa used to bring this mishti for us from Kolkata as it wasn’t available in Delhi. The first time I tasted it I didn’t like it as found it too sweet for my Tamil taste buds. However as Amma and baby bro were in love with this mishti Appa kept bringing it even after my protests against it :-(. To be fair, he also got me Rasagullas to balance it out :-). Then I moved away to the US and of course started missing everything that tied me to home / my culture and traditions. Then 2 years back I had this mishti at a friend’s home after many years and maybe it was my developed taste buds or the fact that I hadn’t had it in a very long time but I loved the dish. I got the recipe immediately and on my next trip to the grocery store picked up the ingredients and tried to make it at home. Lo and Behold, the dessert turned out perfect and has since then became a go to dessert for moi and the family :-). I have shared this recipe with my husbands side of the family in the US and it is their fav too ;-). Sharing the recipe for ‘Jhatpat Mishti Doi’ A.K.A. ‘Sweetened Yogurt Bengali Style’ from my kitchen to yours.

Jhatpat Mishti Doi

Ingredients

1 cup – Fresh Yogurt

1 cup – Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Cup – Evaporated Milk

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients using a whisk in an oven safe bowl
2. Heat oven to 350 F
3. Place the bowl in the oven and bake for 20 mins (or until a toothpick comes out almost hundred percent clean)
4. Remove bowl from the oven and cool
5. Once cool , place bowl in refrigerator to chill
6. Serve chilled and enjoy

TIPS:

1. You can choose to add chopped dry fruits to the mixture to give it a different taste and flavor
2. You can choose to add any kind of flavoring (vanilla, orange, pineapple etc) to it for a flavored mishti doi
3. Make sure that the mishti doi is not completely set (oven temps n cooking times vary so check your oven) , it needs to be soft so that it can be set completely and yet be creamy
4. If you want to avoid the condensed milk, you can change the recipe to me 1 cup evaporated milk, ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 ½ cup fresh yogurt. Make sure to whisk and mix the ings well before setting in the oven

‘Tomatoer Chatni’, A.K.A. ‘Sweet Tomato Chutney’

Growing up in a Bong home, we always had some kind of mishti in the fridge. My darling Amma and baby brother loved all things sweet but I wasn’t a fan (guess that is where my TamBrahm genes came into play 🙂 ). However there was something sweet that I did like and that was chatnis. It seemed that for all religious celebrations, family get togethers, and special occasions my Bengali side of the family had to have one kind of chutney or another. Made me think as though a meal wouldn’t be complete without chatni. Though there were many kinds of chatnis there was one which has been traditionally offered to Maa Durga during Durga Puja and thus distributed as part of the Puja Bhog. Now, I am not sure whether it was the fact that we always had bhog in a large group compromising of family & friends or whether it was because it was Maa Durga’s proshad or whether it was that the combination of this cold chatni with hot Khichudi that made the meal so delicious, but this chatni became my favorite. I then learnt how to make this chatni from Nani and Amma, yet the first time I made it I managed to add water and too much sugar and not cook it well and thus ended up with a mess. However, with a bit of practice I got the recipe correct and since then have made this chatni many a times at social and religious gatherings at my home. The best part is my darling hubby and in-laws also likes it n thus encourage me to make this chatni more often than the other kinds of Bengali chatnis. I hope that you would enjoy making n having ‘Tomatoer Chatni’, A.K.A. ‘Sweet Tomato Chutney’ as much as my family and make it a part of your celebrations too :-).

Tomatoer Chatni

Ingredients

3 cups chopped – Tomatoes

½ inch peeled and finely chopped – Ginger

1 tsp – Oil

½ tsp – Black mustard seeds

½ tsp – Salt

4 Tbsp – Sugar

½ tsp – Turmeric powder

½ tsp – Dry roasted cumin seeds

4 nos seedless and chopped – Dates

Method

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Once oil if hot add the mustard seeds and as soon as they crackle add the ginger
2. Stir well and after 2 minutes add the tomatoes, salt and turmeric
3. Mix well , cover and cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes until tomatoes are soft
4. Uncover and dates add sugar and mix well
5. Cook for 5- 7 mins on low flame to ensure tomatoes are mushy and cooked
6. Remove from flame and cool for 5 mins and then add the dry roasted cumin powder
7. Serve chilled with Khichudi / Luchis/ Pulao/Parathas

TIPS:

1. If you don’t want to use all fresh tomatoes you can use canned diced tomatoes
2. You can use Stevia/Splenda/Brown sugar in place of regular white sugar
3. You can also use paanch phoran instead of mustard seeds as seasoning and raisins in place of dates

‘Chakro Phool Payesh’ A.K.A. ‘Star Anise Rice Pudding’

If there were ever a competition to judge which mishti could tie the whole of India in one strand, I think this mishti would win hands down. The basic ingredients might be the same however; there might be subtle differences in flavor and texture which make it unique to a particular state. I have had some very great and not so great variations of this mishti :-). The one variation that stands out and is fast becoming my fav is made by my mashi which features some ingredients which aren’t traditionally thought of as being part of mishtis. A little background on mashi – even though she has been in Canada for over 40 years, she still loves her Indian food and mishtis. She likes to experiment in her kitchen which works out great for the family as we are her tasting panel :-). She came up with this recipe while playing around with various flavors that one could add to a standard payesh and once we all tasted this dish, it became our family favorite. So after getting her permission n blessings am sharing my darling Mashi’s recipe for ‘Chakro Phool Payesh’ A.K.A. ‘Star Anise Rice Pudding’ on the auspicious occasion of Bijoya Dashami. Jai Maa Durga !

Chakro Phool Payesh

Ingredients

1 liter – Whole Milk
¾ cup – White rice
1 cup – Sugar
3 Tbsp blanched, peeled, slivered – Almonds
3 nos – Chakro Phool (Star Anise)
3 nos – Cloves
1pinch – Edible Camphor
½ tsp – Green cardamom powder

Method

1. Wash and soak rice in water for 20mins
2. Pour milk in heavy bottom pan and bring to a boil
3. Once the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and add the star anise, cloves and camphor
4. Boil for 7 mins and then add the rice (drained completely so as to not have any water) and almonds
5. Boil on low heat while stirring occasionally taking care not to let the milk boil over or get burnt from the bottom of the pan
6. After 30 – 40 mins add the sugar into the pan and mix well
7. Cook for another 10-15 mins after adding the sugar (in order to make the payesh thick and creamy)
8. Remove from flame and fish out the star anise and cloves
9. Let it cool to room temperature and then add the green cardamom powder and mix well
10. Chill in refrigerator for 1-2 hours and serve with luchis

TIPS:

1. In order to prevent the pan from burning rinse the pan with cold water and leave about 1 Tbsp of water in the pan. Roll it around to coat the pan well and then add the milk
2. You can choose to add raisins, cashews, pistachios to the payesh too
3. If you wish you can substitute the white sugar with brown sugar / Splenda / gur

‘Deemer Daalna’ A.K.A. ‘Eggs and Potato Masala’

I must confess I grew up a non-vegetarian who loved non-veg so much that I would not eat a single meal without non-veg :-). However, 9 years back I gave up non-veg and at that time I thought I would go back to eating it, but as time passed I just could not bring myself to go back to eating meat. Eggs on the other hand were still a part of my diet and as the love for meat disappeared the love for eggs increased. As I am part Bengali, I have been enjoying this dish since I was a kid which has been made at all celebrations / parties / at home for my darling Appa who is also a vegetarian. I think the reason behind this dish being made for my dad was maybe because we Bongs believe that one has to have some kind of meat dish (especially at a celebration/party) and if one doesn’t eat meat then one has to have the next best thing, eggs ;-)). I have had variations of this dish and have loved them always. ‘Deemer Daalna’ A.K.A. ‘Eggs and Potato Masala’ is such a crowd pleaser that I haven’t yet met a family member or friend who doesn’t love it and so I hope you all will love this dish too 🙂

Deemer Daalna

Ingredients

3 Tbsp – Oil

1 cup roughly chopped – Onions

1 inch roughly chopped – Ginger

2 nos – Whole black cardamom

1 inch stick – Cinnamon

2 nos – Bay leaves (dried)

1 ½ cups blanched and pureed – Tomatoes

1 tsp – Turmeric powder

1 tsp – Red chilli powder

1 tsp – Coriander powder

Salt to taste

¾ tsp – Cumin powder

6 nos boiled – Eggs

1 ½ cups 1 inch cube – Potatoes

1 cup – Water

1 tsp – Garam masala

Method:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and once hot add the onions
2. Fry till onions are light brown in color and then add the ginger and then cook for 2 mins
3. Cool this mixture and then put it into a blend and make into a smooth paste (try to avoid adding water)
4. Heat oil and then add bay leaves, cardamom, and cinnamon stick. After a minute add the onion and ginger paste. Mix well and cook till it turns dark brown and the raw onion smell disappears (approx 10-15 mins)
5. Add the tomato puree and salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, dry roasted cumin powder and mix well and cook (semi covered) for 10 mins , ensuring there is no raw smell and masala is a dry masala
6. In a separate pan heat oil and then add the potato pieces and cook to get a brown color on all sides. Take out the potatoes and add the boiled eggs to the pan and brown/fry slightly and keep aside
7. Add the potatoes and mix with masala and cover and cook for 5-7 mins
8. Add water and boil 2 times and then add the eggs
9. Cover and cook for 5 mins, check to make sure the potatoes are soft and gravy is thick
10. Add the garam masala powder and stir it in
11. Serve with white rice / jeera pulao / naans / rotis

TIPS:

1. Make sure to pierce the boiled and fried eggs with a fork / make small slits with a knife. This helps the masala gravy to go into the egg and give it more flavor
2. To make this dish in a hurry you can choose to skip making the onion and ginger masala and go with finely chopped onions and ginger as the base instead
3. If the tomatoes are very tangy / khatta then you can add a tsp of sugar to balance out the tartness

‘Elo Jhelo’ A.K.A ‘Sweetness with a Twist’

As we get ready to celebrate Rakhi (Rakshabandhan), I am reminded of one of the mishtis my Nani and Amma would make for this occasion. I loved it and ever since I moved to North America hadn’t had it or made it as felt it was too lengthy a process. Yet, this time around something made me want to have this mishti which in turn had me on the phone calling India to get the recipe. I am not sure if my creation can be compared to Amma n Nani’s, however I was quite pleased with it and thus sharing the recipe of ‘Elo Jhelo’ A.K.A ‘Sweetness with a Twist’

Elo Jhelo

Ingredients

2 cups – Flour

3 tbsp – Desi ghee

½ cup – Milk

¼ tsp – Salt

Oil to fry

For the sugar syrup

2 cups – Sugar

4 nos – Green cardamom

Method

1. In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt
2. Add the desi ghee to the flour
3. Mix these ingredients well to form a crumbly dough
4. Then slowly keep adding the milk to the dough and kneading it to make a dough which is a hard dough
5. Dampen a piece of cloth and cover the dough and let it rest for 30 mins
6. Make the sugar syrup for the Elo Jhelo by taking the 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water
7. When the sugar dissolves completely in the water, check to ensure that the sugar syrup is of 2 string consistency (take a spoonful of the sugar syrup and let it cool for a minute. Then dip your thumb and fore finger into the sugar syrup. When you try to open the thumb and fore finger there should be a line of 2 strings between them)
8. Once ready add ground green cardamom powder and let the sugar syrup cool for a bit while you prepare all the Elo Jhelo
9. Mix the dough once more and then make small roundels of the dough.
10. Roll out these roundels into a circular roti
11. Make insertions / cuts / lines using a sharp knife on this roti (while leaving around ½ cm on both edges of circle)
12. Now start folding the roti making sure the lines overlap each other and keep pressing the ends as you keep rolling the roti
13. Make all the rotis and make into Elo Jhelo shape and keep aside
14. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and then once hot add batches of Elo Jhelo the oil
15. Take them out when they turn golden in color and add to the sugar syrup
16. Let the Elo Jhelo sit immersed in the sugar syrup for 1-2 mins
17. Remove and arrange on serving platter

TIPS:

1. In order to ensure the salt and flour mix together properly you can choose to pass them through a sieve which will ensure the salt is distributed thoroughly
2. Melt the ghee a little before adding it to the flour so that there are no lumps
3. You can choose to add silver wark/foil to the Elo Jhelo once ready to give it a more festive look

Bangali Chorchori

As I am sure you all know that Durga Puja is the biggest festival for us Bongs. We wait for it all year and then when it arrives we pray and party hard in those 4 days. Thereafter, it is all done n over with and we start waiting for the next Durga Puja to roll along :-). During Durga Puja, traditionally the bhog offered to Maa Durga and all devotees comprises of ‘Khichudi’ and ‘Chorchori’(along with several other dishes). The funny thing is even though we know how to make these 2 dishes yet they never quite taste the same as what we have during Durga Puja in the pandals. I have been trying to recreate that magic and not sure if I achieved that , however am sharing the recipe for one of my fav Bangali dishes, ‘Bangali Chorchori’ A.K.A. ‘Root Vegetables Mix’ and hope you love it as much as moi 🙂

Chorchori

Ingredients

50 gms – Green beans

1 nos – Radish

2 nos – Carrots

1 nos – Potato

250 gms – Pumpkin / Butternut squash

50 gms – Spinach

3 nos – Green chillies

1 nos – Dried whole red chilli

1 tsp – Paanch Phoran

4 tbsp – Oil

1¼ tsp – Turmeric powder

1¼ tsp – Dhania powder

1 tsp – Sugar

Salt to taste

Method

1. Peel radish, potato, pumpkin and cut into 2 inch cubes
2. Peel carrots and cut into 1 ½ inch sticks
3. Chop the green chillies
4. Heat oil in heavy bottom pan and when hot add the paanch phoran and dried red chilli
5. Once they splutter, add the radish and sauté well for 3 mins
6. Add the potatoes and carrots and sauté for 5 mins
7. Add the beans and pumpkin and mix well
8. Add salt, turmeric powder, dhania powder and mix well and cover and cook for 10 mins on low flame
9. Check to make sure the vegetables are becoming softer (yet not getting mushy)
10. Add the chopped spinach leaves and sugar cover and mix well and cook for 5 mins
11. Uncover and make sure all vegetables are cooked (but not mushy) and then remove from flame and serve hot with rice and daal.

TIPS:

1. If you have leftover vegetables (the hard parts of the cauliflower or broccoli) you can add it to the chorchori
2. Paanch phoran comprises of – Cumin seeds, Onion seeds/Nigella seed, Fenugreek seeds, Fennel seeds, Mustard seeds ( jeera, kalonji, methi, saunf, sarson) all in equal parts
3. To give it a more authentic taste you can choose to make this dish in Mustard oil

Aloo Mochaar Tarkari

Traditionally Bengalis use banana flower to make this dish, however as it is not readily available where I live, my aunt makes this dish using bamboo shoots. After having it at her place, I have tweaked it ever so slightly and now am sharing the recipe for ‘Aloo Mochaar Tarkari’ A.K.A ‘Bamboo shoot and Potato mix’ and hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family

Aloo Mochaar Tarkari

Ingredients

250 gms roughly chopped – Bamboo shoots

1 medium sized cubed – Potato

2 nos – Bay leaves

1 tsp – Turmeric powder

½ tsp – Cumin seeds

1 tbsp – Oil

½ tbsp – Ghee

¼ tsp – Sugar

Salt to taste

Shredded coconut for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil and ghee in the pan
2. Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds and bay leaves
3. Then add the potatoes and fry for 5 minutes
4. Add salt, turmeric powder and then mix well and then add the bamboo shoots
5. Cover and cook on low flame for 5 minutes
6. Check for salt and then add sugar and mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Remove from flame and serve with shredded coconut flakes as garnish

TIPS

1. This dish can be enjoyed with plain white rice and ghee
2. The amount of sugar needs to give a hint of sweetness and not make the dish too sweet
3. Make sure to cook after you add sugar so that the sugar gets incorporated into the potatoes and bamboo shoots