Roasted Root Vegetables

I know it can often be intimidating to prepare a meal on Thanksgiving or Christmas for family & friends. There is a lot of pressure to come up with a menu which will be appreciated by the guests while also not being too much of a hassle to cook and serve. When it comes to me, I love making the complete holiday dinner for my family and friends every year which includes all the usual suspects such as Green bean casserole, Mashed potatoes, Stuffing, Apple pie, Pumpkin pie, Candied yams, Tomato and pumpkin soup, Grilled asparagus, Candied yams, Cranberry sauce and Lasagna / Pasta (just no turkey as we are vegetarians). As the holiday season is around the corner, I share with you my recipes for a traditional American holiday meal. Today in Part 6 of my Holiday Celebration series, I give you a simple recipe for ‘Roasted Root Vegetables’ which is sure to be a hit with the crowd. Happy Holidays!!

Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients

1 cup peeled and cubed – Beetroot
1 cup peeled and cubed – Carrots
1 cup peeled and cubed – Sweet potatoes / Yams
1 cup peeled and cubed – Potato
3 Tbsp – Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp – Italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Place all the vegetables in a large bowl and add the oil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning and mix well
3. Place all the vegetables on a cookie sheet and place in oven
4. Bake for 40 mins or until soft and crispy
5. Halfway make sure to take out the tray and turn vegetables to get them crispy all over
6. Remove from oven and serve with soup and bread rolls

TIPS:

1. In order to make Italian seasoning at home, take equal proportions of oregano, sage, thyme and parsley and chop finely and mix well. You can choose to add a little bit of salt to this mix as well. Keeps in fridge for up to a week
2. You can also choose to add broccoli or sugar snap peas to the vegetable mix, however make sure to take them out sooner as will burn if kept too long
3. The cooking time will depend on your oven so do check in between to ensure the vegetables are getting cooked and not burnt

Traditional Cranberry sauce

I know it can often be intimidating to prepare a meal on Thanksgiving or Christmas for family & friends. There is a lot of pressure to come up with a menu which will be appreciated by the guests while also not being too much of a hassle to cook and serve. When it comes to me, I love making the complete holiday dinner for my family and friends every year which includes all the usual suspects such as Green bean casserole, Mashed potatoes, Stuffing, Apple pie, Pumpkin pie, Tomato and pumpkin soup, Grilled asparagus, Roasted root vegetables, Candied yams and Lasagna / Pasta (just no turkey as we are vegetarians). As the holiday season is around the corner, I share with you my recipes for a traditional American holiday meal. Today in Part 3 of my Holiday Special series, I give you a simple recipe for ‘Traditional Cranberry Sauce’ which is sure to be a hit with the crowd. Happy Holidays!!

Traditional Cranberry sauce

Ingredients

350 gms fresh/frozen – Cranberries (Karonda in Hindi)
1 cup – Brown sugar
2 Tbsp – Water
½ tsp – Lemon juice
½ tsp – Lemon / Orange zest

Method

1. In a heavy bottom saucepan add 300 gms of cranberries
2. Keep the remaining 50 gms of cranberries aside, will be used later
3. Add sugar, lemon zest and 3 Tbsp of water and cook on low flame
4. Keep stirring to ensure the sugar dissolves and cranberries become soft and mushy (approx 10 mins)
5. Once the cranberries are soft increase the flame and cook for 10-12 minutes stirring occasionally and make sure the cranberries pop
6. Add the reserved cranberries and cook for another 8-10 minutes
7. Add the lemon juice and check for seasoning
8. Remove from flame and cool to room temperature
9. Serve with Tofurky, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes

TIPS :

1. If using frozen cranberries, the cooking time will be less as they dissolve faster so make keep an eye on the sauce and adjust cooking times
2. Make sure to add lemon/ lime juice as that helps balance the tanginess
3. You can choose to replace the brown sugar with white sugar, honey, Splenda, Stevia

‘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

‘Whole Wheat Mathris’ A.K.A. ‘Crispy Whole Wheat and Semolina Indian style cracker’

The first memory of having this dish is at Nani’s home during Holi where this would be a part of all the delicacies that Nani and Nu Nani (her mom) would make for family and friends. With the passage of time as our lives got busier we didn’t make mathri at home, however bought them from the store. The store bought mathris were good, but yet I missed the home-made ones. I got the recipe from Nani and try to make it but gave it up when it didn’t turn out good the first time. After my wedding I got to taste fresh home-made mathris at my sis-in-law’s home and that is when the yearning to make them crept in again. I got the recipe from Jiji and then as hadn’t written it down forgot it by the time I decided to make it ;-(. Even though I had given up making mathris in the past, this time around with encouragement from my dear hubby I decided to try to make it once again. N I kept making them until I could get all the proportions right (so that no one broke their teeth while biting into it and neither was the mathri breaking into a million pieces if u tried to bite into it). Now with great pleasure I share the recipe for ‘Whole Wheat Mathris’ A.K.A. ‘Crispy Whole Wheat & Semolina Indian style cracker’ 🙂

Whole Wheat Mathris

Ingredients

2 cups – Whole wheat flour

¾ cup – Semolina flour (sooji)

½ cup – Oil (for kneading dough)

¾ tsp – Carom seeds (ajwain)

¾ tsp – Salt

1tsp – Red chilli powder

Water to make dough (approx ½ cup)

Oil for frying

Method

1. Mix whole wheat flour, semolina flour, salt, red chilli powder, carom seeds in a bowl
2. Add oil and rub flour between fingers to make it crumbly
3. Add a little water at a time to make a dough (needs to be a hard and tough dough, tougher than poori dough)
4. Dampen cloth and cover the dough and let it rest for 30 mins
5. Remove cloth and re-knead the dough
6. Place oil in a heavy bottom pan and heat well
7. Make roundels of the dough and then roll them out to small poories (need to be thick and round) approx 2 inches in diameter
8. Take a fork and make piercings on the flat mathris
9. Once oil is hot, slowly add a few uncooked mathris into the oil (best to slide it from the side so as to avoid having the hot oil burn you)
10. Fry till light brown on one side and then flip over and fry
11. Remove from flame and place on kitchen towel/ tissue paper (to absorb excess oil) mathri is golden brown on both sides
12. Serve with chai/ coffee and achaar (pickle) and enjoy

TIPS:

1. If the dough is too tough (after resting) then add a little bit of water to make it soft and knead able
2. You can choose to add crushed black pepper to the dough to give it a different flavor
3. Make sure to pierce the mathris with a fork so that the mathri doesn’t fluff up like a poori

‘Khatta Meetha Kadhu’ A.K.A. ‘Sweet n Tangy Pumpkin’

Being born in a Bengali family that hailed from UP ensured that I was exposed to UP ka khana from childhood. And maybe that is why I love almost everything from UP including this kadhu preparation which even though it is a simple dish manages to take the urad dal kachori / poori up a notch thanks to the play of khatta-meetha flavors. I learnt how to make this dish from my Nani who would make sure she made it every time I visited Delhi. Initially I didn’t make it too often for myself but once I married a UPwallah who also loved this dish it became a staple at every puja celebration as was part of the ‘pukka khana’. Sharing the recipe for ‘Khatta Meetha Kadhu’ A.K.A. ‘Sweet n Tangy Pumpkin’ and hope you enjoy it as much as my hubby and me 🙂

Khatta Meetha Kadhu

Ingredients

2 tbsp – Oil

1 tsp – Fenugreek seeds (methi)

1 inch finely chopped – Ginger

¼ tsp – Asafoetida

2 nos – Green chillies

2 cups chopped – Yellow pumpkin

Salt to taste

½ tsp – Turmeric powder

½ tsp – Sugar

¾ tsp – Dried mango powder (amchoor)

Method

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and once hot add the fenugreek seeds
2. As soon as they are golden add asafoetida and then add the ginger
3. Mix well and cook for 1 minute
4. Add the pumpkin, salt, turmeric powder , green chillies and mix well
5. Cover and cook on medium low flame until the pumpkin is tender
6. Add amchoor and sugar and mix well and check for seasoning to ensure the balance of sweet n tangy/sour (khatta/meetha) is perfect
7. Remove from flame and serve with urad dal kachoris / white rice / poories

TIPS:

1. Leave the skin on as it gives a good taste to the dish, however make sure to wash the pumpkin well so that there is no dirt
2. In place of amchoor you can add lemon juice for tanginess
3. If you use butternut squash for this dish, you might want to make this in a pressure cooker and give 1-2 whistles to make it soft as butternut squash is tougher than the yellow pumpkin from the Indian store

‘Matar ki Kachori’ A.K.A. ‘Deep fried Indian bread with Pea stuffing’

My darling Appa is a Tamilian who has lived in Delhi for more than half his life. Being in the airline industry he has traveled extensively across the globe which helped him expand his taste to cuisines other than Tamilian. This recipe has been made by my Nani (Bengali, but born and raised in UP) has made religiously every year during winters for my Appa as he loves it so much. I remember my brother and my task would be to shell the peas and the of course taste the masala/kachoris to ensure the balance of masalas to peas was perfect ;-). Over the years this dish has been perfected by Amma, my mami and moi as we all love it and it is a simple dish to make yet fancy enough to serve to company too. The recipe for ‘Matar ki Kachori’ A.K.A. ‘Deep fried Indian bread with Pea stuffing’ is the one passed on from my Nani to Amma to moi and I share it with you all in the hope this becomes one of your family’s favorite dishes.

Matar ki Kachori

Ingredients

2 cups – Whole wheat flour (Atta)

¾ tsp – Salt

4 Tbsp – Oil

Water to make dough

1 Tbsp – Oil

½ tsp – Cumin seeds

¼ tsp – Asafoetida

¾ tsp – Ginger paste

2 cups boiled and mashed – Green peas

¾ tsp – Green chilli paste

1 ¼ tsp – Fennel seed / saunf powder (dry roast fennel seeds and ground to a fine powder)

½ tsp – Coriander powder (dry roast coriander seeds and ground to a fine powder)

¾ tsp – Amchoor powder (Dried mango powder)

Salt to taste

Oil to fry kachoris

Method

1. Place the flour either in a wide mouthed bowl or on the kitchen countertop
2. Mix in the salt and oil and mix into the flour rubbing with hands to make it look kind of crumbly
3. Add water to make dough. Make sure the dough has to be firm not soft.
4. Once done, cover with damp cloth and keep aside to rest
5. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds
6. Once they splutter add the asafetida
7. Add the ginger paste and cook till light brown and then add the green peas paste
8. Add the green chilli paste and mix well
9. Add the fennel powder, cumin seed powder, dried mango powder, salt and mix well
10. Cook on low flame while stirring for 5-7 mins
11. Let the mixture cool completely
12. Uncover the dough and make roundels the size of a golf ball
13. Roll them out to a small roti/chapatti size then take a heaped Tbsp of the green peas mixture and add to the center of the rolled out dough
14. Bring together the edges of the roti/chapatti and form a pouch.
15. Twist the tip and take off the extra dough
16. Press down with heel of your hand onto the pouch of dough and filling and flatten lightly
17. Roll the kachoris a little (making sure to leave it nice and thick around the edges and smoother and flatter in the center area)
18. Heat oil in a wide mouthed deep frying pan
19. Gently slide in the kachoris and fry on medium high flame to ensure both sides are golden in color
20. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to absorb and get rid of excess oil
21. Serve with Aloo Tamatar / Khatta Meetha Kadhu / Raita

TIPS

1. In order to reduce time and use resources wisely, you can roll out the kachoris and keep them on a plate. Make sure to cover them with a damp cloth so that they don’t become tough
2. You can choose to add garam masala and red chilli powder to the filling , however I avoid it so as to be true to the green peas taste
3. Make sure the oil is hot before sliding the kachoris into the pan and don’t crowd the pan as the kachoris need space to float and cook properly

 

 

‘Aloo Tamatar’ A.K.A ‘Potatoes in Tomato gravy’

My Amma is a Bengali, who was born and brought up in Delhi. Her parents, my Nani and Dadu were born and brought up in Benares and so were their earlier generations. Thus one could say that they are more of UPwallahs than Bengalis. This dish was made as part of the special khana for my first Karvachauth and I was pleasantly surprised that my sis-in-law knew how to make Bengali food. When I asked my hubby how jiji knew how to make the dish, he said it was a traditional UP Baniya dish which was always made as part of ‘Pukka Khana’. It took me a minute to realize that as my mom’s family was from UP, they must have incorporated this dish into their arsenal and as we had it so often we took it for granted that it was a Bengali dish. I often make ‘Aloo Tamatar’ A.K.A ‘Potatoes in Tomato gravy’ especially on our Hindu festivals where I keep a fast as it is yummy to eat with poories when one breaks the fast at night ;-). Hope you all love and enjoy this recipe as much as my family and my hubby’s family and our friends.

Aloo Tamatar

Ingredients

2 Tbsp – Oil

½ tsp – Cumin seeds

1 pinch – Asafoetida

½ inch finely minced – Ginger

1 ½ cups chopped – Tomatoes

Salt to taste

1 tsp – Turmeric powder

1 tsp – Red chilli powder

1 tsp – Coriander powder

½ tsp – Dry roasted cumin seeds powder

1 cup cubed – Potatoes

½ cup – Water

¼ tsp – Sugar

½ tsp – Garam masala powder

Method:

1. Heat oil in a cooker and once hot add cumin seeds
2. Once the cumin seeds splutter add asafetida and then immediately add the ginger
3. Mix well and after 1 minute add tomatoes
4. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dry roasted cumin seeds powder and mix well and cover for 2 mins
5. Add the potatoes and add the water, close the cooker lid and cook on medium flame
6. Once the cooker gives 2 whistles, remove from the flame
7. Once pressure has escaped completely open the cooker, add the sugar , garam masala powder and mix well
8. Smash / mash some pieces of potatoes in the gravy and cover and keep for 5 mins
9. Ladle into serving bowl and garnish with chopped green chillies or chopped cilantro and serve with poories/ kachoris/ tahiri/ chawal / rotis

TIPS

1. You can also make this with boiled potatoes instead of raw potatoes
2. Cooking time for the dish will depend on the potatoes, make sure they are cooked through and are soft when you remove from the flame
3. You can choose to add more water in order to make the gravy more watery. Also, remember that potatoes once smashed / mashed into the gravy will absorb the gravy so you might need to add water (hot water) and boil the gravy before serving the dish. Do check seasoning before serving as adding water would change the balance of flavors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Khatta Meetha Karela

As a child when Amma used to make this vegetable my brother and I used to push it around on our plates and perhaps take a bite or two n then pass on the rest to Amma or Appa. However as I grew older I developed a taste for this vegetable and then decided to try to make it on my own. Thus, came a lot of permutations and combinations and of course some failures and finally success. This recipe is a new one that I came up with recently and once I received the approval from my hubby darling I decided to share it with you all. Sharing the recipe for ‘Khatta Meetha Karela’ A.K.A. ‘Sweet n Sour Bitter Gourd’ and hope enjoy it.

Khatta Meetha Karela

Ingredients

2 Tbsp – Oil

½ tsp – Cumin seeds

A pinch of Asafoetida powder

½ cup chopped – Onions

¾ cup chopped – Tomatoes

1 cup chopped – Karela (Bitter gourd)

1 tsp – Turmeric powder

1 tsp – Coriander powder

½ tsp – Star anise powder

¾ tsp – Dried mango powder (Amchoor)

1 tsp – Sugar

Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in heavy bottomed pan and when hot add cumin seeds.
2. Once cumin seeds turn light brown add asafoetida powder and then immediately add the chopped onions
3. Stir the onions till light brown in color and then add chopped tomatoes
4. Mix well and then add chopped bitter gourd and all the spices and salt (except sugar and amchoor)
5. Mix well and cover and cook on low flame for 10 minutes
6. Uncover , check for tenderness of bitter gourd and then if tender add sugar and amchoor
7. Mix well and cook for another 5-7 minutes to make it dry
8. Remove from flame and enjoy with daal, rotis, chawal

TIPS:

1. You can use lemon juice instead of amchoor in the recipe
2. You can use Splenda instead of sugar in the recipe for the sweetness
3. If you like the bitter gourd to be less bitter, then wash well, scrape the bitter gourd and then cut in half lengthwise and soak in salted water for approx 20 minutes. Drain and use in recipe

 

Pyaaz Baingan ki Subzi

This recipe is a variation of an eggplant dish I had at my mausi saas’s home in Cleveland and loved so much that I tried recreating it as soon as I got home. After playing around with various spices this blend seemed perfect to me and now am sharing the recipe for ‘Pyaaz Baingan ki Subzi’ A.K.A ‘Crispy Eggplant and Onion’ and hope you all enjoy it as much as me and my family.

Pyaaz Baingan ki Subzi

Ingredients

4 nos cut into ½ inch cubes – Chinese eggplant

1 medium sized roughly chopped – Onion

1 ½ tbsp – Oil

½ tsp – Kalonji (black onion seed)

1 tsp – Turmeric powder

1 tsp – Caribbean spice mix

1 tsp – Anardana powder (pomegranate seed powder)

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan
2. Once oil is hot add kalonji (black onion seeds)
3. Add the onions and fry till translucent
4. Add the eggplant and then add salt, turmeric powder, Caribbean spice powder
5. Mix well and lower the flame and cover with a tight fitting lid
6. Open the lid after 7 minutes and add anardana powder (pomegranate seed powder) and mix once more but with a gentle hand.
7. Recover and cook for 5 – 7 minutes until the eggplant is cooked and soft
8. Uncover, check for salt and cook on high flame for 1-2 minutes to get the eggplant pieces crispy.
9. Remove from flame and dish into serving bowl and garnish with chopped cilantro or green chillies

TIPS

1. If you don’t have Caribbean spice mix then mix together allspice, ginger powder, garlic powder, cinnamon powder, black pepper, red pepper in equal proportions and use as homemade Caribbean spice mix
2. You can also use mustard oil instead of canola oil as gives a more pungent flavor
3. This is a quick and easy recipe, perfect for a week night as taken approx 20-25 minutes from start to finish to prepare this dish.

 

 

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