Ipsita Banerjee's Blog, page 7

S: Shrikhand #AtoZChallenge

I was introduced to shrikhands by the family of one of my best-est friends in school, Vaishali. We have been friends forever, it seems. And from a very young age we visited each others' houses. They were vegetarians and Aunty (I sometimes also call her Aai, meaning 'mother' in Marathi) was a fantastic cook. Uncle was a flight engineer and used to be travelling often. He would bring back pears, plums and peaches and other exotic fruits after his flights out of the city. He always ensured he got some for me too. Nani (Vaishali's grandmother) was a sweetheart. She was a lively and sprightly grand old lady who remained active throughout her life and loved to share stories with us.
Anyway, coming back to Aunty and her cooking. It was in this home that I first tasted dhansak (a veg version of course but I was not fussy), beetroot raita (a favourite I make even now), poha (aunty taught me that) and countless other "strange" vegetables that I did not encounter in my own home. And of course, Aunty made the most amazing Shrikhand ever. I sometimes buy the Amul one you get in the shops but that THING is not there. You know what I mean? Aunty cooked everything herself. Right from the melt-in-your-mouth chapatis (with butter) and the rice and the papad and the salad and the chaats, even.
I used to look forward to the meals and the easy hospitality where I was welcomed with open arms. In fact, when I joined the profession, my Chamber was near Vaishali's house. Vaishali herself was then posted in Jaipur after having done her Hotel Management and joining the Taj Group of Hotels. Often, instead of eating at home, I would drop in and visit Uncle and Aunty, share their dinner and head off to Chambers. Aunty and Uncle always welcomed me with open arms but then they moved to Pune ten years ago...so unfortunately I've had to change that habit of mine, but I fondly remember those days of our youth. And it gives me joy.
I will never try to make shrikhand. I do believe some things should be left for another hand. I can never hope to replicate that yummy creaminess. And I know that the best shrikhand in the world can only be made by Aunty, but if anyone is willing to try, here's a recipe, that, despite being time consuming, looks do-able:
Shrikhand recipe 

R: Rasgollas and Rajbhog #AtoZChallenge

Okay, I am a true Bengali and I love my rasgollas. True, we do not make them at home any more because it's so much easier to get it from the nearest sweet shop but I do remember it being made at home. Specially Rajbhog, which is the bigger and usually flavoured with saffron and, sometimes, orange. My father came from an old family in North Calcutta. The Setts were one of the first inhabitants of the city and at one time was quite a considerable family to reckon with. Now, 24+ generations later, all that remains is a family house in the heart of Burrabazar mostly partitioned and (worse) divided into bits and sold or tenanted. I have never lived in that house except when we went over for the pujas or maybe a wedding in the family. It is a lovely interesting house full of nooks and crannies and places to hide. Those days, the house was not fragmented. The terrace ran for almost two blocks and you could go from one relatives' house to another and be utterly lost to anyone looking for you. And during weddings and such occasions, I remember the terrace being covered. Cooks would be employed and they would appear with huge woks and cook over fires and the smells emanating from these were delicious. What was most fascinating was the corner reserved for sweets. Right from Bonde to Rabri to Malpua to Rajbhog to Laddus to Sandesh, they made it all. We used to run about and be scolded and told to get away from the fires. But we kept going back to sneak off a rasgolla, or, if we were in luck, maybe a fish fry? 
Anyway, rasgollas can be made at home. Its creamier than the shop version and not squeaky as they make it in some places. In fact home made rasgollas are like the ones you still get in the suburbs, soft and melt-in-the-mouth type. Let me tempt you with the recipe: 

Ingredients: Cottage cheese/channa from I litre milk, home made is best. I litre water cold, 1/2 cups sugar   1/2 cups water A few saffron strands
Method; Add sugar and water to a wide pan, bring it to a boilKnead the cheese well till it is smooth and make into compact balls about the size of golf ballsAs the syrup boils, gently add the balls one after anothercover the pot/pan and cook for ten minutes on a medium flame.serve warm or cold. Yes, it's that simple. Go on, try it at least once.  


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Q: Queen of Puddings #AtoZChallenge

I admit it. I was almost ready to throw in the towel on Q. Q had me in a quandary. Then I 'discovered' the Queen of Puddings. It reminds me of the bread and butter puddings my mom used to make for school. More often than not it used to end up in the dustbin because I used to be so busy playing during lunchtime that I did not have the time to dig through a pudding!
Now, a lot older and not really wiser, I occasionally enjoy bread and butter puddings. no offense meant but the Queen of Puddings seems a lot like it, only with meringue on top. And meringues are always fun to be with!
So here's the next dessert I am going to try at home:
Queen of Puddings. Recipe by Jamie Oliver here. 

P: Payesh #AtoZChallenge

After my daughters were born, my mother-in-law insisted that on every birthday, each of the girls would be fed palak and payesh, preferably cooked by me. Why? I asked her and she said she didn't know but it was tradition. Something must be made with spinach (palak) and there must be some rice pudding (payesh). The payesh part I had heard of, but palak was a surprise. In any case I used to diligently make the two dishes the best I could.
Payesh had to be simple. What's there to it? I thought as I boiled milk and added rice and sugar. I was a mess usually. Either the rice was too much or the milk was too much or the pudding was runny, I just could not get that darn payesh to be the way it was supposed to be!
Yes, I asked my mother aand she told me I should add one fistful of gobindobhog rice to each half liter of milk. It works like magic. And the birthday girls may not be big fans of payesh but all the guests lick their bowls clean!
Here's how to make a typical Bengali Payesh, or Rice Pudding, if you will:

INGREDIENTS:

Rice : two fistfuls (yes, it looks very little, but that's all you need, believe me)Milk: 1 literSugar: 2 tbspElaichi/ Cardomom: 2/3Raisins (optional): a few, about 50gAlmond slivers (optional) some, about 1/4 cup. (Soaked, peeled and cut into slivers) METHOD: Pour milk into a pan and place on stove top to boil, Wash rice and add to milk along with cardomoms. When the milk boils, simmer and stir till it thickens.By the time the milk thickens, the rice will also be cooked. When the milk has thickened adequately, it should still be runny and liquid, add sugar and stir. Add the almonds and raisins if adding and remove from fire.let it sit for a bit before serving. Remember the milk with thicken a bit even after you remove it from the fire so do remember to turn off the heat before the milk becomes too thick. Once it has cooled, place in refrigerator to chill. Serve cold. As they say, only ghosts have payesh that is hot!!!   

O: Oatmeal Desserts #AtoZChallenge

Yes, oatmeal desserts. You heard that correctly, right from cookies to ice-cream to puddings to cakes (even cheesecakes) oatmeal can be used to make the most amazing desserts. Just don't tell the family for if you have one like mine they completely blank out after the word "oat". My experiments with oatmeal started primarily after my husband had a cardiac episode and I was told to give him a healthy diet rich in fibres. Although I personally liked my occasional porridge, he used to balk at the thought of oatmeal. So I started sneaking them into cookies and cakes. Sometimes he figured it out, often he didn't.  I used it primarily in desserts ( as a cheesecake base, oatmeal and raisin cookies, even chewy toffees with apples and apricots) and more often than not he would have most of it before he would suddenly start fussing about the chewy thingies! Some of these men can be such babies! Anyway, if you are feeling adventurous, I suggest googling "oatmeal desserts". There's a world of ideas out there. I'm certain some will catch your fancy. And be healthy too!   

N: Nan Khatai #AtoZChallenge

In school, in Class XI, I took Nutrition as one of my subjects. I don't really know why. I used to hate cooking and nothing about food (except eating it) interested me. However, I discovered pretty early on that I enjoyed cooking. There was something very intriguing about taking some raw foodstuff and turning it into something delicious! One of the early recipes we were given were of Nan Khatais. That was when I discovered these lovely Indian "cookies"! Oh there were a lot of things we learnt, right from cheese balls to alu dum to eggs to cutlets ... For a long time I had even saved the file. It got lost along the way, but that introduction to cooking started me on a journey that (thankfully) never ends! 
So for the Nan Khatai recipe, I checked into one of my favourite recipe blogs and here it is, thanks to @MonikaManchanda I'll be trying these soon, will you?  

M: Malpoa AtoZChallenge

I married into a very religious and conservative family. My husband thankfully, had warned me that I would be expected to go the the puja room as required and help out with the rituals and stuff. I agreed, saying that I would do it is a duty provided I was not asked to believe in those Gods and rituals unless I wanted to. The husband agreed, done deal. 
I was married in August. My trial by fire was in September, when Janmasthami came around. I was told to make luchis. Luchis? I almost died right there, I knew what they were, but I had never made one in my life! But.. I did know how to make rotis. Undaunted, I took some white flour, mixed in oil and water and proceeded to make the  luchis the same way as rotis, except that I fried them in oil. In hindsight, I know now what a disaster those were. They tasted okay and by some miracle swelled while frying, but I had burnt loose flour all over, the oil was thick with it! I did not know that unlike rotis, for luchis, when you roll them you use oil, not loose flour! Best thing is that no one complained or said a word! 
Next was malpoa. Thankfully I was told to cut a pineapple (on a Boti which is another story altogether) and one of my brothers-in-law made them. I had seen my mother make it at home but had no clue how it was done. I will not forget that afternoon easily... struggling with the pineapple (and other fruits) while my brother-in-law sweated over a tiny stove. Now there have been a lot of changes. There is gas in the puja room kitchen, there are ladies hired to do the cooking, there are knives and even a peeler, convenience has taken over. But that day more than twenty years ago, has been etched in my memory. And those sweet pancakes? Those malpoas? That remains a constant favourite of every ones, specially at Janmasthami, only now it comes from Gupta Brothers! 
Here's a simple recipe I found online. We Bengalis do not do the rabri part, our malpoas are soaked in sugar syrup and served, preferably warm and crisp at the edges. 
Malpua recipe

L: Lamington cake #AtoZChallenge

In college in Pune, we were a hungry lot. Good food was expensive and depended largely on our budgets. More often than not, we were broke and survived on Maggi Noodles and bread and eggs. One of those "I am hungry but am broke" days, a friend got us some Lamington cakes from Spicer College Bakery. We greedily lapped it up, it was like the best thing we had eaten in days!

Years later, pretty recently in fact, we went somewhere and I saw Lamington cakes and promptly got some for my girls. The spouse did not care for it much, "too much coconut," he said. The girls were okay with it and I found it wasn't half as exciting as it had been, years ago. I remembered those college days and the friendship we shared. I found myself thinking of how it would have been a treat for us in those days.

Hunger is such a wonderful thing.

And you? Is there any memory of any food you would have greedily lapped up when you were broke but would not care for now?
Hunger is such a wonderful thing.

ALWAYS AND FOREVER

My book of poetry. Here's the release announcement:

Always and Forever: a book of poems

:)

K: Key Lime Pie #AtoZChallenge

I had my first slice of this little bit of heaven as a teenager when we were visiting Florida. I had obviously ordered something full of gooey chocolate while the rest of the family decided to try the key Lime Pie, which is a speciality of Florida as it uses limes found in the Florida keys. (I'm sorry, no offense meant, but I do think the Indian tart limes work just as well. In any case one must make do with whatever is available!) Needless to say, even chocolate faded in comparison. I must mention that as a child I did not dislike chocolate as much as I do now. Maybe this was the beginning? 
Anyway back to the dessert: Key Lime Pie is made of lime juice, egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk in a biscuit crust, yes like a cheesecake. The original Bahaman native version also adds meringue topping so the egg whites are not wasted. During mixing, a reaction between the condensed milk and the acidic lime juice occurs that causes the filling to thicken on its own without requiring baking. Many early recipes for Key lime pie did not require baking the pie, relying on this thickening to produce the proper consistency of the filling. Today, because consuming raw eggs can be dangerous, pies of this nature are usually baked for a short time. The baking also thickens the texture more than the reaction alone.Despite its tart center, the top juxtaposes it adding more sweet flavors in some pies.If you check online, there are tons of recipes for this this. Here is my favourite by Martha Stewart. Key lime pie Recipe hereA few tips: Digestive biscuits are a great substitute for graham crackers. If the meringue part looks scary (I have friends who are petrified) omit it. It tastes great even without it. Do not try this in the hot summers, wait till it's cooler. The humidity in the air makes everything go flat. If you are making the meringue and you do not have a blowtorch (I don't) bake in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes (180 degrees C) , it will have a similar effect.All the best. Do let me know how it goes!