Pakhala Bhat with various side dishes

Pakhala is the a traditional Oriya dish; in Bengali it is called Pantha Bhat (পান্তা ভাত). It is prepared by soaking leftover rice in water overnight. There are so many side dishes that goes well with this, both vegetarian and non vegetarian. I have paired it with Fried potatoes, fried bitter gourd and Red Lentil Dal.

You can get more information about Pakhala from this Wikipedia article. 20th March is declared as Pakhala Dibasa (Universal Pakhala Day) by Oriya community. And being a Bengali foodie, I celebrate it too, in my own way.

Ingredients:
1. One cup of cooked rice
2. Potato(1 big size)
3. Bitter gourd (5 small size)
4. Tomatoes (2 medium size)
5. Fenugreek seeds(1/4 tsp)
6. Green chilies (5)
7. Salt to taste
8. Mustard oil 3 tsp
9. Lemon leaf (2-3)
10. Masoor Dal(Red lentils)
11. Turmeric powder
12. Nigella seeds (1/4tsp)
13. Flour(1/3 tsp)
14. Cumin powder (1/2 tsp)

Menu and  Method:
1. Pakhala (Rice dish): Take a cup of cooked rice (you can use leftover rice) and add 2 cups of cold water to it. Many people add cumin seeds or curry leaves to this; but I want my Pakhala to be pristine; so I didn’t add anything. Leave the rice soaked in water overnight and your Pakhala will be ready in the morning.

2. Potato fry: Peel the potatoes and cut them into flat long pieces as done for french fries. In a heated pan add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add nigella seeds. Add the potatoes, salt, turmeric powder and 2 green chilies. Fry everything in high flame for 2 minutes. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water on top. Cover the lid and let it cook in low flame. Keep checking the potatoes in between and cook it until the potatoes become soft.

3. Bitter gourd fry: Bitter gourd is bitter I know; but it is really really great for your health. Cut the bitter gourds into disc like pieces. Add some salt, turmeric powder, flour and a pinch of water. Mix everything well and fry in 1 teaspoon of oil for 1-2 minutes in high flame. Cover it up with lid and let it cook in low flame until the bitter gourds become soft.

4. Masoor Dal (Red lentils soup): Masoor dal is the quintessential dal on a Bengali dining table. We eat it everyday; a regular Bengali meal is unthinkable without this. Take a half cup of  red lentil and add 1.5 cup of water to it. Boil it with salt and turmeric powder. In a pan add 1 teaspoon of oil. Let the oil heat up and then add fenugreek seeds and tomatoes. Saute it for 1 minute. Add cumin powder, green chilies and mix it well. Finally, pour the boiled dal in to the pan. Mix the masala with the cooked dal well and cook it for 3-4 mints. If it becomes too thick to your preference, add some water. I have added 0ne cup of water, because I wanted my dal to be a bit runny. Add the lemon leaves, mix it well and switch off the flame.

I like to add some cucumber to all my meals, it helps to control the amount of carbohydrate intake. There are some unbelievable health benefits which you will find in green chilies, no calories only Vitamins; and it adds a lovely aroma to the whole meal.

All the dishes which I have just described are just perfect for hot Summer, do try it out.

Enjoy.

Mo.

 

 

 

 

Fried potatoes and more…

There are very few who don’t like potatoes; I love potatoes. Today i m going to share a simple recipe with you guys. I will be truthful here. My intention was to fry potatoes with some spices, but a little bit of improvisation turned it into something else. It turned up absolutely fantastic.

Ingredients:
1. Potatoes (2,big size)
2. Curry leaves (2-3 springs)
3. Salt to taste
4. Dry mango powder or Aamchur powder (1 teaspoon)
5. Turmeric (1 teaspoon)
6. Dry red chili (2 pieces)
7. Mustard seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
8. Cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
9. Tomato (1, medium size)
10. Cumin powder (1/2 teaspoon)
11. Pinch of Asafoetida
12. Oil (2 tablespoon)

Method:
Cut the potatoes in to cubes, put in water for  1-2 hour.

In a heated pan add the oil, let the oil heat up. Add dry red chilies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and let them splutter. Add the potato cubes and mix well. One by one add turmeric powder, cumin powder, dry mango powder. Add salt to taste. Mix everything properly. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix it well. Add a little bit of water, lower the flame and let it cover for sometime until the potatoes get cooked properly. Serve it with chapati.

Enjoy.

Mo

 

 

Mango shake

Summer is almost here; we are already into the season of Mangoes, the king of  all fruits. The weather in Thailand is already very hot and humid and the mercury is soaring higher everyday. It’s extremely important to consume a lot of liquid throughout the day; water, fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, shakes and smoothies, you’ve got plenty of choice. Today we will make Mango Shake. It’s simple to make and really tasty. I am sure everybody  knows how to make it. There are many variations of this, but in my humble opinion, it’s all about letting the sweetness of mango to take the center stage ably aided by the rest of the ingredients. Let’s get started.

Ingredients :
1. Pulp of a big size mango
2. Milk
3. Saffron (optional)
4. Sugar(optional)
5. Ice cubes
6. Dry fruits(optional)

Method:
In a blender, put sliced mango pulps, ice cubes, milk, sugar (you can also make without sugar). Blend it till you don’t see any mango pulp floating around. Add dry fruits as per your preference. I have used 2-3 raisins and cashew nuts. Serve it in a tall glass. You can decorate it with a few saffron strands before serving.

Enjoy.
Mo

Palak paneer(Cottage Cheese in Spinach Gravy)

Palak Paneer or Cottage cheese in spinach gravy is delicious and surprisingly easy to cook. This is a traditional North Indian dish, variations of the recipe can be found all over the county and even outside of India. It’s one of the most recognized India dish and easily available in Indian restaurants in India and abroad. Its easy to make, very healthy and absolutely delightful.

Ingredients:
1. Spinach (4 cups, washed)
2. Paneer (250 grams)
3. Green Chilies (4 pieces)
4. Mustard oil (4 tbsp)
5. Cinnamon Stick  (1 inch piece)
6. Onions (2, medium size, sliced)
7. Ginger paste (½ tbsp)
8. Garlic paste (1 tbsp)
9. Tomatoes (1 , medium size, chopped)
10. Coriander Powder (2 teaspoons)
11. Cumin Powder (2 teaspoons)
12. Turmeric Powder (½ teaspoon)
13. Red Chili Powder (1 teaspoon)
14. Garam Masala (1 teaspoon)
15. Salt to taste
16. Dry Mango Powder (½ teaspoon)
17. Milk or Cooking Cream (1 cup)
18. Dried Fenugreek Leaves (1 teaspoon)

Method:

Step 1:
Boil the washed spinach leaves with 2 chilies without lid on top. It will take 2-3 minutes. Remove the spinach from heat, drain the excess water and allow it to cool down. We will blend this and make a thick paste which will be used for gravy. For that, we will blend this in pulse mode so that there is some solid pieces or bits of spinach in the gravy.

Step 2:
In a pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir fry the paneer cubes until they become light golden brown on all sides. While frying, I have added pinch of salt and turmeric to give it a yellowish color; this is absolutely optional skip this if you want our paneer to be pristine. Add half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl of water and throw in all the fried paneer cubes in it. Once the paneer cubes are fried, they become a bit harder and it adversely affects the texture of the dish; if we put the paneer cubes into water, they will stay soft when we will use them later.

Step 3:
Heat the pan. Add 3 tablespoons of oil. In the heated oil, add the cinnamon stick, onions and a teaspoon of salt. Cook until Onions become translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste. Fry this until they become a bit brownish. Add chopped tomatoes and keep stirring the mix and make sure it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle some water if required. Mix properly until the oil comes out from the mixture and the tomatoes get caramelized. Add all the dry spices (Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Garam Masala, Dry Mango Powder). Mix everything well; add salt as per your taste. Your masala is ready.

Step 4:
Since our masala is ready, now it’s time to add the goodness of spinach.  Add the blended spinach to the masala. If the gravy becomes very thick, add a bit of water as per your preference. Cook it for 2-3 mints without the lid. Add a cup of full fat milk. In restaurants  they use cream, but i have used full fat milk. Give it a good mix. Crusg some dried fenugreek leavesand add to the mix. And sliced green chilies. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Your gravy is ready.

Step 5:
Now it’s time to add the king of the dish, the paneer cubes. Add the fried paneer cubes and mix them gently with the gravy.

Palak paneer is ready. Serve it with hot chapati, roti or nan.

Enjoy.

Mo