Chicken Tikka Masala

Whole Red Lentils & Carrots

Astho Musoorir Dal aar Gajar

It was quite surprising how little time it took to cook these lentils on the stovetop.

Cauliflower and Potatoes in Yogurt Sauce

Doi Phool Kopi

This was one of Mum's preparations for cauliflower that we all loved. Unfortunately, I don't have her recipe and all I remember is that it was white, devoid of all colour such as the yellow imparted by turmeric. So I tried to stick with all white ingredients and avoided the temptation to add tomatoes or turmeric.

Burmese Tohu Thohk - Chickpea Tofu Salad

Using tohu in a salad provides lots of protein and makes a refreshing mid-day meal. This is a cold salad utililizing tohu that has been setting up in the refrigerator for an hour to a couple of days. Tohu becomes firmer the longer it chills. The recipe that was posted last night makes 2 lbs. of tohu, a quarter of which (1/2 lb.) will be used in this recipe.

Burmese Tohu

Chickpea Tofu

A weekly challenge on a food group in Facebook with a main ingredient of chickpea flour or besan (sounds like baisin) as it is known in Hindi, prompted me to try this for the first time. There were certain foods in Rangoon, Burma that were best left to the experts, the street vendors, with the result that they were rarely, if ever, made at home. Ohno Khaukswe, Mohinga and Tohu were among these. After leaving Burma, all we were left with were memories of these delicasies but now, thanks to all the foodies on the Internet, our shadowy memories are coming to life in our own kitchens.

After chilling in the refrigerator, the tohu develops a firm and creamy texture. This recipe yields 2 lbs. of tohu and can be used as a garnish for Mohinga and as the main ingredient in various salads. 

Baked Tandoori Chicken with Mayonnaise

This dinner took exactly half an hour to put on the table. The boneless, skinless chicken thighs were very tender, the onions crystallized and the potatoes fork tender because the dish was baked at a high temperature.

Shrimp & Peas Pilaf

For a first attempt, this dish turned out to be a hit! I usually make a Chicken Biryani when company dines, but we needed a break from that. We're fortunate that shell-on shrimp (26-30 count/lb.) are available already cleaned of their digestive tracts.

Bijoya Lunch - October 12, 2013

BIJOYA LUNCH
October 12, 2013

Cockwise from top left -
Shrimp Pulao
Cucumber Raita with Dill & Mint
Chana Dal Cooked in Coconut Milk
Yellow Alu (Potatoes)
Nahari Gosht
Pineapple Srikhand
Tomato Date Chutney
Palang Shaag (Spinach) with Potatoes & Peas

Friends of ours from London, Ontario spent Bijoya weekend with us. The Shrimp Pulao and Spinach were Baby Anil's favourite dishes. He is one year old.
This meal fed six adults and one baby.

 

Burmese Black Sticky Rice & Coconut Pudding

This pudding is pure comfort food for a cold, snowy or rainy day. A good friend of ours who lives in the neighbourhood walked over last evening and presented us with a generous amount of black rice. She must have read my mind because black rice is on my list of things to get from the Oriental grocery store. Black rice is called Kao Hnyin Baung in Burmese and, during my childhood, was sold by street vendors for breakfast in Rangoon. So it has a special place in my heart.

Black rice, according to the information on the package, was known as “Emperor’s Rice” in ancient China and was reserved exclusively for Chinese Royalty. Loaded with antioxidants, Vitamin E and fiber, it is delicious with a sweet and nutty taste which, combined with its rich, dark purple color, is a treat for the eyes and taste buds.

Pickled Eggs, Beetroots & Onion Salad

I love eggs cooked in any and all ways, and first came across a similar recipe to this in a foodie group on Facebook.  The pinkish-red hue on the surface of the peeled eggs deepen the longer they sit in the brine and absorb color from the beets. Adding onions is an adaptation to the original recipe and turned out to be a good idea because they add a crunchiness to the salad. The pungency of the onions is diminished and they actually are quite sweet and go well with the beets.  

To hard-boil eggs, place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 10 minutes, remove from heat, cover and set aside to cool. Drain the eggs and cover with cold water before peeling.  

Ground Chicken Stew with Chayote Squash

A one-pot meal/stew of
ground chicken & chayote squash

This one-pot meal is quite typical of the way the Burmese people make stew. All the ingredients are dumped into a skillet and simmered until the oil resurfaces and chicken & vegetables are cooked.

Eggplant & Shrimp in Mustard Sauce

Begun Chingri Shorshe Bata

Begun Chingri Shorshe Bata - Eggplants, shrimp and potatoes cooked in a coarse ground mustard sauce. It generally takes a while to prepare black mustard seeds for this dish. To remove the bitterness from black mustard seeds, they are generally soaked in salt-water overnight and then blended to a smooth paste. To save time, I decided to use Grey Poupon's Harvest Coarse Ground Mustard, which worked quite well.

Red Lentils with Cucumbers

Masoor Dal with Cucumbers

Mum's favourite way of preparing red lentils was with onions, tomatoes & garlic. She would sometimes add cucumbers to it, but always peeled them. As a shortcut, I decided to leave them unpeeled and was surprised at how good it tasted. The cucumbers retained their shapes, added a bite and weren't mushy at all.