Simple Stir-Fried Cauliflower - Bhaja Phool Kopi

 

Bhaja Phool Kopi

Cauliflower ranks at the top of my list of favourite vegetables. I like this recipe because the true taste of the cauliflower comes through since its made with minimal spices and cooked until al dente. Be free to chop and fry onions and garlic until golden brown, but my shortcut is to use ready made deep-fried onions and garlic. The cauliflower is seasoned very simply with turmeric, salt and roasted cumin seed powder. I get a bottle of McCormick cumin seeds, roast them in a dry skillet, cool and grind in a coffee grinder (that I reserve for grinding spices) to a fine powder. The ground cumin seeds are stored in the bottle and used as needed.

Serve with chapatis, pilau or biryani and raita.

Smelts Cooked with Unripe Mangoes

Smelts with Unripe Mangoes

Mango Fish reminds me of our life in Rangoon (now known as Yangon). Mum made this dish with Topshe Mach or Mango Fish at the start of the mango season when green, unripe mangoes are plentiful. In North America, frozen, unripe mangoes are available in Bangladeshi markets. I've made this with smelts, but any filleted fish or fish steaks can be used in this recipe.

Crab Claws Curry

 

Crab Claws Curry

Rock crab claws at our local supermarket looked so clean and tempting. There was a little over a pound of claws in the package which was perfect because I will be the only one eating them. Hubby is not fond of anything that has to be picked at, so a simple filleted fish curry will suit him.

Cooking the Crab Claws

A few tips before I dive into the recipe. First of all, make sure to use a nut cracker to crack the claws, and break apart each segment before cooking. It was a mess doing that while eating. Secondly, the claws came frozen and I dropped them into the gravy as is. They thawed and cooked over medium-low heat to perfection. And last but not least, I loved cooking them this way because this is a dump-and-go recipe. Make sure the gravy ingredients are minced so that the gravy comes out smooth and delicious when cooked. 

This is best served with hot, steamed rice.

Serving Suggestion

Burmese Meat Curry - အသားဟင်း a thaa hin

 

Burmese Meat Curry

I call this Meat Curry because the recipe can be used to cook any kind of meat. Beef Curry is called Ametha Hin and Pork Curry is called Wetha Hin. I used lamb leg, but I don't know what lamb is called in Burmese. One translation calls it Soetha Hin, but I'm not sure if that's correct.

The process is pretty simple and all the ingredients are readily available. Pieces of meat are marinated in a coarse paste of onions, garlic, tomatoes and paprika or soaked dried chilies. I used a pressure cooker to tenderize the meat for half an hour, but it can also be simmered on the stovetop for 2 hours. If a pressure cooker is used, it should be removed from the heat and left undisturbed (after the half hour of cooking) to de-pressurize naturally, which takes 15-20 minutes. After all the steam dissipates and depending on how much liquid remains, the curry needs to be simmered to reduce the gravy until the oil resurfaces.

Fish with Cauliflower and Green Onions

 

Fish with Cauliflower & Green Onions

Any kind of fish works with this recipe. I used filleted fish, but it goes without saying that bone-in fish tastes much better. This way of cooking a fish curry takes me back to the days when we first arrived in India from Burma. We stayed with our uncle's family in Calcutta and Mamima (aunt) made fish this way. It tastes so good!

Begun Basanti - Eggplant in Mustard and Yogurt Sauce

Begun Basanti

My sister, Rene, introduced me to this eggplant dish. Use any kind of eggplant. Just make sure they are cut in uniform pieces. Even the smallest eggplant, left whole or cut in half, work really well here. I love Japanese eggplant because they taste so good. I used Greek yogurt and whipped it with besan to keep it from separating in the hot oil.

Ingredients

4 Japanese or long eggplant
4 + 2 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. paprika/Kashmiri mirch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. kalonji/nigella seeds
1 green chili, minced
1 cup thick yogurt
1 tsp. besan or gram flour

Onion-Garlic-Tomato Paste

1 tsp. oil
1 medium onion, quartered
6 cloves garlic
1 medium tomato
1/2 tsp. sugar

Mustard Paste
1 Tbsp. black mustard seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 green chili, diced

Garnish
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. garam masala powder (cinnamon, cloves & cardamom)
1 tsp. mustard oil
3 green chilies, sliced into circles or slit
cilantro, minced

Directions

1. Cut eggplant in 2" lengths and cut each segment in half lengthwise.
2. Toss eggplant pieces 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder and marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Soak mustard seeds in water for 1/2 hour, drain and blend with salt and green chili to a smooth paste.
4. Bring a cup of water to a boil and blanch quartered onion, garlic cloves and tomato until skin on tomato splits.
5. Remove skin from tomato and blend it along with oil, sugar, blanched onion and garlic to a smooth paste, reserving water.
6. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil and fry marinated eggplant until golden brown and soft.
7. Remove eggplant from oil and set aside.
8. Add remaining oil to skillet and temper with nigella seeds and minced green chilies.
9. Add remaining turmeric powder and paprika to hot oil along with onion-garlic-tomato paste and stir-fry until oil resurfaces.
10. Add reserved water from blanching onion to skillet.
11. Beat yogurt with besan and mustard paste, and add to skillet.
12. Return eggplant to skillet, stir well and bring gravy to a boil.
13. Garnish with sugar, garam masala powder and chilies.
14. Stir, sprinkle with cilantro and transfer to a serving dish.

Serve as a side dish with hot, steamed rice.

Asparagus with Onions and Tomatoes

 

Asparagus with
Onions and Tomatoes

Green beans prepared this way was a favorite when we were growing up. Fresh asparagus, I was sure, would work just as well and it was! A generous sprinkling of cracked black pepper finishes this dish, giving it lots of zing. Serve this as a side dish to any Indian meal and can be served with steamed rice or any Indian bread.

Easy English Trifle

 

Easy English Trifle

This dessert brings back memories of school dinners on special occasions like our Annual Socials with St. Paul's and North Point in Darjeeling. It's impossible to recall what was served for the main meal, but English Trifle for dessert was a staple and was memorable.

My JELL-O cookbook came in handy to get a general idea of the process. Modifications, catered to dietary restrictions, made this 'cracked-up' recipe completely unrecognizable from the original. This is a simple version of the classic English dessert.

Chicken Piccata

 

Chicken Piccata

Our teenage grandson is spending the week with us and he's interested in cooking, so I picked out a few recipes suitable for him to try. We found thinly sliced chicken breasts at the supermarket which saved him a step in the directions. This dish was executed with minimal fuss and was delicious!

Rather than making a separate side dish, fresh spinach and green peas were cooked in the sauce in the final step of cooking. Our chicken piccata was served on a bed of steamed rice and was relished by all, young and the not so young alike.

Burmese Fish Ball Curry

 

Burmese Fish Ball Curry

I bought the pre-formed frozen fish balls made from cuttlefish at a Vietnamese market. The package was left in the fridge overnight to thaw and the next day the fish balls were simmered in chicken broth for 20 minutes to soften before adding to the gravy. If the fish balls are added directly after thawing, they turn out to be rubbery and chewy. After simmering, they turn soft and seem to absorb the spices in the gravy much better.

Burmese Cucumbers and Shrimp

 

Cucumbers and Shrimp

I enjoy the taste of cooked cucumbers, especially when they are paired with shrimp. This is a Burmese dish and is very easy to put together.

San Pyoke - Burmese Congee

 

San Pyoke

This congee or rice porridge brings back memories of our childhood in Rangoon, Burma (now known as Yangon, Myanmar). Rice is cooked for hours in water or chicken broth until silky and creamy and it's the most comforting thing to have when sick in bed with the flu. Here I have made a basic congee using catfish nuggets then garnished with celery leaves, pickled mustard leaves, tomatoes and balachaung, a dried shrimp condiment.

Bamboo Shoots with Surimi

 

Bamboo Shoots with Surimi

When a member of the family is allergic to shrimp, the cook has to resort to other means to pump flavor into vegetables. In this case, bamboo shoots that taste simply wonderful made with shrimp is cooked with surimi or fake crab. Louis Kemp makes a good product using a medley of fish to simulate the taste of shrimp or crab.

Ranga Alur Bhortha - Sweet Potato Mash

 

Ranga Alur Bhortha

Sweet potatoes were always a favourite vegetable even as a child. One of my earliest memories is walking around with a boiled sweet potato and munching on it like candy. Bhortha is a mashed vegetable or fish preparation, so it's better to microwave or bake the sweet potatoes rather than boiling them. This dish is served as a first course during a Bengali meal and tastes best paired with steamed rice.

Spicy Peanut Noodles

 

Spicy Peanut Noodles

It turns out that Hubby is allergic to peanuts, so I made these noodles just for myself and went crazy with the chili sauce. Delicious Spicy Peanutty Noodles takes no time to make, especially if you can get your hands on fresh fettuccini pasta which take all of 3 minutes to cook.

Dried Fruit & Nut Treats

3 Kinds of Treats

Having to watch my sugar intake puts me on the lookout for sugar-free or no-sugar-added dessert options. These simple energy bites are ideal for snacking any time of day and will be enjoyed by both young and old members of the family.

Treats

They come together with just 4 ingredients and the most complicated part in making them is pulsing the ingredients in a food processor. The best part is that they don't need to be refrigerated or frozen and can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

Here's how simple the process is. 

1. Choose 2 dried fruits, 1 roasted nut and 1 item in which to roll the treats.
2. Pulse your fruit and nut choices in a food processor or Ninja chopper until the dough forms a big ball.
3. Make walnut-sized balls and roll around to cover in the 4th ingredient.
4. Place in pretty cupcake wrappers, store in an airtight container at room temperature and they're ready for a tiffin box or a grab-and-go snack.

Omelette Curry

 

Omelette Curry

This reminds me of Mum. We'd have this as a wonderful alternative to Dimer Dalna made with whole eggs. Cook the omelette in a large frying pan, more like a flan than rolling it up. It's very simple and easy to make, but cutting diamond shapes out of the flan makes it look fancy. Serve this as a main dish with steamed rice or chapatis.

Beyond Meat Keema Curry - Minced Meat Curry

 

Beyond Meat Keema Curry

Beyond Meat is a plant-based substitute for meat, made from a combination of peas and brown rice. It tastes just like the real thing with a meaty texture. I treated it just like minced meat to make a keema curry. DH claims it tasted better than chicken or beef, but I was more impressed that it took far less time to cook. This keema curry goes well with steamed rice or chapatis.

Mattar Paneer Bhurji - Scrambled Cottage Cheese and Peas

Mattar Paneer Bhurji

This looks a lot like Indian scrambled eggs, but there are no eggs in this preparation. Instead, paneer or cottage cheese is grated and cooked in the same way. It makes a terrific stuffing for tortilla rolls or can be served as a side dish with rice or chapatis at dinner.

Bhindi Alu Bhaja - Stir-Fried Okra and Potatoes

 

Bhindi Alu Bhaja

Bhindi or okra is a summer vegetable and tastes wonderful when stir-fried on its own or with diced potatoes. I like to coat the cut pieces of bhindi with amchur (dried mango) powder before frying in hot oil. This reduces the viscosity of the vegetable. Sliced onions and diced tomatoes along with salt are added at the very end of the cooking process.

This stir-fried dish is served as a side to complement a Bengali/Indian meal and goes well with steamed rice or chapatis.

Chicken Bulgogi Noodle Bowl

 

Chicken Bulgogi Noodle Bowl

For Grandboy's Day this week we each had a bowl of Ramen Noodles topped with Ground Chicken Bulgogi and blanched baby bok choy. Bulgogi is a Korean preparation that usually uses sliced beef or pork and served as a rice bowl. Any ground meat can be substituted based on your family's preference. Baby bok choy are tiny bundles of delight, available at any local supermarket, blanched in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes just until they turn a bright green, which makes this dinner a complete meal in a bowl.

Alu Mattar Keema - Potatoes Peas and Minced Meat Curry

 

Alu Mattar Keema

The best keema curry I've had was from the dhaba or truckers' diner in Defense Colony of New Delhi, India. Most often made with minced lamb, this dish can be prepared with any minced meat, i.e. chicken, beef or lamb. It goes well with steamed rice, chapatis or naans.

Begun Bashonti - Eggplant in Mustard Sauce

 

Begun Bashonti

This eggplant preparation was first suggested by my eldest sister. Mum would make it for special occasions for which it is suited because it's pure vegetarian and does not use onions or garlic. I like using Japanese eggplants because they have very few seeds and cook down to a tenderness that melts in the mouth. This dish uses both black and yellow mustard seeds, white poppy seeds and grated coconut that produces a smooth and mellow paste for the base of the gravy. Best had with hot, steamed rice, it can be accompanied by a meat or fish item and lentils.

Apple Bundt Cake

 

Apple Bundt Cake

Inverted

A Slice

On very rare occasions like today, we're celebrating with an Apple Bundt Cake! Using brown sugar instead of white gives it a GBD (golden brown and delicious) goodness. I followed an online recipe but adapted it to my preferences. White sugar was replaced with brown sugar, the diced apples were dusted with cinnamon and sugar and Granny Smith apples were replaced with Gala apples. A Bundt cake is so much fancier than a plain sheet cake and it felt good to have an excuse to use my Bundt pan.

Chicken Laksa Curry

 

Chicken Laksa Curry

Laksa Paste

The easiest chicken curry, made possible with a store-bought laksa paste which is available in Asian markets or online. It takes 20 minutes to make chiefly because the chicken was tenderized ahead of time. After cutting the chicken, boneless and skinless chicken thighs in this case, the bite-sized pieces are soaked at room temperature for 30 minutes in water mixed with a teaspoon each of salt and baking soda. After draining, the chicken must be washed in several changes of water to remove all traces of baking soda. This makes the chicken or any meat incredibly soft  and tender. Substitute chicken with beef, lamb, pork, shrimp, tofu or paneer.