Anda Bhaja /Egg Bhurji /Scrambled Egg

 This recipe goes well with roti, rice and pakhala. Preparation is very easy and quick. During the summer vaccation when we were in village,  i remember my aunt cooking egg in a deep spoon. The preparation itself was so beautiful that, hardly anyone can resist not to eat that. At that time in village they cooked in a chuli or chulha . Food cooked on that fire tastes so different and smells different too. And when you come outside your own country again you have to develope a new taste to get aclamatised to the new place. I miss my mother (Maa) ,and her kitchen. Anyway here goes the recipe for the Anda Bhaja.

Ingredients:

2 big Red Onions

4 Eggs

1-2 Green Chillies( As per your taste)

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

2tbsp Oil

Salt

Preparation:

       Cut the onion into thin small slices. Break and beat the egg in a bowl . Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion till its transluscent,add the green chillies and stir for 2 mins more. Now add on the beaten egg slowly stirring the mixture properly . Add the turmeric powder ,salt to it. On a slow flame fry it nicely till its gloden in colour.For a taste enhancement you can add bell pepper or capsicum( green,red and yellow). It gives a better colour and taste. The smell of this dish is mouth watering by itself. Enjoy and let me know.

Chitou Pitha

                             This pitha is offered to Lord Jagannath in Puja on Chitalagi Amabasya (also known as Chitau Amabasya).

 Ingredients:

500 gm rice (chaula)
1 coconut (nadia)
1 cup milk (dudha)
Salt to taste (luna)

Method:

Soak the rice in water for about 2 to 3 hours. Grate the coconut. Wash the rice properly and then add milk and coconut to it. Grind the mixture of rice , milk and grated coconut to form a batter. Add cardamom powder and salt to it and thoroughly whip the same. Then keep the batter aside for 2 hours. Pre-heat the frying pan with ½ tea-spoon ghee. After the pan is heated put 2 table-spoon of batter and spread to give it the shape of a pancake. Cover the lead. Put the pan on low flame for about 2 minutes. Thereafter open the lid and take out delicious Chitau Pitha. This way you may prepare the pithas one after another, and serve hot soon after preparing the same .It can be eaten with hot milk with sugar,  aloo dum or ghuguni. Enjoy folks,Thanx Susovan for sharing such a yummy, typical Odia dish with us.
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Thanks & Regards:
SUSOVAN SARKAR

Ratha Yatra At Baripada

 The Supreme Personality Of Godhead....Jagannath Swami..Nayan Patha Gami... Bhava Tume

            Baripada Ratha Yatra second only to Puri.

   The Famous M.P.C College, Which was once the Royal Palace of The Kings of Mayurbhanj

   The only Place ,where only women pulls the chariot of Maa Subhadra.

                                  Chariot Pulling In Progress.

Pakudi /Vegetable Pakoda.

Come rainy or winter season and we want some hot pakudi  and tea to go with the evening khatti. Have you ever tried eating pakudi with mudhi.......if no then i will recomend you try it once. And if you are in my group then who will know better then me about the taste nd fun about it.

                       In some parts of Odisa we eat pakudi with Pakhal bhata ,If you have never tried it i will suggest you to try this once . It tastes awesome.Pakudi can be eaten with a little bit of chat masala sprinkled over it , or with hot n sweet tomato sauce, or mint coriander chutney. It goes well in breakfast too. You can  eat Maharastra Bhaji Pav by applying some green chutney to two slices of bread and keeping pakudis in between. So here goes the recipe for this yummy starter.

Ingredients:

1/2 Potato

1 big Onion
1 cup Spinach ,chopped
1/2 cup Bell pepper / Capsicum
1/2 cup Cabbage
Few florets of Cauliflower,chopped
1 inch Ginger grated or finely crushed
1-2 Green Chillies (as per taste)
1 sprig of Curry leaves.
2 cups of Besan /Gram Flour
1/2 tsp Carom seeds /Ajwain
1 tsp Kasoori methi
1 pinch of Sodium Bicarbonate
Salt
Oil to deep Fry.

Preparation:
  Chop all the vegetables into thin long slices. In a deep mixing bowl mix all ingredients leaving the Oil for deep frying. I will suggest you to put water in it after you dry mix all the stuff,so that you have an idea how much water u need to make the dough.Add water to it,make sure it should not be runny. Leave it for 10 -15 mins so that everything will mix well and the flavour is absorbed. In a deep frying pan or kadai heat oil.Drop small amount of dough to the oil carefully . Fry the pakudis till it s golden brown in colour and crispy. Try to make thin and long shapes so that it will be well cooked and look beautiful. Sprinkle with chat masala and serve hot. A perfect recipe for any evening chat and catching up with friends n family.

Rohi Machha Jhola.

A typical Oriya meal is served of Rice and one or two gravy and some fried vegetables. The gravy or jhola mainly made of mustard , khuskhus or (posta), cumin seeds, coriander seeds, onion ,garlic and ginger. Fish Curry in Odisa is prepared basically by using mustard and khuskhus. There are three ways to prepare the fish. One is with gravy, second one is a semi liquid or dry version,and the 3rd one is just deep fried. All the three types are delicious though. This time i prepared a gravy, so here goes the preparation for that.

Ingredients:-
500 gm Fresh water Fish (i took Rohu /Rohi)
2 tbsp Mustard seeds (soaked for 1hr)
1 tbsp Posta / Poppy seeds /Khuskhus( soaked in hot water for 1 hr)
1 medium sized Onion( sliced )

1 Big Tomato( sliced finely)

1 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Green chillies
Oil for deep frying
Cilantro leaves to garnish
salt

How I Made It:-
  
       Wash the fish throughly . Marinate with salt and turmeric powder. In a frying pan fry the fish on both sides. Make a fine paste of mustard , posta ,green chillies with 1/2 tsp of salt. In a pan take 3 tsp oil, fry the onions till its light brown in color ,add the tomatoes ,turmeric powder stir well and cover and cook it till it is soft. Mix the mustard paste with 1cup of water and add on to the tomato gravy. Mix well and let it to be cooked for a while.(Never fry the mustard paste dry, as it gives a bitter taste to the gravy). Add 2 cups of water to the gravy( you can add water according to your gravy thickness you want). When the water  starts boiling  add the fried fish pieces into it,cover the lid and let it boil it for another 5 mins. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Rice.

Sooji Upama

  
Ingredients:

2 Cups Sooji / Rava
1 Onion finely Chopped
1 Cup chopped Vegetable (carrots,beans , patatoes, corn)
1" Ginger Slice (finely crushed or grated)
1 Sprig Curry Leaves
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds.
2 tbsp Lemon Juice.
1 Pinch Asafoetida
1Tbsp  Oil
Salt

How i made it:-

            Dry roast the sooji in a pan, till its turn into light brown. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside. Heat oil in the same pan and add asafoetida,urad dal, curry leaves,and mustard to it. When the dal turns golden brown and mustard seed starts to splutter , add the onions. Fry it till its translucent ,add on the ginger stir it for a while , now add the vegetables ,stir well. Put 3 cups of water and cover the pan till the vegetables are cooked. Now add the roasted rava to it slowly stirring it to prevent forming lumps. Add salt and continue stirring. Cook it for another 5 mins. Add the lime juice to the Upma. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
Beautiful and yummy Upma is ready for eating.

Lau Muga Dali Dalma.

Ingredients:

muga dali/ moonga dal - 3 palm full

2 cups diced long gourd / lau

1 medium sized tomato diced

 1medium sized onion cut into slices.

1 tsp jeera /cumin seeds

1-2 dry red chili.

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp oil / ghee.

salt.

Preparation:

      Take a deep pan, lightly roast the moong dal in it, till you get the nice aroma of muga dali.Take out from the flame and keep aside. In a pressure cooker put the lightly roasted moong dal, the diced long gourd, tomato pieces, turmeric and salt. Add on sufficient water required to cook the dal. Bring on medium flame to 2 whistles, till the dal is cooked. let it cool down.

Put a deep pan on high flame. Pour the oil or ghee to the pan, add the red chili, cumin seeds when starts to splutter add the sliced onion and stir it. Fry it  till the onion is golden in colour, add the boiled dal to it. You can add on some water to adjust the thickness of the dal. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve hot with steamed rice, roti or paratha. Nice and yummy.

Enjoy folks.

       

Puri Aloo kasha And khiri.

                      Puri and aloo dum with kheer is my daughters favourite food. She will ask it for days after she had it once. I remember while during any puja or festival this particular food is cooked in many homes in Odisa. Some time  the "Aloo kasha or aloo dum" is cooked without onion and garlic for the occasion. When we were kids it was the yummiest  food for many of us. Nothing can beat this mouth watering delicious dish for a morning breakfast or snacks. So here goes the recipe for the simple yet delicious recipe .

Puri:
ingredients:
serves 2-3
2 cups atta or whole wheat flour.
1/2 tsp ajawin / carom seeds.
 1/2 tsp salt.
oil for deep frying.


preparation:

     In a deep bowl mix all the ingredients. Mix it well to make a firm dough ,just like the regular roti dough.Make small balls out of the dough. With a rolling pin roll it into small rotis , occasionaly using a little oil to help it into the rolling process. Put a kadai or deep pan on flame for frying the puris. Pour oil int  the pan. wait till its smoking hot. now carefully fry the puris on both sides till its golden and puffed.
drain it into plate lined with paper towels to absorb the extra oil. your puris are ready to be served hot.

Aloo kasha:
ingredients:
4-5 big potatoes.
2 big onins cut into thin slices.
6-7 garlic cloves.
1 inch ginger slice.(crush the ginger and garlic together to make a paste)
1 big tomato, cut into slices.
1 -2 tsp kitchen king powder.
1 tsp garam masala powder.
1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
2 tbsp oil( I used mustard oil, but you can make it with any vegetable oil or olive oil).
whole garam masalas (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom)
Salt
Cilantro leaves for garnishing.

Preparation:
      Pressure cook the potatoes , after it is cool down , peel them and cut into cubes. Heat the oil in a deep pan.Add on the whole garam masalas .Fry the sliced onions till golden brown , stir in the ginger garlic paste , mix well and stir it for another 2-3 mins. Add on the  tomato slices, the garam masala powder, the kitchen king, turmeric and salt. Cook till the masala leaves a nice aroma and the raw smell disappears. Stir in the cubed potatoes and cook in a low flame till 10-15 mins. You may add a little water to it.Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with puri or paratha. (you can add green chillies or chili powder to it while cooking as per your taste).

Kheeri or Kheer:
ingredients:
1 ltr whole milk( you can use the skimmed milk)
1 small cup basmati rice.
250 gm sugar( as per your taste)
2 cardamoms.
1 bay leaf.
(cashew and raisins optional)


Preparation:
  Soak the rice for 30 mins in water. Boil the milk with the soaked rice , bay leaf, cardamoms in a medium flame. Stir it occasionally to prevent burning. Cook it till the rice is soft and you get a thick consistency . Add on the sugar and stir it well. Cooking time may take 45mins to 1 hr. Let it cool down before you serve. Serve it chilled or cold it tastes awesome both way.

Enjoy Folks!

Masala Machha Bhaja.

                  I learned cooking this dish from my grandmom-in -law. She is an amazing cook. I relish her foods.  I tried this delicious fish fry and it came out to be too good. You can serve it as a starter to lunch or dinner or it can be eaten with rice or famous odia "pakhala".

ingredients:-
 4-5 slices of rohu fish (rohi machha).
1 medium onion cut into cubes.
2-3 cloves of garlic.
1/2 inch ginger slice.
1 tbsp besan / gram flour.
1tsp turmeric powder.
1 tsp chilli powder.
Oil for frying.
(I took mustard oil but you can take any cooking oil. )
Preparation:-
     Make a fine paste of the onion cubes, garlic and ginger in a food processor or grinder. Don't add water into it as the recipe require it to be dry. Clean and wash the fish. In a bowl take the fish ,put the onion ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and besan or gram flour. Mix it well so that the masala will coat the fish slices.
         Put  a frying pan on flame. Add oil for frying. When the oil is smoking hot , sprinkle some salt in it to prevent spluttering of oil later on. Now fry the masala coated fish till its cooked throughly on a medium flame. Serve it with onion slices and lemon wedges. Nice and yummy traditional Odia dish is ready to eat.
Enjoy !

Gupchup or PaniPuri.

               Gupchup is very famous street food in Odisa. During our school and college days ,lunch or dinner used to be skipped  for this mouth watering snacks. After spending some quality years in Maharastra , my taste for gupchup is  now a mix of both the states flavour.  Here goes the recipe for the delicious gupchup from my kitchen.
Gupchup:




ingredients:
2 packet puris(available in any indian stores)
for the masala fill:
2 cups dried peas or chhole(garbanzo beans).
2 big potatoes.
for the pani
1 bunch mint leaves.
1 cup coriander leaves.
4-5 green chilli.(you can add more if u like)
1 tsp jalzeera powder.
1/2 tsp garam masala powder.
2-3 ambula( you can use tamarind as a substitute to the ambula. in that case take a small lemon size ball of tamarind. Soak in water for 4-5 hrs)
1 medium size onion finally chopped.
 2-3 green chilles cut into small pieces.
1 cup sev or bhujiya.
cilantro leaves finally chopped.


Preparation:-
             Soak the peas or chhole(as per your preference) for  4-5 hrs. Wash the potatoes cut into half's and pressure cook with the peas so that both r boiled but not over cooked.add on a little salt while pressure cooking .let it cool, peel the potatoes , take a knife and cut into small chunks, you can smash them if you like it that way.  Add the cooked peas or chhole, add on salt garam masala . Mix well and keep aside.
        Now we will make the pani for the gupchup. Grind the coriander leaves, mint leaves and green chillies in a mixier, with adding a ittlle water when required.  Make it to a fine paste. Take the soaked tamarind or ambula, squeeze it and mix it properly, add on more water(3-4 cups), take out the stones of ambula or the tamarind remnants  after taking out the juice. Add the green leafy paste to the water, jalzeera powder, salt. It tastes good if u chill it for some time. Or you can add crushed ice to it while eating.
      To serve first set up all the ingredients  puris, masala filling, bhujiya, sliced onion, green chillies , chopped cilantro leaves, and the pani  on a table within easy reach of everyone. Give small bowls to everyone you are serving . Take a puri , fill with a little aloo peas stuffing, onion, cilantro, bhujiya and lastly fill it with the pani and let it go in one gulp. Its really fun to eat this with friends.
    
    ( I  prefer  buying the puris, but if you want to make them in home too, u can do it by just going thru the following steps.
       take 500 gm semolina flour, 2 tbsp butter or oil, salt and adequate oil for deep frying.
mix the semolina flour , salt, and butter together.  Now add a little water time to time to make a smooth dough. cover the dough for 15 mins with a damp cloth. After 15 -20 mins divide the dough into equal parts and with the help of a rolling pin roll the dough, take a circullar cookie cutter(1/4'') and cut into small circles. Heat the oil in a deep pan and deep fry a few  small circles in the pan at a time. fry like you make puris. drain and keep on paper towels. You can store these for couple of days.)

"DALMA"The most delicious and famous of all odia recipe.

          Hey folks  sitting in a home with snow covered surrounding, when the mind flies thousand miles in a second( no mind fare for this…thanx to the govt.!) to my home, I just find myself sitting in my mothers kitchen and having some all time great foods. Isnt it true, we miss home when we miss the foods cooked there, isnt any good memory is associated with good food ? I know its true and every single mom is a great cook for their kids. and when this kids grown up to be big boys or gals,  moms kitchen means something more to them .
                       This recipe is from my mothers kitchen. She is an amazing cook. I learned to cook this odisha famous dish from her. When the aroma of this beautiful dish fills the home, my dil goes uuummm…..

DALMA:

ingredients:


   Tuvar dal/ arhar dal/harada dali -  3 palm full
   Chana dal - 2 palm full.
   Moong dal - 1 palm full.
   Ginger - 2 inch long.
  1 cup grated coconut.
  1 cup each of diced raw plantain(kancha kadali), raw papaya, radish, pumpkin, arbi(taro or      saru),spinach, tomato.(it will be great if u can get khamba aloo or mati alu (true yam).
 cilantro leaves finally chopped.
 1tbsp ghee.
 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds.
 5-6 dry red chilli.
 2 tbsp whole cumin seeds.
 1/2tsp turmeric powder.
 Salt.
(Take a fry pan, roast the whole cumin seeds and4-5 dry red chillies. Remove from heat and let it cool. After it cools properly , grind it in a mixture grinder to get the delicious roasted cumin and red chilli powder.  It can be added to any odia curry to enhance the flavour.)

 Preparation:
                      Take adequate amount of water in a pressure cooker, so that you can cook the dalma with it. Crush the ginger in a pastel. Put the pressure cooker on flame. Add the crushed ginger to it. Let it boil for few minutes. Mix all the dals in a bowl,wash it well and add that to the boiling ginger water in the pressure cooker. Let it boil for 4-5 mins. Add on the vegetables to that. Put salt and turmeric powder and cover the lid. Let it be cooked till 2 whistles in a medium flame.(everything should be cooked properly). Wait till the pressure goes off. Open the lid and stir it to see the consistency. Just don't make it very watery, it should be a bit thick.
               Take a deep pan on flame. Add on fenugreek seeds and 1-2 dry red chillies. Wait till you can smell the beautiful aroma of the methi seeds, add the ghee now. Stir it for 1 min, and finally add the boiled dalma to it. Be careful while giving this tadka as it can spill. Mix the grated coconut with it. garnish with cilantro leaves and serve it with hot rice with lemon and ghee. It goes well with tomato khatta and any bhaja. You can try it with paratha too. yumm , nutritious protein rich food is ready to be eaten.
  happy cooking friends !  

ILISHI MACHHA.

    There is a saying in Odia "Chakiri kariba polici, machha khaiba ilishi". Ilishi machha is known to be the king of fish in Odisa. The ilishi lives in sea and travels 50-100 kms to the river for spawning, where its generally caught. The taste is very different from the  taste of other fishes. As it is considered to be a very oily fish, a little oil is required while cooking. In my home my father used to cook this with a lot of green chillies. The final outcome from the kitchen looked so beautiful and tempting that you will be hungry with having a look on it. And the funny thing about this fish is the aroma tells for itself. I like to prepare ilishi this way by steaming it with  mustard paste and coconut.

ILISHI SORISHA BATA:


ingredients:
4-5 pieces of ilishi
1 tbsp mustard seeds.
vinegar to soak the mustard seeds.
3-4 green chillies.
1 tbsp garted coconut.
2 tsp mustard oil,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
chopped cilantro leaves.

Preparation:
      Soak the mustard seeds with vinegar to reduce the pungent taste. Soak it for 1-2 hours. In a food processor make a paste of the mustard seeds, green chilles, half the grated coconut and a little salt. make a fine paste with adding a little water as required. Take a bowl, smear some oil to grease it. In a bowl mix the mustard paste, mustard oil, the remaining grated coconut, turmeric powder, salt properly. Put the fishes into the previously greased bowl and smear on the mustard mix.  Cover the pan with an aluminium foil and let it be cooked in a microwave for 10 - 12 mins. After its cooked and cooled garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with steamed rice. Add on green chillies to enhance the taste. Just be careful while eating as it is full with tiny thin bones. Enjoy.

Lullabies and Stories.

            

           There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter,                    the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.  ~         Elizabeth Lawrence   
                        
         Lullabies are often sung by parents or grandparents or the care takers to the children to calm them, to make them sleep or simply spending time with them.Music helps us with memory with interpreting emotion,language and may makes us effective communicators.

            When my daughter was a newborn, I dont know what kind of activities to do with her. Some how I remember  my mother sung bedtime songs or lullabies to her .One by one she will sing it for hours. The soothing lyrics of the songs,her calming voice made my daughter to sleep,or calm down. somehow I remember my childhood stories of odia folk tales, stories of the epic "Ramayan" or the "Mahabharat". I learnt some songs from my mother and later on my daughter started enjoying it, and soon it became a bedtime ritual for her.  We all have some or few treasure moments of our childhood to cherish. When we go down the memory lane and think about the moments and time, about our childhood, it gives us immense happiness.
               

                   I will like to pen down few lines of one lullaby, I have heard from my mother.

             "Atika doati dhoi thoili, Nigidi padila ghia,
               tubai lo...
              Ama bapa nkara bahuta jhia,Dada nku gotia dia
               tubai lo...
              Dada nahi nahi kale,
                tubai lo..
               Khudi nka manare kapat thila,Daria ku peli dele,
                 tubai lo..
              Daria pani ta huku huku,Kie neigala jai phula ku,
              Tala mala raija ku… 
                  tubai lo...
              Tala maluani pani kangaluni, Hasta re kholanti chua,
                 tubai lo… 
               kana mala dei hengula diaan, Neigale jhankadia
               Jhankada pokhari kau
               tubai lo….
               ame dui bhauni puchi khelutilu, Jhuri maruthile bohu.
               tubai lo…..
              Gobar gadia poka, tubai lo…
              Ame dui bhauni puchi kheluthilu, jhuri maruthile loka.
               tubai lo..
              Tota charipata buli aasili,Amba nahi amba chana
              bhainka gharaku anei deli , padichhi phula bichhana.
              tubai lo…
              Phula bichhanara jari, tubai lo..
              kaha sange bhai karichha kali , srimukha jauchhi jali
               Nai separi ku anei deli,Kumbhir galuchhi matti
               tubai lo..
              Kumbhir nuhe se amari bhai,Bhanguchhanti danta kathi."
             Bangi dhana kie kuti neichhi, batare padichhi chashu
             tubai lo….
             gaan bohu mane hulahuli dia, mo dhana bedire basu..
  
                               And it goes on and on. I remembered times listening to stories told by my mother,one of my uncle(who used to visit us after his daily shift of work), and one of my friend. During my upper primary years of school, daily we walked to school , and it took us some 30 minute on our feet to reach the school.  Near to my house lived a girl "pratima". Pratima was a very good story teller .She knew many stories about the kings and queens. On the way to school  she told me many stories. And with that story our time flies and we reached our school . I remember one story my father told us years back. It was about a soldier and 3 witches. How the soldier fought with the witches , acquired all the wealth and married the princess with the help of a"tinder box".
                                Stories are a way to keep children's occupied. During my high school days , my mother kept a big brass plate or "thali" to feed us all together , before we are off to the school. She will bring  the rice, dal, sabji in that big plate for  us, and start telling a story from "Mahabharat" or "Ramayan". We were so much engrossed in that story that hardly we noticed what we are eating and how we are eating. She will accomplish her job without much effort and soon our stomach s are filled too. There goes some old song I heard from my mother.

 "Asa re asa para jodika,
  Ama pindha re basa,
Khaibaku debi tumaku, Nadia ra rasa,
Pibaku debi tumaku, Mahanadi ra pani,
Soibaku debi tumaku, Ratna khata ani."


"Bai chadhei re bai chadhei, To maa jaichhi gai charei,
Gai ru aaniba pachila bela,  Taku khai tote kariba gela,
Bai chadhei re bai chadhei, To maa jaichhi daria pari,
Daria pari re suna naara, Maa mora patarani tahara.
Bada hele jiba daria deiin,Sanga hoi maa sathire muhin.
To pua mo jhia kariba baha, Bai chadheire kheiliba aa.


        I remember some of the songs from "Manabodha Chautisha". I love the way it starts wit the Odia alphabets "KA" "KHA"  etc .


"Kamal lochana srihari, Karena sankha chakradhari
Khaga asane khagapati, Khatanti laxmi saraswati.


Specially I love it when I listen my mother doing puja and reciting all the mantaras.

Miss you Maa, Miss my home.






            




                  

        

Rasogolla

                    As the name says "Rasogolla" or the ball in syrup, is a very very popular sweet dish in Odisa.None of our festival or ceremony goes without this "soft and sweet cheese ball in syrup". And we Odia people are crazy about this speciality of Orissa. I am sure of this fact also that any non oriya person also fall in love with this Rasagolla, after eating it once. Somehow the preparation is different outside Orissa. Either it will be less sweet or chewy or spongy kind . When the name of Rasogolla comes into mind , how can a Odia forget the famous "Pahala Rasogolla". The name itself brings water into mouth. When you live outside Orissa and you look forward to a trip to the Land of LORD JAGANNATH, you will definitely have plans to go and gulp down this heavenly thing.

                    Its an age old tradition in puri Jagannath temple offering Rasogolla to Goddess Laxmi  by the Lord of the Universe ,while coming back to the temple after the chariot festival in order to please her for being ignored. Its called the "Niladri Vijay" .

                     While trying my hands in cooking, somehow I just passed making rasagolla. First experiment result was "ok" kind, second time it was "good" but can be improved kind. And it was "mind blowing" after that. So I will say one thing just keep on trying this sweet savory dish , and you will be more then happy with the result. So here goes the recipe for "Rasagolla" from  my kitchen for all of you who loves this dish.

Rasogolla:

Ingredients:
      1 ltr whole milk.
      1 tsp all purpose flour (maida).
       2 big lemons, cut into halves.
       2 cups sugar.
       2 cups water.
       1tsp rose essence.
       2 cardamom finally  powered.

Preparation:
           Heat milk in a deep pan , stir it and bring it to boil in a medium flame. When starts boiling properly, squeeze on the lemons. Stir it well. The milk will start curdling.  When the water separates from the cheese or chhena , switch off the gas and cover the pan for 5 mins.  With the help of a strainer, strain the chhena from the water, now tie it in a piece of muslin cloth , put some weight on it so that the water from the chhena will be drained. It may take 2-3 hrs or more, if the quantity of chhena is more.

      Get a wooden board or a container where u can knead the chhena. Add the flour , knead it till its smooth and creamy. The quality of rasogolla depends upon  the kneading. So it is the most time consuming thing in this whole preparation. Put small amount of cardamom powder( less then a pinch) in the center of the chhena balls. If you want the Rasogolla  s colour to be light brownish, u can caramalized the sugar in a small bowl and later on when its cools off, u can put small pieces inside every chhena balls center.

        Take a pressure cooker, pour 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water into it.( you can use brown sugar, and if you want u can reduce the sweetness by adding less sugar, here I have used brown sugar to make this Rasogollas) . Add on the rose essence. Put the chhena balls into the cold water mix.  Make sure the water is enough for the cooking. Pressure cook the balls in low flame till 2 whistles. Usually after 30-45 mins the rasogolla s are done . Leave it to cool. After its cools off, serve hot .When serving make sure to warm it in a microwave for 15 seconds.

                                  Soft and delicious Rasogolla s are ready. enjoy guys.


    



                    
   

Simeyi Upma(Vermecelli upma)

                   Simeyi or Vermicelli is made from hard wheat semolina. Its healthy and tasty in any kind preparation.Be it Kheer, Pulav, Upma . After getting sensitive to sugar, I switched myself to cooking this beautiful and tasty dish Simeyi Upma. I remember eating the regular sooji  upma in many places, but the one I ate at "Gajanana Restaurant " is the best one. Their they put vermicelli into the sooji  upma. While eating the upma , the strands of vermicelli comes in view. It looks attractive and tastes awsome. Feeling homesick and nostalgic remembering  delicious food.
Home sweet home , there is no place like home. Your home is there, where your heart is.


Simeyi Upma:-

Ingredients:


2 cups vermicelli or simeyi.
4 cups of water.
2tbsp oil.
11/2 cup chopped vegetables( potato, carrot, beans, peas)
1 tomato diced into cubes.
2 onion, thinly sliced.
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste.
1/2 tsp cumin powder.
1 tsp coriander powder.
whole garam masalas( clove, bay leaf, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom).
 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 bunch mint leaves chopped.
1-2 green chillies, silted.
salt .

Preparation:

                  Take a deep pan on flame. Roast the vermicelli slightly , pour water in it.  Add on 4-5 drops of oil to the boiling vermicelli(that way it wont stick to each other). When cooked , take it out, strain it with a strainer and keep aside.

Put the  pan on flame again. Pour oil , add the garam masalas, green chili and mint leaves, saute it for 1 min then add the onion slices. Fry till the onion changes its colour to translucent. Add the chopped vegetables, fry it for 3-4 mins. Add the tomato slices, cook it for 3-4 mins, then add the ginger garlic paste. Stir it properly so that it will mix with the vegetables, add the cumin powder and coriander powder. Let the vegetables to be cooked by stirring it occasionally  and covering it. After  the vegetables are done, add on the boiled vermicelli or simeyi. Put salt as per your taste, garnish with the chopped cilantro.
(You can put 1 tsp pepper powder  to enhance the taste) .

Now the beautiful and tasty Simeyi Upma is ready to be served. Enjoy with your chai cuppa !

Nadia Pura Idli(Coconut Stuffed Sweet Idli).

          
                  Idli is a south Indian steamed rice cake, its an ideal breakfast. Made of rice and urad dal, making idli is not difficult. In Odia households we  prepare many steamed rice and urad dal cakes like this. Some of are made of steaming only the rice batter also. Sijha manda, Enduri pitha, Muaan pitha and Idli are named to be among them. We prepare idli by steaming it as it is made in south india, and sometime we do steam it with the sweet coconut stuffing. In Odisa idli is served with ghuguni, dalma or hot milk with sugar.
Here goes the recipe of a favourite dish from my kitchen.

Nadia Pura idli:-


Ingredients:


2 cups rice
1 cup urad dal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds.
Pinch of Baking soda.
1 tsp oil.
11/2 cup of grated coconut.
I cup brown sugar.
2 cardamoms,powdered

Preparation:

            Soak urad dal , rice and fenugreek seeds in enough water for 6-8 hours. Grind the mix to a thick consistency adding water in between. Add the salt and baking soda to the batter, stir it. Keep the mixture in a warm place overnight to ferment .
Put a pan on flame. Pour the grated coconut and brown sugar into the pan. Fry it till the brown sugar melts and coats the coconut. Add the cardamom powder into the coconut mixture. Let it cool.

Grease the idli plate with oil. Pour the batter into the idli plates(3/4th), place a spoonful of coconut mixture on top of it.  Now cover it with another spoonful of batter. Steam it in a idli cooker or rice cooker for 10 mins. Let it cool for sometime, take it out with a butter knife. Serve hot with ghuguni, dalma , sambar or with milk n sugar.

Awesome! enjoy guys.

Ghuguni

                  

                           Ghuguni is a tasty , spicy  curry of dried peas. I remember eating the yummiest bara and ghuguni in kalamandir market , Bhubaneswar. There it served with a dash of sliced onion and some black salt on it. .Ghuguni can be eaten with rotis or parathas as well. It can be served as a evening snacks . I love to eat this ghuguni with mudhi.  Rich with protein, this curry can be eaten like a chat too.


Ghuguni:

Ingredients:-

2 cup dried peas.
1  large  tomato diced
1   large onion,thinly chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, cut into small pieces and crushed.
1  bay leaf / teja patra.
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera.
1 tbsp vegetable oil.
1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
1/2 tsp chili powder.
2 tsp MTR sambar powder.
Salt as required.
( if you like adding potatoes, u can pressure cook them with the peas and add them to the curry. somehow I like it without potatoes.)
Preparation:-

          Soak the dry yellow peas  in water for 6-7 hours. Pressure cook the peas , till its cooked( do not over cook). Heat oil in a deep pan,add cumin seeds and bay leaf.  Add on the onion slices, fry it till the onion turns golden brown, add the crushed garlic, stir till 2-3 minutes.( I like the taste of garlic pieces while eating the ghuguni) .Add the diced tomatoes , turmeric powder, chili powder. Fry till the oil comes out now add on the MTR sambar  powder,mix it well and leave to cook for another 3-4 mins in a medium flame. Add salt as per taste.You can smell a nice aroma coming out of the masala. lastly add the boiled peas. let it simmer for another 10 mins. if required add some water. remove from flame and garnish with cilantro leaves,onion slices and a dash of lemon juice. Serve hot with parathas, roti, nan , puris , chakuli pitha or last but not the least biri bara and singada(samosa).   Yummm…

 One hot cup of ginger tea with this mouth watering dish. Bliss!

Potatoes and Delicacies.

      Potato or aloo is a favourite vegetable for we Odia people. As I have written before we cannot live without it. A simple meal in any Odia house hold is rice , dal and aloo .In every curry we add potatoes. Somehow for the carbohydrate content , many health conscious  families trying to avoid it these days. But some dishes are just unavoidable for their taste. Here am writing the recipe for Aloo Posta. I like it cooking this way. Hope you will enjoy it too. If you want to make it with janhi or ridge gourd( Chinese Okra), you can cut that into small cubes and add to the potatoes while frying,and then you can add the posta paste.

 Aloo posta.

Ingredients:-

4 medium sized potato.

1 large onion.

5-6 garlic cloves.

2-3 tbsp khus khus / posta / poppy seeds

1 tsp pancha phutana.

2-3 green chillies or dry red chillies.

1 pinch of turmeric powder.

1tbsp mustard oil /any cooking oil.

Salt as per taste.

(boil the khus khus for 2-3 mins in water,and keep it in that water for 10-15 mins.)

Preparation:-

           Wash and peel the potatoes, cut lengthwise into 1inch long pieces and keep in water to prevent from blackening. Cut the onion into thin slices . Strain the khuskhus (posta) in a tea strainer and make a paste of it adding a little water into it if the paste is too thick . Put a deep pan on flame. Pour the oil into it. Add pancha phutan,when begin to splutter add onion slices,green chillies and garlic pods into the oil. Fry till the onion is soft and translucent , add the potatoes ,fry till its half cooked. Add the khuskhus paste, turmeric powder and salt. (you can add a bit of more turmeric powder if u wants it to be look yellow, I prefer mine a bit whitish). Pour in 1 cup of water to the potatoes. Let it be cooked in a slow flame till its fully cooked. The mixture should be thick and the khuskhus paste should be sticking it to now. Remove from fire and serve it with rice,roti, parathas or mudhi (puffed rice).

Happy cooking Guys !

    

Aloo Bati Basa:

Ingredients:-

3-4 potatoes
2 tsp  khus khus paste.
2 tsp mustard powder(soaked in water).(You can make the paste by grinding  mustard seeds with water)
2 green chili .
1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
1 medium sized onion,thinly sliced.
2-3 garlic cloves ,crushed
1 medium sized tomato diced
1 tbsp mustard oil or any cooking oil.
Cilantro leaves to garnish.
salt.

Prepartion:-

                Wash and cut the potatoes lengthwise into thin slices. Take a deep pan  put the potatoes diced tomatoes, onion slices,  khuskhus paste, mustard paste, oil, green chiles, crushed garlic, turmeric powder,salt into it together. mix it well, add little water to cook the potatoes. Cook that mix for 10 -15 mins till the potatoes are cooked. Garnish it with cilantro leaves and you are all set. It can be eaten as a side dish to lunch or dinner.

Enjoy folks!

Spices inside Odia kitchen.

                       Masala is a  word that often used in Odia cuisine. It literally means a blend of several spices. local influence distinguishes curries from one region to another. So one can say that the characteristic of each curry relies entirely upon the herbs and spices that goes into it. A spice is a dried root, fruit, bark, seed or vegetative substance used in as a food additive for the purpose of flavoring the food.

                    Inside an odia kitchen you will find several spices or masalas. Jeera (cumin seeds), dhania (coriander seeds), sorisha (mustard seeds), pancha phutana (pancha phoran), methi (fenugreek seeds), pana mahuri (saunf, fennel), posta (khuskhus,poppy seeds), haladi (turmeric powder), sukhila lanka (dried red chilies), gota garam masala, garam masala gunda are named to be few of them. Pancha phutana is a mixture of five seeds which used in tempering dal , fries and curries. It consist of mustard , fenugreek, fennel, nigella or kalonji and cumin seeds. I have seen in my mother adding dry chilli parts to it , for a better taste. And mostly I love the taste and smell of fenugreek seed.  The compositions of garam masala differs regionally. Some common ingredients are  cloves(lavanga), pepper corns(gol maricha), bay leaves (teja patra), cinnamon (dalchini), green and black cardamom (aleicha), nutmeg (jai phala), star anise( chakra phool). In some places cumin and corainder seeds are also added to enhance the flavor.

                        Here goes the recipe of garam masala powder, what I use in my kitchen.

GARAM MASALA POWDER:

Ingredients:-

3 tbsp coriander seeds
3 tbsp cumin seeds.
20 green cardamoms
10 cinnamon sticks(1 inch long).
2 tbsp cloves.
10 blades mace.
10 black cardamom pods.
1/2 nutmeg.
1tbsp black peppercorns.
4 cinnamon leaves or bay leaves.
1 tbsp fennel seeds.

                     Heat a dry frying pan and all the spices. Stir them and shake the pan as they start to crackle.
when they smell roasted and aromatic remove the pan from heat and pour the spices onto a plate. Allow to cool.
           To grind the spices use a mortar and pestle or a spice mill or a clean coffee grinder.


Happy cooking friends.