Rhea Dalal's articles Chingri Bhaape – Bengali Style Prawns Steamed in Mustard, Poppy Seed, and Coconut As my journey of exploration into Bengali cuisine continues I'm impressed again and again at the sheer simplicity of most of the recipes be they simple everyday dishes or quite often, dishes one would serve as a treat on a special day. The list of ingredients is frugal and the method quite simple. In fact […] July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked How to Make Kokum Sharbat Home made foods do taste better and once in a way something totally random really rubs that fact in. I, like a zillion other people, had been enjoying kokum sharbat out of a mini jerry can and had taken it for granted that it was quite nice. It was. And then I had home made […] May 20, 2018May 20, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Aloo diye Laal Shaak – Red Amaranth Greens with Potatoes I always ignored the fresh greens section at the veggie shop frankly because I'm a lazy cook and the thought of spending endless minutes picking out a ton of leaves in prep put me off. But then with age comes patience (maybe) and better sense (bigger maybe!) and I bought a bunch of laal shaak […] May 19, 2018May 19, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Edible Flowers from the Bengali Kitchen Over the last few years my trips to Kolkata were quite frequent and in contrast to the standard visits in summer, I happened to be in Kolkata in the winters too. Moni's house is in a quiet lane in Selimpur and a variety of vendors come to the ‘goli' or lane calling out their wares. […] March 31, 2018March 31, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sukto with Jukti Phool Sukto is a lovely light stew of assorted vegetables with a hint of bitter. Flavoured with a bit of mustard and a hint of poppy paste, this stew also has milk in it and must be cooked very carefully. Though you can make sukto without the bitter element, many Bengalis believe that a classic sukto […] March 22, 2018March 22, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Mogri Aloo Subzi – Radish Pods and Potatoes Mogri, moogri, lila mogra, lila mogri, rat-tail radish, radish pod – just a few of the names I've encountered for this winter vegetable. Somehow I didn't notice it at my local veggie shop all these months till I chanced upon it yesterday. I duly bought some as in another couple of weeks it's going to […] March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Pui Chorchori – Malabar Spinach Stir Fry with Vegetables Chorchoris are light side dishes that liven up a meal and provide plenty of nutrition thanks to the myriad seasonal vegetables that go into them. The spicing is minimal, usually dried chilies and panch phoron, apart from the basic salt and turmeric though some recipes have cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic and even onions. As with […] February 5, 2018February 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Mangsho'r Jhol, Pound Cake, and Moni It's Moni's birthday today. The first one after her death and it feels strange. A year has gone by marking the first this and the first that after she's been gone and in a couple of weeks it will be her first death anniversary too. Yes, a year has passed as years inevitably do. And […] January 29, 2018January 29, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Green Garlic, Spring onion, Bacon, and Egg Tart Green garlic season is on and as it's one of the favourite ingredients for Parsis I've been seeing it very often in my kitchen. One dish that we made quite often is leela lasan (green garlic) ne leela kanda (spring onion) per eeda which is eggs steamed on a bed of the two greens with […] January 20, 2018January 20, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Kerala Spiced Prawn Fry A couple of weeks ago I made a spicy, coconut-y Kerala Pork Fry for a pop up. It was delicious and I was lucky to have found a good recipe and friends to approve and confirm that it would give me good results and authentic flavours. For that pork fry I'd made a batch of […] January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked I Eat Pulish'er Daal to Grow Up Fast! I was around seven or eight years old, on yet another summer vacation trip to Kolkata. On a warm afternoon I was at Khukhun Didin's house discussing the menu for the special feast she would cook for us, my brother and I, her very honoured guests. The shiny kansa dinner ware had been approved (at Lokhi […] January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Prawn Coconut Curry with Green Garlic and Lemon Zest It was one of those days when breakfast outside has been a sore disappointment and I was feeling irritable and in dire need of comfort. The hubby had a rare day off from work and wanted a nice lunch to wipe away the memories of a truly bad breakfast experience. As much as I wanted […] January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Lomba Kaata Alu'r Torkari ar Luchi – Bengali Style Long Cut Potatoes with Puris Sometimes breakfast demands to be elaborate. The usual toast and eggs or muesli simply don't make the cut and the heart demands something more. And then, if it's Kali Pujo, the demands are louder. Since I don't make luchis very often I decided Kali Pujo was a special enough occasion to put aside all thoughts […] October 19, 2017October 19, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Jaffna Mutton Curry After two trips to Sri Lanka it goes without saying that my pantry is well stocked with Sri Lankan spices! A few days ago as I looked through my collection of spice blends I found the stash from Sri Lanka and decided it was high time I started using them. The easiest and most appealing […] September 5, 2017September 5, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Chingri Bhaape – Bengali Style Prawns Steamed in Mustard, Poppy Seed, and Coconut As my journey of exploration into Bengali cuisine continues I'm impressed again and again at the sheer simplicity of most of the recipes be they simple everyday dishes or quite often, dishes one would serve as a treat on a special day. The list of ingredients is frugal and the method quite simple. In fact […] July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How to Make Kokum Sharbat Home made foods do taste better and once in a way something totally random really rubs that fact in. I, like a zillion other people, had been enjoying kokum sharbat out of a mini jerry can and had taken it for granted that it was quite nice. It was. And then I had home made […] May 20, 2018May 20, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Aloo diye Laal Shaak – Red Amaranth Greens with Potatoes I always ignored the fresh greens section at the veggie shop frankly because I'm a lazy cook and the thought of spending endless minutes picking out a ton of leaves in prep put me off. But then with age comes patience (maybe) and better sense (bigger maybe!) and I bought a bunch of laal shaak […] May 19, 2018May 19, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Edible Flowers from the Bengali Kitchen Over the last few years my trips to Kolkata were quite frequent and in contrast to the standard visits in summer, I happened to be in Kolkata in the winters too. Moni's house is in a quiet lane in Selimpur and a variety of vendors come to the ‘goli' or lane calling out their wares. […] March 31, 2018March 31, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sukto with Jukti Phool Sukto is a lovely light stew of assorted vegetables with a hint of bitter. Flavoured with a bit of mustard and a hint of poppy paste, this stew also has milk in it and must be cooked very carefully. Though you can make sukto without the bitter element, many Bengalis believe that a classic sukto […] March 22, 2018March 22, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Mogri Aloo Subzi – Radish Pods and Potatoes Mogri, moogri, lila mogra, lila mogri, rat-tail radish, radish pod – just a few of the names I've encountered for this winter vegetable. Somehow I didn't notice it at my local veggie shop all these months till I chanced upon it yesterday. I duly bought some as in another couple of weeks it's going to […] March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Pui Chorchori – Malabar Spinach Stir Fry with Vegetables Chorchoris are light side dishes that liven up a meal and provide plenty of nutrition thanks to the myriad seasonal vegetables that go into them. The spicing is minimal, usually dried chilies and panch phoron, apart from the basic salt and turmeric though some recipes have cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic and even onions. As with […] February 5, 2018February 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Mangsho'r Jhol, Pound Cake, and Moni It's Moni's birthday today. The first one after her death and it feels strange. A year has gone by marking the first this and the first that after she's been gone and in a couple of weeks it will be her first death anniversary too. Yes, a year has passed as years inevitably do. And […] January 29, 2018January 29, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Green Garlic, Spring onion, Bacon, and Egg Tart Green garlic season is on and as it's one of the favourite ingredients for Parsis I've been seeing it very often in my kitchen. One dish that we made quite often is leela lasan (green garlic) ne leela kanda (spring onion) per eeda which is eggs steamed on a bed of the two greens with […] January 20, 2018January 20, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Kerala Spiced Prawn Fry A couple of weeks ago I made a spicy, coconut-y Kerala Pork Fry for a pop up. It was delicious and I was lucky to have found a good recipe and friends to approve and confirm that it would give me good results and authentic flavours. For that pork fry I'd made a batch of […] January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
I Eat Pulish'er Daal to Grow Up Fast! I was around seven or eight years old, on yet another summer vacation trip to Kolkata. On a warm afternoon I was at Khukhun Didin's house discussing the menu for the special feast she would cook for us, my brother and I, her very honoured guests. The shiny kansa dinner ware had been approved (at Lokhi […] January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Prawn Coconut Curry with Green Garlic and Lemon Zest It was one of those days when breakfast outside has been a sore disappointment and I was feeling irritable and in dire need of comfort. The hubby had a rare day off from work and wanted a nice lunch to wipe away the memories of a truly bad breakfast experience. As much as I wanted […] January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lomba Kaata Alu'r Torkari ar Luchi – Bengali Style Long Cut Potatoes with Puris Sometimes breakfast demands to be elaborate. The usual toast and eggs or muesli simply don't make the cut and the heart demands something more. And then, if it's Kali Pujo, the demands are louder. Since I don't make luchis very often I decided Kali Pujo was a special enough occasion to put aside all thoughts […] October 19, 2017October 19, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Jaffna Mutton Curry After two trips to Sri Lanka it goes without saying that my pantry is well stocked with Sri Lankan spices! A few days ago as I looked through my collection of spice blends I found the stash from Sri Lanka and decided it was high time I started using them. The easiest and most appealing […] September 5, 2017September 5, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked