Women Who Stare at Goat Meat…

…buy two pounds of it, come home, and make Mangsho'r Jhol.

The best thing to serve with Mangsho’r Jhol is plain white rice. I added some halved potatoes too to my jhol today.

A good Bengali usually eats his Mangsho’r Jhol with bhaat on a Sunday afternoon, and then nothing comes between him and his much-deserved siesta.

The recipe for Mangsho’r Jhol or Mutton Curry is here. Another classic combination which any Bengali will rave about is Mangsho and Mishti Pulao.

Have a good weekend.

They Call it the Indian Burger!

As predicted (and planned) by me, my Sunday went from being perfect to stunning.

First the lunch line up of the Vegetable Pulav accompanied by that cooling Cucumber Raita, and then some Bombay Bhel with a hot cup of chai, while gazing at the liquid precipitation outside.

Perfect.

Now the stunning part. Remember those leftover Pavs (buns) from the other day? They had INPIRATION writ large on them. So I made the Indian Burger for dinner. We call it Vada Pav.

Golden-fried balls of besan-laced potato. Bite into a Vada and you will find it bursting with the flavors of garlic, lemon, some heat from the green chilies, the unmistakable taste of curry leaves and fresh cilantro. While I was making the Vadas, I quickly whooshed in my blender the Coriander Chutney to go with my Vada Pav.

If you are looking to get inspired too, look around in your kitchen or fridge and see what you find.

Click here for the Vada Pav recipe.

Sunday Brunch ~ Chana Pindi & Puri

2 cups chick peas/ kabuli chana soaked overnight
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
1 large tomato cut into thick slices
4-5 green chilies sliced
½ inch julienned ginger
2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
MDH Chana masala
MDH Anardana powder
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
Ghee for cooking
2 tea bags
Salt

Boil the chick peas with ½ tsp salt and two tea bags until you can nicely squish a chick pea between you finger tips. Do not throw the water you have boiled the chick peas in.

You can trash the tea bags though! :-)

In a thick bottom pan, heat 2 tbsp ghee, add the chopped onions and salt and fry till golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté some more.

 

Now add the already boiled chick peas, without any liquid. Keep stirring it.

 

 

 

Add red chili powder, black pepper powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Keep frying the chick peas with all the spices adding little amounts of the liquid you saved from boiling.
Now add the MDH Chana Masala, Anardana powder and the garam masala. The chick peas by now would have got a nice, rich dark color.

 

In another pan, heat ghee and add cumin seeds, sliced tomatoes and sliced green chilies. Press the tomatoes with the bottom of a ladle to release juices from them.

Add this tomato mix to the chick peas. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5-6 mins.

 

 

 

For that last touch of finesse, garnish the Chana Pindi with sliced green chilies and julienned ginger.

 

 

Serve hot with Bhaturas or Puris with some sliced onions and pickle.

 

 

 

P.S. Though Chana Pindi is traditionally made with pomegranate seeds (Anaar Dana), but who cares for tradition (over convenience) when even the basic ingredients of Indian cooking are quite a find in phoren land! Hence the MDH Masala is a very good alternative, as that too has the pomegranate seeds. Surprisingly, this almost tastes like the Choley you get in Haldiram’s, maybe even better.

(This is an earlier note. I added Anardana powder to my Chana Pindi today and the taste pretty much remained the same, if not better!)

P.P.S. My vegetarian friends, I hope you are not complaining now.

Gee! I am blazing my own trail of culinary experiences…