Dussehra Special - Bengali Pyaaesh

Dussehra Special - Bengali Pyaaesh

Dussehra

It is celebrated on the tenth day of the bright half of the Hindu month of Ashwayuja or Ashwina, and is the grand culmination of the 10-day annual festival of Dussehra. This day marks the triumph of Lord Rama over Demon king Ravana. On this day, Rama killed Ravana.
It is also considered to be an auspicious day to begin new things in life. So come and let's celebrate Dussehra along with some delicious Bengali Pyaaesh.

BENGALI PYAAESH

Ingredients:

• milk - 1 litre
• basmati rice - 1 cup
• pure ghee - 2 tsp
• 1 piece - black cardamom
• 1 piece - bay leaves
• jaggery to taste

For Garnishing:

• kishmish/raisinsbroken cashew nuts

Method:

1. Boil the milk, stirring frequently, till it thickens. Remember to stir from bottom of the pan since milk burns very easily.
2. Saute rice in a vessel containing 2 tsp ghee, bay leaves & a piece of black cardamom for 2 mins.
3. Add the mixture to the milk. Don`t boil excessively.
4. Then add the jaggery.
5. When the jaggery is properly mixed, sprinkle kishmish and broken cashew.
6. Cool paayesh offer it to godess Durga and serve. :-)

Ganesh Festival Special Recipes!!

!! GANAPATI BAPPA MORAYA !!

Wishing all friends coming over to Anjali’s Kitchen a very Happy Ganesh Festival :-)

Dear All,
Thanks for your good wishes. Yes, the picture above is of the Ganpati idol at my place :-)
Ganesha Chaturthi, the great Ganesha festival, also known as 'Vinayak Chaturthi' is celebrated by Hindus around the world as the birthday of lord Ganesh.
On the day of the festival, Ganesh idol is placed on raised platforms in homes or in elaborately decorated outdoor tents for people to view and pay their homage. The guruji then invokes life into the ganesh idol by chanting of mantras. This ritual is called 'pranapratishhtha'.
After this the 'shhodashopachara' tribute is paid to Ganesha as follows:
Coconut, jaggery, 21 'Ukadiche Modaks' (rice flour preparation), 21 'durva' (trefoil) and red flowers are offered.
Throughout the ceremony, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda and Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted. So coming back to food here are some of the favorite dishes of Lord Ganesha:
Modak, the favorite food of Lord Ganesh, is an important offering without which the Ganesh festival is incomplete. :-) These are prepared in different ways - some are stuffed while others can be made from khava/mava.

1. Amba Modak: The khava modaks are just khava put in moulds and comes in various flavors like amba modak.
AMBA KHAVA MODAK (Mango Mawa Modak): http://anjaliskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/amba-khava-modak-mango-mawa-modak.html 2. Fried Modak: The stuffed ones are more popular and can be normal fried modaks or the steamed ukadiche modak.
Fried Modak: http://anjaliskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/08/ganesh-festival-special-modak.html 3. Ukdiche Modak is feast for Ganapati festival. Lord Ganesha’s favourite food… Majority of the households in Maharashtra make these beautifully shaped mouthwatering Modak during Ganesh festival.
Ukdiche Modak: http://anjaliskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/08/ukadiche-modak-steamed-modak.html

4. Sundal South Indian style Prasad for Ganpati. Healthy, wholesome, yummy and spicy festival specialty for those who are tired of eating just sweet stuff as prasad.
Sundal: http://anjaliskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/08/sundal.html

5.Vatli Dal is traditionally prepared as a farewell dish to Lord Ganesha, on the Visarjan Day (Anant Chaturdashi).
Vatli Dal: http://anjaliskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/vatli-dal.html

6. Spicy Dal is the specific Dal which we make as Prasad for Ganpati on occasion of Anant Chaturdashi/ Ganpati Visarjan.
Spicy Dal: http://anjaliskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/spicy-dal.html
May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon you all! May he remove all the obstacles that stand in your spiritual path! May He bestow on you all material prosperity as well as liberation!

APPLE JAM

APPLE JAM

This recipe is again shared by my mother in law with me in-fact she made it for me and my husband as I said she was staying for some days with us. :-)
Apple Jam tastes superb and it’s very quick and easy to make.
My hubby loves it so much that I need to increase the frequency of making it :-)

Preparation Time : 5 mins

Cooking Time : 5 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 Apples (Medium sized)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 cups Water
• 2 tsp Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

Method:
Normal cooking:

1. Peel and cut the apples into small pieces, cook in water until tender.
2. Add sugar and lemon juice and stir on a hot fire until jam sets when tested.

3. Cool and store refrigerated in air-tight container.
4. Serve after one day.
5. Rich amber colored jam with a lemon flavor makes yummy accompaniment to fresh bread, cakes and cookies for breakfast.

Microwave cooking:

1. Combine the apple, water (1 cup) and sugar in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from the microwave and add the lemon juice. Mix well and microwave on HIGH for 2½ minutes.
3. Cool and store refrigerated in an air-tight container.

TIPS:

1. You can add cinnamon powder (optional). I wanted the pure apple flavor so have not added it to this jam.
2. The color of the apple jam will change to rich amber color after one day.
3. Substitute the apples for mashed strawberries, pineapple, mango to make fresh fruit jam. Depend on the season you can try out different variations.
   
   

Gopalkala for Janmashtami

GOPALKALA

Janmashtami, birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated all over India. In Maharashtra, people make a human pyramid, the person on top breaks the earthen pot filled with curds. This is called Dahi Handi. On the occasion of Janmashtami, the devotees of Krishna prepare every favorite dish of the Lord. Then on the midnight of Janmashtami, these delicious dishes are offered to Lord Krishna in order to welcome him on the earth. These include varieties of sweets and dairy products. One of them is the luscious Gopalkala. Prepared from beaten rice, curd, ghee and cucumber, this salty recipe is generally prepared in every home where the festival of Janmashtami is observed. It is extremely easy to prepare and hardly take few minutes to be ready to serve.
Check out the recipe for this extremely nutritious and scrumptious dish. Ingredients

1 cup poha ( beaten rice) washed and drained

1/2 cup murmura ( puffed rice)

1/2 cup Lahiya (this is used during Laxmi Puja during Diwali)

1 cup grated Coconut (fresh)

1 chopped Cucumber

2 Green Chilies

1 tbsp Ghee

1 tsp Jeera

1/2 tsp grated Ginger

1 & 1/2 cup Curd

1/2 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

some finely cut coriander leaves

Method
1. Soak beaten rice for 10 minutes.
2. Take a big bowl and add soaked poha, lahiya, murmura, grated coconut, chopped cucumber. curd, sugar, salt and chopped corriander. Mix well.
3. Melt ghee in a small pan for the tempering and add the jeera, green chilies and grated ginger.
4. Pour over the above mixture. Mix well and serve.

Masala Bread!

Masala Bread

This is one of those “Easy to make” dishes for evening snacks!
Ingredients:

• 2 cups bengal gram flour (besan)
• Salt to tasteOil for deep frying
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Chopped Corriander

Method:
1. Make a smooth batter with the bengal gram flour, salt to taste, cumin seeds, corriander, red chili powder and turmeric powder.
2. Add a teaspoon of hot oil when making the batter.
3. Let the batter remain thick.
4. Dip bread in the batter and deep fry till golden brown in color.
5. Serve hot with chutney/ketchup and some salad :-)

Naral Wadi

Naral Wadi

[Coconut Wadi]

Naral Wadi is a typical Maharashtrian sweet dish. This preparation is made for Narali Poornima. My mother in law was here for Narali Poornima and her Naral wadi recipe is really great. Me and my husband loves the way she makes it so this time I tried her version and it turned out really great. :-)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Shredded coconut
• 1 cup milk
• 1 & ¼ cup Sugar
• Cardamom powder
• Saffron strands
• 5 drops yellow food color
• Few almonds for garnishing

Method:1. Add coconut, milk, saffron, food color and sugar in a thick bottom kadhai and cook it on medium heat. Stir it continuously.
2. Stir it till it forms a lump and slightly dry from the sides. The consistency is important. Remove from fire.
3. Add cardamom powder. Mix well.
4. Apply ghee to a plate and pour the coconut fudge in to a plate greased with little ghee and pat it evenly. Garnish it with grated almonds.
5. While it’s still hot, cut into diamond shaped pieces but do not remove from plate. Allow it to cool and set.6. It will come out unstuck from the plate easily when cooled down. Tip:

• While mixing it in Kadhai you can take out small portion of it on hand and roll it, from that you can check the consistency of the mixture.

Narali Bhaat! [Sweet Coconut Rice]

NARALI BHAAT

[Sweet Coconut Rice]

Narali Bhaat is a typical Maharashtrian preparation. Naral means coconut and bhaat is rice in Marathi. This preparation is made as a "naivedya" for Narali Poornima. It can be enjoyed almost as a dessert. Many times Indian festival meals includes a sweet rice dish and this one is particularly festive.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Basmati rice
• 1 1/2 cup jaggery, crushed
• 1 cup freshly coconut, grated
• Few cashews
• Few almonds
• Few golden raisins
• 4-5 strings of saffron
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 5 drops yellow food color
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 whole cardamoms
• 2 cups hot water

Method:

1. Wash and drain the rice half-an-hour before preparation.
2. Heat ghee in a pan and add the whole cardamoms, cloves, rice and sauté for two to three minutes.
3. Then add hot water, food color and cardamom powder.
4. Take another pan and add jaggery, coconut, cashew, raisins and saffron. Stir well till it mix with each other properly.
5. After the water has been almost absorbed from the rice, add the above mixture to it. Stir well. Cook on low flame until jaggery melts.
6. Cover the "Narli Bhaat" with a lid and cook for five minutes.
7. Serve hot by garnishing it with dryfruits. Smiley face innovative garnishing is suggested by my hubby :-)

Tips:

• Cook rice in open pot. Take Water double quantity of rice and stir it occasionally so that it will not become too sticky.
• Use fresh grated coconut so that the taste of coconut comes good while preparing the rice.