Gokul Pithe: Poush Sankranti special

Today is Poush Sankranti or Makar Sankranti in West Bengal which is the last day of the Bengali month Poush. The same time this day is celebrated in other states of India too. Like Bihu in Assam, Pongal in South India, Lohri in Punjab, Hadaga Festival in Maharastra Etc. Actually this is a harvest festival and different states call it in different names. But all over the India celebrate this harvest festival.

Sweet dish never makes me feel tired and for that today also I prepared some Poush Sankranti special sweet dish or Pithe. This sweet is a very old and authentic dish, I learnt the recipe from my mother. I can say my maa is an expert of making all kind of sweet dishes. The ingredients are normal like other PITHE but the taste is really out of the world.

Ingredients:

For stuffing or PUR

1.One large cup shredded fresh coconut.

2.One cup thick milk.

3.Two table spoon milk powder.

4.Half cup sugar.

5.One freshly crushed cardamom.

For Outer Part:

1.All-purpose flour: 1 cup.

2.Semolina or Suji: 1/2 

3.Ghee: 1 table spoon.

4.Milk: 1 1/2  cup if needed use some more.

5.Sugar: 2 table spoon.

6.Salt: pinch of.

7.Baking soda: pinch of.

8.Sunflower oil for frying.

For sugar syrup:

1.Sugar: 1 ½ cup.

2.Water: 2 cup.

3.Freshly crushed cardamom.

Process:

For Pur or Stuffing:

In a large heavy bottomed vessel add the shredded coconut and sugar first and stir with a wooden spoon till the sugar melts completely.

Now add the milk and the milk powder and cook this in medium heat till the coconut milk mixture become dry and sticky now add the freshly crushed cardamom and mix well. Now the pur or stuffing is ready.

For outer part:

In a large bowl add the flour, semolina, sugar, salt, baking powder and ghee first then mix with a spoon, then add the milk and make a batter, it must be thicker than pan cake batter but not too much thick.

Now make some small flat round shape balls with the stuffing and sprinkle some flour on them.

Now first make the sugar syrup, add the sugar water and cardamom in a vessel and allow it to boil, and boil it for 3 to 4 mints and your syrup is ready. (The syrup need to be medium thick).

Now add enough oil in a karai for deep frying the Pithe’s.

Now take one flat stuffing ball and pour that into the batter and take out the ball with batter and slowly place it into the karai. And fry them till both the sides turn golden brown.

Now this way makes all the GOKUL PITHE, after frying soaked them into the sugar syrup.

You will see the quantity of sugar syrup will be reduced that mean the pithe’s soaked the syrup properly and your GOKUL PITHE is done.

Serve hot or cold enjoy your GOKUL PITHE.

Kheer Patisapta: Poush Sankranti special.

Today is Poush Sankranti or Makar Sankranti in West Bengal which is the last day of the Bengali month Poush. The same time this day is celebrated in other states of India too. Like Bihu in Assam, Pongal in South India, Lohri in Punjab, Hadaga Festival in Maharastra Etc. Actually this is a harvest festival and different states call it in different names. But all over the India celebrate this harvest festival.

A special day we always celebrate with food from start to end. In Bengal we call this day as PITHE PARBON also, basically long time ago people started celebrating this day with the rice they received from their land. And with that rice they used to make lots of sweet dishes and all those sweet dishes are known as “PITHE”. From my childhood days used to see my maa and grand maa used to make lots of different PITHE and I really tried to make something like them to celebrate the special day. I prepared some Kheer Patisapta which is a traditional Bengali sweet just like Kheer Wrapped Pan Cakes in milk cream.

Ingredients

For stuffing or PUR

1.One large cup shredded fresh coconut.

2.One cup thick milk.

3.Two table spoon milk powder.

4.Half cup sugar.

5.One freshly crushed cardamom.

For Outer part or Pan cakes.

1.All-purpose flour: 1 cup.

2.Semolina or Suji: 4 table spoon.

3.Ghee: 1 table spoon.

4.Milk: 1 ½ cup if needed use some more.

5.Sugar: 2 table spoon.

6.Salt: pinch of.

7.Sunflower oil.

For Kheer:

1.Milk: 2 cups.

2.Condensed Milk: Two table spoon.

3.Freshly crushed cardamom: 1.

Process:

For Pur or Stuffing:

In a large heavy bottomed vessel add the shredded coconut and sugar first and stir with a wooden spoon till the sugar melts completely.

Now add the milk and the milk powder and cook this in medium heat till the coconut milk mixture become dry and sticky now add the freshly crushed cardamom and mix well. Now the pur or stuffing is ready.

Now for the Pan cakes batter:

In a large bowl add the flour, semolina, sugar salt and ghee first then mix with a spoon, then add the milk and make a batter just like pan cake (not so thick not so light)

Now in a nonstick pan sprinkle some oil first and spread the oil all over the pan. Then spread some batter like a pan cake and  then just in the middle add one spoon full of coconut stuffing from one end to another and roll the pan cake or Patisapta with a flat spatula. And then shallow fry both the sides for few seconds. 

Same way make all the Patisapta.

Your Patisapta is ready you can eat them like this also.

Now for kheer add the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and boil this in low flame till it reduce the quantity, then add the condensed milk and the crushed cardamom and cook till it become thick .

Now place the fried Patisapta in a plate and pour the kheer on top of that, and sprinkle some crushed pistachios on top of that.

Poush Shankranti special KHEER PATISAPTA is ready serve hot or cold.

Custard Powder Cookies:Egg Less.

Baking always gives me a different satisfaction, but still before making anything I really feel nervous. Because if I do anything wrong with cooking can still able to manage that anyhow but in case of baking there is no chance to manage. So you have to be perfect and careful while baking. It’s freezing cold outside and I am running out of cookies at home so I thought to make some easy cookies for my husband and daughter. Actually I am not getting any idea how to make it but while watching a cookery show I got a nice idea of making cookies. 

This recipe is a quick one, anyone can make it within 20 mints, and these cookies made without egg so perfect for vegetarian people also. After making it perfectly I am satisfied from inside. The specialty of the recipe is Custard Powder which is the key ingredients for these cookies, and these cookies are called CUSTARD POWDER COOKIES. 

Ingredients:
1.All-purpose flour: 1 cup.
2.Custard Powder: ½ cup.(I use vanilla flavor)
3.Baking powder: ¾ spoon. 
4.Baking soda: Pinch of. 
5. Sunflower Oil: ¾ cup.
6.Powder sugar: ¾ cup.
7.Vanilla essence: 1 tea spoon

Process:

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, custard powder, baking powder, baking soda).

Mix sugar and oil till it become smooth and creamy; now add this into the powder mixture along with the vanilla essence.

Now make soft dough. Now with the dough make some small balls and help of a fork just press in top of all the balls. Now the balls became little flat.

Pre heat the oven in 170 C, In an over poof tray spread one butter paper first then place the cookies and leave around 3 cm space between each cookies. 

Now bake it in middle rack for 10 to 12 mints. Then take out the cookies from the hot tray and place them in a cool rack.

Your easy and crispy Custard Powder Cookies are ready enjoy with Tea or Coffee.

Kolkata Style Phulkapir Singara or Bengali Samosa.

Outside temperature is almost -20 and snow started falling since yesterday night. So we were almost stuck at home that too in a Sunday. So best way to make you busy and make your family happy is to prepare something good. It’s been a long time my husband asked me to prepare some PHULKOPIR SINGARA OR CAULIFLOWER SAMOSA. So I thought this will be the best way to celebrate a chilled winter evening. And we thoroughly enjoyed our evening with singara, ginger tea and a movie.

SAMOSA is a well-known snack from North India, but our Kolkata SINGARA is really unique. Any how I feel Bengali Phulkapir Singara is the best, I learnt the recipe from my maa but the process of frying I learnt from my friend Tanushri. Hope you all like the recipe and this one tasted perfectly like Mistir Dokan or  Sweet Shop.

Ingredients:
For outer part:
1.One cup all-purpose flour.
2.Half cup ata.
3.Pinch of salt.
4.Three tea spoon ghee or sunflower oil.
5.Half tea spoon baking powder.
6.Water.

For inner filling:
1.Cauliflower: cut into small piece (around half of a small cauliflower).
2.One medium size potato: cut into small pieces.
3.Frozen peas:  a handful.
4.Ome medium size chopped tomato.
5.Three to four chopped green chilies.
6.One inch crushed ginger.
7.Turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder: ( half tea spoon of each item).
8.One table spoon bhaja mosla: for that you need half tea spoon cumin seeds, half tea spoon coriander seeds, 2 to 3 dry red chili. (Just dry roast them and grind them without water).
9.Peanuts: 12 to 15 pieces.
10.Pinch of panchforon (Fenugreek seeds, Fennel seeds, Mustard seeds, Kalonji, Cumin seeds).
11.Salt and sugar as per taste.
12.Sunflower oil for frying.

Process:

Take one large bowl and add the all-purpose flour, atta , salt, and baking powder and whisked all together. Now add the ghee or oil  for MOYAM and some water and make nice dough. It should be smooth and soft. Now cover the dough with a plastic wrap and keep it aside for 20 mints.

For making filling:
Fry the peanuts in few drop of oil till they look fried and become dark brownish and then keep it aside.

Now in a vessel add 3 to 4 tea spoon oil, allow it to hot and then add the paanch foron after few seconds add the chopped potato, cauliflower, pea’s tomato and saute for some time. 

Then add the crushed ginger and chopped green chilies and fry for some time.

Now slowly add all the dry masala powder with some salt and sugar and cook with a lid in a medium heat.

Now this way cook the veggies and avoid adding the water, after the veggies cooked properly sprinkle the bhaja mosla on top and the fried peanuts and mix well, remove from heat. 

Now take out the dough and make 4 balls, roll those with a roller pin make a big roti but little thick. Now cut the roti with a sharp knife into four quarters. And with the each quarter make one samosa.

Now put a spoon full of stuffing inside each of the pieces and join the edges, if needed brush some water into the edges. Now this way makes all the samosa. Just like my photos. 

Now pour enough oil in a deep karai and slowly add samosas (two at a time) at the same time switch on the gas, slowly the oil will become hot and somosa’s will also start frying. After the oil become hot reduce the heat and fry till it become golden.

Hot and crispy PHULKAPIR SINGARA OR CAULIFLOWER SAMOSA is ready serve with a cup of ginger tea.

Egg Chicken Fried Rice

Finally its end of the party and year ending celebrations, we all charged up for a fresh start. During this party gathering I was not in a mood to cook but my friends want to have food from kitchen. So I prepared few things to make our dinner perfect. I was actually thinking to post a sweet dish as the New Year post but whatever I prepared those were already in my recipe book. So I thought to share an easy EGG CHICKEN FRIED RICE recipe with all of you. 

For any party my guests love to have a rice preparation, and I really feel like to cook something different everything. So I made some EGG CHICKNE FRIED RICE in a very simple way. Hope this dish can make your guests happy.

Ingredients:
For Chicken Marinating:
1.Chicken keema: 200 gm.
2.Some seasoning : (Basil, Oregano, parsley : one pinch of each item).
3.Some salt.
4.Pinch of black pepper powder.
5.One tea spoon chopped ginger and garlic.

For making rice:
1.Long Grain Basmati Rice: 1 cup.
2.One small chopped onion.
3.Half carrot: cut into very small pieces.
4.Half green bell pepper: cut into very small pieces.
5.Frozen peas: A hands full.
6.Two clove chopped garlic.
7.One inch crushed ginger.
8.Two eggs.
9.Black pepper powder:1/2 tea spoon.
10.Red chili powder: ½ tea spoon.
11.Salt and sugar as per taste.
12.Worcestershire Sauce: 1 tea spoon.
13.Chopped parsley: Two tea spoon. 
14.Sunflower oil for cooking.

Process:

Wash and clean the rice, in a big saucepan add some water allow it to boil, then add some oil salt and sugar then add the washed rice and cook it till it 80 % done. Then drain the water and keep the rice aside.

Now marinate the chicken keema with all the ingredients except the ginger and garlic. Now in a vessel add the oil and allow it to hot. Now add the chopped ginger and garlic and sauté for few seconds. Now add the marinated chicken into the vessel and fry ii in high flame. 

Then reduce the flame and cover it for few mints and your chicken keema is done for rice.

For making the fried rice, first in a vessel add some oil and scrambled the eggs with some salt and keep it aside.

Now in big wide pan add some oil, allow it to hot then add the chopped garlic, saute it for few seconds.

Then add the chopped onions and fry it till transparent, then add the carrot pieces, bell pepper pieces and peas and cook with a cover for few mints in medium heat. then add the crushed garlic and saute for few mints.

Then add the pepper powder, red chili powder some salt and sugar and mix well.

Next add the scrambled  eggs and the cooked chicken keema and mix well.

Next add the Worcestershire sauce and mix well.

Now add the cooked rice and mix well, then add the chopped parsley and mix well.

Now cook with a lid for 5 mints in very low heat.

Your easy EGG CHICKEN FRIED RICE is ready serve hot with any curry.

Plum Cake: Christmas Special ( Rum Essence Only)

It’s time to sing a song together, it’s time to dance in a tune, it’s time to see snowflakes falling from the sky because it’s Christmas. Once in every year all over the world people celebrate this special occasion with friends and family.  I think Christmas has its own essence, the decoration all over the street, Shops, Houses, Malls make you feel that it’s Christmas.

This is also one of the best times to purchase gifts for your near and dear ones. I think when it comes to gifts we all want to be kid again so that we can ask whatever we want from Santa. The price of the gift or the size of the gift actually does not matter, what matters is the feelings of love. From last few months my husband asked me what I want in coming Christmas which actually gives me an immense pleasure. But he only decided to buy a DSLR camera for me which can help me to take some nice Photos for my blog. And can help me to become a little better in food photography. Which I loved was his thinking about my passion of photos. 

So my Santa is going to bring a big smile on my face this year, hope each and every people of the world get his or her smile from Santa clause. Christmas cannot be completed with a perfect cake and this is the best time to bake an authentic PLUM CAKE. My husband, daughter, friends everybody liked it very much and that's why I am really satisfied after everybody's reaction. This authentic Plum cake used to make with RUM but my daughter is going to have it so I just added Rum essence, but if you don’t have any issue then you can use any normal RUM or Spiced RUM which is available in any big super market. 

Ingredients:
For Soaking dry fruits
1.Dry fruits: raisins, currents, cherries, orange peels, apricot, prunes, cranberries, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, pistachios. (1 cup chopped)
2.Two table spoon powdered sugar.
3.One tea spoon water,
4.One tea spoon lemon juice.
5. Rum or Rum essence one cup.

At least 7 days before baking the cake, you have to soak the dry fruits for that you have to prepare caramel sauce.

First  in a heavy bottomed vessel add two table spoon of sugar then slowly add the water and lemon juice in medium heat and slowly your sugar will become dark brown in color, don’t use any spoon just shake the vessel . And don’t allow it to burn also so stand in front of the stove still it become dark and thick like sauce. Then add 2 table spoon water.

Now in an air tight container add all chopped dry fruits then add the caramel sauce then add the Rum essence or normal Rum and keep it aside for at least 7 days.

Caramel Syrup for cake:
Sugar : 1 cup.
Water: one cup and Two table spoon
Lemon juice: 1 tea spoon.

First  in a heavy bottomed vessel add one cup of sugar then slowly add the water and lemon juice in medium heat and slowly your sugar will become dark brown in color, don’t use any spoon just shake the vessel . And don’t allow it to burn also so stand in front of the stove still it become dark completely.

Then allow it to cool a bit then add the one cup warm water and your caramel syrup is done.

Ingredients for cake.
1.All-purpose flour: 2 cup.
2.Sugar: 2 cup. And One tea spoon
3.Egg: 4 (separate the egg yolks and egg white).
4.Spices powder: Nutmeg powder, Cinnamon powder, Clove powder (1/2 tea spoon of each item).
5.Few almonds and few walnut : just make dry powder with the nuts.
6.Butter: 1 cup.
7.Vanila essence: one table spoon.
8.Baking powder: one table spoon.
9.One tea spoon orange zest.
10.Pinch of salt.

Process:

Pre heat the oven in 350D F. And grease one round loaf pan with butter and flour.

First in  a bowl mix all the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking powder, spices powder, dry nuts powder) and keep it aside.

Now in a bowl mix the butter and sugar till it become smooth, then slowly add the egg yolks one at a time and mix it nicely till it become smooth and creamy.

Then add the butter sugar mixture into the dry ingredients bowl and combine together, now slowly add the caramel syrup, orange zest, vanilla essence and mix together.

Now drain the rum from the soaked dry fruits save the rum. Then add some flour on to the dry fruits and slowly add them in to the mixture and with wooden spoon just folds the dry fruits in to the mixture.

Now in a separate bowl mix the egg whites with one spoon of sugar and whisked them till it become smooth.

Now add the egg white mixture into the cake batter and fold it carefully with the wooden spoon.

Now pour the cake batter into the greased pan and bake it for 55 mints to 1 hr or till it done, to checking insert a toothpick inside the cake if its come smoothly then your cake is done.

Now take the cake out from the oven and slowly take out from the pan, now allow it to cool. Now brush the saved rum on top of the cake for at least one day. 

Your authentic super yummy PLUM CAKE is ready enjoy your CHRISTMAS with your family and friends.