Suji ka Halwa / Sheera

In my Maternal Grand Parents house, Didu (Grand Maa) always makes these bowls of Suji (Semolina) as a part of breakfast almost twice a week. I still remember asking Didu for some left over Suji during Dinner, I used to like it so much. The smell  of it still warms my heart & takes me back in time.

Like all, my life changed too, Didu-Dadu’s little Granddaughter grew up and shifted base to another City with a  job, then got married and settled there. The visits which were as regular as once every weekend shrank to once a year. Hence the little girl had to learn to warm her heart herself. :(

I just made a different variety of the Suji Didu makes. I added some dry fruits and kesar to it and called it Suji Ka Halwa. It is also called Sheera in many parts of India.

Here is what you will need :

Ingredients : (For 2)

1.       Suji / Semolina – 150 gm

2.       Sugar – as sweet as you want it – powdered in a blender if possible.

3.       Ghee / Clarified butter – 2 tsp

4.       Handful of Cashews & Raisins.

5.       Some Kesar mixed in 2 tsps of water.

Method :

1.       Heat Ghee in a pan.

2.       Add the Cashews and the Raisins and brown them lightly.

3.       Add the Semolina and keep stirring.

4.       Add the Sugar and keep stirring.

5.       Add water and boil for a while.

6.       Add Kesar and milk mix.

7.       Once Semolina is cooked & the thickness as per you desire, switch off the stove.

8.       Garnish with any leftover dry fruits and serve.

Phirni

Yes I am a true Calcuttan and when I say that I mean I cannot think about Biryani without Rezala and definitely not without Phirni. After days of fruitless exploration I finally gave in. I had to make my own Phirni! Well all those who drool over the mention of it, here is a very easy recipe. It makes the lip smacking dessert, just the one you need after a plate of warm Biryani & some Rezala.

Here is what you will need :

Ingredients :

1.       ½ ltr Milk

2.       Sugar to taste (Phirni is never too sweet so use this wisely)

3.       5 tsps of Rice Flour

4.       Green Cardamoms – 4 – crushed

5.       Handful of Almonds – chopped

6.       Handful of Pistachios – chopped

7.       Handful of Cashews – chopped

Method :

1.       Put the Sugar in a blender, blend to powder and set aside.

2.       Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy bottomed pan.

3.       Add the rice flour and keep stirring so that no lumps are formed.

4.       Add the sugar and keep stirring.

5.       Once you reach desired consistency, pour into small bowls (Bhands/Sikoras if you have them handy)

6.       Garnish with the dry fruits.

7.       Refrigerate for a 4 hours.

8.       Serve chilled after a hearty meal. I eat them whenever I like :D

Ilish Maacher Paturi (in the Microwave)

Finally a return to the Bloggers world. Got my hands on some delectable Hilsa / Ilish after years of hunting in Pune and made some Paturi without the banana leaf which came out perfect. Normally the thirst for Hilsa is quenched only during our trips back home where both Maa and Maa-In-Law are driven crazy by Hubby & I & our endless demands. Though I have never ever felt any of them twitching even a teeny-weeny bit to our  never ending tantrums. They always end up saying, ‘Aha re, okhane toh aar ei shob pash naa’ (Aww, it’s alright, you never get all this in Pune).


Went to our Savior, Sagar. Sagar is the name of the fishmonger, the only one who sells the best Fish (read : not frozen) in our locality in Pune. Hubby is one Bheto-Mechho Bangali (Rice & Fish Bong) who started drooling at the glimpse of the queen of Fish, Hilsa. I was equally thrilled but somehow I was worried as I was to prepare Hilsa for the first time in my life! (No I have never done it before as you rarely get tasteful fresh Hilsa here).


Returned home and connected to Wi-Fi. I needed a decent reliable recipe. The only  thought that crossed my mind was PreeOccupied, Save me! & it did. All thanks to the awesome post my Preetanjali that I found this grand recipe. It is a very quick recipe and a savior! Here is Preetanjali’s recipe for the Ilish Maacher Paturi in the Microwave. I did exactly the same way and you can see the results. How it tasted? Hubby wants to get Hilsa again the coming weekend! :D

Served it with plain white Rice. It came out just perfect!

Boiled Egg Fried Rice

Ingredients :

Basmati Rice : 2 cups washed and drained

Eggs : 4 hard boiled

Peas : 1 Cup

Carrots : diced, ½ Cup

Onions : 2 medium sliced

Green Chili : a few sliced

Potatoes : 2-3 small diced

Turmeric Powder : a pinch

Salt to taste

Cooking Oil

Method :

Cook the Basmati Rice the way you want, add adequate amount of salt to the boiling water and some turmeric powder

Hard boil the Eggs, slice into small pieces of your choice,  sprinkle salt and pepper and set aside

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat some cooking oil

Once heated up add the sliced Onions, sauté for a while

Now add the potatoes, carrots, green chilis and at last the peas, sauté.

Cover it for a while so that the vegetables are done.

Once done, add some salt and pepper and add the rice.

Toss very well

Add any sauce of your choice, toss well

Add the Eggs, toss well again

Once everything is well incorporated it is ready to be served

Chicken in Cashew Paste

Ingredients :

Chicken : 1 kg cut into medium pieces

Cashews : 50 gms made into paste

Raisins : 10-12 pieces made into paste

Curd : ½  cup well beaten with ½ tsp garam masala powder

Dried whole red chili : 3-4

Green chili : 4-5 made into paste

Garlic : 10-15 cloves made into paste

Onion : 4-5 medium made into paste

Cream : ¼ th cup well beaten to garnish

Cinnamon - 1 inch stick

Green Cardamom - 5 pieces.

Cloves -5-6 pieces

Black peppercorns - 10

Cooking Oil

Ghee : 2-3 tsps

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste

NOTE : Cashews and Raisins can be pasted together.

             Onion, Garlic cloves and green chili can be pasted together.

             Cinnamon, Cardamoms, Cloves and whole black peppercorns can be made into a powder in a mortar and pestle.

             No Ginger or turmeric needed.

Method :

Was the chicken thoroughly, pat dry, sprinkle some salt and set aside

Heat oil in a Kadhai.

Add the powdered whole garam masalas

Once they start to crackle, add the whole dry red chillies, sauté for 2 minutes

Add a little pinch of sugar

Add the Onion-Garlic and Green Chili paste to this, sauté till the raw smell goes away

Add the already salted Chicken pieces now, sauté for a while

Cover and cook till the Chicken is half way done

Add the Cashew-Raisin paste and stir well

Add the beaten curd with a pinch of garam masala powder

Cover and cook till the Chicken is tender and is done thoroughly

Add Salt to taste

Once gravy thickens as per your need garnish with beaten fresh cream and a few slit green chillies and serve hot with Naan or Paranthas

Shrimp Biryani

This is a Goan specialty. I found this on the website ShowMeTheCurry and was really tempted to make it. I did my own calculations with the recipe and here is what it turned out to be :

The original recipe & the video from showmethecurry.com can be found here.

& here is how I made it :

Ingredients : (Good for 2)

• 1.       Shrimps : medium sized about 20, cleaned and de veined
• 2.       Basmati rice : 2 Cups, washed, not soaked at all
• 3.       Coconut Milk : 2 cups
• 4.       Tomatoes – 2 medium, chopped.
• 5.       Eggs – 2-4 hard boiled, peeled and fried in a little oil, set aside.
• 6.       Whole Garam masalas : Cinnamon – 1” stick, Green Cardamom – 2-3, 1 bay leaf and Cloves -2
• 7.       Green Chili – a few slit lengthwise to spice it up a bit
• 8.       Salt – to taste
• 9.       Red Chili powder – to taste
• 10.   Coriander leaves – handful
• 11.   Mint leaves – handful
• 12.   Ginger, Garlic and Green Chili paste – 2 tbsp
• 13.   Onions : 2 large, chopped, deep fried, browned
• 14.   Ghee – to drizzle on top
• 15.   Cooking oil

Method :

• 1.       Heat oil in a pressure cooker / pan
• 2.       Add the whole garam masalas, fry for about 30 seconds.
• 3.       Add the ginger, garlic and green chili paste to this and sauté for some time.
• 4.       Add the fried onions to this and sauté some more.
• 5.       Add in the chopped tomatoes and keep stirring.
• 6.       Add the shrimp and stir some more. Keeping the tails on or cooking it without the tail is entirely up to you.  My advice to you would be keep the tails on as a lot of flavors are in there : )
• 7.       Add salt and Chili Powder.
• 8.       Add the coriander and the mint leaves and give it a very good mix.
• 9.       Add the slit green chilies too.
• 10.   Now pour the coconut milk in.
• 11.   Add the rice.
• 12.   Add the Eggs,  mix it very well, cover the pressure cooker / pan and let it whistle just 1 time (don’t whistle it more than 1 time as shrimps are very delicate).
• 13.   Let the pressure go down on its own, once done open the lid and pour the molten clarified butter (ghee) in and close the lid again, keep it that way for about 5 minutes. After 5 mins, it will be ready to serve.

Devilled Eggs – my style

• 1.        Hard boil 6-8 Eggs (approx 10-12 mins on high)
• 2.       Fry some white onions and chili in cooking oil with a pinch of salt and pepper .
• 3.       Once boiled, peel the shell and cut them into halves lengthwise.
• 4.       Scoop out the yolks out into a bowl.
• 5.       Now add some Mayonnaise (I use American Garden, the creamiest ever), some cheese spread, the fried white onions and chilis. Add more salt, pepper, red chili powder and whatever else you would like.
• 6.       Now take small mounds of it and put this mix and put them back on the egg halves.
• 7.       Garnish as you wish. This pic was taken when I had made it at 3 am when hunger struck suddenly so all I used was Ketchup (Simple Maggi Hot & Sweet) .

This can be used as snacks especially for occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Upto to your taste buds actually, my hubby can hog on to these at any time on any given day :) Happy cooking people!