Baked sweet potato

The best way to eat sweet potato is to bake it, unless it is in some Bengali dessert! And, as these days nutmeg is my favorite spice, I garnished my soft baked potatoes with this delicious aroma.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 2)

400g sweet potato

Salt

1tbsp butter

Cayenne pepper (to taste)

Nutmeg powder

METHOD:

1.      Preheat the oven at 250°C.

2.      Peel and thickly slice the sweet potatoes.

3.      Rub in the butter. Garnish with salt and cayenne pepper.

4.      Bake for 20 mins until it is soft.

5.      Garnish with nutmeg powder before serving.

Kumror chakka (pumpkin with potatoes and chickpeas)

Chakka is a cube or dice. And the name of this simple potato pumpkin dish comes from the shape in which the vegetables are cut. Little cubes. How a vegetable is cut, is not only important for asthetic reason, but also for the way it is cooked. And all Bengali recipes have exact instruction of about the shapes of the cut vegetables. In this case, it is small cubes similar to the size of dices. This is the dish that started all the pumpkin tales last year. I had cooked it once for Blaž’s family. They loved it so much, that I had to cook a few more times in the next weeks. And the result, the big pumpkin growing in the garden this year. I love this dish. There is hint of sweetness, hint of spice, it is tender, and there is a bite.  And it uses the bhaja masala, a toasted-and-ground spice mixture that can make any dish my favorite.

  You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

750g pumpkin

3 large potatoes

1/2cup red Bengal gram (soaked overnight)

1.5tbsp ginger paste

1 pinch freshly ground asafoetida/asafetida

1 green chili

1sp whole cumin seed

1 pinch turmeric powder

Salt

Sugar

Oil

Spice mixture:

1sp whole cumin seed

1/2sp fennel seed

1/2sp mustard seed

1/4sp nigella seed

1/2 dried red chili

METHOD:

1.      Cut the pumpkin and potatoes in small cubes (the size of dice).

2.      Heat oil in pan. Add whole cumin seeds and let it crackle.

3.      Add the asafoetida. When it leaves fragrance, add the ginger paste. Cook for a minute on medium heat.

4.      Add the diced potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Cook for a couple of minutes on medium heat with frequent stirring. Make sure that the potatoes are not getting brown.

5.      Add the pumpkin cubes, soaked Bengal grams, chili. Stir well. Cook covered on low-medium heat with occasional stirring. Do not stir too much, otherwise the vegetables will mash.

6.      In the meantime, toast the whole spices for the spice mixture and then grind well.

7.      When almost done, remove the cover, and increase the heat. Add a pinch of sugar and cook for a few more minutes.

8.      Garnish with the toasted-and-ground spice mixture (bhaja masala).

NOTE:

If not used to hotness from the chili, one can omit the green chili. The dried red chili however gives the flavor and aroma, and should not be omitted. Use only a smaller amount if necessary.

Rasha methi alu

The plan was to make some spicy dum alu. But then, I changed my mind, and wished it to be something more subtle, fragrant, sweetish. And thus came this recipe. I decided to go with boiled potatoes in gravy of onion ginger. The onion would add the sweetish taste and ginger would give a spicy hint.  I had a handful of raisins remaining in my box, and recently I was a bit into using raisins in cooking. Therefore, went in those. Milk gives a rich flavor to these kinds of preparations, and I love using milk more than water in cooking. Finally, I added a handful of dried fenugreek leaves in the end to give a delicate aroma and flavor to the dish. It turned out really well, and I could hardly resist the temptation of finishing everything in the bowl. It will definitely be one of those dishes I will look up to when I need some delicious yet subtle side dish to serve alongside a savory main course.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

4-5 medium sized potatoes
1 big onion
1 inch ginger
Handful raisins
2tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 cup milk
Salt
Sugar
Oil

METHOD:

1. Wash and boil the potatoes until almost done.
2. Peel and cut the boiled potatoes in quarters.
3. Finely chop the onion and grate the ginger.
4. Heat oil in a wok, and add the onion ginger. Cook on medium heat until soft and starting to get color.
5. Add the boiled potatoes and raisins. Mix well.
6. Season with salt, and a pinch of sugar. Cook for a 3-4 mins.
7. Add the milk and cook for 3-4 mins until the potatoes are well cooked.
8. Stir in the dried fenugreek leaves and cook for another minute.

Potato slices

I always love this simple baked potato slices. Salt and freshly ground black pepper being always my favorite seasoning for potatoes, it is great when served with main course.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 5)

15 medium sized potatoes
Salt
Ground black pepper
Oil

METHODS:

1. Set the oven to preheat at 200°C.
2. Wash and peel the potatoes, and cut them into thick slices.
3. Add a little oil to the slices and garnish with salt and pepper.
4. Line a baking tray with baking sheet, and put the potato slices in layers.
5. Bake uncovered for 45mins to an hour.

NOTE:
Can turn the potatoes a bit (if there are a few layers) at around 30mins into baking.
Can keep the skin if using bio-potatoes. Wash very thoroughly in that case.

Potato moussaka

I read the recipe of Moussaka in some Sunday magazine and thought of making it someday. However, I lost magazine by the time I decided to make. Therefore, instead of looking up in the internet for a recipe, I checked some books and decided to try making a modified version of potato moussaka instead of the classic Greek one with aubergines (eggplants). The layered potato and meat had a rich juicy flavor with the pepper adding a crunchy taste. In the end, it was a real savory dish.

INGREDIENTS:

500g minced meat
1kg potato
1 small onion
2 bell peppers
2 big tomatoes
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour
2-4 tbsp cream
250ml milk
Oil

METHOD:

1. Chop the onion finely.
2. Dice the tomatoes and bell peppers into small pieces.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion.
4. Fry until the onion is soft and transparent.
5. Add the minced meat.
6. The meat will leave water and loose its pinkish red color.
7. Cook with occasional stirring until the water dries.
8. Then add the chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, salt, black pepper powder, thyme and rosemary.
9. Let it cook on medium heat until the meat is cooked and it is not too watery and remove from heat.
10. Remove the shoots of thyme and rosemary from the meat sauce.
11. When the meat is cooking, boil potatoes in a pot. Take care that the potatoes are a bit undercooked.
12. Peel the potatoes and slice them.
13. In the mean time, make the sauce. Beat together eggs, flour, sour cream and milk. Season it with pepper, salt and nutmeg powder.
14. Now grease a deep tray.
15. Put a layer of potato slices, and then a layer of meat. Make alternate layers of potato and meat, with potato as the bottom and topmost layer.
16. Spread the sauce evenly over it.
17. Bake it in preheated oven at 200˙C for 45minutes.

NOTE:
One can use sliced raw potato instead of boiled potatoes. In that case, bake it for a hour and half.
Add a bit more milk, sour cream and flour to increase the amount of sauce.