Stuffed pumpkin

I had this nice round small pumpkin (kabocha squash I think, not particularly sure). Recently I was going through these recipes of stuffing. Therefore bringing both together to make a stuffed pumpkin was the next idea. I have also taken a fancy on celery recently. Though the flavor is a bit too strong for me, I like it a lot when used in minimum to give a hint of subtle aromatic flavor. And since winter is almost here, the sausage had to form a part of the dish too. I am sure to cook it again in future during the pumpkin season. In the meantime I will be use the stuffing to stuff other things or incorporate in some different way in my food.

 

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

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

1 small round pumpkin (~1.5kg)

1 small onion

1 large carrot

1 red bell pepper

2 green apples

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 cured pork sausage (in pair)

1/4sp celery seeds

1/4sp fennel seeds

1/2 cup chopped parsley

2tbsp chopped sage

Salt

Pepper

Oilve Oil

METHOD:

1.     Cut open the lid off the pumpkin. Clean the inside of strings and seeds. Brush with oil, salt, pepper.

2.     Bake the pumpkin in preheated oven at 180°C for 20 mins. Set aside.

3.     In meantime, dice the carrot, peppr, apples, onion. Crush the garlic cloves.

4.     Remove the casing of the sausage and gently crush it.

5.     In a skillet, heat oil.

6.     Add the onion and sauté a couple of minutes.

7.     Add the remaining vegetables, celery and fennel seeds. Season with salt. Add 1tbsp of sage and 1/2 of the parsley.

8.     Cook on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.

9.     Add the sausage meat. Break with the wooden spoon and cook until no longer pink.

10.  Lightly whisk the egg in a bowl with the milk. Add the vegetable-sausage mixture. Add the remaining parsley and sage. Make everything into a moist mixture.

11.  Fill the pumpkin with stuffing.

12.  Bake it at 200°C for 20-25 minutes, until the egg is cooked and the stuffing has risen a bit.

13.  Stand for 5 minutes, and serve with the lid on top.

Moroccan-style one-pot vegetables

This one-pot vegetable is a warm delight for the cold evenings of the coming winter. Growing up in Bengal, I am a lover of mixed vegetable preparations. I love how the flavors and textures of different seasonal vegetables marry into a delicious combination. I loved the subtle sweetness of pumpkin and apricots, the bite of the bell peppers, the texture of zucchini, the flavor of parsnips, and the hint of spice from the chili flakes. I am sure I will cook something similar again when I have an assortment of different vegetables in the fridge, or just like that for a warm healthy dinner.

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

 

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

100g leek

600g pumpkin

200g green zucchini

1 big red bell pepper

150g butter beans

100g carrot

100g parsnip

100g dried apricots

1/2sp turmeric

1sp coriander powder

1/2sp cumin powder

1/2sp chili flakes

600ml water

Fresh parsley and coriander

Salt

Pepper

METHOD:

1.     Cut leek lengthwise in half and then into slices.

2.     Slice carrot and parsnip. Coarsely chop the other vegetables. Chop the dried apricots.

3.     Pour water in a pot. Add turmeric, coriander, cumin and bring to boil.

4.     Add leek and parsnip. Bring to boil. Cook covered for 5 minutes on low heat.

5.     Add pumpkin, zucchini, bell pepper, carrot and bring to boil.

6.     Add beans, apricots, and season with salt, pepper and chili flakes.

7.     Cover the pan and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

8.     Season with freshly chopped parsley and coriander.

Aam sandesh

Bengal is famous for its three sweets mostly: Misti Doi (sweet curd), Rasogolla (soft cheese balls in sugar syrup) and Sandesh (fresh cheese sweets). The end of the festivity calls for some sweets. After the immersion of the idols, friends and family meet together to share warm hugs and wishes and end the almost weeklong festivity on a sweet note. Therefore, instead of going for some other desserts, I decided to try my hand for the first time on making sandesh. I had some mango pulp left and decided to flavor my sandesh with mango. While making it, I did not believe it would turn out so good. And how pretty they look. Like on the shelf of some sweet shop. Well, now I know I will not miss this particular Bengali sweet much!

 

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

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes around 30)

2lt milk

1cup milk powder

2cup mango pulp

1/2cup sugar

1/2sp cardamom powder

2tbsp lemon juice

Raisins

Small cupcake moulds

METHOD:

1.       First, make the chana. Put the milk in a thick-bottomed pot and bring to boil. Add 2tbsp lemon juiced diluted with warm water slowly to the boiling milk on low heat. Stir continuously and let the milk curdle.

2.       When the milk is curdled completely leaving behind clear green liquid, strain well using a cheese cloth.

3.       Put the chana on a plate and kneading with the heel of palm to get a smooth dough (around 5 minutes). Now add the sugar and knead again to get a little oily and very smooth dough without any lumps.

4.       In a wok, mix the mango pulp, chana, milk powder, fresh cardamom powder. It will form a thick batter like smooth consistency.

5.       Cook the mixture on medium-low heat stirring continuously. Take care that the bottom does not burn.

6.       Cook until the mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the wok forming a smooth dough.

7.       Remove from heat and let it cool a little bit.

8.       Spoon the mixture into the moulds forming a nice little flattish balls.

9.       Garnish each with a raisin on top.

10.   Cool it before eating. (Can be stored in refrigerator for a couple of days.)

Suji halwa

It is the most simple and quick Indian dessert. One can eat it hot and cold. And its simplicity does not do any compromise with taste. There is this subtle balance of aroma and sweetness. A perfect for some quick sweet treat.

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

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

1/2cup semolina

1cup milk

~1/2cup sugar (a bit less)

3tbsp ghee

3 pods cardamom

1 bay leaf

1/4cup nuts and raisins

METHOD:

1.       Heat gree in a wok. Add bay leaf and cardamom pods.

2.       Add semolina and sugar. Stir well over medium heat until the semolina gets golden and sugar starts to melt. (Check the sweetness and add a bit more if not according to taste.)

3.       Add nuts and raisins.

4.       Lower the heat. Pour the milk and stir well continuously. The milk will get absorbed in the semolina while the later is cooked. It will form little lumps but not a mass. Add a bit more of milk if too dry.

5.       While still moist, remove from heat.

6.       Garnish with nuts and raisins.

Achari chicken

Last month when I was celebrating our greatest festival away from all the festivity, I decided to cook something good for each day of the festival. I tried several new recipes that will maybe appear in the blog some other time. The most important day of course had to have a complete Indian menu and chicken. Yet, in an effort to cook something new, I selected this recipe. Achar is pickle in Indian languages. It is much different from the vinegar soaked baby vegetables. It is bite size pieces of different fruits or vegetables in a complicated mixture of various whole spices and mustard oil that is sun dried for long and then stored in glass jars. Then for every lunch and dinner, it is used as condiment. Therefore, like its namesake, this particular chicken recipe uses different whole spices to give it an intricate flavor. Mustard oil and chilies make it spicy, while dried mango powder and lemon juice adds to the tartness. The result is a same finger-licking dish as the achar. It made the my festive day delicious!

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

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

750gm medium sized chicken pieces (boneless, skinless)

1/2sp fenugreek seeds
1 + 1/2sp mustard seeds
1sp cumin seeds
1sp fennel seeds

1/2sp nigella seeds or onions seeds
2 dried whole red chilies
2tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 large onion

1 large tomato
1/2sp turmeric powder
2sp red chili powder (or to taste)

1 green chili
1cup lightly beaten yoghurt
1tbsp lemon juice

1/2sp dried mango powder
Salt

Sugar

Mustard oil

METHOD:

1.       Heat oil in a wok. Add the mustard, fenugreek, cumin, fennel, nigella seeds, whole red chilies. Sauté until they start to crackle. (Take care the oil is hot enough before adding the spices so they do not burn.)

2.       Slice the onion and chop the tomato.

3.       Add the onion in the wok, and fry until golden brown and soft.

4.       Now add ginger garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, turmeric and chili powder.

5.       Mix well and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until the oil leaves the sides of the wok.

6.       Add the chicken pieces and mix well so that each piece is covered with the spice mixture. Season it with salt.

7.       Cook on medium heat with occasional stirring for about 10 minutes.

8.       Add 1/2cup water and cook covered on low heat until the chicken pieces are tender and succulent.

9.       Add the yoghurt, whole green chili and a pinch of sugar.

10.   Cook on low heat for a couple of minutes (so that the yoghurt do not curdle).

11.   Add dried mango powder and lemon juice.

12.   Stir to mix and remove from heat.