Baby potato salad in yogurt dressing

I was at a deli eating pizza when i saw "potatoes in garlic yogurt" staring at me from the glass display shelf. This is a variant of the same with a few additions from my side and it tastes awesome.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

1/4 kg baby potatoes, boiled, cooled and peeled

1/2 litre curd, drained on a strainer for about 30 mins

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small bunch of spinach, blanched and drained

1/4 cup toasted walnuts

1/4 cup raisins

Salt, chilli flakes to taste

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except potatoes, walnuts and raisins to make the dressing. Add the potatoes and top with raisins and Walnuts. Serve chilled.

Intro

I've grown up in a middle class joint family where the women didn't go out to work. Their first half of the day was spent preparing food for the family (even though we had a full time maid Buri di) and after the late afternoon tea, one put one's brains together to plan the menu for the next day. I first picked up a spoon and cooked something when I was still in school. I think I was in Class VI. Back then I could make the customary tea, Maggi noodles, eggs and then I graduated to making pancakes and french toasts. My elders were always supportive of my efforts and would always shower me with the best compliments and egg me on. I started to experiment with food courtesy the recipe columns in Sananda, the Bengali women's magazine.
Since then, I have always had a thing for cooking.. besides having a bigger thing for food!
I find shopping for groceries very therapeutic and cooking to me is a nothing less than a joy. I cannot remember the last time I felt lazy to cook. Now that I am on my own, my eating habits have become dependant on the cooking time available to me. Moreover serious cooking is best left for the weekend, while weekday cooking is more about assembling things together. So this blog is primarily about easy cooking, stuff you can make in a jiffy with plenty of shortcuts and substitutes.
If you have the basic knowledge of cooking you will never ask dumber than dumb questions like "How much salt?" and "How long in the microwave?". But it will definitely break the myth that singles cooking is about toasts and omelettes. Because I love to experiment and I love to entertain and cook for my friends. And if you happen to be someone who has tasted my grub, do vote for Bonny's cooking! Cheers!

Chicken in milk

I know this one sounds weird and interesting. But it tastes like heaven and no, the milk does not curdle.

Ingredients (serves 4):
Half kg chicken cut into medium pieces
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
2 tbsp vinegar
4 cloves garlic chopped fine
2 large onions chopped coarsely
2 cloves
2" piece of cinnamon
1 star anise
1 tbsp peppercorn
1 bay leaf
1 cup milk
3 tbsps oil
salt to taste

Method:
Put the chicken with the vinegar, salt, a little water and ginger-garlic paste in a pressure cooker and steam for 2 whistles. Drain and reserve the stock
Make a coarse powder with cloves, cinnamon, star anise and the peppercorns.
Now heat the oil in a pan, gently fry the chopped garlic and onions, add the bay leaf, then fry the drained chicken in it for 3-4 minutes till it is brown. When almost done, add the grounded powder and the stock and cook on a medium flame till them meat is done.
Finally add the milk, cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes more till the milk reduces and the meat looks succulent.
Serve hot with bread or rice.

Doi Machh (Fish in tangy yogurt gravy)

This dish is a very light Bengali gravy. Till a few months back I didn't get it right (the yogurt would curdle sometimes) till my friend pointed out the trick was to turn the heat off when you added the yogurt and them simmer. The boro elach (big black cardamom) is a must, as it adds its characteristic smoky flavor to it.

Ingredients (serves 6):
6 medium sized pieces of fish, preferably Rohu (Any other carp will do)
2” stick of cinnamon
2 cloves
2 green cardamoms
1 big black cardamom
100 gms yogurt
½ tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp chilli powder
½ tbsp cumin powder
½ tbsp coriander powder
2 split green chillies
2” piece of ginger
2 medium sized onions
1 bay leaf
6 tbsp mustard oil
Fresh coriander to garnish
Salt and sugar to taste

Method:
Make a paste with the onion and ginger and keep aside.
Whisk the yogurt with salt, sugar, chilli, turmeric, coriander and cumin powders and keep aside.
Rub the fish with a little salt and turmeric and fry them in hot oil. Keep aside. In the same oil, lightly fry the bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, then add the ginger-onion paste. Fry till the oil separates, now release the fish and fry some more. Turn off the heat completely and add the whisked yogurt to this. Carefully fold in the yogurt then turn the heat on and simmer. Cover to cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with the split green chillies and coriander and serve.

Brinjal gravy in mustard

This dish is so easy to cook that I am completely taken by surprise by how much people love it!

Ingredients (serves 4):
One large brinjal
1/4 cup mustard (white or black)
1/4 cup posto (poppy seeds)
2 split green chillies
1 tsp kalojeere (or kalonji, nigella, onion seeds)
chopped coriander to garnish
4 tbsp mustard oil
pinch of turmeric
salt and sugar to taste

Method:
Cut the brinjals into 1.5" thick slices, rub with salt and sugar, let it stand for 15 minutes, then drain. Heatt 2 tbsp mustard oil in the pan, fry the brinjals till brown and reserve.
Make a smooth paste of the mustard, poppy seeds and one chilli with a little salt in the mixer.
Now heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the nigella and turmeric. When it gives off it's smell, put in the mustard-poppy paste, add some water (about half a cup) to make a thick gravy and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Now add the brinjals into this and gently simmer some more, taking care not to break the brinjal slices. Garnish with coriander and split green chilli and serve hot with rice or roti.

Mashed potatoes Vaishnav style

Our close family friends are Vaishnavs. Onions and garlic are prohibited in Vaishnav cuisine. Every other Poornima (full moon) day we would be blessed with a bowl of this recipe. I did not realize how much I loved it till one day, when feeling down in Mumbai, I made this dish just recollecting the taste and guessing what all could have gone into it. Its high calorie, yummy and most definitely my comfort food!

Ingredients (serves 2):
4 large potatoes, boiled and mashed
sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp cumin
2" piece of ginger, sliced thinly
1/2 cup peanuts, skinned
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ghee
sugar and salt to taste

Method:
Heat the oil in the pan and fry the peanuts till brown, reserve separately. In the same oil, fry the cumin, curry leaves and ginger. Now add the mashed potatoes and simmer for a minute till the potatoes leave the sides of the pan. Add the peanuts, salt and sugar and ghee and fry some more. Serve hot.
This gcan be had on its own, it also goes with rice and dal but can also be stuffed between bread to make a snack.

Easy grilled mushroom starters

This starter is really simple. The best part is that you can replicate these with halved tomatoes or small capsicum too.

Ingredients (serves 4):
12 Fresh button mushrooms, medium sized
1 slice bread
2 cubes creame cheese, grated (any other cheese can substitute)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil will do)
salt to taste

Method:
Wash the mushrooms and separate the stalk from the button by twisting them. Salt the Buttons and keep aside. Drain after 2 mins.
Cop the stalks finely. Remove the crust from the bread, dip it very quickly in a bowl of water, squeeze out the water immediately and mash it. Add this to the mushroom stalks along with cheese, garlic, oregano and chilli and mix well. Fill the mushroom buttons with this mixture. Arrange them on a flat dish, drizzle with olive oil and grill for 10 minutes. Serve hot with tabasco.