Spices n Secrets

As a Bengali, even if one has not tasted Basanti Pulao, one must have heard the name. Also known as halud misti pulao, it is a bright yellow, sweet rice dish cooked with ghee and garnished with fried cashews and raisins.


To understand the origin of this mouth-watering dish and how it became a part of a Bengali kitchen, let us first explore the history of pulao. Pilaf or Pilau is a rice dish whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock, adding spices and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat.


In one version, the origin of this rice cooking style can be traced back to 9^th century. It is believed to have spread from Spain to Afghanistan and eventually to the rest of the world. That is the reason Spanish paella, pulao and biriyani bear some degree of similarity. The earliest documented recipe comes from books written on medical science by the 10^th century Persian scholar Avicenna.


Another version points out that though the terms pallao, pulao and pilav were invented by the Persians and Arabs, it was already referred to as pallo or pulao in Sanskrit and Tamil much before the Muslim rulers invaded India. There is even reference of Yaggaseni cooking pulao in Mahabharata. Maharshi Charaka had mentioned in Ayurveda that rice cooked with meat, spinach, oil, ghee and miscellaneous fruits is tasty, heartening, restorative and nutritious.


Let’s come back to our Bengali version of the pulao. As per food researchers, Basanti pulao is believed to have originated from the Shahjahani Zard pulao.  An interesting fact to note is that the royal kitchen of Shah Jahan used sugar heavily in pulao and even in meat dishes! Eventually, the Bengali zamindars got influenced by the Nawabs of Murshidabad and started using saffron in their food. It soon became a famous celebratory dish among commoners too and saffron being expensive, was substituted by turmeric.


This pulao is cooked with a special kind of aromatic rice called Gobindobhog. As it is quite difficult to find this rice variety outside West Bengal (India), I have always used Basmati rice and it tastes equally good. There are various forms of recipe for this dish, but I have written the one taught to me by my mother, who in turn was taught by her mother. Let’s have a look:


Serving: 4 persons

Ingredients:

1. 350gm Basmati rice
2. 75gm ghee
3. 5gm ginger paste
4. 3 green chilies
5. 1.5 tsp sugar
6. 1/2 tsp turmeric
7. 1/4 cup cashew nuts
8. 1/4 cup raisins
9. 5 pcs. cloves
10. 4 pcs. cardamom
11. 2 bay leaves
12. 1 cinnamon stick
13. 0.7 litre water
14. salt to taste

Method:

Posto: Poppy seeds
Narkel: Coconut
Dim: Egg


You must have heard of egg curry and egg masala. But a Bengali knows how to jazz up an ordinary egg curry and make it similar to Shorshe Illish (Fish in Mustard Gravy).
Here I am sharing a rendition of Shorshe Dim that has posto and narkel. I have also tweaked the recipe by adding onion and tomatoes for a thick gravy. Earlier I replaced tomatoes with 1/2 cup plain yogurt and it turned out equally good.


Try once this way, and you will be licking your fingers!

Ingredients for 4 Servings:

1. 2 medium size onions
2. 2 medium size tomatoes
3. 5-6 garlic cloves
4. 2-3 green chillies slit
5. 3 tbsp. desiccated coconut (you can also use fresh scraped coconut)
6. 1 tbsp. shorshe-posto powder/paste (click to buy Foodie Shorshe Posto)
7. 2 tsp. haldi
8. 2 tsp. red chilly powder
9. 2 tsp. dhania powder
10. 1 tsp. sugar
11. 4 hard boiled eggs
12. 1 small bunch fresh coriander leaves/dhania patta
13. salt to taste
14. mustard oil for cooking

Method:

When I do not know what new cake I shall bake, I go back to the basics and make a classic pound cake.


From a regular cake, pound cake is denser and richer.
I add little yogurt and this additional dairy makes cake very moist.


I also reduced the amount of flour and instead add semolina and this does two things: A) semolina has a tendency to swell and soak up liquids. So, when added to the cake batter, during baking, your cake will definitely double in size. B) after baking the texture of cake changes. It is not smooth but rather grainy and bouncy.


If you want to go the traditional way, then omit semolina completely and add a total of 1.5 cups of flour. Also, no need to add 1/2 cup milk if not adding semolina.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1 cup castor sugar
3. 1/2 cup semolina
4. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
5. 1/2 cup plain sour yogurt
6. 1/2 cup milk
7. 2 tsp. almond essence (click to buy Ossoro Almond Essence)
8. 1 tsp. vanilla essence (click to buy Ossoro French Vanilla)
9. 1 tsp. baking powder
10. 1/8 tsp. baking soda
11. 1/8 tsp. salt
12. 2 eggs

Method:

Ingredients for 12 servings

1. 100 gms chocolate slab (70 % dark) broken to pieces and melted
2. 3 eggs
3. 2 cups hazelnuts (click to buy Dryfruit Hazelnuts)
4. 1/3 cup sugar
5. 1/4 cup flavourless vegetable oil
6. 1/4 cup full fat milk
7. 1 tbsp. hazelnut extract/essence (click to buy Ossoro Hazelnut Essence)
8. 1 tsp. vanilla essence (click to buy Ossoro French Vanilla)
9. 1/4 tsp. salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius.
Prepare a baking pan by greasing the sides and lining the bottom with a baking paper.
Toast the hazelnuts lightly in a pan.
Cool them and then roll and rub them with a kitchen cloth. This will get rid of the skins easily.
Grind the hazelnuts to a fine powder texture in a grinder or food processor.
Beat the eggs till they are fluffy and almost double in volume.
In a large mixing bowl, pour the melted chocolate and whisk it with oil.
Fold in the beaten eggs and milk.
Slowly add the hazelnut powder and salt.
Fold carefully with a spatula.
Lastly, add the hazelnut and vanilla extract.
Pour this batter into your baking pan.
Cover the sides with aluminium foil and place it in a deep baking tray.
Fill the tray with hot water. This will ensure thorough baking and keep your brownie moist.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let it cool on a wire rack and garnish the top with some chopped hazelnuts.
Store it in the fridge for about a week and enjoy!


Sohini Nandi

Soya is a one of the staples in a vegetarian household after paneer and vegetables.


So, to think of innovative ideas using the same ingredient becomes a must.


I have a recipe that is a lot like the Paneer Butter Masala or Kadhai Paneer. Delicious and creamy, this dish with soya is nothing like you have very tried.


A little cumbersome because of the steps involved, but once you try its easy and you will always make it this way.


There are quite a few ways in which you can enjoy this recipe. For example, you can opt out the capsicum. You can reduce the gravy for a more stir fried style wit masala. Or add more water for a thin gravy. Either way, the dish does turns out well.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup soya (half granules and half chunks)
2. 1/2 cup fresh cream
3. 2 medium size onion roughly chopped
4. 1 large tomato roughly chopped
5. 1 large onion diced
6. 1 capsicum diced
7. 1 inch ginger
8. 4-5 garlic cloves
9. 3-4 green chillies
10. 3 elaichi
11. 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
12. 1 tbsp. kasuri methi
13. 4 tsp. red chilly powder
14. 2 tsp. dhania powder
15. 2 tsp. zeera whole
16. 1 tsp. haldi
17. 1 tsp. sugar
18. 1 tsp. sauf
19. salt to taste
20. vegetable oil for cooking

Method: