One Pot Ham and Peas Fusilli Pasta

Kolkata Food Bloggers encourages new and interactive events where its members can showcase versatility and passion. Our new ongoing event is featuring one member for a week where the chosen one gets to decide on a theme of their choice. For this week, our featured blogger is Chitrangada Kundu who blogs from Color and Spices, a blog with wonderful recipes and amazing breath-taking food photography. 

Recently, KFB held a demo workshop where Chitrangada tried explaining us a thing or two about Food photography. I was lucky to get an opportunity to attend the same and was enthralled at her knowledge and passion. With the limited time, she tried to pack in as much information as possible and shared lots of her hard-learned tips. 

For this week, our event showcases One Pot meal wonders. I have been elusive of this fuss free way of cooking and decided to try an easy pasta recipe. This is literally a dump in kind of a recipe where everything is just put in the pan and then allowed to cook. Simple and easy as a breeze, it is a quick way to beat some sudden hunger pangs.

Ingredients : Serves 2

• 1/2 cup Fusilli Pasta
• 1/4 cup chicken ham, cubed
• handful of green peas
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp of mixed dried herbs
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup milk
• parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Procedure : 

Heat oil in a pan and saute onions till translucent. Add chopped garlic and ham cubes. Stir for a minute.

Add flour and the fusilli pasta and mix.

Stir in water and milk. 

Add salt and pepper.

Cook for 10-15 minutes and then stir in the peas.

Cook for another 5 minutes or till the pasta is done. 

Sprinkle parmesan cheese and dried herbs on top and serve. 

This recipe is part of Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event One Pot meals which features our blogger Chitrangada Kundu who blogs from Color and Spices

Happy Enjoying a fuss free One Pot meal

Amrita

Matar ke Chilke ki Subzi aur Pakode-Grandma recipe

Matar ke chilke ki subzi

Matar ke chilke ke pakode

I have beautiful memories of my Grandmother, who we fondly called 'Beji', warming herself in the winter sun while her fingers working non-stop on one thing or the other. Either it was peeling loads of carrot to make her lipsmacking Gajar ka halwa or my favourite Gajar ki kheer, or peeling loads of peas which were used with all sorts of vegetables. She had some amazing recipes under her sleeves which she would love to rustle up for her family. And her mantra was no wastage. Almost everything that could be cooked was put to use. She would walk herself to the market and get vegetables and fruits picking the best with her experienced eyes. Every month, I remember, she would hand wash the wheat grains, cleaning them to be ground to flour for everyday use. I remember she would keep telling us, spend as much as you want when the thing is really important and save as much as you can when that thing is not very significant. Penny by penny, she saved to run her family and tend to it very lovingly. 

It has been about 10 years she left us for her heavenly abode but I still miss her. Miss her warmth, her love, her wise words, her sweet chatter and her amazing recipes. Time heals the pain of losing her but I think of her every now and then and wish I could have spent more time with her. She lives today through her recipes that I keep attempting which are far from mimicking that same flavour and taste. I am sure it was that extra dollop of love that went in each dish which made it so special.

Today I am sharing my Beji's special Matar ke chilke which she would use to make a subji and even make Pakode out of it every winter. 

How to peel the chilke:

Take out the peas from the pods and open it. Break a little tip from the top and pull it down. You will see a thin peel coming off. Try and bring it all the way down. If it breaks in the middle, try peeling from the other end. Throw the thin peels and save the chilke for use.

Chilke ki subzi 

Ingredients : For 2 servings

• 20 pieces of peas chilka
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut in bite size
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic pods, chopped
• 1 mediom sized tomato, chopped
• 1 green chilly, chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Procedure : 

Wash and pat dry matar ke chilke.

Chop them roughly in 1" pieces.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan/kadai and add the chopped onions. As they start changing colour add the chopped garlic and green chilly and cook for a minute.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. 

As you see the oil separating from the masala, add turmeric powder and salt and stir well.

Add the potatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add a little water for the potatoes to cook. Cover and cook for another 2 minutes. 

When the potatoes are half done, add the chopped matar ke chilke. 

Cook for about 5 minutes or till well cooked.

Serve with roti or rice and dal.

Chilke ke Pakode

Ingredients : For 2 servings

• 10-15 Matar ke chilke
• 1 tbsp besan/chickpea flour
• 1 tbsp chawal ka atta/rice flour
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• a pinch of turmeric powder
• oil for frying

Procedure : 

Wash and pat dry matar ke chilke.

Cut them in 1 1/2" pieces.

Take besan and chawal ka atta in a bowl. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix well.

Add water, little by little to get a dropping consistency of the batter. It should not be too thick or thin. 

Heat oil in a deep pan/kadai.

Drop the batter laden chilke in the hot oil. 

Cook till they get a light brown colour and drain on an absorbent paper.

Serve these crispy yummies with imli/tamarind chutney.

Matar chilka chaat

I experimented with the crispy pakodas and added them to my chaat along with chopped onions, chopped coriander, imli/tamarind chutney, dollops of curd and bhujia sprinkled on top. It was truly amazing.

Happy Chilka experimenting

Amrita

Bada Memsaheb ka Vegetable Seekh Kebab

Pic courtsey Kamalika Chakrabarty

Kolkata, or Calcutta as we all fondly still call, is a city that has been a host to various religions and nationalities like British, Chinese, Jews, Sikhs, Gujratis, Biharis etc. All these settlers with time have brought in some unique changes to the cuisine of Kolkata. One such famous and irrefutable change in the local cuisine was brought in by The British rule. Usage of local ingredients, restrained use of spices and western techniques gave birth to a unique cuisine which lived especially on a variety of 'Finger food' popularized in the clubs of Kolkata.

We are proud to announce that Kolkata Food Bloggers are working as co-organizers of the annual event Nutrifest, 2013 organized by KPC School of Nutrition and Food, Kolkata. Extensive research has been done by the KPC team to dig out recipes and history from places like Rajbari's to restaurants and clubs. The theme for this year is "Laatsaheb er Bangali Khanshama" which means the influence of British rule on Bengali cuisine. The search was for food which originated in the British era and can still be found in some prestigious clubs of Kolkata. 

The recipe that is shared here today is one of the by-forgotten ones and is uniquely named Burra Memsaheb-er vegetable Seekh Kebab (Bada Memsaheb ka Vegetable Seekh kebab) Along with its unique name, the kebab is supposed to be constructed of three elements each of which gave a Sweet, Spicy and Tangy flavour to it.

I have tried to recreate this famous dish by incorporating all the three flavours into the kebab. For the sweet flavour I have used Raisins and sweet corns, for the spicy flavour I have added green chillies and red chilli powder and for the tangy flavour, I have used chaat masala and lemon juice. 

Kolkata Food Bloggers got together to make a video shoot of this recipe along with some others. The video link shall be uploaded to this blog post as soon as it is released. 

Ingredients : For 5-6 seekhs(as in the picture with 2 kebabs in each)

• 2 large potatoes, boiled
• 1/4 cup green peas, boiled
• 1/4 cup sweet corn, boiled
• 1 carrot, chopped and boiled
• 10 french beans, chopped and boiled
• 1/4 cup cabbage, chopped
• 2 tbsp roasted gram flour/besan
• 1 tbsp cashewnut powder
• 5-6 pieces of raisin/kishmish, chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 green chilly, chopped (optional)
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• 1 tsp roasted cumin/jeera powder
• Green bell pepper, tomato and onion squares for garnishing

Procedure :
Take 1/2  tbsp oil in a pan and saute the ginger-garlic paste and the chopped green chilly for 2 minutes. Add the chopped cabbage and saute for a minute.  Remove from heat and keep aside.
Take a big bowl and add potatoes. Mash them. 
Add the boiled vegetables like green peas, sweet corn, carrots and french beans and mash them well. 
Now mix in the ginger-garlic, green chilly and cabbage mixture.
Add in salt, red chilli powder, chaat masala and roasted jeera powder.
Now add the cashewnut powder(made by simply grinding 5-6 cashewnuts), roasted gram flour/besan (made by dry roasting gram flour/besan) and chopped raisins. Mix well. 
Soak some wooden skewers in water for 1/2 hour. 
Take a little portion of the vegetable mixture and press it around the wooden skewer shaping it as a cylinder. Make two such shaped cylinders on one skewer.
Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. 
Line a baking tray with an aluminium foil and lightly grease it with oil.
Place the skewers on it and bake for 15-20 minutes or till golden brown from all sides. You will require to turn sides in between for uniform browning. 
Take 1/2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute the green bell pepper, tomato and onion squares.
Insert the sauteed garnishing in the skewers and serve with a yogurt-mayonnaise dip where you add equal quantity of hung curd and mayonnaise and adjust seasonings.
Add a dash of lemon juice on top of the kebabs before serving.

Notes : 

• You may reduce the spiciness to suit your taste buds by not adding the green chilly.
• In case, you cannot shape the kebabs on the wooden skewer, shape them into cylinders and bake them and later thread them through the skewers. 
• In case the vegetables feel hard while mashing, roughly grind them in a mixer and then add to the other ingredients.

A special and heartfelt note of thanks to Kamalika Chakrabarty for providing me these lovely pictures which were taken during the video shoot. 

Check some more interesting recipes from the British era like Deemer devil and Country Captain Chicken on these links. 

Disclaimer : The entire history and recipe has been provided by KPC team. I have just tried recreating the original version with my little changes.
 

Happy By-gone era kebab relishing

Amrita

Stuffed Pav Bhaji Rolls-Indianized Hokkaido bread

People who love to eat, are always the best people!! Julia Child

Coming from a Sikh family, cooking and eating has been an integral part way of our lives. At breakfast, we discuss lunch and at lunch we settle on our dinner menu, everyday! Growing up in a foodie family and then getting married to an equally food loving family has made a non cook/baker like me to experiment and enjoy food. In fact, that is precisely the reason me and Vishal started this blog, because of our love to experiment, invent and share food. We have just completed one beautiful year of blogging and look forward to further grow our passion of learning and sharing food through this amazing medium.

Through blogging we got the opportunity to virtually meet and learn from some wonderful fellow passionate foodies. One such group of amazing bakers are the 'We Knead to Bake' and I am so glad to be part of this extremely talented group. The bread bake for this month is Hokkaido Milk bread with Tangzhong.

This technique of bread baking uses an ingredient called Tangzhong which is made by cooking flour with 5 times water at 65 degrees Celsius to form a roux. It is said that at 65 degrees, the gluten in the flour mixture will absorb the moisture creating a leavening action. This Tangzhong when added with other ingredients of bread produces extremely soft, tender and fluffy bread.  

This is a very versatile recipe and can be easily adapted to make/shape any sort of bread with amazingly soft results.

Pavs-9 regular sized 

Ingredients: I halved the original recipe adapted from Kirbie's Cravings, original recipe from 65 Degrees Tangzhong “65C Bread Doctor” by Yvonne Chen

Tangzhong - Flour water Roux

• 5 tbsp All purpose flour
• 4 tbsp water
• 4 tbsp milk

Bread dough 

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, powdered
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp powdered milk
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp cream
• 1 tsp Instant yeast 
• 5 tbsp Tangzhong 
• 1 tbsp butter, softened

Procedure:

Tangzhong
Whisk together flour, water and milk in a saucepan. Place on a stove over medium heat and let it cook till it starts thickening while stirring continuously. Cook till it reaches 65 degrees Celsius or else till you see lines forming in this mixture (roux). Remove from heat and let it cool completely for 2-3 hours.

Bread dough 
Mix flour, salt, sugar, powdered milk and instant yeast in a bowl and mix well. 
Mix milk, cream and Tangzhong in another bowl, till smooth.
Add the milk Tangzhong mixture to the flour mixture and process on low speed using a  food processor/hand mixer with dough hooks till the dough comes together or else knead with hands for 10 mins.
Add butter and process till the dough is smooth and elastic. 
The dough can be sticky to begin with but will become smooth if you keep kneading (Tons of patience required to not add any more flour)
Form the dough in a ball and keep in a well oiled bowl, coating all sides. 
Cover with a damp muslin cloth and let it rise in a warm place  for an hour or till it gets double in size.
Pinch 9 equal sized balls from the dough. 
Roll each about the size of your palm and spread some garlic chutney and some Bhaji as filling. Seal the edges and give a round shape to the stuffed dough.

Place the dough balls in a well oiled square tin.

 
(You may skip the stuffing step if you want to make just the Pav buns.)
Cover with a damp muslin cloth and let it rise for another hour.
Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsius.
Brush the tops of the bread with milk cream mixture or just milk.

Bake for 20-25 mins or till the tops are browned well. 

Bhaji

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized Potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1/2 medium sized Green capsicum, chopped
• 1/2 cup green peas, boiled
• 1/4 cup little florets of Cauliflower
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 2 medium sized Tomatoes, blanched in hot water, skin removed and pureed
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• 1 tbsp Pav Bhaji masala
• 1 tsp red chilli powder 
• Juice of a lemon  
• few drops of orange red food colouring

Procedure :

Take 2-3 tbsp oil in a deep pan/kadhai , add 1 tsp of cumin seeds and as it browns add onions. 

Add ginger garlic paste. Let it cook for a while. 

Add chopped cauliflower, carrot and capsicum. Let it cook for 4-5 mins. 

Add peas and tomato puree. 

Mix well and add mashed potatoes. 

Add salt, red chilli powder and Pav bhaji masala.

Mix lemon juice.

Using a masher, mash all the veggies well.

Let it cook till all the veggies are mashed and the bhaji has thickened. 

Add food colour to your liking or avoid this step.

Check the seasoning and adjust to your liking.

Garnish with spring onions.

Garlic Chutney

Ingredients:

• 3-4 dried red chillies, deseeded
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 10-12 garlic pods
• salt to taste

Procedure:

Soak dried red chillies in white vinegar for 1 hour. 

Remove and grind with garlic and salt to a fine paste. 

Add some water to give chutney consistency. 

 

This method of bread making is surely a keeper with  the bread being remarkably soft. The bread is as soft as my Cheesy chicken stuffed braided bread which uses the scalded flour method. Personally I liked both the methods as they have yielded super soft bread.

The choice to shape this bread dough in endless and it can be easily used to try your hands on any bread bake.

 

This recipe is getting Yeastspotted and is being sent to Bake fest#17 brainchild of Vardhini, What's with my cuppa brainchild of Nupur,
Kid’s Delight Event brainchild of Srivalli , Foodabulous Fest Event organised by Simply TADKA,

Happy Modern Pav Bhaji Experience
Amrita

Green Peas and Sweet Corn soup-quick, simple and zero oil

"It [soup] breathes reassurance, it offers consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability...There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup, it's wisp of aromatic steam teasing the nostrils into quivering anticipation." 

Louis P. DeGouy, Waldorf-Astoria chef, The Soup Book (1949) 

What is about winter that makes you want good food, comfort and a cozy chatty time with your loved ones? Winter exuberates warmth. Winter makes you want to come back home soon for that lovely bowl of soup. A bowl of soup that is like a kind friend who soothes your cold body and nourishes you.

I spent most of the winter scared of trying my cold hands on making soup though I had planned and bookmarked many. In fact, I took the timid way out and had packet soups!! Can you believe, a food blogger having ready made soups!! Only after you make your first bowl of soup, will you understand how easy, fresh and yummy a homemade soup can be. I must admit that I had another greedy excuse...Sayantani who blogs from the very famous blog A Homemaker's Diary is holding an amazing giveaway. For sharing a winter warmer recipe, a winner will be randomly chosen and will receive a gift voucher of Rs 1500 from Cuponation. 

This soup was a very hurried attempt and may I say turned out amazingly well. It is one of the easiest, no fuss, healthy and no oil soup. It combines winters two most amazing produce-green peas and sweet corns. Another great bit about this soup is the use of whole wheat flour used to combine and thicken the soup.

Recipe Source: adapted from Tarla Dalal

Ingredients: serves 2

• 1 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup boiled sweet corn, crushed coarsely
• 1/2 medium sized onion, roughly chopped
• 3-4 garlic pods, roughly chopped
• 1 small green chilly, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tbsp whole wheat flour/atta
• salt to taste
• black pepper powder to taste

Procedure:

Take peas, onion, garlic, green chilly and whole wheat flour in a pressure cooker. Add salt and pepper to taste and add 1/2 cup water. Let it cook for two whistles and remove from heat. Allow steam to escape on its own. 

Meanwhile, crush the sweet corns roughly in a mixer.

With a hand blender, blend the peas mixture in the pressure cooker. Strain the mixture to get a smooth consistency.

Take a deep pan and add the pea mixture. Cook on medium flame for few minutes. Add the crushed sweet corns and mix well. Add water to adjust the consistency of the soup. Bring the soup to a boil and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Serve with a small dollop of cream and a sprinkle of red chilli and black pepper powder.

Sending this recipe to A homemaker's diary giveaway sponsored by Cuponation  
to Food corner-cook like a celebrity 
and Winter food in 30 mins

Happy Soup making and enjoying
Amrita