Egg Avocado Sandwich

 

 

Sweet creamy avocado, aren’t they tasty? It is very recently upon coming down to US I have become

aware of a lot many usages of avocado in a variety of delicacies. Usually, avocado is ripened in

normal temperature for 3-4 days before being put to use. Ripe and overripe avocados are of creamy

texture, easily giving away under pressure of your fingers. In case the avocados are not ripe but you

need to use them immediately, you may boil the avocados in microwave for 5-8 minutes and then

crush them. Although over ripe avocados are tastier, but the ones softened through boiling also taste

good, at least I like them.

Egg Cauliflower Curry

Sometimes in life you meet a host of complicated people filling your life with complications leaving you to wonder the implication of their actions and words which are way apart from each other. You feel confused, not sure of how to measure the wavering idiosyncrasies in their behaviour, which confuse you to no end. Quite complex, isn't it? "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L James is centred round the character of Mr. Christian Grey, complex as ever whose mood shifts from 90° to 360° within seconds making his girlfriend confused as ever about what he wants and what he doesn't. I am now into the first sequel of this book "Fifty Shades Darker" and wondering what would have happened had I been up face to face with such a troubled soul whose dichotomies and contradicting behaviour would have tossed all my rationales aside. Puzzle is interesting when your life is not revolved round it.

About the book, the story was really interesting when I was reading the first part "Fifty Shades of Grey", but then the banal repetition of the same course of events has left me quite weary practically. So I am taking a bit time off from the book to post this fascinating recipe of egg curry cooked with cauliflower. To be frank, it is a very simple recipe, not very post worthy. I have used cauliflower only in vegetables, but you may toss some green peas, mushroom, sweet corns and carrots if you want.

 

Doi Begun

 

 

I wonder at times how the recipe of Jhal Muri notching one of the most viewed recipes in my blog week after weeks. It makes me wonder because when I was posting the recipe, I was least expecting it to be so popular. There is an array of other innovative dishes to draw in people's attention than the ordinary Jhal Muri so casually concocted by mothers to satiate the evening hunger-pinch of their wards. Not that I mind for it being popular, but still I can't stop wondering. May be people prefer easy to do simple dishes over the garish ones.

So keeping in mind my readers' penchant for simplicity, I am posting a very traditional yet a simple breezy recipe of eggplant that can be conjured up within a jiffy. No wonder, why it's my favorite.

 

 

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

 

Have anyone of you suffered from the bee infestation problem in your apartment? If you do, then you know what I am talking about; if don't then you don't have a damn idea how terrifying the problem could be especially if spirals out of control. Now recently one of my friends was telling me about how the bees inhabiting their building have become resistant to all kinds of repellants including sprays and toxic fumes that no means of driving the bees away are working any longer. The bees scatter and hide for a while when people gathered in troops blow away smoke of fire or hurl toxic sprays and return again after all is clean rebuilding the hive in exactly as my friend mouthed "5 minutes." In search of some good ways to repel bees, I came across an interesting write-up with methods detailed step by step as how to get rid of bees infested in your home. Anybody suffering from the similar bee or wasp infestation may find the article useful. Here goes the link below:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6366394_rid-honey-bees-infested-home.html
 

I love peanut butter, especially the nutty smell of it. This bunch of peanut butter cupcakes are one of my favourite cupcakes. My hubby loves them too.

 

 

Dimer Halua - Egg Halua

My niece studies in class XI in one of the largest reputed chains of private schools in India. She is good in studies, having topped in her school in the board exam and notched a rank state wise. We were so happy when she passed out with an outstanding result in her board and pinned high hopes on her to repeat the same stellar performance in the upcoming class twelfth board. But since her class X board exam after all the awards and attention she was lavished upon by her school, teachers and a felicitation from the governor of WB, she turned a victim of bullying from her peers who absolutely tried every means to make her feel worthless. Her friends began taunting and ignoring her in the school and in her desperation to mingle with the group of friends, she, soon in order to join the league abandoned books and started spending more time with her friends to stay in their good books. Many a time, she came home crying over how her class mates discredited her merit calling her a 'mugger' who scored high on her mugging capacity rather than intelligence.

 

 

It's a complete vicious circle sucking her into a vortex of negativity and I can only imagine how lonely a 16 years old might feel in her class that in order to obtain companionship, she mirrors the action of her friends in bunking classes, roaming around with them just to get a sense of belonging. Now with her class XI exam knocking at the door and huge syllabi to cover my niece, panic-stricken, having suffered a nervous breakdown recently has to be taken to a psychiatrist for counseling.

 

 

 

Parents put their children into renowned schools at the cost of a huge monetary investment including donations and fees, expecting a good future for their children in return. But what do parents do when the environment of a school is so money-oriented with rich brats coming from wealthy families that the value of education becomes a matter of least concern for many students who know their rich fathers would buy them degrees from reputed institutes of abroad no matter how they function academically in school level?  No wonder the audacity of a 16 year old boy, a classmate of my niece, mocking at her how she with her outstanding academic record would remain a mediocre in terms of material success while guys like 'he' would shine.

 

 

Back to the recipe, Dimer Halua is an egg version of conventional Semolina Halua. Everything done to cook an appetizing Semolina Halua is repeated to concoct its eggy counterpart.

Mutton Safed Korma

Yesterday I watched a very touching movie on Holocaust that tugged at my heartstrings. Sarah's Key is a French movie based on Tatiana de Rosnay's best-selling novel that recaptures the event of Vel' d'Hiv' roundup during which 13,000 Jews were crammed in a stadium for 10 days without food and water by the French Police before being deported to Auschwitz. It revolves round the story of an 11 years old girl who during the roundup in order to save her little brother from discovery locked him up in a hidden closet in their home, hopeful she would release him upon returning home within hours. But how the events took turn and how she suffered the most horrific tragedy of her life that changed her future from thereon is something that would spring tears to anyone's eyes.

 

I didn't know about the involvement of French authority in the extermination of Jews until I watched this movie. It is astonishing and terrifying to think about the roles, the super powers of the world played in bringing a race almost on the verge of extinction. The more I read and watch about holocaust, the more shocking pieces of information spill out taking me by surprise. The facts and events of what transpired within the span of 6 years would always intrigue the posterity.

Mutton Safed Korma is an exotic white mutton curry cooked with stupendous quantity of yogurt and kheer. If khoya kheer is not readily available in your region, you may use whipping cream as substitute. The original recipe I cooked it from didn't have an iota of spice added to it, but not sure how the mutton would turn out completely devoid of spice, I added a hint of cumin and coriander powder and the final product was awesome, finger-licking good. 

 

Cauliflower Paratha - Phulkopir Paratha

Our Saturday began with watching movies in the afternoon; first one in the lot was 'The Deadman' starring Johnny Depp. I am a huge Johnny Depp fan trying to catch all of his movies but that the act of choosing 'Deadman' was a terrible mistake I realized half an hour through the movie when my hubby started snoring away, the slow theme of the movie having lulled him to sleep. Struggling to keep eyes open over an hour, I too finally gave into the soporific effect and fell asleep. So people suffering from insomnia instead of sedatives may try watching 'The Deadman' because it is sleep-inducing, the title appropriately befitting the movie for it really makes people dead, dead in sleep...lol

 

 

For night there were two movies in the checklist, one was 'Chinatown' starring Jack Nicholson and 'Charade' starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Both were breathtaking to watch. Fraught with gripping suspense and quandaries to solve, both the movies kept us on edge till the final climax. It was 2 hours past into midnight when we finally hit the sack.

While we entertained ourselves watching movies back to back, our menu for the night consisted of something special - Cauliflower Paratha. Little different in making from the conventional parathas, where the parathas are rolled out with the stuffing inside, this paratha is first rolled out before being filled with the stuffing and each morsel of this crunchy paratha is pure pleasure, reminding you of the taste of Alu - Phulkopir Singara.

 

Peyazkoli Diye Dim

 

I love peyazkoli, it has a certain taste enhancement quality. The scent of fresh peyazkoli is so

invigorating.  These days I am adding it to almost any dish possible, the reason being the easy

availability of fresh peyazkolis in bountiful across the market. The spring onions that are available

round the year are not as sweet-smelling as the ones of winter, smelling of pristine morning dews.

Their freshness infuses life into a dish, lending a beautiful crispness bursting with flavours.
 

 

Chana Dal Khichdi - Cholar Dal er Khichuri

Snuggling in the coziness of bed even for an extra 5 minutes could be so rewarding in the winter mornings when clambering out from under the quilt seems nothing short of a torture. I remember how my father in order to wake me up every morning, during winter, would tiptoe into my room and loosen the fastening of the moshari (mosquito netting) from all of the four bed poles, the net untied loose flopping over me in a clumsy mess forcing me to get up. Fuming for being forced out of sleep I would swear few obscene words under my breath with sheer irritation at him before stomping out of the room. My father, as if deriving some sort of impish pleasure at my exasperation would flash one of his wickedest grin sending thousand vaults of irritation through my vein.  Now those moments of irritation make me moist as I fondly remember my father who is fast getting old and losing his faculties, one after another. Time just whizzes by and soon the moments comprising our present change into a cluster of distant dreams lived long back stowed in the dungeon of memories.

I miss my parents a lot these days especially when I am unable to meet them. It's been a year since I have seen them last. My father's deteriorating health has been a growing concern for me; the only consolation is my elder siblings are there in Kolkata taking care of him whenever needed. That my parents are not alone entirely gives me immense mental peace.

Khichuri was once a sought-after item in our menu. When sick, cold and tired or simply lethargic to make a time-consuming preparation for a meal, our one and only solution lied in khichuri. Make a bucketload of khichuri and enjoy for two days at a stretch. No need to scurry around the kitchen chopping veggies and cooking or cooking and grinding, just toss some regular ingredients together and a hearty fulfilling meal is ready. Cholar Dal er Khichuri is one of my favourite khichuris, because of its simplicity in the making. The soothing aroma wafting from the rice lentil concoction infused with ghee makes this khichuri a relish to have.

Prawn Tawa Masala

My hubby had been pestering me to watch the recent Russell Crowe flick "Broken City" in the evening show over last three four days, which I was putting off to save myself from going out in the freezing cold. Yesterday was the coldest day of the season in Ohio, temperature dropping down to -15C. Burrowed under the quilt since morning, I barely got out of the bed unless absolutely necessary until my hubby came home from office grinning from ear to ear, betraying a hint of conspiracy and flashed me the tickets for the evening show. I was furious, giving my big thumbs down to the idea of stepping out of the cozy cocoon of our home into the blistering cold for the sake of anything; furious because he chose the coldest day of the season to force me out of home for watching a movie. Now he really knows how to win me over for something I am unwilling to do. He wears the saddest look possible with eyes pleading of wistful longing and I guarantee he can even get away with murder with that look. Once again caught in the web of his sorrowful pleading eyes I relented and pronto, we went for the movie. He was happy.

 

 

The movie was really nice, as usual keeping in with his trademark charisma Russell Crowe essayed his role brilliantly and I was mesmerized to see him, even in a negative character. Some men may grow old, but the sparkle and magnetism in their personalities continue to disarm people with an unfading effect. Russell Crowe is one of them.

Prawn Tawa Masala is another awesome prawn preparation ideal to be had with fried rice or pulao. Medium spicy, the tanginess lent by lemon juice and a nutty flavor attributed by the addition of spring onions transform the dish into a meal worth craving. Hope you guys will enjoy!!

 

Dal Dhokli

I love potluck get-togethers for the opportunities galore to indulge in long heartwarming conversation with friends and the chance of laying hand on new recipes completely novel and unheard of. I have seen my friends get into an experimental mode and bring in the best of dishes they cook on potlucks. It becomes increasingly difficult to catch notice for culinary skill in the midst of a crowd of well-versed cooks. In one of such get-togethers, one of our Marathi friends cooked Dal Dhokli which was first of its kind of preparations I ever had. The dhoklis were soft, melt-in-the mouth texture and the dal was exquisitely brilliant with a hint of curry leaves and the taste of coconut prevailing over.

With the longing to try it on my own, I quickly noted down the recipe in my memory as she hurriedly ran over the ingredients and described the process in a nutshell. When the first time I tried it at home, I made the mistake of adding dhoklis more than needed and the turnout was very thick in consistency. Further, I messed up with the estimation of the number of kokums to be added and so the tartness was predominating in flavour, not quite up to my taste bud. My first attempt marked out the points I goofed up and hence while cooking it next time, I was more cautious. Happily, my second attempt turned out to be successful and satisfactory. One good thing about dal dhokli is it is a meal in itself and you can have it all by itself or with rice or roti. 

Rosogollar Payesh

Few days back I bought a tin of sealed rosogollas from an Indian grocery store here. I knew immediately after putting one rosogolla into my mouth that I would have difficulty to finish the rest. I was pretty disappointed and started racking my brain as how to make use of them otherwise. One option was disposing them into the dustbin which went against the principle that I strictly adhere to about not wasting food. Then the idea of making rosogolla payesh struck my mind. In Kolkata, once a relative gifted us 100 rosogollas while paying a visit. Impossible for the two of us to polish off such a humongous amount of rosogollas on our own, we distributed some to our cook and maid but still a considerable number was left. Then my mother suggested me to make rosogolla payesh with the excess.

So this is what I do usually whenever I buy the sealed rosogollas from the market because most of the time I don't like the way they taste compared to what we are used to in Kolkata. Since the time I have left Bengal, one thing that I have been missing beyond words is rosogolla. Couple of times I have made rosogollas at home, but the taste never matches the ones we get in sweet shops. 

 

Mangsher Kochuri - Chicken Kochuri

The highest temperature of the day was in the morning today with 7°F. Now as the day is rolling on, temperature is dropping sharply. There are cautions made to the residents of not stepping out in the evening because of the frosty wind forecasted to give feel-like of -20°C. I don't know what got on me; I spent half an hour in the morning today walking outdoor circling round our entire complex in a bid to shed those extra calories accumulated over a week lolling on bed throughout the day in full hibernation mode. I returned home only when my ears started ringing and my head started throbbing from the cold. It was kind of adventurous walking outdoor amidst such a bone-rattling cold when you see no soul walking in the open. I wonder what my mother would have told had she seen my daredevilry. Besides the occasional sneezing, I have not caught any flu or fever due to this morning stunt, at least so far. Hopefully, I will remain okay through the night.

Yesterday I posted the awesome recipe of Doi Diye Alur Dum which I had ravenously eaten with mangsher kochuri. Now the idea of preparing mangsher kochuri was totally instantaneous. One of my friends in his recent uploaded snaps of a food fiesta had one item catching my eyes conspicuously among a host of other delicacies. Mangsher Kochuri. To be truthful, I never heard of this unique combination before. I was feeling tempted to try it but I didn't have the recipe handy. I scoured the cyber world in hope of getting some ideas about how to cook mangsher kochuri and there I came across a slew of recipes of Koraishutir kochuri, but no trace of the one I was looking for. Then an idea flashed in my mind as about following the same procedure as koraishutir kochuri to concoct its veritable non veg counterpart. Having slightly modified the process as required for cooking a non-veg item, I finally came up with my own recipe of mangsher kochuri and needless to say, the turnout was yummylicious.