KHICHUDI/ KHICHDI
INGREDIENTS
one cup gobindobhog rice (gowindabhog)
one cup +1/4th mug (moong) dal
veggies like potatoes, cauliflower, broad beans , cowpea, green peas, carrots ( I like) etc.
mustard oil
ghee
salt
haldi powder
sugar (optional, but most Bengalis add)
tomato+ginger+green chilli paste
bay leaves for tempering
dried red chillies for tempering
jeera / cumin for tempering
jeera powder or paste
Wash and soak the rice for half an hour atleast. Roast and soak the daal as well. Bring water to boil in a deep bottomed pan or handi. Add the rice followed by the daal. Add salt and turmeric and let it boil.
IN another kadhai heat mustard oil , temper with tejpatta, whole cumin and dried red chillies. Add tomato +ginger+ chilli paste, cook for a while. At this stage you may add cumin paste/ jeere bata or jeera powder. Then add salt, haldi, sugar, veggies and fry them nicely with the masala.
Now assemble the tempered and fried veggies and rice and dal and let it cook on a medium flame. After one good boil adjust the seasoning. Add ghee. Once done sprinkle jeera powder (freshly roasted and ground). Cover the pan. Allow atleast 15minutes of standing time.
Some like their khichdi runny/ watery, some like it thick . Some with a generous amount of ghee or butter, some like it light. When it comes to serving and taste , I always say,
"TO EACH HIS/ HER OWN".
LABDA/ LABRA (MIXED VEGETABLE)
INGREDIENTS
Mustard oil
Panch phoran
Dried red chillies (Shukno lonka)
Ginger paste
Green chilli paste
Salt
Turmeric
Sugar
Ghee
Roasted and ground panch phoran (bhaja moshla)
Veggies like potatoes, cabbage,banana stem, brinjal, parwal, beans, broad beans, pumpkin, raddish, carrots..
In nicely heated mustard oil add panchforan, dried red chillies, little bit of ginger and green chilli paste , all the veggies , salt, haldi, sugar, fry on a high flame for few minutes then cover the kadhai with a heavy lid and cook on a low flame till done and the water has dried up. Once done add ghee and ground panch phoran and keep it covered till served.
NOTE:-
You may cut the veggies as per your liking but traditionally, potatoes, pumpkins, raw banana, brinjals are cut into cubes. Whereas the others like carrots, raddish parwals are cut lengthwise. Banana stem is cut into smaller pieces compared to other vegetables.
BEGUNI (BRINJAL FRITTERS)
INGREDIENTS
Brinjals , thinly sliced , length wise or round
Besan ( chickpea), rice flour (one fourth of besan), salt, haldi, kalo jeere/ kalounji/ nigella seeds ( few)
Chat masala or black salt (to sprinkle on the fritters while serving)
Slice the brinjal and smear the slices with very little salt+haldi+sugar and keep aside. For the batter mix all the ingredients nicely with water. The batter should not be very thin, the consistency should be such that you are able to coat each slice nicely .
The last step is to fry the eggplant slices nice and crispy.
Always make sure that you have smoked the oil properly before frying. turn off the flame and reheat the oil, keep it on a medium flame while frying the fritters. It helps if a little hot oil ( about a tablespoon) is added to the batter and mixed well before dunking the slices. This trick works for almost all types of deep fried food.
MY RECIPE, MY STYLE
