Infolink

AddToAny

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Bengali Kucho Nimki - Salted fried crackers

Yum
“Kucho Nimki” or “Namak Para” is a diamond shaped salty pastry seasoned with kalonji. Kucho Nimki or salted fried crackers are part of Bengali cuisine since ages. Bengalis love this snack with tea in afternoon like anything. Especially it is served during our biggest festival Durga Puja. It actually is not very healthy as it contains maida and deep fried but it is so tasty that I cannot keep it outside my blog anymore. It is very easy to prepare and requires minimal items. The preparation time is also short making it one of the options available during sudden guest arrival. Please check it out:-



Preparation Time: - 15 min


 


Cooking Time: - 20 min


 


Servings: - 4~5 person


 


Ingredients:- 




  1. 1 cup Maida i.e. All-purpose flour
  2. ½ tsp Sugar
  3. 3 tbsp Ghee or clarified butter
  4. 1 tbsp Kalonji / Nigella seeds / KaloJeera
  5. ¼ tsp Baking powder
  6. Sufficient vegetable oil for deep frying ( I used Sunflower oil but you can use any vegetable oil like canola or olive oil)
  7. Salt to taste



Preparation:-


1.    Take a medium sized bowl and pour Maida along with Salt, Sugar, Kalonji & baking powder. Mix really well.


2.    Now add the Ghee and mix well with the Maida mixture. You can use 50:50 mixture of vegetable oil and ghee if you want to reduce the cholesterol content of this recipe.


3.    Now add little water sequentially to make the dough. The dough should be firm but smooth. Knead the dough thoroughly to make it even and smooth. Cover the dough with damp cloth neatly and keep aside.


4.    Wait for about ½ hour.

5.    After 30 minutes take the dough and divide the dough into two equal size balls and roll each ball to make round shaped of about 4 inch diameter. The circle should not be very thin like Roti. It should be like paratha.

6.    Prick each circle with a fork in 10 to 12 places, (it is to prevent puffing the nimkies when frying).

7.    Now cut the circle in small diamond shapes.

8.    Take a deep bottom vessel or frying pan / kadai and heat sufficient oil for frying. Frying pan should have at least 1 inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put a small piece of dough in the oil. The dough should make the oil sizzle and come up very slowly.


9.    Reduce the burner to low heat and fry the diamond shaped nimkies until they turn golden brown in colour to make them crispy. If you fry in medium / high heat the nimkies won’t be crispy.


10.Remove them from oil by a slotted spoon and spread onto paper towel. This will soak the excess oil from them.



Serve them hot as snacks with tea or coffee. Once they are cooled till room temperature you can store them in an airtight container. They should be ok for a month.


As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

A collection of recipes for Lakshmi Puja

Yum

Happy Lakshmi Puja to all my readers

May Goddess Lakshmi enrich every one of you with her blessings 

I believe any Puja day menu should be strictly Vegetarian - in this light some of the Bengali authentic recipes are presented here 




Chanar Dalna - Bengali cottage cheese curry

Kumro Alu Capsicum tarkari - Vegan Pumpkin Potato curry with capsicum

 


 Please let me know how did you like/dislike the menu





 

Friday, October 19, 2018

Durga Puja Dashami / Dussehra Menu from my kitchen - Cook and Enjoy

Yum
Dear Readers,
On the auspicious occasion of Dussehra / Durga Puja Dashami I convey best wishes for you and your family
May this day clear all the hurdles of your life and start a new era of happiness.

Dasami or the tenth day of the festival arrives with a mood of gloom and sadness as it is time for the Mother Goddess to leave earth and return back to her house in Kailash mountains. So after return from the bishorjon (immersion of Godess at Ganges) we Bengalis, keep on preparing some mouth-watering recipes and some of them are listed here.

Begun Bhaja (Brinjal fry ) - healthy style

 

Bengali Ghugni - Dried yellow peas curry

Bhuni Khichuri / Bhuna Khichdi - Bengali style flavoured rice and Lentil preparation

 

Nalen (Khejur) Gurer Payes - Bengali Style Pudding with Date Palm Jaggery

 


 Please do not forget to let me know how do you like/dislike these Puja menus of last four days.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Durga Puja Nabami Menu from my kitchen - Cook and Enjoy

Yum

Dear Readers,

May the divine blessings of the Goddess be with you on Maha Nabami and always.

Happy Durga Puja!




Durga Puja is coming to an end and our greed for good food gets never fully satisfied. That is why we always search for good and easy recipes. I just wish that my blog may help anyone in their gastronomical journey. In Nabami we eat non-veg items and that is why my menu for Nabami contains few Non-Veg items. Hope you like this and try to cook some of them.

Beguni - Baingan Pakora - Bengali eggplant fritters


Pepper Chicken Dry

Peas Pulao with Bengali touch - Pure Veg


Bengali Murighonto - a pulao like side dish with fish head and rice

Bengali Niramish Mutton Curry - A traditional festival preparation

Bhapa Chingri - Steamed prawn in mustard sauce

Kalakand - Indian milky fudge

Please do not forget to comment how you liked / disliked the menu.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Durga Puja Ashtami Menu from my kitchen - Cook and Enjoy

Yum

Dear Readers,

May the divine blessings of the Goddess be with you on Maha Ashtami and always. Happy Durga Puja.


There are so many things we eat round the year like Sandwitch, Juices, Burger, Paratha, Pasta etc. but to my mind one of the best Bengali authentic food is Luchi, Cholar dal or Aloo Dum. Niramish bhoger Khichdi is also a must for this festive occasion. In this light, my menu for Mahashtami is as follows:-


Banana Malpua - a fried Indian pancake

Please comment whether you liked the menu or not.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018