West Bengal Dishes

Oh, at last, bengali dishes are here! Thanks Sunkan, this is sure to be interesting! Keep them coming:)

Love,
Kamla

dear vandhana,
potal or parwal is not tinda or tindora they look like green tomatoes and this is oblong this variety belongs to kundru in north and kovakkai in south...they r bigger and taste may be a little similar...hope u dont mind me mentioning here...regards sunkan...

dear heena,
here is the way i make the sandesh...though traditionally some cook it but i have found the taste to be too good this way....
ingredients...
milk..1/2 litre
citric acid 1/2 tsp
sugar powdered one cup
elaichi 3 to 4
pistha crushed do garnish
now the process of making this ....heat milk curdle it and put this in a muslin cloth to drain all water once u know it is drained pl put the bundle on a colander and put some heavy weight on it so that all the water is completely drained out...now take the panneer and crumble it with ur hand and put it in blender along with the sugar run it for 2 minutes...bring this out u will have a very good mixture and moulding consistancy...add the elaichi powder also while mixing....now knead a little with ur hand...if u want some food colouring better to add when putting it in the mixie itself...now
make equal balls of the mix and shape according to ur taste..u get wonderful wooden moulds in kolkata though they r very cheap u need a good friend to send it over..or pick it up on a visit...once the shapes done decorate with pista and serve....if u want the cooked one ....i will post that next...but do let me know how u like this...regards sunkan

dear sunkan,
txs for sharing the recipe but i hv a doubt won't it taste like a sweet paneer instead of sandesh . may be i am wrong just want to confirm.

with love

dear heena,
u have to use ur hand to knead ....then the heat of ur hand will melt the sugar powder and mix well with the panneer...i am posting ur cooked ones too...dont worry just try it...it has been backed by very renown cooks too...any cooking has been done in many ways..try this and let me know...regards sunkan

Ingredients
Milk ½ litre
Lime juice or citric acid…2tsp if juice and half tsp
If citric acid…
Sugar one cup powdered
Cardamoms 3 finely powdered…
Ghee or butter to smear the rimmed plate
On which u plan to make…

Convert the boiling milk into panneer by adding the
Lemon juice or citric acid.1/2 tsp…now hang it in a muslin cloth
Once the water has drained …tie it up and press
It with a heavy weight of either ur marble chapathi
Maker..or any other wooden plank..
Once done…mash the panneer as smooth as
Possible and now add the sugar…put this mixture
Into a shallow vessel stirring constantly over low heat
..the mixture will turn liquidy and then start
Thickening..when the mixture becomes creamy thick
Paste and leaves the sides of the vessel, stir in the
Cardamom pwder and put in the ghee smeared plate
Or if u can get the wooden block of prints especially
Made for making sandesh available in kolkata…
Fill into it and remove when cool in the thali cut after it
Is cool….

dear sunkan,

txs for the quick reply. waiting for the cook one.

Originally Posted by Ami

Hi sunkan,

can u tell me the English name for potal(parwal)? Thought that snake gourd is the english name for it, but the pic looks totally different.

Thanks and waiting for yr reply.

Rgds.

i looked thru the encyclopedia and found they call it the wax gourd..hope been of help....

Aloo potal in gravy

1kg parvall
1 bay leaf
1kg potato
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corianderseeds
1 cup ghee
1/4 cup shelled peanuts
2tsp ground turmeric
4 cardamoms
3 one inch cinnamon sticks
2 tsp ground red chilli
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sliced ginger
1 tsp sugar

Peel parval and potato. Cut into cubes. Fry vegetables and peanuts separately in ghee until deep brown. Crush cardamom, cinamon and ginger into a frying pan.. put crushed spices and bay leaf into hot ghee. Stir, add ground spices with 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring regularly. Add sugar when vegetables soften. Remove from heat, serve in a dish. Sprinkle peanuts to garnish, and offer.
In Bengal cooking u will notice all spices has to be added in the oil in a katori and then put into the hot kadai and not one by one like how we do down south or anywhere else for that matter……regards sunkan

Chholaar Dal (Chana dal/Bengal Gram)
Ingredients:
3 cups of Chholaar dal
8 cups of water
3 tbs. ground nut oil
2 laung (cloves)
3 small elaichi (cardamom)
2 tej patta (bay leaves)
1 whole red chilly
1 tsp. jeera whole seeds (cumin seeds)
1/2 cup of diced coconut
2 tsp. Jeera paste
2 tsp. dhania paste (Coriander)
1/2 tbs. adrak paste (Ginger)
1/3 tsp. red chilly paste
1/2 tsp. green chilly paste
½ cup shredded coconut
2/3 tsp. haldi (Turmeric)
20 gms. Raisins (soaked in water)
20 gms. Cashews (chopped)
1 tps. of sugar
Salt to taste
Preparation:

• Boil the dal in pressure cooker on medium flame. Count five whistles to ensure the dal is cooked. Take care that the grains are tender but not disintegrated.

• Take a deep kadai (frying pan), heat oil and fry the coconut pieces till light brown and strain them out. Fry the whole red chillies, bay leaves, cumin, cloves and cardamom.
• Now add shredded coconut and fry till it’s light brown. Mix green and red chilli paste, cumin paste, coriander paste, turmeric powder and fry it with the rest till it turns brown and the oil starts leaving the masala.
• Now add sugar and salt to the boiled dal along with the water left in the pressure cooker. Then add it to the fried masala and cook for few minutes. The gravy should be thick.
• Garnish Chholaar dal with raisins, cashew and fried pieces of coconut.

Serve hot with steaming rice.
**Cooking on medium flame recommended