A good quote (and a yummy picture!)

'One cannot think well, love well or sleep well if one has not dined well' - Virginia Woolf

The picture, for those of you not that familiar with the miracle of Bengali sweets, is of home-made rosogollas (cottage cheese balls in rose syrup) and chum-chum (cottage cheese dry saffron-scented cakes stuffed with milk cream).

Marzipan Chocolates

Once you start making chocolates at home, shop-bought ones will never be quite the same.

Ingredients

200 g of semi-sweet chocolate

150 g unbleached sweet marzipan paste

about 20 dried cherries or cranberries

1 tsp butter

Method

Melt the chocolate and the butter over a pan of boiling water. Watch so that no water falls in or the chocolate will curdle.

Make small, truffle-sized balls out of the marzipan and put a dried berry inside each.

Dip the balls in melted chocolate and place on a piece of baking paper.

Let set for at least 1 hour and place in an air-tight container.

Will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Tip: Melt some white or dark chocolate and drizzle over the top of the chocolates for an attractive pattern.

Sirkhand (Safforn Yogurt)

A light and refreshing dessert that helps digestion after a heavy meal. It can be frozen in summer.

Ingredients

1 kg plain smooth yogurt (dahi)
1/4 tsp or to taste ground saffron
a pinch of cardamom (elachi) powder
2/3 cup or to taste powdered (icing) sugar
1/2 cup chopped green pistachios, chopped

Method

Put three layers of cheese cloth in a colander. Add the yogurt and hang up or at least 5 hours - you want the consistency of soft cream cheese.

Put the yogurt cream in a bowl, add all the other ingredients and beat well.

Chill and serve in small bowls, decorated with more pistachios.

Tip: Collect the liquid from the yogurt and use to make paneer, chana (chenna) or new yogurt.

Pach (Panch) Phoran Spice Mix

This is a universal Bengali seasoning used in almost all curries and other dishes. You can get all the ingredients in Indian groceries and large spice shops. Pach Phoran means five seeds.

Ingredients

6 tbsp black mustard seeds
5 tbsp nigella (kalonji) seeds
5 tbsp cumin seeds
5 tbsp fennel seeds
5 tbsp fenugreek seeds

Method

Mix all the ingredients and keep in an airtight jar. Use as needed. The mix is usually fried in oil/ghee (until crackling and fragrant) before adding other ingredients.

Tip: if you have a Bangladeshi shop near you, they usually have pre-mixed pach phoran packets.

Green bean, coconut and mustard masala

You can use any type of fresh green beans you like. This is a very smooth, unusual curry.

Ingredients

2 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp pach phoran
10-15 dried curry leaves
2 bay leaves
2-3 green chillies
1/2 kg green beans, washed and sliced
1/2 cup coconut paste (coconut cream)
2 tbsp strong mustard from a jar (yes!)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp or to taste chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mild curry powder
1 cup water

Method

Heath oil in a deep pan. Add the seeds (mustard and pach phoran), green chillies, curry and bay leaves and fry for a few minutes.

Add beans and fry few more minutes.

Add all the other ingredients, stir and simmer until the beans are soft and the gravy is thick.

It is this simple! Serve with plain rice.


Tip: see the next post for the pach phoran ingredients!