A blog about Indian food history, culture, politics, and traditional Indian recipes.
It’s been nearly a year since I have been to Kolkata, and will likely be another until I can go back. And I have realized, unsurprisingly, that it’s the food I miss most about Kolkata. And of all of the foods, I miss chili chicken the most. Anyone who knows me knows that I am…
When you are trying to keep overwhelming emotions at bay and trying not to crumble under the pressure of a burdened heart, the only thing that really seems to help is lots and lots of comfort food. That is if the bottles of wine and tub of chocolate ice cream are not doing their usual…
What to make when you can’t find palm for taler bora? Tal/Palm fruit is to Bengali Augusts what pumpkin is to American Octobers: no one likes it but everybody wants it (albeit there are some folks who actually love palm). The traditional Bengali taler bora is the quintessential janmastami bhog. It was janmastami last week, and just…
Did you know that organic eggplants are highly sustainable with low water and carbon footprints? And as long as no pesticides are used, they cause no significant damage to air, water, land, soil, forests, etc. If you are trying to go vegan or eat and cook more consciously, this is a great vegetable to incorporate…
What is gahana Bori or goyna bori? Gahana bori or naksha bori are ornamented sun-dried dumplings made with soaked moth beans, a particular kind of lentils used for its viscosity. Originating in the villages of Tamluk of east Midnapur (West Bengal), gahana bori, designed in the form of paisleys, ornaments, or flowers, constituted a staple of this…
Dolly’s Tea Shop is a tiny tea room tucked away in one corner of Dakshinapan, Kolkata. Although, neither the prettiest nor the most impressive eatery in town, it still has a distinct charm of its own that got me hooked nearly two decades ago. Decorated with wooden tea chests, paper lanterns, and cane chairs, this place…
What is Kolkata style fish fry? For those of you who are not from Kolkata, fish fry is not the typical Bengali maach bhaja (fried fish steak) that has become a marker of authentic Bengali cuisine. This is rather the anglicized version of maach bhaja— thick fillets of fish marinated with flavorful herbs, breaded with bread crumbs…
If you have eaten at an Indian restaurant, you have definitely tasted a cilantro chutney, and probably loved it too. Cilantro chutneys can jazz up any drab meal. Drizzle it over a salad, grilled meat, rice and beans, in wraps, or serve it as dips with chips…the possibilities are endless. So the next time you…
How to make Bengali fish butter fry? The Bengali fish butter fry is probably a malapropism of fish batter fry but remains totally acceptable because it does taste melt-in-your-mouth buttery. Fish butter fry or fish batter fry is not commonly made in Bengali home kitchens. This is one of those Bengali recipes that is implicated…
When I think of childhood summers, I can still smell and taste the distinct flavors of my grandma’s mango pickle: pickle oil slathered on a roti rolled into an afternoon snack, pickle oil mashed with potatoes and onions to go with rice and dal, pickle straight up. My grandma, who wasn’t fond of cooking and…
My friends frequently ask me where I get the time and energy to cook at home, or how I plan my recipes, or how I manage to (somewhat) maintain my weight with the storms that I cook up on a regular basis. Truth is, I really don’t have time. As a graduate student I have…
What is “chilli chicken”? The Indian Chili chicken or Chilli chicken is an Indo-Chinese dish––crispy batter fried nuggets of chicken cooked in soy sauce flavored with garlic and ginger and a whole lot of fresh Thai green chilies. It can be either dry chilli chicken to be had as an appetizer or hors d’oeuvres, or…
What is coconut chutney? Coconut chutney is a famous yet simple South Indian condiment made with grated coconut and a mix of fresh spices and herbs. Coconut, fried gram, ginger/garlic, and chilies are ground together, and then some oil tempered with red chili, mustard seeds, and curry leaves is drizzled on top to get this…
What is summer without mangoes? Actually, the right question is: what is summer without Indian mangoes? We get mangoes here in the USA, but they pale in comparison to their Indian counterparts. They don’t have the smell, sweetness, or juiciness of the mangoes that I have grown up eating. So, I try to make as…
I have been getting so many messages from friends asking “what to cook”. It is difficult to plan a meal when you cannot find all the ingredients you need. So, the best strategy, under the circumstances, is to use whatever you have in your fridge/pantry, or, better yet, to repurpose leftover food. Allowing food waste…
What is chicken curry? A polite reminder that Chicken curry is nothing but chicken in a simple tomato and onion based gravy. The word ‘curry’ by no means is a singular representation of Indian cuisine. Every Indian recipe is NOT a curry. Even this chicken curry recipe is not universal. Everyone has a different version…
This may not be the most popular thing to say, but, I think, of all the Bengali culinary inventions, Koraishutir Kochuri is the most special. I mean, sure, rosogolla and macher jhal are great because what is a Bengali without mach & misti? BUT whoever had the idea of encapsulating the subtle flavors of fresh green peas…
This chingri maach bata recipe is my mom’s grandma’s, who I have heard was the most amazing cook that ever lived. My mom tells me that boro dida would take so much care to make each and every dish that her presence in the kitchen had a very calming effect. She fried red chilies, ground…
Every Bengali family has its own recipe for a dhone patar chutney. While I love dhone pata (cilantro) in any form, my boro pishi‘s (oldest aunt) dhone patar chatni has to be the best dhone patar chutney or cilantro chutney anyone has ever tried. If you don’t believe me, try this recipe. It’s pretty simple and…
A few days ago I stumbled upon a recipe of “Brazilian lemonade”. Two things about the recipe made me very happy. First, “Brazilian”; second, “lemonade”. Two things about the recipe also made me very curious. The list of ingredients included whole limes (rind and everything included!), sugar, water, and condensed milk! First, all recipes that use lime…
I don’t drink hot chocolate very much, because as a food blogger I have enough calories flowing around in my kitchen to add hot chocolate to the already long list. But winter is coming, the sun is lazy, the air is crisp, my bedroom smells musty from my wintertime quilt, and Starbucks cups are coming…
How to make Chicken Bharta? It was a very good year for friendships, both old and new. Friends at grad school, friends at dance rehearsals, blogger friends, neighbor friends; it was an exuberant year of friendship. Between my frequent trips to India and travels all over the US, I made friends, good friends, in the…
Narkel naru is a 3 ingredient Bengali sweet. It is like a laddo, except it’s made with grated coconut. They can be made richer with kheer or milk solids, which is what I have done in this recipe, but a simple vegan narkel naru made with just sugar and water keeps for weeks and is…
Some of my best recipes are the ones that came out of kitchen accidents/mishaps. I used frozen grated coconut to make the patishapta stuffing, but it just wouldn’t come together even after trying for an hour. So I added chocolate to bind the stuffing and also because chocolate makes everything better. The result was FANTASTIC!…
What is goat curry? Goat curry is basically small cuts of goat slow-cooked or pressure-cooked in a gravy made with onions, tomatoes, garlic, and aromatic spices. There are as many varieties of goat curries in India as there are dialects and more. That is to say that there is no one way of making it….
I made this spinach and oatmeal pancake quite by accident several years ago, and to this day it remains my most favorite oatmeal pancake recipe. I do not like to eat sugary breakfasts because they make me feel bloated all day. Plus, spiking blood sugar early in the day makes me crave more sugar throughout…
People ask me to post healthy and easy breakfast recipes all the time, especially tasty oatmeal recipes. Now, I love oatmeal. I can eat oatmeal with just a little water and some nuts and raisins thrown in. My husband, however, hates oatmeal with a passion. So, sometimes I try new ways to make disguised oatmeal…
Update: I recently tried making Nolen gurer ice cream again, but with sweetened condensed milk and grated coconut this time, as I was out of condensed coconut milk. I have to say that I like it even better this way. The grated coconut adds a nice bite while maintaining a creamy texture. I am going…
Reading the Future in Coffee Grounds Written by Eralda Lameborshi–best friend and colleague My infatuation with coffee started as a very young child in a small town at the foot of Tomorr mountain in Albania. Poliçan was a very small town, bitterly cold in winters, cool and bright in summers, with people from different areas…
Aloo Posto, the most popular Bengali dish. When people talk about Bengali food, they mostly talk about fish, or rosogolla, or misti doi. It’s astounding to me how little people know about the everyday Bengali vegetarian fare, which constitutes such a massive part of the Bengali cuisine. Take for example Aloo Posto. I have met…
What is butter chicken? Butter chicken is one of the most internationally famous Indian dishes. It is basically morsels of chicken, usually kebabs, that are then simmered in a tomato and cream based gravy. Butter chicken is obviously made with a lot of butter. The high dairy content in this dish makes it a very…
Conserving food is the norm where I come from. It doesn’t matter how abundant food may be, using up every ounce of ingredients––even vegetable peels and fish bones––is the practice back home. This fish curry with cauliflower and eggplant is a recipe that I grew up eating. My mom would make a different fish recipe…
Sausage and jalapeño mac and cheese This is by far the most requested recipe on my blog. This is also the recipe that I make almost every alternate day because my son LOVES mac and cheese. And what’s there not to love? It’s just pasta, lots of cheese and a good white sauce. The best…
Rainbow pancakes are so fun to make and they look so pretty that we have been making these every alternate day. Most of the rainbow pancake recipes that I have read online are too elaborate, and, frankly, too much work for breakfast. So I have used a boxed pancake mix for these. I tried a…
Chicken Tandoori is undoubtedly the most popular Indian delicacy across the world. Yet, the history of Chicken Tandoori recipe dates back only to 1920. It is first known to have been prepared in a Peshwari restaurant named Moti Mahal (now in Pakistan) by an experimental chef Mr. Gurjal. The popularity of chicken tandoori is largely…
I get so many emails/messages from readers asking about easy and inexpensive entertaining and dinner party recipes. Now if you are swimming in buckets of cash there is no need to think about ‘inexpensive’, of course, but if you are a struggling grad student, or entertain (willingly or unwillingly) too often then it may be important…
Narkel bori die lau er ghonto Beginners always find cooking Indian food daunting because most popular Indian dishes require a long list of spices; spices that non-Indian kitchens have no use for. And this explains the “curry-powder” phenomenon. The problem is, what passes or is recognized as Indian food is usually the rich, greasy, spicey,…
This is a Korean style 3 ingredients whipped coffee, which is super easy to make and absolutely delicious. My cousin has been making coffee this way since we were in middle school. I just didn’t know this had a name. The whipped coffee can also be used as a cookie or brownie dip, or a…