Odisha Mo Odisha

Potala is a rare affair for us.. especially because it's not a regular vegetable in the Indian markets.. and when it is.. it's so expensive to buy in bulk.. so we buy them in small amounts & tend to make delicate recipes with them rather than just fry them & have with "Pakhala" !! So here's a recipe that I tried.. I must have gone through 10 different potala rassa & curry recipes online before I reached this... I hope you like it !! Ingredients Around 15 to 20 small sized potala (pointed gourd) 1 bay leaf Masala Paste # 1 - 1/2 while onion + Ginger + Garlic + Red dried chillies + Cumin seeds + 1 inch cinnamon stick + wee bit water. Paste # 2 - 1/4 cup cashews + 2 table spoons poppy seeds + 1/2 cup grated coconut + wee bit water Salt + Turmeric + Turmeric + Cumin powder + Coriander powder + Garam masala powder Mustard oil Fresh coriander leaves - chopped. Process Scrape the potala & slit them length wise. Marinat

When it comes to making a prawns curry, I am always looking for new stuff to put in it & make it work magically for my family... sometimes the mere ratio of the ingredients makes such an impact.. and sometimes, the same ingredients.. put in a different order also result in a whole different & good taste... This experiment is also a different one that I tried.. I ground all the wet spices together even the tomatoes.. And the taste came out to be real nice..  Well.. we can't give al the credit to the spices now.. can we?? I think the majority of  the credit goes to the awesome succulent prawns.. YUM !! Just having a golden red prawn fried in a smoky mustard oil.. just takes me back to Odisha.. on a Wednesday or Friday.. when prawns would be a lunch or dinner affair... with white fluffy rice.. it's just perfect !! Here's my latest trial for the Shrimp curry..  Ingredients 1 Lb. Tiger prawns Mustard oil Salt + Turmeric Sugar (wee bit) C

Some days, we actually cook from our heart.. and when the recipes come from the heart.. they are o' so delicious..  This was one of those times... It was Sunday... and some festival day (I don't quite remember).. which means.. we had to eat vegetarian.. So I made an full fledged Odiya thaali..  Bhata.. Dalma.. Saaga bhaja.. Kunduri Besara.. Lembu & Lanka..(I'm sure there was papad also.. which isn't in the picture) Dalma recipe is here... Saaga bhaja recipe is here... Kunduri Besara recipe is here...

"This chicken curry is spicy & nice.. with white rice.. its awesome.. it will be awesome'r with garlic naan... will get some garlic naan for dinner... save some for later.." says my cousin.. he is a BIG chicken curry fan.. likes it spicy... and likes is curried.. :) This was one of those times.. when I prepped everything for a regular chicken curry but then then the people who I was cooking for didn't show up until the next day...so what did I do?? I marinated the chicken in everything that I had prepped for the curry... & stuck the bowl in the fridge... until next day.. when everyone had arrived... and we were ready to light the stove & cook chicken... without the fuss.. without the mess... Lovely !!! Here's what I used for the marination 2 lbs of bone-in chicken, cut into small pieces Salt + Turmeric + Black Pepper + Garam masala + Cumin powder + Coriander powder Paste made of onions + ginger + garlic + cumin seeds + coriander see

"Green khaiba katha... green khaile aakhi aau chuti bhala haba"... used to say my mom.. it literally means.. "You should eat greens.. if you eat them.. you'll have great eyes & hair"... well.. I don't know why but having greens was always a torture for me.. but my mom will always make sure that whenever there's something o' so delicious.. she'll sneak in the green colored lump of "Saaga Bhaja".. Its good for health she said.. Well.. I didn't agree then.. I mean..why should I .. right? I mean.. who serves spicy chicken curry or mustardy fish curry with a side of saaga bhaja...  But today is a different story altogether.. I love greens.. especially made the Odiya way.. Here's how..  And I have to comment this officially that I have apologized to my mother for being such a snob as a child..I have assured her that I am a different person now..  Ingredients to be used: Saaga (of course)... You may use many variet

I can try any and every recipe without thinking twice about the implications & the number of servings that I'll have to finish if no one likes the dish... but "Chole" is a whole different story altogether... I make it very rarely... mostly because I could never figure out how the typical north-y restaurants get the exact taste out of the same ingredients that I use, while I sit in a puddle of red colored gravy with gravy & whole barely touching each other... Yes this has happened to me.. and I don't want to go into the gory details.. :) But here's a recipe that I learnt from my son's care-taker.. we all call her Aunty.. me, my hubby and my son .. she's the universal aunty... She's a lovely person who's warm and strict at the same time..& her north-y dishes.. are YUMMMM.... Her chole recipe is here... the one thing worth noting is that.. I followed her instructions step by step.. while she played with my son in the living room.. a

Story? What story? I had tortillas.. lots of them...I didn't want to make enchiladas.. or rolls.. and they were too big for tacos too.. so what I did was... got inspiration from an old recipe.. which called out to cut "rotis" into thin strips... and make noodles... yummy.. soft...off-white noodles...short & simple.. Please note that I used white tortillas.. so this recipe may not taste or look the same with wheat tortillas.. also I didn't add eggs (I don't know why.. I should have).. so try it with different combinations.. and let me know how it turns out to be... Here goes the ingredients.. 6 white tortillas... cut into thin strips (Place two tortillas on top of each other.. roll them into a roll.. cut thin strips starting from one end..) 1 green belle pepper 2 medium sized carrots 1 small onion 4 - 5 garlic pods Salt + Pepper 1 table spoons soya sauce Small amount of sweet chili sauce Little tomato ketchup Olive oil And then the pr

I have decided, whenever I made non-veg, I'll make something with veggies too. That way, we eat a balanced diet. But when I am making non-veg, the whole process is so time consuming that there's hardly anytime for a vegetable preparation. So, here's a recipe which is fool-proof & works wonders when paired with rice + dal + any non-veg curry or with roti alone (at least in my household). Enjoy !! What I used 3-4 small florets of cauliflower - cut into smaller florets 1 small egg plant - cubed 1 small potato - cubed 1 small piece of red pumpkin - cubed 1 carrot - cubed 5 or 6 posts of garlic - crushed 2 tablespoons fo mustard oil (must use mustard oil) 1 teaspoon panch phutana (Five dry spiced medley) Salt + Tumeric + Any masala powder (I used store bought curry powder) Process Heat the mustard oil & when hot enough add the panch phutana After the spices have danced all over the place, add the crushed garlic Next goes all the vegetables ex

I know I am like "way too late" for posting this cake's recipe... But here it is.... This cake has dry fruits... spices.. fresh apples.. all the ingredients for a lovely holiday fruit cake... we loved it and I am sure you'll love it too. Initially inspired by Alton Brown's spiced apple cake, this cake has adjustments according to ingredients that I got on a short notice from the nearby grocery store.. and turned out very well liked.. Here is the ingredients list For the cake A bundt pan (buttered & floured) 1.5 cups butter, at room temperature, plus extra for the pan 3.5 Cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the pan 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I used freshly grated ginger...awesome flavor and aroma) 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I dry roasted green cardamom pods & ground them in a dry grinder along with skin & pods together) 1/4 teaspoo

Stuffed Mirchi Pakoda - Not originally from Odisha but totally liked and loved by people there .. especially on a rainy evening with a cuppa tea... What I used: 2 big fat green pakoda mirchis {See picture} 2 small potatoes - boiled & peeled 1/2 onion finely chopped 2 tea spoons amchoor powder 6-8 table spoons besan {approximate for two mirchis to get coated by} 1 pinch baking soda 1 tea spoon ajwain {carrom seeds} Salt to taste Oil to deep fry Process Mix boiled potatoes {mashed} with onions + salt + amchoor powder and set aside. Slit the mirchis to create a pocket & clean out all the seeds. Stuff the potatoes mixture in the mirchi pocket. Make a batter of besan + water + ajwain + wee bit baking soda(for fluffiness) + salt  Dip the stuffed mirchi in the besan batter & deep fry until golden brown on all sides. The deep frying process in this case might be tricky, because the stuffed mirchi is cylindrical (well almost). Be patient and keep tu

It's so simple and makes a great breakfast...even on a week day. All you need is Dosa Batter - Store bought or home-made.. Either works great ! Nadiya Pura - Sweet Coconut Stuffing - See below for the recipe. Its real simple Oil (or oil spray) for making dosas Process Heat a non-stick Dosa pan and grease it with a little oil (and a tissue paper) When the pan is medium hot, spread the Dosa batter like you'd for a dosa or chakuli peetha. Pour a little oil on the sides. Let the chakuli peetha cook a bit. When the peetha is almost cooked, spread the coconut stuffing on one side of the dosa and fold over the other half. Let the dosa cook with the coconut stuffing inside of it. Flip to cook the other side also. Serve hot with nothing but a wide smile !! Sweet coconut stuffing - a.k.a " Nadiya   Pura" {Pasted from an older post} Ingredients: Grated Coconut - 2 Cups Jaggery - 1.5 Cups (This will be totally based on your good judgement) Fr

This is from back in 2012.. after a long time, I had got a break from work for a couple of months. In these months, I truly realized how bitter-sweet a marriage can be. Earlier when we both used to work, we took each other for granted, rarely talked during the day, took care of our stuff ourselves... the feeling of being in a relationship never crossed my heart so strongly. But during my break, I realized, its actually a very special relationship which has love in fights, smiles in tears and happiness in sad times. This recipe is actually dedicated to my dearest husband who hates bitter-gourd but when I made it at home after ages, he actually said, he does not mind eating it. His face was worth watching but his love and sincerity in eating the bitter-gourd dry subjee made me feel that this simplistic recipe belongs in this blog. Thus the name also... bitter-gourd although is bitter but is specially good for health when consumed in a timely manner. Isliye... kadwaa hai par acha hai.

Ever since I left home for my engineering studies, I have never been able to to go home during the world famous "Bali Jatra" (Literal Meaning : Festival of the sand)... This is the 7 day long festivities of handloom exhibitions, farmers market, Odiya street food, Indian & international food exhibits.. and lot more... When we were kids, we would start visiting the 'mela' preparations with Baba when the vendors will be digging holes in the ground to fix bamboos etc for their stalls.. I remember I used to say my Baba is the best because he used to take us to those 'mela' grounds even before the festivities start... silly yet true.. back then.. very simple things made me super happy.. Yes, I was a happy kid.. and a kid who loved to have deep fried food.. especially for evening snacks.. well.. I am still the happy kid who loves fried food.. :) Here's one of the very famous Bali Jatra street food.. deep fried snack recipes.. made from shrimp.. Hope y

Little Sis (Please do not go by little.. she's at least 1.5 feet taller than I am) : What's you planning on making for dinner? Me (almost confident) : Egg Pulao.. biryani sort of thing.. Little Sis: Isn't it binary? .. like is it Egg Biryani or Egg Pulao ? Me (confused) : Not very sure.. its not really a biryani method .. but it has biryani masala in it.. I saw it on youtube by Vah chef.. Don't need oven or anything.. Little Sis: Thats great.. I love youtube.. Did you see that new video from RA-One.. its funny.. Me (even more confused) : It has biryani in it?? Or Egg? The Vah chef is on that?? Little Sis: No.. just saying about the video on Youtube.. this site is a life saver when you r darn bored.. Me (smiling.. donno for what !!) : Ohh.. we are off the biryani topic.. I see.. we r talking about videos.. :) Little Sis: Well.. yeah.. you are making it right.. it will be awesomer than the youtube guy.. and make a little more.. I want it

Looking at some of my older posts, I realized that I am not writing difficulty enough recipes so that the blog will look nice... Well.. the problem is I AM LAZY.. so I keep looking for quicker options.. But, sometimes, I do cook nice things for the family... which consists of my husband & two year old son who does not like spicy stuff right now.. :) Some day I dream... some day !! Here goes the recipe for a soybean keema kofta curry which I made and we loved to eat with roti. I am sure you'll like it too. Soak Soyabean (I use the Nutrela brand from the Indian store) nuggets in water and microwave on high for 6 -8 mins. Ensure that the water does not spill off, else the whole microwave cleaning will take a lot of time. Squeeze excess water (not need to make it super dry) and put the nuggets in the blender to chop them off into soyabean keema. You can also get Nutrela's Soyabean keema as well. Ensure that you wash them super properly else even a little bit of sand

Person (not from Katak) : What did you have for B'Fast Kataki : Bara aau tarkaari Person (not from Katak) : And lunch? Kataki : Pakhala bhata, Bara, Piyaaji Person (not from Katak) : So what are some good snacks in Katak to go with tea? Kataki : Bara, Piyaaji, Aloo Chop, Baigani, Gul-Gula... and they keep talking till the Non-Kataki person actually orders a plate of everything to try. :) If you are from Katak, you must have been through one of these conversations with your non-Kataki friends at some point or manner. I know I did and while even answering, I always remembered that street side fried stuff (Chhana - Chhani as Mami says it) is so easy to get, so tasty and so unhealthy that I crave for it every day of my life while in US.. The moment I reach Katak, the smell of deep frying oil drags me to the Kanika Chhaka or Shelter Chhaka and all the diet consciousness goes into the nearby gutter (Yes, Katak still has gutters - open without warnings) Here's my M