Odisha Mo Odisha

Once again, here I am with yet another of my ever so loved "bara" recipes. This time, its a newly discovered (not invented.. but just discovered) during my recent pregnancy. Its made with the bitter " Kalara Patra "(Bitter gourd leaves) along with some very easily available pantry ingredients. You'd think why on earth will I use bitter gourd leaves.. Well I did not know they did, but once I had tasted these fritters, I fell in love with them.. also I am a sucker for pan-seared fritters (the healthy way to enjoy fritters). Here goes the ingredient list followed by the process. Around 40-45 bitter gourd leaves chopped fine (We get it in huge bunches in the local farmers market for a dollar which is like very very less). Need to pick the leaves and wash them thoroughly. A quarter red onion chopped fine 2 -3 green chillies chopped real fine 3-4 table spoons besan 1 table spoon rice flour Wee bit oil in the marinade + olive oil to pan sear Salt to tast...

No stories today... directly the recipe.. :) Kadali Bara (Raw Banana Pan Seared Cakes) .. Goes so well with our very favorite evening tea.. and of course.. for the Odiya at heart.. simple white rice & daal will also do justice to this amazing (& healthy to some extent)  pancake. What we need :  2 small raw bananas peeled & boiled with little turmeric 1 small potato boiled & peeled 2-3 green chilies chopped 2 table spoons besan 10-12 strands of coriander leaves chopped red chili powder to taste salt to taste. How I did it :  All you need to do is to mix and mash all ingredients together to make a mashed potato like mix. Heat a few tea spoons of oil in a non-stick pan. When oil's hot, make small cakes of the mixture and gently pan-sear them till brown on each side. Enjoy the  oriya favorite.

Do you guys remember the famous Sundays of our school times? Yes my dear ones I am talking about the 7AM Rangoli program followed by 9AM Chandrakanta and then the 10AM Mahabharat...It was all so magical...and we used to always finish homework early so Baba will allow us to watch those Sunday programs... Unlike today, we had only one day off in any week and that was Sunday....so we used to make good use of it.. finish all pending work.. press school uniforms.. and yeah.. run through the kitchen to get a nose-full of Mami's style chicken curry's "khushboo"...yummmyyyy... The whole process starts with Baba going the market and getting fresh cut chicken. Yes, it is fresh cut chicken... which tastes the best with Mami's recipe.. then the masala getting ground in our very own old style "grinder".. It's not a blender.. and then the famous chicken curry cooking starts.... spreading the awesome aroma all around... :) I don't have the exact ...

Bhendi Besara (Bhindi or Okra cooked in mustard gravy with a hint of tanginess of the dried mango) Here is what you need: Bhindi (okra) cut onto 1/2" pieces. One small potato cut into 1/2" pieces. 1 small tomato cut into small pieces. 1/2 medium onion cut longitudinally. 2-3 green chilies slit across length. 6 teaspoons of mustard paste (2 Tbl-spoons mustard seeds + 4 Garlic cloves + 4 Green Chilis + little water) 4 Tbl-spoons oil 1 tea spoon panch phoran (if you don't have that, just add mustard and cumin seeds) 1 small piece of dried mango (Ambula... Slurrpp) Here is how I did it.... Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan until smoke comes off. Use mustard oil if you like or olive oil's good too.. but not as good as mustard oil.. remember we are cooking Odiya food !! Fry the okra and potatoes separately and keep aside. In the same pan heat some more oil and when hot, add panch phoran + green chilies. Then add the onions after like 5 sec...