Labra -- a mixed vegetable dish

Next it is the ‘’Saraswati Pujo’’and main recipe of this festival is Labra. Khichuri is an important part of this day for the Bengalis and labra is a mixed veggie dish popular as a side to the Khichuri.

Preparation

Vegetables are the most important and only ingredient of a Labra. There is very little of other spices involved. So it is important the vegetables you use for this dish are fresh and taste good. Chop the following vegetables in roughly equal sizes and more or less equal proportion

·         Potato -- 1 large, peeled and chopped along the length

·         1 red begun, chopped in cubes

·         1/2 cup of cubed red radish

·         1&1/2 cup of chopped cabbage. Cabbage should be chopped not thin but should be little thickly cut

·         Pumpkin 1 cup peeled and cubed.  Microwave the pumpkin for about 3 minutes and then peel

Add vegetables like few cauliflower florets, cauliflower stems and some drumsticks or available          “pui-sak’’ for better test

Note: I have also done labra with broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini etc. All of them work well. Whatever vegetables you use, try to add little pumpkin and potatoes to get the best taste.

Cooking

Heat White Oil or Mustard Oil in a heavy bottomed deep saucier or Kadhai

Temper the hot oil with a pinch of Hing, 1 tsp of Paanch-Phoron and 3 broken dry red chili. When the spices pop add about 1 tsp of minced ginger. You can also add ginger towards the end to get a more gingery flavor.

First add the potatoes. Sprinkle about 1/4th tsp of turmeric powder and saute the potatoes for half a minute.

Add the radish, sauté covered for about two-three minutes and then follow with the Begun. Sautee for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle some water if the veggies tend to stick. Add carrots/cauliflower/broccoli if using. The trick is to add the hard vegetables first followed by the softer and leafy veggies.

Now add the cabbage. Mix all together and sauté for a minute.

Next goes the pumpkin. Mix everything together. If the pumpkin is sweet you don't need to add sugar else add a little sugar towards the end Add salt to taste. Add 2-3 slit green chili. Give a good stir. Add little water about say 1/4th cup and cover and cook. Check in between, if more water is needed add more water and cook till veggies are done. Break up some of the potatoes and the pumpkin unevenly with the back of your spatula and give a final mix. The dish should be a little moist and not totally dry.

Let it sit for 10 minutes or so for all the flavors to come together.

Serve with rice and dal or with Khichuri for Pujo.

NEXT IN THIS PhuIko luchi with gor- gore alur jhol

Begun Diye Palong Shaak

Wash the spinach greens well and chop fine

Next chop Begun in small cubes. The idea is to have about 2 cups of cubed Begun for a bunch of spinach

Heat mustard oil to smoking. Temper the oil with Kalonji, Dry Red Chili and a clove of garlic minced

Add the Begun and saute till Begun is soft.

Now add the spinach mixing it with the Begun . Add little salt to taste, a few green chili slit and let the spinach cook. The greens will release a lot of water. Stir intermittently and let all the water dry up. Once the spinach is cooked and the dish looks dry add a little kashundi if you have some. If not finish off with a little mustard oil.

Serve with white rice.

Lakshmi Puja And Delicious Bengali Recipes

October 29, 2012 – Laxmipuja or Laxmi Puja or Laksmipuja or Laksmi Puja (Monday)

Lakshmi Puja is another Bengali festival that is celebrated in every household. Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth is worshipped just after Durga Puja. Lakshmi is one of the daughters of Durga who symbolizes wealth, peace and prosperity. On a full moon night people worship her at their homes and pray for her blessings.  Delicious Bengali Recipes on Lakshmi Puja night are cooked and are then given to Goddess Laxmi as an offering.It is considered that Goddess Lakshmi visits homes of the devotees and replenishes them with wealth.

Accessories required for Kojagari Lakshmi Puja

Adibas dala

Oil, Turmeric, River soil from the Ganges, Perfume, Stone, Grain, Dubba (a type of grass required), Flowers, Fruits, 1 dozen bananas in one stem, Curd, Ghee, Sindur, Swastik Pituli, Conch Shell,Kajol (corrilium), Gorachana (cow urine), White mustard seeds, Gold, Silver, Copper, Mirror, Alta, Yellow thread, Iron metal, Chamor (a kind of fan, a fly-whisk made of yak's tail used for fanning), Dip (Earthen Lamps), Arrows, Panch pradip (for aarati).

NaruSindur (vermilion), Til (Sesame), Horitoki (myrobalan), Ghat (pot), an earthen bowl full of atop (a type of rice), 1 Gamcha -To cover the ghat a piece of cloth, 1Kundohari, 1 Tekatha - A triangular frame work of 3 pieces of wood, 1Mirror,Panchabarner guri (5 coloured dust) -Turmeric powder, rice powder, kusum flower/ red aabir, rice chaff or coconut fiber burnt for the dark colour, powdered wood apple leaves (bel pata) Pancha ratna (5 gems)-Gold, Silver, Emerald, Pearls, Jewel. (Original- Gold, Diamond, Sapphire, Rubi, Pearl). Panchagobbo (5 extracts of the cow)- Milk, Pure Ghee, Curd, Cow Dung and Cow's urine, 4 arrows, Green coconut with stalk, Flowers and Durba (a kind of grass having three pointed tips) etc. 3 Aashonanguriuk (Finger ring made of koosh), 3 bowls of Madhupakka (a mixture of honey, curd, ghee, sugar for oblation), Curd, Honey, Ghee, Sugar, 3 big Noibiddos,1 small Noibiddo.

Luchi

A sari (for Laxmi), 2 dhoties (for Vishnu and Pechok or Owl). Loha (iron), Shankha (Conch Shell), Noth (nosering), Sindur chubri (a cane basket having a small mirror, a comb, two conch shell bangles, one iron bangle, two coral bangles, alta (lac-dye used to paint border of feet), vermilion and  few kories). Chandmala (Dangler with circular sponge decorations), Bhoger drobbadi (materials for the feast),

Bhog

Things for Homn (fire for yagna) - sand, wood, khorke (a kind of twig), Ghee -1 bottle, 28 Bilyapatra (wood apple leaves), Karpur (camphor), Chipitak/Chire (thatched rice), Coconut, Tambul/Pan

(Beetle leaves), Pan masala (ingredients used in preparing a beetle leaf), 1 wooden plate, 2 Ghoti (a type of pot), Rachana (cow urine), flower garland, 1 Purnapatro (full pot), Dakhina (offerings in cash and kind to the priest).

First post of Ranna (রান্না) today "Bhapa Chingri in Microwave" by Runu Mukherjee

There are many rivers flowing through Bengal and that makes the fresh catch so popular in all Bengal. Be it the simple rohu curry or the much coveted steamed (Bhapa) Hilsa, it seems we Bengalis cannot complete a meal without fish. And, if that fish is Prawn there can’t be a happier fellow.While cooking seems to be a rather difficult task for those who are new to the kitchen techniques, the ladies wing of North Road Pulse came forward to share their best and easy dishes which included the west, Indian and Bengali cuisine. We wish to make this part very interesting by sharing all of your individual recipe sometimes it may learned from grandma or invented by you irrespective it’s our own Bengali or Brazilian or Turkish cuisine which is easy to cook, testy and healthy. As per Bengali is concern we are fond of  food  and know how to make testy and healthy food by anything and everything available around us but Any day food without the fish is like day without oxygen .no matter you are Bengal , vancouver,or Singapore fish is essential for a complete Bengali lunch or dinner . So it’s essential either a dish of fish or conventional Bengali grandma recipe in our everyday cooking.

North Road Pulse have started this initiative of sharing various cuisine from the recopies of its ladies members in the community from today (27^th oct 2012).it not only helps new generation to take it easy rather  cooking can be  a fun instead fear in their daily life schedule to make life more meaningful in every aspects .

This type of initiative cannot possible interesting unless you all food loving people in the community  come forward and contribute your best one .you can send your recipe to northroadpulse@gmail.com and it will posted with your name and photo

Today’s recipe :Bhapa Chingri In Microwave

This shrimp recipe in microwave is definitely for all (including  the newcomers and pros in kitchen). While the chingri bhapa or steamed shrimp takes much longer to cook on your stoves or gas ovens it’s just a matter of six to eight minutes in the microwave. Assure you, anybody can cook this one.

Ingredients:

• ·         250 gms de-shelled and deveined shrimps
• ·         6 tablespoon of mustard seeds paste
• ·         ½ cup fresh and thick coconut milk
• ·         1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ·         4 /5 green chili, slit from middle
• ·         4 tablespoon mustard oil
• ·         Salt to taste

Preparation:

Clean the shrimps thoroughly and put in a microwave safe bowl ,Put in all the ingredients and mix well Place the bowl in a microwave oven and cook covered on microwave high (100%) for 6 -8 min or till the shrimpsturn a little hard Serve hot with warm white rice

                                                                                                          Contributed by : Runu Mukherjee