Aloo Posto Recipe

The Bengalis are great food lovers and take pride in their cuisine.  In fact so obsessed are they about food, that the man of the house goes to the market daily to buy a fresh supply vegetables and fish which is a must in their daily menu.  The medium of cooking is mustard oil which adds its own pungency.  Another very important item of Bengali cuisine is the variety of sweets or mishti as they call them.  Most of them are milk based and are prepared from chhena.
A meal, for the Bengali, is a ritual in itself.  Bengalis spend not only the great deal of time thinking about the food but also on its preparation and eating. 

Prep Time : 2-2.30 hour

Cook time : 16-20 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Easy

Taste : Mild

Ingredients for Aloo Posto - SK Khazana Recipe

• Medium potatoes peeled and cut into ½ cm cubes 4

• Poppy seeds (posto) soaked for 2 hours and drained 2 tablespoons

• Green chilli 1

• Mustard oil 2 tablespo to sprinkle

• Onion seeds 1 teaspoon

• Medium onion chopped 1

• Salt to taste

• Sugar 1/2 teaspoon

Method

Step 1

Transfer poppy seeds into a blender jar, add green chilli, add sufficient water and grind to smooth paste.

Step 2

Heat mustard oil in a non-stick pan, add onion seeds and sauté for a while. Add onion, mix and sauté till translucent.

Step 3

Add potatoes and mix well. Add salt and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes.

Step 4

Splash some water, cover again and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the prepared paste and 2 tbsps water and mix well.

Step 5

Add sugar and ¼ cup water and mix well. Cover and cook till potatoes are completely done.

Step 6

Transfer into a serving dish, drizzle some mustard oil and serve hot
.

Ghavan Chutney Recipe

Hindi: chawal
How many times have we thought rice is a blessing? We use it for holy purposes but we also can pressure up a quick pulao or khichdi when hunger pangs are drumming away! This is one grain that is about 98% percent digestible. In India we are familiar with Basmati, Patna or brown rice but it is also available as Italian Rice and Glutinous Rice which is popular in Chinese and Japanese cuisines.

Prep Time : 11-15 minutes

Cook time : 11-15 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Easy

Taste : Mild

Ingredients for Ghavan Chutney - SK Khazana Recipe

• Rice flour 1 cup

• Salt to taste

• Fresh coconut scraped 1/2 cup

• Green chilli 1

• Ginger 1/2 inches

• Fresh coriander sprigs a few one-inch pieces

• Oil 1 teaspoon to cook

• Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon

• Asafoetida a pinch

• Curry leaves 5-6

Method

Step 1

Put rice flour in a bowl, add salt and sufficient water and whisk well to make a smooth batter.

Step 2

To prepare the chutney, put coconut, green chilli, ginger, coriander leaves and salt into a blender jar. Add sufficient water and blend to a fine paste. Transfer into a bowl.

Step 3

Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan and rub it with a damp cloth. Pour a ladle of batter and spread it evenly. Cook on medium heat till the underside is golden brown, turn over and cook the other side till golden. Fold into half and keep on a serving plate. Similarly make more ghavans.

Step 4

Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add asafoetida and curry leaves and sauté for minute. Add this to the chutney and mix well.

Step 5

Serve ghavans hot with chutney
.

Rajgira Laddoo Recipe

History of Indian cuisine dates back to nearly 5,000-years ago when various groups and cultures interacted with India that led to a diversity of flavours and regional cuisines.
Indian cuisine comprises of a number of regional cuisines.  The diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic group and occupations, these cuisines differ from each other mainly due to the use of locally available spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits. Indian food is also influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions. 
Foreign invasions, trade relations and colonialism had introduced certain foods to the country like potato, chillies and breadfruit.    

Prep Time : 16-20 minutes

Cook time : 6-10 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Easy

Taste : Sweet

Ingredients for Rajgira Laddoo - SK Khazana Recipe

• Puffed amaranth 2 cups

• Jaggery chopped 3/4 cup

• Roasted peanuts crushed 1/2 cup

• Green cardamom powder 1/4 teaspoon

Method

Step 1

Heat a non-stick pan, add jaggery and little water, mix well and cook on low heat till jaggery melts completely.

Step 2

Add rajgira, peanuts and green cardamom powder, mix well and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Step 3

Dampen palms with a little water, take portions of the mixture and shape into medium sized laddoo. Make more laddoos similarly.

Step 4

Arrange the laddoos on a serving plate and serve or store in an airtight container
.

Makhane ki Kheer Recipe

History of Indian cuisine dates back to nearly 5,000-years ago when various groups and cultures interacted with India that led to a diversity of flavours and regional cuisines.
Indian cuisine comprises of a number of regional cuisines.  The diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic group and occupations, these cuisines differ from each other mainly due to the use of locally available spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits. Indian food is also influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions. 
Foreign invasions, trade relations and colonialism had introduced certain foods to the country like potato, chillies and breadfruit.    

Prep Time : 0-5 minutes

Cook time : 1-1.30 hour

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Easy

Taste : Sweet

Ingredients for Makhane ki Kheer - SK Khazana Recipe

• Puffed lotus sees (makhane) 1 cup + to garnish

• Milk 4 cups

• Ghee 2 tablespoons

• Green cardamom powder 1/2 teaspoon

• Saffron strands a few

• Castor sugar 1/2 cup

Method

Step 1

Heat milk in a deep non-stick pan on medium heat and let it come to a boil. Reduce heat and let the milk simmer, stirring at regular intervals, till it reduces to half its quantity.

Step 2

Put lotus seeds in a grinder jar and grind to a coarse mixture.

Step 3

Heat ghee in a non-stick deep pan, add crushed makhane and sauté on medium heat till it turns crisp.

Step 4

Add sautéed makhane to the reduced milk and mix well. Cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat, stirring continuously.

Step 5

Add green cardamom powder and saffron strands, mix well and cook stirring continuously and till the mixture thickens further.

Step 6

Add sugar and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat, stirring continuously. Take it off the heat.

Step 7

Transfer kheer into serving bowls and set aside to cool down. Roast some makhane and garnish the kheer with them. Serve warm or cold
.

Masala Baby Potatoes Recipe

Hindi: Aloo

Why is it that when you are stuck at “what should we cook today” the answer is always “make some aloo!” Potatoes are like this…extremely popular and have multipurpose usage.

And did you always think that eating a potato will make you fat?
Well, don’t – it is a surprising source of vitamin C and provides useful amounts of starch, thiamine and niacin and around a hundred grams will provide about eighty calories.
Little did you know!

Prep Time : 31-40 minutes

Cook time : 11-15 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Easy

Taste : Mild

Ingredients for Masala Baby Potatoes - SK Khazana Recipe

• Baby potatoes boiled & peeled 26-30

• Ghee 4 1/2 teaspoons

• Cumin powder 1 teaspoon

• Garam masala powder 1 teaspoon

• Salt to taste

• Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon

• Iceberg lettuce 3-4

• Medium cucumber 1

• Tomato slice 1 to garnish

• Fresh coriander sprigs to garnish

• Malta orangrs 2

• Tinned pineapple slices cut into big chunks 3

• Tinned cherries seeded and halved 8-10

• Fresh cherries to garnish

Method

Step 1

Heat 2½ tsps ghee in a non-stick pan, add ½ tsp cumin powder and ½ tsp garam masala and mix well. Add baby potatoes, remaining cumin powder, remaining garam masala and salt land mix well. Cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. Transfer half of the cooked potatoes into a bowl.

Step 2

Add remaining ghee to the potatoes remaining in the non-stick pan and add cumin seeds and mix till the cumin seeds coat all the potatoes.

Step 3

Place some lettuce leaves in a serving bowl and put the potatoes over them. Cut the cucumber into flower, place a tomato slice and garnish with coriander sprigs.

Step 4

Halve a malta orange and place both the halves upside down on a serving platter. Halve the remaining malta orange and cut 6 thin slices horizontally, remove the seeds and place them all around the halved orange.

Step 5

To make cocktail sticks of the remaining potatoes, insert a pineapple chunk, halved cherry and baby potato on each toothpick. Insert 7-8 such cocktail sticks on top of each orange half. Garnish with fresh cherries.

Step 6

Serve both the potatoes immediately
.

Milk Powder Burfi Recipe

History of Indian cuisine dates back to nearly 5,000-years ago when various groups and cultures interacted with India that led to a diversity of flavours and regional cuisines.
Indian cuisine comprises of a number of regional cuisines.  The diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic group and occupations, these cuisines differ from each other mainly due to the use of locally available spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits. Indian food is also influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions. 
Foreign invasions, trade relations and colonialism had introduced certain foods to the country like potato, chillies and breadfruit.    

Prep Time : 1-1.30 hour

Cook time : 16-20 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Moderate

Taste : Sweet

Ingredients for Milk Powder Burfi - SK Khazana Recipe

• Milk powder 2 cups

• Ghee 1/4 cup + for greasing

• Milk 3/4 cup

• Castor sugar 1 cup

• Green cardamom powder a pinch

• Saffron soaked in milk a few stra

• Almond slivers to garnish

• Pistachio slivers to garnish

Method

Step 1

Grease a burfi tray with some ghee.

Step 2

Heat ghee in a deep non-stick pan and add milk. Mix and let the mixture come to a boil, stirring continuously.

Step 3

Add milk powder and sugar and mix well. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, till the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of pan.

Step 4

Add green cardamom powder and mix well.

Step 5

Transfer half the mixture into burfi tray and spread evenly on half the tray. Add soaked saffron milk to the remaining mixture and mix well. Spread it evenly over the first mixture.

Step 6

Garnish with almond and pistachio slivers. Refrigerate till set.

Step 7

Cut into squares and serve immediately
.

Payesh Recipe

The Bengalis are great food lovers and take pride in their cuisine.  In fact so obsessed are they about food, that the man of the house goes to the market daily to buy a fresh supply vegetables and fish which is a must in their daily menu.  The medium of cooking is mustard oil which adds its own pungency.  Another very important item of Bengali cuisine is the variety of sweets or mishti as they call them.  Most of them are milk based and are prepared from chhena.
A meal, for the Bengali, is a ritual in itself.  Bengalis spend not only the great deal of time thinking about the food but also on its preparation and eating. 

Prep Time : 26-30 minutes

Cook time : 21-25 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Easy

Taste : Sweet

Ingredients for Payesh - SK Khazana Recipe

• Full fat milk 1 litres

• Bay leaf 1

• Short grained rice soaked for ½ hour and drained 2 tablespoons

• Ghee 2 tablespoons

• Cashewnuts broken 1/4 cup

• Raisins 2 tablespoons

• Fresh coconut slices 8-10

• Palm jaggery chopepd 3/4 cup

Method

Step 1

Pour the milk in a deep non-stick pan. Add bay leaf and bring it to a boil. Add rice and mix well. Cook for 7-8 minutes.

Step 2

Heat ghee in a small non-stick pan. Add cashewnuts, raisins, coconut slices and sauté till the nuts are golden brown.

Step 3

Discard the bay leaf and add the fried nut mixture, mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Step 4

Add palm jaggery and mix well. Cook till the jaggery dissolves completely.

Step 5

Transfer into serving bowls and serve
.