Mohanthal

Hi Guys,

Hope you are doing well. I was quite busy and could not post any thing. This Janmastami, I prepared the Mohanthal. I was going to post that recipe during the Janmastami, but due to many reasons it got late. In my mom's house Janmastami is a big event. And hence we used to have a lot of work at that time. Although the food is an important aspect in every festival, but entertaining guests and enjoying ourselves with the food doesn't go along. Hope you can understand. Please let me know  how many of you feel that way. After having my son, I also try to celebrate Janmastami but with less number of guests. I make different kinds of sweet like Taaler fuluri (Palm Fritter with Pumpkin Puree as Palm puree is not available, check out the recipe of Fall Fritters in the blog.), Mohonbhog (Semolina fudges), Narkel Naru (Coconut and Jaggery balls), Mohanthal etc.
As everyone of my family has a sweet tooth these sweets go in minutes. And my toddler is a extensive dessert lover and you can't keep his hands off these sweets. Now, coming to the Mohanthal, it a Indian fudge made of roasted besan (chickpea flour). As the name includes Mohan, I assume it is one of the favorites of Lord Krishna. It is one of the Gujarati sweets, which are served as Farsan ( as snacks) in any celebrations. It can be prepared many ways with lot of steps. But I will show the easy and quick version, taking the help of store brought condensed milk. Let see, what are the steps.

Mohanthal for Janmastami

Mohanthal

Recipe yields 16 servings

Ingredients

1. 1 and 1/3 cup of besan (Chickpea Flour)
2. 1/3 cup of ghee + 1 tsp ghee for greasing the pan 
3. 1.25 cup condensed milk ( 1 can of condensed milk)
4. 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
5. 2 tbsp powder/confectioner sugar
6. 1 tbsp of chopped pistachios for garnish
7. 1 tsp of chopped almonds for garnish

Ingredients for Mohanthal

Methods

1. In a heavy bottom pan/skillet add the ghee. Heat the ghee. Then the ghee is hot and molten add the besan (chickpea flour).  Roast the Besan stirring it frequently with a spatula. (Note : Do keep a watch while roasting it. The heat level should be medium in the whole process. It may burn quickly. You have stir it frequently till you get a golden brown color and a nice nutty aroma)
2. Once the Besan turn the color to golden brown add the condensed milk and stir it quickly. Mix it nicely till you get a dough like consistency. There should not be any lumps. Switch off the heat.
3. Add the cardamom powder and powder sugar. Mix it nicely with the dough by stirring continuously. I know its a exercise for your arm. There is no gain if you have no pain.
4. Grease the tsp of ghee on a pan or pyrex glass container. Now pour the dough. With the help of clean hands try to even out the top surface.
5. Now sprinkle the chopped nuts for garnish on the surface evenly. Try to press the nut pieces with the help of hands.
6. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Make cut marks it into shapes of your choice (squares, rectangles or diamonds). And let them cool for another 30 to 40 minutes. Don't try to scoop out any portion before that. Otherwise they won't come out in pieces and broke easily.
7. Once rested take out the Mohanthal squares guiding the cut marks and serve it into a platter. Finally enjoy.

Roasting the Besan with Ghee

Adding the condensed milk 

Mixing the ingredients

Stirring continuously till it forms like a dough

Adding the cardamom powder and powder sugar

Mixing them nicely

Even out the surface after pouring a greased container

Sprinkle the nuts

Lightly press the nuts

Cutting into desired shapes

Ready to be served or stored

You don't have to wait for Janmastami to enjoy this. Make this any time around the year and celebrate your day with this easy dessert with the easily available ingredients. You can make ahead and store them in an airtight container for days. Let me know your thoughts about this recipe in the comment section. Check out the Facebook page and follow us in the Instagram. I have tried to illustrate this recipe with easy simple steps. So, make this one and sweeten your events.

Thanks,
Moumita

Mughlai Paratha

Hi everyone,

Hope you are doing well. Have you started preparing for the festivals ahead? This is a happy time since many festivals are coming. And I enjoy this time to plan and make preparation for the festivals. Today I will talk about one of the street foods of Bengal, that needs no introduction. Generations come and goes but what remains is the taste of this street food. Yes, I am talking about Mughlai Paratha. This was introduced by the Mughals and had influenced the cuisines of West Bengal and Bangladesh. But the British had regained the popularity of this as tiffin snacks. Whoever has created this had a mastermind to craft this idea of stuffing in a pastry dough. The stuffing has uncooked eggs that will be cooked while frying the dough. Sure, the primitive mind had quite engineering skills to think like that. Whatever they have created still loved by the new generation and I am certain it will continue in the future. Though this popular street food is considered as a snack, I would recommend to have it as a main course for dinner. And the sides of spicy potato curry and cucumber salad compliment it as French fries goes with burgers.  This dish reminds me of a Malaysian appetizer called Roti Telur. I think different cultures have the same food concepts but different names. I will give the detailed recipe of the mutton keema stuffed Mughlai Paratha with the spicy potato curry and the salad. Now roll your sleeve. We have to start making them.

Mutton Mughlai Paratha

Recipe yields 4 servings

Pastry Dough

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups of all purpose flour
2. 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp of oil
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1/2 tsp sugar
5. Water as required to make the dough (around a cup)

Methods

1. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, salt, and sugar. Mix it nicely.

2. Add the oil and mix it nicely with clean hands. It should look like coarse meal.

3. Pour little water at a time and mix it nicely, and start forming like a dough ball. Don't pour all the water at a single time.

4. Knead it for 2-3 minutes. And it should form like a smooth ball of dough and once touched with a finger it should spring back.

5. Leave the dough to rest with a damp cloth covered. Keep it for 30 minutes.

6. After 30 minutes make 4 equal portions of the dough.

7. Take each portion and make it a smooth ball. You should have 4 smooth balls of dough.

8. Put oil and spread the oil in each ball of dough. Keep them covered with a damp towel.

Mutton Keema

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 lb of mutton keema (minced goat meat)

2. 2 tbsp chopped onions

3. 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic

4. 1 tsp grated ginger

5. 1/2 tbsp ketchup

6. 1/2 tsp Bengali garam masala powder *

7. 1/2 tsp chili powder

8. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

9. 1.5 tbsp oil

10. Salt to taste

11. Sugar to taste

Methods

1. Heat a medium size pan. Add oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and fry them.

2. When the onions are translucent add the mutton keema. Mix and stir it with a spatula. Add the garlic and ginger. Mix it and cook it for 3 minutes.

3. Now add the ketchup, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt, and sugar. And then mix them nicely with the keema and cook it for another 5 minutes.

4. Then taste it for the salt and sugar adjustments. And sprinkle the garam masala powder and mix it thoroughly. Stop the heat. Your keema is ready for stuffing. Let it rest and cool a little.

Mutton Keema

Other Stuffing Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup Minced onion

2. 4 tsp Minced ginger

3. 2 tsp Minced green chili (I like it spicy. If you want less spicy use 1 tsp)

4. 1/3 cup of Chopped cilantro

5. 4 Eggs

6. 1 tsp Bengali garam masala*

7. 1 tsp Himalayan rock salt/ black salt

8. 2 tsp of crushed roasted peanuts

9. Oil for frying + 2 tsp for rolling the dough

Ingredients for stuffing and the dough balls

Assembly

1. Take a dough ball. Spread some oil on the clean counter top. Slather some oil in the rolling pin. Now roll the dough ball into a rectangular sheet of size 25 cm X 21cm (Approximately. You don't have to be precise)
2. Heat some oil in a large shallow pan. The oil should be enough for deep frying. (Note: Use a large skillet or shallow pan of diameter 16 inch. So that there is some room to flip the paratha when needed.)
3. In a bowl, crack an egg and beat it nicely with a fork. Add the 4 tbsp of keema, 2 tbsp onions, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp green chili, 1/2 tsp crushed roasted peanuts, 1/4 tsp garam masala, and 1/4 rock salt. Mix them nicely.
4. Now pour the egg mixture on the flour dough sheet and spread it uniformly in a layer leaving the borders. Then close the two same side ends along the length first and then close the ends of the width side. Make it like a package.
5. When the oil is hot, place the dough package carefully in the hot oil. Fry it for 4 minutes on one side and flip it. Fry the other side for another 4 minutes. When they are golden brown take out from the oil on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. The frying should be done on medium high heat so that the egg stuffing inside gets cooked.(Note : While frying try to splash some oil around the edges and on the top surfaces.
6. Follow the previous steps to make the remaining 3 Mughlai parathas.
7. Let them cool a little. It is traditionally cut into 4 squares for serving. You can cut each paratha into 4 equal squares or leave it as it is.

Mixing the eggs with other ingredients for stuffing

The keema stuffing layer

Closing the ends

Closing the other ends

Frying the parathas

Frying the other side

Spicy Potato Curry

Ingredients:

1.  2 medium potatoes cut into medium cubes.
2.  Whole garam masala (2 cloves, 1 bay leaves, 2 green cardamoms, 1 inch of cinnamon stick)
3.  1 tsp chili powder
4.  1 tsp coriander powder
5.  1 tsp of cumin powder
6.  1/2 tbsp of grated garlic
7.  1/2 tbsp of grated ginger
8.  1 medium tomato chopped into small pieces
9.  1 medium onion chopped into small pieces
10.  1/2 tsp Bengali garam masala*
11.  1/2 tsp turmeric powder
12.  2 tbsp of oil
13.  The salt according to taste
14.  The sugar according to taste
15.  3/4 cup water

Methods

1. Heat a medium pan and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the whole garam masala. When they start to sizzle add the oil. Let them fry for 1 minute and stirring is needed in between.
2. Add the potato pieces and fry them with the onion for 3 minutes. Then add the grated garlic and ginger. Mix them and cook them all together for 2 minutes.
3. Now add the tomatoes, salt, sugar, cumin powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder. Mix them nicely stirring it for a minute. Then cook it in the medium heat with lid covered for 3-4 minutes.
4. Open the lid and by now tomatoes will be tender and potatoes are soft. Stir it with the spatula and mix then nicely till the tomatoes become paste-like consistency with all the spices. And now oil should start coming from the sides.
5. When the oil is oozing out you are sure that you can pour the water. Mix them nicely and cook it with lids covered for another minute. By now the potatoes should be tender and can be mashed easily with the spatula. Check the salt and sugar and adjust accordingly. Sprinkle the garam masala and stop the heat (Note: The potato cubes should be soft but they should retain their shape. They should not be completely mushy. Otherwise you will feel like you are having spicy mashed potatoes.)

Cucumber Onion Salad

Ingredients

1. 2 medium cucumber
2. 1/2 medium onion
3. 1 green chili
4. 2 tsp lime juice
5. 1/4 tsp of Himalayan rock black salt
6. 1/4 tsp chat masala

Methods

1. Peel the cucumbers and cut into thin strips of 2 inch size. Cut the onion into slices. Chop the green chili into small pieces.
2. In a bowl add the cucumbers strips, onion slices, and green chili pieces.  Add the lime juice and sprinkle the rock/black salt and chat masala. Mix them well and the salad is ready to be enjoyed.



* The recipe of Bengali garam masala is in the Comfort Saveur. http://www.comfortsaveur.com/2018/08/bengali-garam-masala.html

Mughlai paratha is cut into small squares and served with potato curry and Ketch up

Enjoy!

Serve this warm Mughlai Paratha with spicy potato curry, salad and a nice dollop of Ketchup. Don't miss the Ketchup. It is mandatory for dipping the paratha. Celebrate the night with this royal and elegant dish which happens to be the popular street food of Bengal. Please do comment about your thoughts about this recipe. I would love to read your comments. Comfort Saveur has a Facebook page. If you prepare it please send your creation and tag us. I would like to see the photo of the Mughlai paratha prepared by you. I know this dish has a lot of components and they are prepared separately and assembled together in the final stage. Don't get overwhelmed by the whole process and prepare one at a time. Trust me I will be there with you the whole time if you need me. If you have questions, shoot those and I will try to answer them as soon as possible. In the end, I would say have fun making this dish. You would definitely feel like Mughal or any royals while enjoying this.




Thanks,

Moumita

Fall Fritters ( Pumpkin puree fritters)

Hi all,

Sorry, have not written any post for the last few days. Since it is the season of taal (palm) in Bengal and I am missing the taal badly, I thought I should share a recipe of fritter that tastes like taal (palm). Once made, you won’t believe that they are not taler boras. Not only its is the season of taal but also fall is around the corner and pumpkin will be the talk of the town in no time. Everything will be pumpkin flavored from lates to candles. And the obvious dessert will be the pumpkin pie. But pumpkin pie is good but these fritters are addictive. Once you start eating you can’t stop. And in few minutes they will disappear. And the nicest part is they are easily available in can. If you can’t find the can of pumpkin puree, I will share the method to get the pumpkin puree. So, you don’t wait for the season to enjoy this. The Bengali favorite taler bora is an absolute item for the Janmashtami. I have searched for the palm puree many places, even online. But I have been not lucky in that quest.  In serendipity I made  the pumpkin puree fritter and it tasted like taler bora. Even when I served these fritters to my guest, the majority of them confirm that the taste is very close to taler bora. Those who are like me and missing that taler bora, please do comment. I will feel that I am not alone in this universe. Trust me, if you prepare these you won’t be disappointed. And those who are unknown to taler bora, lets enjoy this fall with these fall fritters and a mug of coffee. The chill in the air and the warmth of the coffee are the right pair for these fritters and hence the name fall fritters.

Fall Fritters

Fall Fritters for Janamastami

Let's start making them. Shall we?

Recipe yields 40 servings

Ingredients

1. 1 can of pumpkin puree ** (29 oz)
2. 1/2 cup of Shredded coconut
3. 1 cup of All purpose flour
4. 1/2 cup of Rice flour
5. 2 tsp fennel seed
6. 3-4 pods of cardamom crushed
7. 3 tbsp semolina
8. 1/4 tsp Salt
9. 1/3 cup of Sugar
10. 1/3 cup of hot water
11. Oil for frying

Ingredients

Method

1. In a small bowl add the semolina and the hot water. Mix it nicely and cover the bowl with a plate.

2. After 10 min remove the cover and fluff the semolina with a fork. Keep it aside. The semolina should be plumped up by now.

3. In a large mixing bowl, dump all the ingredients except oil.  Add the semolina and mix it nicely with all other ingredients. Your pumpkin mixture is ready.

4. In a large skillet add enough oil. Heat the oil.

5. When the oil is hot add the dollops of the mixture using two spoons. Take a spoonful of the mixture and with the help of other spoon throw it in the hot oil. Add a few at a time.

6. Fry it for 4 minutes and flip them and fry for another 4 minutes. The whole process should be cooked on medium-high heat so that the fritters get cooked thoroughly. Keep an eye so that they won’t get burnt. Once they are golden brown in all sides, keep those out of the oil into a plate with some paper towels. The excess oil will get absorbed in the paper towels.

Fry all the fritters till there is no more mixture left. Fry few at a time as then they will cook better and crisp up nicely.

Mixing the ingredients

Frying the fritters

Ready to take out of the oil

Fall Fritter looks and tastes like the iconic bengali 'taler bora'

Fall fritter is ready

** If you don’t get the can of pumpkin puree, then make your own.

With A Oven:  Cut a pumpkin of weight 2 pounds approximately in half. Remove the seeds and fiber from the inner portion. Prink some holes on the skin side with a fork. Place the cut side down on a baking tray. Bake it at 350F for 1 hour and until the pumpkin is tender. Let it cool outside of the oven. Once cooled, peel the skin and cut the halves into chunks. Then blend the chunks in a blender to make the pumpkin puree.

With a stove:  Cut the pumpkin ( 2-3 lb weight approximately) into halves. Peel the skin. Cut it into small cubes. Place a pan on the stove and add 1/2 cup water. Heat it. Add the pumpkin cubes and cook it in medium heat with a lid on. Check in between to see if the pieces become tender. Once they are soft. Let it cool. And blend it in the blender. Pumpkin puree is ready.

Try this one and let me know in the comment section. This fall lets make something different other than the usual pumpkin pie. Enjoy this with a cup of warm cafe au latte. This will be the bliss to the fall mornings or evenings. It tastes even better a day older. So you can prepare ahead and enjoy two days or till you finish them. It is an easy sweet that can bring an aura to your celebrations and festivities. Hope you make and enjoy this with your friends and families.

Thanks,

Moumita

Mutton Makhani (Buttery Mutton)

Hi Guys,
How was your weekend? We had a party at our home last weekend. Today I will be sharing a recipe of mutton. Who does not like mutton on the weekends? Mutton is the star dish for special Sundays. Till now, this is my first mutton recipe in Comfort Saveur. This recipe is primarily developed by my mother-in-law. Speaking of mutton, what comes to our mind is rich and flavored gravy with many spices. Unlike the rich mutton gravies, this one is less spicy. But it is flavorful. Every one of our family loves this dish. And it is the easiest of all. As I named the dish as Buttery Mutton, one can easily guess that it is prepared with butter. This is one of the comfort food for the weekend. Bengalis can easily associate the Sunday comfort in this dish.  I know mutton plus butter may seem extra workout in the weekdays. That's why you don't indulge in this dish in the weekdays.  Keep this one for weekends. Also, it is indeed less spicy compared to other regular mutton dishes. But trust me, the simplicity of the preparation of this dish will make many of your weekends special. Let's start the cooking.

Mutton Makhani (Buttery Mutton)

Recipe yield 8 servings

Ingredients

1. 2 pounds mutton (cut into small cubes)
2. 2 medium onions
3. 1.5 inch ginger peeled and cut into small pieces
4. 1 medium tomato chopped into small pieces
5. 7-8 fat cloves of garlic chopped into small pieces
6. 3 bay leaves
7. 2 whole cardamom
8. 3 cloves
9. 1 inch of cinnamon stick
10. 3 tbsp of butter
11. 1/2 tsp of freshly crushed black pepper
12. 2 tbsp white oil
13. 4 green chilies
14. 2 tbsp of thick yogurt
15. 2 medium potatoes cut into 4 cubes each
16. Salt according to taste
17. Sugar according to taste
18. Water

Ingredients

Methods

1. Add the chopped pieces of one onion, ginger pieces, garlic pieces, 2 green chilies and tomato pieces in a blender jar. Then add little water and blend it to make a paste out of it.
2. Add the clean mutton pieces, the paste from the blender, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, yogurt and 1 bay leaf in a mixing bowl. Mix it nicely with clean hands. Keep it covered in the fridge. Let the
mutton marinate for 4 hours. Overnight will give best results.
3. Slice the remaining onion. Add white oil In a large pan. Heat it. When the oil is hot, fry the onion slices. Fry them till they become golden brown and soft. Take them out in a small plate.
4. In that pan, add one more tbsp of white oil and fry the potato cubes till they are golden brown. Sprinkle some salt on those and mix it. Cover it with lid and fry for 2 minutes. The potatoes should not be completely soft. They will be cooked again in the gravy.
5. In the same large pan, heat 2 tbsp of butter. When the butter has melted, add the whole garam masala (cardamom, cloves and cinnamon stick) and 2 bay leaves. When they start to sizzle and a nice aroma appears, add the marinated mutton.
6. Mix it nicely by stirring continuously. Cover the lid and cook it in medium heat. Check in between and give a good stir. It should not get burnt in the bottom. Add the fried onion slices and mix it nicely. The whole process of cooking with medium-low heat should take 40 minutes. You may not add water in the whole process. But if it is getting dry, you can add little water.
7. Once the oil is getting separated from the pan check if the mutton is soft enough. Now at this point add the potatoes and give a good stir. Add 1 cup of hot water in the pan and mix it.
Check the salt and sugar. And adjust the salt and sugar. Add two slit green chilies. Cover the lid and continue cooking for 10 minutes in medium heat.
8. After 10 minutes check the mutton. The mutton should fall off and easy to tear off.  And the potatoes should be soft enough. Stop the heat.
9. In a small frying pan melt the butter and add the crushed black pepper. Add this butter black pepper mixture into the mutton gravy. Give a good mix. And it is ready to serve.

Frying the onion slices

Fried Potatoes

Marinating the mutton

Mutton is cooked with the fried onion slices

Serve this mutton with white basmati rice and a wedge of lemon. You don’t need any more sides for the Sunday lunch. This mutton will melt in your mouth and the butter flavor will stick in your sense of palate. The whole process is little time consuming but your house will be filled with the nice aroma of mutton. You can definitely pressure cook this mutton. But I would recommend you to slow cook this recipe and enjoy your weekend with the comfort mutton gravy. There is no haste in the weekend and so relax and try this recipe. Do comment if you have any questions regarding the process.


Thanks,
Moumita