Mishti (Sweet) Pulao/ Basanti Pulao

Hello,
The dish Pilaf is known to man of different regions as different names using different cooking method and  tastes completely different. Pilaf is a rice (sometimes wheat, bulgar or other grains) cooked in water or stocks along with spices and other ingredients and successfully turns into cooked grains that do not adhere. Many renowned dishes have evolved from this pilaf in different locations such as South Asian pulau/pilau, Spanish Paella, Persian chelo/polo and many more. As the cultivation of rice spreads from South Asia to Central and West Asia, the method of cooking rice also  spreads through world wide. Like other regions, Bengali also have their own kind of Pilaf known as Basanti Pulao. The immense love for sweets, helps a Bengali to develop this sweet pulao with light yellow in color. The aromatic gobindo bhog rice with fragrant spices and ghee, a grand festive yellow color ornate with jewels like cashew and raisins and the underlying sweetness makes this dish stand out. The mishti pulao with kosha mansho (meat) is a popular pair in Bengali cuisine. The duo remained as the integral part of any biye bari (wedding ceremonies).

Basanti Pulao/ Mishti Pulao

Recipe yields 6 servings

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of  Gobindo bhog or Kalijeera rice. (I could not found Gobindo bhog rice at my location and used Kalijeera.
2. 2 bay leaves
3. 1 black cardamom
4. 2 star anise
5. 3-4 green cardamom
6. 4-5 cloves
7. 1-2 1inch cinnamon stick/shards.
8. 1/3 cup cashew slices
9. 1/4 cup rasins
10. 1 tsp turmeric
11. 1/2 tbsp bengali garam masala (Recipe is in the blog)
12. 1 tbsp ginger paste/grated
13. 4-5 green chilies
14. 3 tbsp ghee (preferably bengali caramel color ghee)
15. 4 tbsp sugar
16. 1/4 tsp salt
17. 4 cups warm water ( double as the rice)

Methods

1. Wash the rice nicely and soak it for at least 1/2 hour and then drain the water. Spread the rice in a flat surface so that it gets partly dry.
2.In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the cashew slices till they are lightly brown. Then take them out of the oil and keep them separately.
3. In the same pan, there will be left over ghee. Add one more tbsp of ghee. When the ghee is hot and melted add the spices bay leaves, cardamoms (black and green), cloves, cinnamon sticks and star anise. Fry them a little till the fragrance releases. Then add the rice and fry it with the spices in medium heat. The rice should change color and turns from transparent to opaque. Add the ginger paste,salt and turmeric. Mix those nicely by stirring with the rice. Cook it for 2 minutes.
4. Add the fried cashews and raisins and mix them nicely with the rice.
5. Now pour warm water and give a good mix. Then cook it for 2 more minutes. Now cover the pan and cook it for 10 minutes in medium low heat.
6. After10 minutes, the rice must have absorbed the water. Open the lid and put some green chilies,  and add the sugar, Bengali garam masala powder and remaining 1 tbsp ghee. Again cover the lid for 2 more minutes.
7. Then stop the heat and take the pan out from the stove to cool. Open the lid and give a good mix. If it feels like little sticky, don't get scared. Let it cool for some time (10 minutes), all the grains will be separated. Then give another good stir and mix them nicely. Serve it with our best meat curry.

Fry the cashew till golden brown

Fry the rice with the whole spices

Add the ginger (grated/paste),salt and tumeric

Add the fried cashew and raisins

Pour the warm water

Finally add the sugar, whole green chilies, garam masala powder and ghee

Mishti pulao is served

Reheating tips:  The pulao tends to coagulates in some kind of small rice lumps of balls after freezing and the rice grains become  little hard. Take it out of the fridge and keep the container out at room temperature for some time (10 minutes).  Pour it in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle little water and heat it in a microwave oven.  If you are using oven, then pour the pulao into an oven safe bowl and sprinkle some water and cover the top surface with an aluminum foil and heat it in 350 F oven for 10 minutes. Take the bowl out of the oven or microwave and try to break the rice lumps/ball (if any) with a spatula. And give a good mix and spread evenly in a platter. You can enjoy the same texture and taste the same even if you have cooked ahead or you have left over.

Serve this delicious rice with spicy mutton or chicken curry. Or you can enjoy it with paneer kofta as side dish. Make it during the weekend and enjoy with your family.

Thanks,
Moumita

Ledikeni / Lyangcha

Hi Friends,
After a long time, writing this post about a dessert which was originated around 200 years ago. Hope you are doing fine and celebrating your lives. We are also doing fine. Speaking about this dessert, it has an interesting story behind it. According to legends, this dessert has been crafted by renowned confectioners of Bengal to honor Lady Canning during her stay in Calcutta. As the sweet gain popularity the name got corrupted into Lady Kenny or Ledikeni. Enough of the history, first I should describe this sweet. This is a lightly fried brown color ball of chhena and flour and soaked in sugar syrup for long hours. Now, in this recipe I have used milk powder and egg instead of chhena . These dessert tastes like another popular sweet called Lyangcha, which has also regional history. Ledikeni or Lyangcha whatever you name, sounds interesting right? Then I should say, sounds easy. So, let's start.

Ledikeni (or Lyangcha)

Ingredients

1. 1 cup milk powder (full fat)
2. 1/8th cup egg (beaten) mixture (One small egg should do the job)
3. 1 tsp baking Powder
4. 1/3rd cup flour + 1/2 tbsp flour for dusting and shaping the dough
5. 1.5 tsp ghee

6. Cardamom seeds from 3-4 pod

7. 1 tsp sugar
8. 1/4th cup whole milk
9. Sufficient oil for deep frying

Ingredients for sugar syrup

1. 1.5 cup Sugar
2. 4 cup Water
3. 2-3 Crushed Cardamom Pods

Methods.

1. Mix all the dry ingredients milk powder, baking powder, flour and sugar in a bowl. Add ghee and give a good mix so that ghee is incorporated well.
2. Now add the beaten egg into the bowl and mix it well with the help of your hands. The mixture should be little sticky (not runny, not firm like dough). Keep the mixture open for 10 minutes. You can keep it under a fan.
3. After 10 minutes, use your hands to mix the dough. Now dust the 1/2 tbsp flour on the dough. You will find it is no more sticky, rather little doughy. At this stage spread the cardamom seed and lightly mix it with the dough.
4. Divide the dough into balls. And then shape them as elongated cylinders (more like lyangcha). The length of the ledikeni are little shorter than lyangcha.
5. Make a sugar syrup with sugar and water. Add few crushed cardamon pods for the flavor.
6. To fry these dough cylinders, heat the oil. The oil should be medium hot (I keep my stove at 3-4 on the scale of 8 as high for frying. If you use more heat, the outside will get burned but the inside will not get cooked uniformly).You can see these dough cylinders are puffed up in the hot oil. While frying turn the sides of the dough with a spatula gently so that all the surfaces are browned uniformly. Do not fry all the dough cylinder pieces at one time. Fry them in batches. Strain them out from the oil and keep them aside
7. Once they are fried do not put them all directly in the hot syrup. Wait for 10 minutes to cool off.
8. Then thrown them in the hot syrup gently. Cover them with a lid and let them boil in medium low heat for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, reduce the heat and open the lid. With a spoon, gently turn the cylinders so that all the sides can soak the syrup for around 4 minutes. Then stop the heat.
9. Now let them rest and cool off for around a hour. After an hour, you will find they are soft but yet firm and holding its shape. Now you can serve it hot or cold.

The dough

Shaped into Ledikeni/lyangcha (cylinders)

Deep frying in medium low heat

Color changes to brown

Waiting for them to cool off

Soaked in hot sugar syrup with lid on in medium low heat

Cooling off in the sugar  syrup

Ready to serve

This is one of the quick and easy desserts but with a lot of wow factor. Make and serve these to your friends and family, and you won't regret it. Let me know in the comment section how it turns out.