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Golap Pitha

I have made these a while ago. The lady that I have learned from is my favorite of all the deshi people on youtube. Here is a shout out to Fouzia aunty. I have tried a lot of her recipes. Her techniques are very easy to follow and understand. I hope that whoever reads this also tries out a few recipes from her vlog on youtube. The taste and the presentation is very authentic and I am sure they will satisfy your deshi cravings. I have linked this recipe down below. For those of you who do not speak Bangla, it may help to watch the video as I have tried my best to explain the process of making the shape of the flower,  but it might have sounded a bit complicated when explained. Happy Cooking!

INGREDIENTS:

  • Flour – 1 cup
  • Milk- 1/2 cup
  • Egg beat -1
  • Olive oil- 1 Tbsp
  • Sugar- 2 Tbsp
  • Food color (optional) – Used to color the flowers

To make the Sugar Syrup:

  • Sugar-2 cup
  • Water- 1 cup

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a saute pan, pour the milk and wait for it to come to a boil. After which you can turn off the stove and pour in the oil and the sugar making sure to whisk it in. Beat the egg and add it to the mixture. Lastly, add the flour and mix vigorously and wait for it to cool down.
  2. After the mixture is cooled, form a dough and roll them out into big thin rounds. Take a cup or a round cookie cutter and cut out three circles (3 circles will make one flower).
  3. Stack the three circles on top of each other. Press down with your pinky finger in the middle of the stacked circles to attach them together.  Make three cuts leaving the middle portion intact. Lift one piece by holding the ends of the piece and press down towards the middle indent bringing together the two ends of the piece to form a cone in the middle which will be the middle of the flower. Lift another piece holding it by the two ends pressing it down alongside the other piece. Keep lifting all the pieces by the two ends of them and pressing down the corners to make it look like flower petals.
  4. After you are done making the shape make sure to press all the corners together well enough so that it doesn’t come undone when frying. Trim out the excess from the corner to give it a much more realistic look.
  5. In a frying pan on low heat cook these flowers until they are golden brown. Do not rush this process, as you want the flowers to cook thoroughly.
  6. To make the sugar syrup – on a separate saucepan bring the sugar and the water to boil. After frying the flowers let it sit on a paper towel to soak up the oil. Place the flowers in the sugar syrup under medium heat for about five minutes. Take them out and serve them warm. The flowers should be slightly soft and crispy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4iX0XACHLw

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Tuna kabab

 

Growing up these kababs were one of the staple dishes made in our house. My mom would always ask me to help her with these as she made them in large batches. She would never let me go close to the stove but always involved me in shaping and handling food like this. There would always be a large batch of them leftover afterwards. These store in the fridge really well, I would suggest storing them in the freezer after you’ve fried them in oil.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Canned Tuna in Water – 4 cans
  • Russet or golden potatoes – 4 to 5 medium-sized
  • Garlic paste – 1 Tbsp
  • Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
  • Cumin powder – 1 tsp
  • Cayenne powder – 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder – 1 tsp
  • Ground black pepper – 2 tsp
  • Salt – To taste
  • Egg
  • Green chillies – 1 Tbsp
  • Onions (thinly sliced) – 1 cup
  • Cilantro – 1/4 cup
  • Oil – as needed

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Firstly, peel and boil the potatoes cutting them in halves. On a separate bowl cool the potatoes and smash them.
  2. Drain the water out of the canned Tuna and saute it in about 4 tablespoons of oil. Add garlic paste and saute for another minute. Mix in turmeric, cumin, cayenne, coriander, ground black pepper, and cumin powder. Cook it in the oil for 10 minutes.
  3. On a separate bowl pour the mixture and let it cool. Add salt, egg, green chillies, onions, cilantro, and the mashed potatoes. Mix everything well so that it is homogenous.
  4. Make them into a round-shaped patty according to your preference ( i.e. big, small, thickness). In a deep set saucepan, deep fry the patties in medium heat oil, making sure that both sides are cooked equally.
  5. Serve with rice or by themselves as appetizers.

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Lobongo Lotika Preparation

Lobongo Lotika Preparation

 

I never thought that I will be able to cook let alone make things that I’ve never been introduced to before. Growing up, my mother being a full-time worker always made the time and put in the effort to make traditional food that we couldn’t buy around us because we never lived in Bangladesh.I would help my mom out in the kitchen all the time and always felt that I will never be able to do what she was doing. But somewhere in my head, all the things that I have seen her do have stuck with me, I guess. After all these years when I work in the kitchen, I feel like I”ve achieved such a great feat making things from scratch. And it becomes decently impressive to people around me. It is quite surreal, I feel a bit grown up. Here is a grown-up recipe. Follow the link below to view the steps clearly.

 

INGREDIENTS:

To make the filling

  • Desiccated Coconuts-2 cups
  • Sugar- 2 cups
  • Cardamom Powder- 1/4 tsp
  • Semolina- 1/4 cup
  • Cloves- As needed

To make the Dough

  •  Flour- 2 cups
  • Sugar- 2 Tbs
  • Salt- 1 pinch
  • Oil- 1/4 cup
  • Water- As needed

DIRECTIONS:

  1. To make the filling, in a saucepan put coconut, sugar and about 1 Tbs of water to melt the sugar quickly. Turn the saucepan on after combining all the ingredients. The mixture will become thick and will turn liquidy. Add semolina and cardamom powder, cook a bit more so it develops the flavor. Keep aside on a plate to cool.
  2. To make the dough combine flour, sugar, salt, and oil in a mixing bowl. Add about a little bit more than half a cup of water to form the dough.
  3. Make 10-12 balls of dough. Roll them out one at a time and put about two tablespoons full of filling in the middle of the dough.
  4. Brush some water all around the edge of the dough. Fold the top half of the dough towards the middle. Brush the water only on one side of the dough. Folding from the top right corner to the middle. Brush water to the remainder of the dough folding again from right to the center. keep repeating the folds until all the dough gathers in the center. Pierce the middle with a piece of clove.
  5. Heat about 2 cups of oil in a frying pan. Deep fry the parcels three at a time making sure to cook all the sides evenly.
  6. Serve while it’s hot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CdfMFOg0D0

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IMG_9572

 

First of all, Happy new year to everyone! Rolling into 2017 with a quick fix to your sweet cravings. This is a dish I like to make when I am in a hurry when having unexpected guests show up. It is not as rich as normal halua. But just as good. Try and indulge.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Eggs – 4
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Ghee – 1/3 cup
  • Oil – 1/3 cup
  • Dry Milk – 1 cup
  • Tobbok (Silver Leaf) – 3 Pieces
  • Pistachios – 2 Tbs
  • White raisins – 2 tbs
  • Rose Water – 1 tsp

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Beat the Eggs and the sugar together.
  2. Combine the ghee and oil in a wok with the dry milk until it turns a slightly brown color. Remove the contents and cool off the mixture on a spreadable plate.
  3. Mix everything together with a whisk, adding the rose water. Pour it into a square container.
  4. Pop it in the oven for 6 minutes on high. Let it cool for half an hour.
  5. In the meantime, I like to roast the white raisins and pistachios in some ghee.
  6. Place a plate on top of the container and flip the halua on to the plate. Garnish it with the silver leaf, pistachios and white raisins.
  7. Cut it into the shape you desire and serve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9zht8dH__s

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Cream Puffs

What can be more sweeter to make for your mother on mother’s day than balushai ? This is my way of adding more sweetness to mother’s day. A sweet little thing for a sweet little person. And of course some chocolate coated strawberries. But that’s a recipe for another day. For today this is an accomplished surprise from me .

INGREDIENTS :

  • Flour/Maida – 1 cup
  • Baking Soda – ½ tsp
  • Salt –  ½ tsp
  • Ghee –  ¼ cup
  • Chilled Yoghurt –  ¼ cup
  • Oil – For deep frying

For the sugar syrup :

  • Sugar –  1 cup
  • Water –  ¼ cup
  • Cardamom powder –  ¼ tsp
  • Pistachios –  For garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS :

  1. To make the dough , in a large bowl add the flour, salt and baking soda.
  2. Stir to combine the dry ingredients.
  3. Add the ghee to the dry mixture, use your fingers to form coarse crumbs.
  4. Add the yoghurt and mix everything until it forms a dough.
  5. Cover the dough with a wet cloth. Allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
  6. After which form the shape of a ball and press down on the dough with your thumb very slightly. Do not press too much to shape them as this can cause cracks in the balushai.
  7. Cover the made dough shapes with a wet cloth for 15 minutes.
  8. Deep fry the dough on medium heat to cook evenly.
  9. In a saucepan add the sugar and the water and stir the mixture until the sugar dissolve in the water. Once it is dissolved allow the mixture to come to a boil.
  10. Add the cardamom powder, turn the heat to low and let the mixture simmer until you reach the single thread consistency. You will know that it has reached a single thread consistency when you touch the sugar syrup between your two fingers you will find that it is sticky.
  11. Drop each of the fried dough in the syrup until it gets well coated all around.
  12. Drip the excess and lay it on your serving dish. Garnish with some crushed pistachios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PrQpXSnmO0