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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Serve while it’s hot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CdfMFOg0D0
Not Yo’ Mamas Pudding
Banana Pudding
I have never tasted banana pudding before until two weeks ago at a Barbecue restaurant. I instantly fell in love with it and could not forget how satisfyingly beautiful it tasted. That was three weeks ago. I was craving to have this pudding since then. I asked around at my workplace to see if anybody has a guaranteed recipe that is easy to put together. And here is the recipe that I tried. It makes enough for at least 15 people. I had banana pudding to eat for a week and had shared one whole pie dish with a family. I substituted vanilla wafers for Chessmen cookies.
INGREDIENTS:
- Can sweetened condensed Milk- 1 (14-ounce)
- Frozen whipped topping- 1 (12 ounces)
- Pepperidge Farm Chessmen Cookies- (2 bags)
- Bananas- 6 to 8 sliced
- Milk- 2 Cups
- Instant French vanilla pudding mix- 1 box (5 ounces)
- Softened cream cheese- 1 box (8 ounces)
DIRECTIONS:
- Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.
- In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer.
- Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth.
- Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended.
- Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/not-yo-mamas-banana-pudding-recipe-1912976
Before I hit February I really wanted to get a recipe in January for all of you. I know my cookie recipe is still due but that will be the next one. These are extremely delicious and simple to make. Once I start I can’t stop eating them. I bet you won’t be able to either.
INGREDIENTS
- Wonton wrappers – 12
- Cooked chicken breast, shredded – 1
- Cream cheese, room temp – 2 ounces
- Butter, melted – 1 Tbs
- Cholula Hot Sauce – 1/8 cup
- Crumbled blue cheese – 1/4 cup
- Green onion, chopped – 1
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Spray muffin pan with Pam Vegetable Spray.
- Press wontons wrappers into muffin pan.
- Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, when done, set aside.
- In a bowl, whip cream cheese with a hand mixer for 1 minute, until creamy.
- Add butter and hot sauce to the cream cheese, stir together with a spatula.
- Add chicken and blue cheese, mix until combined.
- Drop 1-2 tablespoons of mixture into wonton cup. Use fingers to spread mixture inside of wonton.
- Place muffin pan in the oven, bake for 8 minutes until wontons are crisp.
- Remove from oven.
- Sprinkle chopped onions over wonton bites.
- Serve warm.
Blue Cheese and Buffalo Chicken Wonton Bites #SundaySupper
Kolhapuri Veggies Curry
This is actually one of my most festive dishes. Every time I make it, it is always devoured by everyone. I do omit three things when I follow this recipe. Watermelon seeds, hing, and kasuri methi. You can also omit whatever you like to better suit your taste and or availability of ingredients. This recipe involves an extensive amount of ingredients but it isn’t hard to prepare. And in the end, you will have something quite awesome.
INGREDIENTS
- Cumin Seeds-1 sp
- Cloves- 6 to 8
- Black Cardamom- 4
- Bay Leaf
- Curry Leaves
- Onion Paste- 1 Cup
- Salt
- Garlic- 1Tbs
- Ginger- 1 Tbs
- Green Chillies
- Spices
- Hing (asafoetida)- 1/4 tsp
- Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
- Red Chili Powder- 2 Tbs
- Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
- Coriander Powder- 1 tsp
- Tomato Paste- 2 large tomatoes
- Green Peas- 1/4 cup
- Paste of Watermelon Seeds- 2 Tbs
- Paste of Cashew nuts- 2 Tbs
- Cauliflower- 8 florets
- Capsicum- 1 whole
- Paneer- 1/4 cup
- French Beans- 8 strings
- Carrots
- Kasuri Methi- 1/2 tsp
- Tadka of Red Chillies- 5 whole
- Corriander Leaves
- Oil for cooking
- Ghee- 2 Tbs
DIRECTIONS
- Pour oil into a hot pan. Add all the whole spices, cumin, black cardamom and bay leaves. Sautee everything for a little bit.
- Add onions and wait for the onions to turn to a nice golden brown. Add garlic, ginger and green chilies.
- Add all the spices. Hing, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, tomato paste, with some water to make a gravy.
- Add green peas with the paste of cashew nut and watermelon seeds. Slow cook it on low heat for 15 minutes.
- Make sure you boil the vegetables separately so they are cooked. Also Fry the Paneer separately on all sides.
- Add all the vegetable and Paneer to the gravy. Bring it to a boil and simmer it for 20 minutes.
- Fry the red chilies in a separate pan with Ghee. Add it to the mixture, and sprinkle Kasuri Methi over the top.
- Garnish it with coriander leaves and you are done!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLTSD5jVNU4
Raw Drumsticks
Marinated Drumsticks
Frying Drumsticks
Chicken fry from my mom’s recipe
There are a few things that I know from just watching and being around my mom while she cooked. I never really tried to learn cooking from her. But when it came time to do it on my own. I relied on my memory for things that she would make and the rest sort of just happened. This is one of those recipes that I can do with my eyes closed. Her famous Asian inspired chicken fry. She only ever makes this with drumsticks and thighs but you can use whatever you want. You can adjust all these ingredients to your taste. My mom doesn’t have an exact measurement for all the ingredients. But just to give you an idea this is more or less what is required to make it.
P.S. I love you Ammu! Thank you for being you.
INGREDIENTS
- Chicken Drumsticks – 12 pieces
- Flour – 2 cups
- Eggs – 2
- Soy Sauce – 1 cup
- Onions (Finely Chopped) – 2 cups
- Green Chillies – 1 Tbs
- Corn Starch – 1 Tbs
- Salt – 1 Tbs
- Vinegar – 1 Tbs
- Ginger Paste – 1 tsp
- Ground White Pepper – ½ tsp
- Oil for deep frying
DIRECTIONS
- Make sure you wash the Chicken first and let it dry. Prick holes in it with a fork.
- Mix all the ingredients together in a huge bowl except for the oil.
- For best results, it is suggested to keep this mixture in a fridge overnight. The flavor develops increasingly if you let it marinate for a longer time. If you are in a hurry then you can marinate it for an hour and that should also be good enough.
- Take it out and fry it well in oil under medium-high heat. Make sure to thoroughly cook it well on all sides. 2-3 minutes on each side before turning it.
- Serve it while it’s hot.
