Munaga Aavakaya (Drumstick Pickle)

This is my second pickle recipe for Pickles and preserves theme for this month Blogging Marathon. We Andhra people will make pickles with almost all vegetables. Not only with vegetables we make pickles with non-veg, like eggs, fish, chicken, shrimps. In vegetable pickles eggplant, gongura, ivy gourd, cauliflower, carrot, mixed vegetable, bitter gourd and many more like this. most of the pickles are in  spicy version. Of course we make some pickles like ginger pickle a dn bellam aavakaya and one more mango pickle with little sweet with using jaggery. But most of the pickles are spicy pickles. This Drumstick pickle is one of them... 

So lets check the recipe......

INGREDIENTS:--

Drumsticks(munakkayalu) --- 4

Tamarind juice  ---  1 cup (soak 50 grams of tamarind in warm water and extract tick juice with one cup of water.

Red chilli powder  ---  100 grams

Salt --- 75 grams

Turmeric powder  --- 1 tea sp

Mustard powder  --- 50 grams

Fenugreek powder  -- 1 tea sp

Oil  ---  120 ml (peanut oil or sesame oil)

Garlic ---  20 to 25 cloves

Mustard seeds  ---  1 tea sp

Dry red chillies  --  3 broken

Asafoetida  --- 1/4 tea sp

Lemon juice  --  1/3 cup

Curry leaves  --- 2 springs

METHOD:--

1. Clean and cut drum sticks in to two inch pieces.

2. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry drumstick pieces in the oil till they turn in to light golden and cooked. 

3. Remove drumstick pieces from oil  in to a big mixing bowl and let them cool.

4. Add salt, red chilli powder, mustard powder, fenugreek powder, turmeric powder mix well and set a side for one hour.

5. Now heat the same oil in which we fried drumstick pieces and add mustard seeds, dry red chilli pieces, garlic cloves, curry leaves and asafoetida fry for a while.

6. Then add tamarind juice cook till oil leaves from the sides of the pan (like pulihora paste).

7. Now add lemon juice and switch off the heat and let it cool completely.

8. Now add this seasoning to drumstick pieces and mix well to combine every thing.

9. Now cover this pickle with a lid and set a side for two days .

10. After two days remove the lid now you can see the oil on the top of the pickle.

Mix well and check and adjust the seasoning.

Store this pickle in a clean jar and store it in a clean and dry place.

This will stay for one year in room temperature.

If you feel oil is less in the pickle you can heat 1/2 cup more oil  and add it to the pickle on the third day.

Enjoy munaga aavakaya with hot steamed plain rice. 

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Mixed Vegetable Pickle

Mixed vegetable pickle is my all time favorite winter pickles. Usually we make different pickles in summer, but we also make some seasonal pickles like Amala pickle, lemon pickle. This mixed vegetable pickle I have adopted from North Indian cuisine and changed it in to South Indian style. Instead of using kalonji and fennel seeds I used mustard powder and fenugreek powder like our mango aavakaya. You can use any other vegetables like green chillies, bittergourd, turnips to make this pickle.

This is my first recipe under Pickles and Preserves after a month long mega blogging marathon

INGREDIENTS:---

Cauliflower  ---  1 small cut in to florets

Carrot  ---  1 big or 2 small cut in to cubes

Capsicum  ---  1 big cut in to small cubes

Garlic  --  20 cloves peeled

Red chilli powder   ---  3/4 cup (80 grams)

Turmeric powder  ---  1/2 tea sp

Salt  ---  40 grams

Mustard powder  ---  1 and half tab sp

Fenugreek powder  --  1/2 tea sp

Oil   ---  120 ml

Dry red chillies  --  2 broken

Asafoetida  --  1/3 tea sp

Lemon juice  ---  1/2 cup(50 ml)

METHOD:--

1. Boil water in a pan, bring to full boil add a pinch of salt and switch off the heat. Add cauliflower florets leave it for five minutes and drain all the water and spread the florets on a clean cloth let them dry for over night.

2. Wash and clean carrots and capsicum let them also dry.

3. Next day morning heat oil in a pan add asafoetida and broken red chillies fry for a while then add cauliflower florets stir for one second and switch off the heat.

4. Cut carrot in to small cubes and capsicum in to small cubes.

Add carrot cubes to the pan.

5. Add capsicum cubes to the pan and mix well.

6. Add mustard powder

Add fenugreek powder

7. Then add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and mix well to combine every thing.

8. Finally add lemon juice, garlic cloves mix well to combine every thing.
9. After you mix all ingredients pickle will look like in the up picture.
10. Close with a lid and set a side for one day.
11. After 24 hours check the pickle mix well with a clean spoon and adjust the seasoning.
After 24 hours oil will come on the surface, mix well and store it in a clean jar .
You can leave this pickle out side for two days after two days store it in the fridge .
This pickle will stay good in the fridge for two months.
This pickle will be a very good combination with any parathas specially aloo paratha.....
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Z for Zucchini Chorchori

My final recipe for this Mega blogging Marathon! yes we have finished one full month blogging with a theme of Journey through the cuisines. with my journey through the Bengali cuisine I have learn a lot of cooking styles and interesting recipes. But still a few Bengali recipes are there to explore, will try to explore those recipes some other time
                                                                Today final Alphabet is Z this letter is also a a bit difficult to fine ant ingredient or recipes in Bengali cuisine. So I took a chance to use zucchini for this letter to finish my final recipe for this month. I am not a big fan of this vegetable although this vegetable taste like ridge gourd but some how I didn't like this. But this particular recipe with Bengali five spice mix made this gourd much more delicious and that is a good pair with roti.. So My last recipe for this Mega Blogging Marathon with Z is Zucchini Chorchori  
                                                             

So let's check the recipe...
INGREDIENTS:--- 
Zucchini   ---  1 big cut in to half moon shape one inch pieces
Tomato  ----  1 big chopped
Ginger  ---  1 ab sp grated
Panch phoran ---  1 1 and half tea sp
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder  ---  1/2 tea sp
Turmeric powder  ---  1/4 tea sp
Sugar ---  1/4 tea sp
Oil  ----  1 tab sp
METHOD:---
1. Heat oil in a pan add panch phoran let them splutter then add ginger and fry for a while.
2. Add zucchini pieces, salt to taste, turmeric powder give a good stir, keep the flame in low cover and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Open the lid and give a good stir and add chopped tomato, red chilli powder give a good stir cover and cook in a low heat for 5 minutes stir in between and cook till zucchini pieces are cooked.
4. Sprinkle sugar and mix well and switch off the heat.
Serve hot with rice or roti. 

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Y for Yellow dal Bengali style (Bhaja Moongr dal)

   My recipe for Y is a simple dal recipe from Bengali cuisine. This you can make as a simple dal or you can add vegetables like cauliflower, green peas. Coconut, cashew and raisins are optional in this recipe but that gives an additional crunchy taste and texture to the dal.                                                                         

So let's check the recipe...
Recipe adopted from here
INGREDIENTS:---
Yellow moong dal ---- 200 grams
Green chillies  --- 2,(1 choped and one slit)
Cinnaman --- 1 inch stick
Bay leaves --- 2
Cloves  ---  3
Dry red chilli --- 1
Cardamom --- 3
Broken cashewnuts ---  1/3 cup
Raisins ---  1/3 cupCoconut cut in to small pieces  -- 2 tab sp
Turmeric powder  --- 1/2 tea sp 
Ginger  ---  1 tea sp grated
Black pepper  --  few corns
Cumin seeds  --- 1 tea sp
Red chilli powder  --- 1 tea sp
Asafoetidia  ---  a pinch
Ghee  ---  1 tab sp
Sugar  ---  1 tea sp
Salt  --- 3/4 tea sp
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing.
METHOD:---
1. Dry roast the moong dal till golden, wash dal for two times and add enough water, cook till dal become soft.
2. Heat Ghee in a pan fry coconut pieces till golden remove and set a side, then fry cashew nuts and raisins till golden remove  and set a side
4. Now add Cumin seeds, black pepper corns, slit green chilli, chopped green chili, cloves, cinamon, dry red chilli, bay leaf and let them crackle.
5. Then add asafoetida, grated ginger, fry for a second add red chilli powder mix well and pour this seasoning on the top of cooked dal.
6. Add salt, sugar, fried coconut pieces, Fried cashew nuts and raisins check the consistency if the dal is too thick add 1/2 cup water. Check and adjust salt mix well and cook for two minutes or bring to a full boil in a high flame.
7. Remove from heat garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with plain steamed rice.

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W for Watermelon Dalna

My recipe for W is an interesting recipe, I made few recipes with Water melon rind. With that inspiration I decided to do this typical Bengali recipe Dalna with water melon rind.
Chhanar dalna
Olkopir dalna
                                                                    

INGREDIENTS:---
Water melon --- 2 cups cut in to cubes
Cut the watermelon and remove the red fruit part and peel the green skin and take the white part and cut the white part in to 2 inch size cubes.
Potato ---- 1 cut in to cubes 
Fresh or frozen green peas -- 1/2 cup 
Tomatoes -- 2 blanched and pured 
Ginger paste -- 1&1/2 tea sp 
FOR MASALA:--- 
Cumin powder -- 1 tea sp 
Coriander powder -- 1 tea sp 
Red chilli powder -- 1 tea sp or according to your taste 
Kitchen king masala or garam masala -- 2 tea sp 
Yogurt -- 1 tab sp 
Tomato ketchup -- 2 tea sp this gives a bright color and sweet taste if you dont like just skip it.
                                                                       

 FOR SEASONING:-- 
Bay leaves -- 3 
Cardamom -- 2 
Clove -- 2 
Cinnamon -- 1/2 inch stick 
Fenugreek seeds -- 1/2 tea sp 
Salt --- 1 tea sp or to taste 
oil -- 1 tab sp 
METHOD:--
1. Heat oil in a pan add potato cubes and cook till potato pieces turn in to light golden remove and set a side.
 2. In the same oil add seasoning ingredients fry for a while and add tomato pure, cook till oil separates from the tomato pure. 
3. Add ginger paste and stir for a while. 
4.Now add potato, water melon cubes green peas and saute till the vegetables take a little color. 
5.In a small bowl mix yogurt,cuimin, coriander, red chillipowder,garam masala or kitchenking masala mix well to combine and add to the vegetables and stir till masala coats on the vegetables and fry for few minutes. 
6. Add tomato ketchup, salt and 2 cups of water mix well, cover and cook till vegetables are done. 
7. This is a thick gravy so adjust the water according to your like and check the salt and adjust according to your taste. 

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U for Uchche posto Jhuri - Bitter gourd with poppy seeds

This is the final week of this Mega blogging Marathon, Journey Through the cuisines. This week start with the Alphabet U. This letter also have a few choice to find recipes but I find a very interesting name for a well known vegetable. Bitter gourd is known as Uchche in Bengali, which is my favorite vegetable. Yes bitter gourd is my one of the favorite vegetable. But many don't like this vegetable because of it's bitter taste. If you cook it in a proper way that taste delicious like all other vegetables. It's a very healthy vegetable which helps to enhances digestion, purifies the blood and acts as a very good cleanser to your body. In Bengali cuisine they include this bitter vegetable in their first course.
                                                               

So let's check the recipe....
recipe adopted from Sandeepa
INGREDIENTS:---
Bitter gourd ---- 2 medium
Poppy seeds  ---  2 tab sp
Mustard seeds ---  1/2 tea sp
Dry red chillies -- 1 broken
Oil --- 1 tab sp 
salt to taste
turmeric powder --- 1/4 tea sp
METHOD:---
1.  Grind poppy seeds in to a powder and set a side.
2. Chop the bitter gourds in to small pieces.
3. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds and dry red chilli let them crackle.
4. Add bitter gourd pieces, salt to taste, turmeric powder cover the pan, keep the heat low, stir in between.
5. when the bitter gourd pieces are cooked  add poppy seed powder, sprinkle very little water and stir fry till bitter gourd turn dry.
Serve with plain rice and dal.



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T for Tomato chutney and Trikon Paratha

Today my last recipe for this week is not one recipe two recipes I made for T. First recipe I tried for this Alphabet is trikon paratha, this paratha is a favorite breakfast with potato curry among Bengali families. After I tried this parathas did't find any thing special in this recipe. Because these are the parathas which I used to make for dinner every day. But recently stopped making them because amount of oil or ghee which we use to make them. But still I make these parathas once in 15 days because these parathas are hubby's all time favorite with Aloo kurma.
                                                                        

                                                                I wanted to pair this parathas with some thing special and typical Bengali recipe but not potato curry. Then I remember this tomato chutney which I made for kichudi. That time we enjoyed this sweet tomato chutney with chapati and bread toast other then kichudi. That time I coudn't take the pictures so once again I tried this sweet and sour tomato chutney. 
                                                                   

so let's check the recipes.....
Tomato chutney adopted from Here
FOR TOMATO CHUTNEY:--
Tomatoes  ---  3 big chopped
Panchphoron ---  1 and half tea sp (Bengali five spice )
Ginger  ---  1 tab sp minced
Salt to taste
Sugar   ---  1/4 cup
Water 1/4 cup
Red chilli flakes ---  1 tab sp 
                                                                        

METHOD:---
Heat oil in a pan add panchphoron let then crackle then add minced ginger fry for a minute.
2. Add tomatoes, salt to taste cook ytill tomatoes turn soft then add sugar mix well.
3. Cook in a low heat for 10 minutes or till sauce become thick.
4. Add chilli flakes mix well and switch off the heat, let it cool
Serve with Kichuri or paratha...

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Triangle Paratha - Trikon Paratha

INGREDIENTS:---
Trikon paratha:---
Wheat flour  --  2 cups
Water for kneading the dough approximate 1 and half cups 
Sugar  --- 1 tea spSalt to taste
Ghee  ---  3 tab sp Instead of ghee you can sprinkle some wheat flour to fold the parathas but with flour you don't get proper layers, means you can't see the open layers. If you spread oil or ghee you can clearly see the layers.
ghee or oil for frying the paratha
                                                            

METHOD:---
1. Take wheat flour, sugar,salt mix well then sprinkle water and and knead in to a soft dough.
2. Knead this dough for 5 to 7 minutes cover with a kitchen towel and set a side for one hour.
3. Divide the dough in to equal portions and and roll in to balls.
4. Sprinkle little flour on work space and roll this dough balls in to circles.
5. Spread 1/2 tea sp ghee on the dough circle and fold in to half like half moon shape, then again fold to make a triangle.
6. Roll the each triangle in to a triangle paratha.
7. Heat the pan  and place the paratha on it and fry both sides  for few seconds then apply a 1/4 tea sp ghee or oil both sides and fry the paratha till golden.

S for Sojne Data R Chorchori - Drumstick cooked in mustard and poppy seeds paste

Today recipe is a cooking style from Bengali cuisine which is adopted from Chinese style of cooking. Chorchori is usually a vegetable dish which is made with one or more vegetables cooked on a high heat in there own juices as much as possible. This chorchari recipe almost sounds like stir fried vegetables which is given an Indian touch with mustard and poppy seed paste and flavored with phoran. Today my chorchori recipe is with Sojne data, sajne data means Drumstick (Munakkaya). I mix potato with drumstick to make chorchori, you can add any other vegetables like ivy gourd, Indian broad beans. you can mix all four vegetables and make chorchori that will be more delicious. any ways I made it with only drumstick and potato..
So let's check the recipe.....
                                                                  

Recipe adopted from here
INGREDIENTS:--
Sojne data (drumstick, munakkayalu)  ---  5 cut in to 3 inch pieces
Potato  ---  1 big cut in to thick wedges
Mustard seeds  -- 2 tab sp
Poppy seeds  ---  3 tab sp
Green chilli  ---1
Kalonji (nigella seeds) ---  1/4 tea sp
Turmeric powder -- 1/4 tea sp
Red chilli powder -- 1/2 tea sp
salt to taste
Green chillies --  2 slit
Oil  --- 3 tab sp
                                                                 

METHOD:--
1.Heat oil in a pan ad fry drumstick pieces remove and set a side.
2. Add potato wedges to the same oil and fry till light golden remove and set a side.
3. In the mean while soak mustard and poppy seeds in water for half an hour and grind in to a fine paste with green chillies and a pinch of salt.
4. Now add nigella seeds and slit green chillies to the same oil fry for a while then add fried drumstick and potato pieces, Turmeric powder. red chilli powder, salt to taste, mustard and poppy seed paste, give a good stir cover and cook for 4 minutes.
5. After 4 minutes remove the lid and add one cup water mix well again cover and cook on a medium heat till vegetables are done.
6. Now remove the lid and stir well and cook with out lid till all the water dried up and masala coated on the vegetable pieces well.
Serve hot with plain rice..

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R for Ros Bora

My recipe for R is again a sweet from Bengali cuisine. Usually what we think all Bengali sweets are made with milk or milk products. But there are some sweets which are not made with milk products like Patisapta, Ranga aloor pithy and some more like this. This is a special sweet which is made on Bengali new year and sankranthi. In Andhra cuisine we also made a very similar sweet for deepavali called teepi punugulu, not even a small difference in these two recipes
So let's check the recipe...
                                                          

Recipe adopted from here 
INGREDIENTS:---
Urad dal ---  1 cup
Fennel seeds  ----  1 tab sp
Soda-bi-corb ---- a pinch
A pinch of salt
Oil for deep frying
FOR SUGAR SYRUP:---
Sugar  ---  1 cup
Water  ---  1 and half cups
Cardamom powder --- 3/4 tea sp
                                                         

METHOD:---
1. Soak urad dal for over night, in the morning drain all the water  and grind in to a smooth paste with very little water (like vada batter).
2. Add salt and soda-bi-carb and mix well you can beat with an electric beater for ten minutes in low speed to give fluffy texture.
3. Add fennel seeds to the urad dal batter mix well.
4. Heat oil in a deep frying pan now drop a small drop of batter in to the hot oil to check whether oil is hot enough or not, if the small drop of the batter is came up immediately then the oil is hot enough.
5. Now take small amount of the urad dal batter in your hand and drop small ball s in to hot oil and deep fry till golden, remove from oil and place them on a kitchen paper towel.
Now let's make the syrup:--
1. Take one cup of sugar in a pan add 2 and half cups of water Mix well till sugar dissolves, now place the pan on high heat to make syrup.
2. Bring syrup to full boil add cardamom powder and reduce the heat and boil for 5 minutes in a low heat and switch off the heat.
3. Now drop boras in to the hot syrup, let them cool completely then store in the fridge till you serve.

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Q for Quick Rasmalai With Milk Powder

Today 17th recipe for this Mega blogging Marathon the alphabet is Q. Q is a very tough letter to find a recipe in Indian cuisine. As usual I started searching recipe names then vegetable names,I didn't find any thing. Then I thought of this recipe which I tried almost a twenty years back from booklet. I didn't find that booklet now very sad:(, I checked all my notes but didn't find the recipe. 
I checked in net for the recipe but all the recipes are used egg in net. But I am very sure which I tried is a egg less recipe.
                                                        finally I decide to try the recipe first time I tried with a tab sp of all purpose flour with milk powder, Rasmalai turned a bit hard. Second time I mixed egg replace powder in the place of a one egg. second time rasmali turned so soft and perfect. But I was not happy because when I first tried this recipe that time I didn't even know what a egg replace powder is. So was thinking what could I have used that time, not thinking I was literally breaking my head. Because that time rasgullas turned in to a lite yellow color. When I tried with egg replace powder I didn't get that color.
                                                                

                                                                  One fine day hubby ask me to make mango custard, because mango season started and we both like mango custard very much. When I was mixing the custard powder in milk that turned in to the same yellow color  what I got for those rasmalai when I first made. Then immediately I tried those milk powder rasmalai with custard powder ... yes Now I got the recipe. Now the ingredient I used int he place of egg is a tab sp of custard powder. 
                                                                      Let me tell you why we use a egg or a egg replacer in a instant rasmalai specially made with milk powder is. The original  recipe contain chhena (paneer) which is made in to round balls then cooked in sugar syrup. So when you add this rasgulla's  in to hot boiling milk to make rasmalai they won't split because they were already cooked and they hold the shape. This traditional recipe takes a long time to make. For this quick rasmalai recipe since we are using milk powder to make rasmalai balls. When you drop milk powder balls in to hot milk they will melt and mix with the milk, so to hold the shape we are using egg or egg replace powder as a binding agent. We can make this quick rasmalai with in ten minutes time and I felt these taste just like the store brought one 's soft and smooth.. and very easy to make. You can make them before and store them in the fridge till you serve, but handle with care :) because they are very soft... this is my first sweet recipe in this Mega BM
so lets check the recipe...
                                                                       

INGREDIENTS:---
Milk powder  ---  1 cup
Baking powder  --- 1/2 tea sp
Custard powder  ---  1 tab sp
All purpose flour (maida)  ---  1 tea sp
For ras (flavored milk)  ---
Milk  ---  1 lit.
Sugar  --  3/4 cup
Saffron  ---  a bug pinch
Cardamom powder  --- 1 tea sp
Ghee --  1 tab sp
METHOD:---
1. Start boiling one lit. milk with cardamom powder and sugar in medium heat, bring to a full boil and keep the heat in low.
2. Meanwhile mix milk powder, baking powder in a mixing bowl mix well.
3. Take custard powder and flour in to a small bowl add two tab sp of milk and mix well to make paste and add this paste and ghee to milk powder and knead in to a smooth dough, knead this milk powder dough for a two minutes to make it smooth, don't over knead the dough other wise rasmalai will turn hard.
4. This dough will be little sticky so apply very little ghee to your hands and make equal round shape balls and press them very gently to give a disk shape, make all the malai's and keep them ready.
5. Now add saffron mix well and gently place this balls in to boiling milk cover the pan with lid and  increase the heat to medium high and cook till milk becomes to a full boil again and balls starting increase the size.
6. Now reduce the heat to low and cook for two more minutes and switch off the heat.
Don't over boil other wise the rasmalai will turn hard.
Let it cool and refrigerate till you serve
You can garnish with chopped nuts you like.
Serve chilled...
Note:- you like to make this quick radmalai with egg replace powder, for one cup milk powder mix one and half tea sp of egg replace powder with two tab sp of water and 1 tea sp of all purpose flour and ad this to milk powder.
You can replace custard powder with a tab sp of corn flour and tea sp of all purpose flour..

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P for Paneer Paturi

Paneer Paturi is a popular dish cooked in fresh banana leaves which make paneer pieces more flavor full. Other then banana leaves they use mustard leaves to wrap the paneer pieces. Usually this recipe is not only made with paneer but it is very popular with fish and prawns., Paneer is the vegetarian version. I have pan fried this paneer parcels on a pan other then that you can steam this parcels in steamer. So My recipe for P from Bengali cuisine for Journey through the cuisines is Paneer Paturi...
                                                                            

So let's check the recipe...
This recipe is adopted from Deepa's Hamaree rasoi 
INGREDIENTS:---
Paneer  ---  250 grams
Mustard seeds  -- 4 tab sp
Poppy seeds  ---  1 tab sp
Turmeric powder  ---  1/2 tea sp
Sugar  a pinch
Oil  ---  2 tab sp
Green chillies  ---  4
Salt to taste
Lemon drops -- 4 drops
Few banana leaves
Threads for wrapping or toothpicks
                                                                    

METHOD:---
1. Clean and cut the banana leaves and remove the stem, 
2. Dip this banana leaves in warm water, wipe with a kitchen towel and apply oil and set a side.
3. Cut paneer in to cubes sprinkle little salt and turmeric powder and leave a side for 15 minutes.
4. Take mustard seeds and poppy seeds salt to taste, sugar and make a smooth paste with little water.
5. Add half of the mustard and poppy seed past to paneer pieces mix well.
                                                           

6. Now place the marinated paneer pieces in the center of the banana leaf, add remaining marinade on it, slit green chillis and place on it, add lemon juice and top with generous amount of oil and fold the leaf like a parcel and tie with a tread.
7. Make all the parcel's like this and place these parcels on a non- stick pan and keep flame on low.
8. Drizzle some oil around the parcel's, cover with a lid and roast for 4 minutes.
9. Open the lid and flip the parcel the other side and again cover and roast for 4 minutes.
By this time color of the leaf will change and your Paneer Paturi is ready with beautiful aroma of banana leaf and masala .
Discard the thread and serve Paneer Paturi with plain rice 

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O for Oolkopir Torkari - German Turnip stir fry

We are going to start third week from to day with our journey trough cuisines. First Alphabet for this week is O. It's a bit difficult to find a recipe or an ingredient with this letter in Bengali cuisine. so I kept this letter a side to decide what to cook, in fact I kept few Alphabets which are a bit tricky to fine Indian recipe or ingredient names. Only recipe I am getting for O is orange Kheer which I have already made and posted so no chance to make it again. Then I remember once I made a recipe from Sandeepas blog and yes.. that recipe name start with O, the vegetable name start with O That is Oolkopir Dalna. Then I search for the other recipes with this vegetable in Bengali cuisine. Finally I find a torkari recipe here  with German Turnip, but Dalna is very popular with German turnip. 
                                                        Torkari is a cooking style in Bengali cuisine (of course it is cooking type used in all Indian cuisines). Torkari is a general way of cooking often use for stir fried fresh vegetables in there own juices. Now coming to the vegetable Oolkopi which is well known as Ganthkopi, German turnip, Kohlrabi In South India we know this vegetable as Noolkol (Knol- Khol) We make stir fries, koottu and even use this in sambar some times. This vegetable when you use tender one's will be best ingredient in salads. German turnip is from cabbage family and that smell's also like cabbage. It has a lot's of health benefits, rich in water content and good for weight loss read this..
                                                                  

Now let's check the recipe... 
INGREDIENTS:---
Oolkopi (German turnip)  --  2 medium peel and cut in to cubes
Potato  ---  1 big peel and cut in to cubes
Turmeric powder  -- 1/2 tea sp
Red chilli powder  -- 1 and half tea sp
Salt to taste
Tomato  ---  1 medium chopped
Oil  ---  2 tab sp
Panch phoran --  1 and half tea sp
METHOD:---
1. Heat oil in a pan add panch phoran and let them splutter and add oolkopi cubes and potato cubes, salt to taste, turmeric powder mix well sprinkle two tab sp of water cover and cook till vegetables are tender, stir in between.
2. remove the lid and add chopped tomato, redhilli powder mix well and keep the heat in low and stir cook for five minutes.
If you feel that vegetables are sticking to the bottom then sprinkle a few drops of water and keep on stirring till the torkari become semi dry.
Switch off the heat..
Serve hot with plain rice or with roti..

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

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