Sirini ( Satyanarayana Puja Prasad )

During my childhood days, most people would organize a 'Satyanarayan Puja' on the birthday of their kids. Usually they would pick the date for the Puja according to the 'thithi' or Hindu religious calendar leaving their kids free to celebrate the actual B'day ( as per the Christian calendar ) with a cake cutting ceremony. All the neighbours would be invited for the Puja and a big vessel of 'Sirini' would be prepared by the 'Nana' or the pujari. Sometimes if the pujari was lenient, he would allow some family member to prepare the prasad. In those days  Brahmins would not touch food prepared by any other caste than their own. Along with the 'Sirini', there would be a large plate holding dozens of 'Sitabhog' laddoos or 'Sareikela laddoo' as we call it in Rourkela. All the kids would be eyeing the laddoos and hoping fervently for the Puja to get over. The prasad would consist of a 'danaa' or bowl made with 'sal leaves' filled with delicious 'Sirini' and a Sitabhog laddoo.

Sirini was originally made with rice flour but sometime back people switched to using 'atta' or whole wheat four instaed of the former. The other ingredients are milk, mashed ripe bananas, sugar and crushed black pepper. Some people also add fruits like apples and pears. I have chosen to make this with a mix of rice flour and wheat flour in equal proportion.
Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 3 tsp sugar
• 2  - 2 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp crushed black pepper

Preparation - Take all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Use a hand blender to get a smooth and consistent mixture.

Serve immediately or chill for 20 mins before serving.

Matches are made not fixed !!!!!!!!!!!

Its time for my favorite celebrity couple to exchange their vows. Yes, the cricketing poster boy finally ties the knot with the beautiful Yash Raj girl. The adventurous couple have decided to have an all out beach wedding at Goa complete with the rustic shacks serving sorpotel and vindaloo ( Ofcourse...there will be the feni too). And being appointed the wedding planner, I am in seventh heaven as I get a ringside view of the nuptials! Shhh...stay tuned as I may pass on some of the insider info from time to time...........

Organizing a celebrity wedding is no easy task but being the online freak that I am, I obviously turn to one of my favorite website Baggout.com. Yeah.......it is my destination of choice for deals and coupons (hehehe..and some cashback too). Well I am going to make the most out of it and help my clients save on their wedding expenses. Agreed they earn much more than all of us put together but still they are smart people and want to spend it right.

I have been handed the guest list and the couple have given me a few suggestions for the wedding invites and the gifts that will go out with it.  Print venue  and Chumbak offer some great designs and variety along with good discounts. I am sure the couple is going to like the fact that the gifts can bear a personalized message or mugshot or even both. Planning to suggest some Photo coffee mugs/sippers/engraved pens/mobile covers that their friends are going to love.

The guests have to be flown in from all over the country and abroad. No running after travel agents or repeatedly calling up the airlines and hotel reception desks to enquire about discounts and manage the bookings. Makemytrip is the perfect solutions to get everything done at one place. Currently they offer upto 50 percent discount on hotel bookings plus 10-20 percent discount on the domestic flight bookings. Local transportation for the guests will be arranged by Olacabs which currently offers a discount of rupees 56 on every booking. Seems minuscule by itself but adds up to a lot when the all trips are taken into account.

No wedding is complete without flowers and the bouquets and flower arrangements will be taken care by  Fernsnpetals....flowers...anywhere...anytime! Apart from the lavish multi-cuisine spread at the wedding venue, just-eat.in has been roped in to ensure that the guests do not go hungry or thirsty anywhere anytime.

Coming to the couple itself, it is time get some shopping done for them.After all they be going on a month long honeymoon once the wedding is over. He has decided to gift the stylish dame some great stuff from Jabong. Hardly surprising as the lady also happens to their brand ambassador. (Click here to take a leaf outta her style guide). Since she also happens to a avid reader, he has decided to gift a whole library of books ( and e-books too) bought from Amazon and Flipkart both of which have some great discounts running on at the moment. "And since your lady openly professes her love for jewellery by saying "Gehnon se bahut bahut pyar hai", a few statement pieces from Jewelskart will definitely make her day", I offer him some girly advice which he happily accepts.

Now its time for me to sit down with the lady and help her purchase the gifts for her beau. Apart from buying some trendy designer outfits from Jabong ( yeah they have been stocking names like Rohit Bal for sometime now !!), I suggest her to buy some dapper luggage pieces as both of them practically live out of suitcases given their hectic schedules. Apart from the fine collection at Jabong, Flipkart offers a mind boggling variety in terms of designs and colors. "By the way , you can also pick up some quirky and stylish stuff from FabFurnish and India Circus to do up your new pad", I offer as a parting advise . I can see her still glued to the homepage of Baggout as I wave her goodbye for the day. I cross my fingers and hope that I still have the job when I report for work the next day. With Baggout.com's help, anyone can organize a wedding !!! Even Virat Kohli and Anuskha Sharma.............




Disclaimer - This is my blog post written for Baggout.com's contest . It is a fictional account and any resemblance to any character dead or living is highly coincidental !!!

Mula Besara ( Radish in a mustard-yogurt gravy )

Radish is one of those vegetables which is a must include for a weight loss diet.  It is low on carbs, high on roughage/fiber and loaded with water. It is low GI food which helps manage sugar levels more efficiently in diabetics and its high vitamin C, folic acid and anthocyanins make it an anti-carcinogenic. It also happens to be a wonder food for disinfecting, detoxifying and nourishing all the organs involved in the digestive system.

This vegetable is consumed in most Odia households in the form of khatta, raita, salad, bhaja and besara. All of these recipes are simple, doable and low in calories. Though my husband is not very fond of this vegetable, I quite enjoy it and make it when I am cooking a meal for myself. Today's recipe is a simple mula besara or radish cooked in a gravy of mustard-yogurt-garlic. I have tweaked the recipe a bit.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cup radish ( peeled and cubed )
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1-2 green chili
• 3 tbsp thick yogurt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 1/2  tsp mustard oil
• salt to taste
• freshly grated coconut for garnishing

Preparation - Grind the mustard, garlic and green chili into a fine paste. Dissolve in 1/2 cup water. Strain to remove all the black bits (skin). [ I was a bit clumsy while doing this and some of the un-strained paste fell into my mixing bowl. Hence you can see some black specks in the final dish]

Take all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the strained mustard paste. Mix well.

Cooking - Heat a wok. Add the contents of the mixing bowl . Cover and cook till the radish is just cooked.
(I prefer to leave it a bit crunchy/chewy)

If there is still lot of liquid remaining, remove the radish and then reduce the sauce till it is thick. Pour this thickened sauce over the radish and sprinkle freshly grated coconut.

Serve at room temperature with white rice.


Note - One can also leave out the garlic as the radish is quite pungent in itself. The yogurt and coconut also help to reduce the pungency.

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a simple yet easy to make and good to eat Indian dessert. By using a low calorie yogurt and substituting Sugarfree/Splenda for sugar, it can be transformed into a low calorie delight. One can also add fruit puree to it. Also it happens to be one of Bal gopal's favorites.

Read on for this recipe which is also offered as prasad/neivaidyam on the occasion of Janmasthami-

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup hung curd
• 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• a pinch of cardamom powder
• a few nuts
• 3-4 strands of saffron
• 1 tbsp warm milk
• 1-2 drops rose water/kewda water (optional)

Preparation - Soak the saffron in the milk for 10 mins.

Transfer all ingredients (except nuts) to a blender. Buzz to get a smooth paste.

Garnish with the chopped nuts and serve chilled.

Note - I personally prefer to make shrikhand with a day old yogurt so that it has just a hint of sourness. 

Sev Tamatar ki Subzi ( sev tamatar nu shak )

Happy Janmasthami to all my readers!!!!!

Nal Lal. Bal Gopal. Kanhaiya. Devakinandan. Makhan Chor. Govinda. Murlidhar. These are some of Lord Krishna's popular names. Most of us would visualize him as a chubby toddler stealing 'Makhan' or as a teenager playfully teasing the Gopikas but most commonly as the charioteer cum adviser of Arjuna during the Mahabharata. Today as we celebrate his birthday with the breaking of the 'Dahi handi', I am sharing a simple no onion - no garlic recipe for all those who will be keeping a fast today. It is the simple 'sev tamatar  ki subzi' that is a favorite among most of my Jain friends and me too!!
 ( To know more about the story of Lord Krishna's birth , click here )


Recipe -

Preparation Time - 10-12 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp chili powder ( one can reduce/increase the quantity )
• 1/3 cup sev
• 2 pinch turmeric
• a pinch of asafotida
• a pinch of garam masala
• a pinch of cumin
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp oil ( one can also use ghee )
• coriander leaves for garnishing (optional)
• 1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

Preparation - Finely chop the tomatoes.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter. Add asafoetida followed by the chopped tomatoes.

Cover with a lid for 1-2 mins to soften the tomatoes.

Add turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and salt along with 3-4 tbsp water. Cover till the tomatoes are completely cooked.

Add the sugar and stir in. Then add the sev and switch off the flame.

Finally garnish with some coriander leaves and serve hot with roti/parantha/puris.

Note - One can also add onion , ginger and garlic to this recipe on non-fasting days.

Tiranga Faluda

Its that time of the year yet again. The tricolor hues seem to be floating everywhere around me. Even my kid is wearing it to school today. And not to mention all the lovely blog posts that have been popping on my screen over the past week. This one however was conceptualized almost a fortnight back for the second round of the Borosil-Indiblogger contest that I did not win. It seems one needs past laurels as well as a good sales pitch to reach the podium finish in such contests. Anyways that's in the past now.

The recipe that I am going to share today is a simple one. I have used mango, vanilla and kiwi as the flavours in the this recipe. But one can go for any three flavours that one likes and use a bit of edible food color to get the right shade. I would have liked a thicker consistency for the faluda but unfortunately there was an 8 hour long power-cut on the day and my ice creams just melted off. While it does not look as good, it does taste great. Very apt if you are entertaining any friends over the long weekend. Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 12 tbsp subza (basil) seeds
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 scoops vanilla ice-cream 
• 2 scoops mango ice-cream
• 2 scoops kiwi ice-cream
• 2 tbsp mango crush
• 2 tbsp kiwi crush
• few drops of orange food color ( or saffron instead )
• few drops of green food color
• chopped cherries for garnishing

Preparation - Divide the subza seeds into 3 portions. Add each portion to 2/3 cup warm milk. Add a little green color and 1 tbsp kiwi crush to one cup. To another cup, add some orange color and 1 tbsp mango crush. Soak for 1-2 hours.

Mix in the remaining mango and kiwi crush with 2 scoops of mango and 2 scoops of kiwi ice-cream respectively .

Assembly - Take some clean glasses . First add a little of the green colored subza mixture. Top it with the Kiwi ice-cream.

Then add another layer of white colored subza mixture topped with the vanilla ice-cream.

Finally add the layer of orange colored subza mix topped with mango icecream.

Sprinkle the cherries on top.

Serve immediately.

Note - I have not used sugar as the crush and ice-cream add a lot of sweetness to this dessert. But one can add some sugar as well as per preference.

Chingudi Dalma ( Our very own Prawn Dhansak )

As Dalma is usually synonymous to fasting days in the Odia culture, it came as a bit of shocker when I first heard about the non-veg versions from my husband's cousins. I am not sure how such recipes came about but I have a niggling doubt that maybe some enterprising Odia chef/restaurant was inspired by the iconic  Parsi delight 'Dhansak'. But I maybe wrong. Being from the western region of Odisha, Dalma was not something that we regularly encountered during the growing up years. It was labelled as 'Kataki' ( meaning that it was favored by people from Cuttack ) dish.

However after marriage it became an integral part of my menu and i cook it alteast 2-3 times a week as it is very light and nutritious ( i avoid any kind of garam masala and ghee unless it is a special occasion ). Also, if one has chopped veggies stored in the fridge, it hardly takes 15 mins to get this dish onto the table. But coming to today's recipe, the 'Chingudi/Prawn Dalma' has got elements of the both a Odia prawn curry and a vegetable dalma. Like mine to have the texture of a thick lentil soup with melt in the mouth vegetables and chewy prawns. ( But going by the list of ingredients, I guess it is the closet thing next to a 'Prawn Dhansak'). Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 25-30 mins


Ingredients -

• 1/2 cup toor dal
• 1/2 cup diced pumpkin
• 1/2 cup green banana
• 1 small potato (cubed)
• 5-6 big cauliflower florets
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 2 small tomatoes (each cut into 4 pieces)
• 1/2 cup small shrimps
• 1 small onion
• 7-8 garlic flakes
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 red chili
• 2 green cardamom
• 1 1/2 inch cinnamon
• 2 small bay leaf
• 2 pinch cumin seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 4 tsp rice bran oil
• coriander leaves for garnishing
• 2 pinch roasted cumin-chili powder (optional)

Preparation - Wash and marinate the prawns with a bit of salt and turmeric. (If they are small, leave the shells as it is else remove the shells)

Grind the onion, ginger, garlic. bay leaf, red chili, cinnamon and cardamom into coarse paste and keep aside.

Cooking - Wash and transfer the vegetables ( except for 1 tomato ) and the dal into a pressure cooker. Add salt and turmeric.Close lid and cook for 1-2 whistles. Keep aside till steam escapes.

Add 2-3 tsp oil to a wok. Thrown in the prawns and fry them on medium flame for 5 mins or till done. (Frying time depends on size)

Add the remaining oil to the same wok. Thrown in the bay leaf and cumin seeds. After the spluttering slows down, add the onion masala paste and fry till raw smell goes off.

Add the remaining tomato and cook till it softens. Now add the fried prawns and cook for 1-2 mins.

Pour the cooked dal and veggies into the wok. Bring to boil and simmer for 7-8 mins.

Sprinkle coriander leaves and roasted cumin-chili powder just before removing from the flame.

Serve hot with white rice or rotis.

Note - For a thicker and richer gravy , increase the amount of onion-garlic-ginger masala by 1.5 times, boil for 5-7 mins extra and add a little cinnamon powder just before removing from flame.

Jain Pav Bhaji

Jain food happens to be an extension of the Jainism philosophy of 'Ahimsa' or non-violence. Hence it does not include any ingredient which is harvested in a manner that causes death or injury to any living being. That eliminates all the root vegetables as it involves uprooting/killing the plant and displacing small organisms living in the vicinity. Also, foods that stimulate feelings of anger/negativity ( 'tamas') like onions and garlic are also prohibited.

My first taste of Jain pav bhaji came during my stay in Pune. This is a city that offers some really amazing jain food though I have forgotten the names of the places after so many years. Coming back to the Pav Bhaji, it is a really simple one made without using onion, garlic or even potatoes. Hence it is something that can be eaten/served to guests on 'Vrat' or fasting days. One just needs to buy a 'Pav Bhaji Masala' that eliminates onion and garlic among its ingredients and one is good to go. I got the 'no onion-no garlic' masala from a brand called 'Kapol'.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 25-30 mins ( this includes a standby of 10-12 mins )

Ingredients -

• 1/2 raw banana
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1 1/2 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 medium sized capsicum
• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 tsp pav bhaji masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 pinch cumin seeds
• 3 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• 4-5 pav/buns
• butter as required
• coriander leaves for garnishing
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• lemon wedges for garnishing

Preparation - Wash the cauliflower, cabbage and green peas. Transfer to a pressure cooker.

Wash and peel the raw banana and cube it. Add to the cooker along with 1/2 cup water, a pinch of turmeric and salt. Cook on medium flame for 2-3 whistles.

Keep aside till steam escapes. Use a hand blender to mash up the boiled veggies into a coarse/chunky paste. ( one can also use a traditional masher instead )

Chop the capsicum and tomatoes into small pieces.

Cooking - Heat 3 tsp oil and a bit of butter in a pan.  When sufficiently hot, add the cumin seeds.

Once the seeds stop spluttering, add chopped capsicum. Fry for 1 minute before adding the tomatoes. Cover with a lid for 1 min. Remove lid and crush the softened tomatoes with a spatula.

Add all the powdered masalas along with a little salt. Fry for 1-2 mins before adding the mashed veggies.
Cook for 8-10 min to blend all the flavours. Adjust salt if required and add a few teaspoons of hot water if it is getting too dry. Sprinkle coriander leaves and remove from flame.

Heat  1-2 tsp butter in a separate pan. Fry the pav to a light golden.

Garnish the bhaji/curry with a dollop of butter, more coriander leaves and lemon wedges. Serve hot with the pav.

Note - Use Kashmiri red chili powder if you want a reddish hue to the bhaji. Also, I have kept the quantity of chili powder quite less as I was making it for my toddler. Add more if you want it hot.

Chuda Kadamba ( Avalakki/Poha Laddoo )

Chuda santula (Poha). Chuda Kadali Chakta. Chuda khera. Chuda payas. While there are many ways of consuming beaten rice ( or 'Chuda') in  Odisha, I came across this one very recently. 'Chuda Kadamba' or laddoos made of powdered beaten rice are not only easy to make, they taste great and are super healthy too!! They do sound like manna from heaven for folks on a strict diet regimen ( one can cut down on the quantity of ghee by half and use skim milk instead ) .

I was inspired to make this for my kid who is on a snacking spree these days. Store bought stuff can be unhealthy at times ( MSG, too much sugar, artificial sweeteners) and he is always looking for more variety. Hence I tried these laddoos which did not call for much effort and are low on white/refined sugar too !!! While I have added some cashews and raisins to my version but one can also omit the same. Read on for the quick recipe -

Preparation time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups thin poha/chuda (beaten rice)
• 5 tsp brown sugar/jaggery
• 2 green cardamoms (powdered)
• 1 tsp ghee
• 4 tbsp freshly grated coconut
• 4-5 tsp warm milk ( or as needed for binding )
• a pinch of edible camphor (optional)
• 3-4 tbsp broken cashews (optional)
• 2 tbsp raisins (optional)

Preparation - Heat 1/2 tsp ghee in a pan. Add the cashews and raisins and fry for 10-15 seconds. Keep aside to cool down.

Grind the beaten rice to a fine powder.

Next add the cardamom and brown sugar/jaggery to the same blender jar and buzz till mixed.

Add freshly grated coconut, ghee, fried cashews and buzz for 1-2 seconds.

Finally add the milk little by little and give it a buzz. All the ingredients should come together like a dough. If not add more milk by the teaspoon ( be careful at this stage ).

Rub ghee on your hands, take a little of the mixture and try to form a ball/laddoo. If it is binding well, remove the mixture from blender jar into a mixing bowl else add more milk . Add raisins and camphor. Mix well.

Make into small balls. Pop into the fridge for a few hours. Keep refrigerated and consume with 2-3 days.

Vegetable Manchurian

Vegetable Manchurian happened to be one of my favorites dishes during the college years. I could have it for evening snacks, then again for dinner and if there was still some leftover ( quite miraculously !! ), it would go into the making of my breakfast the next day. Such was my fascination with this delicious Chinese recipe that there was seldom a week when I did not have it. But as they say 'Too much of a good thing is bad'. I lost my appetite for this yummy dish soon after and it was years before I went anywhere near it. I distinctly remember avoiding it at wedding banquets and office parties where it happened to be one of the popular starters for the vegetarian crowd.

But when I came across it recently while browsing for popular Indo-Chinese recipes. Memories came flooding back and I could not resist trying it out at home. While the ones served at restaurants are good, I just wanted to relive the fun that I used to have when making it with my Mom. And btw, it also happens to be one of my brother's favorite. Here this one is for you Bro. Happy Raksha Bandhan !!!!!!!!

Read on for the easy recipe -

Preparation Time - 45-55 mins

Ingredients -

For the balls -

2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
2/3 cup grated carrot
1/3 cup finely chopped capsicum
1/2 cup finely chopped spring onions (i used both the white and green portions)
1/2 cup finely chopped french beans
2-3 green finely chopped chilis
4 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornflour
1/3 tsp chilli powder ( skip this if the green chilis are hot ..mine had very less heat )
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

For the sauce -

3 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 finely chopped green chilis
3 tsp soya sauce
3-4 tsp vinegar
2 tsp chili sauce
2 tsp tomato ketchup
1 1/2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp sugar
2 pinch garam masala ( only if you like the Punjabi-fied version )
salt to taste
3 tsp vegetable oil ( if you have sesame oil, use it )
2 tsp spring onion greens for garnishing

Preparation - Take all the vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt and keep aside for 1 hour. After 1 hour, all the veggies would have left water. Thoroughly squeeze out this excess water.

Add all purpose flour ( 2 1/2 tbsp at first ), cornflour, red chili powder and more salt (if required) to the mixing bowl. Mix everything together. Try to form the balls (use a tablespoon as the measure to get balls of uniform size). If they seem crumbly, then add more all purpose flour.

Cooking - Heat sufficient oil in a wok. Once it reaches the right temperature, place one ball as a test first. [If it does not rise quickly to the surface, the oil is cold and the balls will absorb too much oil. If it turns dark too soon, the oil is overheated. If it starts to break, then it needs more binding agent.]

Once the first ball turns out fine, then add 4-5 of the balls at a time. Do not crowd the vessel as it will cause the oil temperature to plummet . Fry on medium flame till golden brown.

Remove and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat the process for the remaining vegetable balls.

Heat 3-4 tsp oil in a separate wok. Add the spring onions, garlic, ginger and green chillis. Fry on medium high, taking care not to burn the garlic.

Add soya sauce, tomato ketchup, vinegar and chili sauce to the wok along with the sugar and fry for 1 minute.

Dissolve the cornflour in 1 cup cold water. Add to the wok. Adjust salt. Keep stirring till the sauce thickens.

Add the fried vegetable balls to the wok and toss to coat them evenly. Sprinkle garam masala if using. Turn up the heat for 2 mins. Remove from the flame leaving behind a little gravy (do not worry, it will get absorbed).

Note - Add more water and increase the quantity of sauces used if you need more gravy.

Soya Badi Jholo (Vegetarian Mutton Curry)

Sometime during my school years, soya nuggets or 'soya badi' as we call them in Odisha, began to make an apperance during the meal times. At first they seemed rubbery and had an yucky flavour. Almost all the kids hated them. But gradually people mastered the art of cooking this 'protein rich' ingredient (or maybe our taste buds got acclimatized to it) and it became very popular as vegetarian mutton. In those days, large families with limited income often added some soya badi to their Sunday mutton curry. With a texture that closely mimics mutton ( of course when both have been cooked thoroughly ) and a rather sponge like ability to soak/imbibe the flavour of whatever is cooked alongside, it became an overnight hit with the mutton loving Odia folks. Such was its popularity that it even began to show up at wedding banquets.

Those were the long gone days of sit-down dinners and one had to wait for one or two batches to finish eating before one could expect to find a place to sit down. Disposable incomes were low and so were the spending habits of people. It was sometime around this time that both chinese cuisine and IT appeared on the horizon. And both have since then revolutionized our lives. Maybe it was this indo-chinese food phenomenon that diverted one from the humble soyabean. Suddenly the curry of choice was the either a manchurian or something that that been 'chilli-fied' (read marinated and/or stir-fried with a mix of chinese sauces). But soyabean has finally staged a comeback after lying low for a couple of years. One finds it added to salads, tikkis, curries, biryani and even some desserts these days.

But the recipe that I will be sharing today is the time tested version that my mom used to cook. In Odisha you will find that it is prepared in the typical manner of a mutton curry. Read on for more -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cup soya nuggets
• 1 medium sized potato
• 1 medium sized onion
• 6-7 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 small tomato
• 1 dry red chili
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 small bay leaf
• a small bit of a black cardamom
• 1/2 tsp meat masala
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/3 tsp turmeric
• 4 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• 2 pinch garam masala

Preparation - Roughly chop onion, ginger and garlic. Transfer to a mixer jar along with the broken red chili and buzz for 1 sec to get a very coarse paste ( you should be able to make out each ingredient ).

Soak the soyabeans in 4-5 cups hot water for half an hour. Remove from hot water and wash under running water. Squeeze out the water and once again wash it under running water. Repeat 2-3 times.

Cooking - Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add all the wholes spices and fry for 5-6 secs till they start to give out a fragrance.

Add the onion paste and fry till it turns reddish (use low flame with regular stirring else it will burn). Add the
tomato and cook for 2-3 mins till it softens.

Add the powdered masalas (except garam masala) and salt at this stage and fry for 1 min. Add the soaked (and thoroughy squeezed soya nuggets) along with the diced potato to the cooker. Stir fry on medium flame for 3-4 mins.

Add 2 1/2 - 3 cups hot water, adjust salt, sprinkle garam masala and close the lid of the cooker. Cook for 1-2 whistles on medium flame. Remove from flame and allow to stand aside till steam escapes.

Serve hot with white rice, roti or parantha.