A healthy and a nutritious Paratha made with fresh coriander leaves makes for a wholesome breakfast. Loaded with a number of nutrients, coriander leaves lends a good aroma to our daily parathas and is equally delicious too.
It can be served as a snack any time of the day by cutting them into bite sized pieces along with mayo / hummus. Otherwise, it is best enjoyed with any side dish, raita, pickles, plain yoghurt or just butter. It is also a great lunch box meal. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
- 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
- 1/4 tsp. asafoetida (hing)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 1/2 tsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
- oil to shallow fry
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients (except oil to shallow fry) and knead into a soft dough with required quantity of water. Keep aside to rest for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4-5 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a circle like chapattis. Heat a tawa and sallow fry the parathas one at a time by drizzling some oil on both the sides into a light golden colour.
Serve hot with some pickles, yoghurt, butter or any side dish.
Mix atta, salt to taste, red chili flakes, turmeric powder, garam masala
powder & asafoetida.
Add chopped coriander leaves & oil.
Mix well and add kalonji (nigella seeds).
Knead into a soft dough with required quantity of water.
Divide dough into 4-5 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a circle
Heat tawa & sallow fry parathas by drizzling some oil into a light golden colour. Serve hot with some pickles, yoghurt, butter or any side dish.
Potol (Parwal / Pointed Gourd) cooked with potatoes and dry lentil dumplings is a traditional and a favourite dish among all Bengalis. It is cooked in mustard oil for an authentic flavour and is served with either plain rice or poori.
Dalna generally means thick gravy where onion may or may not be added. For a non-veg. version, prawns or fried fish head is added instead of vadi. A drizzle of a tsp. of ghee towards the end gives a very good taste and flavour to the dish. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 10 Potol (Parwals/Pointed Gourd) chopped into roundels of 1/2 " thick
- 1 potato, cubed
- 8-10 bori (vadi / dried lentil dumplings)
- 3-4 tbsp. mustard oil
- 1" cinnamon stick
- 2 green cardamoms
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp. roasted coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
- salt to taste
- 2 fresh chilies, slit
- 1 tsp. ghee
- coriander leaves to garnish
Heat 2 tbsp. oil and fry the bori till golden brown. Drain and keep aside. In the same oil fry the parwals till light brown. Keep aside.
Heat the remaining oil and temper with the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves and cumin seeds. Saute for a few seconds.
Add the potatoes and fry till light brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and tomato paste mixed with 1/4 cup water. Saute till the oil separates from the sides of the pan.
Now add the fried parwals, fried bori, slit chilies, salt to taste and 2 cups water. Cover and simmer on low to medium flame till the gravy thickens and the parwals turns soft.
Add ghee and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with either plain steamed rice, chapattis or poori.
Heat oil & fry bori / vadi till golden brown & keep aside.
Fry the parwals till light brown. Keep aside.
Temper oil with cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves & bay leaves.
Add potatoes & sauté till light brown.
Add ginger-garlic paste, coriander-cumin powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder & tomato paste mixed with some water.
Add fried parwals, fried bori, chilies, water & salt.
Cook, covered till done & the gravy thickens. Add ghee.
Serve, garnished with coriander leaves.
This is a simple homemade style brown bread that is very common in every household. A healthy variation than any store bought one, they can simply be relished with either jam, butter or eggs in any form.
Very few ingredients went into making this awesome fresh bread in the convection mode in the microwave at 190 degrees c for 30 minutes. For a healthier version, I have added olive oil instead of butter and raw sugar.
- 3 cups atta (whole wheat flour)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. instant yeast
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 1/2 tsp. oats
In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup lukewarm water, yeast and sugar. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
In a bowl, sift the flour. Add salt, egg yolk, milk, oil and the yeast water. Mix well and knead into a soft, pliable dough with required quantity of lukewarm water.
Add 1/2 tsp. oil and continue to knead for another 2 minutes. Cover with a plastic bag and keep aside in a warm place for 2 hours.
Punch the swelled up dough for 2-3 minutes and shape it into a log. Transfer to a greased and floured loaf tin. Cover again with a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
Take it out of the refrigerator 2 hours prior to baking. Brush the surface with some milk and sprinkle some oats over it.
Preheat the microwave oven at 190 degrees in the convection mode. Place the loaf tin on the lower rack and bake for 30 minutes.
After 20 minutes of baking when the surface of the bread starts to brown, cover lightly with a foil and continue to bake.
When done, transfer the bread loaf onto a wire rack and let it cool. Slice it and serve as desired.
This is a wholesome and a nutritious meal with the goodness of spinach. Very easy and simple to make, they can be had with raita, pickles or just plain roasted papad. Do try this delicious one-pot meal when time is a constraint and when you want something healthy. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 1/2 cup Basmati rice, soaked for 1/2 hour
- 3 tbsp. ghee
- 1" cinnamon
- 3 green cardamoms
- 4-5 cloves
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 bunch spinach, washed & chopped roughly
- 1" ginger
- 2-3 green chilies
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. garam masala powder
- fried onions, tomato wedges, lemon wedges & fried cashews to garnish (opt)
Make a puree with of the spinach with ginger and green chilies with 1/4 cup water. Keep aside.
Heat the ghee and temper with bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves and cumin seeds. sauté for a few seconds.
Add the onion and fry till light brown. Now add the soaked and drained rice and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add the pureed spinach, salt, turmeric powder and garam masala powder and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups water and pressure cook for 1-2 whistles. Garnish with fried onions, tomato wedges, lemon wedges and fried cashews.
Serve along with some raita, pickle or papad.
Temper ghee with bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves & cumin
seeds. Then add onions & sauté.
Add rice & fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add the pureed spinach, salt, turmeric powder and garam masala powder.
Sauté, add water and pressure cook.
Serve, garnished with raita, pickles or papad.
'OL' means Elephant Yam / Suran and 'Makha' means boiled / mashed / bharta. So this is my version of a Yam Bharta a la Bengali style. This is another great way of serving this humble veggie which is full of essential nutrients. It is a simple homemade, easy and a delicious dish. The tempering is done in mustard oil for an authentic Bengali flavour.
It is a great comfort food for those days when time is a constraint. You can try this recipe with potato too. It can also be had, rolled up in a roti as a wrap or spread on a toast for a quick meal. So check out step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 500 gms. yam, cubed
- 2 tbsp. mustard oil
- 1 tsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
- 2 dry red chilies, broken into half
- 1 tsp. garlic, chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped
Boil the yam till soft or pressure cook for 3 whistles. When cool, mash them and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and temper with the red chilies. Then add the garlic and kalonji. Saute for a few seconds till the garlic changes colour.
Now add the onion, salt and turmeric powder and fry till light brown. Add this tempering and the coriander leaves to the mashed yam and mix well. Serve as a side dish with rice or with chapattis / parathas.
Boil Yam till soft. When cool, mash & keep aside.
Temper oil with dry red chilies.
Add kalonji & garlic. Saute till garlic changes colour.
Add onion, salt & turmeric powder. Saute till light brown.
Add tempering & coriander leaves to the mashed yam & mix well.
Serve, garnished as a side dish with either rice or chapattis.
This is a very popular and an authentic Bengali style Mutton Curry known as Kosha Mangsho. Kosha means frying the marinated mutton on low flame till dry before adding the water. Mangsho means Mutton / Lamb.
It is a spicy dry gravy which is either had with rice, pulao or any Indian bread. This dish is an all-time favourite of any Bengali and is a must have on any weekend lunch or dinner. It is slow cooked to perfection in mustard oil and other aromatic spices. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 500 gms. Mutton on bones, cubed
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 2 tsp. red chili powder
- 1 tsp. garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp. mustard oil (for marination)
- 2 tbsp. yoghurt
- 1 tbsp. ginger paste
- 1 tsp. garlic paste
- 2-3 tbsp. mustard oil (for cooking)
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1" cinnamon stick
- 2-3 green cardamoms
- 4-5 cloves
- 3 onions, chopped
- 1 tsp. sugar
- onion slices, lemon wedges & coriander leaves to garnish
Marinate the mutton with all the ingredients starting from salt to garlic paste for a minimum of 2-3 hours or preferably overnight.
Heat oil in a pan and temper with the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves. Sauté for a few seconds.
Then add the onion and sugar and fry till light brown. Add the marinated mutton and continue to fry on low flame till dry.
Add 1 & 1/2 cups water and pressure cook on a high flame for 1 whistle. Then cook on low flame for 20-25 minutes.
Simmer further and reduce the gravy to a thick consistency. Garnish with onion slices, lemon wedges and coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice, naan or paratha.
Temper oil with bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms & cloves.
Add onion & sugar and fry till light brown.
Add marinated mutton & cook on low flame till dry. Add water &
pressure cook.
Serve, garnished with onion slices, lemon wedges & coriander leaves.
Another variation to the usual Paratha is to mix it with a puree of spinach, ginger and green chilies. Some more spices are added to make a delicious and a healthy breakfast menu to be relished with any side dish, Yoghurt, pickle or butter.
They can also be had for lunch or dinner and can be a great lunch box meal too for young and old alike. They are not only nutritious with the goodness of iron but is a very good way of camouflaging it for fussy eaters. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda (opt)
- 1/2 tsp. amchur powder (dry mango powder)
- 1 bunch spinach leaves, cleaned & roughly chopped
- 1" ginger, chopped
- 2 green chilies
- oil to shallow fry
Puree the spinach leaves, ginger and green chilies with very little water. Keep aside.
In a bowl, mix together atta, salt, baking soda, garam masala powder and amchur. Add the spinach puree and knead into a stiff dough with required quantity of water.
Add 1/2 tsp. oil and knead for another minute and keep aside to rest for 20-25 minutes. Divide the dough into equal portions.
Roll out each portion into a round circle. Drizzle some oil and sprinkle some flour over it. Carefully fold it back and forth. Stretch it slightly and fold it like a Swiss roll.
Dust some flour and roll it into a circle. Do the same with the rest of the dough. Heat a tawa / griddle and shallow fry the rolled out parathas on both sides by drizzling some oil over it and along the edges.
Fry till light golden in colour. Serve them hot with any side dish, raita, yoghurt, butter or pickle.
M
ix atta, salt, baking soda, amchur powder & garam masala powder.
Add spinach-ginger-green chilies paste.
Knead into a stiff dough & leave aside for 30 minutes.
Divide into equal portions.
Roll out into a circle. Drizzle some oil & sprinkle some flour over it.
Fold back and forth.
Stretch it a little longer by pulling both ends gently.
And fold like a Swiss roll.
Flatten it and......
.....
roll into a circle.
Shallow fry by drizzling some oil. Serve them hot with any side dish, raita,
yoghurt, butter or pickle.
