My Journey

Hello I am a med student currently cramming my head in preparation for the post graduate entrance exam. I am a novice when it comes to cooking but it cheers me up a lot:). This is about the things I come up with sometimes between my studying, part time job and running. 

[ekaparnika]

Homemade ramen😁

[ekaparnika]

Coconut guava smoothie.

Today I almost had nothing in the freezer except one single guava and one quarter of a coconut. And of course there’s always the yogurt. It turned out to be a bit gritty because of the guava seeds. Because guava and coconut alone are not enough to sweeten the smoothie at all therefore I thought of garnishing it with some milk chocolate.

[ekaparnika]

[ekaparnika]

I always fail at latte art not that I mind this though! ^-^

[ekaparnika]

[ekaparnika]

My way of making the Klua Buat Chi.

[ekaparnika]

Dry carrot curry.

This dish has a hint of south Indian cuisine and is not typical Bengali. Cooking veggies in minimum oil and without butter or ghee…so super healthy yet delicious at the same time, I believe, is the toughest thing to do. And because I have become a sort of fitness freak, I am in search of these recipes. For any Indian cooking the preparation is the most important step and so for a beginner like me, its best to sort out the spices beforehand in tiny small bowls.

1) black mustard seeds 

2) cumin seeds 

3) chili powder  

4) cumin powder 

5) coriander powder ( the cumin and coriander powder should be in equal parts…you can get the readymade mixture from the market or you can do it yourself. )

6) dry fenugreek leaves (or dry methi leaves. This spice is a bit pungent and the aroma is simply mouthwatering. You can say that this was the main spice while the other served only to compliment it ) 

7) ginger paste 

8) Oil (2tsp…needed only for sauteing the spices ) 

9) chopped onions (1 part) 

10)grated carrots (4 part) 

11)salt 

Saute mustard and cumin seeds in heated oil till it pops & crackles( this releases their aroma into the oil). Add the chopped onions and saute till it becomes transparent and then add ginger paste and mix well. Now add the chili, cumin and coriander powder and mix and stir well till a nice uniform aromatic masala paste is formed. Add the grated carrots and salt and now comes the most important step of coating the masala well with the carrots with a lot of stirring. When its done add the dry fenugreek leaves and mix really well again( for two to three minutes). Add a little bit of water, stir, cover the lid, cook for a minute, uncover the lid and stir till the moisture is as much as you want. (I prefer somewhat dry) and its ready! You can garnish it with lemon, coriander leaves, green chili and serve it with rice.                  

[ekaparnika]

Wood apple juice (bel er sherbet).

[ekaparnika]

[ekaparnika]

[ekaparnika]

Now that I am out of stock of even tomatoes I decided to make french toast as evening snacks which will require 

1. Bread  2. Eggs( one egg for every two slices of bread)  3. Milk(two tsp per egg)  4. Half tsp vanilla extract  5. Cinnamon (finely grounded)  6. Butter         7. Maple Syrup

We bengalis love sweets nd our kitchen always have the essential spices including cinnamon. However I had neither vanilla extract (which is not a common ingredient in traditional Indian cooking)  nor any maple syrup. I had to substitute them with vanilla custard flour (my mom loves custard) and kissan pineapple jam :P It somehow turned out okay…could have done better :/ 

[ekaparnika]

[ekaparnika]

When you are hungry but there is nothing in the fridge except few slices of bread, a tomato, an egg ,butter, few coriander leaves nd pepper to taste

[ekaparnika]

The humble khichdi.