Cholar Dal Recipe | how to make bengali cholar dal | bengali style chana dal | bengal gram lentil recipe

With Durga Pujo round the corner, I am taking a different route with recipes. Instead of sharing a Bengali sweet recipe, I wanted to share the recipe of something savory and traditionally Bengali that can be enjoyed on all five days of Durga Pujo – Cholar Dal (or Bengali-style bengal gram lentil). It’s also completely vegetarian and gluten-free! And if you pair it with rice, you have a gluten-free meal. 

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Saffron Sandesh Recipe | Saffron Sweet Cheese Fudge Recipe | How to make Bengali Saffron Sondesh

Spring is here and so are all the New Years that’s celebrated in all different regions of India. This recipe is the quick method to make these popular sweet fudgy cheese treats or ‘Shondesh’. ‘Sandesh’ or ‘Shondesh’ is a popular sweet treat from eastern India (Bengal) and comes in a variety of flavors. The main ingredient is milk. That’s made into fresh cheese which is then cooked with flavors to make different types of ‘shondesh’. My recipes for making these sweet treats is here:
Recipe for cheese for ‘shondesh’ is here. 
Recipe for Rose Sandesh is here.

Organic Apple Crisp Recipe and Pretty Fall Weather

Apple Crisp is a classic American dish which blends in so perfectly with this Fall weather.  

Organic ‘Chhena’ or Fresh Indian Cheese Recipe (Homemade Paneer Recipe)

This is freshly made paneer or ‘chhena’  ( a.k.a. ‘chhana’) or fresh Indian cheese. The texture of this cheese is slightly firmer than ricotta cheese, the latter being very creamy.  However, if you knead it well, this ‘chhena’ becomes very smooth and creamy, too. Also, the process of making ricotta cheese and ‘chhena’ are the same. Even though an internet-search shows paneer is ‘cottage cheese’, the texture of the two are very different. Cottage cheese is loose with curds while paneer or ‘chhena’ is not loose.  

‘Chhena’  can be easily made at home and stored in an airtight container, mixed with sugar and other flavors to prepare sweets or desserts during the Indian festive season!  

Nolen Gur | Khejur Gur | Date Palm Jaggery | Patali Gur ~ Uniquely Bengal (Winter Superfood)

The jaggery wrapped in a local Bengali newspaper

What is ‘Nolen Gur’? Why is it so unique?
‘Nolen Gur’, ‘Notun Gur’ or ‘Khejur Gur’ is Date Palm Jaggery that is unique to Bengal. With the onset of a nip in the air, the local sweet (dessert) shops, in my hometown of Kolkata, are buzzing with eager customers buying the dairy-based sweets made with the ‘New Jaggery’. ‘Nolen’ stands for new, and ‘gur’ stands for jaggery.

Delicious Bengali desserts recipes using Nolen Gur on my blog are:
Nolen Gur-er Patishapta Pitha 

Nolen Gur-er Naru or Coconut Jaggery Balls

Nolen Gur-er Paayesh or Rice Pudding

Nolen Gur-er Eggless Cake

Aloo Gobi Recipe (south-indian style potato cauliflower curry)

Cauliflower with potatoes ~ Aloo Gobi

This is a no hassle quick vegetarian recipe. After eating this one of my friends, who is from South India herself, told me “Sumana, it tastes so good. Like temple food.” 

Thai Red Curry Recipe ~ Vegetarian

Delicious and wholesome!

If you know Thai cuisine, you will know the Thai curries. And on the first day of Spring, here’s presenting you a colorful and nutritious dish with veggies galore and tofu. 

Sambhar Recipe | How to make the best South Indian Sambar | Healthy Indian Lentil Soup

Sambar with Rice ~ a comfort food which is a simple, nutritious meal of proteins and carbohydrates

South Indian food like Dosa, Idli and Uttapam was a big hit with my family. I grew up in the eastern state of Bengal where there were (and still are) some excellent south indian food restaurants which we would frequent. My staple order was paper plain dosa, a long, crispy thin Indian crepe with an assortment of condiments like coconut chutney, tomato chutney and, of course, Sambar!  

Indian Paneer with Bell Peppers

An easy, tangy and spicy dish with Indian Cottage Cheese and Bell Peppers

I would like to call this dish ‘Paneer As You Like It’. Amused and confused? Has Shakespeare got anything to do with this? I wish!!
Well, I named this dish so because it is a super versatile and easy dish with ample scope for you to play around with some of the main ingredients. Read how 🙂 

Herb Couscous with Stir Fried Vegetables

Perfect as a quick and healthy lunch option or in a weekday menu

I am back after a rather long recipe-posting hiatus and also after a rather refreshing long weekend vacation at North Tahoe and Reno. Therefore, after the 4th of July vacationing, partying and gorging, it is time to dedicate a post to a rather healthy dish, full of colorful vegetables that will brighten up your day and get you out of, what I call, ‘Post Vacation Syndrome’ or ‘PVS’. And, to top it all, it’s So healthy that you might feel you’ve lost weight right after eating it.