This is a Traditional Bengali Veg Thali, a small platter of veg items. Niramish means veg in Bengali and veg recipes don’t include onion and garlic in it. My small platter is of 13 items along with Bengali Traditional dessert . Served with plain steamed rice, lemon and fresh chill.
Cuisine : Bengali
Serve : 2
Total Cooking Time : 2 and 1/2 hours
Author : Tania Deb
Recipe
I will start from the starting as we need to eat the thali accordingly.
1. Korola Bhaja/BitterGourd Fry
Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a kadai and temper 1/3 tablespoon of onion seeds/kalongi. Sauté thin slices of bitter gourds in it with salt and turmeric powder in low flame covering with a lid for 10 medium. Stir occasionally so that it doesn’t burn. When the bitter gourd are cooked and changes it colour, off the flame and serve.
2. Shang/Shaak
This recipe is made of finely chopped spinach and is only served with steamed rice.
Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon of oil and temper 7-8 Fenugreek seeds and a dry red chilli in it. When the seeds starts to sputter, add a bowl of chopped spinach leaves and sauté them with salt as per taste, turmeric powder 1/3 tablespoon and grated ginger 1/2 tablespoon. Sauté it for few minutes then pour 1/2 cup of water and cook covering with a lid till the water dries up. Stir in between and take them out from the heat when the water dries out. Serve in normal temperature.
3. Sukto
This recipe is made of chopped bottle gourd, chopped raw banana, chopped pumpkin, chopped cucumber and chopped potato. Served only with rice.
In a pan, heat 2-3 tablespoon of oil and temper mustard seeds in it. When the seeds starts sputtering add the chopped vegetables a bowl and sauté them together with salt and turmeric powder. Sauté them for 5 minutes then add 1/2 tablespoon of ginger paste and 1/2 tablespoon of coriander powder. Cook for few more minutes then add 1 and 1/2 cups of water. Cover and cook till the water dries up.
In a pan shallow fry few dry lentil dumplings/bori (Daler bori in Bengali) and add to the sukto. Serve warm with hot rice and ghee.
4. Channa’r Dal/ Bengal gram Dal
Wash and soak dal 1 cup for 1 hour. Boil it in a cooker with 2 cups of water.
Then heat a kadai and temper 1 dry red chilli , 2 cardamom, 1 cinnamon stick and 1/2 tablespoon of punch phuran (five types of spices) mustard seeds, onion seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds,cumin seeds all together makes punch phuran. When the seeds starts to sputter, add a tablespoon of cumin coriander powder and a bay leaf.
Pour the boil dal in it and add salt as per taste, turmeric powder 1/2 tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Boil it with 2 green chillies in it for 4-5 minutes and serve with a tablespoon of ghee.
5. Bhaja/Fries
Here I made eggplant fry, pumpkin fry, cauliflower fry.
Make a batter of maida, gram flour, salt, turmeric powder, onion seeds and water. The batter should not be watery or much thick. It should be in a consistency so that the vegetables can be dipped in it.
Cut the eggplant/brinjal anyway you like. Same cut the pumpkin in slices and take small cauliflower florets. I have cut the eggplant like a flower here with 1 eggplant =1 flower.
Heat oil for deep frying. Dip the vegetables in the batter and fry them in oil in medium low heat. When the vegetables are cooked by both the sides serve them with dal and rice.
6. Jhinge Posto/Ridge Gourd in poppy seeds
Peel and cut ridge gourd and potato into finger like pieces. Heat a pan with 2-3 tablespoon of oil. Temper few fenugreek seeds and add the ridge gourd is it. Sauté them for few minutes with salt and turmeric powder then add 1/2 tablespoon of ginger paste, 2 tablespoon of poppy seeds paste, 1/2 tablespoon of cumin coriander powder, a bay leaf and 2 green chillies sliced. Sauté for 2 minutes then add a cup of water and cook covering with a lid till the vegetables are tender soft and the water dries up. Jhinge Posto is ready to serve.
7. Badhagobi’r saak/ Minced Cabbage Curry
Finely chopped cabbage 2 cups and cut 1 potato into cubes.
In a kadai, heat 3-4 tablespoon of oil and temper 1/3 tablespoon fenugreek seeds , 2 cardamom, a bay leaf, 2-3 cloves, a stick of cinnamon. Sauté for a minute.
Fry the potato in it for 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped cabbage and sauté them all together along with 1/2 tablespoon of salt and 1/3 tablespoon of turmeric powder for 5 minutes in medium flame stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 tablespoon of ginger paste, 1/3 cup of fresh green peas, 1/3 tablespoon of cumin powder, 1/3 tablespoon of coriander powder, 1/3 tablespoon of garam masala powder. Stir fry them for 2 more minutes.
Add a cup of water , 2 green chilli, 1/3 tablespoon of sugar and cook covering with a lid. When the water dries up and the veggies are cooked, spread a tablespoon of ghee and mixed well. Serve dry with rice.
8. Aloo Paneer
Cut 2 -3 potatoes into cubes. Cut Paneer also into cubes.
Heat a kadai and fry the potatoes in 3-4 tablespoon of oil with 1/3 tablespoon of salt and 1/3 tablespoon of turmeric powder. Fry them for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Keep them aside. In the same oil, temper fenugreek seeds. Add cumin powder 1/2 tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder, 1/3 tablespoon of red chilli powder, 1/3 tablespoon of fennel powder, 1/2 tablespoon of garam masala powder , a bay leaf and pour little water so that masalas don’t burn. Add the half fried potatoes and sauté for a minute till the masalas leaves oil. Add the Paneer cubes and 2 cups of water. Boil covering with a lid till the potatoes are cooked and the water reduces to half. Mash 1-2 pieces of potatoes in the curry and simmer off the flame. Pour a tablespoon of ghee over it and serve warm with rice.
9. Kofta curry
This koftas are made with raw banana.
Boil a raw banana in a cooker. Smash it and add 2 tablespoon of crushed roasted peanuts, 2 tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves, 1/2 tablespoon of crushed pepper, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, 1 green chilli chopped, 1 tablespoon of milk powder and 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour. Mix everything well and make medium size balls. Deep fry them in oil and keep aside.
In a kadai heat 3-4 tablespoon of oil. Temper onion seeds/kali jeera 1/3 tablespoon and 2 pinch of hing.
Add 1 tomato purée, 1/2 tablespoon of ginger paste, 1-2 tablespoon of cumin powder, 1/2 tablespoon of coriander powder, 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds paste, 1/2 tablespoon of red chilli powder, 1/2 tablespoon of salt and 1/3 tablespoon of turmeric powder. Sauté everything for a minute and pour 1 and 1/2 cup of water. Boil for 5 minutes then add the koftas. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee and off the flame. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
10. Tomato’r Chutney
This is sweet chutney made with tomatoes and served as a dessert. Chopped tomatoes 3-4. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil and temper 1/3 tablespoon of mustard seeds in it. Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté with 1/4 tablespoon of salt for 5-6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of sugar in it and stir well. Cook for 2 minutes then add 1/2 cup of water dries. Let it cook for few minutes till the water reduces. Off the flame and let it cool down. Serve as a dessert.
11. Khejur Gurer Payesh
Boil 2 liters of full cream milk and add a hand full of washed scented jeera rice/gobindho bhog rice. Add 2 bay leaf and 1/3 tablespoon of crushed cardamom. Boil the rice in milk till it’s cooked. Add 1/2 cup khejur gur/ date’s Jaggery in it and boil again. Ghee roast some cashews and add to it. Off the flame and let it cool down. Serve as a dessert.
12. Misti Doi
Caramelise 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/3 cup of water till turns lite golden in colour. Boil 1 liter milk and reduce this into half. Add the caramelised sugar in it and mixed well. Let it cool down till it’s warm. Then add 2-3 tablespoon of yogurt in it and let it set for 6-8 hours untouched. After it get set, place it in the fridge to serve cool.
13. Lengcha
Take 1 cup of Paneer(homemade is best) , 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour, 1/3 cup of milk powder, 1/3 tablespoon of cardamom powder and mix well. Make a soft dough with it kneading it. Add a tablespoon of milk if needed. Now take a small portion of the dough and shape it in small cylindrical. Repeat the same process with the remaining dough.
Meanwhile, make sugar syrup with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Make one string sugar syrup and keep ready.
Now deep fry the lengcha in ghee or refined oil in medium low heat till light brown in colour. Dip them in sugar syrup for sometime. Take out from sugar syrup and serve.
So this is a traditional thali served for vegetarian in Bengali Traditional menu. Many such other curries can be added to the Thali as to make it a bigger one. My small platter is of 13 items. Hope you like it and enjoyed the visual.
For such interesting and authentic recipes, stay tuned.
Happy Cooking.
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