Pinku-Enchanted Life

Vada Pao the quintessential Bombay street food like all true street foods is essentially a very simple dish which uses flavors which 99% people would love. What’s not to love about fried potatoes and warm bread, anyway? Since our anando mela sees a fair amount of non Bengali navratra celebrating guests I made it a point to have two chutneys to go with my vada pao. The first a green coriander, mint chutney with no onion or garlic and the other the ‘must’ dry chutney that goes with vada pao made with red chillies and garlic. To my surprise I ran out of Vada paos even before I finished my Sali boti and that says something. Here is the recipe for all of it. Warning: the recipes may not be totally authentic for I do let my tongue and mind overrule most cook books. Ingredients: 1 kg potato – boiled peeled and mashed Pao – I got store bought ones Vegetable oil Asafoetida – a tsp, I like the flavor so usually use more, you can use a pinch if not too happy with it Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp Green...

This Anando Mela (home cooked food stalls at Durga Puja Pandals on usually the first day of the festivities, for those who don’t know about it) I planned to do a thematic stall basis a certain kind of cuisine instead of random stuff. I chose Parsi food as the theme and planned to do three items from the same – veg, non veg and dessert and instantly hit a roadblock. While for both non veg and desserts I had many recipes to pick from I just couldn’t find a veg recipe which would strike a chord. I googled, asked knowledgeable friends and read up recipe books but couldn’t find anything which I could be sure would be appreciated at an Anando Mela Stall…after all it’s the first day of pujas and people would be looking forward to interesting lip smacking dishes a stew or dal wouldn't pass muster. So after much looking around I did what had to be done and tweaked the initial concept to being Bombay based rather than Parsi and added the absolute hot favorite among Bombay’s street foods i.e ...

Growing up in Faridabad an industrial township adjacent to Delhi what kept us rooted to our traditions and our culture while living far away from Bengal was the occassion of Dugga Pujo. Studying in a convent saying Hail Mary and knowing Our Father all faded in the background when those special five days of the year came by. Suddenly we were as bengali as our cousins in Kolkata (all Probashis have family in Kolkata). Pujo those days started on Sashti evening with Anandomela - where all the bengali aunties came with basket loads of delicious, home cooked delicacies and we children drove ourselves into a frenzy running from one stall to another and pestering our parents for more money to buy yet another plate of the fast disappearing goodies. All of these memories came flashing back yesterday as a colleague from work and I alongwith hubby set up our stall at our local Deepanwita Durga Pujo in Dwarka.  Rushing from work where a last minute meeting cancelled our plans of sneaking out e...

Pratima at RK Puram Kalibari Pujo Durga Pujo - the annual vacation of Goddess Durga when she comes visiting her parental home alongwith her children is a time of joy, festivities and gluttony in Bengal and all those pockets of the world that Bengalis inhabit. Unlike the austerity, fasting and prayers followed through the rest of the country during the autumn Naratras - Bengal alongwith neighbouring Assam, Orissa and Jharkhand erupts in joy. The Pujo is all about new clothes, socializing, reunions, cultural activities and food. Its a carnival of sorts and it runs for five days!! While the rites and rituals are carried on by pandits the rest of us are kept busy with pandal hopping, participation in dance, music, recitation competitions, catching music and theater performances all of course accompanied by liberal doses of chops, cutlets, moghlai parathas, radhabolobis and many, many kinds of mishti. The beginning of this gastronomic 5 day extravaganza is rightfully marked by Anando mela. ...