Puja Recipes

Luchi
(Makes 10-12)
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tsp oil
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup water
Method:
First, mix flour and oil together, and rub to resemble crumbs. Then add water to the mixture and knead well to form semi-soft dough. Leave for 30 minutes.
Divide the prepared dough into small similar sized balls. Roll out each ball into rotis with sprinkles of flour, and deep fry in hot oil. Serve hot with vegetable or lentil curry.

Spicy Lentil Curry
Ingredients:
1 cup mashkolai daal
2 tomatoes, chopped
4-5 green chillies, chopped in half around the middle
3 tbsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp methi seeds
1 tsp coriander (dhaniya)
1 tsp cumin (jeera)
2 tsp turmeric powder
10-12 dried chillies
2 dried bay (tej) leaves salt, to taste
3 tbsp grated coconut
2 tbsp tamarind paste

Method:
First, soak the daal in water for an hour. Then, in a deep pan, add the daal to about 8 cups water, along with salt and the green chillies and boil. Once the daal has softened and the water level has decreased considerably, add the tomatoes. One the daal mixture is done and the tomatoes have almost melted, add the tamarind paste, stir and remove from heat.

In a separate shallow pan, heat ½ tbsp oil, and one by one, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, cumin and coriander, along with the 9-10 dried chillies and sauté. As soon as an aroma arises, remove the spice mixture from the heat and blend in a mixie or processor to make a paste. Add this to the daal mixture and set it over the fire once again and stir well over a low heat.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a pan, and add the rest of the mustard seeds, 2-3 dried chillies (broken in half), coconut and turmeric, and mix well. Once the spices turn slightly brown, releasing their flavours, add this to the daal mixture. Stir a few more times before removing from heat. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve.

Niramish
Ingredients:
100gm potatoes, cubed
100gm green papaya, cubed
100gm pumpkin, cubed
100gm green beans (borboti), cut into ½ inch pieces and parboiled
100gm eggplant, cubed
100gm chalkumra
100gm potol
1 cup onions, sliced
2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp coriander (dhaniya) powder
6 green chillies
4 dried chillies, broken into halves
4 bay (tej) leaves
salt, to taste
5 tbsp oil
2 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp pachforong
1 tbsp sugar

Method:
Heat the oil in a wok, and add pachforong. Then add onions, 2 bay leaves and all vegetables except beans and cover for 2-3 minutes. Remove cover and one by one add the salt and rest of the spices, and stir to mix well. Cover again. Once the vegetables are half done, then add the parboiled beans and 1 cup water. Again cover. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the green chillies and remove from heat.

In a separate pan, heat ghee, and add the rest of the onions and bay leaves, and dried chillies and stir, once the onions turn brown, remove from heat and add to the vegetables along with the sugar. Stir again over fire to mix well. Serve hot.

Naru
Ingredients:
½ cup atap chaal
1 coconut, grinded and made into paste
½ molasses
1 tbsp ghee or oil
Method:
First, soak the chaal for about 20 minutes. Drain and then dry-roast over fire and grind to form dry powder.
In a wok, add the molasses and coconut paste along with 1 tbsp water and heat. Once the mixture turns into a sticky paste, add the powdered chaal and mix well. While the mixture is still hot, take spoonfuls of it and roll into ball shapes with hand, with the help of a little ghee so that the mixture does not stick to the fingers. Keep naru aside and allow to cool completely before serving. These sweet morsels can also be stored away for a long time in a container, as long as it is kept in a cool, dry place.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed