A few family favourites!

For all of my twenty-something years I have loved food with a burning passion. It is a fervour that has been unwavering and overzealous; an enthusiasm I am quite convinced would've yielded much stellar results if channeled in other lucrative pursuits. There is but one factor that contributed to this growing love affair: my maternal family's relationship with food.
Hailing from the northern region of Bangladesh, food has been something worthy of devotion for them, a glorious offering that is meant to be enjoyed and shared. As food habits are usually shaped after one's mother's culinary choices I too wasn't any different.
Generations of foodies in my family have taken great delight in the pleasures of the table, taking it for granted as an essential part of their lives. Needless to say, this contagious enthusiasm was passed on to me rather too well! And it wasn't only the act of eating that mattered.
The anticipation surrounding a meal, shopping for the best possible ingredients and produce, the artful act of preparation where carefully selected spices are combined with the choicest cuts of meat or fish, steaming cauldrons that bore the fruits of the cook's love and labour -- it was a ritual that was sacred in nature.
Noted chef Julia Child once mused that those who love to eat are always the best people and I couldn't agree more. Most of my relatives are warm, happy people who always have a smile and a yummy treat ready in hand to offer. And oh the countless family gatherings we used to have! There was a buzz around the menu of the said party where every member of the family had an input.
Often friends and acquaintances have wondered about the cause for such gatherings. Well food was and is always a good enough reason for us to celebrate!  Alongside the eternal favourites such as Mughlai dishes so well-integrated in Bengali food habits, new recipes were always welcome. Sometimes potluck parties meant whipping up one's specialties, and boy were they special! Every aunt and cousin had a plethora of dishes to her credit that she made the best.
There was always a particular dish one relative was famous for, and she would be requested more often than not to cook it for us. No matter how many times we gorged on those delicacies, they never got old. Nowadays such parties are a thing of the past due to the growing demands of our lives. Yet the fond memories of those colourful days bring a smile to my face, and the delectable spread associated with it envelopes me with a wonderful air of nostalgia.
On that happy note here are some of my family's absolute favourites for all the gourmands out there to try out. Bon appétit!
Boro khala's moti polao
Ingredients:
Polao --
½ kg Basmati rice
1 onion, sliced thin
170g ghee
A few cloves, cinnamon, cardamom
A pinch of salt
For the moti kabab --
½ kg minced beef
250g boiled and mashed chickpeas
1 large onion, sliced thin
½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
Few sliced green chillies
1 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry
Method:
Heat the ghee in a heavy sauce pan and fry sliced onions till soft. Add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms, frying for a while till aroma comes out. Add the washed rice. Fry for a while over low flame. Add salt and cover the rice with lid, allowing to cook uninterrupted.
Take off the heat once all the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Wash the minced meat, mix with all the ingredients and marinade for thirty minutes. Form the meat into small balls and deep fry in hot oil.
Drain over kitchen towel and set aside. Before serving, combine the kebabs with the polao, garnish with fried onions and serve immediately.
Ammu's badami korma
Ingredient's:
1 kg chicken
½ cup yoghurt
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp almond and cashew paste
1 tbsp poppy seed paste
A few green chillies
2 tbsp garam masala powder
½ tbsp coriander paste
1 tsp cumin paste, 250g ghee
Salt to taste
500g onion
Method:
Marinade the chicken with all the ingredients except ghee, green chillies and onions for thirty minutes. Heat the ghee in a curry pot, add onions and fry till golden brown. Add the chicken with marinade and cook for fifteen minutes. Stir in the chillies and check seasoning. After about twenty minutes when oil begins to rise to the surface remove from heat. Serve hot.
Choto khala's famous gajor er halwa
Ingredients:
1 kg carrots
½ cup ghee
1 cup sugar
½ cup mawa
A few cardamoms
A handful of cashew nuts and pistachios
Silver tawaq to decorate
Method:
Peel and grate the carrots. Mash them finely with the help of a grinding stone. Heat the ghee in a heavy based sauce pan and add the cardamoms. Fry till it imparts aroma. Mix in the carrot paste and fry for a minute. Add sugar and milk. Cook carefully for a while on medium flame, making sure the mixture does not stick to the base of the pan.
Add the mawa and continue to cook until the milk slowly evaporates and the carrots take on a glossy sheen. It should take about twenty minutes to reach this state. Once all the ingredients are well combined and ghee floats on top, mix in the nuts. Remove from heat, decorate with silver tawaq and serve.