Jahni Aalu Posto

Orissa cuisine is totally new to me.. And I didnt know what to cook for Swapna's RCI Orissa Cuisine.. Firstly I settled down with rasgullas from Puri temple.. But ek se mera kya hoga :D So decided to try another recipe and went on for Jahni Aalu Posto using recipe posted here.. And it came out to be amazingly tasty.. Loved this simple and lovely dish.. Not much of a hassle to cook and tastes is different from the normal sabjis.. This will be a regular dish at my place now :) That is what you need to do when you get minimal Indian vegetables here and cannot repeat the same dish for more than twice a month :D Here's the recipe for a simple yet lovely dish from the Orissa Cuisine

Jahni Aalu Posto

Preparation Time:

20-25 mins

Serves:

2

What you need:

3 medium sized Ridge Gourd (Jahni/Dodka/Turiya)
2 Potatoes
2 tbsp Poppy Seeds
5-6 cloves of Garlic
3 Green Chillies
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Panch Phuran seeds (fennel,fenugreek, mustard,cumin and nigella/black onion seeds mixed in equal amounts)
2 tbsp Oil
Salt as required

How to proceed:

1) Peel and dice Ridge gourd and Potatoes
2) Soak poppy seeds in warm water for 10-15 mins
3) Heat oil in a pan, add panch phoran and chopped green chillies
4) When the seeds start spluttering, add turmeric and salt
5) Saute for 5-10 secs and then add the chopped vegetables
6) Let the vegetables cook
7) Grind soaked poppy seeds and garlic to a smooth paste
8) Cook the vegetables for 10-12 minutes and then add the poppy seeds-garlic paste
9) Cook for another 5 mins till vegetables are done
10) Serve hot with rotis!

Rasgulla

Rasgullas have long been associated with West Bengal.. But the origin of Rasgulla is in the neighbouring state of Orissa.. Rasgullas were initially served as an offering in the Jagannath Temple at Puri in Orissa.. The brahmin cooks from Orissa who were employed in Bengali households prepared this sweet. Hence it became more popular as a Bengali sweet. (Read more here) This detailed study is just for making a smooth way for my Rasgullas to go to Swapna's RCI-Orissa Cuisine :)

In India, these sweets are easily available in sweet marts.. In pardes here, you are lucky if you are the first few to spot the can of Haldiram Rasgullas at the Indian stores.. Finally I googled once to find the smae recipe posted at every other site.. And it seemed too easy.. So I had to try this.. After many trial and errors, my rasgullas came out perfectly soft n fluffy at the fourth try.. Thankfully I always cooked in small batches so did not waste a lot of material into it.. No cooker, stored/store brought paneer or semolina/plain flour worked for me... Finally what made the yummy sweet balls perfect was this recipe....

Rasgulla

Makes:

~25 medim sized Rasgullas

Preparation Time:

3-4 hrs

What you need:

1/2 lit Whole Milk
2 cups Water
1/2 cup Sugar (add more if u want more sweet)
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
2-3 strands of Saffron (optional)

How to proceed:

1) Boil milk
2) As soon as milk boils, add lemon juice to it and boil for another 10 mins till two separate layers are seen
3) Drain the water and collect the paneer/curd in a muslin cloth.
4) Hang for an hour and then press under weight for another hour or two to remove all excess water from paneer/curd
5) Remove Paneer and knead it for 15-20 mins till it turn soft
6) In a cooking vessel, add sugar to water and bring this water to boil
7) Add cardamom powder and saffron strands to the water
8) Make round balls from the curd and add it to the boiling sugar syrup
9) Let them cook for 10-15 mins till the balls enlarge
10) Garnish woth nuts and serve yummy Rasgullas as soon as they cool down a bit


* The rasgullas *may* turn hard if left aside for long time.. I cant confirm this since I burnt my mouth while having these sweeties :D