Apple Yoghurt

Wish you all my friends and Readers Shubho Nababarsho (Happy Bengali New year). This is for the first time I will be celebrating our Bengali new year in Kolkata. And the experience is different. Before I start the inquisitive experience of my Kolkata New year celebration let me first share few memories which I cherish most whenever the Nababarsho/ Bengali new year tunes in. I have already shared this experience before again I am sharing the same with you.

On this auspicious occasion of Bengali New year, I would like to share few of my childhood memories which are engraved in my heart so deeply that every year on this very day I feel profoundly nostalgic and sad to get those days back.

I always felt exceedingly blessed when I thought that I had completed my education from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, a place founded by Rabindranath Tagore. The natural beauty of the place infuses its elegance through the mode of education. The freedom of creativity and ideas always evince through the various festivals celebrated on the auspicious occasions of special calendar events. During my school days this Bengali New Year celebration used to start a week back. Those days are crystal clear to me. I can still visualise the little girl holding her mother’s or father’s hand heading towards the crafts shop to buy a bunch of white blank cards with full of excitement. The next few days passed within a fraction of moment with full concentration on filling the blank cards with all those imaginary creative mentation. In our school the best part of Naba Barsho (New Year in bengali) celebration is the exchange of these self-created cards. Each and every student used to create cards by his/her own hand and would gift it to his/her friends or would make friends by exchanging the cards. The new day becomes emblematic for inviting new friends, divulging one’s talent through the cards and a learning process of acculturation. Now coming at this age I realise the hidden truth of the festivity. But then that was only a satiated fun to amplify the friends’ group and also an exhibition of talents. Self-written short poems used to be scripted in the cards too.

Another fun of this day was to stand in a long queue in the scorching heat only to get a Kachori and two sweets. In our school premise this snack used to be distributed to the students on this day. These most common bites used to become too tasty and sumptuous only on this very day. Now I am never going to get back those days, the tastes. Only what I have the fragrance of the sweet retention and an urge to make alive few of those memories through my daughter. My father has few of those New Year cards made by my sister and me in his collection. Sometime I will surely share those with you all.

 (Published HERE before..)

This year in Kolkata, the experience is bit different. Here I find Nababarsho means the set of new clothes and the delectable spread of traditional Bengali delicacies. All the restaurants are vibrant with the colourful flyers of the alluring dishes they are going to offer on the very day of Naba Barsho. The shops are high on sales and people are taking the full advantage of it. Besides everything what I realise, is Bengali New Year’s main jubilation is rejoicing the food carnival. And being a boosted food blogger again, I am taking the full fun of it. Any ways let me now come to the recipe what I prepared to celebrate New Year at my home. Yoghurt again but this time it is APPLE YOGHURT. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Apple- 1 large

Thick curd - 1 cup (I used Amul's Masti doi)

Condensed Milk - 1 tin (400g pack)

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven in to 140 degree C.
2. Skin and seed the apple and grind it in to a smooth paste.
3. Beat the curd in a smooth paste so that no lump can be seen.
4. Add  the condensed milk and the apple paste and blend together nicely.
5. Take ramekins or an oven proof pan. Pour the mixture in it and bake it for 25-35mnts.  Pls keep on checking pricking a toothpick until it comes out smooth.
6. Take out from the oven and cool it. Then refrigerate for an hour and serve with garnished apple slices and cherries.

Note:

If you love the strong apple flavour then I would suggest you to add 2 apples instead of 1. Because after making this I had a very mild flavour of apple.

Apple Chicken with Green Beans

My daughter is very choosy about foods. Outside foods are the tastiest food to her. Everyday her appetite demands for new kind of foods. My each morning starts with a frown and a tensed face what new meal, am going to cook after her taste. She doesn’t like vegetables or fruits except green beans, spinach and banana. So every time I have to cook a healthy food which can supply nutrition to her body, in such a way, that she should not see what the ingredients are added to the dish. Chicken is one of her favourites. So last night I cooked chicken with apple and green beans. I served this to her with plain noodles, which she liked very much. The dish turned out very tasty and as well as healthy too. The dish doesn’t take much time to cook. This is a very healthy dish for the kids as well as for the adults too. The recipe is as follows-

Ingredients:-

Chicken- 6-8 pieces (Medium, with bone)

Chopped garlic- 1 table spoon full

Garlic paste- 1 tea spoon

Onion – 1 medium (sliced)

Green Beans- a handful

Yoghurt- 2 tea spoon

Apple- 1 medium (I used green apple)

Oil- 2 table spoons

Salt, sugar and pepper- according to taste

Method-

1. Marinate the chicken with the yoghurt and little bit of salt for 10 mnts.

2. Heat 2 table spoons of oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic. When it will turn brown put the onion. Fry them till the onion turns golden.

3. Add the ginger and the chicken. Sauté for few mnts. Put a lid on. Keep on stirring in low heat in intervals.

4. Grind the skinned apple in to a paste. When the chicken seems semi cooked add the apple. Add salt, sugar and pepper according to taste. Stir nicely. Keep on cooking with the lid on. After 5mnts add the whole green beans.

5. When the chicken is fully cooked and the juice is dried up, serve it with bread/roti/rice/noodles whatever you and your baby likes.