Baked Gondhoraj Chicken

Recently I am digging up all the recipes from my draft folder and blogging on them - the dishes which I have cooked almost 2 years back. Now a day the cooking part is though going on in full swing but clicking is like a nightmare for me. Preparing a whole set up for the photo shoot, then download them, if required going for editing- ah it’s better I should get some sleep saving that time. All new moms couldn't agree more that few extra hours sleep is like a cherry on the top of a cake. It's like cooking a dish is therapeutic, but wrapping up the meals, cleaning the kitchen and retiring to the bed as soon as possible to get some good hours long sleep is nothing but a boon. My elder one has become suddenly a grown up girl and quite matured who always stays with me like a shadow to help me out whenever I need. My little one is proving to be a good girl till date as she doesn't bug me much, loves to stay by her own. So I get a call only when she is hungry, sleepy or needs to change her diaper. Slowly I am stepping back in my old shoes, by starting up what I used to love most. I am cooking, baking and actively started to move around. But when it comes to clicking pictures I feel like I am having a split with my camera. There was a time I couldn't think my life without my camera and now I try to run away from it. May be everyone faces some phase like this when you need a break from which you covet most. The ardent photographer in me is still sleeping and I don't have the urge to wake her up too. So I am enjoying my camera less phase pretty well. But yes I miss that uplifting attitude of a photographer me and often feel that I am drowning away from the engrossing and enthralling food blogging world. I want to be active again but I am enjoying this phase too... So I guess I need to give myself more time to wait for the right time --Should I or not??..- I am confused...

Now coming to the dish I was pretty inspired by two recipe posts on Gondhoraaj chicken by my fellow Kolkata Food Bloggers Anwesha and Pritha{Click on their names to visit their recipes}. So I decided to try it out. Both the recipes ask for frying but I preferred to give it a baked version. So here is my version of Baked Gondhoraj Chicken. Try it out and I am sure it will be a winner.

Ingredients:

Chicken Thighs - 6 pcs

To Marinate:

 Onion - 1 medium

Garlic - 5-6 cloves 

Ginger - 1 inch long

Green Chili - 1 -2 (As per taste)

Juice of Gondhoraaj Lebu - 1 big (3/4 of the juice will be required for marination and 1/4 of the juice for basting)

Zest of Gondhoraj Lebu - 1/2 tspn

Black pepper powder - 1/4 tspn

Salt and Sugar as per taste

Ghee - 1 tbspn (optional, one can use olive oil or white oil)

Method:

1. Wash the chicken thighs and then pat it dry with a kitchen towel. With a sharp knife slit both sides of the flesh of the chicken thigh so that the marinades incorporate well.

2. Now prepare the marinade - Paste the onion, garlic and ginger together and strain out the juice as much as you can. Add the juice to the chicken and all the other ingredients that comes under the marinade section. Mix well and keep for and hour or two to rest.

3. Pre - heat the oven at 200c for 5 minutes. Take an oven proof tray and place the Chicken Thigh pieces on it. Bake it for 20 minutes.

4. In the meanwhile take the Ghee/ Oil and add the remaining 1/4 of the juice of Gondhoraaj Lebu.  

5. After 20 minutes turn the thigh pieces, brush the juice mixture on each and bake for another 20 minutes.  

6. Turn them over again apply the remaining juice mixture and bake for another 10 minutes. If you feel you need to bake more then turn over and bake for few minutes more.

7. Take them out from the oven and serve them hot with some boiled vegetables, bread and some dip. If someone needs more of the flavour of the Gondhoraj Lebu, then one can squeeze some juice on the top of the baked chicken thighs.

#BengaliRecipe - Cholar Dal

"It's Cholar Dal today."

"Are we having any party or some occasion to celebrate?"

Yes you got it right. There are some dishes that are meant for celebration. And if there is nothing, it will light up your mood only hearing that particular dish is on the menu. Cholar Dal is one such dish. We Bengalis love to devour cholar dal at any time of the four meals. Say it for breakfast or evening snacks with Luchi or Kachuris or in our lunch and dinner with rice or pulao. Among all the dals my favourite one is the Cholar dal. So to feed me Dal my mother used to the make the meals gleesome for me by making cholar dal often. She is a wonderful cook and has magic in her hands. But the way my Mamani (my elder Mashi/ Maternal aunty) used to cook, nobody can beat the taste. And the recipe has gone with her, along with many more old traditional recipes. Now I regret for not noting down them. I have seen her often using hing/Asafoetida in most of her dishes, eve in cholar dal too. That used to give an extra hint in the taste to ask for several servings. She died at 86 but till her death she tried to cook by herself and all with home-grinding masalas. She would religiously sit for hours every morning with Mortar and Pestle to grind her dry masalas. She was a cancer survivor, but she never let us know that she was once ill. We have seen her maintaining a strict healthy regime and diet and devoting much of her time in cooking delicious dishes. All her dishes were all most without any spices but that taste and aroma still I can feel on the tip of my tongue. She had a magic too in her hands. And we used to wait when she would be sending some dishes for us. I tried to replicate her recipe. It is almost near, but not like her.

Cholar Dal

Ingredients:

Cholar Dal or Chana Dal or Bengali Gram Dal - 1 cup
Hing/ Asafoetida - a pinch (Optional)

Tomato - 1 medium Chopped

Ginger Paste - 1 tspn

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tspn

Red Chili Powder - As per taste

Whole Dry Red Chili - 1 -2

Bay Leave- 1 -2

Whole Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Soaked Raisins - 1 tblspn (Optional)

Fresh Chopped Coconut - 1 tblspn

Grated Coconut - For Garnishing

Salt and Sugar as per taste

Ghee - 2-3 drops

White Oil - 2 tspn

Method:

1. Wash the Dal and soak for few hours. 

2. Boil it in a pressure cooker (4 to 5 whistles) with water, a pinch of turmeric powder and salt.

3. Take a Kadai. Heat the oil. Add hing/ Asafoetida. Soon after temper with whole dry red chili, cumin seeds and bay leaves.

4. Add tomato. Saute till it is soft and mashed. Add ginger paste and Saute till the paste starts to leave oil.

5. Add all the powdered Masalas and saute nicely. If it needs a bit water add the juice of the boiled dal. 

6. Add the chopped coconut pieces and stir saute for a minute. Now add the boiled dal. Add salt and sugar. Add the raisins.

7. Cook for a while (See Notes), add the ghee and then take it off the stove and garnish with grated coconut. Serve hot with rice, luchi/puri or roti.

Note:

i] The consistency of the dal should be not runny or too thick. 

ii] Taste wise it is slightly on the sweeter note. Therefore don't forget to add the exact amount of sugar that the taste asks for. 

#Easyrecipe - Baked Chicken Petit Cups

The holiday season was gone in a wink. Back to the routine life again. The season of the jingle bells, fancying around with the festive mood, the illuminated road sides all joined together to celebrate the end of a year and to welcome another new year. The last year went away to me in a fraction of moment. I have seen lots of ups and down this year and never wish to have this kind of year in my life again. But on the sweet note, last year blessed me my second princess who came to our life like a ray of hope. I must mention that I was able to overcome my pregnancy period fighting with all the odd situations because of the constant support and care of the elder princess and the man. I wish this year should bring us and everybody all the happiness and joy and prove a memorable one with all positive notes. 

                 As promised, I am here again with another #easyrecipe that can be done in all most no time. Very healthy and it is a kid's delight. Me and my daughter often enjoy it mostly when the man is on his office tours and we have to snuggle in a one pot meal.

Ingredients:

{Yields to 6 to 8 cups}

Minced Chicken 200grm

Grated carrot: 1 big

Blanched chopped Spinach - 1 cup (Water thoroughly squeezed)

Grated Cheese- 1 cup (more or less) {I used Amul}

Tomato - 1 small, sliced

Sweet Chili Sauce - 1 tspn

Italian seasoning - 1/2 tspn

Salt and pepper as per taste

Cornflour: 1 - 2 tspn (optional)

Method:

1. Take a muffin pan. Grease it oil.

2. Mix all the ingredients except the Cheese, Carrot and tomato.

3. If you feel the mixer is too soft then add cornflour (As per requirement).

4. Take a small portion of the mixture and put in the muffin cups. Press the mixture and give the impression of a cup.

5. Fill the other cavitities in the same way.

6. Now fille the cups with carrot and cheese and top it with a slice of tomato.

7. Bake at 200 degree C for 20 to 30 minutes.

8. Serve hot with some desired dip.

Note:

One can use other vegetables too for the mixture and for the filling.  

Wish you all a happy and Prosperous new year.

#BookReview : Kanhu & Other Stories

Title: Kanhu & Other stories

Translated by Saroj Mishra

Published by: Platinum Press 2015

Price: Rs. 149

Pages: 109

Rate: 4.5/5

Kanhu & Other stories is a compilation of ten short stories written by well-known Odiya writers which are translated by Saroj Mishra.  Many of those writers are the winners of Kendrya Sahitya Akademi awards and different types of renowned literary awards. The main focus of the stories is on the contemporary Odiya culture and society. Each story has a strong plot that will pull the reader to move on the next and each character of the story are skillfully crafted. The stories are actually the irony of the bureaucratic society which are sarcastically portraying the present scenario. Most of the negative aspects of a politically dominated society have been depicted through the stories. Whether it is bribery to dowry, conspiracy to jealousy, or self-respect to honesty, the authors folded it well in the attire of strong plots. 

I really enjoyed the irony of the political world in the story – “Inauguration of the Electric Crematorium.” At one read it will look like a story full of comedy, how a dead body has been arranged for a minister for the inauguration of the Electric Crematorium. Very interestingly the author has portrayed the futility of human lives with full of satire. The battle between truth and lie that is actually the subjective clause of the political world has been sketched comically but the irony is totally visible. Or take the stories like Mystery of the closed iron chest, Kanhu, or Mission Heart, where the human relationships and the thought provoking feelings were sketched well. Loneliness, unemployment, hunger, trust, loyalty, dream, love, negligence, fragility of relationships all are the key tools of the stories. The stories are nothing but ironically replicating the true face of the present society. The the stories are the picture of the present Odiya culture where trust diminishes, truth gets eschewed, love turns in to negligence, and loyalty takes for granted. Each story depicts the survival strategy that the human folks are fighting against the odds, sacrificing the positive attitude to surrender to the autocratic world. Life is a blessing but life is cruel too when it gets dominated by the human made destiny – that is the inner meaning of each story. Overall I literally enjoyed reading each and every story of the book.

#EasyRecpe : Baked Chicken Caprese Salad

During the day time I am almost excluded from my kitchen by the cook. She loves to reign over the kitchen and gets disappointed even I peep in. She breezes around the kitechen with a constant jingle sound of her bangles and the utensils. I always try to avoid the musical concord and retreat to not interfere. The only interaction regarding food we have once in a day - my instruction what to cook and if something special then how to cook that. So I can own my kitchen only in the next half of the day when I prefer to cook the dinner. I always try to avoid an elaborate dinner. I prefer to keep it simple and healthy. Even the man after a tiring day loves to have something delicious, tasty but overall healthy and light. He wants to avoid rice so as my daughter. So most of the time it is something baked or grilled. /the other day I made Baked Chicken Caprese Salad and served with some boiled vegetables and baked cheese spinach.  It came out tasty, light and got cooked in few minutes. 
                                                               Once a visit to The Corner Courtyard during a review program Chef Chanchal offers a special dish Grilled Italian Chicken Patties with salad caprese and parsley garlic aioli to us. And I was so impressed and inspired by the dish that I decided to try it at home. Now Caprese Salad is one of the most simple salads in the Italian cuisine. It calls for sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, some seasoning with salt, and olive oil. During the time of the creation of this salad, it was kept in mind to made a resemblance to the colors of the Italian flag: red, white, and green. (Info from Wiki) Baked or Grilled chicken/ meat can be used to give it an extra volume to the taste.When I made the dish I baked the chicken. If you want you can grill it too. Just keep in mind while grilling, don't forget to braise it with some oil, preferably olive oil.

Ingredients:

(Yields 6 to 8 patties depending on the size)

Minced Chicken -200grm

Blanched chopped spinach - 2 tbspn (All the water must be completely squeezed out)

Chopped parsley: 1 tbspn

Chilli Flakes: 1 tspn (more or less)

Italian seasoning - 1/2 tspn

Lemon juice - 1 tbspn

Salt and Balck pepper as per taste

Mozzarella Cheese - Cut in thin slice in a shape of square (Depends on how many patties are there)

Tomato slices (Depends on how many patties are there)

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients nicely.

2. Grease your hand with oil and take a small portion and give the portion a shape of a patty.

3. Take an ovenproof tray. Cover it with aluminum foil (See note #1) and grease the surface.

4. Place the patties on the tray and bake for 15 + 10 minutes turning each side at 200 degree Centigrade.

5. Take a serving plate. Place a slice of tomato, top it with mozzarella cheese and then on the top place the Chicken Patty. Relish it with boiled or stir fried vegetables and bread. I had with some baked spinach topped with cheese, boiled vegetables, salads and Bread. (See note how to eat it #3)

Note:

1. Whenever I bake some savoury dishes on a tray I always cover it with an aluminium foil. It helps to save a lot of time in behind of cleaning the burning stains.

2. If you want to avoid the cheese then simply have it with boiled vegetables and bread. 

3. To enjoy the taste, you must have a bite of  the Tomato, the cheese and the chicken patty altogether. That will give you the exact taste of the dish and to enjoy the every bit of it.

#EasyRecipe - Healthy Hassle- Free Chicken Curry

I get many requests from my readers to provide them some easy and healthy recipes which will be hassle free and don't require to spend hour after hour in the kitchen. Even my sister always asks for easy and tasty recipes who resides in abroad and can't get much time to spend in the kitchen as her overactive son keeps her dancing around him all the time. So I decided to start a series of  #EasyRecipes that will be healthy, tasty and will be hassle-free. Now this chicken curry is my all-time favourite. It goes perfectly as an accompaniment of a light meal or as a party dish. Only it depends on the cooking timing and a bit changes in the Ingredients. Like if you are making it for a party the recipe will ask for some extra oil to make it a bit rich. The portion of the powdered Masalas can be increased too. The cooking time will be a bit longer until the juice gets reduced and turns the dish to a thick gravy when the chicken gets completely cooked. The preparation time is very less. I cooked mutton in the same manner. Will post the recipe soon. So let us move to the recipe and enjoy it:

#EasyRecipe - Healthy Hassle- Free Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

Chicken cut into pieces -  700 - 800grm

Potato - (Optional - as much you want)

Chopped Onion - 2 big

Whole Garlic  cloves - 4 -5 + handful

Ginger paste: 1 & 1/2 tspn

Tomato - 1 small

Yogurt - 2 tbspn

Turmeric Powder - 1 tspn

Cumin Powder - 1 tspn

Coriander Powder - 1spn

Red chili Powder - 1 tsn (more or less as per your taste)

Whole Garam Masala - 2 each

Oil - 1 tspn (See note #1)

Ghee - 1/2 tspn (optional)

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Wash the chicken thoroughly. Drain out all the excess water and keep aside.

2. In a grinder paste all the ingredients except the handful of garlic cloves, whole garam masala, and oil.

3. Marinade the chicken with the mixture for half an hour or so.

4. Heat oil and ghee in a deep dense pan or a Kodai. Add the whole Garam Masala and a handful of whole garlic gloves. Stir it till the garlic cloves are semi brown.

5.  Add the chicken and Saute on high flame for 5 mnts.

6. Then Cover a lid and let it be cooked in a low flame unless it is done. If you want to add potato (See note #2) then add it. Don't forget to give a stir in between. 

7. It will take approximately 30 to 40 minutes (more or less) to cook depending on which type of chicken (Boiler or frozen ) 

8. You can have it as a light chicken curry that goes perfectly with rice or with a thick gravy that perfectly accompanies with roti. Whatever consistency you like to have, cook the chicken in that way.  For thick gravy when the chicken is almost done please cook on high flame until the juice evaporates. 

9. There is no need to add water. The enough juice gets released from the chicken that helps to cook the chicken completely. But if you feel water is needed then please add warm water not cold water directly.

Note:

1. Any oil (Mustard, Sunflower or Olive oil) can be used. Now if you want to make this dish for a party then I would suggest you, to add a little oil extra (1 or 2 tbspn). You can increase the portions of the Powdered masalas too..

2. If you are adding potato then please keep on an eye that the potato should not be over cooked. If the potatoes are done but the chicken needs to cook for few more minutes then please take out the potatoes and add it again when the chicken is completely done.

Oven Roasted Plum Cake inspired by Baking with Julia

"Who is Julia Child?" asked the Man.

With a puckered eyebrows I innocently answered I don't know.
It happened one night almost 6 years back after watching the movie, Julie & Julia. I never realised that Julie Powel and Julia Child would become the significant parts of my life.
I was then struggling with my baby steps into  blogging food blogging, with a very knowledge about Food and the who's who. I had already completed my stay in USA for 3 three years and gave birth to an adorable daughter. Though I had started blogging a long time back, the pregnancy and the postpartum blues somehow restricted to divulge the blog to continue.When I was able to grapple with all the odds I started blogging again. And that time as a full-time Food Blogger after almost 2 years.  Julie & Julia, the movie influenced and inspired me like a rain shower after a decade in a desert. I tied up my apron, infused the character of Julie Powel in me and reign over the kitchen copying each and every move of Julie and vigorously concentrated on blogging. I sat with my Laptop like Julie, I cooked like Julie, I talked like Julie. It might sound very childish and funny but yes it is Julie and Julie. Julia Child was then never in my thought or in my mind.
I had never thought then that almost after six years I would fall in love with Julia Child. My experiences and knowledge regarding the culinary world helped me to grow each day more matured. Now the scene at my home is a bit different. To my surprise, my eight year old daughter is all head over heel in love with the movie Julie & Julia. Her main love is for Julie Powel, where I focus my concentration on Julia Child. When I asked my daughter: 
"Why do you like this movie?" 
She answered back: "Because I love blogging and Cooking."
 I guess when you have a food blogger mum at home the influence may sound like this. :)

As a surprise gift, I received the book Baking with Julia  and the DVD of Julie & Julia from my husband a year ago. He is much aware of my fascination to imitate Julie Powel, how she blogs and Cooks and a springing up respect and likeness towards Julia Child. At the same time my weakness towards baking that I am nurturing from a long time. In the meantime, I have already finished reading Julia Child 's  My life in France and possessed the Mastering the art of French Cooking Volume 1 & 2. So the gift from him was like winning some treasure all of a sudden. While browsing through the book, I almost bookmarked all the recipes to give them a try. The book is a compilation of sweet and savoury baked recipes where many reputed bakers have contributed too. They are pretty easy, very well explained and perfect for the beginner. I found some fresh plums from our local market. So decided to try this recipe first. We were about to spend few days in our other house in Newtown when I thought of baking something over there. So I took all the ingredients with me and the book  but forgotten to take the measuring cups and spoons. Immediately my heart sank down when I was about tart it. I felt like I saw some nightmare suddenly. But since I was baking for a long time, I made myself calm down, eyeballed the measurement and made it. And yes it came out perfect. As a baker, it was a great achievement for me that experience did help one to resolve the odd situation. But yes this is also true that if the measurements are not proportionate, the outcome of a baking goodie fails most of the times. So here is the recipe. Give it try, as I am sure your kids and family members will love it.

{Recipe adapted from Baking with Julia. Contributing Baker: Marcel Desaulniers}

Ingredients:
(I follow the measurement as per the given recipe)

All purpose Flour - 1 cup

Butter - 100gm + little more for greasing (Room temperature. The recipe asked for unsalted but I used Amul butter)

Brown Sugar: 2/3 cup

Granulated sugar 1/2 cup

Eggs - 2

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tspn

Baking Soda: 3/4 tspn

Buttermilk 1/4 cup

Ripe plums, pitted and halved - 3-4

Method:

1. Mix nicely the Flour and the baking soda and keep aside.

2. In another bowl mix the butter with the two types of sugar at a time until blended properly.

3. Add  one egg at a time and blend.

4. Add the vanilla essence and butter milk. Blend.

5. Now slowly fold the flour in the egg and mix nicely.

6 Pre-heat the oven at 180-degree centigrade for 8 to 10 minutes.

7. Take 6 to 8 ramekins or cupcake molds. Grease them nicely with butter.

8. Pour the batter filling half of the each cups.

9 Take one of the half plums and slightly push it down on the top of the batter. Make sure to keep the skin side down and the cut side up of the plum. Do the same with the other cups.

10. Sprinkle some brown sugar on the top of the plum and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick prick inside comes out clean.

11. Let it get cooled completely then slowly with the help of a sharp knife running on the side of the cake slowly demould it.

Note:

1. When we use fresh fruits in a cake to bake, the cake becomes a bit soggy and will look under cooked from inside. So don't worry, enjoy eating the cake.

2. I have used peach and strawberry with the same recipe and it came out perfect.

It is not a plum season know. But it is in my draft since a long time. So found it right time to post to celebrate the season of baking.

This recipe is off to the Baking event hosted by Kolkata Food Bloggers:

#BookReview: The curse of Damini by Debjjani Mohanty

"Damini is not a name, and the curse is no supernatural power. Damini symbolizes the vulnerability of women in our society. Damini exists within our minds. She lives in me and in you." 

(The curse of Damini, Chapter: 34, page: 179)

Title: The Curse of Damini

Author: Debjani Mohanty

Published by: Partridge India 2015

Price: Rs. 399

Pages: 185

Rate: 4/5

The Curse of Damini is the debut novel by Debjani Mohanty. First a glimpse on the summary of the book as the blurb reads:

"The world seemed not enough for free spirited Renuka, when she married the highly educated Shashank hailing from the mightiest Zamindars of Bengal. However, soon her life turned upside down when a neighbor revealed her of their sinister past.

It is a mysterious supernatural curse cast on their family almost a century back. Generation by generation, Damini's enraged curse had passed on, declining their family clan from hundreds to a handful few. Who would be Damini's next victim? And why innocent lives are at a stake for a crime committed by an ancestor a hundred years back? Renuka would not settle until she finds an answer and in her quest she struggles to eradicate all the evils that come in her way. Would she ever win a battle against an unseen enemy? Would the wrong done to Damini be ever avenged?

Set against the nostalgic era of 1940s, the story narrates the arduous journey of Renuka Pal, the protagonist, from a rash teenage freedom fighter to the seasoned writer of the 21st century India. In this thrilling saga of death, betrayal and power play the narrative would cover a large chunk of twentieth century history. The passing of time, historical events and the changing country is so well-woven to the story that one would hardly differentiate between fact and fiction."

I was quite pulled in after reading the plot and decided to review the book - The Curse of Damini. . After reading the prologue, I thought it was a kind of haunted stories and found the dialogues pretty cinematic. But as I dug deep in more, the book took me no time to finish it. After a long time, I read a novel with such a free flowing grip that can't be left in-between. Each chapter entices to move on to the next to find out what surprise is waiting for us. Debutante Debjani Mohanty skilfully delineated the focus on the struggle of the women, their fight for existence and the search for Identity which was warmly wrapped up with a fervid romance in between the two main leads. The main protagonist Renuka is the epitome of existence with whom the womanhood has been empowered to fight against the odds. The whole story evolves around her with her encounter with different incidents that a patriarchal society exemplifies as the oppressed ruler where women are the subjects to suffer. Damini turns out to be the silent protagonist who throughout the novel haunted the women of the Roy Choudhury family as a curse but at the end, Renuka elucidates the truth of Damini who is none but the prototype of female subjugation.

                                                   The fiction started from the very backdrop of pre-independence and early independent India  when Renuka’s journey for existence started right as a freedom fighter at the age of fifteen. Slowly the story built up with a confrontation of teenage love at first sight in between Shashank (the son of Roy Choudhury family) and Renuka. Then after few years, incidentally, they got conjugally knotted against some odds where the dreams of two hearts elated with joy. The curse that haunted the Roy Choudhury family started haunting Renuka too. But Renuka with her education and rationality spiflicated the curse and established her own institution. Renuka proved herself that financial independence not only gives an identity to a lady but the power to fight back against the male dominated society. Though the half of the credit goes to her success to her husband whose constant support and understanding helped her to surmount the success. Papiya, Ichamayi, Catherine, Mandira who all are the victim of the patriarchal society, became the strength of Renuka to fight back and stood against the norms and ordinances that a patriarchal society tabooed for women. The book floated with a great acquisition denoting the women struggle in terms of rape, prostitution, several childbirth and miscarriages leading to a depression, fate of a girl child etc. The fiction covered an era starting from the pre-independence India till 21^st century remonstrating that the female struggle for existence remained more or less same. The book even ended up with the Nirbhaya rape case and Renuka’s cogitation how rape could be demolished from this society.

What I liked most, is the way the author described with minute detailing the era of Zaminder, their culture and the rituals, the riot after the partition. Being a Bengali, I very much float with the memory line that many of us may have heard the stories from our grandmothers. The author has delimitated romance as the main drive that made the readers to get hooked till the end. The character of Mandira, I found too bold and plain spoken considering the time when she was born.  Renuka’s mentation on how to stop rape broke the rhythm how the novel was flowing freely. I also wished if the Title of the book would be more theme-centric as the title is not justifying the theme of the novel. But I would really like to appreciate the way being an engineering graduate and working as a senior IT professional with one of the biggest MNCs of India, Debjani Mohanty presented her debut novel. I will be surely looking forward to her next fiction.