Spinach-Chicken

Ingredients :
1. 500 gm chicken (broiler), diced
2. A big bunch of spinach, ground to a fine watery paste
3. 2 big tomatoes, chopped
4. 3 medium onions, chopped
5. Paste of 1tbsp each ginger and garlic
6. Green chilly 2 or 3, sliced lengthwise
7. Salt to taste
8. Refine oil for cooking
9. 2 tbsp ghee 
10. 2 tbsp cream (optional) to garnish
11. Powdered masala :
                           1. Jeera 1 tsp
                           2. Dhania 1 tsp
                           3. Garam masala 1 tsp

Method :
Fry onion in oil for a minute, add chicken, salt, ginger+garlic, chilly. Fry for another minute, add tomato and all the dry masala. Keep stirring over low flame, cover in between. Keep heat low throughout the cooking. 
Once the tomato dissolves, add spinach paste. Stir, cover and cook. Add little warm water. 
It should neither be watery nor very dry. 
When cooked, add ghee. Spinach-Chicken is ready.

Decorate with fresh cream while serving (optional)

Tastes great with steaming hot rice or roti.

Triangle Paratha/Parota

A soft and delicious Paratha/Parota. Can be served with any curry but my family's favourite is with mutton curry 

Ingredients : (Makes 10 Parotas)

1. 5 cups Maida/Flour (the cup I use for measuring is a little smaller than the usual tea cup)
2. 2 tsp Ghee
3. 1/2 tsp (level) Salt
4. 1 tsp Sugar
5. Water to knead
6. Ghee to fry 

Method : 

Mix the ingredients from 1. to 4. Once mixed well, add water, a little at a time and knead well. Knead till it is very soft. 
Make 10 equal portions. Take one portion, flatten between your palms and roll out like roti, but very thin. Take half a tsp of Ghee and spread over the rolled out roti like the above picture. Sprinkle Maida over it and fold into half. 

Spread Ghee on this folded roti now, sprinkle Maida and fold again. It will look like the above picture. 

Roll it out again, but carefully this time so that the layers/folds remain, triangle shape is good, yet rolled out properly like the above picture. Make the rest of the Parotas this way. 

Put a tsp of Ghee on tawa, fry Paratha on medium heat. 

Serve hot with any curry, preferably mutton.... Love the taste but more than eating, I love to make this Paronta and serve.

Xewali Phool bhaji

There are quite a few flowers which are used in several cuisines of the North Eastern region of India. One such flower is the Night-flowering jasmine. It is a beautiful flower with a lovely fragrance. Although tastes bitter, bitterness is reduced to almost nil after cooking. Can be eaten fresh or sun dried. 

 Assamese name : Xewali phool

Bangla name : Shefali/Shiuli 

Hindi name : Parijat/Paarijata

Tamil name : Pavazha malli 

Malayalam name : Pavizha malli

Odiya name : Shefali/Shiuli

Marathi name : Parijat

English name : Night-flowering jasmine

Scientific name : Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

sun dried Xewali phool

This is a simple yet very tasty recipe.

Ingredients: 

1. 1 cup dry Xewali phool 

2. 3 cups boiled rice

3. 3 tbsp oil

4. salt, to taste

5. 1 big onion, sliced 

6. 2 green chilly, whole 

7. a pinch of turmeric (optional) 

Method : 

Soak the dry flower in water for an hour (like the above picture). Rinse well, squeeze out water and pour more water. This way rinse three times. This procedure will lessen the bitterness. 

Heat oil and add the flower, onion, chilly, salt, turmeric (optional). Fry on low heat for a few minutes. 

Add boiled rice and stir fry for two to three more minutes. Your "Xewali phoolor logot Bhaat bhaji" is ready.