Tales of Cocktails #1 Orange Beer Sangria

With the Rising heat of Summer, it’s time to chill with some cool drinks..It’s of great importance that we take in a lot of fluids and so what great way.. is there other than to chill with some great Cocktails on a Lazy Hot afternoon…Here’s Orange Beer Sangria.. A cocktail of Spanish Origins.. with some twists of my very own..

Sangria is traditionally a Red Wine based Cocktail with chopped fruits.. Orange Beer Sangria is essentially made with Beer(chilled) , freshly squeezed Orange Juice and for fruits I used Pomegranates..but any other fruits would do just fine..and Voilà your Orange Beer Sangria Cocktail  is ready…

To beat the Summer heat ..it’s absolutely perfect.. the Tangy Bitter Sweet Freshness and provides rejuvenation instantly….

#8 Poetry Every Spring I Fall In Love With You

Every Spring I Fall in Love With You,
The Memories of Bliss Come Back.
I Never get the Courage to tell you,
The Feelings turn White and Black.
I don’t have enough colours for you,
To Colour your Body with,
Just some Long Lost Words to tell You….
Enough to Fill your Heart to the Limits….
-by Soumya Bunk

 

 

Words they are So Powerful.. Ask a Leader..Ask an Orator..Ask a Teacher..Ask a Broken Heart..
Words when you Repress them Inside you..they Eat you up..Use them Unwisely and Frivolously..They Destroy You..
Just let them..be the gentle waves of Fascinating Creations..like a Crook in a Serene and Deep Forest.. Ready to be turbulent like a Raging River when Required..
World Poetry Day..and just a few lines.

Cooking in my Kitchen #18 Jumbo King Prawns in Coconut-Cashew Milk with Light Sauce of Sautéed Onions and Indian Spices

When you have a fresh catch of Jumbo King prawns like this you cannot stop the cook inside you to get out and just adore these lovely big creatures.. I love Jumbo Prawns and the cook inside me cannot deny.

Today’s Dish would be Jumbo King Prawns in Coconut Milk with Light Sauce of Sautéed Onions and Indian Spices.

 

This Recipe is very simple and easy to cook and very healthy as it is not very spicy and really mild. Firstly the Jumbo King Prawns are cleaned and boiled in  fresh Sea water and Butter. We should be very careful not to over cook prawns as they become very bland and rubbery when over cooked. Add some minimal spices to add some flavours to the Prawns.

In a Frying Pan chopped onions are Sautéed and the Indian Spice (Secret ) Paste is added and the beautiful base curry is prepared.

 

Now the Jumbo Prawns are carefully placed on this Base Curry and one cup of the stock of sea water is added and the frying pan is covered and the Prawns are lightly cooked.Then the creamy milk of cashew and coconut is added and the Prawns are further steamed and served Hot. It goes best with Steamed Basmati Rice with a dollop of Butter. Enjoy this very Light and Healthy dish with friends and family.. they are sure to ask for a second helping.

Eat Healthy, Eat More and Live Long and Enjoy the Mysteries of Life.

 

 

Cooking in my Kitchen #17 The Tomato Sunny Side Up

We need to eat healthy  at times and a Healthy Body is maintained when you start your day with The Perfect Breakfast. Breakfast is definitely the most important meal of the day..and it should be Healthy and Delicious..that is to it should be Perfect.

 

An Egg a Day..gives all the essential vitamins and minerals and protein you need in your diet.

 

The freshly cut Tomatoes with the Poached Omelette and slightly steamed is a perfect Breakfast element.You can Eat The Tomato Sunny Side Up Omelette with Toasted Bread..or you can Have it Simply with just some Salt and Pepper.Its Tasty , Healthy and a Treat for the eyes..

Cooking in my Kitchen #16 Milky Prawn Clear Soup with Long Beans.

Clear soups are  light, refreshing and soothing to the Taste buds. The thin milky clear is made with made of water and cream of milk with crisp fried  long beans and chopped tomato to add an acidic touch to it.

 

The Prawns are sautéed quickly on a wok just to give them the reddish tint. The shells of the prawn are left behind in order to add more flavour to the Soup.The chopped long Beans and then lightly fried in high flame to give them a crisp texture.

A twisted is added by giving some crushed pepper and light spices to this light fried Beans and Prawns..and then a considerable amount of water is added with very finely chopped tomato. Boil it for quite some time..and take in the aroma of the prawns and light spices..Add some cream of milk and take off the Heat…and the Milky Prawn Clear Soup with Long Beans is ready to go.

The Milky Prawn Clear Soup with Long Beans can be served hot or cold..It goes best with Rice Dumplings also one can add rice noodles and make a Noodle Soup. This is a Chinese dish with a little Indian twist of Spice Play.

 

 

Cooking in my Kitchen #15 Paneer Long Beans Jalfrezi with Soy and Cream Sauce

Indians, we love vegetarian dishes and we don’t deny it. Paneer Long Beans Jalfrezi with Soy and Cream Sauce is a twisted delicacy of Indian and Chinese Cuisine and definitely a healthy dish which can be prepared very easily.

Jalfrezi involves frying marinated pieces of meat, fish or vegetables in oil and spices to produce a dry, thick sauce but in this case you only need the Chopped Long Beans which are very healthy and often misunderstood. Also you need chopped Onions and Garlic and you need to stir fry them.. and not overcook it.

The Paneer cubes should be big enough in size so that while slow cooking them they should be able to absorb the vegetable juices.And some special Indian spices are added to give it the touch and taste of Traditional Indian dishes.And the slow cooking is continued till the Vegetables and Paneer Cubes become like a Dry Sauce.

 

And then you add the cream sauce to give it the texture of a thick gravy remember you should stir well and mix and fold everything in together nicely.And before you finish everything and turn off the heat add a spoon of Soy Sauce to give it the Chinese Twist.

The Paneer Long Beans Jalfrezi with the aroma of Indian Spices and the salty sour Chinese twist of Soy Sauce and slightly sweet Cream Sauce gives it a unique taste. Remember you need to add some love to the dish to really pull it off. Serve with Hot Steamed Lemon and Ghee flavoured Rice or you can also serve it with Rice Noodles or even with Indian Flat breads it tastes delicious (So my Mother says).

Cooking in my Kitchen #14 Fried Achari(Pickle) Eggplants with Aroma King Lemon Shreddings

Being an Indian and a Bong, Eggplants (Brinjals) are an essential constituent of meals. As a kid I have always loved lightly fried eggplants which are a delicacy.

 

Achar or Pickles are also a very common condiment served with Indian Dishes and Thalis. So this Dish is a special creation with the fusion of these two important ingredients of the Indian Cuisine.

 

Fried Achari(Pickle) Eggplants with Aroma King Lemon Shredding is a twisted delicacy. Small slender eggplants are very lightly fried and more baked in a pan and before it is taken off from the oven a sprinkle of Pickle Juice or Achar is added and stirred lightly. I used salty pickled mangoes.

 

To finish the dish you need an Aroma King Lemon more commonly known as the Gondhoraj Lebu (in Bengali) which has a unique aroma and shred it over the plated fried eggplants. The juicy fried Eggplants with the slightly sour Pickle flavour topped with the Aroma King Lemon Shredding is a good explosion of flavours inside your mouth which is quite refreshing and a palate cleanser. And don’t forget to add the special ingredient that they call Love and Enjoy this light Dish.

 

 

 

Cooking in my Kitchen #13 Spicy Chicken in Tangy Yoghurt Sauce

Well once again after quite sometime I am working with chicken, The Universal favourite Meat. I like my chicken spicy and juicy and packed with Exotic flavours.

The Chicken is firstly slow cooked so that it becomes spicy and soaks in all the flavours with minimum oil. It is very essential that it is slow cooked and cooked deliciously. The chicken should be Tender and Juicy just the way you like it.

The Tangy Yoghurt Sauce needs to be separately prepared in a bowl with a few flavours which are raw and not cooked. You can add in some tangy spices to give it the sour touch. Or give some freshly chopped celery or coriander or tomatoes. Mix it well and let the yoghurt sauce stand for a quarter-hour or so. After it pour it on the spicy chicken and blend everything in together.

Then add some secret spices and sprinkle over some sweet love and you get the Spicy Chicken in Tangy Yogurt Sauce. Its spicy and tangy and healthy and cooked with very little oil. Enjoy it with Steamed Rice or Flat Breads or simply eat it and enjoy a burst of exotic spicy flavours of the tender juicy chicken with the tangy kick of yoghurt sauce.

 

#7 Poetry : Petrichor Flowers

The tears Rained down my cheeks,

And the hard Ground came closer

As I fell down on the earth.

The Everlasting support seemed forever gone

The feelings all like Thunderous clouds,

The Warmth of Love, lost from Heart’s hearth.

 

The pair of Feet that walked away,

Away from me,never to come back again,

The footprints lost in the Pages of Time,

Left behind a shattered Heart

A Timeless sense of  eternal Sorrow

And the Fear, that you will never be mine.

 

The Winter froze the Ailing Heart,

As I locked away those Butterflies

In the Prison, bereft of Love.

The touch of Ice deadened the Heart.

The Feelings all ceased to exist.

The Fruits Bittersweet frozen in my Memory’s Grove.

 

Spring came with the Bountiful Promises,

Happiness and Joy all around

The Flowers of Passion bloomed blissfully,

But I crushed them down

And bit down upon my Bloody Teary Lips,

Putting away the Lonely Memories of Love, Carefully.

 

The Summer of Scorching Truth,

Burned the thawy Heart Raw.

With it’s Raging Fire it Danced away

Embers of Passion turned to Dust.

Now the Heart was Empty

Memories turned oblivious in the Tempest sway.

 

The Raindrops of the Euphoric rain,

Fell on the Scorched Heart

And sowed seeds of New Hopes.

Petrichor Flowers bloomed Again

And set free the Butterflies….The feelings

Danced to the Rhythm of Raindrops.

 

The tears came Again

They fell upon the Rivulets of the Earth

With New Dreams and Happiness

The Ground seemed Welcoming, Soft…

And embraced me with Blossomed Flowers.

The Innocent Heart Laughed…Devoid of Sadness..

 

-By Soumya Bunk

 

There comes a time in Life when we lose hope , someone or something and the heart forgets to laugh..to enjoy..to live, at this time there comes a realization and situation..which finally teaches us to laugh again and to live again..Hope is what drives us forward..and there is always a silver lining waiting..we have to be patient for the right Time and Situation..and the Right Person.

 

 

Cooking in my Kitchen #12 The Rash-Malai

The Rash Malai is a Bengali dessert which is a delicacy for not only the sweet-toothed Bengalis but also to people who have a great love for desserts.

It is actually sweetmeats (Rasgullas) in a reduction of Milk. The Milk is reduced to a thick creamy texture which is flavoured with Elaichi (Green Cardamom).

After a delicious main course meal an equally royal wat to end your meal would be with the Dessert Rash Malai. Best served when cooled. The sweetmeats melt in your mouth and  the thick creamy milk compliments the taste buds equally.

A dessert which is simply good for the summers.You  can garnish it with Kesar or chopped Cashew Nuts to make it even more tastier.

PS: If you have an extra sweet tooth , it’s not necessary that it has to be restricted only as a dessert.. you can have it anytime. 😉