Hoi Pulao

I love curd. I like it on its own, I like it as a dip, or a raita , I like it on chaat … And I love it when it’s used in cooking. It’s tangy, it’s creamy, and it can turn most anything into food that’s rich and delicious. Meat, fish, veggies, even pulses ( dahi vada, kadhi ) are rendered finger-lickin' good when they come laced with this magic ingredient. One of my favourite dishes with dahi (or doi , as we call it in Bengal) is Doi Maachh – fish cooked in curd. There are variations in the recipe and the more commonly used one calls for the addition of onion and ginger paste to the sauce. That can be quite divine too (I promise another post on that), but the one I make more often does away with such additives. Its USP lies in methi phoron (seasoning with fenugreek seeds). Somehow – I know not by what magic -- the methi and the dahi combine to produce a mellow pungency that makes this fish dish pretty hard to resist.   We call this one Chhotoner Doi Maachh at h...

I rarely get a craving for sweets. But this evening was an exception to the rule. I wanted something for dessert, which I almost never want if I am at home. Good for health, good for figure, don’t you know. Anyway, I decided to make myself some mishti , as we Bongs call it. Nothing elaborate, of course. Because a) I had virtually nothing in the house with which I could confect a fancy dessert, and b) it was way too hot for a protracted toiling in the kitchen. I did some fast thinking and hit upon the idea of making sweet crepes. Hadn’t made them in a while, and they seemed like the perfect way to finish off a sultry, listless day -- easy to prepare, light, and seriously delicious with some honey, maple syrup or just a dusting of caster sugar. So here’s the recipe. You do need some skill in flipping the crepes over and making sure that they come out thin and with lacy edges – the hallmark of crepes with cred. But that’ll come with practice. Or, if you’re a born co...