Pepper Mushroom is an easy yet tasty dish for the mushroom lovers. Normally, in restaurants they prepare pepper mushroom with the addition of green capsicum. As we all know mushroom and capsicum pair good with each other. However, I never knew mushroom and red bell pepper pair even better than them unless I prepared pepper mushroom along with red bell pepper. Red bell pepper has lot of vitamain C and adds a tangy flavour to the dish. If you have not tried this pair, next time when you buy mushroom don't forget to get red bell pepper! 




Before hoping to the easy recipe of pepper mushroom or mushroom pepper fry let's learn more about mushrooms here.

Why should you eat mushrooms? 
Or
What are the health benefits of mushrooms?

Mushroom has several health benefits. Though technically mushroom is not a part of plant, but it is called as vegetable. Mushroom belongs to the fungi group and rich with the goodness of several nutrients. Mushrooms are good antioxidants which helps to get rid of free radicals in the body which are harmful for the body. Mushroom contains a mineral called Selenium which helps in liver enzyme function and also prevents inflammation. Mushroom has vitamin D and folate and they play important role in our metabolism

They are loaded with fibre, hence mushroom is good for diabetic persons. It also helps to regulate the blood pressure as it contains potassium and vitamin C. 

Basically, mushrooms are loaded with nutrients and hence you should include them in your diet.

How long it takes to cook pepper mushroom or mushroom pepper fry?

You can cook pepper mushroom under 30 minutes. This is an easy preparation and with available ingredients in your pantry.



How can I serve pepper mushroom ?

Normally, pepper mushroom is served as a vegetarian starter item. However, you can serve it as sides with main course including paratha or fried rice or jeera rice. Also you can prepare a good sandwich using this stir fry. Another way to serve pepper mushroom in the form of roti roll or wrap stuffing. Isn't it a great idea to use a single dish multiple ways. 

Pepper Mushroom my way

Coming back to the recipe, this is a dish I often prepare and I have created this mushroom pepper fry recipe according to our tastebuds. Normally, pepper fry recipes contains curry leaves, I have not added but if you wish you can add curry leaves as tadka in the beginning. Similarly, addition of sesame seeds is not a common practice when you are making pepper fry however, I have added sesame seeds to add crunch in every bite. This is purely optional so you can omit this too. 

Here is some more recipes of mushroom you might love them

Mushroom Butter Masala

Mushroom Matar Pulao

Achari Mushroom

Mushroom Biryani

Kadai Mushroom Dry




Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Servings: 3


Pepper Mushroom/Mushroom Kalimirch

Ingredients

Button mushrooms - 200gms, quartered
Red Bell Pepper - 1 medium, cut into dice shaped
Onion - dice shaped, 1/2 cup
Pepper corns - 6 to 8, crushed
Black Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoon
Green Chilli - chopped, 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger - 1/2 inch,finely chopped
Salt to taste
Refined Oil - 2 tablespoon
Coriander Leaves - 1 tablespoon, chopped
Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon (Optional)

Procedure

1. Wash and clean the mushrooms and pat dry using your kitchen towels. Cut into halves if small in size, or if bigger in size  quartered them.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add crushed peppers and chopped, ginger and green chilli. Next goes red bell pepper pieces and onion petals.Cook them on high heat until the bell peppers are tender. Onion should not be burnt.

3. Next goes mushroom pieces in the pan. Once the mushroom started cooking, they release water and you have to cook on high flame until the water gets evaporated.

4. After that add salt and black pepper powder. Give a good stir to mix them. You can also toss them. Finally turn off the gas and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. You can also add sesame seeds on top. 

Eggless Banana Walnut Cake is a healthy bake. Actually, I wanted to name this Eggless Butterless Sugarfree Wholewheat Banana Walnut Cake! Phew, then I thought it's better to call Eggless Banana Walnut Cake and readers will slowly come to know the goodness of the cake. Let me tell you this is a no maida, no butter, no sugar cake and it's eggless. Most of my cakes are with eggs, so readers often ask me for an eggless bake. While working on these cake, I decided to make it eggless. My blog already has banana cakes: Banana Loaf and Chocolate Banana Cake. So why again I am sharing a banana cake recipe. I love banana cakes and in future, I might share more varieties of banana cake.



My earlier banana loaf was also an eggless and butter less cake. However, this eggless banana walnut cake is healthier as I have not used all purpose flour instead, I have used wholewheat flour. If you are conscious about calorie intakes then this is a butter-free cake and you would love the texture of this cake. Though earlier I have tried eggless butter less cakes but never had the courage to try completely sugarfree cakes. Yes you read it correct! It's a sugar free cake and I have used jaggery as an alternative option for sweetness and I will try to bake more using jaggery. It gave a beautiful colour to my cake. Walnut is a superfood and you will love the crunch of the walnut in the bake.



Before moving to the recipe of this decadent cake filled with good ness, let's learn the tips and tricks of baking this cake. How did plan for this cake and How did I executed my plan of baking this moist cake.

Sorshe Ilish or Hilsa in Mustard Gravy is a signature dish from Bong's Kitchen. If you are a fish lover and have not tried Hilsa yet, then try it this monsoon. The taste of Hilsa or Ilish is totally different from any other fish. Hilsa or Ilish mostly available during monsoon. 




Earlier Hilsa or Ilish was mainly available during monsoon (only 2 to 3 months) but nowadays especially in Bengal you get Hilsa almost throughout the year (except few years). However, you will get the actual taste of the Hilsa fish during monsoon. 

Since we stay out of Bengal, really miss Hilsa a lot. As soon as rainy season starts, we visit fish vendors and ask them when are you bringing Ilish (my husband does this job 😀).  Let's learn few basic things before you are going to purchase Ilish. 




How to identify Ilish or Hilsa?
Current generations often fail to identify the original Ilish and often vendors take this chance and sell fishes which looks similar to Ilish. For example Chandana fish looks quite similar to Ilish but taste differs. So before you go to market you should know how to identify Ilish.

Ilish can be identified by its shiny scales and distinct fish odour. Head of fish is small size and triangular in shape and both ends are pointed whereas middle portion is flat and compressed. If you touch it, can feel the oily body of it. However, over the period of time you gather enough experience to choose the right fresh Ilish from the market. 

One more question I often get from friends 'Where can I buy fresh Ilish or Hilsa in Bangalore?' 

There are varieties of fish vendors who sell Ilish in Bangalore. HAL market is one of the biggest fish market in Bangalore and you get almost all varieties of fishes here including Ilish. However, you should bargain properly to get it at good price. Though some vendors sell Chandana in the name of Ilish (yes we had that experience too, it becomes really differentiate for the novice). However, if you know a fish vendor then request him to bring you Ilish (as we do with local vendors from whom we purchase fish throughout the year). As the cost of Ilish is high so small fish vendors only bring it on request basis. 

Nowadays Supermarkets like More Megastore in some areas keeps good stock Ilish (mostly over the weekends) and they sell original fish. So you can visit supermarket to avoid fraud. 

Which size of Ilish is good in taste?

Always purchase Ilish weighing over 1Kg to experience the actual taste of it. Price of per Kg Ilish also varies depending on the size. Ilish below 1 Kg are not so good in taste. But if you are not getting bigger size can manage with a smaller one. But at least you should relish it every monsoon.  If you are eating Ilish for the first time, watch out for fish bones. Apart from the central bone it has plenty thin other fish bones. So debone it carefully while eating the fish.


Today I am sharing the most common recipe of Sorshe Ilish or Hilsa in Mustard Gravy for my readers.  The taste of fish enhance the taste of the mustard gravy. It was really good, however not like the same what I used have in my childhood days. The reason is again the fish! Though the fish was good but it came all the way from Bengal covered with ice and that's why the original taste of ilish was missing somewhere. Still it was heavenly good for Bongs who cannot think their monsoon without a bite in Ilish. 




Important Tips of Cooking Sorshe Ilish

Bengalis are very much familiar with the taste of mustard gravy. Those who are not aware, sorshe ilish has the pungent taste of mustard paste and mustard oil. While making mustard paste you should use black and yellow variant of mustard. Blend the mustard seeds properly and after that slowly add water to make a paste. If you add water initially you don't get smooth paste of the quantity is less. Avoid using too much of mustard paste which can make the gravy bitter in taste. If your cooking two pieces then reduce the quantity of mustard paste accordingly. Always use freshly prepared mustard paste for this recipe.  Do not use the American style mustard sauce which is quite different from mustard seed paste. Also avoid using ready made mustard paste or powder which claims to be good but I would say please do not spoil the taste of your fish by using those.


Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Servings: 4

Sorshe Ilish or Hilsa in Mustard Gravy

Ingredients

Hilsa or Ilish - 4 pieces

Black Mustard Seed Paste - 2  teaspoon

Yellow Mustard Seed Paste - 2 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder - 1 teaspoon

Nigella Seeds - 1\2 teaspoon

Green Chilli - 4 to 5

Salt to taste

Mustard Oil - 1/4 cup

Procedure

1. Marinate fish with salt and turmeric powder for half an hour. 
2. Make a smooth paste of mustard seeds and a green chilli in grinder. 
3. Now add 1/2 cup water in the paste and add turmeric powder, little salt and mix it well using a spoon. 
4. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the marinated fish and keep them in a bowl. After frying if you see too much oil left in pan then take out the oil keeping 2 tablespoon in the pan. (Do not discard the oil you can have it with white rice just adding some salt, if you are on diet please avoid doing this 😜)
5. Now in that oil add nigella seeds and green chilli. Allow them to splatter.
6. Next add the mixture of mustard paste & turmeric powder (add the mixture slowly, so that skin of mustard seeds which has settle down should not come in the gravy as they make the gravy little bitter). If required add little more water. 
7.  After that add salt as per taste. Cover the pan with a lid for few minutes. Once the gravy starts boiling add hilsa pieces and again cover with a lid and cook under slow flame for 5-7 minutes. 
8. Switch off the gas and add a teaspoonful mustard oil from top and serve with plain rice. 




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Most of the couples love to spend a quality time together and they prefer to go in a cafe or coffee lounge. Now there are lot of coffee retail chain in India and over the weekends you find all the outlets are over crowded. Instead of spending quality time together, you can practice standing in a queue and do a chit chat with your partner. By that time your turn comes, chit chat must have turned in to a heated argument or you are too tired of standing. So the end result is mood completely gone to enjoy quality time and coffee. Sometimes the price of a tall glass of coffee burn our pocket too! Let's learn how to make cold coffee at home.


Before learning the step-by-step cold coffee recipe, let's discuss in detail about cold coffee with few FAQs. When I first visited India's first coffee retail chain more than a decade ago, I was bit puzzled by seeing their menu and didn't know what to order from their long menu list. Thankfully, each of the items (read coffee varieties) has clear description about the ingredients present in it. I am big fan of coffee from my school days, so each time I visited coffee retail chain outlet I tried different flavours of coffee😀. Has someone done similar behaviour like mine 😎? Let's start from the very basic questions.

What is cold coffee?


You can try this easy  cold coffee and surprise your partner. You can arrange a table for two in your garden or terrace or balcony. You just need very simple ingredients to make cold coffee at your kitchen.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2

Cold Coffee Recipe or How to make Cold Coffee at home? or Recipe of Iced Coffee

Ingredients
Instant Coffee Powder - 5 to 6 teaspoon
Powder Sugar - 1/3 cup
Milk - 3 cups
Vanilla Ice Cream - 4 scoops
Ice - 1/2 cup, crushed
Chocolate Sauce  - 3 teaspoon 

Procedure

1. Prepare coffee decoction by adding 3to 4 teaspoon of instant coffee powder in hot water.  Allow it to cool and keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
2. Place ice (equally divided) in each glass. 
3. Now take the cold coffee decoction, chilled milk, sugar powder, crushed ice, 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a blender and blend well.
4. Take to long glass and randomly decorate the glasses using chocolate syrup.
5. Pour the coffee mixture in each glass top them with scoop of vanilla ice cream and sprinkle little coffee powder or chocolate sauce on top.  Cold Coffee is ready to serve.
PS: You can also use heavy whipped cream instead of ice cream but it makes your process a bit lengthy.

Thepla is a popular spiced flatbread from Gujarat. Normally, thepla dough is prepared using wheat flour, a portion of gram flour, mix of spices and little bit of curd or yogurt. This sounds quiet similar to masala paratha except the presence of gram flour and curd. You can also use millet flours to prepare thepla. Among different types of thepla, most popular is Methi Thepla. Here the fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves are added in the dough which makes the thepla flavourful.

Methi Thepla

In my growing up years methi leaves were not available throughout the year in my hometown in West Bengal. It was only available during winters and people of Bengal were not so familiar with methi leaves. Being an agriculture student my father knew the benefits of methi leaves and he used to bring it whenever available. My Ma innovated her own methi recipe with brinjal and potato with a dash of garlic tadka. We loved it with plain rice. When I came down to Bangalore I saw methi leaves are in abundant almost throughout the year except couple of weeks when it is expensive.



I used to bring methi often and started trying different recipes and first tried paratha and later when I became familiar with food blogging world I came to know about Methi Thepla. Since then it became our favourite. But unfortunately it was not in my blog for so long time. I realized it when I wrote my lauki thepla post last year. Have read my Lauki Thepla post where I accidentally got introduced to thepla in a train journey?

Normally we do not add vegetables in our flatbreads except stuffed parathas. But thepla is different! Here the vegetables are directly added to the dough instead of stuffing them. This makes the thepla fibrous and addition of curd makes it soft. I have also prepared another interesting thepla with zucchini. Here is the recipe of Zucchini Thepla.

As our daughter started elementary schooling, everyday I have to prepare two boxes for her in the morning. I prefer giving flatbread in one of the boxes as she is comfortable with it. At least once in a week I prepare thepla. Believe me you don't need any sides with it except pickle or curd. At times, I prepare simple stir fried jeera aloo which goes really good with it. Methi thepla is a very good lunchbox recipe for kids as well as adults.

If you are planning methi thepla for next day lunchbox, you can prepare the dough in advance and keep it in refrigerator and next day roll the dough balls and slightly roast with oil and pack it.



Important tips when you are preparing methi thepla: Only take the leaves and avoid the green stalks of methi. If you add the stalks it becomes difficult to roll the dough as you should roll bit thin for thepla compared to stuffed paratha. Stalks you can chop and use in dal for flavour instead of throwing away.

While preparing the dough do not add water at first. Most of the time moisture from the leaves and water from curd will be enough to knead the dough. If required, you can add water spoon by spoon, not at once to avoid sticky dough.

Shelf life  Thepla has a longer shelf life than any other Indian flatbread and can be preserved at least for 3 to 4 days at room temperature. You can refrigerate thepla for upto 3 months.  Traveller who does not prefer to eat outside food, can carry along theplas. While making theplas for a traveller it is better to avoid adding curd to increase the shelf life of thepla. Traveller's thepla should be prepared without curd and dough should be kneaded with enough water.

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serving: 4 to 6

Methi Thepla or How to prepare Methi Thepla

Ingredients

Methi Leaves -  1 cup, tightly packed
Whole Wheat Flour - 1.5 cups
Besan/Gram flour - 2 to 3 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Curd - 2 tablespoon ( you can add little more if required during kneading the dough)
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger - grated, 1/2 teaspoon
Refined oil - 1 tablespoon + for frying the thepla ( approx. 4 to5 tablespoons)
Green Chilli Paste - 1/2 teaspoon (optional/ I have not added it)

Procedure
1. Take the clean leaves from methi stalks and wash them and allow to drain the water and later chop them. Keep aside.
2. Take whole wheat flour, besan, dry spices (cumin, coriander, red chilli, turmeric powder) and salt in a big bowl. Mix them with your fingers.
3. Now add chopped methi leaves along with its juices. Mix it well.
4. Add 1 tablespoon oil and curd and knead a smooth dough. I did not add any extra water. Moisture from leaves and water from curd was enough to bind all of them together. If you require can add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water.
5. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow to rest it for 15 minutes.
6. Now make lemon size balls from the dough.
7. Dust your kitchen platform and roll each ball into round shape like roti (5 to 6 inches of diameter).
8. Keep the rolled thepla on a hot skillet and when brown spot appears, flip it.
9. Apply oil on both sides and cook it. Serve hot with chutney or pickle or any dip.

Pav Bhaji, a famous street food of Mumbai, is now popular throughout India where butter laced dinner rolls are served with a spicy mashed vegetables and lots of raw onion and butter on top. Though it is a snack item but I won't mind to have it in dinner. Though I am a foodie but before my marriage I did not prefer to eat out more. However, my better half prefers to eat out a lot, so in this 7 years(going to be) journey I have adapted the habit of eating out and I was lucky enough to try various dishes and cuisines which I tried them at my kitchen. Pav bhaji is a dish which I started eating frequently after my marriage and the taste of the dish just bowled me out.

Famous Pav Bhaji

Sometimes I wonder how a specific food gives an identity to a place. This is exactly the same case for Pav Bhaji or Mumbai. When we talk about Pav Bhaji, we can easily relate Mumbai and vice versa.

Why the name Pav Bhaji?

The name of the dish is very significant which has the local connection hence it became the trademark of that place. In Mumbai dinner rolls are called 'Pav' and in Marathi vegetables are called 'Bhaji'.  So together the dish is called Pav Bhaji.  It is also known as Bhaji Pav. 

History of Pav Bhaji
History of Pav Bhaji is quite interesting. Portuguese came through Western ghats and they have significant contribution in West Indian Cuisine. Dinner rolls or Pav entered Western region with Portuguese and well established there.
It was heard that in 1850s Pav Bhaji was originated. There were Textile mills in Mumbai where lunch time was very less so the workers had to finish their lunch fast hence a quick fix meal (which we call fast food) was started and later street vendors started selling them.


Is  Pav Bhaji Spicy?

 As we know the spice level of Maharashtrian cuisine is high, Pav Bhaji is not exceptional. However, lots of tomato is used in the bhaji and excess tanginess is balanced with the level of spice. If you are unable to eat spicy food you can reduce the quantity of spice.

Few years back I tried making them at home and it was tasty but something was missing in my recipe. Last October I went to my sister's house Mumbai and there I ate the exact restaurant style pav bhaji prepared by my sister. I just noted the recipe and tried at my kitchen. It was Mumbai style Pav bhaji. Still I could not make out what was wrong in my earlier recipe. Never mind I got the best recipe of Mumbai style Pav Bhaji.

How to make Pav Bhaji at home

 

Pav Bhaji / Mumbai Style Pav Bhaji

Ingredients

For The Bhaji

Cauliflower - 1 cup, blanched and later boiled
Potatoes - 11/2 cup, boiled and mashed
Green Peas - 1/2 cup, boiled and lightly mashed
Coriander leaves -  2 tablespoon, chopped
Capsicum - 1/2 cup, chopped
Onion - 3/4 cup, finely chopped
Garlic - 10 pods, finely chopped
Cumin Seeds - 2 teaspoon
Refined Oil - 2 tablespoon
Butter - 1 tablespoon
Tomatoes - 11/2 cup, finely chopped
Pav Bhaji Masala - 2 tablespoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon
Food Color (Red) - a pinch (if you are using liquid color few drops)
Salt to taste

For The Pav

Ladi pav - 6 to 8
Butter - 3 tablespoon

For Serving

Onion - chopped 1/2 cup
Lemon - 2, cut into 4 pieces

Procedure

Making of Masala

1. Heat butter and refined oil together in a pan and add cumin seeds.
2. Next add chopped onion and garlic. Stir till they are translucent.
3. After that add capsicum and stir for few minutes.
4. Chopped tomato goes next in to pan and cook until the raw smell disappears.
5. Next add the dry spices including salt pav bhaji masala powder, red chili powder, food color and cook for few minutes.
6. Now add the boiled vegetables (cauliflower, potato, green peas). Add little water and cook for sometime.
7. Take a masher and mash all the vegetables along with masala. Adjust the salt.
8. Finally, add chopped coriander leaves and ready to serve with pav.

Preparation of Pav

1. Slit 2 pavs vertically and keep aside.
2. Heat a large skillet or pan, add 2 tsp of butter and slit open the pavs and place on it.
3. Cook until they turn light brown and crisp on both the sides.

Serving

In a plate,  keep the bhaji masala, 2 pavs and serve it along with chopped onion and lemon wedges. Top the bhaji masala with little butter (optional).