Guest Post - Alu Borir Jhol by Rani

Sayantan and Rani of The Glamor Factory fame have been very dear friends. They are not only passionate about photography they are very passionate about what they eat too and that gives two common things that we all share! I am a huge fan of Sayantan's photography and he takes me back to Kolkata a bit by bit everyday through his food photography. Sayantan and Rani have been working on a food album called '365 days of Food' which has got the most amazing photos of almost all our beloved foods from every corner of this world. This is where I saw the picture of Rani's Borir Jhol and I wanted to have a plate of that with steaming rice instantly. I made the Borir Jhol for Baba and it was delicious! Bodi or Vadi is one of the most important ingredients of Indian cuisine and Borir Jhol/Jhal being a very quintessential dish in traditional Bong meal. This is a dish that we all have seen our Didu(Grandmom) making for lunch and the smell of the Bodis simmering in the lightly spiced gravy will bring back the most amazing childhood memories one can ever have! I would let you read what Rani has to say now. :)


 

Sohini, initially was just someone I met in Facebook through a common friend, the usual story. But what attracted me to her was the wonderful photos she posted on her profile of different food items from all over the world, not to say the presentation which was of course, quite beautiful. I was instantly drawn to the colorful album and kept track of it regularly, still do, in fact. I am a ardent fan of her dessert skills nowadays and just love to see the various cakes and the decorations that flows so smoothly off her magical hands.

By profession I am a graphic designer but food is the true passion in my life, especially when it comes to eating. My partner in crime is my husband, Sayantan and all yummiest things edible occupy a large part of our lives. Apart from eating, he is a specialized food photographer which is just an added bonus, I must say!

Alu Borir Jhol

Ingredients :
10-12 Bodi (or moong wadi if available)

3tbsp vegetable oil (preferable mustard)

2 potatoes, cut lengthwise in thin segments

1/4sp onion seeds (kalonji or kalo jeera) for tempering

1sp ginger paste

1sp cumin

1/2sp coriander

1/3sp turmeric

1sp chilli / paprika powder

1 whole tomato diced or pureed

2/3 cup water

1-2 green chillies for garnishing

Salt as per taste

Method :

Fry the boris in 1 tbsp oil until brown and keep aside.

Heat the remaining oil, put in the onion seeds and then the sliced potatoes. Fry the potatoes for a few seconds and then put in the tomato dice/puree. 

After about 2 min throw in all the other masalas and saute for further 2-3 min on low flame until you see oil on the sides. 

Then pour water on it, season it according to your taste and simmer it covered over a low flame until the potatoes are almost cooked through. 

Then put in the fried bodis and simmer for another 3 min. Take off the heat, garnish with slit green chillis and serve hot with rice.

 

Guest Post - Dark Rosy Kisses by Ananda of A Pinch of Love

What can I say about Ananda of the ‘A Pinch of Love’ fame? She is an amazing lady with outstanding skills. Her blog is one of the few blogs that I regularly follow and love. She is based in beautiful Finland and she shows us around that gorgeous place and it's food through her amazing space. She used to take time out for a perfect blog post even when she was doing her PhD and trust me when I say that it’s not easy. Not only I admire her enthusiasm for blogging, I simply love the way she uses her props and clicks those gorgeous photos. Whenever I am in the middle of a baking or a blogging disaster (and that happens a lot of times!) I send Ananda a SOS message and she is always there to help me out! Reading this post will make you realise how much time and effort she puts in each post of hers!

I bugged her a lot for this guest post as I have been tied down with the holidays and the little one at home and my dad's visit and like always Ananda didn't take a second to agree to do this post even when she's busy herself as she's taking a break in India with her family. Thank you girl for this post and everything else.

I have known Sohini’s blog from our initial days of blogging; her sweet and encouraging comments drove me to her blog where I felt warmth through her words. Very soon we befriended each other through facebook and now there is no looking back. I’m a great admirer of her sugar art for cakes and cupcakes, different versions of the princess cake and her eastern Indian food makes me drool. Not forgetting to mention the pictures of her little edible princess, which makes me want  big bite of her :), but I go aww! Thank you dear girl for having me over to your lovely space, it’s an honor to be here.

Rare are those recipes when an unexpected combination turns out surprising well. This dark rosy kisses is an outcome after spending hours in flea markets and organic shops looting alluring brown tableware and some organic rose buds. After a series of imagination all I dreamt was the combination of brown and pink. Cherry on top was when my colleague gave me this organic honey, creative instincts worked magic thus these dark rosy kisses were created.

 

The recipe is the combination of dark chocolate, honey, rosewater and dry rose buds. Honey gives these kisses a dense and moist feel. Rosewater in the desserts and sweets are more of an acquired taste for those tasting it for the first time; let me warn you for you might feel them to be like a scented dessert! Give it an elegant touch by serving the individual pieces on rose petals with a little ribbon tied, an eye appealing treat.

 

Dark Rosy Kisses

 Ingredients :

125 gram Butter

130 gram Dark Chocolate (70%)

200 - 225 ml Honey (Organic)

2 Eggs

30 gram Cocoa powder (Organic)

50 gram All purpose flour

3 tbsp Rosewater (Reduce if you find the flavor too strong)

7 – 8 Organic dry rose buds crushed

¼ tsp baking power

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 C. Grease the cake pan with butter and dust with dry flour.

In a double boiler melt the dark chocolate and butter. Let it aside to cool.

Sieve and mix the dry powder (all purpose flour, cocoa powder and baking powder)

In another bowl beat the egg until light and frothy. Mix the dry flour to beaten eggs.

Gradually fold in honey and melted chocolate to the egg mixture. Add rose water and

crushed rose petals to the batter and gently fold in. 

Pour the batter to cake pan and bake them for 35 minutes till the inserted toothpick comes out clean.