This recipe of the cauliflower blooms with the rustic flavors of almost roasted tomatoes and ginger cooked in the fragrant mustard oil.

I am back! Thanks to all of you for your emails and comments and concerns and for “being there” while I was not. It definitely feels wonderful to be a part of a community with so much understanding and concern where we have not even met one another… strong bonds. Thank you.

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Fish cooked in a spicy sauce, flavored with nigella seeds, hot green peppers and cooked in mustard oil is a recipe very close to my heart. Memories churn, my heart and body warm up, images slide by and the taste lingers as I savor the peppery fish curry with some hot steamed rice on this chilly winter afternoon.

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Here is a mashed pumpkin recipe with a big twist from the traditional, with very different flavors.

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This pickle is not for the fainthearted. It breathes fire, crunches with a bite, smells of abundant spices and tastes fantastic.  This one cannot be compared to the pretty peppers soaked in vinegar and spice; they will get you teary eyed if you are not used to the heat, but will tantalize your senses – a very Indian Pickle.
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This is one bowlful where the simplicity leads the flavors,  a very Bengali recipe, made with very Bengali seasonings & cooked by not so Bengali husband. This is  a recipe well loved & perfected by my hubby after many trials. The taste of childhood still lingers with him, when his Bong neighbors would sometimes treat them with this cauliflower. But when you are a kid, you do not ask for recipes. Ever since we got married, I heard him talking about this, expecting his Bong wife to recreate his fond memories, but the magic in my hands did not match the magic of his neighbors. At last he gave up on my trials & picked up the task himself. I will proudly say that he nailed it this time & we did have a very lovely treat with “Luchi” (Poori is called Luchi in Bengal & it is made with maida instead of the regular wheat flour).

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This dal is one of my comfort foods. Every time I make it, the sound of the sizzling spice & the aroma reminds me of home, of my childhood…. Masoor dal used to be a staple food for me – for I rarely would want to try any other dal. Why? Because I love the flavor these special spices cooked in Mustard Oil- yes that is what is used to season this dal. If you are not aware, traditionally most of the recipes in Bengal use mustard oil for cooking. It cannot be denied that the flavor that mustard oil adds can not be replaced with any other subsitute. To season this recipe, you would need a very little of the oil- & I would warn that this would not taste the same without this particular combination of  Mustard Oil & the Panch Foron (very commonly used spice mix in Bengal to temper lentils & vegetables….I have explained that later in the post).

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