Time for festivities galore and Aloo Fulkopi Posto!

A willowy breeze has already started blowing towards the evening,but I'm not sure what to intepret it as - the nip in the air before winter or the whispering banshee of autumn in its heyday or just plain and simple summer!Because in this part of the world, some of the seasons intermingle and are just a 'touch and go' phenomenon! It is often just the trail that one manages to feel!

Whatever it is,it is reminding me of home!Of Kashful, of Durga Pujo,of clay idols of Maa Durga, the Mother Goddess starting to grace Pujo pandals and all the humdrum surrounding it. Yes, it is that time of the year when the heart jubilantly jumps up to that ultimate festivity which has become the hallmark of a creed.Every heart bears and cradles the joy and happiness that the Mother Goddess's homecoming brings along for one whole year- the lighting up of the streets and pandals, the crispness in the air, the Sanskrit 'Shlokas' and 'Montro' blaring out of loudspeakers from dawn to dusk, the rythmic beat of the 'Dhaks' courted by the madness of the Pujo spirit - everything draws the Bengali to bask in that euphoria.And I for one, am never left out!


Last year, it was Pujo at home but this time it will be a different experience altogether!This year,it will be Pujo in a faraway land where the diaspora will try to give shape to a Pujo weaving it from memories of Pujo back home.And that really sounds intriguing to me!

Now since I have been harping on 'Bengali' and 'Durga Pujo' and blah blah blah,you must have guessed by now that my recipe today will be a Bengali one!And sure enough it is - 'Aloo Fulkopi Posto' which means finely diced cauliflower florets and cubed potatoes fried and cooked in Poppy seed('Posto') paste till the poppy seeds are fried golden.This is an extremely favored and oft-repeated dish at my home and now I too couldn't resist cooking it up since I was slobbering like crazy to have it!The heady aroma of Mustard oil and the fried texture of 'Posto' is what I love about this dish.So here is the way I cooked it!Happy cooking!

Up,up and away - Tilapia Fish Fry

I'm back everybody!

I was away on a short break because I was sort of overwhelmed with the umpteen things going on in my life!The happiest part being that I have finally been re-united with the Husband across seas and oceans and thanks to all those lovely people who patiently bore my fretting and sulking and cribbing all this time.My blog was one of the many places that I took refuge in when I felt rotten,and needless to say,there were so many of my blogger friends who cared to drop in with their thoughtful words.I'm still looking for words to thank you!

Although its been some time that I changed climes,I'm still not fully settled. To add to that, I had a series of not-too-serious ailments ready to kick me in the shin the moment I landed,much to my utter chagrin.Anyway,I've grappled with them already and have emerged unscathed.Three cheers for me,quick!!

Because of all this,I'll post a very short and sweet recipe of Tilapia Fish Fry that I managed to rustle up just a couple of days ago.Its simple,its easy and the crunch is sure to give you an absolute delight!Back home, the fish fry is traditionally prepared using the 'Bhetki' fish (dunno why it is weirdly spelled 'Bhekti' on every Bengali wedding dinner menu!) but I used the Tilapia just because it was ready at hand.It tasted good just as well and I'd really egg you on to give it a try!So long,happy cooking-will be back real soon with my next post!

This recipe goes to 'Hearth and Soul Blog Hop # 67' at Swathi's place, 'Tuesdays at the table' at Nicole's place,  Midweek Fiesta # 5' and the 'Fish Blog Hop' at Katherine's place!!