Terracotta Art

(Pic. of terracotta items on display and sale during the 19th I& C Fair, Agartala)

Terra cotta has been used throughout history for sculpture and pottery, as well as bricks and roof shingles. In ancient times, the first clay sculptures were dried (baked) in the sun after being formed. Later, they were placed in the ashes of open hearths to harden, and finally kilns were used, similar to those used for pottery today(Source Wikipedia: Terracotta)

(Pic. of terra cotta utility items during an exhibition Dilli Haat)

Terra cotta utility items were the first to be used for cooking and other purposes, excavations from historical sites have revelled that. Whether its Harappa civilisation or mesopotamia pieces of terra cotta items have always been found, I've a small piece of terra cotta pottery from Harappa; I was thrilled when I collected it that was during a college trip to Pakistan. Everything abt the trip to Pakistan was memorable esp. the Harappa site visit, Takht-ti-bahi, Islamabad, NWFP, Lahore and the famous Kinnarid College.

Coming back to Terra cotta, my association with terra cotta utility items is since birth, my dad's village is a village of potters, in Manipur there are very few villages which does potery and my dad's village "Thongjao" located in Thoubal Dist. i one of the very few villages which does pottery. From ngari-kharung to flower pots almost everything they make, the potential for developing the village and the craft is there but sadly nothing much can be done looking at the current situation. Some NGO's have done intresting work with Terra Cotta I found one during the 19th I&C mela in Agartala, I bought some items the best were the spoon and knife holder for my kitchen simple yet elegant....

Spanish omelet- My style

I've very limited knowledge abt spanish cushine...whatever I knw is wat I've learned from TV...my fav travel & living channel...I saw this programme on spanish cushine and was really facinated with the spanish omelet...it has loads of potatos and onion and looks yummm...m sure it must be more yummy that it looks...in my attempts to be a better cook I tried my own recipe a new version of spanish omlet using both potato' and onions but I used mashed potato's (aloo chokha)...
-Break 2 eggs and add abt 3 tbsp of mashed potato, chopped onion, green chilles and salt to taste.
-Mix the ingredients well and fry...m sure you will love to have it everyday for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner...trust me its very yummy...

The Ahmedabad days

I learned making really good fried rice when I was in Ahmedabad,I learned out of desperation and my love for good food I guess.....making fried rice! .....is no big deal m very sure anyone can make it from a road side dhaba to big hotels..but to make it interesting sure requires some bit of

patience....chopping 6 different types of veggies, boiling chicken, shredding the chicken requires patience I must say......alot of it and when it comes to cooking I do have patience alot if it....

Ahmedabad was so damn vegetarian....we won't even get egg at any shop...and being a non-veg was very difficult....so we had no option but to cook non-veg at home......Amrita and I had a gala time....cooking non-veg at a Jain colony....its another thing our neighbours never got to know or else they sure would have cried murder or thorwn us out of the apartment.....but thankfully that never happened in 2 yrs of my stay there....I enjoyed my stay in ahmedabad it sure made me aware abt the value of having non-veg food...hahaha but I did enjoyed the variety of veg snacks..

Pic. of sauteing veggies for the fried rice.

Chilli chicken with bamboo shoot and mushroom

Chille Chicken with Bamboo Shoot and Mushroom was created by me when I bought a can of Bamboo Shoot just by chance. As a typical Meitei I have had fresh and fermentated bamboo shoot but I have never tried making anything from canned bamboo shoot so just to experiment I tried this recipe and bingoo it turned out so yummy. The preparation is easy and

Recipe:
a) 250 gms bone less chicken (I prefer with bones).
b) 1 Cup of canned bamboo shoot.
c) 100 gms button mushroom.
d) 1 onion and 3-4 Spring onion.
e) 1 whole Garlic.
f) 8-10 Green chillies
g) 1 egg
h) Corn flour
i)2 Capsicum
j) 1 tbsp of Garlic paste and ginger paste each.
k) 1 tbsp vegetable oil
l) Soya Sauce and Chilli Sauce

Method:
For the Chicken-
- In a bowl make a fine batter with 1 egg, 3 tbsp of corn flour, 1 tbsp of Ginger paste and 1 tbsp of garlic paste. Add the chicken and mix it well.
- In a non stick frying pan, fry the chicken coated with batter.

For the Curry:
- On a non stick frying pan add 1 tbsp oil and fry the chopped garlic,onion, spring onion, split chillies for 3-5 mins.
- Add the capsicum and bamboo shoot and fry for another 8-10 mins on low flame.
- Add 1 tbsp of soya sauce and chilli sauce.
- Add 2 tbsp of corn flour in 2 cups of water and put it in frying pan.
- Finally add the fried chicken and salt to taste.

Chilli Chicken tastes best with fried rice. Enjoy

Chicken soup for my soul

I once tried making chicken soup when I was in delhi.....the result....TOTAL DIASTER...I added so many things that it turned into some kind of weird "kangsoi" ....that was then..many years back and now I guess I've turned quite a pro. when it comes to cooking..... I made chicken soup this time and the recipe was simple...I boiled some chicken...the left over from making chicken boneless, the recipe..super simple:

-2-3 chicken pieces, Two cups of water and add lil salt and red Chile flacks to it.

-Two whistles in the pressure cooker.

-Once done let the chicken stock cool.

- Added thinly chopped french beans, raddish (gajar) and shredded chicken....when it comes to a boil....add paste of corn flour and at the end..salt to taste and black pepper powder...yummy...the soup is ready...I enjoyed this meal alot...when I am not hungry and still want to make my food interesting.....next time I'll add some mushroom also...m sure it'll taste awesome...

Hilsh/ Ilish mach

I absoultely love illish mach, I can have ilish for breakfast, lunch, dinner and for tea also . The first ilish mach I had was at Kolkata, at Amrita's grand dad's place.....amrita's granny made the most amazing ilish mach I've ever had in my life...better then the Sankar's here.

This one I cooked few days back...it does cost quit alot these days. I bought for 250 bucks a kilo, sometimes it can go up to 400/500 bucks a kilo but those ilish are the really big ones. This recipe is simple but requires some bit of patience but the result......... too good.

Rajmah curry-One of my fav

As kid I always liked Rajmah curry and looked fwd to meals when mumma cooked rajmah. In manipur we get the fresh rajmah "koli hawai" I like koli hawai and aloo kangsoi thongba, its one of my all time fav. manipuri food. When in college our canteen served really good Rajmah-Chawal for 10 bucks and it almost became a ritual for me to have rajmah-chawal and Rinchen(my very good fren) to have chole bhature every day....I still miss that phase of life. Our MH college canteen really served good food till we were in college after that the caterer was changed and food turned real bad I guess;....abhi pata nahi kya haal hai.

Talking abt Rajmah curry, I learned making good rajmah curry from my fren AD and cracked the secret behind real punjabi yummy rajmah....when you boil rajmah add salt, ginger, garlic,red chili powder, black peppercorn,dalchini,ilichi and long (Cloves).....onion paste, dhania powder and red chilies powder...some curd and the final result....yummy rajmah's you could ever have on the face of this earth...the pic. is above.... I cooked it for my mum and  mum really liked the rajmah  and  whenever m home Mum always insists I cook Rajmah when she invites guests for dinner....

Poha for breakfast...

Thats my breakfast I had ...poha and coffee. I am quite amazed at myself, their was a time when I  used to dislike poha....the reason was I had Poha only at TISS, DH and the DH cooks didn't make it so well. I had some Cheng-pak (Poha) I got from my last trip to Imphal and decided to make Poha for breakfast..and asusual I added my own twist it it...I made poha with peanuts, potato, curry leaves (from my small kitchen garden) and red chillies.. Its a good way to start my day with and I am planning to learn some more quick and healthy breakfast recipes...things which I will like and enjoy eating...

Recipe- Mong dal with cauliflower

Mong Dal with cauliflower:
Serves-2
Ingredients:
1.100 gm (One small cup) Mong dal
2.4 green chilies.
3.Califlower (One small size, make 10-12 pieces)
4. Salt to taste.
Method:
-Roast the mong dal till the color changes to light brown (Do not over roast it and do not use any oil/ghee).
-Wash the cauliflowers and keep it aside.
-Wash the roasted mong dal.
-Pressure cook it the dal and add a little extra water and 2 pinch of turmeric powder, cook for abt 10 mins in high flame and 5 mins in low flame.
-Heat oil in a non stick kadhai, add the green chillies and the califlower, cook on medium flame and once the cauliflower is half cooked add the mong dal.
-Cook on medium flame, add salt to taste and garnish with corinder leaves.

Trust me its very yummy annd good for veg days. Team it up with aloo-chokha,