Elish Maacher Bhuna---Hilsha cooked the Bengali way!

This crispy, crunchy fish dish tweaked with a few spices and fresh ingredients is a dish often prepared and really liked by people from Bangladesh. Its one of the easiest Bangladeshi recipes for Elish or Hilsha and goes perfectly with a helping of steamed white rice and a serving of daal. It takes me back to the day when I was a kid and really not in the mood to eat, but was lured into trying some by my ever-so-patient mom. Since then, it has reminded me of home in Bangladesh and my family through the eyes of the child that I was; back when life was so simple!

Who Doesn't Love Chocolate Chip Banana Bread?

I mean, look at that!

Raw Broccoli Salad with a Sweet and light Orange Dressing

Broccoli is one of those things that you hate as a kid but most probably love as an adult. The key to enjoying veggies such as broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts etc is not to over cook them. The mushier they get, the more it brings out that after taste people hate.

Sauteed Bitter Melon with Potatoes and Garlic---Korolla Bhaji

As you have seen from my previous post that Karela or Bitter Melon is really good for you, you might be wondering how to make it a part of your diet. As I mentioned, Karela is bitter and isn't the tastiest of veggies eaten raw.

Bitter Gourd/ Korela/ Korolla

Karela is a vegetable that might not be the tastiest when eaten raw, but has many many health benefits.
The following article is from http://www.juicing-for-health.com/ and explains the benefits that I mentioned earlier. Enjoy!

Beef Biryani/ Beef Pilau/ Yakhni Pilau

 Mild and tasty dish that is packed with flavour that comes from garam masala or whole spices.Goes well with any curry or pickle. Must try!

Basbousa---Egyptian Semolina Cake

Easy to prepare and delicious to eat, this cake is your choice on a day when your sweet tooth is acting up!

Dragon Shrimp with Steamed Rice---A Seafood Lover's Dream

This dish produces the most flavorful, juicy shrimp you have ever tasted.

Basa Fish Curry with Sim er Bichi

Seem or sim is a vegetable that is widely known in the Asias. They are a close relative of the snow peas. In fact, they look very much like snow peas but are just thicker, darker and longer. The flavor also is similar but instead of the sweetness that snow peas have, seem have a sharp yet mellow flavor. Sim er bichi can be bought at any bangali grocery store. If not available though, it can be substituted with lima beans and the taste wouldn't change drastically.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Now most of you looking at this will say why does anyone need a recipe for grilled cheese? Any average Joe off the street can make grilled cheese! But the truth is, most people make grilles cheese with a sandwich maker or other kitchen gadget.

Vegetable Pakora---A Comfort Food to Brighten up the Gloomiest of Days

Everyone I know and can imagine has a part of them that screams for the tasty, unhealthy, trash that our bodies groan after recieving! No matter how health conscious, how self aware and motivated we are, we all give in to our deep fried food craving once in a while.

I mean...just look at that!

Doesn't that make you want to make a batch right now?(for those who know what pakoras are) or make you curious as to what they are and how they taste?(for those who have never heard of them).

Tandoori Chicken---Probably the Most Popular Indian Takeout Chicken

Tandoori chicken is traditionally made in a clay oven called a Tandoor. The flavour that issues from a tandoor is out of this world! I would highly recommend anyone to try it at an authentic indian restaurant that chars it in a Tandoor and uses their own secret recipe for the masala.

Chilli Shrimp

This dish is a twist on the classic version of chilli shrimp and has a mouth-watering edge to it that comes from the lemongrass.

Curried Liver---Liver Masala

Most curries are very similar. Every region has a base that is known to them. Something is added in addition to the bases (or removed) to create the distinct flavour of that particular dish. In indian cooking, there are different types of bases or masalas some with tomatoes, some without, some with curry leaves, some with whole spices or garam masala some with yogurt. Most Thai curries have a base of coconut milk etc. As for bengali dishes, the basic curry masala consists of onions, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli and (if its meat of any kind) cumin and coriander.

Cocoa Butter---The Secret of the Amazon

Cocoa butter has long since been my favourite body moisturizer. It is so rich and creamy and conditions skin so well that it stays smooth all day. Creams and lotions containing cocoa butter are really nourishing, but I find the actual concentrated formula much more effective in treating stretch marks, discolourations and dryness without any added synthetic ingredients.

Martha Stewart's Ultimate Chocolate Cake---A Chocoholic's Dream

Physical health problems due to stress are very common. Any present disease in the human body gets aggravated up to 10 times when stress is allowed control. Many diseases not present come to be because stress is not managed well. Some might say what's the big deal? Why do people stress so much? But the truth of the matter is that stress is a part of life and if anyone said that they never stressed over anything, they would be downright lying! The key to a mentally and physically healthy life is managing stress and channeling the energy it takes to go crazy into something productive or comforting.

Chicken Parmesan

If you were to ask me what my favourite food was, I, like many other people would not know the answer.

Turmeric---An Endless List of Reasons to use More Often

Turmeric is an ingredient that is a MUST HAVE in indian or desi cooking. It is also used in several other types of cuisines in measured amounts. It is a root that belongs to the ginger family and can be used fresh or as a powder where it is boiled, dried in a clay oven and ground up.

Superfoods

God has created nature and the elements therefrom to be of a benefit to us living beings. Furthermore, us living beings have been created to give benefit to each other. Take the simple example of the flowers and the bees. As we all know, the bees pollinate the flowers inducing integration of the genetic material of two separate flowers to create a totally different offspring without even knowing it, all while trying to enjoy the flower's nectar to bring home to produce honey which becomes the source of food for many beings. As we must all be aware, everything in the biosphere is interconnected and interdependent.

Cauliflower and Potato Curry---Aloo Kopir Dalna

This simple and homely recipe is known for its comforting feel and aroma. I think this is the first dish I have ever cooked. When I was 12 or so, there was a day that my mother was really sick and there was nothing to eat, so I looked in the fridge, found these ingredients and with a little bit of assistance, cooked it, to everyone's amazement! So that is your proof of how simple it is. If a 12-year-old can make it, no doubt you can too!