The blog that started as a pet project has flourished into something a lot more meaningful— it has become a community! There is nothing more gratifying than building a platform that moves others while moving you simultaneously and that is what this blog means to me. I love all the food you make, but more than that, I love how many of you have taken up cooking as a burgeoning passion. As I close four years of my blog, I also complete another milestone— a community of 45,000 on my Instagram handle! I can’t believe how far we have come. From what was an ugly little black and yellow WordPress site to a magazine that encompasses stories of passion, vulnerabilities, and aspirational (not inspirational, and yes there is a difference!) in multiple formats (check out the podcast if you haven’t yet!). I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this moment than to showcase all the meals you have made!

Of the 40entries submitted, these six cooks were the best. They had a great recipe, a beautiful shot, or just a wonderful story. This post is dedicated to all of you. Thank you so much for being a part of my life ❤️

Suji r Firni (Suji Ki Firni)

Nafisa Akbar

I was 4 years old when I first visited Bangladesh.  It was humid and damp and the air smelled different from the US.  Abbu had to stay stateside for work and would meet up with us in Dhaka a month later - the separation at the airport had already traumatized me.  Now, there I was meeting completely new people with serious boundary issues, trying to pull at my limbs for a quick hug.  The strong smell of ghee zapped my nose at each meal and the houses had no carpeting - I tiptoed around my nanu's house because my 4-year-old feet couldn't tolerate the change.

Out of my siblings, I was the picky eater.  I only ate the few bites Ammu could manage to shove in my mouth.  With everything new and different around me in Bangladesh, I stopped eating entirely.  Ammu and Nanu grew desperate as relatives loudly observed how stick-thin I had become since my arrival.  

One day, I smelled cinnamon - but it was subtle, nothing zapped my nose this time.  Nanu brought out a small saucepan with something white in it - "Suji r firni," she said to me.  Whether it was my body's weakness or inability to refuse Nanu directly, I took the bowl she handed me and ate a spoonful.  I was overcome in ways I still can't explain to this very day.  No offensive tastes or smells.  It was warm and creamy and filled my empty stomach.  The amount of sweetness was perfect (as all of Nanu's other cooking, I now realize) and it was perhaps the first time I had ever associated a feeling with food.  

Ammu quickly learned Nanu's recipe and continued to make suji r firni for me even after we came back to the US.  I then picked it up from Ammu as an adult and now make it for my children.  Nanu is no longer with us, but I think about her each and every time I make it.  To my kids, it's just something else I make for them.  For me, Suji r firni is the smell of cinnamon, the sweetness that overcame me that first bite, and my Nanu with the saucepan.  

Ingredients

1/2 gallon whole milk

1 egg (beaten)

1-2 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

1 - 1 1/2 cups sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

3/4 cup suji

Method

1. In medium saucepan, pour milk.

2. Add beaten egg, cardamom pods, and cinnamon. Begin whisking over medium heat to incorporate the egg into the milk mixture.

3. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and then gradually add the suji. Be sure to add gradually and whisk as you go, otherwise the suji will form clumps.

4. Boil the suji for about 10 - 15 minutes and let the milk thicken over medium heat.

5. Stir in the sugar and boil for another 5 minutes, keeping the heat medium.

6. Once milk thickens and the sugar is fully incorporated, let cool.

7. Top with almonds, raisins, or nothing at all! Enjoy warm… and then once you're done with that bowl, store in the refrigerator and enjoy a cold bowl of firni. It's desi soul food either way.

Guntha ponganalu

Pragati Madival

Here is our family's traditional recipe Guntha ponganalu, which is made out of dosa batter with some more ingredients.
Ponganalu is served with coconut chutney & peanut chutney. It goes well with tomato chutney too

Ingredients
For Batter
Rice-4cups
Urad dal -1cup
Poha -1/4cup
Fenugreek seeds -1tsp
Baking soda -1tsp
Oil

Toppings
Onion-1finely chopped
Chillies-2finely chopped
Coriander
Carrot -1grated

Method

1. Soak all this for at least 8hrs or overnight

2. The next morning blend them into the smooth batter like idli batter.

3. Add baking soda before making ponganalu

4. Mix all veggies

5. Mix the batter nicely and pour 1tbpn batter in well-greased Appe pan, cover it with lid & cook for 2mins each side

6. Add oil in between it will change the color and turn crispy from outside. Serve it with coconut chutney.

Eggs Chakra

Ishani Chakravorty

A dish that was conjured up by my dad one evening when he had to host a dinner for some colleagues with no family at home to help him. He had planned on making a Bengali egg curry but after preparing five other dishes beforehand, he did not have the energy nor enough time to go through the entire process of making a curry once again (chopping onions, making the different pastes, etc.). Thus, this “everything but the kitchen sink” recipe came to be. When he first described the preparation, I was pretty sceptical, “eggs, Haldi and oregano?”. But as it turns out, all the ingredients work surprisingly well together. The dish is masaledar, creamy, and herby all the while crossing all the boundaries that exist between fusion. We are now such fans of it that Eggs Chakra is now a regular at Chakravorty dinner parties.

Ingredients

4 eggs 

1 tbsp. coriander powder 

1 tsp. turmeric powder

1 tsp. red chili powder 

2 tbsp. neutral oil 

½ cup mayonnaise 

¼ cup fresh cream 

¼ cup grated mozzarella cheese 

1 tbsp. oregano leaves 

Fresh coriander/parsley to garnish 

Method

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, lower the eggs into the water one at a time. Maintain a gentle boil and cook the eggs for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water. After the eggs have cooled down, gently crack and peel the eggs. 

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add coriander, turmeric, and red chili powder to the pan. Stir until color is uniform. Then add the eggs and coat them in the masala. 

3. Add mayonnaise, cream, and cheese to the pan and mix well. Add oregano leaves and mix again. 

4. Garnish with chopped coriander or parsley and serve. 

Mutton Keema Cutlets

Sreetama Sen

When you think of an Indian grandmother, by default you reminisce about the food she would lovingly make and coax you to eat. But my thakuma (father's mother) was nothing like that. She was a total foodie yes, but not the one who loved to toil in the kitchen to eat the food she loved. She, therefore, would have these quick and easy to put together snack items that she would cook up and trust me they were rare, both in taste and in frequency. So my mother, who is the complete opposite and loves to cook, obviously picked up on my thakuma's recipes as well, because my father and I loved it. She slowly realised, when we moved to Bombay to a nuclear family set up, what a blessing they were and started making these tidbits for my tiffin. And that is my fondest memory of these keema cutlets. I would wait for the days when it would be keema cutlet in my tiffin, as would my friends in school. Some of these friends who are still my best friends, continue to crave them every once in a while. They are best eaten hot but that it did not deter the tiffin time gulping down of keema cutlets sessions.

Ingredients
250 gms mutton keema - this needs to be dry
Finely chopped 2 large onions or 3 small sized onions
Chopped green chillies as per your spice levels
2 tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
Lots of chopped coriander (since it doesn't have too many spices, this really adds to the taste)
1 egg
2 or 3 pieces of white bread - depends on whether is keema is watery or tough
Bread crumbs for the coating
Salt to taste

Method

1. Add the finely chopped onions to the dried keema (less water/fat content) along with the green chillies, ginger-garlic paste (if using), coriander, eggs in a bowl and mix them well.

2. To that add pieces of the bread and again mix it well after adding salt. Keep it aside for thirty minutes. You could also add a few spices to this mix if you want but our family recipe generally has no extra spices.

3. After resting the mix for half-hour, form the mixture into cutlet shapes - slightly elongated and flattened. Grease your palms with oil while forming the cutlets. Then, once the oil in the pan is hot, coat the cutlets with bread crumbs and deep fry them. Initially fry at high flame and then at low flame so mutton is fully cooked. Just keep an eye for the later batches as the oil is already hot by then and the cutlets may fry faster than the earlier batches.

4. That's it, have it with simple ketchup like we used to as kids and it will be something you will relish for sure!

Super Easy Steamed Pudding

Ananya Khera

I've tried the recipe with different flavours like Vanilla, peanut butter, Chocolate, Mango puree, Kiwi, Hazelnuts. It works very well with different fruits or even plain tastes good. I like how the sourness from the curd compliments the sweetness from the condensed milk. I've even tried the recipe with a digestive crumb base, sort of like a cheesecake but not exactly.
PFA my strawberry pudding picture and rose pudding picture wherein I used the exact same recipe in a round cake tin. I decorated the former with fresh strawberry and mint and the latter with some pistachio crumb dried rose and lemon curd. I just loved both the combinations especially the one with lemon curd (if you like your desserts to be a little less sweet).
I hope you liked this super easy recipe and try it out for yourself some time. Thank you for giving us (as Instagram followers) to be a part of your journey.

Ingredients
Milk- 1 tin Qty.
Curd- 1 tin Qty.
Condensed Milk- 1 tin Qty.
Method

1. Mix all three ingredients in the ratio of 1:1:1. I usually use the condensed milk tin to measure all.

2. Grease a cake tin/ any mould lightly and pour this mixture. Cover with aluminium foil.

3. Steam the pudding for 30 minutes

4. Chill till set completely and enjoy!

Sheer Khurma Reimagined

Runjhun Chandra

I wanted to make something special for Eid, other than the classic mutton biryani. I wondered if I could take a classic and make it my own. Sheer Khurma, a variant of the humble kheer, common across many cultures, caught my fancy. Being a fan of dessert jars, I set out to distil the essence of sheer khurma in a jar. Not knowing where to start, I started boiling some dates and cardamoms in milk. And then it struck, make ricotta! Never having made ricotta before, I took extra care to get the flavours and textures right. It came out really light and creamy, perfect piping consistency. Everything fell into place after that. I made another small dessert jar with the leftovers and sent it to a friend who absolutely loved it. I hope you all try it out too!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vermicelli

• 1/2 tbsp ghee

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 1.5 cups of milk

• 2 tbsp fresh cream

• 4-5 pods of cardamom

• 7-8 seedless dates

• 1/2 tsp rosewater

• 7-8 crushed pistachios

Method

1.  Heat the ghee in a small pan, on medium-low flame.

2. Roast the vermicelli in ghee till it turns golden brown 

3. Add 1/2 cup milk, brown sugar and simmer on low flame till the vermicelli is cooked.

4. For the whipped ricotta, boil 1 cup milk in a pan, with cardamom and dates.

5. Add 2-3 drops on lemon juice (or vinegar) to curdle the milk. Switch of the flame as it starts to curdle.

6. The curds should appear soft and mushy. Strain and discard the liquid.

7. Blend the ricotta to a smooth paste. Add rosewater and fresh cream to it, and whip for 5 mins, until light and fluffy.

8. The ricotta is naturally sweetened by the dates themselves, but feel free to add sugar to taste.

9. To assemble: in a glass jar, layer the vermicelli kheer on the bottom (after cooling). Spoon/pipe the whipped ricotta on top, and garnish with crushed pistachios.