RAJMA CHAWAL

RAJMA CHAWAL

Food is a very important part of my life. It gives me happiness. I generally love to eat spicy food. But in this scorching summer I really don't like to have heavy spicy food. I was thinking to make something which would be light but tasty. I badly wanted to make a one meal dish which would vanish my hunger as well as make me healthy. So, the first name of comfort food came into my mind was Rajma Chawal. Though I didn't want to make it in traditional way. Its too heavily spicy (Too much tasty too). I got inspired by my Bengali Cuisine. I decided to make in a less spicy manner.
I always tries to make dishes from the ingredients available in my kitchen. I really don't believe that you need a lot of things from the market to make something delicious. Delicious food can be made by the ingredients available in your kitchen.
So no more lecture now. Back to the topic and let's check the ingredients:

INGREDIENTS: 

1. Basmati Rice (Optional)
2. Rajma or Kidney Beans (Soaked for 10-12 hours)
3. Finely Chopped Onion
4. Ginger Paste
5. Garlic Slices (If you want to make paste you can do)
6. Tomato Puree
7. Coriander
8. Deseeded Chilies
9. Turmeric powder
10. Cumin
11. Red Chili Powder
12. Coriander Powder
13. Cumin Powder
14. Garam Masala
15. Mustard Oil

PROCESS:

1. Clean the Rajma and cook it under pressure cooker till 4-5 whistles are given out.

2. Drain and reserve the flavorful water for use.

3. Put a pan on the stove and heat 2 table spoon of Mustard Oil.

4. Next, add Cumin seeds, Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Coriander Powder and Cumin Powder (Add spices according to the quantity of Rajma).

5. Saute it for 2-3 minutes and then add diced Onions, Ginger paste and slices of Garlic. (I personally like the bite of garlic that's why sliced it. If you don't then paste it) 

6. Saute it for another 4-5 minutes. 

7. Add Tomato Puree to it and mix it again.

8. Add the Rajma and the reserve liquor.

9. Adjust the taste if required

10. Mash the mixture and stir it well.   

11. Finally add chopped Coriander,  Deseeded Chilies (just for the flavour) and Garam Masala. 

12. Serve the Rajma hot with Basmati Rice.

TRAVEL BLOG || DIGHA

Holiday is My Hapinez

Holiday is a perfect medicine to cure your boredom. Also, I must say that its necessary to give some time to yourself and your loved ones too. We are always very much busy in our daily routine. Hardly have anytime to look at the sky or at the person who is looking for your attention. If you can't find enough time to enjoy a long holiday don't be dishearten. Moreover, don't make excuses. A small holiday at the end of the week is an ultimate solution for all of these problems. 

People who live in West Bengal have a great privilege as nature gifted them so many places for this kind of holiday such as Digha, Tajpur, Mandarmoni, Sankarpur, Talsari, Sundarban etc. The names are endless. 

My Holiday Experience

OLD DIGHA SEA BEACH

After some back to back shows we really deserve a break. That's why a sudden plan was made. And within some few hours we all agreed and decided our destination which was Digha. It was not far from Kolkata. It was in our budget and within the reach too. Therefore, we decided to go there by bus from Esplande. The fare of the A/C bus was 300 bucks. It was nice and comfortable. We left Kolkata at around 11.15 PM on Friday and reached Digha at 4 o'clock on Saturday. We didn't book hotel though we had searched a lot in the most popular websites. Most of them were not available. So we were quite disappointed. But we didn't stop our feet to go there.

Kahini Lodge (Old Digha)

KAHINI LODGE

We were fortunate enough that in Kolkata we found a helpful OLA Driver who gave us a number of his son-in-laws's hotel named KAHINI LODGE. It is situated just behind the Old Digha Police Station. When we reached there we had a lot of doubt in our heads as we were really clueless. But as we proceeded according to the path of Rabi da (The Manager of the Kahini Lodge) we discovered a bouquet of hotels and lodges there. So if websites are failed to find you hotels in Digha then the narrow road beside the Old Digha Police Station is right place for you. You'll find so many good hotels out there. Our destination was Kahini Lodge. When we entered the lodge it was almost 5 o'clock but still he showed us the room. We were seven in number and required two double bed room but the check out time was at 9.30 AM so we had to wait for another room. One more good thing about Kahini Lodge is the rooms and bathrooms were very clean. The staffs were very friendly. After four to five hours journey that room of the hotel gave us comfort.  

ROOM IN KAHINI LODGE

Meanwhile we decided to go on the sea shore and had our breakfast. It was a lovely morning. There was no din and bustle of the city and no workload on the mind. We all were relaxed and happy. 

Sea Beach of New Digha

NEW DIGHA BEACH

After satisfying our hunger we couldn't hold back ourselves to jump into the sea. We came back in hotel and left our necessary items in the room. Then we were ready for our ultimate journey to sea beach. It was already decided that we would enjoy our bathe at New Digha Sea Beach. So we hired a Toto from Old Digha. It took 10 rupees per head. It took 5 minutes to reach New Digha Beach. We hit the beach enthusiastically. The first splash of water was bliss. All the tensions, anxiousness and tiredness was vanished. Only Sea can provide you such a joyful moment and the feeling of ultimate satisfaction. Each and every element of  nature is present there to hug you. We made the most out of it.

After 1 hour or 2 we came back hotel by toto. We washed ourselves. Then our hungry stomach became furious. We left our hotel to have our lunch although Kahini had their own canteen if you order then they will make it. We wanted to eat outside. And here we made a MISTAKE. It was so hot outside. The sun was blazing on our head. The restaurant which we selected to have our lunch was too bad to eat. Every item was so spicy and full of red chili powder. We could hardly enjoy our lunch. we returned to our hotel and stayed there for the whole afternoon. At 5 o'clock we decided to go to Talsari and Udaypur.

Talsari

TALSARI BEACH

Talsari is 8.2 km from Digha. We hired a toto and left for Talsari. Talsari is in Odisha. We had to cross the border of West Bengal and Odisha. When we reached there the sky was dark. It was lightening. And the beach of Talsari was calm. I hardly could hear the sound of sea. But the surroundings are beautiful. The mild breeze would definitely cure your tiredness. we had to left the place as the sudden change in climate changed our plan too. We turned down our decision to go to Udaypur. On that same toto we returned to Old Digha. The weather showed us its worst face. We went to our hotel. Because of that very bad lunch experience outside the hotel we came to a decision to have our dinner in the hotel room. Trust me, the food was awesome. Specially Aloo Posto won our heart. 

The next day we woke up too late in the morning. We had our bed tea and all of us agreed to have our breakfast on New Digha Beach. So just after the breakfast we could hit the beach without wasting any time. It was our last day in Digha. So we had done so much fun on the beach. After spending 2 hours on the beach we came back to our hotel. We were happy with our dinner last night so we resolved to have our lunch in hotel. 

After having our lunch our next destination was Amrabati Park in New Digha. We hired a open van. The fare was 10 bucks per head.

Amrabati Park

AMRABATI PARK

Amrabati Park gives you a natural treatment to your eyes. Its greenery and the picturesque beauty makes it a worthy place to visit. The entry fare is 5 bucks. The tickets for Rope-way and Paddle boat are available inside the park. The fare of cable car ticket is 54 bucks per head. The fare of paddle boat depends on the time you spend in the water. We spent a good 25 minutes on a paddle board. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride. After that we had some fuchka outside the Amrabati Park and spent some quality time at New Digha Beach.  

With a heavy heart we said parting words to New Digha Beach. That was our last night in Digha. We returned to Old Digha. We booked our tickets from Digha to Esplande. The fare was 270 bucks. We spent the whole evening and the night in our hotel. We danced and sang and did all kind of fun to make our trip a memorable one. 

Next morning we checked out from our hotel at 10 o'clock. Our bus was at 12 pm. So after having lunch we had some time to sit on the Old Digha Beach. 

At last the time came and we had to go to the bus stop. With a broad smile on our face we said Good Bye to Digha.     

at