More Eid: Recreating Falooda

কাস্টার্ড ফালুদা 

Custard Falooda 

Custard falooda, now part of my dessert repertoire! 

I had to think twice before trying falooda for the first time. Someone had brought some home in a plastic container, and the folks were eagerly trying to make me sample a spoonful. I was probably around 10, and had never before encountered noodles floating in milk before. The dish's additional components of bright green jelly and slimy tapioca pearls just freaked me out - here was seemingly a dessert from outer space. In truth, however, falooda is apparently an import of faloodeh from Persia and has mutated into numerous variations in Bangladesh. While toppings can vary (nuts, fruit, jelly etc.), the common theme in almost every version I've had is a sweet rose-milk base, vermicelli and vanilla ice cream. Then last winter I visited Star Kebab, where they served me a very rich version based on custard. I was intrigued - they omitted ice cream to avoid being overpowering, but brought in crushed ice to preserve the cold dessert factor.

I decided to recreate the dish as accurately as possible, partly just to see if I could but also because I thought it would be something special to make around Eid. The custard recipe below is my mom's - in the past cream was difficult to procure in Bangladesh, and leaving the egg white in instead helps thicken the sauce. I also loathe to throw food away, so there's also that. Another thing that surprised me about England was how sugar-free all the custard is, and the extra sweetness is courtesy of the style of custard I grew up with. Bear in mind in this recipe the custard will be providing the majority of the sugar, rather than being an accompaniment for cake or pie. My favourite custard also smells nothing like egg, hence the generous lashings of (weak) vanilla essence and some nutmeg. I limited the rosewater to the jelly, mostly because I thought rose-flavoured custard would be just a little too overwhelming. I was quite happy with the result, although in the future I'll probably skip the jelly and the pearls and just go with fruits, nuts and noodles to keep my life simple. 

Bangladeshi Eid Recipes Incoming

খিচুরী 

Khichuri

Khichuri - the big yellow bowl of rice, accompanying
spicy duck, deep fried fish and tomato salad.
Dinner at my Nani's in Dhaka

Khichuri is great. A dish of lightly spiced yellow rice, it can easily be morphed from comfort food to something fancier for a dinner party. As the former our family has always cooked it mushy and watery, often with a few vegetables thrown in to make it "healthy". The variety served at dinner parties is usually drier, and tends to be cooked with a more complex spice combination. I decided it would be the carb entry for my Eid menu, so be aware that the amounts below are enough for 6 to 8 people. Why I cooked so much I don't know, given there were only 3 of us in the house! 

I've kept things simple in the recipe below, as while I like my khichuri I don't want it to overpower whatever dish it's meant to accompany. Khichuri has a few items its traditionally served with - think spicy chilli-onion omelettes and fried aubergine. Even more well known is the idea that it should be served with beef, on a rainy day during the monsoon season. Do what you want of course, though my personal opinion is that khichuri works best with spicier food, whereas polao is best for the mild.

Another Iftaar

স্যামন ভাজি 

Bangladeshi Pan-Fried Salmon

Courtesy of my brand new camera!

Looking back through the blog, I find it highly amusing that my last post for fish was also during Ramadan - and that I'd lambasted doing anything with salmon other than smoking it. I have to admit I've changed my mind slightly on salmon: pan frying it with the correct spices makes for a nice, easy meal. The recipe below is slightly experimental and based on how we traditionally approach fried fish in Bangladesh. Caught fresh, fish needs nothing more than a bit of seasoning, chilli and turmeric before being fried to a crisp. This rule is applied to pretty much any fish, which are descaled, cut into chunks along the spine, marinated in spices and launched into a pan of hot oil.

This process is easily replicated wherever in the world you are, provided you have access to freshly caught fish. When cooking frozen fish or supermarket fish in general, however, the starting product tends to lack flavour - and the end result is often not so satisfying. So I've taken inspiration from last year's recipe, and added mustard powder to the ingredient list below. I find it cuts through the "preserved" whiff of supermarket fish. And thus, served with scattered coriander, caramelised onion, daal and some steamed rice, salmon suddenly makes for a rather traditional Bangladeshi meal.