#InspiredByMom
This Mother's Day, the Chefs at ITC Hotels, take a trip down their childhood memory lanes and pen down the heartwarming stories of love and appreciation for their mothers, through their best recipes.
Echorer Bora
Chef Priyanjana Pyne fondly remembers learning the tips and tricks to perfect her Bengali cuisine, passed down to her by her mother. While the raw jackfruit fritters sizzle into golden bites of heavenly flavours, Priyanjana walks us through the recipe of her mother’s Echorer Bora.
Ingredients
| Raw Jackfruit (Peeled Echor) | 2 cups (250 gms) |
| Large peeled Potato | 1 (100g) |
| Ginger Paste | 1 tbsp |
| Garlic Paste | 1 tbsp |
| Onion Paste | 2 tbsp |
| Turmeric Powder | 1 tsp |
| Red Chilli Powder | 1 tsp |
| Garam Masala Powder | 1 tsp |
| Sugar | 2 tbsp |
| Refined Oil | ½ cup (100ml) |
| Salt | To Taste |
Method
- Boil or pressure cook the raw jackfruit and potatoes till soft enough to mash. Drain out excess water.
- Mash all the ingredients, except the oil together to form a soft mixture which holds shape. It should not be runny.
- Add some extra chopped chillies for spice.
- If the mixture doesn’t have the right consistency, add 1 tablespoon of besan (gram flour) or cornflour for binding.
- Heat oil in a pan and spoon in the mixture with a tablespoon like a fritter.
- Fry on low heat so that it cooks evenly and develops a golden brown colour.
- Serve hot with your choice of spicy or tangy ketchup, sauce or chutney.
Chef's Notes
Serves: 2. Great as a vegetarian evening snack; gluten free and dairy free appetiser.
Laal Maas
From the bylanes of the Pink City, wisps a rich aroma of bold flavours and the sizzle of the Rajasthani Red Chilly, Chef Kusha Mathur reminisces about her mother’s Laal Maas gravy. A food connoisseur at her heart, Kusha, has always found happiness in food and turned the childhood love for the culinary art into her profession. Here’s Mrs. Mathur’s carefully curated recipe for Laal Maas sprinkled with love.
Ingredients
| Curry Cut Mutton | 2.5 cups (500 gms) |
| Ghee | 4 tbsp |
| Onion (finely sliced) | 2 |
| Ginger garlic paste | 1 tbsp |
| Rajasthani Mathania Red Chillies or Kashmiri Red Chillies | 5 |
| Coriander powder | 2 tsp |
| Garam Masala powder | ¾ tsp |
| Whisked Curd | 3 tbsp |
| Cloves | 6 |
| Cinnamon sticks | 3 |
| Black cardamom pods | 3 |
| Bay leaf | 3 |
| Salt | To Taste |
Method
- To make the paste, soak the red chillies in warm water for around 30 mins. Blend into a paste once they soften and keep aside in a bowl.
- Wash the mutton pieces thoroughly and keep them aside.
- Now take a heavy bottom pan and heat the ghee in the pan.
- Add the whole spices into the ghee and allow to crackle
- Then add the sliced onions and sauté them on a medium flame till they turn a light brown colour
- Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté it on a low flame for 2 more mins till the raw smell evaporates.
- Add in mutton pieces and saute it with spices on a medium flame. Continue sauteing till the mutton turns dark brown in colour.
- Sprinkle in salt, coriander powder and keep cooking further.
- Add in the red chilli paste and keep cooking at low flame till the oil separates & the chilli paste is cooked.
- Reduce the flame to low and pour in the whisked curd. Mix well & cook for 2-3 more minutes while stirring continuously. Let it simmer on a slow flame till oil separates.
- Sprinkle in garam masala powder.
- Pour in water and cover & cook for a minimum of 45 minutes till the mutton is done.
- Serve hot with roti or rice .
Chef's Notes
Serves: 2. Mildly crush the spices before sauteing in ghee to release maximum flavours.
Cherry Pie
While growing up, Chef Neha Malhotra was in-charge of the ingredient list every time her mother prepped to whip up a batch of her heavenly cookies. Neha remembers her mother’s words - ‘it’s the little memories that make a lifetime’ as she shares a special recipe from her childhood. Lovingly she calls it her Mum’s Cherry Pie.
Ingredients
| For the Crust: | |
| Flour | 2 ½ cups |
| Salt | 1 tsp |
| Sugar | 2 tbsp |
| Cold butter, cubed | 1 cup |
| Chilled water | ½ cup |
| For the Filling: | |
| Fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted | 5 cups |
| Sugar | ¾ cup |
| Corn flour | 3 tbsp |
| Salt | ¼ tsp |
| Lime juice | 2 tbsp |
| Zest of 1 lime | |
| Vanilla essence | ½ tsp |
| Unsalted butter, cubed | 2 tbsp |
Method
- For the Crust: Pulse the flour, salt and sugar in a mixer till combined. Add butter and pulse till crumbly. Add water and pulse till dough comes together.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide into 2 discs. Chill for 1 hour.
- Roll out the dough and place onto the base of the pie pan. Trim off the excess. Cover and refrigerate.
- Roll out the second disc and chill on a baking sheet, covered.
- For the filling: Mix together sugar, corn flour and salt. Stir in cherries, lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Leave aside for the 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 190 deg C. Spread cherry filling onto pie crust and dot with butter. Place the second crust on top and crimp the edges. Make a slit on the centre. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 50 minutes till done.
Chef's Notes
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and fresh cream.