One Year Completed in Germany

Yesterday was the day. Last year on Nov. 6 I reached Germany.
And this is how I am celebrating: I have prepared sweets for those who made my life enjoyable and successful in Germany.

Here is halwa (of semolina, almond and a lot of butter since I did not have ghee here!)

And the one below is made of fresh cottage cheese and carrot.


It took me eight hours from starting from scratch till packing the end-products in the fridge. Even the cheese I made myself. I am tired but very happy. Now I will try to sleep for a few hours before I set off for work taking these late night creations with me.

Mangold: German Influence in My Kitchen!

Nowadays I am trying things I never tried in India. Not only I am trying my hand on German recipes but also I am picking up new vegetables at the supermarket and trying to cook them independently without looking into a cookbook.
This week I cooked brussel sprouts and swiss chard. I did not even know about these vegetables as I was in India. Another new entry to my kichen is the button mushroom. Yes, of course I tasted them before, many times actually, but I never cooked them at home. I enjoyed my learning experiences, especially the one with Mangold.

Peas and Sausage Fried Rice

Nowadays I go to gym because I eat like this:


This is my sausage fried-rice!
The meat in the sausage was from poultry.
I used butter instead of oil to make it tastier because butter makes everything yummy! This was a very successful experiment.

Gerlingen Street Festival

Gerlingen is a beautiful village about 15 kilometers away from Stuttgart. This weekend Gerlingen celebrated its 32nd street festival. One of my seniors grew up there. They were to sell mainly east Asian food that they made at home (spring roll, for example)in this fest. The fest took place from Saturday 15:00 till midnight and again the next Sunday till 18:00. (I do not know when exactly it started on Sunday but I am sure much before my day began. I woke up at 11:30.)The spring rolls I had for my brunch. On Saturday I took the U-Bahn from Stuttgart after our hat party and reached Gerlingen at about 22:30 because I wanted to see the fest at night too. I had chicken nuggest as dinner. This was more like a family fest. Local people participated through sports clubs or similar local organisations. Most of the things were home made. People knew each other and said hallo to each other. I was probably the only person who looked like a real tourist. Spring roll and chicken nuggets were not new for me since those are quite popular in Kolkata, too. So, I did not take photos of them even though I enjoyed them. They were sold at a real low price.

But these turkish sweets were new for me. I tasted only a few of them.








There wete sausages, beer, potato salad, pommes frittes, as usual. There were different types of wines, old and new, from Baden-Wuerttemberg. There were Hungarian delicacies. I had my first gulash here.

Beet-er Tarkari (Beetroot curry)

Beetroot curry and laal shaak (tiny red leafy plant)were my favourites when I was young and lived in Doors region with my family. It was fun for me to have them with rice because they turned the rice red. I cook beet root here in Germany in the typical Bengali way with bay leaves, green chillies and of course potato. But I use olive oil instead of mustard oil. Ya, that makes the flavour a little different but still, I can't say that I really miss the flavour of mustard oil because I have the same fun as it turns my rice red. I remember of those good old days of winter in Doors!

Sunday Dinner with Friends: a Wonderful Evening

Food is an important part of culture of a country. It is not just eating but it reflects a lot of things about the social culture of the socity it belongs to. After coming to Germany I am discovering a very different food culture. This discovery is one of the most pleasurable experiences I am having here, more so, because I am not just a taker enjoying passively whatever coming on my plate but also participating in a food tandem partnership with Germany.
Last Sunday I invited some of my friends for dinner to experience some typical Indian home-cooked food. So, I cooked for my friends:
Alu Paalak --- Spinach and potato (North India)
Dimer jhol --- typical eggcurry we cook at home (Bengali food)
Kashaa Mangsho --- spicy chicken curry (Bengali food)
Aluseddho --- mashed potato, our kind
sada bhat --- steamed rice
Narkol naru (see below!)
Sujir Payesh (see below!)

My friends brought differnt types of chocolates for me, and wine of Wuerttemberg. Yes, I am, at the moment, in the heaven for chocolates and bread and bier! I must learn how to make these chocolates, some of them at least, before I leave this country!
But, icing on the cake was this:


I am really food-happy here because I am open to taste everything. Maultaschen is one of my favourites and so is Gaisburger Marsch, too. They made me fall in love with Swabia during my first few days here at the hotel.
As I browsed through the book, I came across this piece of wisdom I must share with you:
" Bei den Reichen lernt man das Sparen, bei den Armen das Kochen!"
So true!`

I am so glad that I will be able to cook some of the dishes I have enjoyed and appreciated only in restaurants so far.
Thank you so much, people, I love you! You gave me such a wonderful evening as a gift. And you are the motivation for my most serious hobby i.e.cooking!

Sujir Payesh