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A journey of food and feasts
With India's numero uno Chef Sanjeev Kapoor
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Shaaditimes take you on a journey of palates through India's rich heritage and tastebuds. Our expert guide through these travels... India's renowned Chef Sanjeev Kapoor provides his one-of-a-kind delicious delicacies (excerpted from his many best-selling books) that promise to sizzle with sumptuousness.
The eastern essentials
Bengalis have immense pride in their cuisine and a sweet tooth. Thus, their weddings are also ones to be savoured and are resplendent with their sweets. It is a daily ritual for the man of the house to go to the market every morning to buy a fresh supply of fish, which is a must in their daily diet.
They love hilsa, bekti, rohu and chingri (prawns). Bengalis love the fresh, sweet water fish. A practice unique to the Bengalis is that the head or tail of a large fish is served to the person held in highest esteem - that is the head of the house or the chief guest or the in-laws of the daughter of the house. Also, the trousseau of a bride would include the largest fish available.
Come rain or shine, Bengalis will cook with mustard oil using a lot of green chillies. And then adding ginger, bay leaves and paanch phoron. And Bengalis also love their mishti : sweet milk preparations that transform chenna into rajbhog. They lavishly laden saffron onto Kesari Rajbhog with a stuffing of nuts, rosogollas and sandesh. These chenna specialities with pantua and mishti doi are a must at every wedding!
Kesari Rajbhog
 Ingredients:
Chenna (from cow's milk) - 250grams
Refined flour (maida) - 1 teaspoon
Semolina (rawa) - 1 teaspoon
Pistachios - 12-15
Almonds - 6-8
Khoya / mawa, grated - 3 tablespoons
Green cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Rose syrup - 2 teaspoons
Sugar - 4 -5 cups
Saffron - 1/2 teaspoon
Method:
Take fresh chenna, knead it well till smooth.
Add refined flour and semolina and knead it gently. Divide into twelve to fourteen equal portions.
Soak pistachios and almonds in one cup of hot water for five minutes. Drain, peel and chop them roughly.
Combine grated khoya with green cardamom powder and rose syrup. Knead it into dough. Mix in the roughly chopped pistachios, almonds and divide in to twelve to fourteen equal portions.
Stuff a portion of khoya into each portion of chenna and form them into marble-sized balls.
Remove scum, if any and pass it through a muslin cloth.
Bring sugar syrup to a boil in a wide-mouthed pan and add saffron. Gently slide in. Combine sugar with three-fourth litre of water. Bring it to a boil and make a thin stuffed chenna balls and cook for four to five minutes on high heat.
Sprinkle about quarter cup hot water and continue to cook on high heat for another five minutes or till they are almost doubled in size. Remove and keep in sufficient quantity of sugar syrup.
Refrigerate and serve chilled.
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