My stay in Japan is memorable in many ways. Not only it gave me an insight into living life in a foreign country but also taught the real value of relationship. Near or far ,many times we just forget or to put it more appropriately...the daily rut consumes us so much that we dont think of how special, how blessed we are to belong to a family. but being away makes our heart ache for those familiar touch, caressing voice. for some people its never a home away from home if your family is not around. but then, that is what life is all about. Making adjustments, finding happiness in a distant land makes us stronger. and having good friends makes the task much more easier. They are family when you are away and provides the comfort of home away from home when you seek.

I was blessed to find such friends in Japan. Lets call them S and T. We lived in the same apartment and the fact that all of us had kids of almost same age helped the matter initially. With the onset of heavy cold winter our friendship became more cosier. Every evening we used to meet at one of our apartments to have our cup of tea or coffee. While the boys played, fought, screamed and patched up amongst themselves we used this time to unwind from the daily grind. We shared everything from life to jokes to annoying habits of our husbands and more often than not food. We tried to support each other with whatever way possible. If one was not well the other did the grocery or looked after the kids. 

White sweet water fish in a thick, delicate yet spicy gravy laced with the sensational aroma of green chilies... is how I would describe the dish. Oh! I forgot to add the term silky. Yes silky, creamy and smooth from all the poppyseeds paste that gives it a distinct flavour. 

I cannot claim that I grew up eating this. Rather its my love for everything posto that made me develop this recipe. When I searched I saw plenty of Fish curries with posto on net with each one being slightly different from the other, keeping space for the creator's distinct taste preferences. Mine definitely is the one where Posto or poppy-seeds rule the dish with its delicate yet pronounced flavour.

"...someone seriously should think of bottling this aroma..."she said with a sheepish grin while taking out the freshly baked chocolate squares from the oven. Her hands measured, mixed, folded, poured and baked delectable treats one after another without a bit of tension or stress on her happy demeanor. Pooja Dhingra the ace baker of Mumbai was recently in town to launch her first book the 'Big book of treats' over an interactive baking session. The Corner courtyard, the quaint boutique hotel on Sarat Bose Road, provided the perfect venue and hosted the event beautifully.

My Maa has plenty of time saving kitchen tricks up her sleeve. Same goes for her ability to use up leftover dishes. Though I can not fathom the crisp chapatis that she fries up every other day for breakfast but pretty much follow her ideas for other things.

This bhat bhaja (bhat means cooked rice, bhaja is frying) is perfect to use up the short grain par boiled rice that most Bengalis eat on regular basis. For the uninitiated Parboiled rice is the result of a process where rice, still in its brown rice grain form is either parboiled or steamed and then dried in its husk. The milling process comes next. The resulting grains are lest brittle, yellow in colour and have more nutrients as the Thiamine moves from its husk to the grain. but this process also causes a gelatinisation of the starch in the grains and therefore par boiled rice are often thicker than regular milled white rice. (info:Wiki)

Swissotel Kolkata is the newest addition to the city's five star Luxury hotel scenario. As part of FRHI Hotels & Resorts It provides a striking mix of leisure and business  facilities. Being true to their parent company's mission Swiss Kolkata also is very conveniently located near the Airport, at Rajarhat, attached to a mall, restaurants and multiplex where access to business and shopping are right around the corner.