Favourite Preparations

When asked, His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj replies, "When devotees give me something with affection, I take that." The following, however, is a list of preparations favourite to His Divine Grace that was provided by the servitors of His Divine Grace.

Rice:
• Boiled rice (method: cooked and then strained; not cooked until the water is absorbed)

Sak:
• Lal sak (red spinach)
• Kochu sak (chopped and stewed taro leaves)
• Neem sak
• Danya pata sak (coriander leaves sak)
• Methi sak (fenugreek leaves sak)

Dal:
• Mung dal (yellow; with tomato, radish, or green mango)

Subji/vegetable dishes:
• Chalkumra chorchori (vegetable subji with winter melon, aka ash gourd)
• Kumra chorchori (vegetable subji with red pumpkin)
• Patal chorchori (vegetable subji with patal)
• Begun chorchori (vegetable subji with eggplant)
• Jhinga subji
• Chichinga subji (snake gourd subji)
• Kochur loti (colocasia stem)
• Shukta (potato, green papaya, eggplant, green banana, bitter melon, and shoshna dator ('the sticks'))
• Cauliflower subji (with tomato)
• Aloo dum (potato subji in rich gravy)
• Thor ghonto (banana stem curry)
• Mocha ghonto (banana flower curry)
• Kumra siddha (pumpkin subji: heat oil, fry chilli, cumin, add pumpkin and salt, cook without adding water until it becomes a paste)
• Green tomato subji

Side dishes:
• Aloo siddha (boiled potato mashed with chilli, jeera (optional), salt, and a little mustard oil)
• Dal siddha (dal mashed with chilli and a little mustard oil, served as patties)
• Patal siddha

Savouries:
• Posta bora (white poppy seeds ground in blender with chilli and just enough water to blend, add salt, a little mustard oil, then shallow-fry as patties)
• Posta bata (white poppy seeds ground in blender with chilli and just enough water to blend, add salt, a little mustard oil—not fried)
• Aloo bhaja (French fries, aka chips)
• Mulo bhaja (radish fries)
• Aloo chop (boiled and mashed potato and a few vegetables dipped into chickpea batter and deep-fried)
• Vegetable chop (boiled and mashed vegetables dipped into chickpea batter and deep-fried)
• Begun fingers (finger-size slices of eggplant dipped into chickpea batter and deep-fried)

Gravy-based dishes:
• Chhana rasa (deep-fried soft paneer balls soaked in spicy gravy)
• Kacha kola ras (green banana in spicy gravy)
• Kochu ras (colocasia stem in spicy gravy)
• Tofu ras (tofu in spiced tomato sauce)
• Soya chunks ras (soya chunks in spiced tomato sauce)

Sweets:
• Pita (pancake dough fried with a filling on top and then folded)
• Sandesh
• Gulab jamuns (sugar-free)
• Malpua (fried pancake-like patties, soaked in sugar syrup and served with thick flavoured milk sauce)
• Taler bora (tal fruit fritters)

Fruit:
• Dates
• An assortment of fruit (papaya, water melon, melon, kul (=jujube, Indian plum), red apple, grapefruit, green grapes)
• Blackberry

MISC:
• Mango pickle
• Green mango (grate mango finely, add finely chopped green chilli and salt)
• Black olives
• Dhokla
• Avocado (chopped, with salt)
• Pasta
• Chow mein
• Biscuits
• Sandwich (tomato, cucumber, tofu)
• Cucumber (pieces, served often just like fruit pieces)

Cooking guidelines:
• Mustard oil or sunflower oil is used for deep frying; mustard oil is used in small quantity in subjis

Spices:
• Jeera (cumin)
• Jeera powder (cumin powder)
• Haldi (tumeric)
• Dhania (coriander)
• Garam masala
• Hing (asafoetida, a little in some dishes like soya, tofu, etc. subji)
• Green/red chilli (not much)
• No: mustard seeds, ginger, black jeera/cumin, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds

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