Salina Parvin

Spread out three layers of newspapers on the floor or your table. Apply generous amounts of oil onto your knife/sickle blade and onto your hands to prevent the sap from sticking to your knife, fingers and hands.

Along with dal, bhortas are possibly the quintessential Bengali food, a staple in our diet.

As any mistress or master of the kitchen will tell you, leftovers are inevitable.

The element that takes the atomic number 20, calcium is essential for all living beings.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Coat a baking pan with butter. Place the cooked, sweet potato flesh, eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract in the base of a food processor.

This is a delicious Bengali side dish, easy to rustle up and goes well with rice. Sheem shorshe tastes heavenly when simmered in mustard paste until soft and tender.

Mothers-in law go to extreme ends to see their sons-in-law happy and pleased. And what better way than to serve delicious dishes on the table? For them it is a practice that continues throughout the years following the wedding, but the very first 'Jamai Khatir' is somewhat special.

It was once a tradition that the new bride of the house will cook a hearty meal for the entire family as soon as the wedding ceremonies come to a conclusion. This may no longer be expected from a bride, but someone who can cook a hearty meal does win a lot of hearts.

Traditions are fluid, forever moving, changing shape while time passes by. The ritual of a son-in-law going shopping at the bazaar on the morning after the Reception has been a long cherished one.

The weddings may be over but the long list of post-wedding luncheons and dinners have just begun. The following are some recipes

Boil milk on medium flame, add condense milk and grated mawa. Keep cooking till the milk boils down to half.

Festival season is around the corner with Durga Puja kicking off the celebrations. The festive period is a foodies' paradise with plenty of mouth-watering dishes to savour.

The term "kachchi" means raw referring to the biryani ingredients being combined raw in layers instead of first cooking the meat or rice separately.

The coming Eid UlAdha, while remaining purely holy in its essence, has also become quite a celebration of the culinary world. The Eid mornings themselves have gone on to become the stuff of a foodie's legend and this year promises to be no different. This week Star Lifestyle dedicates its pages to this delicious extravaganza and our recipe writers bring in some of the most scrumptious servings they could think up. To make it even more worth your while, we dig in deeper and do not restrain ourselves to only beef, bringing you the pick of the baked fishes and vegetarian splendour. Of course, there's plenty of kebabs, steaks and lamb chops to go around as well, so get your pots and pans ready and prepare a feast worth fighting over this Eid!

Peel the fruit, separate the seeds (there are usually three segments) and cut off the fibres with a pair of scissors.

Taro, or the humble 'kochu' as we know it, is versatile – if not anything else. Although cynics will pursue their argument --poison food-- others will vouch for its taste and the variation this can offer to a Bengali lunch, or dinner. Come to think of it, 'kochu' can serve just well as a snack! This week, our recipe columnist Selina Parveen puts the spotlight on this famous vegetable, but of course with her own little, magical twist.

Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. They are an important traditional crop in Iraq, rabia, and northern Africa till as far as Morocco.

Nimki, also known as 'namakpara,' is a traditional North Indian snack.

Yes, flowers can be eaten! They can also be candied, frozen into ice, made into rings, jams and jellies. Flowers are part of many regional cuisines, including Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Poush Sankranti, also known as Makar Sankranti is celebrated all over South Asia. Known by different names, it is celebrated with