Lost Indian Recipes to Delight Your Guests – Part II

In India, every dish has a story to tell, every spice has a memory to share and every exquisite recipe passed down through the generations is a thread that connects us to where our roots belong. In our ever-evolving, dynamic world, where convenience takes the front seat over tradition, our magical Indian kitchen is quietly losing some of the most remarkable culinary gems, some quintessential recipes that were once the pride of our households are now quietly fading from our dining tables. These are not just meals; they are the flavours of festivals, the secrets of slow cooking, the whispers of grandmothers, and the symbols of regional pride.

This is why we at Ram Bandhu started this journey with “7 Lost Ind ian Recipes To Delight Your Guests—Part I.” These lost, traditional recipes go beyond taste—they carry history, identity and wisdom. Given India’s vast geography, its culinary heritage is also diverse. Every region, community and even household has its signature dishes. By reviving these lost recipes we protect this rich legacy from being lost.

Unlike modern and time-saving cooking approaches, these recipes are layered with complexity. They often use seasonal and simple local ingredients and age-old techniques that bring out the essence and soulful flavours rarely found in contemporary cooking. If you are looking to host your guests over, then surprise them with something they have never tried before but still feels familiar and incredibly comforting. These rare recipes are sure to leave a lasting impression.

Here are some Lost Recipes to surprise your guests:

1. Bhujelo Bhing – A Parsi Dish

This recipe is cooked over a firewood hearth and known as Bhujelo Bhing or Baked Hilsa. The baking technique is called the “Bhujelo” in Parsi, and “Bhing” refers to the Hilsa fish. Parsis relish this variety of fish.

Recipe:

• For the marination, slit open the fish, and coat it with red chili powder all over the fish inside and out. Now, add turmeric powder and again coat it as well. After marination, keep it aside for at least 1 hour.
• For the green chutney, add crushed 5-6 cloves of garlic, grated coconut, green chillies, tamarind, a handful of coriander leaves, and grind it using a traditional sil batta into a coarse mixture.
• Stuff the chutney into the fish generously. Now warm a banana leaf and cut it into ¼th to wrap the fish. Place the fish on banana leaf and wrap it nicely. Now place the banana leaf with fish in it on a muslin cloth and wrap it again from all sides. Coat the muslin cloth with some mud from all sides, and flatten it.
• Now, let it cook over hot coals, and top it up with more coal over the fish.
• After it is cooked, remove the mud, muslin cloth, and banana leaf and take out the cooked Bhujelo Bhing to relish.

2. Eeda Pak: A Parsi Sweet Delicacy made using Egg

Eeda Pak is one of the lost recipes, coming from the Parsi community. It is just like a barfi, but made using egg.

Recipe:

• For this recipe, you need 15 eggs. Gently crack each egg and pour it into a clean vessel, ensuring no shells get in. Now whisk the eggs.
• To the whisked eggs, add ½ kg sugar and a cup of fresh cream.
• Add a few drops of vanilla essence to add flavour.
• Now, add ½ kg ghee to it and stir continuously.
• Now add 2 tablespoons of rosewater to it.
• Now add crushed almonds to it generously and give a good mix.
• Put the mixture on a slow flame to let it cook evenly and keep stirring continuously.
• Towards the end, as it thickens, add some cardamom powder to it and mix again.
• When it becomes like a Halwa, lay it on a flat plate and top with some crushed pistachios and flatten it using a bowl.
• Serve hot.

3. Dal Masoor Musallam:

From the city of Nawabs, Dal Masoor Musallam is a unique dish hailing from the kitchens of Lucknow, made from Masoor Dal.

Recipe:

• Take 1 cup or 200 grams of Whole Masoor Dal, and wash it 5-6 times or until the water runs clear after washing. Now put some water and let it soak for 3-4 hours, and keep aside after covering it.
• For the next preparation, you require 1 tablespoon of minced ginger. Take 125 grams of red onions, and slice it and keep aside for frying purposes. And finely chop one more onion about 150 grams for the gravy. Finely chop two tablespoon of coriander leaves for garnishing. Also required is 2 tablespoon of finely chopped mint leaves.
• Pound some garlic cloves to form 1 tablespoon of garlic paste and keep aside.
• After soaking the dal for 4 hours, strain the dal directly into a pressure cooker and add 3 cups of water to it. Add some salt to taste and help the dal cook evenly. Lock the lid and let it cook on medium-high flame and wait for just 1 whistle. Do not overcook it, as we require dal to stay whole and not mushy.
• In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee or clarified butter, add the sliced onions to the melted ghee, and fry them for up to 8 minutes or until they are dark brown in colour and crispy. Once the onions are done, strain the excess ghee and set aside for later use.
• Now, in the same ghee, add 3 cardamoms, 5 cloves, and a 2-inch stick of cinnamon. Sauté for 30 seconds, and later add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds.
• Once the cumin seeds sputter add the pounded garlic paste to it and sauté for a minute or until the raw flavour of garlic goes away. Add to this, chopped onions and salt to taste, saute them till the onions are golden brown.
• Now to the skillet add some spices or dry powders like ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon of kashmiri red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder, and 1 ½ teaspoons of coriander powder, and mix everything well. Add a dash of water to prevent spices from burning or sticking.
• Now add cooked masoor dal to this and mix well with the masala, and let it heat on medium-low flame for 5-6 minutes.
• Turn the flame to the lowest, and add 1/3 cup or about 80 grams of well beaten curd or yogurt to it. Later, add chopped ginger and mix well. Let this cook for 5 minutes and then turn off the flame.
• Sprinkle the chopped coriander and mint leaves, which will immediately release their aroma and add a burst of freshness and flavour to the dish. And garnish with the fried onions as well.
• Serve hot with jeera rice or chapati.

4. Narkel Kumri:

This unique and lost recipe is made using Ash Gourd and Coconut. This dish is visually pure and delicious in taste. It is made simple using 5-6 ingredients and goes well with roti, paratha, rice, or luchi.

Recipe:

• In a vessel, add some vegetable oil, and heat it. To this, add 2 bay leaves, about 2 tablespoon of cumin seeds and let it flutter. To this add grated ash gourd and mix well.
• Do not add additional water to it as the ash gourd releases its own water while cooking. Once more than half of ash gourd is cooked, cover the pan, reduce the flame and let it cook on its own until fully softened.
• Remove the lid and mix well once. Then add 1.5 cups of grated coconut. Mix everything well and then add sugar and salt to taste. At this point, let this dish simmer gently. Cove and cook for a bit longer, if needed.
• After the ash gourd is fully cooked, add a good amount of sugar to it, as this dish is meant to be a sweet dish.
• Top it up with a dollop of ghee to make it richer and more delicious.

5. Bairagi Dal:

The term Bairagi refers to a renunciant or devotee, especially in the Vaishnavite tradition, which emphasizes purity in both food and lifestyle. It is a symbol of simplicity in Bengali vegetarian cuisine, often part of light, wholesome meals during festivals, rituals, or after fasting. It reflects the Bengali tradition of balance – even simple dishes are thoughtfully spiced and prepared with care.

Recipe:

• In a pan add some water and boil about 200 grams of split peas (moong dal) and cook until they are half done.
• Now, to the dal add chopped potatoes, and Colocasia (taro root), and let them cook for 7-8 minutes.
• When they are cooked and blended well, add boiled and peeled jackfruit seeds, tender pumpkin greens (kumror shaak), and pumpkin stalks. Also, add a handful of slitted green chillies.
• Cover the lid of the pan and let it cook for 5-7 minutes.
• Finally, add sliced ridge gourd (jhinge). When the ridge gourd is tender, remove the dish from the heat.
• In a separate pan, heat some mustard oil and 3 bay leaves. Once the bay leaves are golden, prepare the tempering by adding 3-4 dried red chillies, a teaspoon of nigella seeds, and an equal amount of fenugreek seeds. When the tempering releases a fragrant aroma, pour the boiled lentils and vegetables into it.
• Mix everything well and add salt and sugar to taste. Add 3 more green chillies and let it cook for another 3 minutes.
• Lastly, drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of ghee over the dish.
• Serve the delicious Bairagi Dal hot with steamed rice and relish the dish.

6. Gathi Kochu Bata:

Gathi Kochu Bata is a humble and comforting dish made with taro (kochu) & coconut, somewhat akin to the Bengali kochu bhaate., it is simple, earthy, and deeply rooted in regional home-style cooking.

Recipe:

• In a mixer jar, add 2 tablespoons black mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds, salt to taste and blend it all.
• Take 2 taro roots (kochu) or 250 grams and peel and dice it, be careful while dicing it due to its slimy nature. Do not soak the diced taro root in water as it may generate a lot of slime and ruin the texture of the dish.
• Grind the diced taro immediately after cutting to prevent oxidation and discoloration, and make a smooth paste out of it.
• To this paste, add ½ cup fresh grated coconut, 1.5 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lime juice, 3 green chillies chopped finely, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon Kashundi (Bengali mustard sauce), then add the prepared mustard paste to it. Add salt to taste, and 1.5 tablespoons mustard oil.
• Give it all a good mix.
• And voila, your dish is ready to be served with steaming hot white rice.

Somewhere between our busy schedules and quick-fix meals, the recipes that once defined who we are have quietly slipped away. These lost recipes aren’t just about forgotten ingredients — they are about the warmth of a mother’s kitchen, the stories shared over slow-cooked meals, and the magic of food that carried emotion in every bite.

As we rediscover them, we are reminded that food embodies the memories of festivals, family and the little moments that made us feel at home. Bringing them back isn’t just nostalgia; it’s an act of love and preservation.

Follow us for more such tasty and homemade recipes. Get a varied range of spices, pickles, papads etc. on our official website, www.rambandhu.com and order our best quality products today!

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