Khichuri with a spicy tempering to soothe the throat

Both I and B are on the way to recovery from a longish bout of cold and sniffles. 

While we are resting as much as possible staying warm, I have been cooking very light and nutritious food for ourselves too. 

Though they are not too different from our regular daily food, I did try to keep some things out and included a few things more.
Like I upped our intake of garlic ... it aids digestion and also provides warmth to the body ... a necessity in this cold winter weather. I have also increased B's intake of lentils for that extra protein.
Today, however, I wanted to deviate for a change and wanted to eat no vegetables.

 And I wanted to eat aloo bhaja .

I told myself that it is ok to indulge my tired body with some loving carbs.

So made a khichuri which is slightly different from the usual way I make khichuri  .

Not the typical Bengali  khichuri . 

How to make this beautiful khichdi...

I toasted 1 cup of yellow moong dal till fragrant.
Added  ½ cup of rice to it and washed it well. 

 Put it in a pressure cooker along with enough water, a little salt, grated coconut, turmeric powder, a blob of ghee and some crushed ginger. 

No need to grate it .... I just gave a big thwack with a pestle 😄

Cooked it for two whistles on low.

Heated ghee in a pan and added a little jeera and lots of chopped garlic and some chilli flakes and a pinch of salt.

Poured it over the khichadi . 

Stir fried some potatoes with kalo jeere / nigella seeds and dry chilli, in a smear of ghee. 

We savoured this beautiful meal that soothed our bodies with warmth as it went down.
I could visualise the nutrition spreading through my body and fill it with strength.

B went for a second helping too.
And just before he finished, mentioned "I feel as if someone has just given me a long, warm hug ".

And I knew all will be well.

When I was clicking photos, the sun shifted and lit up my plate with an ethereal light. 

Stay warm . Stay safe.

Eat well. Eat happy.

 

Khichuri and its companions .... for Durga puja 2020

 

Durga Puja came and went by.

Today is Nabami. Only one more day left.. 

The only festival Bengalis all over the world look forward to. 

The festive feelings, the enthusiasm, the excitement of wearing new clothes, meeting friends and families, spending time at the pujo pandals, the crowd, the reverberating dhaaks and the conch shells, the fragrance of incense and flowers, the rustle of new fabrics, silks and cotton, the aroma of bhog / prasad as well as the food being made at the stalls .... all spell Durga puja. 

All ended. All snuffed out. 

Just by one deadly pandemic. 

One life taking pandemic. 

So many people could not go home to be with their families. 

So many parents spent the days alone, at home. 

The whole world has been shut up at home. 

As if it has been covered with a dark, heavy blanket. 

As if rejoicing is banned. As if breathing is illegal. 

My heart went out especially to those Bengalis who craved just one chance to see the face of the goddess. Just one time. 
To offer pushpanjali / obeisance with flowers. 

To be able to live just for one moment the festive feel. 

Due to safety measures, most places have not organised the celebrations of Durga puja. 

And whichever few have, they have set restrictions and have not allowed anybody other than members to attend the functions. 

And the cry of despair on the social network pages has been heart rending ..... everybody asking for one place where they can get a glimpse of the goddess or offer puja. At least for a few moments. 

Having said that, I must mention the excellent arrangements the organisations have made for regular live streaming of all the activities for people to watch from the safety of their home. 

From Pushpanjali to aarti to cultural programs .... everything. 

And people have been most sensible in doing that .... staying at home and creating happiness for themselves in their own way. 

Memories of pujo in my childhood flood me today. 

Getting ready early, wearing the dress that has been the result of months of agonising on designs and fabric and discussions with Didi and the rest of the brood, going to the pujo mandap with Dadu with a trail of helpers carrying the pujor dali / offerings, while the rest of the ladies of the family and Thamma would come later. 

And then, lunch! 

Ashtami lunch would be Luchi, Cholar dal, labra and chaatni. And papor bhaja / papad.

And of course a sweet. 

We cousins would sit in the long verandah, in a line. Fresh banana leaves would be placed in front of us and Kakimas would serve the food. 

But the luchi was always served by Thamma. 

Carrying an open, oval shaped jhuri filled with hot, fluffy luchis, she would pick out each grandchild's favourite and place it on the leaf. 

I loved fluffy ones. Didi loved both the fluffy as well as the flat ones, the youngest one loved the crisp browned ones .... and so on. 
The Cholar dal would be thick, sweetish with generous bits of fried coconut in it. We kids loved to trouble whoever was serving to fish out more coconut pieces for us. 😀 
And we loved to break a piece of the papad and scoop up some chaatni with it and stuff our mouths. 

The savoury crisp crushing inside our mouths, mixed with the syrupy sweetness of the chaatni would make us go mmmmmmm. 

Days gone by a little too soon.

Sigh. 😞

I had orders for the traditional Khichuri plate for lunch. 

People who did not go to the pandals and wanted to enjoy the regular, traditional bhoger khichuri had placed  orders with me. 

I made the regular accompaniments that go with it. And offered it as prosad / bhog in our mandir at home. And then sent out the batches. 

Tried my best to give a festive feel to my loyal clients through my homecooked food. 

May the divine goddess give us the shakti / strength to fight every demon of ill intentions in the world. 

As well as within us. 

May Durga keep us and the whole world in her care. 

Happy Dussera!! 

Ps : I will declare the winner of my giveaway in my next post. 

Sorry for the delay. 

Subho Bijoya and happy Dussera 2018!

I was out of the country last year , vacationing in the US of A, so had huge plans for Durga puja this year. But as luck would have it, all my plans went up in the air as an accident rendered me immobile. Not only were the muscles of my hands, shoulder and upper back damaged, as well as the wrists, but also I ended up with a huge cut across my face, nose and chin.
Not to mention the swelling that came with it .... I couldn't recognise my own self in the mirror.

So the days passed by in a haze of pain killers and before I knew it, it was Navami already.
And since I don't like to be defeated, especially by life, I took this challenge too, just like I have the numerous times it has thrown me one and went to watch the Aarti in the evening. Yes bruised body and face notwithstanding.

The sound of the dhaaks, the conch blowing, the priest performing aarti and the ringing the bell, the smell of camphor and dhuno in the air, the crowd watching mesmerised ..... everything was like a balm on my pain and I came back home with a feeling of peace and the belief that all will be well soon.
Today dawned beautiful after last night's heavy rain and I craved the bhog or from the puja pandal that I missed this time.
And then decided to cook some as soon as the pain killer started to work.

So here is my plate of khichuri bhog. 
I made the dryish bhaja khichuri, cauliflower and potatoes cooked with white matar/chana/ legumes, tomato and khejur er chaatni , beguni / batter fried brinjal and batter fried green chillies.
B fried papad too but a little later,so not in the picture.

I plated everything together, trying to replicate the bhoger thala/plate, where everything is served in one plate.
I absolutely love the mix of flavours .... the dry khichuri, the gravy of the curry, the sweetness of the tomato chatni, along with the crunch of  the papad.

Savoured this meal and was glad I decided to do it.
Also, I am glad that I believe tomorrow never comes.

Live like you want to and you will have no regrets. Ever.
All you need is a little will and a lot of power.

Shubho Bijoya Dashami and happy Dusherra!! .
May your life be filled with light, love and everything good.

Bhaja Khichuri / Dala Khechedi

 

There is something about the rains that can turn anyone into a hopeless romantic.
One look outside the window, with some time at hand, and you are sure to write verses.
Dreamy, cloudy skies. The persistent screen of rain. The breeze ... somewhere balmy; somewhere cold.
A fluttering curtain. A twirl of smoke above a cup.
Fresh green everywhere.

And ....
The smell of ghee, roasted dal and jeera wafting from the kitchen.
Khichuri!
That aroma itself can turn a Bengali into a poet.

There is something that binds the khichuri and the rains and a Bengali together.
If it is raining, it has to be khichuri on the day's menu. There may or may not be a maach bhaja on the side; even better if it is an Ilish maach bhaja.
But other wise, khichuri has a lot of other accompaniments go with it. Most of them will be deep fried bhajas or boras.
Then there will be the labra or a mix vegetable on the side.
Followed by the tomato chaatni and Papor(papad) bhaja.

I had made this khichuri a few days back when an old friend, D, had dropped in to watch the Ratha yatra on the telly with me. She does have a telly at home, but wanted to be with me this year when I will be watching the rath without getting Bapi's call in the morning ... "Tv ta chaala .... roth shuru hoye jabe je!!"

There was no fish at home. And somehow this niramish khichuri seemed apt on this auspicious day when Lord Jagannath sets off for a vacation to his aunt's place.
D watched with amusement as I quickly lay the table and arranged this cluster to click a few snaps.
I was in such a hurry that none of the photos came out well .... the sun played spoilsport too and it was very cloudy.
But that will make no difference to the taste or the flavour of this beautiful khichuri.

This is also called the Dala khechedi in Oriya.
Very different from the Bengali dhala ( of pouring consistency) khichuri, this khichuri is very dry and the grains of the rice and the dal are not cooked into much. Rather, they will stay whole and just done.

I love coconut .... so added it.
You may skip it in this khichuri.

Here is a closer look at the texture.

Need :

Yellow moong dal - 1 cup
( The traditional Oriya Dala khechedi has moong dal with the skin on )
Rice - ½ cup
Jeera - 1 tsp
Tej pata - 1
Whole red chillies - 2, broken
Black cardamom - 1, broken
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Grated or chopped ginger - 1 tbsp
Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Roasted jeera powder - 1 tsp
Grated coconut ( optional ) - 5 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Sugar - to taste
Salt - to taste
Hot water - around 4 cups

How to :

Dry roast the dal in a thick bottomed, heavy kadahi, on low heat.
Stir constantly. Do not brown.
Roast only till you get the nutty aroma of roasted dal.

If you have a kitchen exhaust, I suggest you keep it switched off now ... you may not get the aroma; a major part.

Wash the rice and the dal and keep aside.

Heat oil +  ghee in the same heavy kadahi.
Add jeera +  tej patta + whole red chillies + black cardamom + cinnamon.

Add the chopped ginger.
Fry well.

Add the haldi powder + red chilli powder + the rice and dal.

Mix around well and keep stirring on low heat till everything is dryish.
This will take around 5 to 7 minutes.

Raise heat and add the hot water + salt + sugar + roasted jeera powder + 1 tsp ghee.

Cover and cook till rice is just done.
Do check for water in between ... but do not add too much.

When the rice is not too soft but done, switch off heat and let it stand covered for 5 more minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove cover and fluff it lightly with a spoon or fork.

Serve hot.

I had made the Ramrochak tarkari instead of the labra .... to give a feel of Odiya food.
And the Tomato chaatni with khejur / dates .... the quintessential Bengali as well as Odiya favourite to go with the khichuri.
And of course papor bhaja.

You can pair it with fried vegetables like the brinjal, pumpkin or the parwal too.
My home made Aamer achar came to join the band too.

All in all .... had a good time with good friend, good food and reliving memories.
No complaints there ... not even to Jagannath too.

Enjoy!!

Prasad wali Khichdi / Narkel diye Khichuri / Bhoger Khichuri

Just outside of Pune, in the Northern outskirts , is a beautiful temple of the Sai Baba of Shirdi. If you take the Alandi road and keep going straight, it falls on your left. Bang on the highway.
When we had discovered it, on one of our aimless rides, it was just a small hall with the huge deity of the Baba. Slowly, over the years, it has grown in size and is now a sprawling mandir with lawns, gardens, a community center, a prasad hall and numerous other small sized mandirs dedicated to the gods Ganesh, Shiva and Lakshmi. We often went there in the evenings.
Initially, not a lot of people knew about it, so was less crowded and more peaceful.

Once evening set in,  lamps would be lit all around the mandir. After the aarti, we would sit on the low marble parapet, surrounding the main hall and open on all sides. Someone would sing bhajans quietly in a corner. A few devotees would sit around or just walk up for a darshan. Far from the city, it's noise and rush, sitting there in the quiet evening breeze, it always felt wonderful.

On one such visit, after the aarti, as we sat on the parapet as usual, we noticed a group of people under the only neem tree in the courtyard. The tree was old, very big. The base was cemented.
There, two men stood with a big sized vessel. One was handing out small paper plates or donas. The other was serving prasad. We went over and saw it was khichdi/khichuri. Steamimg hot, wonderfully mushy and full of flavours. Heavenly!

This khichdi was very different from the usual ones that I am used to. Be it the Bengali khichuri cooked at home, the khichdi cooked for Jagannath at Puri, which is usually dryish, or the Bhog er khichuri that we get as prasad  during   Durga puja.  I tried to guess what it might contain ... could figure out some ingredients like the whole black pepper, ghee no sugar etc...., but a lot more stayed unknown. So I asked one of the men serving the prasad. He told me to go to the prasad center ... the people there will be able to answer correctly.

And I found the recipe for the simplest yet the most flavourful khichadi I've ever had.
I make this very often at home now, especially during winter or the rains. And haven't made any other khichadi for a long time now.
This can be made in the pressure cooker too ... if you are in a hurry. But tastes best when slow cooked in a kadahi.

Need :

Rice - 3 fistfuls ( I had whole Basmati, but this tastes better with slightly broken rice ... so you may use kani too )
Red Masoor dal - 1 fistful
Yellow Moong dal - ½ fistful
Freshly grated coconut - 2 fistful
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Whole black peppercorns - ½  tsp
Whole red chillies - 2
Black cardamom / Badi elaichi - 3
Freshly grated ginger - 1 tbsp
Haldi / turmeric - 1 pinch
Red chilli powder - to taste
Moongfali / Peanuts - 4 tbsp ( or more if you like )
Water - around 6 coffee mugfuls ( you may need more or less ... add accordingly)

How to :

Wash the rice and dals together. Keep aside.
I don't soak them for a long time ... just wash them when starting to cook.

Lightly heat 2 tbsp ghee in a deep, thick bottomed kadahi.
Add the cardamoms, peppercorns and red chillies.
(The whole red chillies are my addition.)
Then add the grated ginger. Fry a little ... not too much.

Add the rice and dals.
Add water immediately ... on high heat ( do not fry the rice and the dals ).
Add haldi, red chilli powder and salt.

Add the grated coconut and the peanuts.
Cover and cook.
Keep checking the level of water ... it should not dry up. Keep adding water as required.
Check for salt too.

Once in a while, remove cover and give a good stir. And mash up the rice by gently pressing down with the back of a ladle.
The flavours get soaked up better this way and it helps the rice to break down into mush easily.

When the rice is well cooked  and the khichdi reaches the desired consistency, add 1 tbsp of ghee, cover  and remove from heat.
It tends to thicken if kept for some time. So if you are not serving immediately, do make sure the consistency is slightly loose ... slightly, not too watery ... when removing form heat.
It will thicken in 10 to 15 minutes.

This khichdi is not sweetish ... no sugar is added ... as in the Bengali khichuri.
Also, no onions. Absolutely niramish khichuri.

Serve it steaming hot ... almost 'burn your tongue' hot.
With another big dollop of ghee.

This khichadi can be paired with traditional bhajas/fries like  the aloo bhaja,  begun bhaja,  beguni, or the good old papad. I had some mirgund (poha papad ) ... so fried them, along with some Punjabi masala papad from Lizzat.

Today, Lord Jagannath returns home after a week long stay at the Gundicha mandir.
Before leaving, he has a light lunch of Khichdi.
I made this prasadwali khichdi for lunch today ... and enjoyed it while watching Jagannath's Bahuda yatra (return journey) on the telly.

Do try this khichdi once ... perfect to enjoy the monsoons with.

And enjoy!!
May Jagannath's blessings stay with you always!

PS: The Bengali Khichudi / Khichuri is here. 

A little Durga Puja fervour for all ....

I have been having a great time ... rushing around the puja pandals ... offering Pushpanjali ... having prasad or bhog ... being at the evening aarti .... and of course sampling out the artery clogging delicacies at the food stalls ... :-) ( of course rushing home in between to cook for the hubby and carry his food ... he is still not allowed to have food from outside ).


Today is Maha Ashtami. After offering Pushpanjali ( offering flowers to the the diety amid mantras and shlokas ) early in the morning, I thought of clicking some snaps and posting them here .... so many of my Bengali friends abroad are pining for Puja back home.

I know this is not the same .... still ... am trying to give you all a glimpse of the puja pandals here.

For now ... just the snaps.

I'll post details later in my other blog.


Kali Bari.


Congress Bhavan.





The line for Khichuri Bhog.




Today's lunch was Khichuri, Beguni ( batter fried brinjal/eggplant slices ), Payesh ( don't miss the pantua / gulab jamun in it ) , Labra torkari, Tomato chaatni and Papor bhaja ( papad fry ).





Shubho Ashtamir Shondhya bondhugon !! :-)

Have a great Ashtami evening dear friends. :-)

Khichuri & co. / Khichdi / and an award (again)

Rains and Khichuri or Khichdi are synonymous to any Bengali. And bhaja or deep fried is a part of Bengali fare. And if it is with khichuri ... nothing like it. Though I love bhajas / fries, I try to keep the oil at the minimum these days and do not deep fry most stuff .... except the brinjals when am making Begun bhaja / deep fried brinjals.

The khichuri is light and kind of mushy and made of lentils and rice. If preferred, vegetables can be added too. Actually it is very light and healthy ... only the bhajas make it heavy ... both with oil ... and guilt. ;-)

If time and laziness on a rainy day permits, it can have a lot of fries and gravies as accompaniments. But it is great with just Papor bhaja (Papad fry) and a little pickle / ghee. Beguni or batter fried brinjals / aubergines are a favourite with steaming hot khichuri.

I had some fish ... so fried a piece for myself. :-)
Else an omlette will also do ... if you have to have a non veggie stuff.

And if you are having guests over ( guests who come over for khichuri are the closest ones ... sitting on the floor, sharing adda, great music and simple food ... ) then it can be a feast galore with Kosha mangsho/ Maacher kalia, etc. The list can be never ending then.

Khichuri

Can be done in a kadhai or a pressure cooker.

Need :

1 cup rice,
1 cup of Red Masoor dal / Mushur dal and Moong dal mixed together,
Grated ginger,
Whole garam masala ( green cardamom, cinnamon, whole dry red chillies, bay leaves), A pinch of turmeric / haldi powder,
1 onion sliced,
1 chopped tomato and tomatoes,
1 tbsp sugar,
Salt to taste,
Water,
Cooking oil or ghee
Vegetables like carrots, cauliflowers, green peas,potatoes, etc. can be used too

How to :

Wash the rice and dals and soak.

Heat oil or ghee in a kadahi / big sized wok.

Add the garam masala and then the onions. Fry for sometime.

If using vegetables, add them now.

Add the tomatoes.

Add the rice and dals.

Fry for sometime.

Add the turmeric, salt and sugar.

Add lots of water ... it should be watery and mushy.

Cover and cook till done and reached desired consistency. You can add water midway if needed.

Beguni
Need :

Brinjals cut into thin pieces (make sure there is no water on them),
Besan,
Red chilli powder,
Salt,
Enough oil to deep fry.

How to :

Make a batter with the besan, water, salt and chilli powder.

Can add a spoonful of rice flour to this to make it extra crispy.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Mustard oil is good for this as it is not absorbed too much by the brinjal.

Dip the brinjal pieces one by one in the batter and gently release them in the oil.
Cook till both sides are brown.

If the brinjal pieces are thin they will get cooked properly.

Can use the same batter to make aloo, baby spinach, or the plain chopped onion bhajas. The more the bhajas with the khichuri, the merrier. :-)

Ok, enough of food ramblings. Here's something else.
During my recent disappearence from blogging for a while ... a very little while ... I had a one man fan club ... notyet100.

I still do not know from where she found my new url ... but consistently visited my blog and left warm words. My sincere thanks to her. She has a great blog ... but I have been a very occasional visitor there ... which am going to rectify at the earliest.

And she has passed me an award too. And so has dear Pragyan. She has a blog that has some great Oriya recipes .... and successfully leaves me homesick with each post.

The Blogging Friends Forever award. This award is supposed to be passed on .... like all other awards ..... and there are some rules too.



I'll take some time to pass this on ... as it takes a lot of blog hopping and deciding .... again rules. :-)

I just hope this will be the last of all awards.
Monsoon is washing this city away .... may the blissful rain wash away all other grief, hurts,sorrows and ill will from people's minds and hearts too.
Enjoy the rains!

Try biting into a crispy hot beguni with some chaat masala sprinkled on it .... and savour the flavours. :-)

And yes, did I mention that you should be standing in front of the window with cold rain spraying on your face. Lemme know if anyone tries this. ;-)

Another Khichdi / Khichuri / Khichudi that I often make is here