Bengali Fish Chop ..... fish croquettes

With the first signs of winter setting in, the nights have cooler recently .
The perfect time for my muscle problems to set in. Trying to slow me down.
I am trying hard to keep pulling on.
Durga puja is just around the corner. We know it won't be the same this year. As before. 

The careful will stay in.
The lucky ones, who are with their family, will stay in.
But those who are alone, far away from home, might want to venture out to visit the pandals.
The loneliness and nostalgia will overwhelm them and they would want to out just once. 

To get that pujo pujo feel.
To hear the dhaaks reverberating.
The conch shells blowing.
The air heavy with dhuno and incense.

To look up at the glowing face of the mother goddess.
Eyes asking if all will be well again.
And hearts praying to keep the dear ones back home, safe.
And looking for that assurance that the next year, Pujo will be like what it was in the past years.
Asking for the faith and strength to move on to the next year with positive determination. 


This year, the pandemic has taken too much from us. 
Lives, hopes, dreams, jobs, normal life. 

Laughter, carefree happiness, joy, smiles. 
The assurance of presence, a warm hug, sharing a meal together, sharing a precious moment together. 
All snatched away. 

My thoughts turn to Bapi (dad) who would look forward to pujo just because I would be home.
He would start reminding me to book the tickets trom as early as two months before pujo.
Today,  there is nobody to call me home urgently. 
With the same overpowering, unconditional love.
Guess I have grown up.
And grown apart.
Guess that is life.

I had made these Maacher chops or Fish chops a long time back and had posted on Instagram. 
And had wanted to share it on the blog too. 

But then, as usual, it took me this long to be able to sit down for that. 

As I started to write about this much loved snack that Bengalis would enjoy at the food stalls, during Durga pujo, I decided that a write up about pujo would be apt to accompany these beautiful fish chops. 

So I picked up what I had written yesterday on my Insta and paired it with the chops here. 
I think both the food and the nostalgia will go well. 

I will take you to the recipe now. 
And hope that you will create them in your kitchen this pujo and enjoy .

And let it transport you to the pujo pandels where the smells of hot oil and deep fried food would be wafting all around. 

Just close your eye, be there in spirit and munch on a Fish chop. 

And stay home, to stay safe. 

Aasche bochor abaar hobe. 

I have used the Rui mach / Rohu fish. You may the use the bhetki too. 
There were some tail pieces that I usually use to make a makha / mash or a fish kheema .  
Also I fry them since I don’t like the smell of boiled fish.

Need : 

Pieces of fried fish , deboned - 1 cup

Boiled potatoes - 1 medium 

Chopped onions - 1 medium 

Chopped ginger - 1 tsp 
Chopped raisins - 1 tbsp 

Paste of garlic and green chillies - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 

Bengali garam masala powder - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - to taste

Cornflour - to make a slurry 

Breadcrumbs 
Mustard oil 

How to : 

Mash the deboned fish with the boiled potatoes. 

Heat 2 tsp oil and add the chopped onions, the garlic chilli paste and fry well. 

Add turmeric and red chilli powder, salt and the mashed fish and salt and sugar.

Fry well. 

Add the chopped raisins and the garam masala.

Mix everything well. 

Remove from heat and cool. 

Make a slurry with the cornflour and water.

Make small balls from the fish mixture .... you can give them any shape you want to .... dip them in the cornflour slurry and coat them with breadcrumbs. 

Place all of them on a plate and keep in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

 Heat enough  oil and deep fry them in batches. 

Done ✅ 
Enjoy! 

 PS : 

Hope you have checked out my giveaway for a wonderful book by Sandeepa aka Bongmomcookbook, on my blog. 

Last date is 20th of October. 

Do hurry!

Samosa / Singara / Spicy, deep fried and sinfully good, savoury pastry

 
Growing up in a huge joint family has taught me, among other things, the ability to accept everyone as they are, without questions. 

We lived together, in Dadu's house. With its orchards, ponds, four main gates and three smaller ones too. And a big open space where stood a magnificent  mango tree that was uprooted by one of the cyclonic storms that was so common during my childhood. 
And a big patch of garden that bore seasonal vegetables, lovingly tended by the gardener.
And, with uncles and aunts and house helps and cousins.
Yes, it was both a picnic as well as mayhem ... our family was.

And naturally, we always had a lot of relatives around. Every Kakima's paternal side of the family was our family too.
I still remember our excitement when any particular relative was to visit.
That Mama, who was popular with us because  he would actually enact out whatever story he was narrating. 
Or that Dida who did not know any language besides Bengali .... and who we loved to grill with new words, asking her the Bengali equivalent. She naturally came up with wrong words and how we would dissolve into peals of laughter.
Or that Didi, who sang like an angel, and we looked forward to learning a few new songs, whenever she visited, especially Adhunik / modern songs. And a few more gems of Tagore. 
Or that Mashi, who we stayed clear of, because of her quizzes on maths and chemistry. 

I can go on and on. 

The best part of these visits was we got to eat food from outside, .... sometimes .... that was otherwise prohibited for us. 

On any day, during the evening tea, someone would want some ' gorom gorom tele bhaja' / deep fried street food. And as hosts, one of the Kakus would comply. 
Or we would get one of our favourite Didas to ask for them .... and she would happily oblige.
Knowing very well that she would not eat any, at all. 
And we children would get to eat the small sized, crisp singaras, filled with a dry, spicy potato and peas masala that was so hot it burned our mouths when bitten into. 

Those were different from the regular samosas that we get in North India.
But then, the samosa is such a common street food that its filling varies in texture and taste in almost every state of the country. 
Making it create a different memory for every different person growing up eating their local samosa.  

I still remember the samosas we ate during our trip to Ranthambore, Rajasthan. Standing in the middle of the vast highway, in a small shed, stood a man frying hot samosas on a make shift kitchen with the barest of things. We waited till he got them out of the hot oil ..... smoking hot. 
And standing there on the empty highway side, biting into those crisp, spicy, hot little triangles of pure bliss, sipping on cardamom tea and watching the sun go down slowly in the horizon, I felt that was one of the best moments of my life. 

A few days back, once the rains started in earnest here, I was reminiscing about the monsoons back home and how the ponds overflowed and the fishes came up right to our doorsteps,
how we would sit near the bay windows and look out at the big droplets create beautiful patterns on the pond,
how Dadu or Jethu would ask us, one by one , to sing their favourite Rabindra sangeet on the rains, 
how we hurried to shut the wooden windows when sudden gusts of water laden breeze came in .... but would leave just a little gap to be still able to smell the wet air .
And that  was when I remembered this beautiful singara from my hometown. 

I wanted to make it. B was game.
He enjoys these stories and what better than crisp, hot singaras to go with them. 
To his credit and because he is from the kachori and namkeen city of Rajasthan, B is an expert when it comes to actually handling the singara. So I did the cooking and B did the maneuvering part. 
And we made some really good samosas that evening. 

They were so good and the cover was so perfectly crisp that I thought I will document it and  share here. 

So here is my recipe for the perfect Khasta Shingara / Khasta Samosa . 

Need : 

For the dough : 

Maida / Apf - 2 cups 
Cooking oil - ½ cup or more, if needed 
Baking soda - one small pinch
Kalonji / nigella seeds - ½ tsp 
Chilled water - enough to knead with 
Salt - to taste 

For the filling : 

Potatoes - 2, medium, chopped very small 
Green peas - ½ cup
Turmeric powder 
Red chilli powder 
Amchur / dry mango powder 
Chilli flakes 
Black pepper powder
Salt - to taste 
Cooking oil - 1 tsp 

Cooking oil - enough to deep fry 

 How to : 

To make the dough, knead the maida with the rest of the ingredients, except water for some time. 
When the oil has mixed in well, it should form a lump when held in the fist. 
Now add the chilled water, very little at a time, and knead into a tight dough. 
Do not over knead it.

For the masala, heat oil in a kadahi and let in the chopped potatoes and peas. 
Add the rest of the ingredients and cover and cook till done. 
Remove cover and dry it up completely. 
Remove to an open plate and cool. 

For the samosas, 
cut out medium sized balls of the dough. 
Roll each one out . Do not roll it too thin. 
Cut in half. 
Pick one half, make a twist and seal the edges with water. 
Scoop in a spoonful of the stuffing mix and seal the ends. 
Set aside. 

Take a heavy kadahi or deep pan .... preferably an iron one. 
Fill it with oil. 
Set it on to heat. When the oil turns lukewarm, let in the samosas. 
Never heat the oil too much ... it will cause blisters on the samosa cover and will remain raw too. 
Do not over crowd the kadahi. 

The samosas will slowly float up to the top as they cook. 
Cook them on low heat. 

The perfect khasta samosas are always light in colour and yet perfectly cooked and the cases crisp. 
Dark coloured samosas mean over cooking or ... in the case of shops ... re frying. 

When done, remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel. 

Our samosas turned out to be perfect. 
When I tapped the cover, it was perfectly crisp and tough. 
And when I broke it open, it showed the layers of the casing too! 
Just have a look. 😊

We munched on them, right there in the kitchen, while still frying. 
The rain sang on outside and it was cold and dark. 
But our kitchen was warm.  
And fragrant. 
With memories; and the hot samosas. 

Stay home everyone! 
And stay safe! 


Ps: photos clicked in the dark and low light. 

Chicken clear soup with vegetables .... perfect for a damp and dreary weather

 

This chicken soup is my saviour every time I am down with the flu or a strep throat.

There is not a single time when I did not find ease and or recover almost instantly after eating it.
And yet, to my surprise, I have never blogged about it.
Since the weather is playing havoc with everybody's health right now, and since I have been ill and weak for quite sometime now, all I am having is this light chicken soup these days.
Initially it was viral fever but then when I got a throat infection, on the first non vegetarian day, B got me some chicken and I put the pot on to boil.

I usually make it without vegetables and sip on it, hot, a number of times in a day, with a good dose of freshly ground black pepper and some butter.
And it works like magic.
This time, however, I have continued to have it for a longish time, so added some vegetables too.
Actually, since my taste buds have gone on vacation, I do not feel like eating anything at all right now. So while I do get up and cook for B, I do not feel like eating any part of the meals.
All I wanted to was to sip on the hot soup. Hence decided to add some vegetables to bring up the nutrition factor.

The monsoons had started bang on the first week of June in Pune this year.

And it has been raining ever since.
Barring a few days of dry spells and even fewer days of sunshine, we have not seen the sun nor a dry day ever since. While Pune does not usually see heavy downpours, this silent, light rain has been at work non stop foralmost  three months now.
And the cold weather ... how I dislike this damp, cold weather.
We have been snuggling under blankets and bringing out the jackets and the woolens as we watch the grey, sad outside with dismay.

The first few weeks of the monsoons are fun. And romantic. And adventurous.
And then the reality seeps in.
Sniffles start and then grow into full fledged flu.
Every other person is sneezing or coughing ... which makes going to public places and malls scary.
We celebrate the first few weeks with spicy, deep fried food and all sorts of junk food .... blaming it on the lovely weather.
And then give up ... after all there is a limit to the amount of pakoras or samosas you can eat.
I do have my stock of ilish / hilsa to fall back on but have been able to eat only two pieces from that 
one kilo of fish yet.

Right now, it is this chicken soup that is nurturing me and my soul.
Light, full of goodness, soothing and warming.
Like I mentioned before, I usually make it without vegetables.
Just lots of sliced onions, ginger and garlic with either tomatoes or lemon juice.
Of course there would be the black pepper and other whole garam masalas.
And butter or ghee .... you need them when your body needs strength and nourishment.
I recommend the country chicken since they are free of antibiotics and hormones; and hence good for health.

Need :

Chicken - on the bone
Onions - sliced
Garlic - sliced
Ginger - grated
Bay leaves
Whole black pepper
Ground black pepper
Vinegar or Lemon juice
Black cardamom
Cloves
Butter - both for the soup and to add when serving
Vegetables - I used carrots, fresh green peas, fresh corn, raw papaya, potato and cabbage
Water
Salt
Sugar

How to :

Marinate the washed chicken pieces with some vinegar or lemon juice for half an hour.

Put everything into a pressure cooker with salt and sugar to taste.

Add enough water and cook for 4 or 5 whistles on low heat.

Serve hot with butter and freshly ground pepper on top.

This soup is a great decongestant too.
And will clear as well as soothe your troubled throat too.

If possible, do pot boil it.
But if you are short of time, you may use the pressure cooker or your instapot.
I over cook the chicken in this soup ... the meat becomes so soft that it comes off the bone very easily ... making it easier to mix with the soup .... you don't have to take it out to shred and mix in again.
Quick and flavourful.
Use vegetables that will be filling and you can have a no carb meal too.
But since I was on medication and needed carbs too, I used to have it with either toasted bread or some porridge like overcooked, rice.
I took a good amount of the soft lumpy rice, add the soup with the vegetables and shredded meat and doused it with my favourite green chilli sauce and some soy sauce.
Chopped in some green chillies and added a dash of vinegar and voila! .... a bowlful to pep up the taste buds was ready.

Here is a shot of my bowl.

 

Enjoy, take care and stay well.

With so many sad stories coming in from Kerala, my thoughts and prayers go out to the hapless people stuck in the floods and fury of nature.

Muga dali Pitha / Mug dal er pithe / Moong dal ke mithe cheele

During long vacations in my childhood, we would go over to Dadu's house and spend the days there.
But when there were short holidays, some part of the family would come over to our place.
Some part because fitting in the whole family together was possible only in Dadu's huge house.
We stayed an hour away, on the hills, where Bapi had his factory.
So at times, some cousins  and kakus and kakimas would come over to spend a few days with us.

The house would be filled with voices ... all talking, laughing, calling out to others ... all at the same time while we cousins did what we did best ...  creating our own ruckus and having a great time. 
The kitchen would be busy and while Ma looked into the meals all through the day, it would the kakimas or mashis (aunts) who would choose the job of rustling up their special snacks and sweets for us. It would be one of those times when we kids would to be perpetually hungry and after every hour or so we would walk into the kitchen with a "Khide peyeche" announcement.

While we were indulged on most times, it would be a no show if the time was closer to a meal time like lunch or dinner.
So my Mejo kakima came up with this potent medicine of "Dudh kola muri debo?".
The thought of a bowlful of soggy, puffed rice mashed with banana and milk would successfully douse those whimsical hunger pangs that the aromas from the kitchen had brought about.
And with a hasty "We will wait for lunch / dinner", we would disappear.

I remember one such time when Boro mashi, Ma's eldest sister, was visiting.
Mashi worked as a teacher in govt. schools and had just become Principal and was posted in a school at a nearby district. Since it was summer vacation, she and her daughter were spending a few days with us.

Mashi visiting us meant fun in all ways. She would hold quiz contests, grill us on general knowledge, give us math quizzes to solve, hold competitions complete with prizes ... and so on.
And the best part was getting to eat the food she cooked.
Boro Mashi had magic in her hands.

She could make a light, plain dal seem heavenly.
She could make a plain roti interesting.
She could make the fussiest kid eat up without a peep.
And she was a wizard at making achars.
A dash of this, a handful of that, a little chopping here, a quick beat of hands there ..... watching mashi in the kitchen was mesmerising.
Matronly, with a warm smile on and a solution to any problem always, she was one person I looked up to.

It was on that visit that Mashi had made this Muga dali pitha.
She had sat us kids down with a bunch of questions to solve and had disappeared into the kitchen.
We could hear her chatting with Ma and in a while,  this beautiful, warm, sweet aroma drifted out of the kitchen a spread all over the house .... making its way towards us in the drawing room.
We started getting fidgety but were warned against getting up and going to the kitchen.
Bapi had returned by then and the evening tea was just being served.
And Mashi walked in with a plate full of fragrant, hot pithas.

And what pithas they were!
Crisp on the sides, the sweetness of the jaggery mixed with the fragrance of coconut ... it smelt of something that can be only divine.
They were just fried and out of the pan and still very hot.
We savoured each bite, experiencing different flavours everytime ... the sting of black pepper, the bite of small pieces of coconut, the sweetness of a fennel seed .....

Jaggery and coconut are an integral part of Odia pithas.
And are usually paired with crushed black pepper and fennel seeds.
And the body is usually of dals / lentils or rice powder.
Fried, steamed, roasted ... made in different ways for different occasions.

Yesterday, a few of my friends had come over to visit and brought me a load of cooked food so that I could rest and not have to cook for a couple of days at least.
I was touched but not surprised.
All through the years, every time I have fallen ill .... and god knows when I fall ill it has always been a lengthy affair, sometimes stretching to almost a year .... it has been these friends who have been my rock; my support; my pillars.
I was so happy to see them that I wanted to make something for them that would be quick.

I had boiled moong dal in the fridge for dal tadka .... so decided to make this pitha for them.
I had grated coconut in the freezer too.
So all I had to do was to make a mix and fry them.
My friends joined in too and soon we were all in the kitchen .... chatting, laughing, frying the pithas and eating them right there ... straight off the pan .... breaking each one, blowing on the pieces to cool  and sharing with one another.
We made some ginger tea too and while it rained on outside, I basked in the warmth inside, feeling cozy and loved.

Now for the recipe of the Muga dali pitha or Moog daler pithe -

Need :

Whole green moong dal - 2 tea cups, boiled with a pinch of salt
Gur / Jaggery - according to your taste for sweetness (I used granules )
Maida / APF - 2 tbsp
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Elaichi / Cardamom seeds - crushed
Black pepper - crushed
Mouri / Fennel seeds - crushed
Grated coconut - 1 tea cup
Water - a little to make the batter
Cooking oil - as you require
Ghee - half of the amount of cooking oil (optional)

There is no perfect measurement for the ingredients ... you will have to decide according to the thickness of the batter, the sweetness you want, whether you want to pan fry or deep fry ... etc. etc.


How to :

Mix everything except the oil and ghee and make a thick batter.

Heat a heavy pan or a tawa.

Add a oil + ghee in equal quantity.

When hot, pour in spoonfuls of the batter to make thick pancakes.

Fry the pithas, first covered and then uncovered, on both sides, till they turn brown.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Enjoy !!

Ilisher Mudo diye Shorshe jhal / Hilsa head cooked with Mustard paste

The phone came at sharp 12 o'clock in the noon.
That one phone call that I look forward to every year.
As soon as the monsoons start.
That one phone call that spells happiness for me.
Happiness that lasts me for almost a whole year.
"Madam, ek piece mila hai, 1 kg tak, anda bhi hai".... said my fishmonger.
"Le lo".... I croaked.

My fishmonger calls me from the main market as soon as he sees a good hilsa and calls me.
Only after I confirm I am in town and only if the fish matches my specifications does he buy it.
And I go and collect it from him.
This time, my bad throat and illness notwithstanding, I said yes.
But then the season was getting over and I still hadn't got my hands on a good Hilsa / Ilish.
And that was making me very restless.
Everytime I enquired I was told that getting a good sized hilsa has been very difficult this year since all the good sized Hilsa were being exported.

I am finicky about my ilish.
I have grown up not on the Padma's ilish but the best of Kolaghat Ilish ... and hence know a good ilish.
I would rather wait for the whole year and get one good ilish than fall prey to my greed and buy just any other faux ilish and show off.
No sir .... not me.
I know my ilish ... I can hear Bapi's voice describing how to know a good Ilish.
And the words are imprinted in my memory forever, along with his voice.

And when I think of this  Kolaghat ilish, my memories take me back home and the tumultuous monsoons in our small hilly town where Bapi had set up his factory. 
After an early lunch, on any given day, S Pishi (aunt) would call out to Bapi asking him to gather the drivers and get the cars ready.
And, with a twinkle in her eye, she would smile at us and ask us to get ready.
We would immediately catch on the excitement. 
Because it would mean only one thing ... a long drive and a picnic!!
And of course Kolaghat ... which means ... Ilish!!

Ma and Pishi would quickly rustle up a mix of muri/puffed rice and chanachur and all of us would pile into the cars and off we would go.
The drive would be filled with lots of singing, jokes and munching on the muri chanachur while the rain pelted the windows. At times, we would stop and get down for the elders to grab a cup of tea from a small stall on the roadside in the middle of nowhere.
On our return journey, Ma and Pishi would surely get down if they saw a haat / village market and that would mean loads of local, fresh vegetables.

Now that I look back, I realise that much of my love for travel and interest in the details and history of places, my love for the simple life of the countryside and villages, for nature and knowing every single local plant, fruit and leaves and their usage in our lives .... the credit goes to my S pishi.
And it were those picnics that were my classrooms.

Coming back to my Ilish, I did bring it home.
And since it was a weekday, indulged in some bhaja ilish with some hot rice for dinner.
I am often at my wits end as to what to make with the head ... it is after all only one head and there are so many ways to enjoy it.
After much thought, I decide on this jhaal with one half.
The other half will have to be the tauk / ambol ... my ever favourite.

Considering the dreaded bones of the ilish, this jhaal is not for the faint hearted.
Do try to be very careful while eating this or the fine bones may create trouble for you.
I suggest you use the front of the head ... the bones are bigger here and hence more manageable.

Need :

Ilish head - fried and broken into pieces
Potato - 1 medium, sliced
Onion - 1 medium, sliced
Mustard paste - around 2 tbsp
( I used two of my frozen cubes that was made by soaking both black and white mustard seeds, ground to a paste and strained )
Green chillies - 4 to 5
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - 1 tsp
Haldi powder - 1 tsp salt + haldi powder.
Mustard oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - a pinch
Water - a little

How to :

Heat the oil in a kadahi / wok.

Add the nigella seeds and green chillies.

Add the sliced onions and fry for a while.

Now add the potatoes + turmeric powder + salt.

Cover and cook till the potatoes are done.

Remove cover and add the fish head pieces + mustard paste + a little water + sugar.

Check for salt and add if needed.

Cover and cook for a while.

Remove cover and mix everything together well.

Pour 1 tsp of mustard oil all over and add a few more green chillies.
Cover, remove from heat and let it stand for a few minutes.

Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy!!


Here are a few more Ilish recipes for you to enjoy in this monsoon.

Burnt Garlic Butter Rice and Roasted vegetables with Boiled Corn on the cob

 

While the whole world goes crazy over roasted corn spiced with salt , red chilli powder and lemon juice, during the monsoons, I quietly boil mine and enjoy it steaming hot.
With a blob of butter.
And maybe some freshly cracked black pepper straight from the mill.
That's what my heart yearns for in the monsoons.
And that's what makes my heart sing.

I fell in love with this extraordinarily flavourful yet simple way of enjoying sweet corn on my first ever trip to Lonavla, a hill station near Pune.
I was a student then and was a part of this boisterous group of young students, from all over the country, much excited at the thought of a trip by a local train into the hills in the rains.
Monsoons turn Pune and its adjoining hilly places into something that dreams or travel brochure pictures are made of.
And the cold weather that comes with it is a bonus.
Soft rain, light drizzles, fog, clouds against the insanely fresh green sprawling landscape and the numerous thin waterfalls that dot the hills .... it seems as if the world has sprung into fresh life.
Every single blade of grass turns green. Every leaf on the trees shines.
Nature turns crazily beautiful.
Dreamy.
Romantic.
And you can enjoy this weather in every way ... be it going out on picnics or snuggling in at home with a hot cuppa soup, ginger tea or coffee .... monsoons in Pune is sure to make you fall in love with life. 

And it was in this beautiful weather that I got to fall in love with the boiled corn on the cob.
As I was saying, I was with my friends in Lonavla , having a whale of a time laughing and joking, getting drenched in the light rain , walking the hilly roads as the clouds would pass by, drenching us with fresh droplets.
And in one of those walks, shivering in the windy cold, we stopped for some hot tea.
And near the small tea stall, there was this lady, with a blue plastic covering her from the rain ... in vain ... selling steaming hot boiled peanuts and sweet corn on the cob.
We hungrily bought some of each and that one bite into the sweet, juicy corn with some butter melting all around it and the steam burning my mouth, took me to another world altogether.
Standing  there in the rain with slush all around me,
oblivious to everything ... the people, the noise, the rush,
I closed my eyes and turned my face up to the cold rain and savoured the burst of flavours in my mouth.

And ever since, come monsoons, my grocery list always has sweet corn in it.

We have been eating a lot of steamed or roasted food recently due to the weather.
Barring the few bhajas with khichuri that is. 😃
And today this was for lunch , as it turned dark again outside ... after a brief spell of brightness.

My go to recipe is to cut up fresh vegetables, toss them with a good glug of olive oil, sprinkle some salt, chilli flakes, freshly crushed black pepper and sometimes crush in some Italian dry herbs too ... and bake at 150 degrees till the vegetables are done.

I had some leftover rice and decided to make something spicy to go with the light vegetables.
So made this burnt garlic butter rice.
Heated some butter ( never too hot ) in a heavy pan and 
added a good amount of chopped garlic.
When they started to turn brown, threw in a pinch of chilli flakes
and a couple of chopped green chillies.
Then added the rice, salt, a pinch of sugar and tossed everything together on high heat.
Done!

 Here is a closer look.

You can pair the roasted vegetables with toasted bread and soup too ... our usual dinner.
Or with boiled macaroni or noodles.
Or just roll them up in a roti or paratha and add some sauces of your choice to make a quick roll.
Any way ... this is one healthy yet very filling plate.

Enjoy !!
And stay healthy this monsoon.

Tikkis from leftover Upma

Last and the week last to that have been filled with disappointments. Which left me with a lack of enthusiasm to come over and write anything. The morose feeling was so deep settled that I still have not been able to come out of it.
Disappointments are a way of life and I am used to dealing with them.
But people, who otherwise walk about in life with and appear to be warm, friendly and sincere, actually show their ignorance or neglect or whatever it is, it hurts.
When you know them as persons who care and as friends and then find them to be actually cold and selfish.
They will be around when they need a human handkerchief .... someone to dump their woes on.
And then disappear .... giving nary a thought to how you are faring or a simple line of goodwill.
I enquire because I care; I try to stay in touch because I want to; not because I have nothing else to do; not because I am never bogged down by the unfair ways of life.

Which is why I have finally decided to give away a little less of myself away ; henceforth.

Anyway, a couple of weeks back, we went for the movie Padmavati or Padmavat or whatever. Pushing aside the still hanging heavy fracas all around regarding the movie, we went.
Or rather I went; dragging B along.
We were fully aware of the kind of movies the guy makes and so had kept all our logic, better judgements and expectations at home.
I had watched Bajirao Mastani earlier and had actually liked it ( which B attributes to my lack of knowledge regarding the real story ... and which I agree to ) ;
and have actually sat through Devdas the whole length through ( which again B attributes to have nothing to do with the movie but his company ) ... to which I agree too.
And had wondered just how bad can this new one be.

Well , we were not even halfway through the movie and I had already started to plead 'let's leave'.
B grinned and stayed put.
He had actually given me a look when I had said that I wanted to see the movie for the sets and grandeur that its maker is so known for.
Even if I am not one to be so frivolous.
So, that is what I was expected to do ... sit through the movie and all its 'grandeur'.

To top it, the stale samosas and lukewarm cold drink did not help at all.
Inox, Bund Garden Road, Pune, has been our favourite haunt for watching movies. 
But not anymore.
Maintenence is zero , the food is appalling and the screen lighting is way too poor.
The whole movie was such a disappointment just because of that dim lit screen.
And the cherry on the cake was Inox's latest hobby ... cutting scenes.
This is worse during weekdays when a whole movie starts and ends within an hour and a half ... including breaks.
As well as advertisements .... which are innumerable during half time ... so much so that one actually wonders if someone has forgotten to restart the movie.

With a heavy heart I promised never to visit Inox Bund garden, ever again.

The third disappointment came this weekend when we, for lack of doing anything better, decided to drive down the old Pune Mumbai highway for a lunch in one of the dhabas on the roadsides.
Pune's spring is fabulous.
And this weather is to be outdoors .... in the bright sun, cool breeze that has a hint of summer and beautiful evenings that have started to tarry a wee little longer before turning dark.
So off we went.

While we had already tried the food at Sunny da dhaba and Toni da dhaba, we hadn't tried Babbi da dhaba.
To be very honest, there isn't much difference between the three ... foodwise.
All of them serve the same, red coloured tandoori chicken.
I have been on the lookout for a good Butter chicken ever since I left home ... where we got the best butter chicken ever in the Punjabi dhabas on the highways.... and have tried umpteen number of places, risking health.
Only to be disappointed, as always.
This time too was not an exception.
The Butter chicken that came was bloody red in colour, with strips of boneless chicken in the overly sweet gravy, that promptly stained my fingers with a colour that refused to go till the next day.
B's dal makhni was full of Rajma and had the strong smell of raw turmeric.
The dry Chole was however good .... just stir fried Pindi Chole with onions and some masalas.
And I loved the crisp tandoori rotis .... made of maida though.

And that was not the end of the story.
Exactly five minutes into our return journey, I could feel that familiar soreness in my throat and the feeling of choking.
The darned food had ajinomoto / monosodium glutamate in it !!
It is usual for small eateries to add ajinomoto to dals and gravies as taste enhancer .... for that special, smoky flavour, these  days.
Most people do not know, or not notice or don't care.
But I do because I am allergic to ajinomoto .... hence no better tester than me.
And since eating in small joints is now a thing of past for us, the ajinomoto thing had completely skipped my mind.

The only saving grace that evening was the evening itself.
As we drove homewards by the beautiful, dark grey hillocks against the setting sun, we talked about the old days when we would hop on our trusty old bike and zoom off towards the highways, with hardly any traffic to deal with on the way, and sit beside the road at any eatery or dhaba and enjoy a good meal of hot rotis and a fragrant, simple dal.
Life sure has changed.
And so has Pune; drastically.

Coming to today's recipe, it is not much of one.
Long back, during the monsoon months, I had made Upma one day, for breakfast.
And had a bulk of leftover.
Asked my blogger friends and got varied recipes out of which I took a little from all and made these tikkis or patties.

My Upma already had onions and grated coconut, so all I did was add some boiled potatoes and used some dal water (from the chana dal / Bengal gram lentils that I had boiled for later use ) to soften it.
Plain water would have diluted the taste; also the water from the boiled dal added to the flavour too.

Threw in some chopped, fresh green chillies and a spoonful of Maharashtrian peanuts chutney for some zing.
Rolled them in breadcrumbs seasoned with chilli flakes and fried them with very few drops of oil in my well seasoned iron tawa / skillet.
Some ketchup and adrakwali chai ( ginger tea ) on the side and we happily welcomed the dark skies and the drizzle that day. 

I had clicked the photos on my phone ... so I know they are not much to write home about.
But do try these crisp on the outside and soft, 'melt in the mouth' inside  tikkis the next time you have some leftover Upma.
I know you will love them.

Make for perfect snacks anytime of the day ... especially during winter and the cool monsoon months.

Cheerio all!!

Mooli ka Thepla / Radish flatbreads

It is quiet all around. Except for the birds ... flying and chirping and singing busily. The parrots are going crazy, screeching and playing around in the trees. There is a particularly large group living here and are the noisiest ones around.
It is a delight to watch them everyday and especially when it rains. ( I recently shared a video on Instagram of them bathing in a sudden shower. )
The sun has just come up from behind the little hillock in the east and I can see the brightness all around on the trees and their shining leaves ... but not the sun, not yet, as I am on my balcony in the west.
It is a gorgeous morning and still cold. And breezy too.
The rains are nowhere in sight but there are clouds, lazily passing by ... large puffs of white. An occasional dark one does pass by too, but it is too small to dim the brightness all around.
I take a sip of my Darjeeling tea. The breeze is strong and lulls the swing a little. Good ... since I did not want to move an inch.
Reclining on the swing, my feet to not reach the ground.
So I am grateful for the strong breeze.

A bulbul darts in and sits on the terracotta water bowl. I stay still.
Ever alert, it jumps up and down a little, looks this way and that quickly and jumps into the water.
Splashes around, gives a few quick dips and jumps up on to the rim again, shakes all over to throw away the excess water and is gone. Just like that ... in the blink of an eye.
I finally relax and move to wipe the water droplets on my arm.

It is a gorgeous morning.
I take another sip ... the steam is still coming out of the cup and curls upwards.
I am tempted to go back inside and get my half read book. I have just got my hands on Amish's Sita, finally, and am hooked to it ... just like I am to the rest of his books.
But I don't.
I love my time with myself and nature in the mornings and decide not to let anything else come in between. I can read later.
After all, the rains will start eventually. And I won't get to sit outside this way for sometime.

I will be away, at home.
Where it rains like all hell has broken loose. With thunder and lightening. With huge storm winds.
Where you see the sky turn ominously red, in the nights and know that it is going to pour soon. Pour incessantly; ceaselessly.
Where I will have to go back again and again, at this time of the year, when I rather would not.
When I would rather hide, burrow myself deep somewhere, or get lost somewhere where painful memories cannot reach me.
When I will have to relive those moments of agonising helplessness, relentless yet futile hope and the pain of seeing my father sink slowly into oblivion.
Where I will be reminded and mocked by life about the amount of time that has gone by, without him around me. And I can do nothing about it.
Where I will have to stay in those rooms and see him in every nook and corner of his beloved house.
Where I can see all his things around but not him.
Where my heart will burst with pain every single moment and yet I will be alive, with his memories and his absence.

The rains, that I had loved so much once upon a time, bring only pain to me now.

I have been trying to focus and bring myself to write a post before I leave, but the days are pure mayhem right now. The heart is heavy and yet, there are preparations to be made. I have been cooking in bulk and freezing. Then I need to pack too.
And to cap it all perfectly, we are having guests, relatives we cannot ignore.
So even a minute of a breather is welcome right now, but a far dream.

I will leave you with this thepla that makes for a filling breakfast as well as a dinner too.
I have made this mooli / radish, you can use any vegetable of your choice too.
A thepla is different from a stuffed paratha ... it has the vegetables kneaded in with the flours.
I say flours because I often add different kind of flours ... jowar, makka/maize, rice or a little besan. While the nutritional value does go up, the mutigrain flours add some extra flavours too.

Need :

Whole wheat flour - 8tbsp
Jowar / sorgum flour - 2 tbsp
Makka / maize flour - 1tbsp
Besan / Bengal gram flour - 1 tbsp
( If you do not have these flours, you can make with plain whole wheat flour too. )
Grated mooli / radish - 1½ cups
Ajwain / carrom seeds - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tsp
Amchur / dry mango powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - to fry , 1 tbsp to add to the dough while kneading
Water - to knead dough

How to :

Knead everything together to make a firm, not tough, pliable dough.

Cut out small balls and roll them into round parathas.

Heat a well seasoned tawa and fry them one at a time, smearing a little oil on both side to brown them.

Serve hot with raita and achar / pickle.
The achar in the picture is my home made Amla ka achar.

Enjoy!!
And have a happy monsoon filled with fun and food!

Dahibara Aloodom - Cuttack's favourite and much loved street food

 Right now, at this moment, the state of Odisha is celebrating the monsoons with a festival that is very unique to it.
It is celebrating Raja, the festival of Mother Earth turning fertile and ready for the sowing season.
Primarily an agricultural state, Odisha has this festival celebrated with much enthusiasm at homes where every unmarried girl and married woman is celebrated during this festival.
It is believed that Mother Earth goes through the ritual of menstruation during this time and hence Raja is celebrated as a festival of fertility. There is a festive air all over and the four days of the Raja festival sees a lot of home cooked delicacies too.

The festival of Rajo ( pronounced as Rawjaw ), starts with one day before the actual festival. That day is called Sajabaja ... or decking up with new clothes, flowers, etc. or preparing for decking up by getting together new clothes and ornaments.
All agricultural work is stopped from the first day of Rajaw or Pahili rajaw till the fourth day.
Women dress up, cook, eat and share numerous delicacies like Podo pitha and other kinds of pitha, rich curries of mutton and chicken, and all kinds of sweets and payesh too.
Swings are a must ... every home and backyard will have a swing set up, either on the branch of a strong tree ... usually the mango or jamun or a neem ... and girls swing on it for fun.
This resembles the Teej festival of Rajasthan, that celebrates monsoon too.

 While my heart yearns for those beautiful days of summer vacation spent at my maternal Dadu's house in Cuttack, I set to create as many Odiya dishes as possible in my kitchen ... in celebration of those days and their memories.
Since my mother and her siblings were a big lot in number, the huge house would fall short when it came to accomodating all of them when they visited with their families.
So many would spill over to Boro Masi's place .
But would get together as soon as the day started and we kids, more than 15 in numbers, would spend the days with numerous adventures and mishaps, that would later stay on in the family as anecdotes to be recalled during get togethers.

I remember choto Mama would set up a swing for us in one of the branches of the huge ... and when I say huge it means HUGE ... Neem trees on the bank of our pond.
The pond had a cemented border and steps on four sides, complete with cement chairs for people to sit on and enjoy the cool breeze in the summer evenings when there would be no electricity power.
It was surrounded with other strong trees like the mango and the jamun too, but this particular neem stood a little behind the steps of the pond .... which gave the elders the assurance that no child will drop into the water, while swinging.

The swing itself was a broad, wooden plank with four holes drilled into it at the corners.
Thick jute ropes would then be knotted into them and tied in the most unique way ... nobody could undo them ... they were so secure.
And the swing would be set up in the highest possible, strongest branch ... which means it was a long swing. When we gained momentum and swing way high up, we would be directly above the waters of the pond. While I have never tried it, my elder cousin brothers have often jumped from that high right into the water, with a huge splash ... that would send us young ones shrieking into the water too ... but from the steps.
Dadu had made sure there was a gradual slope and the it was cemented too, from the banks, so that the littlest of grandchild could step into the waters and enjoy.

 The other beautiful memory that comes back to me from during those vacations is the gorging on street food. By the elder cousins to be precise .... we kids would merely be around but share the excitement, nonetheless.
Street food was a no no, as usual. But the older ones got to bribe the househelps to get us some anyway.
Secret messages would be passed along, avoiding the nosy elders, and we would all get together on the terrace of the third floor of the house .... where most elders avoided going due to the arduous climb ... and get one of the house helps to get us the forbidden street snacks.

One day it would be the singara + aloo chop, the Ghugni on the other. Or the much loved phuchka / gup chup ( as it called in Odiya) on other days.
But it was that one thing that everyone kept their ears perked up for .... that long tone of the man on the cycle, slowly pedaling through the quiet, lonely neighbourhoods on hot summer afternoons, two huge handis of aluminium hanging on both sides of his cycle, calling out "Alooooooo dummm dahi baraaaaa!".
And then two long rings of his cycle bell.

N didi would be up in a flash .... tip toe out of the room, and jostle and bully any one of the house helps to wake up and send the sleepy eyed fellow to buy the lip smacking Aloo dum dahi bara.
The man would make a small bowl by folding a fresh, green shaal leaf, quickly throw in some aloo dum and some break a bara / vada from the dahi vada, add some chopped onions and green chillies. a handful of spicy mixture, some more dahi and some spicy powdered masalas. A final dash of red chillies and rock salt and he hands over the leaf.
Sometimes he would add the ghugni to it too ... but not always.

By the time it would reach us, the leaf would be leaking and the precious droplets of the spicy water would be disappearing fast (which is why we sent the boy with small boxes much later ... helped by our Didima/grandmother). We would all jump in and try to get at least a couple of spoons each.
It was heaven.
And stuff that childhood memories are made of. 😃

I made a plate for myself when I had made the Aloo dom.
And sent a thought to dear N didi , who is no longer around to enjoy these sinful things that she so loved.

To make this plate of Dahi bara Aloo dom, you will have to make the Dahi bara first.
Preferably a day before.

Then you make the Aloo domm.

Then you will have to chop up some onions + green chillies + fresh coriander leaves.
Then take a plate, arrange the aloo dom and the vadas from the dahi vada.

Now add a good amount of the sour and lip smacking dahi all over it.

Then add the chopped onions + green chillies + coriander leaves.

Then add a good dose of rock salt + red chilli powder + amchur powder / lemon juice.

Now add a final spoon of the dahi and throw in some spicy mixture.

Perfect for a monsoon day or evening.
Since it is so filling, I usually have it for lunch or dinner .... especially with friends and family.
Yep ... you have to have company to enjoy this .... those close to you, those who will sniffle with you when the spice is a tad too much and those who will laugh with you thinking of long gone days.


Enjoy!!

Aloo Dom .... cooked the typical Odiya way, with loads of flavour and spice and perfect for a snack

Aloo dum, Dum alu, Alur dum .... different names for different kinds.
The only common factor is the aloo / potato. Otherwise, there is absolutely no similarity in any of them. 

I had been craving Odisha's Aloo dom for a long while. These days, it is almost next to impossible to get hold of it .... not even on my visits home.
And no matter how much ever I tried, I just could not get it right .... whenever I have tried to make it by myself.
It always lacked that special flavour; that something that goes 'zing!' inside your head and your heart sings either 'yes!!' or 'home!'.
I have never eaten it at home ... our cook never made it.
I had tasted it only at my Odiya friends' houses or eaten it as a chaat / street food.
So,whenever I thought of it, I would get that twist in my heart ... almost leading me to sadness.
And yes, I had often wallowed in the self induced morbidity that I might die before I got to taste my favourite Odiya Aloo dom, ever again.

 But somebody up there yonder pulled some strings, I believe. And I got to make this authentic way of the Odiya Aloo dom; finally.
This wonderful lady from a group answered my question for the authentic Odiya Aloo dom, mentioning that it has been Aloo tarkari / curry all the while and has no idea when it started to be called the Aloo dom.
I got some baby potatoes the very next day and made this Aloo dom, which is often served as a street food in Odisha ... served with a dash of this and that spice, chopped onions and other condiments. Quickly tossed and plated out in a small bowl made of a leaf of a local tree ... the shaal tree. 
This is eaten with luchis, parathas or puris too, and usually for breakfast or dinner.

I had in mind to pair it with something else too ... post coming up soon.

 I leave you with this today.
Will be quiet for a while now.
Too depressed with the rampant plagiarism all over ... especially idea plagiarism.
Makes me want to stop blogging or sharing recipes or tips altogether.

Updated :

Ok ... here is the recipe ...

Heat mustard oil ... add chopped onions and fry till translucent.

Add bay leaf + jeera and + dhania powder  + turmeric + salt + red chili powder + ginger garlic paste.

Add blanched tomatoes or freshly cut tomatoes ..fry the masala till oil oozes out.

  Add boiled and cut potatoes + water , cover and cook.

Add garam masala and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Enjoy, folks!!!

Chickpeas Fried Rice / Chole Pulao - a spicy plateful to warm your heart when it is pouring outside

No, I did not speak all too soon.
The weather has indeed taken a turn and for the good too.
While the temperatures have continued to dip, the breeze has been steady and is only growing stronger.
I had a bout of sneezing and sniffling yesterday, a result of my carelessness ... I had the window open, the fan on and the ac on too ... yeah, kill me for that ... one of these days, and was punished accordingly.
And promptly too.
The whole of yesterday was spent at trying to sneeze with the lowest possible noise ... yet the more the day wore on, the more the volume increased.
Not to mention my groans.
Cold and flu make me cranky. And if there is someone, anyone, in the vicinity, I become very restless.
Tried to lie down and watch the telly but to no good. The choicest of idiotic movies were on. Listening to music was another pain ... my sneezes would not allow me to listen in peace.
Spent a whole miserable morning before I gulped an antihistamine.
That took care of me and I was in dreamland for the rest of the afternoon and the better part of the evening.
B made a hot dinner of Aloo baingan ki sabzi   , with a little gravy to help my sore throat, along with  plain parathas.
And then I slept again.

Woke up early to a dark, cloudy sky and rain.
That quiet, silent but non stop drizzle that Pune is so loved for.
Looked out and saw the droplets dripping down the leaves and the railings of my balcony.
Snuggled back into the razai again.
But sleep eluded and thoughts turned to breakfast.
And what would a good Bong have for breakfast on a beautiful, rainy morning?
Luchi!, of course.
So while B took his morning call, I quickly  set the shaada aloor chorchori on one burner and kneaded the maida.
Soon we were sitting at the table, looking out of the windows and watching the trees sway, enjoying our breakfast of luchi torkari.
I did post a photo of my plate on the blog's page on facebook.
There is a video too, on my personal page.
Someday I will do a post on how to make that perfect phulko luchi, for sure.

But today, while I am still drowsy ... thanks to Avil, I thought I will give my weekly grocery shopping a miss and just watch the clouds.
And make this post.

I had made this Chana pulao just last week. It was a hurried day and I had some leftover rice as well as boiled chickpeas in the fridge.
Decided to throw in them together and come up with a one pot meal.
A plain raita and some salad on the side and a quick lunch was ready within 15 minutes.

Here is the recipe.

Need :

Chickpeas - big cup, 1 pressure cooked with a little salt
Rice - 1 big cup, cooked
Onions - 2, medium, chopped
Garlic - 6, chopped
Green chillies - chopped
Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Dry mango / Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp (you can skip it if you are vegan)
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

How to :

Heat oil in a kadahi / wok.

Add the chopped garlic and fry till they turn light brown.

Add the onions and fry till they turn pink.

Now add the green chillies + the boiled and drained chickpeas (make sure you do not add any water ), haldi powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder, amchur powder, salt and sugar.

Mix everything well and fry for a while.

Now add the rice and adjust salt.

Add a little more garam masala ( or a pinch of biryani masala will also work fine. I used the Punjabi garam masala that I got from Amritsar ) and mix well.

Add ghee and lemon juice, give a good mix and cover.

Let it stand for around 2 minutes before you switch off heat.

Serve hot with raita and salad on the side.

The raita is just fresh home made curd beaten well with a pinch of black salt and sprinkled with roasted jeera/cumin powder + red chilli powder.

This turns out to be a wonderful one pot meal, especially if you have dryish leftover rice.
Mine was slightly mushy as my rice was a little well cooked.
No change in the flavours though.
And personally I feel well cooked rice soaks up flavours better than just done rice, especially for pulaos like this .... won't work with a biryani though.


Enjoy!!!