Aloo Potol er bhaja / Stir fried potatoes and pointed gourd

 I have often noticed on social media that every time the Bhaja is mentioned, it attracts a lot of shocked 'whoah!'s or a very predictable reaction to the 'oil' used to make it.
At first, I used to wonder why.
I mean, what has the bhaja to do with a lot of oil, quite did not make sense to me then.
And then I slowly realised that most of the people who reacted this way are non Bengalis and the actual meaning of the 'Bhaja' is lost in translation.

It made me think of what Devdutt Pattanaik had said in one of his programs on the tv ... how the intricate details of our culture and ancient writings could not be explained or named by the English with their limited words .... hence they categorised everything under one word - 'mythology'.
The same way, non Bengalis have no idea of the word 'Chanka' and categorise eveything under the name 'fry' ... the straight literal translation of the bhaja.

Except for the brinjal / Begun / aubergine, every other vegetable that is called a bhaja or fry is stir fried.
And that is possible with a very limited amount of oil too.
And nowadays, it can be almost oil free too ... thanks to non stick cookware.
I, however, do not use non stick cookware at all and stick to the good iron kadahis ... which are excellent to stir fry in, with very little oil, once they are seasoned well.

The brinjal / Begun is deep fried because it has a tendency to soak up oil. So when deep fried, it can be drained well and does not hold back the oil.
Similarly, the Luchi, every Bengali's favourite, is deep fried, while the Porota is not.
So we say "Luchi chanka hocche " and "Porota bhaja hocche".

And every Bengali will have at least two or three vegetables bhaja on their plate for lunch or dinner. Or for the jolkhabar / breakfast or along with in-between meals too.
And no, they are not soaked with oil and neither are they unhealthy too.

So go ahead and enjoy that bhaja. They are a great way to get some veggies into you.
Are quick to make and the lightest of way to enjoy vegetables.

I have the Aloo Potol bhaja for you today.
I have got some very good Potol / Parwal / Pointed gourd this summer.
While I am usually happy with the Potol bhaja / Potolo pithau bhaja  (this one is my favourite ) along with some dal and rice, I did make some Chenchki, aloo diye bhaja and also a Potoler Rosa / curry with gravy.
And yes, the Potol posto too.
I did not make the Potoler chop this time but if you want to try it, the recipe is here.
Also it has the recipe of the Aam Kasundi that I had made for the very first time.

I had clicked these snaps so thought of making a quick post on this.
And also share a good news - just saw this morning that Kitchen-e-Kichu Khonn has been listed among the top 100 food blogs on the planet by Feedspot.
And I get a badge too , to display on the blog! 😊
You can check it out on the right column.

So could not wait to hurry over and thank all of you for your love and encouragement and comments and interactions ... all of which give me that push to keep blogging and posting.
Makes all the efforts of cooking, clicking, cleaning up, making the time to sit down and write to you here .... very very worthwhile.
I am so glad to be able to share this blog and little parts of my life with you !!


Now, to make the simple Aloo Potol er bhaja.

Need :


Aloo / Potatoes - 2 medium sized, cut into medium thick slices
Potol / Parwal / Pointed gourd - 5 medium sized, cut into slices
Onion - 1 big, cut into thick slices
Mustard oil / any oil - 1 tbsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp or less
Salt - to taste


How to :

Heat a kadahi well.

Add the oil and spread it all over.

Add the onions and stir fry on low heat till they turn pink.

Now add the potatoes, the pointed gourd , haldi powder, red chilli powder and salt.


Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
Do remember to check and stir them once in a while.

Remove cover and fry them in the open till the potatoes turn slightly brown.

Remove and serve hot.

This bhaja goes very well on the side with dal and rice or when paired with rotis or parathas.

Enjoy!!

Tomato Khejurer chaatni

 Hi all!!
I was planning to make an elaborate post that would include what I had made my earlier post on .... let's see if you can guess correctly ... (people who have seen my page on fb are not allowed to take part in this :-) )
.... but unfortunately my plans have gone haywire.
All thanks to a glass of water that I spilled on the kitchen floor.
And before I could mop it up ... or say 'bazooka!' ... to quote Sheldon, I was on the floor , on my back, spreadeagled, with a twisted ankle and wrist.

Later, as the day progressed, I could feel the pain spread to points and muscles and all over the right leg and ankle and the left hand, especially the wrist ... that took the brunt of the thud.
And my already weak back and right shoulder.
And with that went my plans of writing a lengthy post.

So I will leave you today with these photographs of the Tomato Khejur er chatni that I had made a few months ago.
If you need the recipe, it is here. Just substitute the sugar with gur / jaggery.

 Take care all ....
while I go lie down, watch the drizzle outside and ponder on the line ... "Paa pichle aloor dom .... "

Sigh!

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!!!