Shorshe Chaatu / Mushrooms in mustard paste

This is my 260th !!! :-)

This has been a long, long pending post. The photos have been lying in my folder, waiting to see the light of the day ... any day ... even a cloudy day.
But I have been caught up with numerous things, all at once, and making a post here is the last thing on my mind now. But looking at the date stamp of my last post, I felt I really needed to keep Kichu Khon on a life line ... before it goes to eternal sleep again. So picked up the first set of photos that were edited and ready ... and here's shooting off a quick post before the busy days eat me up again.

Mushrooms are called Chaatu in Bengali and Odia.
Back home, Bapi would bring fresh mushrooms when in season, dump them on a big plate and put it in front of me. I loved to skin the hoods ... and so that job was delegated to me.
They were usually big sized, with a flat hood that had a slightly darkish skin and spread out. Underneath they were darker. And the stems would be white.
When very fresh, the hood would break with a light snap. I would break it into small pieces and peel the skin. Later they would be chopped and cooked.

Ma cooked mushrooms the only way we loved them ... in mustard paste. Sometimes she would add some small sized fish to it too. But most of the time it was cooked with little sized potatoes ans mustard paste. Since our cook was an Odia, she would add garlic to the mustard when making the paste ... most Odia recipes using mustard paste use garlic ... thus bringing out a whole new flavour to the dish.
I love garlic so add a good amount ... the fragrance of garlic with the fresh, pungent mustard paste is something so wonderful that it brings tears to the eyes.
Why tears? Take a whiff of this freshly made paste and you will know. :-)

Ma makes this dish dry. Mushrooms release a lot of water when cooking and tend to turn the dish watery, even before you have served it.
Bapi does not like it ... just like he does not like rice that has turned sticky,  jhol that is a little too watery, ruti that has burn spots ... brown spots are allowed but not black ones, they mean burnt ...... so Ma took care to cook it till it was very dry and slightly bhaja bhaja ... almost like a fried version. 
The high heat, to dry up the dish, would result in slightly charring the sides and I loved those dark brown scrapings mixed with rice. 

It has been a long time since I had those local mushrooms last. Here I get the button mushrooms, in a packet from the chiller at the super market.
They stay well for not more than 2 days ... in the fridge. After that they start to turn dark.

Need :

Mushrooms - cleaned and chopped
Potatoes - peeled and chopped into small pieces ( they should be smaller than the mushrooms pieces )
Onion - peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces
Tomato - chopped
Soaked Mustard seeds - ( I use half and half of both black and white seeds and soak them for about an hour)
Garlic pods
Fresh green chillies
Haldi / Turmeric powder
Kalonji / Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds
Salt
Sugar
Mustard oil

How to :

Make the mustard paste by grinding together the mustard seeds, green chilles and the garlic together.
Heat oil in a kadahi.
Add the kalo jeere and the onion. Fry lightly.
Now add the potatoes and fry for a while on high heat.
Lower heat, add the mushrooms, haldi and salt. Cover and cook till potatoes are done.
Remove cover and add the mustard paste. Give a good stir.
Cover for around 5 mins.
Remove cover and add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of sugar.
Cook till all water disappears and the dish turns dryish.

Goes great on the side with plain hot rice and dal.
A squeeze of lemon and some fresh green chilli with every bite makes it all the more tasteful.

Enjoy!!

I had shared this recipe of adding garlic to the mustard when making the paste with Sandeepa Bong Mom once ... here's how she made it.


Other recipes with Mustard paste on Kichu Khon

Shorshe Kaatla Bhaape 

Shorshe Ilish 

Shorshe Rui 

Shorshe Bhindi ( vegetarian )

Shorshe Potol ( vegetarian ) 

Shorshe Sheem ( vegetarian ) 

Gilki ke pakode / Batter fried Sponge gourd

A visit to the in laws house is always an uplifting experience for me.
Not soul wise, not the 'just enlightened and reached heaven and feeling all is well kind'. Just the energizing kind.
For a quiet Bengali girl, who has successfully maintained the peace and quiet in her life and home, the burst of life in all possible forms is enough to give a good shake and open up the eyes and look at the world with a new ... well ... vigour?
Yes, vigour ... that is it.

One step into the house and I am in a different world. The first thing that strikes me or my eyes is the colour. Or colours. Bright, cheerful, happy colours. Enough to transport the 'pure white loving' me ... who wears  white, sleeps on white, decorates her home with white ...basically loves white and is a good target of constant jibs from the family ....  to a new world.
But there's more.
People bustling around, calling out to each other, laughing and joking through out the day. Ma in law looks like a mini tornado .... everywhere at the same time, giving instructions, making sure everything is right, the proud mother whose son has come home.
Sometimes just watching them is enough to tire me out. And makes me say "Phew!" more than once in a day.
And the visitors .... uncounted, unlimited numbers of visitors. All through out the day there will some person or family visiting. Snacks being prepared, tea ... spicy with adrak and elaichi ... being served, sitting with them to give them company and sometimes having lunch or dinner ... depending upon the time of visit ... together. No respectable Rajasthani family will let their guests leave without having a proper meal or some heavy snacks.
During Diwali this scenario multiplies manifold. The energy, the get togethers, the whole family comes together ... uncles, aunts, cousins, their children, their visiting friends, distant uncles, aunts, their children ... the list is endless.

Inspite of all this, Ma in law never forgets to cook her son's favourite dishes. They range from the very elusive bhawar laat ki fali and the very special Dankheer or plain daily dals ... sirf Mummy ke haath ka is what makes them so special ... or a huge range of chutneys.

The cook gets a respite at such times, when Mummy takes over the kitchen with gutso.

Among these things is the very simple Gilki ke pakode ... that Mummy makes with her own touch. And  is savoured by all. 

This time she passed on the recipe to me and I marveled at how she rustles up such tasty dishes with the minimum of ingredients. So much like my way of cooking ... and am reassured am on the right track.

Gilki, or the Sponge gourd is a variety of the Ridge gourd ... except of course the ridges. Tastes the same though. Since it has almost no taste or flavour of its own, its accompaniments need to be slightly spicy or tangy ... especially for daily cooking or when making rustic dishes. 

This pakode or battered frried version of the Gilki is made during the Navaratri ... and on Dusshera day. And that marks the end of eating gilki, a summer vegetable, for the rest of the year ... i.e till it reappears again in summer. 

That is how our older generation instills eating seasonal fruits and vegetables in us ... with rituals, norms or tales. 

In my home, it is enjoyed with the khichri, or when it rains ... or whenever the man turns nostalgic. 

Need :  

Gilki / Sponge gourd - peeled and cut into very thin roundels

Besan / Gram flour 

Red chilli powder

Hing / Asafeotida

Ajwain / Carrom seeds

Salt

Water

Oil to deep fry

How to: 

Dunk the very thin slices of the gilki in a bowlful water with a generous amount of salt added to it ( say around 2 tbsp)  for around 20 minutes.

Prepare the batter by mixing together the besan, red chilli powder, hing, ajwain seeds and salt.
The batter should be very thin ... almost runny consistency.

Heat enough oil in a deep kadahi or open faced pan.

Remove the slices from the water, gently squeezing out extra water and put them into the besan batter.
Mix well.

Now slowly scoop out a palmful of gilkis and batter and spread on the oil  make sure they do not stick together to make big sized lumps.
Fry well, turning once or twice ... till golden brown and crisp.

Remove with a slotted spoon on a kitchen napkin or paper tissues to drain excess oil.

Serve hot ... with chutneys or ketchup.
When you bite into it, you will get a mix of the spicy batter as well as the sweetness of the gilki inside.
Lovely ... I must say.
Great as a side to any meal or with a hot cup of tea in the evenings.
Enjoy !!

Shorshe Katla Bhaape / Kaatla fish steamed with mustard paste

After a whirlwind weekend, and a hectic Monday morning, I finally get to sit down to make a post. The wind is whistling outside, the sky dark and looming. A streak of lightning flashes once in a while.
I can hear the low rumble of thunder too. Not loud and crackling ... but a low growl. Taking its time and giving the lightning its time.
The stage is set.

In a moment, the wind will turn crazy. Fast , furious and merciless. Heavy with collected dust and sand, it will blow away anything that comes in its way. It will blow away the weak leaves, bend the branches and soft trees to a side. The leaves on the trees will be upturned ... showing their lighter side, usually hidden from view.
Then it is the thunder's cue to join in.
The low rumble will grow into loud claps ... almost trying to keep up with the wind's fury. And lightning can't stay away too. Tearing the sky into two, there will be flashes of glorious light ... sometimes white, sometimes pink. Blinding the eye ... yet mesmerising.

Now comes the rain.
First in big droplets ... preparing all for the next show.
Then in torrents. On the parched soil.
First washing the wind of all dust and grime. Then the rest of the world.
Cleansing, soothing, cooling rain.
Soothing the world. Wiping away the last traces of the day's unbearable heat.
The dark clouds loom closer.
The wind, the rain, the thunder and the lightning ... all dance in perfect sync.
And I watch.

Ever since I have come here, I have not missed the Kalboishakhi ...nature's daily, summer afternoon ritual.

Like I am not missing my fishwala any more.
Because I'm getting used to the freshest fish I can ever get, except for back at home ... where the fish came from our very ponds.
Here, I'm having a very similar experience . With so many lakes around, it is no wonder that a lot of fishing goes on. The boats come in very early in the morning, with live fish. All we need to do is pick our choice, get it cleaned and bring it home.
And the taste! Ah ... what can I say. The sweetest fresh water fish I've had in a long, long time.

Last week I bought some fish. But no Rohu. There was just Kaatla. Of all sizes.
So I had to bring one home.
Since I haven't cooked Katla much, I was wondering if the same recipes would work on it as on the rohu.
Gave out a call on FB. Friends happily supplied  a variety of options of what to do with it ... all of which I have every intention of trying out. Thanks guys ... you are the best.
I zeroed in on Arpita Mookherjea Srivastava's suggestion of " Sorshe bataa paste lagiye steam kore try koro...odbhut laagbe...! "
Odbhut it was ... a great tasting steamed fresh fish, that was so soft it almost melted in the mouth ,in a buttery, creamy gravy of mustard and coconut.


I had some mustard paste in the freezer and some coconut paste, in the freezer too. I tend to add coconut to most mustard dishes so this helped. And I couldn't resist adding a potato ... sliced.


Need :

Katla fish pieces
Mustard paste - I used white and black mustard seeds
Coconut paste - I grind freshly grated coconut
Turmeric powder

 Mustard oil
Fresh green chillies
Potato - sliced
Lemon juice 
Salt

How to :
Marinate the fish pieces with salt, turmeric powder, mustard oil, mustard paste, coconut paste and lemon juice.
Arrange them in an airtight, preferably steel, box.
Take a big sized kadahi or pan and fill it with water ... that will come up only till half of the box that holds the fish.
Place a tight/ heavy cover on it and place on heat.
Cook for around 20 minutes or till the fish is cooked properly.
(When the water starts to boil, the steam sealed inside will cook the fish).

Remove cover and serve hot.

This goes great with steamed rice, with a slice of lemon and a green chilli on the side.

Enjoy!!


Other recipes with the Shorshe or Mustard paste 

Shorshe potol ( Vegetarian ) 


Shorshe Sheem ( Vegetarian )  Shorshe Bhindi ( Vegetarian )

Shorshe Ilish 

Shorshe Rui