Sunday 13 June 2010

Churmur


After the Jhaal Muri and the Phuchka / Pani puri / Golgappa, the next favourite Calcutta street food is the Churmur.

A wonderful combination of salty, spicy and a dash of tang thrown in with the soft of boiled potatoes and the crunch of the crispy puris in every mouthful ... along with the heat of chilles and sharp of onion bits ... it is like tasting a whole gamut of experiences in every spoonful.

My blog friend Aparna, who has a great blog and is a wonderful writer had requested some recipes long back. Among them was one for the Churmur. So here is the Churmur .. for her ... and all of you. Thanks for your patience A. :-)



You don't need too many things to make this at home. You can make the preparations in advance too ... like boiling the potatoes and the dried peas ( running them in the MW oven with a little water and salt is the quickest way ) , roasting and powdering the jeera / cumin, getting the puris, etc. All you have to do is put everything together and serve.

And if you are planning to have this for guests ... you can mix them all up ... just add the onions and the broken puris just before serving ( else the onions tend to smell ... and the puris will turn soggy ... and won't go chur mur chur mur when eating).

Need :


Dried White Peas - soaked for half an hour and pressure cooked with salt and water on low heat for 4 whistles

Roasted Jeera / Cumin powder - dry roast on a tawa or pan stirring constantly till you get an aroma ... cool ... and crush it in a mortar and pestle

Chilli powder - not Kashmiri mirch powder ... you need the spicy one ... either you dry roast some whole dry red chillies and crush them or use the chilli flakes with pizza takeouts

A little tamarind water ( add if you find the mix getting too dry )

Rock salt - a must

Black pepper powder

A little Mustard oil

Amchur / Dried mango powder 

A little tamarind water - just soak some tamarind and squeeze out after a little while

Fresh coriander leaves chopped ( I did not use as I don't eat them )

Fresh green chillies - give a thwack first to release the juices and then chop

How to




Put the diced potatoes, the boiled peas, chopped onions, green chillies together in a bowl.

Add the dry masalas with salt ( adjust the spice, sour and salt according to your taste ).

Add a dash of mustard oil and the tamarind water and stir very well.


Crush the papdis or the puris and add it to the mixture. 
Many like the mixture soggy ... I don't.
And I like the crispness of the papdis in a biteful, so have not crushed them completely.

Give another good stir to mix everything properly.



And your Churmur is ready!

Serve immediately.


I had some of my wonderful Saunth / Sonth that I usually make whenever I have left over Chaashni / sugar syrup from Rosogollas or Gulab Jamuns.
So served with it along too. Tasted great ... as always.



If you do not have chashni and still want to make the saunth, just boil equal amounts of water and sugar and add the other ingredients mentioned here.

Enjoy this spicy tangy plateful with friends or just indulge yourself while it is pouring outside! :-)

18 comments:

  1. Wow!Wow!Wow!
    Thanks a lot Sharmila, can't wait to try this one out! Mouth watering already!
    Will let you know how this turned out ASAP...

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  2. I got to make this one...kolkata style...just as taught by Sharmi Ma'am :-)
    Wonderful mouthwatering pics!!

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  3. OMG J, I was looking for this recipe just two days back on the net, and there you have it now.Looks awesome, will try it soooon.

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  4. My pleasure Aparna! :-)

    Thanks Joyee! Aaj e baniye felo. :-)

    Telepathy dear I! Go make yourself a bowlful today. :-)

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  5. ki byapar ajkal sab amar fav jinish gulo banie amake tempt korcho. eta khete je ki bhalobasi bolte parbo na. ekhane akdom paoya jayna. mouthwatering snaps.

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  6. I don't think churmur has been ever so wonderfully photographed. Churmur was one of the sneaked in joys of school days which still tugs at the heart strings. Recently had some at the new phuchka stall at Mumbai

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  7. I want some now. The saunth you have there is very very attractive. I am getting some pani puris or papdis from my next grocery visit. Papdis are a little bit thicker aren't they.
    What is the clear liquid? Mustard oil?

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  8. Sharmila, phucka barite pore achey. banatei hobe. ei koekdin aage puchka khelam.. Drool Drool obostha ekhane.

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  9. Thank you thank you thank you!
    You get all kinds of chaat in many places all over the world. But churmur you get only in Cal....and I really miss not being able to eat it anymore. You bet I'm going to make this at the earliest possible!!

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  10. Thanks A2Z! :-)

    Thanks Kalyan! You got Churmur in Bombay?! Wow! Lucky! :-)

    Thanks Sayantani! Pawa jaye na toh ki hoyeche ... ektu nijer jonne baniye nao ebaare. :-)

    Thanks ISG! Yes, the papdis are the puris that did not puff up ... they stay crisp for a longer time.
    That clear liquid is tamarind water ... I had made some to have pani puri too .. .so put it in the snap. :-)

    Thanks Soma! Baniye felo ... ar deri keno? :-)

    Thanks Aqua! My pleasure. Go ahead and indulge today. :-)

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  11. Tomar-ta dekhe icche korche ek-khuni kore kahai. Amar aeei saab khete khoob bhalo lag-ae...besi bhalo lage jokhon someone else prepares such a mouth watering plate and hands it over so that i can gobble it up. Nice pics.

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  12. @Sharmila... and in my para http://finelychopped-k.blogspot.com/2010/06/calcuttas-phuchkas-enter-paani-puri.html

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  13. Yumm!! i just love this. Ate a lot of it while in the school days!!

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  14. Mmmmmmmmm, chur mur, chur mur korche pran ta

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  15. God, Sharmila, you are killing me with this recipe and those pictures! :)
    Delicious!

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  16. I always drool at anything which is closely related to the phuchka family!

    Do you realize the deep urges this post evokes in me? I make churmur and some chaats at home here. The ones you get in Little India here are gross.

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  17. Thanks Gouridi! Chole ashun ... ami baniye debo. :-)

    Got it Kalyan! Before I visit Bombay the next time am going to get you to make a list for me (or go thru your whole blog ;-) ) ... and will fast for around a week before that. :-)


    Thanks Apu! :-)

    Baniye felo Sandeepa .. beshi shomoye lage na. :-)

    Thanks Vaishali! :-)

    Thanks Pree! I just remembered u made churmur too ... ar tomar snaps gulo o kintu darun. Little India ki .. ami India te theke o bhalo phuchka / chaat pai na. :-)

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