Bara Ghugni / Vada ghugni .... Odisha's much loved street food snack

Growing up, I have never had the chance to eat this beautiful streetfood of Odisha ... the much loved combination of the  Biri bara and Ghughni.  At least not from the streets .... sold on carts with people flocking around it . Passing by, one cannot ignore that aroma of these badas sizzling in the hot oil, the steaming hot ghuguni / ghugni with its typical smell and of course the other aromas of tamarind, lemon and rock salt.

At times it would be made at home but not too often. And anyway it never smelt like the street side ones, so we wouldn't ask for it.

But I did get to taste the real thing whenever we went to my maternal dadu's place in Cuttack. With so many elder cousins , mashis, mamis etc .... every one of them all geared up to nosh through their favourite street foods, it wasn't difficult to mix into the crowd and get a bite of this and a slurp of that, once in a while. 

Now I make such things regularly .... the man has taken to Odia food  like a fish to water. Says that he married into one culture and got another as a bonus 😄

Seeing so many bora ghugni on my feed for the last few days, I decided to indulge in some. And the fact that it has started to rain since morning only made today the perfect day for enjoying this.

I tried to make it like the professionals .... with that hole in the centre ... but gave up after a while and made the plain round ones.

They may look imperfect but tasted yum 😋 

And then, like my Thamma used to say "Pete gele shob somaan " / every food is the same once it is inside the tummy 😄😄

Many started asking for the recipe and when the number of dms became a little too many to type out the whole thing, I decided to make a post here pronto. 
And direct everyone here for the details ..... since it is difficult to write the finer details due to instagram's word limits. 

For the Vadas / Baras / Medu Vadas : 

Soak Urad dal / Biri dali / Biulir dal overnight 
Grind into a paste the next day and keep aside for at least an hour. 

Add salt and beat well with your hands till light and slightly fluffy . 
Add chopped onions, ginger, coconut pieces, green chillies, cumin seeds / jeera and curry leaves to the dal paste. 

Heat enough oil in a deep pan or kadahi. 
Wet hands in a little water, scoop out small balls of the dal paste and let in carefully into the oil. 
Fry them till they are golden brown on all sides. 

Keep on a kitchen towel to drain out excess oil. 

For the Ghugni : 

Soak white matar  overnight. 
Cook it with turmeric powder and salt in a pressure cooker. 

Heat oil in a kadahi ( I use ghee as I am on an oil free diet right now ) . 
Add jeera and broken dry red chillies. 
Add chopped onions and fry a little. 
Now add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and green chilli paste. 
Cook well till masala changes colour and leaves oil on the sides. 
Add the boiled matar and mix well. 
Add enough water and bring to a boil. 
Adjust seasonings and simmer on low heat for at least 15 to 20 minutes. 
Finally, sprinkle roasted jeera powder and remove from heat. 
Let it stand covered for some time before serving. 

You can refer to this post of mine for a simpler, no onion garlic version of the ghugni too. 

To arrange everything : 

Place the vadas on the ghugni in an open bowl. 
Sprinkle roasted jeera powder, roasted chilli powder, chaat masala powder, lemon juice, chopped onions, green chillies, coriander leaves and chopped coconut pieces on them. 

 

 The Boras / Vadas can be eaten just as they are ..... fresh out of the kadahi and crisp and hot with puffed rice or plain with a cup of spicy ginger tea. 

The ghugni too can be enjoyed by itself with Luchi, Muri / Mudhi / puffed rice. 
Or can be paired with parathas too. 

Enjoy whichever way you want to. 

Here are a few other recipes of Ghugni / Ghuguni / Ghoogni from my blog. 


Stay safe all!! 

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. 

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 !!

Macha Munda Chencheda / Fish head cooked with spices

 Too many people all around. Too much of noise. Too many talking together. Too much of laughter. Too much of cooking going on.
Complaints throng my head. I look around for a little solitude. And do not find any.
Voices float all around me ... someone calling out, someone laughing out, children shrieking as they play, family greeting the just arrived ones with much embracing, smiles, laughter and jokes.
House helps hurrying all around, trying to keep pace with the orders given.
There is an air of festivity all around.

I look on from the terrace on the third floor of our house. And finally turn away in disgust.
I am angry.
I do not understand this casual air around. This air of happiness spilling forth amongst people who have come to our house. I do not understand this feel of vacation among them.
I am so angry that I spend all my time in the little room on the terrace.

Ma, on the other hand is more welcoming. She is all around ... giving orders, looking into the guests' comfort, assigning rooms, everything.
I do not help. I do not want to be a part of any of this.
Given a choice, I would happily be back in my home miles away; would give anything to avoid this time here every year henceforth.

I know I am being unreasonable. I know everyone is trying to lighten the air, ignoring the real, morbid reason why they are here. But I can't help it.
I miss Bapi.
I look around and miss him all the more.
Bapi loved having people over ... be it relatives or friends or unkown guests.
When relatives dropped in for a day, he would arrange for the kitchen to be filled with all kinds of fish and meat and vegetables. He remembered each one's favourite and made sure it was there on the plate.
A variety of mangoes during summer, Ilish from Kolaghat during the rains, the best mutton and prawns, ... you just have to name it. And it is there.
He did not talk much himself but loved to have people, especially our huge family, around him.
Our house in the little hilly town, where Bapi, Ma and I stayed because of the proximity to Bapi's industry/factory, came alive, resonated with laughter and loud, boisterous talking whenever the family and Dadu and Thamma dropped down to visit or spend a day.

And now, when everybody is here, I look around but can't find Bapi. And feel angry all the more. 
I just want some quiet around me.
And my Bapi.
And his voice, calling out to me.

Back in Pune, I often cook Bapi's favourite dishes, pretending he has asked me to. And this fish head curry is one of them.
In Bengali, it is called the Macher matha diye chanchra, and usually has vegetables added to it.
Even the Odia version has vegetables most of the time. But this one is different.
This one is a replica of the chencheda from a restaurant ... one that Bapi took solace in when it was a pure veg day at home.
Since Bapi could never eat a pure vegetarian meal, and had to have a little fish on his plate, he would arrange for some of this chencheda to be delivered home and had his lunch with this on the side. I too loved this chencheda , but it was way too spicy for me then.

All I remember is the overwhelming flavour of garlic and the reddish oil floating.
There would be very small bits of potatoes, almost invisible.
But the flavours of the fish head and garlic would be intact. At times, I could see a small piece of the tej pata,  a little green cardamom and some  cinnamon at other times.

It has been so long since I tasted it last that I do not remember almost anything about it.
Except that it tasted heaven;y.
And Bapi loved it.
With the dominance of garlic, so common in Odiya food, this fish head chencheda stays on as one of my favourite dishes.

Need :

1 Rohu Fish head - fried and broken into pieces
Onions - 2, chopped
Garlic paste - 4 tsp
Ginger paste - 2 tsp
Tomato paste - 3 tbsp
Green cardamom - 1, crushed
Cinnamon - 2 small pieces, crushed
Tej pata / bay leaf - 2
Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Dhaniya powder - 2 tsp
Potato - 1, chopped into very small pieces
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Roasted jeera powder - 1 tsp
Mustard oil - 5 tbsp
Salt - to taste

How to :

Heat the oil in a heavy kadahi / wok.

Add the crushed garam masala and the tej pata.

Add the onions and fry till they turn pink.

Now add the ginger + garlic paste and the tomato paste.
Fry well.

Add the haldi + mirchi + dhaniya powder and mix well.
Fry on low heat till oil starts to leave the sides.

Add the potato pieces, salt and a little water.

Cover and cook till the potatoes are done.

Remove cover and add the fried fish head.
Mix well.
Add some more water for everything to come together.
Cover and simmer till it dries up.

Add the garam masala powder and the roasted jeera powder, give a good stir, cover and remove from heat.

 Serve hot with rice.

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!!

Mangshor Ghugni

With Poila Boishakh just around the corner, I thought I will give my light, vegetarian recipes a skip and post this Mangshor Ghughni.
The photos have been in my drafts for quite some time now ... and I really have no reason why I did not post this still.
What with summer bearing down heavily on us much before the expected time, I seriously doubt any Bengali will cook up a rich, heavy feast to celebrate this first day of the Bengali new year.
But having said that, I know there will be feasts.
And then there is always Unienzyme.

I do not have any intention of eating out in this weather and have decided to stick at home and cook something light and traditional.
For old friends coming by.

This year, my menu for the Bengali New year or Poila Boishakh will be from my blog. Everything that I plan to cook is here on Kitchen-e-Kichu Khonn.

Like this Mishti Polau, this very light Narkel chicken, some bhajas or vegetable fries, a Doi Maach or a kalia with the Rui / Rohu fish, and Aamer chaatni.
For the vegetarians, I will prepare some Koraishutir kochuri ( I have already made and frozen the pur / stuffing ) and this delightful Saunf paneer.
Planning to get some mishti doi from our Bengali shop, if possible.

I am hoping this will be enough.

I had made this Mangshor ghugni sometime back when I had some guests over.
Actually, all I had to do was to put together the already prepared and frozen Chicken keema with a freshly cooked ghugni.
That's all.

I had kept some chopped onions, green chillies , saunth / tamarind chutney and some homemade Aam kasundi on the side for the vegetarians. They loved sprinkling the condiments themselves and playing with the level of spices in different helpings.

For the minced chicken :

Cook the chicken kheema this way.
For the ghugni :

Need :

Dry white peas - 1 cup, soaked over night
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Whole red chillies - 2, broken
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Ginger + garlic paste - 1 tbsp, home made
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Roasted jeera powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Sugar - to taste
Salt - to taste
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( I use mustard oil )

How to :

Boil the matar or the dry peas the way I have done for this recipe.
They should be cooked yet stay almost whole.
Not soft and mushy like I make for the simple, light Ghugni or the Ragda pattice.


In a kadahi / wok, heat mustard oil.
Add jeera + dry red chillies + chopped onions.
Fry till the onions turn reddish.

Add the ginger + garlic paste.
( Remember the chicken kheema will have ginger garlic too. So go easy on this. )
Fry well.

Add turmeric powder + red chilli powder +  sugar.
Fry well till the masala starts to dry up and the raw smell is gone.


Now add the boiled matar / white peas + water and mix well on high heat.
Adjust water + salt.

Cover and simmer for around 5 minutes on low heat.

Remove cover and add the chicken keema and mix well.
Check for salt.

Adjust water, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes till the flavours mix well.

Remove cover, sprinkle red chilli powder, roasted jeera powder + garam masala powder.
Give a mix.

Cover , raise heat, give a boil, switch off heat and let it stand covered for 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

This goes very well with paratha or luchi.

Enjoy!!

Phulkopi Aloo Matar er Ghugni or Cauliflower and Potatoes cooked with dry Peas

Hello! Hello all!!
Hope all of you are doing very well and having a beautiful winter.
I am fine and doing very well, thank you.
And the reason I am sounding so bright is the line I came across on Indiblogger this morning.
"No comments? Every blog has its day. Keep blogging."
🙂

I am also smiling because of another trip looming in the horizon. It is still in a slightly swinging phase ... swinging between now or a little later,  ... but I am looking forward to it nonetheless.
I am still very much in zombie zone after that hectic trip to the USA and would have liked to savour some more 'me time' and rest.
But the call of kachoris and jalebis with hot milk on winter mornings, gobhi ke pakode in the evenings and homemade, delicious food and the loving pampering  and a little shopping thrown in, is too tempting to resist.
So I think I am ready to travel. Again. 😋

On another note, I hope you are following me on my travel blog ... Country Roads. I have been trying my best to sit down for a few minutes everyday to rummage through the uncountable photographs to select a few proper ones and edit them so that I can make a post regularly.
Not an easy job, given the loads of pending laundry and getting the house back into shape and resetting the kitchen routine again.
Still, I managed to put up my second post on my trip to New York City in November.
Do hop over to see some wonderful colours of Fall in Central Park.


Today's recipe is one easy jugaadu or 'put together in a hurry' recipe.

I had soaked some dry, white peas to make my usual Ghugni.
I usually cook them in the pressure cooker, where they turn very soft and get that perfect just mushy texture for the Ghugni or to be used as a filling for Phuchka or the Pani Puri.

Yes, I sometimes have Phuchka for dinner.
Home made.

But this time, I had boiled them in an open pot. This way, you can keep an eye on them and can take them out when just done.
I use the just done and firm ones in a lot of vegetable curries or thin jhols.
I was in a hurry the other night as I was knitting something and did not want to stay away from the pattern for too long ... the calculations go all haywire then .
But had to get up to make dinner. And I saw this beautiful cauliflower in the fridge, along with the bowlful of peas, I knew what I was going to do.
Just throw in everything together and voila! a simple, light vegetable dish comes to form.

This dish tastes best when made with fresh cauliflowers during winter.

Need :

Dry white peas - soaked and cooked in water with turmeric and salt
Cauliflower florets - cut into medium sized pieces
Potato - 2, cut into cubes
Grated ginger - 1 tbsp
Garlic paste ( optional ) - 1 tsp
Jeera or Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Whole dry red chillies - 2, broken
Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric or Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp ( I used mustard oil )
Water - depending on the amount of gravy you want
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped

How to :

Heat oil in a heavy kadahi / wok / pan.

Add the jeera + dry red chillies,

On low heat, add the ginger + garlic paste and fry a little.

Add the potatoes + cauliflower pieces.

Mix well and add the turmeric powder + salt.

Give another good mix, raise heat and add the water.

Cover and cook till the potatoes are half done.

Remove cover and check for water.
If needed, add a little more.

Add the boiled peas and the red chilli powder.

Cover and cook till everything is cooked well.

Remove cover and check for water ... cook till it reaches the desired consistency.

Add the jeera powder and sugar.
Cover and cook for some more time.

Remove cover and  sprinkle fresh coriander leaves.

Serve hot.

I kept it a little dryish this time as we were having it with Luchis.
If you are having it with parathas or rotis, then do keep some gravy.

This makes for a wonderful winter dinner.
Pair it with Methi parathas  and some achar for a warm, wintery, weekend tv time dinner.

Enjoy!!

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!!

Badi Santula / Vegetables cooked with dried lentil dumplings

I just can't have enough of the rains.
Ever.
Last week it had rained non stop for three to four days. With dark clouds, heavy wind and fog.
Pune's rains are like quiet children.
They will be around yet you won't feel their presence. Calm, quiet, a little shy and not at all noisy or rude.
So unless you are in the vicinity of a window or the outdoors, most of the time you won't even know it is raining. And in the earnest, too.
So every time I knew it was raining, I would drop everything and rush to the windows.
We have huge bay windows and even the slightest opening is enough to drive the heavy  wind inside, resulting in papers, pens, glasses and other things flying off the dining table and whirling around in the rest of the house.
And god help me if there is a newspaper around.
Still, nothing could stop me from opening the window ... even a wee little bit ... and smell the wet air deep. The smell of rain and fresh, wet leaves and the earth and grass ... everything reaches deep into me and my soul.
Such freshness!
Such peace!

Now we are back to cheerful, sunny days, though there are clouds hovering in the horizon.
Very soon, they will come over. And stay for a while.
And I can spend more time near my windows. Yes, I have even moved a sofa to be real near.
To be able to feel the spray on my face .
And let the cold wind take my breath away.
My poncho is almost done. Hopefully I will be able to snuggle into it too.
And my favourite writer's latest book is at hand. I am saving it for the rains.
Yes, I can be patient.

I don't know about the rest of the country, but rains in Pune means cold weather.
And with the temperature almost nearing 17 degrees, to me it is very, very cold weather.
Which reads, along with the Bengali favourite Khichudi, blankets, shawls and sometimes the heater too.
And Pithe.
Or Pithas. The Odiya pithas. Mostly the savoury ones.
And some garam garam, light, soupy Santula to go with them. 

Growing up in Orissa / Odisha meant being familiar to Odiya food as much as I am familiar to Bengali food. And the Oriya lady who stayed with us and did the cooking most of the time played a big role in this.
Most Oriya pithas , especially the savoury ones, are accompanied with a light vegetable curry like the Dalma or this santula.
While the dalma is made with dal/lentils and vegetables, the Santula has just vegetables in it. And sometimes the badis or sun dried lentil dumplings are added to it too.

The most common pithas that have the Santula as an accompaniment is the Chakuli pitha, the Santula pitha, the savoury Podo pitha and a few others too.
However, this light, comforting curry is eaten with rotis or rice too. 

All you will need is a few vegetables.
No masalas. Yet delightfully flavourful.

Need :

Vegetables - cut into cubes , around 1 small bowlful
( I had raw, papaya, raw bananas, parwal / pointed gourd, brinjals, potatoes. You can use pumpkins, sweet potatoes ... any vegetables of your choice )

Badis / Vadis / Boris - a small handful
Garlic - a few cloves. smashed
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric / Haldi powder - just a pinch 
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Whole red chillies - 2, broken
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( I use mustard oil )
Salt - to taste
Water - 4 cups or more if needed

How to :

Fry the badis and keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy kadahi / wok till it is smoking hot.
Lower heat and add jeera, the red chillies, onions and the garlic.
Fry for a while.

Now raise heat and add the vegetables.
Stir fry for a while on high heat.

Add salt and the haldi powder. Fry well.

Add enough water to submerge the vegetables, cover and cook till they are well done.

Remove cover, check for water.
Add some more and add the badis (they will soak up water).

Cover and cook for 5 more minutes ( more if using bigger sized badis).

Remove cover and check.
The vegetables will by now have mixed together well and the badis must have soaked up the gravy well.

Remove from heat , add a dollop of ghee (if you want to ) and cover and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Serve fresh and steaming hot.

I was tempted to sprinkle some roasted jeera powder on top, but resisted myself.
And I'm glad I did.
Because the flavours of the vegetables and the slight hint of garlic and the badis had mixed together and was divinely wonderful!

We had it with rotis for lunch.

Try this one of these days.
After a day long's work, enjoy this comforting, light jhol with some soft, hot rotis for dinner.
With the rain keeping you company from the outside.

And don't forget to let me know how you like it.

Enjoy!!

Savoury Poda Pithe

Breakfast is one thing that I never get around to posting on my blog.
While I do make a lot of different things for breakfast, there is hardly enough time to arrange and shoot them.
Earlier I used to make a lot of egg based things like omelettes with vegetables, French toasts ... both sweet and the savoury ones, egg bhurji, pancakes, etc.

However things changed after I was found to be allergic to eggs. It was a sudden discovery ... and life changed for me after that.

First ... I love eggs. And it broke my heart when I was told, rather warned, to stay away from them ... a warning I do ignore at times, when greed overrules common sense.
And little white figure on the my right of my head just sighs and turns away from the grinning one on my left.

Second ... it created a huge problem concerning breakfast.
I had to turn to the Poha, which incidentally I am not too fond of.
And bread ... but had to come up with ideas for sandwiches stuffing.
And every morning, or even the night before, breakfast was a big question mark.

Until I started making idlis and dosas. It was a Eureka moment for me when I realised I could do a whole lot more stuff than those two time taking things.
That batter was a life saver.
I started to make big batches of the batter and store it in the fridge.
It was a huge help.
Breakfast, a different kind of lunch, evening snacks, dinner .... I could do a whole lot of different things.

Slowly I started to make a batter from mixed dals .... it all started when I had some leftover soaked dals after I had used the desired amount for my Dal Panchmela .... and made pancakes and dosas from it.
Later came to know it is very common among South Indians.

I now almost regularly make pithes, handvo, vegetable idlis, quick uttapams and of course the dosa with this  dal and rice batter.
Among them, the regular is the Poda Pithe.
Quick to make, needs no baby sitting, great with a hot cup of tea.
Very light, yet very filling.
Healthy too.

I usually make the slight sweetish one.
But this time I made the savoury one. And thought of clicking some quick pictures ... just so I will be able to share it here.


How to make the batter :

Soak 1 cup of urad dal + 2 cups of rice for around 4 to 5 hours.
Grind it into a paste. Add a pinch of salt, cover and keep overnight to ferment.
You can use this batter to make everything mentioned above.


Need :

Rice + Urad dal batter - 2 cups
Jeera / Cumin seeds - ¼ tsp
Ginger - 1", chopped
Green chillies - 2, chopped
Coconut - chopped, around 5 tbsp
Fresh Curry leaves - chopped, 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Ghee - just enough to smear the kadahi

How to :

Take a heavy bottomed kadahi ... preferable a cast iron one.

Mix all the above ingredients except the ghee.

Smear the ghee well on the kadahi. Do not heat the kadahi first.

Pour the mixture and set the kadahi on low heat.

Put on a tight cover.

Check after 10 minutes. Flip it over, cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove and let it cool.


The outer crust will be very very crisp. But it will be very soft inside.
Great as a breakfast or as a snack, anytime of the day.
You can also eat it with a chutney or achar on the side too.
In Orissa, it is eaten with a potato curry that has a very thin gravy ... to soak it up with.

You can try it with this aloo ki sabzi or this one too.

I clicked this quick picture to show the insides in detail, before settling down with the day's paper and my hot cup of the very spicy ginger tea.

Enjoy!!


PS: This post of mine has been selected as one of the top 12 food posts of February 2015 by Baggout.
Yeh! :-)

Rosh Bora / Lentil dumplings in Sugar syrup

 

 This is a quick post. And a long pending one.
Having risen early today, I am indulging in some quiet time after what seems like ages.
I am not pushing myself to start the washing machine, walk into the kitchen to put the water for tea on, go to my favourite room for dumping and start working on the dry clothes from yesterday ... sorting for laundry, folding, arranging them in their alotted rooms.
And most importantly, I am not thinking of breakfast.


No.
I am sitting in my favourite chair by the bay window ... I have opened it to feel the slight cold that still lingers in the morning air ... and just looking out.
Soaking in the morning quiet.
I do not feel like reading too, this morning. I am even ignoring the new book by Jeffery Archer .... yes, I finally bought it ... lying on the center table.

I look out, eyes scanning the tree tops and the land on the hills far away.
Just last evening we had seen a huge fire there .... so strong and so bright that we could easily make out the red, orange and then the yellow of it ... showing the intensity.
It is a regular phenomenon here ... I have been seeing it ever since we have come to this flat.
We assume it is either wild fire that the dry grass and plants easily catch. But another reason can be the ritual that the farmers of sugarcane fields follow .... after a harvest, they burn the whole field to get rid of any pests or rodents that might stay to enjoy the sweet sugarcanes.

Whatever it might be, we have a beautiful view of the fire. It starts, rises and spreads to the adjoining hills. And looks like a big, orange  garland that goes up and down and around the hill tops.

Now, as I look at the hills, there hangs a light fog. There is no trace of the wild dance of destruction that they had seen the earlier evening.
My trance is disturbed by a quick movement below in the garden ... a bird darting from one tree to another.
The Koyel.
We have lots of them here. The poor thing is a shy bird.
And since the highrises are much above the trees, we get to see them below us. Which I am sure gives them a lot of stress ... to stay hidden all the time.
To get from one tree to another, they have to fly as fast as they can to get away from being in the open ... aznd settle down inside the branches with, I am sure , a sigh of relief.
The poor dears.

Among all this I remember I have some photos ready to be posted.
So get my laptop and start typing away.
And that is all that blabber you have been reading till now .... if at all you have been patient enough to. :-)

But I will get to the recipe now.
I had made this Rosh Bora during Diwali. With my hand and shoulder slowing recovering, I could not resist the temptation to make a few sweet and savoury snacks this time.
Made everything in less quantities but clicked some hurried photos, hoping to post them on Kichu Khonn.
Who knows when I'll be able to make some again.

Need :

Urad dal batter - around 1 cup (soak for 2 hours and grind the urad dal to a paste )
Grated fresh coconut - ½ cup
Whole Black peppercorns - ¼ tsp , lightly crushed
Green cardamom - 2 pieces
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 and a ½ cup
Oil - to deep fry

How to :


To make the Sugar syrup :-

Take a deep pan and put in the water and the sugar and keep on low heat till it starts boiling.
Crush the green cardamoms and add in.
Keep stirring and boiling till the sugar dissolves and the syrups cooks well .... say around for 5 minutes after the sugar dissolves.
You do not need to thicken the syrup.

To make the Boras / dumplings :-

Beat the Urad dal batter with a fork to make the batter a little fluffy and incorporate some air into it.
If you want to, you can add a pinch of baking powder ... I did not.
Add the coconut and the crushed black peppercorns.

Heat enough oil in a deep kadahi.
Scoop out small balls of the batter and drop them carefully into the oil.
I cannot make perfect balls ... I use a spoon to pick up and drop the batter .... hence the imperfect shapes. :-)
Keep the heat on low and fry them till golden brown in colour.

Dunk them into the warm sugar syrup and let them soak in for a while.

This is one of my very few favourite sweets .... though I do not make it very often.

You can serve them both warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!!