Ucche Bhaate / Boiled and mashed Bitter Gourd and Potatoes

I have been back from my vacation in the US of A for over a month now. And yet have still not been able to get my mojo back to make a proper post here.
Not to mention the thought of laying a table and clicking a proper photograph sending shivers of laziness all over me.
I did try to look through my old photographs but could not find any one good photo that deserves to be presented here.
That propelled me to further procrastination .... which is very unlike me.
And then there is this case of writer's block.
No matter how much ever I tried, I just could not frame a proper sentence.

So I let go.
Thought that lack of enthusiasm will shame my writer's block into some creativity.
But no ... nada .... nyet.
Nothing happened.
So I tried to stay active on Instagram ... at least to stay in touch with the food world. But that too lacks diligence as of now.
Most of the time I keep going back to the memories of my trip and I just love going through the numerous photos and videos .... living and reliving every moment spent at Disneyland, Seaworld and Miami.
And when I am not doing that, I am trying to get the house back into some order.

The best thing that happened on this trip, though, was that I got to cook for the friends we stayed with for a day each.
One of them, who is B's senior colleague , mentor and a wonderful person, who I was longing to meet for long, is a vegan. And loves Indian food.
I cooked them a regular Indian meal of roti, sabzi, dal and rice. Our host was very happy that the meal was vegan .... a fact that even I had not noticed till he pointed it out.
We discussed on healthy food and how a full, home cooked Indian meal will fill you up well and yet you won't  feel overstuffed.
The other friend is a vegetarian too. And happily opened his kitchen to me.
I loved shopping for fresh produce at the local markets and coming back and cook with them.
Had an absolutely wonderful time.
Nothing can beat the joy that comes from cooking and feeding friends and family in foreign lands and in unfamiliar kitchens.

Coming back, we craved light food for a few days.
The real American cuisine has a lot of deep fried stuff on the plate and we found ourselves turning to more of Mexican food during our travels ... which is a little similar to our Indian food.
Or to Indian food most times.
In Orlando, we found some very good Indian restaurants and the food quality was fabulous.
And they delivered to our hotel too ... which was a boon, considering we used to spend the whole day, from early morning to late evening, walking the parks.
So after a very tiring day, hot food on your table within half an hour of ordering, was more than what a weary traveller can ask for.

Back home, I went back to a dal,bhaat, a makha and a bhaja routine happily. Since I did not eat too much of non vegetarian food in the US, except for some fried chicken wings once in a while, I did fill up my freezer with some good fish too.
So it was a halka jhol or a light maach bhaja on most days that accompanied my rice.

But it was the sheddho (boiled) and makha (mashed together) vegetables that ruled the roost. Extremely light, detoxing and just the right thing to get your taste buds some relief, these makhas or bhortas are perfect for a light meal.
I use a lot of vegetables, sometimes individually and sometimes mixed, to make these sheddho makhas.
All you need is some chopped onions and green chillies and some mustard oil for that kick of flavour. At times I throw in some chopped garlic too, depending upon the vegetable I am using.

If you want to make a proper bhorta, then just fry the boiled vegetable in a little oil along with the onions and chillies.
I prefer my bhortas not fried.

Here is one of those vegetable bhortas, with the Ucche / bitter gourd.
Perfect for cleansing your system as well your taste buds.

All you have to do is to boil some bitter gourd and potatoes.
Cool and mash them with chopped onions + green chillies + mustard oil + salt + coriander leaves.

This mash is usually eaten at the begining of a Bengali meal, with rice, since it has the bitter gourd and Bengalis eat a little bitter at the begining of a meal ... usually lunch.
Any other vegetable mash can be eaten along with the rest of the dishes in a meal.

Enjoy!!

Leaving you with a shot of Cinderella's castle, Disneyland.

Macher dimer jhuri bhaja .... Spicy, scrambled fish roe and the beautiful day of Mahalaya

 

"Baajlo tomar alor benu" ....
The night before Mahalaya, there would be much excitement about setting the alarm for early next morning, much discussions on the time to set it to and setting the radio to the perfect band width so that we do not miss even a single word when Akashbani starts with the melodious strains of Mahalaya the next day.
I would still need a nudge or two by Bapi to be fully awake. By then Mahalaya would have started and be on the song "Baajlo tomar alor benu ....", meaning "Your flute of light has started to play ... ".
Durga is coming .... and that is all that is needed for any Bengali child to look forward to.
I would snuggle in with Bapi, under a thick, soft kaantha that Ma would throw on us to ward off the crisp cold of the of early morning that brought the hint of winter with it.
And it wouldn't be long before I was fast asleep again, only to wake up and realise that it was already morning. And the radio has been silent for a long while.

This year, Mahalaya brought with it a new episode of my life. The time when we realise that there is much more to life than what we have been seeing for so long.
The day of Mahalaya is the last, and most important day of the Shraddh period, that is made of a fortnight. In Hinduism, it is believed that Parlok, or the land of the dead , comes nearest to Mrityulok, or Earth, during this time. And hence, it is easier for the spirits of our dead ancestors to come nearer to us.
So, everything that is needed to be done for their peaceful next life is to be done on this particular day.

People offer pujas and offerings are made to the poor, the old and the needy.
It is believed that whatever our nearest ones have left behind or need in their afterlife should be offered to the needy. That way it reaches them.

While, once upon a time, I would have never given a thought to such beliefs, right now I yearn from my heart to be able to do anything that will help my Bapi to be at peace, where ever he is.
After he left us, I had innumerable questions in my mind.
I read books, looked up writings and followed spiritual lectures. No, I was not crazy to follow anyone and everyone.
I did look for logic.
And was astonished how much knowledge our heritage and ancient Hinduism writings held.
Devdutt Pattnaik's books helped me learn a lot.

Another wonderful read was the Mahabharat series from 1 to 10 by Bibek Debroy. It opened up a whole new world of what the real and the next world hold.
This series is very unlike the actual story of Mahabharat ... it does not actually says the story in anyway.
Rather, it deciphers every character's actions and thoughts .... and along with that it gives a beautiful insight to what this world and the next world holds.
And what actions are needed to be taken by every human being to make his/her presence and actions/ karma worthwhile in this life or on Mrityulok.

I was totally fascinated by this series. Especially the 10th edition. It opens up the world of Karma or actions .... what should be done and why.
And with every single guideline, there is a logical explanation.

It took me the past one year to read through them. And helped me deal with my loss and bring a lot of faith back in me. I picked up numerous points from them and added them into my life.
One of them was giving out to the needy.
It may be the poor on the children, the ill, small children or destitute women.
Do everything you can for them.
Feed them. Cover them with clothes and blankets during the rains or in winter. Hand out small treats to the children in the streets.
Anything that is possible by you.

While I and B have always done small things like keeping biscuits and chocolates in the car and handing them out to the children begging on the streets, giving out old clothes and sheets and blankets before every rains and winter, I had never actually cooked and fed them.

After Bapi's demise, I became obsessed with this one thing. Every weekend I would cook up a simple meal, make packs and hand them out to the needy as we roamed the streets of the city.
And the peace that settles our hearts at the sight of a huge smile, or if we are lucky to go through that same road and  get to see the children sitting down and eating that food, is huge.
And priceless.
We always look out for the very old and infirmed, pregnant women and small children.
And believe me, our country does not lack in them.

So this Mahalaya, I did just that.
Cooked all of Bapi's favourite dishes, packed them up and set off.
And finally, rounded the day off with ice creams to a big group of little children of construction workers nearby.

We were still smiling as we prepared for bed, the happy screech of a small voice shouting "Kulfi!!!!!!!" still echoing in our ears.

Shubho Mahalay all!!
Have a wonderful Durga Puja!! And happy Navaratri too!

And while you are munching on that delicious food, do think of the little children selling balloons or toys outside. Hand them some munchies and see your festivities light up even more with their smiles. 

If you have been patient and reached here, you will be rewarded with a recipe that is awfully simple but is so flavourful, it will blow your mind away.
I had got a good amount of Rohu fish roe on one of my trips to my fish shop. And was tired of the same kind of Boras or even the ambols. I wanted to taste something different.
So, as usual, I turned to my friends and readers on my Facebook page.
And as usual, they were all very generous and shared some precious recipes with me.

The Macher dimer jhuri bhaja got the majority of votes and so I decided to keep the other recipes for another time and settle with the jhuri first.

Need :

Rohu fish roe
Turmeric powder
Lemon juice
Onions - chopped, use lots of them
Garlic - chopped, be generous with this too
Green chillies - chopped
Mustard oil
Salt
Fresh coriander leaves

How to :

Marinate the rohu fish roe with turmeric + salt + lemon juice ( this helps
hugely in taking away that fishy smell. )

Heat mustard oil and fry the onions + garlic + green chillies till they are nicely soft and golden brown.
Remove from the kadahi.

Add some more mustard oil and fry the marinated roe stirring constantly.

It will solidify quickly ... so break up the pieces and scramble well.
Add the fried onions etc and some red chilli powder.

Fry well for a while. ... till the roe starts to get slightly crispy brownish at the edges.
You will see the oil leaving on the sides.

Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat. 

This is one of the best things that I have eaten in my life.
Mix it with boiled rice and you are in food heaven. I needed nothing else on the side ... not even dal.

Some pointers :

* Do use a little more oil than usual ... that oil mixed with rice is awesome.
The sweetness of the garlic comes through as a surprise in every morsel.

* Do not heat the oil to smioking hot when fry the roe .... keep it slightly raw ... add the roe when just warm .... that flavour of the mustard oil comes through in the end and just blows you away. :-)

Enjoy!!!

Rui macher bhorta / Rui maach makha

This is one of my most favourite makhas.

With summer being so tough on us this time, we have light food everyday.
And lunches were mostly of curd rice and  paanto bhaat (rice in water).
Back home, the paanto or the paanta bhaat .... made from soaking cooked rice in water and eaten the next day or the day after ... gets wonderfully fermented and developes a taste of its own.
But I have found it very difficult to ferment it well here in Pune. Mainly because of the cool weather that Pune has.

But this year, when it reached 39 degrees in April, the first thing I did was buy a kilo of boiled rice grains ... the thick ones that we use back home for everyday meals.
And an earthen pot.
Thamma used to make panto in an earthen pot. Not only does it ferment well, it stays wonderfully cool too.

And, for the first time in all my years in Pune, I could eat the real paanto.
I have wanted to make a post but was not possible this year. Maybe next year ... what with this global warming and all, I don't think Pune will retain its 23 degrees anymore on any other on coming summers.
So, next time. 

Paanto bhaat needs a lot of accompaniments to go with it.
Fried vegetables, fried fish, fried saag(leafy vegetables), lots of makha .... of either boiled or roasted stuff, fried boris, etc. etc.
And this maach makha or the maach er bhorta has been a childhood favourite of mine.

Summer meant Dadu's house, the whole  brood of cousins, gorging on sweet mangoes with sleepy eyes after a long afternoon siesta, after a cooling and tummy stuffing lunch of Thamma's panto.
And what variety of dishes!
While the aloo makha would be omnipresent, sometimes with the boris mashed in, this maach makha or bhorta was a must too.
All of us loved it.

I specially loved it when one of the kakimas or Jethimoni or Ma ... to whosoever the task was assigned to to ... sat down with a huge plate of crispy fried big sized rohu or the katla.
She would bend her head in full concentration to pick the fish .... no bones should stay back.
Big sized fishes had big sized bones and hence are easy to pick. But one has to look for that stray fine bone too ... lest there is a mishap while eating.
 She would pick the bones and pile them on the corner of the plate.
And I would quietly sit and watch.
As soon as a big sized bone was kept, I would pick it up and chew on it. And keep watching again.
I especially loved the bones from the joints ... they had juice to suck on too.

The house help would provide the other things like the chopped onions, green chillies etc.
After all the bones have been picked, the entire thing will be mixed well, with a little pressure from the fingers to lightly mash it .... to get the flavours all mixed well.
Then there will be a generous amount of mustard oil doused over the whole thing and a final mix given to round it off.

How I miss those summer days ... Jethimoni sitting on an ason laid on the kitchen verandah, bent over the plateful of fish, working deftly with her fingers. And I sitting quietly beside her, watching with  fascination.
Both oblivious to the sounds coming from the rest of the house and the kitchen.
And later, came my most favourite part.
After everything is done, Jethimoni would straighten up, pick up the plate in one hand and just before getting up, smiling, would hold out her hand for me to lick it a little.
With a nod, she enquires " all ok?" and I smile back with round, shining eyes "daaaarun!"

Even today, when I make this maacher bhorta, I lick my fingers at the end, just before washing my hands ... and Jethimoni's smiling face and enquiring nod dances before my eyes.

You can make this bhorta even if it is not summer and even if you are not having the paanta bhaat for lunch. This makes a great side dish with the plain dal bhaat too.

Need :

Rohu fish - 4 big sized pieces, fried crisp (you can check out here )
Onions - 1 big sized, chopped
Green chillies - 3, chopped
Mustard oil - 2 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped 
Salt - to taste

How to :

Break and spread out the fish pieces on a big sized plate.
Pick the bones carefully.
(If you are making the fish keema, the bones are easy to pick since they stand out when cooked. Not so here .... so be careful. Which is why only big sized pieces are used for this. )

Give a little mash ... just to get it together but not make it into a pulp.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients and mix well with a light hand.

If you want, you can fry some boris, crush them and add them too for that extra crunch.

Serve cool. 

Here is my lunch plate with the macher bhorta that I made the other day.
I had made the chana dal with lauki.
But this goes even better with the tauker dal or aam dal and rice.

Enjoy!!


Check out my similar preparations -

Rui maach er Jhura

Maacher keema 

200th Post with my favourite comfort food of ...

... Dal, Bhaat, Aloo bhaate, Begun bhaja ... makha!

Ok ... first things first.

Dal - Lentils
Bhaat - Rice
Aloo - Potato
Bhaate - cooked in or along with rice ( or plain boiled )
Begun - Brinjal / Aubergine / Eggplant
Bhaja - fry / deep fried
Makha - Mixed together or ... as in here ... mashed up together.

I finally made it to my 200th post!
I know ... much as I want to, I have not been giving my blog enough time. I do not post as much as I should.
And on the top of it, instead of cooking and posting exotic and dfifferent recipes, I go ahead and post something as common as dal & rice.

But then, this is my favourite dish! And I have to have it in my blog! I love this simple meal so much that I celebrated my b'day this year with this meal ... instead of going out.
So my blog should have it too. :-)

First, the Dal.

I have taken the Mushur / Mushurir / Masoor dal / Red Lentils here. Cooked with the Paanch Phoron, this dal gets an unique flavour.

Ideally in Bengali homes, dals are cooked or boiled first and then tempered seperately. I cook directly in the pressure cooker along with the tempering. Saves time & energy.

Need :

1 cup Mushur / Mushurir / Masoor dal / Red Lentils
1 onion sliced lengthwise
1/2 teaspoonful of Paanch Phoron
( a mix of equal quantities of methi/fenugreek seeds, kalaunji/onion seeds, rai/mustard seeds, saunf/fennel seeds, jeera/cumin seeds)
A little turmeric / haldi powder
2 broken dry red chillies
1 Bay leaf ( I did not use it )
1 teaspoonful of Mustard oil ( if you do not like mustard oil, any other white oil will do )
Around 5-6 cups of water

How to :

Wash the dal and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker.

Add the paanch phoron and the chilles.

Add the sliced onion and fry well till onion is partly cooked and starts to brown.

Add the dal, haldi powder and salt. Stir well.

Add water, cover and set on low heat.

After 2 whistles, switch off heat.




Remove cover only after the pressure cooker has cooled.
Serve hot.

Second, the Aloo Bhaate.
Or the Aloo Chokha .. as it is known in certain parts of the country.



Since the rice usually used in the homes of Bengal takes a long while to cook ... and it is usually cooked in an open vessel and drained of the starch water, many a time vegetables would be thrown in to get cooked along with it. This way there was no need to boil the vegetables seperately. Potatoes are one vegetable that would be cooked regularly this way .. though other boiled vegetables taste wonderfully good when had hot out of the rice.

But I usually pressure cook the poatoes or run them in the MW Oven.

Need :

Potatoes
Water
Green chillies
Mustard oil
Salt to taste
Chopped oinions

How to :

To boil the potatoes :

Wash the potatoes well. Prick them with a fork all over or make a slight cut in each of them.

Take some water in a pressure cooker and add the potatoes ( they should be submerged in the water ).

Close cover and set to cook on low heat till around 4 to 5 whistles.

Remove cover after cooker has cooled.

Alternatively, you can take the potatoes in MW safe bowl and run them at 60 % for 5 mins.

Remove potatoes and peel them.

Mash them together with salt, mustard oil , chopped onions and crushed fresh green chillies. Remember to crush them ... no chopping allowed.

(If you do not like the flavour of raw mustard oil, you can use ghee ... just give the onions a skip).

This is wonderful when hot, but is equally tasty when eaten at room temperature too.
If you at all have some of the makha left, you an make aloo tikkis out of it ... only remember to remove the big pieces of green chillies.

Third , the Begun Bhaja.

Begun bhaja or fried Brinjal slices are a very common as well as favourite accompaniment to any Bengali meal. A favourite combination with the Khichuri or Luchi / Puris, they are enjoyed best right out of the wok, crisp and piping hot.
If you are health concious, you can grill it on a flat open pan too ... like I usually do. But once in a while, it is ok to indulge in some deep fried Begun bhaja ... especiall if it is raining outside and you have a plateful of smoking hot khichuri in front of you.

Need :
Fresh Brinjals / Eggplants / Aubergines, cut into thick roundels ( just make sure the brinjals do not have too much of seeds in them )
Salt
Mustard oil to deep fry
A little Turmeric / haldi powder

How to :
Apply salt and turmeric to the brinjals and keep aside.

Heat enough mustard oil to deep fry in a heavy kadahi or wok ... preferrable of cast iron ... but never of steel.

Slowly let in the brinjal pieces carefully ... they might splutter ( holding a big sized cover helps).

Let them cook till one side truns golden brown.

Turn them over carefully and brown the other side too.

Sometimes they need to be covered to cook well ... depends on the kind of brinjal you get.

Remove and drain on a paper towel of extra oil.


Serve hot.



Here's a plateful.

And here's how I like to have it ....
... Makha!
All mashed up together. :-)



If you have been patient enough and have reached here finally ... I'll tell you the reason why I love it so much.
My Mom used to mash everything up this way and feed me while I used to hurriedly get ready for classes.

And the love for that taste ... and the memories ... remain. Every mouthful would have a combination of flavours ... mild dal with sharp brinjal fry and some aloo with crunchy onions and sometimes the sharp heat of a piece of green chilli. :-)


Who wants a spoonful of home? :-)

I'll be around henceforth folks.
Take care all !

Ilisher Dim Makha / Fried Hilsa Roe tossed with onions and chillies

I know, I know. This Hilsa thing is getting way too much. My comments section too is reflecting this monotony.
Haven't heard from my veggie friends at all ( Updated : oooooops ... some of them ... not all :-) ) . And I don't blame them. But what can I do?

I have got this fish ... am cooking it ... am trying to eat it. Trying? Yes ... am done now ... no more Ilish for me the whole year now. But when I am cooking it after all, how can I not post the recipes?

It has been ages since I posted a recipe a day ... but I really want to get this over with now.

Unfortunately I have no vegetarian substitute to give for these recipes. So please bear with me ... there will be only a couple more posts on this ... promise. :-)

This time, since I got a huge bulk of Ilish roe, I made good use of it. After enjoying the plain fried roe, I still had some more left. So decided to make a makha (mix) with some fresh onions and mustard oil.

Makha is very common in Bengali cuisine .... rather ... daily meals. The raw mustard oil gives a perfect flavour and turns any bland and boring stuff to simply exotic to taste.
This is called the Ilisher dimer jhura too.

I really wish I had some fresh green chillies ... but I had run out of them. Instead I dry roasted some whole dry chillies and broke them on the makha. That turned out great too. But if you are trying this ... do make it with fresh green chillies.

Need : Ilisher dim / Hilsa roe, marinated with salt and turmeric, chopped onions[ and green chillies], whole dry red chillies, some mustard oil.

How to : Heat a little mustard oil in a kadhai / wok and fry the marinated roe.
Remove and cool.
Dry roast (or fry with a little oil) the red chillies.

Break the roe ... it will crumble easily. Now add the chopped onions [and the green chillies]. Crush the red chillies on it.
Pour a spoonful of raw mustard oil. Mix well.



Done!! :-)
Great on the side with plain rice.