Dal Torka or Torkar dal

Whatever the name, the rose smells just as sweet. 

Or, as here, the dal tastes just as good; as it did in my childhood. 

The highways in Odisha and Bengal are dotted with numerous Punjabi dhabas .... the perfect pit stop for tired and hungry travelers on long journeys. 
One of the excitements of our travels to Dadur bari / maternal grandfather's house was the stops on the highways for food.
Just as were the other trips to different places. One thing was guaranteed .... we will get to eat at a dhaba. 

Around noon, Bapi would turn the car into a bylane and halt in front of a dhaba. He always knew which one serves  the best food. We would stretch our legs. 
There would be at least one or two huge trees, usually the Neem or Banyan, with a shade all around. 
There would be charpais or woven cots underneath. 
Bapi would immediately lie down on one of them and close his eyes and rest in the gentle breeze. 
Ma would sit down and ask for a glass of lassi. 

I would sit at the end of the charpai .... I hated when I sat on it and the ropes sagged in, making it difficult for me to stand up again without struggling .... and watch all around. 

It seemed like a small haven , away from the highway in the blazing sun with vehicles speeding past. 

Bapi would  order the food first, since it took time to prepare .... especially the chicken. 
The dal torka was a major attraction .... dark, thick, earthy in taste with while blobs of scrambles eggs in it. Bapi always said that the secret to a great dal torka was the addition of some jhol from the mutton curry ... on the sly. 
He would always ask for a country chicken curry and Ma would ask for rice with it. 
Then there would be a hot omelette for me. With hot roti ... white, thin and all puffed up ... straight from the wood fired stove .... smelling of dry wheat and  wood smoke. 
And some fresh onions cut into largish pieces. 
Simple, fresh food, hot off the fire. 

Back on the road, I would promptly go off to sleep. 
Now I wonder how Bapi drove for the rest of the journey, without dozing. 

I had some soaked green moong dal and was waiting for them to sprout. 
Had some eggs at home too . 
And so made this Torkar dal for dinner. 
And was swamped with memories as I cooked it. 

Note : 
This dal is usually made with the whole black Urad dal / the Biulir dal / Kolai dal. 
When I do not have it at home, I make do with the green moong dal. 

Need : 

Whole green moong dal  - soaked at least for 8 - 10 hours

Eggs 

Onions - chopped 
Green chillies - chopped
Ginger - grated 

Ginger garlic paste 

Turmeric powder 

Red chilli powder 
Garam masala powder ( I use my homemade one )

Kasoori methi - crushed 

Jeera / Cumin seeds 

Ghee 

How to : 

Cook the dal with a little turmeric powder, the grated ginger and salt, in a pressure cooker for two whistles on low heat. 
Cool.

Heat ghee in a kadahi or a pan. 

Add jeera and the onions. Fry till slightly brown. 
Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and fry well. 

Add the dal and bring to a boil. 
Adjust water and salt and add the garam masala and the kasoori methi. 
Cover and simmer. 

In a different pan, scramble the eggs with a little salt and  add them to the dal. 

Give a good mix, add a dollop of ghee or butter and cover. 
Remove from heat and let it stand for at least 10 minutes. 

Serve hot. 

To complete the memory, I made some maida rotis to go with them ... just as they made in dhabas. 

I do not have a wooden stove though .... so missed the dusting the hot ash off the rotis part. 
But we did devour them just like I did back then. 

How I wish to live those days again. With Bapi's presence around me. 

Warm. Safe. Secure. Loved. 

Light Mutton Stew .... spicy, soupy and protein rich galore

Sunday done right.

 With a mutton curry that is very light with a thin soupy gravy to sip on while the rain dances outside.
Don't go by the plain Jane look of it .... this innocent looking bowlful packs quite a punch.
Fragrant with whole garam masala , spiced with black pepper ,
garlic as well as red chilli powder. 

I love spicy food and this one did clear up my throat later .
It is protein rich  and perfect for immunity boosting.

The recipe is very very easy.

I marinated the mutton  with vinegar and turmeric powder for more than an hour .... I finished cooking the vegetarian meals then .... and then in a heated pressure cooker added ghee ,
whole garam masalas, sliced onions and dry red chilli. 

Fried well till the onions browned well. 

Then added the mutton and fried on high heat for 2 minutes.
Then added ginger garlic paste, a little curd, red chilli powder and fried well till the masalas were well cooked. 

Added hot water and salt and a little sugar.
Rounded off with a sprinkle of my homemade garam masala powder. 

Closed cooker and cooked for 5 whistles on low heat.
And oh .... added potatoes too .

And it is done! Soupy, spicy thin gravy with tender, succulent pieces of mutton that actually melted in the mouth.
Mmmm 😋

 Can you see the mutton actually falling off the bone ?!
It was that soft and tender 😊 

You can pair this with either rice or parathas or rotis. 

Enjoy !! 

Do you like recipes written this way or do you prefer the whole list of ingredients and the detailed process? 
Do let me know in the comments. 

Narkel Kanchalonka Doi diye Chicken / Chicken cooked with coconut, green chillies and curd

 There are days when you make a recipe.
And then there are days when a recipe makes you.

I was running short of time today as I rushed through my daily chores while something kept nagging at the back of my head.
That something was important ... very important to me ... it had been almost a week since I had eaten a proper non vegetarian meal last.
Barring the one quick stir fried chilli chicken and a boiled egg one day with my soft, phyana bhaat ( if you are with me on instragram or facebook, you will know. )
So as I did the laundry and kept away the dishes, visions of a steaming hot mutton curry and some hot rice danced before my eyes.
By the time it was early noon, I could not take it any more.
More so because B's favourite summer combo meal was almost done.
And there was nothing to tempt me to sit down for lunch.
I had to have some mangshor jhol .... urgently.

The day had not started on a good note.
A sad news regarding a childhood friend's loss had already set a morbid spell and I desperately needed something to break it.
So dropped everything and went out to get mutton.
As luck would have it, there was no mutton ... "You will get it by 2:00 o'clock, Ma'am" was what I got.
I had no intention of waiting till two, so grabbed a half kilo pack of chicken and came home.
And then realised that I have run out of my homemade ginger garlic paste ... not a cube in the freezer.
Thankfully I had some already peeled garlic in the fridge.
And found the chutney jar of my mixer in the fridge .... with a good amount of coconut paste in it!!

I knew immediately what to do. No standing and frying and koshaoing for long.
All I would do was mix everything and set it to cook.
And that is how this beautiful recipe came by to brighten up my day .... or whatever was left of it.

 I had curd in the fridge ... it was a few days old as well as store bought ... which made it slightly sour and was perfect to cook meat with.
I decided to cook all the chicken at once and freeze batches ... that will save me a few hours of cooking for the next few days , when I can concentrate on my sewing.
So mixed the chicken with curd and masalas and let it sit for around 15 minutes while I made the Aamras ( pureed the mango ) for B's meal.
And then sat it on the stove to cook while I went back to my chores.
In less than half an hour, it was done ... slow cooked to perfection.
No frying, no stirring, no checking on, no hassles at all.


I am tempted to call this a no oil preparation but that one spoonful of mustard oil in the marination is holding me back.
Whatever oil you see in the picture is from the curd and the chicken's fat (there was not much ... I am just assuming. )

This curry turned out so darned good that I decided to make a post pronto .... almost as if the flavours will die away if I don't.
While clicking the photos, I had to adjust the gravy and wipe the sides and once I licked my fingers, I just could not get over with clicking and start eating.
It was just so, so good ... if I may say so.

Do give it a try ... I am sure you will love it.

Need :

To make the paste -

Grated coconut - around 8 tbsp
Garlic - 12 cloves of medium size
Ginger - half an inch piece
Green chillies - 2 (depending on the heat )

Run everything with a little water , in a grinder, to make a coarse paste.

For the curry -

Chicken - ½ kilo
Curd - 5 tbsp
Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 2 tsp
Dhania / Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp ( I used a little biryani masala as I did not have garam masala )
Mustard oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste


How to :

Mix all the ingredients and the coconut paste and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Pour in a heavy bottomed kadahi / pan and cover tightly.

Set it on low heat and let it cook till chicken is done and desired consistency of the gravy is reached.

Remove cover and check for salt and sweetness.
If needed, add and cover and simmer for a couple of minutes more.

Or else, remove from heat.

Serve hot.

Goes great with rice, rotis or parathas.
And while it looks rich and heavy, it is one of the lightest of dishes that I have ever cooked. 

Enjoy!!

My Noname Chicken Curry .... the spicy, tangy and oh! so good kind

 

 Ever since I have started posting on Instagram, I have turned lazy when it comes to laying the table and setting up a place for photographs.
Not to mention the respite from the constant struggle with natural light.
And the fact that we have moved the dining table to another end of the living room ... away from the windows ..... is not helping too.
Which explains the sudden lack of photographs, now that I am raring to make some posts.

As I was going through my folders today,  I found these photos that I had taken on the iphone, for Insta, as usual.
And remembered that this curry had come out very well.
One look and I could remember that tangy, spicy gravy .... it was indeed good.
This was actually a result of indecisiveness and a little experiment.

Now, since I cook chicken rather frequently, and most of the time just marinate and dump the whole thing in a kadahi or pressure cooker or the oven, to cook on its own, I was getting tired of the same way of cooking.
I do use different kinds of sauces or masalas etc. at different times, but I had wanted to eat something really different this time.
Something that I would not recognise as cooked by me.
Hilarious .... I know.
But then, at times I do feel like eating food cooked by someone else .... and that does not mean eating at restaurants.

So what I had planned to do was to sear the chicken ... that has been sitting in some lemon juice for a while .... till brown, and then add spicy sauces to it.
Yeah ... I wanted to kill the already dead bird real well.
But then, as I went ahead with my cooking, things started to go very differently.

I had, initially, wanted to add tomatoes ( I rarely use tomatoes in my dishes, hence have no idea why I wanted to now) but forgot to add it.
While searing it in the pan, I decided to add Chinese sauces but forgot to do that too.
Instead, added turmeric and red chilli powder. My mind must have been somewhere else.
So now, to balance it, went ahead and added garam masala powder.
And watched in dismay as the curry was going exactly the way I did not want it to.

Adamant at not letting the chicken have its way, I threw in some Maharashtrian kanda lahsun masala too. Hoping that the onion and garlic as well as the coconut in the fiery masala will help deviate from the current path.

I also added a potato .... the Bengali in me wants a potato in her chicken jhol after all ....  and after the chicken was cooked, added another big squirt of lemon.
And just before covering it again, went ahead and added the chilli and a little soy sauce too.

And that is the end of the story.
I had no idea what to call it ... hence the name Noname.
But boy! did it turn out right!!
And lip smacking good.

And oh ... the ginger garlic paste is in the marination and the salt and sugar and cooking oil go in by default. 

I hope you try it.
With some plain rice, it was an absolute delight in every mouthful .


And if you to stay abreast with such quick and quirky recipe ideas by me, join me on Intsa here.
And get to share my meals and snacks alongwith.

Cheerio all!!

Kheema stuffed paratha for Panchami and the festive season

 

 ( Vegetarians can make this using Soya granules as the filling. )

I uploaded these photos at eight in the morning sharp, today. Right after my exercise session.
And right on my first and only cup of tea for the day.
But as soon as I was about to write the first word, the day stepped in.
Breakfast needed to be done ... which was the favourite Aloo paratha. I had prepared the filling last night and the atta was done too.
But they needed to be taken out, brought to room temperature, rolled out and fried.
And just after b'fast was done, I came back and had just sat down when the bell rang.
I knew it right then .... this post will not have today's date.

But I can be very thick headed when I want to.
And I decided that I will make this post before lunch. That's it.
Easier said than done .... especially when the day is 'make lunch for two days' day.
Besides, it is Puja too.
So evenings will be spent at the puja mandap.
Which will mean eating out for me. But not for B.
Since the food stalls have too much of non vegetarian stuff all over, B does not feel comfortable eating from them. There are a few vegetarian stalls too ... but too few and far between.
And they too have only singara / samosas or sweets.
One cannot spend five days or evenings only on them.

(10:00)
So I prepare food for B at home. Either he eats and goes, or packs and eats later with me.
And hence the flurry in the kitchen.
Not to mention the darned weather outside. It has been pouring like there is no tomorrow, for days at a stretch. On Mahalaya, I had played Mahisasurmardnini on Youtube and willed myself to feel that Durga Puja is just around the corner.
But it was so dark and gloomy and wet outside, with the rain dripping down the window panes and a persistent fog hung all around that I stopped at the first song.

But today, the sun has finally emerged and the clouds are passing by a little hesitantly. There is a crispness in the air and it is very, very cold suddenly.
I pray that the weather holds and decide to play the Mahisasur mardini after all. But just as I started to hum, I knew I may not be able to listen to it for a long time now.
Not without my throat constricting and my eyes filling up. Not without thinking of Bapi.
And my home .... that will no longer be the same again.

(1:00)
So, I immerse myself into this load of cooking.
And while I type this, I keep one eye on the pan of rajma simmering away, while the okra is frying in another kadahi for a kadhi.
The third burner holds a deep kadahi full of vegetables and white matar / vatana boiling vigourously.
I am making the very favourite Santula ... bit this time I am adding some matar too. The rest of the boiled matar will go into the making a spicy ghugni that I will pair with Luchis on Shaptami day.
I have just removed a pressure cooker full of spicy Punjabi chole too.
So I am all sorted for the coming days.
Both for lunch and dinner.

Ok .... here is a quick shot sharing with you.

(It is 4:00 now!)

I have been occasionally posting daily food from my kitchen in an album on my facebook page ... so if you are following me there, maybe you will get a glimpse of all these food in the coming days of Durga Puja.
And yes, I plan to make some good b'fasts too ... so will try to post them as well.
Fingers crossed.

I have a beautiful recipe of chicken mince stuffed flat breads today.
Inspite of posting a non vegetarian recipe on my last post, I thought I will put this up for you.
I have used chicken mince here for two reasons .... one, I eat it more often than the mutton kheema; and two ... well ... I get it more easily than the mutton kheema.
And more importantly, it cooks faster and is a breeze to make.

You can follow the recipe here.
Do cook the kheema very dry  ... otherwise, the moisture will make it very difficult to stuff the paratha.
Do not add the curd or onion paste ... they will only  release water.
Do use chopped onions and green chillies though.
If you find it still moist, do add a spoonful of corn flour to it.

Typically, Bengalis make parathas, especially stuffed ones, with maida or refined flour.
But I make them with atta.

Need :


For the dough:


Atta or wheat flour
A little oil
Salt
Warm water

For the stuffing :

Chicken keema .... cooked very dry

How to :

 Knead the atta into a soft, pliable dough.
Cover and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.

Break off medium sized balls from it.

Use some dry flour and flatten the ball. Stuff it with some filling.
Cover carefully.

Roll out into a paratha.
Do use dry flour when rolling, so that the paratha does not break open.

You can refer to any of the stuffed parathas recipe here for the procedure, step by step. 

Heat a flat pan or a tawa.
Put in a paratha and dry roast on both sides first.
Apply oil and fry till brown and crisp on both sides.

Vegetarians can make this Soya kheema for stuffing.

(5:25)
 Serve hot.
You can make some raita on the side.
Or enjoy it with just plain ketchup ... like I do.

Wishing you all a very happy Durga puja and a beautiful Navaratri too!!
Enjoy!!!

(6:24)
There! I did it finally!

Chicken stew with vegetables

Hi all!
I am back, bang on the very first, as promised. While the past month flew by in a whoosh, with huge loads of mixed emotions and situations thrown in, I had my moments when I missed Kichu Khonn, writing, interacting with you all and most importantly, cooking.
But right now I am back in my kitchen, in Pune, and the weather that I love so much.

Outside, the rain clouds are slowly bidding adieu. Slowly but surely they are flying by .... sometimes giving glimpses of that blue sky that we have not seen in the past couple of months.
A few linger back .... trying to hide the sun for a while, giving the impression of raining down any moment. But then they too pass by. I am waiting for the bright sunshine that we soon shall get for the rest of the year ..... until it is time for the monsoons again.

Inside, the house is full of people. The family is here for another sad occassion. But right now both I and B are trying to keep them as much occupied and happy as possible.
I am cooking regularly and taking in their feed back happily. Jethumoni, Jethima, Kakima and both my Kakus had never got a chance to see me cook before. So every meal that I make results in a lot of conversations on the table.
I watch them banter and miss Bapi ... who would happily munch on a burnt roti made by me with a serene face .... all over again.

View from my balcony

They are fascinated by Pune's monsoon too. All the sneezing and coughing does not deter them from sitting in my balcony swing or just stand there and watch the clouds pass by.
Now that it is not raining any more, every time there is a round of tea, almost all of them pull up chairs and sit in the balcony.
Jethumoni and both my kakus squabble with each other about their turn on the swing.
I watch them with affection .... it is like, in their age, they have turned children once again. Two losses back to back .... completing one year of both ... has taken its toll on them too.
I wish I could hold them here forever. Let them go to sleep at night without a worry on their brows for the next day.

Right now I have snatched a few moments to make this post. I can see the natives getting restless and want to open the door to the balcony. But I have said no going out in the cold and damp morning breeze before 9:00. Jethima is making tea in the kitchen .... so there will be no holding them back from stepping out soon. I need to complete this post before I join them there.

This chicken stew that Ma used to make at home used to be one of my favourites in winter.
But since Pune's monsoon allows us to have hot soups and stews regularly, I make this often for lunch and eat the leftover for dinner too. 

I used to call this the 'shaada shaada stew' because of its white colour. But don't go by that bland or delicate colour .... this stew packs a punch of flavours. A great way to get some vegetables into you too.
It is very warm and comforting and extremely light on the tummy.

I keep my chicken pieces whole in this. If you want to, you can shred them too.

Need :

Chicken pieces - 250 gms
Vegetables - I used carrots, sweet corn, potato,  cabbage, etc. , chopped
Onion - 1, sliced thinly
Garlic - 4 fat cloves, sliced thinly
Ginger - small sized, sliced thinly
Butter - 1 cube
Black cardamom - 1
Whole black pepper - 6 to 8
Milk - half cup
Maida - 2 tbsp
Salt and sugar to taste
Water - around 2 cups or a little more

How to :

Warm the butter in a pressure cooker on low heat.
Do not burn.

Add the peppercorns + cardamom + onions + garlic.
Fry till translucent.

Add the ginger slices and the chicken.
Stir for a good while but on low heat.

Add the vegetables and fry till the raw smell goes away.

Now add water and raise heat.

Add salt and sugar.

Close lid and cook for 3 whistles on low heat.
(The cooking time will depend on the quality of your chicken. Give an extra whistle than usual for the chicken to be real soft. )

Cool and let the steam release on its own.
Remove cover and set on simmer.
Do a taste test and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Mix the maida in the milk .... make sure there are no lumps.
Add it to the simmering stew and cover.
Let it simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve hot with a dollop of butter and fresh black pepper powder sprinkled on it.
Butter is good for health ... so go ahead and indulge.
I sometimes add some dry crushed Italian herbs and some chilli flakes too.

Great with bread or rotis on the side.
I love to eat it as is.
A bowlful of this piping hot goodness is all you need to drive the cold outside as well as the melancholy inside far, far away.

Enjoy!!

Ps: Updating the post with a photograph of the vegetarian version of this stew that I made for B, after a talk on my page on fb.
The flavours are exactly the same and there is no difference in the recipe except the chicken.

Moong dal with fresh green peas Or Koraishuti diye bhaja muger dal

 The morning started as usual, just as any other week day would.
Today was our 'stock up on green vegetables' day, just as every Tuesday is.
That means a hurried breakfast, a whole hour or more of shopping for vegetables, coming back, doing the dishes and then of course, think about lunch.
And wash, dry and store the vegetables in the fridge.
It was only after I had done the dishes and sat back to rest awhile that I opened facebook and was reminded that it is International Women's' day today.

Big deal.

Yes, that is what I thought.
It makes no difference to me. And I pray that it never does.
Why do we have to get a single day dedicated to us to remind us, or the men, or the world and its cousin and cat that we are special?
Do we need just one day to remind the world that we are beautiful, affectionate, loving, caring,respectable, capable, brave and proud?
Do we need just one day for people to notice our existence?
Do we need just this one day to get pampered and gloat how everyone made you feel like a queen or a princess?

Does celebrating Women's day guarantee that some lady some where does not have go to work and still not worry about what to feed her children for dinner?
Will it mean that some where a little girl will not have to cry of hunger? Or feel unsafe?
Will it mean some frail, old lady will get some love from her family members who usually ignore her presence?

No.
We don't need special days for special treatments.
We want everyone to think of us this way for the rest the days of the year.
We know what we are. And what we are capable of.
We just want the world to know. And accept.

A few flowers, chocolates, cakes, dinner,drinks. These are not celebrating womanhood.
Celebrating womanhood is keeping in mind what a woman wants. And fulfilling it.
A little respect. A little love. Lots of acknowledgement. Lots of trust.
A hug of security.
A smile of sincerity.
A warm heart. A dose of humour to make her smile.
Encouragement. Walking together.
Faith. Belief. Attendance.
Simplicity.

All these will celebrate a woman, a girl, an old lady.
Make them smile.
Make them happy.

It is the simplicity in your heart that will win her over.
And make her celebration of being herself even more beautiful.

Just like this simple dal that I made for lunch one day.
Keeping the saga of dal alive on my blog, I wanted to post this too as it turned out to be very flavourful.
I am not happy with the photos, but since fresh green peas have disappeared from the market already, there is no chance that I will be making this dal immediately in the near future.
So decided to make a post anyway.
After all, the recipe is more important.

You can, of course, make this with frozen peas too. Which I plan to, too.
Loved it that much.

Ingredients needed :

Yellow Moong dal - 1 cup
Green peas - ½ cup
Grated ginger - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp, or a little less
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Fresh green chillies - 2, broken
Bay leaves - 2
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp ( I use mustard oil )
Ghee - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped
Water - to cook ( around 2 cups )

How to cook :

In a heavy bottomed kadahi or pan, pour in the dal and dry roast it on low heat. 
Keep stirring it constantly ... do not let it burn.
When you get that light brown colour and the nutty aroma of roasted dal, remove from flame and cool.

Wash the dal well.

Heat a pressure cooker.
Add oil + jeera + bay leaves + green chillies.
Add the grated ginger and stir a little.

Add the dal and the green peas and stir well.
Add the turmeric + salt.

Add water and ghee.
Close the lid and cook on low heat for 2 whistles.

Remove and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves.

I sprinkled some chilli powder + roasted jeera powder.
But would love to say I loved the plain one better.

Done!

The beautiful aroma of roasted moong dal along with the sweetness of fresh green peas complement each other perfectly.
Add a fresh dash of ghee and the flavour will be perfect.

You can also cook the dal separately and the temper it.
I cooked everything together to save time.

Try it with steaming hot rice or soft phulkas hot off the tawa.
I had it with rice.

Here is a look of our lunch plate today.

Simple, homemade, healthy food for the soul.

And here is to every woman in this world.
Go, live it girl!
You rock!

Gobhi ke Parathe / Fresh Cauliflower stuffed flatbreads

 I am just back from a whirlwind tour of Calcutta ... or Kolkata, if you insist.
This trip was not sudden. I was desperate to get away from everything and go on a break for a long time now but B was too caught up with work.
I seriously browsed the web, looking up places, even hotels, that would give me the much needed respite I was looking for.
I virtually toured Agra, Delhi, Rajasthan (or whatever places are left of it for us to explore), Kerala and even Kanyakumari.
Looked up flights. Planned for days.
But when it came to sitting down with B and draw a final blueprint, everything fell away.
And I was back to where I was .... looking forlonly at the open pages on my laptop while going about with my chores.

Until one fine January day ... nay, evening I guess, or maybe it was at lunchtime , that B asked "When is the book fair being held this year?"
My heart skipped a beat.
And so that is how our plan for the whole trip was made. Bit by important bits came together, days and evenings planned. Shopping lists drawn up. Writers' and books' names were listed.
Restaurants searched for. Street food corners zeroed in on.
Zomato reviews read and re read.
And so on.

My aim, very much like Arjun, was clear . But it was not a bird or even the eye of a fish.
It was the book fair. The Boi mela.
I wanted to spend as much time as I could there .... in leisure.
Soak it up ... the place, the feel, the look and smell of books ... everything.

And roam the streets of old Calcutta. And gorge on street food.
And do nothing else.
And that is what I exactly did.

B, despite being very apprehensive about the street food part, indulged me. Anything to take some of the ghastly time that I had gone through, off my mind.
Even for a few days.
Later, we can always get back to life and its pains.

And what a time I had! Books, books and books everywhere.
A book lover's dream come true ... that is what the Boi mela is.
I was like a child let loose in a candy store. Threw all caution of limited baggage weight in flights and picked up books to my heart's fill.
Since I cannot pick up heavy, hard bound books to read anymore, I picked up the smaller lighter copies when ever available.
I was dizzy with happiness.

I will have my detailed posts up on my travelogue very soon. Do stay tuned.

Before leaving for the trip, I had made this Gobhi paratha as there were fresh cauliflowers in the market in abundance.

For us, winter dinners or breakfasts have to have some kind of paratha, usually the stuffed ones, on the table.
May it be the Mooli ka paratha,  parathas made with left over stuff, the Methi ka paratha,
the Aloo parantha , the Bedai or Moong dal paratha, the Egg stuffed paratha, 
the Pyaaz ka paratha or this Gobhi ka parantha.

I hope I am not too late in posting this and winter is still providing the freshest of cauliflowers on your side of the world.
If it is the season of the vegetable being used, like cauliflowers and radishes in winter, I use them fresh.
Nothing like the fresh and moist flavours of the Gobhi mixed with the fried paratha and some green chillies in every bite.
During other seasons, like in the monsoons, , I lightly saute them with spices first.

 Need :

Fresh Cauliflower
Fresh Coriander leaves
Fresh green chillies
Cumin / Jeera seeds
Carrom / Ajwain seeds
Salt
Cooking oil to fry

Whole wheat flour or Atta - for the dough
Water - for the dough
A little salt - for the dough
1 tbsp oil - for the dough


I do not use any other spices and keep the taste simple. You can use coriander powder, some amchur powder and red chilli powder too.

How to :

Knead the atta with the salt + oil + water to make a soft, pliable dough.
Keep it covered and let it rest while you prepare the stuffing.

First, wash and dry the cauliflower florets well. There should be no water in them at all.
Grate them.

Add the spices, the green chillies and coriander leaves to it.
Add salt last ... just before you are about to stuff and roll them.
Never before that.

Take a small ball of the kneaded dough and lightly roll and flatten it with your hand.
Use some dry flour to make handling it easier.
Stuff it with some of the filling.

Cover it from all sides, gently pressing the joining part so that the filling does not come out when rolling it.

Very gently, roll out a paratha. Use a lot of dry flour so that it moves around on the rolling platform easily.

Heat a tawa.
Gently put the paratha on it. Let it cook on low heat for around a minute.
Then flip it over.

Brush some oil on both sides and fry it, flipping all the while, till the sides are golden brown in colour.

Serve hot.

These paranthas go best with some achar / pickles. Or with dahi / curd too.
And if you are like me, you will douse your plate with some tomato ketchup first.
Tear a steaming hot piece off, blow on the steam, dunk it in the ketchup and tuck it into your mouth.
And sit back and savour the flavours of fresh cauliflower combined with a bite of ajwain here and green chilli there.
Maybe you can have a cup of adrak wali chai or ginger tea on the side too.

Enjoy winter!
Or whatever is left of it.

Niramish Alur Dom / No onion garlic Bengali style Dum Aloo

The house is quiet again.
Even though it was a well meaning visit by the in laws, it did not do much to cheer me up.
Only, made me ache for Bapi all the more.
Sankaranti came and went. I did make some pithas for Papa and Mummy too.
But my heart was not in them ... though I did try my best.

No ... I am giving in to moroseness again.
I have promised myself less morbidity in my posts ... so no more of it.
But I hope you will forgive me if I digress once in a while, though.

Winter has come late this time.
The days and the evenings have suddenly turned very cold. All I long for is to snuggle into a blanket and not come out at all.
Which is why, these days I have started to  cook in bulk on some days.
And use the other days to catch up on other things.
Like ... read a little.
Or knit a little.
Or do the laundry.
Or catch a movie.
Or do just plain nothing. It requires an effort ... but it is fun.
I have done it before and loved it. But right now, I wish I did not indulge in it.
Because as soon as I am idle, my mind starts its journey backwards and all the painful memories come rushing back.
So for a while, I will keep moving.

That led me to make a chart.
I selected days of the week to devote them to either cooking, making masalas, grind the pastes to freeze, preparing the atta or do the laundry ... all in bulk.
So far, it has been working well for me.
Gives me, if not whole , at least part of a day. And the evenings.
Keeping my fingers crossed.

 I had made this Alur dom sometime back and had liked it so much that I jotted down the recipe in my ToPost folder.
But I got to click some photographs only recently ... hence making this quick post.
Had made this for my pure vegetarian in laws and surprisingly, they loved it too.
(Surprised because it has the Bengali bhaja moshla ... something they are not used to.)

I could not resist adding some fresh green peas as it is winter.
You can make it plain at other times too.

How to :


Boil 4 large sized potatoes.
( I add some salt to the water when boiling them. )
Crush them and keep aside.

Grate 2 medium sized tomatoes and around 1"ginger.

Heat mustard oil.

Add 1 black cardamom + 2 whole red chilli.
Add the tomato + ginger.

Fry well for a while on high heat.
Add haldi powder + red chilli powder + dhaniya powder(2 tsp) + jeera powder(1 tsp).

Fry well till oil starts to leave sides.

Add the potato + salt + a little sugar.

Toss well. Keep mixing on low flame.

Cover and keep for 10 mins .... checking and stirring in between.

No water. But then I used a non stick kadahi.
You are not using one, you might need to check and if needed, give a sprinkle of water once in a while so that it does not burn at the bottom.

Finally add bhaja moshla , switch off heat and cover and let it stand for 5 mins.

If the tomatoes are not tangy enough, give a squirt of lemon all over it.
You may add a sprinkle of fresh coriander leaves too.

This goes best with parathas or luchis.
Or even hot rotis too.

I love to eat the leftovers( if any ) with some puffed rice.
The very Rajasthani B loves to sprinkle some namkeen on it.

Enjoy whichever way you like.
Just serve it hot.

Begun pora / Roasted and mashed Eggplant ... a spicy, rustic winter favourite

Begun pora. Or fire roasted brinjal or eggplant.
Just the word pora or poda brings along with it the whiff of fire, smoke and roasting.
Along with the smell of winter nights.
Crisp, cold air. Smoke from the unoon or the chulha.
Thamma's warm, sooty, smoky kitchen.
Wood fire burning with all its might in the two big sized open unoons ... where two huge handis cook rice during the day.

Thamma would throw in sweet potatoes, potatoes into the mouth of the unoons to roast.
And winter nights would definitely see some big sized brinjals with their skins shining with a coat of mustard oil, getting roasted too.
Thamma had a small sized chulha too ... made from a steel bucket, that had three mounds made from wet earth, to sit a vessel on. On that she made rotis.

We children loved to cross the open kitchen veranda on the courtyard, shivering in the cold, push open the lightly closed door  just to soak in the warmth of her kitchen with two roaring fires and watch the sparkling splinters jump and dance around the fires.

Sometimes Thamma would call us in and hand us a piece of very hot roti, just off the chulha and torn into small parts for us.
Chewing on that small piece of roti, we would again barge out and go back into the house, crossing Dadu on the way, who would always be on the swing on the veranda ... for as long as Thamma would be in the kitchen.
Every time we crossed him, he would turn his head and smile at us and the ruckus we made. And then he would go back to gazing at the stars on the bright winter sky again.

On some days, when there would be brinjals roasting in the fire and Begun pora on the menu, if we barged into the kitchen, Thamma would sit us down and ask the help to quickly cut up onions and skin some roasted brinjals.
She would then mash them up with mustard oil, fresh coriander leaves ... a must in every winter dish ... and onions, skipping the green chillies.
And then she would feed us from that one plate of begun pora while the help flipped rotis one by one into the second plate.
There, of course, would be a story to keep us still, too.
Quietly she would send the help to inform our mothers that they are free for the evening.
Their children have had dinner ... a huge task otherwise.

These days, all that I bank on, is memories.
Dadu and Thamma are no longer around.
The house has been demolished recently.
Dad left us three months back.
And what struck me most was Didi's sudden demise last month.
She was the leader of the pack; the head of all plans of our childhood.
All adventures, picnics, plans for movies, gatherings , were started by her.
Not one to hear a no. The eldest child of the family.
My sister, friend, confidante,guide.
This year has taken so much from me that I dread facing the coming year.

I planned to make the Begun pora last weekend for lunch and not for dinner. 
I wanted to click some photos and make a post.


As anyone would know, this is an easy, fuss free dish.
All you need is some fresh, big sized brinjals /eggplants, some onions and green chillies and the all important mustard oil.
The smoky flavour of the roasted  eggplant mixed with the zing of raw mustard oil give the dish its rustic charm.

This is also known as Bengena pitika in Assamese.
Need :

Brinjals / Eggplants
Mustard oil
Chopped onions
Chopped green chillies
Fresh coriander leaves
Salt

How to :

Smear the eggplants with mustard oil and roast slowly on an open fire.

The skin should be completely charred for the insides to be cooked well.
I make sure it becomes flaky ... almost no moisture on the skin.
That not only ensures that the eggplant is well done, it also gives a distinct brown colour to the flesh  just below the skin.
(Check out the steam.)

Cool and skin it.

Mash it well with the rest of the ingredients.
Don't forget to be generous with that drizzle of raw mustard oil all over it.

Serve hot with rotis.

On another note, my hand and shoulders are acting up again.
I have been knitting a little too much recently I guess. And assume that is the culprit.

I have no idea when I'll be able to complete this sweater for B. 
Neither do I have any idea as to when I will be able to make another post next.

Till then take care dear friends.
Stay well and enjoy your holidays.