Motorshuti bhaja / Stir fried fresh green peas

 

 Winter is finally here. I mean not by the names of the months but by the temperature outside.
We have been missing the real winter for the past couple of years in Pune. But this year it has turned real cold and the fresh, crisp air outside has that perfect smell of winter ... dry leaves, smoke from a faraway bonfire mixed with the beautiful, sweet smell of the Eucalyptus leaves that waft around in the light breeze.

I step out on to the balcony every evening to catch the gorgeous sunsets. And to watch the stars come out. These days the sky is so clear that they sparkle a couple of shades brighter. And the new moon comes up looking all shiny and clean.
Needless to say, I love winters.
I can knit all I want to, wear the ones that I have knitted earlier, enjoy my hot cuppas of sometimes tea or coffee and soups at other times.
I can sit in the sun for longer times ... my bay windows are now awash with sunlight ever since the sun has shifted south.

I have recently twisted my knee ... yes, how can the year go by without my falling ill properly at least once .... and am confined to rest right now.
I do try to hobble around and rustle up quick meals but my leg turns too painful and I go back to my corner in the sofa. Near the window, in the sun.
And do what I do best ... knit. 
And reminisce.
Which I do a lot these days.
Of days gone by, of the winters of my childhood.
Losing the elders of the family one by one, memories are the only things that stay with me these days.
So I think of the winters of my childhood, the breakfasts of crisp, toasted bread and poached(fried) eggs ... sitting out in the sun.
Lunches of steaming hot stews. Teatimes with cakes at times and traditional snacks at other. 
And it was from one of those memories that I made this traditional, simple stir fry that spells winter as well as memories for me in many ways.

This used to be a favourite evening snack for us at home.
Ma would make this with the fresh green peas, soft and oh so sweet, that the season brings, and that have been freshly shelled.
Iin the afternoon, after lunch, Ma and the other kakimas would sit out in the soft winter sun in the uthon / courtyard ... some drying their long hair, some knitting .
All around, there would be achars/ pickles sunning as well as  batches of boris here and there. 
The breeze from the pond, which was so welcomed in the summer, would make them shiver and draw their shawls around them a little more.
Thamma would be there too, soaking in the sun, eyes closed and narrating small incidents ... mostly form the past.
The house helps would join in too, enjoying the leisurely time.
They would bring along with them small pending jobs .... one of which was the shelling of peas.
We children would drift in and out, picking up handfuls of freshly shelled sweet peas and munching on them.

While I love raw peas in about everything .... I add them to my egg scrambles / anda bhurji, stir fries, upma, uttapams, salads and muri / puffed rice, I love this stir fry just as much.
In the evenings, when at a loss as to what to make to accompany the evening tea, Ma would rustle this up while Jethima would prepare the muri.
She would add a dash of mustard oil and some chanacchur to the muri. ( It will not be the regular moshla muri ). And serve them in individual bowls.
At times, the muri would be tempered with some kalo jeere / nigella seeds and dry red chillies too ... but only if it has turned soft. This tossing on heat crisps the muri up as well as add some flavour too.

Meanwhile Ma would temper some heated mustard oil with kalo jeere / nigella seeds and whole dry chillies. Then she would add some chopped onions and stir fry them till just soft. No browning.
And then tip in a bowlful of shelled green peas and a pinch of salt.
The peas will release water and everything will turn soft.
Just a few tosses ( you may cover and cook it for a while too ... but not for too long ) and it is done.
They would top the muri and the bowls would be handed out to everyone ... along with some thick, milky ada cha / ginger tea.

I can still see everyone sitting around the dining table, some sitting on the low window sill when there are no empty chairs left, some even on long, low bench that stood near the wall at the far end of the dining room .... munching, sipping, talking, laughing, discussing dinner's menu.
The dining room would no longer be cold .... there was so much love and warmth all around.
The peas would be so soft they would just melt in the mouth. And the crisp muri was the perfect foil, with its crunch.

Here is my bowlful of muri and motorshuti bhaja that I made one evening.
I had shared it on my Instagram and my facebook page .... but then memories overwhelmed me and I decided to make a post too.
For you.
And for posterity.

Hope you have a wonderful winter.
Have lots of hot food and make loads of memories.

Enjoy!!

Pui data Alu Begun Shorshe diye / Malabar spinach stalks cooked in mustard paste with potatoes and brinjals

 Recently, when I was visiting the other side of the family in Rajasthan, the lady who helps out in the house came up to me one day and asked when will I be going back. Taken aback, I asked why did she want to know.
All she said was to inform her a day before I left.
This lady is a Bengali and loves me to no end.
The moment she sees me, she turns all chirpy, smiling and joyous. Father-in-law says a drastic change comes over her.
It is not that I chat with her all the while. On the contrary I hardly talk to her except for once in a while.
All I do is smile at her ask about her welfare.
And take care that she is not burdened with any extra work due to our visit. And make sure that she gets whatever food is cooked at home .... fresh ... and whatever snacks and sweets we get home.

She on the other hand, like a child, would insist that I make her tea. Everyday.
I have no idea why.
I make the worst tea in the world. Even I cannot drink tea made by my own self. And so stay away from making tea for anybody at all. That is one job that B fulfills beautifully ... if we have guests it is B who makes tea.
But for this lady, it has to be me.
I love the fact that she knows I make the most terrible tea ever, and still insists that I make it for her.

So I was a little taken aback at her blunt question.
And forgot about it.
The day we were about to leave for our journey back, she came up to me and handed me a huge bag, saying "Eta tomar jonne Boudi."
I started to protest at her gifting me something when I looked in and found the freshest and most gorgeous of Pui looking up at me!
Shiny, fresh green leaves and with the juiciest of stalks.
I was so overjoyed that I hugged her.

She knew I loved Pui and had remembered!
I was so touched.

After reaching home, I immediately stocked my freezer with fish and used the Pui in every possible way known to me. The leaves were so fresh that I even boiled them and added just Kasundi and devoured with plain rice.
This medley I made because I had some potatoes and brinjals lying around. Had some mustard paste in the freezer ... so added a couple of cubes. And voila!
A veggie dish was ready in no time for lunch.

Sharing this with you today in this quick post.

Need :

Pui data / Malabar spinach stalks - cleaned and cut into small sizes
Potatoes - cut into thick strips
Brinjals - cut into thick strips
Onion - cut into slices
Green chillies - slit
Mustard paste
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - a little
Haldi / Turmeric powder
Salt
Sugar
Mustard oil- to cook

 How to :

Heat the oil in a wok / kadai.

Add the Nigella seeds and the green chillies.

Add all the vegetables and stir well.

Add turmeric powder + salt. Cover and cook till vegetables are done.

Remove cover, add the mustard paste and a little water, if needed, and mix well.

Add a little sugar, cover and cook till everything dries up.

Serve hot on the side with rice and dal.

Here is a shot of my lunch plate that late autumn afternoon.

Enjoy!!

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.