Lau diye bhaja Muger dal / Roasted Moong dal cooked with Bottle Gourd

Today is Shitala Shasti, a day after Vasant Panchami or Saraswati Puja.
And today is the day that sets the approach of spring and summer ... read warmer seasons.
And so, today things that are cooling to the body and the digestive system are eaten .... usually cooked the night before and cooled and eaten today.
In preparation for the hot summer, today is the day when we switch from dense foods ... read winter vegetables to water laden and cooling summer vegetables.
My mother in law has a beautiful local rhyme that names the vegetables to be eaten on different seasons .... and for summer it is the bottle gourd, pumpkins, cucumber .... and so on.

I try to follow it as much as I can.
So, while I do not have a Gota Sheddho ( vegetables boiled whole, cooled and eaten today ) to post today, I do have this very light dal made with the bottle gourd for a light, cooling lunch or dinner.

As far as sheddhos / boiled things are concerned, I eat them throughout the year as you will know if you check out my mashes / makhas.
Even dals / lentils .... I like them plain boiled with just a little turmeric and very little salt.

This dal is very quick to make. And if you have roasted the moong dal and stored it, then it is even quicker.

Need :

Yellow mung dal - 1 cup
Lau / Lauki / Bottle gourd - 1 medium, chopped
Grated coconut - 5 tbsp ( optional )
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Whole dry red chillies - 2, broken
Tej pata / Bay leaf - 1
Roasted Jeera/ Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp Salt - to taste
Sugar - a pinch
Ghee - 1 tsp ( skip if you are vegan )
Water - 2 cups and a little more

How to :

In a heavy bottomed pan, dry roast the mung dal, on low heat, till aromatic and has a few specks of brown here and there.
Do not burn.

Heat the mustard oil in a pressure cooker.

Add jeera + dry red chilli + bay leaf + grated ginger.

Add the chopped lau / bottle gourd and stir well.

Add the moong dal and stir well.

Add haldi + mirchi powder + roasted jeera powder + coconut.

Add salt + sugar.

Add water and pressure cook for two whistles.

Serve with a dollop of ghee and sprinkled roasted jeera powder + red chilli powder on top.

This goes great with rice as  well as rotis.

Enjoy!!

Kachkolar chop / Batter fried raw banana

 

 And winter is gone! 
Just like that. One fine morning I wake up very early and do not feel like snuggling back into my soft, light yet very very warm razai, which are always a part of my shopping expeditions in Jaipur, any more. Instead I want to step out into the balcony to get some fresh air.
Which I do.
And was struck at the change in the air .... it was no longer chilly. Just a light cool.
And then, as the day progressed, I could feel the sun turning hotter and hotter.

It was just a day after Makar Sankaranti. Technically, it should still be very cold.
Instead, the days are turning more warm.
In fact the afternoons are so hot that all I want is some cooling Paanto bhaat for lunch.
I frantically went ahead and made some Mushur dal er bori as I was already out of stock and did not get any time to make them this winter.
Can't imagine a full year go by without a little bori on my plate.

And a couple of achars too.
I get the full sun all day through my big bay windows ... but only in the winter ... when the sun shifts south. Once it is Uttarayan, the sun quickly moves up north and I won't get any direct sunlight any more.
Boris need the soft warmth of the winter sun to dry slowly.
Hence my hurry.
Today I have soaked some Urad dal to make some spicy boris.
After this batch, am all set for the summer and the upcoming monsoons with enough bori in my pantry.

You can check out my recipes using the bori / vadi here. 

 But this post is not about the bori.

Inspite of falling and staying ill for the larger part of winter this year, I did manage to rustle up some quick snacks .... more for myself to revive my bland taste buds than for anybody else.
A few I managed to click ...
among which was the Kaachkolar chop that I made one day.
The ones that were made in the evening did not see the light of the day.

I had boiled and stored some raw bananas .... I do that when I get them in bulk and to stop them from ripening and turning soft ... along with some boiled potatoes.
So one day, when I had skipped lunch and was very hungry by late afternoon, I made some spicy chops to perk me up.

While usual Bengali chops are usually coated with bread crumbs and then deep fried, I often coat them with besan/gram flour batter... thanks to my growing up in Odisha.
The chops there, like the Aloo chop or the Mutton chop are always coated with a thick batter of besan. I love the crisp outside and the soft, spongy inside of the coating before reaching the spicy filling inside.

Here is how you go about it.
If you have the raw banana and the potatoes already boiled and stored, it will be a breeze and won't take much time at all.

Need :

Raw banana - 2, boiled and peeled
Potato - 1, boiled and peeled
Onion - 1, chopped
Green chillies - 2, chopped
Ginger - chopped, 1 tsp
Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - ½ tsp
Coriander leaves - chopped
Salt - to taste
Sugar - a pinch
Oil - to deep fry

For the batter -

Besan / Gram flour - 6 tbsp
Cooking soda powder - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Water - to make a batter 



How to :

Add a little water at a time to the besan + soda + salt to make a very thick batter.

Mash the raw banana and the potatoes with everything except the oil.

Make small balls and roll them smooth.

Heat oil.

Take the balls, dip into the batter and carefully let in to the oil.

Let it fry on low heat till it turns golden brown.

Remove and place on paper napkins to drain excess oil.

Serve with your favourite dip or ketchup.

I paired them with some crisp muri / puffed rice tossed with a dash of mustard oil and some spicy chanachur.
And of course, there was ada chaa / ginger tea on the side.

And as I sat in the warmth of the late afternoon sun that winter day, munching on the muri, with a bite of the hot chop, memories of winters back home came flooding back.
And I gave in.
Let them wash over me as I regaled B with all those stories from my childhood winters spent with my cousins in Dadu's huge home and even huger chaad / roof terrace.
Of hot evening snacks being made in the kitchen for the uncles who would soon return from office.
Of Thamma calling out to a house help to hurry.
Of us squealing, screaming, laughing as we run all about the house, from the roof to the uthon in no time.
Of Dadu's indulgent smile as he watched us kids rushing pell mell all over. 
Of the wonderful smells wafting all over the dining room.
Of a kakima calling out to us to wear our sweater and scarves before evening set in.
Of the sun turning huge and red before dipping behind the eucalyptus trees.
Of one of the happiest childhoods one can have.

Enjoy!!

Egg stuffed sandwich

 Or not.
Technically, I mean.
A proper egg sandwich will have boiled eggs. With or without spices.
Like my Ma makes.
But not me. I make my egg sandwiches with already cooked eggs.
And sometimes I stuff parathas with them too. Complete with whatever I want in them ... vegetables, spices, etc. etc.
And then again, there is the real Dim porota or Egg parathas.

But these sandwiches I make are to bring back those days when I was very new in the kitchen.
We had just moved into our flat after our marraige and the lady staying in the flat in front of us was a half Parsi.
She would make all kinds of good food and share with me.
Most days, we would have breakfast and lunch together. Lunch would be leftovers ... both of us would clean out our fridge.
But breakfasts on some days, we would make together.
Some days she would make the eggs and I would have bread and vice versa.
The tea, some days she would make and on some days I. 
And we would sit out on our big terraces and enjoy the food as well as each other's company.

It was she who made these sandwiches and I fell in love with them.
While she kept the eggs half cooked and with just freshly ground black pepper, I love to add vegetables and green chillies to mine.
And a dash of garam masala for the man.
These sandwiches are extra crisp and golden on the outside and soft inside.
I make them often, reminiscing the old days.
These make great snacks too on a winter evening or on a rainy day.

 Need :

Eggs
Bread
Butter
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped Vegetables of your choice ( I used green peas, sweet corn and carrots )
Chopped Onion
Chopped Green chillies
Salt

How to :

Heat a little butter in a pan.

Add the onion + chillies. Fry till onions turn translucent.

Add the vegetables, salt and black pepper.

Add the eggs and fry well.

Remove and cool.

Take sandwich bread and apply butter on both sides.

Place them on the sandwich maker and put some of the scrambled egg in it.

Place another bread on it and close.


Toast till golden brown on the top.

Serve hot with ketchup or any dip.

If you do not have a sandwich maker, you can toast it on a flat pan too.
Keep something heavy on the sandwiches and they will easily turn crisp and golden.

Enjoy with your favourite cuppa tea or coffee or even hot chocolate!!