পাতলা চিতই পিঠা -- A Porous Rice Flour Pancake

 This is a traditional age-old recipe from the former East Bengal ( পূর্ববঙ্গ) that turned into East Pakistan overnight with India's independence, which became Bangladesh later in 1971. So, East Bengal doesn't exist any longer but East Bengal food culture is alive in India with the  Hindu Bengali community who fled to this side of the border after partition and gradually established themselves in India. And of course it is very much alive in today's Bangladesh. In fact, Bangladesh's hospitality and food is extraordinary. 

This pancake was a snack my Grandmother often prepared for my mother and her siblings to eat after they returned from school.

I have never been to Bangladesh, my ancestors' motherland, where they were the children of the soil since time immemorial. But I want to and I can keep the food culture alive.

I made this yesterday morning with the leftover soaked Gobindobhog rice and mug lentil for the day before. I manually made the paste on the traditional shil-norha, শিলনোড়া ( see the photo below). 

Shil -- the flat stone, Norha -- the small, cylindrical one

The Paste

I added salt, baking powder, shredded green chillies and onion, and more water into it and mixed very well. Beating the batter well is essential, too. The consistency needs to be watery. There can't be any lump left. 

The Batter is Ready

We need really very little oil to make this pancake. Just baste the pan with the oil of your choice. I used rice-bran oil. Pour some batter on the hot pan bearing in mind that the pancake will be very thin. The flame should be medium. Flip and cook both sides. It took about a minute only to cook one side. You will see and understand how long (or how quick) it will take as you do it. 

Note: 1) Traditionally only rice flour is used but I wanted to use up the soaked mug from the previous day. 

2) We serve it with some kind of curry/ meat dish but I was to have only the pancake; therefore I added green chillies and onion. 

Making Overripe Banana Palatable

 Nobody likes overripe banana, right? 

 I had only one small banana left. Its skin started turning black.  Nobody  can guess from the photo but inside it just started to become very soft. Usually I throw it if the skin is totally black but during this difficult time of pandemic getting fresh fruits and vegetables are not easy; I can't simply go out and get fresh and new things. So, we are not throwing out anything. Pandemic has changed our lifestyle.

Early this morning I manually made a paste of yesterday's leftover soaked Gobindobhog rice and golden mug Dal for preparing a special traditional East Bengal pancake. I used some of this paste to make my overripe banana palatable. 

Banana Coins Coated in Rice Paste and Semolina

I cut the banana into small round coins and dipped them in the thick rice and mug paste and coated them with semolina. Then I sautéed them in very little oil. I removed them from the frying pan as they started being golden brown on both sides. They were super crispy outside and very soft inside.

I didn't add sugar to the rice paste batter but you can if you want it sweet. I don't have a sweet tooth. So, for me the banana itself was sweet enough.

Sago Pearl with Mug and Rice -- Raw Vegan Lunch

 

 We decided to have a no-cook meal today. 

And to prepare this meal we need a special type of all the ingredients. Simply any rice or any Mug (a type of yellow lentil) or any type of sago pearl won't do. Here are a few words about the main ingredients:

Gobindobhog rice or গোবিন্দভোগ চাল is a small grain, aromatic rice,a indigenous produce of certain districts of West Bengal. West Bengal has the geographical indication tag for it. 

Sona mug or সোনা মুগ is a very small and bright yellow type of the mung bean (Vigna radiata) or green gram. I had difficulty to find this in the cities of Western India where I lived for years and I used to pack some to take with me each time I visited my Mom in West Bengal. সোনা মুগ gets this name because of its bright golden yellow colour. It's also very tiny. 

The sago pearls or সাবুদানা we, Bengali people, traditionally consume has very tiny particles. It is usually a baby food or used in diets for elderly or sick people. Tapioca pearls are an alternative which produced in large scale industrially and is cheaper. 

দানা in Bengali means "grain" or "particle". 

We soaked Gobindobhog rice, sonamug Dal and the smallest type of tapioca pearl for about five hours. Then all these are very soft. I mashed two small ripe bananas with these ingredients and took one date with it. But I suggest you add sugar also. And you can add more bananas and jaggery. The quantity of rice was much less than the lentil. I guess I took about two tablespoons of mug and one tablespoon of rice. I always take according to my guess, experience and choice. My Mom took more rice. But I liked it this way. There's no hard and fast rule. But rice should be taken just a little since it is uncooked. 

Before soaking, please rinse thoroughly. Washing the ingredients with drinking water is important. Soak the three ingredients in separate containers.

This meal was totally without oil. 

This is not a diet for small children.

ঝাল সুজি -- Savory Semolina

 I often make a savory porridge of semolina for breakfast. Depending on the availability and the season, the vegetables change. Today I added peanuts, too. 

Savory Semolina

Now, below are the photos showing the different stages. Since I have posted the recipe earlier -- the link is at the end of this post -- I am just posting the photos today:

Ready

Mixing all ingredients before adding water

Adding semolina

The vegetables

Usually I add more vegetables. But today, along, with carrot, I added an unusual ingredient: cucumber. This pandemic and quarantine life is making me really adventurous with food! 

The recipe is here:

http://kayhavingfeasts.blogspot.com/2018/07/jhaal-suji-spicy-semolina.html?m=1

Vegan Omlette with Sattu Filling

 

I often prepare myself a pancake early in the morning and semolina is my regular ingredient . I make a light batter of semolina adding salt, shredded green chillies, shredded onion, and sometimes a pinch of cumin powder. To make the vegan Omlette above I added cumin seeds and green chillies and a little flour to the semolina, and of course, salt. 

To  make the filling I made a paste of sattu adding salt, freshly shredded onion to it. I don't like hot and spicy but you can add chillies, too, and a little lemon juice, if you want. Also, it tastes good when we add a little shredded coriander leaves, tomato and bell peppers but we don't have our usual supply of vegetables during this quarantine. 

First, I make the pancake cooking it by both sides. I put the filling like in the photo below, roll it and cook it just one or two minutes changing the sides. Et voila! My breakfast is ready. 

Note: sattu is roasted split Bengal gram flour.

Sautéed Okra and Potato

 Sautéed Okra and Potato or আলু ঢেঁড়স ভাজা is a common side dish with rice and lentil soup. It's super easy and very quick. You don't need much oil.

Add long and thin slices of potato to heated oil. In one or two minutes add nigella seeds and sliced green chillies. Stir and add medium cut okras into it. (Okra cooks faster than potato. Therefore, we add the potato first.) Add turmeric powder and salt. Stir and mix well. The flame should not be two high or too low. Stir and cook for some time. Stir to make sure it doesn't burn. You will see the colour will start changing. Cover and let it cook for a few minutes. The reason I can't specify exactly how many minutes because I have been doing it since I don't remember when based on guess and feeling. I keep an eye and check from time to time. Cook it until the vegetables are done. 

I prefer preparing it in mustard oil. But that's not a must. 

We prepare the simple okra and potato curry the same way with the same seasoning. But in the curry the okra is tenderer and practically wet, a little viscous because we use even less oil, put the vegetables right after adding the seasoning in the hot oil, add salt and turmeric and cover and let it cook on a low flame. It is practically steamed. Therefore, while frying, don't cover in the beginning, but only at the end for a few minutes. Many people don't like the viscosity and for them this recipe is an option. 

মুসুর ডালের বড়া -- Red Lentil Fritters

 During this pandemic our consumption of rice and lentils has increased and that of fresh vegetables has decreased only to ensure maximum physical distancing and isolation. Therefore, we are having red lentil fritters more often than usual.

We had red lentil fritters tonight also. Two days ago I soaked some lentil and made fritters with some of it. The rest was in the fridge. We had to use it up, too. 

This fritter is super easy to make: soak >make the paste> add salt, a little shredded onion and green chillies, a little turmeric powder > stir, stir, stir to mix well > fry. And Voila! No need to deep fry! The only difficult task is to make the paste if you do it manually using the traditional শিল-নোড়া, the two pieces of stones with which Bengali women have been making pastes of almost everything under the sun since time immemorial!! 😅 But I suggest you use a mixer-grinder. Our mixer is kaputt and cannot take it to the shop for fixing unless the infection rate starts reducing. Almost every day we are at the top of the list in daily infections and death. For the same reason I can't get my spectacles replaced; so, Mom did the frying. Two days ago I did it without my glasses but we shouldn't take such a risk since the entire medical service is under tremendous pressure and treatments to other medical conditions are not happening regularly and so, this is not the most convenient time to have an accident in the kitchen. 

The Paste

Soaked Dal on the Flat Stone(শিল)

Instead of onion I prefer adding nigella seeds. I also don't add turmeric powder. 

Make the shapes flat; then the lentil will cook thoroughly though you don't deep fry. We never deep fry lentil fritters. 

It's heavy and oily. I wouldn't give it to very small children. But it tastes simply out of this world and a very common side dish with জল-ভাত /jawl bhaat/ in summer and a popular traditional part of the Iftaar menu as our poet শামসুর রহমান(Shamshur Rahman) reminds us in his poem 'বাংলাভাষা উচ্চারিত হলে': "নানী বিষাদসিন্ধুর স্পন্দে দুলে / দুলে রমজানী সাঁঝে ভাজেন ডালের বড়া"

Red Lentil Soup + Red Lentil Fritters with Rice

Basamati Rice with Bitter Gourd!!!

 No normal person would add bitter gourd to mixed veg rice. But this is not a normal time. We are not having a normal life. Every day more than sixty thousand new Covid infections. These are only symptomatic and documented ones. Often we are at the top in the number of daily death, too. 

We are not going to the local market any longer. Supply of vegetables is less and infrequently. So, unlike a normal person, I prepared mixed veg rice with bitter gourd. Below are the ingredients. The egg is kept to show the size/quantity of the vegetables.

I cut the vegetables in tiny  pieces and sautéed them separately and later added them later them to the rice. Carrot and bitter gourd--- what an unusual combination.

I used Basamati rice. The process is similar with the other veg rice recipes I have here. Below is the final product and it tasted good. 

Khichuri with Very Little Vegetables

 

This is an example of my quarantine cooking.  Since lock-down started, we are consuming much less vegetables to make, in the beginning, my visit to fresh market, and now the visit of our domestic help to us, much less frequent.  

Today morning I made this khichuri -- the traditional Bengali rice and lentil dish -- with a few ground nuts and a small piece of carrot as you will see the ingredients in the pictures below. 

Usually we use at least the equal amount of rice and lentil and mostly more lentil than rice to prepare khichuri. But today I used relatively less mug lentil since we are having Dal with every meal nowadays. First I roasted the mug in hot wok and then washed it and kept it at one side.

In a separate pan I sauteed carrot, potato and the ground nuts in the seasoning of shredded onion and cumin seeds, adding turmeric powder, salt and coriander powder.

 I kept this at one side and started cooking the mug and rice together in water in a covered pot. I started on a high flame but reduced it as it started boiling. ( I had soaked the rice already for about half an hour ). After the rice and lentil are almost done, I added salt and stirred and mixed well and let it cook for a few more minutes. When both the ingredients are thoroughly done, I mixed the sauteed vegetables and mixed everything well and let it cook until the water dried up. That was it. I had a filling and satisfying meal. 

Cabbage Khichuri (Lentil Rice with Cabbage)

I prepared this in June and took photos but I have the time to post it now.
It is important for me to ensure that I don't spend long time in the kitchen and still have a balanced diet.
So, I often prepare an one-pot dish.

To make this cabbage Khichuri, I cut potato in small cubes and shred the cabbage manually.
I soaked rice, mug (yellow) Dal and musur Dal (red rentil) for about half an hour. You can soak it for a longer time. This yellow lentil is very special. We call it sona mug, a very tiny type of moong, of golden yellow colour. "Sona" in Bangla (Bengali) means "gold". It is not available outside Bengal, at least not easily available. I bring it from Kolkata.

I sautéed the potatoes and then added thinly sliced onions, cumin seeds, one or two dried chillies removing the seeds.

I added the cabbage and let it cook for a few minutes. I then added the spices: turmeric-, cumin- and coriander powder and mixed everything well. It's required to stir from time to time and let it cook without adding water. If you want it a little spicy, you can add a little chilly powder.
Now I added some peas. I get frozen peas from the supermarket near my house.

I have mentioned above that I soaked rice and lentils. Now I drained the water and added it all. Just like earlier, I stirred and mixe everything. And then I added salt and water. I cooked this in pressure cooker. I closed the lid and after six whistles I turned off the flame.
I was very hungry. So, I let the steam out by lifting the pressure. But usually I wait for quite some time and then open the cooker. In the meantime it completely stops sizzling and there is no air pressure inside. You should never try to open the lid of a pressure cooker immediately after removing it from the flame.  If you don't use pressure cooker, you can check progress from time to time and cook till everything is thoroughly cooked.

When I opened the cooker it looked like this from above. Under this upper most layer it wasas really soft.

Pointed Gourd with Coconut

Pointed gourd is not available in every part of India. In Bangalore  and in Pune I rarely found it. In Mumbai I get a smaller type of it and it is always very costly. So, I don't prepare this often. In Bengal we make a number of dishes withis vegetable: light fish curry with poipted gourd, patol posto (pointed gourd with poppy seed paste, pinted gourd with potato in light watery gravy etc. Most of the time we add a little potato also. I prepared this dish on the 12th of June. Finally I have the time to write about it.

I peeled the vegetables and cut them into pieces as they are in the pictures at the end of this post.
This is how we commonly cut them for many dishes but not for all preparations.
I heated mustard oil and added cumin seeds and dried red chillies for seasoning. I took the seeds of the chillies out so the curry didn't become too hot. UsuallyI add beat leaves, too, but I hadn't any. Also, my mother usually adds a little grated ginger which I didn't use either.
I added the vegetables into the oil with the seasoning and stirred well. I let the vegetables sautéed for a few minutes. Then I added turmeric-, cumin-, coriander-, and red chilli powder. Red chilli powder is optional and I added just a little. I mixed everything well and let it cook for a few more minutes. I added finely grated (and dried) coconut now. I buy this from the supermarket. Now I added salt. Mixing everything well, I added water and I let it boil until the vegetables were thoroughly cooked. Now I added garam masala. I let it cook a little longer to reduce the water. I wanted the curry near dry.
I had it with steamed rice.

Day before yesterday my Mom prepared a curry with coming and bay leaf seasoning. I made the vegetables ready for cooking and then I took these photos to show you how the fresh vegetable looks like.

Ghugni -- a popular Bengali Dish of Garbanzo beans

We call garbanzo beans "kabuli chhola" ". Interestingly "chhola" is "gram" and "kabuli" in Bangla (Bengali) is the adjective of Kabul, the city in Afghanistan and so, means "something related to Kabul/something from Kabul". So, literally, it means, Gram from Kabul. I don't know if garbanzo beans came to us from Afghanistan but it is not the only bean we use to prepare this popular dish, ghugni; we also use Bengal gram, the darker and smaller sister of Garbanzo bean and also, dried peas.
The photo above is the breakfast my mother made yesterday. (I am at my mom's house because my father is undergoing a surgery.) My mother makes this quite often and serves with handmade ruti (the hindi word "phulka" or "phulka Rori" may be familiar to some of you!).

To prepare it, soak the beans overnight and then boil them until thoroughly cooked. Add salt in this process. We use a pressure cooker for this purpose.
Cut potato in small cubes. You can also prepare it without potato.
Heat oil of your choice and  add the potato cubes. Let them fry till they turn brown. Now add the seasoning: dried bay leaves (one or two), sliced green chilies (two to three), half a teaspoon of cumin seeds, finely chopped onion and crushed garlic. Stir everything well and let it dry till the onions turn golden. Now add turmeric- and cumin powder. (IIadd a little confused oriander powder, too, but that's optional). Stir well to mix. If you want tomatoes in this dish, add some, finely chopped, now (yesterday my mother didn't because my father is not suppsed to eat tomato but we sometimes do). If you add tomatoes, now let it cook for some time.
Add the boiled garbanzo beans now. Mix well. You might need to add a little more salt. Add water. Let it boil for some time and let the water reduce. You can also add a little garam masala powder towards the end.

Some like it really hot and spicy. They add some red chilli powder with the other spices. I don't prefer that.

My Quick Eggplant Curry

Eggplant with Tomato and Potato

Dal Seddho

Side dish

Serves two

Very simple recipe.

Ingredients:

Red Lentil (musur dal) – 100 gm

Water

Salt

Green chili – raw

Shredded onion – 10 gm

Mustard oil

How to prepare:

Boil the lentil in water.

The dal boiling

Add salt only after it is thoroughly cooked and soft enough to eat.

Stir and mix the salt well.

Boil till very little of the water is left. I suggest that don’t put too much water right at the beginning.

Add green chili. Depending on your taste, you can also add the chili along with salt.

(I want the chili raw, not partially cooked and softened.)
Add shredded onion.

Dal Seddho

Serve with plain steamed rice.

Traditionally, the lentil, put inside a watertight metal container or in a piece of cheese cloth, tied tightly , used to be put inside the handi (the traditional rice cooker) while preparing rice in it. This is how I have seen my mom and other senior ladies preparing it. When in cheese cloth, it can also be kept in boiling water till the lentil is cooked. 

I find this dal preparation so tasty that I can make it my main course and eat up all the rice on my plate with it. But usually we prepare some small accompaniment, typically some fried vegetables, to go with it.

Here is an example: alu-bean-gajor-bhaja.

Alu-bean-gajor-bhaja.

Serves two.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: about 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Carrot – one, medium

Potato – one, small

Green beans – 50 gm

Alu-bean-gajor-bhaja

How to prepare:

Cut carrot, beans, and a small potato into very small cubes.

Heat the oil.

Add nigella and sliced green chili to it.

Add the vegetables.

Add turmeric. Stir well to mix well.

Add salt.

Stir well. Let it cook till all the vegetables are softened. Stir from now and then.

Serve with dal seddho and steamed rice.

Alu Bhaja ar koraishunti diye Muri Makha

Puffed Rice with Fried Potato and Green Peas

       "Muri" is a very popular snack in Bengal.
Muri makha, i.e. puffed rice with different ingredients added to it accompanied by a cup of tea is one of our most favourite evening snacks. It can also be called moshla muri (= puffed rice with spices) or jhal muri (jhal = hot [and spicy]).
        I love chanachur diye muri makha/ muri-chanachur : puffed rice with chanachur, a very spicy mixture of fried lentils, pea nuts, gram flour noodles, flaked rice, which my mom considers not very healthy since it is not homemade and since it is very hot and spicy. So, as an alternative she usually offers puffed rice with fried potato and other ingredients like green peas, shredded onion or roasted pea nuts etc.

       This time we had it with potato and green peas and, sadly for my mom, without tea, since tea is now forbidden for her.

           Puffed Rice with Fried Potato and Green Peas

Ingredients:

Puffed rice -- bought ready made
The mix:  potato cut in small cubes
               green peas
               green chili -- shredded if you want it really hot; otherwise, sliced
               black caraway seeds (nigella sativa)
               mustard oil
               salt

How to prepare the mix:

Heat mustard oil till its typical smell vanishes and the colour changes.
The potato needs to be shallow-fried. So, we do not need a lot of oil.

Add the nigella and chili to it.
Add the potato. After it starts turning a little golden, add salt and stir to mix well. Cover the frying pan and let it cook. When the potato is softened, add the peas and cover again. Let it cook for about 2 minutes.

Now mix all these with the muri and enjoy snacking.

Puffed rice is usually a little salty. So, we did not sprinkle salt to the the whole mixture in the end.
Traditionally, a little raw mustard oil is mixed with the puffed rice for all muri makha / jhal muri. You can also do the same if you have developed a taste for its typical strong flavour.

The Year-End Lunch

Recently my ex-student and now friend visited Kolkata for just a few days. We got the opportunity to see each other after eight long years!

I invited her to have lunch with us. And I cooked!

A Bengali meal usually consists of several courses. The meal traditionally starts with something a little bitter, fried bitter gourd, shukto for example. Usually a lentil soup accompanied by something fried or mashed potato with finely chopped raw or glazed onion and finely chopped green chili or, fried fish is served then. For my friend I fried green beans, cauliflower and potato together to have with rice and “daal”, red lentil soup as the entry course; I did not prepare anything bitter for this lunch.

Then comes some very typical and popular vegetarian dish. For my friend I prepared kumror chhenchki (at the left side of the plate) and alur dom (in the middle). 

The Vegetarian Side-Dishes: Kumror Chhechki, Alur Dom, Alu Kopi Beans Bhaja and  Musur Daal with Rice

Fish is the most popular and the most important food for us. No wonder that fish is often the main course of a Bengali meal, especially of daily meals. For guests, sometimes, we replace fish with chicken or mutton (from goat). We, Hindu Bengalis, usually do not eat beef mainly because it is prohibited in our religion. Even though I am not selective about meat and eat every thing: pork, beef, lamb etc., I do not cook those at home. I cooked chicken this time.

The main course is followed by sweet yogurt (mishti doi) and some sweets like rasogolla. However, we eat every day neither bitter gourd nor sweets and the healthier regular yogurt (tok doi) replaces sweet yogurt. But this lunch ended with pantua and rasogolla. This was the last lunch of the year after all and her visit made it even more special.

Pantua

Rasogolla

Here I am sharing with you the recipes for the vegetarian side dishes.

Musur Daal 

Ingredients:

Red lentil

Finely chopped onion and garlic
Water
Salt

Red chili, dried 

Turmeric powder,

Oil

How to prepare:

Heat the water until it starts boiling. Now add the lentil. Let it cook. You can also use a pressure cooker.

Add salt only after the lentil is completely cooked.

Heat oil in a small frying pan. Add the red chili into it and wait till it starts truning brown. Now add onion and garlic. As soon as the onion starts turning golden, pour all these, including the oil, into the boiled lentil.

Let everything cook together for about 2 minutes.

Musur daal is ready to serve with rice.

Alu Phulkopi Beans Bhaja

Ingredients: (all cut into very small pieces)

Potato (Alu)
Cauliflower (Phulkopi)
Beans
Black caraway seeds (Nigella Sativa)
One small green chili -- sliced
Sun flower oil

How to prepare:

Heat the oil. Add chili and then the nigella seeds. Add the vegetables. Add salt and turmeric powder and stir well so that they mix well with the vegetables. Saute till the vegetables are cooked.

Serve as an accompaniment with daal and rice.

Kumro chhenchki

Ingredients:

Unripe pumpkin,

Turmeric powder

Salt

Dried red chili

Shredded onion

Potato (optional)

Mustard oil (/Sun flower oil)

How to prepare:

Cut pumpkin into small cubes.

Heat the oil. Add red chili and wait till it turns dark brown and then add shredded onion into it. Wait till the onion turns golden.

Add the pumpkin to it. Add salt and turmeric powder. Stir a little. Then let it cook.

Alur dom

This recipe is shared here when I started blogging:

http://letterwoods.blogspot.in/search/label/Potato since I had not started my food blog yet!

Cabbage Pakora

Snacking is easy and fun!

Serves 6 -- 8

Ingredients:

Cabbage – very finely shredded – 500 gm

Besan – chick pea flour (gram flour) 100 gm

Onion – shredded – 100 gms.

Salt

Turmeric powder (optional)

Green chili – finely chopped -- one

Water

Sunflower oil

Sugar – half a tea-spoon

Preparation time: 

15 minutes

Cooking time: 

about 5 minutes on small flame (depending on the size of the frying pan, how many pakoras you can fry at a time)

How to prepare:

Shred the cabbage.

Add salt and sugar (and turmeric powder) to the besan and mix very well.

Add water little by little to this mixture of besan and salt to make a thick paste.

[Or you can add the salt (and turmeric powder) to the water and after the salt is dissolved in it, add this water to besan to make the paste. But do not add salt after mixing besan and water because salt will not mix uniformly in a paste.]

Now mix this paste and shredded cabbage, shredded onion, and finely chopped chilies all very well together.

 Make small flat circular shapes, like tiny pan cakes and dip fry them over low flame. Serve hot with puffed rice (muri).

Cabbage Pakora

Note: While frying you have to make sure that the cabbages are cooked soft enough but not over-fried or burnt. If you have a big pan, you can fry all the pakoras at one go. If your pan is smaller, the cooking time will increase.

If you prefer using less oil, you can also go for shallow fry. Then, make your pakoras flat and turn them over while frying to make sure that they are well cooked from both sides.