Yesterday night, the belief got stronger that I am not that much of a good homemaker, neither a class food blogger... .... I so much wished to bring that Kolkata Tea Stall effect in this particular post, messed up the kitchen but could not find a single "bhar".... the earthen tea cups.... Then I tried to break the corner of a plate as they use in the most simplest, rustic stalls to serve "cha, mumlet, tos, kola".... I could not get on with the action. Some of my blogger friends would have done full justice to this post. Anyway.... you must excuse me considering I at least prepared that milk masala tea and had it too at 8:45 pm which neither of us two are used to anymore. During the college days, I loved those masala tea with an overdose of sugar either from those big brass kettles in the Burrabazaar area or from the roadside tea stalls who served in earthen pots..... and the "sujir lero biskut"..... till date I simply fancy them. I saw them every where .... in the railway stations, while traveling through the highway or just in the neighbourhood and craved.... The mother never allowed either a "lero biskut" or "bapuji cake." Instead she got me a "gol moto oven" from the Modern Variety store located in between Shyambazaar and Hathibagan.... We are North Kolkatans.... our tryst continues with "Malonchor Kobiraji Cutlet".... "Town Schooler Golir Ankher Rosh aar Phuchka"..... "Sampader Blouse".... "Amritor Doi"....the famous tea leaf shops in the Lalbazaar area.... the list is too big to fit in here....
Some of our known area were ranged from the airport to Park Street.... beyond that.. is still a foreign land.... If I take a bus for Dakshinapan, I still ask the bus guide to drop me at the right place. Kolkata is calling more because this winter we are not going there. How much I am wishing to take a tour of Sharma's Lassi, Lakshmi Narayan Shaw's "Telebhaja"..... I still do visit the century old shops of New Market... may taste a roll from "Badshah".... a "Tea Room" or a "Cookie Jar" cannot stop me from visiting "Nahoum's"..... again and once more... not for the cakes alone but for the nostalgia!... During the Xmas season those areas are a must visit....
The only difference between Kolkata and this island is that for good cookies there, you have to travel to particular places while you have a bakery shop every 200 metre here. What do you want?.... wife biscuit, husband biscuit, lotus paste, red bean paste, pandan flavour, coconut cookies... the list is quite big..... and Milind Soman declares he does not touch biscuits.... its poison for the body! He will surely block me from his page if he sees the picture below.....
My mother may tell him.... "e ki amon dekhcho.... ami barir theke beroley amar meye akbarey sholota biskut kheye nito"..... and there is not a bit of exaggeration in it. The major reason of that bulging out tummy is my love for biscuits and cookies. I had to think of some home baked simple ones with less sugar or not at all of it. This ELACH DANA O KALOJEEREY SUJI BISKUT was successful in the first attempt. Do not expect me to blog about a pasta recipe.... I do not wish to feed my readers "gajor, lonka, peyaj, cheese kuchi diye pastar chocchori ba ghonto."
There was a time, say in the early 90's when I really could prepare those roadside tea stall like "suji biskut."..... courtesy the recipe booklet that came with that unique oven gifted by the mother. I have lost the booklet, baking skills and confidence. Lacking the proper props to create that tea stall effect and of a perfect recipe, I modified a bit using butter, a little of green cardamom seeds and two drops of rose essence for this ELACH DANA O KALOJEEREY SUJI BISKUT. I wished for some thin, flavourful, less sugar, not heavy on the stomach biscuits and I got them, hence the share. I am missing someone around who does not approve me of blogging about bakes or a pasta.... messages "kichu niramish torkari dao." Why do I listen to the person?.... For the same reason why I married the Captain Haddock at home knowing he wants to throw me out of the window at least eight times in a day. But my love, my son, nor the son like vegetarian dishes as much! That is a concern!
Preparing this biscuit was a stress free job, all my readers know by now I do not take up complex recipes. I did not follow any recipe as such for it except for browsing some of "sugi cookies" authentic of our immediate neighbouring country. I love those but they are sugary, hence did not. I have already copy pasted a recipe of an authentic Bengali / Indian sweet following few bloggers, to blog about soon giving due credit to them. The impatient that I am, I repeated at least five times while shaping them with cookie cutters "dur birokto lagchey, Cristine chal makhata diye porota baniye feli."...... Then the senior was back home, there was a blast attempt again at some place, I had to sit beside him, get some kind of a nervous breakdown and plead... "boss promise me you will not send the son for higher studies anywhere else, he will study whatever he gets to in this safe haven, in this island" .... the man will ask Cristine to get gallons of water saying his wife has again started with her dramas.
Enjoy my recipes, do not take a look in my other areas.... you cannot get along.... just the way I do not in most cases.... You can call it my short coming , I accept it and prefer to remain a happy loner. Anyway, for the slightly modified version of Kolkata roadside tea stall style biscuit..... ELACH DANA O KALOJEEREY SUJI BISKUT, we need few ingredients like semolina, refined flour, melted butter, little of salt, baking soda and sugar, nigella seeds and green cardamom seeds.
INGREDIENTS :
Semolina : 1/3coffee mug
Refined Flour : 1/2coffee mug
Butter : 3-4tbsp [melted]
Nigella Seed : 1tbsp
Green Cardamom Seed : 1/2tsp
Rose Essence : 2drops
Baking Soda : 3-4pinch
Sugar : 1tbsp
Salt As Required
The amount yields about 25-30 mini sized biscuits.
METHOD :
Take all the ingredients except for the melted butter and the rose essence in a bowl. Mix well.
Add the melted butter and the rose essence to the flour mixture.
Rub well for 2-4 minutes.
Add little water and knead till you get a soft, little moist, oily dough.
Prepare little bigger than that of paratha balls from the dough.
Roll out round parathas with your rolling pin and press any small cookie cutter to get the shape of your choice.
Place a cookie sheet on a baking tray and place the unbaked cookies on it.
Preheat oven at 180*C. Place the tray inside.
Bake for 15 minutes @ 180*C. They will be done.... it depends on your oven though as I used the convection mode of a microwave oven.
Once cold, we will transfer to an airtight container. Do not refrigerate, they should stay well for a week in a cool, dry place. Enjoy with tea or coffee.
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