DHONEPATAR BORA O CHUTNEY

What was I doing the last two days? Oh! a lot of silly things; a lazy, stay-at-home does!  It was Vesak Day holiday here the day before yesterday.... at this home there wasn't any, the son had his economics examination and his father had to catch a flight! In spite of knowing that I have a condition that the doctors do not call normal, he could not wait for few more days for the son's examinations to be over. This tall, dark, severely underweight guy who happens to be my husband did not even say that he will be travelling this week. I would not have stranded in the rain with an overflowing stroller then.... the son is happy with his salmon, prawn & chicken and mumma can manage with "muri-chirey-doi-aam-lichu-kathal".... My favourite summer fruits are in abundance here now.... Litchi too is coming from East Asia.... I am happy... they all have high sugar content and I am not bothered at all. 

This middle aged guy dropped us at the school gate the day before yesterday, went off... came back yesterday around midnight and now again going where?... Amritsar... only to come back over the weekend! There would be no "saptaher bazaar" this week... no it does not make me happy! I wished to sit with him and have the "Ilish Polao".... Instead, I chatted for long with Piali over some tea and paper dosa! This girl has her own set of friends but we get along well! I tell people not to depend on me, I cannot give much.... I am a lone wanderer... I am unable to be in a crowd for long! I loved watching people of this island in a holiday mood... going out, getting clicked and posting them too! 

What was S doing? She is wishing to drape her summer cool cotton sarees and seek Cristine's mercy for a click but that has to wait for the right mood and time! Cristine is there with me in all my silly ventures. See, this year we again planted some pumpkin seeds.... last year in the greed of having some "kochi pata"... the plant never saw flowers and this woman is craving for some "kumro phool er bora".... I see some in the western world blog about minced chicken stuffed zucchini flowers! We love batter fried pumpkin flowers, let me keep my fingers crossed! Tell me what we do not fry? If we get "dhonepata"..... coriander leaves in abundance.... I have to prepare DHONEPATAR BORA O CHUTNEY! 

If you cook simple and quick stuffs, you have enough time to do more silly things.... like eating jackfruit and mango and then go down to sow the seeds at the condominium backyard😁! I did not even seek permission from the management office, do not even know they will grow or not, even if they grow.... the gardener may throw them not knowing! I repotted that indoor plant too, got the pot at a cheap price.... you know how I love black, white and anything that soothes my eyes! What do I get from all these? Nothing else but simple pleasures! How much the husband scolds that I am breeding mosquitoes and spoiling the owner's hedge, I give a deaf ear... I feed him some meat and fish dishes following my gardener friends' recipes instead! Our mother has a regret that her son-in-law never took interest in her garden! She would say that her daughter's new family is only interested in tea and "adda"! Leave that, we need not bring in topics that does not make me happy.... the veteran women in both the families could never get along because the two families are miles apart from each other in their ways!..... 

Let me tell you how happy I am to have six dhonepatar bora and a good amount of chutney with nothing else but rice, toor-mango daal, kasundi, achar.... "Bas zindegi choti hi sahi... dil kush rehna chahiye"...... Many of you might remember that movie and the song... "choti si hai baat, koi nehi janey".... we never know what is next! If you remember the song, you will also know the reason why "Tina and Rinki" could not make it in Bollywood.... their mother had already set a high standard! At the moment I am craving for that black & white Dhakai Muslin one of my most loved diva is wearing in that song, haha! The Kaash, Gardish, Rudali, Lekin, Dil Chahta Hai diva may not eat DHONEPATAR BORA O CHUTNEY at her home, they do not have the liberty to but I am humming her numbers and eating the Bengali Vegetarian Snack and Chutney with rice....

That is what the silly woman was doing yesterday! No, I am not playing match game with Rujuta Diwekar.... I planted them in the morning, when I got to see Rujuta's share of "folonto kathal gaach"... the heavily fruit bearing jackfruit tree... it was afternoon.... Her post definitely took me back in time .... the grandfather had two big which bore the juicy variety that we do not get here. I was helping my cousin to open her saree page too.... though she needs better people as guide! I also wish to introduce my long time college friend Atoshi Shyam to my readers.... she has just opened her Facebook page... Artesance.... too good at painting, she is a class danseuse too! During our college days, she also made to the front pages of the Statesman.... one of the very loving and leading students of Tanushree Shankar! She too got married at a very young age, shifted to Delhi, had a dance institute there and now a resident of Bangalore... she is taking contracts of painting walls... are you there Bangalore? What I do not like in the mother of two girls?.... her profile picture... haha.... She still is in touch with Tanushree Shankar... I love that celebrity dancer's dance form and yes, her elegance.... and her "saaarreees".... you see with this much of "don'ts" in my life, I prefer being alone!

This recipe of DHONEPATAR BORA O CHUTNEY is actually our family recipe that may not match with other families. The mother used to do them on Thursdays during winter.... In those days, only in winter did Kolkata markets saw coriander leaves... ahh... what a smell / flavour! These two dishes are very easy to do.... though we have it the way you see in the picture.... the coriander pakoras / dhonepatar bora will go well as a pure vegetarian snack with your choice of tea / coffee or whatever! The chutney is supposed to have a teaspoon of mustard oil added to it, I skipped so that my readers who prefer poori / paratha can have those with it... If you have a tastebud like mine you will love. In fact... I will prepare some instant, semolina idli to have with the chutney for lunch.... 

You see, I wished to represent our mother in today's share... she loved / still loves following the academically sound kids' stories, I discovered that I am doing the same... I am following the ICSE & CBSE results worldwide! If a girl with some physical difficulty secures high marks in boards, I will fry some DHONEPATAR BORA O CHUTNEY, sit with her and eat together.... may God save her eyes... she wishes to be an IAS officer! For the rest, I think there are better and closer people to take care and do the necessary! Leave me alone! Anyway, this is for the first time that I asked the husband to get us some Amritsar special food stuff... he did not give me any time to ask anyone from that region... I do not wish kulcha, we can make it if not that authentically! For the coriander chutney... Bengalis do try it adding a teaspoon of mustard oil.... a couple of Indian communities have their breads with their version of coriander chutney,  the western world too can try!

Yesterday, I prepared Kolkata Style Egg Roll for the son's lunch.... I had to change the picture of the blog post too! Do have a look...

EGG ROLL

INGREDIENTS : [For the Coriander Pakora]

Fresh Coriander Leaves : 8-10 sprigs or a small colander full 
Chopped Green Chillies : 2-3
Rice Flour : 1medium cup
Corn Flour : 2 tbsp
Baking Soda : A pinch
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Sugar : 1/3tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil to deep fry


INGREDIENTS : [For the Coriander Chutney]

Fresh Coriander Leaves : A cup full
Green Chilli : 2
Garlic : 2cloves
Nigella Seed : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required
Mustard Oil : 1tsp


PROCEDURE :

You might get surprised at the idea of adding nigella seeds in the chutney.... In our family it is done this way. In fact, our mother used to dry grind nigella seeds... she and me ate it with some ghee, green chilli and salt.... love it... the brother never fancied! 

Anyway, discard the root ends and any spoilt leaf of the coriander! Wash taking on a strainer!

Take all the ingredients for the Coriander Chutney in a blender except for the salt and mustard oil.

Blend adding little water at intervals for 2-3 minutes till it becomes a smooth paste! 

Transfer to a bowl and add the salt and mustard oil if you are having with steamed rice.... skip the mustard oil if having with breads!

For the coriander pakora / batter fries, discard the root ends and any spoilt leaves. Wash thoroughly under running water.

Chop the coriander leaves roughly, chop the green chillies small.

Prepare a paste like batter with the rice & corn flour, baking soda, red chilli and turmeric powder, sugar and salt adding very little water at a time. Rest for 5 minutes.

Add the chopped coriander leaves and green chillies to the batter. While frying the pakora, I felt that the batter could accommodate some more chopped coriander. So, you should be careful.

Heat enough oil in a wok to deep fry! Once it comes to smoking point, reduce the heat!

Add small portions to the oil. We need to fry and keep turning the pakoras all the time and adjust the heat. They should be crisp without getting burnt.

Once done, we need to hold the perforated ladle / chakni hata for sometime, to get rid of the oil as much as possible.

Keep on to tissue papers before serving.

In our family we usually had / have it with rice and dal, the husband do have some with beer.... so it can well be considered as a yum vegetarian snack, appetiser. 

Today, I had it with my evening tea.

METHI CARROT THEPLA

The best thing about a Thepla is that we need not keep any vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish by the side.... we can just have it with a yogurt based chutney, some salad and pickle.... The "transformed" self do love it! You will see me having it solo or even with a "gathi kochur dalna"... arbi veggie... not required but no harm having either! Nonetheless to say, my men are "bread" lovers of any kind! I eat everything these days from thepla to rasam vada to this island's signature dish.... chicken rice! Then you can see I sit on the stationery bike and go as slow as possible!Take it from me it does not help.... I will never advice anyone to be as lazy and insincere as I am. If you cannot go without carb, have it once a day and in less amount... exercise enough! The biggest concern of my parents about me was my obesity .... both parents were into sports including their son.... The father tried everything on me .... yoga to jogging to cycling.... In his mission to teach me cycling... he fell sick... I did not learn! I attended Ironman Monotosh Roy's yoga classes too.... amazing bodywork he had.... what skills! This girl never could stick to any form of exercise.... else yoga is the best gift you can give to your mind and body.... 

While the brother went for swimming classes, cricket classes in the evening escorted by his mother, the elder sister waited for them in the evening back from school.... she always "maintained" a good girl image which she may not be.... she quietly had the food Mani plated for her before going... then sat on the balcony with her story books... Till the sunset she would be there... then she would get into all adventures... spoiling one container full of "chirey".... flattened rice to prepare "chirer pulao" or 500gm suji / semolina for a halwa! In return I got no appreciation from the mother but scolding for messing up her kitchen.... It was the daddy who shielded me and forced himself to eat a "jeopardised" upma leaving aside his favourite "aam-kola-dudh-muri-chirey." After all these drama, around 8pm I sat with some text books... just when all the "fuchka walas" to "ghugni walas" had to visit the neighbourhood.... Then it was the "khusbu" coming from our kitchen.... it used to be almost 10pm... dinner time....

Food to me always had been more attractive than learning a theorem... that took me here... "kuch kam ka nehi"....  You see, its a Monday evening and my "kochur shak" is cut and put for boil. Tomorrow I will sit at the son's school... may enjoy some dosa along with the friend.... Blogging is not meeting any target but I love sharing my thoughts and the food we eat at home! Our guest today is a Thepla... the original one is on the drier side! My METHI CARROT THEPLA has a boiled potato in it! Carrot is not a natural love for this family... unless it is a "gajar halwa" or a "gajar barfi".... Since childhood, all my eye surgeons had told the mother to feed me carrots for a better eyesight.... she in turn tried to convince me.... "look at the Punjabis mamoni... they eat raw carrot and radish...most of them do not wear glasses".... mamoni got more busy deboning a "charapona" at a tender age of 8.... waiting eagerly for the weekend to have "ghee shambar pathar jhol".... 

Memories are beautiful and I do not go to anyone's door with it! I hate it when "shallow" minds make a mockery of it!.... I take five minutes to disconnect from people who hurt me or those who do not match my mental needs.... how much they try.... I will not be the same again.... "ghar tyara".... When do I blog  about Ilisher Matha Diye Kochur Shaak?.... Some day I would and that day there will be a mutton dish too by the side for my boy!

I remember I had thepla in Mumbai.... years before that I may have had it at school from the non-Bengali speaking friends... to be precise from the one named Jaya Gupta.... I remember this girl fed me amazing poha and bread upma! Her life story is no less than a Bollywood script. Coming from an authoritarian family.... she was forcefully married off at age 16.... just few months after our 10th board examination... She was sad.... me too was! Then we lost contacts and now when we got to see each other nearly after  25 years.... she is a mother of a married, professional daughter and a son who is on his feet too.... Thank God her professor husband helped her to continue with her studies.... She told me she did her studies alongside her kids.... and now she is a managerial head in an Automobile Company perhaps... She stays in Pune, the husband in Gujarat, the son in Delhi may be, daughter perhaps in Mumbai... she made it!... 

Thinking of these people I go ahead with vegetarian shares often.... A "thorer ghonto" was on my mind at first, then I changed my mind... I do not cross boundaries .... people know what or who I respect or what or who I do not! I do not play "selfie"games in social media everyday either, people have a lot of time! .... Lets try to do a little bit for everyone around! This METHI CARROT THEPLA should cater to the taste buds of the majority.... If Bianca and her likes can have tortilla, a thepla should be fine with some salad and the awesomely fresh chutney made with plain yogurt, mint leaves, coriander leaves and garlic. METHI CARROT THEPLA is an Indian, vegetarian flat bread.... not Bengali... so what? I have to learn and take hold over few more things that our mother never did.... No, I am not showing off... why should I? Can I perfect a Roti Jala or an Afgani Naan? The Thepla in my kitchen may not be that authentic, I added "bhaja mosholar guro" in the dough! When can I avoid those uneven edges of a flatbread?

Do take a look at my KANCHAKOLAR KOFTA CURRY with an updated picture... do it too, you will love!

KANCHAKOLAR KOFTA CURRY

INGREDIENTS :

FRESH FENUGREEK LEAVES : 200-250GM
GRATED CARROT : 1SMALL CUP
WHEAT FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG
GRAM FLOUR : 1/2 COFFEE MUG

REFINED FLOUR : 1/2 COFFEE MUG
CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP
CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP
DRY RED CHILLI POWDER : 2 TSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
GHEE [CLARIFIED BUTTER] : 2TBSP + 1TSP FOR EACH THEPLA 

PROCEDURE :

Take the three flours, the washed fenugreek leaves and grated carrot, the spice powders, salt in a wide mouthed bowl.

Mix well the mixture and add water little by little as much required. Prepare a dough kneading it well for 10 minutes. 

Add 2tbsp ghee and knead further for 5 minutes. Cover with a moist cloth for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the cover and knead again for few minutes. Tear out small portion and roll out round shaped parathas. 

I rolled them go as you like & used a round something to get a round shape!

Roast both sides of the paratha till light brown and then cook each, both sides well in 1tsp of ghee.

We, at this home enjoy them fresh with pickle, chutney and salad! The chutney on that day was made of plain yogurt, coriander leaves, garlic clove, green chillies and salt.

Enjoy the theplas when they are still hot!

                                                      

DATA ALOO DIYE MAACHER JHOL O KEEMA DAL

Where to start from? Well, when the rest of the world prefers a relaxing weekend.... I reserve the Saturdays for some cooking.... I very much love doing something called "saptaher bag bhorti bazaar"... that is buying the weekly ration.... I usually do it on a Thursday and if mutton is on the list, it has to be Friday... get... wash and straight marinate, refrigerate till the next morning.... This Friday, the son had his examination.... Mumma did the blunder of going to the Indian Market on a Friday evening.... Its crowded with the Indian tourists and the local Indians... not necessarily they all pack their stroller with "kochur shak and data" like Cristine's ma'am.... and make her strand in the rain.... On the weekend evenings that area gets so crowded that even taxis avoid that route .... booking one too becomes difficult.... Now, Cristine's ma'am could not fulfil her wish to drive her to the Indian Super Market on lazy afternoons till date.... I always tell her that she is a nice, young girl... she need not die soon.... Kings do not bother how a kitchen or home is run... they sit in AC rooms and do meetings... they can have Herb Crusted Fish Fillets with Buttered Rice at every meal.... I do not disturb such people calling them and ask to pick up the stranded us! Anyway, the "priceless" "kochur shaak, data, nona ilish" did reach home and I was relieved of having "baked salmon" back to back for two consecutive weeks.... 

I mean I force myself to have salmon.... more so when Debjani of Debjanir Rannaghar allures me with "nona ilisher bhorta".... I like this girl.... she has no prejudices... from Bacon Jam to Beef Kebabs to Shutkir Bhorta to Chicken Shashlik ... she eats them all! She actually is the true face of Kolkata.... Kolkata / West Bengal was never bothered of who eats what or who follows which faith.... the happy go lucky clan has always been happy with "chaier sangey ta... adda" and yes, at times back biting hard working people to hide their own laziness.... without thinking "9-5 apish" does not take forward an economy alone .... Now my Bengali readers will start biting my back... truth causes indigestion! Anyway, I like many of you just as Debjani but cannot utter your name.... it feels good to see Bengal in your kitchen... not influenced by people who called Kolkata "khyalcata" decades back, not worth living but visiting occasionally only at the "dakkhin" part.... Barrackpore? Where is it? Do humans live there?.... Oh yes, I am an egoist!.... 

Anyway, a "katla".... Bengal Carp" also came home yesterday... it was more or less fresh... how do you know? Check the eyes which should not be sinking, the gills should be ruby red and not brown... the skin should be tight, should not sink if you tap! The katla is from the neighbouring country and I was born at the bank of the "Churni Nodi".... so I am "partly" happy.... Even in Kolkata, very few sell the yesteryear's "nodi-pukurer rui-katla-aar".... most of the supply come from the other states and "bheri"...... I got an ilish.... plans are on for a pulao mid week.... can someone cut off my tongue please? The katla mach had eggs as a bonus though a fish's taste lessens as eggs form.... but this home loves it.... so there was a "macher dimer aam diye tok, mutton, begun aloo tomato diye nona ilisher torkari".... the "ilisher matha diye kochur shaak" has been postponed till Monday.... Cristine and I both got tired! 

What else was there? DATA ALOO DIYE MAACHER JHOL O KEEMA DAL..... All the "data" will come to me and Cristine.... and the son's fish pieces has to be deboned by mumma.... they have their mutton kasha and chicken keema dal, mumma can pamper herself without guilt.... The DATA ALOO DIYE MAACHER JHOL is a very authentic Bengali Fish Curry during summers.... the KEEMA DAL may not be.... I meant they may be done at few homes but not in ours.... A majority of the Bengalis cook keema with matar and call it "ghugni"..... Then, not all of the angels or prince on this earth can eat DATA ALOO DIYE MAACHER JHOL.... they are more likely to have the KEEMA DAL with naan or paratha or chapati.... even my son too! This evening mumma will make some luchi for their keema dal.... happy faces mean! There also was made some Raw Banana Kofta Curry, the pictures are to be updated...

What is mumma's pick?.... the "macher dimer tok" and "begun aloo tomato diye nona illish".... "nona ilish" is small sized hilsa rubbed with a lot of salt, turmeric, oil and sun dried may be! Ok, I would want the mutton and fish curry, kofta curry too!

Friday evening was a lot of my kind of shopping including gondhoraj lebu.... may be I will prepare someday a "gondhoraj bhetki".... with seabass .... I do not have the recipe in hand, it hurts my ego to search Google for a Bengali recipe.... Then I am not my mother.... I believe there are always "far" better people / cooks than me around.... one is off course our mother! How was my Friday morning? I reached the school only to know Piali won't come! I had with me Egg Fried Rice and an Oriental Style Chicken with Cashew nuts for her!... It was not her fault, I do not check whatsapp messages often.... I was relieved to hand it over to her daughter finally! I did do a photo session with the dish the night before, but dropped the idea of blogging about it.... I felt Cristine did not cut all the chicken pieces evenly and batter frying the chicken pieces would have made them softer! Food Bloggers always try to be honest as much as possible.... Though Piali told it was good, I felt it should at least be like the Oriental Takeaway Joints in Kolkata and not like the Shyambazaar or Gariahat roadside kind of! I do edit my photographs but not to the extent of fooling my readers! I will do it and share when my tongue will be happy, I will not buy rice wine for it, neither will call it Kung Pao Chicken.... for that you have to go elsewhere! 

I really do not have to get Indian stuffs, the men are happy with such dishes, I can save the taxi fares too and buy gold jewellery or visit Gahonaz or a Chamba Lama every 6 months for my love.... tribal jewelry! .... Even my cousin sister who lives near to my Kolkata home got into Saree business.... As a big sister I must mention her once in a while but not before visiting her to see her stuffs.... Her designs are little different than what I like.... the choosy self asked our mom and maa-in-law not to gift me a saree.... A Jayeeta Dasgupta, Lepakshi, Mrignayani, Manjusha are my favourite spots for sarees.... I like but do not always buy from Debarathi Bhattacharya's Shaukh and Byloom for the same reason.... they are a bit high end ..... I either cannot afford or I prefer soft cottons or tissues these days! Jayeeta caters to all kinds of clientele... Instagram is the place where I watch what I love in Jaypore, What My Sister Wore, Suta_Bombay ..... I simply love their props, presentations.... I think I can give some valuable inputs to my cousin.... I am too lazy to use the ideas myself.... For The rest, they are doing their best catering to the "choice" of their clientele I believe! I only get disturbed with people I expect from.... like my friends Nishi... Swati... Sushovita's profile pictures... "dur birokto lagchey like korbo na" ..... 

Oh where was I? Ok, angry with Piali, I sat for sometime at the school canteen.... Just then a friend of our son arrived late and got scolding from the head master! I got upset, would the kid be able to write his examination peacefully? The head master was not wrong either! I was thinking however busy professionals the parents are, cannot they drop the kid at the school gate at least during the examinations? There can be many hindrances on the way even in this island! I remember during our Masters Examination, we had just shifted to Barrackpore.... our immensely cool brain mother was escorting four of us girls to the examination centre.... our auto broke one of its parts on the way! We were about to faint, while our friend Juthika cried "kakima ki hobey?" and fainted! The mother made her lie down on a tea stall bench ... stood literally in the mid of the road.... stopped each auto, the buses were over crowded and sent us one by one... she came later with Juthika..... and I could not make her happy with my results ever except for the Bachelor of Education one where 85% secures a first class, no big deal! I feel bad not been in touch with any of my Masters or BEd friends except for one from the later! We all did from an university we did not wish to and then lost all connections! Now, that boy may stand better in life than our son, but he got stressed before his paper which could be avoided! Anyway, I could not sit in the canteen, went out and had a big dosa.... the lunch had to be light.... plain yogurt with red grapes.... I love fruits and yogurt if the fruits are sweet and the yogurt's sourness is within limits.... my friends down southern India will get angry... never mind... a fish curry for you!

Before I discard the pictures of the Oriental cum Indian Style chicken, I shared with you its pictures. "Datar Jholey bhul tyamon paiba na"..... The "data" used are Matured  / Overgrown Amaranth Stems.... can we call it that? Oh... my English... why I cannot improve it? At our times, the education system was such.... the good are always good.... what about us.... the mediocre? I am a  burning example of how faulty it was.... I belong to a "Benglish School" who cannot speak or write English properly, have a master degree in a subject of which I have forgotten everything..... there are also people who have a master degree in English but makes five mistakes in one sentence.... it is as much as our personal faults as is / was the learning by rote system! If the system mends, many can enjoy the fruits of an amazing education system! You know now why I cannot go to work, better I cook DATA ALOO DIYE MACHER JHOL O KEEMA DAL for you all! I feel cholar dal or Bengal gram lentils goes well with chicken keema, hence I paired them.... Here are two non vegetarian dishes at one place for you! 

If you wish to have a look at my Stir Fry Paneer with upgraded photos, here it is....

STIR FRY PANEER

INGREDIENTS : [for the fish curry]

Bengal Carp : 8 steaks [rui / katla]
Matured Amaranth Stem : 3-4 sticks
Potato : 1big
Cumin Seed : 2-3 pinch
Fenugreek Seed : 2-3pinch
Cumin Powder : 1/2tsp
Coriander Powder : 11/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 2tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1 + 1/2tsp
Ginger Paste : 2tbsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 5-6 tbsp [I always use mustard oil}

Nothing is as good if we can use fresh spice paste instead of the powders.... my blender is "komjori"... not so powerful!


INGREDIENTS : [for the minced chicken dal]

Bengal Gram : 1small cup [cholar dal]
Minced Chicken : 200gm
Sliced Onion : 1/2small cup
Garlic Paste: 2tsp
Ginger Paste : 1tbsp
Green Chilli : 2 -3 slitted
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Dry Red Chilli : 2 [halved]
Bay Leaf : 1
Cinnamon Stick : 2-3 two inch sized
Green Cardamom : 2-3
Cloves : 2-3
Sugar : 1tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 4tbsp


PROCEDURE :

Let us prepare the fish curry first which is very authentic Bengali.

We usually use Bengal Carp for this curry, else small sized prawn. I used Katla yesterday.... Wash the fish steaks thoroughly removing the scales. Rub with salt and turmeric and keep aside.

Peel the potato, wash it. Half it lengthwise, then again each half further into smaller pieces... vertically? or as you wish. Wash again and rub with salt and turmeric.

Discard the root end of the amaranth stems and the leaves too. Cut the rest into finger sized length. Remove the skin verythinly... the fibres actually.

Once done wash them and rub with salt and turmeric.

Take the ginger paste, dry red chilli powder, 1/2tsp turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt in a bowl. Mix well adding very little water. Keep aside.

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the amaranth stems lightly. Take down.

Fry the potato pieces till light brown and take down.

Fry the fish pieces in batches but not too brown.

Take down. Temper the existing oil with fenugreek and cumin seeds. Add little more oil if required. Add the spice mixture and stir fry for two minutes.

Add 1 coffee mug of water. Stir and let boil. Once it boils for 2 minutes or so, add the fried fish pieces and the potatoes. 

Cover cook at low heat for 3-4 minutes. Add little more water if required. Remove cover to add the "data"....

Let cook for a minute... we are done. To be enjoyed only with steamed rice.

Now the Keema Dal with Bengal Gram Dal and Minced Chicken! Forgot to click the steps!

Soak the dal for an hour in water. Pressure cook at lowest heat up to 1 whistle adding little turmeric and salt. Wait to open normally.

Wash the minced chicken and marinate with little salt and turmeric.

Heat oil in a wok and temper with cinnamon sticks, green cardamom, cloves, halved dry red chillies and a bayleaf.

Stir for a minute and add the sliced onions. Fry till golden brown, then add the ginger and garlic paste, rest of the salt and turmeric.

Stir for 2 minutes and add the minced chicken. Fold in well and cover cook at low heat for 7-8 minutes. 

Remove the cover and add the boiled cholar dal and the slitted green chillies. Fold in well and let cook for another 5-7 minutes.

Add the sugar. Let boil uncovered for 1 minute or so. We are done.

Enjoy with naan, paratha or chapati!

AJWAIN YOGURT POROTA

Vegetarian Meals do happen at this home and I love the platter like this. Else, the men would not mind a "dal-aloo sheddo-ghee / makhon"..... or a serving of the humblest, no frill sandwich! They love sandwich for a reason... they do not require much of effort while eating! Their lunch boxes do have sandwiches, not dinner! Dinners I love to serve my style unless it is a weekend and we are going out. Sandwiches and Burgers are something I am not fond of, each time I feel like throwing away the bun or bread and have the cutlet.... with some salad and dip.... I have noticed my men have all the veggies without growling of wraps.... Whenever I get for them... I ask the one at the counter to add all the veggies on display as much as possible.... from lettuce to corn.... My men are lazy enough not to open the wrap and separate the meat from the veggies.... thats too much of an effort for them. I usually get the wraps from outside.... preparing a Tortilla is not a big deal for me as is understanding Excel... problem is I totally fail to wrap it that nicely... "dur tar cheye ruti mangsho diye dei"..... else the men would have had fresh veggies without any "tya-fo".... 

We are not regular at the Vietnamese Joints... but we love their rice rolls filled with fresh veggies.... the senior wraps them efficiently... those in the shipping industry do have good knowledge of world food... they travel extensively! Compared to that I have too poor knowledge of the world.... food is more of family recipes to me.... I got to know about Sriracha Sauce recently and thinking to cut chicken in to strips and cook... toss in this sauce.... I do not wish to discard chicken altogether... it is healthier than many other things.... I also wonder how healthy is the dig we take at each other in the social media.... what I have learnt of late is pulling legs is not unhealthy unless we cross limits.... For some knowns, I try not to bother or be bothered at all... they have hurt me in every possible way ..... with actions, words, gestures.... in fact robbed me of my self respect.... Distancing from such people is a good solution.... then their are few hundred readers too who are my "Maa Lokkhi" or "Lakshmi Prasad".... I need them and I cannot have a meat share every other day! Then there is my "cow sympathiser" brother who needs "meat" at least thrice a week ..... It goes without saying that I love him but I have reservations on how he behaves in public.... be it in social media or on the road.... He learnt driving within a week and at a very young age...... he had a natural inclination .... but cannot keep his cool on the road.... what is that? I do not accept such gestures from the member of a decent family.... The senior at this home learnt driving at age 46 and I literally can sleep sitting beside him if he is in charge of the "gol chakti"..... if I am given the charge of it? The entire island is in mess... he says "lane change kor".... answer is ready... "amar shara gaye piprey kamracchey, beshi bolley bhiriye debo"..... so I am the best while at the kitchen.... shaping an AJWAIN YOGURT POROTA! You see we love a couple of people around, yet we cannot be with them.... I mean if the one is my kind I demand a lot in return.... loads of attention, empathy and nice gestures.... else let us change our routes.... They remain as a never to heal wound ... if one is wise one should know how to ignore it! 

An AJWAIN YOGURT POROTA is not a a Bengali thing.... this is a hand rolled bread loving family! I met a Punjabi mother at school.... parent of a girl from my son's class.... I liked her instantly.... Last week we were discussing about how inspiring their Oriental Mathematics teacher is.... she in public said ...... "my daughter used to get C in mathematics but he made her get an A grade in class ten".... However angry Bengali Mothers get with me, a majority of them fail to be like this.... Off course my kid always comes first to me but what is so wrong in accepting that others' kids may have a more informative brain than mine? No, Bengali Mothers will fight for that five marks that her kid got less which may not matter later in life.... many of them destroy the friendship which no one can mend ever except for themselves.... it hurts truly... Relationships do matter to me... The self centric me do not think of myself always and try to make out what actually went wrong between people! Anyway, I liked that bubbly Punjabi lady and also that Keralite nurse.... mother of two who died of Nipah virus attack attending a patient .... her heartrending note to her husband few hours before her death.... and the ruling party is busy dictating what we eat or wear!.... Earlier Governments of India did not gift us a paradise but they did not interfere in our personal lives in this magnitude! 

For these two ladies from two different states of India... "ek AJWAIN YOGURT POROTA banta hai yaaron".... The paratha lover wise man at home also deserves.... he says not to expect the son to be a Partha Dey..... he will do good later in life.... he perhaps will get an A* in mathematics and physics but not in the majority of subjects... It is then mumma comes through a post yesterday night that a Medico Student.... son of a MLA of the ruling party in India died of a heart attack.... they say may be of the stress....  it feels that the husband is right, the wife is not! 

Anyway, I cooked some Bengali Macher Chop and Basic Homemade Custard too yesterday.... in an urge to change the pictures of the blog posts done in the initial days of my blogging or for my men I do not know.... They tasted well.... there was a little of leftover fish from the fish fry I made , managed only nine which may not look perfect as I am miser enough not to pour 500 gm oil for a deep fry and the utensils too may not be perfect... I cannot buy individually that suits the dishes I make... storage problem! About the photographs, it is not that I have learnt photography but they have improved... I am looking for an egg free custard recipe....We had the fish chop with "dal and aloo-fulkopir dalna" for dinner, you will have it as your tea-time snack!

I do not know why the Indian women do not take care about the plating of their own food.... Once I could eat double the amount of rice but now I am not supposed to.... Yet, the reason why my workouts are not fruitful is my wrong eating habit! Rujuta Diwekar may prescribe ghee, rice, paratha / poori but that includes extensive workout session... yoga... jogging... lifting weights.... how many of us can do it?... Oh I take less weights and then two parathas does not make any sense... so the shapeless me hide myself in those few yards of clothing! Now see the salad has to come to my plate, a wise woman / man would have eaten the salad and a bowlful of yogurt for dinner... would not have looked at the carbs! When did I claim that I am wise? Leave it, today's share is a not so much of a Bengali kind if not in the shape of it, vegetarian, flat bread that I named AJWAIN YOGURT POROTA... I used carom seed, chaat masala and yogurt in the dough with refined and wheat flours.... without adding any water! Try it this way.... you will love... they are soft!

I very much wish you to take a look at my basic custard and macher chop recipes with upgraded photographs! Just click on the bold letters below!

BASIC HOMEMADE CUSTARD

MACHER CHOP

INGREDIENTS :

Refined Flour : 1coffee mug
Wheat Flour : 1/2 coffee mug
Plain Yogurt : 100-150 gm
Carom Seed : 2tsp
Chopped Green Chilli : 1tbsp [optional, I did not]
Salt : 1/4tsp
Baking Soda : A pinch
Ghee / Oil : 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp to brush each flatbread


PROCEDURE :

Take both the flours in a wide mouthed bowl. To it add salt, chaat masala, carom seed and baking soda. Rub well for 2-3 minutes.

Once done, add the yogurt & ghee or oil little by little to the flour mixture and keep rubbing. Add more yogurt & a little of warm water for a smooth dough!

The kneading may take at least 10 minutes.

Cover the dough for 10-12 minutes; use a moist, clean cloth, I just used a plate!

Remove the cover and knead again for 2-3 minutes.

Tear out small portions, smoothen between your palms. Take each ball at a time and follow the steps!

Heat a pan or tawa atop a gas stove. Roll round flatbread & place one paratha / porota gently. Roast both sides & brush oil on both the sides. Roast both sides well!

We are done... Transfer to a serving plate, either eat them with a choice of pickle, chutney, sauce or get yourselves some veg & non-veg sides!