CURRY AND SPICE: 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!