CHINIR POROTA / SUGAR STUFFED FLATBREAD / SHAKKAR BHARA HUA PARATHA

If this is not a bliss.... what is? I remember this was an absolute favourite during our growing up period just as the winter treat "porota aar khejur gur" was... When I was new into this island... I jumped out of joy at the sight of date syrup... I thought it may be the English translation of "khejur gur".... I brought home a 500ml bottle and got more firm on the belief why I should have learnt more of the English  Language & Literature... Date syrup is perhaps derived from ripe dates or from dates extract which cannot appeal to a tongue that is seasoned with the taste of "khejur gur".... That is the reason why big malls, the tip of the alps, mercedes benz, the invite for a coffee date at Sangri La do not "always" attract me.... As I close my eyes... the smell of "jolonto patkathi".... burning dried jute stems[?] fills the room... Gallons of "khejurer rosh".... date palm juice used to come from the grandfather's farm house... and they were boiled for hours to get the tastiest of date palm jaggery.... The grandmother was 4'8" inches in height with a physical fitness and power of the Hulk.... till date I could not hug a maple syrup... my fault!.... I yet cannot blog about a baked salmon with a honey-lemon glaze .... the memory of my deceased friend Chanchal is too fresh.... he was a foodie, he definitely had hilsa and mutton on a regular basis.... but let me give him a warm hug with a family favourite ..... CHINIR POROTA / SUGAR STUFFED FLATBREAD / SHAKKAR BHARA HUA PARATHA today! A message has to be put through his wife that it is very important to concentrate on the kid's education now.... to teach them values.... to curtail all unnecessary expenses. Her children should know that competing with others and spending on clothes and jewelries are useless expenditures at the moment!.... When they grow up well... they can do it! .... Need of the hour is a very humble living.... to learn compassion and other finer qualities of life .... the lack of which in some of my dear people makes me angry / sad! 

I liked it when I saw my brother's wife to revive a couple of relationship in our side too! Honestly, she is a far more matured being compared to her husband... I wish she could get her husband in the right track.... Several times I told him how important it is to build bridges, stay grounded, practice compassion.... no one comes to your door demanding your property... humans seek few nice gestures and good words from each other! Loving our family is not a big deal, it comes naturally to us.... we achieve something when we reach out to people.... Anyway, you cannot desert your own.... I found this sugar stuffed South Asian bread apt to be shared today! My husband was often tagged as an arrogant .... how much of "roshogolla & sandesh" he ate, he cannot speak with a sugar coating.... but be it a CHINIR POROTA / SUGAR STUFFED FLATBREAD / SHAKKAR BHARA HUA PARATHA or rice & mutton or "ilish-bhat".... he used to sit with our staffs together and eat.... I learnt from him how to be nice to the not so fortunate in this world.... I believe that is something worthy to keep! Before we blog about some "ilish and mutton" ... I prefer some humble shares... again, I have no expectations from anyone!.... I will do what I think is right  at the moment.... Not in any circumstances or under any influence will I blog about a Bengali style lamb stew or smoked Hilsa Taj Bengal style this week .... I am that way.... "headstrong".....

I really do not know how authentic Bengali this sweet porota / paratha / flatbread CHINIR POROTA / SUGAR STUFFED FLATBREAD / SHAKKAR BHARA HUA PARATHA is, but our mother prepared it every week to feed her two kids some milk alongside.... The sister used to finish two mishti porota by the time the brother perhaps would finish half of one.... How will he eat?... His mind was set on the noise coming from the street..... We had a strict mother who would not allow him to be outside after the sunset.... The sister never wished to go out to play.... she was lost in the kind of love bond.... between Animesh & Madhabilata.... wasn't Madhabilata's trust, strength of mind amazing?.... and Animesh's truthfulness to his ideology?.... Perhaps for all these reads have an influence on me.... I could not fancy "jhinchak" boys or may be I fancied .... boys in fact did not tolerate my dull, lifeless character, haha; but they can try CURRY AND SPICE's recipes.... I will remain indebted! .... Is there any from my generation who did not wish to be a part of such revolutions after reading this Samaresh Majumder's trilogy... Uttaradhikar.... Kalbela ..... Kalpurush?.... How are the people doing now who fled to the developed countries in the 70s? Do their kids know there is a country called India? I was totally under the spell of such novels, perhaps I loved Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland too much... I like Jhumpa's books for they are not in all cases written to please a particular political party or people! .... I hope intolerant people will not catch the next flight to this island to shot at least few rounds on my chest! My son has a political stand but he is too secretive, I do not get what it is!

The husband says I have a habit of thinking myself to be too important! Leave that... he might be right you know! A CHINIR POROTA / SUGAR STUFFED FLATBREAD / SHAKKAR BHARA HUA PARATHA comes naturally to me.... We do eat salmon, lamb, prawns at home, we do travel to exotic locations once in a year....or  once in every two years.... yet I wish to keep my blog very simple in general!.... If you had seen the expression on my face when I got to know from one blogger that water lily is actually "shapla o shaluk".... which tastes yum with "shorshe narkol bata".... you would have known I am not lying.... There were days when I had holidays.... say before major examinations.... the seven years younger to me brother had school.... I saw the mother holding him tight with one hand... his water bottle on her shoulder... and big stems of water lily on the other hand walking towards the home!..... They got cut that evening which took about 45minutes to 1hr, soaked in water overnight to be cooked the next morning.... 

I am not my mother.... Cristine will cut the colocasia stems for me which neither does mean that in her absence I do not do it....

This primitive woman grew up fancy-ing "kochu-ghechu, shutkir bhorta, ilish, patha", Homer to Agatha Christie to Leo Tolstoy to Anton Chekov to Buddhadev Guha to Samaresh Basu to Shirshendu. She is madly in love with nature & music too! She fears science, mathematics, technology or say any kind of structured textual studies.... she writes English with hundreds of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, she is happy that her present batch of "bori".... dal vadi tastes just like her grandmother's.... she takes pride in her honesty! Too much of lecture causes indigestion and needs some relief.... which you will get preparing this CHINIR POROTA / SUGAR STUFFED FLATBREAD / SHAKKAR BHARA HUA PARATHA with just few ingredients.... Refined Flour, Wholewheat Flour, salt, sugar, oil.... done.... way simpler than a three-tier cake or a pie or a rye bread ... uff! 

I did not have time for a nice photo feature as it was the son's lunch menu yesterday.... else... have it as your breakfast! I do not know how authentic Bengali chinir porota is but I might have seen a blogger from Bangladesh sharing a similar kind in one of the social sites.... I felt then that the mother might have sourced it from her family itself.... I was too eager to have rice, fish, mutton, "naru-nimki" from the grandmother's kitchen & I forgot how frequently she made this!

INGREDIENTS :

Refined Flour : 2coffee mug
Wholewheat Flour : 1coffee mug
Sugar : 2tsp per paratha / porota / flatbread
Salt : As Required
Water : As Required [you can use warm milk too]
Oil : 1tbsp + 11/2tsp for each paratha / porota / flatbread [use ghee for a better flavour]

PROCEDURE :

Let us prepare the dough first. Take the refined flour, wholewheat flour, salt in a wide mouthed bowl. Mix together well.

Add 1tbsp of oil and rub for 2 minutes. 

Now add water to the flour mix little by little and keep on kneading until a soft but not soggy dough is formed. This will take some 7-8 minutes. 

Cover the dough with a moist cotton cloth and rest for about 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove cover and knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes.

Tear off smaller portions and smoothen between your palms.

With help of a rolling pin and base, roll out round paratha sized shapes. Spread some sugar atop the paratha.

Fold the paratha half and seal with the tip of your finger.

Heat the tawa / griddle on stove top. Add one folded paratha at a time.

Once one side is cooked this much as below, we will turn over to cook the other side. 

Once both sides are cooked, add the prescribed amount of ghee and cook both sides well without allowing it to burn.

Can you imagine the smell.... its ummmmmmm....!

Repeat the same for rest of the parathas.

BADAM DIYE LAAL SHAKER GHONTO / RED AMARANTH & PEANUT MEDLEY / LAL CHAULAI AUR MUMPHALI KI SABZI

It is not that I am lacking words today out of grief but I am thinking where to start from. Today's recipe post off course is to be dedicated to my deceased college buddy Chanchal Sen on behalf of the entire fraternity of Scottish Church College, Kolkata! He might have been our batch mate, but he belonged to the entire college... till last week he might have visited the college, he had been regular there... would chat with our very own "chipu da"..... the owner of the college stationary depot. Chanchal's death reminds me of our golden era .... He was closer to the rest of the gang... Swati, Gourab, Goutam, Jay, Sreemati to name a few... they were there in the hospital.... in the crematorium! I was thinking had I have listened to T, I could also be by his side in his last few hours. Swati told he would not have known , he was senseless ! I am not blaming the family, but it is a case of "self" negligence.... if you do not listen to your wife & well wishers, one cannot do anything... no one knows it better than me. Last year, I remember we all caught him in the lift after an adda session @ Manisquare Mall... "when will you stop having those Panparag?" That he was having stomach ache with fever often went undiagnosed, he continued to have food here, there, everywhere! He was that way always! He was selfless always! Else he would not have messed up with his life to this degree. 

T and Chanchal comes from the same family background, Chanchal still had his own home, T's father did not have one... This Chanchal type of guys lack farsightedness, they fail to plan & design their future course, they are silly enough to dedicate all their entire being to the rest of the world. I call this class "selfless".... In college, he hardly attended class.... he arranged picnics, was a dedicated worker  of the student union, always ready for "who needs what"..... so he failed to update status on Facebook... "Holidaying in Honolulu".... I may tell you that he was a happy soul, happy husband and father, a priceless friend.... some of his girlfriends were there in the crematorium too besides the boys... Swati told a couple of juniors were also present! That is also a gift! I have literally "thrown out" people from my life who hummed into my ears 24/7 of a 2000 dollar bag or a weekly dinner at Hyatt.. Everything is required in life... but not to show off at all times! Why have I "thrown out?".... Because I do not mingle with people for personal benefits! I should be able to get along!

Losing a friend aged 47 is untimely, painful.... more painful it is for his wife Debarati / Jhumpa.... and  their two kids... their teen girl can still remember his father... her little brother of eight may not... its hurting me! If I say, Chanchal was the younger of the two brothers, his wife  Debarati is the elder of  the two sisters, they have a tenth grader daughter and a 2nd grader son.... one  with a similar family graph need not be upset ... I am not really interested in any match game or no one will want a same fate as this poor girl Debarati Sen for others!.... 

I am just dedicating this humble recipe post of an authentic Bengali dish BADAM DIYE LAL SHAKER GHONTO / RED AMARANTH & PEANUT MEDLEY / LAL CHAULAI AUR MUMPHALI KI SABZI to the memory of a friend .... doing that I have to take into account his family!.... We will flow with the waves, his wife has a struggle ahead, a big one..... although she is a Government employee! I hope you will understand that a Debarati is a plump, young, has to be a brave woman who I am talking about ... and not a hot chic or a Anupama, Anamika or Agnimitra.... Hence, you will be nice to me and not post beautiful family pictures... say in the lap of the Swiss Alps right at this moment! I am always eager to see them but not "now"... may be in sometime, you should not deprive me either .. For the rest of the blogging world or my other friends.... please go ahead with a truffle, berry compote topped chocolate cake, Europe-South Africa tour photos, mutton korma, salmon herb bake.... Chanchal Sen is not your friend... I meant it! 

We are also going for a tour in two weeks, tickets are done, once back I will share pictures too with an apology note to Chanchal & Debarati! Our family knows, yet a gentle reminder... our friends are very important in our life.... and why not? Beside our father's death bed to his funeral pyre were my / our friends, even the brother's wifes' friends.... the brother may get angry... but it is true that he had his entire team of office colleagues.... but friends? Only few! When we were attending our father's funeral, here in this island... a Kaushik Neogy, a Sanak Chottopadhay, a Soumya Bhattacharya were there at the doctor's chamber with T's parents... with them for shopping, at home to give them company.... No, three of their wives did not update their profile pictures with their husbands the next day! Anyway, Our parents may well be our world but should not be the "only" world.... if that, you miss many a finer things in life.... This too is learnt from a big heart, deceased old man! Few of his friends cheated on him, yet he did not stop believing in the term friendship.... In my mother's own words..... flocks of unknown people visited our home after his death.... that is important.... life should not be I, Me, Myself at all times. Perhaps, his influence made the daughter make her choose her husband diligently.... a "rare" case of "wisdom" who does not control his wife's life, does not expect his wife to kiss his feet all the time.... far from being a patriarch.... he seems this to the wife only when he refuses to buy her gold jewelry . He is just like Swati's husband.... who is not bothered about Swati arranging get-together among friends every now and then, Chanchal was the kind who visited her home anytime without a phone call.... and her husband Kalyanda did not hit her with his belt.... he does not have time, he has a business to handle! 

What if I had been there in Kolkata now and I had a family get together on the day of Chanchal's death? Off course I would have been in the hospital and then at the crematorium instead of attending the family gathering.... the husband would not have used his shoes on me and vice versa! One who suffers from insecurities behaves otherwise.... each one has their own place in one's life! Me talking this much about Swati may make others unhappy.... can anyone deny that she binds all of us together? You must clap for our school friends too.... look how lovely they are.... they are not tagging me or Chandrayee in any such post that concerns school friends.... they know this is not the right time.... they know we are there for each other when required! If my boyfriend has expired, I will not kiss my girlfriends either... give me few days of time... its not fair... 

Coming to the food aspect, our son who should love spinach does not wish to touch it these days.... perhaps the mother fed it to him too much during his childhood days.... how does it matter if he does not eat BADAM DIYE LAL SHAKER GHONTO / RED AMARANTH & PEANUT MEDLEY / LAL CHAULAI AUR MUMPHALI KI SABZI? .... He will understand that this blog is not a family affair... it will celebrate & document varied kinds of life and people as and when required! The husband does eat all kinds of spinach, he is a 70's kid and not a pathetic case like the son. As of the brother, he was not taught to face any hardship, to mingle and adjust with the world... So long he takes good care of his mother which he does pretty well... I will not be bothered.... though I wished him to be very different from what he is... He hardly feels for others except for his immediate family... it hurts....

We have always been told since childhood that eating spinach / greens is very good... it is perhaps the only thing I love prescribed by the eye-surgeon for a "tezdar" eyesight... I will place a question to my very expert and informative friends in the food world.... are all leafy greens called spinach or only "palong"?... Till date I am confused! Just like the people of this island, Bengalis or say many Indians are in the habit of eating a variety of greens. At our home too... the mother did "notey shak to laal shak to shorshe shak to shish-palonger chocchori".... I miss that "shish palong".... overgrown "palak" in this island... When I see a Bengali blogger sharing a "shish palonger chocchori".... I feel like being a "Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen".... to be able to eat what I wish when... 

Likewise, I love this BADAM DIYE LAL SHAKER GHONTO / RED AMARANTH & PEANUT MEDLEY / LAL CHAULAI AUR MUMPHALI KI SABZI .... Using peanuts in it may not be authentic of our family but I have seen many families of West Bengal origin add peanuts to red and green amaranth! What our mother did was adding a spoonful of poppy seed to it towards the end... which is not possible you know sitting in this island.... I skipped. For this non-spicy, spinach medley we literally need very few ingredients like nigella seeds, dry red chilli, slitted green chilli, minced garlic, salt and turmeric! There may be many happenings around... but I will always focus on what is most important to me "at this moment" .... hence this is my small tribute to the soul of our deceased friend... one day I / we will follow him.... the blog posts would stay celebrating life & friendship! 

INGREDIENTS :

Red Amaranth : 2big bunch [root ends discarded, thinly chopped, washed]
Peanut : 10-12 [halved]
Dry Red Chilli : 1[halved]
Green Chilli : 1-2 [slitted]
Minced Garlic : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/4tsp
Nigella Seed : 1/4tsp
Salt : As Required
Mustard Oil : 1tbsp [you can use any]

PROCEDURE :

Neither I or Cristine can chop the spinach as thinly as was done by the yesteryear Bengali ladies with a "boti"... it was fine artistry. We just manage it with a knife.

I may had stepwise pictures but not really in the mind to search them... I have not done lal shak in 2-3 months!

I thought of cooking something for my friend and dedicate it to his departed soul... but I have not cooked since Sunday... 

This should be fine... look at the picture... a deceased man with a surviving wife... and those peanuts are his friends .... as our friend Nandita Sinha from California comments... he will live among us through his wife and kids !

Anyway, after we have chopped the red amaranth discarding the root ends, we will take it in a big strainer and wash thoroughly.... at least 7-8 times! There is hidden dust particles.

Let all the water drain. Heat mustard oil in a wok and fry the peanuts at very low heat for a minute, take out. 

Temper the oil with the nigella seeds, minced garlic and a halved dry red chilli. 

Once the minced garlic turns light brown, add the thinly chopped, washed red amaranth leaves and add to the wok.

Add very little salt and turmeric, stir and cover.

It will release a lot of water, let it cook for 8-10 minutes at low heat. After that open cover and cook. 

When it is about to dry, just 3-4 minutes before taking down.... add the slitted green chillies and peanuts. Add salt if only it is required!

Once dry, stir well and take down. I never dry it totally as is done at many homes... so named it "ghonto" and not "bhaja".... 

We always have it with steamed rice, you can try with ruti / chapati too!

CHIRER MISHTI / BEATEN RICE SWEET / POHA MITHAI

CHIRER MISHTI / BEATEN RICE SWEET / POHA MITHAI..... You see I am desperately trying to seek attention of big brother Google who considers me as its step sister... However disheartening the realisation is... we have to accept that not many will type CHIRER MISHTI while searching for a recipe of sweet ..... The phrase "beaten rice sweet recipes" may help a bit I felt.... There are thousands of food bloggers around.... if you have not earned  some fame in the field in your own right, you have to struggle to be seen.... Though I blog for my own pleasure, I definitely would love my recipes to be read and done. Given a fair option, I would stop doing the boring and time consuming exercise "ghanta pujo" any time.... For a person like me who hates to think, observe or keep pleasing every other person, who is hyper sensitive ... its definitely a pain... I very much wish to be happy with the spaces I "own"! Anyway, it also hurts to know and accept that Bengal does not feature much in the world map.... the quicker we accept it and work harder to get ourselves to be valued, better is for us. Off course, a Tagore, a Ray Family, The Bose families.... scientist and freedom fighters, a Swami Vivekananda and a few others are our pride but is that all?.... Isn't our dirty, pinching habit self destructive? No one stops us to take pride in ourselves but why should we do it hurting other's sentiments? I strongly believe those who do it... only prove that they suffer from a "sense of failure"..... I definitely feel sad when in the western world... Indian food is synonymous with Idli / Dosa and Butter Chicken / Naan.... not Luchi / Mishti Polao / Maacher Jhol! Then why should I not work towards getting my lost pride back instead of  bashing the other communities?

 I hate this practice of abusing people which does not fall under the category of "healthy jokes".... I just unfollowed certain page for this very reason.... they are / it is doing a nonsensical job of "targeting people, their sentiments".... I better follow poets, painters, classy writers and even sports news.... haha... I am happy that the husband does not have his eyes fixed much on the social media, I am also happy with my silly, little brother who does not even browse social media during his office hours. That makes him the blue-eyed boy of his office... gets him yearly awards... Didibhai is happy but not utmost.... I always feel he did not make full use of his potential.... I would have been extremely unhappy had he been seen in social media every five minutes.... that is his sister's job... haha... She has learnt a lot in these few years though .... that it is not necessary to respond to every share, neither it is required to expect others to stop by my posts.... I post what I wish to... if it attracts people... they will stop by... else no problem.... That gives me a feeling of immense liberty and pleasure! CHIRER MISHTI  share is to say that I take pride in my Bengali origin... BEATEN RICE SWEET / POHA MITHAI denotes that I am desperately trying to reach more people... beyond a region or a particular country.....  to tell people with a "bad" mouth that it  does not add to your quality! I just cannot get along with indecency! There is no wrong if people do not read, write, sing, dance! They must be tired working hard in their own business house all day long... checking the accounts at 10 pm .... they have no time to pinch others and say "robi thakurer naam tao janena".... I am off course proud of myself... I read Robi Thakur, Munshi Premchand or Amrita Pritam with same interest.... my English would not have been poor had I read more of English Literature .... off course its a drawback just as irritating is to hear a Bengali in Bengal saying "you know my son / daughter had been to a convent all through, so does not know it well!" What is that? I repent that our son forgot to read Bengali... We tried in our initial days here but he was not ready to take the labour. This post of not at all common but tastes heavenly Bengali kind of sweet CHIRER MISHTI / BEATEN RICE SWEET / POHA MITHAI  is to say I am a Bengali who wishes to be called a cosmopolitan, who loves the way her friends Nishi Pulugurtha / Rupsha Chaterjee or those ladies who work with me in the same league write! 

What else does this post say? .... that this uberly cosmopolitan island does not entertain any kind of religious extremism.... that a fresh cauliflower will have greenish stems.... If I am not blogging.... I do not take care of the food photo much... this lady who loves black and white all over her home did not really understand what was the need to associate the "red dot" with "gorer mala to jobar chora or big red establishments".... The "red dot" has it all.... church / mosque / temple.... there is no fight here.... By the way, I had my sister like friend, a muslim woman's birthday yesterday.... so you know I am always right 😁😀! I love my brother, husband, son but they have to wait for a meat share... that does not effect our relationship! This BEATEN RICE SWEET can be called as global as an Amitabha Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri or Amartya Sen.... the latter spends every winter in Shantiniketan ... yet it is so wrong to bind him within a region!

This CHIRER MISHTI / BEATEN RICE SWEET / POHA MITHAI has been sourced from a nostalgia... Bengalis would remember the "chirey gurer mondo" during special prayers. This is a development from there with addition of khoya / mawa / solidified milk and paneer / Indian cottage cheese / chena made at home. I used a bit of red sugar too besides the powdered sugar... then thought lets keep red and black / white aloof today... My wish.... yep! The idea of the title may have been hired from the lady who blogs @ My Tryst With Food and Travel.... she is diligent... perhaps this way we can reach more people... Not so famous people have to hire ideas, explore new avenues and I do not even know how to use key words... imagine 😱! That is the reason you know why I am not fond of people like me giving big talks... "mukhe maritong jogot"does not help you grow or contribute a bit to the society. Take the example of our or say the husband's core group buddy... his friend of 43-44 years... that bald headed, yesteryear Sunny Deol.... he got a first class in masters... a rank holder in the Calcutta University but he decided to do business... very unlikely of the "sweat hater" Bengalis in general.... Then he is the nephew of the Peerless Group head SK Roy and the son of another notable businessman.... "mesho"/ uncle did the furnishing of our Kolkata bedroom in such a way that it will never spoil and are  inbuilt.... we cannot even take them when we leave.... Oh yes! the husband's wife is superfluous and demanding.... if she has to go back, she wishes for a flat with terrace from builders as excellent as the "Mani Group".... Anyway, this guy... some Roy... decided to go for business and his very Bengali Mother... our Khuku Mashi fainted every one hour and developed multiple diseases! To do a business was supposedly a cake walk for him but he decided not to join the family business.... not willing to take any mercy from his father and uncle.... he started with that "Tulika" Cake shop.... gifted an amazingly yum ice-cream cake treat to our guests on our marriage and then gradually moved to automobile business solely depending on his sweat, yet far from his uncle's success.... How does it matter? ... Our own sweat tastes very sweet... not salty... I can feel it after a 8k walk. My man repents every weekend perhaps that his friend did not flourish that much compared to his immense potential. When some say that he is too business minded while in chair... I say that he is here to do business... not charity! You will see me / us at Shyambazaar More @ his showroom on our each visit! You should not try to be friends with him.... his mouth is a "dirty drain" .... you cannot take, we are seasoned!.... Once, while I was at his shop, he called my man stationed at this island and said something that could cause the latter heart attack... then my husband is too indulgent about few people.... I told that guy.... enough.... you will not comment on my public posts.... In fear I perhaps unfriended him!.... Chandrayee  tolerates though.... What is friendship?... this.... I did not severe ties..... he cracks jokes but does not abuse people or hurts sentiments.... I have seen what friendship is.... so value it and definitely is not jealous of anyone having similar ties.... 

In friendship, we give each other and do not calculate! It depends on who you consider more closer to you.... You see.... I am having unpolished rice these days... rest of the three eat basmati.... What I do is prepare my rice for 2-3 days at one go.... I try to eat less carb... you know! The rice packet does not mean that I am trying to cross boundaries and play cricket with people I am not meant to.... I play with all only in the blogging world and we should.... we must tirelessly try to take our blog forward.... In real life I will not do that! Yes.... I like some unknown people whose face say... "see I do not have any 'pyachghoch' inside".... I like people who do not fancy social media unlike me..... but I respect "hierarchy of relationship" too much.... so not a meat but a sweet or a beverage or a cake is just perfect to enjoy today! I may be wrong but I will stick to what I feel! I am willing to prepare this soft and fluffy pandan chiffon cake.... we love... its light on the stomach! As of the matta rice... its bit of chewy... but I prefer unpolished rice these days! Ipsita keeps on pestering... "denounce white, processed food S.".....

his Bengali style sweet CHIRER MISHTI / BEATEN RICE SWEET / POHA MITHAI has very less sugar added to it as this family prefer lightly sweet dessert.... It is made with beaten / flattened rice, solidified milk / mawa / khoya, chena / paneer / Indian cottage cheese!

How are my home grown orchids?

My seabass with mustard sauce / bhetki maacher jhal and chichinge chingri / snakegourd with prawns  got updated yesterday.... this family bonds over mutton but there was some yogurt chicken yesterday enjoyed with luchi... I had luchi with mango pickle and one neck piece... no... males at this home are not patriarch!.... I only love oriental style chicken or minced chicken kebabs or Thai chicken soups... Well, I made an orange cake long back and blogged about it and then no oranges were used in a cake in these 3 years... Gosh! I have to... today this poor baker shares the old one... click the link / heading for the recipe....

ORANGE FLAVOURED SPONGE CAKE [EGGLESS]

INGREDIENTS : [for chena / paneer/ Indian cottage cheese]

Full Fat Fresh Milk : 500ml
Lemon Juice : 2-3tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the mawa / khoya / semi-solidified milk]

Milk Powder : 1medium cup
Fresh Milk : 1/4small cup
Ghee : 2tbsp [clarified butter]

INGREDIENTS : [Final Shot]

Beaten / Flattened Rice : 1big cup
The Indian Cottage Cheese
The semi-solidified milk
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/4tsp
Powdered Sugar : 1/2small cup
Ghee : 11/2tsp
Milk Powder : 2tbsp
Chopped Pistachios or Almonds to garnish.
Love : Unlimited 


PROCEDURE :

Take the fresh milk on a heavy bottomed vessel. Switch on gas and bring to boil. Add the lemon juice little by little while we keep stirring the milk. As the milk curdles, switch off gas.

Take a strainer, place a piece of cloth atop. Pass the curdled milk through it.

Now we will tie the piece of cloth well and hang on the kitchen tap.

Let the excess water drain.... after an hour.... untie and transfer the cottage cheese / paneer to a plate.

For the mawa / solidified milk, take the ghee, milk powder, fresh milk in a coffee mug and mix well. Microwave the mixture at high for 2-3 minutes pausing and stirring every 30 seconds. Once done, pour onto the paneer.

When the mawa is cooling, take the beaten rice in a bowl.

Wash two times and pass it through a strainer.

Transfer to the plate. Take 3-4 green cardamoms in a mortar and pestle. This gives better flavour than a powder.... hence... Coarsely ground!

Add the ground green cardamom and powdered sugar to the plate, later I added some red sugar they serve with appam... you may skip! Add 11/2tsp ghee too!

Now we have to mash all the ingredients together pretty well for 10-12 minutes.

We get a lusciously creamy sweet mixture.

Set the sweet mix on a box. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

Take out and garnish with chopped pistachios. Enjoy with your family and friends!

TOFU BHURJI STUFFED PARATHA

It is heavy downpour here which is not a big news either.... It rains here throughout the year... more between October and February.... The good news is that my Boris / Dal Vadi / Sun Dried Lentil Balls sustained the rain and did not dampen to die. India cannot think of making bori except for winters. I remember the now 90 year old veteran used to make them in bulk and store for the entire year.... Her terrace was filled with bori, pickle and what? "sheyoi".... it is made from a special variety of rice paste which she strained through a "jali" .... a special kind of strainer and dried under the sun.... once dried it was stored and fried to be served alongside the evening tea.... No shops in Kolkata sold it.... since we lived for 19 years in a rented home, our mother did not have the liberty to use the terrace! Now, what did I discover last month? A lady named Shalini Vyas, who is the owner of a Youtube Channel shared the recipe of it! I got excited &  commented... Shalini... I saw my grandma doing it! This girl is among the very few strangers whose friend's request I accepted.... I like her channel which has recipes with very simple ingredients...... Its ShalinisKitchen.... We do not stop by each other, neither did she like my page but I subscribed to her Channel... I am no Shylock so do not calculate at all times... I do not accept all requests, I am not a people pleaser either that I will go and respond to posts I dislike or do not find necessary just to prove how  generous and nice I am!... I love my near blind eyes way bit and most of the time it is "what meets my eyes".... one thing I severely oppose to is any attempt to drag me into any kind of groups.... 

What did I start with? Well the weather here... it is dry and hence my "boris" saw themselves blooming in the wok! The senior of the two morons did not even appraise, the junior too is not bothered... all appraisal comes from Ipsita-Soumya... off course the maximum number of food containers will visit their home, they definitely travel back filled.... I always say skip the later part... I find pleasure cooking for the mass. Appraisal comes from one Sanak Chottopadhay too ... the excellent cook and human being I often talk about ... he occupies a major part of the heart.... an extremely honest gentleman... whose life is dedicated to his office, home and his only daughter's education and career.... he does not even think of his own pleasure... anyway more of him on a salmon and mutton post! Coming to my men.... given their indifference to my cooking spree and my blog.... I should not have sweated on TOFU BHURJI STUFFED PARATHA yesterday night .... you know I am miserable with stuffed parathas. Someone came home at 10:30 pm at night, yet I did! One cannot expect the best of both the worlds... the wife does not wish to see him stagnate at one place, she told you all earlier that her demands are different.... the reason why she is extremely unhappy with her brother.... who is the reason for her stress-free life though ... the very responsible son loves paratha... but tofu? His mother will serve some chicken or aloor dum as sides. I have a different agenda today.... saying Hi to an unknown gentleman as an "Indian" feeling very safe, hale and hearty in a foreign land!

Tofu is an acquired taste for an Indian, specially for a Bengali! I used all available spices and made it as per our taste... the locals will love it too ... they eat those murtabak and I see them often in the Parathawala chain... in Southern Indian restaurants having rasam or in all of the Northern Indian ones. Who will represent Eastern India?... We will but not at all times.... specially not when attempts are there to limit you within a particular region or city! I am a Kolkatan but more of a Mumbai maniac may be because some dear people live there and for its vibrance. On a Tofu post, I can talk about a Partha & Madhuchanda Dey but not at all about a Shailen & Suparna Rudra... the latter will stab me! Shailen is a master mariner, brother like to the husband who migrated from Bangladesh in 1986... We used to live within  a radius of 500 mt. in Kolkata and we bond over Ilish and "nodir tatka maach". Sailen's only request to me was not to feed him paneer and soybean.... I always conformed to that because he is the one who considers a Mac meal as "shondhyar jolkhabar".... and says "aguli khaiya ghumaitey parum na".... He has travelled the world with that accent as the master of 35-40 crew members belonging to a number of nationalities! His wife... who happens to be a little sister... migrated from Barisal some 15 years back once married ...  literally struggles with her two young boys in Mumbai... driving them to school, driving with them to the wet market... everywhere... in Mumbai she cannot afford four helps as was the case in Kolkata! So, you know there is nothing called "I do not know".... I do not know science because I did not wish to learn... 

Leave them... today I wished to convey a Thank You note to the people of this island for their sense of decency! I was caught in the rain yesterday morning while at walk, I met a man in a deserted road who offered help and not anything else.... All wet, I was looking nonsensical, no one passed lewd remarks.... no one made me feel awkward! I cannot risk this in Kolkata, not anywhere in my motherland! I am thankful.... but I cannot prepare and share a seaweed-cabbage soup with tofu.... I love it but I have the responsibility of feeding my hungry men, I have to get people close to my heart who may have felt left out the previous day.... I do not have a brain that works at jet speed... so I do not know how much of justice did I do in this TOFU BHURJI STUFFED PARATHA that was served with some salad and chilli pickle, sauce! I made some silly clicks even in the rain, iPhones are truly great... mine was totally wet yesterday and its still working... see those "jamrul" have grown big and I tasted one as well.... in another week or two they will be full grown.... Waiting for some drumsticks hanging at my arm's length!

You are not me, so you will not have a "til-badamer takti" and a cookie with teh-o-kosong after your walk and before entering the gym for some free hands... then one big paratha at night does not help! Be wise and stop being my friend... for your own benefit! I will still share this breakfast / lunch / dinner platter for you all.... What does the grape bunch say... nothing special.... we, as a family love grapes.... each one denotes one of my readers.... because a plate can hold a maximum of two TOFU BHURJI STUFFED PARATHA and I consciously avoid the count of 3 and 4.... In social media we deal with many people... it is not the place to flaunt personal relationships.... as of me I do what I think is right.... which may be wrong.... but you know..... in a sense I am headstrong! We prefer our parathas little overdone... I feel too worked up with stuffed parathas!

INGREDIENTS : [for the filling]

Tofu : 350gm
Potato : 1medium [washed, boiled, peeled]
Green Chilli : 2-3medium [chopped]
Onion : 1medium [sliced]
Fresh Coriander Leaves : 2-3tbsp [chopped]
Cumin Seed : 1/4tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 2tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the flour dough]

Refined Flour : 1coffee mug
Whole Wheat Flour : 11/2coffee mug
Ghee : 1tbsp [clarified butter]
Salt : As Required

INGREDIENTS : [Final Step]
The Dough
The Tofu Filling
Oil or Ghee : 2tsp for each paratha [I used oil]
Tawa / Griddle, Rolling Pin & Base, Ladle / khunti😀

You can try the stuffed flatbreads with the following fresh chutney too!

INGREDIENTS : [for the coconut-green chilli-lemon juice chutney]

Shredded Coconut : 1medium cup
Green Chilli : 1medium
Lemon Juice : 2-3tbsp
Sugar : 1/2tsp
Black Salt : 1/4tsp


PROCEDURE :

Let us prepare the chutney first. Take all the ingredients mentioned together in a blender.

Blend at high for two minutes pausing every 1 minute. We are done. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until we are serving it! Coconut spoils quick in my kitchen!

Let us prepare the tofu bhurji / scramble.

Scramble the tofu, slice the onion, chop the coriander leaves and green chillies. Nonetheless to say, they should be washed! Mash the boiled potato well!

Heat the oil in a wok, temper with the cumin seeds and add the sliced onion.

Once the onion turns golden brown; add the washed & chopped green chillies, turmeric powder, salt.

Fold in well and keep stirring for 2 minutes or so. Now add the rest of the spice powders!

Fold in well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped coriander and stir for a minute. Our filling is ready, we will transfer it to a bowl to cool.

Let us prepare the dough now which is nothing but our normal paratha dough. 

Take both the flours, salt in a bowl and rub for 2 minutes. I did not use oil or ghee, but 1or 2 tbsp is recommended!

Add water little by little... warm or cold to form a dough... moderately soft. The kneading requires 5-8 minutes of our effort!

Remove the cover from the dough. Knead again for 2 minutes. 

Tear off tennis ball sized portions and smoothen between your palm. As I said that I am poor with stuffed parathas. So, I rolled out a round chapati, spread filling on it. Then covered it with another chapati / round paratha and sealed the corners pressing a bit! Thereafter, I rolled each a bit lightly pressing!

Heat your griddle / tawa. Place one stuffed paratha at a time. Cook both sides well.

Now, add the oil and cook again both sides well, specially the sides.

Enjoy with your favourite chutney, sauce and salads....

GUR DIYE DOIER GHOL

You know this lady @ CURRY AND SPICE is a confused soul.... she in public speaks on health and how only exercise and a good diet chart, not food supplements can be a solution to all health hazards.... What does she actually do in the privacy of her home?.... She eats a big, bad coconut bun with her morning tea... Now doing a 6-8 km brisk walk is not a big deal for me only if the myth called eat what you like and then workout had any effect on the body.... It does not work that way... it never does. A proper diet is  essential for a healthy body. I cannot quit the kind of food I love, I cannot afford to be an obese with a  4'11" height either.... what you see in a woman with all sweat on her face has 60% truth in it! The rest of the honesty is murdered by a coconut bun as of now! .... All my readers know, the son at this home is gradually turning to be one of this island... be it a coconut bun or a red bean bun.... enters this home on a regular basis! Until here it is fine.... when a mother nearing 50 does not have the power to resist herself from having one.... the problem lies therein.... Early morning a coconut bun already went inside... late evening a long walk will also happen... and that problem called 7-8 kg overweight is not going to be solved... 

I am wise only when it comes to soda / aerated drinks... because they do not satisfy my taste bud.... did not even in those days of Gold Spot or Thums Up or Limca.... I was busy to watch and fall for those happening guys in the ads & had no time to fancy the drinks.... I had always been a "fishy" character.... do not go by my innocent looks... I am not! To hydrate oneself what should we do?.... We will go for the healthiest of drinks made with things lying around... like this GUR DIYE DOI ER GHOL.... Ghol which is near to Chaas rather than lassi had remained a quintessential cooling drink for the Bengalis for long besides a "lebur shorbot".... Do not ask me how long, place of origin, the reason, its nutritional value .... for that you have to travel to others' streams and enjoy the reads as much as I do! If you are an owner of a blog, give us something more besides your wonderful recipes... You are not silly as I am and I am sure you will  not fill your space  with melodrama.... but with more of information equipped with wonderful writing skills.... People by now got to know that the lady @ CURRY AND SPICE tactfully plays with few common words... they should also know that she at times needs a dictionary while going through the English literature.... This is the reason why I like reading our friend Dr. Nishi Pulugurtha... she speaks, thinks, eat, dream, write English in a way she does in Telegu, her mother tongue.... mind it she is a visiting professor to IIMs to that "bahargaon's" State Universities too.... I do not know with two alzheimer patients at home and a job... how she manages dining out every other day or travelling to remote places of Bengal & India often with her gang that includes her sister, a teacher at Roorkee Engineering college.... whose son is a wonderful photographer & painter.... 

Such drinks like GUR DIYE DOI ER GHOL are made occasionally at this home. If you run or walk in the sun, you need such healthy coolers once back home. I do not care about the sweat, I enjoy clicking the little pleasures you see below.... I do not know how an ace photographer would have taken the shot! As for my sweaty, burnt face, I never do really care... did not even on my hay days... come on I could not sacrifice food for a guy... haha... On a serious note... I always wished... one should be able to love and accept the real me beyond my not so pleasant looking physical features...... I do not have a problem with people having physical beauty.... I enjoy them... both men and women... God forbid I never get bored with an overdose of watching! Why do I like Nishi and her kinds? She takes life lightly, she has immense potential and "materials" in her that I like, she does take pride in herself which is necessary to move ahead but she does not show it off! You know by now that I am all about myself who is very rigid and vocal about what she dislikes... haha... I am never scared of loneliness... I do not care who stays in my life... who does not! I know my kinds will grace my surroundings... I am loose about the son, mumma loves him to the moon & back, how to stay without him? The emptiness would make both me & T numb!

The word "near" is apt for GUR DIYE DOI ER GHOL and not "similar" while comparing it with Chaas .... because it has a sweet element in it... authentically it is sugar that is used at the Bengali homes, I just used jaggery... nothing unique I have created. Chaas may not use sugar or jaggery in it(?) I prepared the doi er ghol for some visiting guests few days back... they told they loved it. This is exactly how a no fancy, yogurt drink is prepared at Bengali Homes with plain yogurt, lemon, ginger extract, black salt and lots of sugar... haha.... They say, sugar kills the health factor present in plain yogurt! In general, for Bengalis, Mishti Doi is doi in true sense, rest of India do not even sell sweetened yogurt in bulk.... may be! 

Many of the expat Indians may be sad that they cannot eat to the heart's content on their next visit to Kolkata... I am not much bothered... In the past few years, what I had in Kolkata is sweets... no one can prepare a Bengali sweet better in rest of the world or in India beyond Bengal... I actually enjoy a Amritar Mishti Doi, SenMahasay er Dorbesh, Putiram er kochuri, Nokurer sandesh and if my friends Chandrayee or Swati visits... I get to have Balaramer Mishti too.... What I have to sacrifice is Coffee House' Afgani Cutlet or Mitra Cafe's Fish Kabiraji... You know I do not really crave for them anymore, our parents never bought those for us! I also feel I can do them with the freshest of ingredients maintaining the hygiene in the comfort of my kitchen, if not that authentic.... they will not bring health hazards... If you are in Kolkata.... do not miss visiting the sweet shops.... its one of the kind experience! 

Cooking may not be your passion.... there is no harm in doing it for your own.... When you do.... add lots of love to it... else it would taste bland... I cannot guarantee that I will learn accounts, excel, science, mathematics, physics, chemistry in return... the brain matters! Cooking only requires love and the right balance, skilled movement of fingers as of the expert chefs! Eating out in Kolkata will remain a fear for many for quite sometime now.... one of my friends there who dines out every other day in spite of being a very good cook got phobic... "S will not eat out much rey".... I told "barite pot luck kor....".... if not literally, I meant so! 1kg mutton in Kolkata costs 550-600 rupees while a mutton cutlet in Hyatt Regency may cost nearly that.... make it a monthly affair, not a weekend one! 

That young girl, with weight issues will get angry with me.... she also has to think of her "kochi chana".... its no joke.... set Adnan Sami as an example! All said and not done yet, I have a sweet making idea doing the round since yesterday with one weird element besides the few common... if it tastes well, it definitely will grace the blog! As of now let me share this "beat the heat" recipe of a desi cooler with plain yogurt, lemon, jaggery, ginger extract and black salt. Ghol was / is made in both sides of the family, was very much liked by the moron husband once, the brother perhaps still has it back from office... I mean Bengali homes love it between Spring and Autumn... for the rest of you... its definitely a cooler to keep... specially if you work outdoors for long! I use a chemical free jaggery powder available in the Indian stores... which does not add much colour or sweetness.

I have two Bengal favourite yogurt recipes made at home .... click the headings for the recipes!

KOLKATAR LAAL MISHTI DOI

KOLKATA R SHADA MISHTI DOI / HOMEMADE SWEETENED YOGURT

INGREDIENTS :

Plain Yogurt : 250gm - 300 gm [Use Homemade]
Jaggery : 3-4 tbsp [I used chemical free jaggery powder]
Lemon Juice : 1/4small cup [good if it is of the Bengal variety Gondhoraj]
Ginger Extract : 2tbsp
Black Salt : 1/2tsp
Water : 2coffee mug

PROCEDURE :

Take the yogurt in a heavy bottomed vessel.

Churn it with a "daler kata".... churner / whipper? Else use a hand beater!

Add the jaggery powder to the yogurt.

Add the black salt, lemon juice, add and strain the ginger paste through a strainer using a spoon. Add 2 coffee mugs of water!

Churn again for about 2 minutes and strain the entire content to another vessel.

We will use a spoon to get the entire liquid to be strained. You know I hate wastage!

We are done, now the content is to be chilled before serving!

It is always to be served chilled! Try to avoid using ice-cubes but I added some!