LOTE MAACH ER JHURI O BORA

I dedicate this post LOTE MAACH ER JHURI O BORA to that deceased boy of Nalgoda district of Telangana in India who lost his life to one of the existing malice of the Indian society.... casteism... I cannot stop thinking of the plight of the unfortunate parents... of the surviving wife who is pregnant! The unborn child will never see the father, while giving birth did the boy's parents think that they have to lose their child this early and in this way? How can our own be this nasty? These are the things that bothers me, as a mother it should. I am not a wise soul... I prefer our son to live as a second class citizen in a foreign country which provides safely & security to him instead of going back to a struggle every morning. I may sound selfish, self centric which I am when it comes to my brother, my husband, my son! Not really in the mood today to crack some jokes though writing a blog post gives me immense pleasure, I am never forced to do it! Its relaxing! I continue to think when will the Indian parents learn to set free their kids at a certain stage?

Life is pretty busy attending guests at home, or us going out to attend one. It was such a pleasure to attend a family yesterday over dinner which included a visiting "kakima".... aunty from Kolkata! The mains had to be pure Bengali in essence because the starters & the dessert were not Bengali! She gifted me a saree which is beautiful! Some people know my taste... its a tie & dye kind in print .... I am fond of cotton bagru prints, tie & dyes, Jaipuri juti & kundans. There are reasons why I wish to visit Rajasthan & Gujarat once again.... only for the history of the places?... Nope! The husband says, we will tour India after retirement. The wife has few other demands to be met before that... I am all about "I want".... I want my final home with a terrace garden, a separate puja room, all corners of the flat to be decorated with chosen wooden & terracotta items from Mrignayani, Manjusha, Gurjari, Rajasthali! Last time I wished to, the husband did not allow saying they are high maintenance and I cannot manage with a toddler, that we are to leave Kolkata in few years. How I disagree with his ideas of a home theatre in the wall... He got a sofa, a dining table from the Steel Junction..... they do not attract me! 

I follow certain streams in Instagram to treat my eyes. Instagram is not for me, I am not good at photography neither do I know the tricks or have a luck to get one thousand likes for my not that worthy photographs!...  I specially like my friend Rupsha Chaterjee's interiors.... Jayanta & Rupa Roy... the painter cum poet couple's too... For satisfying my eyes I follow Jaypore, hatkargha, whatmysisterwore, suta_bombay, aham_jewellery, desidrapes and few similar kinds! Oh yes! It goes without saying that I watch Bollywood in Instagram, haha! What is the scenario at the mother's home? When I first saw our new home at Barrackpore, I felt good for we lived in a two roomed rented home for 19 years, we were angry too as the deceased old man took us there without our consent. I wished for a nice decor but the father thought it to be a waste of money, the mother was only interested in her garden and cleaning & wiping her home four times a day! The brother too went after his parents... you get to see 40 year old worn out pieces all over that home, a horrible concrete structure in the mid of the garden to house the brother's red car... a garden which could grow vegetables. I get angry at these!

Do not forget to visit our mother's terrace garden... her flowers are worth going for shows! The brother's wife too does not have any interest in beautifying her own home.... she could have else!..... She has / had the ability to take three aged people to Vellore alone some three years ago, getting them treated for three different kinds of ailments, getting a cab to Bangalore when Chennai got a flood and catch a next day flight! Well her husband booked the car, air tickets from Kolkata you know! She had the ability to night stay with her father-in-law in a nursing home cabin to attend him.... you must note that the father-in-law did not hurl abuses at her or her parents for a single day.... that matters definitely! Get back as you give! Anyway, when my both parents told me "mamoni you could not have done 1/10 of what Bidisha has done at Vellore, I did not get bitter towards her! I only regret why they have to keep repairing old furnitures when they have the ability for a better living... Beautification is a necessity that comes in various budgets, choose your's! 

However, you may see S still lamenting after 10-15 years of not been able to get her own style of home decor... the husband would call me lazy, call the ethnic pattern high maintenance not worthy of an aged couple.... but we do bond over few things... take a look at our collection.... I do not mind... the extremely level headed husband never gets drunk!

Yes, life has made us indifferent. We lament at untoward incidents and eat, drink, merry too! Are we all getting to be armchair activists.... or we are only bothered of our own? The world will never go stress free... we have to live with it!

LOTE MAACH ER JHURI O BORA is not something our family had from the beginning. Fresh Bombay Duck it is which entered our home when I was in college may be. The mother had it at someone's place and tried. We particularly adapted to and like these two preparations. In fact, the mother cooks the jhuri / mishmash / bharta! The bora / pakora / fritters with fresh Bombay Duck is what I have learnt from elsewhere and do at times. You can have the fritters with your tea or coffee or with a simple serving of dal / lentil curry and rice. The bharta / jhuri / mishmash is to be made a bit spicy and to be had with steamed rice! Let us proceed with the two common Bengali recipes with Bombay Duck.... LOTE MAACH ER JHURI O BORA!

INGREDIENTS : [for the Bombay Duck Bharta / Lote Maach Er Bharta]

Fresh Bombay Duck : 1kg
Sliced Onion : 1medium cup [of 2big onions]
Slitted Green Chilli : 5-6 [adjust yours] 

Halved Dry Red Chilli : 2-3
Garlic Paste : 1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tbsp
Nigella Seed : 1/4tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp + 1/4tsp
Chopped Coriander : 1small cup [optional, I did not]
Salt : As Required
Oil : 3-4tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the Bombay Duck Fritters / Lote Maach Er Bora]

Fresh Bombay Duck : 500gm
Chopped or Thinly Sliced Onion : 1small cup
Chopped Green Chilli : 1-2tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Gram Flour : 3-4tbsp
Rice Flour : 1small cup
Chopped Coriander Leaf : 1/2small cup [optional, I did not]
Salt : As Required
Lemon Juice : 1/2small cup
Oil : 100-150ml to deep fry

PROCEDURE :

Let us prepare the Lote Maach Er Jhuri at first!

Cut off and throw the tail end and the head of each of the Bombay Duck Fish. Clean the stomach and cut off the fins too. Cut each fish into smaller pieces, a standard size will give 4 pieces. Wash thoroughly under running water.

Marinate with salt, 1/2 of the turmeric and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with nigella seeds, the halved dry red chilli, bayleaf; stir. As you get a nice aroma and they turn brown, add the pre washed sliced onion. Fry them till golden brown. Add the garlic paste & turmeric, salt & stir fry for 3-4 minutes!

Add the fish pieces discarding the marinade. Stir and cover cook at lowest heat for 7-8 minutes.

Open cover and add the rest of the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, slitted green chillies, adjust the salt! Stir and cover cook again at low heat until all the water that had released dries up 80%.

Break the very soft fish pieces and mash with your ladle. Let cook uncovered until all the water dries up and the content browns. Enjoy with steamed rice.

Now let us prepare the Lote Maach Er Bora!

We will need thickly cut Bombay Duck .... say of 3-4 inch thickness. We already know how to clean and wash them. We will marinate them with lemon juice for an hour. This is a must if we find sea fish smelly.

Prepare a paste like batter with the two flours, sliced onion, chopped green chillies and coriander leaves if using, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt as required. Add water little at a time.

After an hour, discard the marinade.... lemon water from the fish. Rub the fish pieces with some salt and turmeric. Let them rest for 10 minutes.

Dip and coat the fish pieces well with the batter and deep fry in the heated oil in batches. We will constantly adjust heat for any fritters / pakora... they should be crisp and well done inside / out.

Try the fritters with some salad, tea / coffee.... else they taste good with rice & dal too!