As promised CURRY AND SPICE remains to be a low cost, budget friendly food blog at large, mostly compiling family recipes as you know those yester year ladies did not know how to market their skills.... They however knew how to remain extremely patient while doing a "choshir payesh".... No, I am not taking a dig at our generation... Our blogger friend Indrani Sen teaches at a college in Mumbai, is a published author and does "choshir payesh" too during Poush Sankranti. Even I do it with Cristine's help though not with that much precision.... I wish to blog about it before going to Kolkata this December... however, I got lethargic with lethargic time consuming cooking! The recipe may be almost same but you must know it will not be a copy from Indrani or from those who have already done it. Every Bengali Home has the same recipe of it & every home perhaps did it during the winters! If I blog about a "pahadi murg tikka"... I have to browse recipes because its not my family recipe or I have not done any course on cookery. Long back I did love it at the Amber restaurant in Kolkata... I remember it had yogurt and coriander in it, I am the kind who will use her own marination and name it "doi dhonepata bata diya murgir tikka"....
Take the example of what happened in my kitchen last Saturday ... I wished for a rich chicken dish... Cristine told that we are running out of almond... I screamed at Cristine for five minutes which is mandatory.... then went ahead with something of my own... wish to blog about it coming Saturday.... Bengalis eat ROSHUN KALOJEERE PHORON ALOO for breakfast on a normal day, but not during Durga Puja... some chicken, mutton, hilsa has to happen before mid October! I am not keen about recreating recipes of the master chefs.... it takes time to go through a couple of recipes, select one, getting the ingredients ready at the work station, then throwing off the rest of some curry powders as I am a minimalist and a Bengali when it comes to spices or say cooking! ... I work with few Bengali spices! I do not have time either... so busy eating right from the morning! They took vermicelli upma today, I had to have my share.... I have to go for my walk, on my way back I have to visit a nursery too on some days and drink a big glass of sugarcane juice.... no that is not apple juice! Sugarcane Juice is healthy but how much it is for a diabetic I doubt... sucrose content is pretty high! I do what gives me pleasure! I love potato, I eat it and the sugar level never goes down!
Well I baked an egg free "desi" cake too.... soon to blog about it! Though Bengalis will head to Azad Hind Dhaba or Arsalan or for some Indo-Chinese during pujo, yet that cake should be up before pujo .... An "average" Bengali spends 60% of earning on food, will not hesitate to shell out 2000 rupees for a kilo of hilsa but may not be keen about changing the set of bed spread until they are worn out! I am not interested in judging what is wrong or right today! I am in a happy mood... I will start cooking for the guests due tomorrow.... I had a wonderful bowl of egg drop curry and "ucche chocchori" at Roshni of Gahonaz's home yesterday!.... I am not among her top listed clients, I much loved that personal touch of her! If you are not fond of egg whites like me... egg drop curry is for you! Her light curry tasted amazing!
Our mother used to prepare this particular ROSHUN KALOJEERE PHORON ALOO ... a vegetarian side to go with ruti / porota / luchi when we had cough and cold. Whether it cured us or not, we enjoyed having it when the tongue felt numb and tasteless... Garlic does help to cure cough & cold! The mother was / is not fond of potatoes..... wishes to use less amount of it in her cooking but her kids or may be the daughter-in-law loves it too.... she is forced practically to cook potato! At this home... the father, son, Cristine everyone loves potato! I forget all about my medical condition, grab few pieces and eat. Some of my friends can notice that I have gained again what I had lost few years back .... compare my pictures of 2016 and those clicked recently... I just fail to get motivated such is my love for food and off course cooking...
If I am sitting idle, I would just bake a cake or prepare an easy sweet... I was in high school or college, since when I am following some amazing master chefs & home cooks including Rukma Dakshi... simply love her way of draping a saree... so much wish to recreate her "Barishali Ilish" if only my grinder gave me a smooth paste of "kalojeere".... till then try our mother's recipe of ROSHUN KALOJEERE PHORON ALOO! Talks are on with the brother about visiting Manjilat's coming December... I wish to see the difference between commercialised Biryani... korma... kebab and the Begum's personal touch.... I am where History / mystery is... haha... that reminds me of the grave mistakes I did with my academics... my subject of major should have been either History or Archeology or Anthropology or Psychology or Literature.... my mistakes do not allow me to influence the son's decision.... let him pursue what he wishes to!
POTATO : 3-4BIG
ONION : 1BIG
GARLIC CLOVE : 6-8
GREEN CHILLI : 3-4 SLITTED
DRY RED CHILLI : 2 HALVED
KALONJI / NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEERE : 1TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
SUGAR : 1TSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2TSP
OIL : 2TBSP
PROCEDURE :
Peel the skin of the potatoes, wash them. Cut half lengthwise. Cut each half into 2 pieces lengthwise. Now cut each piece further into smaller cubes!
Peel the skin of the onion, cut both the ends. Wash and cut into thick slices.
De skin each of the garlic cloves and wash. Slit and wash the green chillies.
Take the washed potato pieces, garlic cloves, onion slices in a bowl and temper it with salt and turmeric! Keep aside for 5 minutes.
Heat the oil in a wok and temper with the nigella seeds and halved dry red chillies. Add the marinated raw vegetables along with the marinade.
Give a quick stir and put the heat level at minimum. After 3-4 minutes, remove the cover and add a small cup of water and the slitted green chillies. Fold in well.
Cover cook at minimal heat for 2-3 minutes. Open the cover and add the sugar. Stir once and let cook uncovered at minimal heat for a minute. We are done.
On that particular day, I served the vegetable sides with fresh & hot round shaped parathas.
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