NAAN ..... SIMPLIFIED O BEGUN DHONEPATA BATA

Aha! When my expert friends had been taking pride in preparing five to six dishes from scratch without any help, I would not hesitate saying that this humble platter of NAAN .. SIMPLIFIED O BEGUN DHONEPATA BATA was done from the scratch, then plated and clicked all by me without any help sometime during Diwali... Cristine was on leave does not mean there was no home cooked food for us. I do not know photography, I never take any credit in this matter... so far the taste is concerned.... you can place your trust on me ..... in fact, on us .... food bloggers who tirelessly try to gift you doable recipes .... no problem.... try us in turns! I can speak like this because I am a laid back character, never competitive. One should not set me as an example.... one who does not compete, cannot excel. 

It is only a lazy & laid back who all of a sudden can stop promoting her recipes.... she is neither a popular food blogger that people will visit her blog in flocks just like that .... For obvious reasons, her visits have come down to 1/10th of what it had been in the past 3 years... However, she feels emancipated now, anytime she goes out of her house to take the feel of life, to smell "matir shoda gondho"... Her areas of interest has to get priority. Like at age 16 she felt she need not do height increaser & get slimmer exercises, why? The "aloo kabli wala" outside our college gate seemed more attractive to me.... I did not know then I would be a food blogger some day, else  I would have asked him "kon brand er lonkar gura dyan kaku".... All those pain of my mistakes can be lessened only by eating what I love .... look at how self-destructive one can be... she had her diabetic medicine in the morning... thereafter having "gur narkol with chirey" with her morning tea... May be this is the reason why I like that obese girl of Kolkata.... but I should not... "bor-bou miley kheye jacchey shomaney ... bacchar katha bhabchey na".... 

I promise I will have a fruit bowl for lunch today after a swimming session.... Yes, I have nailed it under the guidance of an excellent coach Joe.... who wished us on Diwali.... I hate going to the gym, hence I had to learn it at this age... it does not help you lose weight either if you eat so unhealthy like me!

"Woh Mumbaiwala admi bhi khata rehta hai sara din, photu bhi dalta hai.... fame ke liye kya kuch nehi karna parta hai logo ko!".... I do not have fame or name .... I feel free to do what I like the entire day, Cristine is back and I do not need to stay put at home all day... the junior of the men too comes late.... most of the days he has extra classes! I went for a brisk walk after a long time yesterday. I have a bad habit of stealing fruits and flowers on my way... I love guavas at this stage, come on over ripe guavas are for jams and spreads. Do not be me, wash the fruits and vegetables before consuming!

I went back to that guava tree after about 2 months I think. You know that I love going back to old, known places and ask "how are you doing?".... This particular kind of homes do attract me... who not only take care of their home & garden but also of the exteriors. You will see our mother cleaning the community drain attached to her fencing wall with a bamboo regularly.... She says never to feel ashamed of cleaning your own corners. Look, how this home takes care of their exteriors. We have very little green in this tiny island, people do not waste a bit of an available piece of land.

Buying one such property is beyond our reach, we cannot even think of renting one! The "bahargaon walas" may think I am jealous... not really but I keep wondering about few things.... confused rather.... I see they have tea sessions in a plush garden, pose for clicks in a balcony of our flat size... a kitchen triple our size.... here arises a question "era roj ghar moche kina shandeho hocchey, baccha boro holei era Cristine ke bari pathiye dei...".... please do not curse an OCD... we are not bad.... do clean your homes with wipers dipped in Dettol early morning before going out .... haha! 

When the entire world walks towards the moon, I am busy cleaning underneath my dining table.... else the NAAN .. SIMPLIFIED O BEGUN DHONEPATA BATA plate will not be placed on it! By the way, just after the "no fence" boundary of your homes, starts a "jhau bon ba maple er jongol.... raatey ghum hoy? raatey okhan diye kijey dheye ashbey... maago".... Excuse me considering the above as good jokes, but ghosts are not easy things for me but this dumpling soup and sugar free tea is easy on my stomach after a walk. Well, I do not digest all the words of the Indian Health Experts, to be on top one has to promote & listen to the people in power.... haha! I do not have fame or name, I do what I wish to and okay, compromise a bit for my loves... get a Sushi for my boy to have back from the school.

Lazy, jobless brats talk non-sense like me... I do all the talking here because I am not a good speaker. This "begun-dhonepata bata" is again a recipe from my parental home... I paired it with this two ingredient naan thinking of the mother. On her tours, she hated to have rice meals because they were not authentic Bengali... she preferred naan, tandoori roti with aloo matar, paneer at roadside dhabas always or idli-dosa.... Back home, she would immediately run to "DumDum Bazaar" and buy fish... do a favourite "maacher jhol"... that we craved for after a 12-15 days of tour. 

If you are travelling with "Kundu Special" kinds... you get Bengali food. Now that the father is not there, I need to talk to the brother on how to arrange a tour per year for the mother with such travel groups. Till then, let us enjoy this easy to make naan with this eggplant & fresh coriander dip, chutney whatever you call it! NAAN .. SIMPLIFIED O BEGUN DHONEPATA BATA had to be shared today so that my friends can enjoy it with a dal or kebab ..... because it is good to see master chefs can look happening too... haha! Yeah, I am naughty ..... because that girl has to be dragged out of Biryani joints and made to eat a bit healthy..... because the saree of the maestro chef's wife is catching my eyes..... because I am happy as Jayeeta Dasgupta is custom making my Madhubani Paint Saree on a tusser base. Have a smaller kid at home? Add some more butter and sugar atop the naan and see them giving you heavenly smiles!

That achar / pickle is made at home that I wish to blog about sometime later...

INGREDIENTS : [for the naan]

Self Rising Flour : 2coffee mug
Plain Yogurt : 150gm 

Oil : 2-3 tbsp
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Black Sesame Seed : 1 tsp
Butter to garnish!

INGREDIENT : [for the begun-dhonepata chutney or eggplant chutney]

Eggplant : 1 or 2
Fresh Coriander Leaf : 1small cup [discard root, chop, wash]
Onion : 1small [peel, discard two ends, wash and slice]
Garlic Clove : 1or 2 [peeled, washed]
Green Chilli : 2-3 [discard stem end, wash]
Salt : As Required

Mustard Oil : 1tbsp [Optional]

PROCEDURE :

For the naan, take the self rising flour and the salt in a wide mouthed big bowl. Mix well.

Beat the yogurt and add slowly to the flour, little at a time. Add 2tbsp oil & knead it to a smooth dough that will take some 7-8 minutes.

Cover and keep aside for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the cover of the dough. Knead for 2 more minutes and tear off tennis sized balls. Smoothen each between your palms. 

Take water in one bowl and some plain refined flour in another for dusting.

Roll out oval shapes with help of your base and rolling pin. Sprinkle some black sesame seed & press!

Heat the tawa / pan well. Splash water onto it! Place the naan atop the water.

You will see bubble forming on the top side. Hold & turn over the pan and roast the other side well until brown patches are seen!

Garnish with some butter before serving.

For the begun-dhonepata bata / eggplant chutney, wash the eggplant and pat dry. Grease the skin with few drops of oil.

Switch on the gas oven and place the eggplant on it. Roast at low flame turning all sides to get done evenly. When water releases and the skin is burnt, we are done. Feel free to curse me while cleaning your gas stove... a primitive tongue did bake it once in oven and said "rokkhe koro maa, khaitarina itan"...

Store in a plate to cool down completely. Discard the skin. Throw away the stem end.

Take the flesh in a blender. To it add the washed fresh coriander, garlic clove, green chilli, onion.

Blend at high for 2-3 minutes at intervals. Do not add water. Take down, transfer to a bowl & add the salt & mustard oil, mix well!

Enjoy with the sides, take some pickle and salad alongside! For smaller kids, add more of butter and sugar and serve.