CURRY AND SPICE: PUI PATAR BORA

This batter fried Bengali snacker with Malabar spinach was part of a combined post I did in June, 2016, it named PAKORA / TELEBHAJA / FRIES N FRITTERS. I felt let me make a separate post of them all in due course. Fries and Fritters can be made an everyday affair at this home, I get to see my boy's ever smiling face, the husband would love to eat but would not eat more than one or two pieces, I can eat all of the pieces above at one go. Then, there are health issues that all of us are concerned of, aware of or say scared of these days. If I go back to my childhood, our mother too did not allow fries and fritters every day how much we would demand. Pakora / Bhaja Bhuji was an once a week affair. Thursday was / is an all vegetarian day in our parental home and my brother would have his meal at home on this particular day of the week if only he is served fries and fritters with his rice meals. All of us in the family in fact crave for fries and fritters, but I think 90% of the human race has turned a bit of health conscious, the percentage of that consciousness varies. Like my family cannot have vegan or vegetarian food at all times. We are those Indians or South Asians who cannot survive on salads and soups, quinoa and oats alone. One of my very trusted friend of 35 years asked me for some quinoa recipes yesterday. I told her the truth that I have not tasted it yet, not really too keen on. In this regard, I believe in Rujuta Diwekar who says that our bodies are used to food that we grew up eating. I do not follow some famous pages does not mean I do not follow their precious words. I somehow have found that their pages are just a medium of game play, a communicative agent.... what they gift us on print is real. Anyway, my men have not touched oats till date, I usually add a table spoon or two to my smoothies two -three-four times a week. What is not happening in my life is a routined, healthy diet plan. Last week when I prepared this vegetarian pakora / fry / fritter with malabar spinach PUI PATAR BORA , I had 3-4 of them. I could not resist, although I know that resistance power gift you a healthier you.

Pui Shaak / Malabar Spinach is a regular in Bengali households. Unaware of its history of inclusion in Bengali Cuisine, what I can say is that we prepare a couple of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes with it. The yesteryear Bengali households hardly had to buy this perennial vine, it used to grow even in a small patch of soil amidst a concrete home.... just plant it where there is a chance for it to soak in a bit of sunlight. Thereafter what do you get? A fast growing vine which you need to cut from the top and cook.... after few days you would see it shining with growing leaves and red stems again. What I am doing now? Writing a post on this vegetarian light snack / batter fry and pestering the mother to grow some vegetables besides the flowers in her terrace once back home. My paternal family has a "nasty" habit of cutting down trees.... they have cut down fruit bearing papaya, guava, one mango, coconut trees citing a silly reason that people steal them. Come on, even I steal on my walks. I requested her to grow bitter gourd, malabar spinach, cauliflower, pumpkin plant, coriander, papaya, egg plant, green chilli, tomato, okra these few things in their terrace instead of flowers in the coming season. They already have lemon and a few variety of permanent flowering plants from where she gets her regular supply of flowers required for her Gods & Goddesses, for the elderly deceased in the family. Our mother is a very energetic person, her fear of that extra sweat required to grow vegetables seems ridiculous to me. Last year she did not keep my request, let me see now.

I have this love for fruit and vegetable gardens may be because my childhood was spent at the maternal grand parents' home, may be because most of my relatives have had big gardens in their homes, may be because we visited acres of occupied area of gardens for our annual family picnics. Unfortunately, we spent 19 precious years in a two roomed rented space in a horrendous locality, so our mother was not allowed to plant even a bitter gourd sapling by the house owner. I never could understand this stand of our father, a bank manager did not require this level of misery.... he had the ability to raise the standard of living a bit, he should have. We still much like DumDum unlike some of my friends, the entire locality is not bad ..... would have shifted by now if only the brother's wife had any interest. She definitely would want to shift near her relatives, I however do not find that entire belt of Beleghata to Park Circus to Sealdah at all praiseworthy. The girls should realise that their parents require a homely, Bengali neighbourhood in the few remaining years of their lives. Our mother says if its a landed property between Chiriamore and Nager Bazaar, even in the by lanes of Paikpara or Sinthi More, she would agree to sell off her Barrackpore property. Had that been the reality, you would have seen me being stationed there on each of my visit, roaming care free, getting home cooked food without sweating, visiting my property for only cleaning services and a 2-3 days of stay may be. They perhaps do not want my intrusion, hence prefers a Barrackpore. Anyway, what I loved whilst my stay in Nadia, DumDum or Barrackpore, I still love and do, even my not so much of a Bengali men enjoy a batter fried vegetarian fritter with malabar spinach PUI PATAR BORA. There are a couple of healthy vegetarian recipes with malabar spinach among the Bengalis, today I wished to share this unhealthy but a sweet sin.

INGREDIENTS :

MALABAR SPINACH LEAF / PUI PATA :15-20 [use the bigger variety with red stem]

Gram Flour : 1/ 2 small tea cup
Rice Flour : 1 small cup
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Green Chilli : 2-3[chopped, optional]
Turmeric Powder : 1/4tsp
Salt : As Required
Sugar : 1tsp
Nigella Seeds[kalonji / kalo jeera] : 1/2tsp [optional]
Oil : Enough To Deep Fry

PROCEDURE :

Okay, we will wash each leaf under running water thoroughly, worms do no good to our stomach. We will marinate the leaves with little salt and turmeric for about 5-7 minutes!

Thereafter, we would add all the other ingredients to it except for the oil! We would mix well, add a little of water if required!