SUJI & MIXED SPICES STUFFED BREAD SNACK

This happened last month I remember. When I was about to go out with the mother to somewhere, I discovered that half the container of a suji / semolina and dry roasted, ground spice mixture that I prepared and used in a stuffed kochuri (SEMOLINA & SPICE STUFFED KACHORI WITH SWEET TAMARIND CHUTNEY) back in October, 2017 is still sitting inside my refrigerator. It did not rot and spoil, hence I would not throw it. I had to go out and could do something only when I would come back sometime in the afternoon, I mean post 5pm. I had to think of something quick and yum to use up the entire amount of homemade spice mixture. On such occasions, bread comes to your rescue, be it bread halwa, bread malai, paurutir chop, bread gulab jamun or whatever. I took out few slices of bread, the semolina and spice mixture, brought them to normal room temperature. Thereafter, I discarded the four sides of each slice, placed a spoonful of stuffing in the middle, moistened the edges with water, sealed the open ends with the help of a fork. I did two or three and asked Cristine to do the same with the rest. I had to take the mother out, so was in a hurry. We had a light lunch I remember because we wished to come back, take a quick shower and enjoy the vegetarian snack SUJI & MIXED SPICES STUFFED BREAD SNACK with tea in a relaxed mode. Once back home, I brushed butter on each of them and baked for few minutes. That little is the entire exercise. We can always deep fry the snacks but unnecessarily why should we consume more of oil if we have an alternative option.

Back to the island, I am quite missing the mother. I am having an uncanny feeling entering the guest room where she would lie down with her new cell phone that the son-in-law had gifted few months back and watch Zee Bangla following the son-in-law's instructions. Cristine also asks me when aunty gets to come again. If God permits, she will. She has no such qualms staying at the daughter's place sometimes, nor do I have. Thankfully, my in-laws will also agree and accept now onwards there is no wrong staying at the daughter's place at times or when required, their self proclaimed "do not" they were so vocal about in public. Oh God! Thank you for being nice to me but do not rob T or his sister of their parents sooner... I and my brother know how it feels to lose your parent. How much of self centric my brother is, he is loyal to his own family, he remembers it all who did what when and gives it back in time. I keep pledging him, "bhai it is not okay to behave rough with others in public, just keep discharging your moral duty towards others, do not remember who did not do what when people may need your help." He is stubborn just like his sister. Anyway, a meat recipe was on my mind today, I will not do it.... in my full consciousness, I usually do not wrong people. Today, there should be no fish or meat, I do not bother what the nation wants from me. Had this vegetarian evening snack SUJI & MIXED SPICES STUFFED BREAD SNACK was not there in the kitty, I definitely would have gone ahead with a sugar free oats ladoo or kheer or halwa. 

You know, I got some "aam sandesh and pista roll" from the VIP Sweets, Kolkata for my beloved men this time, I had to have one of each variety , a bit scared so. I totally forgot that I must take a little amount of Kolkata sweets for my men, on the last day as I entered our neighbourhood branch to buy "roshogollas" for the security and maintenance staffs there, I remembered. We are perhaps among the poorest of the existing residents there, the richy rich do not even have ten rupees to give them to buy a paan. Being a perfect wife to my man, I did not bargain with the "rickshawwalas" there this time. This is a rich island, you pay dearly for the best services, so I should behave while in Kolkata. Following a health drive, I will prepare oats-moong dal khicuri for our lunch. Today is for swimming, yesterday on my walk, I picked up four branches of "two jaba varieties, one tiny togor variety, one red frangipani" from the roadside.... let us see if they survive at this home. My oldest "togor gaach" died, it got pest inflicted, by the time I instructed Cristine over phone to get insecticide from the nursery, it was late. Mango and coconut trees on my own "do bigha zameen" is not possible anymore, but life is really good, accepting the don't haves you only help yourself live better.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SEMOLINA & SPICE STUFFING :

Semolina : 1 small cup
Cumin Seeds : 1tsp
Coriander Seeds : 11/2tsp
Fennel Seeds : 1/2tsp
Carom Seeds : 1tsp
Dry Red Chilli : 2-3
Green Cardamom : 2
Cinnamon Stick : 2 one inch stick
Sugar : 1tsp
Salt : As Required
Ghee : 1-2tbsp

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SNACK :

THE SEMOLINA AND ROASTED & GROUND DRY SPICE MIXTURE
BREAD SLICE : 10-12
MELTED BUTTER : 1/2 OF A STANDARD SMALLER BOWL

PROCEDURE :

You know I used stored stuffing for this. I had to go back and hire the pictures from another post to furnish you the stepwise pictures of making of the semolina and spice stuffing.

Let us prepare the filling first. Heat oil in a wok / pan and dry roast the cumin... coriander... fennel.... carom seeds and the dry red chilli for a minute or two.

In the same wok, add 1tbsp ghee. Once hot, add the semolina and roast till it turns golden brown.

Once it is golden brown, add the dry roasted spice mixture and fold in well.

Add sugar and salt to it and stir for 3-4 minutes. Transfer the filling to a bowl and let cool.

Cut the edges of each of the bread slices. Fill in with the semolina and freshly ground dry roasted spices.

Moisten a bit the edges with very little water. Close the ends. Press with a fork to tighten, be safe.

Now grease an oven proof plate. Grease both sides of each of the stuffed and uncooked bread slices with a brush.

I use the convection mode of a microwave oven, so I placed the low stool inside the oven and preheated the oven at 180*C for 8 minutes or so.

I placed the plate atop the stool now. I baked them at 180*C for 10-12 minutes. You must check your time because each machine differ.

We must have them hot and fresh with a hot beverage of our choice, else they will turn hard and chewy.

            

BHATURE O BEGUNER BHARTA

Well, I was too eager to take over my kingdom from Cristine once back from a fifteen days of hiatus. Cristine did a fabulous job as always but I needed some job to deliver. Last Wednesday when I called Cristine, I could feel the joy in her voice on the news of me returning home. That makes her stand different from others. Knowing that ma'am is a victim of extreme level of mood swings, she greeted me with a broad smile. She is my nice, little girl all of thirty but looks like 18-20. She asked me about aunty, our mother with whom she mingled pretty well. Our mother in turn is missing her, says chating with Cristine improved her English. On her visit, I told her had she not leave a government school job and dedicate her life in cleaning services, she would have brought up a self sufficient daughter. Following her, the daughter turned to be a good home maker alone, you know what home making is a thankless job. A girl has the ability to make people listen to her if she is working, money is honey folks.. accept it. I dream of a different self honing a strong personality who everyone around would be scared of [besh amar hunkarey baghey gorutey ek ghatey jol khabey]. I go back in time say to 1992 and see a very happy and content me in the lap of Kanyakumarika or Pondicherry. That was my real, actual call do I feel these days... away from home, free from any emotional shackles. With permission from the order, I could at least sell vegetarian delights like idli, vada, BHATURE O BEGUNER BHARTA on the beach. Oh My! if only single women in India were safe, were allowed to live on their own without being raped verbally and physically. Anyway, in your dreams you can go back in time, in reality one cannot go back and start a fresh.

The last fifteen days had seen the elderlies in the family suffering. The "in-laws" were admitted in two different hospitals with acute pneumonia, they are asthmatic too. Our mother fell ill with severe stomach ailments for three days. I thought I could handle it but it was her daughter-in-law who had set the things right and tactfully avoided an admission in the hospital. You will hardly find a daughter-in-law who massages her mother-in-law's feet, stomach, goes inside the toilet with her to make her poo and puke in front of her. You will hardly find a daughter who takes a huge amount of  loan on her shoulder just to build a bare minimal home for her parents in a decent, Bengali neighbourhood. You must take a note that she earns quite good in a renowned Kolkata school but not in lakhs. My brother had his eyes on a Sonam Kapoor look alike, he got what was required in our home. My mother sounded so much at peace at her own home amidst her son and daughter-in-law yesterday. I told both my brother and my mother not to go against B's wishes, daughters do for their parents, there are very few daughter-in-laws who do this much for their "in-laws." The husband's sister was / is taking all the hassles for her own parents, each penny required was / is been transferred from the island through me. My husband discharges duties silently without any urge for name, fame, importance. I was just using my card as per instructions, rest I did not think I should poke my flat nose in to "their" family matter nor anyone in "that" family wanted me to. 

Since, I am a daughter to my mother, I can tell her categorically that she has to stay fit and strong, continue to do normal household work. How good it would be if our mother could gradually get over her "khola mela boro bari" concept and agree to shift to a decent three roomed flat in between Airport and Sector 5 because my brother will never agree to shift without his mother. If I am this much in peace, I must be thankful to a B, ignore her social media updates and go out for a long, carefree walk today with my ear phones on, oblivious of the surrounding, hoping to be able to go back to Kanyakumari or Pondicherry "alone" someday, soak my feet in the sand, or go to "Har ki Pyari" ghat in Hardwar as the dusk would set in and sit there for hours alone, not with the family, not even with the mother but alone.... a dinner with "halwa or rabri or chapati-achar" would be just fine for me, had I be able to run a "didi bhai er Bangali Hotel" there, I would have served more authentic, better quality Bengali food there than the existing ones. My wishes has nothing to do with my severe dislike for the existing ruling party in India.

BTW, I wish a speedy recovery and a consistent good health for my "in-laws" in my own self interest. Then, with such a jewel son and daughter, a dotting son-in-law, they should. My brother-in-law is an extreme case of hygiene freak, has trust issues, yet he is allowing an unknown help inside his bedroom to take care of his maa-in-law who is unable to go to the toilet most of the time... well, he may not be this kind & nice to other visiting guests or veterans to his home say for few minutes or so.... Never mind, your behaviour depends upon your depth of relationships. You know, our mother has sent a token gift for a Sanak Chottopadhyay, why? She says, "Soumya Bhattacharya is a decent boy but Sanak is full of warmth. Sanak said "Kakima, your shutki maach and dhokar dalna was awesome, moreover a Sanak calls her daughter his second mother in this island".... so there comes a red, handloom cotton kurti with blocks from my favourite store Amar Kuthi for Sanak. Okay, his wife whose social media avatar I cannot tolerate has a saree from me, she is nice, never a mean, so she deserves a beautiful, token gift from Rene from my brother's wife too. About their daughter? You see, I better stop gifting them dresses, they will not value my choice, I am unwilling to get hurt.... too eager to distance myself from things that does not make me happy. I will get food items for her, may be pasta, chicken, fish.... she enjoys my cooking.. so be it. Yes, I am self-centric but I never ever try to create divide between people, I know people try it . Neither I will deviate from my principles, nor anyone can create a divide between us and a Sanak's family. My mother will not believe that Sanak too is a hot headed because he applauded her cooking, everyone loves themselves. The reason why I like a Soumya is that we speak less, only as much as is required, we are formal  in public, we know how to keep a poisonous tongue under control, we do not oil anyone unnecessarily, his wife is more of a friend however. 

Okay, I did pick up cheap, casual college wear palazzo with t-shirts for a daughter like, I like her company, her gestures, her sweaty self in a t-shirt and skinny rushing to meet me, her love for food. I will never send her a friend's request in social media handles fearing what I get to see, I may not want to see what she does in her life outside of me. Tomorrow the son will go away to a different land whose culture I will never accept, education yes is too good. He is a rebel, not an obedient, he may lead a life to which I will never agree, but duty towards your own child comes first, I will do that until my last breathe, prepare this vegetarian platter BHATURE O BEGUNER BHARTA for "them" if "they" allow me as a guest at intervals at their home. I dream of a long haired woman with eye kohl and a bindi sitting together sipping tea with her husband "early" morning, whose wardrobe will be beaming with sarees & salwar suits, trousers too, they will both work, both help each other in the kitchen, no problem but will not feed the husband and kids store bought frozen and re-heated stuffs. My dreams may remain a dream because Madhuchanda Dey Ghosh is a rarity, yet I will not stop day dreaming till my last day.

I am pretty disturbed discovering something, somewhere around but I am learning to accept many a dislikes, to close my eyes to things that are against my taste buds, I am however not the ultimate to be followed. I will continue with my secret meets while in Kolkata and never keep my personal & family interest involved in it or allow my family to interfere in every bit of my life. If you have hurt me consciously, taken a dig at my physical features, my self respect, it is unlikely that I will remain loyal to you, I will just maintain a formal, decent relationship with you. As for "my" friends, a Swati, a Chandrayee, a Nirmalya are always present at a call from "me" alone and will not wait for a nod from my husband, unfortunately a Sushi lives in Thailand, may be a Joy Ghosh too will or may not be unless he gets a nod from my husband, a Debopam Raha as a mental support, the very egoist Saubhik may be as a medical advisor, their wives are good of whom Sarnali is a friend. So, while in Kolkata, I can call them my immediate helps, however my brother's wife is a "dasha bhuja".... if only she could be a little organised and calmer. The mother says she does wonderful "fulko luchi" and I want her to learn this easy, peasy South Asian bread done with refined flour, yeast, yogurt, salt, sugar, oil. On the sides there was a chicken kosha and Beguner Bharta. I like Begun Pora more but the husband is slightly allergic to eggplant, so bharta suits him more.

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE BHATURE]

REFINED FLOUR : 21/2 COFFEE MUG
PLAIN YOGURT : 1MEDIUM TEA CUP
YEAST : 1TBSP
SUGAR : 2TSP
SALT : 1/2TSP
OIL : 4TBSP + 100-150GM FOR DEEP FRYING EACH ONE


INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE BEGUN ER BHARTA]

EGG PLANT : 1BIG [I PREFER THE DARK PURPLE ONES]
TOMATO : 2 MEDIUM
ONION : 1MEDIUM
GREEN CHILLI : 3-4
FRESH CORIANDER : 2SPRIG
CUMIN POWDER : 1/2TSP
CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2TSP
RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/2TSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2TSP
CUMIN SEED : 1/4TSP
GARAM MASALA : 1/3TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
OIL : 2-3TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Let us prepare the BEGUN ER BHARTA  / cooked spicy roasted egg plant mash first.

Wash and pat dry the egg plant. Apply few drops of oil on it and rub well. Roast on stove top fire turning often until all sides are burnt well. Let it cool.

Wash and chop the tomatoes, fresh coriander and green chillies, keep separately. Peel and slice thin the onion, wash.

Take out the burnt skin of the egg plant, discard the stem end and mash.

Heat oil in a wok and temper with cumin seeds. Add the sliced onion and chopped green chillies. Stir until they turn golden brown. 

Now add the turmeric + red chilli + cumin + coriander + salt and stir for 1/2 a minute. 

Add the chopped tomatoes, stir and wait for them to melt. Add the mashed, roasted egg plant now and the garam masala.

Stir cook for 3-4 minutes, add the chopped fresh coriander and stir cook for a minute. We are done.

For the BHATURE, enlivened Indian Bread, we will take the refined flour, salt, sugar, yeast in a bowl.

We will mix them well and add the yogurt and oil to the mixture.

We will rub them altogether for 2 minutes.

We will add water little by little and prepare a firm dough.

We will cover it with a cling wrap and keep it in a warm place, I use my microwave oven.

It took 3 hours to rise, when I took it out.

We will again knead it and tear off balls.

Roll out each ball using little oil in any shape, oblong or round. That is very cool, right?

Heat oil in a clean wok which has not contacted turmeric.. courtesy your Cristine or whoever, and fry each well, both sides.

Serve hot with any side which need not be chana always.

OVEN COOKED PEPPERY CHICKEN & AAMCHOOR ALOO

Its a beautiful, sunny morning.. you never can predict the weather here however.... it was cloudy an hour back. I did wake up healthy after a "dahi poori" session around 8pm yesterday, in fact feeling refreshed very much. Ask me why? There are a couple of reasons you know. Until 1am I was listening to the iconic Ustad Rashid Khan, I am his fan and can listen to him for hours.... "albela sajan ayoo to yaad piya ki aaye".... the Indian community in the island is smaller than that of the bahargaon.... I can understand it is difficult to arrange sessions with such talents every year or do I miss them? I saw him on stage some 4 years back. Another reason of joy was to get some fresh "data" in a local Chinese shop yesterday, amazing na? My side of the family cooks the hard stem either with potato & jackfruit seeds or with potato and prawn. I am going to cook with prawns in few hours from now, hopefully to blog about it once I am back from Kolkata. I do have Bengali themed chicken recipes in hand to share, but I felt that can wait and this vegetarian and non vegetarian snack combo OVEN COOKED PEPPERY CHICKEN & AAMCHOOR ALOO should go up today. 

I was surfing my Google photos and found Bengali fish recipe pictures from 2017-2018 which I am yet to blog about, okay I will. The mother too is causing irritation trying to relate everything that is Indian here to Bengal or Bengali.... I severely dislike it.... "dekh Bangali money hocchey" I am like "stop it mani, there is a country called India, of which Bengal is a state, a state which will become a non-entity if they do not live in the present, even Tagore cannot save them".... People migrate there from different states, build palace even selling "khaini" and the "amra Bangali" do 'doshta-pachta apish" and give big talks, calling people "unpar-gawar, uncultured".... totally oblivious of the fact that the majority of Bengalis work "under" these "uncultured"..... we have to realise, accept and do something. I am with Bengal's cultural & food circuit, not with those who at all times deny themselves to be a part of a sovereign State called India. I was telling the mother that she and her son are influencing each other very wrongly. I will not give in to that, I have my father and husband's ideologies working inside too. I told the mother when it comes to talent, appreciate the quality wholeheartedly, do not be regionalistic. "Bengalis anyway do the "bambooing" act most on each other, look at the brotherly feelings among the people of other states and learn.

From Ustad Rashid Khan, I have now reached Kaushiki Chakroborty, she inherited the qualities of her father in the right amount. Each day, I have to listen to music, from one genre to another, among the few genres I love.... raps, loud music is not for me. Once back from Kolkata, I should be able to sit with music in a lonely home, at times would visit my music teacher for a therapy. Yesterday, my entire time outside was spent listening to music and walking from this store to another. On my way back, I saw three dedicated, elderly souls practicing outside our condominium around 8:30pm, my mother-in-law has a bag full of complaints at all times, it irritates me way too much..... all day she is sitting at home, watching television and complaining. Such kinds actually die long before they are brain dead. They have not seen the hardships of people actually. I enjoy being with positive, spontaneous people, they help me go on with life! Three of such kinds you can see below.

Do not you think I should share the combined vegetarian and non-vegetarian snack recipe of OVEN COOKED PEPPERY CHICKEN & AAMCHOOR ALOO done using freshly ground black pepper and dry mango powder in the marination today? I think these two snackers required the simplest marination I have ever used in my kitchen. Kids who enjoy cooking can prepare them too, at this home the mumma has to do it. Although they fall under the snacker category, we had them for dinner a month back, the rest got toasted butter bread, I had that salted tomato

INGREDIENTS FOR THE OVEN COOKED PEPPERY CHICKEN :

CHICKEN LEG OR BREAST OR BOTH : 5-6 PIECE
FRESH COARSELY GROUND BLACK PEPPER : 1/2 TSP
LEMON JUICE : 3-4 TBSP
GINGER EXTRACT : 1TBSP
GARLIC EXTRACT : 2TBSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED [SEA SALT PREFERRED]
OIL : 2-3TBSP + 2TBSP TO BRUSH

INGREDIENTS FOR THE AAMCHOOR ALOO :

POTATO : 2-3
AAMCHOOR / DRY MANGO POWDER : 2TSP
RED CHILLI POWDER : 1TSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2TSP
LEMON JUICE : 2TBSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
OIL : 2-3TBSP + 1TBSP TO BRUSH


PROCEDURE :

Let us do the PEPPERY CHICKEN  first.

Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly. Pat dry.

Marinate with 2-3tbsp of oil, lemon juice, ginger and garlic extract, fresh coarsely ground black pepper and salt as required.

Fold in very well. Keep refrigerated in an air tight container for 5-6 hours or overnight.

Take out an hour before cooking. Grease an oven proof tray with oil. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer. Pour over the marinade evenly.

I work with a convection mode microwave oven, I used the microwave+grill mode.

I took the chicken pieces along with the marinade in a greased oven proof plate! Then I placed the low height wired stool inside & on top of it the plate!

I cooked in the microwave+grill mode for 15 minutes; paused & brushed oil! I turned over, brushed oil & cooked for 5-6 minutes; again turned over & cooked for 3 minutes! We should be done.

Now let us do the AAMCHOOR ALOO / Potato with Dry Mango Powder.

I am a diabetic who loves potatoes! I peeled, washed & cut the potatoes lengthwise!

 I then marinated them with the aamchoor / dry mango powder, turmeric + red chilli powder, lemon juice, salt as required.

The marinated potatoes are to be kept aside for an hour or so. We will then place them in a single layer on a greased grill proof tray.

We will place the low height wired stool inside with the plate atop if using a convection mode microwave oven. We will then cook in microwave+grill mode 10 minutes; pause & brush oil; cook for another 2 minutes!

Always serve & have them hot & fresh.

SPICY CHILLI

Well, it had been a recent wish to share the recipe of this dish that is easy to do and yum to eat. This variety of chillies are available here every few hundred steps and in abundance. They are less hot and makes for a wonderful ingredient for fritters and stuffed vegetarian or even non-vegetarian dishes. Having chillies as a side dish is not a Bengali thing, I saw my non-Bengali speaking friends in school getting wonderful pickles made with chillies, the varieties my family never made. I am ahead of my family when it comes to the acceptability of a varied kinds of food! Hence, I have to experiment with different ingredients and include in the family menu card those which more or less appeals to our taste buds. I see my visiting family choosing the "lyangra" variety of mango among at least ten variety of it. What was causing me irritation was that why do I have to choose a mango that might have been packaged a month ago keeping aside the freshest produce coming in from the neighbouring states. 

I do follow Bengal while in the market, I am not the kind who will get Bengal from there and try to  install it here, I go to the Bangladeshi shops for fresh vegetables our kinds, long back I have stopped buying the stale, frozen fish coming in from there.... they would do no good to my men's health. Then, if your men are happy with salmon, prawn, chicken and snapper, you would not go to that extreme. The mother did not have problem in her 11/2 month of stay, she got fresh "rui and chingri", she can survive on prawn+noodle soup, salad, even chicken strips in soups, fruits.... moreover the daughter prepared different vegetarian dishes. She does not fancy chunks of meat, no problem.... her daughter prepared a stuffing with minced chicken, did kofta... this... that! She enjoyed this vegetarian side, oven grilled SPICY CHILLI, but loved more the chilli pakoras I prepared last Friday when we had a visiting guest with us.... you can see some fish tikki beside.

Our guest loved what we served, then our son loved both the dishes with this fat, big variety of red chillies. This mother taught her son to have moderately spicy and hot food, problem is with the husband who does not enjoy too much of hot and spicy stuffs. I do not like this trait in him, but so long he provides me enough to eat, eat and eat more of pizza and kueh, food in general.... I have no problem. Yesterday was pizza night which we have every fifteen days, the mother loves it too.

By the way, if you want to have good quality "kueh" here, always buy from shops which sell it fresh.

Being an obese, I have them may be once every six months but from such shops usually. This recipe with big, red chillies may not be innovative, some parts of India and South Asia do eat it, I went my way & did not follow any particular recipe!

INGREDIENTS :

BIG FAT RED CHILLI : 1-12
GRAM FLOUR / BESAN : 1TBSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/2 TSP

DRY MANGO POWDER : 1/2 TSP

KULAMBU SPICE MIX : 1 TSP [ANY SPICE MIX WOULD DO]
SALT : AS REQUIRED
OIL : 1 TBSP 

PROCEDURE :

Wash the chillies, pat dry. Make slits in each one of them and de seed. Cut them further or you may not! Wash again and pat dry.

Now marinate them with the ingredients mentioned in the ingredients list. 

Keep aside for 1/2 an hour.

Grease an oven proof plate with 1/2 tsp of oil and place the marinated chillies in a single layer on it.

I work with a convection mode microwave oven! I placed the low height wired stool inside and then the plate atop it.

I cooked them for 8 minutes in the microwave+grill mode. We should be done.

Doing it in a pan on stove top may require more of time and oil. 

Whatever you are serving it with, varieties of rice or chapati, serve it fresh and hot, else the crunch from the gram flour goes away. West, I cook "aloo-peyaz bhaja" / potato-onion fry in the oven using 1tsp oil!

SUGAR FREE ROSHOGOLLA

A litre of full cream milk gives me 9-10 standard sized roshogollas. I am not a roshogolla / Bengali  non-fried, no oil  dessert expert, the latter's calculation may differ from mine. At this moment, I am unable to think this way.... what difference does a twelve or thirteen make? It does make a difference, we will not know unless we experience. Anything, any damn thing, be it a loss or a joy..... we have to experience it ourselves to know it's extent.... others will send a single day of congratulations or condolences, they have to move on with their own lives.  

The sugar free "roshogollas".. that is cottage cheese balls swimming  in a pool of sugar free stevia syrup is making me happy. With Roshogolla, my experience had been bitter sweet. Somedays it comes out just fine, while some other days, it does not work at all. Then, I had to do some research to correct the flaws because our son loves it for sixteen years now. I do not like the roshogolla we get here, I do not buy the tinned ones airflown from India.... the option left with me is doing them at home, our only son loves it after all. The husband too loves it but not the sugar free option. Their home eats their dessert sweet which I never could get along with then, now it is out of question. After marriage, his relatives served me luchi with five to six types of sweets and desserts and I was about to puke! I am not disrespecting their good intent but I use less than half of the sugar  preparing the same amount of payesh than they do. 

The son happily had a few of the SUGAR FREE ROSHOGOLLA"... the husband ate but did say it was not "Satyanarayan Mishtanna Bhander er roshogolla", that famous sweet shop in DumDum, Bancharam is baby to them.... one who sales well may not necessarily be good at it. The mother too told it was good; why not share the recipe in the blog?

I had a good time with the mother, she took good care of my Gods & Goddesses, enjoyed going out with me, ate what I suggested. She has to take care of everything back at home, the brother & his spouse are working! I tried to give her some rest.... allowed her to cook only for the grandson some days.... I have a wonderful support system in Cristine. The mother too applauded Cristine's "porota" making skills, having it while watching old, recorded cricket matches as old as Chris Lloyd or Viv Richard's batting. I remember, while at school how as a family we were made to watch sports on television.... we had to and we enjoyed, then gradually my mind shifted from that box into print media totally. 

Coming to the present, we had a wonderful tour of the Singapore museum yesterday afternoon, we had non vegetarian soup and meal too for lunch and dinner though it was Rather Mela, but for dinner we had to have " papor bhaja" meant for the day. The grand mother was reminiscing how she would decorate the grandson's chariot with flowers and leaves and how he loved going out with it along with the maternal grandmother and the paternal grandfather. Look at today, such dates have no relevance to him, after coming here his father's influence worked more on him, he thinks defying me in every matter is a manly act.

Anyway, that he ate a papor bhaja with rice yesterday or enjoys a SUGAR FREE ROSHOGOLLA treat from his mother is a good enough reason for me to cling on to a ray of hope. I enjoy preparing roshogolla because it requires few ingredients and is considered a healthy sweet among us. How come sugar syrup be healthy?

INGREDIENTS :

FULL CREAM MILK : 1LITRE [MEIJI WORKS FOR ME, I PREFER USING FRESH MILK]
VINEGAR : 2 TBSP
WATER : 7-8 TBSP + 4-5 COFFEE MUG
SUGAR FREE GRANULES : 200-250 GM [I USE STEVIA IN POWDER FORM]
GREEN CARDAMOM : 3-4

ICE-CUBE : 5-6

PROCEDURE : 

Take the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and put for boil. Dilute the vinegar in 7-8 tbsp water.

Once the milk comes to boil and have boiled for not more than 2-3 minutes, add the vinegar-water mixture to it, 1tbsp at a time.

As the milk starts curdling, add the ice-cubes & switch off the gas burner.

As soon as the whey forms, "immediately" strain through a clean, white piece of cloth placed over a strainer. Wash under water, tie and hang it on your kitchen tap.

After about 45 minutes to an hour, squeeze and take the chena / Indian cottage cheese down on a plate and open the knot.

Remove the cloth and start kneading, use your palm. This may take about 10-12 minutes to get the right dough.

Tear off smaller portions of the dough and prepare smooth balls.

Take 4-5 coffee mugs of water in a clean vessel, to it add the stevia powder and slightly torn green cardamoms. Bring it to a boil.

When the syrup starts boiling vigorously, add the balls gently and cover with a heavy lid.

The first 10-12 minutes should we boil at high heat and the rest of the 10-12 minutes at medium heat. Some inputs should be ours, use that. With trial & error, roshogolla perfects with practice and at the frequency it is done!