This kind of meals make me happy these days. "ekta shaak, ekta dal, patla korey maach er jhol"..... The mutton variety we get here needs to be cooked with lot of spices to over power strong smell while Kolkata variety requires only "ada-lanka-roshun bata" on a normal day .... Yesterday, all day I was cooking Bengali, vegetarian dishes to take for friend's family, visiting parent.... a total of seven dishes including fish curry. I would share them with my readers sometime tomorrow hopefully. It was a tiring day though Cristine is always by my side, end of day I was happy, not irritated. If you have studied my nature, I do not stress myself to please anyone, I only do it to that extent until when I can do it happily. To stress myself in kitchen is a big no for me.
The husband could not make it to office yesterday for obvious reasons, I was just chit chatting with him while cooking. He is not the kind who would enquire what I am doing inside kitchen all day, who I am cooking for.... Because I have not seen our father to intervene ever in household matters except for his sole decision to spend his retired life far from city, I am at peace. After marriage, when I learnt to cook, tried my hands on Biryani occasionally when husband was in town, the father-in-law was concerned about gas consumption. It is obvious Biryani making is time consuming, gas cylinders are precious in India. It used to cause me irritation because I have never seen all these in our home. However, it was husband's father who I would ask for help for any odd job. One cannot get the best of both worlds.
A couple's life is all about commitments, adjustments, I strongly feel it's about respecting each other's personal spaces too. Else relationships are nothing but unnecessary burdens. Anyway, I have to wrap up quick today as I would be visiting a friend's home for a lunch session. I look forward to such meets if only associates interest me..... I am particular about my likes, dislikes.... my kinds should live an isolated life to avoid hurting people, displeasing own self. If I am going to meet a friend's surviving parent, today is best day to share one family recipe from my side of the family with prawns, overgrown / matured Amaranth stems [data], potato, a non vegetarian, Bengali seafood dish DATA ALOO DIYE CHINGRIR JHOL.
I really do not know if this prawn curry recipe has travelled all the way from Comilla to Kolkata or not, I am having it since childhood. This is exactly copied recipe of what our mother cooked. I prefer it over "chingrir malaikari" any day. I know today at my friend's home there would be a high end spread, even few years back the thought used to delight me but these days I look for a "shukto, bhajabhuji, dal, loter jhuri"..... Oh! My God!I am totally under the family veterans' spell.
I could connect when my friend's parent told me last week about some personal preferences.... I tried to cook keeping that in mind. These are little gestures you must show people when they make an effort to touch your soul with kind words. Taking care of the elderly generation should be kind of sacred duty. Had I have been settled in Kolkata now, the sickly in-laws would not have required a cook, I would have send meals through my chauffeur, wouldn't have stayed together. I would prefer to stay in same neighbourhood, not together, I cannot take instructions.
I will not wait each moment of my life for death like my in-laws, I will die romantic doing everything I love doing.... spending enough time with my half soul "Neelohit" ...... it may so happen that at edge of brook in the wood, I may bid a goodbye to him trespassing to an unknown world where they say resides absolute peace.... my chosen number is 75.... the rest is Almighty's wish. Before that, I wish to discharge all my sacred duty towards my friend, my guide I am living with, say sorry with a hug if I have done any wrong to him. "Neelohit" is a cult figure to me, invisible who can only be felt without whom I cannot survive I knew since my teens... "Sunil Babu" knew that, you must know too.
I adore this particular parent of my friend.... full of life, positivity.... stays alone in Kolkata, always wears a smile.... love it. I am eager for a chat session, pretty busy in morning you can see. I do not know if I can avail a free ride in Ipsita's car.... I do not like to make people wait for me. The kind I am, I would take an MRT ride to the nearest station, take cab from there and may reach before Ipsita, this girl, my husband takes unnecessary hassles.... this island hardly requires a personal car.
Anyway, my father-in-law, my brother[s] has / have to have his / their meals with "shaak bhaja, pepe diye dal" today, let others try this light sea food curry DATA ALOO DIYE CHINGRIR JHOL with steamed rice. Earlier the father-in-law used to eat the curry sans the prawns, now totally barred given his allergic self.... even to most of medicines. My side of family has many recipes with prawns.... it feels like bhai would say "amai feley tora chingri khacchish".... the in-laws hardly have any interest in food or about anything. This is not called living.
INGREDIENTS :
STANDARD SIZED PRAWN : 500-600GM
POTATO : 1BIG SIZE
MATURED AMARANTH STEM / DATA : 4-5 LONG YARD? / STICK
GINGER PASTE : 1TBSP
CORIANDER POWDER : 11/2TBSP [IF FRESHLY MADE PASTE, THEN 2TSP]
TURMERIC POWDER : 1TSP
RED CHILLI POWDER : 2TSP
FENUGREEK SEED : 2PINCH
CORIANDER SEED : 2PINCH
WILD CELERY SEED : A PINCH
SALT : AS REQUIRED
KAFFIR LIME LEAF : 2-3 [OPTIONAL]
OIL : 4-5TBSP [I USE MUSTARD OIL]
PROCEDURE :
When our mother was here few months back, I got surprisingly fresh maturely grown Amaranth Stems in local market.
I strongly felt I must grab it, with it some fresh prawns. In presence of our mother let me refurbish my memory about this particular prawn recipe I used to love. I did, Cristine cleaned them all. With the leaves I prepared "shaak bhaja" ..
De shell, clean prawns well, wash thoroughly. It is always suggested to clean, keep head & tail portion of prawns for an enhanced flavour, taste unless you have a kid as mine.
Add little salt, turmeric to it, keep aside. Peel wash, halve potatoes. Cut each half into three equal pieces. Add little salt, turmeric to it. Discard root ends of amaranth stems, cut into finger length sizes. Carefully peel off fibre from its skin.... thinly... do not do away with flesh. Wash, rub little salt [it absorbs salt quickly, be careful].
Heat oil in wok. Lightly fry potato pieces in batches, take out. Fry data / amaranth stem pieces, take out. Fry prawns too in batches, take out. In all three cases you will discard marinade before frying.
Temper oil with coriander + wild celery + fenugreek seeds. Prepare spice paste with rest of turmeric + red chilli powder + coriander powder + ginger paste adding little water. Add it to wok. Never let tempering to burn.
Keep stirring spice paste at low heat for 2 minutes. Lower heat to minimal, add 11/2 coffee mugs of water. Bring it to boil keeping heat to minimal.
Now add lightly fried potato pieces, simmer at lowest heat for 2-3 minutes. Add lightly fried prawns, amaranth stems, kaffir lime leaves if at all using, boil for another 2-3 minutes. We are done.
We enjoy it with nothing else but steamed rice.
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