SHORSHE NARKOL LOTI

Loti / Taro Stolon is a much loved vegetable in my side of the family. There are a couple of family recipes with it; not really this one using green chilli+black mustard+coconut paste. This particular dish is done on a hearsay and I really liked it. My men had it too, they eat anything that appeals to their taste bud, not knowing actually what they are eating. You may call it some kind of a cheating on my part. I feel if this little amount of cheating is beneficiary towards the health of my family, I do not mind duping them. I am absolutely against giving in to their demands of having only non-vegetarian food. At this stage of life, I think having only non-vegetarian food is not the right kind of diet we should be following. A larger section of people or a community I know start having meat early morning, go less on vegetables; there was a time when I wished to visit those families every day, now it feels I will just puke. Neither can I go vegetarian totally, that is impossible. Your food preferences are your personal choice; it is however wise to accept the fact that non-vegetarian eaters need vegetables & pulses to complete their diet cycle whilst vegetarians do not need non-vegetarian food to remain healthy. Going full vegetarian is a remotest possibility at this home, we are a fish loving community, exception only proves the law. The best way out for people like us is to have one or two portions of vegetables, a pulse variety, a fish or meat or egg. Our home goes by this rule. The vegetables Bengalis prepare mostly uses less spices or very less of them, the taste comes from slow cooking, tempering and off course from the freshness of the vegetables. This one with Loti / Taro Stolon SHORSHE NARKOL LOTI still uses green chilli+black mustard paste. This is a yum, health prone vegetarian Bengali dish. They say any part of an yam cleans our blood.

My family usually cooks Loti with either shutki or with a tempering using lots of crushed garlic. I so loved both. Loti is seasonal in Kolkata, not always do I get to eat it there after leaving the city. I do not regret really, here we get freshest of the taro stolon / loti stalks on a regular basis; we just need to have the patience to dress them which should always be done wearing gloves. Thereafter we must cook it well for a longer period. Our home did not cook it either with prawns, I did it once on my stay here and liked; never that much as I enjoy it with dried fish or without anything. It is all about what you are used to eating since childhood, rest of them are all developed, acquired taste. I personally feel nothing can go wrong with a chilli+mustard paste, some say black mustard may cause acidity; in that case add 1tsp of garlic paste to it or use yellow mustard which I am not fond of. So, get  stalks of taro stolon from the Asian Stores if you are willing to stay put with your roots or had loved eating it, put on your gloves, get on to cook with me this rustic, vegetarian Bengali dish SHORSHE NARKOL LOTI with minimal ingredients.

INGREDIENTS : 

LOTI / TARO STOLON : 1 STALK SOLD USUALLY CONTAIN 15-16 STICKS
SHREDDED COCONUT : 1/2SMALL TEA CUP
BLACK MUSTARD SEED : 2TBSP [YOU CAN USE YELLOW MUSTARD TOO]
GREEN CHILLI : 6-7
TAMARIND PASTE : 1TSP [TO AVOID ANY ITCHINESS]
TURMERIC POWDER : 1TSP
NIGELLA SEED / KALONJI / KALOJEEREY : 1/4TSP
DRY RED CHILLI : 2HALVED
BAY LEAF : 1
ICE CUBE : 2-3 [TO AVOID BITTERNESS]
SALT : AS REQUIRED
OIL : 2-3TBSP [I USUALLY USE MUSTARD OIL FOR BENGALI DISHES]

PROCEDURE :

This is loti / taro stolon, I still cannot decipher which part of the plant is stolon and which part is the shaak. It seems our family enjoys every part of all varieties of yam.

Its a crime not to share stepwise pictures for this recipe. Later should add, I do not prepare it every week.

We must wear our kitchen gloves before starting to dress loti. Cut off the two ends. We will use the thick, fleshy section in between.

Cut into finger length pieces. Very carefully peel of the fibre like thread along the skin. Actually it is peeling off thinly. We will drop them into a water filled wide mouthed bowl and add some salt to it.

Let the pieces remain soaked in the salted water for 1/2 an hour.

Soak the tamarind paste in 4-5tbsp water. Soak the mustard seeds 1/2 an hour before blending them to a paste.

Drain and wash the mustard seeds taking in a sieve. Add to the blender along with the green chillies, shredded coconut, ice cubes and salt.


Drain the water and wash again.

Rub 1/2tsp turmeric powder and little salt in them. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok and temper with a bayleaf, nigella seeds, halved dry red chillies.

Add the taro stolon pieces discarding the marinade. Fold in well and cover. Cook at the minimal heat for 5-6 minutes.

Open cover, stir and again cover cook at the lowest heat for another 5-6 minutes.

Open cover and check if the water released have dried or not. It will not so easily. We continue to cover cook, open and stir gently without breaking the pieces for sometime until they are soft.

At this stage, add the chilli+mustard+coconut paste and fold in gently. Cover cook at the lowest heat for 5-6 minutes.

Open cover, add the tamarind soaked water discarding the seeds. Fold in well and cook further for 3-4 minutes. Once done, the pieces would be soft but not messed up.