PEPE ALOOR SHUKTO

This is that light, soupy, vegan curry I have been wanting to blog about for long now. It was just not happening. I do not know how authentic Bengali it is, if other Bengali Homes do it or not. It used to be done in our family every week throughout the summer. I am a very disorganised person. I could have asked the mother at least yesterday if this vegetarian curry was done in their family or in our father's side or she had learnt it from any parent in our school. I call her, then forget to ask what is required. Now if I call, she will not take calls. In the mornings, she is busy with "jharu-pocha, gate e jol, snan, shokal er pujo, gachey jol." After mid-afternoon, she gets free. The major problem with her is her mania for cleanliness. Else, with two part-time helps, she need not overwork. Just now I have learnt a word that perfectly describes our mother, "fastidious."

So many times I try to tell her to be less judgmental and be thankful. She still expects me to do "mani-mani" all the time as before; how is it possible? I have a husband, a boy; they are my responsibilities, love. Love gets distributed proportionately; it's natural! I cannot be her; with only "baap er bari" on her mind. I know she is just waiting for the train services to resume and will risk life to travel in the Sealdah main line. I may sound selfish, our grandmother got sores cradling me. Then, one has to understand I have a family now and love & affection is learnt, gotten by inheritance and executed. "ja pelam, ja shikhlam, ta amar agami ke diye jabo." The baton is passed on naturally.

I never deny where I come from, my roots, the womb that nurtured me; that quality sperm that never will allow me to be dishonest, wrong the people. I just cannot satisfy her expectation level; I express my gratitude towards them through the recipes I cook and share. This light, soupy, non-spicy, vegetarian, vegan curry with raw papaya & potato, white sesame seed PEPE ALOOR SHUKTO is one such tribute to the family repertoire. The mother does it with poppyseed paste / posto bata which is banned in this island.

Whichever society I come from; I have always believed and maintained that post marriage, both the boy and the girl should build a separate home for themselves and take utmost care of both homes without any discrimination. I have always hated this concept of "cheler bari meyer barir mathar opor thakbey." Let us ease the situation or may be I am going to put you in a soup! You can keep wondering for the entire day & week; "how an overweight woman at 50 can eat four, carb filled meals in a day?" Okay, I really can. Yesterday, the man did not go to the office, he had a headache. We packed his lunch box with four flatbreads & chicken. I do not let them eat cold food if at home. So, I had two parathas with mango achar for breakfast, he had a mango bowl that went into his snack box.

For lunch, I had "shabu makha", sagoo+mango+banana+coconut+milk+little amount of sugar. I had a toasted bread with a piece of chicken too. They had paratha & chicken.

Around 6:30pm, I wished to have some outside snacks. Cristine got two salty buns for the son and we shared half & half of a salty bun & potato curry puff which is similar to samosa. The man will have nothing with tea, snack he has only when there are guests at home.

Thereafter, which middle-aged will have dinner? I had. Our dinner was mutton kosha and this light, vegan curry with raw papaya & potato, roasted white sesame seed paste PEPE ALOOR SHUKTO. It did not remain soupy anymore, may be the potatoes did not let it. I had them with pearl millet, they with fine basmati. I must have a bowlful of dal for lunch today.

Today, I felt I must put a check on the food intake, having oats appe made by Cristine in little amount of ghee. After having six of them, I want more! May have two biscuits.

Anyway, the plating you see is not totally fake. I mean I can have the vegetarian curry with rice, but I need a "rui-katla bhaja ba duto charapona bhaja" to have it happily. The men too must have a fish or meat curry of their choice to have it. Neither, our mother dared to serve it without fish or meat.

INGREDIENTS :

RAW PAPAYA : A SMALL SIZED OR 1/2 OF A STANDARD SIZED
POTATO : 1 MEDIUM SIZED
WHITE SESAME SEED : 2 TSP [YOU CAN USE POPPYSEED IF ALLOWED AT YOUR PLACE]
TURMERIC POWDER : A PINCH
RADHUNI / AJMOD: 3-4 PINCH [WIKI says radhuni is dried fruit of Trachyspermum Roxburghianum, a flowering plant; smells like parsley, tastes like celery. Honestly, until I had a blog, I did not require to know what radhuni is called outside my family; some called it wild celery seed, I took it, now WIKI says it is this]

BAYLEAF : 1 SMALL
SALT : AS REQUIRED
SUGAR : 1TSP
OIL : 2TSP

PROCEDURE :

Discard the two ends of the raw papaya, cut half and peel off. Cut further and thinly cut off the inner line, likewise the seeds. Throw the seeds in  potted soil.

Cube them small. Peel off the potato. Cut half and further, get cubes a little bigger than that of the raw papaya.


Take them in two separate bowls and wash. Marinate with little of salt.

Now dry roast the white sesame seeds, take in a strainer and wash. Thereafter, prepare a paste of it adding a little water.

We have to be very careful about the amount of sesame & ajmod used, they tend to add bitterness to a dish.

Heat oil in a wok and temper with the ajmod & the bay leaf. Add the marinated raw papaya. 

Add a pinch of turmeric and stir well, reduce the heat to the minimal and cover. Cook until the raw papaya cubes are 50% done.

Add the marinated potatoes now and cook covered at minimal heat for 3-4 minutes.

Open cover, add the roasted white sesame seed paste, sugar, a little of salt and fold in well.

Add a coffee mug of water and cover cook at low heat for 5-6 minutes. 

We have it with rice, it should go with chapati too.