PEPE CHECHKI

I think I have been trying to blog about this particular dish with raw papaya & coconut since the initial days of blogging. Each time something or the other was stopping me. My first picture of it was horrible, I deleted. Again one day, at a later date, I clicked it and do not know where I had lost the pictures or they might be sitting somewhere else. It is not that I do it rarely; I do not know about other recipe bloggers but I do not always make it a point to click what I cook, I mean I just forget to. This way, so many of my pictures in the blog posts are still awaiting to be substituted with proper pictures. Some of them I regularly cook but I forget to click and make my blog look better. Same is the case with this vegan, gluten-free Bengali vegetarian side dish with raw papaya & shredded coconut; PEPE CHECHKI. It is  a very healthy and simple dish which requires no spices, the flavour comes from the tempering of a bay leaf & cumin seeds; the taste from the raw papaya's own juice and from the shredded coconut!

I am not always willing to state how Bengalis differentiate between "chechki, ghonto, chocchori and ghyat, etc." I grew up loving to eat and do not do research on food. I did not know how to hold a ladle even after marriage. I was only interested in the dish served on the table. I either liked it or did not. Even after taking to food / recipe blogging, I did not take initiative to do research on food of any region, state or country; not even of my own region or community. I am never a hard worker who would strive to excel in her own field. The regret is, in this food industry; I see even the unworthy gets to have thousands of followers with worthless pictures and posts in a forum that is meant for immensely qualitative pictures. In this lifetime, I continue to be blunt and straightforward. To become something, only quality alone is not enough these days; one needs to be tricky, ruthless, have a very sharp, political bent of mind and yes, one has to be the mingling type. To get fame based on your work alone is not the modern trend.

I did not know I would be able to finish this post today. Since morning, I have started writing, then parallelly I was doing some preparation work for tomorrow's menu for my visiting friends. The man also arrived around 2pm, Cristine had to go to the hotel with some essentials where he would stay quarantined for a fortnight; so the flow got disturbed. I am losing out on energy, hence I sit and write a post all day at intervals and share it only in the evenings. I just cannot concentrate well on any single thing; this is however a perennial problem. The more I see fake people around, more irritated I get; genuine, truthful selves are a rarity too. Anyway, let us have a taste of this Bengali side dish with raw papaya & shredded coconut; PEPE CHECHKI, which is vegan & gluten-free.

INGREDIENTS :

RAW PAPAYA : 1 MEDIUM SIZED [SHOULD BE GREEN]
SHREDDED COCONUT : 1 MEDIUM TEA CUP
SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 2-3
BAY LEAF : 1
CUMIN SEED : 1/4 TSP
DRY RED CHILLI : 2 [HALVED]
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/4 TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
SUGAR : 1 1/2 TSP
OIL : 2-3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Discard the stem end of the raw papaya.

Peel off the skin with a knife.

Cut half and discard the seeds.

Cut further and peel off the inner wall where the seeds were attached a little thick.

Wash each piece well and shred well with the help of a manual shredder.

Take the shredded raw papaya in a bowl and wash well.

Rub with little salt & turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok and temper with the bay leaf, cumin seeds, dry red chillies.

Add a little more than half of the shredded coconut and fold in well. Keep stirring at low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add the marinated shredded raw papaya, reduce the heat to the minimal.

Cover cook  for 8-10 minutes, uncover and add the slitted green chillies.

Again cover cook for 10 minutes; uncovering and stirring every 2-3 minutes. There is no need to add water.

Uncover and add the sugar and cook further for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the rest of the shredded coconut.

We always have it with plain rice.