SHORSHE NARKOL BANDHAKOPI

NOT TO WORRY;I MAKE SURE MY FAMILY EATS VEGETABLES!

I lure them with their choice of meat & fish curries!I even listen to their wishes and cook different in between all the typical Bengali cooking I do!Here is where I fail to explain the mother the need to be accommodative as per the trend!Not everyone would take a roundabout like me at 50!My brother need not be like me in every aspect!The mother and her sisters have to understand there is nothing wrong of a Bengali family not cooking Bengali recipes enough!She surprisingly says her youngest brother's wife's & her daughter-in-law's paternal homes do not cook really typical Bengali!She takes a lot of pride saying how mesmerised the daughter-in-law's and the youngest sis-in-law's parents get each time she cooks rustic "data-duti & shutki"for them!To that I say, "Mani, please!When they come do not only serve rustic but also at least a mutton or prawn or hilsa curry", for the sake of your son's prestige!Each time I / we went to Bidisha & Rameesha's parents, they went out of the way to greet us with exotic food!On each trip, I have to go to visit the veterans but avoid getting the elderly beings engaged heavily with what to feed me!My youngest maternal uncle is the most successful businessman among the three brothers and he derived his mother's, our maternal grandmother's heart for hospitality, responsibility! In her hay days, she was kind of royal, had  zamindari kind of a heart with regards to feeding & gifting people!The rest of her kids went after their father, believes in a simple living and not in the habit of looking beyond the family!I will always say, though the youngest brother is a well known businessman in Nadia & Murshidabad districts; it was Boromamu, the eldest of the three brothers who started the business and got it's initial fame & goodwill!Then, whats the point of earning if you do not spend to live as per your earning & financial status!Not my mother, it was my maternal grandmother who got sores cradling me! It was boromamu who helped my constipated self to excrete and cleaned too!Mashimoni too did a lot to bring me up! No one understands it is too difficult for me to judge them!I cannot take sides!I prefer to visit T's maternal place; they do not have money, they are less complicated and I feel comfortable in their warmth; but for a day!I cannot help them to rise financially but I can always take small gifts for them!I know some of my family members read my posts; I really do not need to care until I start uttering lies!The mother gets upset if I point her mistakes; starts crying and then accuses me of misbehaviour!I retreat!Again, if anyone speaks negatively about her to me; I do not like it! I am a daughter and it is the mother who always tried to safeguard my honour, so protective she was!Then, she could not travel everywhere with me in buses, in trains!I always try to put a message through my son;"you can mingle closely with end number of girls until you commit; never take to perversion"!I feel like killing every other pervert and get a cleaner earth!We were talking vegetables, vegan & gluten-free food, fish & meat recipes; right? This space is also to express my views about people, life!

VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGETARIAN; BENGALI FOOD HAS GOT YOU COVERED!

What is this recent craze about? Bengalis are cooking pure vegan & gluten-free food for ages!I just had my lunch with a raw banana kofta curry and brown rice! Its vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian! India is a storehouse for many such!

I went for a walk and did 7.3km!Then, I had an onion bonda & idli, sugar free kosong at 1.45 pm; 15 minutes before covering the 16 hours of intermittent fasting!

I do not calculate my steps, where is the fun of living then? Though I wish to live another 24 years!Also want to have the self made cheese bread with tea or coffee next! I wanted to blog about it, cancelled the plan; why did it fluff up and then went down? What went wrong? The taste is fine with us!

Today,I felt lets go simple and just with a homely Bengali recipe using a common vegetable!No, this is not a family dish!That was 27th July,2019 I cooked these veggie dishes!Off course, there had been meat & fish! Cristine shopped with the money given by Sir! I just came back from Kolkata after escorting the mother to Kolkata!I am yet to visit again!I never did leave the son back to party!I know the mother wanted alone time with me, I could feel it but I was missing my son; who I knew would be going to the college within a year, that I would see him less!

WHAT IS THIS SHORSHE NARKOL BANDHAKOPI?

A decade back, before coming to this island; my friend & neighbour Kana told me they cook cabbage with poppy seed paste!Whilst I am of East Bengal origin,Kana is of West Bengal origin!They buy a kilogram of the very expensive poppy seeds every month as compared to my consumption of 200-250 gm of poppy seed each month whilst my stay in Kolkata!This island does not allow poppyseed consumption and I had to plan a little differently sitting here!Whilst my stay in Kolkata, I never recreated Kana's recipe!Kana hates cooking and household works. As long as I stayed there; Kana had only me to confide and broke with the news of my departure; she shared the deepest secrets with me!Our sons were classmates since nursery! I told her to join work, make friends!The very sincere self she is, she became a high school teacher starting in a Kindergarten! Oh my!she made friends and no more remains the reticent self! Although, I do not know if she could catch up with her extremely jovial husband or not!Amazing enough, she is seen in front of chaats these days; her panicky self with a weak stomach did not see anything beyond rice & sweets earlier! Anyway, this slight aberration of Kana's original recipe; SHORSHE NARKOL BANDHAKOPI is made of cabbage, chilli-mustard paste & shredded coconut! It is vegan & gluten-free that can be had with chapati, porota & plain rice!

INGREDIENTS :

CABBAGE : A SMALL, GREEN LEAFY ONE

MUSTARD SEED : 1 TBSP

GREEN CHILLI : 3-4

SHREDDED COCONUT : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEEREY : 1/4 TSP

RED CHILLI : 2 HALVED

BAY LEAF : 1

ICE CUBE : 2-3 [DOES NOT LET THE MUSTARD-CHILLI PASTE TURN BITTER]

OIL : 2 TBSP [I USED MUSTARD OIL]

PROCEDURE :

Shred the cabbage discarding the portions we need to!Wash well taking in a colander!

Blanch them in hot, salted water for 4-5 minutes and discard the water!

Wash the mustard seeds taking in a strainer!Blend together to a paste along with the green chillies, salt, ice cubes & little of water!

Heat the oil in a wok and add half of the shredded coconut!Stir fry until roasted to a light brown colour!Take out!

Temper the remaining oil with the bay leaf, nigella seeds and the halved red chillies!

Give a stir and add the chilli mustard paste,  turmeric powder, rest of the remaining shredded coconut! Stir cook for a minute at low heat!

Add the blanched cabbage, fold in well and stir cook at low heat for 2-3 minutes!

Cover the wok with a lid, keep the heat at minimal to low and cook for 10-12 minutes!Stir in between!

Adjust the salt if required!Take down after a minute or two!

Garnish with the fried coconut & slitted green chillies before serving with your choice of main!