KALOJEEREY THOR CHIREY

 

IT IS 6:15 PM LOCAL TIME, I DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO START FROM!

I was never this disorganised in my life! I remember, I would nicely arrange my pencil box & geometry box at night for next day's school! That I was a mediocre student, that I could not answer most of the questions asked by the teachers, that I could not sketch a balloon is besides the point! My pencils would always be sharpened, later the pens would be  perfectly & I would always carry extras for an emergency or to lend my friends in need! That my pens did not produce perfect answers is my fault. I would repeatedly say not everyone is born with a talent or a general interest for academics but we should be sincere enough to study during our student life; anyone in a class can secure a 60-65-68 percentile of marks! I am talking about our time, India's tendency to shower marks these days may not be right! The boards need not be too tight with marks but there has to be a gap of marks between an average merit student & the few toppers in a class! We must give proper credit to merit! On a different note; a new pencil, a sharpener, a scented eraser made us too happy! Our father's one hobby was to collect good branded ink pens! We still have at least 15-20 of them in a holder in our mother's locker! I do not think they would work ever! I would take them to school at times to show my friends! College life is totally different from the school life! You just need to carry a diary & a pen; yet I would carry separate thin notebooks for each subject! I lacked the main thing, the urge to study well! Regrets later does not help! My areas of concern for the son at this time is not his studies; he is career oriented & knows what to do! Moreover, he likes the academic system in that country! For two years, in his 11th & 12th standards, he absolutely did not study but only concentrated on getting into that country's academic structure! Or did he wish to leave home? That we will never know! That he does not behave like other kids is what hurts me! 

I DID NOTHING MAJOR TODAY; YET I COULD NOT KEEP UP WITH THE TIME!

I did the shopping for my weekend cooking today instead of a Friday! Tomorrow morning I have some cooking, hence! No, I would not be cooking for a client, I do not get orders! I would not beat the bush for it; if I get one suitable, I would deliver! This is my status as of now! I wish to earn a little something but I do not know how to! I went to the market around 10:15 am & came back around 11:50 am! I shopped locally, unwilling to go to the Bengali or Indian market! What is the point? Do I get fresh supply of my choice of fish? Here too I did not get! For the past four weeks, not a single fish vendor here got a bhola / poa mach, the islanders eat yellow croaker actually! The NTUC sells fresh, small rui mach these day that I may have but T cannot have! Next week may be I would get one for myself & pomfret or salmon for them! There is hardly any issue with the vegetables, the local wet market is keeping "echor" too now a days. May be that is for the Southern Indian clients; had they have eaten the fresh water fish, we could have gotten them! Southern India eats small sized rui & ilish that most of the Bengalis do not fancy! Back home what I was doing I did not get, the clock struck 1:30pm & it started raining! A 2.4km walk to buy produce is no exercise! I went out around 2.25pm & it started raining again! Oh! I cooked my lunch, upma & had it too before going out! 

I prefer a Bengali salted semolina bowl with different vegetables or just with potatoes cooked in a little of oil! My existing blogpost has it but because I named it upma, I need to change the pictures! Hence, today I used ghee & peanuts in good amount, indigestion was inevitable! I would change the pictures tomorrow! Because of the rain, I could not walk, also I was wearing my slippers! I was loitering at the  market shops near home, it's a shedded area! I sat & had a spicy steamed bun & an Ayataka drink; the chilled sugar free tea cured my indigestion! 

Across the Atlantic, I did not see food stalls every few metres & people sitting in them until 10pm! The quite neighbourhood seemed strange to someone who lived in DumDum for few decades, now in an island that has food courts every 200 metres, a mall attached to the maximum of the metro rail stations! Our child is preferring there more! Anyway, we went as tourists, we would not be able to give a proper picture! But how cum kids' lives there are full of activities but not a single child is seen playing in front of their homes! Here the kids go down in the common areas to play!

WHAT IS THIS KALOJEEREY THOR CHIREY?

Because this is an Asian country, vegetables eaten are quite similar as that of what Bengal consumes! Okay, the native islanders do not eat Thor / Bharali / Banana Stem but the Southern Indians eat who have a strong presence here, specially the Tamils! Their way of cooking it is different from our's, I do not get how they cook banana stem so quick; our's is a time consuming recipe! But I must admit I enjoy their Poriyal dishes! The problem is not any eatery or restaurant would be able to serve the right kind of homely food of the region it is representing! In this lifetime, I had the wish to serve people authentic Bengali food but I do not have the business acumen. I laugh out loud when people here claim they are the first to provide Bengali Food in the island! I can make them get 2 out of 10 in a quiz conducted on Bengali Food, but I dislike debates! Banana Stem stir fry recipe was regular in our home; cooking it with chirey / beaten rice may be was rare! I do not remember every incident that clear! KALOJEEREY THOR CHIREY is a regular, rustic, vegan, gluten-free recipe with banana stem & beaten rice using minimal spices! The use of kalojeerey / nigella seeds & dry red chilli is significant, the flavour is unique of Bengal!

INGREDIENTS :

BANANA STEM  STALK / STAND : 500-600 GM

BEATEN RICE : 1 MEDIUM TEA CUP SIZE

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 3-4

DRY RED CHILLI : 3-4

BAY LEAF : 1-2

NIGELLA SEED : 1/4 -12 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

SUGAR : 1/2 TSP [OPTIONAL]

PROCEDURE :

We would discard the fibrous outer shell & take the inner white, hard thing!

We slice off the two ends, then slice the rest & cut into thin strips! The challenge is to take off the fibres each time we slice! Cristine did the entire dressing work!

Our family veterans cut way thin with a "boti" & never boil them in a cooker! I had seen they soaked the strips in salty water for sometime, washed & drained; again added salt & squeezed hard with fingers before starting to cook for longer period at low heat!

We cannot cut so thin with a knife or do not have the patience! I use pressure cooker to boil!

I had washed & soaked the banana stem strips for half an hour & then took in a pressure cooker, added salt & turmeric!

We closed tight the lid & pressure cooked at minimal heat up to 3-4 whistles!  We would let the lid open naturally!

We would drain the residual water completely & wash again!

We would wash & drain the beaten rice once & drain the water!

We would temper the heated oil with the nigella seeds, bay leaves, halved dried red chillies, bay leaves!

We would add the boiled & strained strips; sprinkle a little of salt, slitted green chillies & stir cook at low heat for 4-5 minutes!

We would add the beaten rice, fold in well & stir fry for 3-4 minutes, add the sugar or jaggery, stir again & we would be done with!

It is good if we use the hard variety of the beaten rice, they remain like rice, mine got a little of mushy!

We eat it with steamed rice, would go with chapati too! Everything on the platter is authentic Bengali & lovable!