HASHER DIMER KOSHA

FOR LONG I AM GARNERING THIS WISH!

That is of having Bengali style duck egg recipes in the blog! Actually, Bengali regular egg curry recipe would be two, a little runny curry with potatoes and a thick gravy! The rest are all innovations! What I have seen in the family when young is that egg curries essentially meant duck egg curry! Chicken or it's eggs had no entry in our homes until we relocated to Kolkata! In fact, egg was not at all popular in our family, may be once every fifteen days we would have a duck egg curry, I never had a whole duck egg until I entered the in-laws' place! I believe, our parents need not be that restrictive as they had been! Not lavish I expected them to be; as I grew older, I felt they lacked the aesthetic sense, the urge to raise the standard of living! On the other hand, the man's family had the wish but they lacked the ability! If you have the aspiration, your future generation would try to go way ahead in life! We do not live much in luxury may be because our backgrounds are too simple & that we cannot get out of our middle-class mentality! Also, we firmly believe a good savings keep us safe until our end! There is no requirement to show off in our lives, neither this is a woman who has a social life where she has to exhibit a rosy picture; I mean the worth of her furnitures, glitz & glamour! I am thousands of miles away from such a life! Food engulfs me, look at my lunch today!

YESTERDAY TOO I COOKED THIS & THAT!

It's been long I do not go out to get some food for the man on Sundays, neither he aspires to have! He does have outside food now and then at the office lunches! In my case, it is lethargy & then the thought we are thousand miles apart from the son numbs me, we do not feel like going out for expensive dine outs! When we visited, the son was choosing those eat outs where he might not eat at as a student but wish to! That hurts mumma, true that one day he would treat us at a way more expensive eat out! We do not require it but he has to reach there & mumma-babai wants to stay alive until then! Like today our new sofa set arrived an hour back & something keeps pricking me, when would the son have his full fledged flat? If I do not have such a feeling, I am not a parent! Mumma wants to talk a lot with him, wish he too felt it! If you have a workless life you are bound to eat more! My weight is on rise again I think! I cannot rob myself of this pleasure! Look how beautiful the building looks but that fear of working in a computer, lack of confidence & smartness do not allow me to apply for a job in the hundreds of international schools here! Also my age is a factor!

At least, the food home delivery business had to go but it is just not working! I am not the kind to deal with people I guess! I thought I would earn a bit sitting at home without much of interaction! Anyway, yesterday we had our lunch with "laal shaak, anarosh ilish, pepe-aloo-chingri!" In the evening, we had some 'jhal muri' with our coffee! I was lethargic enough not to chop the onions well! But for dinner, I cooked that noodles with lots of love using potato, onion, chilli, egg, spring onion, vinegar, salt, sesame oil!

In our Kolkata Home, I do not cook much of "ruti-porota-luchi" or noodles for myself, hence I do not put on much! I remain watchful there though end up eating a lot of sweets! Here, in this island, there is food in offer every hundred metres, it is hard to resist for my kinds! There you see our Kolkata home is guarded by all these Gods & Goddesses! They get some food, air, light, cleaning only when our mother visits! She was there last week! The in-laws hardly remain that flexible though they live within 3km! The young group do not wish to stay! When to go next depends on the son's graduation! He has to go & stay for sometime, meet everyone before taking the next leap!

Each day is passing by without me doing anything fruitful! But we watched two good series yesterday on Hoichoi; Rajneeti & Noshtoneer; both good! I am yet to finish the Khaled Husseini novel! Life is simple for me, simpler should be people's approach towards me! I am fond of Partha Dey's mother because she does not understand politics, has no airs or a voice! I am too tired & nuts enough to understand anyone's intent, mood, etc. If I have approached someone with the sole intent of care & the person has hurt me; I would never ever walk the same direction, I love myself enough & do not like complex people with airs!

WHAT IS THIS HASHER DIMER KOSHA?

Hasher Dim is duck egg and Kosha is a semi dry curry! HASHER DIMER KOSHA is a non vegetarian, gluten-free Bengali curry recipe with duck eggs, lots of onion, garlic, ginger, chillies; use of tomato is optional! It is Bengali regular food! I cooked this curry last month in our Kolkata Home, I used to enjoy duck egg curry and like it more now! This island does not sell fresh duck eggs, they sell salted duck eggs that are cooked! Some 13 years back, when I was new here, I mistakenly got those salted duck eggs, was shocked! Now, I have it once in a while at the Food courts! I would not get home salted eggs to cook! Whenever I visit Kolkata, I would cook a fresh duck egg curry once or twice; with or without potatoes! I did not miss having it even in the present heat! If the eggs are fresh, it is better to have than the stale fish in summers! I could not have good quality fish last month in Kolkata! What was disgusting is that an irregular buyer like me is cheated, that dishonesty I hate! In this island, I have learnt to savour egg curries at least once a week or in a fortnight because I detest sea fish varieties! Here they say, duck eggs stopped coming may be after the Vietnam War, it used to come from there! The scarce supply raised the prices! Also, the authorities fear open farming of duck eggs may cause them Avian Flu! Even in Kolkata, the price is getting higher, each duck egg selling for 12 rupees! There too you would get them only in the bigger markets! In our Kolkata Home, it is difficult to click decent for the blog, I could manage only these!

INGREDIENTS :

FRESH DUCK EGG : 4-6

TOMATO PASTE : 3-4 TBSP

ONION PASTE : 4-5 TBSP

GARLIC PASTE : 1 TBSP

GINGER PASTE : 2 TSP

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 1-2

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2 TSP

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1/4 TSP

CINNAMON POWDER : 1/4 TSP

CLOVE POWDER : A PINCH

CUMIN SEED : A PINCH OR TWO

BAYLEAF : 1

SALT : AS REQUIRED

SUGAR : 1/2 TSP [OPTIONAL]

OIL : 4 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Take enough water in a deep bottomed vessel and gently place the washed duck eggs at regular temperature! Put them for boil & add some salt, this helps the shell to come out easily later!

Boil them at low heat for 10-12 minutes, switch off the gas burner & let cool! Take off the shell once cool! Wash again!

Prepare a paste with the ginger & garlic pastes, some turmeric & salt, cumin+coriander+red chilli powders, 2-3 tbsp of water!

Make slits on their body, marinate the boiled eggs with a little of salt & turmeric!

Heat the oil & fry the marinated boiled eggs lightly! Take them out! 

Temper the oil with the cumin seeds & the bayleaf! Add the onion paste & stir fry at low heat for 1-2 minutes! 

Add the tomato & spice paste & stir fry at low heat for 2-3 minutes! Add 1 coffee mug of water, stir & bring to boil!

Add the fried eggs to the boiling gravy, stir & cook at minimal heat until the gravy quite thickens! 

Add the washed & slitted green chillies, the cinnamon+green cardamom+clove powder, sugar, stir! Adjust the salt if required! Let cook for a minute, take down!

Enjoy with rice or chapati! I also cooked red lentils curry & raw banana kofta curry on that day!