PEYAZ NOODLES PAKODA

This is something I thought I will never blog about, there are already a lot of similar shares! You believe it or not.... I am having it ever since I was in school.... our mother might have learnt it from someone else.... may be from another parent or from a neighbourhood aunty! No, I have never seen our mother calling someone a friend.... till date I could not convince her that one should have everything in life.... in right balance! Balance is a winning word truly. Later in life, I occasionally tried this PEYAZ NOODLES PAKODA in my kitchen . Momci always used to do it with eggs.... I skipped because I wished to keep it vegetarian, vegan in fact. In the process, I had to really think hard about the batter... pakora needs to remain crisp for a longer period. I do not like soggy pakoras served cold. I remember.... both of us siblings were made to sit on the dining chairs.... if it was a fry-day.... they were done at that moment and served hot immediately! In case of roti.... they were served one by one on plate... 

I should not have talked about such women on a big Day as today.... they are definitely not a good example of feminism. I wish to focus on another point! .... Its about a year now that our mother's man left this world but she still has to complain that her husband had never been appreciative of the amount of effort she puts  in for the family.... Had he been alive; they would have completed 48 years together next week. I can totally understand her point..... but did not we learn in Economics that a father-daughter shares a special bond? So, the daughter told her father is the best and hung up the phone yesterday night! Then I felt guilty..... it is not wrong on a woman's part to seek appreciation from her man.... specially if she is doing so much for the family. 

Our father indeed had a golden heart but supported every other person in the world except for his spouse.... Here too there is a point.... his spouse expected him to change over to fresh clothes each time he entered the toilet in a day! What is the issue here?.... Compatibility.... which our society hardly takes care of while negotiating a marriage!..... Both need to give up something to be called a compatible pair! Anyway, we have a mother who loves to be appreciated.... there is nothing wrong in it.... silly is thinking of herself and her mother the best... in all matters!... The first five years of my life was spent on my grandmother's lap.... yet at 47, I feel thinking this way is wrong.... I will not negate it either.... What I can do is share few more excellent creations of her with you all!.... She would feel good though I have asked her to grow some vegetables this season.... she agreed! Look at the pictures.... showing off is not good always.... several times I told her not to keep the floral pots on top of the terrace wall .... its dangerous.... you may get booked for it! Who on earth listens to me!

After sharing her beauties, I feel less guilty now .... ok henceforth I will do less hammering of her! Even I love to be appreciated but the husband is almost like our father..... but I do not care much because the rest of him is like his own father ... So I go for walks, click and have three more PEYAZ NOODLES PAKODA with coffee this morning.... 

Well, why I had to go for a vegetarian version? To open a pakora shop is not a bad idea.... given I do not know how to make an excel sheet till date!.... I hope this does not get me the tag of saffron skinned.... I cannot be that but I love my brother too much ... the entire family love fries and fritters.... and the little statistics I know revolves around my targetted readers.... With new FaceBook rules.... a struggling food blogger like me is having a harrowing time! Its almost time for Bengali New Year.... and my profile picture shows of an X-mas tree!....... you should be able to feel my concern!.... I need to change it soon! You see I have to do some cover ups for the pakora fed body... haha!..... and I have decided I will not renew the subscription of a specialised gym but use the gym and swimming pool of our Condo! Having 6-7 pakoras within 12 hours and spending dollars on gym does not sound wise!

What was my area of concern on this day.... Compatibility of minds! Ok, on the eve of the Women's Day I do write a mail to one lady! I do call her and write to her at regular intervals.... scold her too for abandoning every single pleasure of life... why?... see S, he loved this, he loved that! I counter saying one need not stop living for that! To me.... they were a compatible couple... more or less... felt for each other! What do women want from their partner?... Few soft words and yes, submission in the home front ....! I send her my selfies.... see the fine lines on my forehead.... the under eye bags, the white streaks! She says or writes back.... S... looks does not matter.... I laugh at that and whisper.... you at 45 and now at 70 are not the same person ..... but I can feel the mother in you... I am a mother to a boy and a big sister to a little brother! Had there been no word called protocol... you and me would have gone out on a tour at least once in this lifetime... I know I am not supposed to or cannot for greater good or interest! I ask instead ... how are your "chanaponas" doing? Its been 6 years now I got the last update on the number of cars one has!.... and I could not find a single mutton picture in Google photo album to be shared today.... I got no other information on the length-breadth of that person's bank balance or property after I admitted we live in a rented flat and do not own a car!.... 

That snobby nose since childhood got snobbier I presume and I really did not wish to get people severe cardiac arrest knowing that finally a year back we both managed a license and a nine year old, second hand four wheeler which I still cannot manage alone.... Ipsita or the husband has to sit beside while I struggle with that "gol chakti".... anything that requires concentration is not my forte! If I have already said it.... then people close, closer, closest should share some herbed baked salmon with salsa, cake topped with white cream and berry compote, tiranga sandwich ..... while I stick to this PEYAZ NOODLES PAKODA ..... No, I am not trying to impress people who I stopped considering my friend long back either ..... 

In general... this blog remains to be a low cost food fare.... given a part of my extended family still lives in thatched-roofed homes.... millions in my country of birth cannot afford that much either! Please do not get irritated if I update my profile picture on a tusser saree tomorrow ... I am thousands of miles far from a Medha Patker or an Arundhati Roy.... by all means! Anyway, let us come back to something I am fairly good at.... desi cooking... This vegetarian fry PEYAZ NOODLES PAKODA requires few ingredients like gram flour, rice flour, corn flour, onion, green chillies and cooked noodles! By the way... Bongs or Indians of this island, if you are reading this post... "elephant apple urrf chalta" has arrived in the Asian stores.... if I get some tomorrow... you get to see some shares too soon.... I think I will drop the idea of sharing that winter dal as of now as the vegetables used are not available in India... March onwards!

You may wish to take a look at few of my other shares! Just click on the headings!

MUSHUR DALER BORA

MOGLAI POROTA

INGREDIENTS : 

Noodle : 3-4 small packet
Onion : 1medium sized [peel, wash, discard the two ends, chop]
Green Chilli : 2[washed, chopped]
Gram Flour : 1/4 small cup
Rice Flour : 1/3small cup
Corn Flour : 1/4small cup
Aamchur Powder : 1tsp[dry mango powder}

Black Pepper Powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 150ml-200ml to deep fry + few drops
Chaat Masala : To Sprinkle atop the pakoras....

PROCEDURE:

Boil 2 coffee mugs of water in a vessel adding little salt and few drops of oil!

Once it has boiled for 2-3 minutes, switch off the gas stove! Add the noodles.... breaking into halves. Soak for another 2-3 minutes.

Strain and discard the water and keep the noodles that way for 5 minutes.

The chopped onion and green chillies are ready too!

Prepare a batter with the three flours, black pepper & dry mango powders, salt. Add water little by little to form a paste like consistency. Add the chopped onions and green chillies and mix well!

Now add the cooked noodles to the batter and fold in well!

Heat the oil in a wok, fry the fritters / pakoras in your choice of shapes and sizes!

Once brown on both sides, place on a tissue paper for sometime before serving hot! 

Enjoy the PEYAZ NOODLES PAKORA fries with a choice of sauce or chutney! Oh; do not forget to sprinkle chaat masala atop before having!

KORANO NARKOL BHORA PATALI GURER PATISHAPTA

How do they look? .... Just as Bengali Patishapta / Desi Crepes.... right?.... The filling of fresh coconut  is definitely not a Bengali thing. Is it my idea? No way.... all of my readers know by now that my brain runs at a slow pace, ideas do not get much space to play around there! Most of my shares are associated with some kind of memory unless I am baking a cake hiring ideas from "all recipes" or my ace baker friends or Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker.... Most of the time I fail to deploy their recipes and follow mine.... I will not buy demerara sugar / brown sugar / this pipe... that pipe for a cake.... I do the simplest ones that are under my control! Experiments beyond capability is not my cuppa and that is an attribute of mediocrity. The woman who prepared these crepes for me with a fresh coconut filling is not a mediocre.... but an epitome of grace.... dignity.... intelligence! Her presence in a room will make a disturbed soul feel calm and comfortable.... No, you will not find her or her husband in my friends' list .... the rigid & private couple are not comfortable with me being so open and frequently seen in social media.... they loved the quiet, balanced, private person that I had been two decades back! Who are this couple? Mitty and Anjana Mathew.... do not ask me to spell their full name... mad or what.... they are Keralites! Hahaha .... and very religious minded, Catholic Christians... That never came in between the deep connection that Mitty and atheist T shares for almost three decades now.... 

The trio... T... Mitty and the old moron Dibyendu sailed the first six months of their sea life together... staying in one cabin.... an unbreakable bond happened. For T, it was his second tenure! I met the duo for the first time at age 22 when their ship was harboured at the Kolkata dock.... they might have felt much letdown to know T was going to settle with this short, fat, heavy glassed girl! Even I wondered then how the pretty good in mathematics T was not calculative enough with life! I still do wonder... why I cannot go ahead with meat shares every other day when I know I should.... I meant given the frequency of meat been cooked for the carnivores at this home.... my counter parts fill in that gap .... though! Anyway, I again met Mitty  after few years! .... He was there in Kolkata for his examinations and it is obvious that he will not stay in a hotel but with us! Until I met Mitty and one Sanak Chottopadhay, I thought, all handsome boys are casanovas who this poor girl dreaded... Who would you blame?... It is irrelevant at this juncture of life! Mitty is an icon of decency, Sanak is a brother. 

It was in 1999 that Mitty had to rent a home at Behala Parnashree as his newly wed wife Anjana accompanied him this time! I saw her and loved at once.... a cool breeze swept me off as if .... On that day, she prepared this KORANO NARKOL BHORA PATALI GURER PATISHAPTA for us. The super excited me called the mother once back home.... "Mani.... orao amader moto patishapta korey... kintu narkol takey radheni".... till then South Indian food meant dosa, idly, vada, uttapam to the Kolkatans.... with "kabiraji cutlet, radhaballabhi, moglai porota" all around, I did not have any interest in the giant dosas of Madras Tiffin our mother forced me to have! Now I do... idly rasam, appam, puttu! Then they visited us when our monkey was 1or 2 years old! She is such a person full of warmth that the monkey stopped eating for quite sometime after his "annana" left. God had been very unkind to this Vizag based Keralite couple who perhaps have never skipped a Sunday prayer in the Church. We visited them in 2005 or 2006.... I am kind of a person who does not wish to spend night anywhere... pester the husband to come back home even if the party ends at 2am.... but I thoroughly enjoyed the stay at their home... Why? You see I played "rannabati" a lot as a child and love this thing called "ghar kanna".... Anjana was doing her Phd in Pharmacology then... and the three of them were out all the day.... only me, the son and a part time help was there! As I stepped into their home for the first time, I understood Anjana does not like "ghar kanna " that much. Their big, two roomed flat had four balconies which needed cleaning, the kitchen too. I took up the charge of a makeover .... cooked... cleaned without thinking she / they may not like it! Fortunately, she gave me full freedom at her den! This was not the case back in 1999.... Mumbai... I used Chutu's toilet and she cleaned it... The mother may have been in my blood... but I learnt how to take care of my own from Chutu.... the top ranked in academics told me that her paternal grandma was strict and told besides education.... the two sisters should learn to cook too! 

These women in my life... say Chutu or Anjana.... the later are three sisters may not get entry in a feminist den.... I also do not understand what is it actually? Just straying around or deeper something? Anyway, I am near to Chutu in only one matter.... we do not really want anyone to interfere in our den... feel free here... I will handle the rest my way... Anjana is more near to T with her wisdom and ability to take kids on her lap and spend hours with them telling stories and playing.... Anjana & Mitty took us for an Onam lunch where I made friends with avial... I love it.... The Onam saree she gifted me is worn by the mother now.... golden bordered white... on which I had some block prints done! I did not accept her decision of leaving the job of the principal of a pharmaceutical college ever.... and I wished to recreate her recipe in my kitchen after 18 years as KORANO NARKOL BHORA PATALI GURER PATISHAPTA because all of a sudden I remember I missed wishing Anjana on her birthday this year... it was on 14th February... haha.... We are a part of a dormant WhatsApp group though! I have to call them asap.... they went to AbuDhabi then again came back to a deserted place like Kandla.... having dhokla or not... as the husband says Mitty is getting bored.... This guy would call T before taking any major decision.... I heard my man saying not to shift to Kandla... his siblings stay in Dubai.... I felt, let me dedicate this post to the very gentle couple Anjana & Mitti Mathew .... towards whom God is not that kind....

Let us ease the situation. The other day we went for a new set of curtains but did not buy one! We sat with some coffee and one quiche.... it was good... no I am not trying to hug people of my community who prefer a quiche over ilish.... An evening for quiche... a life dedicated to ilish ...... In fact, I got wiser than before, gained some self pride too and told the husband, tell me I am the best thing to happen in your life! The answer was not a surprise... only that all romantic attempts from my side evaporated in a minute.... Dear wife! You know I do not lie! Below is an example of an unromantic date!

The wife feels hopeless as usual and follows him to a take away counter to get some family favourite Turkish food stuff.... I was sad that the lamb rice was finished... lamb doners were packed for the men and falafel stuffed bread for me... too big a meal for me in the present scenario... dips and bread pieces are preferred... and I whispered  "baniye felbo ekdin kabli cholar bora.... falafel na bollei holo!"

Well, I am very fond of Mee Soto and Soto Ayam for my lonely lunches too!.... They are big for the present me!... So I ask them to give me less of that yellow noodles which is very much yum. I must say... I do not mind the chicken in these bowls... I do not know why I am unable to have it in Indian curries.

I sit with a bowlful of such things and wonder why I get irritated easily these days...  approaching menopause is a reason... rest what? The fairly rigid me do not like myself to be dragged in to something I cannot connect with or believe in.... None of us are saints but one should know the limits of decency in public .... I do go public with my feelings but emotional attributes needs to be fairly static... do the subject or object of love change every six months? I have doubts.... call it anything like infatuation, momentum attraction, time pass .... but one should not jeopardise it with the deepest feelings of people and I do not wish my name to be associated with something I am not! We all have fair amount of everything within us... good, evil, unparliamentary wishes .... wrong is when we fail to draw the line... I cannot cry if I am unable to exercise self control and people call me a stray! 

Anyway, the kitchen is the best place to ease off for me... and yesterday evening I went ahead with this KORANO NARKOL BHORA PATALI GURER PATISHAPTA.... I did not call my friend Anjana... instead prepared the batter our Bengali style! This morning I had it too... I had some lemon rice too as I packed their lunch box with a dry egg curry and lemon rice... breakfast box with this sweet snack. There can be a number of avatar for patishapta ..... Bengali / Indian crepe.... this can be considered one done with refined flour, semolina, rice flour, date palm jaggery, coconut, sugar.... enjoy with some masala tea / chai!

INGREDIENTS :

Refined Flour : 1coffee mug
Semolina : 1/2coffee mug
Rice Flour : 1/2coffee mug
Grated Patali Gur : 11/2medium cup [date palm jaggery, use other variety during off season]
Shredded Coconut : 11/2coffee mug
Sugar : 4-5tbsp + 2tbsp
Green Cardamom Powder : 1tsp
Baking Soda : A Pinch
Water : As Required [you can use milk for the matter, the coconut is raw so I did not... Bengalis are weak in stomach}
Oil : Few drops for each Crepe

PROCEDURE :

Take the refined flour, semolina, rice flour in a wide mouthed bowl and mix well. Add water little by little to prepare a batter.... add 2-4 drops of oil, grated date palm jaggery and sugar to the mixture. Keep stirring with your right palm.... It takes about 10 minutes of labour to get a smooth batter free of lump. Keep aside covered for 2 hrs.

Take 4-5tbsp of sugar, green cardamom powder and the shredded coconut in a bowl. Roughly mix. I made your labour half... we do not have to thicken the milk on stove and then cook it further with coconut! Keep aside covered.

After 2 hrs, add a pinch of baking soda to the batter! Mix well.

If we are using a non stick pan, we do not need to grease pan with oil. If not add a tsp of oil when the pan is very hot, spread with a ladle. Wipe it with a wet cloth before you pour the batter. Repeat after you do 3-4 crepes.

Use round, dip spoon for pouring the batter and a ladle to take out. Once you pour the batter, then spread it clockwise immediately! The pan has to be pretty hot else we cannot.

Place some coconut mix just in the middle and roll it off like a chapati once you see the top is cooked. The bottom will be slightly brown. If you have used milk... the crepes may be more brown.

We are done. Have it as breakfast or as an evening snack... a masala chai / coffee is a must... It tastes best the next day!

         

FULKOPI ALOO MOTORSHUTI DIYE KHICHURI

This is how a Bengali style FULKOPI ALOO MOTORSHUTI DIYE KHICHURI is done and we love to have it with maach bhaja[precisely hilsa fry], begun bhaja, aloobhaja; that is fish fry, fried eggplant, potato fry and papor / papad too! There is no time, date for having khichuri / khichdi / rice & lentil hotch-potch. I meant for this family anytime can be a khichuri time without waiting for some rain.... This tropical island gives us the freedom to prepare khichuri anytime given it rains every now and then. The men in this family anyway prefers easy meals; to which I do not comply always! When I am not in the mood to cook, I would take resort to such platters as this heavenly FULKOPI ALOO MOTORSHUTI DIYE KHICHURI. All these ingredients are always at home more or less. 

 I hope I can finish off the post quickly, wrap up with the lunch and the little work I need to do on Sundays and the two of us are going out; no not on a coffee date but to get new curtains for the drawing room! Back in Kolkata the husband was not required even for this work; we have a Skipper within 1/2 a kilometre from home and thereafter a quick snack meal was a must at Haldiram's; the biggest in Kolkata is in our neighbourhood. Why did I force the husband to leave sailing and settle down together.?... I was going mad with a rebel kid and sincerely expected the father will take utmost care of his son's studies; what a let down! Each time I go for a PTM, I am told our son knows far beyond text books; an A* student; as a mother my chest should exactly be the size of Rwittik Roshan's. You bet it is not the case; why? The teachers have more to say; he fails in application because he does not study! The A* student scores 75-80-85 while the others get anything between 95-98! Their English teacher may feel very unfortunate to be a Bengali; here is her conversation with me... "Maam to Me... Ari is excellent! Kintu fakibaaz... kurey... likhtey chai na... chollishta prose thakley ponero ta pore ashey. I start weeping; apni merey oor chamra gutiye din .... to which she says.... apni amar chakri ta khaben? I do not want to lose my job".... I think the school has stopped recruiting Bengali teachers thereafter! I come back home heavy hearted and release all frustrations on the husband.... you are spoiling him... had I been in Kolkata I would be a part of a systematic group and the son would have been under my control. He has to retaliate saying, "shut up!... do not crib.... you would have deployed eight teachers for eight subjects... the son would have mugged up everything and vomit in the paper.... when would he have the chance to think?" Kids do not play there, evenings are for private tutors! The fight continues and people in this family do not need to go out to fight.... it happens in the comfort of this couch! 

How do I help myself  to cope up? First, I play a rapid fire game with myself in Karan Johar style! Below is how it goes!

1] Who is better.... Aparna Sen as an actor or a director? Come on... as a director off course.... she never was fit to sing around the tree.... "lokkhiti dohai tomar... anchal dhorey rekho na".... she is too big a persona...

2] Choose between Shabana & Smita.... yeh frustration barane wali question ho gayi.... both are iconic when it comes to natural acting.... they do not act.... accha ok Shabana in Paar and Smita in Akaler Shandhane are etched in my heart.... and yes.... Tabu stormed in after a Machis and Hu Tu Tu...

3] John Abraham / Rwittik Roshan / Jholmol Khan  or Ilish?... silly question.... Ilish off course! I do not take real name of Jholmol... his fists are not under his control.

4] Your most favourite movie based on a love story till date? Mr. & Mrs. Iyer.... Which scene the most? That last scene... when Rahul Bose handed the entire roll of the film to Kankana... perhaps never to meet again. He did not require any material thing to be kept with him in her memory.... Why was I weeping resting my head on the husband's arms?.... That is because he is the best husband in this world....

5] If asked to choose anyone between Ilish & Mutton?.... Tension wali bata ho gayi.... Ilish offcourse!

Once over, I go for my walk and start with the silly clicks.... I click something similar to my dream home... a neat... no fancy, cottage pattern landed property and WhatsApp it to the husband.... What is his answer?... He suspects the wife has started having cannabis! The sad  self then started to click randomly....

           

         

               

On my way back, she had to buy some guava and have it too.... try your guava pieces with some black salt and generous amount of red chilli powder... mast!

                       

                                  

I get philosophical thereafter and discover a grasshopper on my green chilli plant.... after many years I got to see one!

                            

Above is how the day is until the monkey is back home around 4pm... 9 pm onwards all fights start.... it is for you the son is not in my control... quick is the answer... I want him to be independent! I am not surprised coming it from someone who stood firm by the family at age 20.... at an age when boys or girls go out on special dates .... or study hard behind the closed doors.... I always wish to give him comfort .... the sole bread earner for the family for few decades now.... at times with this FULKOPI ALOO MOTORSHUTI DIYE KHICHURI....

Things are not that good as such, I am just trying to give a cover up! A young, energetic,  warm administrator of one of the Bengali food group Somsuddha is in the ICU of a Kolkata nursing home, all of a sudden! I do not usually mingle in any group because I know I lack brain and I cannot maintain it! I just browsed yesterday and saw the news.... he has a little girl... feels bad.... It may be a week or so, a boy from our school... a class junior died of auto immune disorder.... survived by a daughter and son.... aged 18 and 13 respectively... I could not stop myself from messaging a friend.... "so wickets started falling?".... Then, life must go on with good amount of humour as a coverage! ..... and yes, for a fitter self I cannot survive on salads, bakes and roasts.... that last 7 kilos to become a perfect self is not going to happen in this lifetime! A FULKOPI ALOO MOTORSHUTI DIYE KHICHURI happens often instead and most in our community do it this way. My way of khichuri has to have a lot of green chillies... and dollops of ghee after been served!

You can also try the following recipes of mine :

LEMON CORIANDER RICE

FISH IN BLACK PEPPER SAUCE

EGGLESS FRESH FRUIT CAKE

                                                                                         

INGREDIENTS :

Fragrant Rice : 1coffee mug [We use gobinda blog / kali jeera / chinigura]

De-husked Moong Bean : 1/3 coffee mug

Cauliflower Floret : 1coffee mug [medium cup]

Potato : 2medium [peeled, washed, each cut into 4 pieces]

Green Pea : 1/2small cup

Green Chilli : 5-6 [slitted]

Ginger Paste : 2tbsp

Cumin Powder : 2tsp [using paste is better]

Coriander Powder : 1tsp [using paste is better]

Turmeric Powder : 1tsp + 1tsp

Dry Red Chilli : 3-4 [halved]

Cumin Seed : 1/2tsp

Bayleaf : 2

Salt : As Required

Sugar : 11/2tsp

Oil : 5-6tbsp [we use mustard]

PROCEDURE :

Dry roast the dal until it is light brown. Marinate the cauliflower florets and potatoes with turmeric and salt!

Wash the rice and dal separately. Soak the dal in hot water for an hour and then put for boil adding little salt & turmeric. The rice needs to be soaked for 1/2 an hour and added to the heavy bottomed vessel when the dal is boiled about 50%, may take 20-25 minutes at low heat.

                                

Heat oil in a wok and fry the cauliflower florets and potatoes separately. Reserve the oil in the wok.

Add some salt and turmeric to the boiling dal and rice. Add more water as and when required.

When it is 80% done, may be in another 10-12 minutes, add the fried potatoes and  slitted green chillies, stir.

                              

Let boil for 5-6 minutes, add the fried cauliflower florets, green peas, sugar and little more water if required. Bring to boil after a stir. Switch off the gas stove after 2-3 minutes.

                              

                              

Prepare a spice paste with ginger paste, cumin powder, salt and little turmeric.

                  

Reheat the oil in the wok and temper with cumin seeds, bayleaf and halved dry red chillies.

Add the spice paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add it to the rice and dal mixture and fold in very well. Let boil for 1-2 minutes and we are done. 

                             

                             

                              

After been served in the individual plates, do not forget to add some ghee! Enjoy with various fries, omelette! Yes, it is incomplete without ilish bhaja.... hilsa fry, in our case it is subject to availability of the fish!

                      

                                                                                                            

                                         

SPICY OATS MINI POROTA & OATS - MANGO HALWA

I do not click great pictures, neither good at using props, I do not! Ideally, I do not like a home dumped with furnitures.... I have grown up reading that Bengali magazine Sananda .... following it's food shares and home decor ideas. Many years back, I saw few pictures of Shabana & Baba Azmi's parental home .... Kaifi Azmi & Shaukat Kaifi .... oh, what an ethnic beauty!.... You really do not need lots of money to do up your interiors! Then, the husband and I have to disagree in almost all matters except for the wish of either building a school for the needy or running a low cost guest house @ Puri post retirement! If I prefer a "takia / chouki" with cushions and "chowpayas" and "beter mora"for the drawing room.... he prefers a leather sofa.... If I say smaller size bedrooms need not have beds with back rests but low height "choukis" with a bed spread & cushion covers bought from Mrignayani or Boyonika or Manipur Handloom & Handicrafts stores .... he will not agree! According to him... all the ants in this home comes from the  few plants I have in that small piece of ledge... not even a balcony is that... ok! To my fellow Indians.... buy your stuffs from the cottage emporiums.... they are dying because of our negligence.... play holi / dol with natural / organic colours! 

Take the example of my neighbourhood Uttarapan back in Kolkata... the bunch of Government Emporiums are unable to compete with the malls! I always love ethnic wear and wish to buy only handloom wear! Oh yes.... I am a proud North Kolkatan, now East? The entire area from Dum Dum-Chiriamore-Nagerbazaar-Dunlop to Laketown-Ultodanga is my "para"... neighbourhood! Even eight years back, people saw me and Kana watching movie at Jaya.... as a child I saw the neighbourhood movie buff aunties walked past the Patipukur rail bridge to Jaya.... God! It is a multiplex now! My favourite medium of transport is train and auto rickshaw..... you know I cannot be in a hugging position naturally with people to whom Kolkata means only Ballygung to Tallygung.... who feels ashamed to take pride in the place they belonged to once! Even if people find otherwise that I am attempting at any kind of "forced connection"... trust me ..... it is unconsciously ...  because of lack of actual facts and informations..... I do have one medium of connection who does not equip me with necessary informations and I hate using people to feed my interests.... haha! 

Coming to the Holi Celebrations, there is no such things at this home... only this mumma may put some on her younger son... Balgopal and the elder one may not get any fish or meat on his plate tomorrow..... but similar kinds of this SPICY OATS MINI POROTA & OATS-MANGO HALWA! I always admit.... I am a conglomerate of influences of varied kinds of people.... who are indispensable in my life .... may be so certain match games happen even after "snobby nose" shows full of humiliation!... You can blame it on my lack of self pride!  I am actually what you see below... a bowl of rice with little butter, chopped green chilli and salt is the medicine for my "gas... ambal... gola...buk jwala".... believe me whenever I have acidity... a bowlful of the below comes to my rescue and I am cured within an hour!

Why did I say this? To echo Rujuta Diwekar.... eat locally grown food! An Indian living in India need not buy quinoa or oats for a fitter self.... you have dalia, suji, khoi, muri, chirey for the same. For non-resident Indians.... ok... they may need to travel few more kilometres to get desi stuffs and have no other way but to think global and be a part of the mainstream! I got a big jar of oats for guilt free mornings... Till date my most favourite breakfast is "gorom dhoya otha bhaat, tatka begun bhaja, ghee / makhon, kancha lanka, noon".... wish I had the liberty to have it!  Please do not come to me with avocado.... would you like it if I prepare a paste of it with "shorshe-narkol-posto-kanchalanka" and drizzle some "shorsher tel" atop? You will not! I do not want to go further with it.... my dear friend .... glam doll Bianca may get very upset.... but she should know banana and apple is a regular affair at our homes, they are never foreign to me / us given the best variety comes from our very own paradise .... Shimla and Kashmir! 

I am poor in Geography too and do not know who belongs to whom .... I remember the conversations of the father with the locals there back in 1987.... I only know it is a conscious and deliberate decision not to solve the dispute ever! I only believe that the colour of blood is red always and it is a mother who is able to give birth everywhere, not a devil!.... Rest, we are product of circumstances! I love this workaholic island which ensures us peace.... well you may call me an escapist.... I will still say I love it, even more when I discover this just outside our back door.... "kasuri methi" in a local shop... haha!

You see.... even my Holi share like this SPICY OATS MINI POROTA & OATS- MANGO HALWA has to have a touch of this island.... say it is with Thai Honey Mango this time!

I do not call myself innovative enough.... I may have come across similar recipes which were caught in my radar! I did not browse Google yesterday either.... I thought let me see how it comes out. The husband is due tonight... it does not feel good at all to try hands on something new without the husband who loves any kind of desi breads and halwa.... the son has to be force fed halwa calling it pudding and he is simply happy with his meat curries and fries.... fish or any. I wonder where actually the monkey belong! I had all of the two glasses of lebu cha / lemon tea yesterday evening. It was stress free cooking the platter of SPICY OATS MINI POROTA & OATS-MANGO HALWA. You will not get the dough with oats powder as same texture as of with atta / maida! I had to use that cap to get perfect round shapes.... it was all worth because they were tasty... more like khakhra .... but it cannot be stored... try to have it fresh! As of the halwa... I will always suggest to use some fresh fruits to your halwa making process .... be it pineapple, strawberry or our family favourite mango... This time I did not use any artificial colour.... people are already smeared with colours!

Would you have a look at few other recipes of mine? Click on the links / headings below :

SWEET POORI

AJWAIN PARATHA

KORAISHUTIR KOCHURI O ALOOR DOM

INGREDIENTS : [for the oats porota /paratha]

Powdered Oats : 1coffee mug
Refined Flour : 1/2 coffee mug
Carom Seed : 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Dry Mango Powder : 1tsp
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Ghee / Clarified Butter : 2tbsp+1tsp for each mini porota


INGREDIENTS : [for the mango halwa]

Powdered Oats : 1/2 coffee mug
Mango : 1 standard sized 
Sugar : 2-3 tbsp
Green Cardamom : 2-3
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/4tsp
Bayleaf : 1
Ghee : 2-3 tbsp
Chopped Dry Fruits to garnish!

PROCEDURE :

Let us prepare Oats Halwa at first!

Wash and peel the mango and get a puree out of it! If you have a garden... sow the seed and wait for 7-10 years.

Heat the ghee in a wok and temper with the green cardamoms and bay leaf!

Add the oatmeal and stir for sometime till it is roasted well.

Once done, add the sugar and fold in well. Stir for 2 minutes or so.

Add the mango puree and and fold in well.

Stir cook for 2-3 minutes and add a small cup of water. Stir cook until the sides come off!

Add a spoonful of ghee, the green cardamom powder & some chopped dry fruits.

Mix well and take down .... Transfer to a serving bowl.... top with the rest of the chopped dry fruits & some mango cubes!

Let us do the Oatmeal Paratha now!

Let us grind the oats required; add the refined flour, semolina, spice powders, carom seed 1tbsp ghee &salt to it.

We will rub the entire mixture for about 2 minutes!

Add warm water little by little to form a dough. Do not worry, the dough will be hard in this case! Add 1 tbsp of ghee to the dough & cover it for 15-20 minutes!

Remove the cover & knead the dough for 2-3 minutes again... adding a little of warm water if required!

Tear off small portions to prepare balls.  Make roundels with help of a rolling pin. 

Heat a tawa pan on the gas stove! Carefully and gently place the porota just in the middle! Roast both the sides. Add one tsp ghee and cook until the tops are light brown. Take down.

Enjoy the combined platter of SPICY OATS MINI POROTA & OATS-MANGO HALWA fresh and hot and do not forget some tea alongside.... for us it was green tea with lemon!