SPICED FISH & CHIPS

I AM BUSY THIS WEEK BUT BLOGPOSTS SHOULD COME IN TIME!

There is no compulsion, I just enjoy the exercise! What else fruitful do I do? It hurts! I don't find myself eligible enough to seek job! What to do with computer I don't know, I fear! I only know to write blogpost, search stuffs! How I wasted our father's hard earned money taking admission at British Institutes, Dalhousie Square! That was early 90's I remember! It's 2023, fear continues! Except for literature, Sociology, History, Psychology; no textual subject interests me! Why did I study Political Science I don't know! I was good employee for school managements I worked for until work was done manually, kids learnt by rote! The moment computer took over, I felt like not fitting in! Yet the last school I worked at wanted me, I had feeling of inadequacy, I left! If I didn't leave, I might have learnt technology required for my job! They weren't letting me teach my choice of subjects! My readers know these, because I met an ex-colleague yesterday, all wrong decisions taken in academics was felt again! To top that, it was hot last night, that lingering neck, shoulder pain added to pain! Don't know what more Kolkata weather has to give me! I am not bothering much, I would meet my family, friends, doctors, one month would go! I hear people are staying indoor there, this angers me! I visit Kolkata once a year, I should be able to go out freely, roam around!

I AM BASICALLY A LAZY BRAT!

Else no excuse is strong enough not to earn independently in present day! Who ever we are, what ever the family situation is, we must earn! We must unless family owns a company, everyone in family are given some position in it! I liked it how Messi's entire family is involved in making him! I like how parents spotted his talent, struggled to get him here, now when it is paying back time, the star is doing it royally! The middle-class that I am, I have no idea amount of money he earns, but I like it that his entire family including in-laws are part of his empire! At this time, my only aim, urge is to get our son educated, get job without disturbance; its required for him to outgrow his family! Also, he has to live his father's dream wherein academics is concerned! Until my death, I would believe T had to have lot more degrees before plunging onto job! He had capability; every child with fair brain should get opportunity to attain higher education! Also, those with average brain should be at least graduate! Else, this world may not be able to move forward! I get involved in these discussions by default, our mother, grandmother respect academics! If by academics they mean degrees after degrees, be it; what is the harm? It has been proved time & again degrees are important, let us not equate it with wealth one has attained! Two are different, both are required for good life! How I wished brother to have that urge to do better in life, he had the capability too! Mumma sleeps well because son has this urge, only that she cannot be at peace having a mental ailment called anxiety!

WHAT IS THIS SPICED FISH & CHIPS?

I am too fond of traditional fish & chips! I am fond of fish, choice of breaded meat fries, okay batter fries too unless I get to see oil on top layer! For long, I did not know Kolkata Caterers' style "fish butter fry" is actually 'fish batter fry"! I am too fond of fries & fritters, even Kolkata street vendor's lentil fritters! But I do not eat out much whilst in Kolkata, I fear stomach ailments, I hear about unbearable heat there! Also, fries of Malancha have lost pride! The parents did not take us to eat out much, I hardly would want to travel to Mitra Cafe or Allen's Kitchen or Golbari! Truly speaking; on this day, I cook a meat or fish fry at home; well cleaned & marinated! I would stick to that! Only that, I don't get to feed exotics to my family, friends in Kolkata; I do not enjoy working hard there; I just want to roam around there; have Bhelpuri, Chitrakut, Mishti Doi, Biryani, Patties, Pastries! But Kolkata cakes seem too sweet to me! The stomach refuses too much of outside food! You can blame it on both poor digestive system, taking pride in in cooking! If I buy Moglai Porota at 4-5 pm, who would share it with me? Then, those flies, dust, water logging! Listen to me, try my style SPICED FISH & CHIPS! No restaurant would wash fillets this well, marinate them this good, actual recipe does not call for mixed spices marination! It is non-vegetarian, fish fillet snack recipe which West eat as main dish along with French fries! But you can see, I did the plating differently! At this point, I left home for Kushi's, Hougang! There was long queue for Hari Raya, also I forgot to take card! The girls told me there would be long queues until weekend! I had my first meal, "bhaja bhuji", all veg items & tehC! Just because I missed asking for teh-C-kosong, they added sugar!

As first meal, it is poison to have but I wanted it this way! On my way back, I walked 6:5 km that took 1hr15 minutes! The "sheem" were too young! On my walk, assisting me was an old time favourite, 'main na bhulunga, main na bhulungi"! "samay ki dhara mein, umar bah jani hai, jo ghari ji lenge, woh reh jani hai!" I have to learn this song!

INGREDIENTS :

FIRM WHITE FISH FILLET : 7-8 

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP

CHAAT MASALA : 1 TSP

GINGER EXTRACT : 2 TBSP

GARLIC EXTRACT : 2 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

REFINED FLOUR : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

CORN FLOUR : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

OIL : 200 ML OR ENOUGH TO DEEP FRY

PROCEDURE : 

Today is 2nd April, 2026, I updated pictures! I bought frozen Sutchi fillet packet from Giant!

Originally, I did with Nile pre-cut fillets!

Previously, I bought from Fairprice Xtra, it's good for batter & breaded fries!

I washed fish fillets, marinated with salt for an hour, then washed thoroughly! This is done to get rid of any smell!

 

I marinated fish fillets with crushed black pepper, salt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic extracts! Then I refrigerator for 3-4 hours, covered! Take out half an hour before frying!

For batter, I took refined flour, corn flour, chilli+cumin+coriander powders+chaat masala+salt in bowl, mixed well! I added water little at a time, prepared thick batter! I kept it aside for 10-15 minutes!

I heated enough oil in wok, dipped each of marinated fish fillet in batter, coated well, deep fried at low heat, else inside wouldn't be done properly!

 

I don't deep fry, hence look isn't good! I kept them onto tissue papers before serving, having!

Instead of deep frying potatoes, I air fried, boiled corn, made chaat!

DHONEPATA BATA TANGRA MACH

I WOULD KEEP UPDATING SUCH HEIRLOOM RECIPES AS LONG AS I AM CAPABLE OF COOKING!

Yes, I blog about such rustic, family Bengali recipes less these days! That is because I need to catch up with the speeding train, wanting to reach more & more people! You know what, even the Bengalis of today do not know much about their own food culture, that is annoying and sad! T knows all about it, just because his mother is not fond of rustic dishes with smaller fish & vegetables, these were not cooked in their home much! But their relatives cook! Okay, she cooks good a mixed vegetable & fried small fish medley & we all love it! Their's & my side of the family's cooking of the small fish varieties is different! They do not use fresh coriander paste in their cooking or a paste of radhuni / ajmod, whilst my family uses these a lot! Our winters must have curries with coriander paste! Because I am a foodie, I love the food from both sides of my family! I not only cook both side of my family's recipes; whatever recipes I come along & get hooked to, I would try at least one or two times in my kitchen! If one catches our fancy, I included the one in my regular to cook list!

CLICKING FOOD & SHARING FOOD STORIES WITH THE WORLD HAS BECOME MY OBSESSION!

Just because I do not earn from it, people do not consider it important, that they underestimate my passion! Till date my family has not helped me make considerable improvements in this area of my immense passion; not T, neither the son! But I would carry on with my limited technical knowhow! Had I been smart & up-to-date, my blog would have been getting thousands & lakhs of visitors & I definitely would be having a flourishing YouTube channel! Because I am not competitive, I do not suffer from frustration! I just enjoy what I do; cook, eat, sing, dance & repeat! We have watched the movie Gaslight & the series Indu[1&2]! They both are good thrillers, Indu would have a season-3, we do not know what would happen! We had satisfying meals yesterday! I had to go out to the mall, it's time to go to India & just a bit of extra shopping has to be done! On my way back, I got that salted bun to have with my evening tea! I know how to make it, have the recipe in the blog but would not do regular at home! Saturdays & Sundays are my cheat days!

For our dinner, I cooked some atta-semolina poori, they all were fluffy but a little more of semolina was required I felt! I no more mix gluten-free flours with a good amount of atta; on days I want to mix, I do it in a small amount! We had the poori with cabbage & potato sabzi! I was so engrossed watching Indu2 that the clock struck 2am, then I realised there would be a 3rd season! The son did not talk & mumma-babai slept with displeasure! The son is ferociously against wishing us on any special occasion, do not know why!

Today, the entire daytime what I did I do not know! I was singing, promoting my blogposts & went for a swim around 4:30 pm! I met good coach Joe training few kids! Back home, Cristine served me vermicelli upma & ginger kopi-o-kosong she made, it tasted fabulous!

And now I am all set to share with you a family style fish curry! It feels happy to be able to share a Bengali family recipe after quite sometime!

WHAT IS THIS DHONEPATA BATA TANGRA MACH?

Every winter, my family would have curries & vegetables cooked with fresh coriander paste! They claim it is typical of those hailing from the Comilla district of Bangladesh! I just love having any curry with fresh coriander paste or radhuni / ajmod paste added! I love that smell! For a curry with fresh coriander paste, my family would always use super fresh sweet water fish varieties that have not gone through the process of refrigeration! Also, we prefer not to fry the fish in this case, they get cooked in the curry! Last month, I got in hand some fresh Tangra mach / a small cat fish the wiki calls Gangetic Mystus or Mystus Tengara! I remember, I came back home around 6-6:30 pm, Cristine cleaned, cut washed them & then I cooked them without freezing! I relished & loved the non-vegetarian, gluten-free fish curry, DHONEPATA BATA TANGRA MACH with plain rice; Cristine & her Sir also had! There is a difference between loving a dish & having a dish! When it comes to fish, I mostly stick to pure Bengali fish varieties, else it's fish fillets for me!

INGREDIENTS : 

TANGRA MACH / SMALL CAT FISH : 400-500 GM

FRESH CORIANDER : 200-250GM

GREEN CHILLI : 3-4

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

NIGELLA SEED / KALONJI / KALOJEEREY : 1/4 TSP

BAYLEAF : 1

DRY RED CHILLI : 1[HALVED]

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 2 TBSP + 1 TBSP [I USE MUSTARD OIL]

PROCEDURE :

Cristine did the toughest job of cleaning & cutting the fishes! 

Cut the tail end, whiskers, fins & the tip of the mouth with a scissor! With the fingers, take out the wastes from the stomach, also the gills! This fish has no scales! Wash inside-out thoroughly few times under the running water!

Marinate them with the salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, 2 tbsp mustard oil & keep aside for 1/2 an hour!

Discard the root end of the fresh coriander, roughly chop & wash along with the green chillies! Prepare a paste of them adding a little of water!

Heat a tbsp of oil in the wok & temper with the nigella seeds, halved red chilli & a bay leaf! Gently add the fishes along with the marinade! 

Carefully fold in & cover! After 5 minutes, remove the cover, fold in & cover!

After 3-4 minutes, remove the cover & add a coffee mug of water, cover again! Let cook for 5-6 minutes at low heat!

Remove the cover, add the chilli coriander paste & adjust the salt! 

Cover cook at low heat for 3-4 minutes, take down & have it with piping hot steamed rice! 

We also had a lentil curry, eggplant-paneer medley, salad alongside!

MY STYLE SHORPURIA

 I AM PLANNING TO COOK & BLOG ABOUT IT SINCE THE INCEPTION OF MY BLOG!

In fact this special sandesh should have been the first recipe in my blog! Why not? It is a speciality sweet of my birth place! It is so special that it is exported to the Bengalis worldwide! At least that was the scene in our growing up time! The township is famous for it's clay models & sweets! It is special not only because it is my birthplace; I have spent a considerable part of my childhood there in the lap of our maternal grandparents, uncles & aunts! Until the end of the 80's; I was emotionally detachable with the place, even though we shifted to Kolkata in 1976! Once in college, I was going less there! The brother has been always Kolkata's child! Also, he never wished to stay a single night without the mother, I would go for month long holidays! I have several memories attached to the place; the open space in the Judge's Court was where the uncle, aunts would sit with friends, we would have peanuts there! It is there where I saw my first movie, I was admitted to the Church's school, visits to the King's palace during the Durga Puja, the mehendi plant in the Muslim locality all are still afresh on my mind! Starting from the Railway Station to the river bank of the Churni river, everything would remain stored in my heart forever! People do not change, circumstances & priorities change; the place itself stands testimony of notable memories! The cousin sisters are already out of there, one cousin brother is there; the other frequents to his roots! The three maternal uncles, the youngest maternal aunt, the grandma are still there & unlikely to relocate permanently! I believe they cannot survive anywhere else! Everyone knows them there! Where? I am talking about Krishnanagar City Junction in the Nadia district of West Bengal!

I AM DEALING WITH NOSTALGIA TODAY!

Last year, when I went to see the grandma & off course the rest in the family; I had a hurried tour of the city, I need to scroll back the album to share some clicks; but I feel tired to! Also something happened within a year that  is not allowing me to go gaga about how special the place is to me! Let it stay within, outside of the public glare! But this recipe had to come, it's a tribute of a food blogger to her birthplace! Last year, I visited the sweet shop from where till date the family gets the sweet! I felt, it lost it's former pride! T had been there, he was born in another historic place near it, Nabadwip! The son I could not show my birthplace, do not even know if he has any interest! The kids of the present day are a bit different; technology has taken over them!

According to this gentleman, they do not use fresh milk cream / dudh er shor anymore due to the scarcity of supply, that top layer formed after boiling the milk! But that is an integral part of the Shorpuria sandesh sweet, hence the name! I have sweet memories not only of the place, it's people but also of this sweet and of shorbhaja & nikhuti! Krishnanagar is not only my birthplace, it was my playground until the late 80"s! I have not researched if the name of the city has any connection with one of it's rulers Raja Krishna Chandra!

WHAT IS THIS MY STYLE SHORPURIA?

As discussed, Shorpuria is a sweet that originated in the Nadia district of West Bengal, precisely in Krishnanagar! I think, I am having it since my rice feeding ceremony! Ever since I became a food blogger, I garnered the wish to blog about it! There were no proper & enough information in the internet & I held it until my visit to the shop that seem to have discovered the sweet hundreds of years back! Last year, I went & made one of the makers talk about it! I however felt it necessary to add a bit of malai / milk cream in the making of this sweet! They never divulge the exact recipe I believe but I could get the taste of it after few tries, I yet would name the sweet, vegetarian & gluten-free as MY STYLE SHORPURIA!

INGREDIENTS :

MILK : 2 LITRE + 1 LITRE

VINEGAR : 2 TBSP ADDED TO 4-5 TBSP WATER

SEMI SOLIDIFIED MILK / KHOYA / MAWA KHEER : 250-300 ML

CHENA / FRESHLY MADE PANEER / SOUTH ASIAN COTTAGE CHEESE : 400 GM

MALAI / MILK CREAM / DUDH ER SHOR : 150 ML

SUGAR : 150-200 GM [YOU CAN USE SUGAR-FREE ALTERNATIVES]

MILK POWDER : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

GHEE / CLARIFIED BUTTER : 2 TBSP

GREEN CARDAMOM SEED : 1/2 TSP

ROASTED CASHEWNUT : 1 1/2 TSP [CHOPPED]

ROASTED PISTACHIO : 1 TSP [CHOPPED]

PROCEDURE :

For long, I wished to store milk cream to cook ghee; no one at home have milk, when the son was around he had chilled milk, never boiled! You need enough milk cream to get a little of ghee! I kept the idea on hold & stored that little of milk malai, the top layer after boiling to make a sweet famous in my birth place!

We would keep boiling 1 litre of milk & take off, store the top layer until the milk changes colour & thickens! After taking off the top layer, we would add the ghee & milk powder to the thickened milk, mix well; microwave at high for 3-4 minutes, pausing & stirring in between to get the mawa / khoya kheer!

For the paneer / chana, we will boil 2 litres of milk, add a mixture of vinegar & water & switch off the gas stove! We would stir & pass the curdled milk through the clean, thin cloth placed over a strainer! We have to hang it for an hour to get rid of the whey!

Now, we have in hand the chana, milk malai / shor, khoya kheer / mawa!

Mix together the malai cream & khoya kheer & beat well, add to the chana / paneer! Also add the sugar, green cardamom seeds, roasted & chopped pistachio, cashew nuts! Now we are to knead it for sometime!

We would take a pan that is not used to cooking curries, add the dough & keep stirring at minimal heat for sometime! When we would see the dough leaving the sides; we would take out and transfer the mixture to a greased mould of our choice! We would keep it at rest for an hour, transfer to a plate, cut & serve! It tastes best when served fresh!

BENGALI CHATU MAKHA

 I SINCERELY WISHED TO BLOG ABOUT IT, TRUST ME!

And why not? It is essentially a part of my journey as a Bengali Blogger! Sattu / Chatu / Roasted Gram Flour had been a must have item in our family pantry! On days when the mother felt unwell & could not cook roti-prata, our breakfast was this recipe, that I would be sharing today! I indeed enjoyed it, still do! After relocating to this island, the diabetic me tried to eat it the other way quite popular in India; with salt, mustard oil, chopped green chillies & onions! I could not have it! Saying this, I do not intent to hurt the sentiments of those unfortunate daily wagers back in Kolkata whose staple was / is it! Near our college, there were a couple of such non-Bengali speaking daily wagers, who in the afternoon would sit & do the mixture, have it accompanied by a "lota" full of water! Also, on my way to & from school, I would see this, less because it was Bengali crowd there! I used to watch closely and couldn't just take the scene, it was tough! Even in the present day, the scene remains the same, I do not get to see as I hardly walk the streets of Kolkata in that manner! What I want to say is having malls after malls throughout the country is not development alone! But there is certainly a development because beggars are less seen in the roads; also it got hard to get house helps at a meagre amount! That means there have generated work better than working as a house help or begging on the roads! What it takes to betterment are a corruption free political set up, sincere hard working selves, population control! I hardly can do any good to the society, I do not wish to talk much on these topics! I eat, roam, relax, listen to few genres of music!

THAT IS WHAT WE ATE YESTERDAY!

It's being long I do not go out on a Sunday & get an outside lunch or dinner pack for us; actually for T as I keep eating outside! The reason is nothing but lethargy! Several requests of mine to go out together on a Sunday had been rejected! He enjoys his beer & whisky with peanuts & cheese respectively; more than outside food! I find it difficult to believe if this is the same person who took us to restaurants frequently during his holidays! No, the son's education is not demanding this amount of restrictions I can say! I do not wait for when he would, I go out alone and do what I enjoy! It is 3 pm now, at 4pm I would go out to eat my lunch, rest a bit & walk! Then I would come back, take a good shower, do the night prayer, blow the conch and finish off with the blogpost! T says because I cook a variety at home & quite good; he doesn't want to eat out regular! What we had for lunch & dinner yesterday are these :

There was a stale dough for one porota & I had! At night, I cooked luchi sans any amount of semolina in the dough! The dough got softer than required and I was finding it difficult to fry them! I think I enjoy a choice of fish over the lamb & mutton in this island! Tell me what to eat after an hour for a late lunch? I again went back to having dinner at 9:30pm-10pm! I felt it is too much of a hassle arranging dinner for myself at 6:30pm; eating before the bread earner at home is causing me discomfort, the family women never did! I have no contribution in the family expenses! We enjoy eating together, a little of chitchat that includes bullying me! If I sing, he calls me Pata Kumari; he calls my degrees fake, my physique that of an elephant! I do not take to the heart, he is an extremely honest & responsible person! Do not try his stunts on me! Every person is different and we deal with different person in different manner, at least I do! I did not like my mother-in-law literally throwing her half eaten fish on my plate, because I love fish bone & head! She had to understand that is showing disrespect to me! She saw me eating T's leftovers, but she had to understand she had to give me a lot of good vibes before expecting me to eat her leftovers! I would want to deal too carefully with my son's girl! I even offered him to get his present girlfriend if any, with him this summer! He is not agreeing to come before his graduation! I can understand his mind, I know he is sincere about his life at this time! Mumma finds out good activities for herself, she dances to Bombay Jayashri's "Zara Zara Behekta Hai", I am both Dia Mirza & R Madhavan fan! The islanders see me regular grooving with my headphone on! Neither Dia nor Maddy can pull a seductive number well, such innocent features they have! Come on, do not make out exact literal meanings of the lyrics of a song, we hum just for the love of it!

WHAT IS THIS BENGALI CHATU MAKHA?

As told, the mother kept chatu always in her pantry! It is roasted gram flour powder! You can say it is the Organic Bengali Protein Powder! The Bengali body builders' favourite drink was this powder added to water with a bit of jaggery or salt & lemon juice! It helps beat the summer heat! Even, in our family the young male cousins had the drinks! We did have exactly the powder this way with milk, banana, sugar, adding beaten rice & puffed rice to it! It is extremely filling and you must prepare it less for yourself! Once you have it you would not feel hungry for long hours! It is purely organic, gluten-free, if you use non-diary milk, it gets to be vegan too! Let us name it BENGALI CHATU MAKHA, one of my favourite breakfast item! At this point, I left for my first meal & walk! I had a banana paratha & onion paratha with teh-o-kosong! Such meals go against any weight loss program! That is why I am round!

I loved my meal except for that tomato sauce, I like a chilli infused sauce! Also, only on request they would add green chillies to the onion in the paratha! Now, I would go for my shower! I wished to share in the blog today something for those who would be fasting coming Thursday on the occasion of Neel Sashti! We keep fast for our child! Not only I  would fast for my son on Thursday; on Friday, the last day of the Bengali Calendar, we would prepare a ball with this powder, sugar, water mixture and place outside seeking blessings for the brother, asking for him a trouble free life! Actually, we are to place the food at the juncture where three roads meet, I would do in our ledge! If you are having it as a fasting food, skip adding the grains like puffed rice & beaten rice!

INGREDIENTS : 

SATTU / CHATU / ROASTED GRAM FLOUR POWDER OR BARLEY POWDER / JOB ER CHATU : 1 MEDIUM TEA CUP CUP

BANANA : 1 OR 2 STANDARD SIZED

PUFFED RICE : A FISTFUL

BEATEN RICE : A FISTFUL

MILK : 1 1/2 COFFEE MUG [USE NON-DIARY MILK FOR A VEGAN VERSION]

SUGAR : 2-3 TSP [I USED BROWN SUGAR]

PROCEDURE :

I used this brand of chatu!

The Neogy family gave me before leaving for Abu Dhabi! My family also uses Barley Flour [Job er Chatu]!

Take the roasted gram flour in a bowl! 

Wash the puffed rice & beaten rice under running water taken in a colander, let all the water drain away! Add them to the chatu!

Mix well! Wash, peel & add the banana to the bowl & mash! Mix everything well!

Add the milk & sugar, fold in well & enjoy your breakfast meal! I would always use chilled milk for this!

If you are having it as a fast breaking meal; skip using the grains like puffed rice & beaten rice!

CARDAMOM FLAVOURED COCONUT CAKE

 COMING FROM A DISCIPLINED HOME, I HAVE TURNED JUST THE OPPOSITE!

Actually, only our mother loved the word discipline, the rest of us followed! I mean being an obedient child, I did what I was asked to! Later, even that home did not remain routined anymore, after the father retired! He loved his untimely naps that enraged the mother who sat to relax only after her second round of shower in the afternoon! Yesterday, when I called her, she was not done with her lunch even at 3 pm, Indian standard time! The brother & Bidisha goes out in the morning, they cannot be blamed for this delay! In my case too, I do not follow any fixed routine; none of us at this home do unless for the working days! Our mother actually tried to follow her father's disciplinarian policies, her physical features resembles her father and to some extent, the mentality too! None of us in the family remain what  we had been in our DumDum days! The father anyway is in a different world now, might have got a group to play bridge! I do not see that old time's Bengal anymore; boys do not form groups & chat or middle aged males play bridge even sitting at the side of a road, beggars are minimal in the streets! The world has developed a bit for sure! Our mother holds the same belief that playing "tash-pasha" / bridge is bad; her father did not play, in his spare time he did gardening only! In my life, I have learnt we need not keep pestering one person to become like another! My men are not the kind to give in, good that they would teach you that it is wrong to ask one to wear the shoes of the other! The son would say, "rule dibi na"!

THIS PARTICULAR FRIDAY WAS ALWAYS CONSIDERED A GOOD DAY AMONG US TOO!

May be because I was born in a place where the Church played a vital role or that my youngest maternal aunt had Christian friends who I visited with her that I learnt to hold special such days! I have not learnt Bible well, neither Quran; as a believer I know they all have good things to say for us to follow! Non-believers like my men may have the habit to counter argue, but in a way that helped me not to get blind about anything & I could at times tell the son not to show disrespect to other's point of view because his father has not! Leaving Krishnanagar & Birnagar for DumDum was a decision to taste a city life! There too I relished such days like a Good Friday in a Hindu Majority area! Our school was an English Medium School but with a majorly middle-class Hindu crowd! One good thing about it was that it did not allow much of religious celebrations within the school premises! And seriously in those days people did not break head with regards to who is from which faith; certain things these days put me off! That way, I find peace in this island, there can be rare cases of racism but at large people live in harmony! When in college, some of us did attend the Wednesday morning Bible class, it was not even compulsory for us; we never felt it was a Christian College! Even today, West Bengal stands for religious harmony, one cannot instigate a Bengali against another fellow being just on the basis of religion; we may be a lazy community, a state lacking a strong economy!

WHAT IS THIS CARDAMOM FLAVOURED COCONUT CAKE?

Off course, it is not a happy day for the believers of Christianity, the lord was crucified, he sacrificed his life wanting to restore Humanity in this world! Also, my readers know I do not have the habit of attaching the word "HAPPY" to every occasion! I think they call it Good Friday because the good soul sacrificed his life expecting the society to be human enough! I do not know why my family have associated any holiday of such kinds as a day to have some food better than the regular menu, be it a mutton curry, a sweet other than roshogolla or a cake! Yes, my family used to have cakes in every occasion & it started from their stay in Krishnanagar I believe! The father's side did not have such a ritual! I carried along with me this habit of getting a cake or baking one! I do like my simple bakes; I can get better results  if I use refined flour & eggs! But on special days, I wish to reach out to more of people & happily bake a simple cake, that is vegan & gluten-free & name it CARDAMOM FLAVOURED COCONUT CAKE! Because I do not buy expensive flour mixes, coconut flour is a favourite ingredient when it comes to baking!

INGREDIENTS :

COCONUT FLOUR : 1/2 COFFEE MUG & A LITTLE MORE

RICE FLOUR : 1/2 COFFEE MUG

CORNFLOUR : 1 TBSP

BAKING POWDER : 1 TSP

BAKING SODA : 1/2 TSP

BROWN SUGAR : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP [I USE LESS, ADJUST YOUR'S]

COCONUT MILK : 200 ML [I USED COCONUT MILK POWDER]

CARDAMOM POWDER : 1 TSP

BANANA : 1 STANDARD SIZED

OIL : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

VINEGAR : 2 TSP

CHOPPED PISTACHIO : 1 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

We need one banana for this measurement actually! I took the coconut flour, rice flour, corn flour, baking powder & soda  together in a bowl, mix well!

I used coconut powder for the milk, mixed an entire sachet to 1/2 coffee mug of warm water & mixed well!

In a blender; I took the coconut milk, halved banana, the brown sugar & oil, blended for a minute or two & poured onto the flour mix! I mixed it well!

I poured it onto the flour mix and mixed well! Then, I added cardamom powder & half of the chopped pistachios! I had beaten for about 3-4 minutes & kept covered for half an hour. Any batter using rice flour requires a resting period!

After half an hour, I poured the batter onto an aluminium foiled cake tin & tapped lightly on the kitchen counter! I sprinkled the rest of the Pistachios atop!

I preheated my mini oven toaster for 10 minutes @ 180*C, put the cake tin inside & baked for 40 minutes @ 180*C!

The time taken in your oven may slightly differ, be careful & do not blame me! I can guarantee a good taste if you like coconut! Having it warm would get you the best taste! This home has to refrigerate!

VEGAN GLUTENFREE PAKWAN

 IT WAS SUCH A LONELY SUNDAY YESTERDAY!

T left home early morning, thereafter Cristine too! And the entire day seemed fruitless! Our monkey son is not the kind who would make two different calls & ease his parents! I suffer from anxiety attacks when T drives longer distances! Several requests asking him to take a flight does he defy! Had he have the way, he would have driven to Kolkata too! Then, I and my anxiety attack issue; we are inseparable, the latter was born sometime in 1995! Not only T, I too did not wish to continue with the medication, we believe it is a never ending treatment! I know well once we get it, we live with it! Our mother has anxiety but that is different! She is not a pessimist like me, she is a strong woman! It is I who has a problem with the family driving; riding bus, train, airplane! It is a ridiculous situation inside, you have a dream with regards to your son, he goes faraway to fulfil it or his own dream; you keep precipitating in anticipation of the worst! I do not blame anyone, no one can help me out from it! I have tried mingling, regular meet ups is not my thing! I do not enjoy all girls meet too often, I prefer going out with the man & the son or friends' families meeting! I have come across great male friends! Yesterday, I was sitting numb until T messaged me on reaching, he travelled alone this time! Thereafter, what I did I am coming to that later! If such a mentality comes across Faraaz, you know what the heart goes through! Its a true incident! As always, I am researching, going through videos of him talking, his parents, brother, friends! Like his mother & family, this motherly figure also feels proud of his courage, humanity but at what cost? Loss of priceless young lives is uncalled for! Can mumma ask her son not to go out with his friends? You go out with your friends to a cafe never to come back home? From which angle can one talk good about radicals; radicalism should be outrightly uprooted! Yes, I am a believer, our grandparents, mother had been / are so; they never did think of or speak of killing those who do not conform to their belief / faith! Even I am not comfortable with exposing dresses, does it mean I want the otherwise promising, smiling girls to die?

IN LONELINESS; I STILL STOOD UP, COOKED SOMETHING!

Yesterday, once I got the news of T reaching & seen the son has liked this and that in one forum, I cooked noodles & wholewheat halwa! For my dinner, I had some reheated stale rice, begun-dhonepata bata, lote mach er jhuri & tomato as salad! I did the clicks & when I was ready to share them in public, I realised I forgot to take the picture of the noodles! I was upset & deleted the pictures of the halwa & my dinner plate! Instead, I watched a movie named "Dawat-e-Biryani" set in Lucknow & Kolkata! I have a hidden wish to walk the streets of Lucknow since 1997, people did not take me! I do not find a lone girl's travel safe enough, else you would have seen me travelling all over India at T's expenses! At this time, I want to travel & meet the son mostly! Yearly once, a Kolkata tour is fine! Since yesterday, I am having my dinner done by 7pm! Let me see if it helps, thereafter I would decide the next course! I had an Oriental choice lunch today from that stall run by the few young boys, that plate is 3:50$! One who give you food this cheap cannot keep up with the cleanliness standard! Clean your own table with a wet tissue, also keep your empty plates back in the table designated for it! I do it post pandemic!

The problem is I am not enjoying Oriental meals as before except for those in an upscale one! This means I have to have them not often but kabhi kabhi at a good place! If I try thrice a week, there would be aversion! Post lunch, I walked locally, only 5:5km! Unless it causes discomfort, you can walk post meal after a small gap but cannot exert yourself much!

I enjoyed my home cooked dinner, all made by me; "ruti, begun-dhonepata bata, atta halwa"! I skipped having salad today!

You can see I took a dinner break, else I would have finished my blogpost by now! I am not in a hurry, what to do next except for eating up my head worrying? I am a mother whose young child stays alone! Anyway, mumma irritates giving a list of do's & don'ts every other day! He does not even add us in his social media  forums, follows his father in one but not mumma! What harm would it make if the Utopian World I dream of get to be in practice; harmony, humanity should be in full swing; competition be there but fair enough!

WHAT IS THIS VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE PAKWAN?

It's been long I wished to have an authentic Sindhi Dal Pakwan! It did not happen as yet, any day I can cook it! I saw some recipe video, of one of my favourite master chef Sanjot Keer which I wished to follow! Before I could do it, the wish for a vegan, gluten-free version of Pakwan took over me! I kept thinking what possibly can get a crisper luchi basically! Also, I kept thinking about what flour to use! I cannot use refined or whole wheat flour or semolina if I want the bread to be vegan & gluten-free both! I would not buy an expensive flour packet! I have done urad dal / black gram lentils bread earlier! Now the concern was how to get a crisp outcome? Eureka, we are to fry the pooris longer in warm oil & not in super hot oil! Off course, this VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE PAKWAN bread is not healthy, but you can have it once every two weeks! As I say, I wish to do away with monotonous combo meals! I paired today's bread with Bengali "Potol-Peyaz er jhirijhiri" that I remember our father had in his office canteen, came home & requested our mother to cook & pair it with "luchi-porota"! He ate chapati but was not much fond of it; loved the formers; naan bread, tandoori roti, roomali roti! The sandesh sweet I wish to blog about soon! I wanted the platter to arrange Bengali style, I did!

INGREDIENTS :

SPLIT SKINLESS BLACKGRAM LENTIL / URAD DAL : 1 1/2 COFFEE MUG

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP

CARROM SEED : 1 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : AS REQUIRED TO DEEP FRY + 1/4 SMALL TEA CUP TO KNEAD

PROCEDURE :

Black Gram Lentils / Urad Dal flour has a raw smell! Later I was thinking if I should have roasted it a bit before using! Anyway, the more amount of oil, red chilli powder, carom seed were used for flavours, to get rid of that raw smell! Else this lentil flour may be high protein & less caloric[?]

I took the lentil flour, salt & red chilli powder in a bowl & mixed well! Thereafter, I added the carom seeds & oil; rubbed for a minute or two!

Then adding a little of water at a time, I kneaded it to a dough! The dough would not want to be smooth! However, we can get through it! I covered the dough for half an hour!

I removed the cover; kneaded the dough again for a minute or two! I tore off portions & rolled into roundels dusting with some lentil flour!

Because I could not get smooth edges, I used a cookie cutter for nice shapes!

I warmed enough oil in the wok for deep fry! We would not let it get too hot! I fried them at really low heat, one at a time, both sides well until crisp!

I forgot to, but you keep them onto a tissue paper before serving & having!