AAM ER ACHAR O GURO MOSHOLA MAKHANO BAKED FULKOPI

 

IF NOT COOKING; WHAT AM I DOING? EATING; FOR SURE!

What else? As I sit to write, I rewind and look back at last Saturday; since then and until sometime back, I had been eating. Intermittent Fasting will not tolerate this torture. It is true I did a 7.4km of walk an hour back! Thereafter what I ate for lunch was not be done.

How much I walk is not important but the pace is. Mine is very slow; I am so lazy that I feel sick thinking of over working my body. This is the scenario since birth; my family never pushed me to work hard, be a worth. The rest in my present family are least bothered about my whereabouts! We are so used to each other's space these days that any interference causes us irritation; if the youngest is not behaving normal; it might be because we have never put the family through any hard and fast rules. Yesterday, our lunch was spoilt eating a me made noodles that horribly went wrong. It was an experiment. Though on a Sunday, our refrigerator is full packed with COOKED FOOD, we eat different! Unsatisfied; I went to sleep, the rest could not. Around 6pm, I woke up and forced myself to put on the walking shoes! Usually, I do some workouts five days a week. Last Thursday was the Sankranti Day, I could not step out. There was another reason. I so dislike serving poorly made food to anyone; then, I keep eating outside food throughout the week; people never go out for after office dinner leaving me. I went for a walk and got a JOLLIE BEE BURGER MEAL for the family; the help does not eat at home on Sundays! The noodles got me severe acidity. Back home, I took no chance and cooked a simple "chal-dal-aloo sheddo" for myself and had with salt and butter, a green chilli!

For any kind of stomach upset, I take to this therapy, easy on my stomach! I went to sleep promising myself light lunch today; but I went back to JOLLIE BEE for their NASI LEMAK 
MEAL. I will talk about the noodles that went wrong and a yum nasi lemak later, in public. However, I wished to share an easy going, DIARY FREE, VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE RECIPE today in the BLOG; I hope this AAM ER ACHAR O GURO MOSHOLA MAKHANO BAKED FULKOPI just works for the day!

CAULIFLOWER & BENGALIS; CANNOT BE ANTONYMS!

Cauliflower is Fulkopi for us and we so love it. Even if there are any cauliflower haters among us, they might be rare in number. On an all vegetarian day, a FULKOPI ALOOR DALNA saved us fish & meat loving siblings; even our youngest enjoy a rustic "ruti with fulkopi-aloor dalna" meal. Honestly, my family did not cook "fulkopir roast or grill or bake" ever. They got their microwave oven may be after my marriage. We had always been a typical, middle class, Bengali family happy with "DOI FULKOPI", "Aloo Fulkopi Bhaja", etc. Even "Doi Fulkopi" is imported in Bengali Homes, I think so! Be with flat or puffed breads or rice; any side with cauliflower makes our meal lovable. It is only when I started BLOGGING ABOUT FOOD, I knew grilled cauliflower is a good substitute for meat. This time, I baked it marinating it with a spicy mango pickle and regular spices. I have learnt to be a better cook enough to know my grilled cauliflower recipe needs a re-do and that this baked one is truly Indian; any stomach can take it!

AAMER ACHAR O GURO MOSHOLA MAKHANO BAKED FULKOPI / REGULAR SPICES AND MANGO PICKLE MARINATED BAKED CAULIFLOWER IS NOT A STEP TOWARDS A VEGAN LIFE; WE CONTINUE TO LOVE FISH & MEAT!

This was an impromptu decision few days back when I got two beautifully looking, round Taiwan variety of cauliflower. I felt, let us go different! It is high time, I do away with the large batch of the spicy, tangy mango pickle I made a year back. I have used a considerable amount in the marination of the cauliflower. The Taiwan variety of it tastes like the winter produce of it in Kolkata! There is a reason why I am sharing it today! What is it? May be because the smell of Cristine cooked sea fish yesterday made me averse to fish for two, three days now; I so dislike sea-fish! I did let her because it was her elder sister's birthday yesterday; ten friends of them were sharing the cost. Not all owners are liberal neither their helps are like Cristine. I only told her to use a room spray in the kitchen after cooking. 

She cooked all the above items of prawns, sausage, vegetables boil, sea fish fry, minced chicken with egg plant within an hour. Bengali Cooking cannot be done in this speed, at least not in our families, we slow cook in minimal heat. The after smell was leaving me nowhere, but I cannot be so cruel to ask a sister not to cook on her elder sister's birthday. Her elder sister works here leaving four children back in the province; two boys & two girls. Its tough, I know. I forgot to bake a cake for her to carry, will do after I finish my post. I did buy X-Mas gift for her sister, do send for her any special food made. Cristine has shown me her picture, she is a fashionista; Cristine perhaps is an exception in the entire Philippines. She thinks this SPICY BAKED CAULIFLOWER ; AAM ER ACHAR O GURO MOSHOLA MAKHANO BAKED FULKOPI is worth sharing in the blog, let us do it! We would want some meat and fish STARTER / APPETISER too alongside, I guess you too may!

INGREDIENTS :

CAULIFLOWER : 1 STANDARD SIZED

MANGO PICKLE WITH OIL : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP 

CUMIN POWDER : 2 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 2 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP

DRY MANGO POWDER : 11/2 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/2 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

The amount serves a nuclear family, increase the amount as per your requirement!

We will cut the root end of the cauliflower, do the necessary dressing as we usually do!

We will wash it thoroughly and place it in a microwave proof bowl half filled with water, a little of salt added. The cauliflower should be able to immerse once placed upside down.

 

We will microwave it at high for about 10 minutes!

We will discard the water, wash it again after letting to cool. We will do the marination very well with the salt, lemon juice, crushed black pepper, red chilli + cumin + coriander + dry mango powders.

There should be enough oil from the pickle to be used. This marination part is important; the spice mixture should enter every corner of the cauliflower!

We will leave it covered for at least 2 hours.

Our's is a microwave with convection mode. I have pre-heated the oven for 10 minutes @ 180*C; placing inside the low height, wired stool meant for baking!

I had taken the marinated cauliflower in a bake proof plate. 

Once pre-heated, I had placed the plate atop the wired stool, closed the door. I had baked it for 20-25 minutes @ 180*C. 

Every machine differ, please be careful about the time setting!

We will try to have it fresh and hot; dipped in any sauce or chutney of our choice, even yogurt!

Also do get your choice of fish and meat appetisers on the side!

CHAL GUR NARKOL BHAPE

 

HAPPINESS IS GETTING THINGS DONE ACCORDING TO THE PLAN; IN MY CASE, IT IS THE RIGHT KIND OF COOKING! IT CAN BE SORU CHAKLI SOMEDAY; A STEAMED, OIL-FREE COCONUT JAGGERY DELIGHT, ON THE OTHER!

Every thing went through as per my planning and that makes me happy. I wished to change the photographs of my SHORU CHAKLI / SORU CHAKLI PITHE sooner. Hence, on this MAKAR SANKRANTI day, today, I had offered it to my God family along with payesh / Bengali rice pudding. 

Yes, I did this less number of items. Who will eat? Had the son be there, he would still, being a young guy. We are in our fifties; I would love to have but my medical conditions do not allow me to. The man is restrictive about the amount and variety of food for over a decade now. I do not like food going to a waste, neither get stale. Yet, we get to eat stale a lot. The day before; I got late in the preparation of "sheddo puli" / STEAMED RICE SNACK STUFFED WITH COCONUT JAGGERY MIX actually, then I changed my plan and got this easier CHAL GUR NARKOL BHAPE!

THE CHAKRA / CIRCLE OF HOME, FOOD, COOKING IN THE PRESENT DAY SITUATION!

Some evenings, the man comes late, eats half the amount than what he eats usually. Every day, he has to booze a bit; a can of beer which has now turned to whisky. So there is no question of serving sweet dishes at night to him. I will not serve him "thakurer proshad" / something I had offered to my God family if he boozes. So, I cooked few crepes and the pudding, offered to my Gods; chanted the relevant mantra. Thereafter, I had cooked few more, clicked the platter and had sent a little amount to my neighbours! The rest of the batter would be used at night, to be had with a salty curry or veg dish. Tomorrow morning, his lunch box would be packed with flat or puffed bread, payesh and some of this CHAL GUR NARKOL BHAPE; a steamed, vegan, gluten-free delight! Imagine, some days he has declared official lunches, some days he has impromptu and brings back the entire FOOD BOX sent. I get irritated. 

MORE ABOUT THIS CHAL GUR NARKOL BHAPE / A STEAMED, VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, OIL FREE  PITHE  SNACK!

I had prepared this HEALTHY SNACK the day before. I wished to blog about it today. Else, I would have cooked and offered more today! The guy is so much busy in office, reduced his appetite so much that he has to eat stale. I did not like it that we had our lunch with the crepes way before the man would. I like having together whatever I cook outside of the regular. Then, I think, if we can eat leaving the son, we can adjust to any situation! If I wait for the man to have it, I had to arrange another lunch platter for us; Cristine and me. Better we accept the need of the hour and move on. What I cannot accept is the son's weird, incommunicado self! The approaching menopause, the men's weirdly selves, few people's behaviour; everything taken together cause me severe irritation. Yet, it is your own who will stand by you in the worst case scenario, the rest can be ignored, you are a non-entity outside your boundary wall. It's a pleasure to be able to do anything for them, if only they took a bit of interest in my hobby of cooking, encouraged & helped me to go further with it! Sigh! But they eat what I cook, may be after 2-3 days, but they do. Do I cook too much? Yes, I do! It keeps me happy & engaged, I wish to earn from it!

INGREDIENTS :

RICE FLOUR : 11/2 COFFEE MUG

SHREDDED COCONUT : 200 GM

JAGGERY : 1/3 SMALL TEA CUP  [I USED THREE ROUND SLABS OF COCONUT ROCK SUGAR]

BROWN SUGAR : 2 TBSP

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1/2 TSP

SALT : 1/2 TSP

PROCEDURE :

I had put a pan on top of the gas stove and switched it on. I had added the coconut rock sugar and a little of water.

It will melt and simmer for sometime to get a sticky texture, that is when I had added the shredded coconut and folded in very well.

There after, I had added the cardamom powder and about 2 tbsp of brown sugar. 

I had stir cooked at minimal heat for 7-8 minutes and took it down. We need not be too particular about the stickiness of the coconut & jaggery, we are not preparing naru / balls / ladoo from it!

While the mixture is cooling, let us get the rice flour ready!

I had heated a pan and took the rice flour in it, roasted it well in minimal heat for at least 7-8 minutes. We had added the salt thereafter and mixed well.

I had added hot water little by little to the roasted rice flour; say about a coffee mug or more.

We had cooked it for 3-4 minutes at a very low heat and took it down, transferred to a bowl.

I had let it cool a bit. I find this part a bit hard, we have to knead the dough when the mixture is still hot. It hurts the palm a bit.

Just when I was about to stuff and shape the "pulis", an easier idea came to my mind. The Terunelveli Halwa left a bad taste and it was already 9pm; I am not too good with puli shapes made alone with rice flour dough! I wanted a vegan & gluten-free treat! 

I did what you see. I added the coconut-jaggery mixture to the dough  and mixed together well.

Whilst, I was shaping them very casually, my made to steamer prepared with a half filled vessel with water, a colander on top and a towel tied lid to cover was getting the water boil.

But, yesterday, I got a proper steamer at a discount! You may too!

Both Cristine and me, shaped them.

Thereafter, we had placed the shaped snacks on top of the colander.

We had covered it with the lid!

We had allowed the snacks to steam cook for 20-25 minutes. 

It is preferable to have the soft, melt in the mouth snacks hot and fresh! But the stale ones, if reheated can be enjoyed with tea / coffee!

RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA

WHAT IS PITHE PULI IN OUR FAMILY?

In both sides of my family, PITHE PULI is essentially sweet, one or two salty versions are there! The family veterans till date prepare only authentic pithe-puli that requires refined flour, rice flour, semolina, shredded coconut, jaggery these few things. They either use the steamed method or the frying method to cook them. My family cannot think of taking a different path and try spicy versions of these WINTER SPECIAL TREATS! Like, after the father passed away; the mother keeps complaining she does not get an opportunity or reason to prepare pithe-puli as bhai / my brother and his wife are not fond of sweet meats. If I ask her to prepare the spicy version, she would not. I cannot blame her; post seventy, she cannot have the energy to try new dishes. I can understand what makes her feel awkward; Poush Sankranti for us Bengalis or for our family is associated with preparing a number of sweet treats and visiting the local mela / fair! Moreover, she had been in the habit of making them in bulk; in the recent winters, she finds herself jobless because the brother refuses. I ask them to adjust with each other, so the ritual does not get lost! She can prepare something like this RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA ; done mainly with SWEET POTATO, DRY FRUITS, SPICES, REFINED FLOUR.

DOES MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY LOVE BENGALI PITHE-PULI?

They definitely do! Both of my man and the son enjoy sweet meats. The son is severely missed whenever I cook something special. But as I say, the ritual cannot be done away with. Neither, I do them in bulk as the family was used to do! My family never expected that this lazy daughter who never was seen near the kitchen would get so interested preserving her tradition. Today, I consider it my holy duty. What I cannot do is cooking it in bulk. My men also do not like eating the same food for a couple of days even if it is a SWEET VEGETARIAN BLISS called pithe-puli! Our father was opposite of them; he loved picking up now and then from the vessels filled with at least a few varieties kept on the table. How we loved stale sweet meats, and the brother too! I do not know exactly from when he stopped liking these WINTER TREATS!

WHAT IS THIS SPICY SWEET POTATO & DRY FRUITS STUFFED SAVOURY CREPE / JHAL JHAL RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA?

Because it was our deceased father's birthday yesterday and Poush Sankranti in few days, I had to share this stuffed savoury crepe today. I did not want my brother or his wife to keep off from the treat. She is a woman for whom our father lived liked a king in his last few years and took a peaceful exit. Else, the man's family; his sister her spouse are into sweet stuffs! Okay; the in-laws are not allowed to have sweets. The rest of the people's tastebuds are to be taken care of by their own; for me to think about them requires a lot of exercise on their part; nothing in this world comes for free. Any day, I love the jaggery and coconut combination over a salty & spicy one when it comes to pithe! Then, this filling made of boiled & cooked SWEET POTATO with DRY FRUITS & SPICES, GREEN CHILLIES is good too. The man ate four of the RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA for dinner with mint-coriander chutney without a noise means it was wow. Wish the son was here, on my lap. 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING :

SWEET POTATO : 200 GM

CHOPPED DRY FRUIT : 11/2 TBSP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 TBSP

CUMIN SEED : 1/2 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/2 TSP

DRY MANGO POWDER : 2 TSP

CHAAT MASALA : 1 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 3 TBSP

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CREPE BATTER :

REFINED FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

SEMOLINA : 1/2 COFFEE MUG

SALT : 1/2 TSP

OIL : 1 TBSP

WATER : AS REQUIRED

THE FINAL PART :

THE FILLING

THE BATTER

VERY LITTLE OF OIL

PROCEDURE :

The first thing we will do is soak the semolina in 11/2 coffee mug of water for an hour.

After an hour; we will add the refined flour to it and mix well. There should not be any lump left in the batter.

Then, we will add the oil and mix again well. 

We will keep the batter covered for about 45 minutes!

Let us peel, cube, wash the sweet potatoes, take in a pressure cooker, add 2-3 coffee mugs of water; close the lid and pressure cook at minimal heat up to 3-4 whistles.

Once the lid opens by itself; we will mash it. We will chop or break the dry fruits!

We will heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok and temper with the cumin seeds & the green chillies. We will add chopped dry fruits.

We will add the boiled and mashed sweet potatoes, cumin+coriander+dry mango+chaat masala+red chilli powders+salt and fold in well.

At this stage, it felt crushed black pepper would go well, so I added it.

I cooked it further for sometime and transferred it to a bowl to cool a bit. Once cool, I kneaded it for 2-3 minutes!

We have added 1/4 tsp oil to the pan. 

We will wipe the pan with a piece of moist cloth. 

The pan has to be really hot before we add a spoonful of the batter to it. 

Once it cooks as below, we will add a portion of the filling!

We will now roll it inward and make a stuffed, rolled crepe / patishapta!

Try to have the SAVOURY CREPES fresh & hot!