Shorshe Dharosh or Okra in Mustard Sauce

It’s been almost a year and a half that S has started her daycare/pre-school. Considering that we do not speak almost any English at home, it is fun to hear the smattering of English she has picked up primarily through school. She pronounces the words mostly by hearing which she sometimes gets wrong due to the accent. However I have noticed even if she doesn’t know the meaning of certain words, the context in which she uses them is almost always correct though her rendition makes us laugh out loud.(Yes, we are weird parents, we have fun at the expense of a 3 year old)

Yesterday she was painting some flowers in some obscure colors, she always use colors very imaginatively making you think she has never seen a flower in real life. So she paints these flowers and admires her own work of art by saying “Ei phool gulo khub cherryfull lagche na” (“Aren’t these flowers looking cherryfull?”)

In my vain attempt to correct I said that the word is “CHEERFUL” and not “CHERRYFULL”

But then why should a 3 and half year old listen to her poor mother. So as is her nature she insisted “ Na eta Cherryfull lagche“ (No this looks Cherryfull)

So I said but what does it mean?

And she tells me “Cherry jano na Cherry…sei cherry diye full hoye geche” (“You don’t know cherry” she said “it means with lots and lots of cherries it is full”)

Huh….totally stumped…I demanded no further explanation and gave her a “cherryfull” smile.

Today when she drew a Christmas tree with a coconut on top, I just kept mum.

A Mustard Oil Ad from Dhara

Thanks MalluGirl:D

Back to food now. When Ashwini had raised a question “What is the Gold in your Cuisine?” sometime back, I wondered. Yes I wonder a lot, could have been the wonder kid, stuck to being a wonder mom now.

While I was intently wondering, what to choose, a Dhara print Ad flashed through my dull brain. A lady pouring Mustard Oil while smiling at the camera (no mean feat I tell you) and the ad line screaming “Tel noyto, jeno Galano Shona” (It is not Oil, it is molten Gold).

So that is what it is. Mustard. Shorsher tel aka Mustard Oil and shorshe bata the mustard paste is gold of not only Bengali Cuisine but cuisine of many states in the Eastern Region of India. More about Mustard, in MySpice – Mustard.

I made Shorshe Dharosh or Okra in a Mustard sauce today. It is a traditional bengali recipe that my Ma used to follow.The sharp flavor of the mustard paste and the oil creates a heady mix with the Okra. Tastes best with tender baby okra and can be had with Roti or White Rice though I definitely prefer the latter. It can be an everyday dish but is elegant enough to serve when you have guests over. Also ideal for a strict vegetarian menu as it has no onion or garlic. This goes to Sunita's Think Spice Event which features Mustard this month.


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Shorshe Dharosh

What You Need

Okra/Bhindi/Dharosh ~ I had 60 baby okras, tender the better. Did not weigh them and so had to count them……what a task !!! The okra needs to be tender, does not taste good with the okras that are aged. Try frozen baby okras if you don't get fresh.

For Mustard paste

Mustard seeds/Rai/Shorshe ~ 6 tbsp
Poppy Seeds/KhusKhus/Posto ~ 2 tbsp
Green Chillies ~ 3 (When I say Green Chillies, I always mean the Indian Green Chillies which are really hot)
Salt ~ a pinch

Soak the mustard and poppy seeds in water for 15-20 minutes and then grind together all the above with little water. The paste should not be runny so add little water gradually during grinding. It yielded about 7-8 heaped tbsp of paste .

Tips: Grinding the mustard right is important to get a smooth paste which is NOT bitter. Somehow this was never a cause of concern when the Shil-Nora was used in my home in India. Here I have seen some blenders/grinders do a lousy job of grinding.

If you are dry grinding using a coffe grinder, the paste might get a little bitter. In that case mix the powder (done in the coffee grinder) with salt, green chilli and vinegar and let it rest for half an hour.

When wet grinding, often your attempt to make small quantity of paste might fail. Add all the ingreds listed with little water and run the blender for long enough until you get a smooth paste.

There are some good discussions on getting the right mustard paste here


For Tempering

Nigella seeds/Kalonji/Kalo Jeera ~ 1 tsp loosely packed
Green Chillies ~ 5 chillies slit lengthwise

For the gravy/sauce

Mustard Paste ~ 5 heaped tbsp of the prepared paste
Yogurt ~ 2 heaped tsp
Red Chilli Powder ~ I do not use red chilli powder for my mustard based recipes but you can add a little

Oil ~ Mustard Oil is preferred but you can use Canola. I would not suggest Olive Oil for this dish but if you must go ahead.
Salt

How I Did It

To Prep
Prepare the mustard paste as mentioned
Chop the head and tail off all the okra. Wash, pat dry and then chop else they get slimy

To Cook

Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan

Temper with Nigella seeds/Kalonji and Green Chilli. When the spices start sputtering add the washed and dried okra

Sauté the okra for 4-5 minutes with a pinch of turmeric. Do not deep fry them, they should be tender and half cooked. You will know because they will glisten and have turned soft by this time.

Mix the mustard paste with yogurt and add the mixture to the okra

Add salt and red chilli powder

Mix well, add a dash of mustard oil and cover and cook. If you do not have mustard oil, add a little of the cooking oil.

In between remove cover, stir and add a little water (about 7-8 tbsp) Stir intermittently till the okra is done. Take care not to mash up the okra. You want them whole so a gentle stir is enough

I make it moist but gravy is almost dry, the result looks as in the pic

Drizzle a little mustard oil on top before serving

Trivia: Okra originated in Ethiopian Highlands and was introduced to America during the slave trade. The name Okra is West African in origin. Okra is also called "kingumbo" in some Bantu languages and that is the origin of the American "gumbo". Okra arrived in India after the common era as proved from the fact that the ancient Indian languages has no word for okra though now it is known as "Bhindi" in the Indian language, Hindi.