Ma's Doi Potol -- no choices there

All Photo Credits Courtesy my Dad@Kolkata

Food is a topic of much discussion these days. Umpteen channels on the television talk, discuss, present and even produce insane competitions;all on food. There are millions of blogs and websites all over the internet bursting with tantalizing food and bulging with information. There are hundreds of opinions churned out every day about what food is good and bad for you. There are umpteen lists about "Five Foods to Never Eat" and as many about "Five Foods to ace an interview". You would think "Five" would be an easy number to handle ? Naah.

All around me there seems to be a Food bubble. And I do hope earnestly that the bubble does not burst. I am enjoying it.

But as much as I love this gastronomical propaganda I must admit I am also highly confused. There is too much information which is hard to assimilate and even trust these days. There is too much of competition about making food faster, prettier, healthier, better and while one day that means oodles of butter, on the other none of it.There are studies being churned out faster than the dollar bill and when it comes to food it is hard to ignore them even in my standard lackadaisical mode. Why my family's health might be affected by the brand new study, that still smells of fresh ink and crisp paper hot from the printer. My child might grow up to be a psycho because she was deprived of Himalayan acai berry juice as a toddler.

Local or Organic, Paleo or Vegan, Chinese Study or American, South Beach or Calangute, your garndmother's or mine ? The questions are just too many. And honestly if you notice the core of each of these studies and sum them up it might just be what your Mother had been saying all along and you blindly ignored. Ahhh, what does she know after all. Now grandmothers might be more knowledgeable.

When I was a child growing up in India, food was not a media darling. Few recipes in the Sunday newspaper and a couple of half hearted food pictures in the Bengali magazine was all we had to be satisfied with. Glossy magazines like Femina did not talk about food. News Magazines like India Today stayed far away from recipes and if at all, talked about the dearth of food or the high price of it. "Eat it, all of  what is in your plate. Food is precious and there are people who are doing without it" was my Mother's common refrain.Food was revered and recipes were all hand me down or shared with neighbors. My Ma would sometimes cut out of recipes from the Sunday papers and with years they would begin to look like  fragile parchment.

Food was a mainstay of the middle class household though. Starting with the morning bazaar routine, getting fresh supplies of seasonal vegetables and fish every day, cooking 3 meals from scratch each day without fail was the norm. We discussed food with love and passion, as something to be cherished and thankful about. Each time my Thama lamented the milk that the milkman got, comparing it with the creamy, almost reddish hued warm milk from the cows in her parent's home in Munger, we collectively sighed. When my Baba said that nothing tasted as good as his grandmother's ghee parathas and mohonbhog we imagined days dripping with drops of grainy tassar silk ghee.

My Ma's cooking usually bordered on the healthy where it was never oily or too spicy for comfort. Yet it was flavorful, always had a vegetable, a fish and grains. The vegetables and fish changed along the season, the dishes varied from light to rich with the temperature. Meat was cooked once a week. I lived my entire childhood yearning for an omlette made with 6 whole eggs which she steadfastly denied spreading the quota over the entire week instead. She or none in her generation stopped to think if it was right to feed this or that. The everyday diet was naturally balanced.

All her life my mother's food style remained the same unlike mine which jumps from no-grain in one week to brown rice only in another and raw salad one day to junk food the next. While she lived with maybe three main kinds of grains, my pantry has branded as well as un-branded packs of brown rice, quinoa, daliya, couscous, semolina, flax seeds, wheat germ and other un-inventoried item which I amass because the recent study said so. Needless to say I forget about many of them.

I don't know whether her style was correct or whether it worked because the raw food products then were not maligned by harmful chemicals. I am not justifying anything, all I am saying is it was much more easier to think of food and plan a meal then. There were set choices.

Now,every week we run around three different grocery stores. For what purpose I do not know. Organic spinach and strawberries from Whole Foods, flax seed from Wegman's, Bitter Gourd and hot green Chiles from Patel Bhai. And then someone comes and says "Local is far better than Organic" and so I again run around, driving 35miles, getting Zucchini from the farm stand which said "Local Produce". In between I have spent an hour debating whether the more expensive wild caught salmon is less contaminated than the farm raised.Thankfully Organic Milk and Eggs is now mainstream and so we can get that anywhere but now they say Milk is not at all necessary for the diet anyway so there my precious 265 hours were wasted.

Finally when I am home, drained both physically and financially I decide I need some rest and order a processed cheese artisan pizza from Domino's, glug down a splenda infused coke and try to think of the  most edible way to cook the couscous so that I can contribute more food to the world wide web.

Of all the "gyaan" that is out there I probably like Michael Pollan's Twelve Commandments best.  
More Vegetables. 
Less Meat. 
Minimal processed food. Cook more. 
Eat at the table. Though I don't follow them strictly, they make sense.

But here is where I stumble.
"Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food".

Ideally eating what my Grandmother recognized would have been right because I guess that is what my body was suited for but then came globalization and messed it all up. I eat pasta and broccoli in abundance, and I am guessing she would too if she lived with me in the US. Also when I eat some of what she ate like this "Potol" I am actually committing a crime by not eating "local". I have no idea where my Patel Brothers get their potol from but I am sure it grows nowhere in my backyard.

Potol was a vegetable I was never fond of but summer heat brings back memories of patol and grandmothers. I however did not buy potol again, twice in one summer is enough I decided. This recipe of Doi Potol -- PointedGourd in a Yogurt sauce is a recipe sent by my Mother. I haven't cooked it yet but the recipe I see is pretty universal and might go well with even eggplants. So that is what I am going to do with this recipe next, cook it with eggplants. You can do the same or if you have access to plentiful potols you can make one more dish with the same boring veggie.


1. Potol - 6 pc
2. Onion - half
3. Yogurt/Curd - 1 cup
4. Green chilli-- 4/5
5. Cumin/Jeera powder - 2 tea spoon
6. Ginger - 1 table spoon
7. Turmeric Powder - 1 tea spoon
8. Chilli powder - half tea spoon
9. Sugar - 1 tea spoon
10. Salt- according to taste
11. Garam masala - 3 elaichi, 1/2 " dalchini, 4 cloves
12. Tejpata - 1
13. Rosun - 1 koya /1clove

Prothome potol take bhajar moto ga ( body ) ta cheche niye ektu haldi & salt lagye bheje nite hobe. Then potol ta tule rekhe in that oil, garam masala & tejpata phoron debe. Then ote onion & rosun debe and ginger paste & sugar diye bhjte hobe. Now 1 cup doi ( curd ) haldi, lanka & jeera powder diye bhalo kore phetiye nite hobe. Onion bhaja hole or modhye ei curd diye debe and gas sim kore bhalo kore nere niye ote potol guli diye nara chara kore salt debe. Tarpore jal ( water ) diye dhaka ( lid ) debe. Potol boil hole green chilli long size chire (cut ) ote diye namiye nebe.

Scrape skin of potol/parwal and toss in salt and little turmeric powder.

Heat Mustard Oil in a Kadhai.

Fry the patol lightly, remove and keep aside.

Temper the same oil with Whole Garam Masala and TejPatta.

Add the finely chopped onion and garlic and saute. Next goes in the ginger paste. fry with a tsp of sugar till onion is soft and browned.

Meanwhile in a bowl add the yogurt, Cumin Poder, Chili powder and littel turmeric powder. Beat well.

Once the onion is done, take the kadhai off the heat  and slowly add the yogurt. At low heat cook add the fried potol and mix well with yogurt and masala.

Add water for gravy, add salt, cover and cook till the potol is done. Once the potol is done add the green chili and switch off heat.

Alu Kabli -- the Bongo Potato Salad

"Go, watch a movie", my Mother prods. She does this every time she is here. Religiously, during the course of her six months of stay, she asks me to go out to a movie theater. To a multiplex, with digital screens, buckets of popcorn, large glasses of coke, the whole zing-bang. She says it the same way she asks me to take my vitamins, calcium , drink milk, exercise, kapalbhaati, breath in-out.

If she had put so much effort early on in my life, I could have watched QSQT, Maine Pyaar Kiya, Roja, Bazigar, Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar, all first day , first show. But that never happened.

Even now there are constraints. She doesn't want me to go and watch any movie by myself, my friends or even with her.The movie has to be watched along with my legally wedded husband, the D, only. That is the rule she lays down. Watching movie at the theaters with one's spouse, is the litmus test by which she checks all izz well between me and the guy.

Can't blame her. There is little else to rest one's faith on when all you see the couple arguing over is, "You get the Milk from Costco, I will pick up Bitter Gourd from Patel", "I did all the pickups and drop off last week when you were traveling, this week you better pick BS up from karate"

I take up my Mother's proposal with much hope, excitement even. Three hours away from clinging kids in a dimmed room with Shahrukh Khan/Farhan Akhtar/Tom Cruise and a glass of chilled coke doesn't sound too bad. If things go okay, we can hold hands even (without arguing). The husband however is not much enthused. He would rather watch "how they make shiny steely razors" instead on SCI, stretched out on the couch and eat Haldiram's Nav Ratan Bhujia.

Also the movies I want to watch is not the ones he would be caught seeing, even in a dark theater. At least not anymore.Sickly mushy romantic movies with a touch of humor are my genre. He likes the rock, car chases, hooded men and anything animated. Even if we agree on the animated we cannot white-lie a eight year old and say "We have to pick up groceries" when all we are doing is going to watch Tintin in 3D.

With every movie that we finally do not watch and argue instead, my Ma wants to dial Ajmeri Baba on hot-line.

Finally we do. Not call Ajmeri Baba. Watch a movie. At the theater. With a large glass of coke half filled with ice and toasted nachos. The nachos are terrible and I really wish there was something better. Alu-Kabli would have been perfect. Tangy with a tamarind chutney, salty with sprinkles of pink salt, hot with the tiny pieces of green chlili. It would have perfectly matched the excitement of Ethan Hunt rappelling down the Burj.

Next time maybe. A year later. And then maybe we can also hold hands.

Alu Kabli is the easiest thing that you can make in your lifetime. All you have to do in the cooking department is cook potatoes or rather boil them. You can do that step in the MW, stove top or the Pressure Cooker. Baas, you are done. To make life easy use a can of chickpeas which you drain, rinse and then just eat. If you do not have access to canned ones, you need to soak chickpeas overnight and then cook till they are soft and edible.

When I had asked in FB months ago, Eve's Lungs had this about Alu Kabli-- "tiny cubed pots, soaked red chana, onions chopped small,motor boiled ,cucumber - small diced , dhania patta , loads of imli , bhaja moshla,kalo noon and yummo"
Tanushree said -- "plus u have to have kacha lanka and chine badam..................must. "

Mine does not have cucumber, coriander leaves or roasted peanuts. If you want add them to yours.


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Alu Kabli

Boil 2 medium potatoes in their jacket.Peel and then cube. Soak chickpeas overnight and cook them till soft. OR buy a can of chickpeas, drain, rinse well and use.

Chop half of a large onion in small pieces. Chop about 6 small green chili in thin rounds.

Dry roast 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds till they roast to a nice smell. Dry roast or char by holding directly on fire two Dry red Chili. Okay, only one for the faint hearted. Dry grind the cumin seeds and red chili together to make a fine powder called Bhaja Masla.

In a bowl add 2 tbsp of Tamarind Chutney, 2 tbsp water, 1 tsp of Bhaja Masla, a little salt to taste and 2 of the finely chopped green chili. Mix well.Note: I used Deep Brand Tamarind Chutney, you can also make your own

In another bowl assemble the potatoes and a cup of boiled chickpeas.Sprinkle rest of the bhaja masla, some pink salt according to taste, the chopped green chili and the chopped onion. Squeeze a little of lime juice, maybe a teaspoonful. Toss together and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Now dole out a serving in a bowl. Drizzle the tamarind water you made. Garnish with some more chili and onion. Sprinkle with some hot sev if you wish. Eat immediately.

Labra -- for Saraswati Pujo

Saraswati Pujo is two days away and a reader sent in a mail asking for the recipe of Labra. Khichuri is an important part of this day for the Bengalis and labra is a mixed veggie dish popular as a side to the Khichuri. Since I never really liked Khichuri all that much, the day did not mean much to me food wise. There were other incentives of course like the sweet & sour kul, visiting the Pujos  with friends and not doing any studies since the goddess resided on top of all our school books.

So anyway the main point is khichuri never excited me. Along with khichuri came labra, a mix of all vegetables and tomato chaatni a staple Saraswati Pujo lunch in most Bengali homes, at least the Ghoti homes. The intelligent Bangals of course ate their ilish.

Now I have never made a "Labra". I have made a ghonto, a charchari, a paanch-mishali but not a labra. I didn't even realize that I have never cooked a labra until I got this mail. Bengali mixed vegetable dishes are largely similar with delta differences and it is hard to decide whether you are cooking a ghonto or a labra when you have chopped and put in at least five different vegetables and forgotten whether you added ginger or bhaja masla.

I theoretically had an idea how to cook one though and said so in my mail. I mean five and more vegetables and little or no spice. How difficult can this get ?

But then I had an icky feeling in my stomach. The kind you have while explaining escape velocity to someone. Not that I go around doing such explaining but you know what I mean. Theoretically you know perfectly what escape velocity is but you have never experienced it and you think what if it doesn't work ? What if I run at a speed greater than escape velocity and still am unable to "break free", you think. Agreed NASA has done it but I haven't. So the doubt lingers.

That feeling bothered me for the last two days and finally I chopped up some radish, eggplant, cabbage, potatoes, butternut squash and cooked a "Labra" . The theoretical part was out and I had done the practical experiment which was a good thing because the labra made the husband immensely happy.Such simple joys of nature.

It was easy except for the chopping part but even that wasn't too bad.So essentially labra needs to have some leafy vegetables, usually thick cut cabbage along with firm veggies like potatoes and radish and soft ones like pumpkin and eggplant. As per my knowledge, it also DOES NOT need mustard but some ginger does it good.It tastes really good with Khichuri or some Dal and white rice.

I will try to post the Khichuri recipe which has been in my draft for long. If not make your own and enjoy it with this beautiful vegetable dish with a horrendous name on the 8th.


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Labra -- a mixed vegetable dish

Prep: Vegetables are the most important and only ingredient of a Labra. There is very little of other spices involved. So it is important the vegetables you use for this dish are fresh and taste good. Chop the following vegetables in roughly equal sizes and more or less equal proportion

Potato -- 1 large, peeled and chopped along the length
Eggplant ~ 1 Japanese egg plant, chopped in cubes
Radish ~ about 1/2 cop of cubed red radish
Cabbage ~ 1&1/2 cup of chopped cabbage. Cabbage should be chopped not thin but should be little thickly cut
Pumpkin or Butternut Squash(choose one that sweet and not over ripe) ~ 1 cup peeled and cubed. Since I find it difficult to peel a B.Squash, I microwave the squash for about 3 minutes and then peel
Cauliflower -- quarter of a medium sized one
Cauliflower leaves and stalk -- the tender leaves and tip of the stalks.

You can also add vegetables like few cauliflower florets, cauliflower stems and some drumsticks
Note: I have also done labra with broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini etc. All of them work well. Whatever vegetables you use, try to add little pumpkin and potatoes to get the best taste.

Start Cooking

Heat White Oil or Mustard Oil in a heavy bottomed deep saucier or Kadhai

Temper the hot oil with a pinch of Hing, 1 tsp of PaanchPhoron and 3 broken dry red chili. When the spices pop add about 1 tsp of minced ginger. Note: You can also add ginger towards the end to get a more gingery flavor.

First add the potatoes. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and saute the potatoes for half a minute.

Add the radish, followed by cauliflower. Saute covered for about 5 minutes and then follow with the eggplant. Saute for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle some water if the veggies tend to stick.Note: Add carrots/cauliflower/broccoli if using. The trick is to add the tougher veggies first followed by the softer and leafy veggies.

Next goes the pumpkin or butternut squash. Mix everything together. If the pumpkin is sweet you don't need to add sugar else add a little sugar towards the end. Cover and cook for next 4-5 minutes



Now add the cabbage or the cauliflower leaves or both. Mix all together and saute for a minute.
 
Add salt to taste. Add 2-3 slit green chili and a tsp more of grated ginger. Give a good stir. Add little water about say 1/2 cup and cover and cook. Check in between, if more water is needed add more water and cook till veggies are done. Break up some of the potatoes and the pumpkin unevenly with the back of your spatula and give a final mix.The dish should be a little moist and not totally dry.

Let it sit for 30 minutes or more, for all the flavors to come together. Serve with rice and dal or with Khichuri for Pujo.

Mator Dal ar Begun Bhaja

The Earth's population will surge to EIGHT BILLION by 2025. With increase in population comes an increased demand of food. When this surging population consumes more food that it is able to produce, food prices skyrocket as it did last year.

While we balked at the rice price last year we also gradually became accustomed to it. It is not the same for all people though, higher food prices push more people towards poverty. A's nanny says in Bangladesh food prices are so high that it is hard for the middle class to feed themselves unless one member of the family works in the western world and thus earns high wages.

To meet rising food demand, intellectuals say we need another Green Revolution, the kind that doubled the grain production in Asia especially India during the 60s and 70s. Really ? Aren't theHigh-yield grain varieties, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and the works that worked wonders at the time showing there wrath now. Why do you think villages in Punjab, our one time 'bread basket' are suffering the wraths of cancer today ?

A Greener Revolution may work better says an UN Panel. Duh ? Sustainable farming methods such as composting, crop rotation and interplanting with legumes has been proved to better soil quality, increase yield and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers.

An interesting low cost project in norther Malawi in Africa, SFHC (Soil, Food and Healthy Comunities project) distributes legume seeds, recipes and technical advice for growing crops like peanut, pigeon peas and soy bean which enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen while enriching the diet as well. Farmers there say, that by crop rotation they have increased yield and cut down fertilizer usage by half.

The projects hogging the limelight however are those by the big shot foundations which focus on bringing Green Revolution to Africa with subsidized farming programs, fertilizers and hybrid seeds. (Source: NatGeo)

Which model will prevail will depend on the powers pushing them. But whatever it is, the surging masses needs to be fed and if that can be achieved with a lower ecological impact planet earth will have few more years of survival.



I love my legumes, a bowl or two of Dal a day keeps me happy. While my favorite is the Red Masoor Dal I rotate my legumes to take advantage of all. Mator Dal or Split peas are the dried peeled and split seeds of Pisum sativum. They come in yellow and green varieties. They have been mechanically split so that they will cook faster.

They are very different from the Indian Toor Dal or Chana Dal though they look similar

Though this dal is relatively common in Bengal, my Ma seldom made it except for in a Tak Dal and consequently I never did. A friend introduced this to me. And it is she from whom I got both the recipes. These are the two ways I have made Mator dal(Split peas) one with veggies the other without. For indexing purposes they are two separete posts.

Check out Sabji Diye Mator Dal or Mator dal with Veggies. Both these dishes go to MLLA # 12 hosted by Annarasa and initiated by none other than Susan

This lovely earthy Mator Dal was what I packed for lunch with some Begun Bhaja and a roasted grape tomato garlic salad. I always love having a bowl of Dal rather than a thick soup. Completely satisfying for both the soul and the tummy. The roasted tomato salad and the eggplants gave the Dal the color and pizzaz that it was missing being earthy and all

The Begun Bhaja or Fried Eggplant is a very simple Bengali delicacy. I see a lot of recipes where the Begun Bhaja is prepared with lots of spices but the ones I have had in my home or other Bengali homes and eventually make are always the simple ones with absolutely no spice other than turmeric. They do soak up some oil so I fry the slender japanese eggplants chopped in mini rounds to have smaller portions of begun bhaja, the oven baked ones are no where near in taste.

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Matar Dal/Split Peas

Wash and cook 1 & 1/4 cup of Yellow Split Peas in the pressure cooker with a little turmeric. You can cook in a pot too, it will take longer time though

In a deep bottomed pan heat 3 tsp Oil + 1/2 tsp Ghee

Temper with 1 tsp of Whole Cumin Seeds/Jeera, 3 cloves of garlic minced

When the spices splutter add half of a chopped red onion and 4-5 slit green chillies

Fry till the onion turns a nice pink and is softened

Add the cooked Dal and mix well

Add salt and desired amount of water. I think I added about 1-2 cups of water. Let the dal come to a boil

Just before taking off the heat add a little ghee and 1/2 tsp of Garam Masala powder


We enjoyed this simple Dal with some Begun Bhaja and a roasted salad.

Begun Bhaja

Chop a good quality eggplant in thick rounds or cut vertically

Wash well, pat dry and smear with little turmeric and salt. Set aside for 10-15 minutes

Heat Mustard Oil to smoking.

Slide the eggplant slices gently into the hot oil and fry till golden. Take out with a slotted spoon and drain on a kitchen towel

To make the roasted salad, in a decent sized aluminum foil throw together 12-15 grape tomatoes, quarter red onion chopped, 3-4 cloves of garlic, olive oil in fair amount and sea-salt. Close the foil to make a pouch. Bake in oven at 375F till the tomato skins are wrinkled up and garlic is soft

For lunch we had just the Dal with this salad and mini begun bhaja



Trivia: The yellow Split peas is the legume used to make Pease Porridge as in the popular children's rhyme "Pease Porridge Hot"

Mator/Motor Dal with Veggies

Mator Dal or Yellow Split Peas when cooked with vegetables like sweet red radish, yellow pumpkin and baby potatoes takes on a whole new avtaar. This recipe is from a friend and we thoroughly enjoyed this heart warming dal

Mator Dal with Sabji/Split YellowPeas with Vegetables

Wash and cook 1 & 1/4 cup of Yellow Split Peas in the pressure cooker with a little turmeric. About 5 mins at full pressure. You can also cook in a pot, only it will take some time.

In microwave cook 1/2 cup of chopped red radish, 1/2 cup of cubed pumpkin, 1/2 cup of tender-green cauliflower stalks. The stalks are optional, I did because I had some and my friend suggested I put them

In a deep bottomed pan heat 3 tsp of Oil + 1/2 tsp of Ghee

Temper with 1 tsp of Whole Cumin Seeds/Jeera, 2 cracked Dry Red Chilli and 10-12 methi seeds

When the spices splutter add the veggies and 3-4 slit green chillies

Fry for 3-4 minutes till you get a nice aroma of the veggies

Add the cooked Dal and mix well

Add salt and add water to get the desired consistency. Let the dal come to a boil

Just before taking off the heat add a little ghee. I did not add any this week but a little boosts the flavor

Garnish with lots of chopped coriander leaves

Update on June29th,2013: Today I cooked the same Motor Dal with Pumpkin and Edamame in pods. Also added some grated ginger towards the end. Awesome.

Bong Mom's CookBook Recipe Index

My blog Bong Mom's Cookbook is a collection of Bengali Recipes representing the Bengali Cuisine as I know it. It also has those recipes that are non-bengali but which we loved. The measurements are not always exact as I do not treat the kitchen as a lab but as a place where I follow my heart and rely on my senses and instinct. Also they were created to suit mine and my family's tastes, please adjust spices etc. according to your own taste level.

I hope you are able to create a satisfying dish from these recipes and have fun while doing so.

Click on the following titles to see the recipes

FISH from my Blog

CHICKEN or MUTTON from my blog

EGGS from my blog

VEGETARIAN COOKING from my Blog

DAL and SOUPS from my blog

SALAD from my Blog

ONE POT MEALS from my Blog

Savoury Snacks from my Blog

Sweet and Sour Chutney from my Blog

DESSERTS from my Blog

Uchche Posto Jhuri or Bitter Gourd and...

The little girl has learned to read…yehhhhhhhh. So next time I am hibernating, I shall ask her to blog hop.
She has been reading small words and such for a while now but now she is onto books and she can read one on her own now. Ok, now don’t get me wrong, by “a book” I strictly mean simple books meant to be read by 4 year olds and not the Wodehouse out of my shelf.

I never gave her reading achievement much attention because I was sure that kids in India probably read and write critical appreciation by 4, until the other day at the library this Indian lady comes up to me and says
“She reads? How old is she?”
“Four”, I said “but she reads the easy ones like Dr.Seuss and Level 1 readers and store signs and…”
She goes on, “My daughter is 4 too and she is not reading yet. My husband says I have to get her to read soon. How do I do that?”
Huh your husband says that, why can’t he spend some time reading with the little one then, strange people.

Now, I have never really pushed S to read just for reaching a milestone, what I actually wanted her to have is a love for reading rather than just reading. Kids learn to read by a certain age anyhow, maybe a few months early or late, but eventually they do. Many of them do not develop a love towards reading though, and then again many who do slowly loose it when other things in life demand more time.

For me books have been great friends always, though it’s mostly fiction that I am attracted to. A perfectly bad day could have a happy ending for me, if I had a good book to go back to.

Lately however with life taking over, I rarely got time to read for pleasure. There aren’t many people around with whom I could discuss books either, because there was no one who spent time reading fiction. On my trips to the library I am not sure what to pick up, I want to read more fiction from other countries and culture and I do not know what other recent international authors I could read.

I am reading “The House of Sand and Fog” right now and I am loving it. What are some of your favorite books that could go on my reading list? Pray Share.

The Uchche Posto Jhuri is a simple bitter gourd recipe that I picked out from this almost famous Bengali Magazine Sananda. Sananda is to Bengal what Femina is to India. Within the slim covers of this mag you can get a good dose of advise on how to handle your MIL on your honeymoon, the best gift to give your boss on vacation, what-to-tell your maid when she wants go on a vacation and hundreds of tips on keeping your underarms sweat free and hair glistening. Armed with such knowledge, do you need anything more to confront life?

Other than this there are some good recipes and a whiff of Bengal in this far off land. Thanks to my lovely friends who gifted me a subscription of this mag on my last birthday, I am totally updated on glitzy happenings around Kolkata, even if my Ma has no clue about them.

Uchche or BitterGourd is a favorite among Bengalis and as I had mentioned earlier they like to eat it bitter, they will do absolutely nothing to mask the bitterness, even if you grovel and beg. This dish has a smattering of posto (poppy seed paste) and that makes it pretty good, though bitter it still is.
This goes to ever enthu Pooja at My Creative Ideas for her Vegetable of the Week -- Bitter Gourd


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Uchche Posto Jhuri

What You Need
The original recipe used about 10 uchche (the smaller variety that I don’t see here) and 3 tbsp of poppy seed paste. I took liberty and did this

Bitter Gourd ~ 1 medium sized
Poppy Seed ~ 1 tbsp heaped. Dry grind this in a coffee grinder or a spice grinder

For Tempering
Mustard seeds ~ ½ tsp loosely packed
Dry Red Chillies ~ 2-3

Oil
Salt

How I Did It
Chop the bitter gourd in small pieces

Dry grind the poppy seeds. If you want to wet grind, do so but do not make the paste watery

Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan

Temper with mustard seeds and Dry Red Chilli

When the spices crackle add the bitter gourd pieces, add salt and cover & sauté over medium flame.

Add a sprinkle of turmeric powder for the color.

When the bitter gourd appears cooked, add the ground poppy seeds. If you are using the dry powder, sprinkle a little water. If you have made a wet paste you are fine

Stir till done. The end result should be dry with the poppy seed paste dry coating the bitter gourd.


Updated on Jan, 2018 with a mix of steps from BitterGourd Kismur

Ucche Posto Jhuri -- Version 2.0

Wash 2 medium sized ucche aka bitter gourd. Chop into thin slices or small pieces.

Next step is to roast the bitter gourd. You could do that on the stove top but I prefer microwave or oven.

Microwave: Take a microwave safe glass plate and add the chopped bitter gourd pieces. Sprinkle some salt and oil and microwave for 2 minutes. Take the plate out, add some more oil and toss it around. Microwave for another 2-3 minutes. After it is done, it should be evenly browned and not burnt. Microwave suggestion is from blog Red Chilies.

Oven: Preheat Oven to 350F. Toss the bittergourd with olive oil, red chili powder. Now put them in an oven safe tray in single layer and bake for 20-25 minutes until you see they are crisp. I use this version mostly.

Heat Mustard Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan

Temper with 1/4th tsp of Kalonji or Kalo Jeera (Nigella seeds)

Add 1/2 of a red onion very finely chopped
2-3 green chili finely chopped
Saute until onion is soft

Add the roasted bitter gourd, that you have already cooked.

Dry grind 3 tbsp of Poppy Seeds in a coffee grinder or a spice grinder

Saute for a couple of minutes and add the ground poppy seeds. If you are using the dry powder, sprinkle a little water. If you have made a wet paste you are fine

Stir till done. The end result should be dry with the poppy seed paste dry coating the bitter gourd.

One the poppy seed paste is cooked take it out in a serving bowl.

Before serving add
some red onion very finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
Lime juice
a little shredded coconut
salt to taste
Mix thoroughly

Adjust lime juice and salt.

Serve immediately to retain the crispiness.



Trivia: Bitter gourd is revered in ayurveda as a cleansing and purifying vegetable. It helps purify blood tissue, enhances digestion, and stimulates the liver.

Doi Ilish and Machha Besara

Ek Phul…Do MaliOne Spice, two Different Fish….bad joke, agreed

But this is really a tale of One Spice, the all famous Mustard and not only two different fish but two very different fish recipes, one from my own state Bengal and the other from the neighboring state Orissa.

Orissa is close to Bengal, not only in miles but also to people’s heart, the main reason being Puri of course, which is not only a place but an integral part of the Bengali culture. Every Bengali director has a tear jerking Bengali movie to his credit, with visuals shot in Puri, every Bengali Writer has characters in their work of fiction who go and visit Puri at least once in the span of the entire book, every newly married Bengali couple had their honeymoon in Puri before Mauritius came into picture. A Maestro like Satyajit Ray too had many of his short stories set in Puri which surely proves something.

I have been to Orissa once (not honeymooning though) and done the usual touristy stuff but to an average Bengali, Puri in Orissa is as close to heart as is Darjeeling. Maybe Puri holds a higher place because it not only has the sea(Bay of Bengal) but also a temple (Jaganatha temple) and who can avoid such a divine combination

In fact you are a true blue Bengali only if you have done the following:

1.You have to love fish. There might be phases in your life where you refused to eat them but you must be in love with your fish for 90% of your lifetime
2. You have to see the sunrise at Tiger Hill, Darjeeling clad in your mittens, scarves, all other woolens that you have accumulated in your life time not forgetting the Monkey Cap with pom-pom (a typical woolen cap that covers your head and face leaving a window for your eyes alone, have seen it only among Bengalis till date)
3. You have to see the sunrise at Puri Beach sans the woolens, finding your place in a beach teeming with million other true Bengalis in their Dhonekhali and Kurta-Pajama
Though I love fish, I absolutely refused to see the sunrise at any of these places. Vacation for me does not mean getting up in the crack of dawn to see a star rise because a planet is rotating. I was duly chastised for my impudent behavior I remember and my parents were forced to go to the beach without me budging an inch.

Though it has been really long and I don’t remember any specific food from that time, I do remember the Mishti Wala (the sweet seller) who would come to the Puri beach with a pole balanced on his shoulder and two huge aluminium pans hanging on the two ends. These aluminium dekchis(deep round pans) had sweets which we used to gorge on every evening sitting on the beach. Again I cannot recall what those sweets were (chanapoda ?) but I remember him going “Dhai Kiri Kiri” as he rushed catering delicious sweets to his sweet loving customers.

I think “Dhai Kiri Kiri” meant “move fast” or some such thing, but it has been a favorite adopted term in our house since and we use the term often.

While looking for an Oriya recipe I found that there is a lot of similarity between Bengali and Oriya cuisines. I wanted to try an Oriya dish which is not typical of Bengali cuisine yet had a bond with it. So I had to choose something which had...you guessed it right...Mustard.

Now the first recipe of Doi Ilish today is the Bengali one with Hilsa in a Yogurt based Mustard Sauce. Hilsa or Ilish Mach is such a great tasting fish that cook it any way you want it will taste nothing but great. I got this recipe from my Bengali Recipe book. I added more mustard paste than the recipe called for but I am putting up the recipes as in the book. Also since I get frozen Hilsa here I fried the fish lightly. The original recipe does not ask for fish to be fried.

And then I came across Machha Besara, an Oriya dish of fish in mustard sauce. What interested me was the recipe had asked for mustard to be ground with garlic and green chillies to make a paste. Now in a Bengali recipe, mustard paste or shorshe bata is a wet paste of mustard with green chillies and no one can even imagine adding garlic to the paste.
Second was the use of potatoes in a mustard paste based fish dish, another thing very different from a Bengali Recipe.
I decided to give it a try and was pleasantly thrilled and even D (not a fishy bong) liked it. I used Tilapia (fresh Tilapia cut in steak size pieces) for this dish and I would implore all Bengalis to try Machha Besaara at least once, it would be a very different albeit beautiful mustard experience.

Machha Besara is my contribution to RCI-Oriya hosted by Swapna of Swad and created by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine



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Doi Ilish

What You Need
Hilsa/Ilish ~ 2 lb of fish cut in Bengali style pieces. (Yes this what you need to say outside of bengal else you can also get it cut in steak pieces) Usually a small Hilsa weighs around 2 lbs.

This recipe is for 5 pieces of Hilsa or Ilish


Mustard paste

To make Mustard Paste soak 2 Tbsp of mustard seeds in water for an hour.
In a wet spice grinder or Magic bullet, strain and add the mustard seeds + 2 Green Chilies
With a few splashes of water make a thick mustard paste.

Thick Yogurt ~ 1/2 Cup

Green Chillies ~ 4 or more
Kalo Jeera/Kalonji/Nigella Seeds(for tempering) ~ 1/4 tsp loosely packed


Turmeric powder ~ 1 tsp
Salt
Mustard Oil ~ preferred for a fish like Hilsa


How It is Done

Wash the fish well, pat dry and rub the pieces with about ½ tsp of turmeric powder a little salt and keep aside

Heat oil in a Kadhai/Deep Frying Pan/Wok. When the oil is piping hot reduce the heat and slowly slide the fish pieces into the oil. There is going to be a lot of sputtering so be careful. The fish pieces should not be on top of each other, they should remain side by side in the hot oil. So do not add all fish at the same time. Once you have slid the fishes, raise the heat

Once the fish is fried to a light golden yellow (with hilsa very little frying is needed, be careful that the fish does not get fried too much) take it out and drain on a paper towel

In a bowl beat the yogurt well and then mix in the mustard paste. Add 1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder and mix.

Discard the fishy oil if you wish and heat some fresh oil. With hilsa however the mustard oil in which the fish is fried holds a special value for most Bengalis and we dare not throw it out.

Heat oil now, for tempering. Temper with kalonji and green chilies and wait for the spices to pop.

Lower the heat and the yogurt-mustard sauce.

Add salt and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the fish pieces.

Then add water(about 1 cup) and let the gravy simmer and reduce to desired consistency

Cook till you get a gravy of the right thickness, not watery mind you, add a little mustard oil on top and serve with white rice

Machha Besara

Recipe adapted from OriyaKitchen

What You Need

Rohu (or other fresh water fish) ~ 1 cut into pieces. I used fresh Tilapia cut into steak size peices
Potato ~ 1 , peeled and chopped in longitudinal pieces
Yogurt/Curd ~ 1/2 cup
Green chilies ~ 5/6 slit
Mustard-Garlic paste ~ Soak 2 tbsp of mustard in water for 15 mins. Then make a paste with juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 green chilies and 2 cloves of garlic.
Turmeric Powder ~ 1 tsp loosely packed

Panch Phutana/Panch Phoron ~ ¾ tsp loosely packed
Mustard Oil or any other oil
Salt

How It Is Done

Prep

Wash the fish well, pat dry and mix it with about ½ tsp of turmeric powder a little salt and keep aside
Grind the mustard ,3 green chilies & garlic along with the yogurt to make a mustard paste
Then peel the potato & cut in to any shape you like . I chopped in longitudinal pieces

Cook

Heat Mustard oil in a Kadhai. When the oil is piping hot reduce the heat and slowly slide the fish pieces into the oil. There is going to be a lot of sputtering so be careful. The fish pieces should not be on top of the other, they should remain side by side in the hot oil. So do not add all fish at the same time. Once you have slid the fishes, raise the heat
Once the fish is fried to a golden yellow take it out and drain on a paper towel
Again add some more oil in the heated pan & add pancha phutan & green chilies.
When it starts crackling add the sliced potato & fry for 2 mins
Add the mustard paste, turmeric and salt. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of water for the gravy and let it simmer. Add little sugar to taste.
Add fried fish in to the curry & again cook it for 2 more mins
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves
Serve hot with plain rice


Trivia: The Hilsa or Ilish as we call it is kind of a National fish for Bengal & Bengalis (can there be such a thing ?).The river Padma in Bangladesh and the Ganges in India are the prime source of this fish. Every part of the Hilsa from the Roe to the delicate flesh is exquisite in taste and flavor. With its fine bones it might be a tad difficult to eat for someone who is not used to such delicacies though

Dim er Dhoka aka Egg Dhoka

“How old are you?”, asked my 3 year old

I wanted to be the scrubbed face, squeaky clean hair, dream in the eyes, hope in my heart of early 20’s and so I said, “I am 20”

“No, you’re not, you are 100," she said, looking into my eyes

I panicked, it can’t be that bad I thought. She is only a child and hasn’t seen my Driver License yet, I can still try, I decided.

So I bargained, to get back to those days of fun and freedom and said “Ok then, I am 25”

She looked into the fine lines around my eyes and insisted “But you can be 100, it is better”

It might be…
The higher the number, the better it is does not hold true in all cases, but she is too young to know.

“Dhoka” in Bengali or Hindi actually means a sham, an act of duping someone. When it comes to food however the word “Dhoka” in Bengali came from I guess “Dhokla” in Gujarati. “Dhokar Dalna” is one of my favorite Bengali food though I haven’t cooked it ever, more about it later. “Dim er Dhoka” or “Egg Dhoka” or “Steamed Egg Cakes in a Curry” gets the name from the similarity in the process and the look I guess. My Ma used to make this on rare occasions maybe twice or thrice in my lifetime, yeah that rare. So when I found it in my cookbook I was pleasantly surprised because I had always thought my Ma made up that name.

I love eggs actually both D and me absolutely love eggs. Before the days of physical check ups, egg curry was a staple food at our home. When I got married, the only thing we could cook every day was Dal and Egg Curry. It was that bad or actually that good. But life has taken its toll and so we watch not only our chickens but also eggs these days.

The “Dim er Dhoka” or the “Steamed Egg Cakes in a Curry” (??) is a pleasant variation to the much loved egg curry. The best part is you can make the steamed egg cubes and eat them for breakfast and then use the rest for the gravy which you can have for lunch or dinner. Ok you can do that with Boiled Eggs too, but that’s beside the point. It is also a very tasty variation which you can serve when you have guests for dinner. It’s pretty convenient to make the egg cakes beforehand. So heres to a very tasty "Egg Dhoka" or "Dim er Dhoka" as we say in Bengali.


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Dim er Dhoka/Steamed Egg Cakes in a Gravy

What You Need

For the Steamed Egg Cakes

This yielded about 25/30 egg cubes of the size shown in pic below

Eggs ~ 6
Onion Paste ~ 3 tbsp of paste or 1 small chopped fine
Corriander leaves ~ finely chopped about 1/4 cup
Green Chillies ~ 3 chopped fine (optional)
Tomato ~ ¼ of a medium chopped fine (optional)
Ginger paste ~ 1 tsp
Milk ~ 3 tbsp
Salt ~ as per taste
Baking Powder ~ a pinch

For Gravy (gravy made with about 15-18 of the steamed egg cakes)

Onion Paste ~ 4 tbsp
Tomato ~ 1 medium finely chopped or blanched. I used a medium sized tomato from a can of whole peeled tomatoes
Panch Phoron – 1/2 tsp
Ginger Paste ~ 1 tsp
Garlic Paste ~ 1 tsp
Yogurt ~ ½ cup
Jeera Powder/Cumin Powder ~ 1 tsp
Dhania Powder/Corriander Powder – 1 tsp
Water ~ 1 and 1/2 cups
Sugar – 2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder ~ ½ tsp
Green Chilli ~ 3 very finely chopped

Salt ~ as per taste
Oil


How I Did It

For Dhoka or the Steamed Egg Cake

Beat the eggs in a bowl.
To it add the chopped onions, chopped green chillies, chopped tomato, chopped corriander, ginger paste, pinch of baking powder, milk and salt. Beat well
Steam this in a steamer if you have one
If you don’t have one like me, put it in a greased pressure cooker bowl and put in your pressure cooker. Remember to add water to the bottom of the cooker .Tip:Instead of the aluminium pressure cooker separator use a steel one which has been greased well.
The idea is to steam it, in a pressure cooker it will take as much time as it takes for rice to be cooked. In my Futura, rice takes 3 minutes while for this I allowed 4 mins (after the steam is built up and my cooker goes hisss). Tip: After you have switched off the heat, release the pressure of the cooker after waiting for 3-4 minutes. If you can't do this at least take it off the heat and let it cool. Take out the container as soon as the pressure of the cooker has been let off. If you let it sit too long the egg cake might stick to the bottom.

After you have steamed it, it will look like a round cake as shown above.

Cut in cubes, they look like dhokla and you have to really restrain yourself from eating them. The measure I used, made about 30 cubes of the size shown here. I used 15-18 of them for the gravy, while the rest we had for next days breakfast.

For Gravy

Heat Oil in Kadhai/Frying pan
Add ½ tsp of Panch Phoron
As soon as it sputters add the Onion Paste. Add about 2 tsp of sugar
Sauté till the paste turns a light brown and you see the oil separate from the paste.
Add the tomato. I used a medium sized tomato from a can of peeled whole tomatoes. If you are using fresh ones either chop fine, or blanch or just puree them in the processor
Add the garlic paste at this point along with the green chillies.
Sauté till the tomato is nicely mushed up.
Meanwhile in a bowl beat the yogurt with ginger paste, Cumin Powder, Corriander Powder and Red Chilli Powder.
Take the Kadhai off the heat and add the yogurt. Adding the yogurt at high heat might make it curdle so I always do this.
Mix well and then put it back on medium heat.
Saute till you see…What ? The oil separating from the masala paste.
At this point add 1 and ½ cup of water or less depending on the amount of gravy you want
Add salt and let the gravy come to a nice boil. You will see the merry bubbles
Add the cubed egg cakes, kep the flame at medium and let the gravy thicken.
The gravy should not be runny, it should be a thick gravy. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves if you wish
Enjoy with Rice or Chapati.

Note: You can get creative with the gravy and improvise. I sometimes make a gravy with potatoes and instead of panch phoron I temper with Cumin Seeds and Bay Leaves. That lends a different taste.

Trivia: Eggs contain the highest quality of food protein second only to mothers milk for human nutrition. So "Sunday ho Ya Monday,Roz Khao Aaandey"

Kashmiri Enchor for JFI

.. Enchor= Unripe Jackfruit in Bengali

So the name intrigues you, you think what does this Bong Girl have to do with Kashmir that too Kashmiri Jackfruit !!! To be truthful even I am clueless. I am a simple Bong girl who has spent about a quarter of her life in the Gangetic Plains. What do I know about the beautiful valley lying between the ranges of the Great Himalayas. More so what do I know about Kashmir and its Jackfruit ?

I know about the Dal Lake and had always dreamt of being on a shikara. I have read about Kashmir in my school geography books and know that it is the “Paradise on earth”. I know about the Pashmina and would love to own a pure Pashmina Shawl.
But that’s it, I had always wanted but somehow a trip to Kashmir never materialized. And my geography is not that fantastic that I would know about Jackfruits growing in Kashmir. Neither do I have any kashmiri friends who would invite me over and treat me to their way of making Jackfruit.

But Bee wanted a Jackfruit recipe different from the one I already have in my Blog. Now thats(Enchor er Dalna/Enchor Chingri or Jackfruit with Shrimp) the only Jackfruit recipe I really know. So I scratched my head and thought. After thinking hard, very hard I thought I would make the other Bengali Jackfruit delicacy called “Enchorer Chop”. Now that is really tasty but I didn’t have enough time because a friend was moving house and I had offered to cook a dinner for them. Making a recipe serve two Food Events is not really nice, (though I have done it several times) I agree but at least I can make the food I cook serve several purpose I thought. So I wanted to make something that could be served as a dish for dinner and also be sent to JFI Jackfruit

Flipping through my recipe book, the Bengali one which finds mention in my blog from time to time, I found this wonderful recipe called “Kashmiri Enchor” or "Kashmiri Jackfruit" I am not really sure if there is anything remotely “Kashmiri” to this but since the name sounded good I stuck to it. With some of my innovations thrown in this was one great tasting Jackfruit Dish. So heres Kashmiri Enchor for JFI Jackfruit hosted by Jugalbandi and created by Mahanadi

* If this is indeed a Kashmiri prep -- pat on my back
* If there is a different prep for Kashmiri Jackfruit -- my apologies


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Kashmiri Enchor/Jackfruit

What You Need

Green Jackfruit ~ I used two cans of Chaokoh Green Jackfruit. Each can is about 570 gm

For marinade


Onion Paste ~ 3 tbsp
Yogurt ~ 3 tbsp
Garlic paste ~ 1 tsp
Ginger Paste ~ 2 tsp
Sugar ~ 1 tsp heaped
Turmeric Powder ~ 1/4 tsp

The Gravy

For tempering

Shah Jeera/Black Cumin ~ 1 tsp loosely packed (not heaped). You can also use the regular White Jeera/Cumin
Bay Leaves ~ 2-3

For gravy

Onion Paste ~ 2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder ~ 1 tsp or more. Since I like it hot I added more
Kitchen King masala ~ 1 tsp heaped . Kitchen King Masala is a spice blend used to enhance the flavor of Indian Dishes. Can be used instead of Garam masala in some occasions
Sugar ~ 2 tsp
Salt ~ according to taste
Oil ~ for cooking
Ghee ~ 1tsp (optional)

How I Did It

Since the jackfruit is canned in brine, it becomes a bit salty. So the night before you cook, open the can, drain the liquid, wash the jackfruit several times in fresh water and soak them in fresh water overnight
Cut the jackfruit pieces in cubes
Make a marinade with the ingredients listed under “For Marinade” and marinate the jackfruit for an hour.
Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan
Temper with 2 – 3 Bay leaves and 1 tsp (loosely packed) of Shah Jeera/Black Cumin. You can also use the regular White Jeera/Cumin
Add about 2 tbsp of Onion Paste
Fry till the onion turns pinkish brown and you see the oil separate from the onion paste.
Lower the heat and Add the jackfruit along with the marinade
Sauté till the masala cooks. In Bengali we use the term “Kashano” which means you have to stir till the masala coats nicely and masala is cooked
Add the Red Chilli Powder, the 1 tsp of Kitchen King Masala and Salt and saute again
Do not add water but sprinkle a little as needed and cook till done. Stir intermittently. Tip:If you at all need to add water to make the jackfruit cook, remeber to dry off most of the water.
After the jackfruit is cooked add 2 tsp of sugar if you want and mix and cook for a couple more minutes. Since I am not very tuned to sourness in food and the canned jackfruit has a bit of sourness I added this step. If you don't want do not add sugar.
The canned jackfruit being tender will cook quickly. If you are using the fresh ones you should steam or pressure cook the jackfruit before.

The dish had very little gravy but was moist and was excellent with Rice or Chapati.For my friends I served this with Dal, Egg Curry and White Rice. They loved it and so did we. The best part is it did not take much of my time, fast and tasty.

Update on 22nd June, 2007: Yesterday I added a little ghee to this dish and it enhanced the taste. I also realized that a certain hotness of chillies makes it taste better, specially with the canned jackfruit. So if you wish add a little ghee at the end and don't scrimp on the chilli.

Also check the other Green Jackfruit with Shrimp recipe in my Blog -- Enchor Chingri ba Enchor er Dalna

Trivia: Jackfruit plays an important role in Indian agriculture and was cultivated in India 3000 to 6000 years ago.One of the earliest descriptions of the jackfruit is to be found in the 16th century memoirs of the Mughal Emperor Babar, who was not much enamored of it and said "The jackfruit is unbelievably ugly and bad tasting". Well we don't think so, do we.(Source:wiki)

Chicken Casserole for JFI

Tomatoes, red glowing, colorful

"India is a land of colors". I have written this line as an opening statement for the "Holi" essay at school once every year till 5th grade, more if the essay was in the exams (after that I found better introductory statements) and read it innumerable times. The line remains etched in my mind, a part of my being. Never really paid attention to it, and it remained just another statement.

I missed my family, my home and lots of other Indian "ness" when I came here but never really missed "Colors of India". This land seemed colorful to me too, beautiful fall colors, the fresh clean green, the scrubbed blue sky, clean and beautiful.

I didn't miss the vibrant pink of saris in the crowded supermarket, the turquoise blue of the swirling chunnis in the workplace, the splash of canary yellow on the Asian paints billboards (btw did you know that the guy with the brush in those ads was known as Gattu ?) , the flashing gold of the bangles of the lady selling the veggies. No, I was happy with the subtle pastel colors until a sleep time chat session with the 3 year old.

Nudge, nudge she goes at the most opportune moment

"Yes darling" I say sticking to the neo-mother technique which insists you be sweet and calm and encouraging to the kid at all times even if you she nudges you out of slumber at 11:30 at night

"You know Didun(maternal grandma) says in Kolkata there is no bathtub, but there is a shower and she has many buckets too", the little one informs

"That would do fine" I say, not reminding her that on her last visit she would sit in one of those buckets filled with water and have a blast.

"You know Didun says, in Kolkata she has a pink bucket, a purple bucket, a green bucket, a pink mug and a red mug” she says all excited

"Wow really?? That’s nice, now close your eyes" I say, trying to sound cheerful at the vision of all those buckets lined up

"But we have to go to Kolkata with Didun, we have to get those pink, red and green buckets here and I want to bring the pink mug too", she insists.

Not happy with her sole dull blue bucket she craves for what but pink and purple buckets, something hard to find here and she knows they are there in India -- "the Land of Colors".

That made me sit up and notice how such vibrant colors in the most unexpected places influence us and I thank JFI for giving an opportunity to explore a color and taste each month. So this is for JFI Tomato hosted by RP of MyWorkshop and brain child of Mahanadi. Thanks RP and Indira.

This Chicken Casserole is a Tomato based dish I had learned long time ago from Sanjeev Kapoor, either from his web site or TV. However I had forgotten all about it for the last 2 years. Searching for a Tomato recipe, that would be different from my everyday Tomato dishes (have tomato, add tomato theory I follow) I thought of this but the site was no longer available except for a price. That would be a expensive JFI recipe I thought. But browsing through my old recipe book I chanced upon a Chicken Casserole which was almost what Sanjeev Kapoor had suggested and the memories came back. So I followed the recipe in the book almost but it was Sanjeev Kapoor whom I associate with this dish


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Spicy Chicken Casserole

What You Need

Serves 3-4 adults if accompanied with other dishes. Serves 2 if you are greedy and hungry :)

Chicken ~ 1 lb cut up in small pieces. I used chicken breast
Red Onion ~ 1 medium chopped in large pieces
Baby Carrots ~ sliced in halves about 1 cup
Red bell pepper ~ 1 chopped in thin rings
Green Chillies ~ 3-4 chopped
Tomato paste ~ 2/3 cup. I used Hunt's Tomato paste.
Tomato ketchup ~ 1 tbsp. Use Maggi Hot&Sweet or some tangy ketchup
Ginger Juice ~ 2 tsp
Peppercorns ~ whole pepper corns coarsely crushed 1 tsp. If you don’t like the taste of this in your mouth you can ground them fine

Red Chilli Powder ~ 1/2 tsp or more
Bay Leaves ~ 2
Green Cardamom ~ 2
Butter ~ 1tbsp or more

For marinade

Vinegar ~ 1 tbsp
Ginger paste ~ 2 tsp heaped
garlic paste ~ 1 tsp heaped
Chilli powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Maida ~ 1 tbsp

Salt
Olive Oil

How I Did It

Marinade the chicken pieces with 1 tbsp of Vinegar, 2 heaped tsp of ginger paste, 1 tsp of garlic paste, ½ tsp of Chilli powder and a little salt in a bowl. Keep aside for half an hour or more.
Chop the onion, carrots and red bell pepper as said
Sprinkle 1 tbsp of maida on the chicken and mix it lightly
Heat Olive Oil or any other suitable oil in Kadhai/Frying Pan
Add 1 clove of garlic chopped.
As soon as you get the fragrance of garlic add the chicken pieces. Do not add all the chicken pieces together by tipping the bowl as this will add the remnant liquid too. You want to lightly brown the chicken and you do not want any water/liquid in there.
Lightly sauté (do not fry them up) the chicken pieces and as soon as they are lightly golden brown, remove and keep aside
In the oil add 2 Bay Leaves and 2 Cardamom
Add the onions and sauté till they are soft and pink
Add the sliced carrots and the bell pepper rings. Cover and cook till they are a little soft, not totally done but slightly soft
Add the green chillies and the ½ tsp or more of red chilli powder
Add about 2/3 cup of Tomato Paste and 1 tbsp of Tomato Ketchup and sauté
Add the chicken and mix thoroughly
Add 2 tsp of Ginger juice, salt and the crushed peppercorn
Add a little water, very little and let it come to a simmer and switch it off

Then Bake...
Heat Oven to 350F
Transfer the chicken along with gravy, veggies etc. to a oven safe bowl
Add butter and cover this dish and bake
Should be done in 15 minutes. Let it sit in the oven after that for some more time. That is what I did.
Best had by itself or with Chapati or Bread

Note: The dish looks beautiful with all the red & orange. You can add other veggies too to offset the colour and have more green veggies.
Next time I am going to increase the "hot" level as this was not enough for me, maybe the chillis lacked the required hotness
The peepercorns were lightly crushed, you may powder it if you do not want to bite into peppercorns in your mouth
You can make your own Tomato paste if you want
If you have the Tomato paste, this dish is quick to prepare

Trivia:There have been several legends about Tomato. A story goes that the lingering doubts about the safety of the tomato in the United States were largely put to rest in 1820, when Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson announced that at noon on September 26, he would eat a basket of tomatoes in front of the Salem, New Jersey, courthouse. Reportedly, a crowd of more than 2,000 persons gathered in front of the courthouse to watch the poor man die after eating the poisonous fruits, and were shocked when he lived.(Source: Wiki)