On Independence Day

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free



Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth



Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit



Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
--Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.

-- Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali

Update: Photos taken by me at the beach at Spring Lake, NJ. My camera Canon SD750 Digital Elph. And yes that is indeed lil' S :)

And now comes the award, no not the Bharat Ratna Award silly, the Rocking Award.

Sra passed me this and I first thought may be she meant my blog had hit rock bottom and so she wanted to throw rocks at me. But the logo looked nice in pink & had a star, now anything in pink can't be bad, can it ? Also Sra is one of the few early bloggers whom I bonded with over comment space and I have seen her go from greenish-yellow to pristine white, I know "When" her soup came alive, I know that she is a conscious and innovative foodie and that she rocks, if she is passing on something it's got to be good.



Thanks to her and passing this on to some of the more rocking bloggers who haven't been rocked yet (or have they ? and is there a rule of passing ?)

Anh of Food Lovers Journey
Indosungod of DailyMusings
Inji of Ginger & Mango
Jyothsna of Currybazaar
Mystic of ChatpatFood
Mandira of Ahaar
Padma of Padma's Kitchen
Pragyan of Cooking at Pragyan's
SJ of A Pinch Of Spice
Seema of Recipe Junction
Sher of What Did You Eat
Shilpa of Aayis Recipes
Vani of Mysoorean
Swapna of Tastes from My Kitchen
Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook

and two non-foodie rocking girls

Anamika of Thinking Cramps
Moi of Not By a Long Shot

There are more but I am not sure if I am allowed to tag the entire blogosphere, so I better stop

Daliya Pulao in 30 minutes

I saw my blog mentioned at the CHOW. It was funny as I never thought of the "other bong" and also made me proud. Thank you all for having me here, your words make my day and Thanks Kara for finding me. Thanks to Mandira too and she knows for what !!!

I got to tell you this, grumble as you might of mixing up little S in my recipes and stopping only from eating her as a sidekick (ahem side dish) to my recipes.

Now as you all know “Reading” is sold highly as a virtue and all that among kids and so like all good mothers I started the routine too. But more than reading to her I would make up stories and tell her, even change the story in hand if the situation so demanded.

As she learns to read small words I try to induce her to read books herself.Reading by itself opens up a whole new world as it did for me when I was a 5 year old. I still remember the Red hard bound "Everyday Stories" by Enid Blyton which Baba got me once I started reading english and thus had me hooked for ever. That and the Bengali Kids magazine Anandamela which I used to get every month showed me a way to a world of everlasting enchantment.

So that S gets a hang of reading, we got her the “Dr.Seuss” which is brilliant if you think ease of reading but not really interesting when seen through the eyes of a 3 year old or her X year old Mom. So “Hop on Pop” does rhyme and also can be read but then what….nothing really happens…no story is spun…and so the 3 year old girl and the X year olds interest wane.

The 3 year old however seems to be more interested in picking up a book and spinning her own story. She does not really read the lines, but makes up a story on her own through the pictures and that enchants her.

In all this she got hold of a thick pink Disney Princess Story Book Collection. This was a hand me down from a friend’s older daughter and I had slipped it away at the bottom of the chest which holds her books. Why did I do that? Because what if she asked questions like this I thought.

“Why did Cinderella have a step mother?” – because her own mother is dead and gone…tell that and hear her wail…. Can’t be done
“Why is the step mother angry?” -- because she loves her own daughters more and does not love Cinderella… more wailing…. Can’t be done
“Why does the prince want to kiss Cinderella?” --- because she is very beautiful and also very good….Yikes.

I figured once she can read on her own, she could do it. I am a psyched mother I tell you.

Anyhow this little girl of mine found the glossy pink Disney Book one day and enamored by its prettiness strutted away with it before I could say NO.
So I asked her read to me instead and this is what she came up with in the sing song voice a 3 year old usually has. Mind you S is perfect in her Bengali but her English is far from so and it’s really funny to hear.

“Cinderella”… she started off, making up the story from the pictures in the pages.
“Once upon the Time, Cinderella is very busy. She do all her work. She want to go to dance party so her mom scold her. Then her Grandma (the fairy Godmother in the book) gave her “sparkly-sprinkly” dress and a star clip.

In the party she see her Daddy. Her Daddy say, Now we have to go home, Tomorrow is school.

Cinderella break her shoe so her Daddy buy her new shoe.
She is very happy and tells Thank You Daddy and so Daddy kiss her”

I wanted to roll on the floor laughing but obviously I had to show great interest and be sober so that is what Cinderella's story is for me now on.

With such a 3 year old wrapped around my leg most of the time that I am home, I never get to finish my cooking in express time. I cook in bits and pieces, doing hazaar things in between. So maybe I will come home and put the Dal in the cooker, and then I will sit and paint with S and so though the Dal could have been ideally done in 20 minutes flat, I get back to do it only after an hour maybe.

However to make things go faster I also do a lot of chopping etc. over the weekend or whenever I get time to ease the weekday. I usually have a cup of coarsely chopped onion, some fresh onion paste, and some chopped ginger & garlic in the refrigerator for impromptu weekday meals. If I am planning to make fish, I usually fry the fish pieces (we Bengalis fry the fish and then put them in the gravy) and then use them in a day or two in different gravies.

Yesterday I was determined to time my cooking though for Mallugirl's Summer Express Cooking and asked D to entertain S while I just cooked. It was a very simple thing I made, simple but healthy, Daliya Pualo. My Ma makes this pretty often to pack as lunch, I do both for lunch and quick dinners.

Daliya is Cracked Wheat that you can find in Indian stores. It is not same as bulghur but you can use bulghur too.

Bulghur ~ Partially hulled whole wheat kernels that are soaked, then steamed (hence pre-cooked if you will), dried and then crushed are called bulghur
Daliya or Cracked Wheat ~ Raw whole wheat berries that are crushed to varying qualities of texture are called cracked wheat


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Daliya Pulao

What I already had

Onion Paste ~ Red Onion ground to a coarse paste
Ground Chicken ~ I had some ground chicken which I had marinated with a little yogurt, ginger paste, cumin & coriander powder. I often do this with ground chicken, it stays well for couple of days and can be used to make quick kabobs or to be added to pasta or stuffing for wrap or sandwiches
Pureed Tomato ~ remember the cherry tomatoes from my garden, well there were more so I pureed them and stored

Note: You can skip the ground chicken or substitute with scrambled eggs, soy granules, crumbled panner

And The Time Starts Now...

6:07

Wash 1 cup of Daliya and put it in pressure cooker with almost twice the amount of water, a little oil and 2 elaichi/cardamom


6:10

Heat a small Frying Pan
Add Olive Oil
Add onion paste about 1 tbsp
Once it starts browning add the minced chicken, maybe ¾ cup of it, add salt and cook

6:12

While the chicken & Daliya is cooking chop the veggies
Chop long hot peppers, I chopped 2-3
I had a quarter of a cauliflower, I chopped the florets into small pieces. Smaller means will cook fast
I also thawed about ½ cup of frozen peas.
I chopped half a cucumber to make a raita
While chopping, remember to stir the chicken too.
Note: use your choice of veggies here


6:20

Heat a Kadhai
Add Olive Oil
Add 2-3 Bay Leaves, 4 cloves/laung, 4 elaichi/cardamom (all whole)
Add about 1 & ½ tbsp of onion paste and fry with 1/2 tsp of sugar
Meanwhile the ground chicken will be done and the Daliya too.

Add the chopped veggies, 1 tbsp of pureed tomato, sauté a little and cover and cook. Since I used fresh veggies this took a little while to get done

6:30

The veggies should be done by now.
Add the cooked ground chicken and mix well. Throw in some golden raisins. Add salt.
Now is the time to add the Daliya. If the pressure lid refuses to budge, put it under running cold water, this will release the steam.
If the Daliya has excess water, drain
Add the Daliya to the Kadai gradually and then mix well.
Add salt, a little sugar if you wish and stir till the Daliya is dry and has mixed well with the veggies

6:35

Quickly make a raita with yogurt and some cucumber
Everything done in 29 minutes and now you have one minute to reflect on what Douglas Adams said "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so"




Trivia:Because cracked wheat is made from whole wheat berries, it carries a great deal of nutrition and fiber since it includes the fiber and nutrient rich outer bran and germ of the wheat.

Kalai Dal ar Alu Posto

Kolai er dal | Biuli r Dal with Alu Posto

Kalai Dal or Biulir Dal (Bengali Urad Dal) with Aloo Posto(Potatoes in a poppy seed paste) or Alu Seddho (mashed potatoes with a dash of mustard oil) is the best thing that can happen to a Bengali during a lulled summer afternoon lunch. This dal is made with white Urad and flavored with a sweet ginger-fennel paste. In the original avatar, this dal has a slimy texture, a characteristic which some love while others hate. In my recipe of Kolai er Dal I suggest lightly roasting the dal and then cooking it for the ones who don't eat Biulir Dal because of the texture. 

Jump To Recipe

Sometime back I had to go to the city every day during the work week. Now unlike Bee and like Nabeela, I am not a city girl. Though we live a commutable distance away we hardly drop in to be a part of the city crowd. We are happy with our quiet green neighborhood and the proximity to the “Big Apple” has not rubbed the city life on us.

However I do not grudge the rare trips I need to make. I like to wait for the bus on a crisp morning and also love the fact that I can get an hour & half sleep while in it. I think I sleep a pretty deep sleep on the bus with my mouth open and even softly snoring. It leaves me pretty refreshed, and I don’t think anyone minds because most of the bus is doing the same.

Ok but this not about my sleeping habits so let’s not digress. The one thing I like about these early morning occasional ventures is the stores in the city. No, I am not talking of Saks 5th Avenue. I am talking of the small ineffable stores wedged between the tall structures, keeping a brave front, trying to hold on to their uniqueness of not being a part of a chain. I wonder what they sell. I see a sign saying “Lotto” and I try to peer through the thick bus window. I think I see a counter running through the length of the stores and I remember….

Yes, it reminds me of “Maulbi Saab ki Dukan”* just opposite to my school bus stop, my one stop shop for all my stationery needs for most of my school years. I remember Maulbi Saab in his checked blue-green lungi , white fez cap and almost luminescent white beard standing behind a counter that ran across the center of his shop. The counter kept the customers far removed from the merchandise and in turn gave Maulbi Saab an all encompassing power. I had to wait patiently for my turn for the Maulbi Saab or his grandson to be free and then I would ask for the Royal Blue Chelpark ink that I needed. I could not sample the Sulekha Violet ink if I wanted to or rummage through the crisp notebooks on display far from me.

The limitations of these choices mad me satisfied with what I needed alone and taught me not to go looking for stuff beyond my needs.

A lesson long forgotten when I hoard unknown boxes of spices and trifles, I don’t intend to use, just because I have an easy access to them.

It's not that I don’t love the choices a departmental store gives me, I do love the independence. But when I madly rummage through the aisles of Wal-Mart looking for a particular Dora kiddie water bottle, a part of me still yearns for the green shuttered Maulbi Saab’s Dukan and the polite Maulbi Saab in his blue-green checked lungi and white fez and I wish I could just go up and say “Ek Dora Purple & Pink Water Bottle dijiyega”** and come back home happy.

* a store run by the Maulbi** Give me a Dora Pink & Purple water bottle

But lets go back to the Dal I made today. Kalai er Dal is a dal made of split white (skin removed) Urad Dal, very typically Bengali and also a favorite in many Bengali homes.

Kalai er Dal with Alu Posto or Alu Seddho (mashed potatoes with a dash of mustard oil) is the best thing that can happen to you during a lulled summer afternoon lunch. Flavored with Ada-Mouri bata (a paste of ginger and fennel seeds) this sweet smelling dal can take two different avtaars. If you do not roast the urad dal and cook this Dal, it tends to get a bit slimy. Many people do not like the slippery texture though I loved it.

If you dry roast the dal before you cook it though, the slimy texture is gone and you get the flavorful dal without the slippery feeling.

This dal is best enjoyed with white rice. In a Bengali home it is served with alu posto or alu seddho and is typically served during a quiet lunch for the family. Usually not part of a menu for a larger audience it is for a quiet meal with the close family.

Alu Posto - is a dish made with potato and a paste of poppy seeds. Recipe is here. It can be found in both Bengali & Oriya cuisine

Alu Seddho - is a Bengali style mashed potato to which finely chopped onion, green chillies and a dash of mustard oil is added

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