Dida's Gota Sheddho -- traditions reborn

Before I go into the recipe of Gota Sheddho let me be honest and tell you that this is the first time I made it.

I had never made Gota Sheddho before. Neither has my Mother. It is my Dida, my Ma's mother, whose Gota Sheddho is what I remember today. Her Gota Sheddho was much in demand in the North Kolkata neighborhood she lived. Younger women who had turned new mothers would send out a request to her before Saraswati Pujo. "Mashima, amar jonyo ektu gota deben", they would say.  In the years that we lived in Kolkata, she would send it for my Mother too, in steel tiffin carrier boxes, the day after Saraswati Pujo.

The dish did not look appetizing with its dull brown black color and I never really wanted to taste it. It was supposed to be had cold and my Ma would implore me to have at least a serving of what Dida has sent.. "It is good for you", she would say. I would swallow it like I would a lot of other veggies at that age. Fast. Pushing the morsels at the back of my throat.  Refusing to taste it with my tongues or senses. I wish I had better adjectives to describe that dish my Dida cooked with love for the wellbeing of her children and then theirs. But I hardly tasted the dish and every year I wondered if the young women in my Dida's neighborhood had gone bonkers to send request for "Gota Sheddho".

"Why would anyone want to have Gota Sheddho ?", I often wondered.

The Five vegetables: Red Potatoes, Purple Eggplant, Green Sheem, Whole peas in a pod, Baby Spinach

Yesterday on my FB page, a reader asked if I had a recipe for Gota Sheddho."Nope", I told her. And there the matter rested. Until another reader came by and shared a recipe of her Mother's Gota Sheddho. Anuradha's Mom's recipe was simple like it should be and it instantly reminded me of my Dida's Gota Sheddho. I had a hunch that this was how Dida made it. Strangely, at that point, I did not remember it as the dull black unappetizing dish instead I remembered it as something my Dida cooked. It must have been good, I told myself, she was a fantastic cook after all.

So I called my Mother. I wanted to know the story behind the dish. Why was it had cold ? Why was it cooked at all on Saraswati Pujo ? Information trickled down and a tradition shaped up.

I did not have Masshkolai so I used Green Moong

Ma said, "The day after Saraswati Pujo is Sheetol Shoshti. Shoshthi is the goddess of  fertility and worshiped by Mothers as a guardian angel of their offspring. Sheetol==Cool. And on the day of sheetol shoshthi, cold gota sheddho that had been cooked the previous day, is to be had by Mothers worshipping Ma Shoshthi.

The way your Dida made Gota Sheddho was by boiling kali urad(the urad dal with skin) known as maashkolai in Bengali with five different vegetables in season which were to be added whole, little salt, sugar to taste, some pieces of ginger and drizzle of  raw mustard oil to finish off. The vegetables most commonly used were small red potatoes, small eggplant, sheem, whole green peas in their pod and baby spinach."

Okay, so the Gota Sheddho was cooked on Saraswati Pujo but had cold only the next day and it was done apparently for the long life of one's children.

My Mother also said that on the day of Sheetol Shoshthi, Dida wrapped the sheel-nora in a fresh new cotton cloth and worshiped it. It was the sheel-nora's day off and no masala(spices) were to be ground or made into a paste. Amazingly, the gota sheddho is cooked sans any spices also. Not even a speck of turmeric is added to it. I am not sure if this was as a respect for the sheel-nora but that is how the story goes.

Now that I think of it, there seems to be a deeper meaning to the whole thing. Saraswati Pujo heralds the advent of Spring and with Spring came many diseases in those days. So along with the prayers for well being of the children, the food cooked was something healthy and brimming with nutrients from the steamed fresh new vegetables and dals. A diet like that would keep any disease at bay, given that you had it every day.

Now, there are many different versions of this dish. Each home in Bengal has their own little touch to Gota Sheddho. I closely followed my Dida's recipe, as narrated by my Ma. But I had to adapt and make some changes. I did not have the black urad dal and so I used green moong. I used five vegetables but did not follow the rule of six parts or numbers of each. Also instead of the raw mustard oil I heated up mustard oil, tempered it with few dry red chillies and added that oil to finished dal.

I am not a ritualistic person and I did not do this with the religious goal in mind. Everyday I pray for my children's well being and I do not believe that having a cold dal on a certain Spring day would do any extra good. But I am sure my Dida and the women of their generations had their own reasons and nothing beats the fact that this is a dish brimming with nutrition. I liked it hot though. And a squeeze of lime made it better.

 Dida's Gota Sheddho -- my version

The day before cooking, soak 1/2 cup of Green Moong (1 Cup if you want more dal type) in water. Actual recipes asks for Black urad aka maash kolai. 

The next day, in a big pot, add the soaked dal. In my case this was the pressure cooker.

Along with the dal add the following veggies whole. No chopping or cutting. Makes life easy.
Small Red Potatoes
Small Round eggplant
Whole peas in their pods
Sheem
Baby Spinach with stems
Ideally each vegetable should be added in six-es. But I did not follow this rule

Add enough water to the pot to cover the veggies and dal.
Add salt to taste.
Add 5-6 whole green chillies
Add a tbsp of grated or minced ginger
Note: Instead of only ginger you can use this -- 1 tsp of fennel seeds(mouri) + 2" inch piece of ginger, pounded in a mortar-pestle. Amazing flavor.

Cook till dal and veggies are done. Since I did it in a whistling pressure cooker, I did it for about 5 whistles at low medium heat.

When done, dry off excess water if you wish. Add sugar to taste. Drizzle some mustard oil. Serve hot or cold.
Instead of raw oil, I heated 1-2 tsp of Mustard Oil (more if you want, I keep oil low) in a separate kadhai. Tempered the hot oil with 4 Dry Red Chillies. Added the Oil+Red Chillies to the cooked dal.

This dish also goes to Jaya's event  "I cooked Gota Sheddho in my Indian pressure cooker and it did not blow up in my face".

Pasta with Roasted Peppers, Greens and Ricotta

Today was one of those days. The kind of day when you have a long To-Do list and nothing on it gets done.

Wait. Actually that is not today, that is everyday.

But while everyday, I just push off the today list to tomorrow, "today" some of the things on there had to be done. Simply had to. And one of them was to get Valentine's day gift or treat or some such thing for LS's class. Yes, for a class of four year olds who care the sheeshkabob about Saint Valentine. All they I am sure want is some colored candy which unfortunately I wasn't going to give.

Now all these years I have never sent gifts to school on V day. I have sent treats for the party but not individual gifts for the kids. "We just did this for Christmas. Why again in February?" was how my general train of thought went.But this year in a moment of weakness (or maybe it was the moment when I was busy clicking a food photo)I promised LS that I would send goody bags on Valentines Day. I promised but did not lift even one of my fat fingers towards that promise until I made the TBD list for today. "Buy V G.Bags", was scrawled on it along with several other illegible stuff which may  have included "Go to Gym" or may not.

To keep that promise, I came home; took a shower; drank tea with one several Marie Biscuit; quickly made a Pasta with roasted sweet pepper, spinach and ricotta because the tub of ricotta in the refrigerator was inching towards its expiration; donned a jacket and then rushed out to the nearest available store that sells stuff that can qualify for "V G.Bags". Thankfully the husband was around to take the kids to their taekwondo class and I could scratch that from my list.

So the main thing is, I donned a jacket and rushed out. When I say donned a jacket, I "donned" it on whatever I was wearing at home while sipping tea and cooking pasta. If you know me or in the case that you don't, it is high time you understand the way I function. I do not sip tea or cook pasta in designer wear. Forget desinger wear which I don't even own, I actually prefer drinking tea and stirring pasta in tracks which have been through the wash cycle so many times that they are now super comfy and in t-shirts so frayed at the edges that they might work better to mop my counter than covering my body. The only reason I like winter, is zipping up that jacket hides my wardrobe inadequacies in most places.

Comfortable in the super cape power of my jacket I breezed through the aisles of the store trying to figure which pack of valentine cards will give most bang for my buck, all the time feeling like I was being hit by a cold draft. But there was too much on my mind, like Winnie or Dora,  to pay attention to drafts and winds.

Finally all set, when I was at the checkout, the young guy at the counter was extra nice and kind of treating me like he would an older senile lady. You know, how you are extra nice and gentle and sweet when you encounter a ninety year old who is slightly woozy in the head. Well she has a reason, her sleep medication is doing that. "What is my excuse", I thought. It was then that I glanced down and what do I see ? The jacket that I had so confidently zipped up at home, had somehow unzipped midway and split up exposing my threadbare tee and holey pants. I surely looked like someone whose upper storey needed some repair work. Struggling with that zipper did not help at all and I quickly gathered my stuff and walked to the car. Fast.

Now I need a foolproof jacket. That tee and track pants are here to stay,

That said this Pasta with Roasted Red Peppers ,Greens and Ricotta was pretty good. A pinch of Garam Masala and some garlic made it better. It was inspired by a recipe in NY Times and will be packed for school lunch tomorrow. Of course it works perfect for a dinner too.

The recipe is in my kids' blog where I am storing lunchbox ideas.

Bhoger Khichuri and Anarosher Chutney

Bhog er Khichuri is the Khichuri, a Bengali will offer to the the Goddess on Durga Pujo, Lokkhi Pujo or Saraswati Pujo. If done on any other day it will just be the Bhaja Moog Dal er Khichuri or a Khichdi made with Roasted Moong dal or a Rice and Lentil dish akin to Risotto if I try going international.. The same Khichdi when mixed with devotion, faith, respect and fragrance of incense, is lifted to the sublime and is called Bhog er Khichuri.

Along with a mixed vegetable dish of Labra, different kinds of  fries called bhaja and Tomato Chaatni, this Khichuri was offered during Pujo, in heavy plates with raised edges made of kansa (bell metal) or brass. Water was served in similar glasses. Sweets and several fruits cut and cubed made up the other edible arrangements. Fresh flowers, heavy fragrance from incense sticks and dhuno made up the complete atmosphere.

In addition to all this there was something offered called noibiddyo, small mounds of small grained raw rice that had been soaked, raw yellow moong soaked, some sweet sondesh, pieces of ripe banana were arranged in portions in a separate plate. Though Noibiddyo or Naivedhya means "offering made to the Gods" and so everything offered should actually have fallen under this category, we specifically labelled this offering of raw rice et al as Noibiddyo. You will get a clearer image of this from this pic I found in Flickr.

After the pujo was over, these small mounds of rice, sondesh and bananas were mixed together in a kind of mash. The raw rice due to the overnight soaking was soft but had a bite and the sondesh and banana sweetened the whole deal. More than the khichuri, it is this thing called chaal-kola makha, distributed with prasad at the end of  pujo, is what I waited for.

Saraswati Pujo is on Friday. My parents are going to have an elaborate pujo back home as usual. Friday being a working day, I will have a small pujo at home in the evening where I will do almost nothing according to tradition except offer sweets and books, pray and ask her for knowledge and wisdom.

On Saturday, we will have a pujo at a larger scale in a friends' basement. There we will have Khichuri and labra and also much fun. I am trying to teach the girls to sing a Saraswati Vandana for the pujo there and given that I cannot sing a single note in tune, I have roped in help from YouTube. So every night for ten whole minutes I play a simple Saraswati bhajan on my laptop and the girls' join in singing at the top of their voice. It does not sound very musical and the little one keeps saying "Naamo Sharada Maatha" instead of "Maata", which is kind of funny given that "Maatha" in Bengali means "head". The ensuing cacophony is enough to drive any Saraswati up the wall but we are hoping that the Goddess and audience has more patience.

In prospect of this wonderful future (ahem!), I made a Bhaaja Moog Dal er Khichuri today. Since I did not offer it to the divine, I cannot say it was bhog er khichuri yet. Instead of Tomato Chaatni, I made Anarosher Chaatni or Pineapple Chutney. The Begun Bhaja or fried eggplants I baked in the oven taking cue from a reader who had suggested this method. I lighted up some incense sticks and then deliberated on eating it, since Khichuri does not feature in the top 20 things I want to eat stranded in a desert island. Furthermore Khichuri without an omlette holds very little charm for me. So I made an omlette, something which would have been impossible on the actual day of Pujo and then ate it all up myself. I mean I also fed it to the rest of the family.

You don't have to wait for any divine intervention, any day you want a one pot meal, make this and offer yourself.



Some of my previous posts on Saraswati Pujo are here and here. Here is my Labra, Begun Bhaja and Anarosher Chaatni recipe to complete the meal. There is another version of Khichuri I make called Bhuni Khichuri which is a spicier and richer version of this.

The very nice people from masalamommas had asked me a few questions and that article up on their site. Go check if you want. Thanks Salima, the lovely lady who did the piece. And btw that picture is of Salima's. 

Bhog er Khichuri 

 

A liitle prep

Chop 1 medium potato in quarters.
Chop half of a small cauliflower in about 6-8 large-ish florets
Defrost about 1/4 cup of frozen peas (or use same amount of fresh green peas)

Wash 1 cup of rice(short grained rice like gobindobhog, kalijeera etc. preferred, I used sona masoori) and soak in water

Roast 1 cup of Yellow Moong Dal till you get a nice nutty aroma. About 50% of the dals should be a light brown on roasting. Rinse the dal lightly in water and keep aside. Approx. 4 minutes.

In a separate frying pan, fry the potatoes and cauliflower with sprinkle of turmeric powder till they are a shade of light gold and the cauliflower florets have some brown spots.Throw in the green peas and saute them too.

After we are done with the prep part we will start on the actual khichuri

Heat Vegetable Oil + 1 tsp Ghee in a deep and heavy bottomed pot.

Temper the oil with
4 green cardamom
4 clove/laung
1 thin stick of cinnamom
1 Bay Leaf/tejpata
2 Dry red chilli
1 tsp of whole cumin seeds/jeera

When the spices pop to the oil add
1-2 tbsp mince or grated ginger 

Add 1 medium tomato

Add
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Garam Masala 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder(or Kashmiri Mirch)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
all made into a paste with water Saute for 2-3 minutes

Next add the roasted moong dal and mix with the masala. Saute the dal along with the masalas for couple of minutes.

Add 1 cup of pre-washed ned rice now

Now add about 8 cups of warm water to the pot. Add little salt. Cover the pot and let the water simmer to a boil.

2-3 minutes after the boiling starts add the potatoes, cauliflower and peas. Add 1-2 Cup more water if needed.

Once you see the water boil, lower the heat, cover and let the rice and lentils cook. In between, remove the cover, gently give a stir and check if they are done or if more water is needed.

Once the rice, lentils and vegetables are cooked, sprinkle about 1 tsp of sugar and a pinch of Garam Masala. Mix gently. Drizzle a tbsp or more of ghee . Serve hot.

Pressure Cooker Method:
To cook in pressure cooker, after you have added the vegetables, do not add any more water. Close the Pressure cooker lid and cook for 2 whistles or 3 minutes if in Futura pressure cooker.

Once the pressure has released naturally, open the lid and check the consistency of  Khichuri. Add little more water if needed and adjust for salt and seasoning. Add Garam masala if needed.

At the very end, heat 1 Tbsp ghee in a small frying pan and roast some cashews and raisins until golden. Add them along with the ghee to the Khichuri. Serve hot.