Shubho Naboborsho

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year

* The Hindu solar calendar based on the Surya Siddhanta commences in mid-April of the Gregorian year. The first day of this calendar is celebrated as the traditional New Year in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Nepal, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.

Goduma Dosa -- quick, easy, wheat dosa

I love Dosa, no not all kinds, but Masala Dosa and paper Masala Dosa and oh yes, Mysore Masala Dosa. Growing up we ate a fair amount of Masala Dosa, not at home, but on our ritual Sunday outings. It might sound strange because it is not something a typical Bong family would do. The hubby insists they ate, Dhakai Parota & Kasha Mangsho, Moghlai and such on their weekend outings. I guess because those days we lived in Bihar where these delicacies were not available, we settled for Masala Dosa on most days we ate out, no one is complaining though because we loved it.

Dosa at home was a rarity though. My Ma couldn’t whip up the perfect thin crispy Dosa like the restaurants, I liked my Dosa to be paper thin and my Ma’s would be thick and I did not like that. So many a times she would make utthapam instead.

However during the summer months, when we would have morning school and eventually long leisurely summer holidays we would have Masala dosas as a treat on weekdays too, courtesy the Dosawala. The Dosawala with his mobile cart, the huge black iron griddle and glistening steel containers of Dosa batter, sambhar, coconut chutney and potato stuffing would do rounds of our neighborhood every Tuesday evening. Come dusk, the far cry of his metallic spatula hitting the iron griddle would reverberate in the neighborhood. I don’t remember if he shouted out his wares like other peddlers but that “tong-tong” sound of the spatula was enough to make us scurry to the gates with a steel tiffin-carrier and boxes for the hot crisp Masala Dosa and chutney.

My Dosa making skills are zero or maybe even sub-zero. I lack the paraphernalia to grind the batter, or the finesse to flip one and anyway it has been always easier to pop into the nearest Dosa place when I am craving for one.

When I saw the Goduma Dosa at Nupur’s, I felt my confidence soar. This is something I can easily do, I told myself and tweaked this recipe to my taste. I added onions and chillies to the batter, substituted part water with yogurt. I also took cue from Sra and added some pickle to some of them while other I had with potato masala stuffing. It was wonderful, nothing like the Crisp thin Masala Dosas but good to eat none the less.

The Goduma Dosa goes to Dosa Mela at Srivalli's

Goduma or Wheat Dosa

What You Need

Whole Wheat Flour ~ ½ cup
Rice Flour ~ ½ cup
Jeera powder ~ 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder ~ depending on your spice level
Red onion ~ ½ of a medium finely chopped
Green Chillies ~ 3-4 finely chopped
Curry leaves ~ 5-6 finely chopped
Yogurt ~ about 1 cup diluted with water
Water ~ almost 2 cup
Salt ~ according to taste

How I Did It

I simply made the batter with all of the above ingredients and let it sit for half an hour.
Then heated the griddle and followed Nupur’s instructions. Mine was not lacy as hers though, maybe I just need more practice or my batter needs to be more thin
Tasted really good with potato masala.

Remember last date for RCI-Bengal is April 15th midnight

Trivia: The eminent food scientist Dr. K.T. Achaya. points out authoritatively that while Dosai and Vadai have a hoary two-thousand-year history in Tamil country, Idli is a foreign import. Huh, really ? Check this

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


Read more...

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.