Bengali

Mulo’r Ghanto (Dry Raddish Curry)

11:22 AM


The soil here in Bangalore is not very fertile so despite of having medium sized front yard I dint try to grow anything. My garden consisted some 35 pieces flowerpots. Last year I decided to try my green fingers and after painstakingly preparing the soil sowed some vegetables like Spinach, Methi (Fenugreek), French beans, Pumpkins, ladies fingers and reddish. And beyond my imagination I had a bounty of harvest except ladies fingers, which refused to grow after reaching a dwarf size of 6”. But the methi and raddish have made up for everything.

I love raddish green. Just boiled raddish greens with some chopped onion, green chillies, few drops of mustard oil and salt…I can have a plateful of rice with this. But how much??? Even after generously giving all my friends I had quite some amount of raddish in the garden. I was literally
brainstorming as what to make when life gives you plenty of raddish??? Ok you put it in salad, make chachchari, ok you can also put them in macher tak and then??? I asked Maa over phone and she readily answered make mulo’r ghanto, don’t you remember I used to make this during winter. But that was Bandhakopi (cabbage) I tried to argue. No that’s what we told otherwise you kids were not ready to eat mulo (raddish) she chuckled in the phone. Ahha so here another story of being fooled is coming up…but never mind am happy enough to discover this as I got another way to have my share of raddish.

Here is the recipe, which is a must try. I made a niramish (veg) ghanto with chola (Soaked Bengal gram) but following true Bengali tradition one can have amish (non-veg) ghanto by putting shrimp or fish head. It’s easy and calls for very less ingredients. Tastes a lot like bandhakopi’r chachari (cabbage curry) good for kids who don’t want to eat Raddish.

Mulo’r Ghanto

Ingredients:
Raddish: medium sized 4-5 pieces
Potato: 1 small
Chola (Bengal gram): 2 tablespoon, soaked
Ginger paste: 11/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder: 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder: 1 teaspoon


Oil: 2 tablespoon
Ghee: 2 teaspoon
Turmeric: ½ teaspoon
Garam masala powder: little bit
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
For tempering:
Cumin seeds: ½ teaspoon
Dried red chillies: 2 pieces
Tejpatta (bay leaf): 1 piece

Method:
Cut the raddish really fine or you can also grate the same. Wash and boil with salt and turmeric for 7 minutes. Make sure raddish is cooked with a slight crunch. Drain the water and Again wash thoroughly to avoid the unpleasant smell and mild bitterness.


Peel and cut the potato in small cubes.

Mix the ginger paste, coriander and cumin paste or powder with 2-spoon water and keep aside.

Heat the oil and one spoonful of ghee in a pan. Put the tempering ingredients. When aroma rises add the potatoes and salt. Fry till golden in colour, they should be ¾ cooked at this point.
Add the masala paste and give it a good stir. Cook till oil separates at the side.
Now put the soaked Bengal gram and stir well.

Now add the cooked raddish, salt and turmeric. On a low flame mix well and cook covered. At this stage a little juice will come out. Mix everything together and keep stirring.

Once the juice dries up and the raddish soaks the masala flavour add the sugar, garam masala powder and the rest of the ghee.

Mix well and serve hot with boiled rice.


This recipe goes to Think Spice hosted by Priya of Priya’s easy n tasty recipes for the month of October . This beautiful event was started by wonderful Sunita Bhuyan of Sunita’s world.















Bengali

9:29 AM

Narkel Naru, Bijoya Dashomi’r Mishtimukh
(Bijoya greetings and Coconut Laddu)











Wish all of you a very happy Bijoya Dashami.







Bijoya Dashami is the last day of Durga Puja. We Bengalis believe Maa comes to her Baaper Bari (Parents house) with her four children and on Dashami she leaves for Sosur bari (In Law's) in Kailasha Mountain. So in Bengali tradition the elder women in the family say goodbye by giving her Kanakanjoli where Neivedya (Puja offerings) is offered to her and other married women offer her sweets, Pan (betel leaf), Sindur and Alta. They smear Sindur on Maa Durga and on each other; this tradition is called Sindur khela. On this eve the idol is immersed and after that we touch elders feet and seek their blessings. And in true Bengali Tradition in return they give us Mishti (sweets) and other snacks like Nimki (namakpare), Elojhelo etc. Bijoya is observed till Kalipuja or Diwali. Which gives us ample time to have our dose of sweets everyday by visiting neighbors and relatives

The above picture is the Protima (idol) of our ancestral house in Sagar Island where the Puja turned 102 this year. The puja here is done in Sodosh Upachar where everything has to be kept ready according to the puja nirghanta (Time table). And in our puja Maa Durga Comes with Maa Bishalakkhi and Maa Shitola. This is the time when all of us gather from all over the world and in true sense it’s a get together we look for the whole year. This is the first time Hubby A visited the island and he nearly fell in love with the place and the puja. Even my 6 months old Son enjoyed in his own way.

With the completion of Puja my long vacation at me parents have also come to an end. Am back to Bangalore and most importantly am on my own with the kid. Hope to be back and regular on the blog scene from now on.


Narkel Naru


Frankly I dint make it this year, this is from my draft. Maa has made me some naru and Narkel sandesh to feed my friends. In normal Bengali household naru is made only with coconut and sugar but I love mine extra rich so I add some khoya and condensed milk.

Ingredients:
Scraped Coconut: 2 cups
Khoya: ½ cup
Condensed milk: ½ cup
Sugar: ¾ cup
Green cardamom pods: 5
Kismis: for decoration

Method: mix the coconut and sugar together in a heavy bottom pan and put on the gas. On low flame stir it till sugar melts and all the juice dries out.
Now add the khoya and condensed milk and give it a good stir.
Cook till the mixture leaves the side.
Take off from flame and make small balls when the mixture is still warm.
Decorate with a flattened kismis.Store in airtight container or in the refrigerators.

Memoir

Happy Rakshababdhan to all

3:02 AM


Wish you all a very Happy Rakshabandhan.

After a long time this year am home for Rakhi. So I decided to make and offer Rakhi to Lord Krishna and what could be better than a flower Rakhi for the God. I did Puja this morning to pray for the well beings of my brothers and then tied Rakhis around their wrists.


When we were young we used to decorate some place around the picture of Radha and Krishna for a seven day long festival called Jhulan, which is celebrated following the Radha Krishna swing festival of Vrindavan.
It starts on the third day of the bright fortnight of Shravan month (Monsoon) and lasts until the full moon night of the month. During this festival the Radha-Krishna Deities are swung on a swing and decorations are made around that. planning to do the same next year with son and niece.

Breakfast

Mixed Vegetable and Egg Noodles.

3:52 AM




During my pregnancy days every afternoon I had to brainstorm as what to eat for lunch. As I ate alone so I hardly felt like cooking. Generally my meal comprised of milk, cornflakes, an apple or sand witch. But my doctor advised me to eat healthy and being an eggitarian I had to be careful to cook with nutritious and healthy ingredients. Mostly I opted for a one-dish meal with lots of vegetable, eggs, soy granules, mushrooms etc.

Now as MIL has left and with hubby in office this Monday both Maa and me didn’t feel like cooking. So I recreated one of those lonely meals for us, and like those pregnancy days we had our noodles with glasses of mango Tang. It was quite filling, tasty and quick.

Mixed Vegetable and Egg Noodles

Ingredients
Noodles: ½ packet; I used Ching’s secret egg noodles.
½ onion: thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic: chopped
2 green chilies:
1 dried red chilly: deseeded and chopped
1 small potato: thinly sliced
½ carrot: thinly sliced
½ cup chopped cauliflower
8 nos. French beans: chopped
½ small capsicum: thinly sliced
6-8 mushrooms: chopped; I used oyster mushroom
Some spring onion: chopped
1 egg
1-tablespoon soy sauce
1-tablespoon chili sauce
1-tablespoon vinegar
Salt

pepper powder: 1/2 tsp
Method:
In a big pan boil water with salt and few drops of oil. Cook the noodles as per instruction in the packet. 
 
Heat oil and scramble the egg with salt. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the green chilies and chopped garlic.

When the aroma comes add the onion and fry till translucent.

Now add the veggies one by one…potatoes, beans, carrots and cauliflowers.Fry with a pinch of salt.

Once the potatoes are soft add the capsicum and mushroom and let it cook for another couple of minutes.

Now add all the sauces and mix well so that it evenly coat the vegetables.
Add the noodles and mix.

add pepper powder. Check seasoning.Serve hot with scrambled egg, chopped spring onion and chopped red chilies.

9:02 AM

Amar Birpurush (My Brave Boy)


Birpurush
Rabindranath Tagore
Mone karo jano bidesh ghure
Maake nie jachi anek dure
Tumi jacho palkite maa chore
Darja duto ektuku fank kore
Ami jachi ranga ghorar pare
Tagagie tomar pashe pashe
Rasta theke ghorar khure khure
Ranga dhuloy megh urie ase…

…Amon samay ha re re re re re
Oi je kara asteche daak chere ।
Tumi bhaye palkite ak kone
Thakur debta smaran korcho mone
Bearagulo pasher kantabone
Palki chere kapteche tharo tharo
Ami jano tomay bolchi deke‘ami achi bhay kano maa karo…’


Birpurush
just imagine mother, that you and i
are travelling far (can't remember why)
your palanquin's rocking to and fro
with four beherAs going heiyA-ho
besides them i am trotting along
on my little red pony, singing a song.

just then the cry: "hAre re re re re"
you can hear them charging; utter disarray
beherAs running helter skelter
you pray to heaven for divine shelter
but i tell you calmly, "mA don't worry!i am here with you, now _they'll be sorry!"


God has blessed us with a beautiful gift…a cute little prince. He has made us complete. Though our life has taken a 360 degree change but whenever we hold him we found our world right there. The spark in his eyes, the toothless smile, the innocent smell and the warmth and softness of our little one makes us thank God for everything. It’s a wonderful feeling to have him in our life, to come home to see him play, to hold him with amazement and to love him to our hearts content.

In the meantime the kitchen is buzzing with activity. Maa and MIL are busy in cooking. Flavorful nutritious meals are being made for me and the visitors are getting delicious snacks.

Life is beautiful. I thank God for being a woman and being able to give birth.
(picture courtesy www.4to40.com)

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