Chotpoti/A tangy Chaat from Bangladesh

Chotpoti

Hi! So you are joining me again today again for “Around the World in 30 Days’? Welcome! I will love the company… so today let explore B the second alphabet…

Actually the options for B are so many Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium to name a few  but since I was keen on choosing my neighbours I have chosen Bangladesh as my entry here.

It’s obvious the food in Bangladesh is similar to West Bengal. The street food here constitutes of delicious pitha, Chotpoti, puchka, jhalmuri, badam, and fried items.

Puchka is Gol Gappe or Pani puri, pitha, jhaal muri I have made so I decided to make Chotpoti which I suppose will mean” chat pati” alias tangy.

Did it live up to its name?

Of course!!

It took me to the time when I as a child had travelled to Bhuneshwar and we had chaat one night on the streets of Bhuneshwar.

So come and join me for Chotpoti.

Curry Leaves Chutney

The other day my best friend Sheetal called on me.

She came bearing gifts……. a big plastic bag full of curry leaves, lovely green and delightfully aromatic just for me.

Apparently her neighbour had pruned her tree and was distributing the leaves. “Tu kide tari karbare sha” she told me which translates to make something delicious. There was one bigger bag for the Office distribution.

A houseful of guests was not the best time to take pictures but making this delicious chutnipudi was easy under hubs Maushi’sguidance.

Peanut, Coconut & Onion Chutney

Making dosa for breakfast is nowadays out of question.

 I am invariably late so the dosa have to be made by hubs, maid also is in a hurry and they get on each other’s nerves. So to avoid the associated problems I have started making dosas in the evening for dinner. They are eaten hot and the kids also are around plus I can take care of their thin and thick dosa orders.

Oats Bisi Baali Huli Anna

Oats the wonder grain is a new addition to our diet. The most easily available (read I have not checked) form being the rolled oats that I try making on a regular basis. The girls refuse to do anything with it claiming all sorts of reasons from downright stinks to tastes yucky. We have heard them all.

So how do I get them in them? Well I sneak them in like today’s Sunday special being Bisi Baali Huli Anna. Their favourite!!

I generally do not make the masala that Amma used to make for making this rice so special.  I promise I will post the authentic recipe soon. In fact I am surprised that I have not posted the recipe as yet.   No wonder so many of you have commented that I have Goan style cooking featured in my space. Maybe because cooking Karnataka style food is comfort cooking.

Jal Jeera

Imagine this scene it’s Saturday, about 1.35pm and the Sun is very pleased that that finally he has caught you,  when you  have forgotten your cap and sun coat at home in the morning.

He turns his on his devilish smile and grins just at you!!

 To add to it you are sweating (you cannot escape that in Goa). All the way the down from Office to home, a mere 5 kilometers turns in a nightmare, for I am allergic to the sun’s rays.

Usali the Goan Way

I have been living in Goa for many years but still one article that was printed in the Times of India was an eye-opener.

The author of the article was Melinda Pereira Kamat and she wrote about The Perfect Usali, in case you are interested it is featured in the Times of India, Goa edition on Tuesday, July 13, 2010.  I was supposed to scan and post it here but... hope will do so in near future. 

Till I read this article my view about usal or usali was that it is made in Karnataka and Maharashtra/Gujarat and the method that I followed was about similar to what my mother and MIL made. That is it has garlic and onion for Kaku (my MIL) made it that way and it had coriander and coconut ground for Amma. So I had mixed both and made my usal.

Alsande Usal

I am thrilled my post Corn Dhokla has given me maximum hits of 1072 in one single day! This I thought was the end of the story but yesterday  I read   Umm Mymoonah post and   she has selected mine. My cup of joy is overflowing!!

Thanks dear !

  

 Now coming to today’s post…

Alsande or I believe they are called Cow Chick Peas are cooked regularly in Goa. In the month of May they are purchased in bulk, sunned and stored for consumption during the year.

The most common dish made out of these highly nutritious beans is Alsande che tonak. A beautiful blend of spices, coconut and beans tastes great with pao or une.

 But I am repeating myself. Why? Because I love this quintessential dish which makes its appearance in every Goan marriage or munj.

But today I have made this as a simple Usal. The ingredients are very few and the taste is normal everyday comfort food.

 I am sorry I did not think of clicking a picture of the alsande before boiling them or soaking them I have tried to click them after boiling but they were not easy to handle.

Ingredients:

1 cup alsande

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 green chilli

 A few springs of coriander

½ tsp red chilli powder (adjust as per taste)

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp goda masala

A small ball of tamarind

A small piece of jaggery (optional)

For Tempering:

Oil

 Mustard

Method:

1.      Soak the alsande after washing them in sufficient water overnight.

2.    Soak the tamarind in water and extract thick juice.

3.        In the morning add a little salt and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Let the pressure come down by itself.

4.         In the meanwhile coarse grind the onion, coconut, garlic and the dry masala & coriander in the mixer.

5.        In a separate kadhai/wok heat oil. Splutter mustard.

6.      Add the ground masala and stir fry till the onion is translucent.

7.    Add the boiled alsande.

8.     Add the tamarind paste and jaggery if using. Adjust the seasonings & bring to a boil.

9.    Serve hot with Jowari roti or chapatti. I love it with plain white rice.

   

 Sending this to my legume love  affair 39   which is Susan's brain child

Archana

Sev Batata Poori

Who does not like chaat?

 We have saying in Kannada which says, “Bhina Ruche Janaha” This means different people have different tastes. So there is one person who I know does not like chaat. Thankfully in my family we all love them.

Drumsticks/ Shevgya che Shenga /Nuggekai/ Shango Curry

Just imagine your friend asks for something and since it is not readily available you decide to give it later and then you forget…!!

Unforgivable!!

This is exactly what I have done but I hope my friend Mythreyi does forgive me!!

She had posted some drumstick recipes and wanted some more of curry recipes with them. Drumsticks/ Shevga che shenga  /Nuggekai/ Shango as they are know in English/ Marathi/ Kannada/ Konkani  are a rich source of calcium and potassium. Read about it here.

I was quite surprised that I had not posted this curry that I make often. In my mom’s place it is used only in sambhar, my mother-in-law used in kadhi, I have not made the kadhi yet but will try it out soon. 

This recipe is what my friends’ mom used to make and since the kids loved it I copied it.  You can as in the original recipe add prawns which taste yummy but I am clueless about cooking them.  You are the expert if you are using prawns but I will guarantee the taste!

The Ingredients are simple:

5 drumsticks, chopped the size about 2 knuckles

½ a coconut, freshly grated

1 tsp rasam powder or sambhar powder (adjust as per taste)

A small ball of tamarind

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp chilli powder

3 cloves garlic (optional)

1 small ball of jaggery

1 tsp oil

Mustard

Hing/asafoetida

Salt

Coriander

Method:

1.       Place the drumsticks in a wide vessel use just enough water to cover all the drumsticks mix salt. Cover and par boil.

2.       Meanwhile grind the coconut, the masala powder, tamarind, turmeric, chilli powder, garlic (if used) and jaggery to a very fine paste using little water. Many times I grind the masala only after I have boiled the drumsticks and I use the water from the drumsticks only.

3.       Pour over the masala over the drumstick and bring to a boil. Adjust the seasonings.

4.       In a small pan heat the oil, splutter mustard, then hing/asafoetida.

5.       Pour over the drumstick curry. Cook till the drumsticks are done.

6.       Serve with steaming hot rice.

  

Drumsticks Curry

Archana

Alu Vadi or Taro Leaf Roll

My mother in law was an expert in making what is called Alu Vadi in Marathi! You could call it Taro leaf roll. In Kannada it is called Shavi yelli.

MIL used to grow her own alu for making this dish. Once I remember asking/telling her that one of the leaves leaf was big and why was she not cutting it. She told me that she was waiting for the other 2 to become a bit bigger so that she could make Alu Vadi and not to worry this one would not wither off before they were sizable. She was correct they were exactly the same size when she finally cut them.

At my request she showed me the method of making them. I try to imitate her but “Abhi Deli bhout door hai”!