Bati Charchari 2 -- with cauliflower stalks et al, pumpkin and eggplant

Our Lunch plate today

Bengali Cuisine has so many different varieties of vegetarian dishes that it is hard to keep a count. Charchari, Ghonto, Chechki, Jhol, Jhaal, the permutations and combinations are endless.

Even within each of these genres -- there are hundred different varieties.

Charchari is a dish which is usually made with multiple of vegetables. However there are exceptions and individual charcharis also rule the genre, like "Aloo Charchari" with only potatoes or "Dharosh Charchari" with only okra. But most charcharis involve a  myriad of vegetables with a lot of sauteing and thus generous amount of oil. I had read somewhere the name "charchari" came phonetically from the "char char" or charring sound that happened while sauteing vigorously in an iron kadhai.

The Bati Charchari is a little different from usual charcharis as it does not involve any tempering or  sauteing at all. In fact the bati charchari that I have grown up with was made with only potatoes, chopped in long  thin slices, cooked in a steel container with mustard oil drizzled oil from the top.

Today's Bati Charchari which I am calling Bati Charchari 2 is a variation of the typical charchari. It has mustard paste and a tempering of Paanchphoron , Hing and Green Chili. I love the flavor of Hing in my vegetarian dishes and often add them to charcharis. Instead of Mustard paste, I have used Kashundi from a bottle because my Mother sent me  a large stock of Kashundi recently.

The star of this dish was of course the cauliflower stalks which were tender and tasted delicious. I was delighted to see again a cauliflower with such lovely stalks and used the stalks and green in this dish as well as in a dal. Yep, I am officially that age when I get excited by cauliflower stalks.
Instead of going "Oooh, Farhan Akhtar", I am like "Oooh, such lovely green, firm, kopi'r daanta (cauli stalks)"🥰. My heart races seeing such stuff.
Here is a video to give you an idea about making this dish.

Bati Charchari 2 -- with cauliflower stalks et al, pumpkin and eggplant

Chop in equal proportions all of the following vegetables.

Cauliflower
Cauliflower stalks and leaves
Pumpkin
Eggplant
Potato(optional)

*I have chopped everything in cubes but you can chop them longitudinally

Heat Mustard Oil for cooking

Temper the hot oil with
1 tsp Paanchphoron
3-4 Green Chili
a pinch of Hing

Now add the vegetables, one after the another.
So add pumpkin, quick saute, then add cauliflower stalks.
Next, goes in cauliflower florets, saute for a minute.
Next eggplant

Sprinkle some Turmeric powder and saute everything for a couple of minutes.

Add
1 Cup of water
1 tsp of Mustard paste (OR 1 tsp Kashundi mixed with some water)
Salt to taste

Mix well.

Cover and cook at low medium until vegetables are tender.

Finish off with a tsp of kashundi and few green chilies for best taste

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Roasted Cauliflower Orange -- Phulkopi Komola Roast

I recently came to know about Phulkopi Komola, a Bengali dish where Cauliflower is cooked with oranges.

I had never ever heard of such a thing before. In our middle class family, we ate KomlaLebu with beet noon on winter afternoons, sitting on the terrace, our back to the sun and a book in front. My Ma, made a Komola Lebu'r kheer on occasions that deemed such extravaganza and that Kheer was so delicious that I cannot even explain in words. Other than that, oranges were had on their own.

Well, anyway, the pairing of Cauliflower with Oranges seemed like a brilliant idea, so I thought why not? But I didn't want to cook them the traditional Phulkopi dalna (cauliflower curry) way. I wanted to roast them. Cauliflowers I roast often. But this time, I wanted to add oranges (clementines to be precise) to the roast.

So Cauliflowers, tiny potatoes, oranges, and some carrots(optional) were chopped. Tossed with some tandoori masala, olive oil, chili powder and even garlic it was a pretty dish to look at and delicious to eat.The oranges gave a tiny kick of sweetness and flavor to the cauliflowers. I added some green peas to add color to the dish and it was an excellent idea. The whole dish is pretty simple to make and the cooking time is the time for you to relax and watch Netflix.

Mumu'r Phulkopir Malaikari -- Cauliflower in Coconut Curry

This recipe is our friend Mumu's. She is one half of that couple who makes roshogollas and dal gosht and tolerates us when we land up at their home on any random weekends. That is saying a lot. No good stuff that I say about her and K, can top the fact that they welcome us and feed us on "random" weekend. I mean anyone who does that must be close to a saint or something

So anyway this Phulkopir Malaikari is Mumu's signature dish. We have had it at her home many times and loved it every time. I don't know why I never made it at home though until recently. A few weeks back, I made it at home, roughly following her recipe. It turned out so good that I had to share it with you all.

Now if you are a Bengali, Chingri Malaikari is your anthem and needs no explaining. If however you are new to Bengali cuisine, let me tell you that Chingri Malaikari, is a Bong's national anthem. I mean, it is a dish where succulent prawns are cooked in a gravy of coconut milk and is so delicious that you need to eat it to believe it. There are many theories about roots of this curry. I don't know which one is true but once you taste the dish, it clearly shows the effect of  the cuisine of SouthEast asia, the Malay world,which now comprises of the modern nations of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and southern Thailand.

If you are a vegetarian and have never tasted the Chingri Malaikari, this Cauliflower Malaikari, is just the thing you need.It is pretty simple where fried cauliflower florets are cooked in a coconut gravy with almost the same spicing as a Malaikari. Since there is no prawn which adds the full bodied flavor to the chingri malaikari, here we add a bit more spices to compensate. But I must say, the result is phenomenal! Try it.

Aloo Phulkopir Dalna with Chingri -- and food tales of Bengali women

Phulkopir Dalna

Aloo Phulkopir Dalna | Potato Cauliflower Curry

This Potato Cauliflower curry is a typical Bengali dish which can be made both as a vegetarian phulkopir dalna and a non-vegetarian version. Addition of shrimp or prawns in any Bengali curry changes it to a non-veg avatar, a fact adored by the fish loving Bengalis. Both the niramish phulkopir dalna and the one with prawns is shared here.

While I was writing my book, there was a section on the superlative vegetarian cooking of the Bengali ladies of my grandmother's generation, especially the vegetarian cooking of Bengali widows in those times. Due to practical reasons, that you only encounter when you are writing a book, I finally left out a portion of that section which recounted tales about my grandmother's sister. But I always have my blog to tell those stories, and this recipe of  Chingri diye Aloo Phulkopir Dalna though my Mother's and not entirely vegetarian, is the fitting place to write it.

And yes, the book has many more stories to keep you entertained.
So please check this book page for reviews, book related giveaway etc.and order your own copy.

Most of you have heard about the strict taboos placed on the eating habits of Bengali Hindu Widows until the mid 20th century. They were prohibited from eating non-vegetarian food like fish, meat, eggs, certain lentils like masoor and vegetables like onion and garlic. These were regarded as tamasik food, food that could induce passion and thus were a strict non-no for Bengali widows.The rules of course were set by a patriarchal society where men who had lost their wives were free to gallivant around with kept women, eat anything they wanted and drink to drown their sorrow. The females alas had no such choices.

By the time it was the 1970's, society had opened up but the rules laid down long back still ran deep. A fall out of these strict rules was the excellent culinary skills achieved by most Bengali widows of that time, in their vegetarian cooking.Within their limitation, they created magic.

Aloo Phulkopir Dalna

Amongst the family and relatives I knew, no one really enforced such strict rules, at least not openly but some of the women themselves embraced the taboos of their own volition. One of them was my father's grandmother. We called her "Baro Ma". I had known her for only that one year, that our life intersected and to me she was the stern lady in the sepia toned framed picture that hung above the dresser in my grandparent's room. To my father and uncle however she was the doting grandmother, one whom they loved more than their own mother. She was also the greatest cook and till this date my father tries to conjure up the taste of her paayesh and mohonbhog in his own memory.

"Baro Ma" had lost her husband when she was in her mid or late sixties. She was a woman of strong determination and steely grit and if I believe stories told by my Baba, there was no society who could force her to do anything. It is only natural that in the stories retold by my father, I see "Baro Ma", not as a deprived woman, but one of immense self-control who ate only one full meal a day and that too a meal that was strictly vegetarian. It could have been that it was easier for her to give up the non-vegetarian food she was used to eating because she was already at an age when lust and passion for food was not foremost on her mind.

Now, though she ate only once a day, her meals were very elaborate. That she loved to cook and was an expert at it, only helped. Baba says, her meals would always follow six courses starting with bitter neem leaves when they were in season or some fritters/bora made with the bitter leaves of polta pata or some dish made with uchhe. This would always be followed by some shaak or greens. Palong, Paat, Note, Pui, the variety was endless. Protein would come in the form of dals. Lentils would not only be simmered into Dals but also ground and spiced to make different boras which were fried and added to many dish. This would be followed with other vegetable preparations depending on season. The meal would always end with a milk based dessert, usually a bowl of milk which had simmered for long on the low flames of the coal unoon and had a thick layer of fat or shor on its surface. Vegetarianism only made her hone her culinary skills and with the aid of fresh vegetables, dollops of ghee, variety of spices and creamy whole milk from their own cows, she conjured meals so good that my father and uncle preferred sharing her meal than their own fish or meat options.

While I have only heard about her meals, the next story is about my father's aunt who lost her husband, when I was around 9-10 years old. N Dida, was also in her sixties, a cheerful soul who lived by herself in a house with a sprawling verandah, not very far from our own home. After the passing away of her husband, she too was sucked into folds of vegetarianism with a strong force. Again, no one had asked her to do so, she lived by herself and there was no one to judge what  she did in the confines of her own home either.I was a budding feminist and I thought it was extremely unfair that N Dida had to give up fish and meat. When she came to visit us, I would insist that she eat the Britannia cake that everyone knew had eggs in it. She never agreed.Now, that I think of it, while no one asked her to give up meat and fish, none of the elders insisted that she eat them either.

The times that we visited her though, the food was so good that I never missed our non-veg options. Soft pillow like chanar dalna soaked in a sweetish gravy, dhoka--the squares of spiced lentils in a reddish looking curry, aloo posto, daal er bora, it was an endless feast. She loved my Mother's cooking and Ma always took great pains to serve elaborate vegetarian meals when N dida came to visit.

Though many Bengalis think that a meal without fish or meat is hardly a meal to live life by and many non-Bengalis cannot imagine a Bengali eating anything other than sweet and fish, the truth is there exists a whole array of rich and flavorful Bengali vegetarian dishes and many of them owe their existence to these enterprising women of the early 20th century who were forced to give up their largely fish diet.

Also there are many Bengali vegetarian dishes that can transcend the fine line from veg to non-veg  simply by adding a few shrimp or prawns. It was this trick that the Bengali jester "Gopal BhaNr" applied to extort money from his widowed Pishi. There is a very old story about how the aunt being a widow was not allowed to touch non-veg and had cooked a niramish lau ghonto for Gopal. Gopal did a mean trick of adding some fried shrimp to the dish while eating and declaring that it was the best "Lau-Chingri" -- bottlegourd with shrimp he had eaten. The aunt afraid at what the society would say if they heard of this had agreed to give Gopal money to keep his mouth shut. Now that I try to retell the story, which celebrated Gopa BhaNr's cunning and which we lapped up as kids, I realize how mean it was. Goes to show how conditioned we are to set rules.

Today's Alu Phulkopir Dalna -- potato and cauliflower curry, is a similar dish where addition of some succulent prawns transfers it from a vegetarian delight to a non-vegetarian dream of Chingri Aloo Phulkopi'r Dalna. You take your pick.
The nuances of the dalna is explained in the Alu Potol er Dalna here. I make this potato cauliflower dish along similar lines. Some families add onion to this dish but my Mother, a sparse user of onion did not and I too abide by that.

Chingri Aloo Phulkopir Dalna -- Potato-Cauliflower curry with prawns

Prep

If you are going to add prawns there are two options.
If using the headless ones, cleaning is easy. Remove the shell, keeping tail intact. Devein shrimp. Rinse.
For the head-on shrimp carefully remove the whiskers and sharp points on the head along with the eyes. Do not remove the entire head though because it adds to the taste of the gravy. Carefully devein and remove the shell from the body keeping the tail intact. Rinse thoroughly.
Now toss the cleaned prawns with turmeric powder and salt.

Chop 1 medium sized cauliflower in medium sized florets. Soak in warm water with salt for 10 minutes.

Start Cooking

Heat Oil in a wok and fry the cauliflower florets with 1/4 tsp of turmeric till they are golden with brown spots. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Heat some more Oil in the same wok.

Fry the prawns till they turn pink. Remove and keep aside.The oil flavored with the head-on prawns adds a beautiful taste to the dish

Temper the same Oil with
1&1/2" thin stick of cinnamon
1 small Bay Leaf
1 big black cardamom and 3 small green cardamom
4 clove
few cumin seeds

When the spices sizzle add 2-3 peeled whole tomatoes from a can or 1 big juicy tomato pureed or finely chopped. Fry the tomato for couple of minutes till the raw smell is gone. If you are not the smelling type, check to see if the oil is separating from the masala.If you don't like bits and pieces of tomato in the gravy, I suggest puree and then add it.

Add 1 heaped tsp of Ginger paste/minced Ginger, couple of slit green chillies and continue frying till tomato is cooked and mushed up

Add 2 medium sized potato, peeled and quartered. Add 1/4 tsp of Turmeric and saute the potatoes till they take on a gold hue.

Next throw in 1/3 cup of fresh or frozen peas. Keep sauteing/frying for the next 3-4 minutes. When using shrimp no need to add peas.

Time for the masala.
Mix the following spices in water and add the paste
1/2 tsp of fresh ground Coriander Powder +
1/2 tsp of  Roasted Cumin Powder  +
1/2 tsp of Red Chili Powder
Note: I roast coriander/cumin seeds and grind them to a fine powder. I also use Deggi Mirch so use Red Chili Powder according to taste.

Add a little of the tomato juice or a little water and fry the spices + potatoes + peas for 2 more minutes

Add the fried cauliflower florets and gently mix everything together

Add 2 cups of water. Add salt to taste. Cover and cook till potatoes are done. Cauliflower should be done by now. Remove the cover and reduce the gravy to your desired thickness

Adjust for seasoning and add about 1/2 tsp of sugar.

If you are using prawns, add the fried prawns to the gravy at this point and simmer for 3-4minutes at medium heat.

Finish with a little ghee and 1/4th tsp garam masala powder. Serve with rice or chapati

Niramish Aloo Phulkopir Dalna -- Bengali Potato-Cauliflower curry 

This is the Traditional vegetarian Phulkopir Dalna

Prep


Chop 1 medium sized cauliflower in medium sized florets. Soak in warm water with salt for 10 minutes. Drain the water and make sure florets are dry before frying in oild

Chop 2 large-ish potatoes in eighths (each potato in half and then each half in quarters)

Grate 1 big red juicy tomato. Or just put in a mixer and puree. You can also used 1/2 of canned tomatoes to make a puree, this gives better color.

Start Cooking

Heat Oil in a wok and fry the cauliflower florets with
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/4 tsp of Red Chili Powder
Sprinkle of Garam masala powder
till they are golden with brown spots. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Heat some more Oil in the same wok.

Temper the same Oil with
1&1/2" thin stick of cinnamon
1 small Bay Leaf
4 small green cardamom
4 clove

When the spices sizzle add the grated or pureed tomato. Fry the tomato for couple of minutes till the raw smell is gone. If you are not the smelling type, check to see if the oil is separating from the masala.

Add 1 heaped tbsp of grated ginger, couple of slit green chillies and continue frying till tomato is cooked and mushed up

Add the potatoes. Add 1/4 tsp of Turmeric and saute the potatoes till they take on a gold hue.

Next throw in 1/3 cup of fresh or frozen peas. Keep sauteing/frying for the next 3-4 minutes.

Time for the masala.
Mix the following spices in water and add the paste
1/2 tsp of fresh ground Coriander Powder +
1/2 tsp of Roasted Cumin Powder +
1/2 tsp of Red Chili Powder

Note: I roast coriander/cumin seeds and grind them to a fine powder. I also use Deggi Mirch so use Red Chili Powder according to taste.
Note: Instead of water you can mix the dry spice powders with 1 tbsp yogurt and make a paste too

Add a little of the tomato juice or a little water and fry the spices + potatoes + peas for 2 more minutes

Add 2 cups of water. Add salt to taste. Let the gravy come to a simmer.

Add the fried cauliflower florets and gently mix everything together

Cover and cook till potatoes are done. Cauliflower should be done by now. Remove the cover and reduce the gravy to your desired thickness

Adjust for seasoning and add about 1/2 tsp of sugar.

Finish with a little ghee and 1/4th tsp garam masala powder. Serve with rice or chapati

Kopir Dantar Chachari -- stalking a Cauliflower

This post, the recipe part of it had been written way back when my Mom was here and whipping up such stuff. Then on another day when I was feeling kind of "over-the-top" senti, the prelude to the recipe was jotted down(which you will come upon on further scrolling down).

Well I still feel that way but then today I simply had to write a little about LittleA---stuff totally unrealted to the recipe --- lest I forget and also to appreciate the funny side of her in a time when she is not letting me sleep through the night because of her allergies.You see this thing, the blog, is as much a sketchy weblog for me as it is a recipe archival process and 99.97% of the time the two pesky kids @ home are more important than a "Kopir Dantar Charchari-- a Cauliflower Stalk cooked in mustard paste".

So any way in the past few months Big Sis and Li'l A discuss a lot about who was born when a certain event had occurred.

"Remember we went to see R when she was born ? How old was I?". Big Sis asks

"Two"

"And me, how old was I?", Li'l A pipes in

"Well you weren't born the. R is older to you"

"Remember one time we went to P&C's old house which was far", Big Sis says

"I went too", says Li'l A

"Well No. You weren't even born then"

After a series of these discussions in which Li'l A seems to have missed out on all fun memories in life because she has been on earth for only three years, Li'l A gets visibly irritated

"Tahole ami koto din born chilam na (How long was I not born)?" she says in her loud-let's protest kinda voice.

And then in a last moment attempt to gain ground and revel in victory of revenge she tells me "Were you even born when Didi went to XYZ school?" -- XYZ school being Didi's preschool and now hers.

"Well I am her Mom, remember ?", I tell

"Yes, yes, kintu tumi ki born chile (but were you even born then?)", Li'l A insists.

Maybe what I am going to write next stems from the fact that I was indeed born a long time ago.Recently I have been feeling an urgency, a restlessness, a niggling feeling that time is moving away fast and I need to wrap my arms around it and fill my days learning to cook all the things that I would have never otherwise. And it does not involve a three layer chocolate cake. Nope.

It is more of the mundane-ish stuff like the tel koi, my Mother's fulkopi'r dalna with no written recipe that can make it taste the same, my Dida's ilish maacher tauk which I can no longer learn from the one who made it best, my eldest Mashi's chicken curry cooked with fragrant leaves of the lime tree. It is not so much that I want to eat any of the stuff I mentioned. I am fine with the regular dal-chawal and baked fish for the moment. It is just that I want to know, like String theory, hoping that would solve all my problems, give me peace, make me say "Ha, so that is all it needs to make a tel-koi" and then let me go back to do what I usually love doing.Which largely translates to "Nothing".

I just want to know the process involved, the ingredients chosen, the steps taken, the stories told and then store them away somewhere, neatly folded, waiting.That is all I want to do so that one fine morning if my heart so desires a Kopi'r Dantar Charchari, I need not panic. Instead I can take out the neatly folded recipe, smooth out the creases with a press of my fingers, read through it and heave a sigh of relief that nothing is lost.The assurance that they are there, like the atoms and the quarks and the fermions all a part of the Universe gives me a sense of peace.

Okay, this might also be the side effect of finishing off half a bottle of Benadryl. One can never be sure.

But this is a recent development I have noticed. Otherwise I don't care a hoot about cauliflower stalks.
This recipe that I have today is my Mother's and she is solely responsible for it. I never have enough patience to trim cauliflower stalks. One day I will. This recipe is for those days. For now this is how Ma made it.


Read more...

Kopir Dantar Charchari

Save the stalks of a cauliflower. Trim the tougher sides and chop the inner in 2" long finger like thickness. Pressure cook the stalks. Do not add any water during this.

Make a paste of 1 tsp of Mustard Powder in water. I have been using the Cookme Mustard a lot these days and it has made my life very simple. To it add about 1 tbsp of Kasundi. If you do not have kasundi increase the mustard paste.

Now heat Mustard Oil.

Temper the oil with kalonji and green chili. When the spices start popping add the cooked stalks. Fry the stalks for about 3-4 minutes

Next add the mustard+kasundi paste. Add salt to taste. Mix and cook for a couple more minutes. Some fried vadis crumbled on the top can add magic.

Doi Fulkopi -- Cauliflower in Yogurt Sauce

This Thanksgiving we were spending time with friends. Friends from days way back and it was a wonderful time spent with great food, company and total relaxation if you can relax with 3 kids shouting and screaming under one roof that is.

The morning of the day we were to drive back, we went to a nearby state park. The drive from their home to the park was beautiful. Amidst rolling green fields and farms, the street meandered. You know it was that idyllic kind of thing, with cute farms and red barns and healthy cows and shiny horses.

As is my nature, I said "One day I want to have a farm like that". Immediately the friend said "Yeah this is the kind of work I would like to do, raising hens and planting seeds and growing trees".Then the other said " In a couple of years I am going to leave my job, I am so tired of it and I would love to buy a farm"

Now all of us here discussing buying and living in a farm have never ever roughed it out in a farm. All we have done is planted petunias and daisies, maybe a Japanese maple or two and grown tomatoes and okra in summer. We have no clue what it takes to raise a hen, to grow enough crop to sustain, to milk a cow, to live a life determined by the seasons. We just think it is wonderful and quaint.

What is it that makes farm life so glamorous? Or is it people like me who thinks it is glorified ? I am like that, for a while after a trip to Goa, I thought having a shanty shop selling tea and omlette at the bend of curve is the best thing to do.

Maybe for you it is the life of the Wall Street Banker eating sushi and doing power yoga on the move that is most glamorous. So what kind of life attracts you ?

What kind of a life do you dream of when you are dreaming or are you rooted to the present and think you have already gotten that perfect life.

Tell me, I am all ears.

Now to the cauliflower. Cauliflower is one of my best loved veggies. I just don't understand when people say cauliflower smells or it is bland. I am sure they are picking up the wrong kind. This cauliflower in yogurt sauce or Doi Fulkopi is something both my Ma and Ma-in-law makes. Flavored with whole spices like cloves and cinnamon, it has a rich fragrance. There is almost no other spices used than the Garam masala and wrapped in this fragrance doi fulkopi is the perfect winter dish to heat up a cold evening.



Read more...

Doi Fulkopi

Chop 1 medium sized cauliflower in big florets. Wash well and soak in warm water with a little salt for 15-20 mins. Remove from water after 20 mins.

In a big bowl add
1 cup of yogurt,
1 tsp of Ginger paste ,
1 tsp Garlic Paste,
1 tsp Red Chili powder,
1 tsp Biryani Masala/Garam masala
and salt. Mix well till smooth.

Add the cauliflower florets to the above and mix so that the marinade coats each floret. Keep aside for 30 minutes

Heat white oil in a Kadhai/Saute Pan

Temper the oil with
1-2 small Bay leaf/TejPatta,
1"Cinnamon stick/Dalchini,
4 Cardamom/Elaichi,
4 Clove/Laung

When the spices sputter add 1 fat clove of garlic minced and paste of 1 onion. I make a rough paste of 1 red onion in the blender, you don't need a smooth paste

Fry with a sprinkle of sugar(optional) till the onion turns a pinkish brown

Add 1" ginger peeled and grated and saute

Add 1/2 tsp of Paprika for color and 1/2 tsp of R. Chili powder for heat. Adjust chilli powder to taste. Mix well

Pick the cauliflower florets from the marinade with a slotted spoon (or use your hands) and add to the above masala in the saute pan. Don't dunk the marinade at this time and keep it aside.
Sprinkle 1/4 tsp or more of Turmeric powder and fry the cauliflower

Once the cauliflower takes on some color, golden yellow with tinges of brown, lower heat and add the marinade

Cook the masala for a few minutes

Add salt about 1/3 cup of water and mix well

Cook till the cauliflower is just done. If you need to add more water to cook the cauliflower add some but this dish does not have a flowing gravy so be aware. Taste for seasonings and adjust.

Sprinkle 1/2-1 tsp of Garam Masala on the cauliflower, mix well and let it sit to absorb the flavors. Serve hot with Roti or rice. This tastes best when cooked on the same day as serving.

Trivia: Mark Twain called cauliflower "nothing but cabbage with a college education." I say it has been well educated to move up.

Kasoori Gobi -- with roasted cauliflower

I have become some kind of a social recluse recently, if I am not I certainly want to become one.

With a whole week of working outside the home, and then again inside the home followed with two kids and their individual demands I totally fizzle out like a damp cracker by Friday evening. All I think would love to do come Friday is pass out on the sofa with a book in hand while the kids play in the background and hubby makes warm ginger tea and fries pakodas.

The Phamily is however NOT the background kind and no one fries any pakodas. We have boiled Maggi for dinner instead and relax amidst each other's chaotic company.

I look forward to weekend mornings, hot chai with Marie biscuits, leisurely breakfast cooked by D, cooking and clicking for the blog, massaging the baby in the sun lit patch of our family room, bathing her with Big Sis S helping out and then resting down for a afternoon nap with the two of them. I see myself not wanting to compromise or hurry on the above tasks for just one more get together and turn down dinner invitations saying it is too cold to take out the baby.

On retrospect hosting a luncheon or dinner does not excite me either. The vision of cooking for all those who come by and then cleaning up trails of disaster does not appeal to me any longer. This is a far cry from my yester-years when I would go all lengths to straighten up the closet and cook excitedly to entertain. I do not aspire to be the hostess with the orderly medicine cabinet and finger-licking rogan josh any more.


Do virtual social networks make you a recluse in real life ? With smaller families and fast paced weeks, time spent with one's family becomes limited. So while you can talk, discuss, vent , bitch and have your egos fed, all in your PJ's with a click of a mouse why would you take the trouble to don a Kanjeevaram and spend a precious Saturday evening with well known strangers ? (Close real life friends are not considered in this scenario and I agree that without seeing a couple of them every now & then, life would be difficult, at least mine would)

So what did you do this weekend ?

Coming back to the Gobi, my MIL makes a roast cauliflower and then my Ma makes a cauliflower roast. The two are very different and in fact my MIL's is not even roasted. When I last invited some people, I wanted to do a Cauliflower, and chose my Ma-in-law's way. I also chanced upon Indira's Kasoori Methi Gobi at the same time. Kasoori Methi would add a nice flavor to Ma-in-laws recipe I thought and so this dish was made. Kasoori Gobi is not a new dish but this is my version of Kasoori Gobi or maybe Cauliflower roast with Kasoori Methi.

This is a delicious preparation with the cauliflower holding its own while it is submerged in the sweet and salty spiciness of the almost dry gravy. Kasoori Methi or sun-dried fenugreek leaves add a pleasant robust flavor to this dish.



Read more...

Kasoori Gobi

Chop 1 small cauliflower into medium sized florets. Don't chop too small, or do not remove the stalks completely

Drizzle a little olive oil, sprinkle some sea salt(ordinary salt will do) and red chilli pepper and then bake the florets for 25-30 minutes at about 350F (this is my counter top toaster oven settings). The cauliflowers should be slightly roasted at the end of this process

Heat Oil in a deep bottomed pan or Kadhai

Fry 1 & 1/2 medium sized onion chopped, 3-4 green chillies slit, 1 fat clove of garlic chopped, 1" of ginger peeled and chopped till the onion turns pink and translucent. Note: I go low on garlic and the garlic I use have really fat cloves, you can use about 2-3 cloves if you want

Add 1 large chopped tomato and fry for couple more minutes till the tomato is soft

Cool the above mixture and grind to a paste. This is the onion+ginger+garlic+tomato paste

Temper the same oil(you might need to add a little more) with 1 Bay Leaf/Tej patta, 2" stick of cinnamon/darchini and 4 green cardamom/elaichi

Add the onion+ginger+garlic+tomato paste and fry for a minute with 1/4 tsp of sugar(sugar is optional)

Add 2 heaped tsp of Kasoori Methi, 2 tsp of Kitchen King masala (or use 1 tsp Garam masala), 1/4 tsp of Red Chilli Powder, a little turmeric and saute the masala till oil separates

Add the part roasted cauliflower florets, mix well with the spices

Add about 1 cup of water, salt to taste and mix well

Cook till the cauliflower is done and the water has almost dried up. During this step stir the cauliflower in between and be careful so that the cauliflower is not over done. The way I like it there is very little gravy, you can adjust to your liking

Add 1/2 tsp of amchur powder, a fistful of soaked raisins and mix well

Delicious Kasoori Gobi is ready to be served with Roti or Rice

Chaal Kopi ~ a Cauliflower Dish

I have a tough life you know. After I have done my days share and fed the kid, read to her and am almost dozing off to sleep, she nudges me.
“Hmmmmmm”, I say
“Do you know what I want to be when I grow up?” the little one chirps.
I have no clue and this is not a good time to discuss career options I think, but who am I to decide anything

“I want to be a Painter, a Doctor, the One with the Hammer and also the Cleaning lady” she says very enthusiastically

Interesting combo I think and why not, this is a free country let her be whatever she wants to

“That’s nice”, I say and shut my eyes tighter only to be nudged again

“What do you want to be when You grow up?” she questions

I am being given a second chance here and what I really want to be is a billionaire lazing in a private island and enjoying good food and blogging about my high-falutin life maybe.
But that’s not what you tell a kid if you are the mother

“Painter”, I say deciding on a safer option
“But I am already going to be a Painter”, she argues
“Then You decide” I say, hoping to resolve the problem quickly

“You can be the Base Ball Player”, she suggests
Not my cup of tea that, so I say “But I don’t know to play Base Ball”

“You just have to wear a white cap and hit a ball with a bat, it’s easy, you can do it if you try” she says very knowledgeably

So I dream of how famous I am going to be hitting that ball and doze off to sleep thinking of Fame, Fortune and Fulkopi. Fulkopi in Bengali, Cauliflower in English and Gobi in Hindi that's G for Nupur’s “A – Z of Indian Vegetables” this week. Now don’t ask me why Fame & Fortune led me to dream of Fulkopi, ask Freud.

Chaal Kopi Or Cauliflower cooked in spices with a smattering of Rice is a very tasty and different dish. The rice is just that little bit and it’s the Cauliflower that dominates the taste. This recipe is from my Bengali Recipe Book and my Ma never made this. The dish is dry and goes well with rice or Chapati.


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Chaal Kopi ~ Cauliflower cooked in spices with a smattering of rice

What You Need

Cauliflower ~ 1 cut into large sized florets. The large is the key here, do not chop into small fine pieces else they will turn mushy, see the pic.
Potato (optional)  ~ 1 large cut into large longitudinal pieces
Tomato ~ 1 medium chopped into small pieces, you can also used canned whole tomatoes
Green Chillies ~ 3 chopped or slit
Green Peas ~ 1/3 cup

For Masala
Cumin Powder ~ 1 tsp
Ginger paste ~ 1" grated
Turmeric Powder ~ 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp 

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp to sprinkle at the end

For Phoron or Tempering

Tej Pata or Bay Leaves ~ 2
Elaichi or Cardamom ~ 4
Cinnamon sticks ~1" thin stick

Dry Red Chili - 2 Dry
Coarsely bruise the above Whole Garam Masala

Basmati Rice ~ 1/3 cup soaked in water
Peanuts ~ 1/3 cups
Raisins ~ 10/15

Salt
Sugar ~ 1/2 tsp
Ghee ~ 1 tsp
Oil

How I Did It

Chop the cauliflower in florets as shown in pic
Chop potatoes and dunk in water, chop tomatoes & green chillies real small. 
Heat Oil in Kadhai/Frying Pan
Sauté the cauliflower florets with a little turmeric and salt till they take on a light golden hue. Remove and keep aside
Sauté the potatoes till they too turn a light golden and remove and keep aside
Sauté the rice and the peanuts and when you get that nice smell, remove and keep aside
To the hot oil add the phoron i.e. the Bay Leaves, Cardamom, Cinnamon Sticks (coarsely bruisely the cardamom & cinnamon sticks) 
When they start sputtering add the tomatoes & green chillies and sauté till the tomatoes are well done and are mushy
Add the Cumin Powder, Red Chili Powder and the Ginger paste and fry the masala till you see the oil separating from the masala
Add the peas and potatoes and mix well. Next, add the cauliflower florets and mix well so that the masala coats all the veggies
Now add the rice and the peanuts and mix
Add salt and ½ tsp of sugar and the raisins
Add water. I added about 1 and ½ cup to start with. Basically the veggies etc. should be partly immersed in the water, as they along with the rice need to be cooked. But since you do not want the cauliflower to overcook, be careful with the water and start with less to be cautious
Cook covered on medium heat and check in between, if needed add a little more water
Check to see that rice, and the veggies are cooked. If done add ½ tsp of Ghee. The recipe called for 1 tsp but I added only ½ tsp
The end result should be dry but do not overcook to dry off the water, so I again reiterate add water consciously
Sprinkle a little Garam Masala Powder if the cauliflower is not the freshest one and has a slightly pungent smell

Note for the Busy Mom: If you are cooking on a busy weekday, cut all the vegetables in this recipe before hand as in the previous day when you have no cooking chores. Remember to soak chopped potatoes in water else they develop a ugly black spot

Trivia:This dish has a prominent role in the movie Bend It Like Beckham—the film's DVD contains a featurette titled How to cook Aloo gobi., with the film's director making the dish. This led to the pickup line 'Why cook aloo gobi, when you can Bend It Like Beckham".

The Amish and The CauliFlower

Jump to Recipe

So The Amish County was visited and enjoyed. The idyllic green farmlands, the quaint villages with equally quaint names like Bird-In-Hand, Kitchen Kettle Village, Intercourse (ahem !!), the buggy ride through the Amish Farms, the Dutch Farmers Market with their fresh produce and the jams & preserves was thoroughly enjoyable , more so with the lovely weather bestowed on us since Friday.

The little daughter was an angel, no throwing-up, no car seat blues, very co-operative during the entire trip, The parents were happy, The husband was happy, he got his own TV to watch while me watched chick-flicks with dear Momma (yeah I carried Movies as a backup plan for the Rains), The People who did business with the "Amish" as their USP were very very happy indeed, The Amish...I do not know.

Everything was fine except something that kept gnawing at the back of my head, that something called commercialization of the entire thing. I had gone there thinking there would be villages & farms and maybe a gift shop or two thrown in as is the norm but I was astounded by the bustling business that had built up around the whole thing and the malls that had sprung up to cater to the visitors.

Coming from a culture and a background where materialism is not the norm and simplicity is or at least was the way of life, I wasn't very amazed by the Amish way of living, though I am impressed now that being there bang in the middle of all those malls with brands screaming from BOSE to BASS they still adhere to their culture and lifestyle not perturbed by the "Amish" brand visitors are falling for.

All said and done, we had a nice break, I got lovely veggies and pickles & jams. I got a huge cauliflower so there I go and cook. I got this recipe of cauliflower called “Ada FulKopi” or “Adraki Gobi” or “Ginger Cauliflower” from my bengali recipe book by an author known as Bela De. My Ma too does this with a little variation, but the one I did yesterday was almost by the book. It is a very nice dish with ginger dominating the flavor and the taste is a little emphasizing the tartness of the tomato and the crunchiness of the cauliflower.

The BIG cauliflower :)

Ada FulKopi or Ginger CauliFlower

What You Need

Cauliflower ~ 1 cut into florets. I used half of the cauliflower shown above and cut the florets a little on the large size
Baby Carrots ~ about 10 of the small ones cut into halves
Green Peas ~ ½ a cup
Ginger ~ 1” chopped fine in juliennes

For Paste
Onion ~ 1 and ½ medium sized
Garlic ~ 2 big cloves
Ginger ~ 1 & 1/2”
Grind all of the above to a paste

For Puree
Tomato ~ 2 medium sized nice plump red tomatoes pureed. I did with skins and everything

For Phoron or Tempering
Elaichi or Cardamom ~ 2
Laung or Cloves ~ 2
TejPata or BayLeaves ~ 2
DarChini or Cardamom Sticks ~ about a 2" stick
GolMirch or Peppercorns ~ 10
Coarsely pound the above

Yogurt ~ 2/3 cup
Turmeric Powder
Red Chilli Powder (according to taste, I did not use any)
Salt

How I Do It

Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets (not very small else they will turn mushy while cooking)
Chop the carrots
Heat Oil in Kadai/Frying Pan. Use Olive Oil if you prefer
Lightly fry the cauliflower (no deep frying, more like sauté them) florets till Golden. Tip: I always add Turmeric Powder to the hot oil and then add the cauliflower to prevent the oil from spluttering. This also makes the cauliflower golden with light frying. Also cover while frying.
Remove the florets and keep them in a bowl.
Grind the onion, ginger and garlic to a paste. Keep about 1 tbsp of the paste for frying, use the rest in the next step
Mix the yogurt with this paste and a little salt. Also add chilli powder if you want to the yogurt according to your spice level.
Marinade the cauliflower florets with the above marinade for about half an hour.

Heat Oil in Kadai/Frying Pan. You can use the same oil.
Add TejPata, Elaichi, Laung, DarChini, Gol Mirch as phoron or temper with this
Add the finely chopped ginger and fry a little
After frying the ginger for a little add about 1 tbsp of the onion/ginger/garlic paste and a little sugar
When the onion turns a light brown, add the carrots and peas
Saute for a little while

Add the cauliflower along with the marinade
Then cover and cook till the masala is cooked and coats the veggies uniformly. This in Bengali coking term is called “kashano”

Add salt according to taste and add the tomato puree

Cover and cook till the veggies are done. They should be crunchy.
Add a little sugar if the taste is little sour to your liking
This has very little gravy so adjust that accordingly
Garnish with coriander leaves

You can have this "Ada FulKopi" with Roti, Paratha and even Rice (I love my Rice :)). This can be served as a dish when you have guests over and also for your weekday lunch or dinner.

Trivia: Mark Twain said " Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a College Education"