Nonta or Jhaal Koraishutir Patishapta - Bengali Crepes

The deluge of Pithe and Patishapta photos on my social media feeds finally got to me. I wasn't feeling exactly inclined to making anything as both my mother and in-laws have been not that well, and my mother, the trooper that she is did not have the energy to make anything for Sankranti.

But then the "hyangla" person in me got the better of me. If I did not make anything for Sankranti, how would I eat at least a patishapta ? It is not that we have a mishti'r dokan across the street selling perfectly rolled patishaptas or doodh puli or roshobora bobbing in syrup. Btw, all this patishapta and pithe being commercially sold is a very recent affair. There used to be pithe utsab etc but never were these found in neon lit glass shelves of mishtanno bhandars. It was always a made-in-the home affair.

So finally, I got my fat behind off the couch and made two kind of stuffing on Thursday night -- the traditional coconut-jaggery stuffing and a savory green peas stuffing. Now the problem with stuffing is, they are so good by themselves that it is hard to wait to make the actual thing that goes around the stuffing. It needs lot of mental strength to not keep eating them.

Now why the green pea savory stuffing? Because my girls are not fond of the sweet coconut jaggery stuffing. On the other hand, they both like the green pea stuffing that goes in a koraishutir kochuri. 

So the easiest workaround to do ek dheel e dui paakhi, is to make the nonta or jhaal patishapta with the same koraishuti filling and the regular sweet patishapta with the coconut-jaggery stuffing.

Shubho Naboborsho -- শুভ নববর্ষ 1427

Poila Baishakh or the First Day of the Month of Baishakh is the first day of the Bangla Calendar. This is the Bengali New Year and is celebrated amongst Bengalis in a much festive manner. According to the Gregorian calendar it falls on April 14th or April 15th, this year it is April 15th. This is the New Year for both BanglaDesh and West Bengal.

The Bengalis usher in the New Year with a lot of festivities importance being given to cultural functions, and food. The day is started off with visiting the temples to seek blessings for the New Year but this is not a religious festival and Puja is not the mainstay of this day. Though for businesses this is the day to begin their new accounting year and so this group of people offer Puja and seek blessings to begin the year with a new accounting book called halkhata. With all the new accounting software I don't know what they do, maybe open a new fresh account or something.

Surprisingly as far back as I go, I remember Poila Boishakh as always a school day. It usually fell bang in the middle of a week with school, the same uniform and homework as usual. Naboborsho evenings however were different. They stood out from other school days.

This is how it usually went. We came home from school and something extra special was always cooked for jolkhabar. We had to quickly finish homework to shower and then put on the new summer dress that was bought for Poila Boishakh. And then we would visit the temple and the local Bengali community program for the cultural program that our town had to offer. That was important for my parents. My Ma in her fresh new Tanter Shari with that crisp smell that only such saris can have and my Baba in his starched Pajama and Punjabi would sit there engrossed in the Rabindra Sangeet being sung. I would be thoroughly bored and look around for familiar faces of my friends who would be equally bored.

We would then stop at the shops where my parents were loyal customers and this part was more fun because it involved gorging on great food. Almost always we were offered a bottle of cold drinks, a much coveted affair in those days, a rolled up calendar and a cardboard box tied with a string and filled with sweets and shingara. By the end of the evening, we had collected at least 4-5 boxes from the stores we stopped at. Though dinner was definitely something special cooked by Ma, I don't remember having any. I would focus more on those boxes we had brought back from haalkhata.

As I grew older, April was a month of final exams and so there was less time to accompany my parents to any program or stores. That is when I remember staying home and gorging on the  Pulao, Doi Maach and  Mutton Kosha that my Mother made.

That's how our Notun Bochor celebration was, with a simple new dress for the summer, some Rabindra Sangeet and delicious Bengali food. And of course the postcards we had to write and send out to all our relatives, wishing them "Shubho Naboborsho".

If I had to pick some food that I would love to have for Poila Boishakh, I would stick to the basic, no-nonsense Bengali dishes from my Mother and which I can make in my kitchen easily.

Start with one of these as a jolkhabar or snack

Vegetable Chop

Fish Chop -- Maacher Chop

Ghugni

Cleanse your palate with something bitter, something other than Shukto. Like this Uchche Begun

Uchche Begun

For our greens we will either  some Radish greens sauteed with Kalonji and green chilies or the Great Bengali Paata Baata which my girls love

Mulo Shaak -- Radish greens

The Great Bengali Paata Bata

We will then have some Tetor Dal with Lauki and bitter gourd because it seems perfect for these times

Tetor Dal

With a side of Potol Posto because what can be better than Posto for New year

Potol Posto

We will then straight go onto the Fish and pick two or all of these.

I have chosen Muri Ghonto, if you have a spare fish head in your freezer; the Kaanchalonka Dhonepata Fish with lots of green chilli and coriander because its so easy and delicious;a Maacher Jhuri -- an easy dish that can be done with any little fish that you have; a spicy Tyangra Maacher Jhal Charchari; a Doi Salmon because its so easy to make; and a Chingri Malaikari because you can always make this with frozen shrimp too.

Muri Ghonto 

Kaanchalonka Dhonepaata Baked Fish

Maacher Jhuri

Tyangra r Jhaal Charchari

Doi Maach with Salmon

Chingri Maacher Malaikari

We will skip the meat and finish off with a Mango Chaatni or a Pineapple Chutney

Kaancha Aaamer Chaatni

Pineapple Chaatni

And go straight to Dessert where you pick any one of these depending on what you have in your pantry

Bhapa Doi

Paurutir Rasmalai -- Shahi Tukda

Nolen Gur er IceCream

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Chicken Roast for Christmas

Christmas is right here, the year is done, and I have been super lazy this month. The last few days has been crazy as it always does when the holidays are upon you and you have procrastinated.

But not my fault totally. The thing is my India trip this November, totally messed me. Though there was a lot of running around to do while I was there, I did not have to do any of the daily chores. I mean, no meal planning, no lunch or dinner to cook, no clothes to fold, even the cup of lebu-cha was brewed and brought to me. That kind of luxury goes to your head.

*At this point, if you are in India and reading my blog, you are probably rolling your eyes*

I get it. That is normal for you. Most of my friends and cousins back home, actually look upon me with pity if I happen to tell them that I actually have to cook the lunch that I pack for the school lunch boxes!! We live a hard life, I am telling you.

So anyway, all that life of pleasure totally ruined my system and I have calmly delegated almost all cooking to the husband man or to our favorite Sichuan restaurant.

If I had continued to live in India, I am telling you this blog would just go defunct. Thank God for small mercies!

Now, a couple of you had messaged me, asking to share a roast chicken recipe. I get it, it's Christmas and  a roast chicken is a delicious thing for a Christmas lunch. Also it's just the kind of dish you would like to make all through winter.  It is a one-pot, rather one-tray dish and you can stand near the oven and watch Netflix, all warm and toasty. Yes, I have my own weird reasons for cooking.

Whenever I make roast chicken, I do it with Cornish hens. We are not big meat eaters and two Cornish hens is perfect for our family of 4.  These are smaller hens which taste really delicious and easier to handle for klutz-es like me. Don't be ashamed of being a klutz. I am one and the world needs all kinds .
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This roast chicken recipe that I follow is fairly simple. I don't have the exact measures but if you are in doubt about how much olive oil or butter, i would just say err on the higher side.

Recipe is for 1 small Cornish Hen

Wash the chicken thoroughly inside out and remove giblets if any. They will be in a small pack, for your ease, the store does that!
Oh! And don't forget to pat the chicken dry.

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Now I take half a lemon  and rub it around the inside cavity of the hen. I also rub it in any crevices and nooks and crannies. Lemon is like deodorant for the hen.
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Then I make a spice paste with following
Olive Oil ~ 3-4 Tbsp
Little butter ~ 2 Tbsp
Garlic paste ~ 1 Tbsp
Ginger paste ~ 1/2 Tbsp
Tandoori masala or Garam Masala ~ 1 tsp
Black pepper powder ~ 1 tsp (best if you powder whole black peppercorns)
 Red Chili Powder ~ 1 tsp
Salt
Mmm...so good.


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Rub this paste around the inside cavity of the hen. Then gently lift the outer skin and massage the spice paste on the outer side.Make sure the spices and butter reach all the crevices. I have never had a massage this good myself.
Rub the paste on all sides of the chicken as you want your whole chicken to be flavorful.

Liberally salt the inside and outside of the chicken.
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Let the chicken rest for one whole hour. It has done hard work.

Pre-heat oven to 425F

Now heat olive oil in a skillet and brown the hen on the outside. The skin should turn a pale golden.
It is NOT necessary to do this skillet step. Instead you can just brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil+butter.
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Now arrange the chicken on a roasting tray. Stuff the inside with whole sprigs of rosemary, plenty of cloves of garlic and lemon halves. You can add vegetables like small potatoes, carrots, onions to roast in the same tray.
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Roast for 70 mins to 90 mins at 425 F. You will know it is done when juice runs clear when cut between leg and thigh.
Baste the chicken with the olive oil+butter+dripping-in-tray halfway through the cooking

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Serve with bread, salad and the roasted vegetables.
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Dugga Dugga -- 2

"Ma, o Ma", a pretty young girl, with beautiful doe eyes, and shiny black hair stands in front of the bathroom vanity mirror with a worried look on her face. She is intently studying the labels on two identical jars, each containing some gooey black and green stuff that looks like face cream.
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"Ma," the girl repeats again anxiously. "What do you think is better for my face? Dead sea mud and volcanic ash or Ashwagandha* and Ghritakumari?"
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In absence of any reply, the girl hesitantly assures herself, "Ghritakumari* sounds so beautiful. I think this will be better for my complexion. After all, it is made in India. There is no other way to go with this product than fair and more fair."
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She then carefully applies the greenish gooey, substance on her face, making sure that every inch of her face and neck is coated with the product.
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"Ma, can we meet Ghritakumari, when we go to India this time? I think am her fan. I want to follow her. Is she on Insta? Does she do Tik-Tok?," Lokkhi makes a pouty face and takes a selfie.

The mother, bent double over her phone, her eyebrows furrowed, her ten hands flying across ten different apps, does not even look up.
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"Didi, grow up. Think beyond your piggy bank and face mask. There is a whole Universe out there to explore before global warming destroys our Kailash," a fair and bespectacled young girl, marches in with a tall glass of emerald green juice, the color of the juice only a shade lighter that the green mask on Lokkhi's face.

She does not drink the juice however, holding it aloft like a statue instead, and keeps checking her phone every few seconds.
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"Why do you keep checking your phone? Is your boyfriend going to call you?" Lokkhi suppresses a giggle beneath her masked face.
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"Not BF idiot, IF" the fair girl murmurs, letting go off a very audible sigh.
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"IF?" Lokkhi squeaks.

The Mother keeps tapping, her bifocals hanging off  the tip of her nose, beads of perspiration shining like drops of pearls right atop her upper lips.
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"Intermittent Fasting re baba. Instead of only taking selfies, you should start reading your FB and WhatsApp forwards, Didi. IF is the range in US and India. Everyone is doing the 16:8".

"16:8 ?" Lokkhi squeaks again, just when the phone in Saro's hand starts beeping urgently.

"It's time, it's time. I did it, I fasted for 16 hours, " Saro jumps up, gulps her juice hungrily and quickly snaps into a squat position.
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"Dhurr no weight loss with IF. What everyone needs to do is Keto instead. Good food. Lots of fat. Eat as much mutton kosha you want. And still have a figure like me," Kartik walks in with a smirk, pushes Lokkhi aside and flexes his muscles in front of the mirror.

Well, he deserves to be narcissistic.He does indeed look good -- tight muscles, gelled hair, trim mustache. Looks like that Keto or whatever he keeps doing works. Now, only if he tried a little and stopped looking at the mirror so much, he could have a job, even get some role in Bollywood.

While the two of them argue about IF and Keto and Lokkhi keeps taking selfies of her green face, their pleasantly obese, fat bellied brother strolls in with a Krispy Kreme donut-laddoo in hand. He doesn't look into the mirror and focusing on his donut says,  "If I do Keto, can I eat as much mutton kosha as I like? With Luchi or Mishti Pulao?"

Kartik shakes his head in disbelief and looks disdainfully at Ganesh's protruding belly. Ganesh ignores him and takes a bigger bite of his cream filled donut laddoo.

Tension brews in  #12 Kailash Drive. It's always tense and chaotic around here. You couldn't expect anything else with four adult kids living at home.

**************

"Gonshaaa," the Mother's shrill voice pierces through all the arguments, "Eta ki sottiy? Is this true?" For a Goddess, she has a real shrill voice -- years of shouting at he worthless husband, her four kids and that Mahishasur has permanently raised her voice to a high pitch.

"What is true Ma?"

"That now back in my home, that "Bhuter Raaja dilo Bor" is a reality? Only instead of clap, you have to tap your phone and food arrives like magic?"

"Ahh, are you talking of Swiggy Ma? Or Uber eats?" Gonsha smiles benevolently at his Mother.

He loved them. Not mothers. The apps. They were the only reason he could survive all those la-re-lappa songs and intense arguments over Ganapati Visarjan for those 10 days in September. Biryani for dinner, Idli with gun powder for breakfast, Vada Pav or Khao Suey for lunch, and even his favorite Krispy Kreme donut-laddoo for midnight snack...it was pure magic.

"Sottiy tahole? Mandap e delivery korbe?**" Mother's face lights up with a 1000 watt smile. Finally there was something to look forward to after all that standing around in that weird pose for five whole days. She wasn't getting any younger and all that standing with a bent knee was taking its toll.

"No more of that Khichuri, labra everyday! Uff such a blessing." Dugga murmurs to herself.

Now she could have her favorite chilli chicken from Tyangra while posing at that ludicrously expensive pandal in Sreebhumi. She could order Beguni and Muri from Baagbazaar, waiting at Maddox square pujo pandal where no one seems to have heard of North Calcutta. The possibilities seemed endless. She should not forget the pack of Gelusil and Joan er Arok though, her digestion is not as good as it was ten years back

"And Gonsha, what is this? All these food bloggers are taking our recipes and posting them on Facebook, why re? Our Oshur doesn't even cook that well, why are they going crazy?" Dugga peers closer into the phone screen.

"Ei, don't complain about my cooking, free te ranna tar abar oto kotha," Oshur groans from the dining room.

"Plagiarism? Ke koreche? Let me get a internet lawyer. did they use our photos?" Saro jumps in and snatches the phone from her Mom.

"Thakurbari'r mangsho , Thakurbari'r Chholar' Dal, Thakurbari'r aloor chop, Thakurbari'r maggi..." she murmurs scrolling down the list.

"Thakurbari'r Maggi? That is my recipe. Mine. Totally mine" Lokkhi shrieks. "OMG, I am famous. They are copying my recipe".

"Uff Ma, you are too much. This is not us, not Durga Thakur. This is Robi Thakur, Rabindranath Tagore", Saro shakes her head in disbelief. How did she land up in this family of idiots? How?

"Ohh Robi? He rote such good songs, aha. He cooked too? I always knew he was multi talented," Dugga smiles fondly thinking of her favorite bard.

"Achcha Gonsha make me a list of what food to order in the Mandap. There are so many reviews of where to eat for Pujo that I am getting confused now. We have only five days and I am getting older, can't eat that much anymore," Dugga hands over the phone to Ganesh and finally sits back, relaxed and smiling..

"Dada, I kintu want phuchka with jhaal-mishti-tok water," says Lokkhi sliding up to Ganesh.

"I want momos Dada, and Hakka Noodles, but ask them to deliver before 5:30. I have IF", Saro picks up her books and stands behind Ganesh's shoulder.

Kartik shuffles his feet and meekly says, " Dada oi Shiraz er Biriyani ar Rezala, 2 plates, we can share. Biryani is allowed in my Keto."

"Ami vegan. For me, Dosa with coconut chutney only," groans Mahishashur from the kitchen.

Shib finally stirs up from the recliner and says, "Duto shingara, bonde ar ek cup cha".


*Ghritakumari -- Aloe Vera
*Ashwagandha -- Indian ginseng
**Sottiy tahole? Mandap e delivery korbe? -- So it's true! They'll deliver at the Puja pandal.





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Moumita's Nolen Gur er Cake -- eggless Date Palm Jaggery cake for Sankranti

Photo Credit: Moumita

Khejur Gur (liquid date palm jaggery -- made from boiling the sap from date palms) is very popular in Bengal during the winter months. It is also commonly called "Notun Gur" ( literally, "new jaggery") or "Nolen Gur".

During the cold season from December to February, the sap of the date palms is best harvested and that is the reason we get this gur or jaggery around this time. If you are in rural Bengal during the winter months, and you happen to stroll across the damp fields on a foggy morning, you will see palm trees with a afro-top hair rising like sentinels across the mist. And if you hear closely, you will hear the tip-tip of the sweet sap dripping into the earthen pots hanging just below the palm fronds. The night before, tappers have scaled the thorny trunk of the tree, to tie those pots there.

That sap is pure nectar and when boiled for hours over a wooden fire, it changes color and form to shape into our favorite Nolen Gur or Khejur Gur -- a jaggery synonymous with every Bengali's winter.

The liquid Khejur Gur is delicious, tastes better than Maple Syrup and we used to have it poured on our Luchi (Puri) or Roti for dinner or breakfast. In solid form it is sold in the shape of oval discs and is also known as "Patali Gur" or "Notun Gur". This new jaggery harvested only in the winter months is used to make a variety of sweets in Bengal like "notun gur er sondesh" or "khejur gur er roshogolla".  Ahh, the nolen gur er sondesh is so divine that if you taste it even once, the memory lingers on your tongue forever.

The whole sweet thing, reaches a crescendo during Poush Sankranti when Date Palm jaggery, Coconut and rice flour is used to make a variety of pulis and pithes across the breadth and width of the state

Some of the most popular ones being Gokul Pithe, Khejur Gur er Paayesh, and Pati Shapta.

Now since I was not too keen on making any of the above, this year I decided to celebrate sankranti with Nolen Gur er Cake. It has Khejur Gur plus coconut, that is 75% of Sankranti requirements being met. So, why not, new traditions?

The cake recipe comes from my friend Moumita (of the Kochu Paata Chingri fame), who had made this last month. Her cake was fantastic and we had devoured it in no time.

I took her recipe and added my little nuances which is my habit. However, her cake had more of the Date Palm jaggery flavor. In my recipe, I also added some dates, which made the cake very fluffy and moist but the dates  kind of masked the  delicate flavor of the Date Palm jaggery.

Sharing both versions here

Easy Garlicky Chingri -- for Dugga Pujo

Durga Pujo is not a time to cook your own food. I mean ideally Ma Durga does not cook on these five days. Neither does Lokkhi, Saraswati, Ganesh or that Karthik? Maybe Baba Shib does, but then again I am not sure.So why should you , tell me?

And then if you do cook, who is going to eat it? I mean after eating bhoger khichuri at the pujo pandal, tons of phuchka just outside the pandal, egg roll on the left of the pandal, mutton biriyani only a few steps away from the pandal, fish kobiraji ordered by phone from the pandal, how will you eat the food cooked at home?
Thus it has been logically proven that there is ABSOLUTELY NO-NEED to cook during the Pujo days. QED!

But for us mere mortals, living away from such overdose of pandals, life is difficult.

Durga too understands our problem and mostly visits us only during weekends. During the week she is "chakki pishing and cooking dinner". Our relatives back home smirk at our plight and thank their stars that they did not go and get a visa stamped. They rustle their heavy silks, bite on their kashundi smeared fish kobiraji, pat their heavily powdered nose and lament, "Aha, ki koshto, Ashtami teo ranna korte hochche re?"

We look away from their kashundi-fied selfie, take deep breaths, think how claustrophobic the crowd in the pandals would make us feel and how all that phuchka can end in nothing good but gelusil and choan dhekur. "Jak baba, eikahnei bhalo achi", we reassure ourselves and contemplate on ways to make a mid-week Saptami dinner more interesting.

And then when the fall air carries with it a fragrance of wood smoke, we carelessly let our minds wander away to the pujo pandals of our childhood where amidst the heavy fragrant smoke of Dhuno, Ma Durga's face came alive with gorjon oil and after hours of fasting for anjali, steaming hot Khichuri in shaal pata doled out at the back of the mandap tasted no less than amrito.

Poush Sankranti r Pithe

Pithe,is reminiscent of the times when paddy was harvested in the months of December-January and the new crop was celebrated by making dishes that used rice, date palm jaggery(khejur gur also collected in the winter months) and coconut. Poush Parbon or Nabanno was a celebration of the new crop of rice, which was the mainstay for the then agrarian society. We have moved many years forward from those times where rice is now GMO and harvested multiple times and grated coconut can be found in the frozen aisles of grocery stores. Yet, we still take the effort to celebrate poush-parbon, in our home to honor those simpler times when we revered soil and its bounty, instead of taking it for granted like we do now.

Here is a collection of few sweets, desserts made around Poush Sankranti that I have blogged about in the past years. I have tweaked the recipes and modernized them for my own good. Ideally, the sweet stuffing for the pithes and patishaptas around this time makes use of coconut, khejur gur and milk. The crepes and outer coating of puli and pithe is usually made with rice flour.



Gokul Pithe -- My all time favorite among pithes!!!Small discs of kheer-narkol (kheer and coconut cooked together) are dipped in a batter and then deep fried. These fried discs are then dunked in sugar syrup. Mmmmm!!!

Pyarakia or Gujiya -- Not necessarily in the pithe category but when filled with a coconut and kheer stuffing these empanada style pyarakias do make the Makar Sankranti cut!

Nonta Pithe --  Dumplings made with rice flour and stuffed with sweet and savory stuffing of coconut or potato-peas for savory.

Rosh Bora -- small fritters made with Urad Dal and then soaked in a thin sugar syrup

Pati Shapta -- Crepes made of all purpose flour + rice flour filled with a kheer stuffing

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