The Fowl Affair

The Mughals have gifted the Indian subcontinent with one of the most refined cooking traditions in the world. Mughlai cuisine is as an amalgam of persian and indian cuisines. It absorbed the afghani and turkic elements already prevalent in the kitchens of the Sultans of Delhi, combined extensive use of Central Asian fruits and nuts to make gravies, evolved the tandoor, incorporated various new world spices made available by the Portuguese and Spanish merchants; it continued to scale new heights of sophistication in forms of shahi galouti kebab, hyderabadi biriyani, lukhnowi yakhni pulao to name a few! (http://www.indiacurry.com/faqhistory/mughalcuisine.htm)

In the bengali middle class however, consumption of chicken on a regular basis became popular since last 20-30 years. Having been raised in villages near and far from Calcutta in 1950s, my parents reminisce growing up amidst farm animals, cows, buffalos, goats, hens and ducks. In those days hens and ducks were reared primarily for their eggs; as kids, my parents grew up savouring fresh (dishi) eggs and milk.  In events of feasts, a goat was preferred to hens; first, being a larger animal a single goat would provide for more people; second, red meat is tastier than white! Again, bengali brahmins were prudish; I remember Pishemoshai, now in his eighties, would call the humble hen 'ram-pakhi' and refuse to taste its bland white flesh while he would have no qualms trying spicy mutton and fish curries! Also, ducks were valued more as their cousin the swan is the patron bird for Devi Saraswati, the hindu goddess of knowledge. So culling a duck for food was probably rare in Bengal. The only time I heard of duck meat being cooked at my paternal house was when my boro Jethima (eldest of my paternal aunts) cooked 'hnash er hnari kabab'. My mother remembers giving in to that temptation of lusciousness redefined and subsequently drowning in the sea of guilt! 

The British have influenced every aspect of life in the colonies; cooking and consuming game birds in the middle class bengali households became popular as more and more bengalis started to imitate them. While 'bon murgi r daak bunglow' was saved to be cooked in forest bungalows and ranches, good old 'whole chicken roast' became a status symbol in the nouveau riche bengali circles.
Nowadays, chicken has replaced the fish as staple, this modest bird provides a good source of protein without wrecking the purse.
Mughlai cuisine still reigns supreme in India. As a humble tribute to this exquisite cooking tradition I will begin my collection of Chicken recipes with a Mughlai delicacy, Chicken Korma. This is one preparation that mingles afghani elements like using poppy seeds with traditional indian ones like using ginger and coconut.
Chicken Korma:
Whole chicken - 1, skinned, cut into pieces
ginger paste - 4 tbsp
garlic paste - 2 tbsp
onion paste -2 medium sized
ghee -5 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1
Cloves - 6-8
Cardamons (green) - 2, (black) - 4
Kashmiri chili powder - 5 tbsp
Salt - to taste
For gravy:
Make a paste of poppy seeds ( 2 tbsp), coconut ( 2 tbsp), cashew nuts ( 3 tbsp), may add paste of melon seeds (chalmagaj) ( 3 tbsp). I dry grind each of them separately in coffee grinder and mix them in 2 cups of lukewarm water.

Procedure:
1. Mix chicken pieces with ginger garlic paste and some salt, refrigerate for few hours.
2. Heat ghee, add cinnamon, cloves and green cardamons and saute till they splatter.
3. Add onion paste and fry for 10 mins till the water evaporates.
4. May add sugar (1 tbsp) to the frying onion.
5. Add the Kashmiri chili powder and fry well with the onion for 5 mins.
6. Add the marinated chicken pieces and saute, mix well with the fried onion.
7. Add the mix of poppy seed, coconut, cashew nut and melon seed paste to the chicken, add extra water ( 3-4 cups) and simmer in low heat for 15-20 mins till the chicken is cooked.
8. Dry roast black cardamons, grind to powder and add to the chicken.
9. Serve with paratha or naan.

The cult of the Mother Goddess: Kali Puja

The cult of worshiping the Mother Goddess in Bengal predates several centuries. Bengalis take tremendous pride in venerating Shakti, the source of all vitality and causality of life. The pervading forms include the benevolent caregiver as in Maa Durga and Maa Lakhshmi, the fearsome destroyer of sins as in Maa Kali and the inception and manifestation of all knowledge as in Maa Saraswati.

While Durgotsav is celebrated with much gaiety, pomp and grandeur in mid- late Oct; Saraswati Puja, immensely popular amongst students is celebrated as the impromptu desi- version of Valentine's Day around early spring.
Kali puja is the most revered of all, depending on the lunar calendar is celebrated around late Oct to early Nov around Halloween on a new moon night. The deity evokes mystery and awe; dark-complexioned, She wears garlands made of severed human heads and stands on the chest of her divine consort Lord Shiva.

The worship incorporates tantrik rituals where alcohol (karon sudha) and mutton (cooked without onion and garlic) are offered to the Goddess. 

I chose to prepare vegetarian bhog. 

Khichuri bhog: 

1. Heat ghee (3 tbsp) in a pan, add cumin seeds, bay leaf and whole red chillies (2-3), wait till they splatter.

2. Add ginger paste and gently fry in the ghee.

3. In a separate pan, dry roast yellow split moong beans (1 cup) gently till you smell the aroma.

4. Add the dry roasted moong and mix it with the ghee.

5. Add basmati rice (1 cup) to the mixture and saute gently.

6. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, chopped tomatoes (1, medium sized), salt (3 tbsp) and sugar (1 tbsp).

7. Add 5-6 cups of water (preferably boiling) and cook the mixture for 45-60 mins lid closed, with occasional stirring.

8. Add ghee (2 tbsp) and ground cumin powder.

Fried Vegetables:

Five different kinds of vegetables are fried separately and served. I have used Spinach, Plantains, Pumpkin, Potato and Eggplant.

1. Heat a pan, add mustard oil (2-3 tbsp), add nigella seeds and chili flakes.

2. Chop the vegetables (usually in circles) add to the hot oil, fry till they are cooked.

Chana r torkari: (Kofta curry with home-made cottage cheese)

1. Heat 3.25% or full-fat milk in a pan and bring to boil. Remove from the heat and rest. Add solution of citric acid to the hot milk gradually till the milk begins to curdle. Strain the cheese (chana) dry.

2. Add salt (1 tbsp), sugar (2 tbsp), dry roasted garam masala (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, 1 tbsp) and mix well with the chana. Make little 8-10 balls (koftas). For 500 ml of milk, you should have enough chana to make 10 koftas.

3. Heat oil (sunflower) to medium, gently fry the chana koftas  till golden brown on the outside. Be very careful with the heat, if fried in high heat, the balls would not cook from within!

4. In a separate pan, heat oil (3-5 tbsp), add sahi cumin, dry roasted garam masala.

5. Add ginger paste and saute.

6. Add chopped tomatoes (1, medium sized) and mix well with the ginger. Add turmeric (1/2 tbsp) and kashmiri chili powder ( 2 tbsp).

7. Add potatoes (2, cubed) and fry.

8. Add water (preferably hot, 1 cup) and cook the potatoes (5 mins, lid on).

9. Decrease the heat, add the fried koftas and let them absorb the gravy.

10. Crush almonds (10) and cashews (4) to a coarse to powdery consistency and add to the gravy.

Chalkumro with Coconut:

Please refer to the post designated "A veggie delight".

Payesh (rice pudding):

1. Heat 3.25% or full-fat milk in a pan. Bring it to boil. Then simmer in medium heat for 45 mins. Stir every 5 mins to that the milke does not burn!

2. Wash rice (gobinda bhog rice, can be bought from Bangladeshi stores; 50 gms for 750 ml of milk), add to the hot milk and stir, cook for 15 mins.

3. Add cashews and raisins and cook for 15 mins.

4. Turn off the heat, add cane sugar ( 2 cups) and stir gently.

Chutney:

1. Heat mustard oil, add pnach phoron and whole red chillies, fry till they splatter.

2. Add ginger paste ( 1 tbsp) and saute.

3. Add chopped tomatoes, water and cook for 5 mins. Add turmeric powder (1/2 tbsp).

4. In a separate bowl, soak pitted dates and dried prunes (aloo bokra) for 30 mins.

5. Add the soaked dates and prunes with the water to the tomatoes. Cook for 10 mins.

6. Add cane sugar ( 1 cup) and may continue to cook till most of the water evaporates. (I like it thick, however if you prefer chutney to have a runny consistency, then do not let the water evaporate!)

Luchi:

1. Add a pinch of salt, sugar ( 1tbsp) and ghee ( 2 tbsp) to enriched flour ( 2 cups) and make a soft dough.

2. Make small balls and spread them to circles ( I still cannot make perfect ones!) using a rolling pin.

3. Fry in oil ( Sunflower), fully immerse in the hot oil for your luchis to puff up.

Narkol nadu:

1. Heat ghee, add cane sugar (4 cups) and gently stir so that the sugar melts completely.

2. Add desiccated coconut (6-8 cups) and mix well with the ghee and sugar.

3. Add milk powder (5-8 tbsp) and mix well.

4. Cook till the mixture dries.

5. Remove from heat, smear ghee in your palms and fingers, make round balls as soon as you are comfortable touching the hot coconut mixture. The balls would harden up once they have cooled down!!

A veggie delight..

Chalkumro, known as white gourd is a tropical vegetable that grows abundantly on the thatched roofs in Bengal. It has a thin green skin covering soft succulent flesh and white seeds inside. My first introduction to this seemingly unassuming vegetable had happened in a otherwise awkward situation. The celebration of the cult of the Mother Goddess requires animal sacrifice.  In some families, however, a harmless animal is replaced by more benign entities, like white gourd and sugarcane.

In front of the deity this benign vegetable is sanctified and sacrificed symbolically. So there I go, my first introduction to chalkumro was during the 'Durga Puja's balidaan' ceremony at my ancestral house when i was five-six years old. 

Having tasted the curry though, I had mixed feelings. As a kid I do not remember my tongue tingling with the taste of chalkumro and frankly, thought it to be a rather bland replacement for a goat. The kid had also found arrays of amusements and had forgotten all about humble chalkumro.

Living overseas for more than a decade makes me homesick every now and then, I yearn to touch my roots and what better way than rediscovering the food trails of Bengal! I started revisiting traditional bengali recipes and voila, here comes a real gem. 

Boris are sun-dried lentil cakes made from urad dal (white lentil) paste. Conventionally prepared by women folk in villages, boris added generously to bengali curries (dry ones as in with pnui shaak chorchori, or watery runny ones as in jhol) not only impart a characteristic flavour but also provide for a source of protein in a predominantly vegetarian diet. The boris I have used here have been specially prepared by my husband's paternal grandmother from Bankura. 

Pnach Phoron is a aggregation of five types of seeds: cumin, mustard, fenugreek, aniseed and nigella.

Narkol Bori diye Chalkumro (White gourd with coconut and bori)

Chalkumro (white gourd) - 1- large, cubed

Ginger paste - 1 tbsp

Desiccated Coconut - 5-6 tbsp (can go upto 8 tbsp for die-hard coconut fanatics like myself!)

Pnach Phoron - 2-3 tbsp, dry roasted and ground to a powder

Bori - 1 cup

Mustard oil -5 tbsp

Ghee -2 tbsp

Salt and CaneSugar - to taste

Whole red chili -1-2

Nigella seeds - 1 tbsp 

Turmeric powder - 1/2 pinch

Procedure:

1. Heat Mustard oil, fry boris and keep them aside.

2. Add more mustard oil, temper oil with whole red chillies and nigella seeds (kalo jira).

3. Add ginger paste and fry for 3-4 mins.

4. Add the chalkumro cubes, fry gently, add salt, 1/2 pinch of turmeric and sugar, cover with a lid and cook for 10 mins till the gourd softens. Since addition of salt would lead to water release from the gourd, at some point this would get very watery. Open the lid to let the excess water dry off.

5. Add fried boris, desiccated coconut and mix well. Turn the heat off.

6. Add ghee and the ground pnach phoron powder.

7. Serve with white rice.

My epicurean promenades

Meat, meat and more meat!!!

Having grown up in Calcutta in a typical middle-class bengali household, food became as much part of life as were attending the never-ending tuition classes, frantic runs to catch an already over-crowded bus and navigating around the eternally dirty and busy streets. Sundays would start with my dad emptying grocery bags back filled with variety of seasonal fresh vegetables, different varieties of fresh fish and of course, mutton, that he had woken up very early in the morning to procure. Sunday meals would traditionally start with luchi and aloo r chorchori for breakfast followed by an elaborate lunch starting with something bitter (as in Shukto or fried bitter goard (ucche/korola) or neem jhol) followed by daal (musur), torkari ( jhinge posto, postor bora, lau chingri, thor, mocha r ghonto), mangsher jhol (mutton curry), chutney and full-fat creamy yoghurt (misti doi). My mother never bothered to dunk in whole range of exotic spices in her preparations. She kept it really straight forward by cooking the mutton with onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, coriander, turmeric, green chillies, salt and sugar. However, she cooked the mutton to the very super soft stage; her theory was, the softer the mutton was, the more the nutrients from the muscle fibres and bone marrow entered the gravy, the tastier and thicker the gravy became. Even now she wields the same trick and I, a self-confessed Mistress of Spices still lick my plate dry.

Recently I came across this punjabi recipe to cook mutton. I loved the delicate balance of the rustic and exotic flavours in this dish. I have incorporated two steps; being a quintessentially ghoti lady (born in West Bengal to a family hailing from Burdwan and being married to a family from Bankura) I have added sugar and a bit of mustard oil.  

Dum Pukht Maas (Punjabi style)

Mutton (shoulder cut, with bone, preferably halal) - 4 lb

Onion paste:

fried - 11/2 cup

boiled - 2 large

Ginger paste - 4 tbsp

Garlic paste - 4 tbsp

Tomatoes - 2 small (boiled, pureed)

Ghee- 5-6 tbsp

Salt and Sugar (optional) - to taste

Kashmiri Chilli powder - 2 tbsp (optional)

Whole dried dry chillies - 8-12

Whole Masala:

Cumin - 3 tbsp

Coriander - 3 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1 long stick

Cardamom - 5 green, 2 black

Cloves - 6-8

Nutmeg - 2 whole

Mace - 3-4 strands

All spice - 3-4 (optional)

Dry roast the whole spices in mild heat and crush them coarsely.

Marination: Marinate the mutton with salt and 2 tbsp of mustard oil for a few hours. If frozen, I usually thaw the meat overnight. In the morning I wash and drain, add salt and oil to it and refrigerate it till i cook in the evening.

Procedure:

1. Heat ghee in a pan and temper the ghee with the whole read chillies till you can smell the burnt chili flavor. Remove the chillies.

2. Add fried onion paste and cook for 10 mins.

3. Add boiled onion paste and cook for additional 10 mins. (At this point, the smell would completely captivate you!)

4. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 4-5 mins.

5. At this point, may add sugar and kashmiri chili powder. (optional)

6. Add the marinated mutton and mix well with the fried spices.

7. Add tomato puree.

8. Add the crushed dry whole garam masala.

9. Add water to cover the meat completely.

10. Seal the lid with a dough and cook in low to medium heat for 2 1/2 hrs.

The final product after almost 3 1/2 hours of cooking!! Believe me, it is worth every bit of the wait..:)

Serve with Naan and Raita as was preferred by my husband 

or go with the good old-fashioned rice!!