- 2 cups chopped onion flower stalks
- 1 cup chopped baby potatoes
- 2-3 tbsp tiny sundried shrimps
- 2 dry red chilis
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp mustard oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp turmeric
Thursday, January 6, 2022
Sukhua : Raising a stink in more ways than one
Monday, December 27, 2021
Mahaprasad: The Art and Science of Cooking
Much has been said about the Mahaprasad. The origin, the use of 'Óld World' ingredients, and age-old recipes, socio-cultural significance, and the spiritual journey. But hardly anyone talks about the 'cooking' itself. Ok, maybe an article or two mention something about the four kinds of ovens, the nine pots stacked one upon the other, or even the mystery of the ingredients in the topmost pot cooking faster than the ones below it.
- 3 cups cubed vegetables (pumpkin/ pointed gourd/ spine gourd/ yam/ taro/ plantain/ radish)
- 2/3 cup fresh coconut paste
- 1/4 cup desi chana/ brown chickpeas (half cooked)
- 3-4 tsp bata masala (fennel+cumin+blackpepper+coriander in ratio 3:1:1:1)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt (adjust a per taste)
- 1/4 cup Nadi badi
- 1 tbsp jaggery
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida (dissolved in water)
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp ghee
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Banana flowers: An Inflorescence of Memories
The filtered rays of the winter sun used to light up a small patch in my parent's garden. Right in front of the kitchen backdoor. This sweet spot that received sunlight for a few hours was our go-to area for sunning everything from the pickles to the precious silk sarees that were often taken out as winter also meant wedding season. Anything that required long hours under the sun was deported to the terrace and one of the kids was assigned guard duty. The pigeons were always seeking a snack or two. Maybe they even liked to sit on the cloth drying lines that swayed precariously under their weight.
I always sought out the former for some warmth. As did everyone else in the family. Winter mornings in Rourkela tend to be quite harsh and the morning sunlight is almost a blessing. Any chore that could be moved outdoors was moved to this spot. As a result, this was one territory teeming with humans of all ages, each one engrossed in his/her own thing. Me and my brother engrossed in our books, my mother doing the lunch prepping, and my grandmother rubbing oil on her arthritic joints. At times, I would join her after finishing my studies. Tasks like peeling the peas, picking the greens, and prepping the banana inflorescence would be delegated to the kids at times to keep them busy or rather to keep them away from mischief. The last one, in particular, would take up a lot of time. Talk about the time and effort to rewards ratio being unfavorably skewed. The only solace was I simply loved all the dishes made with banana inflorescence.
Cut to the year 2010. I was newly married and picking up the ropes of running a household. Weekend trips to the Ryathu bazaar were in order. As luck would have had it, I spotted banana flowers being sold by some of the ladies. And some of them happened to be huge. Much bigger than the homegrown ones I had always seen. Of course, I had to buy one and devote the entire afternoon prepping it. But the dish turned out to be a disaster. It was just too bitter and had to be thrown out. Luckily my mother knew the way to cook with these bitter ones. However, the fiasco taught me a valuable lesson. One which I still apply when cooking these flowers. The flavor of the banana flower is highly dependent on the variety and they can turn out to be anything from bland to delicious to downright bitter. I always boil and taste a single flower even before I start cleaning the rest. It helps me take a call on the prepping method to be deployed. The cleaned flowers keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days without turning black provided not much damage has been done while pulling out the tepal and the stylus-stigma. While Saturday afternoons or evenings were designated for movie dates, my Sunday afternoons were usually dedicated to meal prepping even during those days. It saved me a lot of hassle during the weeks.
Sometime last year. I was standing in my maternal aunt's kitchen in Rourkela. It is one of those small kitchens with disproportionally big windows. Like all other kitchens in the colony, this one also sports a metal mesh covering the entire window. The grills are spaced far apart making it a breeze for stray cats to enter and exit at will. While the design did serve its purpose in the older days, it is now defunct or rather a perpetual problem.
I looked outside and marveled at the clump of robust plantain plants with their large shiny leaves. Most of them were sporting bunches of plantains. Though they were still immature, they looked pretty impressive with each one of them sporting more than a dozen hands. My aunt was almost done with the cooking when I casually enquired about the blossoms. Luckily she remembered the banana hearts sitting in the fridge. The rest of the flower had been used up but the inner core sporting the pale yellow bracts had been reserved for the 'Patua', a delicacy like no other. She ended up making the 'kadali bhanda patua' for lunch that day and I ended up asking for a second helping of piping hot rice to go with it.
Recipe for Kadali Bhanda Patua -
Note - I have used the banana heart or the innermost part of the inflorescence in this recipe. It is the point where it becomes quite difficult to peel off the bracts. But one can also use the flowers in the preceding layers to make this dish.
Ingredients -
2 banana hearts
1 medium-sized potato
2 tsp mustard seeds (I use the light brown ones)
1 tsp poppy seeds
2 fat garlic clove
1-2 green chili ( preferably hot)
3 tsp mustard oil ( + 1 tsp for drizzling while serving)
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt to taste ( about 1/3 tsp)
Method - Soak the mustard and poppy seeds for 2-3 hours.
Transfer to a mixer/chutney jar along with the green chili and garlic pods. Chop the banana heart and add to this jar. Grind into a smooth paste.
Wash and chop the potato into small pieces.
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed wok. Break a green chili and add it to the hot oil.
Add the chopped potatoes and sauté for a minute on high. Tip the contents of the chutney jar into the wok. Add the salt and turmeric. Sauté for another minute before lowering the flame and covering it with a heavy lid.
Open the lid after 5-6 minutes and give it a mix while taking care to scrape the bottom. If it looks too dry, sprinkle a little water over it. Cover once again and leave for 3-4 minutes. Open and check if the raw smell is gone. This means the dish is ready.
Remove from the stove. Serve hot with a drizzle of mustard oil on top.
Note - One can swap the ratio of mustard to poppy seeds if one is unaccustomed to the heat of mustard.
Click here to refer to an old blog post for cleaning and prepping the flowers.
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
The Curious Case of the Banana Peel and other Slippery Tales
Nigella Lawson discovers banana peels are edible! "Eu tu" lauds the universe when all I want to scream is "Déjà vu"? And I do speak for myself or rather that part of the world which my ancestors inhabited. That little dot on the map that I would still call home even if I lived halfway across the globe. And follow that unwritten code of existing in harmony with nature that they had advocated. For long long ago when GM foods were not even conceived and the green revolution in India had not brought about substantial change in our food habits, my ancestors had exhibited the highest degree of reverence for every scrap of food. The concept of peeling fruits and vegetables was limited and applicable only to those that had been rendered inedible by the presence of a hard and/or hairy exterior or even certain And those habits were honed further by the periods of drought or famine that routinely ravaged the area.
But with the advent of modern methods and technology, there was enough food for everyone. And even more to waste for those who could afford it. Cosmetic or rather aesthetic approaches crept into the Indian kitchens. Those mud-stained layers that betrayed the origins became an eyesore. And peeling those ugly outer layers became the norm. Catalyzed further by those glossies with their borrowed ideas of good food and nutrition that had started invading at least some of the middle-class homes. Never mind in the process we were generating more and more kitchen waste. It would take a couple more decades for people to awaken to the problem of landfills and the leaching Methane punching holes in the Ozone layer.
Getting back to those slippery and not so slippery peels, they have always enjoyed a lot of respect and adulation in Odia cuisine, often with a separate mention of the properties of the peels in traditional medicine. It won't be an exaggeration to claim that there is a whole genre of recipes centered around the now discarded peels. Interestingly there is one that is even offered to the Gods. Peels have always been minced, ground, crisped, or curried into various delicacies. Especially those of the gourd family and of course those of the banana/plantain.
While I already have a couple of them on the blog, this is one that is the easiest to prepare and needs no cooking.
Ripe Banana Peel Chutney
This is usually made with the banana varieties having yellow or light green peels. Pick organic bananas that are completely ripe and unblemished.
Ingredients -
1 Ripe yellow banana
1 garlic clove
1 green chili ( or 1/4 tsp chili flakes)
1 tsp jaggery
1/2 tsp Tamarind paste
1 tsp chopped cilantro
a pinch of cumin powder
1/3 tsp salt ( adjust as per taste )
Preparation -
Peel the banana and snip off both ends. Chop the peel into smaller pieces.
Transfer the chopped peel to a chutney jar or small mixer jar. Add all other ingredients except the cilantro. Give it a quick buzz. The texture need not be very smooth.
Taste and adjust the salt/jaggery/heat.
Can be served as a side during the meals or as a dip with snacks.
The plantain peels on the other hand can be prepared using this recipe.
Still curious? Read on to find out a whole range of recipes derived from the different parts of the banana/plantain plants which was a permanent fixture in most Odia homes.
Sunday, December 12, 2021
A Mid-monsoon Afternoon's dream : Tala pitha
As I sniffed the slightly squishy fruit I held in my hands, I realized my childhood memories are replete with myriad scents. And Sugar palm or Toddy Palm is just one of them. It carries the scent of the monsoons. Not the much romanticized 'Petrichor' kind but one that develops as the rains progress from sudden showers to a steady drizzle that continues for days. The wetness of the lawn grass and the musty odor of clothes that had no chance to dry completely. Accompanied by the dampness of the walls and floors that would send me scurrying to the kitchen for warmth. And the nibbles that came with the turf.
Note :
Remove from fire once the liquid is completely absorbed and the mixture resembles a loose dough. Do not overcook.
Allow to cool down a bit. Add a few drops of ghee. Knead the mixture into a smooth dough. The kneading should be done when the dough is still hot ( should have a tolerable temperature ).
Divide the warm dough into small balls (given quantity makes about 10 of them). Flatten them into small discs but do not make them very thin.
Cooking: Heat a wok. Add sufficient oil for frying. When the oil is sufficiently hot but not smoking, add the flattened balls. Reduce the flame a bit and fry them till they are golden brown in color.
Remove from the hot oil using a slotted spoon and allow them to cool down. Serve at room temperature. Tastes best the next day.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Manabasa Gurubar : Breaking caste barriers
The story behind Manabasa Gurubar. Taken from a 15th-century text, namely 'Laxmi Purana', that is read in almost every Odia home on Thursdays during the Hindu month of Margashira.
- 1 cup new rice (aromatic is preferred)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2-3 tsp sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 1-2 Pandan leaves
- 5-6 cups water
Saturday, November 27, 2021
Badi Bahaghara : A unique Prathamastami ritual from Odisha
Waking up an hour earlier than usual, I carefully pulled back the curtains to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. Only to be greeted by a thick curtain of fog. The third instance this week. I stifled a yawn and proceeded to the kitchen. Putting the water to boil, I checked on the batter that had been set out on the kitchen counter to ferment overnight. The dal for making the 'Badi' was soaked even as the tea leaves were brewing. Grabbing a cup of tea I mentally ticked off the tasks one by one. It promised to be one tough day but I was ready to take on the world. Powered by the brew. And perhaps bolstered by nostalgia.
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Khesari Dal : A victim of propaganda ?
I first read about Khesari dal in the textbooks in school. It was the villain who seduced the poor into consuming it in large amounts and then promptly turned them into miserable cripples. Sadly, I believed every word of it. Such was my faith in the written word. But then everything comes with an expiry date. Or at least an upgrade patch. Much needed to fill those gaps in the software or in the context of real life, the half-baked textbook knowledge religiously fed to unassuming schoolkids.
The Khesari dal's notoriety as a 'paralysis inducing' ingredient is only second to its disrepute as a cheap adulterant used to bulk up more expensive pulses. And it has actually been found to have been added to everything from toor dal to 'besan' to even the 'sattu'. But then not every part of the world eyes it with suspicion or explicitly bans its cultivation and sale. Lathyrus Sativus is an important crop in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Ethiopia for reasons that range from meeting the protein requirement of the poorer sections of society to its ability to fix nitrogen in the soil and also its usage as animal fodder. Though it was banned for sale in India in the year 1961, states like Bengal, parts of Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh have continued to use this dal for human consumption. And importantly, Maharashtra has overturned the ban on the cultivation and sale of this dal based on the research findings of a Nagpur-based nutrition scientist Shantilal Kothari. His work makes for an engaging though lengthy read.
While reading up on Khesari dal, I stumbled upon the fact that it had been banned first in 1907 by the Maharaja of Rewa(Madhya Pradesh) after a severe drought drove . While one cannot deny the presence of the neurotoxin ODAP in Khesari dal, it is shown to have an adverse effect only when consumed in excess amounts, almost skewing the normal carb to protein ratio of a regular Indian meal . Medical texts state the 400 g of Lathyrus consumed daily over a period of 3 months or more may increase the risk of Lathyrism. While such instances have occurred during periods of drought or crop failure, the resilient character of this legume makes it an asset during such periods. It can grow in almost any kind of soil and provides a good amount of protein even when consumed in moderation. Soaking the dal in hot water for 40 mins to an hour and washing it thoroughly multiple times is supposed to cuts down most of the neurotoxins. Even soaking in normal water cuts down the neurotoxins by half. (Haileyesus Getahun 1, Fernand Lambein, Michel Vanhoorne, Patrick Van der Stuyft) . On the other hand, consuming sufficient cereals with the dal to balance the essential sulphur aminoacids can help prevent Lathyrism.(Fernand Lambein, Yu-Haey Kuo)
As per Ayurveda, 'Khesari dal' is 'cold and heavy' with laxative properties and hence should be consumed accordingly. For example, if one visualizes a proper Indian meal, a decent chunk of it is the carbohydrates that provide the most calories. Then comes a bowl of dal, one or two servings of vegetables which change according to the season, maybe a chutney or a pickle, even papad or badi. All of it together makes the meal complete. There is no concept of 'Ati' or excess. A fact reiterated by some of the families who cultivate this dal in Odisha. All of them use it occasionally and in small amounts. Mostly for making a snack called 'piaji' (not to be confused with the onion extravaganza by the same name) and then very rarely for a regular dal to be eaten with rice. Research literature points to the usage of the green pods as a snack very much like the Bengal gram.
While there is ongoing research to develop newer cultivars with lower ODAP levels, one can still consume them in smaller amounts as the benefits outweigh the drawbacks and it is also easier on the pocket. It is known to strengthen the bones, balance Pitta-Kapha dosha, reduce inflammation, enhance potency, and also stimulate the appetite. In the coastal parts of Odisha, especially in Cuttack and nearby areas, the 'Piaji' or fried fritters are almost always made with Khesari dal.
A side by side comparison of Tuvar(tur)side-by-side and Khesari dal to help in identifying the latter. While Tuv has a rounded shape, the latter has a rather irregular shape and yellowish-orange color.
Sharing a quick recipe for the 'Piaji' or 'Dal vada' I made with it -
Khesari Dal Piaji/ Vada
Ingredients -
1/2 cup Khesari dal
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1/2 inch ginger (crushed)
1-2 green chili(crushed)
1/2 cup chopped greens (coriander/tender mustard greens/moringa/radish greens)
salt to taste
200 ml oil for frying
Preparation - Wash and soak the dal for 1-2 hours. Drain off all water.
Transfer to a chutney jar and give a quick pulse. Add the rest of the ingredients except oil and give another pulse. The paste should be a little finer than the coarse texture we prefer for Channa dal when making dal vada.
Heat the oil. Don't get it smoking though. Add small dollops of the paste. Do not crowd the frying vessel at any time and keep the oil at a constant temperature.
Turn it a few times and remove it when it starts to acquire a light brown color.
Serve immediately.
The remaining 'piaji' can be refrigerated and added to a curry.
Alternatively, one can also make a thin and flavorful dal with it.
Sunday, November 21, 2021
Janta Ruti : Just do'ugh' it !!
Sometime back in 2013 when I was experimenting with foods meant for my ever-hungry toddler, I discovered the 'Janta ruti', a kind of bread popular in Odisha. It was tasty, easy enough to chew, and light on the stomach too. Plus it made a perfect pair with the boiled veggies (read 'Santula' minus the 'chunka' or tempering). It became a part of our menu and stayed that way. And incredibly, it's most salient feature remained overlooked.
But everything changed a few months back when I was reading up on research papers about gluten. Or rather how to minimize the formation of this unavoidable protein that has been haunting quite a few people. Honestly, going the sourdough route or switching to 'Gluten free' flour isn't an option for everyone. Or even switching to 'ghar ke chakki ka atta' or 'home processed flour' if I have to put it in the Indian context.
But why this growing dissent with 'gluten' which has always been present in wheat? Gluten intolerance may also have become fairly common because of changes in the way wheat is processed. Earlier, wheat was harvested, shade dried, washed down, and sun-dried before making it to the local chakki where it was ground and distributed. But increased demand has led to manufacturers bypassing all the steps between threshing and processing. Most of the packaged wheat is not properly shade dried and sun-dried - the two processes that broke down gluten (or rather glutenin as gluten comes into the picture only when after the flour is hydrated ) into smaller particles.
Preferences also play a role here. Demand for white-looking bread or 'roti' has led to the market being flooded with certain varieties like durum which have higher gluten content in comparison to varieties like 'Emmer' or 'Kaphali' which have lower gluten but are much darker in color. In spite of this selective breeding, the gluten content has remained constant over the last 120 years, although the composition of the gluten has changed slightly. While the proportion of Gliadin fell by around 18 percent, the proportion of Glutenin rose by around 25 percent.
While it is tough to dismiss the external factors, the formation of gluten has a lot to do with how the dough is manipulated. Everything from the amount (and temperature) of water added to the dough, to the kneading technique (damn!! there are so many of them) and duration of kneading to the usage of shortening agents( term used for fats that coat the gluten components and prevent them from forming lengthy chains resulting in a flaky crumbly texture) plays a definite role.
Somewhere in the middle of processing it all, it struck me. I was seeing the 'Janta ruti' through the lens of my newly acquired understanding. It ticked all the boxes. Temperature, hydration, and fat. The boiling water denatures the wheat proteins, limiting the formation of gluten. This makes the dough soft but not stretchy(read 'hard to tear'). Second, the hot water gelatinizes the starch allowing it to absorb more water. This makes the dough smooth and supple and a lot easier to work with. As a bonus, it stays soft long after it has cooled down. The fat, though in a limited amount, prevents the linkage of gluten strands and ensures that the dough doesn't turn sticky. Hence one ends up with a dough that is easy to work with and the end product (roti/paratha) stays soft and fresh for a longer duration. Best part? It is that it is just so much easier on the digestive system (and the jaws too).
There are two versions made in most Odia homes, a sweeter one with fennel and a little khand/sugar and a savory one with carom(ajwain) seeds. The preparation process and the rest of the ingredients remain the same. A few people also add a little milk while preparing the dough for the sweeter version.
Sometimes the dough is also deep-fried instead of being cooked on a tawa or griddle. These pooris, also called 'khali poori', are extremely delicious but soak up a lot of oil. They are eaten during fasting.
Check the recipe for the Janta Ruti (sweet version) - HERE
Friday, November 19, 2021
Dahi Chenna : The lesser known Chenna from Odisha
Monday, November 15, 2021
Decoding the Habisa Dalma
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