Pickled!

 

Today I patted myself for having come a long way indeed. From being that carefree girl in my 20s who didn't know how to cook and neither was interested in learning, to this awesome aunty in my 50s who is not only churning out three nutritious meals a day but also preparing perfect seasonal pickles or 'achaars' (right from gajar-shalgam to amla to red chillies). 

Wonder what my mum would say had she seen me in my present avatar. She always complained to her relatives that though I had a thriving corporate career, I just wouldn't learn cooking. So much so that when my then boyfriend (and now husband) came to ask for permission to marry me, she tried to dissuade him by saying what good would it be marrying a girl who couldn't cook!

But coming back to my achaars, I'm loving just how my little extra efforts have paid off well (thanks to a sunny winter). The family is enjoying each of my preparations and that gives me the encouragement to try these again next winter.

Chorchori Chronicles

Traditionally the Bengali staple mixed veg preparation called chorchori is supposed to have potatoes and spinach along with any three seasonal vegetables. As my mother taught me, there are five main players, hence the alternate name paanch-mishuli. So in winters, veggies like radish and cauliflower routinely make it to the chorchori mix, while in summers one finds bitter gourds, brinjals and pumpkins getting added.

Now here I was cooking chorchori in the rains, so the essential spinach was missing. It is anyway advisable not to consume these greens during monsoon as they spoil faster and host a few creepy crawlies. So I decided to try leaves from my moringa tree instead. Totally not kosher, as any Bengali mashima would tell you! 

Moringa tree in the backyard 

But while being experimental I discovered that the moringa leaves added an interesting nutty flavour to the chorchori. Also since they grow high above the ground unlike spinach, their leaves do not get spoilt by the rain. And, their health benefits are many. 

A closer view of our moringa forest

Moringa is a hardy tree, pretty resistant to the vagaries of the weather. Then why not give a modern twist to the traditional chorchori and enjoy it every season. If the spinach is unable to pull through our current climate change, an alternative is on hand already.

Upholding Culinary Traditions

 

Growing up, my mother always made something special for the Republic Day holiday. Most often it would be the winter staple koraishutir kochuri (a fried flatbread with flavoured peas stuffing). This would be accompanied by aloor dom (a tangy preparation using boiled potatoes), a favourite in most Bengali households. 

This was a tradition that Ma carried forward from her growing-up years in Shimla. Back then Republic Day had even more significance since the previous generation had lived through the freedom struggle.

After she left, I kept craving the koraishutir kochuri through the winters but could not gather the confidence to try making them myself. The meal required some work, time and patience, and all were in short supply in the intervening years.

Finally this year, a whole seven years after she went away, my craving got the better of me, and I resolved to try making koraishutir kochuri. Making the peas stuffing is fairly easy. Filling up the dough balls with the right amount, and then rolling them out perfectly is the tough part. The first attempt went by better than expected and so, on Republic Day I finally prepared a second batch of my favourite meal of winters. Along with aloor dom, of course. And some halwa for dessert.

Thus upholding a much-loved culinary tradition started by my amazing mother. 😍 Needless to say, the family loved it. 

Catching Up

 

Can't believe four months went by without me even thinking about this blog, leave alone posting. Goes to show just how mentally occupied I was with a thousand other things, right from a much-needed family vacation to a wedding in the extended clan.

But as I scroll through the photos on my phone, I realise there are things I'd like to document for posterity and share with the world. So here goes... a month-wise update seems appropriate.

August

Was a momentous month as the first-born started college.

September

After a long hiatus, I painted bottles again for a local fair. Zero sales notwithstanding, it felt good to reconnect with the old art form again.

October

Was the month of festivals, right from Durga Puja to Diwali. The youngest wore a saree for the first time, and loads of bonhomie and good food marked the various celebrations.

November

As we celebrated two decades of a life spent together, the much-awaited family vacay finally happened.

December

A wedding and get-togethers meant lots of occasions to go out and soak up some fun in the sun. But the real pleasure lay in a flower-filled home full of fragrances from festive year-end baking.

At the end of the day, it is the small joys that give the most happiness! 😊

Backyard Bonfires

 

Earlier this month, as the Sun-worshipping harvest festivals of Lohri and Makar Sankranti or 'Poush Parbon' arrived, the hubby decided to light a bonfire in the backyard as we had a large pile of twigs lying around after our autumn tree chopping. And guess what, his impromptu plan turned this into one of the most memorable celebrations ever.

We first started attending the community Lohri bonfire since the time our kids arrived, just to make them experience it firsthand. Now with restrictions imposed by an oft-raging pandemic, doing our own bonfire made sense.  

A celebration of the frosty cold weather involving sun worship

The festival days were cold and grey, with low maximum temperature and the sun barely visible through the dense layer of fog. Windows remained frosted for a large part of the day. As we shivered through the day, we prepared the token specialities that were associated, just so the kids got a feel of the festival.

Plateful of patishapta with kheer fillings

Growing up as a kid in a typical Bengali household, I never much cared for Sankranti because it involved eating certain delicacies I wasn't particularly fond of, and I'd see my mother slave for hours in the kitchen after a tiring workday, and that didn't really seem worthwhile to me. However, time and age have wisened me enough to find workarounds or easier alternatives, thus ensuring that everyone can enjoy.

Lohri/Sankranti bonfire

So on Lohri and Sankranti evenings, as our bonfire crackled, we had a chance to get together as a family and add our special twist to the traditional celebration. We were novices at keeping the fire going, and used every combustible material on hand - right from oil and camphor, to newspapers and dried leaves from the mango tree. 

The second day we even baked veggies in the wood fire. Had roasted potatoes with sour cream for breakfast the next morning, along with roasted tomato/eggplant and garlic bruschetta.

And all these things made it a 'Poush Parbon' worth remembering!

Going Organic - Part 7

Pumpkins

Since pumpkin seeds are easy to source (you can use the large, well-formed seeds from market-bought pumpkins), I decided that pumpkins would be a summer staple in our kitchen garden. We had planted pumpkins last year as well but that had only yielded a few flowers back then.

We added some compost and other minerals to the soil, and replanted fresh seeds this summer. To ensure maximum chances of getting healthy plants, I used a mix of seeds from different batches. We soon got three healthy plants that grew well. But the old problem surfaced - only male flowers showed up.

A male flower and a tiny pumpkin

After the rains (that went overboard this year), all the pumpkin plants showed a growth spurt. So fast were they spreading that the hubby uprooted one plant. One died in the strong sun that followed the rains.

Now we had little hope of getting any pumpkins, but were happy with the huge produce of flowers from the single remaining plant. Every day we would diligently pluck them, even distributing some to neighbours and helpers.

Till one day, a couple of female flowers finally showed up! Then there was no looking back.... The bees arrived as if by magic, timely pollinating the female flowers. And our single plant produced four pumpkins within a month.

Pumpkin hanging with support from okra plants

The sturdy okra plants provided perfect support to the pumpkin vine, helping it reach up to the sun. We had to create a hammock for the largest hanging fruit, and keep the pumpkins covered to protect them from fruit flies. 

Pumpkins ripening on a sunny window sill

We harvested the pumpkins around Halloween, and then dried them in a window sill that received direct sunlight. The pumpkins turned out a lovely bright orange from inside, and were delicious in taste.

If you are interested in more content related to organic farming, do check out this YouTube channel for some detailed videos.

Quarantine Baking

The Covid-induced lockdown pushed a lot of us to finally try our hands at things we had always wanted to make but weren't getting around to. For me that one item which I really wanted to try was bread making.

In the early days of lockdown, there was no yeast available so I started by substituting with curd. The hot weather aided fermentation, of course. Yummy garlic bread was the outcome.

Once the first attempt was successful, there was no looking back. Hubby ordered yeast online and baked a neat loaf himself.

Now focaccia, using veggie toppings from the kitchen garden, are my favourite.

Along with bread making, another recipe that everyone loved and chipped in with, was bread pudding. Made out of stale slices, the final result is quite an appetizing dessert.

Though I had been baking vegetable gratin for years, a simple recipe using eggs that was shared by a friend made me take my skills up another notch. While I use white sauce for the inner layers, the egg-cream-cheese mix on the top takes this gratin to the next level.

All in all, the quarantine has been a great foodie party for us as a family, and no one is complaining!

The First Winter

After one of the worst summers (that you can read about here), winter came early this year and was particularly harsh, with grey sunless days lasting well over 2 weeks. The newspapers say that December 2019 was the coldest since 1971.... that is way before I was born!

Well, here are a few of our favourite things that helped us get by this cold and gloomy season. Flowers brightened up our home, of course...

As did some sumptuous food. Making our own plum cake for the new year only added to our joy.

As did roasting a whole bird for my man's special day. Thankfully, our culinary experiments turned out well.

Despite rain and fog overwhelming our days, we enjoyed the jewels of nature.... like the string of pearls on nasturtium leaves.

And some pretty evenings.

Now looking forward to warmer days ahead as Spring should be round the corner.

Festive Hangover

It has been more than a week since Durga Puja got over but we still can't seem to get over the yummy 'bhog' that is served as community lunch at all pandals. So I cooked up some traditional puja food this weekend, and it turned out awesome! :)

At least one day during the pujas you are bound to be served khichuri (rice & lentils boiled together) or the erstwhile khichri, pronounced differently, along with laabra (mixed veg preparation using five different veggies, cooked in musard oil) and tomato chutney. The taste of this hot combo is so typical of the pujas.... guess the autumnal air has something to do with it.

Mmmm, the taste still lingers in my mouth.... but the good thing is that since I've successfully tried it once, I can now cook it up whenever I want. Wanna come over?

Remains Of The Day

Thought I'd share with you the remains of my first attempts at kulfi making! :)

Decided to try my hand at this dessert to mark the Bengali New Year Day last week. Despite the power-cuts the end result was rather yummy!

The recipe is easy enough so you can try this out yourself:

1. Boil full-cream milk on slow heat, and bring it down to less than half of the original quantity.



2. Add sugar to taste and a spoonful of cornflour for thickening. Remember to stir constantly at this stage else the sugar sticks to the bottom of the pan.



3. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.



4. Add grated cashews and cardamoms to the thickened milk.



5. Soak pistachios and almonds for half an hour. Meanwhile churn the thickened milk for 2-3 mins in a blender or mixer.



6. Now set the thickened milk to freeze after garnishing with chopped pistachios and almonds.

Hope this kulfi helps you keep cool through the scorching days! :)

Time For Ceramic Love

Hope you all had a colourful Holi and enjoyed the splashes of colour. In our home this festival is synonymous with the yummy preparation of 'kanji vara'; a tradition derived from my husband's family.

So last weekend I went and bought a couple of ceramic 'martabaan' or 'barni'. These traditional ceramic jars can also be used to put pickles out in the sun. Really, don't they seem right out of grandma's kitchen! :)

Coming back to my original preparation, Kanji is a concoction made from rye and water, and Vara refers to the fried balls of lentil added to it. This preparation is kept in the earthen pots (martabaan) to cure in the sun, and in a week you have the tangy 'kanji vara' ready.

For an easy-to-follow recipe, click here and enjoy some of your own!

What's Cooking?

I don't mean to boast but surely my cooking is looking and tasting (if hubby & kids are to be believed) better these days....

Does a certain new kitchen have anything to do with it?

A kitchen all bright with lots of natural light

A kitchen with a view of grassy green farmland

A kitchen that gets lots of winged visitors through the day

(And creepy crawly ones at night... eeks!)

Aah! but how does one cook better with so many distractions?

Isn't life full of contradictions! :)