| |
| Recipes |
| |
| Bhapa Doi |
|
As brides we carry with us a trousseau, dreams, hopes, and a lot of advice from well meaning well-wishers. We are also told that, “Once married you are faced with the prospect of being cook, companion and wife to your husband and competing with the memories of his mother’s home and her cooking”. So, it was nice when I, newly married, could turn the tables round and teach my mother-in-law who is an ace cook, this simple recipe of her native cuisine.
I have since shared the method with other “Mamimas and Pishimas” (Aunts).
For the calorie and health conscious, this is like “Manna” as it is Bhapa Doi, which in Bengali means steamed curd. As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating...
|
|
| |
| Ingredients: |
- A tin of Nestle / Amul Condensed milk
- To that tin, a measure of milk
- Equal measure of thick curd
- 1 tsp green cardamom powder (elaichi)
- 10 -15 almonds, blanched and chopped (optional)
|
| |
| Method: |
Mix condensed milk, curd, and milk well. Add crushed cardamom powder and beat all for a minute or so, till well incorporated. Pour into a pudding mould and cover well with foil, or use a steel ‘dabba’ with a well fitting lid. Put into pressure cooker with adequate water. Do not use whistle. Steam for twenty minutes. Let it cool for five minutes or so. Remove from cooker. Bring to room temperature. . Garnish with blanched and chopped almonds (optional).
Refrigerate till serving time. Unmould |
|
| Tanuja Mullick, wife of Sumit Mullick (’82), is a ‘Bangla bou’ or a daughter- in-law of Bengal, as his fellow Bengali batch-mate’s wife recently pointed out. A PhD dropout, and now an AMI qualified Montessori teacher. |
 |
|
|
| |
| “Roat” – A Maharashtrian recipe contributed by Mrs. Chitkala Zutshi, I. A. S. |
|
The patriarch is Nanu Narayan Kothare, Solicitor, and Mrs. Zutshi's grandmother, Sumatibai, is seated second from right.
Note the very business
like leather shoes worn by the young ladies in their 9 yard saris. I am told that these shoes were
made by a
cobbler from Matheran. |
|
|
| Here's another "can't - go- wrong" recipe from my collection of favourites. I had earlier contributed a Kashmiri recipe from my "sasural". But this one is an authentic Pathare Prabhu one from my "maike", and handed down to me by Sumatibai Kirtikar, Dad's Mum. |
| |
| Roat (rhymes with boat, coat, dote and note) |
| |
| Ingredients: |
| Rava |
: |
3 cups |
| |
|
|
| Sugar |
: |
1 Cup |
| |
|
|
| Milk, warmed |
: |
2 Cups |
| |
|
|
| Ghee |
: |
½ Cup (or less if so desired) |
| |
|
|
| Almonds |
: |
A
Handful, Sliced and Slivered |
| |
|
|
| Raisins |
: |
About a dozen |
| |
|
|
| Walnuts |
: |
15 to 20 broken into chunky pieces |
| |
|
|
| Cardamom, crushed |
: |
1 teaspoon or to taste |
| |
|
|
| Carroway seeds (optional) |
: |
A teaspoon |
| |
|
|
| Saffron |
: |
1½ teaspoons |
| |
|
|
| About 20-25 strands, finely ground in 2 tea spoons of milk ( use a marble mortar and pestle for this part of the operation) |
: |
|
| |
|
|
| Baking powder |
: |
1½ Teaspoons |
|
|
| |
| Method |
| Rub the ghee into the rava until the rava has been will coated with it. Add the sugar and mix well. Pour in 1 cup of warm milk and again mix well. Add the slivered almonds, raisins, walnut pieces, cardamom powder. Let stand for 2 to 3 hours. Heat the remaining 1 cup of milk and as it begins to boil add the baking powder. Immediately pour on to the rava batter and mix well. |
| |
| Flour an 8" diameter round baking dish. A glass one will do. I normally use a Borosil serving dish with 8" diameter and 2"depth. My mother used a round brass tin which served her just as well. Pour the rava batter into this floured baking dish. Bake in a pre-heated convection oven at 180° c for 65 minutes. The roat should now be well cooked inside and a lovely golden brown on top. Turn it out onto a cooling rack and slice. It will give out a most appetizing aroma . Eat it hot either immediately or cold along with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Will keep for a week. Does not need refrigeration. |
|
| |
|
| “Dahi Macchhi” – A Kashmiri recipe contributed by Mrs. Chitkala Zutshi, I.A.S. |
| |
 |
My mother-in-law, a Kashmiri lady of 1910 vintage, was great at serving all kinds of mouth watering delicacies, the recipes being imported straight from the valley of her origins to the hot and dusty plains of Rajasthan.Thus, in the summer of 1972, as a young bride, I found myself partaking of her Kheema koftas, Methi chaman and Rogan josh – food to be enjoyed while warming yourself with a kangri rather than while sweating under an ineffectually whirring ceiling fan, but no less delectable for being served in its new ambience. I would like to share with you, dear reader, the recipe for her all time favourite “Dahi macchhi”. This is simple to prepare, takes very little time and a recipe with which you just can’t go wrong. |
Mrs. Chitkala, as a bride with her bridegroom Mr. Raj Kumar Zutshi |
|
|
| |
| Ingredients : |
| Fish, scaled and sliced into pieces of ¾’ thickness |
: |
½ kg |
| (you could use either surmai, rawas, bhetki or hilsa) |
|
|
| |
|
|
| Yoghurt |
: |
200 gms |
| |
|
|
| Turmeric Powder |
: |
¼ tsp |
| |
|
|
| Red Chili Powder |
: |
1 ½ tsp ( or, acc to taste) |
| |
|
|
| Coriander Seed Powder (Dhania Powder) |
: |
2tsp |
| |
|
|
| Dried Ginger Powdered (Saunth) |
: |
1 ½ tsp |
| |
|
|
| Asafetida (Hing) |
: |
a pinch or two |
| |
|
|
| A little fresh ginger finely sliced |
: |
|
| |
|
|
| Green chilies, slit |
: |
4 or 5 as per taste |
| |
|
|
| Coriander, finely chopped |
: |
A small bunch |
| |
|
|
| Kashmiri Garam Masala |
: |
½ tsp |
| (if you do not have, just use a combination of small quantities of saunf, cloves, cinnamon, pepper fenugreek (methi) and black cardamom (badi elaichi), all ground) |
|
|
| |
|
|
Oil
(Gound Nut Oil will do. However, best results are obtained with re-heated Mustard Oil) |
|
|
| |
|
|
| Salt |
: |
to taste |
|
|
| |
| Method : |
| In a thick bottomed pan (traditionally, brass is used), add the yoghurt and beat well with a fork. Combine the oil and all the masalas and mix well. Wash the fish well and slop he pieces into this prepared masala-yoghurt-oil combination. Coat the pieces well with masala. Allow to stand for 20-30 minutes. Just before your meal is served, cook the fish on a medium flame for 5minutes or so, turning the pieces over once without breaking them, and serve hot.
This preparation goes best with plain white fluffy rice. |
|
| |
| Mrs. Chitkala Zutshi is an IAS officer of the 1971 batch and is Additional Chief Secretary – ( Home). Her many interests include trekking, writing and being a perfectionist in all her endeavors. |
| |
|
| “Gatte ki Sabzi”– A Rajasthani recipe contributed by Mrs. Reeta Agarwal |
|
Rajasthan, being our desert state has a cuisine adapted to the physical terrain. Lack of water and fresh green vegetables, have thus invented dishes that use other staples to provide flavour to feasts. In some belts of Rajasthan minimal use of water and in its place substitutes of milk or curd are often utilized.
In this speciality contributed by Mrs. Reeta Agarwal, is the use of Gram flour ( besan) and curd. Mrs. Agarwal is the very talented wife of Mr. V. K. Agarwal of the 1973 batch, now posted as Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner- Planning. |
|
| |
| Serves 4 |
Ingredients for “gattas” : |
| Gram Flour (Besan) |
: |
|
¾ cup |
| |
|
|
|
| Oil |
: |
|
2 tbsps |
| |
|
|
|
| Ajwain |
: |
|
¼ tsp |
| |
|
|
|
| Curd |
: |
|
½ cup |
| |
|
|
|
Red Chili Powder |
: |
|
1 tsp |
| |
|
|
|
| Salt |
|
|
to taste |
| |
|
|
|
| Asafetida (Hing) |
: |
|
2 pinches |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Method : |
Mix all the ingredients for gattas and knead into a firm dough (use water, if required). Divide the dough into 6-8 equal portions, (rub a little oil on palms), and roll into cylindrical shapes to get almost 4” long rolls.
Put these rolls into boiling water and boil for 10-15 minutes.
Drain out extra water and cut the gattas into small pieces. |
|
| |
| Ingredients for Kadhi : |
| Sour Curd |
: |
|
2 cups |
| |
|
|
|
Gram Flour (Besan) |
: |
|
1 tsp |
| |
|
|
|
| Curry Leaves |
: |
|
8-10 |
| |
|
|
|
| Cumin Seeds (Jeera) |
: |
|
½ tsp |
| |
|
|
|
| Mustard Seeds |
: |
|
½ tsp |
| |
|
|
|
Asafetida |
: |
|
2 pinches |
| |
|
|
|
Turmeric Powder(Haldi) |
: |
|
¼ tsp |
| |
|
|
|
| Red Chili Powder |
: |
|
1 tsp |
| |
|
|
|
Green Chilies (Slit) |
: |
|
2-3 |
| |
|
|
|
| Ghee / Oil |
: |
|
1 tbsp |
| |
|
|
|
| Salt |
: |
|
to taste |
| |
|
|
|
Green Coriander to garnish |
| |
|
| |
| Method : |
Beat curd, gram flour (besan) and 1 cup water. Heat ghee in a pan, add all dry spices for kadi (Season as in a tadka). Pour the beaten curd-gramflour (besan) mixture. Stir mixture till it boils, add gattas. Let it boil for 10 minutes.
Garnish with finely chopped green coriander leaves. |
|
|
| |
