Notun gurer payesh (Rice pudding or Kheer with date palm Jaggery)

While we adopted some of the western traditions like cutting cake at birthdays we have forgotten some of our very own. Bong moms always fed their children payesh on their birthday mornings. Generally served in silverware with loads of love. This is the payesh I always make for my daughter and this year was no exception.

In my childhood I used to never have payesh outside my home, as I never liked it in any other home. It took me some time to figure out why. There are 2 predominant ways to make payesh. I only like the method developed across border in Bangladesh (bangal payesh). The recipe below captures how my didu (grandma) and her daughters (my mom included) makes/made payesh. It’s more laborious but the fruit or payesh of labor is always sweeter.

Ingredients

1. 1 lit of full cream milk
2. 50 gm. of gobindobhog rice or kaala-jeera rice
3. 100gms of sugar
4. 50-100 gm. of khejur-gur (date palm jaggery) depending on your sweetness.

Procedure

Wash the rice, drain and keep aside.

Pour milk in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil. When it starts boiling add pre- washed rice to it and start stirring. You have to stir it continuously to prevent scalding at bottom as it thickens.

During the entire process you have to control the heat intermittently so the milk doesn't boil over. Wait till the rice gets cooked before you add sugar. It normally takes 30-40 mins for the rice on a medium heat to get cooked.

By this time the milk will change its color from milky white to a rich ivory. Once the rice is done add sugar**. The moment you add sugar the milk will loose its thickness. You need to cook it and stir continuously so that it regains its previous thickness.

When the milk is thickened to its right consistency turn off the heat. Wait for about five minutes to allow the payesh to cool down a bit (make sure you keep stirring during this time as well to prevent the formation of skin on top) and then add the jaggery depending on your sweetness level. Serve hot or cold.

I internationally omitted spices and nuts (like cardamom, cashew, raisins, etc.) This recipe allows you to enjoy the richness of the jaggery and doesn’t let the spices mask it’s flavor.

**TIP: Adding sugar before the rice is boiled, hampers the process of rice being cooked properly so add sugar only when the rice is well done.

Now get some remedy for your sore wrist, you’ll need it with all the stirring.

Borbotir tarkari or Asparagus bean curry

In a traditional bong meal it’s common to have a mixed vegetable as a second or third course (following the initial bitter course). The vegetables chosen are seasonal. Today I am sharing one of these panch-meshali recipes using Asparagus-bean, eggplant, pumpkin and potatoes.

Ingredients

1. 1 bunch borboti/ long bean
2. 200gms pumpkin cut into large cubes
3. 2 medium sized potato cut into wedges
4. 1 medium eggplant cut into large cubes as shown in photograph
5. 2,3 green chilies
6. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
7. Asfoetida (Hing)
8. 1 tsp. paanch-phoron (available in Indian stores)
9. Salt
10. Sugar
11. Mustard oil

Procedure

Heat 2-3 tsp. of oil in a kadai and temper it with paanch-phoron, slitted green chilies and a pinch of asfoetida.

Once the spices start popping, add the hardy vegetables first followed by the relatively softer ones. It will ease the process of uniform cooking of the vegetables.

Now add turmeric powder, salt and sugar. Fry on low heat for a while till all the vegetables are well coated with spices. Now cook it covered till the vegetables are well done but not mushy. You may sprinkle little water if its required.

Serve with hot rice.

Grandmom's Tetor Dal (Yellow Moong dal with Bottlegourd and Bittergourd)

Traditional bong meal is multi-course (around 7) and starts with a bitter food. The idea is that this bitter food cleanses the system and gets the taste buds ready for the good stuff follows. One of those first courses is tetor daal.

My didu (grandmom) used to make the best tetor daal. My mashi (aunt) tried (and still is trying) to match her moms finesse in this dish.

Ingredients

• 1 cup split yellow moong dal
• 1 bitter gourd or karela cut into thin round or half moon slices
• Half bottle gourd/ lauki cut into medium sized chunks as shown in the photographs
• 1/2 " ginger
• 3,4 bay leaves
• For tempering 1/2 tsp. of each of these following whole spices mixed together
  1. Radhuni/wild celery seeds
  2. Methi/fenugreek seeds
  3. Black mustard seeds
  4. Fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp. radhuni/wild celery seeds (in addition to the 1/2 spoon mentioned above)
• Ghee/clarified butter
• Salt
• Sugar

Procedure

Wash the moong dal and boil it along with bottle gourd pieces, bay leaves, pinch of salt and two cups of water.

In a grinder make a paste of radhuni and ginger.

Meanwhile heat oil in a wok or Kadai and fry the bitter gourd slices till they turn crispy. Remove and keep aside. Discard the oil.

Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in a kadai and temper with 2 tsp. of the whole spice mixture. Once the spices start sputtering add boiled dal and fried bitter gourd. Let it simmer on medium heat for a minute.

Add ginger and radhuni paste to the boiling dal. Give a taste test and adjust salt and sugar accordingly.

Add a spoonful of ghee before you finish it off.

Note: In case you want to make this less bitter and want the little ones to also have it, add the fried bitter gourd at the very end.

Enjoy with steaming white rice and aloo-bhaja (Crispy fried potatoes).

Note Saag Posto (Amaranth with Poppy Seed)

Bottle gourd leaf and poppy seed paste makes for an excellent bong saak (or saag in general hinglish).

This post is about amaranth, then why am I referring to bottle gourd? The reason is because this dish is traditionally made with bottle gourd leaves/twigs. However, like a lot of things it is not available in US, so I replaced it with the nearest thing I could find. To my surprise amaranth turned out to be an excellent alternative, and if I may say so a better alternative.

In these days of pesticide overusage, remember to wash the leaves thoroughly in running water to remove as much as you can.

Ingredients

1. 1 bunch note saag / amaranth (I could easily find it in the local Indian store, you just need to know what its called. Note saag is not a notable name)
2. 1 large potato cut in wedges
3. 1 tsp. kalonji / nigella seeds
4. 3,4 green chilies slit length wise
5. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
6. 3,4 tbsp. of poppy seeds

Procedure

In a grinder make a smooth paste of the poppy seeds by adding very little water.

Clean the leaves and the soft stems and chop them. Wash it thoroughly under running water. Preferably do the washing  in a colander. It will help you to get rid of the mud and sand very easily.

Heat mustard oil in a pan and temper it with kalonji and green chilies. Once the spices start popping up add potato wedges and turmeric powder. Fry on medium high heat for a while. Now add chopped greens along with salt and a pinch of sugar. Once you add salt, the greens will start releasing water. Mix it well and cook it covered till the potato becomes soft. Be careful  about the quantity of the salt because the final volume of the dish will decrease to 1/4th of what you start with. So adjust accordingly.

Now add poppy seed paste and give it a nice mix. Wait till the water is completely dry. Finish it with a spoonful of raw mustard oil and enjoy with steamed hot rice.

Nolen Gur Rossogollar Payesh (Rasgulla and Date Palm Jaggery Kheer)

In our childhood all the local date palm trees were used to collect date palm sap during the early Winter months. Visiting sap collectors would climb up the trees, make cuts in them and then tie earthen pots below it for the sap to collect. Early in the morning around 4:30 a.m. we’d be awaken and offered the super sweet juice that gets collected. By mid-day the sap warmed by the sun would ferment and turn into pretty intoxicating stuff, something we never had access to :)

The same sap was then boiled in shallow vessels to turn them into the nolen guur or date palm jaggery. Date palm jaggery still remains a very season ingredient in bong dishes in spite of our independence from the seasonal supply of the jaggery.

Todays dish is a kheer or payesh made from Rasgulla and the jaggery. I found all of the ingredients from local Indian stores in the US.

Ingredients

1. 10 rasgulla or Rossogolla ( I have used canned ones and this is available even online Amazon link)
2. 1 lit full cream milk
3. 100 gm. of sugar
4. 50-100 gm. of nolen guur (Date palm jaggery). Amount depends on the sweetness you like.

Procedure

Drain out all the syrup from the canned rasgulla and gently squeeze each individual rasgulla to remove excess syrup from them.

Bring the milk to boil and test whether the jaggery is suitable or not. To test take half cup of boiled milk and add 1 spoon of jaggery to it. If it curdles your dish for the day is doomed as you cannot use that jaggery, if it doesn't go ahead.

Boil the milk till it is half its original quantity. During the entire cooking process you have to constantly stir it to avoid scalding. Add sugar to it and stir till sugar gets completely dissolved in milk.

Now do a taste test (how sweet it is) and add jaggery accordingly to the thickened milk. Wait till it dissolves. Very gently add rasgullas to the prepared milk and bring it to one boil. Turn off the heat and let it cool.

Your payesh is ready to be devoured.

Shammi Kebab with Mint Chutney (Minced meat and chana dal Patty)

This extremely popular kebab of Awadh, probably got its name from the word Sham which means evening in Hindi. So essentially it’s an evening snack. This goes amazingly well with some great single malt whiskey (this is inserted courtesy Mr.Bong).

Made from minced meat and chana dal these kebabs are round patties enriched with the flavor of garam masala, fresh mint and coriander leaves. Contrary to most other kebabs which are grilled, this is fried and hence easier to make.

Ingredients

1. For Boiling
   1. 200 gm. minced meat
   2. 50 gm. Bengal gram / chana dal soaked
   3. 1 tbsp. whole coriander
   4. 1 tbsp. black peppercorn
   5. 1 tbsp. white peppercorn
   6. 1 small onion chopped
   7. 5,6 cloves of garlic
   8. 1/2" ginger
   9. Salt to taste
2. For Grinding
   1. 2 tsp. garam masala powder (make your own as shown here)
   2. 2,3 green chilies
   3. Half cup chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
   4. Half cup chopped mint leaves
3. For Frying
   1. 1 egg beaten
   2. Ghee/clarified butter

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and fry chopped onion till they are light pink. Now add all ingredients listed under Boiling along with half a cup of water and cook on medium heat till all the water evaporates. Let it cool.

Add garam masala powder, chopped coriander and mint leaves and mix it well. 

Add the mixture into a grinder or food processor and grind into a fine paste. This paste should be little moist.

To make kebabs moisten your palms with little water and take about 2 tbsp ground meat mixture in your hand. Form a ball then slightly flatten it.

Heat ghee in a pan. Dip each patty/ kebab into the beaten egg and place into the ghee to shallow fry. Fry till both the sides are golden brown. Remove on paper towels to drain. Serve with green chutney.

Recipe For Green Chutney

1. 1 bunch mint leaves
2. 1 bunch coriander leaves/ cilantro
3. 5,6 cloves of garlic
4. 2,3 green chilies
5. Juice of one lime
6. 3,4 tbsp of plain curd/ yogurt

Grind all ingredients together into a food processor or grinder adding little water to make a thick sauce like consistency.

Keema Matar (Minced Meat with Peas)

Minced meat somehow doesn’t get the credibility it should. It’s pretty versatile and can be used for various curries and snacks.

The key part is to ensure that it’s not too minced. It should have enough texture for it to be enjoyed. In India I used to ensure that the local butcher actually hand minced it, instead of the machine minced powder that is commonly sold nowadays. However, in US I managed with what I get in the store :)

Ingredients

1. 200 gms keema (I used goat meat you can go ahead with lamb or beef)
2. Half cup peas (I used the frozen ones)
3. 1 large onion finely chopped
4. 1 large tomato coarsely chopped
5. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
6. 1 tsp. garlic paste
7. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
8. 1 tbsp. chili powder
9. 1 tsp. garam masala powder (make your own, see here)
10. Salt
11. Sugar

Procedure

In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients other than the peas, oil and garam masala powder.

Heat oil in a pan and transfer the above mixture. Fry it on a high heat for about 5 mins. The mixture should start releasing water. Cover and cook till it is almost dried. The meat should be done by this time.

Now add the frozen peas and cook for another one minute. If you are using fresh peas add along with  keema. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle garam masala powder and you are done.