Monday, November 29, 2010

Chire-Koraishuti, Unbeatable Bowl of Beaten Rice and Green Peas

IMG_3287_1

There is nothing fashionable about a bowl of Chire-Koraishurti. Even if you dress it up in a crystal bowl, it cannot make it to a food magazine. But it does have a reputation of making a sneaky entry to your tummy through the doorway of your heart. So here I am writing about something so mundane like fried beaten rice (chire) and sautéed green peas (koraishuti) with an out-of-this-world enthusiasm.

IMG_3275_1 Mention the two words Chire and Koraishuti in the same sentence, and you will have three generations of women in my family melting to the sights and sounds of beaten rice and green peas in the middle of winter. My 82-year-old Grandmother thinks it is so good, she can take it intravenously.

IMG_3272-1 
Ingredients for Chire-Koraishuti are:

One and half cups beaten rice/ chire/chura/poha
500 grams green peas, frozen or fresh
2-3 green chilies, broken from the center
2 tablespoons mustard oil (for the peas)
Canola oil for deep frying (the beaten rice)
Pinch of black pepper powder
Some finely chopped red onion
Sugar
Salt

Heat the mustard oil in a sauté pan, add the green chilies, let them splutter for a few seconds and then add the green peas. Season with sugar, salt and the pinch of black pepper.

IMG_3277

Mix well, and cook covered till the peas are done. Do not overcook or dehydrate the peas. It doesn't take much time for the tender peas to become hard, inedible pellets.

IMG_3278IMG_3284
Now for the Chire/ beaten rice. Heat Canola (or vegetable) oil to almost smoking, its best to use a wok. Scatter a handful of the beaten rice evenly in the oil. Do not overcrowd the wok. The beaten rice will immediately rise to the occasion, they will fluff up and become snow white in color. Almost within seconds.

IMG_3285 Remove immediately with a slotted spoon and drain excess oil on paper towels. If you want, season with a pinch of salt.

IMG_3291IMG_3293 IMG_3292 Serve the koraishuti bhaja on a bed or chire bhaja and top it with some finely chopped onions. Eat immediately.

IMG_3294 I like to have my Chire-Koraishuti in silence, listening to the crunch of the beaten rice. I also like to squish the green chilies which were cooked with peas with the back of my spoon into the peas, they add a whole lot of flavor in my mouth. A hot mug of chai is purely optional but extremely necessary on a cold winter day.

P.S. If you want bowls, mugs, tableware, etc. from CSN Stores, participate in the giveaway I am hosting this month. Hurry, the Holidays are almost here.

16 comments:

GB said...

Oh! we have it like poha---not fried chidwa.....I make matar poha for saturday /sunday brunch---I like one- pot dishes that are satisfying and relatively healthy......

your matars look yummo!

Satrupa said...

Delicious !! We prepare something very similar and add fried onions, curry leaves and roasted peanuts to the poha to temper it.

Cheers,
Satrupa

Priya Suresh said...

Pohe and green peas looks fabulous..

Bong Mom said...

Eita ki bhalo lage na. Ami o Satrupa'r moton ektu bhaja peyaj ar shukno lanka diy chire te
Tumi kemon acho ? Mail koro

Anonymous said...

Oh..thanks for reminding me of this..one of my neighbours from Bihar used to make this while I used to go to her house for tea.Its so tasty with sips of tea!

My Kitchen Antics said...

those are really cute bowls u have served them in :)

Kuntala said...

ei Pree, ei recipe ta ghyama......:)

aipi said...

Its hard to imagine but of all the snacks in the world out there, simple or exotic, this one is always my top favorite. I really like your bowls!

US Masala

Scribbler :) said...

I must...no, I WILL try this. Thankee :)

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

Apurbo!...Our most fav one on a crispy wintry late afternoon/evening...:)

Anonymous said...

A lovely simple dish....cheeray bhaja is one of my favorites too, to combat gloomy, raining evenings...
This koraishuti addition is pretty new to me....what about adding a pinch of asafoetida?
In my house, oil is heated,mustard/cumin seed are added, chopped green chillies are added, fried till crisp and browned,then some fresh curry leaves are added, fried and then the cheeray is tipped in....after being fried for some time, the flame is turned off, and some lemon juice and ground peppercorns are added....and then had by all.
I am definitely going to try this one as you say. Thanks for bringing back the joys of simple ghoroa khabar in Bengali homes....

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

amader barite maa sabsamay ei type er akta snacks banie rakhe peyaj, lanka die. jar jakhaon khushi jamon khushi baki jinish pare mishie nay.
between Arusuvai te tumio participate korte paro. ekhane tomar Indian address e (tomar parents ba in-laws) package pathano jabe. tabe why dont you start it in Canada? last bar e USA e te khub sucessful hoechilo.

sangeeta said...

My husband loves this and i prefer the poha like chiwda matar ( a banaras specialty ) .
We had it first time at a bong friend's place n my husband has hooked to it since then .. i know how yummy it is but the chira soaks oil like sponge.

Purba said...

I have it it with Muri...the pics look delicious!
No bhaaja moshla?

PreeOccupied said...

@GB and Sangeeta, we Bengalis have a poha version we call Chirer Pulao. Maybe someday I will post that to dispel beliefs about the oil-slick Chire Bhaja.

@Satrupa, my Aunt who lives in Bombay makes a similar mixture, sans the fried onions though. More on the lines of the Gujarati Chivda.


@BongMom, yes, we do the shukno lonka bhaja with the Chire when we eat it with fried peanuts.

@Sinfully, a lot of my Bihari friends used to get this combination in their "tiffin", I also like it with fried hara chana.

@Open Book, Priya, Aipi, Scribbler, and Kuntala, thank you!

@Amarnath, there is no one way about making any dish. Especially in Indian homes. I shared with you here how its done in my family.

@Sayantani, yes my Mum in law does that, I love it as an evening snack.

@Purba, no, no bhaja moshla in this one.

notyet100 said...

this reminds me of home,..;-)