Motka Halwai’s Alu-ka-Tarkari, That Sunday Morning Runny Potato Curry

I like to role-play in my kitchen. When I am not playing Nigella, I play more realistic characters, like Motka Halwai, the neighbourhood sweet-maker from my life in Patna.

No one knew his name. Perhaps he had a sexy name like Raj, or Rohan, or Shahrukh. But somehow those names do not quite go with his personality or the way he looked like. Hence, we shall call him Motka Halwai (Hindi for Fat Sweet-maker).

Motka Halwai was 300 kilos of pure adipose. Dripping sweat in his shabby dhoti and ganji-vest, which probably had seen whiter days.  Sitting cross-legged on a wooden platform, which did not quite look like it could withstand the beast of burden any longer. Rolling out hundreds of kachoris every morning, ladling piping hot alu-ka-tarkari in tiny sal-leaf bowls. Dextrously making crispy, spiralled jalebis, dripping with sugar syrup. That is a picture I have lived with for the last three decades. And it has been a torture of sorts.

Motka Halwai was my childhood superhero. He possibly is the only superhero with the underwear in place.

I can say that I have been successfully been able to replicate his alu-ka-tarkari taste here in TO, with some long-distance help from the Mother.

Ingredients for Motka Halwai’s Alu-ka-Tarkari are:

8-10 medium size potatoes, halved and cut into quarters, retain the skin
2-3 tablespoons chana dal/Bengal gram, soaked in water for a couple of hours and sieved
One tablespoon coriander powder
Half teaspoon red chilli powder
One teaspoon turmeric powder
One teaspoon panch phoron (five whole spices mixed together in equal quantities – celery seeds, fennel seeds, cumin, Nigella seeds and fenugreek seeds)
5-6 dry whole red chillies
2-3 tablespoons mustard oil
One and a half cups water
Salt

Start by heating oil in a pressure pan. Add the whole dry red chillies and panch phoron seeds. Let them splutter for a few seconds.

Add the quartered potatoes and the chana dal and mix well. Cook these ingredients for about 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Now add the coriander powder, red chilli powder and turmeric and mix everything up. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add water and salt. Bring to a boil and pressure cook till 1-2 whistles go off.

Serve Motka Halwai’s runny potato curry with kachoris or luchi. You can also fantasize about his absolutely indomitable waist circumference. It is pretty exciting if you mix it with the idea of a man cooking for you.

Homemade Shami Kebabs

I realised this recipe was lying on my Notes section on my Facebook page. So here it is, a recipe that has been handed down to me by my Mum.

Ingredients for Homemade Shami Kebabs are:

400 grams mince meat (beef or goat); please do not use extra lean meat, it’s not good to make kebabs
Half cup chana dal
3-4 cloves of garlic
3-4 black cardamoms (not to be replaced with green!)
15-20 whole black peppercorns
2 cups water

Pressure cook all the above ingredients up to two whistles and keep. Once it cools down, drain the liquid in a colander and rest for 20-30 minutes, till the meat has no extra liquid.

Now take this mixture in portions and grind in a blender. This mixture should be still coarse between your fingers.

In the meat mixture, add the following:

1 small red onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 inch root ginger, finely minced
Handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
A few green chilies, finely chopped (reduce the number if kids are eating)
1 large egg (two if small)
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2-3 tablespoons Sattu (optional)
Salt

Mix everything together with your hands. Almost pounding the meat and the raw ingredients together. Make small ping-pong size balls with the meat mixture, flatten each between the palms of your hand and keep aside.

Heat a pan until very hot; add canola/vegetable/mustard oil until smoking. Slide in each kebab patty into the oil. Since the kebabs have egg in it, the oil will foam up.

Let the kebabs turn golden brown on each side, give at least 2-3 minutes on high flame on each side before you remove the kebabs. Drain excess oil on paper towels.

Serve with salad and green chutney.

Chholar Dal and Radhabollobi

Okay people, the party is over and so is the weekend. Ma Durga has gone back to her husband’s home, leaving behind a pall of gloom over all Bengalis.

Monday too is staring right in the face and I am pretty grumpy. Well, not exactly that, but definitely cranky, but that is my usual personality. After a torrid weekend I now want to get back to normal life, which means I also have to update PreeOccupied.

Today its going to be another Bengali classic – Radhabollobi and Chholar Dal, usually Radhabollobi is served with Alu Dom, the recipe for which is here.

Radhabollobi is luchi or puri stuffed with a kalair dal or urad dal filling. These deep-fried delights are usually made during special occasions like weddings and festivals. I did it for the Ashtami lunch.

Chholar Dal is Bengali for Chana Dal (or Bengal Gram), cooked in little pieces of fresh coconut. Most Bengali homes cook Chholar Dal this way and its good with either the Bengali Pulao or Luchi or even some plain white rice on an ordinary day.

Ingredients for Chholar Dal are:

1 cup Bengal gram/ Chholar Dal
Quarter cup finely chopped fresh coconut + Half tablespoon grated coconut
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1-2 slit green chilies
One small piece of cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 black cardamom
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoon melted ghee
Sugar
Salt

Wash the Dal, keep a cup of water in it. I usually keep it soaked in water for 10-15 before cooking.

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom and green chilies. Sauté for a few seconds and add the Chana dal with enough water to cover the dal.

Add the ginger paste, turmeric powder, pieces of coconut, sugar and salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until 3-4 whistles of the pressure cooker go off, making the dal and the coconut tender but not mushy.

The consistency of the Chholar Dal should be thick and not runny, and also a little on the sweeter side.

Garnish the Chholar Dal with some grated coconut. Now for the Radhabollobi!

Ingredients for Radhabollobi are:

For the filling:
Half cup Urad dal, soaked overnight, wet ground coarsely
2 teaspoons ginger paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Quarter teaspoon hing or asafetida powder
2 tablespoons Canola or Mustard oil
Salt

Heat mustard oil in a pan, add the asafetida powder and the ground dal, ginger paste, turmeric and chili powder. Keep frying the mixture till the dal loses the raw flavor and is cooked. It will get lumpy and tend to stick to the pan, its important the cooking is done on low heat.

Once all the extra moisture dries up, season with salt. Let it cool.

For the luchi/puri

2 cups all purpose flour/maida
1-2 tablespoon canola oil
Oil for deep frying
Pinch of salt

Knead a tight-looking dough with the maida, a couple of spoons of oil and little water. Keep it covered with a moist kitchen towel for 10 minutes. Knead again to make the dough smooth to work with.

Heat oil for deep frying in a wok.

Roll out little discs with small portions of the dough. Take a spoonful of the dal mixture and place it at the center of the dough disc.

Purse the disc to make a ball with the mixture inside it. Roll it out again till the sides are even. Roll a few out before you deep fry them.

Glide each disc into the hot oil and pat with a jhanjhra or a slotted spoon to fluff them up. Turn and fry the other side till both sides are done and look golden on each side.

Remove the Radhabollobi with the slotted spoon, drain excess oil on paper towels. Serve hot with Chholar Dal and Alu Dom.

The result – a very festive-looking meal and an entry to Patty’s Weekend Wrap Up Party.

Dhokar Dalna

Bengalis are pretty divided between Ghoti|Bangal, Kancha Lonka|Shukno Lonka, Dalna|Jhaal, Mohun Bagan|East Bengal, and not to mention their use of sugar in everyday cooking.

If it makes any sense to you, I am a Ghoti with strong leanings towards Bangal cuisine. But I will keep it West Bengal here today with this traditional Dhoka’r Dalna. Essentially a curry made out of ground Bengal Gram/ Chana Dal fritters.
This is a vegetarian recipe I grew up on. Its my first time and hopefully not the last. This recipe is pretty involved and needs three steps to reach to the final dish.

The ingredients for Dhoka’r Dalna are:

2 cups Bengal Gram/ Chana Dal/ Cholar Dal soaked overnight
1 large ripe tomato chopped
2 medium size potatoes skin off diced
4-5 green chilies slit
3-4 tablespoons ginger paste
1 teaspoon asafetida powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
2-3 teaspoons red chili powder
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 teaspoons black pepper powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
Oil, vegetable or mustard
Sugar
Salt

Grind the soaked dal to something in between a fine to coarse consistency, adding very little water.   In a non-stick pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil and add the asafetida powder and then ground dal. Add 2 tablespoons ginger paste, 1 teaspoon each of red chili and turmeric powder. Season with salt and sugar. We do not need to fry this mixture, but just cook till the raw taste of the lentils disappear.
Spread this dal mixture on a clean dinner plate while its hot. Evenly spread it out with a flat wooden spoon. Let it cool down. Cut square shapes or diamonds with a knife on the flattened dal mixture.
Heat half cup oil in a wok and deep fry the dal squares/ diamonds till they are nice and crispy. Almost golden brown.
In the remaining oil, lightly fry the diced potatoes.
Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf and let it temper for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes. Let them release all the juices, a little help with the back of a spoon will only do them good.
Once the tomato is getting mushy, add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder and the garam masala powder. Add 2 tablespoon ginger paste and keep stirring. All this needs low heat and patience. When you see the spices all mixed up nice, add the slit green chilies. Add enough water which can later drench the dal badas and the already fried potatoes. Add the potato cubes once you see the gravy of tomato and spices boiling. Let them cook for till they get soft. Add the fried dal squares. Cook them till they soak some of the juices. Season with salt and sugar. The Dhoka’r Dalna is a balance of sweet and savory, so adjust the taste accordingly.
The Dhoka’r Dalna is a part of a traditional Bengali spread, usually an all-vegetarian fare. Serve it with white rice and a smear of desi ghee.