Homemade Bhoger Khichudi and Labra

The Bengali knows when Durga Puja is in the air. The air she breathes starts smelling of Balsams and Marigolds. The morning sun she basks in is a glorious hue of gold, and the evenings are nippy.

In between the glory and the nip, she makes trips to Suleiman Tailor to haggle with masterji for not giving her halter neck blouse the right fit. She then rushes to Fabindia to get her husband a new kurta in royal blue for Ashtami. She knows he will wear it just once, but what the heck. He too needs new clothes, which are ethnic.

Far, far away, about seven thousand miles West of this Bengali is another Bengali who is terribly homesick, cursing the Fall chill, trying to keep her home warm with colors, candles and the flavor of Durga Puja delicacies like Khichudi and Labra along with Tomator Chaatney.

Now, khichudi, labra chorchori, tomato chutney and chaaler payesh are the essential items which are offered to Goddess Durga as Bhog (food offerings). They are always made by Brahmins (not necessarily cooks) and the Goddess gets it first. When the Mother Goddess is done “eating”, it is then shared with her children (us mortals).

Anyone who has had Bhog will say you cannot re-create those flavors and taste at home. Which is exactly the truth. Bhog is special because it is the God’s food, its marked by purity and dedication you put in the process of cooking. The methods are simple and the ingredients even simpler.

Ingredients for Bhoger Khichudi are:

1 cup Basmati rice, washed and sieved
Half cup yellow mung dal
2 medium size, ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 medium size potatoes, peeled and diced
Half a cauliflower, flowerets separated
Half cup green peas
1 heaped tablespoon of ginger paste
Half tablespoon green chili paste
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
Half teaspoon garam masala powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 black cardamoms
1 small stick of cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons ghee
Sugar
Salt

Dry roast the mung dal on low heat until the kernels are lightly browned. Keep an eye on it, as the dal may burn easily. Keep it separate.

Heat oil in a thick pan, add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, cardamoms, and cinnamon. Sauté for a few seconds. Now add the cauliflower and potatoes. Get some color on them by frying them on medium-high heat for five minutes. Add the rice and mix well. Now add the spices – red chili, turmeric, coriander, cumin powders and the ginger and green chili paste. Mix everything well.
Add the roasted dal, chopped tomatoes and the peas. Pour enough water to cover all the ingredients. Season with salt and sugar.

Let it cook on medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, stir continuously. If you need to add more water, please do so. The Khichudi should not have to be dry, it should have a porridge-like consistency. Turn the heat off when the vegetables are cooked. Sprinkle garam masala powder and a little more ghee. Mix well again.

You will now have a home cooked Bhoger Khichudi which might just suffice if you have no changes of having the original Bhog this year.

The Bhoger Khichudi should be served with this mishmash of vegetables called Labra. An authentic Labra recipe has seasonal vegetables like sojne data, raw banana and sweet potato, but I made it with vegetables which were easy to find in a supermarket.

Ingredients for Labra are:

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
Half a cauliflower, cut into flowerets
1 medium size eggplant, cubed
200 grams pumpkin or pepper squash, peeled and cubed
250 grams spinach, thoroughly washed and coarsely chopped
2-3 green chilies, broken from the middle
1 teaspoon paanch phoron
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 bay leaves
3-4 tablespoons mustard oil
Sugar
Salt

Heat mustard oil in a big pan, add the paanch phoron, bay leaves and broken green chilies. Sauté for 20-30 seconds and then add the hardy vegetables first – potato, pumpkin, cauliflower and eggplant.

Fry the vegetables on medium heat, till they get coated with the oil and paanch phoron. Add the turmeric powder. When the vegetables settle down in the pan a bit, add the chopped spinach, sugar (about 1 teaspoon) and salt. Cover and cook.

The salt will help the vegetables release water by this time. Keep mixing everything well and make sure the spices do not stick at the bottom of the pan. Add a little water if needed. Finish cooking when the vegetables are a little mushy. 

The Labra should have a thick gravy clinging to the vegetables.
Hope you are liking the ongoing Durga Puja celebrations on PreeOccupied. Please leave your feedback and comments here on what recipes you’d like to see during this festive month. Or send in your family recipes and watermarked photos at preeoccupied@yahoo.com.

Borbotir Chorchori

I don’t know how to cook Borboti any other way, except for the traditional Bengali Chorchori.

Borboti/ Barbarti is a summer vegetable, the rest of the world calls it Yard Long Bean or Runner Bean and sometimes even Asparagus Beans.

A Borbotir Chorchori is a great side which opens up a lunch paired with a bowl of daal and rice. I found my bunch of Borboti in a Chinese grocery store. Lesson# 437: Borboti is NOT just a Bengali vegetable. The Chinese call it cheung kong tau or dau gok.

Ingredients for Borbotir Chorchori are:

250 grams long yard beans, ends chopped off and cut into roughly two inch pieces
2 medium size potatoes, cut in cubes
A cup of diced pumpkin/ buttercup squash
A cup of diced eggplant
3-4 green chilies, broken from the middle
Mustard oil
1 tablespoon paanch phoron
Half tablespoon yellow mustard powder
Half tablespoon turmeric powder
Half tablespoon red chili powder
Sugar
Salt

Heat oil in a wok and sauté each type of vegetable separately. Keep aside.

In the same oil, add paanch phoron and the green chilies. Let them splutter for a few seconds, then add the already sautéed vegetables. Add all the spices, season with salt and sugar and mix well. Sauté for another couple of minutes.
Pour enough water to drench the vegetables, cover and cook. It should take about 15 minutes on medium heat to cook the vegetables. If water remains, cook uncovered for a few more minutes till there is hardly any water. In Bengali, we call this consistency makho-makho where only the extra moisture is made to evaporate. Yet it does not leave the dish parched.

How do you cook your Borboti?

Sōjnē Dãtā Chorchori

Sōjnē Dãtā is Bengali for Saijhan, Sajna or Drumsticks (Moringa oleifera). Its essentially a summer “vegetable”, where the local bazaar would get these fresh-looking, juicy pods packed with vitamins, calcium, and other important nutrients.

But nutrients are not exactly the reason I got these juicy Sōjnē Dãtā and made a Chorchori out of them, even though I did not have all the ingredients at home. Traditional Chorchori will have a medley of vegetables and greens, sometimes even fish head.

My constant cravings had me dreaming about Dãtā almost twice in one week. And a trip to the Bangladeshi store in Danforth helped me get my fill.

  Ingredients for Sōjnē Dãtā Chorchori are:

4 drumsticks, cut into two inch pieces
1 potato, peeled and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons mustard paste
1 tablespoon poppy seed paste
Half teaspoon paanch phoron
Half teaspoon turmeric powder
Half teaspoon red chili powder
1 bay leaf
Mustard oil
Sugar
Salt

Heat oil in a wok, toss the drumstick pieces in and sauté for a couple of minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

In the same oil, add the potatoes and get some color on them. Remove after 3-4 minutes. You can also add thinly cut eggplant and pumpkin to this dish. I did not have either!

Toss in the paanch phoron and bay leaf and sauté for a minute. Add the already sautéed vegetables, spices and the salt and sugar. Give everything a good mix, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Add enough water to cover the vegetables and cover. Cook for enough time that the potatoes and drumsticks are done.

Check the seasoning and balance the sweet and salt. If too much water remains in the dish, just crank up the heat and cook for a few more minutes. 
Enjoy the juicy taste of this Drumstick chorchori with some plain rice. A dish like this is usually preceded by some daal and bhaja and then followed by a fish or mutton curry.

Ilish Maacher Matha Diye Pui Shaaker Chorchori

We Bongs pretty much eat every part of the fish, including its head!

The head of a fish (like Rohu and other fatty big fish) increases your vision and memory. Some heart associations wholeheartedly agree that the Omega-3 fatty acids or fish oil can control and reduce cardiovascular diseases or even diabetes. But you probably know all this already.

But did you know why Pui Shaak or Pohi Saag or Malabar Spinach qualifies as a “non-vegetarian green” in traditional Bengali homes? In olden times, widows had to voluntarily denounce many things immediately after the death of their husbands – including fish and meat. A custom I simply abhor but thankfully it is fading out now. Pui Shaak for whatever reason was also listed for the Bengali widows to give up. I am still looking for a logical (sic!) reason if at all, why?! If you do happen to know the answer, please share it here.

The head of Ilish Maach or Hilsa fish is a celebrated favorite among Bengalis, although unlike its cousin Rohu, its head is not meaty but renowned for its flavor and taste.

Our trip to the Bangladeshi store in Danforth is mostly marked by the Ilish Maach we get, a Pôdda import. Which invariably is either fried or made into Ilish Maacher Paturi. But today I made a very traditional mish-mash of Pui Shaak and vegetables with the Ilish head (with a couple of small pieces of fish thrown in).

Ingredients for Pui Shaaker Chorchori with Ilish Maach (Pui Greens Medley with Hilsa Head) are:

1 head of Hilsa fish, halved and cleaned
400 grams pui green/Malabar Spinach, coarsely chopped and washed thoroughly
1 radish, the size of your arm, skin removed and cut into cubes
250 grams pumpkin, diced
2 medium size potatoes, skin removed and cubed
2 Chinese eggplant (the long thin ones) cut in cubes
Few green chilies broken from the middle
2 teaspoons panch phoron
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds ground in a smooth paste (I also throw in a couple of green chilies)
2 teaspoons red chili powder
2 + half teaspoons turmeric powder
Mustard oil
Sugar
Salt

Rub turmeric and a little salt to to the fish head. Heat mustard oil in a wok. Fry the fish in it cooking it for 1-2 minutes on each side. Keep aside.
In the same oil, add the panch phoron and the green chilies. Sauté for a couple of minutes, till the spices get fragrant.
I start by adding the hardy vegetables first into the oil just so that everything cooks evenly.
So the order I follow is potatoes first, followed by pumpkin, radish, and eggplant.
Keep sautéing the vegetables on medium-high flame.

After about five minutes of cooking the vegetables, add the fried fish pieces/head, mustard paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, a tablespoon of sugar and salt to taste. Mix well till all the vegetables get coated with the spices. I also use my spatula to break the pieces of fish in the vegetables. Now throw in the greens and mix well. At this point, its okay to cover and cook. So that moisture builds in the wok and the greens start wilting.

I add a little water, maybe quarter cup to crank up the cooking process of the vegetables.

Check the seasoning of salt and sugar and balance it accordingly. The vegetables would have cooked by now but not too mushy.
This chorchori is eaten with plain rice. I served it with fried Ilish maach, its tel and deem, sprinkled with some salt and a big fat green chili.