Somnath Da's Kimbegunti, Inspired Begun Pora Mashed with Killer Keema

When Somnath RoyChoudhury is not thinking “ads”, he is  the muse for many food lovers all across the world.

Somnath and I were perhaps destined to meet, albeit online. He has immense knowledge about Bengali cuisine, particularly of the northern region of Bengal, and shares not just recipes, but little known facts about ingredients and recipes with a no-holds bar attitude.

Somnath Da, as he is lovingly called by many of his foodie friends stumbled upon this recipe of Bengali Begun Pora with Mince Meat while he was spring cleaning. This recipe was originally published more than 20 years ago by Anandabazar Patrika and belongs to Sujata Gangopadhyay.

The original recipe by Sujata Gangopadhyay asks for the brinjal/eggplant to be roasted by poking holes in it and stuffing the cooked keema (mince meat) in it. Then these inserts in the brinjal were plugged with garlic pods. Both Somnath and I skipped this step. Instead we have stuck with the more popular method of fire roasting our begun/eggplant/brinjal/aubergine/baingan!

Apparently, “Kimbegunti” is a pun derived from the Bengali word “Kingbodonti” which means legend. Also, if you look closely, you will see that the main ingredients of this dish are hidden in its name – Kim-Begun-ti.

Ingredients for Kimbegunti are:

For the roasted eggplant/begun pora

2 mid-size, light dark purple eggplant (about 750 grams) (Read how to choose an eggplant)
2 medium size ripe, red tomatoes
Few green chillies, woven on wooden skewers
2-3 tablespoons raw mustard oil 
Salt

Slice the eggplant lengthwise till its stem/head, making sure you do not separate the two halves. Fire roast the eggplant till its mushy.

Fire roast the tomatoes whole till the skin is charred and the tomatoes are mushy.

The green chillies can be fire-roasted while the tomatoes are being done. Just get enough char on the chillies and keep whole.

For the keema/mince meat 

300 grams mince meat (Somnath da used chicken, I used beef, the original recipe has goat mince)
1 medium size red onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 tablespoon chopped green chillies
1 teaspoon freshly ground garam masala powder (Black and green cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves)
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 heaped tablespoon fresh coriander paste (leaves and stem)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt, whisked with a couple of spoons of water
1 tablespoon fennel/mota mauri powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Kashmiri lal mirch/red chilli powder
Half teaspoon black pepper powder
Juice of one lime
2 bay
2 tablespoons mustard oil
Fresh coriander leaves finely chopped for garnish
Quarter teaspoon sugar
Salt

While the eggplant, tomatoes and green chillies are getting fire roasted, marinate the mince meat with the black pepper powder, lime juice and salt. About 30 minutes should suffice.

Heat mustard oil a thick pan. Add the sugar and let it caramelize. Now add the chopped red onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, bay and freshly powdered garam masala. Cook these ingredients on low-medium heat till they get coated with the garam masala and start releasing oil. Now add the ginger-garlic paste. Cook for some more time till the raw paste gets caramelized and turns light brown.

At this point, add the mince meat. Crank the heat up and brown the meat. Add the coriander powder, turmeric and red chilli powder.

Cook on medium heat for 5-6 minutes till you see oil surface on the sides. Turn the heat off and let the mince meat cool down a bit. Now add the coriander paste, whisked yogurt and fennel powder. Mix well and cook covered on very low heat lest the yogurt curdles.

Season with more salt if necessary. Remember that we had already added salt when we were marinating our mince meat. Cook the mince meat till the oil separates. Do a taste test and adjust accordingly.

Remove the charred skin from the eggplant and tomatoes as soon as they are warm enough to handle with your hands. The fire-roasted vegetables will also release a lot of juices as they sit in a bowl, make sure you have saved and used all that goodness.

Mash together the smoked eggplant and tomatoes with mustard oil and salt.

I did not mash the green chillies and kept them whole to be added at the end. Mix the eggplant-tomato mash to the cooked mince meat. Mix well, zing it up with some more raw mustard oil if you like it that way. Sprinkle some chopped coriander and mix that in.

DO NOT cook the eggplant with the mince meat now. The Kimbegunti is now ready to be eaten with fluffy rotis/chapatis. I added some sliced onions as well to my finished Kimbegunti.

Kalyani’s Mint and Tamarind Chutney

Kalyani and I have known each other for a very, very long time. She was that protector everybody needs. Especially if you have nosy siblings who go about snooping in your precious secret diary!

She is someone I can call any time of the day or night and pour my heart out. Most times she’d listen patiently. But there have been times she has hung up on me. Times I have been completely out of line with her. And I hang my head in shame for that.

But I know, she forgives. But never forgets. So every time she gets a chance, she reminds me that I have a daughter too!

That’s my Mother. Kalyani. Whose recipes I share here. The do-gooder. The pillar of strength for our family. She is just like this chutney – smooth with things around her, sweet and a mix of tang when it comes to handling people. And the memory of her mint-like freshness. Especially when she came out of the shower smelling like Pears soap. I use Pears too, especially when I miss my Mother. It makes me smell like her. Feel like her.

Okay, coming back to this Mint and Tamarind Chutney which was part of our meals during many summer days.

Its important you use the ingredients mentioned, and NOT substitute jaggery/gur with sugar or tamarind with lemon juice. That will make it an altogether different chutney. And you know how unkind I am to people who tamper with a good recipe!

Ingredients for Kalyani’s Mint and Tamarind Chutney are:

250 grams bunch of fresh mint, leaves torn, stems discarded (use the stems to plant in moist soil for new leaves to sprout)
Handful of green chillies (the real hot ones)
100 grams good-quality jaggery/gur
2 heaped tablespoons tamarind pulp (I use from the jar available in desi grocery stores)
Salt

In a blender add the mint leaves, green chillies, jaggery, tamarind pulp and salt. Give it a whizz, add very little water to get a smooth chutney consistency. Give it a taste test and add jaggery or tamarind or salt if needed.

This chutney will be dark in color, almost like a dark knight coming to kiss your soft face. And the taste will be a burst of mint (of course!) and sweet and sour. With adequate heat. We have the Mint and Tamarind Chutney with Kebabs or Pakoras. Its awesome with some dal-chawal too.

This is how I made an instant beef kebab to go with this chutney.

Mix together some minced red onion, chopped mint and coriander leaves, freshly grated grated ginger, chopped green chillies to the lean ground beef. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper, pound well and keep for 10 minutes.

Make small balls with the meat mixture, flatten as patties and shallow fry in olive oil for about four minutes on each side.

Serve hot with my Mum’s Mint and Tamarind Chutney.

You can store this chutney in a clean, glass jar in the fridge for up to a week.

Mutton Goli Kebab Photoshoot

The recipe for Mutton Goli Kebab is here.

So I Made Quesadilla…With a Desi Touch

Little bit of your own adaptation to “foreign” recipes goes a long way. Here is what I did to a Mexican staple. I added my recipe of mince meat and did what everybody else does, serve the Quesadilla with some sour cream, guacamole and fresh salsa.

I cooked the filling for the Quesadilla with some chopped onions, cumin seeds, black pepper powder and ginger-garlic-green chilli paste.

The filling between the tortillas was this cooked mince meat, some sliced green bell pepper, green onions, and fresh coriander. And of course, the grated cheddar.

I used a heavy kettle to keep on top of the Quesadilla to get the cheese sticking perfectly between the tortillas. And I did not use any oil either. The mince meat had enough fat/oil to start oozing out into the pan and coat and toast the tortillas.

That’s my maiden attempt at making a Quesadilla. And I must admit that I have this deep and undying urge to break into a salsa because it was so good.

This Friday so far is turning out to be good and healthy! Its another story that the two and a half of us are taking a break from some Spring cleaning – while the baby and the husband nap, I do a quick blog post.

Happy Friday!