Indiyeah–The Phuchka Man

Maacher Chop

I felt a pang of guilt caramelizing the onions for the Maacher Chop (Bengali Fish Croquettes) today. Apparently, people in India are reeling under the sky rocketing price of onions, yet again. If it makes you feel any better, I get two pounds of onions (about a kilo) for close to six dollars.

This Maacher Chop recipe is largely Uttara Ghosh’s. I have just made some cosmetic changes to it. Uttara was quick to come to my rescue when I requested for a recipe on Facebook. I have used Sole fish fillets, though traditionally Bengali Fish Chops are made with Rui or Kaatla maach. You can even use Tilapia like Satrupa and Sandeepa have.

Ingredients for Maacher Chop are:

400 grams fish fillet (use any white fish)
3-4 medium size potatoes, boiled and peeled
1 medium red onion, slivered fine
4-5 green chilies, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, made into a paste
1 small knob of ginger, grated
10 raisins
Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Half teaspoon garam masala powder
Quarter teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Half cup breadcrumbs 1 bay leaf
1 black cardamom
1 small stick of cinnamon
Canola or mustard oil
Sugar
Salt

In a saucepan, add the fish, bay leaf, turmeric, salt, cardamom and cinnamon. Pour enough water to cover all the ingredients. Cook this for 5-7 minutes on high, till the fish turns flaky. Discard the whole spices and drain the water. With a fork, mash the fish and keep.

 
Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil in a pan and add the slivered onions and fry them till they turn brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep in a bowl.

In the remaining oil, add the fish, raisins, garlic paste, ginger, red chili powder, garam masala powder, half teaspoon sugar and salt to taste. Mix well and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Transfer the fish mixture to the bowl of caramelized onions.

Now mash the boiled potatoes and add to the fish and onion mixture. Add chopped green chilies and coriander to it. Do a taste test before you season with salt. Pound all the ingredients well. You can start with a spoon, but end with your hand. That’s the most effective way to do it!

Take lemon-size balls of this mixture and shape into “chops” between the palms of your hands.

You can ready these and deep fry them just before serving. But make sure you cover them and refrigerate.

Heat oil in a wok, until almost smoking. Make a mixture with cornstarch and water and dip the chops in them first. Then roll each on a bed of breadcrumbs.

Uttara suggested I use slices of bread soaked in water and squeezed into the potato-fish mixture, which is a tried and tested method of “binding” chops and cutlets and prevent them from disintegrating while deep frying. But I did not have bread at home today. So I did what I have done for my Koraishuti’r Chop.

Deep fry each chop till they turn golden brown. Serve with ketchup or kasundi and onion rings when they are not 80 rupees a kilo!

Thank you, Uttara for this jewel of a recipe!

Jhalmuri, Jhalmuri!

My beliefs as a pre-teen were mostly based on fantasy. I made myself believe that I could live happily ever after with a Jhalmuri wala from our neighborhood. He was young, wore a clean dhuti, skinny, and most importantly, not married. He also whisked out the best Jhalmuri in town. His hands worked magic with the ingredients on his push cart. Chopping, cutting, mixing and tossing an array of items in a steel can, sizzling it all up with lavish drops of mustard oil and finishing off each serving with finely chopped fresh coriander. Perfection was his persona. And I was in awe.
 
One day I told my Mother about my infatuation.  I was all about 13, and learnt the word “entrepreneur” in English class. I realized it perfectly fit the description of my street-food crush.

Mother was slow to react to my precociously coherent longing of an entrepreneur jamai for her. Then one day she freaked out when she realized that I had given two measly pieces of sondesh to my crush. Things were escalated to my Father, who said he had lost all hope in me. He also feared I would elope with that fellow. That day I saw a look of dejected sadness on his face. With her cold, stony silence, even my little sister made me realize I was the family pariah and had no business either eating or longing for “junk”. Let alone marry one. My Dida said all this was bad for my health!

Today, I am happily married to a man who is neither an entrepreneur nor a jhalmuri wala. But loves this Calcutta street food with as much passion as I do. Much of our long-distance courtship was spent in talking about whether I knew how to make Jhalmuri, and if I could do it in Canada for my deprived fiancé.

Bengali cuisine is never complete without talking about Jhalmuri. Puffed rice has never been treated with so much respect and reverence, as it is in this anytime snack which has its origins in the streets of Bengal.

Mere handfuls of puffed rice (muri) is transformed into a perky bowl of intense flavors, often rapaciously devoured by anyone who can stomach some heat, some sour, some crunch and some raw shorshe tel (mustard oil).

Ingredients for Jhalmuri are:

2-3 handfuls of puffed rice/ muri
2-3 handfuls of Chanachur/ jhal dalmut as per your preference (make sure it has peanuts)
1-2 tablespoons roasted gram
1-2 tablespoons boiled red gram/ lal chola
1 medium boiled potato, peeled, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, very finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons cucumber, finely chopped
3-4 green chilies, finely chopped (do not add if you are making for kids)
1-2 tablespoons coconut, finely chopped (I did not have it at home, and did not add in this recipe)
Handful of finely chopped fresh coriander
Lemon juice
Drizzle of mustard oil
Pinch of red chili powder
1 teaspoon bhaja moshla
Half teaspoon chaat masala
Black salt

Keep your Jhalmuri station ready to avoid any last minute missing ingredients. I like to make little portions for individual persons based on their heat and spice quotients. The rule to Jhalmuri is to mix in the wet/raw ingredients in the end to prevent the muri from getting soggy and limp.

 
(If you are using muri which has been lying in your kitchen for some time and is not as crunchy as you’d like it to be, throw some in a bowl and microwave for under a minute to get its texture back.)

Okay, so now mix together the chanachur and muri along with the roasted gram and give it a toss. Add the spices and mix well. Check the seasoning, if your chanachur is quite salty already, go easy on the black salt.

Toss in the chopped onion, cucumber, boiled potato, red gram, green chilies, fresh coriander and few drops of mustard oil and lemon juice. Give it a good mix and serve immediately in paper cones or bowls. A cup of hot chai is most often enjoyed with this Jhalmuri. Make sure you share this with your friends, it just doubles up the whole experience.

Ram Laddu for Today’s Delhi Belles

If you have lived in Delhi, shopped at Lajpat Nagar Central Market and got yourself a salwar kameez for 500 bucks when the guy was asking for 750, then you owe yourself a treat. At the Ram Laddu slash Moong Dal pakore wala at the entrance of the market. Ram Laddu, absolutely no connection with Lord Rama is also fondly called Gulgule.

A road side hit with Delhi belles, these little fritters are deep fried batter of the yellow lentil called Moong, topped with shredded radish (daikon/mooli) and tangy green chutney.

Ingredients for Moong Dal Laddu or Ram Laddu or Gulgule are:

1 cup moong dal, soaked overnight or 6-8 hours
1 cup shredded radish
Green chutney (I used this recipe)
Quarter teaspoon red chili powder
Pinch of baking powder
Oil for frying
Chaat Masala
Salt

Coarsely grind the moong dal adding very little water. In a bowl, add the moong dal batter, red chili powder, baking powder and salt. Beat the batter with your hands till fluffy.

Heat oil in a wok. Start dropping little portions of the moong dal batter in the hot oil, about a teaspoon size. Fry them in batches. Turn midway and fry the pakoras till they are golden yellow in color. Drain excess oil on paper towels.

Serve the Ram Laddu on little platters topped with shredded radish, lavishly ladled with green chutney and sprinkled with Chaat Masala.

The Moong Dal is now ready from the edible mode to explode in your mouth, revolutionary taste!

Evergreen Alu-Matar Chaat

I have lived long enough in Delhi’s Green Park area to sample all of Evergreen’s fast and slow food.

Right from their mineral water-filled Gol Gappas to the Alu-Matar Chaat, which is quite a winter staple for Delhi belles and Aunty-jis alike. Whoever believes in some waist-full (pun definitely intended!) indulgences. Sometimes.

As a first timer, even if you miss the neon green glow sign of this chaat house, I bet you cannot miss the smell of crispy-fried cubes of potatoes on a foggy evening of a Delhi winter. Even in that gnarling traffic with the window of your car rolled up.

If you not already completely enticed, here is a peek at what I am talking about.
And if you continue reading, I will tell you how I made this Alu-Matar Chaat Evergreen charges 20 a plate. Or is it more now?

Ingredients for Alu-Matar Chaat are:

4-5 medium size potatoes, boiled
1 cup green peas, blanched and drained
Juice of half lemon
Half teaspoon red chili powder/ cayenne pepper
One teaspoon bhaja moshla (dry roasted cumin and coriander seeds, coarsely ground)
Half teaspoon MDH Chaat Masala
Black salt
Canola oil (Evergreen uses desi ghee!)

Cut the boiled potatoes in quarters. Heat oil in a frying pan, almost up to smoking. Release the cubes of potato in the hot oil and fry till they are crisp and golden brown on all sides.

Use a slotted spoon to remove. Drain excess oil on paper towels. I haven't seen the chaat wala in Evergreen do it. But remember we are making this at home.

In a bowl, mix the fried potatoes, blanched green peas, lemon juice, and spices. Give it a quick mix to coat the hot potatoes with the spices.

Do one last check on the salt and spices. Serve warm in little aluminum foil / pie bowls with a fruit pick.The best way to eat this Alu-Matar Chaat is to share with your best friend.

Indulgence now has a new name – Alu-Matar Chaat (Potato-Peas Chaat).