Chingri diye kochu and a bliss

Being brought up in a Bengalee family now I truly believe that we can make food from anything. Khosha, Danta , bij kichui bad jay na....Vegetable peel, Stems, seeds nothing is left out from kitchen. We can make delicious dishes which sooth our taste. Every dish is wrapped into love, unique touch, Bengalee taste and most important is that every household makes each dish with its special touch. Lets talk about Kochu.
Kochu ( TARO) is something which I have seen to grow into our back yard , beside ponds in childhood. My grandmother used to take it off and then my aunt used to make 3-4 items from its whole body, except using the leaf.  Now-a-days its not that well seen because e backyard and ponds are just gone under multistory buildings. From the stem we make Kochur Shaak along with either Macher matha (fish-head fry) or Chola () or Narkel kora(coconut grind). Root here are we use to make curry or siddho makha(boil and smash). There are more formats of making this tree parts.
I do not get Kochur Shaak or Stem now in market. I get a different type of  TARO which we call Gathi Kochu /  Creamy Arbi / Eddoe .
  To refer I copy from wiki:
  Eddoe is a tropical vegetable, a variety of Colocasia esculenta, closely related to taro (dasheen), that is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms). It has smaller corms than taro, and in all but the best cultivars there is an acrid taste that requires careful cooking.The young leaves can also be cooked and eaten, but (unlike taro) they have a somewhat acrid taste.
Gathi Kochu chingri diye is just a trick from transformation from veg to non-veg. Lets cook this.

 
What You Need

10-12 Gathi Kochu /  Creamy Arbi / Eddoe
1 potato
4 green chili
1/2 tsp Whole jeera.
Salt to taste. SUgar to taste

Mustard Oil
Chingri/  shrimp ~8, Peel, clean and DE-vein shrimp.

 

 




How I Did It 

If arbi are big in size ,cut in half. or take in whole. Boil in pressure cooker or in an open pan.
Also take 1 potato .Boil with arbi.
When boiling is done, cool and peel the skin.
Cur into cubes- Only potato
In the mean time, Lightly saute the shrimps with salt and turmeric powder.
Rest for 5 minutes/ Fry in oil , Remove and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan.
Add Whole jeera.
When starts spattering, add potato and arbi in oil.
Add salt.
Stir well, its is stage which is to sense.
Boiled Arbi will leave a creamyness which is good, but do not mash those.
When its fried and cooked to brown, add little turmeric powder, green chilli and shrimp.
Cover and let it cook , you will get a nice smell when it is done.
Taste sugar and salt. Adjust.

Posto bata diye lau / Bottle gourd in Poppy seed paste

Ohh its always summer at my place. Though I am about leave this place in 2 days. Yeah, I am shifting from one city to another . Mind is full of joy, tension, hope and emotions. I can not bother summer at all. I feel that's why I am here in this city near sea where its always summer...even when it pours or at December. We cannot stand a minute under sun any season.

Though I am not at all fond of summer, but I like summer for its special foods. Bottle gourd is one of them. Its a vegetable which I have seen that many people does not like. But its good and contains lots of water . Cools body and specially its a regular thing for household in summer days.

The Posto diye lau which means I used Postobata aka Poppy seed paste to cook along with the gourd while my Mother makes it this way. My Ma makes this very often and we like the simple Lauki sabji also at home.

What You Need
 Lau/lauki/bottlegourd. Chop in thin cubes. How fine you can cut it, the soft will be vegetable.
 Kalonji /Kalo jeera
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
Salt to taste. 
A couple of green chili slit through.
Posto bata / Poppy seed paste
Oil

How I Did It

Heat Oil in a Kadai/ frying pan.
Add some kaloni/ Kalo JeeraAdd the chopped lau aka bottlegourd. 
Add about 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and mix well .
Add salt to taste. 
Add a couple of green chili slit through. 
Let the bottle gourd cook. It will release a lot of water but don't panic, let it cook with some quick stirs in between.
When the bottle gourd is almost done add posto bata/ poppy seed paste. Mix well and let it cook together. 
Check and adjust for salt. Add about 1/2 tsp of sugar.Mix well.
DO not cook for long time after adding Poppyseed paste, it will loose its flavor

Gathi Kochu- alu Sidhho makha / Mash potato and Arbi(Eddoe)

Being brought up in a Bengalee family now I truly believe that we can make food from anything. Khosha, Danta , bij kichui bad jay na....Vegetable peel, Stems, seeds nothing is left out from kitchen. We can make delicious dishes which sooth our taste. Every dish is wrapped into love, unique touch, Bengalee taste and most important is that every household makes each dish with its special touch. Lets talk about Kochu.

Kochu ( TARO) is something which I have seen to grow into our back yard , beside ponds in childhood. My grandmother used to take it off and then my aunt used to make 3-4 items from its whole body, except using the leaf.  Now-a-days its not that well seen because e backyard and ponds are just gone under multistory buildings. From the stem we make Kochur Shaak along with either Macher matha (fish-head fry) or Chola () or Narkel kora(coconut grind). Root here are we use to make curry or siddho makha(boil and smash). There are more formats of making this tree parts.

I do not get Kochur Shaak or Stem now in market. I get a different type of  TARO which we call Gathi Kochu /  Creamy Arbi / Eddoe .
To refer I copy from wiki:
Eddoe is a tropical vegetable, a variety of Colocasia esculenta, closely related to taro (dasheen), that is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms). It has smaller corms than taro, and in all but the best cultivars there is an acrid taste that requires careful cooking.The young leaves can also be cooked and eaten, but (unlike taro) they have a somewhat acrid taste.

I will like to share a simple loving smash arbi with plain rice tossed in mustard oil and green chilli. Its just knocking in heaven when you will have it with hot rice and may be with a spoon of ghee instead of oil.

Mashed Arbi

What You Need 

Gathi Kochu /  Creamy Arbi / Eddoe
1 potato
Salt to taste. 
A couple of green chili Mustard Oil

How I Did It 

If arbi are big in size ,cut in half. or whole. Boil in pressure cooker or in an open pan.
Also take 1 potato .Boil as wholw with arbi.
When boiling is done, cool and peel the skin.
Mash the content with a masher or your hands.
Add few drops of mustard oil, very finely chopped red onion(optional), very finely chopped green chili.
Add salt to taste.
Make rustic looking balls and serve with steaming rice and ghee.

Laal shaak bhaja / Red spinach fry

Serve as the first item in a traditional Bengali thali.

What You Need 

Laal Shaak or Red Spinach. Chopped, washed.
Kalonji /Kalo jeera
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
Salt to taste. 
A couple of red chili
Badam / nuts
Oil
 
How I Did It 
Heat Oil in a Kadai/ frying pan.
Add some badam/nuts , fry nuts, and keep aside.
Add some kaloni/ Kalo Jeera.
Add 2 red chilli broken as phoron.
When starts spattering , add the chopped laal shaak aka red spinach.
Add about 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and mix well folding spinach all over.
Add salt to taste.
Do not add salt at this step in much amount. Any leafy vegetable seize in amount. And so final salt add after final taste.Let the shaak/spinach cook, fried  and stir so that it does not stick in pan. Taste and adjust salt.
Add fried nuts and mix well. Keep rest in pan for 2-3 minutes.
Serve with rice.:-)

Shaak Fritters or Shaker bora and plain rice

As very often I go to market so never miss the chance to pick something irregular at my home. A Saturday morning I made up my mind to go to market with husband just for a change. A old feeble man was sitting alone in market with his large stock of common and uncommon leafy vegetables. Surprised! I have found some really irregular items in his stock, many I do not know name exactly but sometimes in my childhood I had them . A bliss!
Pui Shaak
Palak
Thankuni
Gima

Bathua (lamb’s quarters)
Helencha
Kalmi shaak (water spinach)
Note Shaak
Lal Shaak
List goes on...
I have bought some of them  and already made up to make Bora/ fritters with some of those. 
here comes my Gima Shakker Bora. You can make it well with Palak/Pui leaves as well.

What You Need

2 cups Gima shaak washed, leaves separated
1 cup Besan / wheat flour
1/2 cup rice powder (Optional, it makes crispy)

1/2 tsp of Fennel seeds
1/2 tsp of Jeera / whole Corriander seeds
1/3 tsp Holud / Turmeric Powder
Salt
1/2 tsp Suji/Rava( Optional, it makes crispy)
2 KaNchalanka/ green chilli chopped


How I Did It

Mix all the above ingredients well with little amount of water

This batter consistency is not loose, its just moist to give shape with hand
Heat Oil in a Kadai/ frying pan
Give the mixture a shape of oval/ round as you wish with hand
Place each fritter in oil and fry both side until done.

Have this with plain rice and it really loving if you like authentic old Bengali touch food.
 

Begun pora / Roasted Eggplant and scary receipe

No, No, don't go by the title of post.
The only scary part in this whole thing is roasting the eggplant. Its a tricky elaborate and lengthy process.

What You Need

Eggplant 1 medium
Salt and 4 tsp of mustard oil.
Green chilli 1-2
Onion 1 finely chopped


How I Did It


Wash an eggplant thoroughly.
Slit it at several places, not very clumsy way,  with a knife.

Rub with salt and 2 tsp of mustard oil.


Now put it on grill, iron caged base used for making Rotis at home.
Fire the oven. Smoke or roast the eggplant: .
Rotate the eggplant 90 degrees every few minutes or so. The skin will gradually loose, the eggplant will start to sag. After about 20 minutes when the skin is completely loose, remove the eggplant from the flame. 

Allow the eggplant to cool, then discard all of the skin.
Mash with hand.
Add Mustard Oil and mix finely chopped onion, finely chopped green chili, salt to taste.

Alu-Piazkoli Bhaja and Saturday morning breakfast

The mehendi from my hands had just started to fade.Always shaken about the dos and don's. It was a typical Indian marriage for me.I can imagine a scenario of busy railway station. The train rolled into the platform. The coolies ran towards the bogie carrying passengers large suitcases. Passenger run and sit .Match the ticket and settle down. I am now settling down. Mind is heavy with memories. Eyes are full of tears for Baba. Food is amazingly spiced for me.

A Saturday morning I was given responsibility to make Piazkoli bhaja and Roti.
Thank Almighty. Its so easy and fast.Now I make it often in winter.Sharing the recipe.

What You Need

Piazkoli chopped in 1 inch pieces
Potato in same amount i inch pieces

1 tsp of black Cumin Seeds/ Kalo JeeraSalt
2 dry red chilli

Ingredients

 
How I Did It

In a deep bottomed frying pan heat Oil
Add black Cumin Seeds, dry red chilli and saute
Add Potato and Piazkoli .Add salt and saute.
Lots of water will release. Open the lid and water will vaporize.
Fry till done.
 
Serve with Chapati or rice. As a side dish with lentils/Dal.