Calcutta Talkies

Raj Kapoor is an extremely famous actor. In the mid 50s when I lived in Calcutta, my best friends and I got our coins together to go down to the local Talkies cinema hall. My brother still does not know that I took the left over coins in his piggy bank and replaced them a day later. Bit naughty of me but we had to watch the new "movie" on show. We had great fun at the cinema hall. One of the snacks we loved to eat in Calcutta is Pani Puri - "It comprises a round, hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with a mixture of water, tamarind, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. It is small enough to fit completely in one's mouth"

Travel pod shows a picture of a street food seller. These are the alternative names for Pani Puri.
"Panipuri, Phuchka, Gup Chup, Paani Poori, Pani ke Bataashe, Palodi". These are just delicious. We would run out of the talkies cinemas and consume a few of these while chatting and making our way home. My favourite version is filling the puri with tamarind. So delicious!

The Lemon Tree

During my time in Bangladesh in the late 1940s, we used to have some beautiful lemon trees in our back garden. There was a distinct aroma in the summer months that filtered in the breeze. I loved being in Bangladesh. Life was simple, people were happy and we were all together.

One of my favourite dishes was panta bhat, dhal and lemon leaves. This is often served with fried Hilsha fish. Normally served for breakfast or lunch, this dish is filling and delicious.

This is the official definition

"Panta bhat (Bengali: পান্তা ভাত; Pàntà bhàt) is a lightly fermented rice-based dish consumed in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Panta means "soaked in water" and bhat means "boiled rice". This dish of leftover rice soaked in water to prevent spoiling, is generally served with salt, onion and chili."

The Mansion in Bangladesh

Before I came to the West in the 1960s, home to me was Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a beautiful country with fantastic friendly people and wonderful food. I lived in Bangladesh before the partition and independence wars many years ago. Our house was a huge mansion in the state of Pabna. Huge amounts of food was consumed there. In the 1940s and 50s, English businessmen used to visit us. They were all trading in jute at the time. My mother who is now 98 made numerous sweets for them all. During the New Year, hundreds of clay pots filled with delicious sweets were taken to the visitors and given as gifts. Our mansion was filled with laughter, fun and always wonderful food. Bengalis know how to eat and how to have fun. We were all so happy there.

The mansion was a beautiful place designed much like the Mughal palaces. There was one problem with eating too much at this mansion - the toilets were quite a way down the dark path, well away from the main house. Everyone had to light their lanterns and if it went out, not only were you desperate but there were rumours of various ghosts who frequented the path to the toilets. You would never have known they were indeed the toilets because the entire place had Mughal designed doors. One advantage was the moonlight - if you went there during the fortunate time of the moonlight then the china embedded in the walls glistened for you - if the wind blew the lantern out.

In those days, my mother grew her own vegetables in the garden next to the house. We were relatively self sufficient. We had lots of cooks to create these lavish banquets. As I was from a very rich family, we were not allowed to cook ourselves so I would learn by watching my relatives. The advice in our family was that young girls were not to cook in order to protect their skin. Soft hands were important when a potential grooms mother came to observe you. I wasn't interested in marriage at the time but I loved living in our mansion. Fresh fish would be caught from our local pond. Actually, it was quite a large pond. We had numerous cows who would provide us with large quantities of creamy milk. This is what the sweets were made out of. Cows are sacred animals for Hindus so they were well looked after by us.

Anyhow, my recipes originate from this background. Most people say that Bengali good tastes the best - there is a reason for that, we all know how to create simple delicious dishes. It is certainly true that each year the demands from the British traders would increase to the extent that our sweets were imported to England.

Times were to change after partition and the conflict between Muslims and Hindus. This was sad because we all lived in harmony in the old days. Slowly, the good times were over and our family transferred to West Bengal in Calcutta. A few years ago, our mansion sank due to the heavy floods. I have one picture left of the mansion and hope to put this up online soon. Despite the damage done to it during the riots many years ago, the house still glistened in the dark to show the sparkle of life that once filled it.

My sisters and I still hold fond memories of Bangladesh. A beautiful country with the most generous people. If any of you get the chance, visit the country - you will keep wanting to go back again and again.

Suji or Semolina Sweet Dish

Suji is a simple sweet dish that is extremely popular in West Bengal. Here is something about the history of Semolina. Wikipaedia says this

"The term semolina derives from the Italian word "semola" that derives from the ancient Latin simila, meaning "flour," itself a borrowing from Greek σεμῖδαλις (semidalis), "groats". Though present in Latin and Greek, the word is not Indo-European in origin, but a loan word from the Semitic root smd - to grind into groats. The root is attested in Arabic, Aramaic and Akkadian. In Arabic, semolina is referred to as samîd, also spelled sameed"

This is a simple Bengali recipe that tastes wonderful. It is usually eaten with Luchi or plain chapatis. This is very popular with young people and as soon as I make it, it used to be finished in 20 minutes when my family were young. It takes about 20 minutes to cook. A quick dish suited to the younger generation and their busy lives.

SUJI RECIPE

Ingredients.

1. 2 heaped tablespoons of Ghee or 1/2 a teacup Stork Margarine

2. I teacup of Samolina

3. 1 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Sugar substitutes and lower calorie sugars can also be used. The amount added can be varied depending on how sweet your tooth is.

4. 1 dry Bayleaf

5. 4-5 whole cardamoms

6. 1 1/2 pint whole milk

Instructions

1. You will require a medium sized saucepan and one wooden spoon.

2. Take the 2 tablespoons of margarine [or ghee] and melt this in the saucepan under medium heat.

3. After the margarine has melted fully, add semolina in the saucepan. Fry this under medium heat until brownish in colour.

4. Add the milk

5. Add the sugar, bayleaf and cardamoms [ contents can be opened or closed].

6. Stir this mixture under medium heat until it has thickened - it will resemble the consistency of porridge.

7. After it has thickened, taste a bit to see if you need to add further sugar. If sugar needs to be added, do this until you are happy with it. Take off the heat and switch your cooker off.

8. Suji can be eaten hot or cold [ from the fridge].

It is best eaten with Luchi as mentioned earlier but is often eaten as a snack or desert. Enjoy!

Egg Curry

This is a fabulous but simple [ and extremely cost effective] dish. In my years as a young girl, my relatives cooked with a heavy amount of coriander. I preferred to adapt the recipe to a lighter and more delicate taste so I decided to make it without the heavy taste of this spice. In my view, it tastes better. In addition, it is best to to use fresh ingredients such as garlic. It is quick and easy to make. It is best served with Basmati rice. I use free range extra large eggs from our local farm. It has a lovely taste with those eggs. In the days when I lived in Bangladesh, we had our own chickens who laid numerous eggs around the place. This dish is particularly suited to university students who want a quick and easy [ cheap] way of making an exotic and tasty curry.

EGG CURRY RECIPE

6 hard boiled eggs sprinkled with tumeric and salt
Onions 1 medium finely chopped
Garlic ½ finely chopped or pressed
Potato 1 peeled and cut

Spices

Jeera ;- 1 ½ teaspoon
Salt ¼ teaspoon
Chilli powder ½ teaspoon
Tumeric ½ teaspoon
Fresh Ginger ¼ and mash this well.

Cinnamon stick.

First boil the eggs until they are hard boiled . Remove the eggshell then make 5 longitudinal cuts/ slits round for the whole egg or cut in half . Then place in bowl and sprinkle tumeric powder and salt ¼ teaspoon and mix on the surface . In a separate bowl, make up the masala mix ( jeera , tumeric and chilli powder with half a teacup full of water ) .

Use large non stick frying pan . Place this on to the cooker [ under medium heat] and add in oil until it just covers the surface . Heat the oil and lightly fry the eggs on all sides until golden brown . Take the pan off the heat and place fried eggs in a bowl separately . Then fry the potatoes until golden brown and immediately add chopped garlic . Mix this well while frying.

Add some more oil the onion seeds . Fry onions at medium heat until brown in colour .

When the onions are ready( ie brown ) add masala mix . Fry everything stirring constantly for 3- 4 minutes until the oil can be seen separating from the masala mix . Add in 2 cups of water and heat . When it reaches near boiling point add ½ tomato . Add eggs and potatoes then boil for five minutes until potatoes are soft and sauce is thickened . Add to the masala mix and the cinnamon stick. Boil for another 10 minutes or as required .

This is now ready to eat . Best served with plain rice and a salad .

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East End Spices

East End Foods have a wonderful selection of spices and lentils. Over the years, I have tried a number of other brands but my curries do not taste quite as nice without East End Spices. Their website has a good summary of spices - read it here. They also have an interesting collection of recipes. East End Foods was a breath of fresh air. In the 1960s, spices were rarely available in the United Kingdom and I had to ask my relatives in Calcutta [ now called Kolkatta] to send the packets of it over so I could cook for my busy husband and family. Thankfully, a few enterprising brothers decided to set up East End, their story is written here. They have come a long way since their first store in Wolverhampton many years ago.

More on their spices is available here. Normally, all asian supermarkets will stock East End Spices and foods. You can always check directly with East End themselves. Their email is available here.

Anyway, for all my cooking, I have always used East End Spices. It gives the best results and a delicious/authentic taste.

Coconut Naroos

Yesterday, I talked about my 98 year old mother and her main recipe - Coconut Naroos. This recipe has been passed down through many generations in our family. When I had a young family in the 60s and 70s, my mother would send us all a jar full of coconut naroos. Anyway, here is the recipe for this. Other recipes are available here and here. Essentially, these are coconut balls rumoured to be Lord Ganesha's favourite sweet dish. It is a simple Bengali sweet dish that can be made by anyone around the world.

1. I packet of dedicated coconut [300g]

Or 1 or 2 grated coconut

2. 1/2 tea cup of sugar

3. 5-6 cardamom [ powdered] [ see Spices of India] or TRS's whole green cardamoms.

4. 2 pints of whole milk

Process

1. Place the milk and coconut in a saucepan on medium heat and bring this to boil slowly. Keep boiling it and stirring until the consistency is thick and doughlike.

2. Place the sugar into the saucepan and mix this into the mixture in [1]

3. Add in the cardamom.

4. Use 1/2 teaspoon of butter or margarine and cover a flat surface such as a plate or baking tray.

5. Remove the coconut dough from the saucepan and knead this on the flat surface covered with butter or margarine.

6. Make small dough balls about the size of a plum. This dough can be made into any shapes and sizes and you may wish to use your creativity to adapt the recipe.

This can be stored and eaten for 4-5 days.

Living Forever

One important quality about Bengali food is that it is healthy. I say this because my grandmother lived until she was 110 and my mother is currently 98. My recipes were adapted from my grandmother who was a wonderful cook. In Bangladesh, everything was organic. In the 1940s and 50s, we grew our own vegetables, fished at the local river and made all dishes from scratch. It is this fresh and healthy quality of food that has resulted in longevity in my family. The key to Bengali food is to create it without much oil, to concentrate on the combination of spices and to ensure its not too rich.

Until 6 months ago, my mother was still doing her own house work. At the grand old age of 98, she decided to relax a bit but continues to have her favourite roshogolla daily. Back when she was 70 years old, she would make us all coconut narroos [ coconut sweets].

Anyway, Roshogolla is my mother's favourite sweet. Here is a simple recipe for it and in time, I will publish my own version which is very tasty. Perhaps that her key to long life. We all hope she makes it to 110 like her mother.

Pabda Mach illustrated

The Final Dish

Steps to Making the Dish. Please refer to my previous post for further directions.

This is a typical selection of Bengali Spices. The one to select for the first step, is Tumeric also known as Haldi. Spices are available in all good supermarkets.

The Haldi is sprinkled around both sides of the Pabda Fish.

The Fish should be lightly fried in hot oil

Then take the fish out and place them on a separate plate.

The selection of spices dissolved in water is then fried by itself. The fried fish is placed back and then water is added then boiled

The gravy is then thickened and the fish is ready to be served with basmati rice.

It is also true that none of my family can resist this simple but delicious fish curry.

Pabda Mach

Defrosting the Fish From The Rivers of Bangladesh

When I was a child, we had wonderful cooks in Bangladesh. We lived in a large mansion designed  much like the old Persian houses. Fish is and has always been a Bengali favourite. I miss the fresh fish we used to get in Bangladesh.

The Pabda fish  was a fresh water fish bought directly from the sea. In the 1940s, the Pabda fish would be rather large. It was very popular with all the family.  This fish was bought home and cooked by our wonderful cook called Bulli Didi. In those days, there wasn't any electric cookers. Clay stoves were used. Wood was used to make the fire for the stove.

The fresh fish would be cut, cleaned and washed. The fish would  then be mixed with salt and tumeric. This would be left for a few minutes before cooking. She would use a Korai - which was an asian version of a frying pan. The spices were all pressed by hand. The oil would be placed in the Karai and heated up. The fish was subsequently fried lightly and taken out of the pan. The old oil would be thrown out and a little bit of new oil placed in the Korai. Black onion seeds [ Kala Jeera] would be placed into this heated new oil. Some water would be added to the dried spices [plus salt] and this mixture was added to the oil. The oil and spices were fried for a few minutes together until it is quite dry and the oil could be seen. A small amount of water is added to this mixture until this was bought to boil. The fish was placed back into the Korai. Some more water was added if required. To this, one or two green chillies. Once the gravy was slightly thicker, it was taken off the fire. Prior to this, some people tended to add Coriander leaves for flavouring. This was usually served with rice.

In England, Pabda fish can be found in most good Indian supermarkets or grocery shops. If you live in the UK, you can visit Bangla Station. The fish is obtained in frozen form and it is reasonably priced. For my recipe for Pabda fish, please visit  http://www.anita-pal.com .