We haven't had an author guest post in a while, so we're very excited to have Rinku with us today! Rinku is the author of
The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles (Hippocrene, 2012), and also blogs on
Cooking in Westchester and contributes to LoHud.com with her column
"Spices and Seasons." Today is the Bengali New Year and Rinku shares the traditional holiday with us today:
Spring has been reluctant this year, teasing us
with the sunshine and flowers but somehow falling short of the promise of
warmth. If you are in the New York area, you will
see the colorful tulips, yellow daffodils and the lovely white, blue and purple fragrant hyacinths all around. The good thing about spending time
working with food is that it works well any time of the year. It adds the
colors to your life and table in spring and summer, makes things festive in
fall, and is warm and satisfying on a cold and windy day.
Spring in the Bengali calendar, much like the rest of
the world, is a time of freshness and renewal. I love the
idea of a second New Year, especially in the middle of the year as it offers me a second fresh start. Bengali New Year is less about drinking and
more about food. (Yes, I know, almost everything Bengali is more about food!) Yet with the New Year celebrations, there is a
prelude to the food. My mother made me start the day with taking a bath,
donning new clothes, and offering a simple prayer to God. She taught me to ask
forgiveness for the transgressions of the years past and blessings for a New Year
that would be satisfying and happy. A simple grounding exercise before we went
onto indulge in a riot of food.
As with all things in my kitchen, it is
all about seasonal food, so I've decided to share a festive green pea stuffed
bread, or kachori. If you are willing to take a trip to your farmer’s market it can
be made with the new spring peas and if not, well this works just as
well with sweet frozen peas. These delectable puffed breads are usually enjoyed
with split pea lentils that are made with a touch of coconut and raisins.
The flavors of this meal are sweet and satisfying, layered with delicate touches
of anise and bay leaf.
This is where I say vegetarian flavors do not
have to be boring and ho hum, as with these recipes and countless others I have
shown you the many ways to love your veggies. However, Bengali festivities do
not stop with vegetables, we love our fish and meat and poultry, too! In fact,
if you stop by this guest post, Fragrant Shrimp in a Delicate Coconut Sauce or Chringi Malaikari, you will find my recipe and you
can also try your luck at winning a copy of my cookbook. I hope you enjoy these recipes and give your life a fresh start this spring!
FRIED PUFFY BREADS WITH GREEN PEA FILLING
Matarshutir Kachoris
To understand the essentials of regional Indian cooking, the
devil, as they say, is
in the details. Kachoris are filled breads that puff when they
are deep fried. The
Bengali kachori differs slightly from the North Indian variety
in its texture. This
kachori is meant to be softer as opposed to the slightly
crisper coating of its
Northern cousin. The green pea filling is also a unique
variation that is typical of
the Eastern regions. The pre-stuffed dough packets can actually
be prepared up
to two days in advance and kept in the refrigerator. If
prepared in advance, they
should be removed from the refrigerator and kept at room
temperature to
warm for about 30 minutes prior to rolling and frying.
Prep Time: 1½ hours (includes time for dough to rest)
Cook Time: 30 to 40 minutes | Makes: 16
INGREDIENTS
Dough
3 cups all-purpose white flour, plus extra for rolling
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ghee or oil
¾ cup cold water
Filling
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon nigella seeds
1 teaspoon fresh ginger paste (page 13)
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
¾ teaspoon fennel seed powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Oil
for frying
PREPARATION
Prepare dough:
Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Gently mix the ghee
or oil into the
flour, resulting in something that looks like a pie crust
dough. Gradually mix in
the cold water to form a smooth elastic dough. (The dough
should not feel
sticky and it should have a smooth pliable texture.) Set the
dough aside to rest.
Make the filling:
Place the peas in a food processor and process until smooth.
Heat the oil in a
wok or skillet, add the nigella seeds and wait for these to
sizzle. Add the ginger
paste, cayenne pepper powder, fennel seed powder, salt, and
sugar and mix
well. Add the pureed peas and cook for about 6 to 7 minutes,
stirring frequently,
until the mixture is cooked through and separating from the
sides of
the pan. Cool the mixture slightly.
Assemble and fry:
Divide the dough into 16 portions. Shape a portion into a ball
and roll out,
using some flour, into a 3-inch disc. Place about 1½ teaspoons
of the filling
onto the center of the circle. Shape the circle into a round
package by covering
the filling with the dough, carefully ensuring that the dough
covers the filling
comfortably without any tears. Place the dough packet seal side
down on a
greased tray and continue with remaining dough portions. Keep
the dough
packets organized on the tray so you can roll them out in the
order they were
made.
Place some oil in a wok and set the heat to medium high. Test
readiness by
dropping a breadcrumb in the oil; it should immediately come up
to the surface
if the oil is hot enough.
Take a sealed dough packet and roll out on a floured surface to
a circle about 3
to 4 inches in diameter. It is critical to try to roll these
out as thin as possible
without tearing the dough. Gently place the rolled dough into
the hot oil and
wait until disc rises to the surface and then puffs up. Cook
briefly on the first
side for about a minute or so and then turn and cook for a
couple of minutes on the other side.The finished breads should be pale golden
and puffy. Use a
slotted spatula to lift it out and drain the oil on the side of
the wok. Continue
this
process with all the remaining dough packets. Serve hot.
SWEET BENGALI GRAM LENTILS WITH COCONUT AND RAISINS
Misti Cholar Dal
This is a festive recipe for special occasions, when you might
actually get a fresh
coconut and chop it yourself into tiny, delicate pieces. But I
must confess I often
make do with frozen shredded coconut, and in fact wrote this
recipe with the
frozen variety in mind. Either way it is up to you, but the
fresh coconut does
yield a nice crunchy sweet taste.
I have on occasion made small Matarshutir Kachoris (Fried Puffy
Breads with
Green Pea Filling, page 59) and arranged then on an appetizer
platter to serve
with this dal. It is a modern twist on a very traditional
combination.
Prep Time: 7 to 8 hours (to soak the lentils) | Cook Time: 25 minutes in a
pressure cooker; 45 minutes in a saucepan | Makes: 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
½ cup yellow Bengali gram lentils(cholar dal), soaked overnight
3 green chilies
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon raisins
½ cup finely shredded coconut
2 teaspoons ghee (clarified butter)
2 cloves
1-inch cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
PREPARATION
Put the lentils, chilies, turmeric, cayenne pepper powder,
salt, sugar, raisins, and
2 and 1/2 cups water in a pressure cooker or large saucepan,
you may need more water for the stove top.
Cook till the lentils are very soft but still retain their
original shape, about 25 minutes under pressure or 45
minutes in pot on stove.
Gently toast the coconut in a small skillet (I do this without
oil, since the coconut
has quite a bit of oil). Stir the coconut into the lentil
mixture and taste for salt.
(It should have a creamy appearance and slightly sweet taste).
Heat the ghee in the small skillet and add the cloves, cinnamon
stick, cardamom
pods, and bay leaf and cook for 20 seconds. Pour over the
lentils and gently stir
in
and simmer for another 5 minutes before serving.
Rinku Bhattacharya is the author of Bengali Five Spice Chronicles and the blog, Cooking in Westchester, where she shares her life experiences and original recipes that combine Indian spices with produce from her backyard and local farmers markets. Rinku is blessed with a gardener husband, who always surprises her with a prolific and fresh supply of produce to keep her creative instincts flowing. She has been teaching recreational cooking classes for the past six years, inspiring many with simple recipes from Eastern India. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Rinku resides in New York, and is currently working on her second cookbook expected in spring 2014.
