Moog Daal'er Khichuri

My oldest memory of moog'er daal is of Didin perched on her stool in her kitchen at her electric heater stirring moog'er daal or moong daal in a large shining iron kadai. The clinging sound of the 'khunti' and the swish of the daal as she leaned over the table stirring continuously was a common occurrence in the mornings as she prepped for the day's breakfast and lunch. Didin didn't cook a wide variety of dishes nor did she make special festive foods to mark the different 'parbon' that came by every month. She didn't observe fasts on the shastis and ekadashis either. The Hindu calendar was not a big part of our lives in Kolkata or in Mumbai as Moni didn't follow any of this either. But she cooked for us every day and we looked forward to our visits to her house for there would be a steady stream of everyday food tempered with special treats of mangsho'r jhol, machh'er chop, khichuri and other delights.

Though Didin had a frugal repertoire in the kitchen she fed us very well and we looked forward to our annual trips to Kolkata where we'd be pampered silly by Didin, and all the mamas and mashis - my mother's siblings and cousins. 

The smell of roasting moog daal is something most Bengalis will identify with - it is the smell of home, of Bengal, of grandmothers and mothers, of comfort and comfort food. The moog daal I saw at Didin's house was tiny in comparison with what I saw in Mumbai. Each grain was the size of a pin head, so different from the longish grains I had seen in the shops in Mumbai. This is Sona Moog'er Daal, a variety that is grown in Bengal and is naturally, the preferred variety in Bengali kitchens.

40 years ago it wasn't available in Mumbai and there was only that much Moni could carry back from Kolkata when we visited. So we ate moog'er daal only in Didin's house, Moni rarely cooked it at home in Mumbai. Nowadays it is far easier to find regional ingredients in Mumbai - not only do large supermarket chains carry good selections of regional ingredients, there are stand-alone shops that have a captive clientele for whom they source ingredients. That's not all - there are quite a few online stores that specialise in such products and deliver pan India.

In Kharghar I am very fortunate to have Jambon Stores in Sector 20 which has transformed from being just another cold storage shop selling chicken, fish, cold cuts, frozen peas, etc., to a Bengali ingredients emporium where fresh stocks arrive every week by train from Bengal. And among all the wonderful products are varieties of rice and daal from Bengal including the beautiful small grained sona moog daal.

One of the most popular dishes made with moog daal is khichuri. While khichuri is a must at the Durga Puja pandal bhogs, cooked without onions or garlic, and paired with a delicious mix vegetable preparation called labra, it also shows up on home menus depending on the season. The monsoon is deemed khichuri weather and in the first week when the rains have just arrived, while the rest of the world celebrates with chai and bhajias/pakoras, we Bengalis rub our hands in glee looking forward to a plate of steaming khichuri with a variety of bhajas on the side.

Winter is also khichuri season but with beautiful winter vegetables adding their flavour - cauliflower, red carrots, green peas, potatoes are the top favourites in a "sheet kaal'er khichuri" or winter khichuri. Here's how to make it.

Moog Daal'er Khichuri

Moog Daal - 1/2 cup
Gobindobhog rice - 1/2 cup
2 medium potatoes
1 tomato
1/2 cup green peas
3-4 large florets cauliflower
1-2 carrots (optional)
4 Indian bay leaves/tej pata
1 tsp jeera
4 cardamom
4 clove
2" cinnamon
2-3 green chillies
2" piece ginger
salt
turmeric
jeera powder
dhania powder
Bengali garam masala
sugar
mustard oil
ghee
water as required

Wash the rice and leave it in a fine mesh colander to drain.

Roast the daal gently in a dry wok for around 10 minutes till the colour changes and there's a lovely toasty aroma. The daal should change from its pale yellow to a nutty brown. Roast it to a level you like, just ensure you don't burn it. Once roasted, wash the daal once, drain and set aside. Don't wash the daal very vigorously or repeatedly as you will lose all the lovely toasty aroma and flavour.

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Cut the cauliflower florets but not too small as they will then disintegrate into the khichuri. Peel the carrots an cut into thick barrels, if using. Shell the peas or thaw frozen peas. Peel the ginger and smash in your mortar and pestle till relatively smooth. This barely takes half a minute so use fresh. Wash and chop the tomato.

Now in a thick bottomed vessel heat mustard oil. Once properly hot fry the potatoes, then the cauliflower and reserve on a plate. Fry the veggies till they brown a little. This frying helps keep them intact while they cook in the khichuri.

In the same vessel add a little oil if required and then add the whole spices. Let them sizzle and then add the chopped tomato and the smashed ginger. Chuck in the green chillies, broken into 2-3 pieces depending on their size. Cook everything on a medium flame till the tomato has totally disintegrated and everything is mixed well.

In a small bowl mix all the dry spices in a little water to make a runny paste. Add this to the pot, stir well and cook till the spices have lost their rawness and oil is released.

Add the drained rice to the mix and saute for a few minutes. Then add the washed and drained bhaja moog'er daal or roasted moog daal. Mix everything well, add salt and enough water to cook the khichuri. Once the mix has come to a boil lower the heat and add potatoes. Cook covered on medium heat. Once the potatoes are half cooked add the cauliflower, peas, and carrots. Add a teaspoon or so of sugar at this stage. Cover the pot and let the khichuri cook.

If you're using frozen peas add them at the end, in the last couple of minutes. make sure they are thawed properly before you chuck them in.

Stir occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the vessel. Add warm water only if required. Cook slowly till done. Once the khichuri is cooked add a good dollop of ghee and a sprinkling of Bengali garam masala to the pot and stir it in. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.  The khichuri should be thick and porridge-like, not dry.

If you're vegan, leave out the ghee.

You can serve this sheet kaal'er khichuri with begun bhaja, potol bhaja, or a simple omelette with onions and green chillies in it. A fried papor/papad will make it complete!

The Comfort that is Daal Bhaat

It's been a tough year so far and the last few weeks have been quite high on the difficulty scale. Stretched nerves, eroded patience, a whole lot of stress and a big surgery later we brought Mom home from the hospital. I don't know who was the most exhausted by the time we got home. You know how it is... after endless days spent in hospital, those last few hours till you finally step over the threshold and out of the building seem to pass with excruciating slowness. And then when you finally pile into the car, the drive home seems to take another age.

And then you're home! Exhausted but exhilarated.

Soon the exhilaration evaporates and the tiredness hits. The mind wants to shut down and crawl into a deep dark corner but there are mundane jobs to be done, lunch to be made.

Today the hubby stepped in and whipped up the simplest meal in creation - Daal and Rice. I had rooted around in the veggie drawer in the fridge and I found a plump brinjal, ideal for a bhaja to go with the daal and rice. And so that's what we had - Bhaat, Daal, Begun Bhaja, and my homemade Ghee.

We ate in silence as the simple meal comforted and strengthened us, assured us that all would be well, embraced us in a blanket of familiarity, normalcy and peace. Daal and Bhaat. That's what it does.

Hostel Khichdi - Memories of Pune

The years spent in the Deccan College hostel in Pune, and thereafter in our little dream cottage with the not yet hubby were full of food. Though frugal, our meals never lacked in flavour or innovation. K was an accomplished cook already and I was an eager learner, happy to experiment and feed us and our permanently hungry friends too!

A bastion of most hostel cooks' repertoires of easy one pot meals is Khichdi. This humble mix of rice, daal, a few spices and vegetables often makes a daily appearance when you're broke, have a very basic kitchen and  are not a very skilled cook as yet. Khichdi is also synonymous with home cooked food, food that Mom makes, food that comforts and soothes and fills you up.  We made loads of khichdi and we made it in many, many variations.

Khichdi allows you to stretch your creativity and is a very forgiving dish. The basics remain the same - small grain rice, daal, a few basic spices and a pressure cooker are all you really need. You can build on this base and take this humble food to high levels of sophistication. I have added everything from minced lamb, Goan choriz and even spicy tangy prawn pickle to khichdi with fabulous results.

I cannot replicate those hostel flavours however hard I try. I think the secret was in the fact that it cooked very slowly on the hot plate. No matter how low you keep the flame on the gas burner it simply does not cook as slowly and therein lies the difference. But that doesn't stop me from making khichdi every once in a way.

We made khichdi packed with assorted vegetables most frequently. The highlight would be a dollop of ghee on the steaming hot khichdi and this invariably resulted in a burned tongue! While I was quite used to adding potatoes, green peas, carrots and even cauliflower florets, K introduced me to the idea of adding brinjal to khichdi. My mind baulked and I was not at confident that it would work. It did. And how! Now I cannot imagine making khichdi without adding a few pieces of brinjal to it :)

Hostel Khichdi

3/4 cup short grain rice.
1/2 cup masoor or mung daal
1 large onion, sliced
1 large potato, cut into large cubes
6 baby dark purple brinjals halved or 1 medium sized bharta brinjal, cubed
1 tomato chopped
2 fresh green chillies
a hand full of fresh green peas
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
turmeric, cumin, kashmiri chilli powders
salt
mustard oil (or whatever oil you prefer)
water

Wash the rice and the daal really well, drain and leave aside.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in your pressure cooker and fry the potatoes. Once they turn slightly red add the brinjals. Fry for a bit and then add the green chillies and the onions. Stir well and let the onions cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped tomato, the ginger garlic paste and the powdered spices and salt. Add a splash of water so the dry spices don't burn. Stir everything well and chuck in the peas.
Add the washed rice and daal and mix it all well. Add a generous amount of water and bring it to a boil. Shut the cooker and simmer as soon as it whistles. Cook on simmer for 5 minutes and switch off. LEt the steam disperse on it's own.

Serve the khichdi with a generous dollop of ghee, fried/roasted papads, fried fish or prawns or with that Bengali favourite, begun bhaja.

A Food Bloggers' Pot Luck - an inspiration for Payesh

Sometimes my Bengali genes give out a loud shout and I am compelled to cook something essentially Bengali. No fusion, no inspired creative moments allowed, for once I have to follow the rules. Coincidentally while my genes were shouting the Mumbai Bloggers Pot Luck diner was announced and voila! I had an audience too. I decided to make Payesh.

Payesh is an auspicious milk preparation made on birthdays in nearly all Bengali households. All communities across India probably have their own version of sweetened reduced milk cooked with rice/sooji/vermicelli, etc. Us Bongs, we make Payesh.

I have always had an aversion to sweets and milk products and defiantly refused to have any Payesh all through my childhood. Not that I would eat it today. I don't like milk and now I am also diabetic but that's a different matter entirely...

Anyway, since the rest of the world does appreciate the simple poetry of a well made Payesh, I decided to make it for the dinner.

First I called my Mom and quickly went through the procedure and then I got on with it.

Here's what you need for Payesh for 10 to 15 people

3 litres full fat milk
5 tablespoons sugar (use more if you prefer)
2 tablespoons Gobindo Bhog rice
10 green cardamoms
4 bay leaves
a pinch of salt
raisins
LOTS of patience

Wash and soak the rice for half an hour. De-stalk the raisins and soak them separately.

Bring the milk to a boil in a large heavy bottomed vessel. I used a copper 'kalai' vessel that my Mom in law used to make biriyani. The thick bottom prevents the milk from scorching at the base and using a large vessel helps in minimising the chances of the milk boiling over.

Once the milk is boiled reduce the heat and add the bay leaves and the cardamom pods. Split the pods so the flavours can blend easily.

Drain the rice on a small napkin so that the water is completely removed. Drop the rice into the simmering milk and let it cook as the milk reduces. Stir this occasionally and ensure that the milk does not stick to the bottom of the vessel and burn.

After an hour or so the milk would have reduced considerably and the rice grains should have literally 'exploded'. Just 2 tablespoons of rice will increase tremendously, trust me! If the milk needs to reduce some more, simmer longer.

Once the rice is cooked and the milk has reduced sufficiently add the sugar. Stir well and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. Put in the raisins too.

The Payesh will thicken as it cools and a gorgeous creamy malai will form so decant it into your serving bowl while it is still hot. Decorate with flaked almonds or pistachios if you like.

A deceptively simple dish to make one thing a Payesh maker needs in abundance is patience. There isn't all that much to actively do. There's hardly any prep required. But you have to keep your eye on it. The milk burns and your Payesh is ruined. Reduce the milk too much and you get a thick porridge instead of a creamy rich Payesh which is in fact what happened. An extra litre of milk was boiled and reduced in a panic and the Payesh was 'repaired'.

The recipe and proportions above will work perfectly as long as you keep your eye on things :)

Photo Credit: Jyotika Purwar

Here's the Payesh that I made for the Mumbai Food Bloggers' Pot Luck on Saturday 30th July at Gostana

Traditional Dhansakh

Dhansaakh

(Dhaan + Shak or Rice + Cooked Vegetables)
The name dhansakh implies rice eaten with the famous daal cooked with veggies in it. The rice is not plain white steamed rice but is a rich caramelized rice, cooked with a mix of whole spices. The daal of course is famous..

So here’s how the two are made-

For the rice-

Good quality Basmati rice, washed
whole spices- Bay leaves, cassia Bark, Cloves, pepper corns, Black cardamom (elcha), Star Anise, Javitri (mace)
Sugar

In a pan make caramel with the sugar. About 1 tbsp of sugar for a cup of rice. Add a cup of water to the caramel moments before it burns. Take off the heat and keep aside. You want a liquid, not thick hard caramel.

Make rice as usual adding the caramel water and whole spices, salt (optional)and a tablespoon of oil or ghee. The rice should be brownish in colour.

Garnish with long fried onions.

The Daal

masoor daal
Tuvar daal
Red Pumpkin
Brinjals, small pink ones
spring onions
baby methi sprouts
tomatoes
Curry leaves
Dhansakh masala powder
turmeric
Salt
Ghee
Kairi Sambhar powder (not south Indian sambar masala) Available at Motilal masala, Grant rd, East, available under the Mangal brand.


Wash equal quantities of both daals, about a cup each. Add chopped pumpkin (200gm), brinjals (200gm), spring onions (1/2 bunch), one bunch methi sprouts, half a tsp of haldi, salt and pressure cook with enough water.
Once cooked, puree the whole thing.

In a kadai heat ghee and add the curry leaves and the masala powders, and fry. Add chopped tomatoes and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Smash up the tomatoes while cooking. Add the mashed daal puree to this and mix well. Add water if required. Let it come to a good rolling boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Traditionally dhansakh is made with mutton, though chicken is often used these days. To use either, marinate the meat in ginger-garlic paste, salt, and braise before pressure cooking along with the daals and veggies. (Remove before pureeing). Alternatively you can cook the meat separately and add to the cooked daal/veggie puree later. But the first way tastes far better!

Dhansakh is not a celebration dish, contrary to popular belief. Traditionally dhansakh is served on the fourth day after a funeral.
Of course, it is not restricted to such sombre occasions and is often on the menu for a family Sunday lunch :)

Some shortcuts and Basic recipes

Here are some basic recipes and other lifesavers that make life in the kitchen easy..

Fried onions-
As the name suggests...slice a pile of onions. Fry in peanut/ sunflower or any neutral oil. Store in a closed jar. No need to refrigerate. The trick here is to fry the onions slowly till they are dark brown and nearly caramelised. Add a bit of sugar to speed things up.

Fried Garlic
Chop a mountain of garlic. Deep fry in hot oil without burning. Store in a bottle or jar. No need to refrigerate!!

Ginger garlic paste-

Scrape skin off ginger. Chop into small pieces. Peel garlic. Usually I take more garlic and less ginger but you can vary the roportions, or you can grind them separately and use as required. Grind in the mixie. Refrigerate.

Or you can take the easy way out and buy a jar from your local store :)

Infact nowadays you not only get the basic garlic/ginger paste but you also get combinations with jeera, red chilli, green chilli etc., added to the basic mix. So go for it!! Pick up a variety and experiment :)

Very Easy Rice.

1 cup basmati (long grain rice)

Wash the rice well. Pour enough water to submerge the rice about an inch or so. Put to cook. As soon as it begins to boil reduce heat and let it simmer. Cover the vessel leaving a little room open. The rice should be perfectly cooked in about 10 mins or so. Keep a check. You can add a bay leaf (tej patta) or a star anise (badiyan phool) to the rice along with a bit of salt. It gives the rice a beautiful aroma.

A couple of attempts and you will be an expert…My hubby taught me how to cook rice. He used to call me his very own cereal killer!!

Basic daal.

1 cup daal.
Masoor daal (the pink one) cooks the quickest. You can cook it without a pressure cooker. Just soak for a while after washing well. Put on stove with plenty of water and a teaspoon of haldi. Add salt after the daal is cooked. Adding salt during cooking process retards the cooking process and leaves the grains hard. So add it later.
Tuvar daal (large yellow grains) takes longer to cook. It’s better to use a pressure cooker for this.
Wash well. Put into cooker with approximately thrice the quantity of water. Add a teaspoon of turmeric and shut the cooker. Place on heat. After the first whistle lower the flame. Let it cook for another 5 minutes and switch off. Let the cooker cool on its own. DO NOT force open the cooker.

Once cooked, you can just add salt and ghee and mash up the daal a bit. It will taste lovely.

Or you can fry some onions, add some garlic, a green chilli or two and add this to the boiled daal with a spoon of ghee. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander (kothmir leaves) and you’re in business!!

You can make some of the easy accompaniments I've written about earlier...like fried potatoes or even fry a slice of fish to eat along with your Daal Chawal. A good spicy pickle is another great side.