This past week was the call for the new year in the Hindu calendar... the year 2078! The onset of the harvest season Baisakhi in Punjab, Poila Baisakh/Nobo Borsho in West Bengal, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala, Bihu in Assam... the list goes on! And then, it was the start of Ramadaan and the Navratras as well... for someone that isn't religious, that's a lot going on in one week! In a B R I L L I A N T sort of way of course... as they say, action speaks louder than words: the very fact that we celebrate this time of the year across a myriad of state borders, and spanning multiple religions in India is a fitting testimonial to the underpinnings of secularism in the Constitution of India. There's always the dummies causing the ruckus, but we won't go there in this blog :/.
Back to the fun and laughter. And the cultural twists and differences between the festivals and festivities as we meander through the geography of this vast country. The girls got a little note-pad out each... this was going to be somewhat intense.. they had that look on their faces :D...
Mom is going to go lunatic and talk about a gazillion different concepts and we won't be able to remember all and then we'll quickly become honorary members of this group she calls "dummies"
I began the journey with Punjab... I mean, India DOES begin here, in my humble opinion of course! The start of the harvest season with Baisakhi (my Dad would correct me and say its "Vaisakhi"... I've been part of his "dummies" club as well)... one of the most widely celebrated day in this state and for a variety of reasons: onset of the Sikh new year heralding the start of the harvest season, AND, marks the formation of Khalsa Panth under the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699. One thing that we would have almost every year - well at least the ones when we were able to visit our close Sikh family friends - was Shagun de Chawal (sweet, saffron rice to be had on an auspicious day)... I could have just that for apps, the meal and dessert!!
We moved east to Bengal and Assam... Nobo Borsho/Pohela Boishakh in Bengal and Bihu in Assam... No different from the rest of the country, the new year (Nobo borsho) in West Bengal is celebrated on the first (=pohela) day of the month of Baisakh (=Boishakh)... the Bengalis ring in the new year with fairs and carnivals mushrooming across villages, towns and cities alike, folks buying gifts for other members of the family and gathering for meals in the evening to welcome the harvest season and the new year!
And then going south, also similar in terms of the festivities, just the flavors change! And a twist aided by mythology :). From a scientific perspective, in Sanskrit Vishu means equal, which implies the day with equal number hours of day and night or the equinox. And then the mythology - the day when Lord Krishna killed Narakasura, a demon; the day celebrated as the return of the Sun god (Ravana, of the Ramayan fame, never allowed the Sun God to rise from the east. It was on the day of Vishu, after the death of Ravana, the sun started to rise from the east)... QED: Vishu is celebrated with great zeal!!!
And then there's Ramadan and Navratras... Ramadan marking the month in which the Prophet had the first of the revelations that make up the Quran... so not technically the start of a new year (in fact, its the 9th month in the Islamic calendar), but definitely the commemoration of new beginnings, and as holy as any time can get. Navratri is celebrated across the country with much fun, partying and a pure unadulterated festive spirit, paying homage to Goddess Durga in all her glory. This festival comes twice a year and during this time - twice the fun - and continues for 9 nights (Nav/Nau=nine; Ratri=night).
Our menu for this Sunday evening was like a mosaic thali... a little bit of this and a little bit of that!
Pakore (fritters made with a gram flour batter, spiced with chillies & coriander, with a medley of spinach, onion and potatoes) for Iftar;
Murgir Dum (succulent chicken pieces, marinated in a marinade rich in texture and raw flavors); Kaale Chane Masaledaar (spicy, flavorful preparation, very popular during the fasting days due to its high protein content)
Aviyal (a traditional vegetarian accompaniment to rice, almost an essential component of a Sadya, and has a unique position in Kerala as well as Tamil cuisine); Thoran (a class of dry vegetable dishes combined with coconut that originated in the Indian state of Kerala - I used green beans as the vegetable of choice for Thoran)
Baisakhi ke Meethe Peele Chawal (an aromatic, sweet pulao/rice preparation, laden with dry fruits and happiness)
Pakore (Iftaar ke liye)
What you'll need:
A bunch of fresh spinach; 1 red onion, finely sliced; 1 red potato, coarsely grated
7-8 tbslp gram flour; 1/2 cup fresh cilantro; 3 green chillies, finely chopped
11/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp coriander pd; 1/2 tsp red chilli pd; 1 tsp anardana pd; 1/2 tsp baking soda
Water, to make the batter (you'll likely need less than 1/2 cup since the onions and spinach will sweat into the batter as well); Canola oil for frying; Chat Masala for sprinkling on top.
You want to mix all the ingredients with minimal water and set it aside for no more than 10-15 minutes... the onions and spinach will likely drench the gram flour somewhat, so add very little water at the start. After 15 minutes, check to see whether you need to add any more water - you don't want to the mixture to be runny at all, since we will be deep frying the pakore the old fashioned way!
Next, pour some canola oil in a deep pot, and heat the oil. Test the temperature by dropping a wee bit of the batter in the oil - if it rises immediately your oil is ready for the pakore! Take a spoonful of batter - hopefully you'll get some each of the spinach, onions and potatoes - and gently lower the spoonful into the oil. Depending on the size of your pot, you could fry 7-8 of these simultaneously. Fry on medium heat, turning these over every now and then so they get browned and cooked evenly. remove and place on paper towels so the excess oil is removed... voila - serve hot with a chutney of your choice... a befitting snack for Iftar, to break the fast after sunset during Ramadan
Dum ka Murgh (West Bengal)
What you'll need:
1/2 cup grated coconut; 1/2 cup mix of cashews and peeled almonds
1/2 cup yogurt; 2 tblsp ginger garlic paste; 3 green chillies, finely chopped; 1 tblsp garam masala; 3 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp red chilli pd; 1 tsp coriander pd; 1 tsp turmeric pd
2 red onions, thinly sliced and fried (air fryer is THE BESTEST!! 390F for 20 minutes, 1 tsp oil, brilliant results); 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped; juice of 1 lemon
2 lbs chicken (I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you're welcome to use whatever makes you happy); 2 tblsp mustard oil; 1 tblsp ghee
First, use a blender (I used my Nutribullet) to make a paste of the coconut, cashews and almonds... I used a bit of the yogurt to help with the blending as well. Next, take a big bowl, and pop in everything, and I mean everything save the mustard oil and ghee, and mix well with a spatula. You want the marinade to blend in well with all the spices, and coat the chicken pieces... leave this, covered, for about 5-6 hours. Then, heat the mustard oil and ghee and drop in the marinated chicken with all of the marinade, mix well and let this cook, COVERED (to apply the "dum"=pressure) until its done... should take 25-30 minutes, with an occasional stir to ensure the gravy does not stick to the bottom of the cook-pot.
Serve this with rice or hot pooris... whatever takes your fancy!
Kaale Chane Masaledaar (Navratri worthy)
What you'll need:
1 cup black chickpeas (kaale chane), soaked overnight or even for a full day if you have the time; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp turmeric pd
1 tblsp ghee; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 red onions, finely chopped; 2 green chillies, finely chopped; 4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 tblsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Additional salt to you taste; 1 tsp coriander pd; 1 tsp amchur pd (dry mango pd); 2 tblsp lemon juice
Put the soaked chane in a pressure cooker/instapot, cover with just enough water to skim the top of the chane, add in the salt and turmeric pd, and pressure cook for 40 minutes on a high setting. Next, heat the ghee and add in the cumin seeds. Once these start crackling, add in the chopped green chillies, garlic and onions, and saute on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until lightly browned. next, drain the water from the cooked chane, and add the chane to the pan... mix well with the sauted mix. Add in the dry spices, and the lemon juice and cook for another 5-6 minutes, just for enough time for the spices to get coated on the chane. Sprinkle the lemon juice and the chopped cilantro, toss gently and serve as a salad-y side at room temperature, or just eat as a meal... its one of those items that qualify for "taste bhi, health bhi"!!!
Beans Thoran ki Sabzi (part of Sadya in Kerala)
What you'll need:
2 cups fresh green beans, cut very fine (<1/2 cm pieces); 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp turmeric pd
2 tblsp fresh grated coconut; 1 tsp cumin seeds, 3 green chillies
2 tblsp coconut oil; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 sprig curry leaves; 1/2 tsp asafoetida pd; 2 dry red chillies, broken; 1 tblsp urad daal (split white lentils)
You want to start with semi-cooking the green beans - for this, add the chopped beans in a pot, add in the salt and turmeric pd, and maybe 1/4 cup water, and cook covered on medium-high heat... don't cook through fully, you want to keep a bit of the crunch in! While the beans are cooking, run the coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies through a blender. Next, heat the coconut oil, and add in the mustard seeds. When these start crackling, add in the urad daal, asafoetida pd, red chillies and curry leaves.. let this saute until the urad daal turns a light brown color. Now drop in the coconut/cumin seeds/green chillies mix for a couple minutes until the raw coconut smell goes away. Lastly, add in the semi-cooked green beans, mix well with the spatula, and cook for a few more minutes until fully cooked! Easy shpeezy!
Thoran on the left above, and Aviyal on the right.
Aviyal (served as part of Sadhya to celebrate Vishu in Kerala)
What you'll need:
1 cup sliced potatoes; 1/2 cup white pumpkin, sliced; 1/2 cup carrots, sliced; 1/2 cup green beans, 2" pieces; 1 cup drumsticks; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp turmeric pd
3 tblsp freshly grated coconut; 3 tblsp yogurt; 3 green chillies, chopped; 1 tsp cumin seeds
For tempering, 2 tblsp ghee; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 sprig curry leaves; 1/2 tsp asafoetida pd
Start with boiling the potatoes, pumpkin, beans, drumsticks and carrots in 3 cups of water, with the salt and turmeric, covered. You want to get these cooked, but not mushy... mushy aviyal is fairly meh! While this is boiling, make the yogurt/coconut paste with the cumin seeds and green chillies. Add this paste to the 3/4th-of-the-way boiled vegetables... and mix gently, ensuring that the vegetables don't break. Once this is mixed well, and the coconut has cooked (approx 6-7 minutes), switch the heat off. For tempering the aviyal, heat the ghee, and add in the mustard seeds. Once these start crackling, add in the asafoetida pd and curry leaves. Saute for a couple minutes, and then use this to temper the aviyal. Serve super hot with white rice!!
Baisakhi ke Chawal/Peele Meethe Chawal (Punjab)
What you'll need:
1 cup white basmati rice, soaked for at least 1 hour; 2 cardamom pods; 1/2 tsp salt; water for boiling
2 tblsp ghee; 1/2" cinnamon stick; 1/2 star anise; 3-4 cloves
1 tsp saffron strands; 2 tblsp cashew bits; 1 tblsp almond slivers; 1 tblsp fresh coconut, thinly sliced; 3/4 cup sugar or jaggery
Start with boiling the rice in a liter of water, along with the cardamom pods and salt - you don't want to limit the water to the exact amount to cook the rice, mainly coz we'll drain the excess water, AND, we only want to cook the rice up until its about 80% cooked. Once that happens, remove the rice from the heat, and drain the water out by pouring the rice over a strainer. Keep the almost-cooked rice aside.
Next, heat the ghee, and add in the whole spices - saute these for about 3-4 minutes so the flavors infuse into the ghee. Then add in the almost-cooked rice, and gently blend with the infused ghee - do this super gently since you don't want to break the long basmati rice strands. then add in the saffron, and all of the dry fruits... after a couple minutes, spread the sugar over the rice evenly, turn the heat to low, and cook covered for 4-5 minutes... it'll take that much time for the sugar to melt, and the water from the sugar will help with cooking the rice through to complete bliss! Serve hot, garnished with a few of the leftover dry fruits, and add in some more just for good measure!
This was a best-of-all-worlds weekend meal! Until next week then....
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