Pickle by Abhijit: Freshly-Plucked Bhoot Jolokia (& Kon Jolokia Too)

 Recipe coming soon!

Pukhorir Maas Kordoi Rokhor Logot (Fresh Pond Fish with Star Fruit Juice)

During our last visit to the state, one of my in-laws’ neighbours gave us a bag full of ripe homegrown kordoi (star fruit). We wanted to use them up before they turned squashy; so, for one whole week we prepared something or the other with kordoi – and the most amazing was fresh pond fish (sourced from sister-in-law’s maternal place) with kordoi juice (see image – didn’t have a better image as this was not intended to be a blog post).

 We had fish with kordoi pulp, slices, and juice – but the one prepared with juice was otherworldly – sweet n tangy – and best part, extremely healthy, light, and easy to prepare!!

 Ingredients:

·         Kordoi juice extract: We hand squeezed 6-8 kordoi (as per your requirement)

·         6-7 pieces of Hol maas

·         One pinch of mustard seeds

·         2 green/red chillis (as per your taste)

·         Salt to taste

·         1 tablespoon mustard oil 

Method

Dab turmeric and salt on the fish pieces and fry them; once slightly golden, keep aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and the chillis – once the seeds splutter, add the kordoi juice and bring it to a boil. Add the salt. If required, add water. Once you feel you’ve got the right concentration of the gravy (not too thin, not too thick), add the fish pieces, and let it simmer. You might see some frothy bubbles, just ignore them.  If the sour taste is overwhelming, add a little more water, or even a little sugar and boil for some more time.

Your sweet and sour fish with kordoi gravy is ready 😊…serve with plain rice. Don’t forget to drop a comment in case you try this recipe.

Health benefits

Star fruit is loaded with health benefits:

·         Fights jaundice

·         Rejuvenates liver/reduces fatty liver risk

·         Prevents inflammation

·         Boosts immunity as it is loaded with vitamin C

A word of caution though: People with kidney problems should avoid this fruit as it has high levels of oxalic acid.

 

Xewali Phool Bhaji (Night Jasmine Fry)

We people in the North East like to savor all sorts of edible flowers, be it titaphool, ronga lau phool (pumpkin flower) or our own night bloom – xewali phool (parijat or night jasmine).

Talk about xewali phool and it instantly transports me to our carefree, growing-up years, much closer to nature. Back then, picking up the night-flowering jasmine – suffused with its intense fragrance – one by one from our courtyard provided us sheer joy. Once done, we’d hand over the basket of flowers to Ma and she’d wash, sun-dry and store them for use through the year (to flavor khar dishes or to be consumed as xewali phool fry or even add-ons to fish curries. Back home, it’s also used as a natural food coloring substitute to the more expensive saffron. :)

Xewali flower has a flavor, which people with a ‘bitter tooth’ (if I can say so) will appreciate :). And of course, there is no limit when it comes to health benefits of xewali flowers (read bottom)!

The best part is we can consume the sun-dried flowers for months, and even years, without worrying about their expiry date. Last week, I used up my stock to dish up xewali phoolor bhaji (with rice). Here’s how:

Ingredients:

·       Dried xewali flowers (about one/two cup)

·       Cooked rice (about one or two cups)

·       3-4 garlic cloves

·       Cumin (whole) – 2/3 pinches

·       One onion

·       Green chillies (chopped)

·       Red chillies

·       One tablespoon mustard oil (the lesser you use, the better)

·       Turmeric (a pinch – optional)

·       Salt to taste

Method:

Keep aside one or two cups of cooked rice. Soak the dried flowers in water for some time to tenderize them; wash away the reddish-brown water. Heat a pan, pour the oil. Once hot, add the whole cumin, red chillies, followed by garlic cloves, and then the onions. As the onions turn slightly golden, add the flowers and fry for some time. Add salt and just a dash of turmeric powder. Then add the cooked rice and mix well. Let it cook for some time. Add the chopped green chillies. If required, sprinkle just a little water and cover with a lid. Your xewali bhaji is ready to serve.

Health Quotient: It's said that the flower contains properties that can destroy intestinal worms. It has anti-bacterial and antiviral properties. People also use the leaves to treat skin diseases.

Mati Mahor Khar (Black Gram Khar)

A traditional Assamese platter is incomplete without a khar (alkali) dish, normally prepared with soda  or  water distilled from smoked/burnt banana peel. Popular khar dishes include papaya khar, bottle gourd khar, cucumber khar, among others. One more khar dish relished by the kharkhowas is mati mahor khar (black gram lentil khar).

How to get your Khar ingredient: Sun-dry for few days the peels from seeded-bananas (bhim kal in Assamese) until they turn grey/black. Now take a sun-dried banana peel and burn it on your gas oven. Then soak the burnt peel in potable water overnight. Next morning, as the water turns tea-like and the ashes gather at the bottom, filter the water in a separate vessel. One or one-and-a-half cup is enough for your preparation

Ingredients:

• About 1 or 1/12 cup khar water (see above to prepare this water) 
• About 250 gm black lentils
• 1/2 medium sized onion (finely chopped)
• 5-6 green chillis
• 5-6 pods of garlic
• two teaspoon mustard oil
• Coriander leaves
• 5 spices
• Salt to taste

Method: Soak the black grams overnight.Then wash well to remove the skin, although there are a lot of people out there who prepare without removing the skin. Take the green chillis, garlic pods and corinader leaves and crush with a crusher. Heat one or two teaspoon oil in a pressurre cooker, add  five spices, followed by the garlic-chilli-coriander paste. Add onion and fry; the aroma that it gives out is simply difficult to resist.Then add the lentils and fry for some time before adding the khar. Drop one or two green chillis if you prefer it hot! Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles (or as your pressure cooker demands). Before serving, add one teaspoon of mustard oil to it because it accentuates the taste of the khar dish.  

Health quotient: Khar is said to cleanse your stomach.

Masur Dailor Bor (Red Lentil Fritters)

Masur dailor bor, prepared from masur dal (red lentil or Egyptian lentil) paste is a regular serve in Assamese cuisine. Mostly used as a starter, this is quite handy when guests drop in for a quick dinner/lunch.  If you haven’t tried it, you should certainly do so; it’s way better than the besan-made fritters we are so used to having! Here’re some steps that I use to prepare this mouth-watering fritter!

Ingredients:

• Red lentils (Masur Dal) – 250 gm
• Rice Powder (optional) – 10 gm
• Green Chillis – 4-5 (or depending on how hot you want it)
• Baking Powder or Soda – 1 pinch
• Onions – 2 (medium sized)
• Mustard Oil (one cup for frying)
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves (one bunch – the more the better)

Method: Soak the lentils overnight and then grind in a mixer grinder till you get a course paste. In a bowl, add the lentil paste, rice powder (this makes it more crispy), baking soda, chopped onions, green chillis and coriander leaves. Then add salt and water and mix everything with a spoon (you can use your hand but I prefer spoon). The consistency of the batter should be thick. Heat oil; it should be really hot. Lower or adjust gas temperature as you fry the fritters. Serve hot as a starter or with dal and rice for a sumptuous lunch/dinner!

Kon Bilahi Dal (Lentils with Cherry Tomatoes)

An Assamese kitchen serves a variety of dals (lentils), each with a distinct and subtle taste.  In fact, if you choose to have Assamese food on all 30 days of the month, you'll still have a different dal to savour each day. Among the plethora of dals cooked the Assamese way, dal with cherry tomatoes (kon bilahi) is quite popular and a personal favorite too. Great to have during the summer months, here's one way to prepare this particular dal.

What's required:

·    3/4 cup Masur Dal

·    1/4 cup Moong Dal

·    10 cherry tomatoes (approx.)

·    1/4 onion (finely chopped)                                                                               

·    4 green chillies

·    1 pinch pas phooron (5 spices comprise fennel seeds, fenugreek  seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and nigella seeds)

·    Salt to taste

·    One pinch turmeric powder

·    Coriander leaves (optional)

·    1 teaspoon mustard oil

Method:

In a pressure cooker, add the washed dals, water (about 4-5 cups or as per your requirement), cherry tomatoes, 2 chillies, salt and turmeric powder. (many people add the tomatoes while doing the tempering too).  Remove from cooker after two whistles.

Heat a pan and add the mustard oil; once hot, add the five spices, followed by the chopped onions and then the chopped coriander leaves.When the onions turn brownish, pour the boiled dal. Heat it for some time;cut two green chilies and add to the boiling dal.

Ou Tenga Dal (Lentils with Elephant Apple)

Elephant apple (ou tenga) is one of the most popular fruits in Assam, used as a sour enhancer in traditional curries; but whenever I talk about this hard-shelled fruit to people here in North India, they give out an expression of “Now what on earth is this?”

For the uninitiated, elephant apple or wood apple is native to South East Asia and has a tangy flavor that adds a unique taste to your dal (lentils), fish and other curries. Back in Assam, we grew up on a lot of mythical stories surrounding this intriguing fruit too. So when my husband got me some during his last visit to the state, I rushed to my kitchen and prepared tangy dal with  this fruit. This is how:

Ingredients:

•    Half elephant apple (washed well)
•    250 gm lentil (masoor)
•    3-4 chopped green chillis
•    1-2 pinch mustard seeds
•    Salt to taste
•    One pinch turmeric powder

Method: This is one of the easiest things to cook. Just cut the fruit into pieces and crush them. Keep aside. Wash the dal and add in a pressure cooker, along with the crushed ou tenga pieces, salt and turmeric powder. Pressure cook and remove after two hoots.In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds and chopped green chillis. Pour the dal into it. Remove after some time.

Health benefits: The fruit is very effective against diabetes.