6 October
|| শুভ মহালয়া ||
Subho Mahalaya to all my readers!
We are just days away from the biggest festival of Bengalis - Durga Pujo. I was expecting a crystal clear Shorot er akash but all I got was a rain cloud dotted sky. It didn't rain today but it was quite windy. Weird weather in the month of October. By now the air usually smells like Durga Puja with all the shiuli flowers ground around. that's right even if I am in Pune we do have a few homes in the vicinity who have Shiuli flowers blossoming in their courtyards at this time of the air.
To remind us of the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil Mahishashur, we celebrate the auspicious day of ‘Mahalaya’. Not only does this annual festivity hold a religious and spiritual significance, it also reminds us of the power of truth, of courage and of the universal fact that in the end, good will always triumph over evil.
On this day, Goddess Durga officially begins her journey from Mount Kailash — where she resides with her husband Lord Shiva — to her maternal home on Earth. Goddess Durga to Bengalis is like a daughter and hence to welcome her home the Bengalis make a plethora of delicious veg and non veg dishes. That is also the reason why non veg is made during the Durga Pujas in Bengali homes.
Celebrating the day with one of the favorite Bengali snacks - Vegetable chop or vegetable croquettes. Made with a medley of veggies like beetroot, carrot and potatoes, the signature aroma of a vegetable chop comes from the freshly roasted bajha moshla, crunch from coconut chunks and toasted halved peanuts. Who can not fall in love with these chops when u have it with a dash of kashundi and tomato sauce on the side. It is one of the most loved snacks for a Bengali.
Preparation Time : 30 minutes
Cooking Time : 10-15 minutes
Serves - 20 chops
Ingredients (vegetable):
- Beetroot - 2 medium sized
- Carrot - 2
- Potato - 2 medium sized
- Green Chilli - 2
- Ginger Paste - 2 tbsp
Ingredients (Bhaja Moshla - Roasted Spice Mix):
- Corriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Ingredients (Other):
- Peanuts - 1/4th cup , halved
- Panch Foron (Bengali 5 spice mix) - 1/4 tsp
- Coconut pieces - 1/4 cup, chopped into small pieces
- Ghee
- Salt - as per taste
- Sugar - as per taste
Ingredients (Coating):
- All Purpose Flour
- Egg wash - 2 eggs beaten with a pinch of salt and a tsp of water
- Bread crumbs
Equipment:
- Kadai
- Skillet
- Mixer Grinder
- Masher
1. Dry roast the spices in the spice mix over medium flame in a skillet apart from the amchur powder. Let it cool and then grind to a fine powder. Add the amchur powder while grinding the masalas.
2. Halve the peanuts and shallow fry them in a little oil until golden. Keep aside
3. Boil or steam the potatoes until tender. Now mash the potatoes while they are still hot.
Tip: Steaming the potatoes is a better option as it ensures the potatoes do not have much water after it is cooked. If you do not have a steamer, just place the washed potatoes in a steel bowl. Add enough water in the pressure cooker and place the bowl with potatoes at the center. Boil it for 1 or 2 whistles. This is also a hack to prevent too much water inside the potato as they are placed inside the bowl
4. Cut the carrots into thin matchsticks and then chop it into further small pieces.
5. Chop the beetroot into matchsticks and then further cut them into small pieces just like the carrot.
6. Heat oil or ghee in a pan and then shallow fry the coconut pieces until golden. Keep them aside.
7. Temper the same oil with panch foron. Once it is fragrant add the chopped green chilli and ginger paste. Fry for a couple of minutes until the raw smell of the ginger goes.
8. Now add the chopped beetroot. Add a little salt to cook the vegetables faster. Cook until it becomes a little limp.
9. Now add the chopped carrots. Cook until both the vegetable are soft.
10. Now add the ground spices made in step 1. Fold in. Allow the aroma of the spices to incorporate into the vegetables for a couple of minutes.
11. Add the sugar. The chop will essentially have a sweet taste along with salty.
12. Now add the mashed potato and fold in. The mixture should feel dry once everything is incorporated.
13. Add a tsp of ghee, fried peanuts and fried coconut pieces. Mix everything well and let the mixture cool down completely.
14. Once the mixture is cooled down, divide them into equal portions of about the size of a golf ball. Shape them using your palms.
15. Now dredge the balls in all-purpose flour, dip them in egg wash and roll them in bread crumbs. Dip it again in egg and then in breadcrumb. You can directly fry them at this point or keep them in the fridge for a couple of hours/overnight before frying.
Note: two times coating it with breadcrumb will ensure the outer layer to be more crispy.
16. Deep or shallow fry them in oil
Tip: The medallion shaped Chop in the picture can easily be shallow fried than the traditional long and round shapes.
Sprinkle some black salt on top and serve it with salad and sauce of your choice.
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