February 20

I am a hardcore fishiterian..if that's a word. There has been hardly any occurrence where I have tasted a fish and not liked it ( apart form squid!). In fact I love trying out new fish variants and preparations all the time.  

Recently there was a day when I purchased a fresh bunch of mint for the market to make Strawberry Ghol and still had more than half of the bunch remaining. Mom wasn't too excited about the idea of making mint chutney ( we are really not that great mint lovers, apart from having it incorporated into some summer drink), so it was up to me to utilize the remaining leaves. 

I had a lovely fillet of Basa languishing in my freezer for some time because I had forgotten about it after pushing it to the back of my freezer! Finally I stumbled upon it again while rummaging through my freezer for prawns. I really felt sorry for the beautiful fillet which was practically frozen to death by that time. But nonetheless I was definitely not going to throw it away. 

Now when you have a dated fish, you need to cook it with something which will instill a little life into the fish like strong masalas - usually an onion gravy is a surefire solution to this kind of problem. But it would be a sheer injustice to put a fillet in a normal onion based gravy when it can e made into something a little more interesting. That's when I thought lets do some experiment with the fresh mint. The flavor of mint definitely qualifies as strong, and which would help in bringing a good amount of flavors into the very frozen fish.

It was a working day and hence I didn't have much time in hand to cook a fancy fish preparation. Something quick and easy which would go with daal rice was what I was aiming at. Thus came into existence this quick fire tangy and sweet recipe. It tasted so unique and chatpata that I can recommend this as a starter as well (However I do suggest when you make this recipe, use a fresh fish to get the best taste).. This is somewhat similar to Fish Hariyali which is a well loved dish of the Northern India.

Check Out the DIY Background I made for this shoot.

Check Out the DIY Background I made for this shoot.

February  7

After a very few tepid winter months, we finally are getting some cold days that too when we are now into February already. Days still don't feel cold but nights and early morning are sort of nippy. It feels lovely to wrap your palms around a steaming cuppa of chai in the morning.

Saraswati Puja  or Basant Panchami is just around the corner. When I think of it, as a kid I do remember my mom forcing me to wear warm clothes on top of the saree or suit which I would have meticulously chosen for this day. My vehement protests would fall on deaf ears, and eventually I would end up walking down the street with a pretty saree and a not so matching sweater on top. We weren't allowed to take shawls, because they weren't warm enough for children unlike it was for adults! I could never fathom why back then. And the simple standard reply to all our doubts would be - " when you grow up and have a kid of your own then you will know (jokhon nije boro hobi ar nijer baccha hobe tokhon bujhbi). Which essentially meant, that to understand the rationale behind this we had to wait for like 10-15 years. It didn't sound too promising, hence giving up protest was the only option. And thus, it means, we did have cold days even during the time of Saraswati Pujas. So when the days feel chilly now, it shouldn't be much of a surprise. But still I am surprised, because staying away from Kolkata for a very long period sometimes makes these memories.  

Today I am going to talk about Bhorta. Bengalis pronounce it bhorta, but for the non-Bengali population, it’s called as bharta. Bhorta or Bharta as it is known across many Indian states is just a mishmash of vegetables, herbs, pulses, seafood, meats or eggs or even a combination of these. Baigan Bharta is possibly the most famous of Bhartas which is equally popular in both India and our neighboring country Bangladesh. 

Bhortas (ভর্তা) are the simplest and ultimate comfort food in the Bangladeshi cuisine. Although they were invented among the Bengali Muslims, bhortas have become an indispensable part of national Bangladesh cuisine. It was mostly a rural or poor man's comfort food to begin with and the purpose was a no-waste meal out of things which were leftovers or excess. Thus bhorta became the default choice in the households, because it required minimum fuel, very little oil and no expensive spices.

They are served with rice or rotis (flatbreads). The standard elements in all kinds of bhortas are crunchy fresh onions or caramelized onions , green or red chillies and mustard oil.  To that, the other ingredients, may be boiled, roasted, steamed, even charred, are added to make a specific kind of Bhorta. As the saying goes- if you really want to relish a bhorta, never skimp on the mustard oil! Some of the most famous bhortas of Bangladesh include - aloo (potato), begun (brinjal), kacha aam ( raw mango), dal (pulses), chingri (prawn), lau er khosha ( bottle gourd skin), mach (fish) , murgir mangsh (chicken), tomato, ucche ( bitter gourd), shapla (water lily) and many many more. 

Just like bhorta, makhas are the comfort food of West Bengal. They are the quintessential, staple thing you would find on the menus in Bengali homes. It also gives us an excuse to be lazy at times and yet spin up something absolutely finger licking good. The makha involves a range of methods like mashing, muddling, mixing and macerating,  mainly by hand, to bring together a range of ingredients, flavours and textures and create a composite dish. Just like Bhortas, makhas are not usually served on special occasions or festivals. It was meant to be a homely food for day to day consumption. Now a days, you would find most Bangalis using the word Bhorta and makha reversibly. 

But slowly, the erstwhile rural food is now finding its way to the gourmet meal platter across the world because of its uniqueness in taste. Especially outside of Bengal and India, I have witnessed many fine dining Bengali restaurants serving an assortment of Bhortas  or makhas at the starting of the meal and non-bengalis enjoying it as much as we do. While doing some research about Bhortas, I came across an article which even talked about Avocado bhorta made by a lady from North Dakota. That itself talks about how adaptable this dish is and how far and wide it has now spread across the world. To quote cultural historian and writer Niaz Zaman from her cookbook Bosha Bhat To Biryani: The Legacy Of Bangladeshi Cuisine: 

"The liberation of Bangladesh led to a search for its indigenous cultural roots as well as its indigenous foods. Bhajis (simple sautéed vegetables) and bhortas had always been part of the Bengali diet…not something offered to guests or served at hotels. After liberation, however, Bengali foods were, so to say, rediscovered."

In addition to the standard ingredients that are added to the Bhorta, I love my bhortas with a hint of garlic and loads of fresh coconut. The character and taste it adds feels phenomenal to me. So the next time you have prawns and don't want to make an elaborate curry out of it, just bring together a few elements and spin up a droolicious bhorta to go with rice.

Now a days you would see me cooking many non-Indian dishes in my blog. But then after a while when I start writing about something from the Bengali cuisine, I feel this is the reason for which I had started this blog. To talk about my heritage recipes which might get lost in the folds of time and to keep them alive in these pages on the internet for someday someone to stumble upon and enjoy. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to talk about what is truly close to my heart and my legacy. 

Preparation Time : 10 minutes