Day 40 of lock-down

This is the last day of lock-down 2.0. And we already know the lock-down is extended by another 15 days. We knew it even before it was official. Now a new extension date doesn't bring in new anxiousness because somewhere we are used to this. The new ways of working efficiently. and frankly somehow I like this. No more morning rush to beat the traffic for reaching office. No long travel in the evening. More time at home, practicing all good habits, getting ample rest and investing in creative activities which were always put on back burner before. Not to add, watching the nature healing and thriving in a human intervention less world.

It was a long weekend with the additional Labor day holiday and today being a Sunday before another work week starts, wanted to make something simple and soothing. Bitter has become a part and parcel of my menu during lock-down. Different forms of bitter, be it in the form of subzi, or in daals or even in fish curries. They all taste great, work as a palate cleanser and is healthy too.

Our society is arranging vegetable vendors to visit us twice a week and and fruit vendors once a week. This arrangement was done to discourage people from venturing out unnecessarily in search of vegetables. Also, it was beneficial to the nearby farmers as well. They could sell all their produce in a hassle free manner. I had got some karela this week. Usually I was preparing karela ki subzis or stir fries on all the preceding weeks, so this time wanted to change that ritual and make a daal.

Tetor Dal is traditional Bengali daal which is often cooked during summer time in bengali homes. Teto means bitter in Bengali. Since bitter gourd is cooked with the daal hence the name. Traditionally ucche is used instead of Karela. But in my place I don't get ucche so I use Karela instead. There is hardly any difference of taste though. But inspite of the name, the daal doesn't taste bitter. In this, the bitter gourd is fried to a crisp before adding to the daal. This which adds a nice flavor and a mild bitterness to the daal. Thus even people who hate anything bitter in their meal, will enjoy this without any complains.

My mom usually makes this daal with matar daal. Matar daal itself has a very earthy fragrance. So it along with bitter gourd gives off a very unique flavor. Again, I don't get matar daal in my area so I had to look for the next best substitute. Today it is moong daal with karela, tempered with jeera, fresh ginger, dry red chillies and radhuni. Finally topped it off with ghee for that added flavor boost.


Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Day 1 of Lock-down

It's Gudi padwa in Maharashtra today, the ushering of a brand new year.

Yesterday, I was thinking about the Covid situation and wondering that what kind of Padwa will the people of Maharashtra usher in this time? Everywhere there were news of distress, increasing count, increasing fear, careless people and helpless strays. Wherever I looked be it media, or social media nothing could spell misery in more capital letters. A major part of Maharashtra was already under lock-down so we were already aware that there is chances of the situation getting extended. And in the evening our PM declared a 21 day lock down. Much needed and very much anticipated move. The moment I heard it, I told myself this is it. Either this will consume you or you consume these 21 days to make a better version of yourself.

I thought of ordering some essentials from the popular delivery apps only to realize all the online market suppliers were cancelling the orders. There was an acute panic as more people realized this. And then there was news that the society was being put under lock-down as well – no exit, no entry beyond stipulated hours. There was panic and we went out to check if anything was open.

This was the first time I came out of home in a week. And the look of my area had changed. It looked like a dead town- the one we see in apocalypse movies. The sun beating down, a few police on the road, a few bikes and even few essential stores open. One realizes the proportion of the situation only after looking at these empty streets. I came back with two bags of essentials, exhausted, derailed, still panicked thinking what will happen if I don’t get food or essentials later on. I had decided in the morning that I am going to cut down on the amount of food consumed, be aware of how much water I am using, unnecessary electricity usage to be cut and so on. When I was out on the road to get some medicine, a young shopkeeper at the store told me, “we now need to eat one less chapati than we did, eat less portion of rice than we did. In Italy people are already eating food once a day”. I couldn’t agree more with him while thinking if this guy who is not highly educated understands the need of the hour, what part of it does the higher educated class not understand? His words touched me.

The meal was already planned for today. I had parwal at home which had to be cooked. And with the onset of the hot days a light meal would be good. Especially after running around for the essentials under the fiery sun, the exhaustion was evident. So made potol posto which is light on the tummy and is a feel good factor for me.


Preparation Time: 15 minutes

• Parwal - 250 gm 
• Potato - 2 medium
• Poshto (Poppy seed) - 50 gm
• Methi (Fenugreek) seeds- 1/4th tsp
• Fresh Coconut - 1/4th cup
• Green chilli - 2
• Mustard Oil 
• Salt and Sugar as per taste

Procedure:

Hello Readers, I am back like more than a year after. Different commitments on personal and professional fronts kept me away from my blog which I missed so much. And what can be a better time to be back other than our very dear Durga Pujas.

Just as Mahalaya was approaching the smell in the air also started changing. Especially in the mornings, one could distinctly smell the Shiuli, the signature smell of Durga Puja mornings. The place where I stay has a few Shiuli Trees on the way and passing them brings back a lot of childhood memories. During the Durga Pujas as a kid I visited my maternal grandparents house. We had a Shiuli tree in the garden. My dida used to wake very early in the morning and gather the flowers fallen on the ground for doing prayers. That earthy smell of morning mist and Shiuli is something I can only talk about but one has to experience it to understand.

This time around Durga Puja is happening on all weekdays. Hence I decided to take two days off on Ashtami and Navami. Pushpanjali, Pandal Hopping and Pet Puja was the main agenda for the days. Yesterday I went for the Ashtami Pushpanjali at Apte Road. Its a Puja hosted by the Bengali Association. The Puja used to happen in Siddhi Garden on Raja Mantri Road till last year which was considerably closer to my place. But for some reason this time they shifted base to the Central Park Hotel grounds which is pretty far from my place. By chance I noticed the change in venue, when it came in paper but many were not so lucky and ended up clueless after reaching Siddhi Gardens. Hence I felt the attendance was quite less as well at the pandal. Plus the previous location seemed better in terms of ambiance and space. I felt overall look was also lackluster unlike last year. Post pushpanjali I had luchi and cholar daal at the stall and it was super! Breaking the fast with such a scrumptious dish makes your day really.

Top: Congress Bhavan , Bottom : Apte Road

The other Puja I went to was of Congress Bhavan. Its also a very old Puja in Pune. And the pratima of Ma Durga over there was really very beautiful. She was decked in my favourite colours red and gold.  Stayed there for a while and then got some misti doi and fish fry as parcel and came back home.

Fish Fry & Misti Doi

Fortunately I was home before a heavy downpour started in the afternoon. This has been a lingering problem this puja. The rains are playing a spoilt sport this time every single day. Infact we had a dust storm today followed by a heavy downpour in the afternoon. I had plans of visiting otehr pandals in the city today but considering the weather I changed my mind and impromptu decided to make a full blown Bhog on Navami. Fortunately for me the main ingredients were all avilable in the pantry, a few of the vegetables I had to get from the market. It took me whole morning to prepare and make each of them but it was super fun and the final product was so awesome that I wish I could pat myself on the back.

Bhoger Khichudi is very special to every Bengali. It not only has the flavours of spices but the aroma of dhuno, which makes it taste awesome. Now when you prepare at home the aroma of dhuno apart everything else can be mimicked. I had made many mooger daaler khichudi before but this particular recipe that I found on the net today really came out awesome! I just added a little things here and there differently from the recipe. See the original recipe here.



Niramish Moong Daal Khichudi

Preparation Time: 30 minutes  
Cooking Time:  1 hour 45 minutes
Serves: 4
Cuisine: Bengali
2. Heat a heavy bottomed kadhai and add the daal to it. Dry roast it  till some of the daal gets a light bown/pink color, while stirring continuously with a spatula. You need to continuously stir it because unattended daal might burn which will impact the taste. Wash the roasted daal in cold water. Transfer the washed daal into the same kadhai and add 4 cups of water. On medium head cover and cook the daal till its half cooked.