Nolen Gurer Payesh (Plam date Jaggery rice pudding)

Nolen Gurer Payesh 

(Plam date Jaggery rice pudding) 

Poush Sankranti is the festival of harvest.

Now I had initially decided to learn how to make fried 'Pithe' from my grandmother but then somehow I couldn't get over the idea of smooth creamy rice pudding or payesh as we call it.

To be fair one who has not tasted 'Noel gur' (Date palm jaggery) would not understand that delightful taste which all of Bengal can't get enough of during the winter season. To be fair these days much like everything else on offer this winter's delight is available much before autumn sets in but if you ask the pros they still advice you to use it when its supposed to be used, which is during the chill of the winter season from somewhere in mid December.

Now coming back to the Festival of harvest when it comes to harvest I cannot but have fond memories of acres of rice paddy which we own in Burdwan. My family had moved to the big city more than a century ago and we are what one would call essentially city dwellers living in the heart of the metropolitan city of Calcutta but we come from a district known for its beautiful variety of rice, Burdwan.

As a child my parents would take me to our village every 15 days and it would get me far from the madding crowd. I distinctly remember the voice of that lonely bird while I sat on the roof reading Malory Towers while the entire village and the fields beyond it lay in front of my eyes. I could see them from our roof and then I would set out with my father for a walk through the paddy fields.

I was essentially a free bird in the village. In the city I was sequestered in our home but every time we visited the village I could play all around the village and I had friends from every nook and cranny of our village.

What I remember most about my village were these huge storage of rice. Everybody in the village grew rice as did my family and they still do thanks to some loyal and honest help from some good people and every woman of every household would be bent over this fire made from wood and brick and stir a huge pot to make puffed rice.

As a result I almost make an instant connection with rice when I think of harvest.

I am sharing a classic recipe for Rice pudding made with Date Palm jaggery . To me the rice pudding should neither be too thick nor too thin and should have this creamy consistency. Usually people add raisins and cashew nuts to rice pudding but when I use Palm date Jaggery I refrain from using anything else so that the taste kind of remains classic.

This recipe has been passed down by my ant's mother and I was lucky enough to get hold of it. What is essential is the timing.

Makes about 6 servings :-

1 litre of full cream milk
3/4th tsp melted clarified butter or butter
1 handful rice which comes to about 1.5 tbsp heaped washed short grained rice
Palm date jaggery as per requirement (I needed about a little more than 1 handful of crumbled jaggery)
1 green cardamom
1 large bay leaf

Wash the rice thoroughly and then take a heavy bottomed pan and add the rice and milk and clarified butter with the bay leaf and crushed green cardamom and bring to a boil while stirring the pan constantly and then lower heat to the lowest possible temperature and let it simmer.

Stir the pot every 7 minutes so that the consistency remains smooth and the milk doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pan.

After 30 minutes you would see the rice boiling well. keep stirring every 2 minutes and check at 50 minutes and dd the jaggery and keep stirring for another 3 minutes to 5 minutes and switch off the flame and let it cool down.


Chill and enjoy this winter delicacy

Important tips :-

1. Never ever add the jaggery before the rice is fully cooked else the rice will remain raw 
2. The addition of clarified butter keeps the consistency to a smooth creamy one 
3. It is essential that you use short grained rice. 

This is part of :-

Kolkata Food Bloggers' ongoign event 'Poush Sankranti Specials'

Cholar Dal (Bengali Chana Pulse)

Cholar Dal (Bengali Chana Pulse)

There is little to be said about this Classic Bengali Pulse. Bengalis  cook this  for all special occasions be it the Pujas, weddings, rice eating ceremony, gathering of friends and family or just for a special Bengali meal. You can team it up with all purpose flour pooris which Bengalis call 'luchi' or hot steaming rice and julienne potato which is deep fried .

The bottom line is that, this is a classic dish. Now its mostly the same recipe followed everywhere with a few variations. Here is one that I know of passed down by my Mimi (aunt) whose mother had passed it down a long time ago.

Serves 4 to 5

1 cup Chana pulse 'cholar dal'
1 tbsp clarified butter 'ghee'
2 green cardamom
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
2 to 3 dried red chili
Half a cup diced fresh coconut
A handful of raisins
Salt as per taste
Pinch of turmeric
Sugar as per taste (Now, traditionally  this pulse is supposed to be a bit on the sweeter side so I would personally use 1 tbsp to 1.5 tbsp sugar but you can adjust as per your taste)
4 cups of water
1 large bay leaf

Soak the pulse for 1 hour and then pressure cook it on low flame till 1 whistle to 2 whistles and let the steam go out on its own. It should have cooked by that time.

Now heat the ghee and add the ginger and saute and then add the cardamom , bay leaf and red chilies and keep sauteing and then add the coconut and raisins and finally the pulse. If it seems too thick add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil and add salt, turmeric and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. It should be of a medium thickness and the pulse must retain their shape. Its traditionally supposed to be a thick pulse but not as thick as the North Indian Mah ki Dal aka Dal makhani

Hilsa Pilaf aka Ilish Pulao

Hilsa Pilaf aka Ilish Pulao 

One of the biggest boons of having bloggers who are kind enough to write about the cuisine that they are born into is your own brush with such dishes. Take the cuisine of Bangladesh for instance. Once a part of our very own country India they are our immediate neighbours and to be fair there are many people in this City of Joy whose roots are in the erstwhile East Bengal yet I personally had no clue about their cuisine till sometime ago. Not that I did not have friends whose origin is from 'Opad bangla' , former East bengal but somehow none had actually spoken about the cuisine from that area or some have sadly adapted their kitchen to the likes of where they currently stay.

My first interest in the cuisine was the direct result of someone I met with whom I became immediate friends who not only had strong feelings for her roots but one who had immense knowledge about the food from her origin. And then then there was this food festival hosted by one of the restaurants in the city which focused on food from Bangladesh. I unfortunately was unable to attend the event but the description and photographs of dishes got me all worked up.

And then suddenly one day I decided I wanted to search for a particular Bangladeshi dish which led me to a beautiful blog from Bangladesh which further led me to read about the Hilsa Pilaf. With the monsoons its time for Hilsa to be brought home every week and to be fair I personally am not a fan of mustard Hilsa. I like the 'Beguner Tel Jhal' a soupy hot dish made with green chilies, nigella seeds , hilsa and eggplants and this Hilsa Pilaf got me interested in it.

Before I move on to the recipe I must talk about this one particularly silly thing which has bothered me from childhood , the whole fight between people from West Bengal and East Bengal who live in Calcutta. I mean sure the fights are never bloody or violent but this whole enthusiasm to prove that one group is better than the other be it in sports or food is not only silly but something which should be despised. Hasn't this whole feeling of superiority of one sect of people of this world created enough problems.  How are we so shallow that instead of appreciating the distinct taste which each region has to offer we try and pull down each other's taste etc.

Anyway there are many recipes out there which use a host of spices but believe me when I say that all this needs is the simplest of ingredients to make it delicious .

Rummana's Kitchen  and my dear friend

Serves 1

2 pieces of Hilsa fish
Half a cup of Gobindobhog rice 'short-grained fragrnat rice used to make kheer aka payesh)
3 tbsp mustard oil
1 green cardamom
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp ginger paste
3 to 4 plump green or ripe chilies
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
1 tbsp yogurt

Simply marinate the fish with a pinch of turmeric and salt and leave aside for sometime. Now heat the oil in a wok and fry the fish on low heat for 3 minutes turning once in-between and then take it out and fry the onions on low heat till browned and crispy. Take out the onions and lave aside. In the same oil add the rice and ginger paste along with the cardamom , yogurt and chopped green chilies and fry for 1 minute and then add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil and then add salt, turmeric and the fried fish and lower the heat , cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Check at 7 minutes and if the rice seems cooked turn off the gas stove and keep covered for 5 minutes and then sprinkle the browned onions on top and enjoy this fabulous dish.

Very important tips :-

1. People from East Bengal love mustard oil and this dish gets its distinct flavours from the usage of mustard oil so use it for the traditional taste 
2. When browning the onions do it over very low heat else you will end up burning them. 
3. The rice has to be the short-grained rice we use for making Kheer in India even if we like Basmati not only because it is the traditional way but the rice for kheer has its own beautiful aroma which is essential for the dish.
4. If you want the dish to be a bit sticky then add 1/4th cup extra water when you add the cup of water and cook on low heat till the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked  then cover and keep it for 5 minutes.