The evenings during Winter in Bengal

Chhatims don’t come alone. They invite the Shyama Pokas (green leaf hoppers) as well. So the army of Shyama Poka swarms each evening following various illuminating lamps, causing hindrances like itching or disturbing our tiny moments of peace during tea or Adda. But this used to add charm during our evening study time, and the same charm reflects today in the kids as we, now the parents, struggle to make them focus on their books. And why won’t it? After all, the primary combating technique involves switching off the lights for an hour or so!

However, the enticing charm of winter gets sided by the exam pressure, which has been scheduled during these precious months for ages.

Winter Vegetables

Winter in Bengal is the time when we comfort our eyes by visualizing the fresh green seasonal vegetables like Cabbages, Cauliflowers, French Beans, Peas, Spinach, Radish and Radish greens and so on. Although the long, red carrots are the late entrants. Ahh! Goodbye Bhindis and Potols, till the summer comes! It’s the best season for the gourmets when they can savour various cuisines.

While the vegetables get ready to fill our platters, fruits also do not take a seat back. Winter noon and oranges are unbeatable partners. The very smell of oranges in the fruit shops reminds us of the warm winter noons spent with syllabus books before exams & with story books after exams.

Comes out the Warm Clothes

The warm clothes are taken out from their coffins, smelling heavily of naphthalene balls and spread under the sun for a few hours. It’s still some time for the cold to set in, but Bengalis are always prepared with their sweaters, mufflers and monkey caps. But, alas! The monkey caps have yielded their place to balaclavas these days. The ‘image conscious’ Bengalis find them cooler than their predecessors.

The Best Time for Picnics & Sports

The other thing that winter in Bengal is very famous for is Picnics, which are now commonly known as day outings. Be it a school picnic, or parar picninc, the enthusiasm starts from the onset of winter and continues until the D-day arrived. The planning includes gathering friends, collecting money, deciding the venue, and what not! Nowadays, while picnics are not so common, one thing that continues is Sports Day & various other tournaments in different nooks and corners of Kolkata.

Along with these things, another sight had also stayed the same in the case of Bengali winter. That’s the sights of young boys and girls playing badminton inside the parks, corners of the roads, narrow bylanes – almost all over where it’s possible to squeeze in two players, two racquets, a badminton net and a shuttle cork.

And the Dryness of Winter in Bengal

Winter comes with the banes of chapped lips, dried skins, cracked heels and chilblains. Whatever may the skin problem be during the winter, the Bengalis always have one solution – the dark green, humble-looking tube of the Borolin ointment. We guess, almost all the Bongs will swear by Borolin as their one-stop winter skin problem solution and the unforgettable nostalgic aroma of the Lanolin, the principle ingredient used in making Borolin.

Come what may, it seems, these familiar harbingers of Bengali winter will always remain the same. The chhatims, the amateur badminton players, the ritual of sun warming the winter clothes, blankets and quilts, the Borolin, oranges – every single thing, for, the Bengalis, thrive over the nostalgia painted by these Winter Harbingers.

The post Harbingers of Winter for the Bengalis (Winter in Bengal) appeared first on KolkataFusion.

It’s the last Sunday or the last day of Agrahayan (Bengali month falling between November and December) when the womenfolk perform the Itu Pujo in Bengali households. The ritual perfectly intermingles with the mild winter and the heavenly smell of the Payesh (a type of rice pudding sans the egg) of newly harvested jaggery and Gobindobhog Atop rice (perfumed short grain rice locally grown in Bengal) from the kitchens.

The Itu Pujo is a unique Bengali ritual, along with different Shosthis and Bhaiphota, which does not need a Brahmin priest to perform. Instead, the Bengali women, primarily married women, take the initiative to carry the annual Itu Pujo in their respective households. Though the women performs the Itu Pujo ritual, the mantras or the recited hymns ask about Itu’s blessing for their fathers’ and their brothers’ prosperity signifying the prevalence of patriarchy since the old times.

The other thing that this ritual is quintessentially connected with is its famous prasad (offering), Nabanna-  prepared with new fruits and newly harvested ingredients. Before exploring Nabanna, let us understand the essential Itu Pujo ritual and its meaning.

Itu Pujo Ritual:

The word ‘Itu’ comes from ‘Mitu’ or ‘Mitra’, meaning Sun. The Bengali womenfolk worship Itu as the goddess of fertility, representing an incarnation of the Sun. A ritualistic ‘Ghot’ or Pot is placed in an auspicious corner of the house along with different herbs and leafy vegetables like Water Spinach, Mustard greens, and other grain seeds like sesame, barley, paddy etc.

Itu Pujo heralds the time for the harvest of a few crops and the time when short-term crops are sown which would be harvested during Spring or Makar Sankranti. Bengal is endowed with the natural gifts of fertile land and rivers, which results in quite a few sowing and harvesting seasons in a year. Itu Pujo is one ritual where nature is thanked for its natural resources.

The Itu Pujo was initially meant for the preservation of the seeds of the winter crops that would be harvested in the month of Poush (December-January). Before the Pujo starts, an earth-filled bowl and a pot of water is kept along with other household god idols. Earth and Water, both stands important for the cultivation activity.

If we take a look on the Itu Pujo mantras, we can find how almost all the prayers are asking for bountiful agricultural crops and prosperous home.

Itu Pujo Mantra:

“Oshto Chaal, Oshto Durba, Kalashpatra Thuye

Itur Katha shobey pran ekmon hoye

Itu den bor

Dhono-dhanye putre-poutre baruk sansar………….”

(We place 8 grains of rice, 8 grass strands on the auspicious water pot and listen about the Itu Goddess. Itu blesses us with a promise of prosperous family.)

Preparation of Nabanna Prasad

Nabanna is a food prepared as the principal offering on the last Sunday of the Itu Pujo. First, the newly harvested Gobindobhog Atop rice is soaked for some time and then grounded coarsely. The pasted rice is then mixed with milk which serves as the base. Next, Notun gur or freshly harvested date palm jaggery is added as a sweetener to the base. Later, all the available fruits like apples, bananas, sugarcane, orange, pear and other dry fruits are chopped and mixed with the rice-milk-jaggery base to be served as Nabanna.

The above preparation details were shared to us by Rakhi Roy Basu, Parna’s sister-in-law. Itu Pujo was performed in her ancestral maternal home during her childhood. As she shared about the Nabanna preparation, she could vividly describe the same taste from her childhood. She described the beautiful aroma of the freshly pounded rice blending well with that of the cut fruits and the new date palm jaggery filling their senses before it fulfilled their appetites.

Significance of Itu Pujo in the Bengali culture

If Saraswati Pujo ushers in the Spring for us Bengalis, Itu Pujo welcomes the winter. Though the latter is not as famous as the former one, it celebrates the nip in the air, the tastes and smells that define the winter of the Bengali countryside which culminates with the Poush Sankranti’s Pithey Parbon. As the days go by, the ritual might also get drowned in the sands of time, but, the celebration of the advent of winter with Nabanna seasoned with Notun gur will keep continuing in some forgotten corners of a few Bengal villages.

(Recommended Read: Joydev Kendulir Mela – The fair that celebrates humanity and music)

The post Itu Pujo, Nabanna and worshipping Sun – the goddess of fertility appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Joypur Forest

The following day, i.e. on 17th December, we started for Joypur jungle. A sweet aroma punched me as we entered the magical forest area. No! Not the typical smell of the forest; it came at sudden points, making me go crazy. After stopping our car once to find the source, we were reminded that it was winter, time for khejur gur (date palm jaggery). So, along with my nose, I kept my eyes open. The following person we saw on the road with bottles and mud pots, we stopped to purchase some fresh khejur gur. If you visit Bishnupur, Bankura, in winter, it’s a must-try out! But, be careful of fraud.

After a 2 hours ride, we reached Banalata resort near the outskirts of Joypur forest.

Bonphool Tree House

Banalata resort is the most commonly known resort in Joypur forest. But, since it’s overtly priced and overcrowded, we booked our stay in Banphool Tree House. So, while Banalata was bang on SH2, we had to travel further inside the forest to reach Bonphool.

Bonphool was once again precisely something what we wanted. In the lap of nature, it has a swimming pool, children’s play area, sufficient space to laze around, and is preferably deserted. They have boating options and also arrange jungle safaris for a minimal cost. You can also go for cycle rides in the forest. Their room rent includes three times’ meals. Initially, we were not happy with it. But all our complaints vanished after having the first bite of food.

We had booked a treehouse, which was very cozy, and perfectly crafted for a family. They also have other options like cottages, tents, and bamboo houses.

After having our sumptuous lunch, I decided to lie in the room while the other two went for a walk with my cousin, who had come to visit us.

Lying on the low-raised bed and looking at the wooden floor, before I could gather my thoughts, the party was back. So, we went downstairs, ordered our tea, and prepared our board under the eucalyptus trees for playing Connect 4. We played, chatted and drank some excellent tea until the sun went down, and we started feeling the chills in our bones.

Buy the exciting board game ( Connect 4) online from Amazon.

Since it was peak winter and the forest wind made our teeth chatter, they arranged for a bonfire on request. It was near the dining area. So, we went upstairs to keep the board game and covered ourselves with another layer.

The evening went by singing, dancing and playing with the puppies who stayed in the resort. The icing on the cake was the finger-licking snacks.

As the fire started to fade out, we decided to move back to our rooms for dinner and a night of peaceful sleep.

The next day was our last day in Bankura and we had decided to spend it in Bishnupur.

Bishnupur

It took us around half an hour to reach Hotel Annapurna, in the heart of Bishnupur town. Unlike the other three stays, it was a brick-and-mortar star category hotel.

Bishnupur Bankura temples

Bishnupur is renowned for its terracotta temples, artefacts and Baluchori saree. It has a vibrant history and every temple has a story behind it. While I wasn’t interested in sarees, I was keen to visit some temples and the haat. So, we quickly freshened up and left for the famous Rasmancha. Totos are very readily available near the hotels. On fixed rates, they’ll take you through all the temples. You can book entry tickets to the temples either online or at the entrance gate of Rasmancha.

Rasmancha

In 1600 AD, King Bir Hambir built this historical temple to celebrate the Vaishnav Ras Utsav in a protected area. To know more about the history of Rasmancha, click here.

Its structure and artefacts attract not just tourists but historians and artists from far and wide.

Dalmadal Kaman & Ma Chinnamastar temple

Our next stop was the Dalmadal Kaman. It’s indeed a legendary canon but lacks maintenance. Then, very close to it, is Chhinnamasta temple. This 100-year-old simple temple’s deity has been engraved out of Red Desert Sandstone. She is seen holding her severed head in her right hand. In her left hand, she holds a sword.

To know the story behind this temple, click here.

We didn’t visit any other temple, but to learn about the temples in Bishnupur, click here. Unfortunately, we had to return to our hotel due to my health issue. But, here’s the list of temples for you:

Poramatir haat

And after a delicious continental lunch and some rest, we went to poramatir haat. As a homage to the burnt clay and brick artefacts of the Bankura district, this evening market is named Poramatir haat. It starts at around 2 pm and runs till around 7 pm.

The vast ground has specific areas for painters, singers, dancers, and sellers. It’s the perfect place that captures the vibe of Bankura. Along with the beats of the baul and tosu songs, from somewhere, you’ll get the rhythms of dhamsha, and madol. The folk dancers move to their beats, creating an unforgettable ambience.

As you walk to the other sides, you will find some incredible painters engrossed in their canvas. And then there are the villagers, with their colourful handcrafts. Starting from dolls, mud tea sets, cotton stoles and handmade lanterns – each represents Bankura’s native art and crafts.

From the moment you enter this place, it’s bound to remind you of Shantiniketan’s Sonajhuri Haat.

After a few bags full of shopping, we retired to our hotel. They accept gpay, which is good but got quite heavy on my pocket. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my evening.

Tips

Carry an electric kettle with you and a flask. Rooms (except Annapurna hotel) did not have electric kettles. Since we are tea lovers managing without electric kettles was a bit challenging. And flask to help you enjoy a few tea sips while travelling through the forests.

There are quite a few routes to Bankura. But I suggest, if you’re going by road, don’t miss the trip through Jhargram. After all, the road towards the destination is as cherishable as the destination.

To Conclude

Be it a weekday or a weekend; everything’s mostly planned in our lives. Our mind is either planning something or executing it—no doubt why most of us wake up every morning feeling tired. And even after a long weekend (stuffed with household work and socializing), we look forward to the following weekend. However, after visiting Jhilimili and Joypur, I realized the true meaning of relaxation.

“Live close to nature and your spirit will not be easily broken, for you learn something of patience and resilience. You will not grow restless, and you will never feel lonely.”

Ruskin Bond

The post Joypur And Bishnupur Bankura-The Journey Continues appeared first on KolkataFusion.

In this article, as we observe the 76^th Independence Day of India, we will take a step back and dig into the Bengali Swadeshi companies. People with different backgrounds started these companies in Kolkata during the British era. Some are common household names, but we never consider when they started or by whom.

Swadeshi Companies Started in West Bengal

1.     Bengal Chemicals

Prafulla Chandra Ray, the father of chemical science in India, established Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (BCPL), formerly Bengal Chemical & Pharmaceutical Works Ltd. (BCPW), in 1901. The Indian Government now owns it. The story of this company started from a rented house in Kolkata to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit among the Bengali youth. Now it has three divisions – Industry Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals & Home Products.

Our regular products like naphthalene balls  & pheneol are some of the products of this brand.

2.     Boroline

Starting from chapped lips to burns & cuts, Boroline has been a one-tube solution for ages. It comes in a green tube with an elephant logo and can be found in most Bengali households from the onset of winter, if not throughout the year. In rural India, it’s also known as the “hatiwala cream”. But who started it? When the Swadeshi movement was at its peak, a Bengali merchant name Gourmohan Dutta launched the product. Today it also owns products like Suthol, Penorub & Eleen. To know more about Boroline and your nostalgia for the product, read our article The World of Boroline.

3.     Sulekha

In Bengali, Su-means good & lekha-means writing. Thus, giving the true meaning to Sulekha, the ink pot – good writing. Just pause, and think of your childhood – when you were first introduced to a pen, it was a fountain pen, not a ball pen. And that ink pen’s partner was no one other than the trusted Sulekha inkpot.

Another by-product of the Swadeshi movement –Sankaracharyya and Nani Gopal Maitra, both freedom fighters, started Sulekha in 1934 in the Rajshahi district. Sulekha suffered when people started choosing ballpoint pens over fountain pens, but now with a renewed interest in owning and writing in fountain pens, Sulekha has made a grand comeback.

Grab a Parker Fountain Pen at a discounted rate.

4.     Calcutta Chemicals Company

Remember the Neem soap Margo & the dark red packaging of the perfumed Aramusk soap? These, along with Chek Detergent & Lavender Dew Powder, are from the house of Calcutta Chemicals. On 28^th September 1916, K.C. Das, B.N. Maitra, and R.N. Sen started the Calcutta Chemicals Company as a pharmaceutical company. It was to make a mark against the British products and encourage the feeling of Indianization among the masses.

5.     C K Sen and Co. Pvt Ltd

The lineage of C K Sen and Co Pvt Ltd goes back to the time of Vaidyas (practitioners of traditional Ayurvedic medicines) when cosmetics didn’t need a special mention of “organic”. They were mostly “trees tales”, without the touch of commercialisation. Chandra Kanta Sen (C.K. Sen), who started this company in 1913, was from one such family of eminent ‘Vaidyas’. His business acumen motivated him to take the family knowledge to ordinary men. He started with Jabakusum hair oil and added other products like Basanta Malati lotion. The products are still available in the market, and the quality is just the same.

To know more, click here.

6.     K.C Das Pvt. Ltd.

Krishna Chandra Das, son of Nobin Chandra Das, who invented Roshogolla, started ‘Krishna Chandra Das Confectioner’ in 1930. He was the first sweet maker who pioneered making canned desserts in India in the pre-independence days. He invented Roshomalai and started selling Roshomalai and Roshogolla in vacuum-packed containers extending their shelf lives.

Craving for rosogollas already? Order from Amazon

Presently, the K.C Das Pvt. Ltd. Is known as K.C Das Grandsons and is regarded as one of the front runners of the Bengali Sweet making industry.

To Conclude

Swadeshi was not just a revolutionary movement; it was an emotion. As we get swayed by the aura of globalisation, at times, we must pause to contemplate the challenging journey of the Bengali Swadeshi Companies and the grit that helped them run their businesses for centuries. And which other time could be better than our Independence Day? If you know of some other products, share them in the comments box.

The post Pre-independence Bengali Swadeshi Companies, still in business appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Special Thanks To

Sayani Ghosh, Gitanjali Nayak and Neha Mittal for sharing their recipes with us and making our post more interesting. A special shout-out to Sayani Ghosh for being our regular supporter and contributor

All-time favourite Pancakes/Uttapam/Hybrid of Uttapam and Gola Ruti, etc.

You must have read about the Pancake recipe shared in our last post. Most of you must be making your own versions. We thought of sharing one more version, just adding to the family of our Bengali Pancakes or Golaruti – a cross/hybrid between the Tamil Rava Uttapam and Bengali vegetarian Gola Ruti.

Ingredients

We would just need one cup of Rava or Fine Suji, ½ cup of curd/yoghurt, salt to taste, sliced onions, tomatoes, Curry Leaves and 4 tsp of maida (all-purpose flour). You can also add your choice of finely chopped vegetables if you want.

Preparation

Mix the Suji with the curd and keep it aside for 20 minutes while you chop the vegetables. Add all the ingredients and prepare a batter. Add the maida and check for consistency. Finally, add some water to reduce the thickness if you need it.

Heat the pan well and grease it. Start putting a ladle full of the batter and spread it with the back of the ladle. Cover the pan with a lid. Let the pancake cook in simmer. Keep checking if the lower side has started browning. Flip it to let the other side cook. When both sides are done, pack it inside the tiffin box.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes to ferment and 5 minutes to prepare the pancakes.

Egg Fried Rice

If you have a bowl of left-over rice, you can use it to make egg-fried rice for tiffin the next day.

Ingredients

You will need an egg or two for a medium bowl of cooked rice, chopped onions, beans, capsicums, carrots, tomato ketchup, soya sauce, salt and a pinch of black pepper if needed.

Preparation

Heat 3 tbsp refined oil, add in the chopped onions and let it fry till it’s transparent. Add in the other chopped vegetables. Add salt to taste. Fry till the veggies become tender. Now break in the eggs in the pan. Fry till done. If you want more giant clumps of fried eggs, just don’t keep stirring. Add in a tbsp of tomato ketchup and a teaspoon of soya sauce. Mix well. Add in the rice. Stir in gently to mix up the rice with the veggies and eggs. Tada!

If veggies are unavailable, onions, eggs, soya sauce, and tomato sauce can do the trick equally well. So, no worries!

Preparation Time: 8-10 minutes

Scrambled Egg/Egg Salad with Toasts

Ingredients

One Egg, one medium-sized potato, onion, salt and pepper.

Preparation

Boil Egg and potato. Cut them into small pieces. In a wok, heat ghee or white oil and add onions. Fry them till brown. Now add the chopped potato and Egg. Add salt and pepper. Mix everything properly and let it fry for a few minutes on medium heat. Serve it with crispy toast.

If you want to make it into a more instant tiffin box recipe – simply make a scrambled egg and add slices of boiled potato, salt and pepper as a variation.

Preparation time: 8-10 minute

Homemade Plum Cakes – All-time Instant Tiffin box recipes

We have shared a simple plum cake recipe in our homemade Christmas cake article – get it here. No, it’s not an instant tiffin box recipe. But cakes have a week’s shelf life if you store them in a cool place. So, prepare it over the weekend and add it to your kid’s tiffin box in the mid-week, when you’re nearly drained out of ideas.

Preparation time: If you cook it over the weekend, then it only requires slicing and packing time – no preparation time!

Cheese Sandwich

Another finger-licking yet instant tiffin box recipe that kids love primarily, thanks to the cheese!

Ingredients

All you need is brown bread, cheese, Parsley seasoning & Barbeque seasoning and butter for grilling.

Preparation

Cut off the sides of the bread, and grate a generous amount of cheese on one of the slices. If you are preparing two sandwiches, use a whole cube. Sprinkle some Barbeque seasoning & Parsley seasoning on it. Put the other bread on top. Grease the griller with butter and put the sandwiches in it—grill as per your kid’s taste.

Preparation time: You can prepare this tasty dish in 10 mins.

Makhana Chaat

The calcium content in makhana strengthens the bones and teeth of kids and growing babies. And with a few tricks, you can make it tasty too.

Ingredients

Half bowl makhana.

Capsicum, mushroom, boiled

Corn (2 tablespoons each)

Onion (Optional – 2 tablespoons)

Tomato & mayonnaise (1 tablespoon each)

Salt, pepper & oregano as per taste

Preparation

Roast the makhanas in a pan for about 5 minutes on low to medium flame and keep it aside. In another pan, or on

Once the makhana is done, toss the veggies in butter for about 40sec.

Put the veggies and the makhana in a bowl. Then, add the taste enhancers (salt, pepper, oregano) and the mayonnaise. Mix them well.

Pack your kid’s tiffin box with the wholesome meal.

Preparation time: 10- 15 minutes. And lesser, if you prepare the veggies the previous night and store them in an air-tight container.

Buy Makhana online

Conclusion

Cooking is an art, and when it comes to preparing school tiffin, this art is put to a real test. We are sure you have some ideas, which all our readers will love to try. And we, the KolkataFusion team, are all ears!

The post 6 More Instant Tiffin Box Recipes appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Being a Bankri (someone from the Bankura district of West Bengal), Bankura as a holiday destination always sounded quirky to me. Moreover, my son and I prefer the beach. Though my hubby loves the plateaus, we always won by 2 to 1. However, last December, I decided to see what’s there in Jhargram or Bankura that entices him so much. And fortunately, we found a resort (Rimil Lodge) with treehouses. The kid also loved the videos and instantly agreed to divulge from a beach trip.

So, off we were….

15^th December is my kiddo’s birthday and in 2021, it was also the last class in school before winter vacation. Our booking at Rimil was for the 15^th itself. So was his maths exam, from 8:00 am. We were so excited that instead of waiting for a day, we decided to let our son experience some fun on his birthday alongside having serious business to take care of. I know many will frown on this idea, but that’s a life skill, to be honest!

The plan was to Jhilimili forest via Jhargram- approximately a 5 hours drive. So, the kid was to take his exam from a roadside eatery in his school uniform!

15^th December 2021

We started our journey at around 6:00 am, aiming to reach Kolaghat by 7:30 am.

We reached there by 7:20 am, giving us enough time to freshen up and prepare for the test. Though we were worried about how the teachers would react to our crazy idea of taking the test inside an eatery, they were quite sporting. After all, it’s the new normal. However, the kid was excited to reveal his birthday plans to his teacher. We had to literally beg him to restrict his words only to “Ma’am, today’s my birthday.” And to keep aside his excitement as after vacation stories. Once the test was over, we changed him into his birthday dress and resumed our journey.

Trust me! I’m not exaggerating, but this was one of our best road trips – the roads were very smooth, and the lush green forests, from the moment we entered Jhargram, added to the charm. There were so many moments when we just stopped and looked around. Unlike any other trips, we had no hurry to reach our destination. There was hardly any traffic and we either passed by villages or forests. Life seemed so peaceful and so enticing. It seemed like a journey that we could continue forever.

Jhilimili Forest

We reached our destination by 2 pm and there wasn’t a single drop of tiredness in us.

Rimil Eco-Tourism

Rimil Eco-Tourism was just the place where we wanted to be. There’s enough open space with a children’s park. However, the treehouse is a bit overtly charged. It’s a make-believe tree house put up on a few pillars. After reading a few stories, the kid expected something more realistic, but the park and the freedom to roam about maskless made him happy. And he also loved the company of the staff. They were very hospitable and paid as much importance to the kid’s words as ours.

They also have a small pond, beside which you can sit and detoxify your city life’s tiredness. And the entire area is perfectly lit up, ensuring that you neither feel unsafe nor does it interfere between you and nature.

In the evening, we had a bonfire just near our treehouse. And they prepared a sal-pata chicken, a speciality of Bankura. The smoky flavour of the countryside chicken can beat any 5-star restaurant’s tandoori.

My father and his friends used this sala-pata recipe, as an old technique, as kids. They used to marinate fish with spicy Indian masalas, wrap them up in sal-pata and put it at the base of the bonfire. Then, once the fire was towards the fag end, they took it out and enjoyed it with hot rice. We enjoyed the same thrill but with chicken!

From Rimil resort, you can visit the Talberia dam. Amidst tribal villages, it’s an appealing spot for visitors who want to spend quality time with themselves.

Visit the hills: An Accidental Sojourn In Darjeeling

Sutan forest

The next day we left for Kangsabati Dam in Mukutmanipur, Bankura. On our way, we took a detour and went to Sutan forest, which is half an hour from Rimil.

Someone has rightly said, “True bliss is found in the silence of the nature.”

Sutan forest is no activity spot. It’s the ultimate heaven where one can sit and do nothing. And if you have a poor mobile network (like we had), consider it as nature’s gift. We could see nothing around except Sal, Seora, Simul, Amla, Palash and many other trees standing in tranquillity. And Sutan lake calmly flowed through them, creating a rustling sound. As if the ambience solaced us by saying, “we are there if you need us!”

After spending some time there, we started walking into the forest. The silence, the smell of the different types of trees, the hustling sound of water and the sudden ruffling sound made by the leaves as air gushed through them – created an aura of calmness and fear. It was broad daylight, but my heartbeat fastened as we went deeper inside the forest. I had to keep a straight face with the seven-year-old, showing courage. And I was relieved when he finally declared we should turn around or we’ll lose track.

After spending some time there, we continued on our journey toward Mukutmonipur.

Another Weekend Gateaway: Let’s travel to the unknown lands of Purulia Ayodhya Pahar

Mukutmanipur

Travelling through the exciting forest of changeable heights on both sides, we reached Mukutmanipur, one of the well-known places in Bankura. The WBFDC resort is on a hill covered by green woods. And within walking distance of the Kangsabati Dam. From the dam, if you look in the resort’s direction, you’ll see nothing but a small forest on a hill. But inside stands a resort with a hauntingly tranquil ambience.

WBFDC resort Mukutmanipur, Bankura

Though the rooms are big, they aren’t well maintained and the service is poor. As the parking is quite far from the reception, climbing up to the rooms might be difficult for aged people. So, try to book rooms near the reception.  For booking and other information, click here.

Kangsabati Dam

No vehicle is allowed on the dam. So, if you want to visit the tourist spots, you’ll have to book an auto or totos, which charge exorbitantly. The sites are mostly overcrowded with tourists, but the boat ride over Kangsabati was exciting. We didn’t want to disturb the harmony of the ride with the motor boat’s sound and took a paal-tola-nouko (a sailing boat). Every time the vast azure water current swayed the boat, chills ran down my spine. After the adventurous ride, we spent some more time loitering on the dam before retiring to our room in the evening.

Personal opinion

I feel we could have avoided this halt. It can be a day’s trip from Rimil resort. But, the hotel options are much more here than at Jhilimili forest. So, make your choices, depending on the type of traveller you are!

Coming up soon with our experience and stay options at Joypur forest and Bishnupur.

The post Bon Voyage – Jhilimili Forest And Mukutmanipur Bankura appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Special Thanks To

Paramita Mukherjee, Sayani Sarkar & Tannistha Mukherjee for their contributions. This post could not have been possible without the recipes they have shared.        

Healthy, quick tiffin box recipes

Flattened rice (Poha) Tikki

Packed with iron, fibre, carbohydrates, antioxidants and vitamins, Poha (chire) provides a wholesome meal. And it’s also gluten-free.

A quick look at the ingredients to prepare poha Tikki for tiffin

Poha – a handful for two medium size tikkis, a small potato, seasonal vegetables (most preferably carrot, beans and capsicum), 2-3 tablespoons refined oil, ½ cube cheese or one teaspoon butter, half onion, pepper & salt according to taste

The ratio of poha to potato should be 1:1/2

Poha Tikki recipe

Wash the poha to soften it but ensure it does not become soggy. Mash the hardboiled (not very tender, yet mashable) potato in a bowl and add finely chopped onion, grated vegetables and cheese or butter. Mix well. Add the softened poha. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Mix well with your hand. Take small portions from the mixture. Give the portions flat shapes like Tikki or patty. Keep aside. Heat the oil and shallow fry the Tikki or patties till golden.

Preparation time: 10 to 15 mins. You can prepare the veggies the previous night and refrigerate them in a bowl of water or in an air-tight pouch.

Pick it and place it in your child’s tiffin box. As a dip, you can give tomato sauce or mayonnaise. (Try out Hellmann’s Eggless Mayonnaise.)

Pancake/Gola Ruti

This is one of those quick tiffin box recipes which has the widest variance. Different moms make this all-time favourite tiffin food in different ways. The process is the same, it’s only one of the ingredients that differ from mom to mom. 

Ingredients which has a wide options to choose from

An egg, all-purpose flour/semolina/Rava/wheat flour, chopped onion, grated veggies (if available), turmeric (optional), salt, pepper/chillies, oil for greasing the pan so that the batter doesn’t get stuck, a pinch of julienned ginger (optional). You can also add a bit of milk to the batter. It helps to maintain the consistency of the mixture and is healthy but adding is not a must.

Preparation

Preparation time: 10 to 15 mins. You can prepare the veggies the previous night and refrigerate them in a bowl of water or in an air-tight pouch.

Whisk the egg and mix in every ingredient to make a batter. The batter should be neither thick nor watery.

Grease the pan and start putting a ladle full of batter for browning. When one side browns, flip it and let the other side cook in the same way.

If in a dire hurry, you can also make this preparation without veggies and onion. In that case, add half a teaspoon of honey.

You can also add mayonnaise to it. But, in that case, whisk the mayo and then add the egg.

Quick fix Rava/semolina upma

Along with various other benefits, upma helps in digestion and boosts energy (something that all our kids need).

Ingredients

• Half cup Rava/fine blended suji (Semolina)
• Mustard seeds and curry leaves for tempering
• 1/4^th potato
• 1/4^th onion
• A small portion of carrot
• A handful of groundnuts
• 2-3 tablespoons oil or ghee
• Salt according to taste
• A teaspoon of coriander for garnishing (optional)

Preparation

• Finely chop all the vegetables
• Add oil/ghee to a deep-bottomed pan
• Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves to splutter. Then, add the veggies to it.
• Stir fir them until mildly cooked.
• Add the Rava and keep frying. Sprinkle some water on and off.
• Add the salt.
• Once the rava turns golden brown, take it off the pan, and garnish it with coriander.

Preparation time: 10 mins. You can prepare the veggies the previous night and refrigerate them in a bowl of water or in an air-tight pouch.

Lemon Rice

Like pancakes, lemon rice is also a prevalent tiffin food which our friends from Southern India swear by. Lemon rice is straightforward to make and lengthens the shelf life of rice. During humid days, when our kids cannot digest fried food easily, you can prepare lemon rice to cool the gut.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of pre-cooked rice (tastes better with short-grained gobindobhog atop chaal/rice)
• A handful of groundnuts
• A sprig of curry leaves
• A pinch of mustard seeds, chana daal (Bengal gram), urad daal for tempering
• ½ tsp of turmeric powder
• Salt and Sugar according to taste
• ½ slice of lemon
• 2 tbsp refined oil

Preparation:

• Heat the oil in the pan
• Fry the groundnuts and keep them aside.
• Now, put the mustard seeds, urad and chana dal in the same oil.
• As they start spluttering, add the curry leaves and immediately add the pre-cooked rice
• Stir in. Add the fried groundnuts, turmeric powder, salt and sugar. Mix well.
• Meanwhile, take the juice from the lemon slice and mix it with 1 ½ tbsp of water.
• Turn off the flame after mixing the rice well with the other ingredients.
• Add the lemon juice and water mix. Mix well. Once you see the colour of the mixed rice changing to faded yellow, you know it’s done.
• Preparation time: If you use a cooker, the rice hardly takes 15mins to cook. And once that’s ready, the rest is a matter of just 10 mins more. To quicken the process, you can use last night’s pre-cooked rice.
• Serve in the tiffin box after a standing time of 5 minutes.

Kabuli Chana Chaat (Chick Pea Salad)

The Chick Pea or Kabuli Chana has high protein content, which is required for nourishment in children.

Preparation that’ll make your Mondays happier

1. Boil overnight soaked Kabuli chana (Chick Pea), or use pre-boiled chana. The quantity depends on the kid’s appetite.

2. Mix chopped onion, cucumber, tomato, chilli and Kabuli chana in a bowl. Add a dash of lemon juice and black salt before packing the tiffin.

Preparation time: This is one of the best quick tiffin box recipes. It hardly takes 8 mins to prepare this delicious recipe. And can be used as a great evening snack too.

So, here are a few handpicked quick tiffin recipes, and we have a storehouse full of more tiffin ideas. So, please write to us in the comment section if you want more quick tiffin ideas from us. And if you have some other ideas, which will make the tiffing times more joyful for the kids without burning us, the moms, please share with us.

Related Articles: Hugely Popular Bengali Breakfast Dishes

The post Quick Tiffin Box Recipes appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Subhadra Sengupta was an Indian writer based in Delhi. She was born in June 1959 and had a master’s degree in history. She was the winner of Sahitya’s Akademi’s 2015 Bal Sahitya Puraskar. Of the many books, she wrote, I have read only a few. And have thoroughly enjoyed them. One of her books, Mystery of the House of Pigeons, was adapted into a television series for Doordarshan as Khoj Khazana Khojer. Most of her books are genres of historical fiction and non-fiction. But she also wrote travelogues, comic strips and detective stories. She lost her battle against Covid19 in the year 2021.

A few books I have read are Let’s Go Time Travelling, Let’s Go Time Travelling Again, Kings and Queens, A Flag, A Song and A Pinch of Salt and Mostly Ghostly Stories.

Let’s go Time Travelling

The book Let’s go Time Travelling describes the lifestyle of people from the Harappan Civilization to the British era. Its sequel, Let’s Go Time Travelling Again, gives us a broad picture of the various occupations of ancient India. I loved these two books as they had a lot of information about ancient civilizations depicted humorously.

To buy the Let’s Go Time Travelling, Click. And to buy Let’s Go Time Travelling Again, Click here

Kings and Queens

Kings and Queens is a book about famous and mighty emperors and empresses, like Chandragupta Maurya, the ruler of Magadha, was the founder of the Mauryan Dynasty. And Razia Sultan was an empress of the Slave Dynasty. Although she was a woman, that didn’t stop her from becoming a great ruler. Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluva Dynasty was a powerful king of Vijayanagar. He was a fierce fighter, a book lover and even wrote poetry. Noor Jahan was the youngest of all the wives of Jahangir. But with sheer willpower, personality, courage & political skill, she gradually became the centre of power.

To buy Kings and Queens by lesser-known Children’s Writer – Subhadra Sengupta, Click here

A Flag, A Song and A Pinch

A Flag, A Song and A Pinch of Salt tell us about the lives and achievements of famous freedom fighters like Ambedkar, Abul Kalam Azad, Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu and many more. I learnt a lot about many freedom fighters I didn’t know previously.    

Buy the book online     

Mostly Ghostly Stories

However, Mostly Ghostly Stories is a very different book. It contains spooky and mysterious stories and elements of suspense, fun and courage.

Buy Mostly Ghostly Stories online

To read about Edaan’s Safari expereince, follow the link : MY FIRST JUNGLE SAFARI EXPERIENCE

I would like to read more books written by Subhadra Sengupta in future. If she had been alive, I would have interacted with her and thanked her for the good reads about historical events and other subjects.

Edaan Ghosh

Edaan Ghosh, a class IV student of Bhavan’s Gangabaux Kanoria Vidyamandir, Kolkata, is a passionate reader and loves to prod into the history of India. He has an extensive interest in the people, culture, religion and occupation of ancient India and also the world. While searching for books on the history of India for young readers, he and his mother stumbled upon the books by Subhadra Sengupta. Thus, a small tribute to his beloved writer on her Birth as well as Death Anniversary.

The post Tribute to lesser-known Children’s Writer – Subhadra Sengupta appeared first on KolkataFusion.

In one of his books, Ruskin Bond says, “It is always the same with mountains. Once you have lived with them for any time, you belong to them. There is no escape.” To us, it’s just the case. So every year, we keep on searching for new places in the hills where we can escape for a few days. Burmaik, near Kalimpong, was one of the places we carefully selected from the paraphernalia of North Bengal Tourism spots.

We halted in Burmaik for around three days and experienced gradual detoxification from the madding city environment.

Reaching Burmaik from Darjeeling:

It took around 3 to 3 ½ hours to reach Burmaik from Darjeeling via Rishi Road. We encountered a plethora of homestays in a scenic place and feared that we might have to put up in that crowded place. But then we found out THE place called Ramdhura. It is further downslope from Burmaik.

As our cab climbed slowly up to Burmaik, turning left and not advancing towards Algarah, a pristine silence greeted us. The crickets sang as we took the stairs to Pranay Golay’s Magnolia Homestay.

Staying experience in Burmaik, a new destination of North Bengal Tourism:

The homestay owner, Pranay Ji, quickly welcomed us and asked us to settle in our rooms before the sunset. His request made us curious. But once we settled down on the upstairs verandah with our teas, we saw one of the most beautiful sunsets in our lives. The vermillion-tinged sky played with the clouds as the sun decided to hide under the cloudy shrouds. The purple, orange and bluish-gray hues rioted all over the sky, protesting.

By then, our stomachs growled too. We had plates of instant noodles and retired to our rooms for evening Adda.

Also Read: Food Crawl in Darjeeling

During dinner time, Pranay Ji served hot chicken curry and rotis. The curry did not have any hint of chillies. Therefore, we could share it with our kids. The food was delicious, no doubt. While serving, he talked about his carefully nurtured farm around the homestay building, where he grew green cardamoms, turmeric, black pepper, seasonal vegetables, a few fruits, and flowers and orchids. He kept a small coop of hens, too.

The following day, we took a round in the farm. Pranay Ji appeared to be an extremely hardworking person. His helps had gone away to their homes for Diwali leave, but he ensured that the homestay and farm premises were spic and span every day. We often saw him either with a broomstick or a floor mop roaming around, cleaning. Even the hen-coop was extremely clean, which is unusual given the hens’ biological habits.

Flowering plants bordered the farm. The seasonal flowers smiled from their places, exuding warmth and vibrance. We saw a brilliant example of indigenous engineering in a water conduit channeling the water from a natural cascade to an open reservoir at about a slope of 45 degrees downhill. Pranay Ji said that he channeled the water for the watering needs. The conduit gave an aesthetic significance to the homestay also. The vacationers can hear the sound of the falling water anytime during the day or night just from their respective rooms! Long after this stay, when I write this travelogue here, I can still visualise the neatly kept farm, the orchid plants decorating the walls and an array of red chilli pickle bottles seated upon the front balcony basking in the sun.

https://youtube.com/shorts/aeUDTCBZKTM?feature=share

We headed for a walk around the place and hiked up to a place from where we could see the Teesta River. A nearly motorable road lined the Manchu Forest around. We slowly walked on that road admiring the tranquility around. Our masks were off for the first time during this vacation. We felt free and seeped in as much clean air as possible. Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach the viewpoint as three of our hikers were getting tired. The two were our kids and the third one was me. Though the temperature was never less than 12 degrees, I always felt a bone-chilling cold during my stay. That feeling of chill limited my senses from inhaling the natural beauty. Maybe my body constitution needs a rejig.

Anyways, coming back to the homestay – the balcony is the star attraction of this homestay. One can while away one’s time just by sitting there and looking up at the sky, counting the stars or gazing at the hills that border West Bengal and Sikkim.

A visit to the Cinchona Plantation and Teesta View Point on our way to Kolakham, another destination in North Bengal Tourism:

It was thoughtful of Pranay Ji to pack a half bottle of milk as we headed out towards Kolakham for our next part of the tour. We would be staying at Kolakham for two more days before returning to Kolkata. He also gifted us a packet of fresh turmeric and two seasonal flowering plants.

We bade him goodbye with a promise to revisit his homestay during Spring. On our way to Kolakham, we stopped at the Jalsha Bungalow to observe the Government-owned Cinchona Plantation. Before Jalsha Bungalow, we got to see a Teesta View Point, where Teesta appeared like a braided stream with sandbanks on alternating curves of the river.

The Cinchona Plantation is a fantastic place, a wonderful natural setting altogether. It was placid green with the heritage Jalsha Bungalow in the middle. We got to know from the Security Staff that the West Bengal Tourism Department allows booking options for staying at the Bungalow premises. We’ll try that next time.

Address and Contact Details of Magnolia Homestay:

Owner: Pranay Golay

Contact Number: 9382131929, 7427990227

Golay Niwas

Kalimpong, Burmaik,

School dhura Burmaik,

West Bengal 734301

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Come Indian summer and the winter beauties like carrots, cabbages, cauliflowers and beans go into annual hibernation. Instead, the Bengalis aka the proven gourmets, indulge in finding joy in perfectly cooked thore chhechkis (stir-fried banana stem), mochar ghontos (banana flower curry), dnata chocchoris (drumstick curry), potoler dolma (stuffed ridge gourd) and aam daal/toker daal (lentils prepared with raw mangoes). These regular preparations with commonly available vegetables comprise the Bengali Staple Dishes.

As a kid…

I had a hate-and-bearable feeling for all these preparations mentioned above. I watched Maa cleaning and chopping these vegetables, stirring them in the kadhai with her deft hands while the rice simmered in the handi placed upon another stove top burner. A warm, magical aroma hovered in the kitchen as the cooking went on. As a naïve child, I tried to differentiate the aroma – this one’s coming from the boiling rice, that one’s coming from that obnoxious dumoor er dalna (fig curry), the other one might be from the frying onions and so on.

Now, I know that aroma was only of the love that cooked the food. But, no matter how the aroma was, whenever Ma served the dnata chocchoris, I wanted to abandon my plate and run to the backyard. The sole cause was that I hated chewing the drumsticks or pumpkin stems. My parents grew most of these vegetables, specially dumoor, sojne dnata, kumro shaak (pumpkin plant), lau shaak (gourd plant), in the small kitchen garden adjacent to our quarters. The pumpkin or gourd creepers never yielded fruits except for ample leaves and stems for Ma to use in her cooking.

Dida and her magic with the Bengali Staple Dishes

Dida, my maternal grandmother, was an excellent cook. I never got a chance to taste her fish or meat preparations because she turned vegetarian after Boro Dadu, my grandfather, died. I was then just a 5-year-old kid. Her shuktos and kalmi shaaks and paat shaker jhols were simply out of this world. I remember staying with Dida for a few weeks after my ICSE Exams and immersing in those delectable Bengali vegetarian dishes for that entire span.
During that stay, I helped myself with a humble breakfast of Dudh-Muri-Kola or Chire-Doi daily before climbing upstairs to the rooftop room to read the yellow paged storybooks till Dida called me for lunch. As I would re-shuffle the bookshelf to pick up exciting titles, the whiffs of Radhuni seeds (Wild celery seeds) would entertain my olfactory senses. Dida used Radhuni spices to temper Daals and Shuktos that she cooked often. The boiling rice smelt different from that of our house. Maybe, the underground water collected from the garden tubewell did all the magic. Or perhaps it was because of the cook’s love potion difference.
However, as I recollect, I realize that my Dida and Ma were true minimalist cooks. They cooked their versions of Bengali Staple Dishes with a few ingredients, optimum oil and optimum water – nothing more, nothing less. I guess it’s the same with all our previous generation mothers, aunts and grandmothers. They knew how to create delicious meals with significantly fewer ingredients.

Things changed during Adulting 1.0

As I grew and went out of Bengal, I started loving the same vegetables I did not love before. I was pretty disgusted with the varieties of cereals and pulses we could buy there. The scarcity of ‘Bengali’ vegetables irked me every time. Even if I caught sights of Mocha (banana flowers), or Thore (banana stems), I didn’t know how to clean, chop and cook them back then. The memories of the afternoons when we would help ourselves with the mochar ghonto (banana flower curry with lentil fritters) or dumurer dalna or thore chhechkis (stir fried banana stems tempered with mustard seeds) kept coming back in my mind. I longed to go back home. Therefore, I used to look forward to our weekly/fortnightly Kolkata visits when my mother-in-love (mother-in-law), would prepare the traditional food in ample quantities for us to devour. She packed ready-to-eat dhoka bhajas or chhanar koftas whenever we returned to that god-forsaken Jharkhand town.

My mornings used to start calling either of my two mothers on the instant recipes they would share as saviours. At the same time, our sole ray of hope of eating good food rested on the occasional paranthas, chilli chickens and weekly pulaos that Avik cooked. I don’t even want to think what would have happened if Avik didn’t know how to cook.

Then COVID came – Adulting 2.0 and foraying into the world of cooking Bengali staple dishes

Suggested Read: Our journey towards new normal after covid-19 pandemic.

During the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic, life somewhat compelled me to learn the ropes of traditional Bengali cooking from my mother-in-love. She made me realize that cooking is a basic life skill and we must know to cook at least a few simple dishes to survive hunger pangs. Yet, I wasn’t truly interested until she fell ill once. However, we were also not interested in investing in a cook because no cook could replicate the taste of her cooked dishes. Like, how to perfectly instruct an outsider to cook a basic dish like Alu Morich with no temperings except a dash of ghee and ‘as-you-feel-like’ pepper powder sprinkled just before serving?

Thus, I took the stride. Every day, I would sit by her side and take diligent instructions on cooking, what to cook and the basic tricks. Over a year, as she recuperated, I kept improving myself on the cooking front and practicing minimalism – less oil, less water, less cooking gas. Gradually, I developed a love for cooking. I tried my hand with the traditional shil nora (grinding stones) when the mixer became defunct in the middle of cooking lunch. By then I learnt that preparing non-veg dishes are one of the easiest jobs in this planet! It’s that perfectly-flavoured and balanced shukto or knacha mooger daal that tests your mastery of cooking! I feel amazed nowadays with my ability to retain the memories of the flavours of the food my mother cooked. Perhaps, that’s what we call – ‘mukhe lege thaka.’

And now…

I am fortunate to cook with my mother-in-love nowadays and to watch her closely while she uses simple cooking tricks. And the one spice that she, too, uses profusely in her meals – is love. It’s indeed a magical experience to sprinkle generous doses of love in your food while cooking and it cannot be taught until you start using it yourselves.

The post An ode to the Thore Chhechkis and Dnata chocchoris – Bengali Staple Dishes appeared first on KolkataFusion.