The All-time favourite Kochuri-Alur Torkari-Jilipi

Once, a newlywed from Durgapur was told by her new family members in North Kolkata that the Sundays are ‘Kochuri-Alur Torkari-Jilipi’ days. Sunday being a holiday, almost all the North Kolkatans prefer Sunday Bazar visits for buying the veggies, fish and meat for the forthcoming week. And carry back home a big paper package of Hot Kochuris, moderately spicy potato curries and Jalebis (Jilipis) to extinguish the hotness of those curries.

The household members have their Sunday breakfasts together before embarking on elaborate cooking activities of that day. The Kochuri is so famous and ubiquitous in Kolkata that we don’t even care to know the true-blue Bengali recipe of Kochuri. Who cares to sweat out when your neighbourhood sweet shop can parcel Kochuris at your doorstep? Also, a plate of Kochuri-Torkari-Jilipi costs pretty negligible, approximately around 20-30 Rupees in the sweet shops lined in the Dalhousie-Shyambazar stretch.

The duo – Luchi and Shada Alur Chocchori

While Kochuris are to be quintessentially bought from sweet shops, Luchi is made strictly at home. Luchi, the flour cousin of the North Indian Puri, is also primarily a holiday delicacy, complete with a fill of Shada Alur Chocchori (White curry with potatoes without the use of turmeric and tempered with paanchphoron – five spices) or Begun Bhaja, and a Roshogolla or Bonde. Sometimes, a chhanar jilipi (a juicy jalebi preparation with cottage cheese) or a Pantua can barge in alongside humble norom alu bhaja (Potato fry) instead of the chochhori – depending on the mood of the cook. Commonly, any bong sweet can be a perfect accompaniment with a plate of pristine white Luchis. Period.

Talking about Luchi, it can also be considered a crime if we don’t mention the royal presence of Bashi Luchi, Bashi Roshogolla, and Bashi Paanthar Magsho (the delectable trio of Luchi, Rasgulla, and Mutton Curry made the night before for any occasion). It’s a Bengali brunch served on the breakfast tables. For, whenever you eat them in the morning, you are sure to skip your lunch of that day!

Muri – With any dish at any time of the day

It’s not that we Bengalis love only greasy, unhealthy kinds of stuff as our breakfasts. We love Muri, yes, almost all of us. Muri can be no less than a superfood because it plays multiple roles, so effortlessly, easily. A bowl of Muri, which gets huger when you visit villages, with the same Alur Torkari that we described earlier with Kochuri, tastes pleasant because the Muri cuts up its hotness. We can have a bowl of Muri with Milk and Bananas (as you have cornflakes with milk) or Roshogolla or Jilipi or Bonde or Alubhaja. Or even with that Baashi Paanthar Magsho if we want to go easy on our stomachs while making it filling and tasty.

Panta Bhaat – A Relief During Summers

During the hot summer days, many of us love Paanta Bhaat (made more famous by Kishwar Choudhary in the show Master Chef Australia). Breakfast recipe with Panta Bhaat, frying posto fritters (postor bora), or boiled and mashed potatoes, a green chilly and raw onion to beat the heat outside. Panta Bhaat is a simple recipe of soaking the pre-cooked rice in some water for a few hours before eating.

Read: Saraswati Pujo Delicacies

Doi Chinre – Another Summer Relief

In summers, we also swear by Doi-Chinre (Dahi Chura) or yoghurt and flattened rice with jaggery, ripe bananas, or ripe mangoes (preferably mangoes). The sweet-toothed Bengalis don’t mind a serving of Murki (jaggeried khoi) and batasha with the Doi-Chinre-Aam (yoghurt-flattened rice-mango), although.

Parantha in Various Forms

Along with the very Bengali breakfast items we mentioned above, there are other popular items, too. The Mughal influence or Arab influence added in the Chapati or Ruti-Torkari concept (not to forget Gur Ruti or Roshogolla Ruti), Parantha and yoghurt/Raita, and Petai Parota. The Petai Parota is just a pieced huge Parantha sold according to weight. It is commonly available in the tea shops across Bengal and served with potato curries, chholar daal, or sweet syrups (depending on the resource availability in respective shops).

Gola ruti – the Bengali style Pancake

Something started 30,000 years ago during the Stone Age and has become a staple breakfast of many Bengali households – Pancake. Bengalis prepare it in different ways – sometimes with all-purpose flour and sometimes with wheat. Keeping the egg constant, they have different variations of gola ruti – sweet, salty and spicy. It depends on the mood and the weather which flavor the family will have that day for breakfast. And not just that, sometimes this gola ruti is also prepared without eggs with urad daal, rice flour, suji as replacement ingredients.

European influence

The European influence was most commonly the bread that got rechristened as Pauruti (or bread kneaded with feet). Like Muri, Pauruti is also widely eaten across Bengal with similar accompaniments as of Muri. Adding to that, we have our favourite Bengali version of Dim Pauruti (widely Bengalized from French Toast) prepared at homes or streetside tea stalls in and around Bengal.

Chinese Influence

The Chinese influence brought in the concepts of Bengali Chowmein prepared with potato wedges, sliced onions, egg, or fried groundnuts to make up the absence of egg in common Bengali households. And the most loved Maggi or different varieties of instant noodles, which is also a dedicated companion of college-goers, is cooked by Bengalis in their unique ways. Some like fried Maggis, some prefer soupy, and others prepare it like noodles or grab a bowl in the middle of work or studies.

So, what’s your favourite?

With this, we sign off with a burp and a thought on what to prepare for our next breakfasts. But, we would like to ask you to share your favourite Bengali breakfast item or any unique Bengali Breakfast item you had somewhere and still remember.

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The pointed gourd or Potol has a smooth ability to adapt its flavour to the ingredients and tempered spices it’s cooked along. That makes it a perfect choice to be cooked with strictly vegetarian ingredients, or non-vegetarian ingredients. You can experiment a lot with Potol. We, Bengalis, have a wide range of dishes made from this vegetable, right from the starters, through the side dishes and desserts. We make Potol Bhaaja, Potoler Dolma, Potol-Alur Chocchori as starters; Alu Potoler Dom, Potol Chingrir Korma, Doi Shorshe Potol as side accompaniments with hot rice; and Potol Kheer as dessert.

I cooked this Potoler Dolma with homemade chicken keema filling but it can be done with prawns or eggs as fillings or fillings made from grated coconut, cashew paste and posto baata (poppy seed paste). Whichever way you choose to cook, the taste will be equally amazing.

Ingredients for Potoler Dolma Recipe

• Potol (Pointed Gourd) – 5 (You can take more if you are preparing for more people)
• Chicken (minced and cooked)– 5 tbsp (Please follow this link to know how to cook minced chicken in Bengali style)
• Onion – 1 small
• Garlic – 2 pods
• Ginger – ¼ inch
• Mustard Oil – 3 tbsp for frying; 1 tbsp for cooking the filling.

Preparation

• Slit the Pointed Gourds as shown in the below photo.
• Scoop out the seeds and the pulps inside them.
• After scooping the seeds out, smear some salt on the pointed gourds and keep aside. The salt will help them to become softer.
• Throw out the seeds which have become hard and fully formed and take the pulps. If you feel like the pulp part is inadequate, take two or three fresh and unripe pointed gourds with bare minimum seeds. While preparing the filling this time, I had to take two kochi Potols (fresh and unripe Pointed Gourds) for adding up the filling.

• Prepare the Chicken Keema as instructed. In case you have stored it in the refrigerator, bring it outside in order to normalize the temperature.
• Chop the onion, garlic and ginger in dices and add to the mixer. Add the Pointed Gourd pulps and unripe seeds too. Mix them to a fine paste. Keep aside.

• Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil. Fry the pointed gourds till light brown. Keep aside.
• In that same oil, add 1 tbsp more oil if required and sauté the pointed gourd pulp, onion, ginger and garlic paste. If you feel like you can add green chilli paste or chilli powder too. I have opted that out because we don’t like the hot taste that much.
• When the paste starts getting reduced and the oil starts coming out while stirring, mix 5 tbsp chicken keema or according to your requirement. Mix well.
• Add a dash of Garam Masala and keep aside the filling for cooling a bit.

• Take the fried pointed gourd shells and fill up the insides with the cooked filling and serve hot.

The Potoler Dolma goes best with piping hot rice as starters, but you can also have it alongside Rotis during dinner or as snacks with tea.

Recipe by Parna’s Mother In Law, a silent but prominent recipe blogger of KolkataFusion.

The post A simple preparation of Potoler Dolma – Bengali Style Stuffed Pointed Gourds appeared first on KolkataFusion.

Being adjacent to coasts, the Konkan and the Bengali style of cooking has quite a few similarities. Starting with the spices used to temper a food while being cooked o the dry roasting of spices prior to cooking, there are many similarities – the only difference is the use of coconut oil. Instead of coconut oil, Bengalis prefer mustard oil, refined oil or ghee. In this article, we present the traditional Mangalorean (Konkan Coast) Chicken Sukka recipe or Kori Sukka in Bengali Style.

Chicken Sukka is a pretty fast and easy to prepare, making it one of the easy chicken recipes of India. Undoubtedly, it is an extremely popular preparation down south, specially in Karnataka. Our fellow Bengalis, who have settled in different parts of India or other countries, have the affinity to try out the local as well as simple dinner recipes popularly prepared in those areas, and if they like the taste, they end up cooking them at home. As said, we are born foodies!

Recommended Read: Crab Meat Delicacy

Simple Dinner Recipe – Ingredients you need for Chicken Sukka

Ingredients For Marination

• Chicken Curry Cut – 500gm
• Turmeric – ½ Spoon
• Salt – ½ Spoon
• Cumin Powder – ½ Spoon
• Coriander Powder – ½ Spoon
• Garam Masala – ½ Spoon
• Lemon – ½ piece

Ingredients For Cooking

• Whole Jeera or Cumin Seeds – 1½ Spoon
• Whole Coriander Seeds – 1 ½ Spoon
• Methi (Fenugreek) Seeds – ½ Spoon
• Whole Black Peppercorns – 1 Spoon
• Cinnamon – 1 ½ inch stick
• Cardamom – 4
• Cloves – 4-5
• Whole Red Chillies – 2-4 (according to taste)
• Grated coconut – ½ cup
• Oil – 1 spoon
• Ghee – ½ Spoon
• Chopped ginger and garlic – 2 tbsp
• Green Chillies – 4 Nos. (Can use more or less depending upon the preferred taste)
• Chopped Onion/Shallots – 2 ½ cups
• Tomatoes – 2
• Salt – To taste

Simple Dinner Recipe – How to prepare Chicken Sukka

• At first, marinate the chicken for 30 minutes with the ingredients mentioned in the marination list.
• Dry roast the whole spices, i.e., the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chillies (we have used dried Kashmiri red chillies instead of Byadgi Chillies), green cardamoms, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and cloves until the roasted mixture starts emitting out a beautiful fragrance.
• Cool the mixture down and grind them smoothly in a mixer.
• Dry roast the grated coconut. (Traditionally, fresh grated coconut is used, but we did a deviation here to suit the Bengali taste buds. Dry roasting coconut enhances its taste as well as increases its shelf life.)
• Mix the dry roasted coconut with the dry roasted ground spices and keep aside.
• Heat the refined oil and ghee in a wok.
• Add half tsp of whole cumin seeds in the heated oil.
• When the cumin seeds start spluttering, add chopped onions or shallots.
• Add chopped garlic and ginger. Add a bit of salt.
• Mix well.
• Add chopped tomatoes when the masala starts to get translucent.
• When the masala starts separating oil, add the marinated chicken. Stir well and mix the masala with the marinated chicken.
• Cover and cook for a few minutes.
• Add the dry roasted spices and grated coconut. Mix well.
• Cover and cook till the chicken pieces turn tender.
• Add freshly chopped coriander leaves and put off the flame.

P.S: We have omitted adding tamarind here and added lemon instead in the marinade.

So, that’s sure to be one of your simple dinner recipes you would like to prepare in a jiffy. Enjoy Chicken Sukka with Bengali Basanti Pulao, steamed white rice, roti or luchi. The choice is yours. Bon Appetit!

For more videos YouTube channel.

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When I shifted to New Town, the budding outskirts of our Kolkata, I found it to be a really peaceful and clean place to reside. However, the gastronome in me was disheartened to the core of the heart – forget about a star cuisine, this place lacked the options for street food (which Kolkata is famous for).  But, that was in 2013, and now we are blessed with restaurants like 6 Ballygunge Place, Throttle Shrottle, Traffic Gastropub, Orient, Country Roads and many more.

Poila Baisakh is knocking at our door, the festival during which the Bengalis cherish traditional culinary delights, so, why not dedicate this week to the food lovers?

How Is The Ambiance Of 6 Ballygunge Place New Town?

Located at Ecosuite Business Tower, Action Area II, New Town 6 Ballygunge Place Rajarhat is spread over 6000 square feet (shares the space with The Wall) and has the seating capacity of 84.  

From the moment you enter this place, you will get a vibe of traditional Bengali environment. The wooden door, the waiting area, the wall paintings, the furniture, and the cutleries – everything will remind you of an era when the rich Zamindars of Kolkata used to welcome their revered guests with splendour, where every artefact reflected the warmth of the refined lady of the house, who used to supervise each minute detail with the eye of an eagle.

6 Ballygunge Place has their branches in Salt Lake, Ballygunge and various other locations of Kolkata, but the ambience of the 6 Ballygunge Place New Town is something to really cherish.

Without any exaggeration, we can say that the Bengali culinary skills are one of the best and 6 Ballyygunge Place does absolute justice to the age-old dishes. In fact, they have gone a step ahead and have added some delicious, creative dishes to their menu.

What’s On The Menu Of 6 Ballygunge Place New Town?

You can go for their buffet, which is available every day of the week and at a reasonable cost (INR 585 to INR 740, excluding tax). The sumptuous buffet mostly includes a number of options – fish, mutton, chicken, rice, luchi, and sweets along with other dishes.

However, we personally prefer going for the ala-carte menu as we cannot think of visiting 6 Ballygunge Place and not eating Gondhoraj Chicken and Dhakai Pora Mangsho with Steam Rice.

You might be laughing at me for this but even if you do not have an appetite for a starter, try one (most are good, depending on your preference of non-veg and veg) for the sauce at least. It is a dhaniya (coriander leaves) sauce, but the fresh aroma of mustard is so enticing that no one can escape it!

Some of the most recommended dishes

Shukto –  Bengali bhoj has to start with a teto (bitter tasting items)* but if the teto is like 6 Ballygung Places’ teto, you will crave to start with it.

RELATED: Shukto From MIL’s Kitchen  – To know more on hot to cook this heathy starter at home.

Jhuri Alubhaja – It’s the authentic Bengali alu bhaja (potato fries) and the quantity is pretty good.

Narkel Postor Bora – Finely grated coconut adds to the charm of the postor (poppy seeds) bora from Ma’s kitchen.

Steamed Aam Kasundi Murgi – Chicken perfectly blended with kasundi and is a steamed preparation. A must try for diet-freaks. 

Bhetki Paturi – Soft and juicy and surely one of the best that I had till date.

Pur Bhora Doi Potol – Another traditional dish with a contemporary touch is a must try for the veg lovers. (My hubby is pointed gourd/potol lover, so thankfully we had got the opportunity to taste this dish and we don’t regret doing it). 

Hilsa – if you have those sudden cravings for Hilsa in the summers and you know you won’t get it in the market, just give a call to 6 Ballygunge Place and pick any of their Hilsa preparations to whet your appetite.

Dhakai Pora Mangsho – As already mentioned, it is highly recommended if you love spicy gravy of mutton. The texture of the gravy is picture perfect.

Dhonepata Chicken – If you prefer chicken instead of mutton and crab, you must try this.

Daab Chingri  – This delectable recipe of Chingri with a perfect fusion of Daaber Saansh (tender coconut pulp)is one of the most recommended dishes of the 6 Ballygunge Place.

We love to end this sumptuous meal with a “Nolen gurer ice cream” and we would highly recommend it.

What About The Staff?

The entire charm of this restaurant is enhanced by the cordial and supportive staff. They are always there at your service with a smile on their face. But, due to the extreme rush in the weekends, sometimes they are overburdened and you might tend to think, “this is not how they are on other days.”

So, if you are really looking forward to eat out on the Poila Baishakh surrounded by a traditionally Bengali ambience, the 6 Ballygunj Place, Newtown can be your sought-after destination. Bon Appetit!!

Address:

ECOSUITE BUSINESS TOWER, 1st Floor, Plot No-II, D/22, AA II, New, Town, Kolkata, West Bengal 700157

The post 6 Ballygunge Place (New Town, Kolkata) – A Grand Tribute To The Bengali Food Culture appeared first on KolkataFusion.

The restaurant is a brainchild of Chef Joy Banerjee who have twisted in the Continental cuisine with local ingredients and tempered with the Bengali spices. The art experimentations had been given familiar names like Kosha Mushroom/Mangsho/Shorshe Chingri Crostinis, Mochar Ghonto Augratin, Kancha Lonka Mangsho, Chilli Pickle & Cheese Baked Crabwith Kolmi Greensto name a few.

It was a summer evening when we decided to visit Bohemian. As we panted up the stairs, we were welcomed with a toothpick tucked diced watermelon with crème. Our weariness momentarily vanished. Feeling refreshed, we decided to try out the flavoured fuchkas as starters and ordered for Hilsa Fuchka and the Crab Prawn Fuchka. The flavours were absolutely stunning. A second helping of them was instantly called for.

As appetizers, we tried out daab chingri dynamites and vodka prawn. Our taste buds would remain indebted to them forever.

Then came in the main dishes we chose from equally tantalizing names, – Kanchalonka Mangsho, Pork Vindaloo and Murshidabadi Barbecued Chicken with Pita Breads. I simply can’t describe how they tasted. It felt as if all the spices performed synchronized dancing. In fact, when I took the last morsel of my helping of Kanchalonka Mangsho, I decided to stop calling them dishes and call them art forms instead. Well, I am not able to give a snap of the main dishes here as I was so lost in tasting them that I forgot to take a snap home with me. A search in the world wide web did not help me either!! Gosh!!

RELATED: 6 Ballygunge Place (New Town) – A Grand Tribute To The Bengali Food Culture

In the dessert section, we experimented with Malpua Cheesecake, Cigar Coffee Mousse, and Pantua Baked Alaska.

It’s needless to say that each of them tasted marvellous as well as unique.

I sadly confess that we had missed out on a lot while we were sampling these platters and haven’t found an opportunity yet to go there, and sample the other signature dishes and let our sense of taste do the tango. 

Don’t miss out like us. This Poila Baishakh, if you are a food enthusiast, head out to Bohemian restaurant and let your taste buds perform tango and a Chhou dance in synchronization, together.

Trust us, you won’t be forgetting the unique experience ever in your life.

Image Courtesy: World Wide Web, www.dineout.co.in.

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