|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Life today is much more hectic
and who can be bothered by the grinding stone? What was once a
legendary Amaar Sonar Bangla classic has become a rarity. We
were recently surprised by a bhadralok acquaintance who treated
us to a sorshe maach prepared with bottled kasundhi
manufactured in Bhutan. Good friend Indrajit dared to boast that he
could do better with good old English mustard. When we raised
finicky objections, he reminded us that it is the phoren chchena
that has contributed to the enduring enchantment of Bengali sweets.
Fusion, according to him, is what has ensured the evolution of Indian
cuisine and saved it from fossilisation. To prove his point, he cooked
for us a river sole with bottled mustard and we must confess that we
enjoyed the hybrid product. The dish is healthy—light and nutritious—easy
to prepare and appealing to the eye. We recommend it wholeheartedly to
our readers. One admission of guilt before we proceed further; one
reader Joshi from Delhi has communicated unhappiness about the recipe
of bharwan kele published a few weeks back. He is not
the only one who has been disappointed. At home, too, we have
encountered dissent (particularly about the hard skin). We should have
added that bananas in the North are not comparable to the variety,
suited to cooking, available in Kerala—from where the recipe is
purloined. In any case, kacche kele are an acquired taste
with the possible exception of kofte. The quantum of stuffing,
too, should be adjusted as per individual taste. Salt, we beg
forgiveness on bended knees, is always according to taste. How could
we omit the line. Our apologies.
|
|||
|
|
|||
There
was a time when the culinary skills of a daughter-in-law in Bengal
were tested by her competence in grinding sorshe-mustard. A
harder touch and the paste would turn bitter; a little lack of
attention and the oily residue was unacceptable. The pleasantly
pungent spice lent distinction to delectable hilsa aka illich
maach, the incomparable fish that swims against the stream to
spawn—but that is another story. 