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Friday, September 4, 2020

Bengali Niramish Thaali ~ Uchche Bhaja / Bengali Bitter Gourd Fry

A 'Niramish' thaali is a Bengali veg thaali that is prepared adding no onion or garlic and with minimal usage of spices. In short, it is what is called a satvik thaali in other parts of India. I may have gone overboard and added an extra dish or two in my everyday thaalis that I have been posting for the past three days. However  Bengali cuisine is the only one that has a traditionally developed multi course tradition, among the regional cuisines of India that is similar in structure to French cuisine. A traditional, every day meal platter in Bengal would look somewhat  like this though it may not be a true replica. Of course there would be fish / meat in a Bengali household if it is not a niramish thaali. 

A niche of vegetarian cooking seems to have evolved and thrived in spite of no one being a vegetarian in Bengal because of an unusual reason. The full glory of the vegetarian cooking and the credit seems to go to the high caste widows of the bygone era who had to live under various restrictions. Restrictions that were imposed on their lives in the guise of puritanical beliefs which did not apply for widowers. 

The widows were given full meal once a day and were forbidden from eating or cooking or for that matter even smelling fish, meat, garlic, or onion. Even the masoor dal which is a 'must have' dal for Bengalis, and expensive spices were strictly forbidden. Dairy products, nuts and dry fruits were scarce as well. Basically they had a 'pre and post' widowhood dietsThey were relegated to a separate kitchen, had to rely on the meager supplies, taking the responsibility for the vegetarian part of the meal for the family. They had to relearn to come up with new set of meals even using the odds and ends and cheap spices as they no longer had access to their own kitchen or supplies. The silver lining of this plain misogyny has been that the taboos, the social and economic restrictions and the harsh dietary rules seem to have created a section of vegetarian cuisine with a wide range, and subtlety where nothing is wasted

1. Tomato chutney 2. Begun Basanthi 3. Kumror Chakka 4. Cholor Dal

I went through a lot of Bengali food posts and videos to get the gist below. I would have acquired some degree in the time I spent on researching regional cuisines of India for various thaalis. 😇 Coming to my thaali, I repeat, it is a platter that represents a traditional style every day meal that allows one to savor the six flavors / rasas. People nowadays however skip some courses in the daily grind. 

Daily meals are nutritionally balanced and makes use of vegetables extensively. The meal revolves around rice and the courses progress from lighter to richer and heavier. There would be fried breads served for special occasions. I have given a general glimpse of how the courses are served below. There is always a lemon wedge and green chili to go with the meal, a common feature in eastern parts of India. Pickles may be served as an accompaniment to dal / lentil dish and a papad with chutney.

My menu had rice with lemon, green chili and the following courses.
Ucche bhaja -  Fried bitter gourd slices
Cholor dal - Split chickpea dal
Jhurjhura aloo - Fried potato juliennes
Kumror chakka - Pumpkin and potato curry
Begun basanthi - Eggplant in yogurt and mustard gravy
Tamatar Chaatni - Tomato chutney
Rajbhog for dessert

1. A bitter (side) dish 
Every day lunch starts on a bitter note, literally. Bengalis starting course is usually a bitter gourd or tender neem leaves preparation. This is true especially during summers. It is to cleanse one's internal system and palate before you dig into rich and complex food. Portions are usually tiny unless if it is the medley of vegetables called shukto. I served ucche bhaja aka bitter gourd fry which seemed more practical and easier. 

2. Dal 
There would be a savory dal which may again change seasonally and occasion wise. Masoor dal and moong dal are the commonly used dals in Bengal while surprisingly toor dal / pigeon peas which is common in south India is rarely used. Urad dal / skinned black gram is cooked when pairing with potato based side dishes. Cholar dal is reserved for special occasions and that is what I cooked which was one of the highlights of the platter if you ask me.

3. Bhaja / Bora - Fried vegetables / Vegetable fritters
The above dal would be paired with a bhaja or a bora which surely is a tempting combo. This section is irresistible even without the dal if you ask me. 😀 Vegetables are fried either plain (bhaja) or with a batter coating (bora). Even fish are fried this way.

Some choices for fried vegetables are potatoes, eggplants, parval, bitter gourds. And for the vegetable fritters / vegetable bhajias which are called bora, choices may be a beguni bora (eggplant fritter),  fulkopir bora (cauliflower fritter), posto r bora (poppy seeds fritters), narkeler bora (coconut fritters), cilantro fritters and so on. I had jhurjhura aloo, crisply fried potato for this course.

Ucche bhaja (Bitter gourd Fry) and Jhurjhura aloo (Deep fried potato juliennes)

4. A vegetarian side dish 
It can be a dry one or one with gravy prepared using seasonal vegetables. Torkari, dalna, ghontos, labra fall under this category. Sometimes the vegetable preparations may have pieces of fish as well. I made kumror chakka - a potato, pumpkin and black chickpeas curry that is mildly spiced.

5. Rich gravy curry
This is the main course where usually Bengalis serve a non vegetarian curry prepared with fish / other sea food / meat at this point. It would be a gravy dish for vegetarians like dhokar dalna (gravy with lentil cakes), chanar dalna (cottage cheese and potatoes) which is I am assuming should be a protein alternative to meat counterpart. 

I found a yogurt - mustard based curry called begun basanthi suitable for this course. The mustard overpowers the taste department and we thought it is an acquired taste. 

6. Chaatni / Chutney
Chaatni / tak / tok, is typically a sweet and tangy chutney that is served almost at the end of the meal and is almost always made fresh. Bengalis don't eat chutneys at the beginning of the meal or even as a dip or relish.They eat it just after they finish eating the fish / meat course and right before the dessert, just to ease from one course to another. Tomato chutney in winter and green mango one in summer are popular. Some of the other chutneys are pineapple chutney and raw papaya chutney called plastic chutney, and ones made with fish. I made the one with tomato, raisins and dried mango. 

7. Doi / Misthti - Yogurt / Dessert
The meal ends usually with a serving of yogurt or sometimes a sweet dish. We had rajbhog.
I am going to post the recipes for the dishes presented in this platter in the near feature. Tomato chutney recipe has been already posted hereThe below recipe is for uchche bhaja aka bitter gourd fry. Uchche are a local variety of bitter gourds in Bengal which are smaller in size than regular bitter gourds. This is a simple fry where bitter gourd slices are fried until crisp in mustard oil. Or one can use oil of their choice to fry.

Directions for pan frying:
1. Rinse and dry the bitter gourds. Chop off the ends and cut them into thin slices. Soak them in water for about 10 to 15 minutes and drain the water. Or smear them with salt and turmeric and let them sit for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat mustard oil in a thick bottomed pan until smoking point. You may use around 3 - 4 tbsp. oil for about a cup of vegetable slices.
3. Fry them on medium heat until they turn golden brown, flipping them in between. Sprinkle a pinch of turmeric powder, salt and chili powder as needed. Stir to combine, cook for about 30 seconds and turn off the stove.
4.  Serve warm with rice.

I air fried the bitter gourds instead of frying. I used slices from 4 bitter gourds,and followed step 1 from above. I lightly patted them dry and brushed with a tsp. of oil and sprinkled salt over them. I air fried them at 370 deg F until almost done. Finally lightly brushed again with oil, sprinkled a pinch turmeric and chili powder over them and shook them to uniformly coat the chili. I put them back and air fried for a minute or so. Guilt free, crisp bitter gourd fry was ready to go.

Comments

8 comments:

vaishali sabnani said...

Wow Suma , what a beautifully written post , You have given a complete insight of Bengali culture , just like Wiki ! Kudos !
I guess with time the widow culture might be eradicating , but yes the traditional and uneducated must be following .
I love this Bengali Thali , it’s perfectly made and explained .
The uchee Bhaja might not be everyone’s choice of a side dish as people are not fond of Karelas , but I love these and air frying them is a great idea .
The complete Satvik Thali looks tempting !

Srivalli said...

Must say this thali looks stunning and wonderful representative of the cuisine. All the dishes seem to complement so well. Congratulations on your Phd degree..hehehe..guess with the amount of research we end up doing surely needs an award to be given.

Coming to the part about a complete course of the meal, during growing up, I have seen my TamBrahm friends having a full course meal with all the different courses on a daily basis. Of course, the parents alone used to have it as kids will leave early to school. However, everybody joins for the brunch at 10.30 on the weekend. Their meal for the rest of the day was always some light tiffin. A sweet in terms of payasam or Kesari was only for the festival. To be frank, I don't know if this was the case in Andhra as Amma used to follow Madras culture..Anyway coming back to your post, I love everything on the plate, of course, I would skip the bittergoud!..Enjoyed all your platters this week. Great job!

Suma Gandlur said...

Valli,

Bengalis serve in courses unlike the south Indians who serve everything at once. Their traditional multi-course meal is similar in structure to French cuisine. I wanted to mention it and seems to have left out and that got you confused, I think. I fixed it. They have a six course meal with extras and they serve rich non veg curries, fried items and sweets on a daily basis, which we southerners don't do, I bet even if it is a full course meal. Traditionally, Andhra brahmins serve around 4 to 5 dishes for every day meal and I still follow that pattern. :)

rajani said...

A very detailed post Suma! I had read about theor meal structure longtime back when I was doing a post, your post refreshed my memory :-)

Harini R said...

Wow! Love the detailed explanation of Bengali cuisine. Each dish seems to complement the other and a balanced meal too.

Narmadha said...

Kudos to your research and thanks for sharing amazing Bengali thali with such elaborate explanation of each dish. Very detailed and informative post

Srividhya said...

Man you have done an extensive research for sure. Loved reading this entire post and the meal structure. Very nice. I hope and wish that the widow culture is fully eradicated now.

cookwithrenu said...

Wow, That bhaja bhora looks so tempting and crunchy. I never liked bitter gourd so much as I have seen here. Love this delicious spread of Bengali thali