Boishakhi Food

Nabila Salma TECM 2700.021

Table of contents iii

Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... v

Appetizer

Fuchka (crisp bread with chickpeas) ................................................................................... 1

Jhal Muri (puffed rice mix) .................................................................................................. 1

Main Course

Panta Vat (watered rice) ....................................................................................................... 3

Ilish Vaja (fried fish) ............................................................................................................ 3

Dal Vorta (spicy lentil) ......................................................................................................... 4

Shutki Vorta (dried fish) ...................................................................................................... 4

Alu Vorta (mashed potato) ................................................................................................... 5

Chingri Vorta (shrimp) ......................................................................................................... 5

Dessert

Patishapta Pithha (folded pancakes) .................................................................................... 7

Glossary ................................................................................................................................. 9

Index .................................................................................................................................... 11

Introduction v

Introduction Pohela Boishakh is the first day of Bangla New Year. ‘Pohela’ means first and ‘Boishakh’ is the first month of Bengali calendar. Bangladeshi people dress up and eat ethnic foods on this day. They also celebrate it with a very colorful parade and festivals all across the country. We mentioned some of very common foods of Pohela Boishakh in this manual. Panta Vaat (watered rice), Ilish vaja (fried hilsha fish) and different types of Vorta (paste) represent the essence of Bangladeshi Foods. People nowadays usually do not eat Paanta Vaat in their day to day life. They make it particularly for this occasion. Hilsha fish fry is also very important in this festival. Without Hilsha fish fry, a Pohela Boishakh would be like a Thanksgiving without Turkey. Bangladesh has rivers criss-crossing on all over its land and Mother Nature has filled them up with plenty of fishes. Among those varieties of fish, people have loved the taste of fried Hilsha so much for centuries that it became a part of our culture. We added Fuchka (crisp bread with chickpeas) and Jhalmuri (spicy puffed rice) as our appetizer for the occasion. People also like them as snacks. Fuchka have not been around for that long time, but it has made a very impressive place in people’s lives. Friends go out to celebrate, they have Fuchka. Guy takes a girl out for a casual walk; they stop by Fuchka stand or Fuchka shop. Fuchka has a fun to its name and it just goes with the spirit of celebration. Another Bangladeshi obsession, Jhalmuri, makes an amazing appetizer. People used to eat a simplified version of it back in 30’s and 40’s. People modified the recipe along the way to make it more delicious. Bangladeshi culture also has a wide range of sweets and desserts. Patishapta has a delicacy in the way they are cooked and certainly tastes good and goes with any celebration. Some of the ingredients can be unfamiliar to people from overseas. In case you do not know what a particular ingredient or procedure is, you can easily find it under Glossary of this manual. You would find most of the ingredients in an Indian grocery store. You can also find some spices in Wal-Mart or in other grocery retailers in your area.

Appetizer 1

Fuchka Ingredients: • 1 packet fuchka (hollow ball of fried flour). • Chotpoti (spicy chickpeas)

• White chickpeas soaked overnight (2 cups). • Salt and turmeric powder to taste. • Red chilies. (2) • Roasted cumin powder (1 tablespoon). • Lemon juice (2 tablespoon). • Rock salt (1 tablespoon). • Onion (1) (thinly sliced). • Tomato (1) (chopped). • Chotpoti masala (1 packet).

• 100 gm. mashed potato. • 10 gm. ripe tamarind. • 2 green chilies. • Chopped coriander leaves. Cooking Directions: For chotpoti: 1. Cook the soaked chickpeas with salt, cumin and turmeric until they become soft. 2. Add red chilies, lemon juice, rock salt, chotpoti masala, onion and tomato. 3. Cook for 10-15 min.

Stuffing: 1. Mix chopped coriander leaves, salt and one chopped green chilli with mashed potato. 2. Take ripe tamarind in a separate bowl and mix it in warm water to separate the soft pulp. 3. Add salt and one green chili to the tamarind pulp.

Fuchka Assemble: 1. Carefully open the fuchka on one side. 2. Put mashed potato mix. 3. Put chotpoti on mashed potato. 4. Spread spicy tamarind pulp on top a little and serve.

Jhal Muri (one serving) Ingredients: • Puffed rice (2cups) • Onion (1) (chopped). • Cucumber half (chopped) • Tomato (1) (finely chopped) • Green chilies chopped. • Fresh coriander leaves (1 cup chopped). • Mustard oil 2 table spoons. • Sprouted gram boiled and mashed. Cooking Direction: Mix and toss all the ingredients in a bowl and its ready to serve.

Main Course 3

Panta Vaat (For Three) (Watered rice) Ingredients:

• Rice (2 cups) • Cold water (2 cups) • Salt (as you like it) • Onions and Green chili’s (to decorate)

Cooking Directions:

1. Wash rice thoroughly in water. 2. Put rice, salt and four cups of water in cooking bowl. 3. Boil the rice until it is soft and moist. 4. Cool it down. 5. Add two cups of cold water.

Ilish Vaja (Hilsha fish fry) Ingredients:

• 1 Hilsha fish. • Red chili powder to test. • Turmeric powder to test. • Oil as required. • Salt to taste. • Onion barista (fried slice onion).

Cooking Directions:

1. Cut the fish into pieces and clean finely. 2. Marinate the fish with salt, chili and turmeric powder. 3. Keep it for 20-25 minutes. 4. Heat the oil in a fry pan. 5. Fry the fish in deep oil until turns crispy and brown in color. 6. Transfer the fried fish on paper towel to drain excess oil. 7. Fry sliced onions until it turns crispy to make barista. 8. Garnish the fish with barista and serve hot.

4 Boishakhi Foods

Dal Vorta (Spicy mashed lentil) Ingredients:

• Red lentils (1 cup). • Chopped garlic clove (1). • Red or Green chili (chopped) (1). • Chopped onion (1 tablespoon). • Mustard oil (1 teaspoon). • Salt and turmeric powder to taste.

Cooking Directions:

1. Wash lentils thoroughly. 2. Boil lentils in 1 cup water until it looks mashed. 3. Mix the mashed lentils with all other ingredients.

Shutki Vorta (Dried fish) Ingredients:

• Shutki (dried fish) (handful). • Mustard oil/ any cooking oil (3 tablespoons). • Grated onion (1 tablespoon). • Grated green/red chili (1 tablespoon). • Ginger garlic paste (2 tablespoons). • 1 clove of chopped garlic. • Salt to taste. • Powdered garam masala (mixed Indian spices including cardamom, cumin seeds,

coriander seeds, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg) Cooking Directions:

1. Wash shutki with warm water repeatedly and soak for 10 min. 2. Grind the shutki in a grinder and pour it in a bowl. 3. Mix ginger garlic paste and salt with shutki. 4. Put oil in a fry pan. 5. Pour onion paste, chopped garlic in hot oil. 6. Fry onion-garlic until the oil separate from the mix. 7. Try to make dry gravy. 8. Add shutki mix, chili and garam masala. 9. Heat it for 5 min and it is ready to serve.

Shutki (dried fish)

Main Course 5

Alu Vorta (Mashed potato) Ingredients:

• 2 medium size potatoes. • 1 green chili (chopped). • Chopped onion (2 tablespoon). • Mustard oil (2 tablespoon). • Salt to taste.

Cooking Directions:

1. Boil or bake the potatoes. 2. Peel and mash it in a bowl. 3. Mix it well with salt, green chili and onion. 4. Add mustard oil to the mix. 5. Mix it with hands. 6. Make small balls and serve it with rice.

Chingri Vorta (Spicy shrimp paste) Ingredients:

• Shrimps (peeled and deveined) 12-15 piece. • Chopped onions (3 tablespoons). • Chopped green chilies (2 tablespoons). • Garlic paste (1 teaspoon). • Turmeric powder (1teaspoon). • Cooking oil (2 tablespoons). • Mustard oil (1 tablespoon). • Salt to taste.

Cooking Directions:

1. Put two tablespoons onion, 1 tablespoon green chili, garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt in cooking oil.

2. Mix them well over medium heat. 3. Sauté the shrimp with the mixture until it looks pink and cooked all the way through. 4. Let it cool down in room temperature. 5. Blend it with mustard oil, one tablespoon green chili and one tablespoon onion in a food

processor. 6. Add salt if you need and it is ready to go with rice.

Dessert 7

Patishapta Pithha (Folded pancakes) Ingredients:

• Milk 1/2 liter. • Evaporated milk 410 gm. • Flour 1tablespoon. • Sugar ¼ cup. • Rice flour 2 cups. • Sugar or molasses ¾ cups. • Coconut flakes and cherry for decoration.

Cooking Directions:

1. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of flour in ¼ cup of milk, set aside. 2. Boil rest of the milk and evaporated milk until the quantity is reduced to half. 3. Stir regularly adding 1 tablespoon sugar at a time during the time of boiling. 4. Add the flour dissolved in milk and keep on stirring until the mix thickens. 5. Remove from heat and leave to cool. 6. Dissolve molasses or sugar in 2 cups of water. 7. Add the rice flour and mix well. 8. Batter should be moderately thin. 9. Add a little water if necessary. 10. Keep for 2-3 hours. 11. Heat a non-stick frying pan with handle. 12. Pour in ¼ cup of batter. 13. Swirl the pan so that the batter spreads all over it. 14. Reduce heat. 15. Place 1 tablespoon of the prepared thick milk in one edge when pancake dries up. 16. Roll on the pancake. 17. Press the roll lightly with the back of serving spoon. 18. Serve as your Boishakhi Dessert.

Glossary 9

Glossary Alu: Bangla for potato.

Chingri: Bangla for shrimp.

Dal: Bangla for lentil.

Fuchka: Crispy hollow ball of flour. You can only find it in Indian grocery stores in your area.

Lentil: a grain.

Mustard Oil: oil made from mustard seed.

Onion Barista: fried light brown, crispy sliced onion that adds a nice aroma to the recipe.

Shutki: sun dried fish. Usually dry Bombay duck fish.

Vorta: mashed form of any food.

Vaat: Bangla for rice.

Vaja: Bangla for fried.

Index 11

Alu, iii, 5

Chingri Vorta, iii, 5

Dal Vorta, iii, 4

Fuchka, iii, v, 1

Ilish Vaja, iii, 3

Introduction, iii, v

Jhal Muri, iii, 1

Bangla New Year, v

Panta Vat, iii, 3

Patishapta Pithha, iii, 7

Pohela Boishakh, v

Shutki Vorta, iii, 4