BENGALI CHILLI-MUSTARD SHEEM
THE WEEPING SKY IS GETTING CLEARER!
In fact, it was crying loud early morning! I fear a dark, rainy sky; the lightening & thunder leave me scared, as if the earth would get demolished in minutes! In all of these, watching the moving clouds is a pleasure! I like the fast changing patterns of the clouds, as if they are dancing! I consider the sight "ballet in the sky"! I used to enjoy watching ballet in the television, more in our black & white television! Because it was raining hard, I thought of starting to write the blogpost! I have chosen a family Bengali recipe today! The maximum of the Bengali Families have this recipe in their repertoire! As I write, I am also thinking about the courses of the day! I have to go for a swim, I must do a bit of workout five days a week! I would have to prepare my lunch! Should I complete writing the blogpost at one go and go for a swim in the evening or take a break in between and then go? It feels cold to swim on such a day but I do not wish to go out for a walk on days I write a blogpost; I relish this ritual! Also, this month I went for a swim more than I walked in a bid to eat out less! I would visit the doctor coming Thursday & would know if it has affected my blood sugar level! Walking is a major medicine to keep your blood sugar level in control whilst swimming helps toning your body! Neither of the two would get you a good physique if you eat like me! In between all these, my God Family should get food, never in time they get! In our home, I do offerings to my God Family three times a day, on maximum of the days, I would offer two times & the Filipino one time! I think I already got menopause, I cannot remember when I got my periods the last time! I roughly remember the eight year old scary self getting periods for the first time, the hapless self standing in the dirty toilet of the Olympus KG School! For a pretty long time, in the night dreams, I used to find myself amidst a dirty toilet full of human waste! An awkward feeling did not let me sleep well! After starting to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, it has gone! I did not get why such dirty dreams came to me when people dream of romantic liaisons & all! I have to read about it though I do not believe in everything the internet says!
I ACTUALLY WISHED TO BLOG ABOUT WHAT I COOKED FOR US LAST NIGHT!
Last week, I came across a reel & learnt about a simple side to a roti-paratha, not really a Bengali idea! When could we go out of the bazaar-ghat, mach-mangsho-dim? The humbleness of the dish, done with what is always there in our kitchen took me to surprise! The reel was about a side dish which I used as a filling for the flatbreads I made last night!
This morning, looking at the pictures, I strongly felt I can get better clicks, that I could do them better in the first place! It was a Sunday evening, we were watching a series! It was Cristine's off day, I had to manage everything from the scratch & also take care of my God Family! The anxiety level was high as the son was not taking the call, we forgot the dates of his GRE! He does not text also, Mumma gets angry but cannot behave rudely! On rare occasions did I beat my son! I feel guilty about one, he was only two & half years old, I caught hold of his hairs, the reason I do not remember! I was young, stayed alone with the son & helps for months, but that cannot be an excuse! What I remember is my child was still smiling in pain, and Sushoma, our whole timer was pleading not to beat her bhai, he is tiny! The guilt would not leave me ever; I cannot hug him when I wish to, he does not not allow either! I also do have the guilt of hitting my students on certain occasions! I have to hide all these emotions once he gets married, we should let our kids flow with their own life, their spouse or partner, kids! It is difficult to let go but we must, both the parents of a girl or boy should! In the dusk of my life, it feels I had to work, I had to earn! Blogging keeps me happily engaged but that had to be my hobby! Anyway, our lunch yesterday was fulfilling too!
Last Saturday, for our dinner we had toasted bread & the mutton stew! I asked Cristine to serve me one or two smaller pieces with bones, she served me a bowlful, I got sick for the night! One cannot eat a lot just after cooking all day! Like today, I am craving for the mutton stew & plain rice; but I have asked Cristine to serve us the Hilsa, Lentils, Okra Fries for dinner!
And there is the lady @ CURRY AND SPICE last Friday in the desi area for shopping! I am dark indeed but not this much!WHAT IS THIS BENGALI CHILLI-MUSTARD SHEEM?
I believe it is a regular recipe in the Bengali households! Our family too does it but in our's, the fresh coriander paste-sheem / DHONEPATA BATA DIYE SHEEM is more common during the winters! In this island, we get SHEEM, that is HYACINTH BEANS throughout the year, both in Bengali shops & the Southern Indian shops! It is my much loved vegetable & I keep cooking with it! In a couple of my blogposts, I have told you our maternal grandparents had one Hyacinth Beans climber on their kitchen roof! Is it a creeper or climber? Now that portion of the home is owned by our eldest maternal uncle, he modified that old kitchen a bit years back and made the office for his business house, now he has retired too! One thing I liked is that Boromamu did not make much of change in the old structure, specially the ground floor is the same! I could remember it all standing there, I was born in that ground floor! My paternal grandparent's home might have had all these plants & trees, I visited Assam so less that I do not remember! I wish, my uncle & aunts of both the sides live many more years! They all enjoy such simple food; a vegan, gluten-free Bengali regular vegetarian dish with flat beans, chilli-mustard paste BENGALI CHILLI MUSTARD SHEEM! I off course have complaints about those elders who did not teach their younger generation to remain connected to each other! I think we have the right to claim our freedom, we have the right to deny the authority of our parents after a certain age, shape our home the way we want, but we must not cut off ties with our elderlies, the family bond must prevail! Here is what I did in between writing this blogpost! I was not satisfied with the pictures of the KURMUREY BHINDI IN A SPICY SESAME SEED & RICE FLOUR BATTER that I cooked last Friday night & updated the blogpost! Today, I again cooked it, updated the blogpost & ate at my first meal!
SHEEM / HYACINTH BEAN : 250-300 gm
GREEN CHILLI : 3-4
BLACK MUSTARD SEED : 1 TBSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEEREY : 1/4 TSP
BAY LEAF : 1
DRY RED CHILLI : 1-2
ICE CUBE : 2-3 [TO PREVENT THE PASTE TURN BITTER]
OIL : 2 TBSP [BENGALIS USUALLY USE MUSTARD OIL IN A CHILLI-MUSTARD PASTE RECIPE]
PROCEDURE :
We would either cut each bean half or into three! We are to cut thin the two ends, also discard the fibre of the inner side that comes out along with one end!
We would wash the cut vegetable pieces, marinate with a bit of salt & half of the turmeric!
About an hour before cutting the vegetable, we would soak the mustard seeds! When the vegetable pieces are resting after marination, we would take the washed green chillies, the washed & drained black mustard seeds, a little of salt, ice-cubes in a blender & blend to a fine paste! Add 2-3 tbsp of water if required!
This way the paste would never turn bitter, the salt & ice cubes would not let it too!
We would heat the oil in a wok & temper it with the nigella seeds, bay leaf & the halved dry red chillies!
We would give a stir & add the marinated hyacinth bean pieces! We would keep the heat at minimal & cover the wok with a lid!
We would remove the cover after 3-4 minutes, after it has released some water! Else the beans pieces may lose the colour!
Also, I prefer cooking the vegetables in the water they release without adding water unless required! That is possible if you slow cook!
We would add the spice paste, a bit of turmeric once the vegetable pieces are 60-70% done! We would give a gentle stir & cover cook for another 3-4 minutes!
Once done, we would transfer it to a serving bowl! We usually have it with steamed rice, there is no reason why you cannot have it with flatbreads!
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