BENGALI SOUR JUJUBE SWEET SPICY PICKLE
FINALLY, TODAY I HAVE DECIDED TO GET THIS FAMILY PICKLE RECIPE TO THE BLOG!
Actually, the Sour Jujube / Ber / Tok Kul season is going off for a year. If I do not get it to the blog now, I have to wait for another year. I am finding it difficult to keep track of the clicked pictures, I am a forgetful self. Since my childhood, I had seen the mother to prepare jam, jelly, achar / pickle at home. And those pickles were sweet with a hint of sour. Jaggery was the sweetening agent, which means they were Bengali style pickle. Way later in life, may be sometime in 2007, I learnt about the Aam Chunda pickle which is not a Bengali Recipe but is sweet. My new neighbouring aunty then, who lived in Mumbai for 42 years before retiring in Kolkata, told me. Until then, I did not know much about the food of the other Indian states except for idli, dosa, naan, tandoori roti, butter chicken, mutton rogan josh, kulcha. The aunty, Kakima travelled many places with her man, Kaku. I have learnt about many things from her. She has three daughters all of whom stay in the United States. Not for a single day she or Kaku have complained about her daughters not staying with or near them, she does not even after her husband's demise. At some point, the kids would empty the nest, we would feel lonely, it's obvious. We need not complain unless we are severely neglected, that they do not call us or visit us at intervals. I believe firmly our weird boy would call us regular after he settles down with a job. You cannot blame him, the man puts his phone to the silence mode, does not pick up when his parents call. No, I am not saying this happily, he is a dutiful son to an extent only few other sons & daughters can match but he wouldn't talk. This I consider "ek litre dudh e ektu khani chona". I plead why being such dutiful he has to behave like this, he would keep seeping Whisky, Beer with his eyes fixed on the television screen. But he gets upset when his son does not take the call.
HELLO, I MADE A LOVELY CHICKEN SOUP LAST NIGHT!
Yesterday night, I cooked a light chicken soup, had it with toasted bread & cheese. I dislike cheese slices but this Amul's cheese slices do I find tasty, cannot have regular. We definitely do love clear chicken soups, the man and his mother & sister; also our mother & Bidisha. Our son definitely did enjoy Oriental soups outside of home when he stayed with us. I wish he has it often now. My brother hates perhaps, the father & the father-in-law too may be. The mother says Bidisha makes good soups, though not regular. But we cannot have clear vegetable soups, in that case, I have to make it spicy & thick.
I am against buying readymade soup packets, the parents anyway were against much of outside food. I ask the mother to have soups & chapati at night. For dinner, she cannot have non-vegetarian food, neither one or two vegetarian side dishes, fries she would not eat much. I or the brother or Bidisha dislike it that she would have only dal-rice-salad for dinner and a little of rice with milk. The maternal grandmother had rice with milk to end her lunches and out mother eats it regular too. She cooks this and that vegetables & a non-vegetarian curry; 3-4-5 dishes each day, cannot eat at night. I do not believe only dal protein helps. I prefer having a meal with at least three items. We are paratha lovers in the entire family. My father & brother are not fond of roti, their choice of breads had been luchi & porota everyday. Us in this family, the son, man, I and Cristine love roti too! The entire pandemic period we had mostly roti. Today is a paratha day and the son is not around.
I got to be a good paratha maker, today it was a purely wholewheat made. These days, instead of a spoon, I use a brush, that way you consume lesser amount of oil. My first meals are pretty big. I do not even try to eat less.
WHAT IS A BENGALI SOUR JUJUBE SWEET SPICY PICKLE?
Before I share this family condiment recipe with Ber / Tok Kul / Boroi, let me tell you this morning I made a fresh batch of Dates-Tamarind Chutney after few years. Like the last time, I followed Tarla Dalal's recipe of it ditto, only added one thing more, that is Dry Mango Powder. Although, we are more of Sanjeev Kapoor fans, when it comes to the Dates-Tamarind Chutney, I prefer Tarla Dalal's recipe. I do not do it regular as it requires a lot of jaggery. Then, some days I wish to make Bhelpuri or Chaats at home, in that case, this chutney is a must.
When it comes to this vegan, gluten-free pickle, a condiment with the Indian Sub-Continent's sour variety of Jujube, BENGALI SOUR JUJUBE SWEET SPICY PICKLE; I blindly follow the mother's recipe. The father required a little of spicy sweet pickle / jhal mishti achar with his rice meals. The few varieties the mother prepared were the sweet & spicy pickles with mango, elephant apple, sour jujube and two partly sour varieties with sugar, salt, raw mango in one case & with sugar, salt, sour jujube. She would prepare in large quantities to be used throughout the year. I never had a sour tooth, neither a sweet tooth. Bengali girls grew up in those days loving raw fruits with salt & red chilli mix, spicy sour pickle. I had no fascination for these, the only sour thing I loved was the sour fish curry. I developed fondness for chaats, spicy & sour pickles when I was carrying our monkey, started loving sweets after being diagnosed with diabetes. I remember the pickle vendors standing in front of the Kolkata schools & colleges, our parents never did let us eat from there. Whilst in college, I did not even wish to buy a pickle from a vendor, I was conditioned not to. But I tasted from the friends who used to buy in one or two occasions. What makes Bengali Pickles distinct in taste & flavour are the ground mixed spice varieties.
TOK KUL / SOUR JUJUBE / BER / BOROI : 250-300 GM
JAGGERY : 100GM
SUGAR : 2-3 TBSP
SALT : 1/2 TSP
BENGALI PANCHPHORON / FIVE SPICES : 2 TBSP [an equal amount of fenugreek, fennel, cumin, ajmod / radhuni, nigella seeds mixed together]
DRY RED CHILLI : 5-6
WATER : AS REQUIRED
PROCEDURE :
My family prepares sour jujube sweet & spicy pickle with the ripened, brown fruits. I bought those green coloured as available, washed, kept on a tray open under the sun & the fan. In few days, they turned brown.
Once ready, I smashed them a bit and marinated with salt for about 10-12 minutes.
I took the jaggery and 1 medium tea cup of water in a wok and put it for boil. As it came to a boil, I simmered it for 5-6 minutes, stirring continuously.
Thereafter, I added the smashed & salt marinated ripened sour jujubes & the sugar. I gave a stir, reduced the heat to the minimal and let it simmer.
After some 7-8 minutes of simmering, I continuously kept stirring until sticky and semi-dry.
I transferred it to a bowl, let it cool. I kept it under the Sun in the day time & under the fan at the night time for the next one week.
Thereafter, I dry roasted all the spices and ground to a coarse powder. I added it to the pickle and folded in well.
We will give the pickle sun bath for another couple of days, then transfer to a sterilised bottle. Bengali Homes do not refrigerate their pickles, I do.
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