SPICED UP:BEYOND BUTTER CHICKEN COLUMN
Ordering The Same Every Curry Night? Indian Cuisine Has Much More to Offer
A historical perspective of thrifty Bengali cuisine
Reflections on eating habits: 8th of February 2024
When I was in the UK, I used to frequent an Indian/Pakistani cuisine restaurant ( well Pakistani owners, named Lahore). All my colleges, Indian, Pakistani, and Caucasian/British in Watford, simply loved the place and the food.
However they always stuck to the same menu:
- Papadum to start
- Lamb Chops as appetizers
- Biryani for the main course
- And a Mango Lassi to cool it down
When Me and My Muse introduced this weekly column in this post , she also commented, she orders nearly the same food every time, the photo she chose has Naan, Chicken Tandoori and Palak Paneer.
So, what does an Indian Meal mean to you? Have you experimented anything beyond the common North Indian dishes?
When I saw the call up to write for The Diarist and also having a weekly column, I could not wait. However, writing weekly needed a personal motivation for me. I was looking for a topic that’s close to my heart and that also reflects my day to day lives.
The superstar Shah Rukh Khan in his movie has said,
“Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho … to puri kainaat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai…..”
This literally means when you want something with your heart, the world conspires to get it to you. That’s exactly when I stumbled across a great source of inspiration on YouTube.
Michelin star chef Vikash Khanna, on a podcast said, how most of the Indian cuisine is under represented. He wished:
“Guys you have gold in your hands, just take it to the world, and SELL it.”
Inspiration grabbed me!
That’s when I got my topic, I thought I could write about the dishes that I cook. I wished to represent the dishes that I have learned from family, from my mother, my grand mother, and different You tube channels. But, that’s not all, there is so much variety in Indian cuisine, and there is so much history to it.
So, what does an Indian Meal mean to you? Have you experimented anything beyond the common North Indian dishes?
I quickly opened ChatGpt and asked for a few suggestions on a good name for the weekly column. I finalized “Spiced UP.” Even the tagline is also inspired from the show, “Beyond Butter Chicken.”
I told to myself, I will explore the connection between cooking and life experiences. Each week, a recipe will be shared from various cuisines and cultures (mostly Indian), and reflect on how it relates to our personal stories, challenges, and joy in life.
What makes Bengali food so good?
Bengali Cuisine is what I will start with. Being a Bengali myself there are some inherent philosophies associated with Bengali cuisine. We do not waste anything, and make the most of every ingredients that nature gives us.
I guess Sustainable Cooking and Zero Waste has always been a core principal in Bengali cuisine. These trends are just emerging now in modern kitchens, but these have been followed for centuries in Indian and Bengali cuisine.
Boiling cauliflower and broccoli stems is a new trend, but Bengalis are cooking chochhori (a hotchpotch of different vegetables, even stems of vegetables.) for ages.
Famines and Bengali Psyche
Let us understand the source of this thrifty culture in Bengali cuisine. Being thrifty can be a modern lifestyle choice and trend.
However for Indian and more so for people of undivided Bengal (West Bengal, Bihar, Bangladesh), this is a story of survival. The stories of genocide in Germany is very well documented, however what is often ignored is the story of the large famines in Bengal.
These were not genocides, but many of the famines in India were anthropogenic famine. Especially the huge Bengal Famine 1943 which killed millions of people, is often considered to be a result of British war time policies.
New ingredients in Bengali kitchen
However, multiple such famines in the Bengal region, forced people to eat things they won’t eat otherwise, new ingredients made their way into Bengali cuisine that is not so common elsewhere, eg., Taro leaves, all parts of a banana tree, including the stem fruit leaves etc.
Bengali people are often infamous for even including veggie skins in their dishes, like lau-er khosha bhaja (fried bottle gourd skin), alur khosha bhaja ( fried potato skins).
As Bengalis, we have been told by elders not to waste any food and to finish whatever we take on the plate. This is not just a good practice, this is knowledge from experiences that they have been handed over generations.
Their elders saw the scarcity first hand. They saw how people in the villages will fight with dogs for meagre Fain ( The starchy water left over after rice is cooked). And hence they ensured we lived a thrifty lifestyle, and to be prepared for similar situations.
Read more below if interested.
This is not a scientific study nor is this an attempt to blame any one, there are many research available from others that support this piece.
As Bengalis, we have been told by elders not to waste any food and to finish whatever we take on the plate
Now for the good stuff…
Enough of history lessons and gloom, let’s dig into the food and the recipe.
The recipe we will explore today is no exception to the thrifty culture.
- “Lao Shager Paturi” (steamed fish in bottle gourd Leaves)
This is a classic steamed fish recipe, that reflects how every ingredient of a dish can be edible, leading to zero waste.
Steaming fish inside different types of leaves is common in many tropical cultures. For example, Patrani machi in Parsi cuisine, Paturi in Bengali cuisine, grilled fish in banana leaves in Thai cuisine, or baked fish elsewhere.
There is little or no evidence of these dishes sharing any common origin. Hence we can conclude each of them are unique to their own culture.
All these recipes are similar in nature and use a boneless fish variety, wrapped inside banana leaves.
However there is a specific variety of Paturi that uses bottle gourd leaves, pumpkin leaves or taro leaves.
It’s this specific variety that gives it a distinct flavor of these leaves, and even the wrapper is edible. Hence the dish becomes zero waste.
Why do I love this dish?
I cook this recipe quite often, and simply love the dish due to its ease of making. The recipe really involves nearly zero cooking, only steaming or grilling. You can hardly go wrong.
The flavors are subtle, yet very powerful. The aroma of the mustard paste and mustard oil, along with shredded coconut is heavenly.
The dish can be made with a variety of fishes like Hilsha, Pomfret and even Prawn. Any soft, boneless fish can be prepared in this manner.
Traditionally they were grilled on leftover heat from the burnt charcoal of earthen stoves (chulha.) This adds another dimension and slightly charred earthy aroma to the dish.
Slowly opening the pockets only to find the treasure of soft fish, marinated in flavorful spices is a treat to watch.
Breaking the soft fish apart with your bare hands, and having it with a morsel of steamed rice is divine. This dish is a perfect accompaniment with white rice and simple Dal.
The Recipe:
Here is a brief recipe, that you can follow, however, just like I cook, exact measurements are not there. If you want more detailed recipe along with exact measurements, refer the videos in the end.
Ingredients:
- Boneless fish fillet / prawns ( 250–300gms)
- Yellow mustard ( 40gm)
- Black mustard ( 20gm)
- Shredded coconut ( half a coconut )
- Poppy seed (10gm)
- Green chilies (two as per your tolerance)
- Salt ( 1/2 tablespoon)
- Sugar ( 1/2 tablespoon)
- Turmeric powder ( half tablespoon)
- Mustard oil ( very little for aroma only)
Process:
- Soak all the mustard seeds and poppy seeds in water for thirty min.
- Make a paste of those soaked seeds along with green chilies without adding water, add very little only if needed.
- Mix in turmeric, salt to taste, a little sugar, shredded coconut (half of one), and little mustard oil to the paste.
- Mix well and make a marinade out of it.
- If you are using prawns, dump all the prawns in the marinade and coat well. In case of fish fillet, marinade all the fillets and coat well.
6. Meanwhile, separate few bottle gourd leaves from the stem. Wash the leaves well.
7. You can make individual pockets with the marinated fish, and some of the marinades. Use ribbons to tie the pockets or toothpicks to hold them together.
Alternatively you can line up a few leaves together inside a steamer, and then put the whole mish and marinade into it. You can cover it well with leaves.
8. The fish / prawns can either be steamed by putting the parcels inside a steamer, then adding little water. Steam for fifteen minutes on a medium heat. Alternatively you can grill the pockets on a heavy bottom flat pan/tawa for five minutes on each side, add little oil to prevent them from burning.
9. Once done let it cool and cut the ribbons, or remove the toothpicks.
10. Serve the fish inside the pockets, along with fresh, hot, steamed rice and some dal. Dig in and enjoy.
Watch the below video for detailed recipe:
I must mention @feashts YouTube channel for inspiring to explore the history of this dish.
Food for thought?
We all love to explore and experiment with new experiences. However, when it comes to Indian cuisine, most stick to the few popular options (Biryani, Dosa, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Palak Paneer. )
There are hundreds of different smaller cuisines, typical to specific cities and districts in India.
Just like the diversity of religion and language, India also has a great amount diversity in its food, waiting to be explored.
Many of us do not even think about our dietary practices, and the reasons behind them.
Wars and migrations have had a profound impact on not only the boundaries, but also food habits of many cultures. The two world wars impacted a lot of people in different ways.
I personally love to learn about the origin of different dishes that we regularly eat. Many recipes that we consider to be authentic are often results of centuries of human migration, and interaction.
Many new cuisines are born out of trade and war between two races, or countries. Learning about all of them is extremely fascinating to me.
What was the one meal that made you curious to learn about the origin of the dish?
If you liked this, do consider following the topic on Medium Spiced Up for weekly dose of culture, recipe and adventure from my kitchen.
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