simple home cooking

[Episure]

Hi V Gautam, Welcome!

Thanks for the information on souring agents from rural Bengal. Rural areas

are the last bastions of traditional practises and cuisine.

The Marwari dahi vada made with moth dal, that you refer to, is dense?

[Suvir Saran]

Welcome to eGullet vgautam.

Glad that you found eGullet. Looking forward to posts from you telling us about your Bangla experiences.

I am afraid my Marwari friends made Okra differently. Using ajowain and amchoor but no Dahi (yogurt). Maybe someone else here would be able to share the recipe you seek.

Please tell us more about these dahi vadas you speak of.... Where did you have them? How were they served? It seems that they really could be another kind of vada... and only served alongside dahi sometimes... I have eaten stuffed stuff made with mot kee daal... in Rajasthan... in Marwari homes.. but they were not dahi vadas... hence my confusion. What did the vadas taste like? What was the filling like? Crusty on the outside? Dry on the inside? Dense?

I had Bengali neighbors in Delhi who made the most amazing stuffed Okra. Would you have a recipe for stuffed Okra Bengali style? They made it with some kind of khatai, I was told it was amchoor.. maybe it was something different.. ground mustard seeds and all other panch phoron ingredients and some red chili too. It was then stir fried until crispy... They left by the time I was 12 or so... I wish I had taken the recipe.... I only have the flavor and memories .... no recipe from them. We lost touch with the family.. they had moved to the Middle East. I always wonder if life will bring them back to our world... it has happened with some others.... I await that day... But in the meantime.. I would still love the recipe for that Bengali stuffed okra.... anyone? V Gautam?

[prasad2]

With respect to souring agents, in rural Bengal, fresh young tamarind leaves were much used.

Welcome to egullet GAUTAM

I must warn you to have ample time to scroll on this forum. It is extremely addictive!!

Interesting on YOUNG tamarind leaves, which is very rare in this part of the world. Yes I make a simple dal with these leaves, all you need is some fresh boiled rice, ghee and of course some aloo bhartha.

I am kind of aware of a dish called MONGODI KI SUBJI Moong dal dumplings which are immersed in a spicy and tangy sauce made with amchur, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and haldi. These dumplings are also some times immmersed in kadhi. I am sorry of not being much help on Marwari cooking, but I do have a cook who does very homestyle Marwari aloo.

Welcome again and looking forward to your many many posts to come ahead.

[Suvir Saran]

I am kind of aware of a dish called MONGODI KI SUBJI Moong dal dumplings which are immersed in a spicy and tangy sauce made with amchur, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and haldi.  These dumplings are also some times immmersed in kadhi. I am sorry of not being much help on Marwari cooking, but I do have a cook who does very homestyle Marwari aloo.

Welcome again and looking forward to your many many posts to come ahead.

There are two preparations that come to mind when speak of Mangodi. You can either make them fresh, as they were in Panditjis kitchen. My mom and sister make them this way in the US too. It is a talent one must have... they should never be bigger than the smallest non-champagne grapes you can find. Not an easy thing to achieve unless the texture of the ground Mung Dal (mung beans) is perfect.

You can also make this using pre-made Mung Dal Badis (dumplings) from Indian stores. The end result is close, but hardly the same.

I only enjoy this dish in India. It is more of a UP dish. Less of a Rajasthani one. The Baniyas of UP will make it as well as the others. The curry is called Jhol Ka Masala (runny gravy) and it addictive.

I could not think of this really being similar in any way to the Mot Kee Dal (dal is hindi for legumes, Mot is one particular kind of lentil, I do not know its English name. Sorry. ) dumplings that V Gautam may have had in Marwari Kitchens. I hope he can tell us more about what he ate...

Many families in UP, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh (3 different states of India) do prepare Mung Dal Kee Kadhi (Mung bean dumplings in a spicy sour yogurt based sauce),but it is not a dish eaten too often. Mung Dal Kee Vadi (dumplings) are not easy to digest, and Karhi can be difficult too, this dish is prepared for special occasions or some weekends in a year. Mostly eaten at lunch with rice.

[Suvir Saran]

Welcome to eGullet vgautam.

Glad that you found eGullet.  Looking forward to posts from you telling us about your Bangla experiences.

I am afraid my Marwari friends made Okra differently. Using ajowain and amchoor but no Dahi (yogurt).   Maybe someone else here would be able to share the recipe you seek.

Please tell us more about these dahi vadas you speak of.... Where did you have them? How were they served?  It seems that they really could be another kind of vada... and only served alongside dahi sometimes... I have eaten stuffed stuff made with mot kee daal... in Rajasthan... in Marwari homes.. but they were not dahi vadas... hence my confusion.  What did the vadas taste like? What was the filling like? Crusty on the outside? Dry on the inside? Dense? 

I had Bengali neighbors in Delhi who made the most amazing stuffed Okra.  Would you have a recipe for stuffed Okra Bengali style? They made it with some kind of khatai, I was told it was amchoor.. maybe it was something different.. ground mustard seeds and all other panch phoron ingredients and some red chili too.  It was then stir fried until crispy... They left by the time I was 12 or so... I wish I had taken the recipe.... I only have the flavor and memories .... no recipe from them.  We lost touch with the family.. they had moved to the Middle East.   I always wonder if life will bring them back to our world... it has happened with some others.... I await that day... But in the meantime.. I would still love the recipe for that Bengali stuffed okra.... anyone? V Gautam?  

Ajowain - Carom Seeds

Amchoor - mango powder (souring agent)

Dahi - yogurt

Vadas - dumplings/fritters/can be donut shaped as well, usually deep fried

Mot Kee Daal - A particular legume by the name of Mot (do not know its English name. Sorry! )

Rajasthan - Name of state in India.

Marwari - People from a region of India called Marwar, not to be mistaken with Mewar.

Dahi Vadas - dumplings made with lentils/beans or a mix and immersed in spiced yogurt

Bengali - From the state of Bengal

Khatai - Souring agent (Khatta meaning sour)

Panch Phoron - Bengali Five Spice Mix

I have made this glossary for it was brought to my attention by a caring, interested and curious fellow member that in my post I had used many a native word without any indication of what they meant. My apologies to all our members. And it is my hope that I can be better about translating as I write..... As and when you need translations, please feel free to post on the thread itself, I am sure one of the Indian members of the forum can quickly give you translations.

If you need any further information about Indian names, you can always visit my sites spice section for a limited glossary. There are other sites we have online that also provide glossaries.

Maybe that can be another thread... and on that thread we can have links to sites with good glossaries pertaining to food of the Indian sub-continent.

[Episure]

Dal Moth = Turkish Gram, Moth bean, Mat bean

One of my Cordon Bleu books refers to it as green lentil.

[v. gautam]

Dear Suvir (and all the kind egullet friends),

After your warm welcome it was churlish of me to not reply in timely fashion; ill health; my sincere apologies.

Although claiming familiarity with Bengali cooking, I have never come across stuffed okra; can it be a North Indian dish adopted by your friends? Bengalis, unlike Turks or Armenians, have only a limited and borrowed repertoire of stuffed vegetables, often with ground meat or chana dal; they commonly stuff parwal, eggplant, snake gourd.

Re: the tart okra preparation with ajwain and mustard; you are right, it probably does not contain yogurt; should you ever have a free moment, I would be grateful for the recipe.

Re the Marwari dahivadas of moth dal: unlike the fluffy South Indian urad dal dahivadas, these are fairly dense, with a characteristic toothsome texture distinctly not fluffy, disc-shaped and quite large, a little smaller than a saucer, redolent of cumin, asafetida and possibly ajwain in a wonderful yogurt base.

Best wishes for your new restaurant.

p.s. Re a spirited exchange some while back about including cheese, e.g. cheese naans, in the diasporic restaurant repertoire, came across an interesting comment in roadfood.com [international food] that I append:

“What is American food anyway? The reason roadfood exists is because of regional variations. Houston is where us Beaumont people try other cuisines. We live in the best part of this country. We have good southern food, TexMex, and Cajun. Our Italian place are good, not a numerous as I like. When in Houston I try the Cuban cuisine, Lebanese/Syrian, and the Persian. I think Indian/Pakistani could become popular with a little less seasoning, more cheese, and more importantly combo platters. Maybe a new sandwich or pizza made with that wonderful naan bread. Some chicken tikka masala on the bread with a cucumber cilantro raita and tomatoes and onion. Maybe boti kebab or seekh kebab (chicken or beef) over rice with spicy chickpeas and salad combo platter. Ease up on the cardamon, nutmeg, cloves, and coriander, but plenty of cumin and chilies, Texas loves that stuff. Something cheep to start the meal like the Texas invention of the "Mexican" chips and hot sauce or the bread dip at Italian places, both are not authentic.”