Tag Archives: bengali snack

Sweetened flatttened rice: Mitha poha: Mishti Chirey; GF snack

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…. The big white butterfly sat on the golden marigold before hopping off to the pink bougenvillea vine. Behind which ran a bunch of kids of all ages between eleven and two. It was summer holidays and every year we visited our granpa’s house. With no electronic devices to entertain us we remained busy chasing butterflies, climbing the guava tree, playing tag, My mum would be busy with my aunties, giving a hand to my granma in the kitchen. They would catch up with the latest gossip, alternating between hushed whispers and bursts of loud laughter. With uncles and aunties and their families, the kitchen remained forever busy, ready to cater breakfast lunch, snacks, munchies, supper to toddlers and seniors alike.

….. Chirey or flattened rice makes this easy snack, which can be made ahead. It comes handy any time of the day, either with a cup of tea, or just by itself for the kids.

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… Fast forward a few decades, the cousins have their own families now. Face time, Whats app kept us connected. The conversation always drifted back to the good old days, our visits to our granpa’s. We always reminisced the same stories, enjoyed them now as if they were never old. Then came COVID 19 . My auntie and her husband passed away the same day. Before we finished mourning their loss, my cousin tested positive. Armed with the first dose of the vaccine he put up a brave fight for 31 days in ICU before succumbing to the virus. Just shy of his fiftieth  birthday, all he left behind, besides his family is a lot of memories…..

Stay safe dear friends.

Recipe: Serves 6 as a snack.

Ingredients;

Chirey ( Flattened rice).                      2 cups

Peanuts                                            1/2 cup

Ghee                                                2 Tbsps

Salt                                                   To taste

Sugar                                                2 tsps

Method;

Dry roast the peanuts on medium heat in a pan till slight change in colour, about 10 minutes. Collect them in a bowl. Take the Chirey on the pan on a medium low flame and dry roast for about 10 minutes, stirring all the time. Add one tablespoon of ghee and give a nice mix. Continue stirring. Throw in the peanuts, salt and the other table spoon of ghee and roast for another 10 minutes. Add the sugar and mix again. The colour of the Chirey will have changed and the sugar tends to stick on to the Chirey. Switch the gas off. Collect in a bowl, wait to cool down before you dig in.

This stores well in airtight container. Comes handy in camping. trips, long journeys or just as snack.

Note;

Chirey ( Flattened rice) is available at Indian grocery stores.

Murir Moa : Puffed rice balls : GF

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Back in the day when we did not have a variety of ready made snacks available for the kids, mothers and grandmothers used to spend many afternoons painstakingly prepare an assortment of snacks at home.

I specially remember our summer holidays , when we used to visit our grandparents.Our uncles landed with their families as well. For that one month the house used to be super busy with grandkids ranging from preteens to infant. Those were days before cell phones and television. We were busy playing with our cousins during the day. My grand dad was an excellent story teller. He had no problem mesmerizing us grand kids of different ages with his story telling. The youngest one would be on his lap, some sitting on the armrest of his ‘plantation style’ armchair. Few others around his feet. The one thing that was common was we were all wide eyed in rapt attention, trying to follow the ups and downs of the story.

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My grandmother on the other hand, used to be busy in the kitchen. With limited resources she never failed to surprise us with homemade snacks. Walking for days together, with only a few of her belongings to this land from the former “East Pakistan’, as a refugee, hard work came to her naturally. Savoury or sweet she could whip up either in no time.The “Moa” was always there. One by one she moulded the round shape on the palm of her hand, which used to be angry red from the heat.

Many years later, when I had my own family did I realize how much effort it takes, to come up with a big batch of these. “Love” was the main sweetener, no matter how much jaggery we add.

Recipe: Made 15

Ingredients;

Murmura ( Puffed rice )                            3 cups

Ghee                                                        1 Tbsp

Jaggery                                                     1 cup

Method,

Dry roast the Murmura on medium flame for a few minutes only to make it crunchier.

In another pan take the ghee and jaggery on slow flame. I have used powdered jaggery. Let it melt and be frothy, about 11 minutes. Take a drop of this in a bowl of water. If this sets right away, then the jaggery is ready.

Put the gas off. Pour the murmura in the molten jaggery. Mix it nicely such that the murmura is evenly coated.

Wait for this mixture to cool down a bit, so that it can be handled on the palm. I used a pair of silicone gloves, that definitely helped. Take a handful, press on all sides to give a round shape.

Store in an airtight container and enjoy for a couple of weeks.

 

Kolar bora: Sweet Banana fritters

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There are some foods which take you directly to the “bygone” days. For those of you that are born in circa “Post cell phone”, wont be able to relate to the story.

You see, in those times, evenings were meant to go outside and play games with ‘real’ friends. No video games, netflix, mobile, meant you had to play games involving real physical activities. When the street light went on, it was time to stop whatever you were doing and head home.

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Rain was the only time you were allowed to stay indoors with friends. Rain also meant there would be some fried food at home. There is this connection between rain and fried food, that only people from Bengal would agree. These fritters remind me of evenings such as those, sitting down with friends, giggling for no reason at all and popping these in mouth.

Try it out friends. Friendly warning, it is really hard to stop after a couple. Please factor this in while planning.

Recipe: Enough for 8 people

I have adapted the recipe from “A homemaker’s diary”, with minor changes.  Check her wonderful blog,

Ingredients;

Overripe bananas                                         6

Semolina                                                     1 cup

All purpose flour                                            11/2 cup

Rice flour                                                       2/3 cup

Aniseeds coarsely grounded                           2 tbsps

Sugar                                                            1 cup

Baking soda                                                   2/3 tsp

Salt                                                                 2/3 tsp

Canola oil for frying.

Method;

Dry roast the semolina till lightly coloured.  Put the gas off. Add 2 cups water , stir and let it sit for 15 minutes. Add the APF, rice flour, sugar, aniseeds, salt. Mix some water to make a batter, The consistency should be that of a cake batter. Add the baking powder just before frying.

Heat oil, about 2 inces deep in a pan on medium heat. Drop a tablespoon of batter in the oil, fry till both sides are dark brown.

Collect them on kitchen towel. On cooling, sprinkle some icing sugar on top.

Enjoy!