Hindi Short Story- Chhed wala Matka

बच्चो की कहानी: [छेद वाला मटका]

एक गांव में एक लडकी रहती थी। वह दूर पहाडियों में अकेले ही रहती थी। वह पहाडो के ऊपर एक छोटी सी कुटिया में केवल अपने कुछ ही ज़रूरत के चीजों के साथ रहती थी। उसके पास सिर्फ दो ही मिट्टी के बर्तन/घडे (मटके) थे। और कूछ ज़्यादा चिज़े नहीं थे, खाने-पीने तथा रहने के लिए जितने भी चिज़े ज़रूरी थे, वह उस्से ही अपना गुज़ारा कर लेती थी। उसके जीवन को गूज़ारने के लिए यही दो मटके लगभग हर काम के लिए काफी थे। उसके पास जो दो मिट्टी के घडे थे, वह हमेशा पानी भरने के लिए इस्तेमाल किया करती थी। वह हर रोज़ पानी लेने के लिए पहाड से निचे एक बडे से खेत में से होकर गुज़रती और फिर दुर एक नदी में जाकर उन मटको में पानी भर लाती थी। फिर लौटने के समय भी वह उसी खेत से होकर गुज़र चली जाती थी।

पहाडो से निचे नदी की दूरी लगभग कूछ आधे घंटे का होता था। उसके पास दो ही मटके थे, जिन्हें वह एक ही बारी में अपने साथ लेकर जाती थी, क्योंकि इतना लंबा रास्ता उसे चलकर जाना पडता था। और फिर लौटने के समय, पानी से भरे हुए उन मटको को वह अपनी कंधो पर एक लंबी सी लकडी में रस्सी के सहारे लटकाए लेती और लकडी को अपने दोनों हाथों से पकड़ लेती थी। उन दोनों घडों में से एक मटके के कोने पर एक छोटी सी छेद थी, जिसमें से पानी टपक-टपक कर निचे गिर जाता था। वह लडकी उस छेद वाले मटके को हमेशा अपनी बायें कंधे पर ले जाती। वह पहाडियों पर छेद वाले मटके और दुसरे मटके में पानी भरकर ले जाती, उस मटके में छेद होने के बावजूद भी वह लडकी उसका इस्तमाल प्रतिदिन किया करती थी। परन्तु जब तक वह लडकी उस छेद वाले मटके को लेकर खेत से होकर फिर पहाडों पर चढते हुए वह अपने गांव तक पहुँचती, ऊपर अपने कुटिया तक पहुँचने पर वह छेद वाले मटके में से पानी आधा हो चूका होता, उसमें से आधा पानी रास्ते पर टप-टप गीर चूका होता। 

छेद वाला मटका यह देखकर बहुत दुःखी होता है क्योंकि वह अपने कार्य में असफल रहता है और उसे उस लडकी का परिश्रम व्यर्थ होते दिखाई पडता है और मटके को उसके प्रती बहुत दया आती है। वह छेद वाला मटका अपने साथी मटके से यह व्यतित करता है कि "मुझे इस लडकी का कष्ट देखकर अच्छा नहीं लगता, काश मैं भी तुम्हारी तरह सलामत रहता और उस लडकी की पानी भरने में सहायता कर पाता।"

वह छेद वाला मटका बहुत उदास हो जाता है और वह लडकी से माफी माँगता है। पर लडकी उसे धन्यवाद देते हुए कहती है, "इसमें तुम्हारा कोई दोष नहीं है, तुमने तो अपना कार्य निष्चित रूप से निभाया है, तुमने बहुत से प्राणों में अपने हिस्से का पानी देकर उनमें जान डाला है। तुम खुदको दोष न दो, मैं तुम्हारे इस बेहतरीन कार्य से बेहद प्रसन्न हुँ।"

अगले दिन जब वह लडकी अपने दोनों मटको में पानी भरकर पहाड की ओर लौटती है, वह अपने बाये तरफ की छेद वाले मटके को रास्तें के किनारो पर देखने को कहती है। चलते समय मटके ने ध्यान से अपनी रास्ते के तरफ देखा और देखकर वह खुशी के मारे झूम उठा। वह आश्चर्य हो गया कि उसके छेद वाले हिस्से में से पानी झाडियों में गीरता रहा, और बहारे खिलती रही। जहाँ सूँदर से रंग-बिरंगे फूलो की वादिया तथा हरियाली खिली हुई थी। और जबकी दुसरी तरफ सूखा हुआ बंजर ज़मिन था। लडकी ने कहाँ कि उसे हमेशा से ही इस बारे में पता था, फिर भी उसने वह छेद वाले मटके को इस्तमाल किया और आज देखो उस मटके के कारण वह फूल कितने सूँदर खिले हुए है। छेद वाले मटके के वजह से सूँदर फूलों का बगीचा सदैव खिला रहा।

सीख:- जाने-अनजाने में किसी की मदद करना दिल को खुशी देती है।

Moral: Helping someone, knowingly or unknowingly, gives happiness to the heart.

Author: Paromita Pramanick 

Reference: Depicted from CureJoy (English Story)

Other Hindi Short Stories --

दो कंजूस  [Two Miser]

चालाक खरगोश  [Chalak Khargosh]

खेल के मैदान  [Playground]

बातूनी कछुआ  [The Talkative Turtle]

प्यासा कौआ  [ThirstyCrow]

छोटी तितली  [Chhoti Titli]

बताशा और चींटी [Ants and the Sugar Candy]

Paromita Pramanick ©2018. All Rights Reserved.

Niramish Phul Kopi

Here's a recipe to all the vegetarian delights, a very simple, lip-smacking and serenely pure vegetarian meal for all the people who follow Mondays as a purely veg day which we normally call it as 'meatless Monday'. Usually, we Bengalis prepare the vegetables with fish too, as fish is considered to be an auspicious thing in terms of carrying away any bad luck. But this recipe 'Niramish Phul Kopi' is a completely vegetarian dish, that is without even onion and garlic (Niramish= Vegetarian, PhulKopi= Cauliflower).

Its already warming up the days here in Kolkata, which clearly specifies the winter has bid us farewell, and now the season for multifarious vegetables is also getting over. So by the end of this pleasant season, I thought of making something that is very common from the Bengali traditional cuisine. This recipe 'Niramish Phul Kopi' is very famous in every Bengali household and has been prepared for ages. ' Niramish Phul Kopi' is mostly prepared during fastings and festivals, when we serve Khichdi and other side dishes alongside. It's a pure no onion and garlic dish and Bengalis normally prepare this dish to treat the Pandits and Purohits during offerings made to them in occasions.

This very pure vegetarian 'Niramish Phul Kopi' is a superbly simple and easy recipe, sometimes we make it quite spicy too because Bengalis normally love to have a lot more spiciness in their dishes. It's not only with the Bengalis but when we see, spicy foods are accepted and appreciably eaten all over India.

Niramish Phul Kopi

This vegetarian dish ' Niramish Phul Kopi' goes well with plain white rice, Pulao, chapati or Paratha as well. Normally we do not cook any non-veg on Mondays and Thursdays at our home, and often we follow the regular vegetarian options, even though we bare the onions and garlic in our recipes most of the time, but keeping the legacy for a purely vegetarian dish sometimes lies into strict restrictions with us. I personally love this dish ' Niramish Phul Kopi' with Luchi (Poori) and it is routinely consumed on the weekdays especially in the winters. I like to eat it with hot steamed rice immediately after it is been cooked and served hot in the cold weather. 'Niramish Phul Kopi' is completely a different recipe from the regular Aloo-Gobhi that's been prepared in Bengal and other North Indian parts. Let's scroll down to get the recipe of 'Niramish Phul Kopi'.

Tips: Soak the cauliflower florets in hot boiling water for 5 minutes that will help in removing any tiny worms and chemical pesticides from the vegetable.

[Veg]

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Course: Side

Cuisine: Indian/ Bengali

Serves: 4

Measuring Items: 1 cup = 250 ml; Teaspoon

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower- 1 large
2. Potato- 6
3. Green chili- 5
4. Ginger- half an inch

Spices:

1. Turmeric powder- 1 Tsp
2. Red Mirchi powder- 2 Tsp
3. Coriander powder- 1tsp
4. Bay leaf- 1
5. Nigella seeds (Kala Jeera)- 1 Tsp
6. Salt (tastewise)
7. Mustard oil- 1 cup

Method:

How to prepare 'Niramish Phul Kopi' with step by step pictures and instructions-

1. Boil water in a cooking wok put the cauliflower florets and let them get rinsed with hot water for 5 minutes.
   
2. After 5 minutes drain the hot water and keep cauliflower florets aside.
3. Heat oil in the wok, fry the potato cubes and keep them aside.
   
4. Pour in half a cup of oil again, now fry the boiled cauliflower florets for 4 minutes. Keep them aside.
   
5. Now add two tsp oil, put a bay leaf and nigella seeds. Then put sliced green chili and minced ginger.
6. Add turmeric, coriander and red mirchi powder. Saute for two minutes.
7. Bring together the fried potatoes along the seasoning in the wok and simmer for 5 minutes by covering the lid.
   
8. Add the cauliflower florets and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then switch off the flame.
   

So there you go the easy, simple and relishing 'Niramish Phul Kopi' is ready to be served along with hot steamed rice or roti. Prepare this delicious and mouthwatering delicacy for your winter afternoons. 'Niramish Phul Kopi' can be served at lunch or dinner. It can also be prepared for any other seasons apart from the winters. So enjoy cooking, serving and eating!!

Niramish Phul Kopi

Find more Bengali Veg Recipes on this blog
Aloo Motar

Bok Phool Bhaja

Kudri Aloor Jhol

Cauliflower Leaves Stir-fry

Paromita Pramanick ©2018. All Rights Reserved.

Tilapia Fish

Tilapia Fish with Raw Tomatoes

Tilapia fish is a freshwater species and it is widely used across the globe. The recipes vary from place to place. In some parts people usually bake the Tilapia fish, somewhere else it is steamed and we Bengalis generally prefer to fry the fishes and make a gravy out of it.

Bengali fish recipes are very popular everywhere. The western world has now adopted a Bengali touch to its culinary, and even we trying to experiment few fish recipes from them. Normally we prefer to make our recipes quite spicy as compared to the other fish recipes in other parts of the world. As West Bengal lies in a coastal side of Eastern India, fishes are found in abundance and therefore endowed throughout the year at reasonable rates. That is why a Bengali meal is incomplete without a piece of fish on its plate.

Tilapia Fish

I love all types of fishes that is cooked by my mamma, especially when it comes to the Rohu and Tilapia fish. I personally love the prawns and pomfrets when we are in the outing, however, homemade foods are my favorite and this version of the Tilapia Fish recipe with lots of greens serves as the easiest and more relishing, as compared to the 'Jhol' (Curry). It is served with white steamed rice.

Tilapia Fish with Raw Tomatoes recipe is very easy to prepare. I've used very few ingredients for this recipe, keeping the basic taste of the Tilapia fish intact. Addition of raw tomatoes and ginger gives a different lusciousness in the recipe and it overcomes the stinky smell from the Tilapia fish that is usually left after frying them.

Bengalis normally prepare the Tel Jhal of Telapia/ Telapia Jhol, which are most popular among the Tilapia recipes. These are popular Bengali style Tilapia fish recipes from the Bengal Cuisine. Bengalis make different varieties of fish gravy prepared with mustard paste too, combining the mustard paste with almost all sorts of fish types. A typical Bengali delicacy is nothing without a fish and we savor the authentic fish recipes with hot steamed rice always.

Tips: Add sugar or jaggery to the recipe to balance the sour taste of raw tomatoes.

[Non-Veg]

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Course: Side

Cuisine: Indian/ Bengali

Serves: 3

Measuring Items: 1 cup = 250 ml; Teaspoon

Spring Onion Stalks

Ingredients:

1. Tilapia Fish- 500 grams
2. Green Raw Tomatoes- 8
3. Onion- 1 large
4. Ginger- an inch
5. Garlic- 6 cloves
6. Spring onion- 4 stalks
7. Green chili- 5
8. Coriander leaves

Spices:

1. Turmeric powder- 1.5 Tsp
2. Red Mirchi powder- 2 Tsp
3. Salt - 2 tsp (tastewise)
4. Sugar- 1 Tsp
5. Mustard oil- 1.5 cups

Method:

How to prepare ‘Tilapia Fish’ with step by step pictures and instructions-

1. Wash the Tilapia fish pieces and drain the water properly from fish.
2. Marinade the fish pieces with a pinch of salt and half tsp turmeric powder. Leave it for 15 minutes.

   

   Tilapia Fish

3. Heat oil in a frying pan. Once the oil starts leaving fumes, slowly slide in the fish pieces in lower flame.
   
4. Chop the required veggies.

   

   Raw Tomatoes
5. Fry the fishes in medium to high flame and keep them aside. (Oil remains in the pan after frying the fishes, or if you wish can add half a cup oil)
6. Add sliced onions, ginger-garlic paste and saute until onions turn slightly brown in color.
7. Now add the chopped raw tomatoes and fry them for 5 minutes.
   
8. Then add slitted green chilies and other spices. Mix them together.
9. Pour in half a cup of water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Then drop the fish pieces and simmer for 2 more minutes.
10. Finally, switch off the flame by adding chopped spring onions and coriander leaves.

Tilapia Fish with Raw Tomatoes is ready to be served with hot steamed rice for the scrumptious lunch or dinner. It looks tempting and very delicious. Prepare this easy to make Tilapia Fish recipe by yourself and tell me how you liked it. Also, share your views about my recipe for the ' Tilapia Fish with Raw Tomatoes'. Enjoy cooking, serving and eating!!

Tilapia Fish with Raw Tomatoes

Find more Fish recipes :-

GrassCarp Fish Gravy

TilapiaFish Recipe

Bengali Fish Curry (Scallion Florets)

Fish Drumsticks

Paromita Pramanick ©2018. All Rights Reserved.

Urad Dal Badi

Badi is a Bengali preparation of making dry nuggets out of soaked and ground batter of different kinds of lentils. It is pronounced as 'Bodi' or 'Bori' in Bengali and generally, these are known as Vadi in other parts of India, and this age-old tradition is followed in West Bengal where Badi making is very famous in every rural household.These can be prepared with Moong Dal, Urad Dal, Masoor Dal, Chana Dal etc. There are varieties of Badis prepared by every Bengali household such as the Plain Badi, Masala Badi (Masala=spicy), Goyna Badi (Goyna=designer), Phool Badi (Phool=flower), Bodo Badi (Bodo=big) etc.

Badi is a traditional method of making lentil dumplings and drying them under the sunlight. It is the oldest way to bring all the female group in the house together at a place to put the lentil dumplings in a mat/cloth/ aluminium utensils under the sunlight. Usually, the terrace or the big verandah is chosen where women make a big circle and they gossip to the fullest while putting the dumplings/small balls. This traditional method of making Badi is still carried on in each and every household in the Eastern part of India such as West Bengal, Orissa, Assam so on. Even the city dwellers have not given up this method of making Badi at their narrow verandahs or common terrace in an apartment.

Badis on mat under the sun

We also get readymade lentil dumplings in the grocery/provision stores in Kolkata markets, and these readymade Badi in the sense are nothing but women from the rural areas make them and then supply to the traders. There are small-scale industries in the rural places or in the suburbs of the city, which enhance this household tradition so that people whenever they want them readymade, can buy immediately from the shop because city dwellers are usually busy with the day long hectic schedules. Overall to keep the traditional Bengali cuisines alive in the nuclear families, the Badi in the markets are always available and serve as the best option. On the contrary, the modern household has slowly forgotten this traditional method, obliterating to the present fast pace of livelihood people do not have so much time or patience to spend on making the dumplings and it also needs a little bit of labor.

Few households still use the homemade Badi for the traditional Bengali recipes such as Shukto, Chorchoda, Kadhi or evenly used for any kind of recipes for that matter. The joint families where Grandmother is the ablest individual who continues the tradition of Badi making and also she patiently make these Badis every year, preserve them in a big container for the entire year, few she distributes to her daughter or son living in different places to carry the legacy of supreme taste in the Bengali recipes. Many housewives even in today's modernization have continued learning this traditional art of making Badis from their mothers or Grandmothers. This process of making dry Badis are usually done during the winter season when women soak themselves under the warm sun in the cold season, also enjoy making the Badis with their hand.

There are modern techniques that have come into the market to make Badis, but the way our ancestors used to spend their time and put their love into making those Badis were beyond any description. These age-old process of making Badis can still be kept alive with this generation next. So I'm going to share the easiest method to make these Badis at your house or even at a very small place where there is a sunlight availability for at least 3-4 hours a day.

Tips: Using market available vessels to put Badis can give you the best result. They are known as 'Chong' in Bengali.

[Veg]

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Making Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Cuisine: Indian/ Bengali

Measuring Items: 1 cup = 150 ml; Tablespoon (tbsp)

Ingredients:

1. Urad Dal (Split Black gram) - 600 grams ( about 1.5 cups)
2. Ginger - 2 inch
3. Cumin (jeera) powder - 6 Tbsp
4. Salt - 3 tbsp
5. Mustard oil- 1 cup

Method:

How to prepare ‘Urad Dal Badi’ with step by step pictures and instructions-

1. Soak Urad dal overnight.
2. Rinse with water properly and drain the water.

   

   Urad Dal

3. In a mixer grinder, take a handful of urad dal, little ginger and half a cup of water. (Blend dals batch-wise or else if you blend all together it may not give a smooth batter)
   
   
   
   
4. Blend it into a smooth paste (keep adding water little by little to make a fine paste, because urad dal is very thick and sticky).
   
5. Grease the aluminium utensils with a spoonful of mustard oil and put the plates under the sunlight before you start putting the dumplings.
6. Put the blended paste in a large bowl/ thali, add jeera powder and salt. Spread the batter over a thali and keep whipping until it gives a puffy texture (at least for 8-10 minutes).
     
7. Now slowly take a handful of the batter, make a fist and from the gap of your thumb and index finger, put the dumplings in small portions.
   

There is another way to put these dumplings. Although there are many modern technology, however, what's my work without an Art. So I thought of a homely method to put these dumplings easily. It's a typical home-based method out of the things that you get in your house. You would just need an empty toothpaste tube, an empty milk packet and a rubber band, and of course a scissor for cutting.

1. First, take the toothpaste tube and cut it near the mouth of the tube.
   
2. Wash the empty milk packet, cut and open one side of the packet. And a little hole at one corner of the other side.
    
3. Insert the tube's mouth in the milk packet and tie it with the rubber band.
   
4. Now pour in the Badi batter inside the milk packet, and enclose the open end of milk packet with your palms.
   
5. Now start putting the Badi dumplings in a little amount by slightly pressing down towards the mouth.
   

That's how you can easily put the Badis, and can finish putting nearly 200 Badis within half an hour.

Paromita Pramanick ©2018. All Rights Reserved.

Panch Phoran

Panch Phoran is a blend of five important seeds commonly used in the Bengali Cuisine. Paanch Phoron (পাঁচ ফোড়ন) is actually a Bengali language, also pronounced as Paanch Phodong, which literally means Five Spices (Paanch= Five, Phoron= Condiment/ Seasoning Spices). This Paanch Phoron is widely used in most of the recipes in Bengali dishes, we often start the recipe by seasoning these 5 seeds. It is an age-old tradition to keep a jar of Paanch Phoron in every Bengali Kitchen shelves. Paanch Phoron mainly includes Brown Mustard seeds, Nigella seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Cumin seeds, and Fennel seeds. Apart from these five main ingredients of Paanch Phoron, Bengalis also use the Tej Pata (Bay leaf) and dry red Mirchi for seasoning in most of the Bengali culinary recipes.

Panch Phoran

Paanch Phoron is also pronounced as Panch Phoran in Hindi (पंच फोरन), and it is used in other parts of India too. However, people from West Bengal, Orissa and other North-Eastern States, and Bangladesh are the ones to carry on the legacy of seasoning their recipes with the Paanch Phoron. The whole concept is to put these five type of seeds into the hot oil for seasoning and wait until the seeds pop out bringing a flavorful aroma to the dishes. Paanch Phoron is mainly added to the vegetarian recipes, however, we Bengalis tend to experiment in each and every aspects of the culinary dishes, by adding the Paanch Phoron for non-veg recipes too.

There is a story behind knowing the secret of Paanch Phoron, or how I came across this term in my life. I spent my childhood in South India, so hardly got to spend the time with my ancestral generation and listen to any sort of stories how others would generally share with their grandchildren. Besides that, I would hardly step my feet into the kitchen when mom used to cook and she predominantly prepared South Indian dishes for our school lunch box. I was least interested in cooking on those days, however as time passed, responsibilities grew and since I being the eldest of my siblings, began to give helping hands to my mom. That's when one fine day when mom told me to give her the jar of Paanch Phoron from the kitchen shelf, I began wondering as to which jar is it. And I was always confused with Cumin and Fennel seeds, which almost looked similar. Anyways, that was a brief memory of my childhood and that's how I began to significantly learn about the Indian spices. Ever since my learning was perhaps accomplished after my marriage.

The following are the five seeds combined together to make Paanch Phoron-

1. Cumin Seeds, which is commonly known in Hindi as Jeera (जीरा), and also in Bengali it is called Jeera (জিরা বীজ). Cumin seeds are also seasoned separately in many Bengali recipes. Sometimes we roast the cumin seeds and coarsely grind them into powder to add a sensuous aroma to the dishes. We use both the seeds and grounded version to a great extent in most of the Indian recipes.

   

   Cumin Seeds

2. Brown Mustard Seeds are called as Sarso (सरसों के बीज) or rye (राई) in Hindi and Sorsha (সরিষা বীজ) in Bengali. Mustard seeds are very commonly used in almost every part of the country for most of the recipes. Bengalis make a paste out of mustard and store in a jar which is better known as Kasundi or Shorse Bata (সরিষা গুঁড়া)  mustard powder which is widely used in fish recipes. Out of all the five seeds, probably Mustard and Cumin play a vital role in a number of recipes in India.

   

   Brown Mustard Seeds

3. Fennel Seeds can be eaten or chewed raw. We normally savor the fennel seeds along with Mishri (sweetener) after every meal for good digestion. These fennel seeds are mixed with the sugar cubes and served in a small plate after meals in every restaurants and hotel in India. We Bengalis call it Mouri(মৌরি) and in Hindi it is called Saunf (सौंफ).

   

   Fennel Seeds

4. Nigella Seeds is known as Kalo jeera (কালো জিরা) in Bengali. People from the suburbs of Kolkata and also most of the people from Bangladesh widely use the nigella seeds in many recipes. They season these seeds apart from the other five in most of the vegetarian and fish recipes.

   

   Nigella Seeds

5. Fenugreek Seeds or Methi (मेंथी) are the spices that play an important role in making a dish more flavorful. Indian cuisine is especially known to have some of the healthiest traditional recipes with fenugreek as its main ingredients. Fenugreek leaves are very healthy and has medicinal values, also the seeds are recommended for home remedies (घर के नुस्खे), and are very much curative for cold and fever.

   

   Fenugreek Seeds

This is how we blend the five magical aromatic seeds, these are generally combined together and stored in a jar for the immediate use of seasoning purposes. Paanch Phoron is usually fried in oil or ghee before adding any vegetables while cooking, it flavors the oil, leaving mild smell from the seeds which make the dish absolutely delicious and relishing to the aroma of these Indian spices. Many authentic Bengali recipes depend on the Paanch Phoron made of these five different spices. This condiment is readily available in the markets and grocery stores in Kolkata. Preparation of any dishes with these five spices can make your diet healthy and extraordinarily tasty at the same time.

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