DasMar 30
Hey hey hey! What dis?!
Show threadDasMar 30

Thankfully this big guy was quite tender and not old. Even the seeds inside were small and soft. Peeled, then cut up into half moon slices, salted generously and let sit (30+ mins) while I made some mustard paste (next).
Rinse, squeeze out the water and drain, add a spot of turmeric powder and mix.

Coming up, #Bengali style #cooking of the ridge gourd (jhinge in Bengali, sin qua in Chinese )

Show threadDasMar 30

Some suribachi action on mustard seeds - black and yellow, soaked in hot water for about 20 mins.
I must say the suribachi works really well for this.
I did add water to the suribachi then push through a strainer and put the seeds/skins back into the suribachi and continue grinding (would have had to do this water add and regrind in a stone mortar as well).

#Cooking

Show threadDasMar 30
In Kolkata (other parts of India too) - a sheel noda - flat stone slab with a cylindrical stone pestle is used to make pastes for #cooking .
This is how the mustard seeds (or for that matter other spices or othe foods, chillis and herbs would be turned into paste - usually wet, as one can add, sprinkle water and regrind to desired texture - just by taking the paste at the top and putting it back down and pasting again.
(8 s video - cook in my mom's kitchen)
Show threadDasMar 30
No sheel noda action in my Pittsburgh kitchen, I first used the suribachi to make the mustard paste (I also added a tsp of Colman's mustard powder to the paste as I strained it). Then to the mustard paste with some of the skins (most skins I got rid off after a couple of rounds in the suribachi - they tend to get bitter), I added 2 green chillis and a bit of (frozen) grated coconut (about a golf ball size) and blitzed in a blender.
Mustard+chilli+coconut = classic #Bengali #cooking combination
Show threadDasMar 30
This sort of mustard+chilli+coconut paste (sometimes with ginger too) shows up a lot in #Bengali #cooking - even with fish. Less traditional is my use of a touch (tsp) of (white/shiro) #miso in the paste. I like the subtle depth (#umami ) it adds without changing the flavor. (Yes I do this with Bengali fish dishes too)
Show threadDasMar 30
Anyways the #cooking is straightforward. Start with hot oil (a spot of mustard oil if you have it) and sputter some nigella and a fresh chilli (green usually, I just had this red one) then toss in the jhinge (ridge gourd) and cook. Cover. It'll exude a bunch of water and cook in it. If it's tender enough, it won't take too long. Uncover and let the liquid cook down, add the paste (see 👆🏽) and let it cook, then mix in .
#Cooking #Recipics
Show threadDas
I could have stopped there, with just the thickened sauce with the jhinge. But I like the combination of shrimp with ridge gourd and although there's an entirely different dish (jhinge with 🦐), I went ahead and added (back) the gently+qucikly seared on both sides shrimp that were seasoned with salt+turmeric+dry red chile powder. I let the shrimp cook a bit more and mixed on to let the flavors meld for a couple of mins and et voila done with #Bengali #Cooking jhinge paturi (with 🦐)
#Food
/end
Mar 30 at 3:22amWeb