E for Eromba from Manipur.

E for Eromba from Manipur.

When we think of dishes with E, the first that comes to our mind is Egg. So Egg Roll is the first one which all of us must have devoured upon while strolling on streets. The variants can be innumerable depending upon the stuffing used in it. Mix Veg Roll, Keema Roll, Double egg roll, Chicken Egg Roll,  Kabab Egg Roll....and so on.

Other common dishes of egg are the Egg Curry, Omlette, Poach, Half Boiled, Egg Bhurji etc we use in our daily routine. Egg sandwiches are also common.

Another dish from E is Ennai Kathirikai Kulambu from Tamil Nadu. Ennai here means oil and kathirikai is Brinjal. So it is fried small sized brinjal in full sauted and then dipped in sour curry with regional flavour and served with steamed rice.

But as part of the challenge I would talk about Eromba, one of the most popular dish Manipuris' prepare for their lunch or dinner. As per Wikepedia, Eromba is an ethnic cuisine of the Meitei community of Manipur. The dish is equally enjoyed in other parts of Northeast too. It's usually made with boiled vegetables mashed with ngari (fermented fish) and chillies. It is basically used as a side dish, a type of chutney ar can also be used as curry. It has its own local variants as per the additional compositions. The garnishing too varies from  as simple as coriander and onion to complex chopped local herbs.

Ingredients

Fermented dry fish ( Ngari/Shidol ) : 5-6 pcs.

Boiled Tomatoes-2, 

Boiled Potatoes-2 ( or any other locally available or seasonal vegetables like colocasia, ladies finger,bamboo shoot etc.) 

Green chilies : 3-4 / Red chilies : 3-4

Chopped Onion  : 1 large

Garlic : 2-3 pods (optional)

Copped Coriander leaves for garnishing 

Recipe

Clean the dry fish removing all scales etc, rinse in water, drench and keep aside.

In a bowl take tomatoes, potatoes & garlic pods and green chilies and steam or pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles with minimum water. Strain and separate from water. Keep the water as well.

In another bowl take the boiled green chilies and drenched dry fish and mash well. In a separate bowl, mash tomatoes along with garlic. Add coarsely mashed boiled potatoes. Then add the fish and chilly mash to it and mix them together nicely. Add chopped onions, salt as per taste and mix well. Add chopped coriander leaves and mix.

If required add the strained warm water or fresh warm water to it to make slightly loose consistency. The Eromba is ready.

Garnish with chopped onion and coriander leaves dry saute chilly and serve with fresh steamed rice accompanied with fried fish, fried dry shrimps or just anything.

Other Cuisines on the list of A to Z so far are

A - Appam, B- Bhutte Ka Kees, C - Chhena Poda , D - Dhuska

Aditya Sinha
05.04.2020

D for Dhuska from Jharkhand

D for Dhuska from Jharkhand

As discussed with A, B & C, D too has lots of regional dishes attached to it. 

The first that comes to the mind is the Gujarat special Dhokla. Dhokla is a light sweet salt snack made of steamed gram floor (Besan). Very popular and enjoyed in most art of the country. 

Another famous complete meal is the Dal Bati Churma of Rajasthan. Its a must to try when you are in Rajasthan . Roasted Wheat flour balls (Bati) dipped in Pure Ghee along with Special rajasthani Dal and aate ka churma as the sweeet dish is just unforgettable.

Dham from HP is another meal you must try. Its a special luncheon served in a special way on community fooding or festivals in the hill state. It comprises of Rice served with different types of Dals and sabjis served one by one and ends with a sweet dish. The variety of sweet dish and even the sequence of lentils and shaks changes with the different districts and regions there.Even the preparation and serving is done piously by special people who prepare Dham.

And how can we miss the Dosas from the south. It can be, plain, masala, paneer, paper etc.etc. The south Indian Dish practically rues the entire country today.

But different from all these is the original Snacks with its own flavour from the tribal state of Jharkhand - Dhuska.  we do have similar dishes in different parts of country as well  and may be we are having it daily in different names on our dining table. But just a little different combination that it has makes it original and directly originating from the tribal lands.

Its a a deep fried snack of paste made from soaked parboiled rice, gram pulse (Chana Dal) and Urad Dal served with coriander chutney or Rasdar aloo sabji. Mustard Oil is used as the medium to fry.

Ingredients : 
Pre Boiled Rice  - 1 cup,  Uard Dal ( Pulse) - 1 cup, Gram Pulse  - 1 cup
Green Coriander - 50 gram , corsely chopped, Onion - 3 peices - coarsely chopped.
Green Chilli : 3 - 4 peices., Salt - as per taste, Mustard Oil : For frying.

Preparation of paste:
Soak the three separately for two  to three hours in water. Remove it from water when soft. Grind in a mixer and make a paste each one separately with minimum of water.
Mix the three and beat it with spoon or whisk to make it light. Add salt, coarsely chopped onion, green coriander and green chilies. 


Cooking:
To cook, pour in small amount through serving spoon in pre-heated mustard oil . Deep fry on medium flame till it is golden pink. 


Serve hot with coriander chutney  and mustard sauce or rasdar aloo ki sabji (Gravy Potato)

For more on this pls go to my earlier post Dhuska. Cook and Relish.

Other Cuisines on the list of A to Z so far are

A - Appam, B- Bhutte Ka Kees, C - Chhena Poda

Aditya Sinha

04.04.2020

C for Chhena Poda from Orissa

C for Chhena Poda from Orissa

As with the other two letter, there are many cuisines from different parts of India starting with C as well. The first to come to mind is the Chhole Bhature from North India.Its one of the most common breakfast in the northern states and Delhi. 

Another common Dish is the Chilla. Though it traces its origin from central India, it is made across the country. Its basically a pancake made from different flour mixed with finely chopped vegetables as per taste. The variety ranges from as simple as rice floor chilla , Besan chilla, rava mixed chilla to stuffed chillas. 

Chana Madra & Chookh are also special dishes and belong to the hill state HP. Tripura has its own special Chakhwi. Churma Ladoo from Rajasthan is also mouth watering and commonly made. And there are the enormous sweet dishes made from Chhena (fresh cottage cheese) like the Chhena Paise, Chhena Murki, Variety of Chhena Sweets, Ras malai and what nots. 

Continuing with this, here I would like to talk about Chhena Poda a special delicacy made in Orissa and is believed to be one of the most favoured delicacy of Lord Jagannath at Puri. Chhena Poda is caramalised cake made of mixture of Chhena with sugar , cashew nuts , raisins & rava.

Ingredients : 

Fresh Chhena (Cottage Cheese) 0 250gm, Powder Sugar - 4 tbsp, Rava - 2 tbsp, Ghee -2 tbsp, Cardmom powder - 1/2 tsp, Milk -4 tbsp, Few Broken Cashews, Few Raisins 

Recipe :

1. Take fresh Chhena / Cottage Cheese /Fresh Paneer and mash it well with your hands. Add powdered sugar and cardamom powder and mix. Add sooji/rava, ghee and milk and mix till everything incorporates well.

2. Add roasted broken pieces of cashews and few raisins to it and mix well. Keep it aside.

3. Now grease a baking pan with1 tbsp ghee and add 4 tbsp sugar spread evenly on the base. Heat the pan on the gas till the sugar caramelizes. 

4. Pour the mixture over the caramelized sugar and spread evenly.

5. Preheat the oven, put the baking tray with mix and bake at 180 deg C for 40-50 min or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean when you check.

6. Cool, take out from tray , cut and serve as dessert or snacks.

Aditya Sinha
03.04.2020