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Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji |AlifBe~44

Alka Keswani — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 15:08:00 +0000

To watch the video recipe of Nasarpuri style Seyal Bhaji, please check my Youtube channel, SindhiRasoiOfficial. Click here to visit the link! The 44th ‘alphabet’ of Arabic Sindhi Script, AlifBe, is ن in Sindhi, न in Devanagari and ‘N’ in Roman Sindhi. N as in Nagpur, Nagaland, Nigeria or as in Nasarpur. And the corresponding dish is ‘ Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji, with Dhokri (Dhokryun)’. Nasarpur (Nasarpur/Nasserpur): Nasarpur is one of the oldest known places in Sindh (now in Pakistan), that finds mentions in not only the history and geography of ancient civilization, but also in the legends associated with the Lord Jhulelal, an incarnation of Varun Dev, that the Sindhis have great faith in! It is in the small town of Nassarpur that the Lord Jhulelal was born and hence the place holds a great significance for the Sindhi community. Nasarpuri Sindhis are those whose ancestors came from Nasarpur and this Sindhi subset is a small community consisting of barely few hundred families, residing in India and abroad. Honestly speaking I was not aware of the culture, traditions and cuisine of Nasapuri Sindhis till I came across some people in Sindhirasoi fb group. And then I got in touch with Jyoti Mulchandani, a fabulous lady working on many aspects of Sindhi culture, language and people, who enlightened me more about the Nasarpuri culture. You can check her blog, SindhiKhazana to gain more insights. She also introduced me to her sister Geeta (Urvashi Dhama) and I got to learn so much from her, not only about the Nasarpuri community, but also about the Brahmakhatris, yet another Sindhi subset with lesser exposure in the so called mainstream Sindhi community. Thanks to the two sisters I came to know how popular the Seyal Bhaji (in green gravy base) is, in the Nasarpuri cuisine. I also came across some information about Dhokri (Dhokni) i.e the flat dough discs, steamed/ cooked in the seyal style base, consumed by some Sindhis. I was intrigued. I am utterly grateful to Pooja Abichandani who not only guided me about Nasarpuri food but also helped me connect with Ms Rashmi Chandani who shared helpful details about the community along with detailed recipes of some of the popular dishes from Nasarpuri cuisine. I am so eager to share all of her recipes, one at a time, on this blog of mine! Pooja Abichandani also introduced me to her mother Ms Rekha Khushalani and oh my! we kept on talking about Sindhi food, food and more food, for hours, till my voice started cracking. Got to learn so much from her about Nasarpuri food and it was such a pleasure to share food memories with each other. Of all the recipes she discussed with me, the Seyal Bhaji was one of the prominent. While she mentioned that Dhokri are added in Nasarpuri style Seyal Bhaji, Rashmi Chandani, on the other hand, believes that Dhokri is not a Nasarpuri addition. I was too intrigued with the idea of addition of Jowar/bajra dough discs in the seyal masala to give it a miss. But since the Dhokri part of the Seyal bhaji is not confirmed to be Nasarpuri style, I chose to name the dish just ‘Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji’, a traditional dish loved by Nasarpuri as well as other Sindhis belonging to different subsets. The Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji is basically a semidry curry made using a base of green paste made from coriander leaves, chillies, ginger and garlic. Some add onions in the paste, some add tomatoes as well. Some use chopped or grated onions and tomatoes. One can add any combination of vegetables to this green base, but the most preferred ones are potatoes, Okra, Apple gourds (Meha/Tinde) and small onions. Potatoes are always cut into thick roundels while other veggies are used whole. Some like to stuff vegetables with green masala while others just cook it without stuffing. You can make the Dhokri (also called Dhokni) from Jowar, Bajra or rice flour to which one needs to add the green masala paste, some salt and oil for moyan to make a dough. You can totally skip the Dhokri part and make the subzi with just the vegetables of your choice. Traditionally when such a subzi was made, the Dhokris were laid on a piece of the mulmul cloth that was tied over the rim of the vessel in which the Seyal bhaji was being cooked. The steam arising from the Seyal bhaji would cook the Dhokris and then these were added to the Seyal bhaji and cooked further to absorb more flavors of the Seyal bhaji. Many skip this tricky step and simply place the dough discs, the Dhokri as the top most layer on the Seyal bhaji, and cook it covered, on the low flame, without mixing it, till the Dhokris are steamed (i.e cooked) well. I found a middle path! I have the Idli steamer plate that fits well over the Kadai that I used for making Seyal Bhaji (Refer the Video) and I used it to steam the Dhokri. The recipe that I followed was a mix of many recipes that I picked from the SindhiRasoi group. Thank you Tanisha Makhija, Nana Kunwar, Pooja Abichandani, Rashmi Chandani and Rekha Khushalani ji for all your valuable inputs. Print Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji |AlifBe~44 Ingredients For green paste: A bunch of coriander leaves 4-5 green chillies 1 inch piece ginger 10-12 garlic cloves Other ingredients 2 Onions 2 Tomatoes 2 Potatoes 7-8 Okra 2-3 Small tender Apple Gourds (Meha/TInde) optional 2 Small whole onions optional (I didn't use onions) 1 tsp Turmeric Powder 2 tsp Coriander Powder 1 Cup Jowar/ Bajra flour 3-4 tbsp Oil Salt as per taste Method Blend or pound using mortar and pestle, coriander leaves, chillies, ginger and garlic. Make a coarse paste. Save 2 -3 tbsp of this paste to make Dhokri. To make Dhokri, mix the above reserved paste with 1 cup of Jowar/Bajra/rice flour and add some salt and 1 tbsp of oil. Mix everything well and using water, a little at a time, bring together the mixture to make a firm dough. No need to knead the dough. Divide it in 7-8 portions and make small flat discs of each portion. These are called Dhokri (Dhokni). Grease each with some oil and keep covered till further use. Ideally one should make Dhokri just before steaming it but to avoid confusion I have mentioned the process in the beginning. Watch the video to understand the steps properly. Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add 2 small onions, finely chopped. Cook on medium heat till translucent (slightly pink) Add the green paste Add a little of salt and cook till rawness of green paste disappears i.e for 4-5 minutes. This is an optional step but it gives more flavor to the whole vegetables. Remove 2 tbsp of this cooked mixture and use it later to stuff Tinde and Okra. You can use whole vegetables without stuffing too. Add chopped tomatoes, some salt (salt is to be added in various stages so add a little at a time), turmeric and coriander powder and cook on medium heat while the pan is covered with a lid. Meanwhile peel and slice potatoes in thick roundels and soak these in salted water till further use. Peel and slit apple gourds, onions, if using, into criss cross to make a space for stuffing. Tip off the ends of Okra and slit each from top (head) towards the tip. Coming back to the gravy, mash tomatoes and then add potato roundels. Stir to coat potatoes and cook covered on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stuff Apple gourds, onions and Okra with the cooked onions and green masala mix that we saved. Since potatoes take longer to cook, we added it first. Now add stuffed gourds and onions (if using) and gently mix the sabzi. Add 2 cups of water to the sabzi and place an idli steamer plate over it. Traditionally a muslin cloth was tied over the rim of the vessel but I found it to be tricky hence used the idli plate. Luckily my idli plate fits well over the kadai that I used for making the sabzi. Lower the heat to minimum. Place a clean piece of mulmul cloth over the plate. Moisten it slightly. Place the Dhokryun on the cloth adjacent to each other. Cover the lid of the pan and allow everything to cook on low heat. The stuffed vegetables will cook inside the pan and the Dhokri will get steamed above the pan using the steam arising from the boiling gravy. After 7-8 minutes, the Dhokri will be set. Transfer each on a plate carefully. Give the sabzi a mix, add few tbsp of water (or more if you need a little gravy) and make a layer of stuffed bhindi (okra) and steamed Dhokri above the sabzi. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Flip once, very gently and cook covered, for 5 more minutes. The Nasarpuri style Seyal Bhaji with Jowar Dhokri is ready to relish. Ideally had with roti, but you can enjoy it as a side dish with dal rice or have it just as it is since the Jowar Dhokri is very filling and tastes amazing in combination with potatoes, okra and gourds. Here is a simpler version of the recipe: Blend 2 small onions, 2 tomatoes, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic and chillies to make a paste Use some of this paste to make Dhokri and add the rest of this paste in a pan with 3 tbsp of oil. Cook on medium heat till rawness of onions and garlic is gone.Add salt, turmeric and coriander powder. Add potato roundels and a little salt. Cook and cover for few minutes. Add 2 cups of water. Lay other whole vegetables (apple gourds, onions, Okra) and Dhokris above the potato and gravy mix. Do not mix. Cover and allow to cook on low flame for 10 minutes or so. Stir very gently so as to not break the Dhokri. Cook covered for 8-10 minutes more, till a knife pierced in Dhokri comes out clean. Make Dho 3.5.3251 And finally, a small video tutorial to learn how to write in Arabic Sindhi:

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Gyarsi (Ekadashi) Khadho For AlifBe~38

Alka Keswani — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 06:55:45 +0000

Gyarsi Khadho or the Sindhi Ekadashi food is my pick for the AlifBe of Sindhi food~ 38. The 38th alphabet in Persio Arabic script is گ in Sindhi, ग in Devanagari and ‘G‘ as in Ganga, in Roman Sindhi. Gyars: Gyars (Giyaras/ Igyas) is observed on the eleventh day of Hindu Lunar month. In each lunar month two Gyars (Ekadashi) are observed. Like many other communities, even Sindhi people observe the Ekadashi fast. Upvas or fasting as we call it, is an essential part of any culture. There are various ways to observe a fast and there are various types of fasts. Be it Chaliha, Lent/Shrove Tuesday, Roza/Ramadan, Karva Chowth, Teej, Navratri, Paryushan or any other religious or spiritual fast, the beliefs may vary, the rituals may be poles apart but the crux remains more or less the same i.e to connect with the Supreme power and to connect with your own-self in a disciplined way. For many Hindus, Upvas is a synonym of fasting or to abstain from food. For religious folks, Upvas or Upa (near/close)+ Vas (to stay/ live) is the time to get closer to his or her deity while for many spiritual people, upvas means to connect with their own self, to introspect, to control their desires, to stay in solitude and to become a better version of his or her self. Of course not everyone understands the true essence of Upavas and for many it just means indulging in a different way. We tend to look for tempting recipes using pseudo grains when grains are not allowed, we feast on fancy ‘satvik’ food cooked with ingredients that our ancestors never knew about, restaurants and eateries offer ‘fasting’ meals to ‘satiate’ your taste buds, the markets are flooded with all sorts of feasts to break your fast. I feel so amused! Well, I am not the one who believe in the moral policing and I am as much guilty as many of us would be, when it comes to feasting on a fasting day. We surely need to mend our ways! Coming to Gyars or Ekadashi, the day is considered to be a sacred day to worship Lord Vishnu and the Sindhis abstain from consuming meat, grains, beans/pulses, cereals, table salt (sendha namak is used instead) and spices except black pepper and cumin (many even avoid cumin seeds). Leafy greens and vegetables are also avoided in the Gyarsi (Ekadashi) food, by majority of Sindhis observing the fast. For those who observe Ekadashi, the Gyarsi breakfast generally consists of fruits or Kirng (Kin~g) i.e samo porridge. The porridge made from samo seeds could be sweet or savory (cooked with salt and black pepper). It is generally paired with shallow fried potatoes flavored with sendha namak and freshly pounded black pepper. Lunch consists of Gyarsi Bhaji and Dhodho. Video Recipe of Gyarsi Bhaji and Dhodho: Gyarsi Bhaji: A soupy, tangy curry is cooked with roasted samo flour (Bagar/ Varai) known as Sauri (sauvri) to which potatoes and boiled lotus stem are added. The curry is flavored with salt, pepper and tamarind juice. It is paired with Gyarsi Dhodho i.e a patted roti made from Sauri flour to which mashed boiled potatoes are added for the binding. Scroll down for the recipe of Bhaji and Dhodho! If in the season, Lahori Gajar i.e boiled/roasted or syrup sweetened sweet potatoes are also had on Ekadashi. Coconut, sago wafers, dates, peanuts are consumed as snacks or many consume sabudana khichdi in the evening. The above picture is shared by Mrs Urvashi Dama. This is Gyarsi platter and a particular dish that intrigued me was Kuttu Je Daro (dar-ey) Ja Dhokla or the Dhokla made from broken Buckwheat (groats), a traditional dish popular in some Sindhi subcastes (Do Nasarpuri Sindhis make this commonly?Please share any information you have). In the above picture you can see steamed Kuttu Dhokla and also the fried Dhokla. Urvashi Ji was generous enough to share the recipe of this lesser known dish. If you wish to get her recipe, just leave a comment in the comment section! Though Rajgira and Kuttu (Amaranth) puri and pakode are also had by some but many avoid the greasy puri pakoda. These are more popular with those who observe only one Ekadashi in whole year i.e Vadhi Gyars (Prabhodhini Ekadashi) and for many of us it is an occasion to relish Rajgiri and Kuttu (Buckwheat) puri/ pakora, the tempting Gyarsi patties and the tangy, off white colored Beeh alu curry sold in the shops and eateries in Sindhi populated areas on Vadhi Gyars. Print Gyarsi (Ekadashi) Khadho For AlifBe~38 Ingredients For Curry (Sindhi Gyarsi Bhaji/ Gyarsi Beeh patata) 3 medium sized Potatoes 100-150 gm Lotus stem ¼ cup Sauri flour 1 small tamarind ball Salt (preferably sea salt or rock salt ) 1 tbsp Black pepper powder 1 Green chilli (optional) 2 tbsp Oil 2 cups Water For Dhodho (Flat bread) Makes 3 200 gms ( 2 and half cup) Sauri (Bagar.varai/Samo) Flour Salt as per taste 1 tbsp Black pepper (crushed or powdered) 2 tbsp Oil (optional) 2 Mashed boiled potatoes Water as much needed Oil and ghee to cook roti. Method Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water for about 15 min, mash it properly, and discard the fibre and seeds. We will use the tamarind water only. Scrap off the peel of lotus stem and cut in slants (1-2 cm thick). If the stem is very thin in diameter, you can cut it in 2 inch long pieces (not slanted). Clean the stem thoroughly if their is any mud inside the pores. Use running water and tooth picks to clean pores. If you buy the stem that is closed at both the ends, there wont be any mud inside. Boil lotus stem along with water and few drops of oil, in a pressure cooker. You can use some raw papad instead of oil to hasten the cooking process. A good quality Beeh (Lotus stem) will soften in 2-3 whistles of pressure cooker. When pressure subsides, open the lid of cooker and drain lotus stem. Keep aside. Heat a pressure cooker and add 2 tbsp oil. Add add sauri flour. Roast it till slight change in colour is observed. Add water, salt, black pepper powder and potato cubes along with boiled lotus stem, tamarind water, green chilli (if using) and mix properly. Close the lid of cooker and wait for 2 whistles. Later, check the consistency of gravy and adjust accordingly. This curry is supposed to be soupy. It tends to thicken with time. This Sindhi Gyarsi (Ekadashi) Beeh patata are relished with gyarsi dhodha To Make Dhodho Take 200 gm of sauri flour , and mix salt, pepper, mashed potatoes and 2 tbsp oil (optional) Please Note: Adding oil will make Dhodho crisp while skipping oil will make Dhodho softer. Potatoes are added for the binding. So do not skip potatoes. Instead of using boiled potatoes you can use few chunks of potatoes from the Gyarsi Subzi. Mix everything well. Adding little water at a time, knead a soft dough. Grease your palms with little oil, take a portion of the dough and pat it between your palms (refer the recipe) video to flatten the dough ball as much as possible. Now grease a hot griddle (tawa) and gently pat the flattened dough rolling in circular motion with palm of your hand, till a thickness of paratha is achieved (since this is bit tricky, an easy way out is to take a clean polythene bag or butter paper and lay on kitchen platform. Now sprinkle some flour on this polythene sheet and place the dough, and then gently pat it in circular motion till a thick roti is formed and carefully pick it up and place on greased and hot griddle) Pour a little of oil and let the Dhodho cook on medium flame till small brown patches appear. Toss and cook on other side too. Repeat for the remaining dough. Enjoy it hot with gyarsi bhaji or with dahi The dough tends to get loose and difficult to handle with time. Hence make sure to cook the flatbread as soon as you knead the dough. 3.5.3251 And if you wish to learn how to read and write Arabic Sindhi, then you can watch these short videos that I make for letter formation!

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