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Raanh/Chauran ~AlifBe~24

Alka Keswani — Sun, 30 May 2021 06:42:57 +0000

As mentioned many times in the AlifBe series, the 52 letters of Sindhi Alphabet are divisible into 16 shape groups and so far four shape groups are done and dusted! For the recap of the alphabets covered so far, please check this list! In the 5th shape group there are three letters and the first one in this group isر in Arabic Sindhi, र in Devanagari, while in Roman Sindhi it is R as in Ratnagiri/Rajasthan etc. And the corresponding Sindhi dish is Raanh, also called Chauran and Chawli for AlifBe of Sindhi Food #24 Raanh or Black eyed beans are often a part of Prasad in Sindhi temples. Simply boiled with salt and water till soft, Raanh are distributed with Kanau (Karao or Kada Prasad) or with Suji jo seero (Semolina halwa). In many Sindhi homes, Raanh are made in tomato gravy and you can find its recipe here! But personally I like these beans cooked in the typical Sindhi style Onion Tomato gravy, with no other overpowering ingredients like garlic or garam masala powder. I am often asked about how to make a homogenous ‘daag^ waari ras‘ (gravy) without using a blender. ‘Daag^‘ here means a brown coloured gravy that Sindhis use as a base to cook many Sindhi style curries and let me demystify the ‘daag^‘ today! To cook a perfect ‘Daag^ waari ras‘: 1) Make sure that you are using sufficient fat(ghee/oil)…not too much, but just sufficient enough to help proper sautéing of onions. If you use very little oil the onions will stick to the bottom of the pan/cooker and may get burnt or turn crisp. We want perfectly browned but yet soft onions. If you use more than needed fat, the oil will float in the curry and may not to be acceptable to health conscious people. Here is a tip: Add sufficient oil initially, cook onions till brown and then drain out the oil. Re-use it in a day or so to cook another onion based curry. 2) Never allow onions to turn crisp. Crispier onions affect the texture of the final dish as the gravy would look chunkier and not smooth. Make sure that onions are not burnt. Even few burnt bits can turn gravy bitter. 3) Do not blend the gravy using a blender. Always whisk it with a wooden whisker if you want the typical Sindhi flavors of the dish. 4) Once onions and tomatoes are cooked well, add vegetables/meat/chickpeas/Soya chunks etc and bhuno it well till oil separates out (no need to bhuno black eyed beans). Keep sprinkling some water if the contents start sticking to the bottom of the vessel. 5) Add some water to make the gravy and cook vegetables/meat/beans etc first on high flame and then always simmer the curry on low flame, preferably under pressure (Mostly pressure cooker is used to make Daag^ waari ras i.e gravy). 6) You can add Akha garam masala at the beginning or can add some garam masala powder while bhunoing and some, towards the end of cooking process. Hope this helps! If you have any doubts or troubles while cooking any Sindhi food, do let me know via comments and I will make sure to discuss it with you! Here is the recipe: Print Raanh ~AlifBe~24 Raanh or Black eyed Beans cooked in onion tomato gravy! Ingredients Raanh (Black Eyed Beans) 1 cup Onions 2 Tomatoes 2 Green chillies 2-3 (As per taste) Ginger 1 inch piece Salt Turmeric powder ½ tsp Coriander Powder 1 tbsp Oil 2 tbsp Method Pick, rinse several times with water and soak Raanh in water for 6-8 hours. Later discard the water if it is frothy and rinse 1-2 times again. In a pressure cooker heat 2 tbsp of oil, add chopped onions and ginger. Cook onions on medium to low flame, till brown. Add chopped tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder and little salt to facilitate softening of tomatoes. Mix well and allow tomatoes to turn mushy. Add about 1 cup of water and close the lid of pressure cooker and wait for 3 whistles. Put off the flame and let the pressure subside! Open the lid, whisk the mixture properly with a wooden whisk (Mandhiyaro). Add soaked beans and some salt along with a tbsp of coriander powder and mix properly. Add some water (about 2 cups) and again close the lid and wait for a whistle of cooker. Put the flame on lowest and allow beans to cook under pressure for 10 minutes. Comparatively fresh beans that are soaked well, tend to soften by then. Else cook a little longer. Once cooked, adjust the consistency of gravy, if needed and serve it garnished with coriander leaves. Goes well with white steamed or boiled rice and/or rotis! 3.5.3251 Signing off with this short video about how to write in Arabic Sindhi!

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Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16

Alka Keswani — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 08:25:12 +0000

Chhola /Charaan i.e Kabuli Chana curry is a very popular dish in Sindhi cuisine and it is often had with rice, roti as well as with sliced bread and Pao (laadi paav) too. Sindhi style Chole (Chhole in Roman Sindhi) are made in basic onion tomato gravy style, though many cook it in just tomato gravy. No tea leaves are used (to give color) and also, traditionally, no chole masala (spice mix) is added. The curry gets its flavors from whole spices like Kamaal patt (Tej Patta), vadho photo (Black Cardamom) etc while tomatoes and tamarind (optional) provide tanginess. Few crushed chana render thickness to the gravy and the garam masala powder pushes the flavors a few notches up! In Sindhi populated areas, Chaap chhola (Patties with Chole) and Chhola Dab^al are two of the most famous street foods and while patties chole are generally had as an evening snack, Chhola dab^al on the other hand is had for breakfast. Chhola is a curry made using Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) while dab^al in Sindhi refers to bread ( sliced bread, pao etc). It is also known as dab^al Roti or Dab^roti in Sindhi. Simply put, Chhola Dab^al is bread topped with chickpeas curry and garnished with chutney, sliced onions and sev (Nylon sev). Gupta ji Chole waala, opposite Satramdas hospital in Ulhasnagar was famous for his Chhola dab^al as well as falooda. His cart had a stove with a large aluminum container, filled with dense spicy garbanzo curry, arranged on the outer sides of the container. The centre of the container was intermittently filled with soupy gravy and a portion of dense curry (with beans) was then mixed with it and allowed to simmer for a while. Few chunks of pao were then immersed in the simmering curry, scooped out and placed in a takeaway container, topped with some gravy and beans, chunks of cooked potato, chutney and spice mix (a trade secret), some coriander leaves and nylon sev for the garnish. The hearty breakfast was often had on lazy winter Sunday mornings and it used to be my (late) mother’s favorite. Somehow I never developed a liking for it! If you have been tracking the AlifBe series, you may have got a hint by now. Yes, we are at the 16th letter of Sindhi Alphabet and it is ڇ or ‘Chh’ as in Chhattisgarh, in Roman Sindhi while छ in Devanagari. And no marks for guessing that the Sindhi dish starting with ڇ is Chhola Dab^al ! To check step by step pics of assembling Chhola Dabhal, please watch this video! Dab^al or bread was had by Sindhis even in the pre partition era. You can find a reference, in the book We the Sindhis, of a certain Ghanno (name of the vendor) Pakorai (one who sells pakore or fritters) in Jhuremalani Ghitti (street) in Sindh (Now in Pakistan) before partition, who was immensely popular for his Beehu (lotus stem) and ras mein dabroti or the bread in gravy. Also every Sindhi must be aware of the song ‘Dal Chola Dab^al’ from the movie Abana, the Sindhi movie released in the year 1958 in which the veteran actress Late Sadhana Shivdasani played a second lead role. So you see, Sindhis have been relishing this street food much before the Vada pav, Bombay Sandwich and Pavbhaji became the popular snacks featuring the bread. The recipe of Chhola Dab^al is as follows: Print Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16 Rating 5.0 from 1 reviews Chickpeas curry topped over laadi pao and garnished with chutney, onion slices and sev. Ingredients 200 gm Kabuli chana 2 large onions, finely chopped 3 tomatoes, grated 2 green chillies 3 cloves of garlic and 1 inch piece of ginger, pounded 1+1 Tej patta * 1+1 Black Cardamom* 1 inch piece of Cinnamon ½ tsp Turmeric powder ½ tsp red chilli powder (or according to taste) 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp Garam masala ( or you can use Chole masala) Oil 2 tbsp Salt Two small potatoes, cut in chunks (Optional) To assemble Chola Dabhal (1 small serving) 1 Pao ( laadi pav) A cup of Chole curry 2 tsp Green chutney (Mint coriander) Handful of Nylon sev Fresh coriander leaves to garnish Some lemon juice or 1 tsp of tamarind water Some slices of onion Method Pick, rinse Kabuli chana few times, with water and soak overnight. Drain and add soaked chana to a pressure cooker and pour water to submerge chana completely. Add salt, 1 tejpatta* and a black cardamom * and close the lid of pressure cooker. Put it on the flame. Cook for two whistles and put off the gas. When pressure subsides, drain boiled chana and reserve the water. Do not throw away the water. Now in the pressure cooker, pour 2 tbsp of oil and add 1 tejpatta *, cinnamon and a black cardamom*. Add pounded ginger garlic. Cook for a minute and then add finely chopped onions. On medium to low flame keep cooking onions till nice brown. Do not increase the flame. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder and chopped green chillies. Immediately add drained boiled chana (Please note: Pre boiling chana is an optional step. I boil it if I am not sure about how fresh the stock is. You can skip pre boiling and use raw soaked chana at this stage). Add grated tomatoes and some salt (remember there is salt in reserved water too), coriander powder and keep cooking on high flame, mixing intermittently till oil separates out. Add the reserved water (if you have boiled chana) or hot water ( if you are using raw soaked chana) and make sure that the chole are completely submerged in water. If using potatoes, add it at this stage. Mash some chana to thicken the gravy. Add some chopped coriander leaves, garam masala powder and close the lid. After a whistle, put the flame on minimum and let chole cook under pressure for 12-15 minutes. To make Chhola Dabhal, tear off Pao in big chunks in a serving plate or bowl and pour Chhole (the curry), garnish with some chutney, onion slices, lemon juice or tamarind water and nylon sev. Serve/eat immediately! 3.5.3251

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J^aj~a Ji Roti~AlifBe~14

Alka Keswani — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 19:43:28 +0000

In olden days, a wedding in a Sindhi home would mean a buzzing neighbourhood. The male clan would deal with the logistics of a wedding, distributing wedding cards, booking tickets for relatives traveling from far and wide, making arrangements for their stay, booking Maharaj or cook/s to cater to family/relatives, friends etc. The female clan (from the family as well as from the neighborhood) on the other hand would take charge of stocking spices, grains, pulses etc. Almost a fortnight before marriage eve, ladies in the family and around would wind up the daily chores and come together to make papad, kheecha (rice papad/fryum), potato chips etc to serve to guests as well as to pack those to give away as a parting gift or a return gift. Mango pickles were made for summer weddings, well in advance while for winter weddings mostly onion, carrot, cauliflower and turnip pickles were made. Quilts, bedsheets, pillows, mattresses were taken out and kept out to soak up sun-rays. Borrowing these from neighbours was not a taboo. Chairs, steel plates or cutlery too, if needed, were borrowed from neighbors, relatives and friends (one of the reasons for having utensils/cutlery engraved with names was to make sure that there was no mix-up). Marriages in 1970’s: My childhood memories of marriages in family or around, revolve around pitching in for making papad, chips (kids were given the job of safeguarding papad kept in verandah or passages, from birds or strays), of banging spoon on a thali while the ladies sang laadas (wedding folk songs), watching raandha (male cooks) burning logs in open areas (outdoors) to cook food in huge degh or Cauldron or watching lady helpers as they chopped bulk of vegetables for salad etc. Till 70’s a marriage ceremony was more about following the rituals than following ‘trends’. People attending a wedding or a reception were offered Sherbet/Cold drinks or an ice cream if the bride’s family was rich. There was no buffet system for Wedding/Reception but close relatives, friends and neighbors of the bride side family as well as the groom’s family were treated with a feast cooked at their respective homes. Traditional feast Food on the plate: Bhuga chaawra, Beeh Patata (recipe shared in this post), Phulko (chapati), Sindhi Papad, Sanna Pakoda, Nalli Kebab (fryums), salad, boondi raita and Gulabjamun! The traditional Sindhi ceremonial food cooked on wedding days used to be different from what it is, now! A typical meal before wedding would be garam masala flavored rice, an onion tomato based subzi of lotus stems and potatoes ( with skin on) heavily flavored with garam masala. Rotis were made by a bunch of helpers of the Raandho (head cook) while some would fry fresh crisp pakode. Some would cut fresh salad vegetables while others would fry fryums, roast papad etc. The chaos would be overwhelming then but still the smoky flavors of the food being cooked, served and relished would make my heart sing. Beeh patata ( lotus stem with potatoes) curry was commonly made as a marriage ceremonial meal, back then, though some still follow the tradition. Many a times if the subzi is to be offered to bhambhan or Brahmin, it is made without onions and garlic (as a Brahmin is offered only satvik food) and by using a base of spinach and brinjal but when it is made for the family, friends, neighbors and relatives, it could be made with onions as the base. Beeh Patata made for the marriage feast had distinct flavours. Cooking brinjal with or without onions to make the base of the curry, would not only give a body to the curry but would also make the gravy homogenous when bhunoed. Potatoes were used with skin on (not peeled) and the freshly ground garam masala along with whole spices were generously used for pronounced flavors and spicy kick. Above all, cooking on logs would make the curry smoky and delectable. The Beeh Patata curry was usually served with degh waara chaanwran, generally, the rice cooked with whole spices….a match made in heaven! In Sindhi language a baaraat (Procession) is called J^anj`a or जञ and (I may be wrong here) the baaraatis or folks attending the ceremony are called J^aanj~ee while the marriage feast is called J^uJ~u. Since there is a lack of proper information in new dictionaries about these traditional words, I cannot confirm if these are the proper terms. But in general a baaraat could mean a procession as well as the people gathered for the procession. And the feast of Beeh Patata and rice served to them was casually called as J^aj~a Ji roti ( roti here means a meal and not the pulka/flatbread). And the 14th letter/consonant in AlifBe series (A-Z of Sindhi Food) is ڃ in Arabic Sindhi, J~ in Roman Sindhi and ञ in Devanagari. This letter is not used in the beginning of any Sindhi word. A perfect example of its use in Sindhi language is the word जञ and hence I have picked जञ जी रोटी for the 14th letter of Sindhi AlifBe. Print J^aj~a Ji Roti~AlifBe~14 Ingredients For Rice 1 and ½ cup basmati rice or any other variety 1" piece of Cinnamon 3-4 cloves 1 whole black cardamom (vadho photo or black elaichi) 4-5 black pepper corns 2 Bayleaves(or tejpatta) 2 tsp of oil Water to cook rice (mostly double the quantity of rice) Few drops of orange food colour (optional) Salt as per taste For Curry 2 Potatoes -Do not peel the skin. Lotus stem (roots) or Beeh.-100-150 gm 2 Onions 2 Tomatoes (small ) 1 small Brinjal Shelled green peas, a handful Ginger about 1" Green chillies 2-3 depending upon your taste 1 /4 tsp Garam Masala powder ½ tsp Turmeric powder 1 heaped tsp Coriander Powder ½ tsp Jeera powder Salt to Taste 2-4 tsp Oil Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing Method To Make Rice Pick and rinse rice few times with water, till water runs clear. Let the rice soak in water for about half hour (or 15 minutes if using Basmati) In a heavy bottom pan, add 2 tsp of oil and put all the whole spices and stir fry for few seconds. Add rice and salt and mix gently. Add water (almost double the quantity of rice) and few drops of orange colour (optional). Mix well, allow it to boil and then simmer. Once the water is absorbed, cover it with a lid and cook on low flame till done. Serve hot with Beeh patata curry. To Make Curry Clean and cut Beeh into slanting slices and pressure cook them with some salt and water till done (2-4 whistles of pressure cooker, depending on quality of Beeh). A knife or fork should smoothly slide in Beeh. Drain and keep aside. Clean the potatoes and cut each into large chunks. Rinse with water, drain and add salt. Soak in water if potatoes start to oxidise. You can peel potato skin but it tastes better with skin on. In a pressure cooker, add 2 -4 tsp of oil and add chopped onions. When onions turn pinkish, add chopped brinjal (with skin) and cook till the mixture is light brown in colour. Add chopped tomatoes, some salt, chopped green chillies, ginger and turmeric. Add half cup of water and close the lid, and pressure cook the mix for 2-3 whistles. When pressure subsides, open the lid, mash the gravy with wooden churner and put it back on flame. Add potatoes, boiled beeh, coriander powder and some salt, if needed and cook on high heat. Add few spoons of water if the mixture tends to stick to the bottom of cooker. Keep cooking on high flame, sprinkling water if needed, till the gravy looks homegenized. Add hot water and shelled peas.The water should be just above the level of Beeh and potatoes. Add garam masala powder and some coriander leaves. Close the lid of cooker and wait for one whistle and then cook on lowest flame, under pressure for 2-5 min. Put off the flame. When the pressure subsides, open the lid and check for the seasoning and consistency of gravy and adjust according to your taste. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy it with piping hot rice. 3.5.3251 And as usual, here is a short video to help you in understanding formation of the letter ڃ !

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Saandhano For AlifBe Of Sindhi Food ~10

Alka Keswani — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 09:59:54 +0000

In my first post of AlifBe series I have mentioned that the 52 letters of Sindhi Alphabet, known as AlifBe or Alaph Ambhu, could be divided into sixteen basic shape groups. A short recap: ا (अ/A) is the only alphabet in first shape group! ا as in ‘Attack’ or ا as in Atte Ja Ladoon The following 9 alphabets come under the second basic shape group characterised by a boat shaped base with varying numbers and positions of dots. Also kindly note that different literary authorities follow a slightly different sequence of these alphabets. ب (ब/B) as in Baby or as in Besan Ji Aani ٻ (B^) as in B^aaru (child) or as in B^itto Lolo پ (प/P) as in Parrot or P as in Pali ڀ (भ/Bh) as in Bharat or as in Bheendi Khatti ت (त/T~) as in Taiwan or as in Tosha ٿ (थ/Th~) as in Thirsty or as in Thumaro ٽ (ट/Tt) as in Towel or as in Tamate Ji Chutney ٺ (ठ/Th) as in Thakur or as in Thab^ak Vadiyun ث (स/S or C) as in Simple or Circle or as in??? Well, we will cover that in a while! In Arabic Sindhi there are 3 letters for the sound S/C as in Cylinder. These are ث , ص, س . Out of these three, two alphabets i.e ث and ص are used only while writing Arabic or Urdu words in Sindhi script while س is used to write words of Sindhi origin. In Roman Sindhi and in Devanagari, these 3 alphabets are denoted with letter S and स (respectively) only. So we will cover the three ‘S’ i.e ث,ص and س in a single post by picking this س, which is commonly used for words of Sindhi origin. And the dish for ث ,ص and س is Saandhano or सांधाणो which in Sindhi means Pickle/s! In Sindhi, generally sour pickles are known as Khatain/Saandhano/Aathano while the syrup/sugar based (preserves) are called Murba or even, Chutney! So basically Saandhano is a pickle i.e a vegetable or fruit preserved in either vinegar or mustard oil or even in brine. And the Saandhano that I am sharing today is a simple Saandhano; carrot pickle, popularly known as Gajrun ji Khatain (Gajrun= carrots) or Saandhyala Gajroon as Saandhyal in Sindhi means something that is preserved or protected. Print Saandhano For AlifBe OF Sindhi Food ~10 Saandhano is Pickle in Sindhi and today I am sharing a very popular pickle recipe called Saandhyal Gajroon or carrots pickled in mustard oil and spices. Ingredients Red carrots 400 gms ( 2 plump carrots) Rai dal * 1 tbsp Turmeric powder ½ tbsp Red chilli powder ½ tbsp Salt as per taste Mustard Oil ¾ cup Fresh green garlic 3- 4 stalks with bulbs Method Heat mustard oil till smoking hot and allow it to cool completely. Rai dal* is easily available in kirana shops but if you wish, you can simply pound mustard seeds or grind coarsely, using a spice jar. Rinse well and pat dry fresh green garlic, remove any yellow or wilted stalks and chop roughly. Pound the chopped bulbs and stalks in a mortar pestle till coarse. Collect in a clean, dry bowl. Use 4-5 garlic cloves, minced well, if fresh garlic is not available. Rinse carrots with water and pat dry using a fresh kitchen towel. Top and tail and peel carrots. You can cut carrots in cubes, batons or wedges or can cut each into 2 inch piece and give a criss cross cut all the way till ¾ th of each piece. The idea is to make a space to stuff spices inside each piece of the carrot. Take the bowl with pounded garlic and add salt, chilli-powder, turmeric and mix it well. Take 2 tsp of mustard oil from the ¾ cup of oil that was heated and cooled and mix it in the garlic-spices mix. Now take a little of this spice mix and stuff each piece of carrot. Place all the stuffed carrots in a clean and dry glass jar and pour remaining of mustard oil. Unlike mango pickle, you need not cover whole carrots with oil. But on the flip side, the shelf life of this pickle is lesser than the pickles that are submerged in oil. Shake the jar well, few times a day, for 3-5 days. In a hot and humid weather the pickle is ready to eat in 4-5 days. The shelf life is 2-3 months, provided it is stored well. To increase shelf life you can add more oil to cover the carrots or can add some vinegar but it does alters the flavors and texture of this pickle, to a certain extent. So it is better to make this pickle in small batches. 3.5.3251 To help those who wish to learn Sindhi Language, I am trying to create small animated videos to facilitate understanding of formation of Sindhi alphabets. Do watch, like, share and subscribe to the Channel.

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