Mohanji's "Samose"- मोहनजी के समोसे !

         

Samose, Singhara,समोसे, सिंघाड़ा- call it by any name !

 Who does not like "Samose" - the famous Indian snacks. But the taste of a 'Samosa' varies from shop to shop just like mangoes which has different tastes from region to region with many varieties. Its main ingredient is boiled potato cooked with spices and vegetable pieces which is filled into a wrap made of "Maida" (all purpose floor) chapati. The filling is also known as "Masala". It is this filling with different combination of spices that gives different tastes. Its tetrahedral shape is followed everywhere with slight difference from shop to shop due to different hands that make it.

           It is also known by the name "Singhada-सिंघाड़ा" in the eastern part of India due to its resemblance to a fruit with the same name and it grows hanging to its plant under water. Though "Singhada-सिंघाड़ा" is loved in Indian Sub-continent but many health conscious people resist themselves from consuming it because it is deep fried in oil. But most people occasionally eat it as an evening snacks. It is better to avoid its regular use and when buying, take it from shops where good quality of oil is used. Most of the roadside shops use cheap oils and fry it in reheated oil---in fact they do not change the oil only add to it when needed. It is this oil and leftover fillings more than 24 hours old that make an attack on the digestive system. So go for it at reputed shops or at those roadside vendors whom you know use good ingredients. 

          I have tasted "Samosas" of famous sweet shops, eg. Madhulika at Dhanbad; Rajsthan Kalevalaya, Punjab Sweets & Saraswati Mistanna Bhandar at Ranchi, Sweet Home &Sweet Hut at Patna and many popular roadside vendors at different places. All different and tasty. But till now the taste of "Samosas" of the sweet shop "Mohanji" at Patna tops them all. It is awesome! A few weeks ago I was in Patna after a long time and only for the "Samosas" we turned off route to "Mohanji" in West Boring Canal road near "Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir". Without using onion or garlic they create such an awesome taste that I ate three "Samosas" and digested them normally. Each "Samosa" is filled with a piece of "Paneer". 

             Eat "Samosas" at your favorite shop but be careful about the Quality, Quantity and frequency of "Samosa".

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Bhunja-Roasted Cereals, भूंजा

 

Bhunja combination of Chana(Gram), Mungfali(Groundnut) and Chuda(Flattened rice)

                          Bhunja (Noun) means roasted cereals which is very popular in eastern part of India. These cereals are dry roasted over hot sand. A variety of cereals are used for roasting like - rice, Bengal gram, groundnut, Bajra, corn etc. 

             Rice is an amazing item which produces different types of "Bhunja" with different processes. For example with a salt treatment if rice is roasted it gives "Mudhi-मुढ़ी" which is very much liked in Bengal and eastern Bihar and Jharkhand. It is also used in "Bhelpuri" which is a popular snack in Maharashtra. There are two more very popular snacks in Bengal and Bihar/Jharkhand containing "Mudhi-मुढ़ी" - 1. 'Mudhi-Gughni' and 2. 'Jhal-Mudhi'.

          'Mudhi-Gughni' - Ghughni is in fact "Chhola" made with Bengal Gram (चना, बूँट). The combination of 'Mudhi' and 'Ghugni' is awesome in taste. People like to take it as breakfast or evening snacks. In some popular shops they serve it in green Sal-leaves plate with added items like 'Aloo-pakodas','Pyaji' and a mixture called 'dalmoth'. 

          'Jhal-Mudhi' - If you have ever traveled in a Non A/C bogie of a train in Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and adjoining areas you must have seen hawkers selling it in trains. It is like 'Bhelpuri' and also known as "Barah-maja" (Twelve enjoying tastes). The hawkers hang an open box of 'Mudhi' at thier belly with the help of a belt from the neck. On the outer sides of the box there are twelve smaller containers (Dabba-डब्बा) with different items. 'Jhal' means pungent taste of green or red chilies. So 'Jhal Mudhi' essentially contains red chili powder and pieces of green chilies in 'Mudhi'. Small pieces of red onions, boiled potatoes, ginger is added in it. Next comes the mustard sauce (Sarson ki chatni) and a bit green coriander sauce (Dhaniya ki chatni). Few sprouted 'Mung beans' are also added. In a tumbler it is mixed speedily along with the help of a spoon. The hawker will give this 'Jhal-Mudhi' in a small paper container called 'Thonga' and top it with a slice of fresh coconut.

                     Let us know other dry-roasting (Bhunja) of rice. If rice is roasted with its husk on, another type of 'Bhunja' is produced which is called 'Lawa' or 'Dhaan ka Lawa'. 'Dhaan' is the rice with husk. Though it is not so popular but it is traditionally used in some worships in Hindu religion. It is an essential item in "Nag-Panchami" and "Lakshmi-Puja" festivals. Some people like to eat the 'Lawa-Bhunja' by soaking it in hot milk made sweet by adding sugar. It is also believed that 'Milk-Lawa' is favorite of 'Nag' Snake. 

                    If rice is dry-roasted without salt treatment the 'Bhunja' we get is called 'Chawal Bhunja'. It does not grow in size as much 'Mudhi' do and also not so puffy. 

                    Another very popular 'Rice-Bhunja' is "Chuda-Bhunja". "Chuda" is also known as flattened rice and known as "Poha" in some parts of India. "Chuda" is itself a popular item in Mithila and Angika regions of Bihar but its interesting story will be discussed some other times. Poha or the flattened rice when roasted gives "Chuda-Bhunja" which is also very tasty.    

                     Other cereals roasted are Bengal gram (Desi Chana), groundnut, Bajra and corn. Roasted corn bursts into popularly known "Pop-corn" world wide and eaten separately. In Hindi it is known as "Makai-Bhunja". If the corn does not burst on roasting it is called "Makai-Bajdi" which is also popular in western Bihar and Eastern UP. It is ground to get "Makai-Sattu". Another type of corn roasting is called "Makai-chuda" (Corn flakes) which is flattened corn.  

                    'Bhunja' of Desi Chana (Gram) is also very popular in western Bihar and Eastern UP. It is eaten with its skin on. "Chana-Sattu" (Gram flour), a popular food of Bihar is prepared by grinding skinless "Chana-Bhunja".  

                   Ground nut is roasted in its nut-shell. Then it is separated from the shells. Roasting enhances its taste. 

                  Roasted 'Bajra' is not so popular but it is used in "Lakshmi-Puja" along with "Dhaan-Lawa". 

                 With so many 'Bhunjas' there are different combinations which is liked by different people in different regions. In these combinations the "Mudhi" is liked mostly in Bengal region which is gradually replaced by 'Chana' as we proceed west ward. Different Bhunja-combinations are either liked without adding anything or by adding onion, green chili pieces or roasted cumin powder. As people are growing more health conscious popularity of Bhunja is increasing. Near offices and Court/Kutchery you will find Bhunja-stalls. Workers who are unable to bring lunch, happily take Bhunja.

These Bhunja stalls have a brisk selling on Saturdays as it is believed that eating Bhunja on Saturdays keeps away enemy and ill effects of Saturn Planet astrologically.  
                If dry Bhunja combination is chosen the Bhunjawala gives masala-salt, green chili, a piece of onion and a thin slice of ginger in a separate paper wrap.    
Some Popular (without oil) combinations of Bhunja       
1. Simple Mudhi with green gram (Hara Chana/Gada)  
2. Simple Mudhi with "Mung" sprouts 
3. Groundnut (मूंगफली), Chana (चना) and Chuda (चूड़ा)Bhunja. (As in picture at the top) 
About Bhunjawala 
The Bhunja-seller is called Bhunjawala but traditionally the person who roasts cereals is called "Bhadbhunja" (भड़भूँजा) and the earthen pot in which it is roasted is called "Bhad" (भाड़). I remember a Hindi saying (कहावत) - Akela chana bhad nahin fod sakta par Bhadbhunje ki aankh to fod sakta hai (अकेला चना भाड़ नहीं फोड़ सकता पर भड़भूँजे की आँख तो फोड़ सकता है). Means a single gram can not break the roasting pot but definitely it can puncture an eye of the roaster. 

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El-Bihari Kabja - Concealed hydraulic Door hinge called El-Bihari

L-Bihari Kabja/Hinge

          When I knew the name of this door hinge I could not understand the reason behind its name. This costly door hinge is called "El-Bihari Kabja". Kabja is Hindi name for the hinge. The "El" in the name may be due to the fact that hinges may take a shape of 'L' or it may be a short form of "Elegant". But why is it called Bihari?

            It is a concealed type and hydraulic hinge and used in fancy wardrobe shutters. It comes in steel color and looks beautiful. Shutters with "El-Bihari Kabja" are smooth and auto closed when near the closing position.

           I was glad to see something good named as Bihari.

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It is available at online marketing site Amazon by the name of Concealed Hydraulic Hinges. If needed you may click links below:-

MAGIDEAL 90

Stainless Steel Full Overlay Cabinet Cupboard Concealed Hinge 2 Pcs

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Life Around Kutchery - Unique style of 2 in 1

Unique 2-in-1 style of Mr Ashok Ram,
The Paan Seller

                  In every district the life around Kutchery is very interesting as I have mentioned in the last blog, but there are some vendors who are unique and and you will not find similar character in other places. Mr Ashok Ram the "Paan" seller is exactly such a unique person whose look alike is hard to find. Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) is in the neighborhood of Ranchi Kutchery. Just outside the boundary of RMC is Mr Ram's shop. He knows well how to attract the attentions of passersby and for this he has taken a bold step of keeping himself and his things in two contrasting styles at the same time i.e. half portion is just opposite in style to the other half. He has one color for right leg of pant while other for left leg. Same is for the shirt. Most daring is the style of his mustache and beard because it is only half on the right side while on the left it is clean. 

Mr Ashok Ram on his 2-in-1 scooter and his shop

                  Even his old scooter has different colors on each half. Whoever sees him, can not remain without smiling and everyone notices him. It is a strong attraction of attention which is the motto of his advertisement. He has another shop at Vardhman Compound, Ranchi and he mentions it in a banner hung in front of his shop. Even his banner is unique. On it is God Shiva in the "Ardhanarishwar-अर्धनारीश्वर" form to support Mr Ram's style because "Ardhanarishwar" is half Shiva on the right side and half Parvati on the left side i.e. half male - half female. Beside God "Ardhnarishwar" is his own photo in his unique style. Then there are different slogans, one of which says,

"पान है मर्दों की शान / 

गुटखा करता है माता, बहनों और बच्चों को नुकसान /

 यही है 2-इन-1 का ऐलान"

(Paan (betel leaf) is style of a man while Gutkha harms ladies and children, thus declares 2-in-1)
There is also a 2-in-1 dog in the banner sitting on a 2-in-1 scooter in the banner. Due to two colors of the dog its name is Chhotu the  'Duranga' (दुरंगा) . Below it is a slogan visibly said by the dog as follows:-

"हम हैं छोटू दुरंगा /

हम नहीं पहनते अंगा" 

(I am Chhotu the Duranga, I do not wear clothes)

Visiting card of Mr Ashok Ram

                 And then there is Mr Ashok Ram's stunt picture on it in which he is riding in his 2-in-1 style clothes on five 2-in-1 scooters. He has even printed his mobile number on it. The whole picture of the banner has been printed on his visiting cards which he happily gave us when we visited his shop. I snapped a pic of his shop and asked to pose for his pic. He posed smiling for the picture.
                  Mr Ram is an interesting and unique person around the Ranchi Kutchery. 

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Life Around Kutchery - Interesting world !

            In every district, Collectorates and courts (generally called Kutchery) are the places where public has to visit either for necessary documents or for cases in which they are involved. The government offices and courts have their own rules for the work and most of the time a person has to visit many times to get a work done. Poor people who do not own a vehicle  and come from distant villages have to rely on private transport services but these transport services are not available frequently if passengers are few. In such cases generally a mini bus or Jeep would bring people at the district headquarter around 10:00 AM and return back around 5:00 PM in the evening. People coming from these villages have no option but to remain around the Kutchery till 5:00 PM even if they have no work after 11:00 AM. This time without work is boring but there are sellers around Kutchery who attract these people to sell their items. Apart from eatables of a variety of items one can see people selling peculiar items that are hard to find elsewhere. 

Selling "Pahadi Imli" near Kutchery.
Tamarind from mountain

               Different types of home made medicines or parts of unseen plants from forest are sold claiming their miraculous healing properties and curing effects for common ailments like joint pains, gas, piles, diabetes, blood pressure and even sex related diseases. Another group of sellers take advantage of uncertainties in life of people and such people are many among these people passing time. Many of them are involved in lengthy cases in courts that may last many  many years or even to next generation. This makes them superstitious and easily attracted towards roadside 'Fortune tellers' (Jyotishi). These Jyotishi tell futures by reading palm or selecting cards. Card selecting Jyotishi may be further eye-catching due to his trained parrot that sits inside a cage and when its master opens the cage it comes out, selects a card among many, hands over to Jyotishi and simply goes back to its cage. On the basis of this card the Jyotishi tells future of the person sitting in front of him. Another type of Jyotishi sells miraculous rings to be worn in fingers and "Tabij" (Amulet). They claim that these things protect the owner from evil eyes or fulfill wishes. They also sell old iron horse shoe (Ghode ki Naal) and iron nails of boats (Naav ki Keel) or rings made of these irons. 
                       Then there are some vendors who exchange old currency notes to new ones for a commission. The commission varies according to the extent of the damage. A few vendors make and sell stamps called "Muhar" in Hindi. There are plants and seeds sellers who grow in numbers during Monsoon. 
                    One may find 'old coins seller' who will show small and big coins from days more than hundred years ago. Coins of British periods and coins of small kingdoms or "Jamindaars". Even coins of about 40 years ago which we had used but now not in use, these include 1 p, 3 p, 5 p, 10 p and yellow coins of 20 p having a lotus flower on it.
                       Sometimes people need urgent passport size photos and they get it within minutes from digital photographers who keep small printers operated by batteries. Before these digital cameras came, the photographers used a box type camera with a black curtain. These were very basic cameras with ordinary lenses and cap type shutters and photographic plates. The customer had to sit like a statue for some moment in front of the camera when the photographer would open the cap shutter for a few seconds and develop a negative inside the box camera. then he would place this negative near the camera lens on a stand and repeat the process to make photos. It took more than half hours to deliver the pics and quality was also not good but all this process looked very funny. 
                   In those times there happened to be one more time pass that was the play of "Monkey, Jamura and Madari". The crowd called "Majma" would encircle them and see the act of three with a lot of interest. The most interesting happened to be the dialogues between the "Jamura and Madari" which related to light moments from daily life to satire on politics. Now these shows are not seen perhaps due to the "Animal Cruelty Laws". Same is the reason for vanishing "Snake Charmers" otherwise they were an integral part of the life around "Kutchery".
                   So as a whole the life around "Kutchery" is very interesting and a good time-pass for people without work who also become buyers in this process and give "Roji-roti" (Employment) to these interesting sellers. But this interesting world is not without danger because "Pickpockets" and "Thugs" also roam there and it is better to be careful when in such places.

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What is in a name ?

              This heading reminds me of a story that we read in our childhood. The summery of the story is like this:- 

               A person was not satisfied with his name given by parents. Ultimately he went to a Mahatma to tell his grief. The Mahatma laughed and said "Go and find the best name of any person, I will rename you". He saw a person named "Nayansukh" (means-enjoying through eyes), but found that he is blind and hardly can move himself. Next he saw a person named "Sudarshan" (Means- handsome to look) but he was very ugly. He moved on and saw a dead body being taken for funeral followed by procession of mourners. He asked a person in the procession,"Who died?". Answer was,"A person named Amar has died". "Amar" means - one who will never die. He again asked,"How can Amar die". The person saw him from head to toe and rudely answered,"What is in a name?" He felt that the name of a person has no relation to his looks or virtues and knew that his search for best name is useless. He thanked the Mahatma and came back.

                The people in rural India understand it. So they name children on common things like -Gendalal, Chhedilal, Gulabo, Phoolmati, Chameli, etc. The tribal people in Chotanagpur named children on the day they were born, like- Somra, Mangra, Budhwa, Etwari, etc. 
              But some people who are religious minded in Sanatana Hindu Dharma named their children on Gods. Like - Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Parvati,Sita, Radha, etc. The thinking was that when they will call their children by name they will earn "Punya" and if they will call them when breathing their last, it will give them "Moksha" the ultimate wish of a religious Hindu. This type of naming got popularity but after some time these names were common and parents of new generation changed them with synonyms of God's name like - Ramesh, Suresh, Mahesh, Dinesh, Maheshwari, Jaya, Haripriya, etc. 
                Then came a generation which wanted to name their children that was new and unheard but still were some Sanskrit word not in daily use. Like- Ananya, Aparajta, Anal, Soumya, Aniket, etc. Now naming a child is good mental work and to help such parents these days some sites on internet are suggesting names of children. I recall an interesting incident which I came to know through my friend. His relative's child was born in India and they named the child "Anal" which means fire in Sanskrit. After two years the child's parents had to shift to America. But this child when started going to school there all his classmates would tease him because 'Anal' has some vulgar meaning in English. To change the name of the boy his father had to come to India to make an affidavit. 
              As Indians have a tendency to copy English culture it was hard to resist too long the English names for Indian children. One can find names like - Rose, Tulip, Shiny, Sherlyn, etc. 
                One of the latest idea in naming a child is that both parents give half of their names to make a new word for naming. Obviously such new word has mostly no meaning. For example a couple in my neighbor has names, Namrata and Harish. They did this =>   Nam[rata + Har]ish = Namish. Since this name sounds like a male name while their baby was a girl so they named her "Namisha". I do not know whether it means something or not but a name does not require to have a meaning.                       

Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan ?

              A year ago "Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan" was a hot topic. Celebrities were holding brooms and we saw their pictures in Newspapers. Do not know how much they cleaned the road. We do not expect cleaning roads by them but sure they tried to convey a message to the public that they should take active part in cleaning their locality. Govt did its own favorite work - tax public extra. A "Swachchata cess" was imposed on tax paying public. Nowadays we do not find it discussed anywhere. And not much has changed. 

              The mindset of public is still the same as it was then. May the person be from less income group or from big businessman community, his habits are still the same as it was a year ago. If he liked cleanliness then he still likes it. If he did not care about it then, he still does not care. 

                Though the municipal corporation had provided small colorful dustbins in a good number and small vendors made use of them but the main problem is behavior of some people that simply is offending. Even if govt gives good and clean roads these people do not care. One of the very bad habits in Bihar and Jharkhand is spitting. Use of Paan, Khaini (Raw tobacco with lime) and gutkha is abundant here and it results in spitting. Some of the people who care, they spit at places meant for it while some others just seek for corners and roadsides. One can see such disgusting corners on stair halls of public buildings. In despair authorities at some buildings have placed ceramic tiles with images of different gods to prevent the spitting but perhaps it is not the foolproof way. So at many buildings they have put flower pots with sand to spit in it. But what is the most annoying that a few number of people are habitual dirt spreader. A few days ago when I was returning from morning walk from the dam side park in front of CMPDI, I saw three friends talking in the vegetable market there. They were of the age group of 35-40 years. This vegetable market has been made pucca and wide by the govt because it is also an approach road to the Dam side park which is under renovation. It is also cleaned regularly. What I saw that one of them munching 'Paan' spit in the open on the middle of the road in front of whole public in market while he could have turned hid head and spit in the road side drain. Nobody dared to say a word to him and in fact nobody cared. That person had no guilty feeling. Everything remained as if nothing had happened. These three friends were grownups and seemed like small business man.  

                   Even some persons in high income group do not care much about the locality just outside their boundary wall. An example is in my neighborhood. This big businessman has his house at Kanke Road beside a temple. It is a posh area.The plot is in acres and beautiful garden has been maintained like in movies. But it is not visible to public on road because of seven feet high boundary wall. The boundary wall is un-plastered and not painted. The rain water from many seasons have made the color of surface bad. Even the iron gate is not colored and it remains closed all the time. Clearly it has been done not to attract public attention. OK, it is good for him to think about his safety but what I am talking about is that he does not care to maintain the cleanliness just outside his boundary wall. Three years ago the Kanke Road was widened with divider and lights and it is regularly cleaned by the agency, but the servant of this businessman daily brings the dogs out of the gate makes them to poo on the clean road just in front of his boundary wall. The temple is only 50 feet away from this dirty made spot but even the priest has no objection because the businessman is one of the patrons. 
                   So to make the "Swachh Bharat Abhyan" successful only creating the hype will not help but penalizing such bad mannered persons is also necessary irrespective of their status. But the sad part is that in our society status matters a lot.

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Tasty foods on slow flame- स्वाद की बात !

           The taste of food is not only due to its ingredients and different spices. One may add different ingredients and costly spices to make tasty food but in the end, it may not taste great. Not everyone can make good dishes. Why?

Deep-fried fish on slow flame

            Some people say that cooking with love makes food great. I have observed it minutely over the years and found that good cooking needs patience. And good cooks make it a habit. Patience is required to make dishes over slow flames which is the key factor to great taste. It takes time and sometimes it is boring. I have seen my grandmother cooking. She burnt straws (पुआल) as fuel which was in plenty there. Straws burnt quickly and she used to push them at regular intervals into the oven to keep them burning. Its flame was slow and took time to cook food but the taste was awesome, be it pulses or vegetables. 

              Even without many ingredients, slow cooking enhances the taste. For example, take the case of fried potatoes. With some mustard oil and salt, cook it over slow flame keeping covered and stirring at some intervals. In the end, you will find tasty fried potatoes (आलू भाजा / भुजिया). 

                   Though some dishes require many spices and ingredients but sometimes too many different flavors mixed together have not that much-expected result.

                Another factor to great taste is fresh vegetables or spices. It is even more desirable to have organic things.

Slow-cooked poached omlete

                Apart from great taste foods cooked over slow flame is more healthy. If using less oil for health reasons, slow cooking is a good option. Cook slowly but cover it, to make vegetables soft. Check regularly so that it does not stick to the pan. Stir regularly.

              Not only vegetables you may try it with omelets. Cook it over a slow flame and cover it fully with a steel plate. You will get a tasty and fluffy omelet. 

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