Saturday, October 29, 2016

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 the 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 that 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 a 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' around their belly with the help of a belt around 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, and ginger are added to it. Next comes the mustard sauce (Sarson ki chatni) and a bit of green coriander sauce (Dhaniya ki chatni). A few sprouted 'Mung beans' are also added. In a tumbler, it is mixed speedily 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 about the 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 worship in the 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 a favorite of the '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 as 'Mudhi' does, and is 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 at some other time. 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 the popularly known "popcorn" worldwide and is 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".  
                   Groundnut is roasted in their shells. 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 the Bengal region, which is gradually replaced by 'Chana' as we proceed westward. 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 the offices and the Court/Kutchery, you will find Bhunja stalls. Workers who are unable to bring lunch happily take Bhunja.
These Bhunja stalls have brisk sales on Saturdays, as it is believed that eating Bhunja on Saturdays keeps away enemies and the ill effects of the Saturn Planet astrologically.  
                If a 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 the 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 it can definitely puncture the eye of the roaster. 
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Saturday, August 20, 2016

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

L-Bihari Kabja/Hinge
          When I learned 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 a Hindi name for the hinge. The "El" in the name may be due to the fact that hinges may take the 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-close when near the closing position.
           I was glad to see something good named as Bihari.
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It is available at the online marketing site Amazon under the name Concealed Hydraulic Hinges. If needed, you may click the links below:-

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Thursday, July 21, 2016

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 you will not find similar characters 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 attention 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 the right leg of the pants and another for the left leg. The 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. Besides 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 a 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 the two colors of the dog, its name is Chhotu the  'Duranga' (दुरंगा). Below 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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Sunday, July 17, 2016

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 the mountain
               Different types of homemade medicines or parts of unseen plants from the 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 takes advantage of the uncertainties in the lives of people, and many such people are among those passing the time. Many of them are involved in lengthy cases in courts that may last many, many years or even into the next generation. This makes them superstitious and easily attracted towards roadside 'Fortune tellers' (Jyotishi). These Jyotishi tell futures by reading palms 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 it over to Jyotishi, and simply goes back to its cage. On the basis of this card, the Jyotishi tells the future of the person sitting in front of him. Another type of Jyotishi sells miraculous rings to be worn on the fingers and "Tabij" (Amulet). They claim that these things protect the owner from evil eyes or fulfill wishes. They also sell old iron horseshoes (Ghode ki Naal) and iron nails of boats (Naav ki Keel) or rings made of this iron. 
                       Then there are some vendors who exchange old currency notes for 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 plant and seed sellers who grow in numbers during the Monsoon. 
                    One may find an 'old coins seller' who will show small and big coins from days more than a 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 are now not in use, include 1 p, 3 p, 5 p, 10 p, and yellow coins of 20 p having a lotus flower on them.
                       Sometimes people need urgent passport-size photos, and they get them within minutes from digital photographers who keep small printers operated by batteries. Before these digital cameras came, 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 a few moments in front of the camera when the photographer would open the camera shutter for a few seconds and develop a negative inside the 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 an hour to deliver the pics, and the quality was also not good, but the whole process looked very funny. 
                   In those times, there happened to be one more thing, which was the play of "Monkey, Jamura, and Madari". The crowd called "Majma" would encircle them and see the act of the 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". The same is the reason for the vanishing "Snake Charmers"; otherwise, they were an integral part of the life around the "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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