Perhaps we are the last generation of urban middle-class Indians who have seen the earthen stove as a primary cooking medium in their childhood! Back then the chulah was ubiquitous part of every household. Even I also had a toy version of this earthen stove for my rannabati-khela (play kitchen) ... a neighborhood aunty's brother brought this present for me from a fair .... yes, it was normal on that time ... neighbors (even relatives of neighbors) were part of our extended family! I even used to repair that stove with mud just like my mother used to do hers 😏 I still have faint memories of my mother doing a serious bargain with a tiny lady clad in colorful saare and bangles who used to come to our house once in a fortnight to sell "GuNte" aka cow-dung-cake each piece carrying an impression of her smalllish hand. (Hey! Want some GuNte? ... just search in amazon with "cow-dung-cake" ... you will get the branded ones...😀) There was a wooden box full of "gul" under the staircase made by my mom herself using a mixture of charcoal powder and mud. I still have a nostalgic memory of the jingle of her bangles when her fair rounded hands was busy in making small balls from that mixture .... then putting them on a wooden plank to sun dry in the backyard.
Time is passing so quickly! Back then they had no luxury of cooking at their "own time" or ordering food online like we do nowadays. Her day started early .... making the stove ready for cooking .... serving a palate of daal-bhat-macher jhol (daal, rice and fish-curry) was mandatory before the office and school-goers headed out from home. By the time my father and elder sister were out, I was back from my morning school and glued myself behind her. She is done with her kitchen chores, the stove has almost died down and that was the time ... some days she would make a spicy bati-charchari with a concoction of mustard paste, mustard oil, lots of green chilies, potato and some veggies on that dying stove for our lunch. Some day it would have small prawns... that smelled so delicious!
For making a bati-charchari, the basic idea is to mix everything in a bati aka bowl, close the lid tightly and allow it to cook slowly over a dying ember. The mix should typically consist of potato, onion (optional), green chilies, mustard paste and mustard oil. it may also have some other veggies like cauliflower, green peas etc or for the non-veg variety some small fish/prawn. Nowadays we sometime add tomatoes/cilantro but back then that was not common except in winter... those were the so-called seasonal items!
Here is a recipe for bati-charchari with drumstick flowers and a non-veg one with small fishes.
Sajne Phuler Bati Charchari (Drumstick Flower One-Bowl Curry)
(Serves - 2)
Ingredients:
Fresh Drumstick flowers - 1 cup packed
Potato - 1 small (thinly sliced)
Tomato - 1 small (thinly sliced)
Green chillies - 2-3 (slited)
Mustard paste - 2 tablespoon (mixed with 1/4th cup of water)
Mustard oil - 1 tablespoon + extra to drizzle
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tespoon
Method:
- Take a small stainless steel container or bati with tight lid.
- Add all the ingredients mentioned above. Give everything a good mix. Close the lid.
- Marinate for 10-15 minutes(optional).
- Cook at the lowest temperature possible for 10-15 minutes. (My gas burner is not capable to provide a real "low heat" which is a must for this type of cooking ... so I cooked on indirect heat. Kept the container on an iron tawa on stove. Cooked on high for a couple of minutes, then lowered the temperature to minimum and cooked for 10 minutes, switched off the stove and waited for another 5 minutes before removing the container from the tawa.)
- Open the container very carefully with help of mittens (see note). Give another good mix (check the salt and adjust if needed). If not done yet return to heat for another 5 minutes or so.
- Finally drizzle little mustard oil if you like the strong smell of it and keep the lid closed until ready to eat.
Kucho Macher Bati Charchari (small Fish One-Bowl Curry)
(Serves - 3-4)
Ingredients:
Small fish - 150 - 200 gm
Potato - one medium (thinly sliced)
Onion - one medium (thinly sliced)
Tomato - one medium (thinly sliced)
Green chilies - 3-4 (slited)
Mustard oil - 1-2 tablespoon
Mustard paste - 2 tablespoon (mixed with 1/3 cup of water)
Turmeric powder - 1 tespoon
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tespoon (optional)
Salt - to taste
Method:
- Follow the same method as above.
- The cooking time may vary ... check after 20 minutes. If not done yet cook for some more time.
Notes:
You can definitely cook it on direct flame but make sure to keep the heat at minimum.... slow cooking enhances the flavor.
Amount of water required may vary depending on heat source, choice of veggies etc....so adjust accordingly.
For the non-vegetarian version, try to use fish with soft bones like KaNcki, Mourola.... or if you are not comfortable with bony fishes, try with prawn ....... it will be equally delicious if not better :)
If using steel container with tight lid like mine open it very carefully after cooking. It will release lots of hot steam and very strong and pungent flavor of mustard.
It's a pain to make very little amount of mustard paste in mixer grinder (even in the smallest jar) .... aah! now you need the "Sil-nora" to get it right! So for convenience I sometime compromise and use the ready-made "Sunrise Mustard Powder" .... that works fine though!
Traditional recipes use more oil for bati-charchari .... I have reduced the amount for obvious reason.
Serving Suggestion:
Serve with hot steamed rice with a slice of lemon and fresh green chili.
This recipe tastes best when still steaming! Not good for refrigeration.
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