11th February - Home Cooking

Almost our entire wardrobe is loaded into a laundry bag and entrusted to the care of the Fairlawn's resident dhobi walla. That should keep him busy. The hour after breakfast is spent wrestling with internet connection problems. The Fairlawn wifi can be temperamental but the tether to the 4G on D's phone has suddenly decided to stop recognising our other devices or its self generated password.  This is most unhelpful.  Eventually we get back to IT basics. Switch it off and back on again. Bingo!

Today we have a Bengali Cookery Experience, booked through an agency run by two Australians. David turns up promptly at reception to escort us to the venue for the class. This involves a Metro ride to Kalighat followed by a walk along Rashbehari Avenue towards Gariahat Crossing, territory that is becoming increasingly familiar to us. At a junction we turn off into a quiet neighbourhood of apartments. One more corner and we are at our destination. We climb the stairs and are greeted by a lady called Rajashi, who is our host and tutor for the session. One of the things that we have learned on this trip is that vowels in Bengali do not exactly match English pronunciations and the pronunciation sounds more like Rojoshi to us.

We remember to take our shoes off as we enter and are invited to have a seat. Over a cup of tea we chat with David and Rajashi and learn that she has been hosting these experiences for 17 years. Her daughter is a scientist studying for a doctorate in the US and her son is still at home working for his engineering qualification. Her husband is an architect. David takes his leave and we get down to serious business. Rajashi gives a run down on the basics of how Hindu beliefs affect the organisation of the kitchen, the food that is prepared in it and talks about the food that we are going to prepare today. D checks that it is OK to take photos. 

The kitchen is quite roomy and we fit in with room to spare. All cooking is done on a gas stove top. Rajashi has obviously spent a good bit of time preparing vegetables and other ingredients,  which are ready on the counter top. She shows us her "small spice tray" with pots containing the most commonly used spices. We are familiar with most of these but black cumin is not one that is in R's collection.  Apparently it is almost as important as mustard oil in Bengali cuisine. Rajashi explains that she uses sunflower oil as well when the strong flavour of the mustard oil is not required. 

The first job is to prepare the dough for parathas. This is made by hand mixing atta (wholemeal flower) with a little oil, salt, chopped green chillis, black cumin and water. R gets this job as even D would not trust D not to make a real mess. The trick is to produce a very stiff dough by not adding too much liquid.  R explains that she kneeds dough at home when making pittas and uses the time for meditation. When Rajashi is satisfied with the mixture it is set aside to prove. Next up is the vegetable dish which is spinach leaves, fresh peas and chopped potato, wilted in hot oil with salt and some green chilli pieces. Towards the end of cooking some dried lentil cones (bori) are added and a thickening mixture of milk and flour stirred in. We get a taster and it is delicious. D is also allowed to shell a few peas for immediate consumption. 

D is pushed forward for the cooking of the fish. A freshwater species called Rui, this had already marinated in turmeric and salt. D watched in amazement as a few spices and some chillis were added to the oil that the fish were cooking in. Suddenly there was a very definite sauce and it smelled great. R took over again for the mixing of the pakoras, made with chopped coriander leaf, and in a different way to the previous method R has used. Rajashi used a family heirloom to cut more coriander, a sharp blade fixed on a plate that is held down by foot while the leaves are drawn against the cutting edge. We later learn that this implement is called a bhoti. The pakoras are cooked off in sunflower oil in a big kadai and are very tasty. Next we are shown how to make a quick chutney using chopped tomatoes and dried mango which had the consistency of jelly cubes. Sugar and lime juice are used to get a balanced flavour. We are told that Bengalis believe that a little chutney at the end of a meal is important to aid digestion. 

It is almost time to eat but first we need to cook the parathas. The dough is broken down into balls, which are rolled into flat discs which are then then folded into quarters. The really skilled bit is then rolling these out again to make traditional,  triangular parathas ready to cook on the tawa. After a trial run D proves to be a natural at this whereas R has some way to go. Working and talking in a kitchen for a couple of hours is a great way to work up an appetite. We help to carry dishes through to the dining table and then sit down to eat Bengali style, one dish at a time. The food is really good and conversation ranges widely.  We spend some time discussing the futility of giving advice to daughters, a subject upon which we all agree.  We have had a superb experience,  hopefully learned a little about cooking Bengali food and had an excellent lunch.  Dhanyabad Rajashi. Thank you.

Regular readers should be aware that Rajashi majored in English Literature so we are being extra careful with spelling and grammar today. Any factual inaccuracies to do with recipes etc are entirely down to the idiot who writes this stuff.

We take our leave, find our way back to Rashbehari Avenue and walk a few blocks east to find FabIndia, where R wishes to browse. D indulges his liking for Indian pyjama trousers. The trams seem to be flowing well today and we don't wait long for a westbound one, possibly the most dilapidated we have travelled on yet. This route competes with the share autos but charges 3 rupees less per person. In D's view that is a winner. We hop off by the Lake Market to visit Sincerity Stores where Rajashi buys her black cumin. After stocking up we walk back to the metro. Our northbound train is not too busy and R gets a seat after a couple of stops. Back at the Fairlawn our laundry is stacked neatly on the bed. Do they have a branch in West Lothian?

One of the wonders of the internet is that it allows us to listen to Radio 4's News Quiz very soon after broadcast at home. We don't miss the weather, we don't miss the food and we certainly don't miss British politics but we do enjoy a good laugh. We are not going to have a big meal tonight after such a filling lunch but we do feel like a beer and a snack. There is a place on the corner of Chowringhee and Sudder Street that we have not been to so we decide to try it. This end of the street is away from the tourist bustle.  The SOI bar and restaurant is opulent in a sort of glass and marble way, with arctic A/c and legions of staff. We explain our requirements and are shown to a table near the bar. This has draught beer, something we have not seen before in Kolkata. We order a pitcher of beer and a couple of snacks and watch the bright young things of the city arrive for somebody's party. It's 9 p.m. Bedtime for us old folks.