Family favourites

A family recipe is as much an heirloom as a diamond. Barnalee Handique speaks to women who have mastered unifying family treats Food is a binding force, not unlike gravity. Ask any newlywed who has had to cook for the family. The key to integration is mastering a family recipe so that no one can tell who made it. After all, the kitchen is the heart of a home. No wonder then that family recipes are zealously guarded and practised to precision. We speak to three Punekars about what makes a family recipe perfect. Sumedha Bhattacharyya, 32, teacher, Wanawadi Being born into a traditional Bengali family, I already knew the nuances of our traditional cooking and after I got married, I made my grandmother’s dishes for my husband. However, he prefers my mother-in-law’s aloo-posto (potatoes with poppy seeds). It’s a delicious dry accompaniment to rice and curries. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong — was it the spices? Or the amount of oil? Or the ghee? I started assisting my mother-in-law whenever she was making it and learnt the secret. The potatoes have to be cut uniformly and fried until golden. The posto has to be soaked and ground to a fine paste, before adding it to the dish. Aloo Posto Ingredients 5 - 6 medium-sized potatoes 2 green chillies 2 tbsp mustard oil 1 tsp pure ghee 1/2 tsp onion seeds (kalonji) 4 tbsp poppy seeds (khuskhus) Salt to taste Method Cut the potatoes into one-inch pieces and soak them in water. Soak poppy seeds in a cup of warm water for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the water and grind the poppy seeds into a fine paste. Heat mustard oil in a pot till it reaches smoking point. Let it cool and heat again on medium heat. Sauté kalonji in oil. Add potatoes and fry on medium heat for about five minutes. Stir in poppy seed paste. Pour in half a cup of water and stir fry on low heat until the potatoes are almost cooked. Now mix salt and slit green chillies. Continue to stir fry for another hew minutes until potatoes are completely cooked. Serve with a dollop of ghee. Neha Rajput, 30, homemaker, Wanawadi My husband is a foodie so I really love cooking different dishes for him. Though I have not trained formally, I am able to make dishes such as kadhi, methi muthia, bajra and moong dal khichdi. His favourite is my dal-kichdi, served with ghee. He likes it so much that I make it every alternate day. But his all-time favourite is methi thepla that my mother-in-law serves with chutney or ghee. I have mastered the art from her. The theplas are made of wheat flour and fenugreek leaves. The secret lies in making the perfect dough — a right balance of spices and fenugreek leaves. My mother-in-law has tutored me in kneading the dough perfectly. While rolling out the theplas, she insists that they be even on all sides. Methi theplas Ingredients 1 cup wheat flour 1 bunch fenugreek leaves 2 tbsp coriander leaves Pinch red chilli Powder 1/2 tbsp: coriander Powder Pinch of turmeric Pinch of asafoetida 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 1 teaspoon oil Salt to taste Curd-optional (for kneading) Method Add water as needed in small incremental quantities and knead all the ingredients into a smooth, soft dough (like roti dough). Grease its surface with oil. Cover the dough with clean muslin cloth and leave aside for 15-20 minutes. Divide into seven equal parts and roll them into even balls. Roll evenly and roast on a tawa. Serve with liberal amount of ghee. Monisha Merchant, 40, homemaker, Wanawadi I knew only the basics of cooking, and after marriage I was ensconced into a large joint family. My sisters-in-law are good cooks and always trying out new recipes. I started helping out in the kitchen and it was a great accomplishment for me when I was able to make chole-bhature for the whole family. My husband loved it. That was the best compliment. Now I am trying to perfect the delicate khandvi my mother-in-law makes. The trick in making this soft fluffy snack lies in stirring the paste to the right consistency so that it can be rolled out evenly. But let me share the chole bhature recipe with you… Chole bhature Ingredients: 1 cup chickpeas, 1 green chilli, ½ tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala or chhole masala, 1/2 tsp amchur, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, pinch of asafoetida (optional) and salt as per taste Khada masala 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 large bay leaf, 2-inch piece of cinnamon, 2-3 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 2-3 black peppercorns For gravy: Grind into paste: 1 medium sized onion, 2 tomatoes, ½-inch ginger, 3 to 4 cloves of garlic and all the masala mentioned aboveut Method: Grind green chillies and ginger together. Mix gram flour, buttermilk, turmeric powder, asafoetida, green chilli paste and salt together. Test thickness by spreading a bit on a plate. If after cooling for about one minute, the mixture can be rolled and lifted, it is ready for spreading. Spread the rest thinly and evenly, with the back of a spoon, on any working surface. Let cool and cut in 2-inch strips. Roll up the strips (like mini Swiss rolls) and arrange on a plate. Heat oil in a vessel and fry the mustard seeds. When the seeds start popping, take off fire, add the asafoetida and pour over the arranged rolls.