As spring turns to summer, and Pohela Boishakh peeks around the corner, whether you’re still in quarantine, or ready to celebrate rejoining city life, there’s no food more comforting to a Bangali than good ol’ bhorta. Mash up some random ingredients with enough spices and oils, and it becomes a warm hug of flavours. With a prayer to starting off the Bengali New Year on a happier note than what 2020 has given us so far, here are three bhortas for you to make.
Put it on my Tab
(traditional aloo bhorta)
No matter the size of your wallet and bank balance, if you’re Bangali, you love this OG of bhortas.
Ingredients:
• 5-6 medium-sized potatoes, boiled and
peeled
• 3 to 4 raw onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup caramelized onions (bereshta)
• 3tbsp mustard oil
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander
• 2 Green chillies, chopped ( depends how
spicy you want )
Process:
You were trained in your womb for this recipe.
Mash the potatoes to pulp and mix the rest of the ingredients together. Serve with hot rice ( bhat ) and lentil ( daal).
Photo: Frédéric Dupont
Land and sea
(cabbage and tuna)
This might seem like an unlikely combination, that too for a bhorta, but have faith! The end is a beautiful thing
Ingredients:
• Quarter cabbage sliced and steamed and
strained. Ensure the cabbage is dry after
the steaming.
• 1/2 cup cChopped coriander
• 2 or more green chillies, chopped
(according to your desired spice level)
• 4tbsp mustard oil
• Salt to taste
• I cup caramelized oil
• 1 can of tuna, strained and dried.
Preferably the type found in brine, but if
you have the type with oil, strain and toast
lightly on a non stick pan till dry.
Process :
Mix everything up thoroughly Serve with hot white rice. Guaranteed success !
Lentil the last moment
(daal bhorta)
Sometimes you’re just having a bad day and you left the daal on the stove for too long, and all the water has boiled off, leaving a dryish paste with a smoky flavour. Don’t despair. When life gives you burnt daal, you make daal bhorta
Ingredient
• Residual daal paste. As long as it’s not
too charred, it should be usable.
• Whatever achar oil you have at home.
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 or 2 onions, sliced
• Salt to taste
Just mix all of it up. Don’t add salt before you taste test the borta, as the daal might already be salty.
Enjoy with regular rice or panta bhaat
Photo: Pille Riin Priske