It is Saraswati Pujo today. I am Bengali and this blog post should have been about the bhoger khichuri had on the occasion, about it being the day when we were finally allowed to have kul (ber/ Indian apple) by our mums back in the day in Kolkata. ‘Thakur paap debe.’ The Goddess will be upset if you have kuls before the date of the pujo. Tradition dictates that these berries have to be offered to the Goddess first, before you have your first ones of the season. The post could have been about the dodhi korma proshad had on bishorjon day, which I could not get enough of at the Saraswati pujo in our building in Kolkata. A dish made with mishti doi and fruits and chire (flattened rice).
The reality is that I live in Mumbai now and that I had dim sum for breakfast. Which makes it a sort of yum cha but for the fact that I had an espresso and not tea with it.
My mother did not let me have tea as a kid in Kolkata. ‘Nesha hoye jaabe,’ it is addictive. I was allowed coffee in my teens in her attempt to make me drink tea. Till this day, I remain a coffee drinker.
The dumplings were from a company called Sesame&Soy set up by Shruti Shete. She had emailed me recently saying: “I’ve taken a huge leap of faith and started a tiny venture from my home of making some lovely dumplings right from scratch! A lot of research, care and love has gone into it.”
She sent over a sampler of frozen dumplings as she wanted feedback on the product and gave instructions on how to steam it as well as how to make pot stickers with them. We do not have wonton steamers and I used the ‘tiffin box method’ that we use for making bhaapa ilish. I did not do it right perhaps and that flopped, but the pot sticker method worked like a song. I tried some last evening and liked them so much that I had them for breakfast today. The casing was diaphanous and the fillings – mushrooms, prawn green Thai curry and (rather mildly spiced) Sichuan prawns – were ephemeral.
I had breakfast past noon today. Which is par for the course for Saraswati Pujo as one would fast till it was anjali time (offering of prayers and flowers to the goddess). I did have a banana earlier before starting what turned out to be an hour long work related call before I had breakfast. It was a lovely call about writing and the such. I am not sure if this was kosher, as we were told that Saraswati Pujo is the day when one is supposed to set books aside and not study. Well, as I said, this was work related. Hopefully more Lokhi Thakur territory. The goddess of wealth and the elder sister of Saraswati.
I could have had khichuri for lunch in keeping with it being Saraswati pujo, but I had khichuri and kaatla maachh bhaaja for lunch the day we returned from Goa a few days back and did not want to repeat it so soon. Khichuri is something that one associates with bhog on Saraswati Pujo and Durga Pujo’s Ashtami and Lokhi Pujo too. It is also something that one associates with rainy days and frankly combinations such as khichuri and maachh/ deem/ omelette/ begun/ alu bhaaja evoke such joy for any Bengali, seasoned with nostalgia of the sweetest kind.
I would have normally gone to the Bandra Saraswati Pujo for my share of bhog, but during the pandemic all Bengali pujo ceremonies here are broadcast online with no physical participation. This makes one realise how integral these religious gatherings are to our social identity but then this year has taught us the importance of self reliant faith and to have khichuri at home!
I have recently begun reading the review copy of Shobha Narayan’s latest book, ‘Food and Faith’. Food and faith are both concepts that are integral to my life today. Food is obvious, given that I write about it. Faith too, thanks to the Soka Buddhist philosophy which is the cornerstone of my life today and which gives so much emphasis on faith.
The book is an enjoyable account of the author’s travels across pilgrimage centres, temples, synagogues and the like across the country. The book is possibly more ‘faith’ than food, which I do not mind to be honest. The stories of her travels are engaging and her perspective on philosophy and religion demand introspection and yet without being ponderous or without adopting a hectoring tone. Narayan deconstructs some fairly heavy tenets of philosophy in a very ‘readable’ way. Making it a bit like an ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ for adults. The comic series that Shobha refers to a few times in her book. The one which was my first introduction Indian mythology.
The boys were intrigued by the pancakes. They were not given any of course as you should not give sweets to cats. |
Ma Saraswati is the goddess of learning and the day did end with my learning something new about food and faith.
This was when our friend the young and very talented chef James Miranda, son of our physician Dr Miranda, most kindly sent us across pancakes on account of it being Pancake Tuesday today. Cylindrical pancakes that look like the Bengali peethe (pitha of Assam), and which were soft and supple and rather colourful outside. These traditionally have a grated candied coconut, cardamom and raisins filling, said James. As they did when Dr M had given me some pancaked a few years back when I had gone to her for a consultation. James did his chocolate, orange and roasted nuts today and the filling reminded me a cheerful Christmas cake.
A ‘binge dish’, explained James, enjoyed on Shrove Tuesday before the 40 days Lent fast begins on Ash Wednesday.
‘Shrove’ is the past tense of the English verb ‘shrive’ which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of confession and by doing penance,’ said the message from their family whatsapp group that James shared with me to give context to the occasion.
‘Penance’ summed up my state of mind at lunch when I sat for a meal of tendli, baajra roti and tud dal made by Banu today. The back pain that I was suffering from made me yearn for a good Kolkata or Awadhi mutton biryani, or bacon hakka noodles made by me, instead.
Lunch was penance before I could enjoy those gala dishes again, is how I had comforted myself. Funny how it all comes together!
That’s my Saraswati Pujo post. Basant Panchami too. And Shrove Tuesday.
My mother had posted a picture of the Saraswati Pujo in our building in Kolkata. She is more adept with trending topics than me. |