[noflylist]

As I was born close to West bengal border, our weekly treats were Shingora (vegetable samosa) and rasogullah and movie under parental guidance.
Daily treat was moori!

I was wondering if authentic version of Shingora exists in Mumbai/Delhi! or even in Bengal for that matter. Or it is just a romanticized figment of my childhood imagination and nostalgia.

[jyotirmoy]

Bhai !Noflylist,
The word is singara in Bengali. The water-chestnuts are called singara in Hindi. Probably as the shape resembles this fruit samosas are called singara in Bengali.
Yes those small typical Bengali singaras are still available at local "tele bhaja" shops in the residential areas of Kolkata and sweet shops at C.R. Park area of Delhi.
The differences between the north Indian Samosas and Bengali Singara are the size and the filling. Singaras are smaller in size and the filling is much less spicey. In winter caulliflower and green peas are used along with potato for the filling.

A typical holiday breakfast in Kolkata could be hot Singaras and Jilipi. Jilipi is almost same as Jelebi but again much smaller and very much crispy.

[noflylist]

It is funny, but nobody in their right mind would say Samosa in that part of Bihar (Zharkhand), even now at home we say Shingora, I always thought that was probably a bhojpuri word. But nostalgia is great and can't always be recreated.

[gautam]

Dear NFL,

Bengali moori also is slightly different, somewhat longer grain, crisper, made from parboiled rice and carrying its characteristic aroma or funk! So you place the moori in a spacious bowl, drop in the shingaras, 3-4, and some jilipis. With mouthfuls of moori take bites of shingara alternating with nibbles of jilipi as counterpoint. If no jilipi, you may expertly and carefully dribble in some not-chilled rosogolla syrup at one corner of the bowl; not much, to turn the moori soggy, neither too little. Now you pull tiny streamers of wettened moori into the handful destined for your mouth, accompanying these with a bite from your shingara.

Also, the pastry or skin of the bengali shingara has a somewhat different feel or shortening from the North Indian version. What and how, I cannot precisely say, but definitely recognize.

BTW, in the USA, a reasonable facsimile may be had by using puff pastry and baking. The filling you can make anywhere thus: russet or baking potatoes, skin on, scrubbed, cubed, steamed or boiled until not quite tender. Root ginger, sliced into coins, crushed hard, not paste, but smashed to fiber, with stone pestle or side of cleaver. Aromatic long, not hvery hot, green chili, similarly crushed. Set aside. Teaspoon of panch phoron: cumin, fennel, nigella, fenugreek, radhuni [if last unavailable, omit], good cassia leaf. Salt, sugar or cane jaggery. Cauliflower cut into tiny florets. Ghee. turmeric.

In moderate amount of hot ghee or oil, sizzle seeds and leaf. Be careful to regulate heat and NOT OVERCOOK, over brown Panchphoron tadka. Drop in cauliflower florets and stir until small dark spots appear. Add salt, sweetener, turmeric. Cauliflower will begin to exude moisture. Regulate heat so as not to burn nor drive off the water. Now add ginger-chilli crush. When it smells fragrant, add potaoes and cover. Steam cook, regulating heat to maintain head of steam but not burn. Depending on your flame and quantity of vegetable, shape and size of karhai/vessel, etc. 5-7-9 minutes should do, lift cover. The vegetables should be done but steamy. They now need to be fried/caramelized, with the cover off, carefully.

This step builds the flavor. If you used a non-stick pan, good. Carefully adjust/increase the heat to drive off the water and caramelize the vegetables gently. The cauliflowers will splay a bit at the floret end and brown more along their stalks. There will be a characteristic smell which will tell you when the mixture is ready. There may be a need to add a little ghee during this caramelization stage to give the right frying quality. Boiled green peas too, if you were to use them, to preserve their taste, go in towards the end. The 'poor' should be appreciably sweet, preferably from cane gur.

[jyotirmoy]

Talking about moori & breakfast.... what about the wonderful "phooluri".... the soft inside crisp outside balls... dozens of them swiming in a karai of hot mustard oil... hiding inside thin rings of hot & pungent green chily... a hand full of moori and a bite of phooluri....

On a sweeter note moori, gawa ghee, coconut and sugar...
And YES to be rounded up by a steaming cup of Darjeeling tea always and you hear your soul scream..."Get up face the day"

[barsha]

I miss my home in west bengal to hear all of your conversation.

[jyotirmoy]

 barsha, on May 2 2008, 07:23 AM, said:

I miss my home in west bengal to hear all of your conversation.

Where do you live now? Where in west Bengal did you live?

[priya]

Welcome to the Tree, Barsha

Are you another one who enjoys food? Share some of your favourites, we'd love to hear about them.

[vandy]

Good Day joytirmoy,

Many thanks for Gauva Recipes, the gauva cheese turned out fantastic, Jelly was pretty good too.

Tried Guava cheese on Toast with diced Banana on top with a very slight sprinkle of sugar for Breakfast. Yum, Yum.

vandy

[noflylist]

 barsha, on May 2 2008, 01:23 AM, said:

I miss my home in west bengal to hear all of your conversation.

For long time, I tried to recreate the wholesome memmories I had, when I went to India. I missed all that is India and my experiences growing up, I finally is coming to the conclusion that a 'moment' cannot be recreated and you have to recreate new moments. But it is not always easy...

[barsha]

 jyotirmoy, on May 2 2008, 12:59 PM, said:

Where do you live now? Where in west Bengal did you live?

Now I am in Delhi but before I was live in North 24 Parganas.

[barsha]

hello priya,
I do not know any Recipes which I share with all of you. but I love to eat

[jyotirmoy]

 barsha, on May 3 2008, 11:05 AM, said:

Now I am in Delhi but before I was live in North 24 Parganas.

Since you live in Delhi look out for the Delhi meet up threads and try to participate.