What is a nation ? Grandma ruminated, her eyes staring listlessly at the distant horizon, her voice choked with emotion.
A winter afternoon. Mellow sunlight, filtered through the leaves of the gnarled guava tree in our backyard, cast a confused kaleidoscope of images on the stark white-washed wall.
What is a nation, if not a collection of people ? Grandma continued to ponder. People bound by customs and culture. By food and language. People who have lived together for millennia. In harmony and peace. Does that not qualify to be one nation ?
Dada and I stole a glance at each other. We knew the route Grandmas musings were taking.
And yet one day, Grandma continued in agony, as if it were just yesterday, a man, bereft of any knowledge or appreciation of the land and her people, decided, in an act that can be best described as irresponsible and callous, to drive a wedge right through the hearts of people. The very same people who had co-habitated amicably since the sun had risen.
And all of a sudden, Grandma spoke with a shudder, we no longer were one nation.
We were two nations.
Decided arbitrarily.
By a whimsical line drawn into the sands.
Friends turned foes, we could now see her eyes well up with tears, as they fell prey to misguided propaganda and a hitherto unknown vicious politics of hatred.
Neighbours who had, for as long as anyone could remember, been guardian angels and protectors in times of distress turned predators.
Her voice was now a hoarse whisper.
Overnight, we were foreigners, unwanted and unwelcome, in our very own land. The land of our forefathers.
Grandma rose from her rocking chair.
And retired to her room.
The marriage with West Pakistan, as history tells us, did not last long.
And in 1971, East Pakistan won a hard-fought Independence.
Was born a new nation, Bangladesh.
Are you happy ? Bapi had quizzed Grandma once the euphoria of victory had reached the sleepy Karimganj.
There had been a long pause, Bapi would later recollect.
No, Grandma had finally replied, I can never be happy.
And then almost as an afterthought had added, But some old wounds shall possibly heal.
As Bangladesh celebrates her Independence Day this week, I return to my roots.
I delve into my childhood and cook Bangladeshi delicacies, as Grandma and Maa would cook at home on celebratory occasions, delicious dishes, with their origins in opaar bangla, the land of my forefathers, the land Grandma, till the last day of her life, had dreamt of returning to.
And what better dish to start the week than a delectable Chitol Maacher Jhol ?
Chitol Maacher Jhol. Gorgeous chitol steaks. A sublime onion-ginger curry. Perfumed with cumin. Spiked with chillies.
Redolent of Bangladesh.
Earthy yet finger-licking delicious !!!!
And if you, like me, swear by chitol as well, do try my chitol maacher muitha and dom chitol, I can guarantee you shall be left yearning for more !!
Chitol Maacher Jhol (Chitol Fish Curry)
Ingredients
- 4 pieces chitol peti
- 2 tbsp onion paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tbsp bhajna bata
- 1.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 8-10 green chilies slit
- 8-10 badis (sun-dried lentil dumplings)
- 3 tbsp mustard oil
- salt to taste
For Bhajna Bata
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp mustard oil
Instructions
For Bhajna Bata
- Heat the oil in pan, fry the onions till light brown.
- Throw in the cumin seeds, continue to cook till the onions are a gorgeous golden.
- Remove from the flame, allow to cool. Add a splash of water, grind to a thick paste using an electric blender.
- Keep aside. (The ratio of onions to cumin seeds should be roughly 4:1)
For the Jhol
- Heat ½ tbsp oil in a pan, fry the boris till golden brown. Keep aside on a kitchen absorbent towel.
- Marinate the fish steaks with a little turmeric powder and salt.
- Heat the remaining oil in a pan, shallow fry the fish steaks. Keep aside on a kitchen absorbent towel.
- Into the same oil, stir in the onion paste. Cook over a medium flame till the onions are cooked and the raw smell of onions is no longer there.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder and salt, saute till oil starts to release from the masala.
- Add ½ a cup of warm water, bring the curry to a gentle simmer.
- Carefully place the fish in the curry, throw in the green chillies, adjust seasonings, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Now add the bhajna bata, throw in the fried boris, give the curry a hearty stir and allow it to gently simmer for a further 5 odd minutes.
- Serve hot.
Very beautifully composed writeup Moumita and I echo every emotions you have shared here. Chitol maach is bench marker for bangal ranna as much as hilsa. Love the chitol macher jhol, we too cook it in similar fashion except we dont add bodi. Yours looks gorgeous.
Thank you Sukanya for stopping by.
Absolutely spot on, after Hilsa, it is Chitol Maach for sure. Though my first love is muitha. It surely needed a maverick genius to think that the incredibly bony, almost inedible gada of the chitol maach could be scraped shaped lovingly into dumplings, isn’t it?