Labour Of Love: Deep-frying on Diwali : Love for Luchi

The Bengali Diwali celebration starts a day before,when we partake of choddo-shaak( a medley of 14 type of greens),light lamps and offer food and water to our forefathers.Infact the day before the Diwali day is called Bhoot-Chaturdashi and it is the desi equivalent of Halloween,the day when spirits are generally believed to descend to the mortal realms. In many homes of northern and western India,Lakshmi,the goddess of wealth is worshipped on Diwali. In homes and neighbourhoods across Bengal, the goddess Kali (aka Shyama) is worshipped. Bengalis are a tad bit partial to the Mother Goddess, and are great fans of Shakti - the feminine energy,divine consort of The Supreme Being.

After that hectic fortnight of touring,shopping and eating in U.P. and Uttarakhand,I was keen on keeping the Diwali celebrations a low-key affair. I helped mom light up the lamps and place them in strategic locations around the house, assisted Dad in fixing up the streamers of tiny flickering electric bulbs on the balconies in between guiding the house cook who was cooking our simple dinner of Chholaar Daal and Alu-Fulkopi. No cooking today,I thought to myself and instead decided to focus on more interesting pastimes of mine ( Facebook,Youtube,an unfinished Hercule Poirot - You get the picture!) Oh, and strictly due to personal ideologies,I have steadily reduced bursting crackers every year and this year,I didn't even light a single Phuljhadi,and I might as well add,I feel mighty proud of myself in doing my bit for the environment.

Getting back to the no cooking part,I was happily uploading my travel pictures on Facebook,when O, my junior from school and fellow foodie, took a dig at my not cooking . She always does that,considering she is my sautan ( we are both hopelessly in love with Ricky Castle), but she is mostly harmless,and is a sweetheart mainly. Charged up by her tippani, I assessed the situation at home. My maid was done with the dal and the vegetable,and only the accompanying bread was to be made. In an impulse, I decided to go fry the Luchis - Bengali style puris made from all purpose flour instead of whole-wheat, and a must for festive days. Every Bengali I know swears by the Luchi, and my Mumbaiyya buddy A, positively glowed with joy when I served them to him on his last visit to my place. The whole purpose of writing a food-blog is not to show off one's culinary skills, but to encourage and interest novice cooks and foodies to find their own feet in the kitchen. I have tried to make the Luchi making as simple as possible,so that even amateurs can try their hands at it.

The amateur cook's guide to Luchi making:

(Deep-fried crisp flour bread, Bengali style)

HOW I DO IT:

In a flat vessel,combine 500 gms of all-purpose flour ( Maida), a pinch of salt and 2 tbsp of white oil/ghee.

The oil/ghee is the shortening used to knead the flour and is called moyaan in Bengali .

The longer and better the knead,the softer and fluffier the luchis will be.

Knead well to form a smooth dough and divide into small equal-sized balls,like this:-

Roll them out on a smooth surface smeared with more oil. Rubbing oil on the rolling pin also helps considerably. The rolled out luchis will be about 3-4 inches in diameter.

Heat about a cup of white oil ( or substitute with half cup of oil-half cup of ghee) to smoking hot.

Reduce the flame to medium,slide in the rolled luchis carefully from the sides and fry.

Once they fluff up on one side (takes 15-20 seconds for each surface) ,gently flip them to fry the other side. They will ideally be golden-yellow in colour,but it's okay to get some brown spots. Take care not to over-fry,like I did one.

Remove with a slotted spoon to drain out the excess oil and place aside. Makes 16-18 luchis,serves 3-4.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

As shown in the picture above, I served the luchis with chholar dal ( Bengali style chana dal\garbanzo beans) and alu-fulkopi ( potatoes and cauliflowers) with one very potent green chilly.

Here are some excellent options for serving with luchis from various food blogs:

Sandeepa of the Bong Mom's Cookbook makes an incredible Alu Dum with Phulko Luchis.I wish my luchis looked half as good as her's.

One of my personal favourite food bloggers, Mandira at Ahaar makes her grandmother's recipe of Alur Dom, a spicy and red-hot version nonetheless.

Try these Fried Eggplants from Pinki at Come Cook with me with luchis for breakfast.

Serve your luchis with this simple potato stir-fry from my blog. This is a classic Sunday breakfast combination loved across Bengali homes.

But wait,if you want the very best possible combination with your luchi,there is absolutely nothing like the Kosha Mangsho. It is a dry,spicy mutton dish that enjoys a cult following and is deeply revered by the food lovers of Calcutta. It was popularised by a North- Calcutta eatery commonly known as Golbari and is an iconic food item in itself. Fluffy luchis paired with Kosha Mangsho is the Bengali's ultimate gastronomical delight, and if you love your meat,you have got to try this. I usually stick to this recipe of Kosha Mangsho whenever I'm making it at home,it comes very very close to the authentic taste,and has never failed me till date. The website is in itself a treasure-trove of Bengali cuisine and it is maintained by two very academically brilliant Bengali women.