Introduce your taste buds to the many delights of mustard oil
Mustard oil
Hyderabad: On one my discovery trips driving through the Northeast, I took a break somewhere up in the hills near Darjeeling. A roadside tea stall looked inviting. Fresh tea, probably from the tea gardens that rippled down the hills, hot dim sums and a spicy pickle seemed just the right thing to stop for.
It’s funny what happens when I have a warm glass of tea in my hand. Suddenly the mind goes into reflective gear. My eyes get narrow as I sit, looking thoughtfully, with a still and focussed gaze. Here was a scene that I had witnessed several times in different settings.
Before me sat a mother oiling her daughter’s tresses. I watched carefully as she dripped a small palmful of oil on to her daughter’s head and slowly massaged it into her scalp. She repeated this twice. With the idea of getting some good country tips, I walked up to her and asked her what oil was she using. She held up her hand for me to smell.
A sharp note hit my senses and spelt MUSTARD in capital letters. My head reeled, I thanked her, quaffed my last sip of tea and walked back to the car. Through the rest of the trip, mustard oil contributed a lot to my gastronomic experience of the Northeast as well.
Interestingly, in a recent conversation, some friends from the Northeast commented on how they found it strange that some South Indians cooked in coconut oil. “How can you cook in hair oil” was the refrain. The conversation got heated when I added my two penny worth of Northeastern trivia. So much so that the soft canapes we held in our hands turned crisp. Fried in this verbal fryer! By the time the crisp canapes were over, we agreed that in most regions the indigenous oils played equal roles in cuisine and hair care.
Bengal and other Northeasterners eat and massage mustard oil into their scalps as do Punjabis and most North Indians. Keralites, Goans and other coastal regions use coconut oil in a similar fashion. For Central India peanut oil does the trick. And, I wasn’t one bit surprised when I was asked in an Italian spa if I’d like an olive oil massage!
Jhal Muri
Mustard oil is an acquired taste, and I acquired mine on a train journey to Kolkata. The jhal muri made in the train was so captivating that I bought it at least 5 times just to get the order of ingredients right.
Ingredients
Sev: 4 tbsp
Khara mixture with dal: 4 tbsp
Fresh chopped onions: 4 tbsp
Chopped green chillies: 1½ tbsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp
Salt: To taste
Chopped green coriander: 3 tbsp
Sprouted chana: 4 tbsp
Boiled sliced potato: 5 tbsp
Mango pickle oil: 1 tbsp
Puffed rice crisps (muri): 100 gms
Best quality mustard oil: 3 tbsp
Lime wedges: 4
Coconut slivers: 10
Method
For this recipe to turn out great, make sure that the muri is fresh and really crisp. If not, try crispening by gently warming in a kadhai or in a very low oven (about 50 C). Remember we need the muri to be crisp but not coloured. The guy in the train used a cylindrical tin to mix all the ingredients. Use something similar.
Add to the tin the ingredients listed above in the same order till the potatoes, and make sure you give a few vigourous turns with a long spoon after each addition. Add the pickle oil, puffed rice, toss and finally finish with mustard oil and a squeeze of fresh lime. Serve in paper cones topped with slivers of fresh coconut.
( Source : dc )
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