Anupam Roy | Birthday Special

জানি হয়তো হৃদয়ের রং ফুরিয়ে যাবে ওবেলার ডালভাতে;

জানি আমি আজকাল ভালো আছি, মন ভালো নেই বলেই|

জানি যাকে দেখে মনে হয়, 'তোর মতো কেউ নেই", তাকেও বলতে হতে পারে , 'তোকে ছাড়া রাত গুলো আলো';

জানি রেখে দিতে পারলেও, থেকে হয়তো যাবে না|

তবু জানি তার-ছেঁড়া যন্ত্রের মাঝখানেই খুঁজে পাওয়া যায় বেঁচে থাকার গান;

ফাঁকা ফ্রেম আর শুকনো পেঁয়াজকলির ভিড়েই, ভালোবাসা ভালো থাকে|

জানি বাড়ি না ফিরেও ঘরে ফেরা যায়;

জানি এক মুহূর্তের জন্যও না চাইলে, সেটাও সত্যি হয়|

তাদের জন্য যাদের মন খারাপের, রাত জাগানো playlist-এ থাকেন অনুপম রায় |

যারা তার সুরে, তার গানে, রোজ একটু করে খুঁজে পায় কোনো না কোনো পুরোনো অভ্যাস||

© Shreya |

#HappyBirthdayAnupamRoy

Mixed Veg Kofta Dum Biryani

Yes, you’re officially allowed to grill the next person who says ‘veg biryani doesn’t exist’ or ‘it’s just pulao’.

Well, something I can assure for sure, is that it is definitely not pulao, cause we don’t add sugar or fry the rice before its cooked. The authentic procedure of making any form of Biryani is followed here, and you can simply just substitute the koftas with mutton, chicken or fish (preferably hilsa) according to the protein of your choice, and follow the exact same ingredients and process as used here. So here we go!
Keep those drools on!

Pic © Shreya Mitra 

Ingredients ( for 4 servings)

Preparation time ( 40 minutes to as long as you can persevere)

·         For the Koftas

1)      Paneer grated 200 gms

2)      Beetroot: 1

3)      Carrot: 2

4)      Potato: 2

5)      Green peas: 10-15 pods

·         For Rice:

1)      Basmati Rice: 300 gms

2)      Onions: 3

3)      Garlic: 8-10 cloves

4)      Ginger: 3 cubes

5)      Tomato puree: 6 tbs

6)      Curd: 4 tbs

7)      Fresh cream: for garnishing

8)      Keora, rose water: 2 tbs each

9)      Saffron/ kesar soaked in milk: 5 tbs

10)   Mitha atar: 2 drops

11)   Beresta or brown fried onions: half cup

12)   Ghee: As much as your conscience permits

13)   Salt according to taste

14)   Coriander/ dhania leaves for garnishing

15)   Whole Spices:

                                                         i.            Whole jeera (Cumin seeds): 2 tbs

                                                       ii.            Whole dhania ( coriander seeds): 4 tbs

                                                      iii.            Shah jeera (caraway seeds): 2 tbs

                                                     iv.            Shah marich (white pepper): 2 tbs

                                                       v.            Whole kali mirch (Black pepper): 1 tbs

                                                     vi.            Kabab chini (piper cubeba) : 2 tbs

                                                    vii.            Mouri/ saunf (Fennel seeds): 2 tbs

                                                  viii.            Sukha laal mirch (Dried red chilli): 3

                                                     ix.            Jaifal (nutmeg): ½

                                                       x.            Jaitri (mace): 3-4

                                                     xi.            Elaichi (Cardamom): 5-6

                                                    xii.            Darchini (Cinnamon): 2-3

                                                  xiii.            Laung/lobongo (cloves): 4-5

                                                  xiv.            Tej pata (bay leaves)- 2

16)   Powdered/paste masala

                                                         i.            Jeera powder

                                                       ii.            Haldi powder

                                                      iii.            Red chilli powder

                                                     iv.            Kasmiri mirch powder

                                                       v.            Garam masala powder

                                                     vi.            Dahania powder

                                                    vii.            Cashew paste

Pic © Shreya Mitra 

·         Preparation:

1)      Koftas

First of all, roast and grind the whole spices to make a fine powdered mix.

In a bowl, mix the paneer and all boiled veggies and all the powdered masalas according to your estaimate, and make balls out of the paneer veggie dough. Add cornflour or normal flour as needed. Deep fry those balls/koftas and keep aside. You ccan add ginger/garliuc paste to it to enhance the flavours.

Now for the gravy, mix ghee an oil in a pan, after they heat up, add the ginger garlic paste, tomato puree and 1 tbs sugar to caramelize, the give the thing a nice red colors, add the onions, and all the powdered masalas and cashew paste. Add curd, salt and let it simmer till the oil separates. Lower the flame, add the koftas, rose water, keora water, a drop of meetha atar and sprinkle a pinch of garam masala and coriander.

2)      Rice

Firstly, you need to prepare the akhani water tto boil the rice.

Add half of a whole onion, ginger, 2-3 garlic cloves and all whole masalas, tie them in acloth like a potli, and add it in the water in which you’ll cook the rice and let it boil. As the water bubbles, take out the potli, add salt, whole gara,\m masal, and ghee to the water (so that the rice doesn’t stick). Then add your washed rice. Cook till the rice is half-cooked. You don’t want the whole portion of rice to boil, as biryani will be half cooked in the ‘dum’ or steam part that follows.

Take out the rice and starin out all the waters. Now comes the most artistic and tedious part of the biryani game.

Take the handi and dab oil throughout it’s inner surface. Now add a layer of the kofta mix, followed by a layer of half cooked rice. Add saffron milk (You can add the atar and rose water in this mix itself), ghee, salt, coriander and beresta over the top. Keep on repeating the process of layering till the last. Now top it up with the lid, and wrap it with flour dough so that the vapor cannot escape the utensil.
In an oven, or a double boiler if you’re cooking in gas oven or induction cook top (like I did), place the handi and let it cook. Each 5 minutes, shake the whole thing so that the layer is topsy-turvied. Let it cook for like 15-20 minutes.

Switch off the flame and let it rest. And now, you can dig in with a side of any gravy, curry or raita.

You’re welcome. Happy lunching or dining!

© Shreya Mitra 

রঙ থাকুক

রঙ থাকুক🎨

Image Source: Pinterest

আজ রঙ থাকুক চুন খসা দেওয়ালে,

রঙ থাকুক শেওলা ধরা উঠোনটাতেও|

রঙ থাকুক বিধবা বুড়িটার সাদা থানে,

রঙ থাকুক ঠিকে ঝিয়ের বকশিসেও|

রঙ থাকুক ওই বাচ্চাটার রঙ পেন্সিলে, যে মুহর্তে হারিয়েছে তার পুরো পরিবারকে,

শুধু বেরঙিন হোক হিংসার কার্তুজ, ক্ষমতার বন্দুকও| 

রাঙা হোক ৮ বার সরকারি পরীক্ষা দেওয়া 'সামাজিক চোখে' অসফল ছেলেটার ছেঁড়া পাঞ্জাবি,

রঙ থাকুক মুদির দোকানে বাকির খাতাতে প্রথম নাম যার সেই মেয়েটির মনেও.

একটু আবির লাগুক সেই ব্যর্থ প্রেমিকের হৃদয়ে,

একটু রঙ থাকুক 'প্রেম নিবেদনে' অক্ষম ছাত্রীটির নোটবুকেও|

রঙ থাকুক রাশভারী স্বামীর নির্দেশে,

রঙ থাকুক M. A পাশ করা স্ত্রীর হেঁসেলেও|

ঠোঁট বা সিঁথিতে নয়, রঙ থাক আজ অপ্রাপ্ত প্রেমে, ছিন্ন বিশ্বাসে.

রঙ থাকুক দুর্মূল্য দুঃখে, অনিবার্য ধ্বংসে|

Image Source: Pinterest

© Copyrights & All rights reserved: Shreya Mitra 

Oscars 2017: The Prediction List

The Proposal That Wasn’t (Chapter III)

The nausea was starting to set in. I felt like all the redness of the balloons, roses, and wardrobes were mutually conspiring to suffocate me to death. I seriously don’t know how people do it, how do they manage to have the time of their lives in parties when I can’t take this shit any longer. A minute more in this gloriously pathetic Valentine’s Day party and I’m done with my left over sanity. Seriously, why the fuck do offices have to throw V day bash for its employees? Can’t they just pay us with gift vouchers or something or just not invite the singles all together? And why the hell did I decide to come here knowing I’ll regret it anyway? Wait, A, because I still had a creepy, “mere Karan Arjun ayenge” sort of a hope that he’ll be there, looking all devastatingly beautiful, thus giving me enough hormones to last another month or so and B, because Samrat keeps teasing me how I’m a Funeral Party type of person and not meant for anything remotely normal for a girl in my age. Damn, what have I become? Honestly, I’ve never seen Mr. Crush attend an office party before and may be I’m really meant for funerals and jagarans and talking to myself.

I scanned the hall one last time, saw all the love birds, their cheesy hand-holdings, mushy dances and the decors evoking a disgusting optimism, before heading straight to the exit, when I felt a pat on my shoulder, followed by  a shriek, familiar voice.

-          “Palacho kothay Madam?”

-          “Oh, Snigdha, I’m not feeling well re. Gotta go.”

-          “Huh, khali noksha. Stay na. Have some booze at least.”

-          “Na re, not feeling like it. You know nah, this shit is not for me. Tui ar Neel enjoy kor. Cyah tomorrow okay, at work, strangely the only thing I’m good at. Bye”

-          “Umm, okay chal, won’t insist. Tata.”

-          “Hmm, tata”

 I turned and started walking as fast as I could, when I could hear her again.

-          “Puja..”

-          “Abar ki holo?”

-          “May be this shit is for you too, you know”, she chucked but I swear there was something else on her face which I couldn’t read.

-          “What, what is that supposed to mean?”

-          “Nothing, bye re.”

I didn’t greet her back again. This place is getting stranger with each passing moment. Even the universe doesn’t want me to stick here any longer.

As I walked through the long, empty corridor, away from all the frenzy of the party room, I felt an overwhelming urge to scream, to just sit right there and never move. There’s this whole world full of people out there who’s making the most of this day, making moments to last for a lifetime, and here I am, walking on this fucking deserted hotel corridor, alone, sad and scared. But not even a peep came out of my mouth. I felt like I was that 3 year old girl again, who after school, waited anxiously for her mother to come and take her home and the more she was late, the more the girl felt alone and abandoned. But at least, she knew what she was waiting for, unlike now. I could feel two lines of salinity roll down my cheeks. But I was glad that I didn’t have to bother if my eyeliner is getting smudged. There’s a strange satisfaction in crying when nobody is seeing you. I entered the empty elevator in a daze and hit the ground floor button. But only some seconds after, it stopped and I got back to my senses from this trance. I looked up to the display board and it read “Floor 3”. So there must be another soul who feels like evacuating this building as well, I thought to myself. And baam, the door opened.

There stood a frame that let a sharp chill run through my spine. Omg, is that him?? That same chiseled jawline, that signature stubble, the familiar cologne and those hypnotic eyes- not even Alzheimer’s can eliminate this person from my memory. The man, responsible for all my craziness stood right there in front of me, and I didn’t know what to do. But no, no, it can’t be. This can’t be real. I internally screamed, “Delusion” and realized I should be back on my antidepressants asap. While I stood there, frozen, the figure hurried into the elevator. I’ve never had such a vivid psychotic episode, I swear. He reached out to the elevator button slot as his right hand brushed against mine. It felt like I was being electrocuted from within. He hit the stop button midway and it just shook me. It was the kick I needed to wake up from this fancy and slowly sink to the fact that this is happening, that this man is actually standing beside me. I let out a faint squeak, when he looked right in my eyes and spoke in his usual honey-dipped, baritone voice, “It’s okay. Don’t be scared.”

Contrary to his suggestion, a deep seated scare was overshadowing my adrenaline.

I replied back with a stutter, “Wh..Why did you do that? What okay, huh?”

There was that familiar chuckle on his face, which was one of the biggest reasons for my latest addiction to Christina Perri’s songs.

- “So you couldn’t survive the party?” He uttered.

I stood there, speechless, with a strange feeling that made me want to hear him forever.

-          “So now you get it right, kano ami parties theke dure thaki”, he continued.

-          “That doesn’t explain why you stopped the elevator. We barely talk. So, this is awkward and scaring the shit out of me. I don’t get anything okay. What the fuck do you want?’

-          “I want to know you.”

-          “Wh..what?” I could barely breathe or process what he just said.

-          “I want to know the person who’ll save me the extra slice of pizza. I wanna talk nonsense with you till 3:30 am and may be watch a Chinese film together that we both won’t understand.”

I didn’t know how to explain what that feeling was. As he spoke those words, I didn’t know whether it was like I got hit by a speeding truck, or like I was being saved from getting hit. All my senses were numb, anesthetized. I felt like he was looking right into those parts of me, which I worked so hard to keep hidden.

But somehow I still managed to utter, “How.. How do you know that?”

He smiled and said, “There is someone, somewhere, who thinks so well of you and knows what to do with screenshots.”

Bloody, Samrat.

“And”, he continued, “I got Snigdha to thank as well, for keeping me updated about your arrival, and hence letting this perfect elevator timing to happen.”

I couldn’t hold it in any longer and just burst out in tears. I have orchestrated a moment like this so many times in my head, and now that this is happening for reals, I didn’t know what to say or how to act. I felt like was being betrayed by my most loyal allies- words.

It was then that he took both my hands in his and went on, “I’m together in this mess with you. Okay? So, where do we start?”

“Let’s go up, then. Let’s have our first awkward social gathering together.”

******************