Anyorokm Aloo Seddho Bhaat'e / Bengali Style Boiled Rice with Mashed Potato

Some memories stay long. It gives itself a picturesque quality and the negative is implanted in the viewfinder of your memory...like forever. That’s what I have when I remember about the horrific last moments of myself before leaving for school. I am horrible at being punctual. So almost everyday Ma used to prepare boiled rice with mashed potatoes for my lunch. Not because of any taste issue...just because it was easy to scoop up and gobble down. And in this way....boiled rice and mashed potato has become almost anonymous with my school days. Anonymous with my mother, for whom it was the easiest way to feed me so that I don’t stay hungry.

Growing up, the only recipe that I knew from heart was of this beautiful boiled rice or rice porridge along with spicy mashed potatoes. Ma always added a handful of red lentils with the rice and I do the same too. It just enhances the flavour a lot. Plus the burnt dry red chilli also builds up a surprising smokiness along with the sweet caramelized onions and a the tids bits of boiled egg whites. The egg yolks are silent killers...they just mix up pretty much amazingly with the mashed potatoes to give you a complex yet simple flavour to your rather very comforting simplistic dish.

Anyorokm Aloo Seddho Bhaat'e / Bengali Style Boiled Rice with Mashed Potato

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

¾ cup of rice

¼ cup of red lentils or masoor dal

2 onions – sliced

3 medium potatoes

½ onion – chopped

2 dry red chillies

3-4 green chillies

2 eggs

Salt

½ cup mustard oil

A handful of fresh coriander leaves

Method:

Wash the rice and lentils together...until clear water runs.

Put them in a pressure cooker with some salt and 4 cups of plain water.

Put on the lid and cook on [pressure until the cooker blows 5-6 whistles.

Once done, put off the flame and keep the cooker aside. Let the steam pass on its own.

Peel the potatoes and cut then into four pieces.

Wash them well with water and put in a sauce pan with enough water and salt.

Boil the potatoes until they are soft from inside.

Drain the water and keep the potatoes aside.

Light up the lowest burner of your gas. Pick a dry red chillie with a tong and lightly burn it on the stove top. Do the same with the other dry red chilli as well. Keep them aside.

In a pan heat half of the mustard oil. When they are hot enough add the sliced onions to them. Sprinkle some salt over them and cook the onions till they are nicely caramelized.

When the onions are caramelized put off the flame and transfer this entire caramelized onion with its oil in a large bowl.

Hard boil the eggs and peel their skin. Put this eggs into that large bowl as well.

Put the boiled potatoes, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves in it too.

Make a coarse powder of the burnt dry red chillies in a mortar and pestle.

Add them into that bowl as well.

Mash the potatoes and mix with everything. Make small bowls with that mixture using the palms of your hand.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Take the cooked rice in a bowl with some of the chopped onions, mustard oil and salt as required.

Mix them with the rice. Take one mashed potato ball and serve immediately.