‘Love’. What a powerful and magical word it is. This four-letter word, they say has the ability to move mountains, part seas and can create miracles. The feeling when true to the core, can make someone happier than ever and can also make someone experience the deepest level of pain. It is the love for something that keeps us get going. It is the love for someone that makes us take all the pain in the world without even realising the pain. The love that makes impossible possible, is surely the most predominant emotion across the human and even the living world.
And what can be the best example of love than parental love. The unconditional love, that provides the much-needed courage to the timid fetus to break all the walls of doubts and fears, and face the world however harsh it may appear. It is the true and deep love for child which makes the parent leave everything, just to be with the child. It must be the feeling of love which makes the parent stay awake nights after nights without complaining, just to ensure sleep for the child without any disruption.
So is my father’s unconditional love for his food loving daughter, that made him search for ‘Kumro Pata’(Pumpkin Leaves), in an unfamiliar town Bangalore, which is much unacquainted with the concept of ‘Shidol Bora or Fermented Fish Wrap Fritters’. His sole purpose in life to make his children happy made him pluck pumpkin leaves from a stranger’s plot, without giving a second thought of being caught or being embarrassed, and ensured that his daughter have ‘Shidol Bora or Fermented Fish Wrap Fritters’ away from home.
Here is my step-by-step recipe of Shidol Bora.
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Recipe: Shidol Bora or Fermented Fish
Preparation Time: Around 35 minutes Time Taken To Cook Shidol: 42 minutes Time Taken To Fry Boras: 25 minutes Equipment Used: Chopping Board, Knife, Bowls, Wok or Pan, Turner, Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons Yield: 5 Boras
Ingredients:
- Fresh Kumro Pata or Pumpkin Leaves (5 numbers)
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 10 pieces of Shidol or fermented Puntius Sophore or Pool Barb or Punti
- Around 15 garlic cloves
- 2 onions
- 1 tomato
- 10 green chillies
- 8 tablespoon mustard oil
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ cup maida or all-purpose flour
- 1/8 cup rice powder
- ½ cup water
Method:
- Clean the leaves and gently rub the leaves with ½ teaspoon salt. Leave the leaves aside
- Soak the fish pieces in water
- Peel and chop the garlic cloves, clean and chop the onion, tomato and green chillies
- Scrape the scales off with your finger from fishes, starting from tail to head
- Drain the water from the Shidol pieces and soak the Shidol pieces again in fresh water
- Heat a pan and heat around 4 tablespoon mustard oil in the pan once the pan is hot
- Sauté the chopped garlic pieces as soon as light smoke starts coming out from oil
- Fry the chopped onion once the garlic pieces are sauteed
- As the onion pieces turn translucent, add chopped tomato and chopped green chillies followed by ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder. Stir and mix the ingredients
- Add the Shidol pieces once the tomato pieces are tender, followed by the water used for soaking the Shidol pieces after scraping off the scales
- Cook the Shidol till water evaporates
- As the liquid completely evaporates from Shidol, taste and adjust the quantity of salt. I have added another ½ teaspoon salt
- Switch off the flame once the Shidol Chutney turns to paste (almost) and transfer the chutney to a bowl
- Now in a bowl make a batter by mixing all-purpose flour, rice powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ cup water
- Heat another 4 tablespoons mustard oil in the same wok used for cooking Shidol
- Take one pumpkin leaf at a time. Fill the centre of the leaf with Shidol Chutney. Fold the leaf from all corners to wrap the chutney completely. Immediately dip the wrap in batter and immediately put the batter dipped wrap in hot oil and deep fry the wrap till they turn golden brown from all sides
- Repeat the steps for rest of the leaves
Clean and rub the leaves with ½ teaspoon salt.
Soak fermented fish pieces in water.
Chop garlic cloves.
Chop onion, tomato, and green chillies.
Scrape the scales off from fish pieces.
Drain the water from the Shidol pieces and soak the Shidol pieces again in fresh water
Heat around 4 tablespoon mustard oil.
Sauté the chopped garlic pieces.
Fry the chopped onion pieces.
Add chopped tomato and chopped green chillies followed by ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
Stir and mix the ingredients
Add the Shidol pieces, followed by the water used for soaking the Shidol pieces after scraping off the scales.
Cook the Shidol till water evaporates.
Taste and adjust the quantity of salt.
Switch off the flame and transfer the chutney to a bowl.
In a bowl make a batter by mixing all-purpose flour, rice powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ cup water.
Heat another 4 tablespoons mustard oil in the same wok.
Take one pumpkin leaf at a time. Fill the centre of the leaf with Shidol Chutney.
Fold the leaf from all corners to wrap the chutney completely.
Dip the wrap in batter immediately.
Put the batter dipped wrap in hot oil and deep fry the wrap till they turn golden brown from all sides. Repeat the steps for rest of the leaves.
Tips:
- Don’t add water altogether while making batter, as the batter might turn runny. Add water little by little, so that you get the perfect consistency of batter
- You can use whole wheat flour in place of maida for preparing batter
- You can reduce or increase the number of green chillies as per your tolerance level
- For the ultimate experience of Shidol Bora, mix the steamed rice (to be taken with Shidol Bora) with the oil left from frying the boras
- Use Chayote leaves instead of pumpkin leaves, if you have Chayote leaves available
