Flavors: Spicy Mashed Tomatoes (Tomato Bhorta)
- Food
- Recipe
1
Recipe by Asma Khan
Photograph by Laura Edwards
Bhorta or bharta is a generic term used in Bengal to describe anything that has been ground, pounded or chopped into very small pieces. It is a side dish almost like a relish, which is commonly eaten with rice and lentils.
No Bengali New Year celebration in Bangladesh is complete without various kinds of bhorta. If tomatoes are available, this bhorta will definitely be on the table.
Since it has a salsa-like texture, it can be used as a relish for burgers or even grilled halloumi. It’s a great accompaniment to barbecued meats too. It can be made in advance and kept covered in the fridge for 24 hours until you are ready to eat.
There is a messy way to roast the tomatoes, using direct heat—either by cooking them on the embers of a barbecue or by holding them in tongs directly in a flame, turning them so they roast evenly. These methods give an added smokiness, but they are not always practical. The easiest way is to heat up a tawa or a griddle over high heat and roast the tomatoes on it until the skins blacken.
Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
Mix the tomatoes with the chiles, onions, oil and salt and serve chilled or at room temperature, garnished with cilantro.
Reprinted with permission from
Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking to Nourish Your Soul
Asma Khan.
Interlink Books, 2022.
interlinkbooks.com.
You may also be interested in...
Flavors: Afghan Breakfast Eggs Tokhme Banjanromi
Food
Arts
My mother recalls having this dish for breakfast during family day trips, such as to Mazari-Sharif (in northern Afghanistan) for the Red Tulip Festival (Guli Surkh), during the spring equinox. It would be made in a beautiful copper karayee, a shallow heavy-based pan used in Afghan cooking. The karayee would be placed directly over a portable kerosene burner, where the eggs, vegetables and spices would bubble away. The large karayee is then placed in the middle of the breakfast spread, surrounded by naans and various chais, for everyone to help themselves.
Muhalbiyat al-sagoo - Sago and Lychee Pudding
Food
Obtained from the trunks of various palms, sago is used across Asia as a thickener for soups and stews and to make pudding. You can substitute other soft, sweet fruit like plums or pineapple, but the sweet juice of the lychee blends very well with milk. This is an exotic take on the traditional sago pudding popular in Gulf cuisine, made with sago, sugar and spices.
Flavors: Shorbat ‘Adas (Divine Lentil Soup)
Food
Shorbat ‘adas or shorbat al-dal, as it is known, is the quintessential Middle Eastern soup.