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The Maha Saptami Durga Pujo and the Bhog

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 24, 2020 4

Today is Maha Saptami when Devi Durga’s pran pratisthan is done.The Mother Goddess comes as a clay pratima and human faith and ceremonial rituals help to draw the universal life forces into her. It’s said that the Kala bou has a big role to play in this, before the real puja can start.

*The neighborhood Durga puja with the delicious Puja bhog*

I told you about Mahalaya and my Durga puja memories.

Today’s post is a little bit about the Kala bou,and my love for all things Prasad and bhog.

The Kala bou is the Young banana tree with leaves of the turmeric tree ,wood apple,pomegranate, jayanti,arum, ashoka,colocasia,paddy, all tied together,taken for a bath and then draped in a saree .

All these plants are also embodiments of various Gods and Godesses . Its also called naba patrika and Kala bou is dressed up in a red bordered white saree with vermillion and married with Lord Ganesha before Maa Durga can officially start battling Mahishasura.

The stories about the why and what behind Kala bou are many,but important thing to note is the female embodiment being crucial for the real fight to begin.

It’s on the seventh day of Navratri that Maa Durga’s epic battle against the buffalo headed demon king Mahishasura started.

Now because of the COVID 19 situation everything happened low key,but the puja made us happy.

But guess what made us even happier?The Bhog.

Growing up the neighborhood pujo had a system of bhog which somehow never reached those of us living a little farther away.

But by God’s grace for the last several years,having the blessed bhog is like a wish come true.

What’s not to love about the bhog?

It looks great,smells great,tastes sublime and always makes you happy

So what did the Maha Saptami bhog consist of?

Fragrant Basanti pulao with dried fruits and nuts.

Assortments of vegetables fried in ghee.There were pumpkin fried,sweet potatoes,potatoes,Pointed gourd and bitter gourd.

A mixed vegetable mash ,lightly spiced and delicious.

Payesh (fragrant rice cooked with creamy milk and cooked to a perfection.)

Sweets

Documenting Maa Durga’s blesseinga:The Maha Shaptami Puja Bhog

The beautiful part of the puja bhog has a lot to do with the sights , sounds and emotions than with the actual food.Even if you follow the recipes to a T ,they never taste the same when it’s not offered during Puja ,but just made at home.

So while every year I document a little bit about Durga pujo ,my love for the puja bhog is a recurring theme.

P.S The bhog was eaten at home after being heated for one minute in the microwave for safety concerns.

5 Blogs you can’t miss reading(If you want to grow)

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 21, 2020 6

What,when ,how,where of blogging,is a confusing mess.If you want to know the right way of starting ,without wasting time,then there are some people and their blogs you should follow.

What’s common amongst most of these is,that they are all blogs with very strong brand faces.

If you are blogging to share knowledge and you want to reach people ,then you can’t miss reading these blogs.Not only do these people and brands share authentic information ,their information is research backed,authentic,and always helpful.These are the people whose newsletter I try to open every time.

5 Blogs you can’t miss READING (if you wan’t to grow)

How do these bloggers and blogs help me?

They share their knowledge

They generously talk about their experiences. Good,bad and ugly.

They are mostly single author blogs(except the last two)and even when they have a guest blog it’s fantastic and authority is a guarantee.

Their blog posts have to be bookmarked every time.

They set an example about online ethics and integrity.

They show how storytelling is woven into educational content,without overwhelm.

The readability of their content is excellent.

I love everything they share.

I am a fan .

(There are affiliate links in the following part.That means I may earn a small commission, if you click a link and buy a product).

Bottle Gourd: Did you know we eat the entire vegetable?

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 18, 2020 6

Did you know we eat the entire Bottle Gourd? Yes, we do. The main vegetable, the seeds, the peels, the shoots, and the leaves. Now bottle gourd is called Lau in Bengali and Ghia, dudhi, or Launki in Hindi. It’s popular all over India with various methods of cooking. Just like the pumpkin shell, the bottle gourd shell has various ornamental use too.

It’s a part of the pumpkin family and is one of those veggies which have helped me survive the lockdown. You will ask me why?

Well, the humble bottle gourd you will find growing on roofs of West Bengal countryside. The old and dried bottle gourd is used to make bori. It’s used as a dried condiment. Its fresh juice is popular due to its pharmacological properties.

It’s cooked as a delicious vegetable side dish. Bengalis cook it both as a vegetarian dish or with shrimps as a non-vegetarian dish.

The best part is this vegetable is versatile, it can be eaten with rice or phulka/roti. We use the vegetable peel as a delicious side dish with rice and even eat the greens and leaves of the bottle gourd plant. That’s the best ways to eat responsibly. Eat the whole vegetable.

Now I will tell you about Bottle gourd cooked as a vegetarian side dish.Its super easy,filling and nutritious requires very little oil ,spices and delicious too.

Bottle gourd /Lauki /Lau:Quick easy Healthy Recipe

How to cook the bottle gourd?

Peel the bottle gourd. Keep the peels separately. Now you need to dice the bottle gourd.

Once its diced,get the spices ready.

Spices:

Bay leaf,
cumin whole,
red chillies(optional)
Ginger paste or grated
Haldi/turmeric
Cumin powder
Salt to taste

Others ingredients:

Green chillies,tomatoes

Steps of cooking

You need to heat oil in a big Kadai.
Mustard oil or sunflower oil works.10ml oil was used for a 1.5Kg bottle gourd.
Bay leaf and red chili or green chill, the whole jeera is used to temper the oil.
You can add the ginger now.
But I like the extra gingery taste and have added it a little later. Add the diced bottle gourd.
For a one and a half kilo bottle gourd I use 5mg turmeric,5mg jeera, salt according to taste, ginger paste, tomatoes, green chilies.

The Dont’s

Don’t cover and cook.

Don’t add water .

Don’t cook in high flame .

The tomatoes and the bottle gourd both release a lot of water and it gets cooked slowly. When it’s cooked just right, the water will all be dried. The bottle gourd will be slightly firm but cooked all the way.It’s spicy from the green chilies, tangy because of the tomatoes with lovely ginger and jeera flavoring.

If bottle gourd is bitter after peeling and cutting,dont eat it. Don’t drink bitter bottle gourd juice.

In my next book coming up, I will be sharing bottle gourd cooked with milk, the nonvegetarian bottle gourd, and the vegetable peel recipe too. Can you guess what the book is about?

What would you like?

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 15, 2020 14

You’re Frozen when your heart’s not open!
Madonna said it right.

That’s why you and I share our work. Sharing keeps us alive. It’s the most beautiful way to live. Reading about your experience, your stories your inspirations could be the way forward for someone somewhere.

You just never know. This October 13th, I completed six years of blogging. It’s almost unreal. Doing something I never planned. It has made me a bigger believer in the Magical Universe plan.

The universal story which is connecting us all. Sometimes we connect the dots this way and sometimes that way.

Today as part of Paul’s newsletter ,I am sharing about what I offer.This isn’t a complete list and I will be forever adding to this list,as I keep remembering the other things I explore.

What I offer on Healthwealthbridge

I am an ENT surgeon, I am self-employed and also consult online through Lybrate. You can read about me here.

Lybrate Profile Link Dr.Amrita Basu

Consult me on Lybrate

I am an Indian woman, who loves learning.I have written 7 nonfiction and two fiction books. You can find them all on my Author page below.

My first book was Fruits for Life: Nutrition Secrets your Doctor won’t tell.

My Fiction series is a Detective mystery series.

I first thought of writing it under a pseudonym.It was very exotic and really fun. But the headache of possible legal troubles made me write with my own name.

I have a Podcast and if you bookmark this page, you can listen to a new episode every Monday and Thursday. Currently, it has crossed 7000 downloads and I am very happy.

I have a YouTube Channel where I share Health, wellness, mompreneurs, education, writing tips, tricks, and reviews about things that work for me.

I also do developmental editing of nonfiction books in health wellness, self-help, parenting niches.

I have been a Blogchatter Ebook Challenge Author mentor in three seasons of the Blogchatter Ebook carnival.

I have conducted workshops on writing,blogging and productivity .

If you subscribe to my newsletter say hi to me on Twitter(misra_amrita)or Instagram (healthwealthbridge_dramrita) .I share exclusive free books,challenge news and resources with only my subscribers.

Featured post

How is the Health of the Nation: The report is an eye-opener!

Health of the Nation Report — Apollo Pro Health

In case you want to say hi to me, you will find me on Twitter @misra_amrita.I am a Twitter fangirl.So what would you like,I share more with you?

This is part of the Blogchatter MyFriendAlexa

Things are what you make of them:20 Life Advice for Creative Entrepreneurs

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 13, 2020 5

Things are what you make of them:20 Life Advice for Creative Entrepreneurs is my way of sharing a review and takeaway from a book by Adam J . Kurtz. Today, Paul’s newsletter(from the Ultimate blog challenge) came just then. He asked us to write about inspirations.

I love an opportunity to give Gyan /wisdom to unsuspecting readers from behind the laptop. So here goes. Today’s post is dedicated to the two men I just mentioned in the first part of the blog post. Leave a comment below to tell me your favorite nugget from today’s post.

Featured post

How is the Health of the Nation: The report is an eye-opener!

I am an ENT surgeon by profession, and that’s how I earn my living. But my blog sustains its own self. I prefer not to mix up money. When I started back in 2014, I was not sure about what makes creativity. I didn’t even know I was moonlighting as a creative entrepreneur.

“Always be connecting the dots”
Sir Richard Branson

If you are using different mediums to express yourself, you are creative. If you are earning money through creative or intellectual work and you have the system, you are a creative entrepreneur.

20 Life Advice Every Creative entrepreneur should know -favorite inspirations from Things are what you make of them

You must believe in yourself. Most of the time, no one else will say they do.

Don’t expect the family to fall over themselves, helping you share your work. It’s a rare event. Be grateful if they do.

Creativity is not effortless; it needs discipline and work.

Don’t let coffee be a crutch. Make it an option.

Creators create.Every day.

A muse stays with a disciplined writer.

Having a plan is not anti-creative

You don’t have to be low, sad, and out of work to be a true creative. Happiness and balance,work great too. This is what Big Magic teaches us too!

Everyone’s work is unique. Find your strength.

Don’t stop. Keep sharing.

The Universe is listening.

The right-brained thinker has a lot to offer.

Science and arts both help create, accept your creativity. The differences are artificial.

Nature will always inspire.

The free flow of creativity happens when you try a little every day.

Walking at least forty minutes every day can uplevel your creative threshold,

The creative artist necessitates you tap into your inner Zen. What you don’t have, you can’t share. So always refill your creative soul.

Listen to your gut.

Your Well-being is crucial for being creative.

Being creative is a choice.

Who should read this book?

If you are a creative person feeling burnout or in need of some inspiration to keep going or start afresh then this book will help you do so with a smile and the much-needed playfulness.

Book Review:

Written in the style of pin-it notes, this book is colorful in both design and word craft.

The author is a master at engaging your attention and advises with humor and empathy. Easy to read, carry, and re-read it’s a good way to get started on the days when you lack motivation. My daughter is an artist and she was eight when she read the book and she loved how colorful and funny it was. So age is no bar when it comes to gifting this book. A must-have book for your home library and a great gift for an artist.

The Papaya Story

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 12, 2020 2

I once wrote a book called Fruits for life.It’s a book which Amazon likes too and has picked up for Prime reading several times.

Now this book Fruits for life, was the first book in the nutrition Secrets series.

That’s when I started exploring more about fruits and vegetables.

Today is the Papaya story.

Once upon a time we had a papaya tree in our backyard.Every two to three years during the April norwesters ,the tree would fall,then another would grow.For the few years the trees stayed with us we had small but fresh papaya.They were added to mixed veggie dishes.

It was nutrition but not always tasty.

I fell in love with the sweet papaya in Delhi while studying .The markets near Safdarjung always had plenty of fresh fruits in store.While the more exotic variety of fruits were not suitable for my pocket, a lovely ripe papaya fitted my meal plans to a T .

The ripe papaya when fresh and firm was delicious as a fruit .But Bengalis cook the unripe papaya in very many ways.That’s the recipe I will talk about today.

Papaya many ways:

We have a sweet dish with it,as chutney.

We add it to daal,in mutton dishes(the papein helps tenderize the meat),to mixed veggies and also eat it boiled (difficult one).

We also make a pepey ghanto.

In all the papaya stories ,never once did I think of cooking it.My mom cooks it really well though.

But this 2020 I am in an adventurous mood,so I did cook the papaya as a veg-) side dish.

Ingredients you will need for Bengali Raw papaya cooked spicy:

Mustard oil,or sunflower oil or sesame oil .Bay leaves,ginger,whole garam masala,jeera powder (cumin powder) turmeric, salt ,green chillies and plenty of tomatoes.

You can add raisins for a little sweet and nuts for a crunch.Important point is you need a firm papaya, grated finely.

That’s a good way to have the right consistency of the dish.

Sharing a quick video of the dish and a full recipe soon.

The Papaya cooked

Quick method:

Gas on.Heat oil in a ladhai,saucepan,whatever you cook in on the gas.Let it heat up.Add mustard oil,wait for it to change colour.

Add the bay leaf ,cardamom ,ginger grated or paste and lightly roast them.Add the grated papaya.Mix the spices in a few tea spoons of water so that it’s a paste and no lumps are there .Add to the grated papaya together with tomatoes and green chillies.

Stir well till the masala is evenly distributed .Then cover and cook.This cooks in it’s own steam.If it gets stuck to the bottom of the pan start adding tea spoons of hot water ,by the side.But not a whole lot.

No one can eat soggy kancha pepey ghanto(Bengali word). Cook till it has a bite but no raw taste. Garnish with raisins and nuts or add small pieces of fried potatoes. We skipped all three but added Chola.

I like cooking with different vegetables.It’s a Challenge and you feel good knowing what you have put inside your body.

This is best eaten with Indian roti/chapati or even paratha.Spice quotient depends on you.

Do you like papaya?How do you eat it?Cooked or ripe ?

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The Maha Saptami Durga Pujo and the Bhog

So what did the Maha Saptami bhog consist of?

5 Blogs you can’t miss reading(If you want to grow)

How do these bloggers and blogs help me?

Top 5 Blogs you should read if you are blogging

Bottle Gourd: Did you know we eat the entire vegetable?