Extra spicy Jhal Muri, a Bengali dish

It was a Saturday evening and I was in a relaxed mood. In our family we have the ritual of sitting together in the evening and discuss things, those thinks can vary from big bang theory to Indian politics. In Bengali we call it "adda mara". For this adda or discussion to be successful we need some really good food to supplement it.

As our whole family sat together, my mother brought three bowls of Jhal muri. Jhal muri is a Bengali dish made up of puffed rice. The borosil bowls in which they were served made it look even more attractive. Those who are curious to know that is it similar to bhel puri ? I would say except the "muri" or the puffed rice nothing much is in common.

The borosil bowls and the Jhal muri both looked beautiful. The puffed rice having a sparkling yellow color with red tomatoes and onions gave it a mouth watering look. The garnishing of beans, lentils and coriander leaves made the dish look even more beautiful. It is the most tempting dish which can be kept in-front of you. 

All of us jumped to caught hold of a bowl the moment my mother kept them in-front of us in a table. I was the fastest hence I easily caught hold of one. Others might have to share but who is even looking at others now. My whole attention is on the beautiful Borosil bowl and the Jhal muri which is kept inside it.

I took some of it started eating, as the jhal muri went inside my mouth I could feel all the ingredients at once. This is the specialty of jhal muri that all the ingredients are well mixed together. I could easily get the taste of mustard oil, I like the mustard oil in my jhal muri hence my mother puts a little extra oil which suits my taste buds. The taste of mustard oil and salt with puffed rice can't be compared to any other taste, it's like smooth taste, a perfect mix of sweet, sour and salt. 

As I started galloping more of it, the other ingredients started making their presence felt. The peanuts and sprouts give adds a variety to the flavour of puffed rice and adds nutrient content to the dish as well.  The snacks made from lentils adds the spice to the whole food. It has that "chatpata" flavour which all of us in India like to have in our food.

My mother gives a lot of vegetables in the jhal muri. I actually love the taste of onions in it, it gives the crunchy flavour to the jhal muri and also supplement the sour taste of freshly cut tomatoes. Lime juice makes the whole jhal muri even more tangier. 

I think eating Jhal muri in the borosil bowls made it more special as the jhal muri looked more beautiful and we were actually able to see the whole garnishing through the transparent bowls. I know understood how good utensils impact our food as well. The borosil bowls made the whole meal look even more attractive. I think my mother was right in buying this for our house. They have actually increased the value of our meals.

This post is written for Indiblogger contest, Borosil - My beautiful food.

http://www.myborosil.com/