Kalojira bhorta

Debjani Chatterjee Alam’s Kalojira Bhorta, also called Kalijira Bata, grinds roasted nigella seeds into a spiced paste. She describes eating the bhorta in homes during a visit to Bangladesh and compares it with the Bengali bata she knew growing up.

Onions are peeled and chopped. The nigella seeds are dry-roasted over low heat with stirring until they release a nutty aroma, then left to cool.

Mustard oil is heated and tempered with green and dried red chillies. Chopped onions cook in it, followed by garlic cloves and salt; the heat is turned off and the mixture cools.

The selected grinder method first grinds the roasted nigella without added water. Fried onion and the same cooking oil are then added and ground into a smooth paste, adjusting salt and chilli to preference.

Debjani serves a small amount of this bhorta with a plate of rice. The roasted-seed aroma, fried onion and mustard-oil tempering belong to her documented version of the paste.