Mulo Chingri - Radish with Prawns

 

In the wake of the recent horrific incident in Delhi, some womenfolk have suddenly been stirred

 out of their impassivity into sudden sympathetic mode on the ordeal of their less fortunate sisters.
 
Please don't misunderstand me, I am not being sarcastic and I am not generalizing women with my

remark. But my observations and experiences in life have shown me that women themselves don't

empathize with other women. Most of the time I have seen women, in group, either criticizing

harshly the one woman who has taken a bold step in voicing protest against something wrong or

playing the role of mute spectators, in a manner of complete indifference to something not

concerning them,  to the suffering of other women. For instance, take the rape case of Park Street in

Kolkata. Who labeled the lady in distress as prostitute? A woman chief minister, who being a

woman herself, can be expected to exhibit a minimum amount of compassion was the first person

to put the victim's character under scrutiny. Just because the victim, a mother of two, didn't act by

the rules demarcated by the society doesn't make her a prostitute. When the power holders of our

country try to lessen the gravity of a crime by publicly calling the victim a prostitute, it sends the

message loud and clear that rape on a prostitute is admissible and not liable to punishment. What is

the definition of a prostitute? According to the dictionary meaning, a prostitute is a woman who

sleeps with men in exchange of money, but in practical life the word is slapped on any woman not

following the set of conventions drawn by the patriarchal society. 'Prostitute', a word of humiliation,

is used as a very strong abusive word to denigrate woman. (To read the article fully, please visit the

link  highlighted.)

My bonding with mulo is getting stronger by the day with the discovery of such a variety of mulo

recipes. This one I collected from a friend on Facebook. She happened to visit my blog and was all
 
praise, so taking a chance of the moment I asked her to share a favourite recipe of her especially

something related to mulo, as I had a huge mulo at home awaiting to be slaughtered. She relayed

the recipe of this one which she claimed is quite regular in her maiden home. Nice!!!!

Ingredients:                                          Cooking time: 20-30 minutes ü  1 large radish (finely julienned) ü  250 gm medium size prawns (lightly coated in a pinch of turmeric powder and salt) ü  2/3 cup grated coconut ü  1 tbsp ginger paste ü  1 tsp turmeric powder ü  1 tsp kashmiri red mirch ü  4-5 green chillies (chopped) ü  1 tsp garam masala powder ü  Salt to taste ü  2 tsp sugar ü  1/2 tsp cumin seeds ü  White oil for cooking Method: 1) Heat oil in a wok. Add the prawns and shallow fry. Take off the flame and keep aside. 2) Into the same oil, add cumin seeds and wait till they begin to sizzle. 3) Add mulo or radish. Add turmeric powder, kashmiri red mirch and ginger paste. Mix in well. 4) Cook covered on medium low heat for few minutes until mulo is half cooked. (Mulo naturally releases a lot of water sufficient for getting cooked, but in case of the curry turning dry, add few splashes of water once in a while to keep the moist in.) 5) Now add grated coconut, salt, sugar and green chillies. Again cover the wok and continue cooking till mulo is almost 90% cooked. Toss in the fried prawns. Cook covered till mulo is completely cooked and prawns are tender.  6) Finally before turning off the heat sprinkle garam masala powder and stir in. .  7) Serve hot with roti, paratha or rice.