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Pelka
পেলকা (pelka): Rangpur's soft, silky greens cooked with soda and rice water
Ask anyone from Rangpur what they miss most from home and pelka comes up quickly: a humble, almost soupy dish of jute leaves and other greens cooked with a pinch of khar, a natural alkali, until they collapse into a soft, silky green mass. Traditionally the khar is made from the ash of dried banana peel or mustard stalks; a pinch of bicarbonate of soda does the same job, keeping the colour bright and the texture smooth. Rice water, the starchy liquid poured off cooking rice, gives it body, and garlic and green chilli are the only seasoning. It is eaten in summer, mixed into hot rice as the first course of a meal. Overdoing the soda is the easy way to spoil it; too much tastes soapy, so measure only a pinch. Chef's tip: save the water from rinsing or boiling your rice that day and use it instead of plain water.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz jute leaves (pat shak or nalita shak), or spinachleaves picked and roughly chopped
- 5 ½ oz other soft greens such as mallow or amaranthchopped
- 6 cloves garliclightly crushed
- 4 green chilliesslit
- 1 /4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 ½ cups rice waterstarchy water from cooking rice
- 1 tbsp rice flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp mustard oil
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Bring 2 ½ cups rice water to the boil in a pan with 6 cloves garlic, 4 green chillies and 1 tsp salt.
5 minStep 2: Add 10 ½ oz jute leaves (pat shak or nalita shak), or spinach and 5 ½ oz other soft greens such as mallow or amaranth with 1 /4 tsp bicarbonate of soda and simmer over a medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the leaves are very soft.
8 minStep 3: Mix 1 tbsp rice flour with 3 tbsp water, stir it in and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring, until the pelka is thick and silky, like a loose purée.
5 minStep 4: Mash a little with the back of a spoon, drizzle with 1 tsp mustard oil and serve hot with rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 80 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pelka take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of bicarbonate of soda?
- Baking powder, three times the amount (the bake may taste slightly different).
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