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when father told us that he was going to treat us to baans ka murabbaa, bamboo preserve, we refused to believe that the delicious confection he had brought back from a tour of Delhi was indeed prepared with bamboos. Even the label on the glass jar that was emblazoned with the signage of manufacturers Harnarain Gopinath (by appointment to the President of India! No less) failed to convince us. We had encountered cane furniture in our small town and used pens made with reed, a cousin of bamboo and accepted that it was relished by pandas and elephants but was the giant "grass" fit for human consumption? Decades later, a Sinophile friend introduced us to delicious bamboo shoots. Since then we haven’t turned back from emulating the panda or the pachyderm. It’s only recently that bamboo shoots, fresh or in brine, are readily and reasonably affordably available. This has tempted us to experiment with preparing our favourite exotic veggie with North Indian faux Awadhi spicing. To be honest, the sunehari baans is inspired by the Kashmiri nadru yakhani. The yogurt-based gravy is the only part that requires mastering the process and is well worth the effort. Once you acquire the skills, you can burnish all other shorbedaar delicacy with a golden glow. Baans adds a refreshing and guilt-free crunch to your dining. Tastes great with either phulka or steamed rice. Sunheri baans
Bamboo shoots 300 g Dahi (thick and sweet) 200 ml Bay leaf One Cinnamon One-inch stick Cloves 2 Green cardamoms 2 Dhaniya powder 1 tsp Jeera powder ½ tsp Saunth powder ½ tsp Yellow chilly powder (optional) ½ tsp Chilly powder ¼ red Haldi powder ¼ tsp Salt To taste Mustard oil 60 ml Recipe Scrape lightly, wash or rinse well — if using in the brine variety — the bamboo shoots. Cut in bite-sized pieces. Whisk the dahi in a bowl. Heat the oil in a pan to smoking point, reduce heat and add the whole spices, when these change colour then remove the pan from the flame and allow it to cool. Stir in the dahi with one teaspoon of water in a stream to avoid curdling. Replace on flame, raise heat and cook, stirring briskly all the while till the raw smell is gone and fat separates. Add the powdered spices along with salt and continue cooking for a minute more. Add the bamboo shoots and a `BC cup of hot water. Simmer for 3-4 minutes more till the gravy acquires consistency to your taste. Discard whole spices and serve hot.
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Ingredients