Measured notes

Vocalist Sumitra Guha makes us a Bengali dish with a southern twist.

Classical vocalist Sumitra Guha may not be Bengali by birth, but being married to one has overshadowed her southern origins. It’s withabundant ease that she chides her grandsons in Bangla, and it’s with similar flourish that she prepares for us a popular dish from the East, chhena dalna. “My Andhra genes do creep into my cooking,” she concedes. In Guha’s version of, chhena dalna then, there is as expected, a subtle touch of coconut and almonds.

However, she keeps in check the spicy and tangy flavour of Andhra cuisine. “I love my Andhra food, but the sour and the spice in the preparations is not good for my voice,” she explains, as she gets busy gathering ingredients, with her daughter-in-law Promita close at hand to help out.

It’s difficult to imagine that Guha at one point of time aspired to be a doctor. She grew up in a musically inclined family, amidst Carnatic music, but it wasn’t until she spent a few years at Shantiniketan — studying philosophy — that she considered it as a profession, switching to Hindustani classical in the process. “Shantiniketan pulled me into music and I began to love the mix of philosophy and devotional singing,” she recalls happily.

A staunch believer in the guru-shishya parampara, Guha conducts classes for a handful of students, focusing on the practical method of learning rather than theory. “Over the years, spiritual music is very close to my heart, and I delve deep into melody and lyrics. It’s important to understand both well. But when I perform, I sing simple renditions of a raga, instead of breaking into a difficult taan that listeners may feel alienated from,” says Guha.

Next month, she will travel to Boston, to perform and record an album with a saxophone artiste. While Guha believes some of what the Indian society has taken from the West has often been constructive and useful, she bemoans that we aren’t being able to retain much of our own art and culture as successfully. “The West has been greatly influenced by our music, yoga, aryurveda, philosophy and lifestyle. What if 50 years later we need to re-learn our culture from them?” she wonders. Guha serves the chhena dalna, with the grace of an artiste, pairing it with a lauki raita to cut the heat. With a delicate vegetable pulao to accompany the two main dishes, Guha’s day in the kitchen is a success.

FAVOURITE RECIPES

CHHENA DALNA
400 gm paneer, grated
4 tomatoes, pureed
4 tbsp flour
6 tsp oil
2 tej patta
20 gm ginger
1 tsp jeera
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 heaped tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp coconut powder
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp sugar
15 crushed almonds
3 cups water
½ tsp ghee

In a bowl, knead flour and paneer with two tablespoons of oil. Make small balls out of the dough and fry in hot oil. Keep the fried paneer balls aside. In a kadai, heat four tablespoons of oil. Add tej patta, ginger, jeera, turmeric, coriander and red chilli powders. Add tomato puree to the kadai. Sprinkle coconut powder and garam masala. Add sugar and 15 crushed almonds. Pour in three cups of water and add salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Add a touch of ghee. Gently slip in the fried paneer balls and serve.

LAUKI RAITA
400 gm curd
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp chana dal
2 tsp urad dal
A dash of garlic and ginger
2 onions, chopped
1 lauki
3 tbsp oil
Salt and sugar to taste
¾ cup water

In a bowl, beat the curd well with ¾ cup water. Add salt and sugar to taste. For the tadka, take a kadai and add mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, ginger and garlic to three tablespoon of hot oil. Slip in the onion. In a pressure cooker, steam lauki for five-seven minutes. Add chopped lauki to the kadai. Cook for 10 minutes and add the vegetable to the curd. Mix well and serve.