ISO 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1883. 



gamboge yellow colour, wautiug in the grateful aroma found 

 in the cheenee champa, champa, and mortomcin plantains, is 

 also less sweet than any of thuse. This I say after eating 

 extensively all of tliese. In Bombay the red planta.iu fruit 

 is sold from a quarter auua to one anna for each fruit. 

 according to size and quality of the fruit. 

 Uses. 



The plant-ain plant has many uses. Having intimate 

 knowledge of this plant by extensive use, trials and ob- 

 servations, I am jirt'itared to subjoin a description of them 

 which will be serviceable to persons acquainted with the in- 

 dustrial value of plantain in all its bearings. 

 A. — Fruit. 



It is highly nuti'itious and consumed in India (Bengal in 

 particular) in two states — (1) ?/«>v);f and (2) ripe, 



(1) Um'ipe Fruit. — The consumption of unripe plantain 

 fruit is exclusively confined to the natives of Bengal whether 

 located in Bengal or t-lsewhero where the fiuit is available. 

 In other parts of India, I have nowhere observed unripe 

 plantain fruit used in cookery by any other than the Bengalee 

 people. In Bengal the unripe fruit is cooked in various 

 ways as described below. 



{«) KoldhhdJa.Beu. — The fruit is first cleaned of the 

 thick skin by means of a knife, cut into round or oval 

 (according to the shape of the fruit) shces about ^ inch 

 thick, washed with water, mixed with turmeric, chillies, or 

 red pepper, ground in water, salt, and fried in mustard 

 oil or i/iice. It is eaten with boiled rice. 



(h) ' Koldr hhortd, Ben.' — The fruit is cleared of the skin, 

 washed and boiled iu the same vessel in whichrice is boiled, 

 and always with the latter. Since rice occupies a longer 

 time in being cooked, and the plantain fruit less, the latter 

 is taken out some minutes before, is then washed, a little 

 mustard oil, salt, and sometimes black round pepper or 

 chillies added ; and served. This is always eaten with 

 boiled rice. 



(c) Koldrchoi'chon, Ben. — The plantain fruit (skin cleared), 

 brinjal, doomoor, Ben., fruit of Ficus (/^otnorata ffoolar, Hin., 

 and potatoes, are cut into slices of any desired shape and 

 size, washed in water, and kept in a suitable vessel till ' 

 wanted for cooking. This finished, a brass, u'on, or earthen 

 l-n,'aiBen..kai-hai Hin. (pan) is placed on a choolo Ben.: 

 chodUta Hin. (oven) in which mustard oil or ghee is put 

 and heated to the l>oiling point. On ascertaining this, 

 turmeric, oliillies or black round pepper, and fennel, ground 

 iu water on the stone slab called sJieel Ben., .v// Hin., are, 

 more or less, according to taste, fried in the oil (mustard 

 or any other) ov (fhec {only when intended for rich people) 

 iu the A:o/-</?, well mLxed with the fried spices ; and salt and 

 a little water is added. The korai is then covered over with 

 a thai Ben., thari/a Hin. (brass plate), to allow the ingredients 

 to digest on a brisk fire for about 15 miin^tes. The brass 

 j)late is then taken out, the contents of the pan examined, 

 and it found sufficiently cooked, the w-ater, if any, is evapor- 

 ated, and the cliorchori served out. Most people like 

 fishes to be added, for whom fried fishes of any kind, large 

 or small, mixed or unmixed, and of any species, according 

 to taste, are put on the top of the fruit and vegetables, a 

 sprinkling of water given, the pan covered again, and 10 

 minutes more allowed for the fish to imbibe and acquire the 

 flavour of the soluble ingredients of the chorcJton. The pan 

 is then uncovered, and the contents served out. The latter 

 form of cookery is termed uimichere chorchori. Chorchori 

 is generally eaten with boiled rice and kolde or wash Icohie 

 *-;• (/rtV Ben., liid.-ih Hin. (Phaseolus rafluttu.s) ; is also some- 

 times eaten with c/irt^ffiiV, Hin. {(/ellvte^ French) made of 

 wheateu flour. 



The Bengalee word rhoychoHf is used to denote the kind 

 of cookery made in the mann<^r described above. It is de- 

 rived from the Bengalee word rhorrhor (cT^ckmg). on account 

 of the sound ijroduced in the pan in the process of cooking. 

 It always retains its name with the prefix of the name of 

 the predominating fruit or vegetable used. For instance, 

 wlien the predominating vegetable is brinjal, it is called 

 hr//r'on-er-chorrhori ; if pot;itoe, dioo-er-chorchori ; and so on. 

 Biit when fish is a<lded, whatever the predominating veget- 

 ables or fruit composition of this kind of cookery may be, 

 the name of the fish will always precede the word chor- 

 chori ; thus we have hhetli — , tan//ra — , kor:—. bdci/ — , ihsh—, 

 YQf,^ — ^ or chiiiyri — , uiach-er-chorrhori . From what I have 

 said it will be seen that the word WK/<W^yi-/, like #/«/, is the 

 generic name given, in Bengal, to dishes baring various kiiids 

 f compositions, but cooked m one particular way^ as de- 

 o 



scribed above. Uncooked piUse is also called dal, provided 

 the pulse is split or broken. 



The dishes described in the foregoing headings a and h 

 are also generic terms. Bhaja means fried, and hhortd that 

 which after boihng is mashed ; so that anything eatable, 

 such as all kinds of fishes, vegetables, flesh, fruit, etc., 

 might be fried or mashed, and in Bengal termed hhdju or 

 hhortd. 



{'!.) Ripe fruit. — This is eaten raw and singly as many 

 other fruits ; such as ripe mangoes {manf/ifera Imlica), 

 leechees {nephdium litchi)^ pears (p//rus coinvumis), &:c. ; but 

 like ripe mangoe, it is also eaten peeled, in milk, sugar, 

 and boiled rice. This composition tastes very nice, pro- 

 vided the plantain fruit is of good variety, satiating the 

 consumer fully well. The ingenious Bengalee also cooks 

 ripe plantain fruit. Here is the process : — 



(a) Koldr hard, Ben. — A number of thoroughly ripe, but 

 not rotted, plantain fruits are taken, the rind removed, 

 ma.shed an<l thoroughly mixed with fine wheaten flour {,/ioida, 

 Ben.. maiJa, Hin.), a suiiicient quautitj- of sugar, little 

 pounded cardamom (mixed or omitted, according to taste), 

 kneaded with milk and little water, and formed into small 

 lumps of any desired shape ; and fried in ghee. This tastes 

 excellent and is higlily nutritious. 



B. — T'XDEVELOPED FkUIT SpIKE. 



a. — J/orhar t/hoiitOy'Ben. — This dish is made from the 

 lower part of the fruit-bearing .spike containing a large num- 

 ber of undeveloped fi-uits. Tliis part of the spike is cut out 

 at the time the fruits of the upper portion are developuig 

 and the lower portion does not appear to develope more 

 fruits, but must remain in embryo. It is called mocha in 

 Bengal, and has feeding value in it; both for man and cattle. 

 First of all. the fruits are taken out of the spike, cut into 

 small bits, washed and boiled for about 20 minutes. The 

 boiled fruit is then taken out of the vessel, water thrown 

 away, and squeezed to separate more water. It is then 

 kept in a thai (brass plate). This finished, a brass vessel 

 is next placed on the oven iu which a composition of 

 ground fennel, black-pepper, cardamoms, cinnamon bark, 

 and water are put and boiled. After the boiling is over, 

 the fruit, unshelled grain, steeped over-night, sliced potato 

 and brinjal, salt, cow's milk, and little sugar, added; and 

 the vessel covered over. The composition is allowed to 

 boil and digest for 10 minutes. This finished, the vessel 

 is uncovered and a hatjhdr, also denominated shdutlano, Ben. 

 (a process which consists of a brass or iron spoon in which 

 ghee or oil is put. and a few cloves, blacku'ound pepper , 

 cinnamon bark, cardamom, or any other spices or condi- 

 ments or both have attained brov\Ti colour, then the whole 

 is thrown into the cookery) given. The dish is now ready 

 to be served out. Always eaten witli boiled rice. 

 * C— Stem. 



"When the fruit-spike of plantain has inatured its fruit.s, 

 it is removed from the stem, and with it the plant also ; 

 because plantain never bears fruit t\rice — hence it is useless 

 to allow it stand. When the plant is denuded of the outer 

 layers or sheaths, such being the construction of this succu- 

 lent plant, the inner stem, which ends in the fruit spike, is 

 extracted. This stem, which is duU white in colour, and of 

 glassy lustre and smoothness in the exterior, is a food-article 

 in Bengal, and there denominated thor. The cooking process 

 of thor is described below. 



(a) Thirr-er-ddhid, Ben. — Tlior is cut in small bits, washed, 

 and .salted. It is then boiled in water, taken out, cooked 

 with the sameingredieut-s as for morhar i/honto, with this 

 difference that (///o»;o has no water or gravy in it, whereas 

 ddlnd has. The cooking process does not differ. Always 

 eaten with boiled rice. 



(h) Thor-cr-chorchori, Ben. — As in the preceding, thor is 

 boiled ; and cooketl in the same way as kold-er-ehorchcri 

 — vegetables and fish added, according to taste. Eaten with 

 boiled rice or with chtqypatis. 



D. — MlSCELLAXKOCS OR OxilKR UsES OF VARIOrS 



Parts of the Plaxtaix Plaxt. 



(«) Fruit rind. — This is greedily eaten by all manner of 

 live-stock. Administered with straw, oil-cake and other in- 

 gredients made miojdhnd Ben.,>^rt?f?, Hin. (mixed meat), ripe 

 plantain fruit-rind is valuable food, being both palatiibie 

 and nutritious. 



(h) Leaver. — These serve as plates and dishes in the home 



of every Hindu — Bengalee, rich are poor, es])eciaUy the latter, 



and on all festive occa.sions. The leaves also find other uses 



packing articles by the native shop-keepers, for bedding 



