Kulhi Baipen or Bonga Bonga

It seems that this is the breadfruit season as we are getting lot of breadfruits from our relatives. Yesterday my mum cooked a big pot of Bambukeyo bondibai, which is my favorite dessert and today I cooked Kulhi Baipen for lunch. I never cooked this before but have tasted it several times, if my memories are not so dim the last time I ate Kulhi Baipen was about six to seven years back. I remember the taste because I loved it so much.

Last night I asked my mum if she can tell me how to cook Kulhi Baipen but she said She wasn't so sure about all the ingredients used to cook it. I sat with a pen and paper started listing the ingredients per the long back taste of kulhi baipen. Today after I cooked, I invited my sisters & mum to taste it, I knew they would love it because the taste was just like the original recipe my grandmother used to cook. So here I share my version of Kulhi Baipen, which is so yummy, spicy and majaa (fun).

Ingredients:

3ltr’s water

1 cup rice (washed)

310 grams breadfruit (cut into bite size pieces )

1 big onion (Sliced)

2 garlic chopped

1 spring curry leaves

10 pcs pandan leaf

1/2 chilly ( githeyomirus, depends to your taste)

1 tsp ajinomoto

3 tbs good quality rihaakuru (fish paste)

½ of a medium smoked tuna  ( sliced in to bite size pieces, Valho mas falhieh)

3 tbs tomato paste

4 tbs Vegetable oil

Salt

For curry paste:

90 grms coconut

60 grm onion

9 grms garlic

6 grms dried chilly ( hiki mirus)

¾ tbs whole pepper

¾ tsp cumin seed

4 grms ginger

1 tbs lonumirus curry powder

¾ cup water

Method:

1 - Grind all curry paste ingredients in a food processor or a food grinder into a very fine paste. Leave aside.

2 - In a large sauce pan add 21/2 liters of water and rice, cook for 20 minutes on medium heat, now add bread fruit and cook until bread fruit & rice becomes very soft, so soft that it can be easily mashed using back of a wooden spoon. Mash soften breadfruits as much you can pressing bread fruits in the sides of pan using wooden spoon.

3 - In another sauce pan heat oil and add onion, garlic, curry leaves, pandan leaves and chilly fry until light brown.

4 - Put fried onion mixture into the breadfruit mixture. Add curry paste, smoked tuna, rihaakuru, tomato paste, salt and ajinomoto. Cook until the mixture turns into thick gravy, at this stage if the gravy is too thick add extra water and adjust salt per your taste. Serve hot ………….. enjoy! 

Note: 1-  Breadfruit used to cook this Baipen should not be ripe at all. Press fingers on the                         breadfruit if you cant press easily than it's not ripe.

          2-  In kulhi baipen the rice don't have to be mushy, just soft will be fine. 

Kashikeyo Baipen

Baipen is called to a rice gruel cooked with tiny discernible rice grains. This can be cooked as a dessert or as a savory gruel. In all sweet baipen all other ingredients other than screw pine which I have mentioned in the ingredient list are used. Savory baipen is cooked using some spices, breadfruit, crushed dried tuna, rice etc.

My family is from capital Male'  we have our own home located in Henveyru and since a baby I have been living here and haven't seen a single Screw pine tree ever in this island, but of course Screw pines are always available at the local Market which is expensive to buy for business purposes so my mum brings Screw pines from some of the near by islands. She makes screw pine cakes for orders that’s why she keeps good stock in her freezer.

To keep screw pine for 4 to 5 months my mum slices screw pines and grind it than put it in an airtight container and freeze it, this does not bring any difference to the taste of screw pines. 

Ingredients:

3 liter water

2 big sticks of cinnamon

16 cardamom pods

1 big pandan leaf cut in to 2 inch pieces

1 cup basmati rice (washed)

3 cups (sliced or grind) pressed screw pines

3 cups thick coconut milk

3 cups sugar

11/4 cups Jasmine water (Jasmine flower infused water)

Method:

1-      Put first four ingredients in a pan and cook until fragrant.

2-      Add rice, cook until rice gets mushy.

3-      Add sugar and screw pine, cook until all sugar is dissolved

4-      Add coconut milk & Jasmine flower infused water stir and serve hot or cold …. Enjoy! 

    Note: For this recipe Instead of fresh coconut milk canned or packet 100% coconut milk can be used this will not bring any difference to the taste but not the powdered coconut milk. If Jasmine water is not available rose water will be fine, don't put it as much I have mentioned for Jasmine water, may be 1/3rd cup will bring the taste just taste and adjust to your taste buds. This is a huge pot my cooked for all of us around 10 servings can be taken from this amount.