Every Bengali on this planet has tasted this dish in their lifetime and I will bet my money that most of them love it. This dish is a staple, almost as ubiquitous as the tomato chaatni. It is usually served at feasts as the first dessert course, accompanied by crispy papad.
No, it is not made of plastic. The name probably comes from the clear plastic look the dessert has, complete with the shine and glaze. It can look like crumpled cellophane, but it is made of raw green papaya. Some people slice the papaya thin, say 1cm by 1cm by 1mm thick pieces, and some just mince the papaya like I did this time. The recipe is super simple.
Ingredients
1 Unripe Green Papaya
1 cup Sugar
2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tbsp Lime juice
Turmeric Powder
Salt
Oil
Raisins
Preparation
The amount of sugar depends on how sweet you want your chaatni to be. When the dish is hot / warm, the sweetness cannot be judged properly, as the dish cools down and especially after it is in the fridge for a day, the sweetness gets pronounced. Some people add some dried red chilies when frying the mustard. This can add a fiery kick to the dessert. Some also make this with tamarind and therefore induce a sweet and sour flavor. You can also choose not to add any turmeric. Feel free to experiment as you like. For me, I just like the basic recipe above.
The texture is very unique, you can bite into the super sweet papaya pieces while the lime juice punches your salivary glands at the bottom of your tongue. You almost feel a tickling sensation in your mouth. And when served with the salty papad, it is a taste of heaven!
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| Plastic Chaatni, a quintessential Bengali dessert |
Ingredients
1 Unripe Green Papaya
1 cup Sugar
2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tbsp Lime juice
Turmeric Powder
Salt
Oil
Raisins
Preparation
- Peel and grate the papaya. Please make sure to peel the green skin properly. Also on the inside, remove the white seeds and the hard white skin in the center. If you do not remove the latter, the papaya will become bitter.
- Heat a little bit of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds.
- As soon as the seeds splutter add papaya, a bit of salt, and tiny amount of turmeric powder. Yes, we add turmeric to everything! In this case, do not add a whole lot, we do not want the dessert yellow.
- Saute the papaya for few minutes. Add water and let it cook.
- When the papaya is soft, add sugar. Let it cook and thicken.
- Add the raisins and let them plump up.
- Take off the flame. Sprinkle lime juice. Mix well.
- Let cool and then serve. You can put it in the fridge. This dessert is best served cold. And if it sits in the fridge overnight, the flavors intensify.
The amount of sugar depends on how sweet you want your chaatni to be. When the dish is hot / warm, the sweetness cannot be judged properly, as the dish cools down and especially after it is in the fridge for a day, the sweetness gets pronounced. Some people add some dried red chilies when frying the mustard. This can add a fiery kick to the dessert. Some also make this with tamarind and therefore induce a sweet and sour flavor. You can also choose not to add any turmeric. Feel free to experiment as you like. For me, I just like the basic recipe above.
The texture is very unique, you can bite into the super sweet papaya pieces while the lime juice punches your salivary glands at the bottom of your tongue. You almost feel a tickling sensation in your mouth. And when served with the salty papad, it is a taste of heaven!
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