Choi Jhal: A Forgotten Spice from Khulna

Shravani Dang offers a glimpse into her family’s history, and their love for the pepper that was once extensively used to add heat to meat and fish dishes

There was a Godrej cupboard in my grandmother’s house. We called Didu’s cupboard 'the salt mines of Siberia’ because she only stored precious things in it. Chief among them were her wedding jewellery and choi jhal from Khulna, Bangladesh.

Choi (chui) jhal or piper chaba is a flowering vine common to parts of South East Asia, namely Khulna, and West Bengal. Before the advent of the chilli, brought in by the Portuguese, it was pepper that added fire to our food — black pepper, long pepper or pippali, and choi jhal.

I first heard about choi jhal from Didu, in December 1971, just after Bangladesh gained independence. She spoke wistfully of different food memories — chui jhal, the sweets of Shatkhira village, and the famous Khulna prawns. My uncle, a journalist, used to bring her chui jhal from Khulna, which went into her cupboard. She would then add it to prawns, mutton and fish for special family meals. The family favourite? Prawn curry with choi jhal.

Choi jhal was once used extensively in undivided Bengal. Sadly, there seems to be no memory of this in West Bengal. Kerala and the north eastern states still use it in their cuisine.

On my maiden visit to this land of my forefathers, Khulna and Jessore, I discovered choi jhal still in use. This perennial vine grows to 20 feet with leaves similar to paan (betel). Choi jhal’s stems, roots, leaves and skin are used in cooking, especially dishes containing meat and fish. It’s mildly pungent, similar to horseradish, and is lemony, aromatic with a spicy kick at the end. Its bark is dark brown, almost black, and its leaves are used to wrap food, imparting a unique flavour. Some of the best choi jhal we sampled was from my father’s village Narail, and his home town, Jessore.

This prawn curry recipe has been handed down orally across generations — it originates from Khulna (in Bangladesh), the ancestral home of both my parents. We loved it so much that my father would ask anyone travelling to Bangladesh to bring some back for us. My mother would freeze it, and then use it in this prawn curry. I managed to source some, and continue our family tradition of cooking the dish as often as possible. It remains a family favourite, three generations on!
 

RECIPE FOR PRAWN CURRY WITH CHOI JHAL

Ingredients
1 kg cleaned and deveined medium prawns (you can keep the tail on)
250 grams chui jhal (peel the bark, wash well and cut it like cinnamon sticks, soak in a little water for 30 minutes)
3 medium potatoes, quartered
A few slit green chillies
1/2 tsp whole jeera
5 medium onions, made into a paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
1 tbsp cumin powder mixed in 1 tbsp water
1 tbsp Bengali garam masala (a mix of green cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves roasted and then ground together mixed in 1 tbsp water)
½ to ¾ cup mustard oil
Salt to taste
2 cups warm water

Method
Sprinkle some salt and turmeric on the prawns, and potatoes, and set aside.
Heat oil in a large karahi (wok) over medium heat. Once the oil is smoking, add the potatoes and fry lightly for 5 minutes — they should be golden, not browned.
In the same oil, fry the prawns for a few minutes. Set aside.
In the oil, add the whole jeera till it sputters. Lower the flame and add onions, ginger, garlic, jeera paste, red chilli, green chillies, chui jhal, turmeric and salt. Sauté for about five minutes till everything has softened. Sprinkle a little water so that it does not burn
Add the potatoes and fry for a few minutes till the oil seeps out. Add the water and let it come to a boil until the potatoes are cooked
Add the prawns, cover and cook till it boils again
Add the Bengali garam masala mixed in water.
Taste for salt and then serve with freshly steamed rice, topped with a teaspoon of cow ghee.

Shravani Dang is a culinary chronicler, archivist and artist who is currently working on her treatise  ‘Eat your History’ which traces the origins and etymology of food.

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