Maa can I have the rice with only Begun Borir Ambol? I don’t want anything else but the Ambol!”
“No way! You have tonsillitis! I will not allow you to have the Ambol. It is cooked with Tamarind!”
Looking back, I realize Maa never allowed me to have Ambol without a fight! While Ambol was a regular occurrence at home. Mammam never had Non-veg after Mejo Jethu’s death and hence, an elaborate vegetarian spread cooked without onion and garlic was regular at home. Bori Beguner Ambol has been popular amongst others. She had a preference for Ambole over Chutney and I personally do like Ambol as well.
Ambol has never been part of a celebratory menu at home, instead, it has been cooked whenever there’s a need for a big fat dose of comfort! The veggies, the body, the earthy flavor of jaggery and most importantly the runny soup makes is soul food.
Ambol Vs. Shambol!
Ambol is a type of runny condiment cooked with vegetables with no added animal protein or portion. Sambol, on the other hand, is a non-vegetarian condiment. Ambol stands for Amlo which means acidic.
At my place, it was mostly Ambol as it was difficult to make a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian version of the same dish at times.
Begun Borir Ambol vs Bori Beguner Tok!
I do not remember having Begun Borir Tok at home. Ours was the Panch Phoron tempered, runny sour curry cooked with rectangular Eggplant and Biulir Dal er Bori. Gur aka Jaggery was a must. Bori Beguner Tok is a regular at Mehebub’s place where my Maa-in-law cooks cubed eggplant with less amount of Bori and do not use Panch Phoron as tempering. Taste-wise both are good and different as well! Nah, I never had a chutney cooked with Bori or Begun.
Begun Borir Ambol, Ghoti Barir Recipe!
Both Bori and Begun were readily available and so was Jaggery. This probably the reason the Ambol was a regular occurrence at home. At times, when Bori or Begun was not available we used to had Postor Ambol. I will share that recipe as well.
Though Maa used to fight with me over the ambol however, till date I have a fetish for Ambol. These days, after a tiring day at the office, I prefer a spoonful of rice with humble ambol and nothing else. I follow the family recipe without a single change. The Ambol I cook is runny, tangy; flavored with panch phoron, with a few chunks of fried bori and fried rectangular begun as well. Whenever I cook this; I keep a few chunks of fried aubergine separate for Pasta. Little one, after all, loves Begun Bhaja!
Here’s how I cook Begun Borir Ambol at Debjanir Rannaghar!
Begun Borir Ambol aka Bori Beguner Ambol
Author: Debjani Chatterjee
Nutrition Information
- Serves: 5 People
- Serving size: 50g
- Calories: 119
- Fat: 4.9g
- Saturated fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 16.9g
- Sugar: 10.4g
- Sodium: 586mg
- Fiber: 4.1g
- Protein: 2.7g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Recipe type: Chutney
Cuisine: Bengali
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Begun Borir Ambol aka Bori Beguner Tok is a runny condiment cooked with Aubergine and Bori (Sun-dried lentil dumpling)
Ingredients
- Begun/ Aubergine: 1 (Small; long variety)
- Bori/ Sun-dried Lentil dumpling: 10
- Tamarind Pulp: 2 Tbsp.
- Jaggery: 4 Tbsp.
- Panch Phoron/ Bengali five spices: ½ Tsp.
- Dry Red Chili: 1
- Salt: ½ Tsp.
- Turmeric Powder: ½ Tsp.
- Mustard Oil: 2 Tbsp.
Instructions
- Wash and cut Aubergine into long rectangular pieces. You may refer to the picture for the cut
- Now marinate the aubergine chunks with turmeric powder and a pinch of salt.
- Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in a pan and fry the aubergine.
- Strain the fried aubergine from the pan and in the remaining oil fry Bori as well.
- Strain fried bori from the pan.
- Take rest of the oil in the same pan and after heating the same temper with Panch Phoron and Dry red Chili.
- Meanwhile, dilute the tamarind pulp with 2 cups of hot water and add jaggery and dilute that as well.
- Strain to remove impurities.
- Now add this mixture to the pan and bring it to boil.
- Add salt to it and add fried Aubergine and fried bori as well.
- Boil for 5 minutes. Adjust the water if needed. The Ambol should be runny in texture.
- Adjust salt and sweetness based on preference.
- Once done, switch the flame off and serve ambol either in room temperature or chilled.
Notes
You can substitute Jaggery with Sugar.
You may get Bori in any Bengali shot if you are not in Bengal. Else you can make it at home
You may get Bori in any Bengali shot if you are not in Bengal. Else you can make it at home
Chutney/ Ambol/ Tawk/ Condiment/ Relish Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Ilish Macher Tok (Also known as Ilish Macher Tawk)
- Kacha Aamer Ambol (Also known as Runny Bengali Mango Soup or Amer Tawk)
- Bacon Jam (Also known as Bacon dip)
- Gur diye Topa Kul ar Tomato Chutney (Also known as Kuler Chutney)
- Kerala Chemmeen Achar (Also known as Kerala Style Prawn Pickle)
- Kancha Aamer Chutney (Also known as Bengali Green Mango Chutney)
- Plastic Chutney (Also known as Raw Papaya Chutney or Bengali Peper Chutney)
- Kuler Achaar (Also known as Boroi-er Aachar or Jujube Sweet pickle or Ber ka achar)
- Lal Mirch Ka Benarasi Achar (Also known as Mirch ka Achaar)
- Tok Dal (Also known as Kancha Aam diye Toker Dal)
- Tomato Amsotto Khejur er Chutney (Also known as Amsotto Khejur Er Chutney)
Have you tried the Bori Begun er Ambol recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here on dolonchttrj@gmail.com. Meanwhile, on Instagram, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
Here’s the Begun Bori er Ambol Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!
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