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Saturday, August 1, 2009
POORI (The Fried, Puffed Whole Wheat Bread), Awards & a Tag
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
KATACHI AMTI, WHEAT PURAN POLI & RANGA PANCHAMI
WISH ONE AND ALL A HAPPY HOLI
KATACHI AMTI, WHEAT PURAN POLI & RANGA PANCHAMI
The last time I made Puran Poli was during Ganesh Chaturthi and then I had promised to share with everyone the recipe of Katachi Amti. This is a by-product of Puran poli and hence becomes as precious as the main dish. Maharashtrians make Puran poli on Holi day. I would like to share with you’ll about Holi in
Holi In
Holi is known as Shimga or Rangpanchami in
One day before Ranga Panchami, a huge bonfire is made and an effigy of Holika with child Prahlad in her lap is kept on the logs. Usually, Holika's effigy is made of combustible materials, whereas, Prahlad's effigy is made of non-combustible one. Almost 40 days before the Holi Festival. People go on throwing twigs, dried leaves, branches of trees left through the winter besides any other combustible material they can spare, on to that log which gradually grows into a sizable heap.
On the day of Holika Dahan which usually falls on the night of Phalguna Purnima, the effigy is set alight. Next morning the ashes from the bonfire are collected as prasad and smeared on the limbs of the body. If spared by the fire coconuts are also collected and eaten.
Metaphorically though, the fire is meant to signify the destruction of evil - the burning of the 'Holika' - a mythological character and the triumph of good as symbolized by Prahlad. However, the heat from the fire also depicts that winter is behind and the hot summer days are ahead.
Dhuli Vandan, is an important festival in
Dhuli Vandan is observed in
Historic significance of Holi in
During the Maratha regime this festival was celebrated with great pomp and grandeur. It was on a Holi festival day that five-year-old Jijabhai, daughter of Lakhooji Jadhav innocently splashed coloured water and threw gulal on young Shahaji, son of Malajirao Bhowale. Taking it as an auspicious event, the two children's engagement was announced that very day. Soon they were married. Later, Jijabhai gave birth to Shivaji, the founder of great Maratha empire.
Festival and Food
Festivals are always marked with good food and Maharashtrians usually make Puran Poli Besides people drink sugarcane juice and feed children with watermelons that are in season.
KATACHI AAMTI
As promised in my previous post on Puran Poli during Ganesh Chaturthi, I am blogging here the recipe of katachi aamti. Katachi Aamti is very popular in my marital home at Pune. They love it so much that they drink little bowls(vatis) full of it. The amti has a hot-sweet taste. I don’t like the sweet taste though, so I add less jaggery, so that the jaggery just enhances the flavor but doesn’t sweeten my amti too much. Katachi Amti is prepared using the water from the chana dal that is boiled for preparing the puran. Yo’s Kaku (Father’s brother’s wife) who lives in Barshi, Solapur, prepares this with lot of enthusiasm and love. She was telling me that it is known as “yelavni” in the solapur region. I think what changes the dynamics of the taste to this amti is using chana dal water.I didn’t use goda masala in my amti as I didn’t have it and I feel that goda masala has a very strong flavor which doesn’t suit my palate too much, but the original recipe has goda masala.
Ingredients
Mashed Chana Dal – 1 ½ tbsps
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 3 tsps
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Bay leaves - 2
Curry leaves -8-10
Garam Masala - 2 tsps
Goda Masala – 2 tsps (optional)
Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsps
Asafetida - a pinch
Tamarind paste - ½ tsp
Grated Jaggery – 1 tsp
Grated coconut - 3 tbsps
Salt as per taste
Coriander leaves for garnish
Oil – 1 tbsp
Method
Take 2 teaspoons of Cumin seeds and dry roast it till it crackles. Keep aside. Now dry roast 3 tablespoons of grated coconut and roast until faint pink color and aromatic. Now run both in a blender to make a fine paste. Keep aside.
In a wok, add oil, when its hot, add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, when the mustard seeds start to crackle add in the curry leaves to it, then add a pinch of asafetida, now pour the katache pani (water from the boiled chana dal), add the mashed dal, then add, red chili powder, garam masala, goda masala, tamarind, jaggery, and salt to it. Bring this to boil and then add coconut paste. Boil for some time, add water if it’s too thick. Mix well and let it boil for about 10 minutes.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve hot with puran poli.
WHEAT PURAN POLI
This is the same recipe as blogged before, the only difference being that the refined flour has been replaced with wheat flour. Wheat is a healthy option and doesn’t alter the taste too much and the Puran poli tastes yummy anyways.
Jaggery - 2 cups
Wheat flour -2 cups
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Cardamom powder -1 tsp
Nutmeg powder 1/4th tsp
Dry ginger powder(soonth) -1/4th tsp
Ghee as required
Method
Grate the jaggery, keep aside. Soak the
Mix wheat flour, a pinch of salt, oil and water and knead the dough.
The dough will be very soft and sticky dough. Keep this aside for about half an hour till it sets. Then knead again, by punching it and folding it. You can remove all your frustrations on the dough…Imagine the joys of cooking….
Knead well and divide the dough into 20 equal portions.
With greased palms, take one portion of the dough and flatten it into a disc of the size of the palm. Place a ball of "chana jaggery" paste in the centre and fold the disc from all sides to cover the paste completely.
On a well-floured board, gently roll out each poli with the help of a rolling pin into a 6 inches disc. This can get tricky as the paste does try to slide out. Use a little flour if that happens.
Roast each poli on a hot, dry girdle.Add a teaspoon of ghee around the poli , once you see some spots on the backside flip over, you will see your Puran polis puff up. Once done, Remove on a plate. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee or a bowl of warm milk and with steaming hot Katachi Amti.
I would also like to send Wheat Puran Polis and Katachi Amti to Purva of "Purva's Dawat" for "Festive Food-Holi" event.
Wheat Puran Polis, go to Roma of "Roma's space", who is guest hosting "JFI-Wheat" this month, an event started by Indira.
I would also like to send this to PJ’s Tasty Bites for Toddlers event
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
PURAN POLI AND GANESH CHATURTHI
PURAN POLI
Starting from today is Ganesh Chaturthi also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi in the south. Its the birthday of our darling God Ganapati. Elephants are one of the most loved animals in
Story of Lord Ganesha
Lord Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati. This is a very interesting story.
According to the legend, Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of resolution, was away at a war. His wife Parvati, wanted to bathe and having no-one to guard the door to her house, conceived of the idea of creating a son who could guard her. Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door and instructed him not to let anyone enter.
In the meantime, Lord Shiva returned from the battle but as Ganesha did not know him, he stopped Shiva from entering Parvati's chamber. Shiva, enraged by Ganesh’s impudence, drew his sword and cut off Ganesha's head. Pavarti emerged to find Ganesha decapitated and flew into a rage. She took on the form of the Goddess Kali and threatened destruction to the three worlds of Heaven, Earth and the subterranean earth.
Seeing her in this mood, the other Gods were afraid and Shiva, in an attempt to pacify Parvati, sent out his ganas, or hordes, to bring the head of the first living being with his head towards the north (the auspicious direction associated with wisdom). The first living thing they came across was an elephant. So they brought the head of this elephant and Shiva placed it on the trunk of Parvati's son and breathed life into him. Parvati was overjoyed and embraced her son, the elephant-headed boy whom Shiva named Ganesha, the lord of his ganas. (Info courtesy – Wikipedia)
Although Lord Ganesha has been worshipped from time immemorial it was Lok Manya Bal Gangadhar Tilak who was responsible for making Ganesh utsav into a public celebration in
Lord Ganesha loves sweets. In
I made Puran Poli today. Puran Poli is one of the most liked dishes of
Ingredients
Jaggery - 2 cups
Refined flour (Maida) -2 cups
Oil - 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Cardamom powder -1 tsp
Nutmeg powder 1/4th tsp
Dry ginger powder(soonth) -1/4th tsp
Ghee as required
Method
Grate the jaggery, keep aside. Soak the
Mix refined flour, turmeric powder, a pinch of salt, oil and water and knead the dough.
The dough will be very soft and sticky dough. Keep this aside for about half an hour till it sets. Then knead again, by punching it and folding it. You can remove all your frustrations on the dough…Imagine the joys of cooking….
Knead well and divide the dough into 20 equal portions.
With greased palms, take one portion of the dough and flatten it into a disc of the size of the palm. Place a ball of "chana jaggery" paste in the centre and fold the disc from all sides to cover the paste completely.
On a well-floured board, gently roll out each poli with the help of a rolling pin into a 6 inches disc. This can get tricky as the paste does try to slide out. Use a little flour if that happens.
Roast each poli on a hot, dry girdle.Add a teaspoon of ghee around the poli , once you see some spots on the backside flip over, you will see your Puran polis puff up. Once done, Remove on a plate. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee or a bowl of warm milk.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
SABUDANA VADA (Sago Vada)
SABUDANA VADA (Sago Vada)
Sabudana(Sago) is usually used during fasting in
Sabudana (Sago) – 250gms
Potato - 2 medium
Green Chillies – 2-3,
Ginger - a small piece,
Peanuts -1/2 cup (Roasted and crushed coarsely)
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1tsp.(freshly roasted)
Salt as per taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Oil - to deep fry
Roast the peanuts and preferably remove the skin of the peanuts. If you grind the peanuts along with their skin, your vadas will be slightly reddish in color. We want our vadas to be golden in color.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
SABUDANA KHICHDI / JAVIRSHI UPPUMA / SAGO KHICHDI/UPPUMA
SABUDANA KHICHDI as the name suggests is a khichdi made from sago. In the south we call this Javirshi Uppuma.
In Maharashtra, this dish is made for fasting. But I can say that we used to feast on this fasting dish. The texture of the sago pearls should be slightly moist and transparent. It shouldn’t be too dry and rubbery and although many people recommend cooking it in the microwave I still prefer cooking this on a slow gas for it gets cooked on steam and hence becomes light and fluffy. Traditionally in Maharashtra it is cooked using ghee, this is what my Mother-in-law says and they also use a teaspoon of sugar in their recipe. But I use oil in my recipe and only a pinch of sugar. The reason this dish is made for fasting is because it is extremely filling and doesn’t make you feel hungry fast.
Ingredients
Potatoes – 2
Green chilies – 2-3
Ginger - 1 small piece
Peanuts roasted and powdered – ½ cup
Salt to taste
Asafetida – a pinch
Oil or Ghee – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 2 tsps
Freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.
Freshly grated coconut for garnishing
Lemon juice -1 teaspoon (optional)
Method
Wash the sago nicely and soak it in water for 2-3 hours. The water should be enough for the sago to immerse and a little more. (Depending on the quality, sometimes the sago needs to be soaked overnight in a little bit of water. Its best to soak the sago overnight for best results).
Add some salt to the sago and mix well and keep.
Boil the potatoes, peel and chop them into cubes.
Roast the peanuts, de-skin them and powder in a mixie. (It’s best to use freshly roasted and ground peanuts for the fresh taste). If you are allergic to peanuts or don’t like peanuts you can avoid this in the recipe. The peanuts powder is used to separate the sago.
Make a paste of the green chillies and ginger in the mixer/ blender.
In a pan, Heat oil or ghee, Add cumin seeds and asafetida, once the cumin starts to fry, add the green chillies and ginger paste and allow it to fry for a minute or two. Then add the boiled and chopped potatoes and let it mix well with the masala. Add some salt so that the potatoes also catch some salt, mix well and allow it to fry for 2-3 minutes. Incase you are avoiding peanuts, then allow the potatoes to get cooked for a while longer (about 4-5 minutes). Keep the gas on a low flame. Now add sago and stir. Cook uncovered for some time and keep mixing so that sago will not stick to the bottom. Cover with a lid and let it rest for 2-3 minutes. Now uncover and add the peanuts powder and mix well.
Cover the pan and keep for 1-2 minutes. The gas should be on a low flame. When you open the lid you will see that the sago is nice and transparent, that means it’s done. Remove from flame. Keep covered for 5-7 minutes before you serve, so that everything gets cooked in steam.
Serve hot garnished with coconut and coriander leaves and lemon juice.
-You can add grated boiled potato instead of the chopped one.
Tip:
-You can add the peanut powder and salt to the soaked Sago before putting it in the pan for cooking.
-While making the khichdi, do not keep the pan covered for more than 1-2 minutes, else the sago will mesh together to form small elastic balls. Sago cooks very fast especially if we have soaked it overnight. You can’t leave this dish unattended.
-Khichdi tastes excellent if tossed continuously while cooking.
Monday, July 2, 2007
BATATA VADA (Potato Vada) AND VADA PAV (Pav Stuffed With Potato Vada)
Batata Vada is made in different states of
Ingredients
Potatoes - 6-8
Green chilies – 4-5
Ginger - 1 small piece
Finely chopped Coriander leaves
Gram Flour (Besan) – 2 cups
Turmeric powder – 1tsp
Red chilly powder – 1tsp
Oil for frying,
Asafetida – 2 pinches
Salt as per taste
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
Method
Boil the potatoes, Peel and mash the potatoes with your hands. It should be mashed in such a way that its slightly chunky and not completely mashed. Keep Aside.
Grind ginger and green chilies together into a paste. Keep aside.
In a Kadhai (wok), take 1 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds and when they begin to crackle, add the cumin seeds and the ginger - green chili paste, a pinch of asafetida, now add the mashed potatoes, add turmeric powder, salt according to taste and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves. Check for salt. If the taste is okay keep aside. Allow to cool down. Once the mixture has cooled down, make balls of the mixture and keep aside.
In a separate bowl, take the gram flour, add salt, red chilly powder and a pinch of asafetida and mix well. Add water and mix, there shouldn’t be any lumps in the mixture.The batter should be in the consistency of the dosa batter (not too watery or too thick.). To test take some batter in a spoon and drop it inside the batter. It should flow like a ribbon inside the batter.
Now in a Kadhai (wok), heat some oil. To check if oil is properly heated, drop some batter in the oil. If the batter immediately turns soild and float on the surface of the oil, the oil is ready. The oil should not be too hot, else the vadas will become dark from the outside before they are actually done from the inside.
Now dip each ball in the batter, letting the excess batter drip off and slowly add to the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the kadhai, else the temperature of the oil reduces which in turn slows down the frying process. Deep fry all the vadas until golden in color. Remove on a paper towel and drain. Your Batata Vadas are ready.
VADA PAV
Pav is a freshly baked bun. If pav is no available, you can use any other unsweetened bun or even bread. We use freshly baked French loaves in
With the left over gram flour batter, I usually drop boondis in the hot oil, through a spoon with holes in it. I get fresh, crispy boondis. I also fry green chillies in the oil and keep aside the fried green chillies mixed with some salt. Split open the pav, Add the chutneys of your choice, finely chopped onions, a pinch of chaat masala, the freshly fried boondis and then place the vada, close the pav and indulge in this tongue tickling Vada pao with a bite of the fried chillies.
What more can a person ask on a rainy day or any day for that matter. Vada-pao is like a complete meal.
(Refer to the Chutneys and Sauces section of my blog for the recipes of Coriander chutney, Dry Lasoon Chutney and Sweet Tamarind Chutney)