POORI (The Fried, Puffed Whole Wheat Bread), Awards & a Tag

POORI (The Fried, Puffed Whole Wheat Bread)

A puri or poori or boori is a South Asian unleavened bread prepared in many of the countries in South Asia including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is consumed for breakfast, or as a snack or light meal. Puri is also the Georgian name for bread.

Puri is most commonly served at breakfast. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions; they sometimes are part of ceremonial rituals along with other vegetarian food offered in prayer as prasadam.

Puri can be made with Whole wheat flour (Atta) or with all purpose flour (Maida). Puri is often served with potato masala, chana masala, korma, and goes well with most North Indian gravies. In some Indian states it is served with halwa and in Maharashtra it is relished with Aamras.

In the north east of India, Puri is served with a special mixed vegetable which is prepared during puja and its also eaten with mistanno, a special kind of dessert prepared with rice, milk, sugar.

A variant of the puri is the bhatura which is three times a puri and thus a single bhatura, served with chole (spicy chick peas), often constitutes a full meal.

Another variant of the puri popular in the eastern states of West Bengal and Orissa is the Luchi.

(Some of the info courtesy:-Wikipedia)

Ingredients

Mix together in a bowl:

2 cups Indian whole wheat flour

1/2 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Method

Slowly add about 3/4 cup warm water, just enough to form a firm dough, and knead till smooth. Cover, let rest at least 1/2 hour, and knead again briefly. If resting more than 1 hour, punch and knead dough again before rolling out.

Divide into small balls about golf-ball size, and roll out into 6" rounds on an oiled board. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or saucepan. Add a little salt to the oil to keep it from smoking. Fry the puri one at a time, holding them under the oil on the first side until they puff. Turn and fry till light brown; drain. While frying, the bread puffs up. After they become golden-brown in color, they are removed and served hot along with some accompaniment.

Serve as soon as possible as Puris are not so good later.

For spicy puris:

When making the dough, add the below mentioned dry ingredients:

Turmeric – a pinch

Red chilly powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Salt as per taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Mix the dough well then add water and mix and follow as above.

AWARDS & A TAG

Coming to the awards, I received the Kreative Blogger Award from Priti.

Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful awards with me I truly appreciate this.

The

Kreativ Blogger awards have some rules …

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog

.

3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated

So 7 things about myself.. Let's see if you find this interesting...

• I am a very social person

• I love blogging and in the panel to write for a few other blogs as well.

• I am a real estate agent which was not my field of study and I was featured on TV in Singapore

• I love singing and have won many accolades in the past.

• I love to cook and especially find street food extremely tempting.

• Iam a vegetarian and always find alternative recipes that vegetarians can enjoy.

• Iam a very straightforward and emotional person and expect people to be the

same with me.

And here are some of the tags I received:

•What is your current obsession?

Real estate & blogging

•What are you wearing today?

Iam at home and wearing my well worn and comfortable cotton gown

•What’s for dinner?

Pav bhaji

•What’s the last thing you bought?

Pants

•What are you listening to right now?

Teri Ore from Singh is King

•What do you think about the person who tagged you?

I think she is very talented

•If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

Mumbai anytime - Amchi Mumbai is where my heart is

•What are your must-have pieces for summer?

I think 4 quarter cotton pants and soft, pastel colored Cotton kurtis, I love to wear pastel colored Lucknowi Suits, Iced Sugarcane with ginger and lemon (my favorite) gallons of cold water.

•If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

I think I would love to go to Venice

•Which language do you want to learn?

Mandarin, Telegu & Kannada

•What’s your favourite quote?

God helps those who help themselves

•Who do you want to meet right now?

God

•What is your favourite colour?

Blue

•What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own clo

set?

I think my latest wine color formal top which looks professional & slick.

•What is your dream job?

Cook and serve people with no expectation in return except for compliments

•What’s your favourite magazine?

Womans Era

•If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?

Buy a decent purse and wallet as both of what I have are worn out.

•What do you consider a fashion faux pas? (faux pas mean error in etiquette.. )

To wear bindi and jumkas with western outfits

•Who are your style icons?

I like Simi Garewal…she is class personified…..

•Describe your personal style.?

Classic & simply elegant

•What are you going to do after this?

Watch TV

•What are your favourite movies?

Jaane Bhi do yaaron, Khubsoorat, Jhooti, Golmal, Amol Palekar movies are my absolute favorite.

•What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?

Bodywash, Face Powder and Lipstick

•What inspires you?

Compliments, gratitude and encouraging words.

•Give us three styling tips that always work for you:

Hairstyle that you are comfortable in, Eyeliner to define your eyes and lipstick to define your lips. As Priti said I would like to say the same, Know what's suits you, never overdo your makeup, try to keep it simple and comfortable.

•What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?

Go Shopping

•Coffee or tea?

Tea

•What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?

Hug my little ones. Listen to some soothing music or try to catch up on an old comedy movie

•What is the meaning of your name?

Sukanya means “A good girl”

•Which other blogs you love visiting?

There are millions of blogs and every blog is creative

•Favorite Dessert/Sweet?

Gulab jamun and Gajar ka halwa

•What's the best feeling?

To love and be loved in return

•Who do you love most and why ?

I love my kids the most, because they are the most perfect beings in the world to me

Here is my new question: Reason(s) for you to blog?

I love blogging

Respond and rework – answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. Then tag eight or ten other people.

So now it's time to award & tag others and I would like to share all the awards and tag with. Sireesha , Sowmya , LG, Purva , Priyanka, Usha, Asha, Sanghi and Priyaraj

Please accept the awards and ignore the tag if you have done before.

Sireesha of mom’s recipes has passed me the Scrumptious Blog Award. Thank you Sireesha!!!

It is the Scrumptious Blog Award -a blog award given to sites who:

Inspire you

Encourage You

May give Fabulous information

A great read

Has Scrumptious recipes

Any other reasons you can think of that make them Scrumptious!

The rules are:

Put the logo on your blog or post.

Nominate at least 7 blogs

Let them know that they have received this Scrumptious award by commenting on their blog.

Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

Sireesha also passed me the Fabulous Blog award

I would like to pass this award to my following blogger friends:

Sowmya, LG , Purva , Priyanka, Usha ,

Sanghi

and Priyaraj

I would like to send Puris to the Festive food event organized by Purva & Priti, as Puris are cooked during most festivals in many parts of India

I would like to send this recipe to Raks "Cooking for Guests" Event as I make these when guests come over and serve it with aaamras, potato masaala or chole.

I would also like to send Puris to EC’s WYF: Festive treat as Puri is a festive treat.

COCONUT ICE-CREAM

COCONUT ICE-CREAM

I saw the recipe of Coconut Ice-cream on Priyanka’s blog and a wave of nostalgia engulfed me as I reminisced about my college days when I use to patronize the Naturals Ice-cream parlor which was a rage then(mid-90’s), the reason was I think people were tired of the Vanilla, strawberry, pista and tuti-fruity flavors and the other thing was the ice-cream at the Naturals parlor were so fresh, creamy, delicious and completely organic with no additives or preservatives and the best part was it was eggless(no eggs), so it was suitable to vegetarians. I am a vegetarian since time immemorial, but sadly I am not a complete vegan, I am a lacto vegetarian. Lacto-vegetarianism includes dairy products but excludes eggs.

Coming back to the Naturals Parlor they used to have some exotic flavors like

watermelon, sitaphal(custard-apple), guava, mulberry, kala-jamun, tender coconut etc.

I used to try out the new flavors and one such flavor that had left its memory etched on my tongue was the tender coconut flavor, so light, smooth and refreshing, almost like a sorbet and it got over so soon. I got the opportunity to have this again in some 5 star hotel at Thailand, after marriage the name of which I can’t remember and I almost forgot about it until I saw Priyanka’s recipe, but her recipe had eggs and I wanted to make it without eggs, so here is my original recipe for Coconut Ice-cream with coconut milk and tender coconut and some healthy agar-agar.

Ingredients

Tender coconut – 1

Coconut milk – 500ml

Milk cream – 170gms

Full cream boiled milk – 2 cups

Condensed milk – 4 tbsps

Sugar – 2-3 tbsps

Agar – Agar powder – 2 tbsps

Method

Take 1 cup water, put in 2 tbsps of the Agar-Agar powder and keep it on the gas on a low flame. It will become viscous. Turn off the flame. Let it cool.

Agar agar is a seaweed derivative and because it is gelatinous in nature, it is used as a quick setting base for many desserts. It is flavorless in nature and will set even in room temperature. I have used Agar–Agar powder in this recipe as it gives the ice-cream a softness that can’t be achieved using an agar-agar stick. You can use either of the two.

Break the tender coconut and use ¼ cup of the coconut water, mix it with the agar agar solution. The coconut inside I cut into small pieces and kept aside.

Boil 2 cups of milk and let it cool down.

Beat the cream until it thickens a bit, put in a vessel. Keep aside.

I used coconut milk straight from the packet, which saved a lot of time & energy involved in grating the coconut, grinding and straining it.

Take the full cream boiled milk, the coconut milk, the condensed milk & sugar and blend in a food processor.

Mix this with the thickened cream in the vessel and blend with a whisk, then add the agar-agar and coconut water solution and whisk some more. You will see that the mixture is becoming frothy. Whisk it well and put this into the freezer compartment of your refrigerator. After it sets, blend it again in the food processor and keep it for setting, check the texture of the ice-cream, if you feel it is icy-crisp, blend once more, until it becomes smooth and uniform, add in the pieces of the tender coconut, into it and whisk and let it set. You can even add coconut flakes instead of tender coconut pieces. So when you dunk into your exotic coconut ice cream, you get some chunky soft coconut pieces in your mouth.

Make this simple & exotic ice-cream and chill yourself during the hot summers.

I would like to send my coconut Ice-cream to PJ's Let's Go Nuts Event featuring coconut

FRUIT SALAD WITH JELLY

FRUIT SALAD WITH JELLY

Its Yo’s birthday and he loves sweets. I had already prepared Aamras(Mango pulp sweet) for the main course and wanted to prepare something special for the dessert, I wanted it to be quick, nutritious and exotic, what better than Fruit salad.

I had already prepared Jelly the earlier day. Since, I am a strict vegetarian. I prepared Weikfield Jelly which uses a vegetarian formula and doesn’t use gelatine (an animal derivative), which is normally used in Jelly powders available in the market. I had a few fruits at home and bought a few seasonal fruits from the market. Within 5-7 minutes I had this exotic dessert ready and sent it to the refrigerator to be chilled before Yo arrives for his grand birthday lunch.

Ingredients

Apples – 2

Bananas – 2

Mango – 1 diced

Chicku – 2

Diced Pineaapples – 1 cup

Grapes - 1/2 cup

Milk – 2 cups

Condensed milk – 4 tbsps

Vanilla powder – 1 tsp

Roasted cashew nuts – 1 tbsp

1 packet of Weikfield Jelly Mix (Raspberrry Flavor)

Method

Prepare the jelly according to the instructions on the packet and allow to set. Boil the milk and wait for it to cool. Chop the apples into thin squares as apple doesn’t absorb the flavors so fast. Peel and cut the bananas into roundels. Peel and cut the mangoes into cubes. Use ripe and sweet mangoes. Cut the chickus into cubes also. Diced pineapples and a cup of red seedless grapes, these were all the fruits I had, you can add any fruits of your choice or seasonal fruits available.

Mix Vanilla powder in the cool milk

In a big bowl, put in all the chopped fruits, add in the condensed milk and toss, then add in the milk. While serving put in this exotic fruit mix and top it up with jelly. Decorate with roasted cashew nuts. Serve chilled. You can even top it up with a scoop of your favorite ice-cream. Enjoy this exotic and nutritious dessert.

I would like to send this exotic dessert to Priti of Indian Khana who is hosting Festive food – Summer Treat.

Srivalli's Mango Mela

Send this to Mansi's Sugar High Fridays, a event started by Jennifer

AGATHI KEERAI THUVARAN / PORIYAL

AGATHI KEERAI THUVARAN / PORIYAL

Agathi Keerai is classified under the green leafy vegetables category. For those who are not familiar with this green, Agathi Keerai is also known as;

Hummingbird Tree Leaves or West Indian pea tree.

Botanical Name: Sesbania grandiflora

Agathi keerai is used in cooking in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam , mainly in the South east Asia pacific regions wherein its widely grown and eaten.

There are two kinds of West Indian Pea tree - one with red flowers and the other with white flowers. It’s the white flower West Indian Pea Tree that’s suitable for cooking.

My grandma used to say that Agathi keerai which is also known as “Aathu keerai” at my home has cooling properties and she used to insist on eating our greens without making a fuss when we were kids.

Eating Agathi keerai has a lot of benefits -

It is a tonic

It is cooling

It helps in digestion

It will cure ulcers in the stomach

It is a laxative

It balances pitta and kapha

It is an antidote for poisons

It is good for fever

It cures insanity

It is a very satvic food

Crushed leaves are applied to sprains and bruises of all kinds.

A tea made from the leaves is believed to have antibiotic, anti-thelmintic(a medication capable of causing the evacuation of parasitic intestinal worms), antitumour and contraceptive properties.

The principal medicinal effects are due to the trees’ astringency, hence it is used against inflammation, venom and other poisons, bacterial infections and tumors.

The bark is considered as a tonic and an antipyretic, a remedy for gastric troubles, colic with diarrhoea and dysentery.

A bark decoction is taken orally to treat fever and diabetes.

Juice of flowers put in the eyes is said to relieve dimness of vision.

The leaves also have medicinal value and are reported to cure night blindness in cattle.

In India, all plant parts are reputed to cure night blindness.

The root is a well-known medicine for malaria.

Root juices are used for poultices and the leaves are applied for rheumatism, swellings, bruises and itching.

For systemic disorders, decoctions are taken internally.

Root resin, mixed with honey, is taken orally for phlegm and root juices are taken as an expectorant.

Sinus congestion is reduced by taking a flower decoction.

Agathi keerai is very good when mixed with milk and boiled and then made into curd and that made into buttermilk if taken twice a day all female related problems like white discharge, vaginal discharge with odour, over heat etc.can be solved.

This is not advised during medication, since it will reduce the power of medicine.

You can read more about the benefits by clicking on the link below.

http://www.medindia.net/alternativemedicine/ayurvedaanddiet/Herbal-Plants/Hummingbird-Tree-Leaves.asp

Although its bitter in taste, don’t you think we need to eat this occasionally considering the health benefits associated with it.

Here is a wonderful Kerala recipe of the

“Aathu Keerai” / “Agathi Keerai”

Ingredients

Agathi Keerai – 1 bunch

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Udad dal - 1 tsp

Green chillies – 2-3

Red chillies – 1 broken into 2 halves

Turmeric -1/4 tsp

Asafetida (Hing) - a small pinch

Cooked Toor dal – 2 tbsps

Freshly grated Coconut – 1-2 tbsps

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp (Prefer coconut oil)

Salt as per taste.

Method

Remove the Agathi leaves from its stem. There’s one easy way to do this. Hold the stem between your thumb and index finger and slide down de-stemming the leaves. Rinse well under running water in a colander. Chop the leaves into small pieces. Keep aside

In a Kadhai (wok), Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil, when it is hot, Add the mustard seeds and when they begin to crackle, Add udad dal and the red chillies, when the udad dal becomes slightly pink, add the green chillies and fry well, Add the chopped Agathi keerai leaves. Add turmeric, asafetida and salt, stir and close with lid and cook on low flame till it is cooked. Once it’s cooked add in the 2 tbsps of cooked tuvar dal, stir well, wait until the water drains completely and then add in the freshly grated coconut and stir fry till everything is mixed well.

Serve hot with Rice and Rasam.

I would like to send this dish to SWC-Cooking with greens event hosted by my blogger friend Sowmya.

CRISPY BITTERGOURD CURRY

CRISPY BITTERGOURD CURRY

Bitter gourd, I think everybody gets finicky about this vegetable sometime or the other. Its not something people happily buy from the grocery store. It’s more like people think about the health benefits of eating this vegetable. Bitter gourd when cooked in different styles changes the dynamics of the taste and could be well loved by the kids. I made a paste of Rice flour and Urad flour and spices and threw in the bitter gourds and fried them and lo and behold there was a crispy delight waiting at the table and my kids loved it and so did my husband and I didn’t know how fast it flew off my table. The secret of the crispiness lies in the Urad flour. Urad flour has a quality which makes everything extra crisp and the flour in itself has a different taste which enhances the taste of the batter.

Ingredients:
Bitter gourd – ½ kilo
Rice flour – 5 tbsp

Urad flour(White lentil flour) – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Cumin powder -1tsp

Sambhar powder – 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder:1/2 tsp
Asafoetida – a pinch
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying
Method

Cut the bitter gourd in thin semicircle and sprinkle salt and leave it for about an hour
after an hour squeeze out the moisture
In a bowl, take Rice flour, urad flour, add turmeric powder, Red chilly powder, cumin powder, sambhar powder and asafoetida and make a paste, now throw in the bitter gourd rings and mix well.

Heat the oil in a kadai, when the oil is hot drop in the bitter gourds and deep fry them until reddish brown.

Enjoy this crispy delight with Sambar rice.

KAARA VADAI and Awards

KAARA VADAI

This was my grandma’s signature dish, she used to dish out the best Kaara vadais in the world. She was always full of life, she loved it when people visited her and would whirr around the kitchen dishing up some wonderful things. Kaara vadai was one such evening snack. It never happens that we make kaara vadai and don’t think of my grandma. This post is an ode to my grandma who is no more in this world but forever in our hearts and her recipes are a sheer gastronomic indulgence. I wish I had the energy she had, the bounce in her steps, the never-say-never attitude, the zeal for cooking no matter how many people came home. Her initiative and enthusiasm to dish out her famous recipes for all and sundry who visited us, be it the relatives or friends was matchless. I would love to share this recipe keeping in lieu the spirit of sharing that she passed on to us. Enjoy this recipe, make a sizeable number of kaara vadai, you can’t stop with one and you will keep coming back for more of the crispy, karari and lip smackingly delicious bite sized kara vadais. If its leftover, u can put it in sambhar and tastes excellent like sambhar vadai or you can even put it in yogurt (dahi) and trust me it tastes better than Medhu vada or the lentil vadas(bhalle) put in Dahi(Yogurt). Kaara vadais go well with tea. It’s a tea time snack.

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup

Udad Split Black Gram Dal - ½ cup

Chana dal (Bengal Gram) – ¼ cup

Chana dal (Bengal Gram) – 1 tbsp soaked

Green chillies – 7-8

Asafetida – ½ tsp

Salt as per taste

Curry leaves

Oil to fry

Method

Wash well and soak 1 cup raw rice and 1/3 cup urad dhal and ¼ cup chana dal for 2 hrs. Also soak separately 1 tablespoon soaked chana dal.

Drain and grind all the dals along with the green chillies in a wet grinder or mixer except the soaked 1 tbsp chana dal.

Grind into a coarse paste adding salt, asafetida and sufficient water. The batter shouldn’t be very thin or thick just like normal vada batter, it should be to dropping consistency

Now tear some curry leaves and add to the vada batter, also add in the soaked 1 tbsp chana dal and mix well.

Heat oil in a frying pan and when the oil is hot, put small balls of the batter, shouldn’t be too even(very round) while dropping, when dropped unevenly it will be more crispy. Fry the vadas till golden and crisp, remove and drain on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Serve hot with coconut chutney or green chutney.

Priti of Indian Khana has showered me with awards.

Thanks Priti, it really boosts me, I would like to share it with some of my blogger friends.

I am passing this to;

Sanghi of Sanghi's Tasty Bites

Deepa of Simple Home cooking

Purva of Purva's Dawat

Alka's Sindhi Rasoi

Priyanka of Asankhana

Ramki of One page cook books

PJ’s

Usha’s

and Sowmya

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 Maharashtra.

Holi In Maharashtra

Holi is known as Shimga or Rangpanchami in Maharashtra. People of Maharashtra have their own grand style of celebrating Holi. The day they celebrate with colors is known as Ranga Panchami and comes five days after Phalgun Poornima.

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 Maharashtra and it coincides with the Holi festival. It is celebrated on the day after Holika Dahan in Phalguna month. The festival is of great importance to farmers and agriculturalists. The ashes of Holika burned on the previous night and soil are worshipped by the farmers for a good harvest. In 2009, the date of Dhulivandan is March 11.

Dhuli Vandan is observed in Maharashtra when the rest of the country plays holi with colors. Nowadays, Dhulivandan in its strict traditional sense is limited to rural areas. In cities most people play Holi with colors on the day.

Historic significance of Holi in Maharashtra

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

Katache Pani – 1 and ½ cups

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.

Ingredients

Bengal gram (chana dal) - 2 cups,

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 Bengal gram for about 2-3 hours. Then add water enough to immerse the dal completely and a bit on top. Cook chana dal in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles till it turns soft. Drain out excess water until the dal is absolutely dry. You can retain this water to make Katachi Amti (I will blog this recipe later). Mash the chana dal into a paste. In a wok, Add one tablespoon of ghee, then add the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and dry ginger powder(soonth), Now add the grated jaggery, when the grated jaggery melts, add the chana dal paste and blend both well, and cook further. You will notice that the mix has become watery, which scared me out of my wites, thinking that this attempt is going to fail too. So I urgently called my mother-in-law in Pune and asked her what to do, she said don’t worry, it is like that, “Don’t cook for too long in the wok, the chana dal paste will harden and you don’t want it to get hard. She said, immediately switch off the gas and wait for the mix to cool down, then put it in the mixie and blend twice till you see it is completely mixed up, this mix, we must add in the wok and cook it on a low flame till it comes to a dough like consistency, which happens very soon, like 2-3 minutes time. Once you see it has come to a dough like consistency put off the gas and Allow the mix to cool so you can make balls out of the mixture. Make 20 balls out of it and keep aside

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