MULTI_ GRAIN POORI

This is a multi grain poori which is quiet different from my other poori recipes. This is very healthy and so you can make them for kids lunch box. Due to the changed lifestyle and eating habits, most of us are trying to bring in more healthy foods to our diet. So if you have to make these pooris every once in a while, try and make them relatively healthier by adding more grains and fibre to the same. They are awesome in taste, so it’s a fairly good way to incorporate some more goodness in your diet. I have seen some people adding baking soda to the poori dough so it puffs up well. Please do not do that, since it makes pooris soak more oil than required. Add some milk while kneading the dough, it will result in softer pooris. Keep it at rest for given time, it helps in lighter and airier dough and hence better pooris. I used to add carom seeds always in my poori recipe which helps in better digestion and less absorption of oil.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

¼ Cup Ragi Flour [nachni]

¼ Cup Ground Oats

3 tablespoon Chikpea Flour [besan/ gram flour]

2 tablespoo Samolina [rawa/ sooji]

1 tablespoon Rice Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder [haldi]

½ teaspoon Garam Masala

A handful of fresh Coriander

 ¼ teaspoon Carom Seeds

¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds

4 tablespoon Oil for dough + More Oil for frying

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Mix all the ingredients in a bowl

and make a firm dough using using warm water.

STEP 2 – Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

STEP 3 – Heat oil in a vok on low flame.

STEP 4 – Meanwhile divide the dough into equal lemon size balls.

STEP 5 – Apply little oil on your rolling platform as well as on rolling pin.

STEP 6 – Take one ball and start rolling it into small disc without dusting any flour.

STEP 7 – Roll all the pooris with the rest of the dough and keep ready.

STEP 8 – Fry them in batches of 2-3 in the vok/ kadai at medium temperature.

STEP 9 – Serve fresh with your choice of curry and raita.

Serve hot poories with potato gravy, curd and pickle and enjoy.

FARALI POTATO CURRY

Potaoe is the most common ingredient that is used in meals during the Navratri or any fasting day in every household. Even if not fasting, people mostly refrain from tamasic food like onion and garlic. That’s why most of the dishes prepared during this time are without garlic and onion. These are light on stomach which helps to cope up with the challenges the changing weather brings. This is one of the perfect  farali  recipe for the fasting. This is prepared with the ingredients which are allowed during the fasting. But I have prepared it  as I was craving for it on non fasting day. A tasty curry made during fasting or vrat for fesvtivals. I made this along with multigratin poori which recipe is also shared in my blog. During fasting we need something  different  than regular sabudana khichadi, sabudana vada ,etc. So give a try once when you are fasting. The consistency of gravy can be thick or thin as per your choice.  

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 Medium Potatoes, boiled

1 tablespoon Ghee / Clarified Butter / Oil

½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds [jeera]

Piece of Ginger, minced

1-2 Green Chillies, chopped finely

1/ 2 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder

1 teaspoon Rock Salt  [Sendha Namak]

Juice from half of Lemon

1 Cup Water

1 tablespoon Chopped Coriander

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Peel and roughly break the potatoes into pieces.

Mash half a cup of potatoes and keep aside.

STEP 2 – In a pan, heat oil/ ghee, add in cumin seeds and let them crackle.

STEP 3 – Add chopped green chillies and ginger in it and sauté well till the raw smell vanishes.

STEP 4 – Add in potato pieces, mix well and roast for a minute.

STEP 5 – Then pour water, lemon juice, salt and potato mash in it and mix well.

*STEP 6 – Let it cook for 5-6 minutes or until the gravy starts to thicken.

STEP 7 – Once reached to your desired consistency and black pepper powder and mix it.

STEP 8 – Turn off the flame  and garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

Serve hot with any poori and chapatti or paratha.

NOTE: * You can sprinkle little cumin powder just before serving.

BREAD STUFFED BATATA VADA

On a heavy rainy day, craving for something and what could be the better way to enjoy the cool breeze of air with warm  batata vada with spicy mint chutney and tangy imli ki chutney???? But here twisted the recipe and tried to make something innovative. Here in my recipe I made the batata vada in appe pan which is healthy way to cook. But this is not the twist, stuffed this whole batata vada in a bread slice and then fried it…….!!!! Yes, you heard it right…..all my family and friends surprised to see this innovation. So do try when the weather is so dull, nothing but a couple of hot bondas plus a cup of tea or coffee can make you refreshed…..!!!

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 Bread Slices

Maida batter [1 tablespoon Maida/ All Purpose Flour + Water]

For Making Vada:

3-4 Potatoes, boiled

1 Onion, Chopped finely

2-3 Green Chillies, chopped

1 tablespoon Coriander, chopped finely

1 teaspoon Ginger- Garlic Paste

½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder

Salt as needed

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds

A pinch of Asafoetida

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Oil [see notes]

For Making Besan Batter:

1 Cup Besan Flour [gram flour/ chickpea flour]

Salt as per required

1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

½ teaspoon Carom Seeds

Oil for frying

METHOD:

For making Potato bhaji:[see notes]

STEP 1 – Boil potatoes, peel them and make uneven pieces with your hands.

STEP 2 – Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida in it. Let them crackle.

STEP 3 – Now add chopped green chillies, onion and ginger- garlic paste in it. Mix well and sauté it till the raw smell of ginger, garlic and onion vanish.

STEP 4 – Add turmeric powder and salt in it and mix well.

STEP 5 – Now add potatoes in it and give a nice stir. Cook it for 3-4 minutes.

STEP 6 – Switch off the flame and add chopped coriander. Transfer it in another plate and let it cool.

STEP 7 – After cooling it, use small amount of it and make small lemon sized balls with it.

Making Besan Batter:

STEP 1 – Mix all the ingredients for batter and make a fine, lump free batter with water. Keep it aside.

How to proceed:

STEP 1 – Now coat the potato balls with the besan batter.

STEP 2 – Heat a appe pan on low flame.

STEP 3 – Grease it with oil, drop the batata vada in each of the hole.

STEP 4 – Cook them well from all sides.

Flip it with the help of spoon or skewer and cook from other side. Cook if evenly.

STEP 5 – When done well golden coloured, remove from appe pan.

STEP 6 – Remove the sides from the bread slice.

STEP 7 – Take one bread slice and deep it in water for 1 second and remove.

STEP 8 – Remove it and squeeze it in between your palms and remove excess water from it.

STEP 9 – Now put one vada in the center

and close all the sides.

STEP 10 – Like this make all the vadas. Deep them in maida batter .

STEP 11 – Heat oil in wide pan, deep fry the vadas till golden in colour.

At one time only drop 2-3 vada in kadai.

STEP 12 – Drain excess oil on kitchen towel and serve.

Serve hot bread stuffed batata vada with spicy mint chutney, tangy tamarind chutney. 

NOTES: * Here I only shared the recipe of batata bhaji without pictures. If you want a detail recipe with step-by-step pictures then it is already shared in my blog as " SUKKI BATATA BHAJI".

PUNJABI KADHI PAKODA/ PAKORA KADHI

Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda is an Indian yogurt gramflour curry with fried dal/ besan vada/ pakoda/ pakora and seasoned with spices and usually served with rice. Easy to make and taste is delicious. Kadhi is a curd and gram flour based gravy from Punjab and when we need crispy pakoda to it, becomes kadhi pakoda or pakoda kadhi. It is traditionally served with steamed rice but it also goes well with kichadi and chapatti too. Yogurt based curries are very popular across India and there are many variations in kadhi recipes. Just like Punjabi ladhi recipe, we have Sindhi Kadhi, Gujarati Kadhi, Maharashtrian Kadhi recipe and down South Mor Kuzhmabu is somewhat close to kadhi recipe. A very delicious and healthy flavoured Punjabi Pakoda Kadhi is my new addiction in vegetarian food. You can make it more interesting by making different styles of pakodas like I have done here or you can make palak pakoda, cabbage pakoda, onion pakoda or capsicum pakoda for this recipe to make a variation. Here I made the pakodas with urad dal batter which is left over from the bhalla batter which is made for dinner the night before.  But it tastes yummy with this too.   Spiked the yogurt curry with tadka of spices and it was so amazing that yogurt curry did not taste sour at all. I will try this curry  someday with palak pakodas and will share the recipe how differently it will tastes. So here is the step-by-step picture recipe for you all, do try it and share your experience.

INGREDIENTS:

For pakoda:

1 Cup Besan Flour [ chickpea flour]

1 teaspoon Salt

Oil for frying

For Kadhi:

2 Cups Yogurt, can be substitute with buttermilk

½ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

½ teaspoon + 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

¼ teaspoon Asafoetida

½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds [jeera]

½ teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds [methi]

½ teaspoon Fennel Seeds [sauf]

½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds [rai, mohri]

1 teaspoon Kasoori Methi

1 tablespoon Oil / Ghee

1-1/2 Cup Water

For Tempering:

2 teaspoon Ghee

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1 teaspoon red Chilli Powder

1 Pinch Asafoetida

2 Dry Red Chillies

Curry Leaves

METHOD:

For Making Kadhi:

STEP 1 – In a bowl, take 1 tablespoon besan  and mix it with curd/ buttermilk and  water. Mix it well with the whisk and confirm the mixture has no lumps in it.

STEP 2 - Add turmeric powder, kasoori methi and red chilli powder to it and mix well.

STEP 3 - Heat oil in a pan and add cumin, mustard, methi, sauf in it. Let them crackle.

STEP 4 – Add chopped onion and sauté well till it becomes transparent.

STEP 5 – Add the yogurt mixture to the pan and give a nice stir.

STEP 6 – Add water to adjust the consistency of kadhi and season it with salt. Let it simmer.

For Making Pakoras:[see notes]

STEP 1 – Take besan and water in a bowl and add salt to it.

STEP 2 – Whisk it well and make a lump free batter like bhajiya batter. It should be thick and not runny.

STEP 3 – Heat oil in small pan, drop small pakoras in it and fry.

STEP 4 – Take a sauce pan and heat water in it to drop the fried pakoras in it to keep them soft.

STEP 5 – Once the pakoras get brown colour, remove it from oil and drop them in warm water.

STEP 6 – Let them rest for 10-15 minutes. Drain excess water from the pakoras and add them to the kadhi  and cook it for few more minutes.

Make a tempering:

STEP 1 – Heat ghee in a small tadka pan, add all the ingredients under the title “ tempering” and add this to the kadhi before serving.

NOTES: * Here I made the pakodas with urad dal for my kadhi:

INGREDIENTS:

½ Cup Urad dal

Salt as needed

½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1 teaspoon Green Chilli+ Ginger paste

A pinch of Soda-bi-carb [optional]

Oil for frying

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Rinse and soak the urad dal for 4-5 hours.

STEP 2 – Rinse again, grind it in mixer grinder without using water. 

STEP 3 – Add , cumin seeds, green paste and salt in it and mix it well.

STEP 4 – Heat oil in pan, drop small pakoras in it and fry well till golden.

STEP 5 – Follow steps after step no. 5 in above pakora recipe.