Hey Friends!!!! Finally I have posted the recipe of the Puri for Bhel and Pani puri. I have mentioned about adding baking powder in this dish which is totally optional.Baking powder makes your pooris to puff, though I did not use it, I guess you could make it out with the picture of my poori.If you really want a puffed poori you can try using the Baking powder and tell me how it turned out. And its better to use the fine sooji for this recipe.
1 Cup of Fine Sooji
2 tbsp of Maida or All Purpose Flour
A Pinch of Baking powder ( optional)
1/2 cup of luke warm water (approx)
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Mix Sooji,Maida, salt and water in a bowl and knead it for atleast 4-5 mins. It should not be sticky.Generally sooji absorbs more water and it does not stick.
2. Add little oil to the dough and knead for few more minutes..
3. Cover it with a paper towel or damp cloth and leave it aside for 15-20 mins.
4. Now roll them into big chapathis and cut them with a small circular lid. This saves your time. Else you will get tired rolling them into very small pooris.
5. Heat oil in a pan and fry the pooris until they turn crispy.
The above measurement makes approximately 40 pooris, so you can store them in a ziplock . Stays fresh and good for a week. You can use these pooris for making Bhel Puri or Pani puri .
Chalna is the name given for curry generally made with chicken in Tamil Nadu. I have no idea how to make chalna, be it chicken or vegetables.I always had a feel that its a curry made only with chicken. Thanks to my husband for this wonderful version of Chalna. This recipe is by my hubby. We were discussing about making something different and he came out with this idea of Vegetable Chalna. My part in this recipe was just assisting him. The taste was really awesome, so was the smell because of the freshly ground masalas.
1 Onion chopped
4-5 Garlic pods chopped
1/2 Ginger Chopped
1 Tomato chopped
4 tbsp Grated Coconut
2 Green Chilles
2 Potatoes cubed
2 Carrots cubed
1 Cup sliced beans
1/4 Cup Green Peas
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Peppercorns
2 Cloves
1 stick Cinnamom
6 Red chilles
Hing to taste
Lemon juice to taste.
Oil as needed
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Dry roast Fennel seeds, Cumin seeds,Peppercorns,Cinnamaom,Cloves and Red chilles until you get a nice smell and allow them to cool.
2. Then add oil to the same pan and fry the onions,garlic,ginger and tomatoes till it becomes soft.
3. Fry coconut with little oil until the raw smell goes off.
4. Now grind the roasted spices separatley and the onion mixture with coconut.
4. In a Pressure cooker heat little oil. Add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Now add in the ground Onion masala, hing,green chilles and spices masala and saute them for few minutes.
5. Add in all the vegetables to this mixture and saute them for the vegetables to absorb masala. Add Salt and water( as per the thickness you prefer) and pressure cook for one Whistle.
6. Wait for the pressure to release and add a few drops of lemon juice to the Chalna.
Yummy Vegetable Chalna is READYYY...Goes well with Pooris,Parotta and Chapathis.
Kara boondhi as its known in tamil is one of the famous snack. Its prepared in almost every home during festival days like diwali. I would like to do it as its one of the snack that can be made easy with less effort. You need a boondhi laddle to make this or the easy as it is can be made using a laddle which has small holes in it (I guess this should be available in almost every kitchen)
Ingredients:
2 Cups Besan flour (Kadalai maavu in Tamil)
4 tbsp Rice flour
1 tbsp Chilli powder
2 tsp Hing
Few fried Cashewnuts
Oil for frying
Salt as reqd
Curry leaves (fried) for garnishing
Method:
1. Mix besan flour, rice flour,chilli powder, salt and hing in a bowl.
2. Make them to a paste consistency adding some water. It should not become too liquid.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan.
4. Once the oil is hot enough to fry take the mixture and spread it on the laddle. This should directly fall on the oil.
5. Just be sure that the mixture falls as droplets in the oil.
6. Fry them till it turns golden brown in colour.
7. Take the boondhi out and drain the excess oil by spreading in a paper towel.
8. Now add the fried cashews and curry leaves to the boondhi. Mix well.
Your yummy Kara boondhi is ready to taste.
This Mango rice is one of my favourite dishes. My mother use to make this often(just because I like it) and this recipe is from her.
Ingredients:
5 Red chillies
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Channa dhal
1 tbsp Urad dhal
1 string Curry leaves
1 tsp Turmeric powder
A pinch of Hing
1 big Mango grated
Cooked rice
Oil/ghee
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves and Fried Cahews for garnishing
Method:
1. In a pan add oil, once the oil is hot add mustard and cumin seeds.
2. Once they begin to crackle add the channa dhal, urad dhal, red chillies and curry leaves. Fry them till the dhals turn golden brown.
3. Now add the salt,hing and turmeric powder. Saute them for few seconds.
4. Add the grated mango and fry it till the oil seperates from the mixture.
5. Allow the mixture to cool and add the cooked rice to this mixture. Mix well.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and Cashews.
Ohh!!! Making paalkova or milk burfi needs really more patience. I generally love making more sweets, though my husband is not a person who likes sweets. And coming to this recipe if you plan to make it plzzzzzzzzzz be sure that you need half of your day. Though the ingredients seem to be simpler, the process of bringing it to a sweet takes nearly 3-4 hrs.For me the final result turned out to be YUMMY. My friends loved it and my husband too.As the saying "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work".
2 litres Milk
2 cups Sugar
Few fried Cashews or Almonds to decorate (Optional)
Increase or decrease the quantity as required.
Method:
1. In a heavy bottomed pan add milk and bring it to boil. Reduce the flame to medium.
2. Keep stirring the milk till the volume reduces. In my experience it takes 2-3 hrs for the volume to reduce and becomes thick.
3. The milk changes color and becomes brown.
4. Add 2 cups of sugar(or according to the sweetness you like) to the thickened milk and continue stirring for another 30 minutes.
5. The milk & sugar mixture thickens further and should not stick to the pan.
6. Swith off the stove and pour the mixture into a plate or baking sheet greased with ghee.
7. Allow them to cool completely and make balls out of it and flatten the balls into disc shapes.(You can also cut them into square shape or your desired shapes after its cooled completely)
8. if you want decorate them with fried cashews or almonds.
Lets see a very simple but very nutritious recipe today. I know bitter gourd is such a vegetable that most of us would not like. But it has great nutritive values.
Ingredients:
10 Bittergourd
1 tbsp Chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
Pinch of hing
Salt as reqd
Oil as reqd for shallow fry
Method:
1. Wash the bittergourd and make them into thin round shaped slices.
2. Add the sliced Bittergourd,Chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt in a bowl and mix them.
3.Set them aside around 15 minutes for the bittergoud to absorb the masala.
4.In a pan add oil. Once the oil is hot add Mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
5.Now add the masala coated bittergourd and fry them in medim for a minimum of 20 min with stirring them often.
6. Be careful not to burn them. Once the bittergourd becomes crispy turn off the stove and transfer it to a bowl.
Goes well as a side dish with most of the rice dishes.
