Khatta Alu & Puri (savory potato gravy with fried puffed wheat bread)

Weekends and holidays, are days I make a leisurely brunch. My husbands fav dish of all time is Puri Alu, and he simply loves this version of khatta alu. I really wish there was a better word to describe khatta in english apart from sour and savory.. Though a decent amount of work goes into this brunch, its so well worth the response.

Usually dairy curd is used in this dish. It is substituted it with unsweetened soy/coconut/cashew milk and loads of dry mango powder (amchur). Apparently it tastes better than the same dish with curds! Make it in big quantities, so one round can go with puri's ( deep fried wheat based pancakes), and another round can be used for various stuffing's in sandwiches, chapattis, doasa's or as a starter with puri's used in pani puri. A totally popular starter at parties

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Prep Time: 1 hour or so

Puri

My husband likes puri;s really crisp, so I add rava/semolina to the dough. Many make it with 'maida', but I use regular wheat.

2 cups wheat
2/3rd cups water
1/2 cup semolina
1 tsp peanut oil
salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a deep bowl and knead till it becomes into a soft firm dough. Make a ball of it and cover with a wet cloth. Let it set while you prepare the potatoes

Following is the recipe of the potato gravy:

Ingredients

6-7 large potatoes, chopped into big pieces
2 large onions,chopped into big pieces
1/2 tsp asofaetida/ hing
2 red chillies
5-6 curry leaves
3 large tomatoes,chopped into big pieces
2" grated ginger
6-7 cloves garlic crushed
3-4 tsps dried mango powder/amchur
1/2 cup unsweetened soy/coconut/cashew milk
1 tbsp oil  ( I use rice bran oil for this dish)
Coriander leaves to garnish

Crush together
1 star aniseed
4 cloves
1 1/2" stick of cinnamon

Masala Powder: slow roast the following, and grind till fine
3 red chillies
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp jeera seeds
2 1/2 heaped tsp dried pomegranate seeds
6 curry leaves
1 tsp khus khus

Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel on a medium flame. I prefer the cooker
Add the crushed spices and let it heat through, spread it around the base of the vessel.
Add the onions and fry till it turns pink
Add the ginger, red chillies and curry leaves and garlic, fry for a minute.
Then add the hing powder, mix well. At this point it starts smelling divine..
Now put in the potatoes, and let it fry till it slighlty browns
Add the tomatoes, mix well and let it fry till the tomato's skin starts peeling a bit.
Add 3/4th of the ground masala powder, 1 tsp amchur powder and salt. Mix well.
Add 1 cup of water or enough to cover the potatoes, cover and leave on medium flame till potatoes are cooked. If its a cooker wait for a couple of whistles to go off.

Remove lid and check salt. Add more if required.
Keep the dish on a low flame and add the coconut milk, second tsp of amchur and balance ground masala. I usually taste it at this point, and if I feel its not khatta enough or is too spicy, I add another spoon of amchur or more milk if required.  Let it cook till semi dry.

Remove from flame and garnish with lots of finely chopped coriander leaves and 1-2 minced green chillies.

Puris

Take the dough and knead it a bit again.
Make small balls of the dough and roll out into 6" circles and
Heat enough oil to deep fry.
Add the circles one at a time, and hold it down till it puffs. Turn it around and fry till brownish.
Removing from pan and drain the excess oil by placing the puri's on kitchen paper.

Serve hot with the Khatta alu.

Hummus..spiced up just a bit

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One of my favorites is Hummus, so easy to make, super healthy & can be stored and used for sandwiches for almost a week. If it ever lasts that long. Typically, it gets over really fast.

I make it in large quantities when friends are over, but no matter how much there is it is always polished off!

I use red chilies and add the barbeque seasoning from Fabindia to add a bit of spice. You could replace the barbeque seasoning with garam masala, or any masala powders used for rajmas, choles or curries.  

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients are as follows

1 1/2 cups Chickpeas/Chole,  soaked overnight or atleast for 6-8 hours

1 1/2 tablespoon Tahini 

6-7 small/medium garlic cloves (if large, then 2-3 should suffice)

2 tablespoon Olive oil

Juice of one lemon 

2-3 Red chillies

1/2 tsp Barbeque seasoning from Fabindia

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp salt

Cook the peas in cooker with enough water to cover it up and a bit more. 

Cook till a couple of whistles go off. Make sure it doesn't get overcooked and mushy.

Remove, drain and keep to cool. Keep the water aside. 

Combine chickpeas, garlic, tahini, 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, & red chillies in a blender. 

Add 1/4th cup of the water drained from chickpeas and blend for 3-4 minutes till fine.

Remove from blender, add salt, lemon juice and the seasoning and mix well.

Make a hole in the centre, add the remaining olive and garnish with red chilli powder and some seasoning.

Best had with roasted veggies and pita bread, you can also use it as a spread for sandwiches and as a dip. 

I also use it as a creamy filling for Dosa's, a dish I learnt in a cafe in Auroville.

After spreading the dosa batter, cover and cook for a minute.
Take cover out and add one layer of hummus in a line on one half of the dosa, and  2 tsp's of "kachumber" (salad) over the hummus.
Fold the dosa over, cover again and let it cook for a minute. 

Remove cover, flip dosa, cover and cook for a minute more till slightly crisp. Remove and enjoy!

What you get is a creamy filling with crisp veggies...delish.

Cashew Cream Raita

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Its so good, Every one loves it... despite the initial scepticism of a dairy free raitha... :)

Its takes little time to make and is extremely good for health. Imagine cashews and fresh veggies...it is only going to do you good.

Cashew Cream Raitha

For one big bowl of raita you will need

1 - 1.5 cups cashew soaked in water for an hour, (if pressed for time, I simply heat the water a bit and let it soak while I'm preparing the veggies)

6-7 small cloves of garlic 

Following vegetables need to be finely chopped

1 onion 

1 cucmber 

1 red carrot (optional)

1 tomato (optional)

1 green chilly

1 lemon

1 tsp coriander leaves

2 mint leaves

Spices

1/4 tsp chilly powder

1/2 tsp crushed fresh jeera/cumin powder

1/2 tsp or more as per taste, amchur/dry mango powder

salt to taste (black salt is a great option)

Grind cashews with garlic cloves and just enough water to make a fine paste

Remove from grinder into a big bowl, and add water to make the consistently more liquid, enough to drip easily from a spoon, or the regular raita consistency.

Add the spices, lemon juice, salt and mix well 

Add the veggies and leaves, mix well.

Garnish with coriander leaves and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Goes well with any Indian food, specially pulao's and biryanis. Change the veggies and spice and you could get a creamy spread/dip for starters too. 

Shanthz's Soy Kheema Pulao :

So, we had to shift. And for one entire week, normal life came to a stand still while we setup our new house.
And the gas stove connection was taking time to be setup. Eating food from takeaways gets to be a pain, so thats when cooking in the microwave happens. Normally I avoid using it, and do not advise microwave cooking.

One of my favorites is soy kheema pulao, adapted from a kheema pulao recipe given to me years ago by a fantabulous cook and friend of mine Shantha from Bangalore. Those days I used to eat meat, and as an ex meat eater, with some adaptions, I found no difference in the taste. Infact, soy kheema is also much faster to cook!

I have given 2 versions of the recipe as is made on a gas stove and then the microwave version
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So here goes..

1 cup soy chunks/kheema
1 cup Basmati rice ( preferably brown basmati rice)
2 large onions, sliced
2 potatoes, chopped into 1" chunks
3-4 green chillies slit vertically
1/2 bunch fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
5-6 mint leaves
2 large tomatoes sliced vertically in large chunks
2" Ginger grated or crushed
6-7 cloves garlic crushed
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Spices:
1 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp each of coriander and jeera powders
1 1/2 tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder)
1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Crush together
1" cinnamon stick
4-6 cloves
1 tsp pepper corns
1 clove cardomom
1.5 tsp fennel/saunf seeds

Cooking on gas flames/stoves
Heat oil in a pan on a medium flame
Add 3/4th of the spices that were crushed together and heat a bit. Let the flavored oil spread around the base of the pan.
Add onions and heat till pink
Add the green chillies, ginger and garlic and fry for a minute
Add the spice powders, and fry till oil starts separating
Add the potatoes, coriander and mint leaves and fry for 3-4 minutes till potatoes start browning slightly
Add the brown rice and salt. Mix well.
Fry with the spices for 3-4 minutes and add 2 cups of warm water to it. Bring to a boil, lower gas, cover and simmer till rice is almost cooked. give or take 7-10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and mix gently. Sprinkle the left over crushed spices on top, and heat on medium gas for an additional 5 minutes.
Cover and keep for 10 minutes to let tomatoes cook and release its flavor. Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon. Serve with Cashew cream raitha


Microwave :
Add oil to a dry glass bowl and heat in microwave for 1 minute
Add 3/4th of the crushed spices and heat for 3 minutes
Add onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and heat for 6-7 minutes till onions look a bit brown
Add the spice powders to the hot mixture, mix well.
Add potatoes, coriander leaves, mint leaves and salt, mix, cover and cook for 3 minutes
Add soya kheema, mix well.
Add rice, stir in gently and let it cook for 10 minutes
Remove the dish, add the tomatoes, mix gently, garnish with balance crushed spices and replace in oven for cooking for another 5 minutes.

Done...and paired up with cashew cream raita, given next...its a dream.

Simple Dal

Dal, made with pulses, is a staple food. Its healthy by itself, and with veggies it just gets better. I follow my mothers recipe, and like everyone I know, she had her own special recipe for dal. She used atleast 2 different kinds of pulse's for it, adds to the nutrition and gives it more texture and depth. Do modify spices according to your taste. Please visit us on recipes.ourfoodprint.com, for these recipes and many more! 

This is for you divs.. :*

Dal

Ingredients
3/4 cup tuvar dal &1/4th cup red dal (washed and soaked for some time)
1/2" ginger
2 Green chillies
Pinch of asofoetida/hing
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 large tomatoes chopped

Optional : 3-4 french beans/  1carrot/ 2-3 brinjal/aubergines 1/4th bottle gourd/ 1 potato/ 1/2 cup cauliflower or veggie of your choice

Seasoning
1/2 tsp Coconut/Rice bran/peanut oil
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp Urad dal
1-2 red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
11/2 tsp red chilly powder
2-3 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cummin/jeera powder
Pinch of hing/turmeric
Coriander leaves for garnish

In a pressure cooker, add 2.5 cups of water, and add all the ingredients (not the seasoning ones) given above including the optional veggies. Cook in the cooker till a couple of whistles go off.
Open cooker, add salt and mix well. Set the gas flame on low and simmer while preparing seasoning.
To prepare seasoning: heat 1 tsp of oil in a separate pan, add mustard seeds.
Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the urad dhal, red chillies, curry leaves and garlic and fry for a bit
Add turmeric, hing, and all the spice powders, and stir fry a little more.
Add it to the dhal, mix well, and leave it on simmer for 15 minutes more. Check taste for salt etc. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice / rotis.

Replacing meat in traditional dishes: Manglorean Sukkha/Adjadina style

I come from a coastal community called Bunts, and our cuisine largely involve meat, fish and a vast array of exotic vegetable dishes. The great part is that almost all the vegetarian dishes are vegan! Ghee as an addition to some of these recipes is a recent phenomena. Like all regions the food evolved around ingredients that grew locally based on local climate conditions. Where coconut oil was used earlier, today unhealthy and greasy ghee has replaced it, killing milder flavors and adding a layer of fat on the food.

Really apart from the fact that ghee is cholesterol laden, ghee and cheese sometimes just seem to be a mask for tasteless food. The lightness and flavors of fresh pressed oils can add so much to the same dish.

This is an old favorite and very popular traditional dish usually made with chicken/meat. Aadjadina, is the *Tulu word for Sukkha, which means a dry dish, made with spices and fresh grated coconut.  I use soya chunks instead, and it takes half the cooking time meat would. :)

Its wholesome, spicy and is best had with dal and brown rice. Please visit us on recipes.ourfoodprint.com, for these recipes and many more!

Soya Manglorean Sukkha

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups Soy chunks, boiled and drained
• 2 Potatoes cut into big cubes
• 2 Onions
• 2 sprigs Curry leaves
• 2 Red chillies
• ¾ cups grated Coconut
• 1 tsp Jeera
• 2 cloves Garlic
• Coconut oil

Masala

• 7 – 8 Red Chillies
• 1 ½ tsp Cummin Seeds
• 3 tbsp Coriander Seeds
• Pinch of Turmeric
• 4-5" Tamarind
• 5-6 Cloves of Garlic
• ½ bunch Coriander leaves and 3-4 Pudina leaves (optional)
• 4-5 pieces Tamarind soaked in water

Preparation

Roast the masala ingredients, and grind to a fine paste, take it out and keep aside. (Add the leaves and tamarind after the spices arr ground fine, so it doesn't get gooey.) 

Add the grated coconut with the cummin and garlic to the same mixer and grind coarsely.

In a pressure cooker, heat 1 tsp of oil, and add ½ an onion.

Fry till pink and add the soy chunks and potatoes. Stir fry for 3 minutes.

Add the masala and salt with half cup water. Cover the cooker and let it cook for about 3-4 whistles.
Open cooker and simmer on medium heat till the gravy starts thickening.

Add the semi ground coconut mixture, mix and cook on a medium/slow flame till it's dry.

For seasoning, heat1 ½ tsp of oil in a separate kadhai and fry the onions, red chillies, and curry leaves.

Add seasoning, mix and serve hot

Serves 4

*Tulu: regional language of people in and around Mangalore, where the Bunt community originates from.

Breakfast Quick bites : Poha

Poha

The simplest yum breakfast that can be prepared in a jiffy. Its gluten free, an added bonus. Poha is usually made with onions, but I really dislike onion in it. This is my version, you will need

1 cup beaten rice flakes, washed and drained

1 tsp peanut/sesame or oil of your choice

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 sprigs curry leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

1-2 green chillies finely chopped (more depending on your taste)

Coriander leaves and half lemon for garnish

Optional: 1 tsp peanuts/1 boiled potato chopped to small pieces/1/4 cup boiled green peas

1) Heat oil in a frying pan, add mustards and fry till it splutters.

2) Add the green chillies, curry leaves and option of your choice (peanuts,potato,green peas) and fry for a minute.

3)  Add turmeric and salt, mix. 

4) Add poha, (you could add a dash of sugar here) and mix well.

5) Heat through and add garnish and lemon juice.

There its ready.. 

*Nutrition : Poha/Rice flakes provides for energy, moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, calcium, Iron and Phosphorus.
Peanuts are rich in energy and contain health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health 
Generally perceived as health benefiting spice, mustard seeds are indeed very rich in phyto-nutrients, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.
Turmeric: used since antiquity for its anti-inflammatory (painkiller), carminative, anti-flatulent and anti-microbial properties
Lemon: citric acid phytochemicals, a good source of B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, and folates. These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish. 
Coriander leaves: is rich in antioxidants, essential oils, vitamins, and dietary fiber, which help reduce LDL or "bad cholesterol" while increasing HDL or "good cholesterol" levels.