HOMEMADE PANI PURI/ GOLGAPPA/ PUCHKAS/ GUPCHUP

Iam happily getting used to this. Being lazy and not cooking elaborate!I would love to be like this forever but sometimes when I think of my bloggie and it's future, I get excited and plan on cooking something different.A lot of times, cooking happens but I won't get the time to photograph what I cook. Therefore,my blog was inactive for a good part of this month :-D

For the past few days, something was on my mind and I had to make it,as always, from scratch!It was our favourite Pani Puri! If you like Chaats, you will love Pani Puris! In India,it's usually sold by the plate (with a specific number of Puris on it) but when you make it at home, you are the one who decides how many puris should be on a plate! I should rather keep quite than blurt out the number of puris on my plate :-)

Of course, we shared it with our friends too! What's special in cooking something special and not sharing it with people you like? I must say, they all loved it.It was an instant hit with the two of us. The tangy spicy Pani (water) was so so good! This is a messy thing to eat and you have to eat it the messy way, with your fingers.

This time, when Amma and I went to Delhi, we stopped by the India Gate and the first thing we did there was to eat Pani Puris from a roadside vendor. It was YUM!They store the Pani in earthenware pots so it remains very very cool,making this wonderfully spicy tangy crunchy thing super duper delicious! This is so so simple to make at home and this recipe is just plain wonderful!

HOMEMADE PANI PURI/GOLGAPPA/PUCHKAS/GUPCHUP
Recipe Source: Manjula's Kitchen

Ingredients:
For Puris
1/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 c semolina/rava
About 1/4-1/2 c water

Method: Mix the dry ingredients together, in a bowl. Add enough water to it to form a smooth yet firm dough. Knead to make it soft,about a minute or so.Cover it with a damp towel and leave it aside for 10 mins. Form 60 tiny balls and roll out into small circles, around 2 inches in diameter. Keep these under a damp towel or else they will get dry.Fry them in hot oil. Add one circle at a time and press down with a slotted spoon till it puffs up, then turn it and let it continue frying while you add the next circle of dough.Remove when they turn golden brown in colour.Reserve.

For the Pani/Spicy Water
1c mint leaves
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp tamarind syrup
5 green chilies
1 tsp black salt
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry ginger powder
1/8 tsp asafoetida
1 tbsp roasted cumin powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 cups water

Method: Blend all the ingredients with just enough water. Check for seasonings, it should be spicy. Strain the mixture and add the remaining water. Chill overnight for best results.

Assembly: You can use boiled channa/boiled and mashed potatoes for stuffing. Drizzle some Khatta Meeta chutney and top with some diced red onions, cilantro and sev.Dip into the spicy water and enjoy!

I don't care whether it's summer or winter to have chaats! I am game for it anytime. How about you?

DAHI VADA

The first time I ever had a bite of this must have been when I was 6 or 7 years old. It was from our neighbour's house, a neighbour whose face I don't even remember of. Not that I have a bad memory , it's just because I never went to their house again nor saw them elsewhere.They moved from the neighbourhood very soon.

But, I remember that cold Vada dish very well :-) I loved it. I know Amma adores it as it is one thing she always ordered whenever we went outside Kerala. Oh well, the Dahi Vada's that we have had in Kerala always turned out to be a very 'sour' experience.

It looks and maybe sounds complicated too, but it is one of the simplest thing that comes with a 'complicated' tag and a high appeal. Now did I just confuse you? O, maybe it's the weather that we have now. It is so foggy today.

So, I made this for our Saturday Brunch. We usually wake up late on Saturday mornings and it is too late to have brekky and too early for lunch...but we both will be so hungry that we can cut up each other and stick a fork in it , play a movie and munch. I hate cooking on such mornings because I'd be doing everything in a hurry and he will be hungry and so will I be. And whatever I do then...takes forever to cook.

But last saturday, we both woke up extra late and we weren't hungry...yes not at all! So I had plenty of time to do all what I wanted to which included the chilling time for the dish and even clicking pics!

DAHI VADA  / LENTIL CROQUETTES IN YOGURT SAUCE
My own recipe




Ingredients:
For the vada/croquettes
Whole Urad - 1 c [Also known as 'Uzhunnu'--the lentil we use for dosa and idli]
Water- 1/2 c
Salt -to taste (about 1 1/2 tsp)
Green chillies- 6-7
Rice flour- 5-6 tsp
Oil- for deep frying

For soaking:
Warm water - 4 c
Salt - to taste (optional)

For the dahi/Yogurt sauce:
Thick yogurt- 2 c
Water *- 1/2 c
Salt-to taste
Sugar- to taste

For garnishing:
Homemade Tamarind chutney- 4 tbsp (optional)
Red chilli powder/ Paprika- 1 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Cumin powder-1 tsp
Cilantro/Coriander leaves- 4 stalks, chopped fine.

Method:
For the vada/croquettes:

• Wash the urad 3-4 times until the water is clear.
• Soak the whole urad for 4-5 hours or overnight. In the morning, drain the excess water.
• Grind it to a thick smooth paste along with 1/2 cup of water, salt and green chillies.
• We need a real thick batter, thicker than cake batter. Basically it should be scoop-able and shape-able.
• Add the rice flour to achieve that consistency. Rice flour also adds a crunch to the vadas when fried.
• Heat oil on medium high for 3-4 minutes. Once it is hot, reduce the heat to medium.
• Scoop out some batter using a spoon and drop it . Deep fry them till golden brown.Each batch will take 4-5 mins.
• Drain the excess oil on a tissue paper.
• Soak them in water +salt (add only if you need more salt for the vadas) for 2-3 mins and squeeze out the excess water.
• Arrange them in a big serving bowl. Keep aside.

For the Yogurt sauce:

• If your yogurt is thick, add water and whisk till smooth. Add salt & sugar to taste.
• If your yogurt is loose, do not add excess water. Just add salt & sugar to taste.
• Pour over the arranged vadas.

Garnishing:

• Sprinkle red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder over the dahi.
• Drizzle few tablespoonfull of homemade tamarind chutney over it.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve chilled!

Verdict:
I never knew I would get it right at the very first trial! It was really delicious. The yogurt sauce was perfectly seasoned with the spices and tamarind chutney.
We both loved it. I licked the bowl clean! We served it to some of our friends too...and even they loved it. I can now proudly say that I have one more 'perfected' dish to add to my list :-)

This is an excellent make ahead dish can be served anytime! But make sure you serve it chilled! Do try it and let me know!

PAPDI CHAAT! Coming over for a chat?

For the last few days, I have been craving for chaat. Now that I don't live in India anymore ( not that we had chaatwala's in Kannur), I have no other choice but to make it from scratch. I am not complaining, I always wanted to make the ever-loving tangy tamarind chutney and making papdi is a breeze.

I started off thinking I would end with Pani Puri but, I ended up with Papdi Chaat due to lack of ingredients in our pantry.Nevertheless the end result was finger-licking, spoon-licking good. So, YAYY! ;)

For all  my North Indian recipes Hetal & Anuja is my favourite source. Their recipes are fool proof. I have tried their  Besan Burfi,Kaju Burfi, Eggless Hazlenut & Date Cake, Molten Lava Cake,Reshmi Kababs, Silky Smooth Pedas and lot more recipes like Rasgulla, Rasmalai, Namak Paare which I never blogged about.

Chaats are originally an Indian street food. Nowadays they are served even in high-end hotels too. They are popular equally among teens & elderly. There are different types of chaat like pani puri or golguppas,dahi bhalla, sev puri etc. All these are made with almost the same ingredients, main one being the tamarind chutney. It is a thick tangy, spicy ,sweet & sour sauce made out of tamarind pulp and jaggery . Papdi's are deep-fried pastry roundels (or squares). They add the crunch to the chaat. On the whole, any chaat is a very mouthwatering experience!

How I made this simple: While the chutney was on the stove boiling & reducing away, I made the dough for the papdi and rolled & cut them. Once the chutney was done and safely put aside, I started frying the papdi's.Meantime I boiled channa /chickpeas (previously soaked)& potatoes. I could get the whole thing done in less than an hour's time! :)

PAPDI CHAAT
Things you will need:
Tamrind chutney(homemade or storebought)
Papdi's (homemade or storebought)
Yoghurt - 1 1/2 cup, well beaten & chilled
Onions- 1 small, chopped
Coriander leaves- 1 small bunch, chopped
Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- to taste

HOMEMADE TAMARIND CHUTNEY
Recipe source : Hetal & Anuja

Tamarind pulp (storebought)- 2tbsp
Water- 2 cups
Salt- 1 tsp
Jaggery-1/2 cup, powdered & packed
Red chilli powder-1 tsp
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Fennel seeds-1 tsp


Method:

• Heat one cup of water in a microwave (or stovetop) and add the tamarind paste to it. Mix well making sure there are no lumps in it.
• Add the other one cup of water and boil it. 
• Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and add the jaggery. Mix well and let it melt.
• Let it boil till it reduces to half quantity.
• Meanwhile, dry roast cumin seed and fennel seeds and powder them.
• Once the chutney starts coating the back of a spoon, switch of the stove and add salt, red chilli poweder and powdered spices. Mix well.
• Adjust the salt if needed.

HOMEMADE PAPDI
My own recipe

Ingredients
All purpose flour- 1 1/2 cups
Oil- 2 tbps
Ajwain-1/2 tsp
Salt-to taste
Water- 1/4 -1/2 cup


Method:

• Mix together flour, salt and ajwain.
• Add oil to it and rub well. 
• Add just enough water and make a hard dough (not as soft as chapathi dough).
• Let it rest covered for 20 mins.
• Roll out thin (If you have used the right amount of water, you wouldn't need any dusting of flour while rolling)
• Pierce the pastry all over with the tines of a fork.Cut rounds or any other shapes from it.
• Deep fry in hot oil and drain on kitchen towel.
• You can make this ahead and store in airtight bags/tins.

Assembly:
Place 6-7 papdi's on a plate, add some channa/chickpeas and potatoes.
Pour 3-4 tbsp of youghurt on it. Drizzles one tbsp of tamarind chutney on it.
Garnish with coriander leaves and onions.
Sprinkle salt, red chilli powder and cumin seed powder  as needed.

Verdict: As soon as Jobin got back home, I served him a platefull. Zapp came the response:

It was seriously delicious. I have some chutney leftover from yesterday. Just can't stop licking it everytime I open our refrigerator ;) Guess I'll have a chaat night every week :)