Pani Puri/Gol Gappe-ICC for May

For May's ICC, the popular Indian Chaat Pani Puri/Gol Gappe is the challenge. When I first tried the recipe, the puris turned out to be like papris. My husband teased me if I was making papri chaat or pani puri. Then I told him that I was following the recipe exactly as given. He said, "Don't add baking soda or baking powder. Instead, increase the measurement of maida." Then I checked my recipe collection for reference, only to find that no baking soda or powder was added. Then I took maida's and sooji's/rava's ratio as 1:1 (equal amount). I didn't add salt also. It was a huge success. For accompaniments, nothing was changed; we loved the red tamarind chutney especially. Now onto the recipe.

Puri
Ingredients:
Sooji/Rava - 1/2 cup
Maida/APF - 1/2 cup
Water (to knead)

Required Items:
Damp cloth or towel - 3

Method:
In a bowl, add rava and maida.
Add water and make a stiff dough out of the flours.
Cover with a damp cloth and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
After the given time above, make small balls like seedais and cover it with a damp cloth.
Roll them into small circles.
Place the circles on another damp cloth and cover it with the other.
Heat oil in a thick-bottom pan, slide one puri and lightly press it with a ladle (should puff at this stage).
Continue the same process with a batch of 4 puris.
Fry them till they turn golden color.
Place them on a paper towel.

Note:
Allow the puris to cool and store them in an air-tight container.

Pani/Spicy Water
Ingredients:
Mint leaves - 1 1/2 cup (chopped)
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp. (chopped)
Tamarind - 1/3 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies - 4-5
Ground cumin- 1 tsp.
Black salt - 1 1/2 tsp.
Salt (to taste)

Method:
Soak the tamarind with 3/4 cup of water.
Extract the pulp from the tamarind.
In a blender jar, add mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, dry roasted ground cumin, chillies, tamarind pulp, salt and black salt and blend into a smooth paste.
Keep in the refrigerator.
While assembling, add required amount (maybe 4 cups) of water to this paste and run through the strainer.

Red Tamarind Chutney
Ingredients:
Tamarind - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp.
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
Dry roasted ground cumin - 1 tsp.
Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp.
Cloves -2
Warm water - 2 cups
Salt (to taste)

Method:
Soak the tamarind with 2 cups of water.
Extract the pulp from tamarind.
In a pan, dry roast the cloves and pound them into a coarse powder.
In another pan, add tamarind pulp, jaggery, sugar, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, roasted cumin powder, cloves and salt.
Heat for 5 minutes on medium heat.
After 5 minutes, remove and cool the mixture.
Run through the strainer and keep the chutney aside.


Potato Filling
Boil 4 small potatoes.
Peel and chop them.
Sprinkle little salt and red chilli.
Keep it aside.


Lentil Fillings
Ingredients:
Chana (cooked) - 1 cup
Salt (to taste)
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
Tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp.
Oil - 1 1/2 tsp.

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, And add the cooked chana and masalas and saute for few minutes.
Remove from heat and keep aside.

To assemble:
Make a hole in the centre of a puri.
You can stuff in whatever you want with the fillings.
Open your mouth extremely wide "AAAH!" and pop it in.

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Rasmalai-ICC of April

April's Indian Cooking Challenge is rasmalai.

Ingredients:
Milk - 2 litres for paneer + 1 litre for milk syrup
Sugar - 16 tbsp. (8 for sugar syrup + 8 for milk syrup)
Saffron - 8 strands (forgot to add)
Vinegar - 3 tbsp.
Water - 3 cups
Maida flour - 1 tsp.
Ground cardamom -1/4 tsp.
Pista - 10 to 1

Method:
Boil 2 litres of milk and cool.
Keep it in refrigerator for 12 hours.
After 12 hours remove the thin layer formed on the top of milk.
Again boil the milk and add the vinegar.
After a minute the paneer will float, now filter the paneer with a muslin cloth placed in a strainer.
Hold the muslin cloth with paneer under the open tap pouring cold water. This process is to avoid the sourness of vinegar.
Tie the muslin cloth and hang it somewhere so that the whey water is rid of completely.
After an hour, remove the paneer from the muslin cloth and knead it on a clean kitchen counter top for 5 minutes.
Knead till the moisture content seems 0%.
Now add the maida flour to the paneer and knead again.
Make small balls out of the paneer dough.
In a wide vessel, add 3 cups of water and 8 tbsp. of sugar.
Bring it to a boil.
Now add the paneer balls one by one and cover it with a lid.
After 10 minutes, remove the double-sized paneer balls.
Slightly press them to remove the excess sugar syrup.
Drop the balls in the milk syrup.

Method for milk syrup:
In a thick-bottomed vessel, boil a litre of milk.
The amount of milk should be reduced to half.
Then add 8 tbsp. of sugar and mix well.
Add saffron and ground cardamom to it.
Add the paneer balls to this milk syrup.
Refrigerate and serve with top pistachios on the top.

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Sagu Biyyam Murukku/Sago Murukku - ICC

This month's Indian Cooking Challenge - Sago Murukku

Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Besan flour/kadalai maavu - 1/2 cup
Fried gram flour/Pottukadalai maavu - 1/2 cup
Sago - 1/2 cup
Salt (to taste)
Curd - 50 gm
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp. (or as per taste)

Special Utensils:
Murukku Achchu

Method:
Soak Sago in butter milk for 3 hours.
Mix all the flour together in a large bowl.
Heat 50 gm of oil and then mix it to the flour along with salt and chili powder. Then add the sago (which was soaked in buttermilk) slowly and knead it into a chapathi dough consistency.
Heat the oil for deep frying.
Add the dough in the murukku achchu.
When the oil is hot enough, press the dough down directly to the oil.
Cook on a medium flame mode to ensure that the murukku is cooked well.

Note:
Ensure sago soaks in butter milk well and is soft or else it will burst when you press it down and fry in hot oil.

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Athirasam/Aathirasallu/Arisellu-ICC of the month of February

The ICC challenge of February was Athirasam/Athirasallu. In the first attempt (i.e. the first recipe), it turned out to be like kheer. I called my mom immediately after recovering from shock and surprise. Both my mom and dad gave a HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE lecture on how to make athirasam on the mobile. After that, I tried the recipe with achchu vellam/jaggery. This is what I got. Thanks Mom , Dad:)

Photo taken after 6:00 p.m. with flash

After deep frying, I pressed the athirasams to remove the excess oil and of course that's why they're kinda hollow.

I didn’t buy paku vellam/jaggery because I have to travel the long heck of a distance. So I tried this one with regular vellam/jaggery After I get the paku vellam/jaggery, I’ll mention the ratio.

Tips:
For paku/syrup, it’s better to grate jaggery or powder them without lumps.
Add enough water to the jaggery.
The paku/syrup consistency should be 3 threads or take a drop and put it in water, you should be able to make a soft ball out of it.
Instead of adding cardamom powder separately to the jaggery syrup before adding rice flour, mix all the given powders and seeds in the flour and then add it to the syrup.
You should get a soft dough like that of chapathi.
While deep-frying in oil, if athirasam breaks into tit-bits, it means that you added the flour before the formation of the required consistency.
If athirasam gets hard, it means that the paku consistency got hardened.

Achchu Vellam/Jaggery (not aah choo! or achuchu):

Regular vellam/jaggery:

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Kachori-ICC

My kachoris did puff up well which you can see in second photo.

The Dough
Ingredients:
All purpose flour/Maida - 2 cups
Oil/Ghee - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp.
Water (for kneading)

Method:
Mix the flour and salt. Add the oil/ghee and mix till you get a bread crumbs texture.
Slowly add water and make a soft dough. Knead well for about 8 minutes.
Cover and keep aside to rest for atleast half hour.

Special Tips/Notes:
Keep the dough covered at all times, if not it will dry up and not puff up when frying. If the dough is made right wet cloth can be used if not just a towel.

The dough could spring back for many reasons:
Dough is too cold (If wet cloth is used)
Dough is not soft enough.
Not kneaded for enough time.
Oil is less.
Not rested enough.

The Green pea filling
Ingredients:

Green peas - 2 cups
Green chillies (chopped) - 1 tsp.
Ginger (grated) - 1 tsp.
Nigella seeds (kalonji) - 1/2 tsp.
Fennel seeds (saunf) - 2 tsp.
Bay leaves - 2
Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Garam masala - 1 tsp.
Coriander (chopped) - 4 tbsp.
Oil - 2 tbsp.
Salt


Method:
Coarsely grind the green peas, green chillies and ginger in a blender without using any water. Keep aside.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves and ground green pea mixture and saute over a very slow flame for 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the chilli powder, garam masala, coriander and salt and saute for 2 more minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Divide into 12 equal portions.


Kachori
Method:
Make a small ball from the dough. Roll out into a 2 inch diameter circle. Or flatten the ball using your fingers having the center thick and sides little thin.
Place about 1.5 tsp. of the filling in the center of the rolled dough.
Cover the filling with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling. Seal the ends and remove excess dough. Repeat with all the balls and keep aside for 5 -7 mins.
Then using your palm, flatten the balls by lightly pressing it, as using the rolling pin will make the filling come out. (See notes below). Keep aside covered. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Meanwhile heat some oil for deep frying. The oil should not become smoking hot. Test to see if the temperature is right by dropping a tiny ball of dough and see if it is rising slowly to the top.
Drop the kachoris in batches of 3-4 gently into the oil. It should rise up slowly. If you don't want to use lot of oil, use just enough for two or three at a time and fry them.
After it rises up (about 2 minutes), turn it over.
Cook for about 6 to 10 minutes till the side down gets a golden brown color.
Turn and cook the other side for another 6 minutes or till its golden brown in color.
Remove when done, cool and store in airtight container.
Serve with coriander chutney and tamarind chutney.

Special Tips/Notes:
You can fry 3 kachori's at a time.
The oil should be at a heat when you drop some dough it should come up slowly, if the dough comes up too fast the oil is too hot, if it does not come up then the oil is cold.
It will not be crisp if the oil is too hot.

The Green Chutney
Ingredients:
Coriander leaves - 1.5 cups
Mint leaves - 0.75 cups
Green chilies - 3
Salt
Lemon juice - from half an Indian lemon

Method:
Throw all the ingredients in the blender except lemon juice in the blender and grind them by adding little water.
Finally add the lemon juice and enjoy with kachori.


This is a participation of the Indian Cooking Challenge for January 2010.

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