Phulkas

Day 6 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Phulkas are the softest of all Indian flat-breads with out the use of any oil. They are made to puff up by the heat(fire), which creates a air pocket in between, hence making the bread very soft.

Few days back, one of my dear friend suggested me, to blog about Phulkas and gave me the recipe and procedure for making them. I did follow her recipe, and did some trail and error and finally was able to get the Phulkas right.

3 things to keep in mind while making Phulkas, 1. kind of flour we use ( Indian atta are the best kind), 2. kneading them to stiff dough and rolling them to circle just about palm size. 3. dry roasting them on tava/griddle and then putting them on a open flame, and let it puff.

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
• Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Water - about 3/4 cup (to knead the dough.)

*Due to the non-availability of Indian atta, I have used the above proportion of wheat and all -purpose flour.

Mix the flour with little water at a time to make to stiff dough. cover and let is sit for at least an hour. This makes the dough soft and will be easy to work with.

Making Phulkas :

1. Once ready to make the Phulkas. Make small ball ( lime size) roll them not bigger than palm size, and don't roll them too thin.
2. Heat tava/ griddle to medium high heat. Put the rolled dough on the tava, when you see small bubbles (half cooked) turn them around.
3. Roast the other side for just few seconds.



4. Then with the help of tongues or a spatula put (first side/top side down) on the open flame and it will puff, with in a few seconds (don't allow it sit for too long, it will burn). Take out as soon as it puffs. Refer pic above.
5. Follow the same steps and do with the rest of the dough. Keep the left overs closed in a box, stay soft up to a day.

Serve warm with favorite sidedish. Enjoy !

I owe a Big thank you to my dear friend Suju, I wouldn't have made it otherwise.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread, Day 4- Naan , Day 5- Aloo paratha .

Aloo Paratha (Potato flatbread)

Day 5 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Paratha/Parotha is a wheat flour flat bread mostly stuffed with potatoes(aloo) or mixed vegetables and spices. This tastes good on its own, no side dishes required. I like making this when we travel. Simple and satisfying meal on the go. But at home we like to eat this with a cup of Curds/yogurt and little pickle(Indian pickle) on the side.

Making aloo Paratha requires 2 steps,
1. Making the dough &
2. Making stuffing (Aloo Palya/curry).

Making Dough :

• All purpose flour (Maida)- 2cups
• Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Salt - 1tsp
• Water - about 1 cup

Add salt to maida & wheat flour, then add water little by little to make a stiff dough. Knead well to soft and cover and keep it aside until ready to stuff them.

For Aloo/Potato Stuffing :

• Potatoes - 3 medium size ( boiled and skin peeled)
• Onion- 1 medium size(chop finely)
• Spices - 1/2 tsp of each Red chili powder, Turmeric and Garam masala.
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste.

1. Boil potatoes. Once cooled, peel the skin and mash them and keep aside.
2. Heat oil, when hot add finely chopped onions. Cook them until it soft .
3. Add all the spices and salt. Switch off and add the mashed potatoes. Mix well to combine.
4. Adjust salt. Let it cool.
5. Make small balls and keep them ready.

Making Parathas.

1. Make a medium to big size balls out of the dough, roll them to small circle shape.

2.Now take a aloo stuffing and put it in the middle. Bring all the sides together and press them in the middle.

3.Now roll them gently to a small to medium size circle.Use dry flour if require for rolling.

4.Then roast them on a heated pan/tawa for few seconds on each size. I like to cut them into small wedges and serve. Enjoy when warm.

* Making stuffed Paratha takes bit time, sometimes stuffing tends to peep out of the dough. So to keep the stuffing inside, roll the dough to smaller size and bit thick than usual flat breads. I am still learning to make a perfect round shaped Parathas, I need more practice and have to make them as often as possible.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread, Day 4- Naan.

Naan with Nigella seeds

Day 4 0f 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Today I decided to make Naan (Indian flat bread). This is my favorite type of bread to order, in any Indian restaurants we go.

Recipe is very simple, takes few minutes to make the dough. But has to rest for at least an hour before proceeding to roast/bake them. Once the basic dough is ready, one can top them with different spices, seeds, nuts and even herbs.

I have toped it with Nigella/Kalonji seeds (which looks similar to black sesame seeds, but has very mild onion flavor, mostly used in Bengali cuisine). I use them for its flavor and as a topping on this bread, Naan looks so pretty when topped with this seeds.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour - 1 cup ( I use unbleached flour)
• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
• Salt - 1tsp
• Sugar - 1tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp ( for kneading)
• Yogurt/curds - 1/2 cup
• Yeast - 2 tsp
• Warm water - about 1 cup (2 tbsp for dissolving yeast + 3/4 cup for kneading).
• Nigella seeds - few tbsp for sprinkling on top (substitute with sesame seeds(ellu) or cumin seeds)

1. Take 2 tbsp of warm water, dissolve yeast in it,add little sugar to it. Cover and let it sit for 5-10 mins.
2. Now add yogurt to yeast mixture. Combine all purpose flour, wheat flour and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture. Mix well, add little oil for kneading.
3. Cover and let it rest for at least 1 hour, until raise in the volume.
4. When ready, make lemon size balls, roll to circle shape(use little dry flour, if the dough is sticking while rolling).



5. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Nigella seeds on top of the rolled dough. Press/roll gently with a rolling pin(so the seeds won't fall while roasting).
6. Heat griddle/tawa on a medium high heat.When hot,put the rolled dough on the tava.



7. Leave it for few seconds, until you see small puffy bubbles on top. Flip/ turn over and cook the other side for few more seconds, till you see golden brown spots.
8. Soft Naan is ready to be served. Enjoy with a side dish.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread.

Bread Baking

Day 3 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

I am not much of a baker. I have previously attempted to bake(bread), but it was a total disaster. So I was waiting to try baking (esp bread) with someone who knows about baking.

Last week I was able to visit our friend (Cindy) who happens to be our neighbor as well. First we baked some sugar cookies for my daughter to take to her Christmas party. Later that week we baked some bread loaf, bread rolls, donuts and Cinnamon rolls. After tasting all the goodies, we are loving the taste of freshly baked home made bread.

After baking with her and getting some tips from her , I feel confident to try it on my own. So today I made bread using her basic bread baking recipe, to give some extra flavor I have added little cumin ,chili powder and Carom seeds (Ajwain/Oma).

So here is very basic and simple recipe for Bread Making. I call it Cindy's Recipe.

Ingredients:

• Water - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1 cup (Boiled and cooled, one can use a cup water instead)
• Vegetable Oil - 2tbsp (butter can be used as well)
• Yeast - 1 package (2 tbsp)
• Sugar - 2 tbsp ( 1 tbsp for dissolving with yeast + 1 tbsp with the flour )
• Salt - 1tsp
• All purpose flour - 2 cups ( I have used unbleached bread flour)
• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Spices : 1/2 tsp of each cumin & chili powder and carom (ajwain/oma) seeds,for some extra flavor.

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 tbsp of sugar (sugar helps yeast to get active). Cover and let it sit for 5-10 mins until foamy.
2. After yeast turns foamy, add milk and oil mix well.
3. Mix all the other dry ingredients together in a different bowl. Now add it slowly to the yeast mixture.



4. Mix well and knead for 5 mins to make the dough soft . Cover and keep for 30 mins to 1 hour or until dough doubles its volume.
5. Now punch the dough and form into balls(for rolls) or desired shapes.I made some balls and made like a log for bread loaf.



6. Cover and let it raise for another hour.
7. Bake the rolls at 350 F for 10 - 12 mins and bake loaf for 20-25 mins or until golden brown on top ( keep checking inbetween, since the oven temperatures may vary).



8. Take out and butter the top when its warm. Let it cool a bit. Cut a slice and enjoy with little butter on top.

* Make sure the water temperature is not too hot or cold, but just right. This is the most important part, once the yeast is dissloved and foamy. The rest will be easy.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti .

Jolada Rotti

Day 2 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Weekends, I usually make elaborate brunch's, mostly different kind of Rottis(South-Indian flat bread), so today I made one of North-Karnataka specialty Jolada Rotti.

Jola/ Jowar or Sorghum is a gluten free flour, so after the dough is prepared. It takes little patience to roll the dough, since it breaks and requires bit more dry flour than usual. But once you get the hold of it, it will be as easy as making any other kind of Indian Bread.


So here is what we need to make the Dough.

• Jowar/Sorghum flour(Jolada hittu)- 2 cups
• Water - 2 1/2 to 3 cups
• Salt - 1 tsp

1. Boil the water.

2. Take the jowar flour in a wide bowl. Add salt and pour water slowly and mix well to combine. Water and flour should come together to form stiff dough.

3. Cover and let it sit for 5 mins(so the dough will be cool enough to handle). Once cool enough but still warm to touch, knead to a soft dough. Refer pic 3 and 4.

4. If the dough is sticking, add little more flour and knead it.

5. Apply little flour on rolling board and roll it to a small to medium size circle. If it tends to break, add little more flour and roll.

6. Roll the rest of the dough and keep it ready.

7. Heat pan on high heat. Once hot enough, put the rolled dough carefully. Cover with a lid, this makes the rottis soft. Leave it for few seconds turn/ flip them around(on oil is required while cooking).

8.Turn and let the other side cook for few more seconds.Serve warm. This makes about 15 small size rottis.We had Jolada Rotti with Brinjal/eggplant Ennegayi. Enjoy !

* Leftover can be kept in a closed box once cooled. Rottis stays soft if kept this way.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis.

Chapatis (Wheat flour Flat-bread)

Today is the first day of seven days of recipe marathon, a group of 29 food bloggers will be preparing and posting a recipe a day for 7 days, to countdown to the New Years.

Nupur who is the creator of this marathon was kind enough to let me join in for the event last minute, thanks Girl . I decided to make breads (flat breads as well as baked breads), so I'll be posting recipes for 7 different breads for next 7 consecutive days.

Chapatis or Wholewheat flour breads(flat bread) is our daily bread, we eat them for our dinner daily (almost). So today I'll be posting the recipe I use for making this type of flat bread.

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
• Wheat germ - 2 tbsp (optional, but very nutritional addition)
• Flaxseed's (powdered) - 2 tbsp (known as Agasi seeds in Kannada)
• Salt - 1tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp ( for kneading)
• Water - 1- 1& 1/2 cups
• Yogurt (curds) - 2 tbsp (optional, I add to make the breads soft)

1. Take a wide mouthed bowl, mix whole wheat flour, wheat germ, flax seeds, curds and salt.
2. Mix them using enough water to form a thick dough, knead them using little oil to make soft dough. Close and keep side for at least 15 mins.
3. When ready to eat, heat a flat pan/tava (i use cast-iron one). Put it on medium-high heat.
4. Divide the dough to small balls, flatten it and roll them to circular shape as thin as possible (refer the pics above). Roll the rest of the dough and keep it ready.
5. Then put the rolled dough on a hot pan, when you start to see few puffy bubbles, press it with the spatula and turn it around . Let it cook for few seconds on the other side, until you see few brown spots. Add oil on top if you prefer.
6. Above measurement makes up to 8 medium size Chapatis/flat breads.

Enjoy the soft and nutritious bread warm , with your favorite side dish.

Khatta-Mittha Batata

This is a Gujarati-style Hot, Sweet & Sour Potato dish, from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian (Cook book).

I was looking for a new recipe to try with potatoes, to go along with Dosa/dose for our lunch this afternoon. So tried potatoes Gujarati style, end result was very delicious. The combined flavors of chilli powder, tamarind and brown sugar(jaggery) with potatoes was very tasty. We literally licked the plate off.

Ingredients :

• Potatoes - 3 medium size or 2 cups(skin peeled and cubed)
• Tomato - 1 small
• Chili powder -1/2 tsp ( cayenne pepper)
• Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Corriander-1/2 tsp
• Tamarind paste- 2tsp
• Brown sugar- 2 tbsp (Jaggery can be substituted)
• Vegetable oil - 3tbsp ( Recipe calls for 1/4 cup oil, I have used less)
• Cilantro leaves- 2tbsp ( I have substitute it for curry leaves)
• Salt to taste.

1. Peel the skin and cut potatoes into small bite size pieces.Put them in cold water.

2. Then drain water, pat them dry and add turmeric, chili powder, cumin- coriander powder and salt. Toss potatoes to coat well with all the spices.

3. In the mean while, heat oil in a wide pan. When hot add the spice coated potatoes. Stir them in-between.

4. When potatoes turn slightly brown on all sides. Add a cup of water.

5. Chop tomatoes and add them at this time as well. To this add tamarind extract or paste, brown sugar. Mix well.

6. Bring it boil, and simmer down and cook for 10 more mins. Slightly mash few potatoes to get nice consistency. Check for taste and add salt if needed.

7. Finally garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves. Serve warm.

Tastes really good with any rice or wheat breads. Enjoy !

Happy Long Weekend !

Chegodilu for ICC

Chegodilu is a deep fried, ring shaped (ring muruku) Andra snack, is also know by other names such as Chegodi/Chekodi or Chekodilu.

When Srivalli(who is the creator of ICC event) announced Chegodilu as this months challenge, that was the first time I ever heard this name. After reading through her post and recipe, I googled for the picture of Chegodis. It looked very similar to the Kodubales (Karnataka specialty) we make. But the recipe and tastes of chegodis are lot different from the Kodubales.

Out of the two given recipes, I have followed the Recipe #2 exactly. I used a medium size cup measurement, which yield about 25 medium Chegodis.

Chegodilu - Recipe 2

Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 3/4 cup
• All purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 cup
• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric -a pinch
• Salt as per taste
• Oil to deep fry

1. Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it.
2. When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chili powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover.
3. Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough.
4. Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them like threads between your palm, bring the ends together to form into small rings.
5. Heat a pan with oil, enough to fry 3 -4 at time, if you conscious of not using too much oil. Simmer once it gets hot. The temperature should not be smoking hot.
6. Grease your fingers with oil and pinch out a small lemon size ball and roll between your palms to form a thick rope. Bring the two ends to together and press to form a rope. Ensure the ends are firmed pressed as not to give out during frying.Continue with the rest of the dough until you are done with the entire batch. You can either cover it with a plate or a cloth to prevent the dough from getting dried.
7. Check if the oil is in the correct temperature, by dropping a tiny bit into the oil. Then gently slide the rings or the chakodis in batches of 4 -5. The flame has to be on high until the chakodis come up to the surface, then lower the flame to medium and cook till you get a golden colour on the chakodis.
8. When the chakodis are golden all over, using a slotted ladle, remove to a kitchen towel and cool. Store in an air tight container for longer shelf life.

Notes: Remember to turn the heat to medium to high and high to medium for getting the chakodis to golden colour and also to be cooked evenly. Only this way you get crispy chakodis. These should not be cooked on low flame as they will absorb more oil and can turn soggy also at times.

I made them over the weekend, for our Sunday snacking and very much enjoyed the crunchy Chegodilu.

Off this goes to ICC-December hosted by Srivalli.

Coffee,Chocolate & Chili

Coffee, chocolate and chili, three of my favorite flavors in any dish or drink. I like anything and everything coffee, just the aroma of coffee makes me awake and alive. In my opinion, chocolate is the best food ever discovered, like them anytime. Chilies, fresh or in powdered form love them all, this has to be one of the food groups I cannot live without. I like them in both savory and sweet dishes. So today I made some hot chocolate with Coffee flavor and little touch of Chili (powder).

Winter is in full swing here, temperature is already below zero degrees. We spend most of our time indoors,cold weather makes us crave something warm and spicy, especially during evening. So this was a perfect drink for the cold evening.

Recipe for hot chocolate (Below measurement is for one cup, increase the quantity as required)

• Milk - 1 cup (I have used 2% milk)
• Sugar - 2 tsp (add more or less according to taste)
• Chocolate - 1 tbsp (Dark and semi-sweet mixed together)
• Coffee - 2tbsp ( brewed/decoction coffee)
• Chili powder - one small pinch ( I used cayenne powder)

1. Heat milk in a pot.
2. Crush chocolates(corsley chop) so it dissolves easily when added to milk.
3. When milk comes to boil, add crushed chocolates, mix well.
4. Now add coffee, sugar and pinch of chili powder.
5. Mix everything until chocolates completely dissolves and combine well with milk. Switch off.
6. Pour Hot chocolate into a cup and enjoy.

For Kids version :Follow the same method as mentioned above, just skip coffee and chili powder. Mix in milk, sugar and semi-sweet chocolates together. Use whole milk and little more sugar than given measurement. One can also substitute chili powder with cinnamon powder for nice flavor.

Have a good weekend !

Yam (Genasu) Chutney

Yams(Genasu in Kannada) are also known as Sweet potatoes. Sometimes they are bright orange color, which are very sweet to taste. I like to use the creamy white variety, since they are mildly sweet.

Whenever I get them from store, I usually make chutney with it. I hardly get any coconuts in my local store here. So yams are a very good alternative and tastes as good as regular coconut chutneys. Along with yams I have added walnuts, to give chutney a good texture and some nutrition. I have also made this chutney using pistachio, cashews and peanuts(groundnuts), any kind of nuts combines very well with yams.

So here a very simple, quick, tasty and healthy chutney.

Ingredients

• Yams/Sweet potatoes (Genasu) - 1 big/ about 2 cups after grating.
• Chilies (Red dried ) - 3-4
• Tamarind extract (tamarind paste) - about 2 tbsp
• Walnuts - 1/4 cup lightly toasted ( groundnuts, pistachio, cashews, Dalia Dal, coconuts can be used instead)
• Salt to taste.

1. Wash, peel the skin and grate yams.
2. Lightly toast the nuts.
3. Extract juice from tamarind.
4. Once the nuts are cool enough, take chilies, grated yams, tamarind water, toasted nuts in a blender.
5. Blend them using little water at a time, untill it comes to a course paste.Taste and adjust salt.
6. Lastly, do the seasoning with oil, mustard seeds and little hing. Mix well and serve.

Tastes good with rice, dose, idly, chapathis or just as a spread on bread toast. Enjoy !