Parotta

Mom: What shall I order for you?
Me: (spontaneously..without looking thru menu card) Parotta
Mom: Want to try something else today
Me: No. I am fine with Parotta
Mom: smiling.. ok.

This was a usual converstation between me and my mom wenever we eat out. That much I loved it when I was little. One reason for that is its a food which was not made frequently at home like idly, dosa, poori, rice etc., And another one being the tast and flaky nature of parotta thats so inviting for the taste buds.

I have treid to make it so many times, but I would be missing something. Especially the flaky and still soft nature of the parotta. When I wanted to try this time, I was searching for some different recipes and I got this one from ifood.tv with some nice video, though quite a lengthy one. But its worth checking it if you want to try out. And the results were really good too.

 

Ingredients
Maida / All purpose flour - 3 cups
Salt - 2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Water - approx 1 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup for kneading
Oil - 1/4 cup for toasting


Method:
Dough making and kneading:

Heap 3 cups of maida on a wide bowl. Make a dent or well inside.

Slowly add the water inside. To this water add salt and sugar and mix it slowly with the flour on the sides. Check out for water and be careful not to add too much water.

After all mixing up add oil and knead well well. This is the most important part and it has to be beaten up so the dough gets mixed/kneaded very well. This has to be done for almost 15-20 minutes to get the nice soft texture. Apply some oil on top and keep it closed aside for 30 mts.

After 30 minutes the dough will have rised a little. Make small balls out of it and apply oil on top of it again and let it rest for 10 minutes keeping it covered with moist kitchen towels. If you could notice, it will rise a little.

Spreading and coiling:

Take the balls one by one and roll it as much as you can with a rolling pin, the funny part is, you can watch as you stretch, it rolls back, so apply oil say about a tsp for each parotta and stretch it to paper thin size. It might tear in some areas… thats ok. Stretch using your hands or use the rolling pin, oil makes the work easier.

Hold any one corner of the rolled dough and lift it up. Slowly spiral the dough and make it a ball again. Note that this may need more oil.  Repeat this for all the balls and make them spiral coils and keep them covered under a moist cloth again.

Rolling and toasting:

Take the spirals one by one and start stetching with a rolling pin slightly without applying too much pressure.
Roll them on one side only and don't flip them to roll on the other side. This makes the layers to merge and we won't get the flaky layered texture of parottas. Note parottas will not be too thin like chapatis. So roll them like the size of a pancake.

Heat a griddle/ tawa and keep it on medium flame. Take the rolled parottas one by one and let them cook slightly on both sides. After seeing some spots add about 1 tsp oil/ghee and toast.

You will see it becoming fluffy, flip one more time and then put it back on the counter. Using both hands, try to beat it once, just like clapping, to seperate the layers. Serve hot with your favorite side dish.

Lemon sevai

I always had been making sevai with idiyappam mix. My friends have told about the instant rice noodles but somehow I missed to try it for a long time. Finally I got these instant rice noodles from a chinese super market and made lemon sevai. To my surprise it tasted same soft as the regular idiyappam sevai and even more separate. Since rice noodles cook very quick, this can be made very fast. This can be eaten as breakfast or even as a snack or tiffin, no waiting around time to cook! I used to even make this for my hubby lunch box, since it is quick to cook in the morning.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice noodles
1 tbsp peanuts
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/4 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds1 Green chilli
1/2 tsp grated ginger
Few curry leaves
1 tbsp oilsalt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup lemon juice (to taste)

Method:
Cook the rice noodles according to package OR Boil water in a pot, Add salt. Add the noodles and cover for only 3-4 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
Add oil in a pan and heat it up.
Add the peanuts and saute for about 30 seconds.
Add the chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds and jeera.
Add the curry leaves, green chili and ginger. Add the turmeric powder.
Add the drained rice noodles and saute along with some salt. (remember you added some salt before)
Add the lemon juice, little by little, so that it doesn't become too sour.At this point taste to see if you have to add more salt or lemon juice.
Serve hot with chutney or pickle.
Enjoy!!!

Badusha

 
Its Diwali and the perfect time for sweets. This time I had Badusha in my sweet list and I got so inspired by looking at the pictures at Raks Kitchen. Also last year my friend made this and my husband  liked it so much and so I wanted to give it a try this time. Its quite easy but have to take care of certain steps. I cudn't make it as exactly in raks kitchen but had tried out my best. I think I should have added little more water to knead and because of less water some of my badushas changed shape while frying. And also it absorbed too much of sugar. But the inside tasted good and flaky and the sugar was okay for my family as we love sugars. I tried to make the doughnut shape instead of curving the corners. But I would like to do that one sometime soon.

Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose flour - 1 & 1/2 cups
Butter+oil - 1/4 cup+1/8 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Curd - 1& 1/2 tsp
Cooking soda/sodium bi carbonate - 2 pinches
Water - 1/4 cup (approx.)
Oil - for deep frying

For Syrup:
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water- just to immerse the sugar
Elachi powder - 2 pinches
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Procedure:

Melt butter and add oil,sugar,curd and baking soda to it and use a whisk to mix well,to make it almost frothy.Add the flour to it.

Mix well to make it crumbly. Add water to make it dough,please be careful when adding,the 1/4 cup is what I used,it was just right,still you adjust accordingly. Make it to a smooth dough without any lumps

Keep on kneading for sometime to get a smooth dough..may be 10 mins,I made 11 small lemon sized balls out of it. You can adjust the size accordingly. 

Now take a ball and pinch the edges and fold it inwards to make rims decoratively as shown in the picture.  Repeat to finish everything and keep covered.

Meanwhile add sugar to a pan and just add water to immerse it and boil till one string consistency ,i.e; if you pour in little water,it should not dissolve and it should lay a fine thread. Add saffron,elachi if desired and squeeze the lemon juice lastly. Heat oil just enough,check it by adding a pinch of batter,if it rises immediately,then its just right. Dont let the oil fume at any point.

Add some five badushas,we prepared ,carefully in to the oil. Remove from fire and let it get cooked in the pre heated oil. Approximately it wud take 5 mins.

At  one stage the badushas float, then again keep the kadai on fire and cook in medium-low flame,adjust heat at the end to make it golden brown,for me it took around 5-8 mins.

Drain in a paper towel and immediately add to the hot sugar syrup,to cover the badusha ,I did this in batches 2-3 at a time.  Leave for a minute and then drain the badushas to a greased surface

After it cools down,the sugar syrup should have turned non sticky,transfer to an clean container. 

Have a colorful Diwali!!!


Points to note:

Knead the dough to a dough consistency. This helps in avoiding it becoming too porous as it excess absorbs oil and sugar syrup.

Sugar syrup should be of one string consistency

Drain the badushas on paper towel before dropping in the sugar syrup. This avoids the sugar syrup getting too oily.


Am sending this recipe for the Navartri - Diwali event happening at Simply food and Festive food at Cuisine Delights.

Spicy Maida Biscuits

This is a simple savory biscuits made of All purpose flour. Its simple to make and can be made for any occasions. Though its called as biscuits, its not baked but instead deep fried in oil. Traditionally this is made as sweets and sometimes chilli powder is added to prepare the spiced versions. This time I made the spiced version and every time I make this it disappears while I fry them. Its so melting on the mouth and very tempting too. I saw some versions of these biscuits with the addition of ginger garlic paste, but I've never tried it and will do it next time.

 

Ingredients:

Maida / All purpose flour - 2 cups
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Salt - as required
melted butter / hot oil - 2 tbsp
water - as needed
Oil - to deep fry

Procedure:

Mix the dry ingredients one bye one and add melted butter/oil to it. Slowly add water and knead it well as a soft chapati dough.

Now make small balls of this dough and roll them as thin as possible.

Now using knife / pizza cutter to cut them to desired shapes. Usually its made as diamond or square shapes. Now keep the cut pieces separately so that they don't get sticked together.

After you have finished cutting them all you can deep fry them. (u can deep fry parallely too if you get a helping hand to roll and cut the biscuits).

Fry them in medium hot oil until it turns nice golden brown color. Drain the oil well and cool it.

Store them in airtight containers and serve it during tea-time.


Variations:

Add sugar instead of salt and chilli powder to get the sweet version

Ginger garlic paste, coriander leaves or mint leaves can be added to get different flavors of the spiced version

Wheat flour/rava (Sooji) can also added in same proportion as maida to get a different taste.

Am sending this recipe for the Navartri - Diwali event happening at Simply food and Festive food at Cuisine Delights.

 

Coriander Rice

Any greens are good for health. When it comes to coriander I get delighted cos of its exotic fragrance. Whether its chutney, rasam, dosa or the rice, coriander leaves makes it extra special. It really makes this rice an awesome dish. The addition of chana dal and urad dal for this rice gives a nice flavor for it. You can  try this wenever you have it a little extra coriander on your refridgerator.

 

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 2 cups
Green peas - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Chana dal / kadala paruppu - 1 tsp
Urad dal / uzhunnu parippu - 1/2 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - a generouns pinch
Curry leaves - a few
Roasted cashewnuts - a handful
Chopped coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

To grind
Fresh coriander leaves - 1 cup
Chopped onions - 1, medium
Green chillies - 2 adjust to spice level

Procedure

1. Soak the basmati rice in some water for 20 mins and cook in sufficient water until the rice is cooked well, yet firm. I usually use Rice :water ratio as 1:1 1/2

2. Grind the ingredients for the coriander paste with little water.

3. Heat oil for tempering and roast the chana dal and urad dal until golden brown. Add the curry leaves and hing and mix well.

4. Now add the ground coriander paste and blend well adding enough salt. Throw in the green peas and let it simmer for 2-3 mins.

5. Switch off fire and mix in the rice while the paste is still hot.

6. Garnish with roasted cashewnuts and chopped coriander leaves.

7. Serve hot with your favorite sidedish/raita.
 

 

Puran Poli

I am always a fan of stuffed parathas. And I do have a sweet tooth too. So how about a sweet stuffed paratha. And thats nothing else then Poli also popularly known as Puran poli. This is a mouthwatering desert and its quite easy to prepare too. I got this recipe from Vahrehvah and its quite simple. All you have make sure is having a soft dough and the result comes amazing. Enjoy your next festival/occasion with this delicious polis.

Ingredients

Stuffing
Chanadal cooked - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Outer layer

Maida - 1 1/2 cups
Sooji - 1 tsp
Rice flour - 1 tsp
salt - pinch
oil/melted butter - 1 tbsp


Procedure:

Pressure cook/boil the chana dal. Drain all the water and let it get dry. After some time grind it to a powder consistency.

Heat the powdered chana dal and add jaggery to it. The jaggery will melt and get mixed well with the dal. Cook till it thickens to make balls out of it. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Make small balls of it and keep it aside.

Now mix all of the ingredients mentioned for outer layer and mix well. Add some water and knead to a very soft dough  (It should be really soft)

Make balls of the dough and the size should little than the stuffing balls.

Take a plastic sheet and grease with oil. Slightly press the dough and keep the stuffing inside. cover it with the dough by pulling along the corners. Gently press it with your hand evenly around and flatten it as you can.

Heat a tawa and cook these polis with little ghee until u see brown spots on both sides.

Enjoy the delicious polis with your family.

Am linking this post to Taste of Tropics - Authentic Indian Platter happening at EzCookbook.

Home-made Vatrals/ Vathals (fryums)

Vatahals/Vatrals come as instant saviors when we are running a little low on side dish for rice. They make the meal tasty and satisfying too. Whenever we talk of vathals I remember those days (usually sundays) when we go along with my mom and grandma to the open terrace above our house and make them early morning before the sun starts to show his strong rays. Actually sun light is the most important thing needed for drying this and as it is available sufficient back home in Chennai, making this had never been a question there. Thats is the reason why its usually  made during the months of march - april, when the sun is bright and less wind. And its usually made in huge batches which will be stocked for the entire year.

When I thought of doing this in my place where we don't have a place like open terrace, I decided to keep it near my living room window where I will get some sunlight during the day time (I made it well ahead in summer, but sorry for posting it in fall). I was lucky for the first day, but the second  day didn't had much sunlight to dry up the other side. So I heated my convection oven on "warm setting" to dry it out completely. It took 3 days for my vathals to get dried completely. Thankfully it came out well and my family loves this so much. And I got the satisfaction of making some home-made vathals.

I tried both rice and javvarisi vathals. Here goes the recipe


Javvarasi/ Sabudana vathal

Ingredients:

Javvarisi/sabudana- 1 cup (soak overnight)
Green chilli - 2
Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1 cup
Salt

Procedure:

Grind the soaked javvarisi with green chillies and hing for 2 secs.

Heat water in a pan and add the ground paste to this. Mix salt.

Boil it till it gets cooked and the water is well absorbed to a semi solid state. Let it cool for half an hour.

Take a clean plastic sheet. Use a spoon to take 1 tsp of the spread it on the sheet. Try to make it flat and thin circles.

Let this dry under sun the whole day. After the top part is dry turn the vathals to dry the other side of the vathal.

Make sure you dry it well, absolutely dry without any moisture, so it will have long shelf life and it will be frying well too.

 

 

 

Rice/arisi vathal

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 1 cup
Green chilli - 2
Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp
chopped Onion - 1
Salt

Procedure:

Grind the cooked rice with green chillies and hing slightly. Or else you can even mash the rice if its well cooked.

To this mix salt and finely chopped onions. This will be very sticky.

Take a clean plastic sheet. Apply little oil on your hands. Take small balls of the rice mix and keep it on the plastic sheet. The balls need not have to be perfect shape.

Let this dry under sun the whole day. After the top part is dry turn the vathals to dry the other side of the vathal. As the sun was not very hot the day I made it, I had to heat the oven in "warm setting" for an hour and dried it there.

Make sure you dry it well, absolutely dry without any moisture, so it will have long shelf life and it will be frying well too.

Store them in airtight containers. Fry in hot oil and serve. It goes very well with sambar and curd rice.


Store them in airtight containers. Fry in hot oil and serve. It goes very well with sambar and kara kuzhambu.