Matar Bhari Aloo Ki Kachori

Kachoris are very popular in North India. Variations are always there. In general, kachori is a round or flattened ball made of fine flour filled with a stuffing and deep-fried.

Here I have made round balls of spiced potatoes, which are stuffed with peas masala and deep-fried.

Ingredients:

• 2 big potatoes
• 2 tbsp yellow corn meal
• Salt to taste
• ¼ tsp Black pepper powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Oil for deep-frying

Stuffing:

• 1 cup green peas
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• Pinch of asafetida
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves chopped fine
• 1 tbsp ginger grated
• 2 green chilies chopped fine
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan on a medium flame. Add cumin seeds and asafetida. When cumin stops spluttering add peas, grated ginger, chopped green chilies, and salt. Fry till peas are half done. Take out peas in a bowl, add cilantro leaves and lemon juice, keep aside to be used later to stuff kachori.
• Boil and mash potatoes. Add cornmeal, black pepper powder, salt and lemon juice and mix well. Knead potato mix in the same way as you knead the wheat flour dough to make the roti (flat bread).
• Now apply some oil on your palms and put some of the potato mix in the cupped palm of your hand, and form it into a hollowed cup about size of half a lemon. Add some of the pea mixture in the potato cup, and cover with the potato mix around it to make a ball. Roll the ball between the palms to make a smooth ball.
• Heat oil in a deep pan or kadhai on medium heat and fry the potato kachoris until light brown.
• Serve with chutney or ketchup of your choice.

Do You Know?

Cornmeal is flour ground from dried corn, is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and course consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as corn flour. However, the word corn flour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the United Kingdom.

Stone ground cornmeal retains some of the hull and germ, lending a little more flavor and nutrition to recipes. It is more perishable, but will store longer if refrigerated. Steel ground yellow cornmeal, commonly used in the United States, has the husk and germ of the maize kernel almost completely removed. It is conserved almost indefinitely if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Urad Dal Puri (Crispy Deep Fried Puffed Flat Breads)

Make stiff dough of wheat flour, semolina and Urad dal powder; deep fry in hot cooking oil on medium heat until crispy brown, serve hot with curry and pickle of your choice.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup semolina
• ¼ cup Urad dal powder ( available in Indian Grocery Store)
• ¼ tsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp dry mango (amchur) powder
• ¼ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp fennel (saunf) powder
• Pinch of asafetida
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups cooking oil for deep frying

Method:

• Mix all dry ingredients except cooking oil for frying.
• Add water and make smooth dough but little harder than dough for roti. Cover the dough and keep it to rest for at least 1 hour at a warm place. Punch and knead the dough again before rolling out.
• Divide the dough into small balls about golf-ball size, and roll out into 4" rounds on an oiled board.
• Heat cooking oil in a wok or saucepan. Fry the puri one at a time, holding them under the oil on the first side until they puff up. Turn and fry until light brown. Drain and take out in an absorbent paper.
• Serve crispy Dal puri hot with Aloo Gobhi/Aloo methi/ Rajma or any other vegetarian curry.
  

Jackfruit Sabji

It is a quick recipe of spicy, raw jackfruit sabji. Roasted gram flour gives it a different flavor and texture.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of young green Jackfruit (Drained wt: 10 oz or 280g)
• 1 medium onion chopped fine
• 1 tbsp garlic chopped fine
• 1 tbsp ginger chopped fine
• 3-4 tbsp dry roasted Besan (gram flour)
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp amchur powder (modify according to your taste)
• 6 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Cut jackfruit into small pieces and wash in running water thoroughly.
• Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan and fry jackfruit pieces until they are pink. Remove jackfruit from the pan, add 3 tbsp cooking oil more and fry chopped onion, ginger and garlic until light brown. Now add coriander, chili, garam masala and turmeric powder. Add 4-5 tbsp water and fry until oil separates out from the masala. Add salt and jackfruit pieces. Mix well and simmer for 6-8 minutes with about ¼ cup of water. Do not use much water because jackfruit sabji is dry. Stir in amchur powder and roasted besan.
• Take out in a serving dish. Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with Dal and hot roti.

Do You Know?

The jackfruit is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The outside of the fruit is greenish yellow, and it has a thick leathery spiky skin. The sap inside is as sticky as glue, and it takes some work to get the fruit out.

Young jackfruit has a mild flavor and distinctive texture. When fully ripe, the unopened jackfruit emits a strong disagreeable odor, resembling that of decayed onions, while the pulp of the opened fruit smells of pineapple and banana.

Anda Roti Roll (Egg Flatbread Wrap)

Make tasty egg wraps of old chapatis/rotis and serve for breakfast. For stuffing, you either cook onion tomato mix or use any leftover vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp milk
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of black pepper powder
• Stuffing (onion tomato mix):
• 1 small onion chopped fine
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 1 tbsp green coriander leaves chopped fine
• 1 small tomato diced in small pieces
• 1 tsp ginger chopped fine
• 2 tbsp capsicum diced in small pieces
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• Pinch of black pepper

Method:

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Stir fry all the ingredients together for stuffing till little soft or according to your choice. Keep aside for making the wraps.
• In a bowl, beat one egg; add 1 tsp of milk, salt and fresh-ground pepper. Mix well.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan on low flame, pour the egg mixture in the frying pan and swish it around so that a fine uniform layer of egg sticks to the bottom and side of the pan. Do this by picking up the frying pan and rotating it slightly.
• Leave the egg mixture alone for a few minutes to allow it to cook and "set up."
• When the egg is about 70% cooked solid, it is time for layering the roti over omelet. After layering the roti over the omelet, let it continue to cook until the crispy thin egg edge starts to pull away from the pan.
• Take a spatula, run it under the omelet and flip it. Now roti is underside towards the frying pan and the omelet is on upper side. Arrange stuffing in the centre of the omelet and roll it. Roti will be on the outer side and omelet will be on the inner side of the roll but visible from the sides.
• Serve hot.

Green Chutney Rice

Stir fry leftover rice with leftover green chutney (Coriander or Mint Chutney) and enjoy the dish with plane yogurt.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup of boiled rice (leftover)
• 3-4 tbsp green Cilantro or Mint chutney
• ½ tsp sugar granules
• 1 tbsp lemon juice ( adjust according to your taste)
• 2 green chilies
• ½ tsp white pepper powder
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• a pinch of asafetida powder
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• salt to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Splutter cumin seeds. Add asafetida, green chilies, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds.
• Add chutney and sugar. Fry for a minute. Before chutney changes its green color, mix in cooked rice, pepper powder and salt. Fry on low flame for another minute.
• Remove from fire. Stir in lemon juice.
• Serve with yogurt or pickle of your choice.

Do You Know?

In India, chutney is often made to be eaten fresh, using whichever strongly flavored ingredients are locally available at the time. It would not normally contain preserving agents, since it is intended to be consumed quickly after preparation.

Many authentic types of chutney contain significant amounts of fresh green chili peppers; the other main ingredient can be any of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Most vegetable chutneys are prepared cold in a blender, while many fruit chutneys require cooking.

Stir-Fried Idlis (Stir-Fried Steamed Rice Cakes)

This is an excellent way to utilize leftover Idlis (Steamed Rice Cakes). Stir fry bite-sized pieces of idlis with curry leaves, spices; and serve with coconut chutney as a tea time snack.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 left over Idlis cut into bite sized cubes
• 2-3 tbsp cooking oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• Pinch of asafetida
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 1 dry red chili broken in 3-4 pieces
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 green chili chopped fine
• 1 tbsp lemon juice or 1 tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• 2-3 tbsp warm water
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan; temper with asafetida, mustard seeds and red chili pieces. When mustard seeds stop spluttering, add chopped green chilies and curry leaves; fry until they crackle.
• Add turmeric and red chili powder; immediately add 2-3 tbsp of warm water and diced Idlis. Shake over little salt (remember Idlis already have some salt). Stir-fry for two to three minutes on medium flame.
• Take out in a dish, drizzle lemon juice.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with coconut chutney as a teatime snack.

Do You Know?
The idli , also romanized "idly" or "iddly", is a savory cake most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, popular throughout South India. The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented split and skinned black gram and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that it is more readily metabolized by the body, and is considered a health food.

Dal Bhujiya (Black Gram with Cilantro and Fenugreek Leaves)

Boil Urad dal with cilantro and fenugreek leaves; temper it with seasoned ghee; serve with buttered roti.

This was one of the favorite dals of my father, which he used to enjoy with lots of ghee and Bajra (Pearl Millet) roti.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup urad dal (skinned split black gram)
• ½ cup cilantro leaves chopped finely
• ½ cup fenugreek leaves chopped finely or 2 tbsp dry kasoori methi
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste

Tempering:

• Pinch of asafetida
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 dry red chili whole
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 3-4 tbsp ghee

Method:

• Wash and boil the dal in a pan with 1 tsp of oil, turmeric powder and salt.
• Cook until done on medium flame. If required add little hot water.
• When dal is cooked, add coriander leaves, fenugreek leaves, green chilies and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from fire.
• Prepare tempering to garnish dal: Heat the ghee on a medium flame, in a small pan till hot.
• Now add cumin seeds, fry until spluttering stops. Turn off the fire and add the asafetida powder, dry whole red chili and red chili powder. Immediately pour this tempering mix over the boiled lentil mixture before red chili burns, stir well.
• Garnish with some of the tempering and chopped cilantro leaves.
• Serve with buttered roti (Indian flatbread) and Sabji (curry) of your choice.

Do You Know?
Urad dal, also referred to as Urad (Vigna mungo), udad dal, black gram, or black lentil. These beans have black skins covering creamy white interiors.
Black gram was originated in India, where it has been in cultivation from ancient times. Indian immigrants have introduced it to other tropical areas.
It is very nutritious and is recommended for diabetics, as are other pulses.