Stuffed Bread Pakora

Today was the last working day at kiddo's school, tomorrow being the "Celebration Day"! But it was a washout day what with the non-stop raining and all. He had been looking forward to spending a long day at the park as a fun start to his vacation (apart from a class picnic that also got cancelled). So, that put a damper on our spirits.

But rainy weather always makes me yearn for two things - spicy roasted corn on the cob and hot pakoras! Well, I did not have any corn on hand, but I could definitely make pakoras. Decided to make stuffed bread pakoras.

A steaming cup of tea (chocolate milk for the little one) and bread pakoras with ketchup - just what the heart desired!

Preparation & Cooking: 15 minutes              Makes: 6

Ingredients:
Bread Slices - 6, edges sliced off
Oil - for deep frying the pakoras
For the filling:
Dried Potato Flakes - ¼ cup
Peas - 2 tablespoons
Haldi/Turmeric Powder - ¼ teaspoon
Dhania/Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon


Jeera/Cumin Powder - ½ teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder - ½ teaspoon
Salt - to taste
For the batter:
Besan/Chickpea Flour - ¼ cup
Rice Flour - 2 heaped tablespoons
Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients for the filling, add ¼ cup of water and microwave this for 2 minutes.

• In another bowl, take all the ingredients for the batter and add water gradually to make a smooth paste of a slightly thick consistency. Mix thoroughly, making sure there are no lumps.

• Spread the filling on each of the bread slices and dip them into the batter, coating it well.

• Deep fry this batter coated bread and once they are brown.

• Drain them out on absorbent paper or kitchen towel.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Achaari Paneer Wrap

I love gadgets. Gadget Gal - that's me! Be it a knitting/crochet needle, a food processor or just a simple zester/grater - my tools of trade are my priced possessions and I am always on the look out for anything interesting. Unfortunately I live in a rented apartment with a small kitchen where two people standing the kitchen cannot help but bump into each other at every turn! So DH keeps threatening to throw things out of the house and keeps a tight rein on my purchasing tendencies. But I still get away with a few things here and there.

Last week, a visit to Target resulted in the purchase of a stove top barbecue grill thingy! I couldn't wait to get home and try it. I absolutely love it! So, this weekend, I made some achaari paneer wraps using this handy tool. Not having a deck to barbecue and grill things, I usually use the oven broiler to make paneer tikka and such things. But the burnt roasted flavor from a grill cannot be replicated in the broiler, its just not the same.

This barbecue roaster is perfect - just cut add whatever needs to be roasted into this grill kind of thing with a handle and place it on the stove top flame! Absolutely delicious! It was just the perfect brunch for a lazy weekend and a filling meal just before a road trip!

Marinating Time: 30 minutes            Preparation & Cooking: 15 minutes           Serves:2 

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Chapathis - 4
Capsicum - 1 medium, diced into chunky pieces
Onion - 1 Small, diced into big pieces
Paneer - 1 cup, cubed
Achaar Masala - 2-3 heaped tablespoons
Greek Yogurt - 1 cup
Chat Masala -  1 teaspoon
Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
Roasted Pepper Hummus - 4-5 teaspoons
Mint-Coriander Chutney (Green Chutney)- 4-5 teaspoons

Salt - to taste (use very little as the ready made achaar masala and chaat masala have salt in them)

Method:

• Mix the Achaar Masala and Greek Yogurt and make a smooth marinade.
• Add in the vegetables and paneer pieces and let this marinate for 30 minutes.

• Roast the vegetables and paneer on the flame, turning them over so they cook on all sides, till they turn a brown color and give off a nice aroma. This should take about 10 minutes.

• Now add the chaat masala and lemon juice to the roasted paneer and vegetable mix.

• Take a pre-warmed chapathi. Spread a couple of teaspoons of green chutney and hummus onto the chapathis, then add the roasted vegetable and panner mix.

• Fold the chapathi to form a wrap, using a toothpick to secure it, if required. Repeat for the other chapathis

Serve wrapped in an aluminum foil with any chutney or ketchup on the side. Or enjoy it as it is...

Handy Tips:

• If you prefer to use the broiler, feel free to do so. Just insert the veggies onto skewers and place them in the broiler for 6-8 minutes and then turn them over and leave them in for another 5 minutes or so.
• I made the wraps using home made chapathis with whole wheat flour. But feel free to replace them with frozen chapathis or even tortillas.
• I used ready made achaar masala. Instead, you could just roast 2 tablespoons fenugreek (methi) seeds and grind them coarsely along with ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and 2 teaspoons fennel (saunf) seeds. Finally add in ½ teaspoon turmeric (haldi) powder and a pinch of asafoetida (hing).
• I have used Greek Yogurt for the marinade because it has a tangy taste that I love. You could use regular plain  yogurt instead.

Besan Ki Roti

When I started to prepare tonight's dinner, I realized that I was out of wheat flour! I usually buy in bulk and store little by little in a smaller container for daily use. I was under the impression that there was more stocked up in the pantry, but no! Then I thought, what else can I use to make dough for chapathis? I had made toor dal and kundru bhaji so did not want to make bhaturas or maida puris as they don't go that well together. Same for jowar/bajre ki roti. That left me with besan or chickpea flour.

A quick google search got me my dinner recipe! This besan ki roti recipe is adapted from the one from Manjula's Kitchen. I just made a couple of changes though. Her recipe calls for regular yogurt. Am running a little low on yogurt (a must for "curd rice" for dinner) and did not want to go to the grocer's in this rainy weather. A little rummaging in the refrigerator revealed some Greek Yogurt, so I used that instead. Also, I like the flavor of ajwain, so I added that as well to the dough. The end result was absolutely delicious! I could eat it plain just like that without any side dish.

Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes                Makes:6 rotis
Ingredients:

Besan/Chickpea Flour/Kadali Maavu - 2 cups
Ajwain/Carom Seeds/Omam/ - ½ teaspoon
Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt - 2 tablespoons
Oil - 2 tablespoons (I used olive oil)
Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves - 2 tablespoons
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes - 1 teaspoon
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Warm Water - ¼ cup approx. (to knead the dough)
Rice Flour - to help rolling the dough
Unsalted Butter - 2-3 tablespoons (for drizzling over the rotis)

Method:

• In the food processor with the dough blade attached, add chickpea flour, carom seeds, Greek yogurt, oil, dried fenugreek leaves, crushed red chilli flakes, asafoetida and salt.

• Pulse it a few times to get a crumbly texture. Then add warm water gradually to form a stiff dough.

• Remove the dough from the processor, apply a little oil and knead the dough into a smooth ball.

• Cover this dough with a wet paper towel/cloth and set it aside for 10 minutes.

• After 10 minutes knead the dough once again, divide it into six equal parts and roll them into smooth balls using your palms that have been greased with oil.

• Roll out each ball into a circle with a rolling pin, using rice flour to dust the rolling board, pin and dough to prevent sticking.

• Place this on a heated pan and cook till bubbles appear.

• Flip to the other side and cook for another 10-12 seconds.

• Now place this roti on a direct flame as you would do for a phulka and cook both sides for a few seconds till they brown well and give out a nice aroma.

• Finally, remove from flame and drizzle/apply some unsalted butter on the rotis.

Serve hot with any dal/sabzi or yogurt.

Handy Tip:

The besan rotis are a bit on the dry side, so serve hot. If you need to store to serve later, cover it with aluminum foil and warm it again before serving. As they cool, the rotis get drier.

You can use ghee (clarified butter) to apply on the rotis at the end.

You could knead the dough by hand, I just find it more convenient to use the food processor. If kneading with your hands, be sure to grease your palms thoroughly as the dough will be very sticky.

Khichdi Pattice in Pita Pockets

Another weekend has rolled by. This was a mixed bag weekend with a couple of meals eaten out and one heavy home cooked lunch with friends. And yes, one typical weekend brunch!

On Friday, one of my friends came over and I made some khichdi for her baby. Since I was making it for the little one, I added no spices to it other than turmeric powder. So, all I did was pressure cook some moong dal with some basmati rice, turmeric powder, salt and a cup of finely chopped vegetables (I used beans, carrots, potato, tomato & spinach). Finally, I heated a tablespoon of ghee and added it as tempering. It was pretty yummy despite being such a simple preparation, but it was bland for an adult. So, I did not know what to do with the left over. I suppose I could have had it with loads of pickle on the side, but I tried out something more interesting with it, and it turned out real good - in fact "bloggable" good!

I had some pita pockets and some roasted pepper hummus at home. That's what gave me the idea of using the left over khichdi to make patties! Just added some potato flakes for a good binding, some soya granules for the texture and some spices to remove the blandness - a quick fix recipe to replace falafels in the pita pockets!

For the fresh vegetables, I used left overs from a packet  of classic iceberg lettuce salad mix and just added some sliced olives, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and onions - wish I had some cucumbers though - I was out of them and in no mood to run down to the grocers just for that on a lazy Saturday morning!

Preparation & Cooking:20 minutes                                     Serves:8

Ingredients:
Pita Pockets - 8
Classic Iceberg Salad Mix - 1 cup
Onion - ½ of a small one, sliced
Cherry Tomatoes - ¼ cup, sliced into halves
Bell Pepper - ½ of a small one, sliced
Black Olives - ¼ cup, sliced into halves
Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 tablespoons
Olive Oil - 3-4 tablespoons
Freshly Cracked Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste
Roasted Pepper Hummus - 4-5 heaped teaspoons
Left Over Khichdi - 1 cup, approximately
Instant Mashed Potato Flakes - ¼ cup
Soya Granules- 2 heaped tablespoons (I used Nutrela)
Corianer/Dhania Powder - 2 teaspoons
Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 teaspoon
Dried Mango/Amchur Powder - ½ teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder - ¼ teaspoon
Water - 3-4 tablespoons
Oil/Cooking Spray - to shallow fry the patties

Method:

• Warm the khichdi in the microwave for about a minute.

• Now add the soy granules and instant mashed potato flakes along with the water and a little salt to taste and microwave for a couple of minutes.

• Add in the coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur powder and red chilli powder and mix well to form a firm mixture for the patties.

• Divided the mixture into 8 portions, pat them into patties and shallow fry them in a pan on a medium flame after spreading a little oil or spraying some cooking spray on it.

• After 2-3 minutes, turn them over and cook for another couple of minutes till the patties are crisp and brown on both sides.

•  While the patties are cooking, get started on the veggies. Empty the salad mix into a bowl and add the sliced olives, onions, cherry tomatoes and bell pepper to it.

• In another bowl, take the apple cider vinegar, pepper and salt  and gradually add olive oil while whisking it to make a dressing.

•  Add this dressing to the vegetables and mix well.

• Now take the pita pockets and warm them slightly on the stove top or in a microwave. If using the microwave, wrap the pita pockets in damp paper towels and then proceed.

• Next, spread a heaped teaspoon of the roasted pepper hummus on each of them.

• Now place a patty in each of the pita pockets along the a couple of tablespoons of the vegetables.

Serve them with a side of fries and tomato ketchup for a perfect weekend brunch...

Vegetable Puffs

I am usually a control freak in the sense that I dread unplanned visits from friends. I like to know well in advance who will be coming over and when. The second I know about someone's plans, I start working out a schedule in my mind of when and where to begin the cleaning and what to cook! But I am gradually getting better at taking things easy and going with the flow. I try to relax and not over do things. Its not like my house is filthy or that people will stop visiting me if I do not get to scrubbing the top most shelf of my kitchen cabinet!

Also, I have come up with a few tried and tested recipes that help getting things done quickly without too much effort. Sure helps deal with busy weekends entertaining friends!

Be it a party or an informal gathering of friends, or just a case of "चाय पे बुलाया है" - vegetables puffs are pretty popular at my place. Add to it the fact that I use cut frozen vegetables along with instant potato flakes and store bought puff pastry sheets - can't get easier than that. Try it, and see the rave reviews that you get - sure makes it seem like a lot of hard work :) And once its in the oven, you can go get ready, no baby sitting needed!

Preparation & Cooking: 1 hour approx (includes 30 minutes to thaw pastry sheets) Makes: 8    

Ingredients:
Puff Pastry Sheets - 1 packet (2 sheets)
Peas & Diced Carrots  - ½ cup (I used frozen, you could use fresh vegetables if preferred)
Instant Potato Flakes - ¼ cup (you could you boiled and mashed potatoes instead)
Coriander/Dhania Powder - 2 teaspoon
Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 teaspoon
Dry Mango/Amchur Powder - ½ teaspoon
Turmeric/Haldi -  ¼ teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder - ¼ teaspoon 
Butter - ¼ teaspoon
Water - 2 tablespoons
Salt - to taste
Mint Coriander Chutney - 4 tablespoons
Oil/Cooking Spray - To grease the baking sheet

Method:

• Thaw the puff pastry sheets for about 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight  in the refrigerator.

• Pre-heat the oven to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit  (190.5 degrees Celsius). Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and grease it with cooking spray or oil.

• Mix the frozen vegetables, potato flakes, butter, spices, butter, water and salt and microwave for about 5 minutes. If using boiled mashed potatoes, you may skip the butter.

• Take it out of the microwave and give it a good stir. Filling for the vegetables puffs is ready.

• Roll out the pastry sheets and spread 2 tablespoons mint-coriander chutney evenly on each sheet.

• Spread out the filling liberally on the sheets.

• Now roll up the sheet and cut them into small pieces. 

• Lay the pieces on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the oven at 375 degree Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. Oven timings vary, so you might want to check on the puffs after about 15 minutes or so. 

Once the puffs turn golden brown, take them out of the oven and serve with tomato ketchup! And don't forget the steaming cups of masala chai!