Instant Bhatura

Here is the quintessential Punjabi dish that both me and my husband simply love to dig into, on an indulgent day. Bhaturas or the fried Indian bread made with all purpose flour is not an instant one. It needs to be prepared the previous night to be made perfectly. I just discovered that it could be made instantly which prompted me to make and share the awesome recipe with you all.......so here it goes

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour that is maida
1/2 cup semolin that is rava
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 boiled and mashed potato
1 cup yogurt
1 tiny spoon of edible soda

Method

Mix all the above ingredients to make a nice semi soft dough, should be a little firmer than the one made for normal rotis. You may not need water for this since there is yogurt and the boiled potato. Smear oil and rest it covered  for half an hour.

In a pan heat oil, make make equal sized balls, roll out each bhatura and fry till golden and nice. Serve with chana, fresh onion pieces and fried chilli.

                                         
                                                        Churdkani Or Black Bean Curry

Another recipe from the Indian hills and valleys. The beans were given to me by Shimpaji, my sweet friend, my inspiration. She boosts my passion for food. There is so much knowledge and information we share about food, that whenever the few of us foodies meet it is a total food meet to the T!! Bengali, CKP, Pahadi and a fusion of Maharshtra and Karnataka. Amazing to have friends from all regions of India, pleasure to share all our food experiences and savouring cuisines from all over the globe. So this one comes from the hills......

Ingrediets

1 cup of black beans or bhatt ki daal
1/2 cup chick pea flour 
2 onions
Salt to taste
1 small spoon of asafoetida
1 small spn of turmeric powder
1 tspn of coriander powder
2  green chillies slit

Method

First in a pan take a little oil and roast the black beans till they splutter and in a way burst. Keep aside. I ate some just roasted too and they taste awesome.  In the same oil take the chick pea flour and roast till lightly golden, keep aside. In the same pan take a little more oil and add the slit green chillies, asafoetida, turmeric powder, onions chopped into thin long pieces. Saute till golden add the beans, the chick pea flour, salt and enough water, keep stirring see that there are no lumps. Keep adding water and adjusting the consistency since it will keep becoming thicker. Adjust till you get the right consistency and the beans get cooked. The colour will become into a deep brown as the beans infuse the colour and the taste to the curry. Every bite has an amazing taste of the beans. I loved having it with steamed rice. Hope you enjoy making this too.

This picture shows you the lovely beans, bhatt.

                                       Indian Flat Bread With Home Made Cottage Cheese

I make this paratha when I have some extra milk at home. Just boil the milk add 2 caps of vinegar in it, wait for the milk to split and separate, strain and use the cottage cheese freshly made in your flat breads. An amazing, super soft, melt in the mouth breakfast or main course dish can be the result of this preparation. Here goes the recipe.....the pic above shows you the stages of the paratha, the just rolled out one, the next in the process of roasting, then finally the pile that can be polished off!!

Ingredients

1) 1/2 litre of milk made into cottage cheese by the method mentioned above

2) Ingredients below to be ground into a coarse mixture

1 bunch of fresh coriander
2 tspns of cumin seeds
4 green chillies
3 grated goose berries ( the big variety) available in plenty at the bazaar now

3) Salt to taste 

Method

Ina mixing bowl take all the ingredients from 1, 2 and 3. Mix well to make a  semi soft dough, do not use water. Smear some oil and rest the dough covered for about ten minutes. Heat a pan, make equal sized dough balls, roast with oil or ghee to a nice golden colour and enjoy with either yogurt or any chutney. 

                                                           
                                                                             Hurda

A winter special dish. The grains are removed when tender and had with some accompaniment or cooked with some spices and aromatics.What I am showing here are the tender awesome coloured green wheat and sorghum grains. The first lot I always like to get the original sweet taste. So here goes the way I made it.......my mum loved it and this goes in her memory. 

Ingredients

50 gms of sorghum
50 gms of wheat
1 pack of bhujia sev, to mix as per your taste
Some lime jiuce
Chopped coriander
2 green chillies chopped

Method

In a mixing bowl take all the ingredients and mix well, add salt if required, sprinkle some sev on top, you can bite into a freshly roasted chilli if you like it more spicy. Can be eaten as an evening snack with tea. Available right now at the market with the local vendors. 

                                           
                                               Potato Stir Fry With The Crunchy Jakhya 

The Jakya seeds play a very important role in Garhwali cuisine. Something that brings an amazing crunch and pungency to any dish that it is added to. Dals and subzis from Jharkhand cuisines specially use this as a seasoning. Thanks to my lovely friend Shimpa Rathore for getting me the Jakhya straight from the hills.....loved it.

Ingredients

4 potatoes well washed, chopped with skin, into medium sized thin pieces
2 spns of ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
2 tspns of jakhya seeds
1 tspn chilli powder
Coriander for garnishing 
Mustard oil for tempering

Method

In a pan take mustard oil, add the jakhya seeds, let them splutter, add the ginger garlic paste, saute a bit, add the potatoes, stir well, add the salt, chilli powder and the coriander. Stir fry till done. Enjoy as it is or with rotis and rice too. The crunch is so so amzing in every bite!!

                                                             
                                      Beetroot Potato Paratha With Greek Herbs And Olives

The awesome coloured  paratha has three  main ingredients, gooseberries, potato and beetroot. This  sprinkled with some mixed herbs and rolled up with chilli and olives made for an awesome lunch. 

Ingredients

1)
2 beetroots and 2 potatoes pressure cooked to only 1 whistle, basically parboiled and grated
1 tspn of chilli powder
1tspn of cumin powder
1/2 cup of grated gooseberries
Few sprigs of chopped coriander
Salt to taste
2 tspns of oil

2)
Mixed herbs for sprinkling
Pickled olives and fried chillies for rolling up in the parathas

Method

In a mixing bowl take all the ingredients from 1) mix into a firm dough and roll them into parathas few minutes after, else the dough may become too soft, roast well on a pan to a nice golden colour. Roll up with ingredients from 2) and enjoy. This can be had as it is or with yogurt or pickle of your choice.