Punjabi Kadhi- Indian Cooking Challenge

After almost two months of gap, I am attending Indian Cooking challenge. I enjoy doing these challenges. But this time it was quit easy but tasty. This month Srivalli's challenge for Indian cooking challenge is 'Punjabi Kadhi'. I just loved it. She suggested a recipe of Simran of Bombay Foodie. I followed the same measurement and method. But instead of deep frying pakoras, I used the 'Appe patra' or Paniyaram Pan for it. It require much less oil than deep frying. :-).

Ingredients
For Kadhi

Curd - 1 cup
Besan - 1/4 cup
Water - 3 cups
Garam masala - 1/4 teaspoon
Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt as per taste

For tempering
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
Ajwain/ Carom Seeds- 1 tsp
Methi / Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
Chopped Green chili - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon


For Pakora
Besan - 1/2 cup
Onions - 1 medium
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Ajwain/ Carom Seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Water
Oil for Deep frying


Procedure

For kadhi
Mix curd, water and Besan. Beat it properly so that no lumps will form. Add garam masala, sugar ,salt and mix well. Heat oil in kadai add cumin seeds, Mustard seeds, Ajwain, chopped green chili, turmeric powder and Methi seeds. Pour the dahi-besan batter on it. Boil for 10-15 minutes on low flame. Keep stirring occasionally. It should be thick than Maharashtrian or Gujrathi kadhi.

For Pakoras
Slice onions lenghtwise. In a bowl, take the besan, onion, add salt, red chili powder, ajwain. Make a batter with water to get a semi thick consistency. Make the batter a little thicker than normal  if you are using appe patra/ Paniyaram pan. Heat appe patra/ Paniyaram pan, add little oil in each round. Heat the oil. Pour a spoonful batter in each round. Fry till it becomes brown and crispy. Drain and keep aside.
While serving Add pakoras in kadhi and mix well. Have it with Hot steamed rice or roti. I love to have it as it is.

Sago Muruku for ICC

'Muruku', we call it as chakli in Maharashtra. This is favorite of everyone in our family. I also know about sabudana chakli, we prepare it as a fasting food. It is prepared with sago and boiled potato. But this sago muruku which srivalli gave as a challenge for ICC-April was very new and interesting. I tried it and in first attempt, it turned out very well. Crispy and tasty. As regular habit, I added little Ajwain into it. Thanks a lot Srivalli.

Ingredients

Rice Flour  2 cups
Besan flour  1/2 cup
Fried gram flour - 1/2 cup
Sago - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Curd - 50 gms (half of half cup)
Chile powder - 1/2 tsp or as per taste
Ajwain - 1/4 teaspoon



Special Utensil

Muruku Achu (Chakli patra)



Procedure

Soak Sago in Butter milk for 3 hrs, please ensure that you soak it enough else you may risk having the sago burst.Mix all the flour together, heat 50 gms oil, mix to the flour along with salt and chili powder and ajwain. Then add the buttermilk soaked sago slowly and knead to a chapati dough consistency . Heat oil for deep frying.In the muruku achu(Chakli patra), add the dough. I used Anjali's, it is very easy to use.Make a shape of murukku on plastic sheet. When oil heat properly deep fry it on medium flame. It should turn to golden brown. Store it in a airtight container.



Notes:
Ensure sago soaks in buttermilk well and is soft or else it will burst when you press it down in hot oil.
Cook on medium to ensure even cooking.
Fried Gram flour is fried channa dal that is available commercially. It is general sold as the dal, we have to powder it at home. This is also referred as chutney dal as it is used in making coconut chutney.

Kachori for Indian cooking challenge

When Srivalli announced February's Indian cooking challenge, 'Kachori' . I was the happiest one. I got the chance to make this deep fried snack which I was avoiding to make from last 1-2 months. So this time I tried Moong dal and Green tuver/ Lilva kachori. I'll try Pyaj ki Kachori given by Srivalli some other time. Both my kachoris were perfect. We had it with imly ki chutney and green Pudina chutney. Thanks Medha and Srivalli .

Ingredients

The dough is the same for all the fillings.

Resting Time for the Dough is app 1/2 hr - 1 hr

Frying time for the Kachoris - 20 mins for each batch app.

Soaking Time for the Filling is app. 1 hr

Cooking Time for the Filling is app 15 mins

Yields - 15

For the Doug

• All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups
• Oil/ Ghee - 1/4 cup ,
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Water for kneading

Procedure

1. Mix the flour and salt, Add the oil/ghee and mix till you get a bread crumbs texture.
2. Slowly add water and make a soft dough. Knead well for about 8 minutes.
3. Cover and keep aside to rest for atleast half hour.

Special Tips / Notes for the dough:

1. Keep the dough covered at all times, if not it will dry up and not puff up when frying. If the dough is made right wet cloth can be used if not just a towel.
2. The dough could spring back for many reasons:
   Dough is too cold (If wet cloth is used)
   Dough is not soft enough.
   Not kneaded for enough time.
   Oil is less.
   Not rested enough

Fillings

Khasta Kachori - Moong Dal Kachori

Ingredients

• Split Moong Dal (yellow) - 1/2 cup
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
• Curry Leaves - 2 tsp chopped fine (opt)
• Green Chilli - Ginger paste - 1 tsp
• Sauf / Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Mango powder / Amchur - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Procedure

1. Wask and Soak dal in water for atleast 1 hour. You can go upto 4 hours not more.

2. Drain the water well.

3. Grind the dal to a coarsely. (Will resemble Idli Rawa)

4. Heat oil in a pan.

5. Add the hing and cumin seeds.

6. Once the seeds splutter add the curry leaves.

7. Add the dal.

8. Lower the heat and keep stirring for 5 minutes till the dal stops sticking to the pan.

9. Cook for another 10 minutes on low till the dal turns slightly brown.

10. Add all the masalas.

11. Cook for few minutes till the aroma of the spices hit you.

12. Add Salt.

13. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.

Special Tips / Notes for the filling

• The fillings have to be really dry if not when rolling they will ooze out when rolling.
• Adjust the masalas according to your taste. What is given in this recipe is spicy to the extent one can still enjoy.
• For idea on pressing the filled kachori, check out Manjula's method. If you try to press out using a rolling pin, the filling may come out and make holes in the kachori.
• Fry the kachori's on medium low to get a crisp outer layer, that is the key. For people using electric stove, the numbers can be going from 6 to 4.

Lilva Kachori

• 2 cups green fresh tuver / lilva
• 1 teaspoon green chillies, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds (saunf)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 4 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 2 tablespoons oil

salt

For the green tuver filling

1. Coarsely grind the green tuver,green chillies and ginger in a blender without using any water. Keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan,add the nigella seeds,fennel seeds,bay leaves and ground green tuver mixture and saute over a very slow flame for 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the chilli powder,garam masala,coriander and salt and saute for 2 more minutes. Remove the bay leavess and discard. Divide into 12 equal portions.

To Make Kachori's

1. Make a small ball from the dough. Roll out into a 2 inch diameter circle. Or flatten the ball using your fingers having the center thick and sides little thin.
2. Place about 1.5 tsp of the filling in the center of the rolled dough.
3. Cover the filling with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling. Seal the ends and remove excess dough. Repeat with all the balls and keep aside for 5 -7 mins.
4. Then using your palm, flatten the balls by lightly pressing it, as using the rolling pin will make the filling come out. (See notes below). Keep aside covered. Repeat with the remaining dough.
5. Meanwhile heat some oil for deep frying. The oil should not become smoking hot. Test to see if the temperature is right by dropping a tiny ball of dough and see if it is rising slowly to the top.
6. Drop the kachoris in batches of 3-4 gently into the oil. It should rise up slowly. If you don't want to use lot of oil, use just enough for two or three at a time and fry them.
7. After it rises up (about 2 minutes), turn it over.
8. Cook for about 6 to 10 minutes till the side down gets a golden brown color.
9. Turn and cook the other side for another 6 minutes or till its golden brown in color.
10. Remove when done, cool and store in airtight container.
11. Serve with coriander chutney and tamarind chutney

Special Tips / Notes for making the Kachoris:

• You can fry 3 kachori's at a time.
• The oil should be at a heat when you drop some dough it should come up slowly, if the dough comes up too fast the oil is too hot, if it does not come up then the oil is cold.
• It will not be crisp if the oil is too hot.

Moong Dal Halwa for ICC

I was planning to try moong dal halwa since Diwali. My father loves this halwa. I am very poor in cooking any sweet dish:). But thanks to Srivalli with this Indian cooking challenge, I can dare to make such dishes and it is turning out very nicely.

Ingredients

Moong dhal - 1 cup

Ghee - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 cup (as per required sweetness)

Milk - 1/2 cup

Cashews/ raisins roasted in ghee for garnish. (Optional)

Procedure

Soak 1 cup moong dal overnight. Next morning, grind to a paste. Heat a heavy Kadai, take initially only 1/2 of the ghee and heat it. Add the dhal and stir continuously, not allowing lumps to form. This part is very tricky as the dhal cooks really fast, irrespective of the ghee. Keep the heat at the lowest and keep stirring even after the dhal becomes thick. Add the rest of the ghee intermittently and cook the dhal until aromatic and the ghee starts oozing out. Meanwhile mix the sugar with water/ milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Add this slowly to the cooking dhal. Keep the fir low at all times and break lumps if formed while adding the sugar and water/ milk mix. Cook until the ghee surfaces.

Notes :

• Use a thick bottom pan or better nonstick pan.
• Don't leave the halwa unattended. The dal can stick and it can go from just done to burnt in a second so keep stirring as much as possible. You should remember to keep stirring to prevent dhal from sticking irrespective of the ghee added.
• You aren't looking for the halwa to get too thick when you turn off the heat. It was thicken as it cools.
• Cook until ghee surfaces on the sides and the halwa attains a very nice shine.
• Initially, it may appear that all the ghee is being used up. But as the dhal cooks the ghee separates. So the ghee measure is sufficient.
• In both recipes depending on how you got the moong dal paste, you may require slightly more ghee to get the texture.
• Though original recipe didn't call for roasting the dhal before soaking, Lataji felt roasting it a bit gives more fragrance.

Chegodilu… Muruku

When I read about this Chegodilu in Indian Cooking Challenge, I was wondering what it should be? When I search for the image on net and I found it's a Muruku… the name I knew about this dish. For the first time I ate this in Hyderabad at my Mausi's house. I tried this and everybody likes it. Tastes good with hot tea.

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 really a pinch

Salt as per taste

Oil to deep fry

Procedure

Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it. When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chilli powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover. Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough. Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them like threads between your palm or on rolling pan, bring the ends together to form into small rings. Fry them in hot oil till they turn golden in colour. Store in a airtight container.

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

Variation: Instead of Ajwain, Cumin and Sesame seeds, can be used along with chili powder.

Gulab Jamun

Wow It's really fun making Gulab Jamun from scratch. It's my first recipe for Indian cooking Challenge. I tried Gulab Jamun 2-3 times before this. But the khoya was readymade. It was unsuccessful attempts. This time it really went nice and soft. I tried Indo's method for making Khova and Alka's method for Sugar syrup.

Ingredients

For Khova

Milk - 1 liter

For Jamun

Khoya - 1 cup

All purpose flour - 2 teaspoons

Cornflour - 1 teaspoon

Crushed green cardamom - 1-2

Oil for shallow frying

For Sugar Syrup

Sugar- 400 Gms

Cardamom pods - 2-3

milk - One spoon

Few threads of saffron (optional)

2-3 drops of rosewater(optional but highly recommended)

Procedure

For Khova

Start out by setting the milk to boil in a heavy bottomed wide mouthed pan.

Keep stirring as the milk reduces to avoid milk getting burnt - half way stage.

Continue stirring, takes atleast 1 hour - almost done. Stop the heat when the milk solids come together as a mass - khova ready.

For Sugar Syrup

Mix about 500 gms of white sugar in one and half cup water and keep it for boiling.

Add a spoonful of milk to remove the impurities (impurities if any , will form a scum on surface)

Add 2-3 green cardamoms also in syrup for strong flavor, and a tad of saffron strings (optional)

Boil until you get just a tad sticky syrup. Gulabjamun syrup is not very dense nor too dilute as in Rasgulla

Strain the syrup, add rosewater when syrup is slightly cooled . Always remember two things while using rose water, do not add it while syrup is bubbling hot or on fire, and be particular about the quantity mentioned in every recipe, since even few drops of excess rosewater could lend a bitter taste to the final product.

For Jamun

Mix all the ingredients in a wide mixing bowl until soft textured dough is obtained (keep mixing until it is really soft). Make very small sized balls (bit larger than pebbles) as they swell up after frying and soaking in syrup. Make sure that the surface of dough balls is really smooth without any cracks. In case the cracks refuse to go away, slightly wet your palms with water and roll the flour till absolutely smooth. Now take little oil for frying in preferably flat bottomed pan, and heat the oil. But gulab jamuns are to be fried on LOW FLAME or else the surface will be browned while the core will remain uncooked. Some prefer to place an unsalted pistachio in the center of every gulab jamun while making balls, that way the core of gulab jamun is not left uncooked . Fry one or 2 gulab jamuns at a time and always remember to STIR THE OIL with slotted spoon AND NOT TO TOUCH GULABJAMUNS, which means keep swirling the oil without tossing or turning gulab jamun. Fry till light brown in colour, remove on tissue paper and repeat the procedure with rest of dough. Now soak these in COOL syrup for few hours. They will surely swell up. You can eat hot Gulab Jamun as it is or with one scoop of Vanilla Icecream:)