The world of Chaats!

Who doesn't love chaat? Definitely not on my health food items..but then I have very few in that list :) I love fried food of any kind..so Chaat definitely ranks high in my list of favorites. Just recently, I was chatting with my BFF, and she mentioned about aloo tikkis...Yumm!! I got inspired and tried to make it myself.The first tikki I ever made was in school during 9th standard. I still remember it was for some assignment in SUPW or some class like that. The teachers basically got bored of the cafeteria vadas..so they just divided us into groups and asked each group to make some dish and feed the entire staff...and we were graded for that. We were so enthustiastic since this was an opportunity to cook, experiment and have fun without much parental interference :). My team made aloo tikkis and tamarind sauce...Which I think deserved to win. Of course, we were not fortunate enough to have the class teacher's daughter in our team. Her team made gulab jamuns out of readymade mix and still won...how rude is that?? :D

Well, back to aloo tikkis...It is a very simple but yummy chaat item.There seems to be 2 or 3 versions of it. There is one that has a coating of besan and deep fried, There is one version in which urad dal along with some spices is stuffed onto potatoes and shallow fried. The one I tried out is by just mixing a bunch of ingredients and pan frying them. I shall try out the other versions and let you guys know which one turned out to be less time consuming and tastier!

Sweet and Spicy Tamarind chutney

I am going to totally cut down on my yapping and straight away go to this mouth watering recipe. I simply love it...its easy to make and very very yummy!! you will love it too!!

Ingredients:

1) Tamarind                     - golf ball sized
2) Red Chilli powder       - 1 to 2 tsp (according to your spice level)
3) Sugar                          - 4 tbsp (according to taste)
4) Salt                             - a pinch
5) Asafoetida/Hing          - a pinch
6) Turmeric powder        - a pinch
6) Chaat masala powder - 1 tbsp
7) Red chili flakes           - half  tsp (optional)
8) Coriander powder      - half tsp
9) Freshly grated ginger  - 1 tsp
10) Water                      - 2 cups, to make the tamarind pulp

Method:

1) Microwave the water for 2 mins (or just boil it in stove) and pour it in a bowl with tamarind in it. Allow this to cool down and extract the tamarind pulp. Strain this to remove wastage. Easier way is to use the ready-made tamarind pulp. You can use 3 tbsp of the pulp to dilute in the hot water.Although I do not prefer the taste of ready-made tamarind pulp.

2) To the tamarind water add rest of the ingredients and mix well.

3) If you are using a microwave, partially cover the bowl and cook it for 10 mins. Stir the contents every 2 mins. Or you can just boil this mixture on stove stirring occasionally. Boil this till the liquid reduces to half the quantity and thickens.

4) You can sprinkle chopped Coriander leaves to garnish (this is optional).

This yummy chutney can be stored and used for a week..Love it with any kind of chaats!

Note:

1) The quantity of ingredients can be varied according to your taste. before micorwaving, just taste it once and adjust accordingly.

2) You can try out different ingredients to sweeten this chutney.one option is sugar, alternatively you can use powdered jaggrey or brown sugar or even try out maple syrup!

 3) There is another version of the chutney where you can microvave a lil sugar and seedless dates for about 5 mins, grind this and add it to the  chutney instead of just sugar. This way the chutney gets a thicker consistency. If you are lazybones like me, then use dates syrup!! :))



 

Palak Paratha, my first success at Parathas :)

I always used to wonder what is so great about continental breakfast, Why is it so popular in this part of the world...after all it is mostly just some kinda toast,jams,coffee or juice. I got my answers when I got married and had the full responsibility of a kitchen. Ah! good old bachelorhood..when you just need to wake up to the delicious aroma from kitchen, you even get to complain about mom's choice of breakfast and get away with it :)..Once I got married I started appreciating the easiness of continental breakfast..it is quick and not much effort..


Sigh! Good old days don't last forever!! Any-ways, recently I got up to a beautiful sunny day and toast was the last thing in my mind. I had this craving for something more substantial and something very Indian. Dosa and Idli batters take forever to make..so I came across this simple yet yummy recipe for a perfect breakfast solution. Parathas..not too much effort..and 1 or 2 parathas fills my tummy and keeps me going for hours! I was not too good at making parathas, but this is a simple recipe..and I can safely claim healthy too :D It took me just under half hour to make them. It is somewhat similar to the Methi paratha recipe I posted few days back. It might look the same, but palak and methi definitely have very distinct taste. Why dont you guys try out both and determine it yourself!

Palak (Spinach) Paratha

Ingredients:

1) Palak                               - 1 cup roughly chopped
2) Wheat flour                     - 2 cups
3) Rice flour                        - 2 tbsp
4) Cumin seeds                    - 1 tsp
5) Corriander powder         - 1 tsp
6) Red chili powder             - 1 to 2 tsp (accordingto your spice level)
7) Salt to taste
8) Ghee/melted butter/oil    - 2 tbsp
9) Water to make the dough
10) Ghee/melted butter/oil  - to spread over the paratha

Method:

1) Dry roast the Cumin seeds and roughly crush them using a rolling pin. Alternatively you can use Cumin powder if you have that.

2) Mix all the ingredients from 1 thru 8 (including the roasted cumin powder). You can chose between ghee, oil or melted butter. I prefer using ghee because of the flavour.

3) Sprinkle some water and knead the mixture into a soft dough, until the dough doesn't stick to your fingers.

4) Cover this with a moist cotton cloth and set aside for 10 to 15 mins.

5) Similar to how we make chapathis, just divide the dough into golf ball sized portions and roll them to make them smooth.

6) Dip the ball in some wheat flour and roll them into a thick circle. The Parathas are generally thicker than chapathis.

7) Heat a griddle, and when it is hot enough put a rolled out Paratha and let is cook for a min or till you see tiny bubbles rise on the surface of the Paratha.

8) Flip the Paratha and spread some melted butter/ghee/oil on the surface. flip again in a min and apply some ghee to this side as well.

9) Remove from heat  when both sides are golden brown.

Rolled out parathas

Cooked paratha with ghee

Store them wrapped up in a moist cloth and place it a hot pack to keep it fresh until you serve. Serve it warm with some thick curd and pickles. I have seen some people enjoy it with a dollop of salted butter...but even to a grease addict like me..lotza butter first thing in the morning is a big NO NO..but you are free to enjoy it however you like it.. :)
 

Palak paratha with cauliflower fry and lauki subji