Puran poli : Dussehra special

Happy Dussehra to everyone reading this :))) Last year i had posted the recipe of Coconut Barfis (Naaralachya vadya - click on the link to read more about the festival) and today, i am posting that of Puran poli. Yes, it had to be a sweets-post since it's festival time, and how can the celebration be complete without making or eating sweet :) Some of the combinations are all-time favourites in a Maharashtrian home like Shrikhand- puri, Basundi-puri or Puran poli-kataachi amti etc. 

Puran poli is basically a flat-bread stuffed with a sweet filling of skinned split bengal gram and jaggery. The best part about Puran poli is, it tastes good even when it's cold ( or even a day old :)) . Usually eaten with a generous amount of tup (ghee) on top, it can also be eaten dipped in milk or with Kataachi Amti. As we say, the food and water changes every 10 kms in India, the same way - the method of preparation and ingredients vary in different regions in Maharashtra. Some add grated coconut to the sweet filling, some make the filling with sugar or a mix of jaggery and sugar both. For the covering, some make it with wheat flour and some with maida (all purpose flour) or a mix of both. Recently, one of my sister in law told me that in her village, the covering is made of suji (rawa). For flavouring, nutmeg and/or cardamom powder is added.

So, the recipe is actually quite easy- less ingredients and not much of cooking time. But the tough part is to roll the polis (breads) without letting the filling come out. If the filling comes out (which surely will, the first time you make it), it will burn while cooking the roti. So, to avoid it, just dust a little flour on the filling, and roll again.

You can fry the rotis with oil or ghee as per your liking, but ghee of course adds the flavour. So, diet conscious people, let the dieting stay away during festivities, what say? :) Also, you can make Puran one day prior and keep in the refrigerator. Puran(the filling) stays good in an air tight container in refirgerator for even a week. You can also eat Puran as it is with a plain roti adding little ghee on top... Tastes absolutely divine :)

Preparation time : 35-40 minutes

Cooking time : 20-25 minutes

Serves : 2-3 people

Recipe type: Indian flatbread

Ingredients:

Chana daal (Skinned split bengal gram) - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup 

(The right amount of sweetness is always to take equal quantity of lentil and jaggery)

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Wheat flour - 1/2 cup

Oil - 5 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Ghee - to fry the polis

Recipe:

Wash the chana daal well. Pressure cook the washed chana daal along with 2 n half cups of water for 4-5 whistles. Switch off the flame, let the pressure subside. Now drain the daal and remove water thoroughly.

Use this water to make Kataachi Amti.

Sift the all purpose flour and wheat flour together. Add in 5 tbsp oil and mix well.

You can also add a little of turmeric powder for colour. 

Now, add water little by little and knead into a nice elastic dough. Put the dough in a bowl, cover and let it rest.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadhai, and add the cooked chana daal. Add in the jaggery and mix well. The mixture will turn to a thin consistency as the jaggery will melt. Let it cook till the mixture forms a nice thick ball. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning or sticking to the kadhai. Lastly add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder and mix well.

Now traditonally this mixture used to be put through the Puran Yantra (Puran Maker) for a very thin soft puran, but since i didn't have that, i just mashed it with a masher and it was fine. I tool the idea of mashing the puran from here.

Now, make equal sized balls of the puran and the dough both.

Make sure the filling in each dough-ball is good enough for the taste to come.

Roll the dough in a small puri-shape and add the filling in the centre. Now with your fingertips, gently close the sides of the dough in the centre to cover the stuffing. Now roll this into a roti. You can use all purpose flour or rice flour to roll the roti.

Heat a tawa. Place the roti on the tawa and fry on both sides till golden in colour adding ghee on top. 

Puran polis are ready. Don't forget to enjoy one served hot right from the tava with ghee on top. 

Happy Cooking :)

Pav

There are so many types of breads in this world, the list really amazes me! Each country, region or town have their own distinct version of bread. The basic ingredients remain the same, but just "a hint of this, and an addition of that" changes the whole flavour, texture and taste of the bread. One of my blogger friend from Norwegia (Sharon) has recently sent me their local bread recipe, which i am going to make soon and post it on the blog. 

I have grown up with eating Pav from mumbai in my Vada Pav's and Pav bhaji's. So when i came to Delhi, the taste of the Pav was completely different for me. Pav is Indian bread, but the concept of it was introduced to us by the Portuguese in 15th century. The early Portuguese presence in India was "Missionary-heavy" and they made bakeries and baking a priority. These missionaries trained and taught the converts in Goa, the art of baking bread. Since yeast was not readily available, they used to bake with fresh coconut Toddy.

Well, making Pav is super fun. I purposely made small buns and gave them a round shape. But you can shape them as you want. Making them small surely helped since i was making it for the first time and they turned out super soft. 

I served some as a tiffin breakfast to hubby by spreading jam and butter in between. And some, i made into mini-burgers :))


Recipe adapted from : Ammaji's kitchen

Ingredients:

Maida (All purpose flour)- 1 and half cups

Yeast - 2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Sugar - 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp

Milk - 1/4 cup ( Add more or less as needed)

Butter - 1 tbsp (melted)

Water - 1/4 cup

Recipe:

Take a bowl and grease it with oil. This bowl is to be used for raising the dough, so take a little bigger one.

Yeast: There are two types of yeast. Instant and Active dry. If you have instant yeast, there is no need to activate it. But if you have dry yeast, you have to activate it. This process is called proofing. It is always beneficial if you proof the yeast.

Take 1/4 cup water and warm it. It should be lukewarm and not hot. If it is too hot, the yeast will die and if it is too cold, the yeast will not raise. Add about 1 tsp sugar to it and mix well. Now, add the yeast. Mix and cover the bowl and let it sit for about 8-10 minutes. The yeast will rise a bit.

In another mixing bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and butter.

Now make a small well in between and add the yeast. Mix well and now add milk little by little. The amount of liquid added depends on the strength of the flour. So don't add everything at once.

Add slowly and start kneading the dough. Knead for about 10 minutes.

Place this in the greased bowl, cover and let it sit for about 1 n half hours to raise.

Now, take out the raised dough, spread some flour on the wooden board and knead it for another 5-7 minutes till all air comes out. 

If the dough is too sticky, add some flour and knead again.

Make equal sized balls and flatten them a little or shape according to your wish.

Grease a baking tray with some butter or oil and place the balls in the tray leaving little space in between for them to rise up.

Cover this and let it sit for another 1 n half hours to rise.

Please keep the bowls to raise at room temperature only. 

After about 1 n half hours, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Brush the raised dough balls with olive oil/normal oil or milk and bake them for about 30 minutes till the top becomes golden brown.

Remove from the oven and brush some melted butter on them.

Let them cool.

Pav is ready :)

Happy Cooking :)

Shahi Tukda : Valentine Special

Shahi Treatment for The Prince Charming : Shahi means Royal, and what better way to make your husband feel royal on Valentine's day than to cook his favourite meal and top it all with a royal dessert :) As it was a working day, i decided to arrange a surprise for him...Yes, the usual surprise cards, aromatic candles, love messages in tiffin box, a photo collage, a bottle of wine, some homemade choclate muffins.... All this was definately making him smile. But i guess the way to a man's heart is definately through his stomach...when i cooked his favourite chicken dish for main course, that got him showing me all his teeth :)) And i topped it all off with this dessert....A super fun filled valentine's :) 
Basundi ( Recipe uploaded earlier ) (  http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2014/01/basundi-sweetened-milk.html ) is one of his favourite desserts.. so i normally make it once a month...So, to make something special for Valentine's , i decided to make Rabdi ( More thickened milk ) and top it on the shahi tukda. 

I had never tried this dish before, had only eaten at several restaurants. But making it was super easy and super fun ! Makes for a good sweet craving, and  a dessert everyone will enjoy at your home :)

Ingredients :

Milk - 1 Litre

Sugar - 1/3 rd cup

Water - A little

Ghee - To fry the bread slices

Saffron - a few strands 

Milkmaid ( Sweetened condensed milk ) - 2 tbsp ( This is optional, you can totally skip this or if you want, can add 1-2 tbsp of sugar instead )

Chopped nuts - almonds, Pistachios, Cashews, raisins ( Any of your choice for garnishing )

Bread slices - 4

Recipe :

Soak saffron in about 2-3 tbsp of milk.

Bring milk to boil in a non stick or a heavy bottomed pan. Reduce the heat to sim, and bring the milk to 1/2 of it's original...Keep stirring in between. It will start becoming thick and changing colour.

Now add the condensed milk ( or sugar ). If not, just add the saffron-milk mixture. Keep stirring again and reduce the milk to 1/2 of it's consistency ( comes to about 1/4th of it's original consistency ). It has to be of pouring consistency and not too thick. 

Let it come to room tempertaure. And then keep it in the fridge to cool. This is called Rabdi.

Meanwhile, take sugar in a saucepan and fill it with water just enough to cover the sugar. Let it come to a boil, and then simmer it for around 3-4 minutes more..( Remove a drop and see if it sticks to your finger, and forms a thread... That's when you know it's done)

Now Take the bread slices and cut it's edges. Now cut them diagonally into triangle shapes ( You can cut each slice into 2 or 4 parts, i prefer cutting them into 4 ). Heat ghee in a pan. Now fry the bread slices in ghee on medium/low flame till they become crisp and brown. Its important that the slices be crisp.

Remove and soak on a tissue paper. Now dip them into the sugar syrup for about 10 seconds and arrange them on the plate. Add the cool rabdi on top and garnish with chopped nuts.

Enjoy in the royal dessert... Tastes Heavenly delicious....:))

You can add the sugar syrup to the rabdi and even eat rabdi as a dessert in itself. Adjust the sugar content according to taste.

Alternatively, you can make shahi tukdas and store it in fridge. It stays for about 3-4 days.

Happy Cooking :)

Gulpoli : Maharashtrian delicacy

Makar Sankranti special : Makar Sankranti is a traditional festival celebrated in India which marks the transition of the Sun into the Makar Rashi ( Capricorn sign). For maximum years, it is celebrated on 14th of January... but rarely it also occurs on the 15th of January. It depends on when the sun changes its celestial path. It is also celebrated as the harvest festival.

Childhood memories : My memory of Makar Sankranti is only the " Til-gud" and "Gul-Poli" made by my mother. I love the gul-poli, simply because its crispy, and can be eaten for a week after it's made. Alternatively, you can also make the filling and store it and make it as and when needed. The dough stays in the fridge for almost a week too. I have never tried my hand at Gul-poli, as the process seems too tough and tedious for me. But this time, i carefully observed my mother making it and decided to note down all the small tit-bits she uses to make it just perfect!!! And its not that tough at all, so i am going to make it soon for sure !!! Its such a delight watching Mom cook :) 

Gul-Poli is usually found in all Maharashtrian homes during Sankranti. It is basically a roti ( bread) made of jaggery. Jaggery provides heat to the body, and hence it is eaten during this season of winter. The til-gud ( sesame -jaggery ) ladoos are also eaten during this time to provide heat and energy to the body during winters. I will post a different recipe for the 2 types of Til-gud ladoos that my mom makes. Meanwhile, here is the Gul-Poli recipe :

Ingredients :

( Makes around 20 )

For the filling :

Gul ( Jaggery ) - 1/2 kg

Besan ( Gram flour ) - 2 tbsp

Til powder ( Sesame powder ) - 1/2 cup ( Dry roast white sesame and grind them to a fine powder in the mixer-grinder )

Dry coconut powder - 1 tbsp ( Dry roast the dry-coconut and grind to a powder - turns little brown )

Ghee or Oil - 1 tbsp

For the dough :

Besan ( Gram Flour ) - 1 cup

Wheat Flour ( Atta ) - 4 cup

Maida ( All purpose flour ) - 1 n half cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Recipe :

Grate the Gul (jaggery). It should be fine, there should be no chunks in it.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, and roast the besan ( Gram flour ) till it turns light brown.

Mix the grated jaggery, sesame powder, dry coconut powder and besan well. It forms like a ball. Keep it aside.

Next, mix the Besan, wheat flour and maida together. Heat the 2 tbsp oil and add it to the mix-flour. This is called Mohan. Now knead it into a soft dough. Add water little by little. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes.

Roll a small ball from the dough to a small chapati, and add the filling. ( You can divide the dough and filling in equal quantities beforehand. )

Now cover it from all sides and close the ball neatly.

Roll this ball again into a thin chapati ( Flat bread) ...You can dust it with flour if it sticks.

The idea is to roll it carefully , so the filling doesn't come out.

Now heat a pan ( Tava ). Place the poli on the tava. Do not add any oil or ghee on top. Roast till done or till light brown.

Mom's Tips :

1. Always roast the Polis on tava on low flame

2. If the filling comes out of the Poli, then you can add a pinch of Lime ( Chuna which is used in Paan )to the filling.

3. Never stack the Polis on top of each other when hot. Spread them on a newspaper till they get cold and then stack them at room temperature.

Happy Cooking :)

Paneer Mushroom Sandwich

In my last blog article of Mushroom Capsicum fry, I had mentioned all the benefits and details about Mushrooms. I anyways had mushrooms in the fridge and decided to make a filling from it to make sandwiches for my hubby's tiffin. I needed a fast- quick recipe and i saw one on Jyotsna-Pant's Blog. Though she has made the sandwich in a toaster, i decided to make it my way on the tawa ( just to save time too )...
So, just a few variations here and there from her recipe, here is how the sandwiches turned out...

They taste heavenly and they are full of proteins, vitamins and minerals ( addition of paneer helps ). Makes a great evening snack too.

Ingredients : ( For 4 sandwiches )

Paneer - 100 gms

Mushrooms - 4 large

Bread - 8 slices ( makes 4 sandwiches ) I always use brown bread, but you can make it with white or multigrain bread too.)

Onion - 1 small

Garlic - 3 cloves

Green chilli - 1 ( we love spicy, adjust according to taste )

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Butter - to apply on the bread

Oil ( Olive oil ) - 1 tsp

Oregano - to  taste

Sweet basil - few leaves ( chopped finely ) - I have this plant in my kitchen garden, hence used it. This is optional.

And yes... Pepper - to taste
Cheese -  a little ( optional )

You can even add corriander leaves and/or cumin seeds for a different taste.

Recipe :

Wash the mushrooms and towel dry them ( see the earlier article of Mushroom Capsicum Fry to see how to clean the mushrooms )

Cut the mushrooms into small pieces.

Chop the onion, garlic and green chilli finely.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add the onions and saute for a minute till onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute for a minute more.

Mash the paneer and add to the pan.

Add the mushroom and put it on high flame. Don't cook for a long time after adding mushroom. And the high flame is must, as it will help in making the mixture dry. 

Now add the salt, green chilli, red chilli powder and pepper.

Cook for 1 more minute on high flame. Remove from flame and let it cool.
The filling looks like this :

Now heat tava and put some butter on it. Keep it on high flame and toast the bread slices on it, so they are brown. You can even toast the slices in a toaster, but make sure they are moist and soft and not dry and hard toast.

Now put the filling inside the slices, add the cheese (optional) and again put the sandwich on the tawa and press it slightly ( and gently) from top on both sides.

Your healthy sandwich is ready :)

Happy Cooking :))