Chole Kulcha Pizza Style !

With Birizza making news in the market, and getting all sorts of mixed reviews, fusion dishes are making their way in the kitchen. Birizza is a new dish launched by American restaurant chain Pizza Hut, wherein biryani cooked on a tava is sealed with a baked pizza topped with olive. To be honest, i haven't tried it yet so i have nothing to say about it. But i surely tried this fusion dish of serving Chole kulche in pizza style from the recipe of Chef Harpal Singh.

My Dad always says, " Be a Roman in Rome" which explains the fact that one should adapt to the surroundings and be flexible to whatever comes your way. I always apply this teaching of his when it comes to food and travel.As much as i miss eating Mumbai food in Delhi, i love the rich, masaaledar (full of masalas ), spicy, chatpata khana here. Chole Kulcha is to Delhi what Vada Paav is for mumbai. It is one of the most popular Street food dishes and it does taste terrific! As much as i cook chole often here, chole chaat is one dish i love to snack in too. Just boil the soaked chana, add in chopped tomatoes, onions, green chillies, some corriander leaves and some salt. Makes for a great evening snack. 

The same chole chaat served on a readymade pizza bread ( or we even get kulcha breads here ) adds to the presentation and tastes crispy and flavourful too.

Ingredients :

Kulcha bread/Pizza Bread - 1

Chickpeas ( White chana/chole ) - 1 cup ( Soaked overnight )

Onion - 1 medium ( chopped finely )

Tomato - 1 medium ( chopped finely )

Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp

Green chilli - 1 ( Chopped finely )

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp ( adjust according to taste )

Processed chesse/ Pizza cheese/ Mozarella - to sprinkle ( as required )

Salt - to taste

Butter - To apply on the pizza bread  

Recipe :

Pressure cook the chickpeas till they are soft ( took me about 3 whistles ). What i normally do is add about 1/4 tsp of turmeric ( haldi ) and 1/4 tsp of red chilli powder and 1/4 tsp of garam masala to the water while pressure cooking the chole. This way, i believe, the flavours merge in well. But it is optional. Let it cool and drain the water ( You can use this water to cook any curry later on, so refrigerate this and don't throw it away )

Cut the Kulcha bread or pizza bread into 4 portions. Now heat a tava and place them on it. Brush a little butter on top side of the bread evenly.

Add a little oil to the tava, and toast the bread till it becomes little brown and crisp ( Make sure not to brown it too much or else the bread will become hard )

Take the boiled chickpeas in a bowl, add the chopped tomatoes, onions and green chillies. Mix in some red chilli powder ( If required, according to taste ), the chaat masala and salt. Mix the mixture well. and divide it equally on top of the 4 portions of bread. 

Now add the grated cheese. Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius for 5 minutes. Grease a baking tray with some oil and place the 4 slices of pizza bread on top. Bake at 180 degree celcius till the cheese melts ( took me about 5 minutes ).

Sprinkle some red chilli powder on top and serve along with ketchup or as it is.

Easy- snack recipe and one wholesome too ! 

Happy Cooking :)

 

Chole Tikki

And here i write my 50th post : Blogging has surely given me lots of learning and knowledge and with all the love and support i am getting from friends,viewers and followers, i hope to continue this a long way! "Miles to go before i sleep" :)

I wanted to cook something special for my 50th post, but i couldn't help posting this one as Election ( and especially Narendra Modi) fever is ON everywhere in India! The newspaper is filled with all ( and only !!) articles about Lok Sabha Elections! Though am glad that people ( especially common man, and youth are voting to see a change in the Government ), i couldn't help but salute the PR agency of Narendra Modi who have left no stone unturned but to make us eat, sleep, dream Narendra Modi. I especially loved the hilarious "Modi Sarkaar" quotes that has been doing the rounds on social media, especially Facebook and whats-app. To quote a few favourite ones,

So, just when i picked up my Thursday morning newspaper ( which was the Voting Day in Delhi ), i saw Narendra Modi on the front page of the newspaper, and couldn't help make a quote myself for the breakfast i had cooked -
"Chole ke bina tikki hai bekaar, ab ki baar Modi Sarkaar" and i laughed out so loud myself, that i thought i had to share it with you all ! So here's bringing Chole Tikki for you...

Chole tikki, Aloo tikki, aloo chaat are the terms i learnt when i shifted to Delhi. In Mumbai, we get Ragda pattice which is made with yellow peas ( white Chana/Vatana) whereas Chole is made with chickpeas.
Now this one is again one of my Leftover Recipes, where i had Chole in the refrigerator from the earlier night ( and for some reason, me and hubby like some dishes like chole, rajma or some gravy dishes more from the earlier nights than when cooked fresh!! ). And yes, i had Boiled potatoes too! I normally boil potatoes and store in fridge. Comes in handy when you want to make a quick snack!
This is normally served with the green chutney ( corriander-mint ) and the brown chutney ( tamarind-dates) , but since i am always in a hurry in the mornings to make the tiffins, i skipped this bit. Despite that, it tasted delicious!

So Chole-tikki adorned Hubby's breakfast tiffin and no doubt, he relished it :))

Ingredients :

Potatoes : 3 medium

Corriander powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 tsp ( you can also use cumin seeds or even ajwain to add a different taste)

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Amchur powder - 1 tsp (This made up for the tamarind-date chutney that i didn't make)

Besan/Cornflour - 1 n half tbsp ( I used besan )

Rock salt ( sendha namak ) - to taste

Oil - for frying

Other :

Cooked Chole - 1 cup

Chopped onions - 1/4 cup

Chopped tomatoes - 1/4 cup

Sev - As required

Lemon juice/ Chaat masala / Red chilli powder ( Optional ) - As required for garnishing

Corriander leaves - For garnish.

Recipe :

Boil, Peel and mash the potatoes well.

Mix in all the spice powders.

Add Salt.

Now add the Besan.

Mix everything well and make medium sized ( or as desirable ) patties of the potato mixture.

Heat oil in a pan. 

Shallow fry the Patties till crisp and golden brown.

Now add the Chole on top.

Add chopped onions and tomatoes.

Add the chutneys if you have or add sev (Baarik sev as we call it , tastes great with this )

Add Chaat masala, red chilli power and/or lemon juice if you want.

Garnish with Corriander leaves.

Relish it for breakfast with green tea, and yes, Don't forget to say , "Ab Saas-bahu khaayenge Chole-tikki aur achaar, Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkaar ) !!! ( From one of my friend Aniket Badame ).

Alternatively, you can also make these tikkis as a snack, and serve it along with chutney. Or sandwich them between breads with a layer of ketchup. Be as creative as you can ! 

Happy Cooking :)