Bye bye 2009... with Panipuri & SPDP

It is already the end of 2009. This time most of our friends are out of town, so there was no potluck and we sure did miss that. After being out of town for five days and eating quite a few take outs, I wanted to make something that I absolutely love. About a month back, I had bought a couple of packets of puris to make Panipuri, but did not get time to make them. Back in India my cousin K and I used to eat out at our favorite panipuri joint at least once a week. On couple of year end celebrations, we have had chaat nights, panipuri being the featuring dish and have enjoyed it very much. Considering the chaat fan that I am, I feel lucky if I get even one packet of puris when required. Ours is a small town with only two stores carrying Indian snacks and groceries, so I usually stock a couple of packets :)

Making panipuri takes a considerable amount of time. But if you keep paani (which is made by adding some tamarind paste and spices to water) readily available it is very easy to make. I usually make a large batch of paani and keep it in the fridge in glass jars. It stays fresh for as long as 1-1.5 months without going bad and that way we can have panipuris absolutely instantly. Paani is the most important preparation in making panipuri. This is how I make it. I have followed this method for years and absolutely love the outcome.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup tamarind
1/4 cup dates (optional)
1 inch fresh ginger
3/4 green chillies
Handful of fresh mint
Juice of half lime/lemon
1-1.5 cups jaggery
6 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp panipuri masala

Soak the tamarind in water for some time. In a grinder take the soaked tamarind(including water), dates, ginger, green chillies, lime juice and mint, and grind it into a fine paste. Take out this paste in a bowl, add salt, water and jaggery. Start by adding about a cup of jaggery and increase the amount as needed(depending on how you like your paani). Mix well until the jaggery is completely dissolved and strain this watery mix.

Panipuri

To make panipuri you need boiled potato (mashed) and moong beans(soaked and then pressure cooked). Take a puri and make a hole in the center. Fill the puri with potato, moong beans and paani and enjoy. If you like panipuri on a slightly sweeter side, you can add sweet tamarind-date chutney.

Shev Potato Dahi Puri a.k.a SPDP

If you have panipuri preparations on hand, you can make SPDP right away. Fill the puri with some potato, sweet chutney (optional) and paani. Sprinkle some salt and red chilli powder. Top it off with shev, yogurt and finely chopped onion. I generally add some sugar to the yogurt before using it in SPDP.

It will be 2010 in a couple of hours, so here is wishing you all a very happy and a prosperous new year.

Kacchi Dabeli

Living in the US, street food is something that I really miss. Especially during summer when we go for long walks or may be sometimes when we are sitting in the park, I always say to myself "Ah...I wish there was a chaat vendor or a dabeli vendor". The cravings are so strong that within the next two days some chaat dish is in the making in my kitchen. Two days back while cleaning the freezer I noticed a bottle of dabeli masala. Last time I remember making dabeli was probably 2 years back. I was thinking... has it really been two years? Wow...that's a really long time. So I had to make this now. Of course I bought a new packet of masala :)

Kacchi dabeli is one of the popular street foods in Maharashtra. In Pune, there is practically one dabeli vendor at the corner of every main street or in every residential area. Dabeli is made by stuffing potato mixture inside bread (such as dinner rolls or hamburger buns) and lightly toasting both sides in butter. Here is how to make it.

Ingredients:
(Serves 4-6)
3 medium potatoes (boiled and mashed)
1 medium chopped onion
1.5 tsp dabeli masala (more or less as needed)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Handful of pomegranate arils
2-3 tbsp tutti-frutti(optional)
12 Dinner rolls or hamburger buns
Handful of salted/ masala peanuts (optional)
Tamarind-date chutney (sweet)
Thin shev (optional)
1 small onion - finely chopped
3-4 tbsp Butter/ vegetable spread
For tempering:
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafoetida and turmeric
1. First step in the making of dabeli is to make potato stuffing. Make the tempering and add to it chopped onion. Saute until tender.
2. Add mashed potato, salt, red chilli powder and dabeli masala; and mix well.

3. Take a dinner roll and split it open. Slather the inside with sweet tamarind-date chutney.
4. Add some potato stuffing, peanuts, pomegranate arils, tutti frutti and finely chopped onion.
5. Heat the pan, add some butter and lightly toast the bread (both sides).
6. Sprinke some thin shev if you like and serve hot.

Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney:
Take tamarind and dates (I use pitted dates) in the ratio of 1/2:2. Add some water to it and microwave for about a minute (this will make both tamarind and dates soft and easy to squish). Squish it and strain the pulp. Add some jaggery (taste for sweetness) and a pinch of salt. Also add cumin powder if you like. Sweet chutney is ready.

Whole wheat banana bread - A quick update

Last week I made Banana bread using whole wheat flour. I used the exact same recipe as before, but used regular chapati flour (which is a whole wheat flour) instead of all purpose flour. I was slightly worried as to how it would taste, but still decided to give it a shot. To my surprise it tasted even better with whole wheat flour. I am so glad because now I have another healthy snack to make, and I pretty much see myself doing it very often.

Kanda Bhaji a.k.a. Onion Pakoda

For me, onion pakodas are associated with the rainy days. Just as it starts to rain, the very first thing that comes to my mind is kanda bhaji a.k.a. onion pakodas. There is nothing like being at home, sitting by the window with a plate of pakodas and simply watch the rain, when it is pouring outside. It is so much fun to watch people and vehicles pass by, and kids play in the rain. When the weather is cloudy and gloomy, pakodas is the perfect dish to have. In fact onion pakodas are so tasty that you would want to eat them any time. But since it's a fried food, I just look for opportunities to make it (without feeling guilty about it :P). And this weekend's heavy snow just gave me the reason I was looking for :D. Pakodas are just like fritters. Onion pakoda is pretty simple to make. You need the following -

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
3 small onions
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1-1.5 tsp red chilli powder (as per your taste)
A pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
1/2 cup chickpea flour (more or less as needed)
Oil for frying

1. Thinly slice the onions and separate the layers.
2. In a bowl, take the sliced onions, add salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander and red chilli powders, mix well and leave for about 15-20 minutes. This will soften the onions releasing the juices.


3. Add chickpea flour (as needed) to the onions and start mixing until you have thick batter.
4. Heat oil and drop the batter into the oil and fry until golden brown.
5. Take the pakodas out on a paper towel (to drain the excess oil) and serve hot.


You can also serve them with tamrind chutney or any other condiment of your choice.