Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Paapdis for Sev Pooris or Or Pappadi chat

Papaadis are small Pooris, which are used in Chats and can be eaten plain pooris too..

Ingredients :
Maida :( All Purpose flour):  2 cup
Samolina ( Chiroti Rava ) : 1/2 cup
Salt : to taste
Oil : 11/2 cup
Salt : to taste
Cooking Soda : a pinch

Method:
Mix maida ( All Purpose flour ), Salt, Samolina ( Chiroti Rava, small size Rava) and soda  nicely in a big bowl. Heat one table spoon of oil and  pour it to the mixed flour.  Mix well and add water little by little and prepare thick dough. ( Should be thick like poori  dough) .  Cover the dough and leave it for 5 minutes.
Put one or two spoons of dry maida in  a small plate . 
Now knead the dough and  take a handful of dough and make a ball . Flatten the dough and turn both side of the flatten dough in  dry maida and roll this in chapati roller as chapatis. Take a small bottle cap and cut the flatten chapatis into small circle shapes. Just make small marks on  these small pooris in a small knife to get flatten pooris.   Deep fry these small pooris on low flame to get crispy pooris.  Repeat the same for the rest of the dough.  Paapadis or pooris are ready . Leave them for some time to cool down and put them in a air tight box and use when ever you need them.

Note :  Do  not roll into very thin chapatis. Let it be slightly thick . Must fry them on  low flame to get the crispiness.  Can add butter instead of  hot oil. Do not use Dalda .( A kind of margarin). Using a small knife or the edge of the spoon to mark small cuts in the pooris help them to be flat. ( It does not allow the poori to be fluffy).  Add the hot oil on the flour and leave it for coolingfor 5 minutes and then add water to prepare the poori dough.
One more step is to roast Maida flour for 2 to 3 minutes add a spoon of oil and leave it for cooling. Then add water to prepare pooris or steam the plain flour for 8 minutes in a pressure cooker and when cools you can prepare pooris. ( No need to add any oil to steamed flour.
Step to steam Maida flour:  Keep little water in a pressure cooker. Keep a bowl upside down . On the top keep Maida in a container ( without adding water- dry flour should be steamed. You can also put this flour in a towel and tighten around the flour and them steam it).   
You can also prepare  pooris which are used in Paani pooris by flattening the chapaatis a bit thinner.   And do not cut or mark the small pooris. So that it becomes fluffy and good for paani pooris.

20 to 25 pooris can be made.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

WaterMelon Rind Curry

 WaterMelon  Rind is used here to prepare the curry. Curry is one the side dish and we can prepare different types of curries. Normally the fruit part of water melon is eaten and the rest part is thrown out.It is said that water melon's inner part is also should be consumed and it is full of nutritious and filled with good qualities. 
I have used toor dal, black channa and spices to prepare this curry. Watermelon curry goes well with plain rice, chapatis, rotis, dosas and almost all main dishes.
No onion or garlic is used in Watermelon Rind Curry.
Lets see the recipe now :

Things Needed :

Moong Daal :1/4 cup
Water Melon  Rind : 2 to 3 cups.
Sambar powder or Rasam powder : 2 to 3 teaspoons
Tamarind Pulp : 1 Table spoon
Salt : to taste
Coconut : 2 to 3 Table spoons( Fresh and grated ).
Jeera/Cumin Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil : 1Teaspoon
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Urd Daal :1/2/ tea spoon
Ingh : 1 pinch
Curry Leaves : 5 to 6 leaves.

 Method :

1. Wash and pressure cook moong dal and black channa. (better to soak channa at least 4 to 5 hours before cooking). .
2. Wash watermelon rind nicely, remove the top green part slowly and cut it into small pieces. (Pressure cook along with moong dal).
3. Grate coconut and grind it with little jeera. Use very little water to grind it.
4. Soak tamarind (a small marble size) in hot water.  Squeeze out the pulp and keep the pulp aside.
5. Now keep a big pan on the fire. Heat and put mustard seeds, jeera and 4 to 5 grains of methi seeds. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
6. Add curry leaves and ingh. Add cooked dal and cooked water melon pieces.  Add a  pinch of turmeric and sambar/rasam powder. Mix it well and let it cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add salt and ground coconut mixture. Mix it nicely and let it boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Shift the ready curry to a serving dish. Add cut coriander leaves and serve with main dish.
8. Add a spoon of ghee when the curry is hot.

Note : 

You should use pressure cooker to cook watermelon rind. (The pieces turn hard after cooking it. (It is better to pressure cooker).
You can also use a pinch of garam masala to give a good aroma and adds to the taste. Adding ghee to the sambar is optional. Using more or less jaggery is optional. You can cook this curry with out black channa . Adding different types of beans is optional.
To get fresh rasam powder, fry  1/4 Teaspoon of methi seeds, coriander seeds, red chilly and add jeera. Fry nicely . Dry grind it in the mixi jar and allow it to cool.
Time :Cooking time :30  minutes +  soaking time 4 to 5 hours.
Serves : 3 to 4 .

Jack fruits Seeds Tikki

Jack fruits are healthy Seasonal fruits. The seeds also contain lots of good vitamins and minerals.  After eating the fruit we throw away th...

About

author
My name is Nalini Somayaji. Teaching is my profession. Cooking is my passion. Reading, travelling, visiting new places, having fun with kids are some of the hobbies I can say. My recipes are Healthy, quick, easy and simple. Grown up being a traditional family member I love and respect Indian culture and traditions. Love classical dance and music.
Learn More →