Chora Fari and Farsi Puri (Crispy Indian Snacks)

I try and make a variety of snacks during the holidays.   It makes life a bit easier if you ae travelling during the day and dinner isn't ready on time.  This Easter I made chora fari which is quite quick to make and tastes great when you spinkle some spices such as chilly powder or even Chaat masala on it.

I still follow my recipe for chora fari which was posted by me two years ago.

I also made some farsi puris .  I know that my recipe for farsi puri is very popular judging by the number of times other bloggers have used pictures of my puris on their blog.  It's plagiarism but I am taking it as a compliment.  I hope they enjoyed making the puris as much as I did.

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Punjabi Samosas – To fry or not to fry?

Samosas are available in most places in the world as little triangle pastries filled with a variety of vegetarian or non-vegetarian fillings.  They can be eaten as a snack with a cup of tea or served as a starter with any meal. 

The recipe is easy to make but as with most cooking - preparation is the key to making these.

Ingredients for 30 samosas

6 medium potatoes

6  medium carrots

1 ½ cup of frozen peas

I finely chopped onion (medium size)

A teaspoon of blended ginger

2 or 3 finely chopped green chillies (can be reduced or missed out if you do not like hot food)

Small bunch of finely chopped coriander

1 tsp salt

2 tsps sugar or sugar substitute

1 tbp lemon

1 tsp of garam masala  (optional)

1 litre sunflower oil if you wish to try the samosas

For the pastry

2 ½ cups of plain flour

¼ cup of butter

½ tsp of carom seeds (optional)

½ tsp of rosemary

½  cup warm water

½ cup plain flour to help roll out the pastry

Method:

1. Add butter, carom seeds and rosemary to the plain flour and mix. Add some warm water a little at a time to the flour to make the pastry dough.  The dough should be of a similar consistency to play doh. Cover this dough and leave in a warm place.

2.   Dice the potatoes and carrots into small cubes.  Wash the vegetables and transfer them to a microwave dish with the frozen peas.  Add in the ginger, salt and sugar.  Let this mixture cook for 10 minutes, stir and cook again for 10 minutes.   The vegetables should now be cooked.  Add in the lemon juice and stir.

3.  Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and add in the garam masala , finely chopped onions, green chillies and coriander and mix well.  Allow this mixture to cool. By adding the garam masala and uncooked onions, chillies and coriander at this stage will give the samosas a nice flavour.

To prepare  the somasas  

4.    Knead the dough and divide the pastry dough into 30 small balls.  Take one ball and using some dry flour roll out a circle of about 4-5 inches in diameter.

 5.  One circle will make two samosas.  Cut the circle into two.

6. Place the samosa mixture on one quarter of the semicircle. 

7. Pull the second quarter to cover the samosa mixture.  

8.  Join the edges by pressing them with a fork.  

9.   Finish making all the samosas and save them on a lightly floured surface.

10. You can now choose the healthy option for cooking your samosas by rubbing/spraying  some sunflower oil on the samosas and baking them for 20 minutes at 180 degrees (350 degrees F)  or you be naughty and deep fry them until golden brown.   I baked half and fried the rest. Both tasted equally nice.

This is the baked version:

This is the fried version:

11.  Serve them hot or cold with any dip. 

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Somasa Chaat with Yogurt (Indian Snack Food)

Ever since I saw this and other street food  recipe in Srivalli's blog , I have been craving for it.  I often make somosas but usually just eat them on their own so this was a whole new experience for me.

Ingredients to serve 2-3 people:

10-12 samosas .  My recipe for making  samosas is here.
2 cups sev.    My recipe for making sev is here.  
2 cups Plain yogurt
1/2 cup coriander chutney.  My recipe for chutney is here
1/2 cup tamarind chutney. (I used  ready made Maggie's tamarind sauce)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chilly powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon coriander powder
1 finely chopped tomato
1 finely chopped onion

Method:

Samosas

yogurt with spices

1.  Prepare the samosas as per my recipe.

2.  Prepare the coriander chutney as per my recipe.

3.  Prepare the tamarind chutney.  I used ready-made Maggie sauce today.

4.   Prepare the yogurt sauce:  Beat the plain yogurt and add salt, pepper, chilly powder, cumin, coriander powder. (You can also add sugar if you think your yogurt is sharp).  You can add ready made Chaat masala to the yogurt if you do not wish to add all the spices I used. 

5.  Now you are ready for preparing the chaat.   Break two or three samosas in bite size pieces and arrange them in a bowl.

6.  Add the yogurt mixture on top of the samosas.

7.  Pour some coriander chutney and tamarind sauce on top of the yogurt.

8.  Sprinkle the tomato and onion pieces on the mixture.

9.  Finish off with a sprinkling of  sev and enjoy your Samosa chaat.

10.  I also made one portion with some chora fari toppings too!

11.  We really enjoyed this dish and tried it with several variations.

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Gujarati Dhokras/Dhoklas made the traditional way

Dhokla or dhokra are a Gujarati savoury snack often referred to as lentil cake.  Because it has yogurt in it, it has a lovely sour dough bread kind of a taste.  This is a steamed dish recipe. There are lots of recipes for making instant dhokra and you can also get ready made packs to which you just add water and steam. All these methods are fine if the taste remains the same.

This is a nice dish to serve for brunch on any day but it can also be served a starter when entertaining. In Gujarat, it's served as part of a thali.

Ingredients for a large plate (about the size of a medium to large pizza)


For the dhokra:

2 cups of chick pea flour
1 cup of plain yogurt (it’s good to use sharp yogurt for this recipe. To make the yogurt sharp, leave it out of the fridge for a day or two)
1 teaspoon soda bi carbonate
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh green finely chopped chilies (optional)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2-3 karge cloves of grated garlic
Half a teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon salt

For tempering (or tadka or vaghar) of dhokra:

A small bunch of finely chopped coriander.
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 teaspoon mustard
1-2 teaspoons sesame seeds
A few curry leaves (optional)
2-3 finely chopped green chilies (optional)
1 tablespoon of sugar (optional)
1-2 tablespoons dessicated coconut (optional)

Method:

For the traditional recipe, there is some preparation involved.

1. Mix the chickpea flour and yogurt. Add half a cup of warm water to it, stir well and keep this covered in a warm place overnight.

2. The next day, stir the mixture. The yogurt will have helped  the mixture to ferment.

First prepare the utensils for steaming the dhokras:

3.Get  a large saucepan or a wok and add water to it.

4. Put a large bowl or colander in the water and place your dhokra plate over this. You can use any small sandwich cake tin or an aluminum or steel plate for dhoklas.

5. Grease the plate with cooking oil.

6. Add the chillies, ginger and garlic to the dhokla mixture.

7. Add the salt and turmeric to the mixture.

8. In a small cup, add half a cup of hot water, 1 teaspoon of soda bicarbonate and one tablespoon of lemon juice. As you add these together, you will see them rising like an effervescent.

9. Add this mixture to the dhokra mixture and stir well.

10. Pour the dhokra batter onto the dhokra plate

11. Cover the dhokra plate ensuring no air is escaping. I usually place a damp tea towel round the edges of the wok to ensure no steam escapes.

12. Cook the dhokras for 15-20 minutes.

13. Remove cover and check the dhokras. They should look spongy. Insert a toothpick or knife to the centre. It should come out clean if it’s cooked.

14. Remove from the heat and prepare to temper the dhokra.

15.  Dhokras can be eaten without tempering.  Just dip them in any fresh cooking oil and a bit of chilly powder and try them hot - just after you finish steaming them!! They are fantastic!

The tempering (or tadka or vaghar):


The tempering and serving can be done in any of the following ways:

1. First method is the easiest and one I would recommend: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the mustard seeds and sesame seeds to it.  Cover the dish as these will start popping.   Once they stop popping, spread this over the dhokra.  I like to sprinkle some chilly powder on my dhokras.  Cut them into squares or diamonds and garnish with green chillies, coriander, dessicated coconut and serve with green chutney or ketchup.

2. Second method:  Cut the dhoklas into squares or diamonds. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the mustard seeds and sesame seeds to it. Add the dhokra to the oil, stir them gently. The dhokras can break so try tossing them rather than stirring them. I allow these to cook until slightly brown before serving.

3. Third method : This is a bit harder. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the mustard seeds and sesame seeds to it. Once they start popping turn down the heat. Add two tablespoons of water and one teaspoon of sugar to this mixture and quickly cover the dish. Allow this to  boil for 2-3 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture resembles syrup. Pour the syrup evenly over the dhokra.  Amazingly, all the mixture gets absorbed by the dhokra.   Garnish with fresh coriander, chopped green chillies and dessicated coconut.

TIP: Left over dhokras can be deep fried and eaten the next day.

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Sev (Gujarati nasto) Chickpea noodles Snack

Crispy sev is shaped very much like thin vermecelli.  The thickness of the sev depends on the disc you use.   Sev  is usually made salty but  can also be made spicy by adding chilly powder.  It is  eaten as a snack on it's own or as sev mamra where you add puffed rice to it.   It's also used to sprinkle on a lot of Indian fast foods such as bhel puri and sev puri.  It is sold in packets in most grocery stores or Indian takeaways.  But did you know how easy and cheap it is to make at home?  Apart from the ingredients you will need the following gadget.  I call it the sev gathia machine which has different plates to make various sizes of sev.  This is sold in most Indian shops selling utensils.

 Ingredients for making sev (using the following measurements I got about 500 grams of sev): 

2 heaped cups of chick pea flour
2 tablespoons of rice flour
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
pinch or turmeric
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 litre oil for frying
1 cup warm water for mixing the dough  - to use as required

Method:

1.  Sieve the chick pea flour, rice flour and salt in a mixing bowl. 

2.   Add the turmeric and lemon.

3.   Add warm water and mix the dough using a fork for as long as you can.  Chick pea flour can get very sticky.   Once you get the dough mixed, grease your hands and check that  the dough is of  a fairly soft consistancy.  Transfer this to a clean plate and allow the dough to rest for half an hour.

					4.   In the mean time, heat the oil to medium heat. 5.   Grease the sev maker cylinder lightly with oil, choose the thinnest disc and fill it with the dough. 6.   Turn the handle and  drop the sev directly into the hot oil in a circular fashion, spreading it evenly in the oil, so it does not stick together. 7.  Turn the sev once and allow to cook.  The sev is best cooked at medium heat or it will burn. 8. Remove the sev with a  metal skimmer and place it  in a colander to allow any excess oil to drain off. Skimmer 9. This is the bit - I hate doing as I like the round piles. The sev needs to be broken gently and stored in an airtight container. You can use some sev to make sev mamra too.

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Muthia - Indian Dumplings made with millet, wheat and chickpea flour

Muthias are steamed spiced dumplings made with vegetables and a mixture of flours. The most common vegetables used are fenugreek, spinach, cabbage or marrow. You can also use left over rice instead of the vegetables. Muthias are a quick Gujarati snack. Another dish not usually available in Indian restaurants.

For this recipe, I used white cabbage with a mixture of wheat, millet and chickpea flour.

Ingredients (serves 4-6 people):

150 grams cabbage
140 wheat flour
100 grams millet
100 grams chickpea flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda bicarbonate
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon crushed green chillies (can use pepper ort chilly powder)
Half teaspoon turmeric
1 cup cooking oil
Half cup yoghurt
2 to 3 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon grated coconut
1 tablespoon coconut
A handful of finely chopped coriander

cabbage

Method:

1. Sieve the three flours and add the cabbage to the flour
2. Add the salt, turmeric, crushed ginger, garlic and green chillies
3. Add the soda bicarbonate and a tablespoon of sesame seeds
4. Add 3 tablespoons of oil
5. Mix together and add the yoghurt.
6. Using some warm water, knead the flour and shape it into a long, thin and flat roll on a work top.

7. Using a bread knife, cut through the roll into one inch strips

8. These strips need to be steamed. I used a pressure cooker to do this.
9. Lightly grease these strips to stop them sticking together when steaming.
10. Steamed the muthias for 45 minutes in the pressure cooker.

11. Once cooked, remove them from the pressure cooker and allow them to cool.

12. Cut the muthia strips into small pieces.
13. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil.
14. Add in sesame seeds and allow them to pop
15. Add in the Muthias.
16. Stir fry them gently or the the muthias might crumble.
17. Once they start to brown slightly, they are ready to serve.
18. Decorate with dessicated coconut and chopped coriander
19. Muthias can be served with green chutney or yoghurt chutney.

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