Puran puri and Peas and potato curry

Last Thursday's Evening Standard had an article about a blog called "Eating the year Blog" where the blogger Virginia Patania photographed all her meals evryday and blogged about it.  I thought that that was a great idea and might try to do something similar but at the same time - give you a link to the recipe for people who may be interested.

Todays's dinner was Puran puri which is a chapati made with sweet lentils stuffing. It is the festival of  Holi  so I wanted to make a sweet dish which the whole family could enjoy.

For the curry option - I made a simple peas and potato curry (mutter bateta nu shak). This curry is one of my favourites and goes well with puran puri..  It's also very quick to make this which is great when you work long hours.  Traditionally puran puris are served with a curry, rice and Kadhi (a yogurt soup).  As I mention the combination, I realise that my blog does not have the recipe for Kadhi which I shall post soon.  For that reason too, I am appreciating this Post.

I also made some plain rice to go with  the meal.  I just realised that I have never posted a recipe for  plain rice so I shall be posting that soon.

Most Indian meals are served with chutneys or salad.  I made some onion and tomato and fresh ginger salad which we call Kachumber. (Recipe for the salad dressing will be posted soon)

We always eat our meals as a family round the table.  We feel that its so important for a family to sit and eat together every day.  We enjoyed this hot and delicious meal talking about our day and listening to the Radio. 

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Stuffed Parathas with Quinoa, vegetables and nuts

My last recipe was Tortilla wraps stuffed with Quinoa, vegetables and nuts.  I had some Quinoa and minced vegetable stuffing left over from making that dish so decided to use them to make stuffed parathas. The recipe is very similar to my alu stuffed parathas but as the mixture was slightly moist, I had to roll them out like my pizza parathas.

Ingredients for 4-6  parathas: 
For the paratha dough:

2 cups of strong wheat flour (often called Atta or chappati flour)
pinch of salt
1 clove of garlic - minced
1 cup sunflower oil

Method:

First prepare the dough:

1.  Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl.

2.  Add the salt and garlic to the flour

3.  Add two teaspoons of oil to the flour.

4.  Mix well and prepare the dough by adding some warm water to the dough.

5.  Keep blending it using a couple of drops of oil so it doesn't stick to the mixing bowl -until it gets soft and pliable.   Let it rest for half an hour.

To make the filling: check out all the details in my last  recipe which was for tortilla wraps.  I used the same filling (Quinoa with the spicy vegetables and nuts) .
plus:
1 sliced onion
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
some of my favourite green chutney

Method: 

1.  Divide the dough into 14 small portions.

2.  Roll out 2 round chappatis.

3.  Spread the quinoa and spicy vegetable mixture on one chappati.

4. Be creative and layer it with sliced onions:

5.  Or layer the mixture with cheese and sliced onions:

6. Spread some green chutney to the second chappati and.........

7.  Use the second chappati to cover the first chappati:

8.  Cook  the parathas on a non stick frying pan using the smallest amount of oil.

9.  Finish making all the parathas using a variation of fillings. be creative and use any fillings such as sliced tomatoes, peppers  or feta cheese.

10.  Serve the parathas hot with Greek yogurt or any chutney. We had these as brunch but they can be served as a main course with a nice curry and rice.

Check out the variety of paratha recipes on my blog : Triangle paratha; stuffed paratha; punjabi pizza or paratha recipe; parathas with herbs and bread crumbs; paneer and cheddar cheese stuffed parathas; cheese and oregano parathas; rolled parathas; spicy parathas and not to forget my favourite alu stuffed paratha 

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Rich and creamy vegetarian lasagna

Lasagna is a dish I make regularly as it's a nice change from curry and rice.  I usually make two small dishes of lasagna - one with vegetables and one with a mixture of Quorn mince and vegetables. My children love lasagna made with Quorn.

Paneer and Mixed vegetables curry with Madras Paste

Mother's Day in UK is always earlier than in some parts of the World.   It's actually on Mothering Sunday which is the 4th Sunday in Lent.    My son made this curry  for us as a treat for Mother's day.  We served it with rice and  stuffed parathas.   Everyone loved the curry and we used the left over curry to make sandwiches for my lunch box the next day.  Thanks RJ for the recipe and for making the dish!

Ingredients to serve 4 people

• 4 cups of cubed paneer
• 1 bottle of Pataks Madras Paste (available in most Asian stores)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 4 cups of tinned tomatoes (blended) or pasata
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• Pinch of asafetida (optional)
• 5-6 Curry leaves
• 2-3 cloves of grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon corn starch (optional)
• Small bunch of chopped coriander


Method


1.  Cut the paneer in small cubes. We used 2 blocks of paneer which gave us a little more than 4 cups of paneer.

2.  Take 2 cups of any mixed vegetables (we used green beans, carrots, peas and sweetcorn)

3.  Mix half the contents of the Madras paste ( we used Pataks Madras Paste) with the cubed paneer in a bowl and allow it to marinate for a couple of hours.

4.  At the same time, use the other half of the Madras paste and marinate the vegetables for a similar time.

5.   Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in flat frying pan on medium heat and gently stir-fry the paneer for about 3 to 4 minutes until paneer becomes light brown.

6.   Mix the paneer with the mixed vegetables.

7.   In a large saucepan or wok, Heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the cumin seeds and when they go a bit dark, add the tinned tomatoes or pasata to the oil.  Add 2-3 cloves of grated garlic.

8.  As the Madras paste has lots of good spices, you really don’t need to add many spices to the curry. Just add some salt and chilly powder to flavour the bland tomatoes. Add the curry leaves to the curry.

9.   Add the paneer and mixed vegetables to the tomatoes and cook on a medium heat for 12-14 minutes or until it’s bubbling gently.

10.  If the gravy looks runny, you can add a couple of teaspoons of corn flour to thicken the sauce.

11.  Add a teaspoon of garam masala and remove curry to a serving dish.

12.   Sprinkle some fresh coriander on the curry before serving with rice and paratha.

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Puran Puri - Chappatis made with sweet lentil stuffing

Puran puris are sweet chappatis and usually reserved  for special occassions.  I like making them as they are easy to make but above all very filling.  Whenever, I make puran puris - I think of the first time I was asked to help roll them out by my mother in law and I had to tell her that I didn't know how to!  How embarrasing!  Anyway, she showed me and it wasn't as difficult as I thought.  However, it still brings back those memories of when I had just got engaged. 

Ingredients for making 10-12 puris:

For the Puran(stuffing):

1 cup toor dall (The toor dall is often called tuver dall, pigeon peas, Congo peas or gungo peas.

½  cup sugar (more if you have a sweet tooth)

½  teaspoon of finely ground cardommon

½  a teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds (these give a lovely fragrance to the dish but it's optional) 
1   tablespoon clarified butter (ghee)

For the Chappatti:

2 cups of chappatti flour
2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Half a cup ghee or butter for spreading on the puran puri

Method:

1. Wash the toor dall with warm water.

2. Put 3 cups of water in a saucepan and add the toor dall.  Allow this to cook on a high gas until it starts to boil. Reduce the heat to medium and allow it to cook. You need to allow the toor dall to cook without having to add extra water. The dall needs to be overcooked so that when you stir the dall - it starts to look like mash.

3. Once the dall has cooked, add the sugar, cardommon and nutmeg.

4. The sugar will melt and the dall will start to look runny.

5. Mix well and allow this to cook at a gentle heat, stirring occassionally until the liquid evaporates. Doing it this way, makes the dall splutter a lot so be careful it doesn't splutter on your hands.

6. If you have a microwave -  as soon as you add the sugar, mix and transfer the mixture to a microwave dish and cook with the cover on for 5 minutes, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Repeat this until the mixture looks almost like mash potato. Add the ghee and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

7.   Whilst the puran mixture is cooling, prepare the chappatti flour.

8.    Sieve  the flour and make a dip in the middle.

9.    Add the sunflower oil.

10.  Using warm water, mix the flour well.  Make sure that you pour the water in small amounts so that the dough doesn't get too soft.  Take a small teaspoon of oil in your palms and knead  until the dough feels pliable - almost like "play dough".  Cover the dough and let it rest for half an hour.  

11.  Take small amounts of the sweet puran and make a dozen small golf size balls.

12.   Divide the Chappati dough into a similar number of balls - nearly the same size as the puran balls or very slightly bigger.

13.   Using some flour to dust your work surface, roll out the chappatti flour into a small puri size and place the sweet puran in the middle.
  

 14. Fold  the chappatti edges to seal the puran inside.

15.  Turn the ball upside down and gently press it down by hand.

16.   Gently - using some dusting flour, roll out the puran puri.

17.   Put the frying pan, griddle or tava on the heat.  Transfer the puran puri to cook on the tava.

18.   Allow it to cook on both sides to a golden brown.   It should have some dark spots as shown below.  The chappati should rise as shown below. (Cooking and taking photographs is hard when you are on your own...hence my chapatis got a few more dark patches!!LOL)

19.  Remove and drizzle with ghee or butter before serving with any curry.

For the ultimate wow factor serve them with lots of butter or ghee and sprinkled with almonds

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Semolina Halwa (or seero) made Desi Style

Semolina halwa cooked desi style is a traditional Gujarati sweet often called " Seero". It's one of those easy to make sweets that Gujarati’s are always finding excuses to make. Most people make it with sugar and milk and is often used as Prashad (offering) for Satyanarayan katha (religious ceremony).   I have made it the traditional way - using jaggery (Gor) and water. Again this recipe is one handed down from my father who was a diabetic. His excuse for being allowed to eat this sweet was that it did not contain sugar!! He was cheeky enough to tell us that diabetics could use jaggery instead of sugar!! Bless him - he enjoyed it and never suffered any ill effects.

This sweet is nice to have on its own when you have lost your appetite or when you are recovering from a cough or cold. It's also good for women who have just had babies. Gujarati's believe that this sweet helps one to recover from mild illnesses.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

2 cups of coarse semolina
1 and half cups of jaggery (Gor)
1.5 litres of boiling water
1 cup of butter - melted and strained (Ghee)
few almonds, pistacios, half a nutmeg, a pinch of semolina, teaspoon of ground cardomon

Method:

1. Add the jaggery to water and allow it to melt whilst boiling the water.

2. Add half to three quarter cup ghee to the semolina and cook on a mild heat until the semolina starts to get golden brown. If the semolina feels dry - add a bit more ghee.

3. Carefully pour the hot jaggery water to the cooked semolina. The semolina will start to bubble and cook so be careful that you don't get splattered. Add the ground nutmeg, cardommon and saffron to the mixture.

4. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes fairly solid and doesn't stick to the saucepan. If you like ghee, you can add the remaining ghee to the semolina but it's not necessary. The older generation still like to add more ghee to their sweet and it's fine if they do not have health problems.

5. Transfer the halwa or seero to a serving dish. Slice the almonds and pistachios and sprinkle them on the halwa.

6. Serve it hot as a sweet on it's own or with ice cream or thick double cream.

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