Khari Biscuits/Surati Khari-100% cheaters recipe

Well, I confess, I cheated, but I have a perfectly valid reason for it, I was yearning for surati khari biscuits so much that I didn't want to wait till my vacation to Gujarat, sole land where I can find khari biscuits, can't expect to find that perfect khari here is Saudi Arabia, sigh :(. So I cheated my way to make khari at home. I know it sounds impossible but I did manage to make it in 15 mins, well literally 25 mins :).
I used Puff Pastry Squares that are readily available at any supermarkets, cut them into 3, brushed it with milk and baked in preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 23 minutes. And done, perfect flaky khari biscuits for that hot afternoon tea. All I need to do now is wait for P to come home then make perfect masala chai and enjoy my Khari with a person who too is head over heals for khari, he can be termed as die hard fan of khari.
Enjoy the snaps of my finished product.

                                                               Just out of the oven!!!

                                            Check out the layers... beauty ain't they?!!

            Thorough inspection to see whether they are well baked to its middle-most layers.

                        Can't stop admiring those lovely flaky layers. Almost drooling at this point... :)

                                                                    Cooling off.

                     I bet these won't even last 2 days. Would you like to have some?!!!

Pav-Bhaji

                                  
Well there is nothing much to say about pav bhaji, being one of the most prefered and popular foods around major cities in India. More info can be collected at www.wikipedia.org just search pav bhaji and you'll end up reading everything about it. I haven't heard any Indian saying they don't like pav bhaji... it is the beloved street food of western region of India especially Gujarat, Maharashtra and its popularity reaching as far as Himalayas, yes, I have seen people flocking at pav-bhaji stalls in Nainital too, which is a beautiful hillstation situated in Uttarakhand, India (north-east of India).

The version of pav bhaji that I'm posting today is very much similar to what the vendor of pav bhaji stall makes at his road side eatery, street food totally street side style. So without further wasting our precious time I shall jot down the recipe and post some yummy snaps for all of you to drivel on. :) Enjoy.

      Close up of Bhaji - Sorry P you have to wait a few minutes those were my words while clicking this snap.

On a flat bottom pan add a little water, about 1/2 a cup and add  
1/2 cup chopped Capsicum, I added combination of red and green capsicum.

Let it sizzle for about 2 minutes or till the capsicum is tender then add in  
1 to 1&1/2 cup of chopped Tomatoes, P prefers less tangy food so had added only 1 cup of  chopped tomatoes so adjust according to you taste, also add in
2 tbs of ginger-garlic paste,  
3 tbs of chopped coriander leaves/cilantro leaves 
1/2 tsp kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric,  
1 tbs red chili powder,  
1&1/2 tbs of pav bhaji masala,  
1/4 tsp of hing/asafoetida
1 tbs of lemon juice and  
2 tbs of butter. Let it cook for another 2 minutes or till the raw smell of garlic is gone. (you can start mashing this mixture at this stage or later whatever you prefer)

Now add
2 more tbs of butter
2 cups of boiled and partially mashed potatoes and  
1 cup of boiled and partially mashed veggie combination including cabbage, green peas, cauliflower and bottlegourd.
Add salt to taste and get busy mashing up the mixture with the help of pav-bhaji crusher or something like potato masher. Crushing it enough so as to make non of the veggies recognizable.... hope I'm explaining it good enough but the pictures can back up what I mean to say.

Now adjust the water, salt and spicies and I'm sure you'll have to add some of them (add a bit red chili if you don't feel it to be hot enough or add a bit of pav bhaji masala is you feel that flavour is bit less). 

This dish tastes better if its a bit liquidy, not to soupy but not too firm also, a bit more of curry consistency.
Let it simmer for about 3-4 minutes and turn off the heat.

Serve it hot with butter toasted pav/buns, for me it was home-made ladi pav get the recipe here ; chopped & mixed onion-cilantro; blob of butter and a wedge of lemon.

               Bhaji served with home-made pav and chopped onion-cilantro mix, DH still waiting for his dish. :)


You all might be thinking that I forgot to put onions in bhaji recipe... but that isn't the case.... the fact is pav bhaji itself doesn't have onions and it tastes best raw on side. Adding onion while cooking bhaji gives it a typical taste which is a big no-no for pav bhaji. But if you prefer, go on and add some... :)

Quesadilla

Quesadilla, a mexican snack food made of cheese, pronunced in spanish as "kesa diya" or "kesa dia", literally means "cheese tortilla" or "cheese cake".
In this recipe cheese and other ingredients are sandwiched between two flour tortillas and grilled on an oiled griddle, flipped so both sides are cooked and the cheese is melted, finally served after being cut into wedges. This type is often called "sincronizada" in Mexico.

Ingredients :

For flour tortillas:

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsps butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking pwd
approx 1/2 cup mix of warm milk & water, 1:1 ratio


For the vegetable filling:

onions (chopped finely), cabbage (chopped finely), carrots (shredded), capsicum (chopped finely), spring onions (chopped finely, including onion greens), tomatoes (chopped finely) or any vegetables of your choice
salt to taste
red chili flakes
3/4-1 cup grated cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper grounded
1 tbs chili sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
4 cloves garlic
1 tbs olive oil

Method :

For Tortillas :
Combine all the ingredients except milk in a wide utensil and mix well so that baking powder gets nicely incorporated within the mix. Now slowly add the warm milk & water mix to knead to a soft dough. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and roll them into thin chapatis of approx 7″-9″ diameter.
Pre-heat a griddle and place each tortilla on the hot griddle for only 3-5 seconds on each side and remove. This step is done to ensure that tortilla don't stick to each other when stacked. Keep aside all the lightly toasted tortillas.

For Veggies :
In heavy bottom pan heat olive oil and saute crushed garlic cloves, once the raw garlic smell is gone add all the veggies.
Remember to keep the flame on medium high. Stir in all the other ingredients like salt, pepper, chili flakes etc and turn off the heat.
Remember veggies should not be raw, neither should they be thoroughly cooked, we need them to hold that crunchiness.
This whole process should not take more than 3-4 minutes.
Prepare this mix before hand so that by the time you prepare quesadilla, veggies would cool down to room temp.



For Quesadilla:
Place a tortilla on a clean surface and spread the veggie mix on it, shred some mozzarella, cheddar or any kind of cheese, run a damp finger around the rim of this tortilla and place another tortilla on it. Seal the rim by pressing these two tortilla together. You can also take a fork and press along the rim.
Pre-heat a griddle and on medium heat roast both sides of the quesadilla flipping over to toast both sides. Ensure that you cook it over medium heat, you want the cheese to melt inside.
Remove quesadilla onto a serving plate, slice into triangles and serve hot with garlicy salsa or tomato ketchup.

Tips:
Adding sweet corn or baby corn enhances the taste.
You can also add in cottage cheese into veggies and top it with mozzarella or cheddar cheese for more creamy quesadilla.
Alternatively we can spread salsa and cheese or salsa and sour cream for that perfect quesadilla.

Muthiya/Muthia

This lovely steamed dumpling snack comes from the heart of Gujarat. Gujarat is famous for its food especially handvo, muthiya, dhokla, patra, khaman, khamni etc the list is endless. Muthiya is all time favorite tea time snack, sweet and tangy soft muthiya is a comfort and mouth watering snack for those lazy sundays when I just feel like laying back and reading my favorite novel.
I still remember my mom making this lip-smacking dish frequently during winter as fresh methi leaves are abundant during that time. She used to prepare it using kanki-korma loat (ready mix of rice and lentil coarse flour). Here in riyadh its impossible to find kanki -korma loat and methi leaves, so I have modified my mom's recipe to suit my need.

Ingredients :

2 tbs garlic-ginger-green chillies paste
350-400 gms or 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups peeled and grated bottle gourd/dudhi/lauki
1 medium sized cucumber/kakdi peeled and grated
1 large onion grated
1/2 cup whole wheat flour/atta
1/2 cup semolina/rava/soji
1/2 cup besan/chickpea flour
1/2 cup pearl millet flour/bajri ka atta
2 tbs rice flour/chokha no loat
2 tbs oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp fennel seeds/saunf
2 tbs sugar
1/4th cup yogurt/curd/dahi
1/4th tsp soda-bi-carb
2 tsp lemon juice
handful of chopped coriander leaves
pinch of asafoetida

For Tempering :
2 tbs oil
1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
1 tbs sesame seeds/til
Pinch of asafoetida/hing

For Garnishing :
3-4 tbs of chopped coriander leaves
2 tbs grated coconut (optional)

Method : (For Muthiya)
Strain juices out of grated lauki, onion and cucumber and keep it aside as it can be used to knead dough if required.
Mix all the ingredients of muthiya in a large bowl and knead into soft dough using the veggie juice if required. You can also add more yogurt instead of veg juice for that ultimate soft muthiyas.
Now oil your palms and form cylindrical shaped muthiyas and place them in a steamer.
Steam them for 25-30 mins or untill well done. To check it they are ready, insert a tooth pick in muthiya and if it comes out clean they are ready and done.
Let them cool for a while.
Cut them into bite sized pieces and get them ready for tempering.

Method : (For Tempering)
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add mustard seeds. Once they start crackling add sesame seeds and asofoetida.
Add cut muthiyas and stir them in for 5-7 mins.
Garnish it with chopped coriander and coconut.
Serve Hot with green chutney.

Tips: The key to great tasting muthiya is in sweet and sour taste along with delicate softness which can be achieved only with adding right amount of sugar and curd. Sugar can be adjusted according to taste and can be avoided if you don't prefer sweet at all but there should be no compromise of yogurt, it is a must. If you knead dough entirely from dahi, you can never can go wrong with softness issue, but remember in this case don't add lemon juice at all.

Sev

As the weekend is approaching, I intend to prepare spicy and tasty delhi chaat. Ofcourse I shall be posting that recipe later in this week, but preparation of it has began since today. I've prepared nice crispy hara dhania puri and sev. These two items can be easily prepared in advanced and stored upto 15 days.

Sev, calls in for minimum effort and can be prepared in a jiffy. All you need is Sev Sancho, a kitchen utensil which is found is almost each and every gujju kitchen. It helps in preparing other lip smacking snacks like crispy chakri, ratlami sev, ganthiya etc.

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups besan/chickpea flour
salt to taste
1 tbs lemon/lime juice OR 1/2 tsp citric acid crystals/nimbu phul
3 pinch Soda bi-carb
water
oil for frying

Preparation Method :

Take chickpea flour in a broad bowl. Remove all the lumps in the flour, add salt and lemon juice, in case using citric acid, dilute the crystals in 1 tbs water before adding to the flour this will ensure its uniform distribution within the flour.
Now make a batter frm it adding little water at a time. Remember batter should not be too liquidy but should not form a dough too. How can I explain it better!!! Ok if you try forming a lump it should spread .... sorry for this but this is the best I came up with.
Now in a spoon full water add soda and add this to the batter and whisk the batter using your fingers and palm.
Place this doughy batter into sev sancha.
Heat oil in deep frying pan and once it reaches the smoking point, reduce the heat to slow and start making sev by turning the handle of sancha directly on frying pan.
deep fry for 2 mins and make sure it is fried evenly on both sides.

Don't know how many times I shall repent over the forgotten camera, but I really wished I could have posted the snaps of method of making sev.

I know I'm sweating over nothing as most of those who shall read this blog would know how to use sev sancho, funny me!!

Hara Dhania Puri

Hara Dhania Puri is the creation of my imagination. I had this bunch of green leafy coriander in my refrigerator and I desperately wanted to be creative with it. So I started thinking of making some kind of dip which made me further think of something what I can dunk in a dip. And an idea struck why not make puri using green coriander chutney.
Actually I have already prepared the dough and is awaiting its final stage to glorious green munchy snack. I have a great feeling for this recipe coz the dough came out to be beautiful green coloured and tastes gr8 too (I know I tasted it raw ...but I couldn't help it, it looked so inviting).
Now I shall get back to my eagerly awaiting experiment and shall write all about it when I'm done rolling, cutting, frying etc.

Well friends I have some gr8 news, it came out yum, its a lovely golden brown puries with a ting of green shade in it. Smells heavenly too.

So now that is recipe is tried and tasted, I'm confident that this recipe can crunch (I mean melt) anyone's heart who is in visual vicinity of it.

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4th cup semolina/sooji
5 tbs oil

Oil for frying

Ground to paste
2 cups chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
8-9 green chillies (hotter, the better)
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbs salt (this contains the part of salt to savour the flour too)
1 1/2 tbs lime juice

Preparation Method :

Blend the ingredients mentioned for paste adding 1/4th cup water.
Mix semolina and wheat flour nicely, also add in 5 tbs oil and mix it well until crumbly texture is achieved.
Now add the ground coriander paste to the flour mix and knead a stiff dough, adding little water at a time (if needed).
Cover the kneaded dough in a moist cloth and let it stand for 10-15 minutes.

After the stand off time, Pinch a ping pong ball sized dough and rolling it into a circular chapati. With the help of puri cutter, cut it into small circular shaped puries. Dent this puris with the help of fork. Use all the kneaded dough with the same procedure.

ALTERNATIVE METHOD:
After rolling circular chapati dent it with fork and just cut diamond shaped pieces frm it with the help of a knife.

In a frying pan add oil, enough for deep frying. Fry those lovely green puries till they are golden brown in colour.

These puris can be enjoyed with any dips like salsa or guacamole, chutney or ketchup or as I did with hot cup of tea.

ALTERNATE USE OF PURIES :
Use these puries to make yummy papdi chaat or delhi chaat .

I shall be storing my batch in nice air tight container and shall use it in many different ways. Of course all different uses and recipes shall be posted duely.