Pani Puri- Nirvana at Home

I had gone missing from blogsphere for a week simply coz I had a home full of loved ones n' was happy being busy. My mom n' my sister n' family were here with me for a vacation n' I had a great time with them....the best part about moving back to India is the amount of time I get to spend with my family. Coming back to this post. I can easily call Pani Puri my all time favourite snack....when I say all time, I really mean it....I can have it all the time/ anytime of the day n' relish it. For those who have never had it, Pani Puri is a popular street snack in India. It comprises a round, hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with a mixture of water, tamarind, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. It is small enough to fit completely in one's mouth. The first time I had them was when I moved to Bangalore for my studies 10yrs back. I couldn't hold the whole puri in my mouth the first time around n' I remember thinking to myself 'how did I live to be 20 without ever tasting this?' I hunt for the best Pani Puri joint everywhere I go. In Bahrain, I had a Biharikaka who made such divine pani puri....n' he wud give me 2 extra sukka puri just to see how happy it made me, I think. ;)



I could have pani puri off the street vendor n' not think too much about it, but gone are those days....i'm more concerned about hygiene of the food n' the environment now. I don't eat pani puri or anything which uses water or fresh fruits n' veggies from a street vendor anymore. My youngest cousin,Indhu, who I love more than I can say, recently got typhoid n' was in really bad state. She was admitted in the hospital for 2weeks n' she has a small baby gal aged just over 1yr...everyone was so so worried about her. But now she is feeling better, the once healthy gal has become less than half her size, with really bad intestinal problems. I'm mentioning this in detail just so I can give out a word of caution to all who likes to eat from the streets. She caught it eating chat n' drinking some masala drink from one of the street vendors in Delhi. I also have to mention that her sis in law who ate/drank from the same place is ok. But really, the moral of the story is just that one needs to be cautious of where and what you are eating.



Koshy's Calcutta Chat on Brigade Road dishes out the best chat in town for me, including a good pani puri. But that being a little far off n' me not frequenting Brigade Road anymore meant I have to find a new source...My mom n' my sister loves pani puri too, so I decided to make it for them. My mom found it hilarious that she has to wait for me to finish taking some snaps before they could dig in....lol..;). I used ready to use small puris n' pani puri masala for the water. So here you go.



Ingredients:

1.Puri: 20nos

For the Filling:

2.Potato – 3 nos (medium-sized, boiled with salt, peeled and mashed)
3.Garlic – 2 to 3 pods (finely chopped)
4.Ginger – 1/2″ long piece (crushed/minced)
5.Coriander/Cilantro – 2tbsp (finely chopped)
6.Green Chili (optional) – 1 no (finely chopped)
7.Chili powder – 1 tsp
8.Garam Masala – 1 tsp
9.Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
10.Coriander Powder – 1/4 tsp
11.Amchur Powder/ Dry Mango Powder (optional) – 1/2 tsp
12.Salt – to taste
(add some fresh moong sprouts to get some extra flavour, I didn't have any with me so I didn't add it this time.)

For the Water:*

13. Everest Pani Puri Masala: 2tbsp
14. Lemon Juice: of half a lemon (medium size)
15. Mint Leaves: a palm full (crushed)
16. Salt: as per taste (keeping in mind that the masala already has some salt in it)
17. Green Chilli Paste: 2tsp
18. Tamarind Pulp: 2tsp
19. Dry Mango Powder: a pinch or 2
20. Water: as required (i used roughly 2cups)
21. Boondi
22. Chopped Onion

*all the ingredients mentioned under pani puri water, can be adjusted according to taste. I have mentioned how much I have used, but change it according to your taste.




Method:

Step 1: Mix all the ingredients required for the Pani Puri water n' keep it aside. If you like the water chilled, keep this mixture in the refrigerator at this point. (I don't like mine chilled so I didn't do this). Do not mix the boondi n' chopped onions at this point. You can add that on top while serving.

Step 2: Mash the boiled potatoes n' mix all the ingredients. Keep it aside.

You are actually ready to serve. Even though the list of ingredients seems long, it requires hardly any prep time. Also, if you want to serve it to guests, you can do all the preparation in advance n' make the holes in the puri n' stuff the filling in, dip it in the pani puri water n' there you have it....;) mouthful, eyeful n' wonderful....lol

Sanjeev Kapoor's- Hara Bhara Paneer Tikka

I have immense faith in Sanjeev Kapoor's recipes. He is referred to as "The most celebrated face of Indian cuisine" for a reason right? :). None of the recipes I have tried of his has ever failed me. My only problem is with his TV shows, they show some 3-4 dishes in like half an hour n' that means everything is happening so fast...I'm sometimes worried I'll miss out something. When I saw his show on using a grill stone for cooking, I was sure I have to try this paneer recipe that was featured. The first time I made this dish was about a year back. Have tried this many times after that n' it has always been a winner. But my paneer pieces weren't grilled to perfection, like I wanted it to and could never get a decent photograph until now.




I attended a BBQ session at Weber- Bangalore (outdoor BBQ grill dealers) recently and it helped me a lot with the grilling process this time around, (even though this recipe calls for grilling on the stove top.) Chef Sarabjeet, gave us a lot of pointers and it proved useful to me. They are running a weekend half a day BBQ workshop on May 1st, do let me know if you are interested, will give you the contact details. It is in fact, my favourite Paneer Grill recipe to date. So here you go.




Ingredients:

For the Paste:
1. Fresh coriander leaves : 2 bunches
2. Fresh mint leaves: 1bunch
3. Green chillies: 4nos (reduce if you don't like it too spicy)
4. Garlic: 10cloves
5. Ginger: 1 1/2" piece
6. Lemon Juice: 2tsp
7. Onion: 2nos (medium sized) chopped
8. Salt: as per taste
9. Hung Curd: 1 cup
10. Fresh pomegranate pearls: 2tbsp

For the Marinade:
11. Gram Flour (Besan): 4tbsp
12. Kasoori methi powder:2tbsp ( I used dried kasoori methi leaves)
13. Chat Masala: 2tsp
14. Roasted Cumin Powder: 2tsp
15. Garam Masala: 2tsp
16. Mustard Oil: 2tbsp ( I used regular Sunflower oil)

Other Ingredients:
17. Paneer (Cottage Cheese): 500gms (2 inch cubes)
18. Onion: 2nos (medium) cut into 2 inch pieces
19. Green Capsicum: 2nos- seeded(medium) cut into 2 inch pieces
20. Tomatoes: 2nos- seeded (medium) cut into 2 inch cubes

Method:

Step 1: Grind together green chillies, coriander leaves, mint leaves, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, onion, salt, yogurt and pomegranate pearls into a thick paste using very little water.

Step 2: Roast the cumin seeds n' powder it using a mortar and pestle. Roast gram flour for two to three minutes and set aside.

Step 3: Place the paneer cubes in a bowl, add kasoori methi powder, chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, garam masala powder, roasted gram flour and the ground paste and mix well. Add a tbsp of oil to this and marinate the paneer for two hours.

Step 4: Thread the paneer pieces onto skewers alternating with onion, capsicum and tomato pieces.

Step 5: Season the grill stone/pan with oil and heat. Place the skewers on the hot grill pan and grill for three to four minutes. Baste with oil, turn the skewers and cook the other side for two to three minutes. Once this was done, I turned the flame to high and grilled it over the flame for 5-6secs both sides. (this step wasn't part of Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe) Serve it hot with a dip/chutney and its gonna impress everyone.




I'm gonna give this recipe★★★★★ ;) Its a must try, take my word for it. Happy Cooking!




I'm sending this post to the event Dish Name Starts with H, hosted by Akila from Akila's Kitchen.

Baby Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Balsamic/Honey Vinaigrette

Recently, i came across this recipe on Fight the Fat Foodie and i just had to give it a try. The fact that i had most of the things needed for the recipe with me kinda helped. I just loved this, had i not seen this recipe there, i wouldn't even have thought a combination like this was going to taste this good. A special thanks to Scott for posting this recipe...:D

The recipe called for minced Shallot...which i didn't add...I made enough just for 2 people and i added Bread Bites that we get in retails shops here to get an extra crunch...so my version of this recipe is little less healthy i guess...:)

A pic of the Twistos-Bread Bites that i used in this salad is given here....the link will give you the Calories in these :(...but it does not put me off....you see it tastes really nice...:D


Ingredients:

1. Baby Spinach: 200gms
2. Strawberries: 100gms (sliced)
3. Olive Oil: 2tbsp (extra virgin -if possible)
4. Balsamic Vinegar: 2tbsp
5. Garlic: 1 clove (minced)
6. Honey: 1 tbsp
7. Twistos- Bread Bites: 1/2 cup (optional)

Method:

Step 1: To make the vinaigrette, combine balsamic, garlic and one of the strawberries (crushed).

Step 2: Slowly whisk in the oil.

Step 3: Combine spinach, strawberries and dressing, add the bread bites if you are using it n' serve immediately.

To get my husband to eat greens is a big task for me...but he loved this n' that just made this Salad even more special...definitely going to feature in my kitchen again......:)

p.s. this snap has also gotten accepted in tastespotting...still leaving me feeling i'm on top of the world...;)

I'm sending this post to the Serve me Some....Salads event hosted by Madhuri of Cook-curry Nook.

Chettinad Egg Kurma

I have been making my Egg Masala Dry for what seems like forever and last week i decided it's high time i tried something else with hard boiled eggs. I have the book '50 Best Curries of India' by Camellia Panjabi and decided to give her recipe Egg Kurma Chettinad a try. She mentions that this recipe is adapted from the home of Mr.A.Ramaswamy, who is the Raja of Chettinad. I expected it to be far more spicier than it actually turned out to be, i think it's coz i used Kashmiri Chili Powder instead of the normal chili powder. But this recipe is definitely something i'm gonna treasure.

Ingredients:

1. Eggs (hard boiled): 6nos
2. Coriander Powder: 3tsp
3. Chili Powder or Paprika: 1 1/2tsp (i used kashmiri chili powder)
4. Fennel Seeds: 1tsp
5. Cumin Seeds: 1tsp
6. Turmeric Powder: 1/2tsp
7. Fresh Ginger: 1/2inch piece
8. Garlic Cloves: 2nos
9. Coconut Milk: 200ml (she mentions that you can alternatively use 100gms of grated or desiccated coconut instead.i used ready coconut milk as i find it easy)
10. Oil: 2tbsp
11. Fenugreek Seeds: 1/2tsp
12. Fennel seeds: 1/2tsp (second lot)
13. Cinnamon Sticks: 2 inch piece
14. Onions: 225gms (finely chopped)
15. Tomatoes: 225gms (finely chopped)
16. Salt: as per taste
17. Lime Juice: of 1/2 a lime (i didn't use this)

Method:

Step 1: Peel the eggs and halve them lengthways

Step 2: Put coriander powder, chili powder, fennel and cumin seeds, turmeric powder, ginger and garlic into a blender with 2 tbsp water and puree into a thick paste.

Step 3: If you are using coconut instead of milk, put the coconut into a blender with 400ml of warm water. Liquidise, then strain the coconut milk and set aside.

Step 4: Heat the oil in a kadai/wok and fry the fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and the cinnamon for 10seconds. Add the onion and fry until lightly coloured. Add the spice paste and saute for 7 minutes. (It will darken in colour since it contains a lot of coriander.) Add a few drops of water if it sticks to the bottom of the kadai. Then add the tomatoes and saute for another 2-3minutes.

Step 5: Add 600ml (1/2pint) of warm water with salt to taste, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, to make a smooth gravy. just before serving, add the coconut milk and bring to boil. Add the lime juice, taste and add more salt if necessary, and gently lay in the hard boiled eggs with the yellow facing upwards. Carefully scoop into a serving dish.

If you want to freeze this curry, omit the coconut and eggs, but add lime juice and salt and freeze. Then use it to make egg curry as and when you need, topping it with coconut milk at the time of reheating.

I deviated from the above recipe only to the point where i boiled the eggs along while i was browning the onions and also made the paste in the blender in the meantime. I added the halved eggs only in the serving dish instead of just before serving. Like i said this recipe is definitely a keeper.

p.s: this is my first photograph that is accepted at (the other famous food porn website-) TasteSpotting. I'm thrilled!

Phirni

I have never been a big fan of Phirni...but RJ just loves it. On the first night in Bhopal during this vacation, we had gone to Jahan Numa Palace in the night to have some treats from their cafe....this is one place i have to go every time we go to Bhopal. We ordered for Phirni as our dessert n' it was the best i have ever had. You know how it is served in matkas (earthen jugs/pots), it's just so Indian...n' when i came across this recipe last week i just had to give it a try. But i didn't have any matkas with me n' had to use my ramekins instead. The ingredients are a little more complex than i normally use, but i preferred this recipe to the condensed milk recipes available online.

Ingredients

1. Milk: 500ml
2. Rice: 1/2 cup
3. Khoya: 1/2cup
4. Sugar: 1 1/2cup
5. Milk: 1 ltr
6. Almond: 1/2cup (crushed)
7. Cardamom Powder: 1/2tsp
8. Kewra: few drops

Method

Step 1: Soak rice in 500ml milk

Step 2: Boil milk adding sugar.

Step 3: Grind the soaked rice and milk (rough grind not in a paste form)

Step 4: Once the milk is boiled, ground rice n' milk mixture to this n' let it cook for a while.

Step 5: Before it thickens too much, add khoya and cardamom powder into this and let it cook for a while. (thicken it)

Step 6: Add chopped almonds and kewra essence.

Step 7: Serve it directly into matkas or into individual serving bowls & refrigerate before serving.

Getting the correct consistency is important. I think i should have thickened it a little more than what you can see here. But the taste was rewarding, so i was happy.

This is my first photo that has gotten accepted on a food porn website..FoodGawker, look here . I'm thrilled to say the least. Thank you FG...;D

Finally...this image is accepted at TasteSpotting too....Oh Bliss!!!