Katachi Amati

Katachi Amati is a kind of dal/soup. I had mentioned this in my post of Puran Poli. "Kat" means the water that is drained when pressure cooking the chana dal while making the puran for Puran Poli. Puran Poli-Batatyachi Bhaji(Boiled potatoes seasoned with spices), Katachi Amati-Bhat is a perfect meal.Wow....I simply love this and I can drink bowls and bowls of this. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups Kat
2) 1 small onion sliced lenghtwise
3) 3-4 tbspns dried coconut
4) 2-3 garlic cloves and 1 inch ginger.
5) Oil for frying
6) Salt to taste
7) 2-3 tspns chilli powder. (I used kolhapuri Masala)
8) 1 tbspn jaggery crushed.
For the seasoning -
1) 3-4 peppercons
2) 3-4 cloves
3) 1 bay leaf
4) a cinnamon stick
5) 1/2 tspn turmeric powder
6) a pinch of asafoetida
Method -
1) Add 1 tbspn oil in a pan and roast the onions cut lengthwise, coconut, ginger and garlic together. Cool and blend them to a fine paste.
2) Mix this paste with the Kat.
3) Heat oil in a skillet and add the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Add the rest of the seasoning ingredients.
4) Now add the Kat. Add salt, chilli powder and jaggery and let it boil nicely for 10 minutes.
Amati is ready. You can have it with plain rice or simply have it as a soup.

Puran Poli

Puran Poli is a typical Maharashtrian dish and made on every special occassion whether it is Holi, Gauri Pujan or any other Pooja at home. Puran Poli is a must. Well, for those who don't know let me tell you this is the favourite dish of all Maharastrians. You can say its a sweet chapati made by filling puran which is a sweet stuffing. You cannot enjoy Puran Poli without lots of ghee on it. So, keep your dietary plans aside and do not be calorie contious to enjoy this relish. I made this on the account of Holi yesterday.

The very first step in making Puran Poli is to make the Puran. You would need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup chana dal
2) 1 cup crushed jaggery/gur
3) 1/2 cup sugar
4) a pinch of cardamom powder
Method -
1) Wash the chana dal and pressure cook it with 4-5 cups of water. Make atleast 5-6 whistles. Chana dal takes a longer time to cook. To check whether the dal is cooked, press the dal with your finger and it should not be hard.
2) If the dal is not hard and cooked properly drain the extra water and keep aside. This water is later used to make Katachi Amati. If the dal is little hard and not cooked properly then, take the dal in a wide skillet and add about half cup of warm water and let it cook. Keep checking the dal in between. Once done drain the excess water.
3) Now add the jaggery and sugar to the dal. It will leave more water. Cook the day till it is dry and the water has evaporated completely. Keep stirring continuously. Once done, keep it aside and let the mixture cool. Once cooled add the cinnamon powder. You can also add very little nutmeg powder to this mixture. I did not have any.

Now lets see, how to make the dough in which this puran would be filled. You would need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup whole wheat flour
2) 3 tbspn All Purpose Flour or Maida
3) Oil and water to knead
Method -
1) Take all the flours in a mixing bowl. Add almost 2 tbspn of oil and knead it to a soft dough with as much water required. This dough should be more soft and thinner than the usual dough made for the chapatis. To make the dough soft keep on kneading it with water. At the end take some oil in the hands and knead once again to make a soft ball.
Our stuffing as well as the dough is ready. Now, its time to roll them.

1) Take a small portion of the dough and roll it to a small round with your hand itself. Place a small amount of puran and cover the ball. Pull up the egdes to cover the filling. Roll this stuffed ball with rice flour/wheat flour or maida if required in between.

2) Fry this on a hot griddle with few drops of oil from both the sides.



Puran Poli is ready. Store these in an air tight container. They lasts for around a week. Just heat it in the microwave before eating and enjoy this with lots of ghee on it.
Another way of eating Puran Poli is to break the poli in small pieces and soak them in cold milk. You can have it as a desert. It tastes just awesome!!!

Vegetable Puffs

This has been a long pending post. I got a chance to try it out last week and we loved it. Vegetable Puffs brings back memories of our days in Pune. "Hindustan Bakery" is a famous bakery which is very famous for these puffs. Usually, these used to be our Sunday morning breakfast. The hot puffs with tomato ketchup. Wow...it feels so nostalgic.
Ingredients -
1) 1 pastry sheet thawed at room temperature
2) 4-5 medium sized boiled potatoes. Mash them and keep aside.
3) 1 cup boiled green peas or frozen
4) 1 tspn fennel seeds
5) 1 tspn mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric powder each
6) a pinch of asafoetida
7) 1 tbspn cumin-coriander powder and red chilli powder each
8) Salt to taste and Oil for frying
Method -
1) Thaw the pastry sheets at room temperature.
2) Preheat the oven at 450 degrees.
2) Heat oil in a skillet. Add the fennel seeds. It leaves a very nice aroma. Then add the mustard seeds followed by cumin seeds, turmeric powder and asafoetida.
3) Now add in the peas and the mash potatoes. Mix well and add in all the powders and salt to taste.
4) Cover for few minutes and cook it. Turn off the gas and let it cool completely.
5) By this time the pastry sheets are thawed completely. Take some All Purpose Flour and roll the sheets with the rolling pin. Now, cut them into small rectangles. I used the Pepperidge brand from Walmart. And I made 9 puffs out of 1 pastry sheet. You get a packet of 2 sheets.
6) Take 2 spoonfuls of the potato-peas mixture in the rectangle and cover it sealing the sides with water so that the stuffing does not come out.
7) Repeat this for all the rectangles.
8) Bake it for about 20 minutes. Take them out and let them cool for some time.
9) Serve them with ketchup.
You can make any filling of your choice. Non-Vegetarians can fill in Kheema and make Kheema pattice. Enjoy!!!

Besan Ladoo

I am not very fond of sweets and when it comes to any kind of Ladoos, its a strict No-No. But my husband loves sweets and especially Besan Ladoos are his favourites and are in high demand. I make them quite often and this time i made them in the microwave. They were just awesome.
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups besan
2) 1 cup sugar
3) 1/4 cup ghee
4) raisins and cashews for decoration
Method -
1) Mix the ghee and besan in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 10 mins stirring after every minute.
2) The besan should be nicely roasted(a little dark). It leaves a nice aroma once its done.
3) Cool this mixture completely and then add the sugar and the dryfruits.
4) Mix well and shape them into small balls.
Besan Ladoos are ready!!! They are soooooo easy...

Methi Paratha

Methi is mine and my husband's all time favourite vegetable. In India, back home we get methi all through the year. But it arrives in US only during the winter season. Though we get frozen methi in the Indian stores but I never felt like using it. I always loved the fresh ones we get here in Farmers Market and you can see people almost grabbing it before it is out of stock. This time I made Methi Parathas. Our dinner was Methi Paratha with Corn Soup. A perfect combo on a cozy wintery night. I would share the recipe for corn soup later. Here is what you would need for the Methi Parathas -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup Methi/Fenugreek leaves
2) 2 cups Wheat Flour
3) 1 tbspn Ajwain seeds
4) 1 tbspn red chilli powder
5) 1/2 tspn turmeric powder
6) 2 tbspn besan or chickpea flour
7) Salt as per taste
8) Water and little oil for kneading the dough
Method -
1) Wash and chop the methi finely. Cook it in the microwave for 60 seconds.
2) Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead it to a soft dough. Keep the dough covered for 15-20 minutes. As you have cooked the methi in the microwave, it would leave water so watch the amount of water needed while kneading the dough.
3) Make small equal sized balls of the dough and roll each ball to a flat round paratha using some flour whenever necessary.
4) Place the paratha on a hot griddle and add few drops of oil on both the sides.
5) Repeat this with all the balls. Your Parathas are ready! Serve Hot.
I served them with pickle. You can also have them with curd, any gravy of your choice, any type of vegetable or you can simply roll it and relish them.

Vegetable Pulao

Pulao/Biryani has always been my favourite. I like to make different variations in this so that it becomes a full fledged meal/supper. This time I made Mixed Vegetable Pulao and used up the packet of frozen vegetables from my pantry. Here is the what you need.
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups Basamati rice
2) 1 cup mixed veggies of your choice. (I used half of the packet of frozen vegetables)
3) 1 medium sized onion cut lengthwise
4) 2-3 green chillies
5) 2-3 cloves garlic and 1 inch ginger
6) 3-4 peppercons, cloves and cardamom each
7) 1 stick cinnamon
8) 1 tspn turmeric and cumin-coriander powder each
9) 1 tspn red chilli powder
10)Salt as per taste
11) And Oil
Method -
1) Wash the rice and soak it for 15-20 minutes.
2) Grind the spices(peppercons, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon) together.
3) Blend the green chillies, ginger and garlic to a paste.
4) Heat oil in a large skillet and add the mustard seeds. Once they crackle add cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder.
5) Add the blended spices and the paste and saute for few seconds. Then add the onions cut lengthwise and saute for some more time.
6) Once the oil starts leaving the onions, add the vegetables. Mix well and add the cumin-coriander powder. Cover and cook the veggies till they become tender.
7) Now, add the rice and mix it well with the veggies. Add 4 cups of warm water, salt as per taste and the red chilli powder. Mix it well. Cover the lid and let it cook. This takes around 10-15 minutes.
8) Vegetable Pulao is ready. You can serve this with any kind of raita.

Bread Pakoda

Bread Pakoda or Bread Masala, you can call it by whichever name you want. I didn't find any suitable name for this but it is a perfect evening snack with tea/coffee especially when you are very hungry. You would need -
Ingredients -
1) Bread,any kind. I used sandwich bread
2) 1/2 cup besan/chickpea flour
3) 1 small onion chopped finely
4) 1 small tomato chopped finely
5) 2-3 green chillies
6) 1 tbspn red chilli powder
7) Salt as per taste
8) Water
9) Oil for frying
Method -
1) Mix besan and water in a bowl. The consistency should be on a thicker side but not as thin as you make for dosas/idlis. It should be easy to spread over the bread.
2) In this mixture add all the other ingredients and set aside.
3) Heat a pan and add little oil. Slice the bread into half.
4) Spread the mixture on the bread and shallow fry it. Turn over and fry the other side too.
5) Serve it with ketchup.