Bending the Rules: Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

Me: What? You can't be serious!
He: Why not?
Me: I am not sure…
He: Common, no one will know…
Me: I am scared!
He: Trust me.
Me: What if someone comes to know?
He: I am sure we are not the only one who has done it.
Me: But it’s not right. Society will never accept it. Oh! It’s a sin.
He: Now, now… look at me. Do you want me to die without experiencing how it would have been?
Me: No!!! Please don’t say that…
He: I have got only 2 more days to live. Won’t you fulfill my last wish?
Me: Oh!!! Of course I want to…

And that’s how he left this world, just two dates before his expiry date. And oh!!! If you are wondering whether it’s some scene from Bollywood movie then you are wrong. I call him Mr. T with love who is known to rest of the world as Tofu. He left this world knowing he had left wonderful memories for me.
Tofu, also known as soybean curd and bean curd is made from curdled soy milk. This custard like white block is high in protein, low in salt and calories and has no cholesterol. By itself Tofu is quite bland and hence it readily picks up the flavour of other ingredients that are cooked with it making one pleasurable, guilt free indulgence.
After cooking Tofu with different techniques pairing it with different ingredients using different regional recipes, I wanted to try something new. Since couple of months back I am using Tofu in Indian cooking and it is pure pleasure to watch it beautifully blend with Indian spices and take us on a roller-coaster ride in taste department. It tastes great when used in Chinese and Thai recipes and it excels when blended with rich Indian spices. Initially I started experimenting by replacing Paneer, Indian cottage cheese, with Tofu. Slowly I started using it boldly with different traditional recipes which our ‘Purist’ cyber aunties would disapprove of and ban me from posting it.
Soft, delicious and aromatic Tofu Stuffed Kulcha is a winner recipe. With much less calories and high in protein content, this recipe was created at nth moment. At spur of a moment I made these Kulchas as I was left with half a pack of left over Tofu which had less than two days of shelf life. And boy!!! Am I happy or not! Although I was little hesitant to use tofu this way the end result was much more than we could ask for. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Served with delicious and spicy Mushroom Curry (Recipe follows soon) it was one satisfying weekend meal.

Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

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Tofu Stuffed Kulcha
Prep Time: 20 mins (Excluding resting time)
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Makes: 6-7 Medium Kulchas

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Ingredients:
1 tsp Nigella Seeds
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
Little Ghee/Oil (Optional)

For Outer Covering/Dough:
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup All Purpose Flour/Maida
2 tbsp Yogurt
¼ cup Warm Milk
½ tsp Cooking Soda
½ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
Warm Water to knead
1 tsp Oil

For Stuffing:
1 packed cup Tofu, crumbled
1 small Red Onion, very finely chopped
¾ tbsp Garlic, very finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp Mint Leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional)
1 tsp White Pepper Powder (Optional, use any spices/masala of your choice)
Salt to taste

Tofu Stuffing

Method:
For Dough:
Sift wheat flour, maida, cooking soda, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in center and add yogurt and warm milk.
Knead the dough adding little water at a time to make soft pliable dough.
Apply oil on the surface of dough and keep it wrapped in cotton towel or cling film.
Let it rest for at least one hour.

For the Stuffing:
Squeeze as much of water as possible from tofu as the water content in tofu will make the kulcha go soggy.
Once it’s done, crumble the tofu with hands, and take about one packed cup of tofu crumble.
Take all the ingredients in a vessel and mix well. Remember to chop the vegetables very finely so that it becomes easier to stuff and roll.

To make Stuffed Kulcha:
Take dough and knead again for about minute and make big lime sized balls.
Dust it with wheat flour and roll it into thick poories of about 4 inch in diameter.
Place about tbsp of tofu mixture in center. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Sprinkle little nigella seeds and sesame on top of roties and lightly press them using rolling pin.
Heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Place Kulcha on griddle and cook on both the sides till it’s cooked and brown spots starts to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Tofu stuffed Kulchas immediately with any curry or your choice and enjoy.

Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

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Note:
Keep the stuffing as dry as possible. If it has too much of moisture/water content then it becomes difficult to roll them as the moisture will make the Kulchas soggy and they might tear while rolling oozing the stuffing.
Keep the center of Kulcha little thicker than the ends before stuffing as when you cover and seal the ends you will get even thickness at both the sides.
Resting the dough for at least an hour makes soft Kulchas.
Usually an egg is added when making the dough but I usually avoid adding it.

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Dates Obbattu

Winter is beautiful in India. This is the time when dawn is lightly touched with frost; a soft new light appears from heavenly sky. The thundering monsoon and damp earth give way to ‘Kartika Maasa’, the golden season of October and November. Kartika is a season of silky and golden sunlight and blossoming trees. There is the shivering anticipation among every form of life waiting in anticipation for what mother earth has to offer. It is the season when the mother earth is all dewy and she takes on a delicious newness. The sun turns pleasing honey-gold spreading golden sparkles to whatever he touches. It is the season of festivals, and it is the time to celebrate Deepavali, a festival of lights.
Diwali is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Deepavali’, meaning "row of lamps". It is a time for feasts, fireworks, remembrance, forgiveness and a renewal of life. Clay lamps of all size and shape are lit along verandas, on rooftops, on windowsills, along driveways, in gardens and courtyards and colourful paper lanterns are strung to the high roof. All pooja utensils, the prayer room is washed and cleaned to their sparkling best. The pooja mantap with all kinds of god and goddess radiates a different glow of energy decorated with colourful array of marigolds, roses and jasmines and the heady aroma of incense sticks and dhupa. Each and every streets and nook ‘n corners are decorated with bright colourful lights and paper lanterns, shops are dressed in shimmering golden streamers, and fairy lights are wound around trees transferring the whole world to festive season.
For three little kids, the Diwali day would start at the very wink of dawn with sandalwood and oil bath called ‘Abhyanga’. Although it was not one of the things they enjoyed, just the thought of the day ahead would make it for getting up that early and oil baths. Their parents would exchange smiles looking at their kids smeared in oil, yawning and rubbing their eyes to get rid of slumber and lightly shivering to the cool breeze of dawn tickling their scantly clad bodies. After hot water bath the kids were dressed in their new and crisp cloths ironed by their father and ready to receive their family and friends. While their mother created beautiful Rangolis, colourful geometric and floral patterns made from coloured rice flour, at the entrance to the house; the kids were given the task of making small S-shaped foot prints with five dots on top arch from door step to pooja room. It is believed that these prints represent the little feet of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, who makes a trip to every home on Diwali night to survey family fortune and decides whether they need any boost. The little kids made it sure that they painted it well so that the goddess didn’t get lost on her way to pooja room.
After heavy breakfast, mother would start cooking special treats apart from the one’s which she had prepared days before with the help of her mother and cooks to send it to relatives and friends. Different sizes of colourful boxes of dry fruits and nuts, sweets, gifts wrapped in colourful papers would sit in corner table to be given to the guests visiting. It is the day when foe becomes a friend and generations of hatred seems to dissolve in the soft glow of light from diyas. It is the day when tradition is passed from one generation to the next while the lamps illuminate quietly, shimmering over night, encircling the parents and children in its golden glow. As the late night approaches and as the harsh electric lights are switched off, small quiet flames from diyas and candles flicker amid bunches of marigold, hibiscus, roses and jasmines. While whole street sleeps under the dark blanket of glittering stars, the kids dreams of goddess Lakshmi emerging from the soft glow of diyas and stepping into home bringing wealth and well-being with her.
For three days and nights families and friends gather to celebrate the festival of lights. While the kids set off fireworks, elders sit behind, keeping an eye on kids and chat about passing years. The smile on every kid’s face matches that of sparkling diyas. Sparkles, rockets and torches explode in the sky, shedding red-orange, blue-green flames. When the noise of bursting fire crackers drowns conversations, the ladies bring out the feast to be devoured. There is no dining table with silver cutleries and delicate china sets. Families and friends sit together under the sparkling sky and eat from green banana leaves which looked like an artist’s colour palette with different savouries and sweets and with range of curries, rice and roties… The noise of Diwali does not distract from its serenity. This is the festival which brings together families and friends and thus brings happiness and content of being with your loved ones and sharing that joy. Diwali is the time to stop, to sit back, to gaze at the sparkling sky and to allow ourselves to be braced with the love and affection of our loved ones.
I always loved quiet Diwali than noisy firecrackers where I would light the clay lamps with my siblings and parents. I guess I am among the few who liked noiseless Diwali with hundreds of small lamps glittering like stars around me. With the electric lights switched off, these small diyas radiated sense of calmness and serenity which I always feel is the true meaning of Diwali, a festival of lights. Sitting under an open sky, laying my head on my Appa’s lap, we kids enjoyed stories of Lord Rama, devil Narakasura, goddess Lakshmi with keen interest even though we had heard the same stories for zillionth time. With all these fond memories and nostalgia K and I made Kharjura Obbattu (Date stuffed Poli) on Deepavali eve. I have many sweet memories attached with this dish and I couldn’t think of any other thing to cook for this Diwali. Steam cooked sweet dates is ground with dash of jaggery and lightly spiced with cardamom and nutmeg is stuffed between the maida dough and tawa fried with ghee is one dish which sure to win everyone’s heart. Looking at the picturea you can easily guess that its my first attempt at making Obbattu ;) True to my Flow Chart, I am sending this to Vee’s Jhiva Special Edition-The Festive Series, Meeta’s MM-Traditional Feasts and Chandrika’s AFAM-Dates. Ek teer, teen shikar ;)

Dates Obbattu

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Dates Obbattu
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes: 5-6

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Ingredients:
For Kanaka/Dough:
1 heaped cup Maida/All Purpose Flour
A big pinch of Salt
2-3 tbsp Oil
Ghee for frying

For Hoorana/Stuffing:
1 cup Dates, deseeded and quartered
1 tbsp Jaggery (adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Ghee
¼ tsp Cardamom Powder
A big pinch Nutmeg


Kanaka with Dates Hoorana

Dates Obbattu

Method:
Place plain flour and salt in a vessel and make it into stiff dough of chapatti consistency by adding little water at a time. Keep it aside covered with wet cloth for around half an hour.
After ½ to 1 hour, add oil and knead the dough till all the oil is absorbed and the dough becomes soft and elastic. Keep this dough aside for another half an hour or so.
Mean while, steam cook dates for around 10 mins till they become soft and mushy.
Cool these dates and place them in a blender with jaggery and blend them without adding any water.
Heat ghee in a pan and to this add ground paste and keep stirring on moderate heat for around five minutes. Make sure to stir at medium flame so that the stuffing doesn’t stick to the bottom of pan.
Mix in cardamom and nutmeg powder and switch off the flame. Let the stuffing mixture cool for sometime.
Make golf sized balls of dough and date stuffing by applying little ghee to your hands.
Grease an aluminum foil/banana leaf/thick plastic wrap with little oil and place maida dough ball in center.
Press the dough with your fingers and start spreading it to a circle stating from center, working towards the edge. Make poori sized circle of about 3 inch diameter and place date hoorana/stuffing ball at center. Close the hoorana/stuffing by pulling the dough on all sides.
Slowly press the dough with your fingers to about ½ cm thick and 6 inch diameter. Use little ghee/oil if the dough sticks to your fingers.
Heat griddle/tawa and gently transfer the obbattu to tawa and cook on both sides by applying little ghee till little brown patches appear and they are cooked well.
Serve warm with ghee and enjoy.

Dates Obbattu with Ghee

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Tips:
If you find it difficult to spread the dough with your hands then place another greased sheet on top of the dough and roll it gently using rolling pin.
The left over obbattu can be freezed once it is completely cooled down for about 3 weeks in freezer. Place a parchment paper in between each obbattu and place them in zip lock bag and freeze. When required, thaw and heat it using a griddle/pan and serve.
You can replace jaggery with honey or sugar based on your preferance and maida with wheat if you are health conscious.

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Dates Obbattu

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Note:
Another Sweet recipe on Monsoon Spice using Date is Kharjura/Date Payasa.
Here is Richa's recipe for Poli where she adds pistachio powder to dates stuffing.

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Celebrating Freedom with Oriya Cuisine

"Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been
broken up into fragments by
narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from
the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches
its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary
desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is lead forward by thee
into ever-widening thought and action-
into that heaven of freedom, my Father,
let my country awake."

-Rabindranath Tagore from Geetanjali

This is a day to rejoice and celebrate our independence. At the same time take few minutes of your time to pray for the freedom fighters who dreamt of freedom and made their dreams into reality for us. Wishing all proud Indians A Very Happy 60th Year of Independence…

The land India is like a Thali, a platter containing selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each food tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next. Still they belong together on the same plate and complement each other in making the total satisfying meal. The very finest of Indian cuisine is as rich and diverse as its civilization. They say in India the language differs for every two hundred miles travelled and food is no exception.
Lakshmi’s RCI, Regional Cuisines of India, is one event which I look forward to. The instructions are quite simple and straight forward; cook any dish of particular Indian state every month. While browsing through Spice Corner Archives I realised most of the times I have been cooking and posting recipes which I have learned from my Amma, Grandma, MIL or friends and they are very limited to something which I am used to eating since long time. I am not very experimental or adventurous when it comes to cooking and eating different food. RCI is not just a great reason for me to cook completely new recipe from different states of India but also gives me the opportunity to learn little more about the culture, people, food etc of that region. This month lovely Swapna, of beautiful blog called Swad is guest hosting RCI-Oriya Cuisine. And also Anita of A Mad Tea Party is throwing a great Independence Day party to celebrate 60th year of independence. How can I stay away from this mad party where we are asked to bring deep fried Poories with Potato Bhaji. Here I come Anita...

Panch-Phutana: Fennel, Nigella (Kalonji), Fenugreek, Mustard & Cumin

Orissa or Kalinga, as it was then called, is a eastern Indian state with an ethnic past that is still vibrant. It was here that the famous Battle of Kalinga was fought which made King Ashoka forsake war and to become a follower of Buddhism and spread the spirit of ahimsa and peace. This rich state of architectural splendour and magnificent coastline teaches how simple food cooked using local ingredients can bring out the rich and heavenly flavour. Unlike the fiery spiced curries associated with Indian food, the Oriya food is usually subtle and delicately spiced using Panch-Phutana, a mix of five spices- Cumin, Mustard, Fennel, Fenugreek and Nigella (Kalonji) seeds.

Chana Dali & Piaj Sag Bhaja with Luchi

After searching the internet for vegetarian dishes from Orissa I ended up making not just one Dish but two. I tweaked recips from Oriya Kitchen which showcases wonderful array of dishes. The simple Chana Dali of Puri Jagannath Temple where the spilt Chana Dal is simmered in lightly spiced creamy coconut gravy tastes as good as it sounds. The creamy dal has got light nutty taste from channa and the tempering of aromatic Chari-Phutna defines the new dimension of taste.

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Chana Dali of Puri Jagannath Temple
Prep Time: 10-15 mins (excluding soaking time)
Cooking Time: 30-40 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1½ cups of Chana dal
¼ cup grated Coconut, fresh/frozen
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
4 Green Cardamoms (original recipe called for black cardamom)
3 Cloves
1 tsp Black Pepper seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Sugar
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tsp Ghee
1 tsp Chari-Phutana Seeds (Cumin, Mustard, Fennel, Fenugreek)

Chana Dali of Puri Jagannath Temple

Method:
Wash and clean chana dal in water
Cook this cleaned chana dal in pressure cooker with turmeric, salt and sugar for 10-15 minutes till the it’s cooked well. Cool the pressure cooker till it releases its pressure before opening the lid.
Grind all coconut, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cumin and coriander seeds to smooth paste adding little water at a time.
Add this ground paste and ¼-½ cup of water, if needed, to the cooked dal. Simmer and cook for another 20 minutes till the dal thickens.
Heat ghee in a tadka pan and add chari-phutna. When the spices start to pop and splutter, transfer the tempering to cooked dal and mix well.
Serve this delicious Chana Dali with rice or roties.

Piaj Sag Bhaja or Green/Spring Onion stir fry is another dish I couldn’t resist from trying. This simple stir fry of spring onion with diced potato in a simple tempering of punch-phutana brings out the true tastes of vegetables without any spices overpowering the fresh taste of vegetables.

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Piaj Sag Bhaja
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
1 bunch Spring Onion (approx 1½ cups)
1 large Potato, peeled and diced into small pieces
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1 Green Chilli, minced
1/2 tsp Panch-Phutana (Cumin, Fenugreek, Nigella(Kalonji), Fennel, Mustard)
1 tbsp Oil
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Coriander Powder
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
Salt to taste

Piaj Sag Bhaja

Method:
Wash the spring onion and then cut its green part into 1 inch pieces. Chop the white part into very thin slices and keep them separate.
Heat oil and add panch-phutana seeds and sauté till they start to pop and splutter.
Now add finely chopped onion and spring onion slices and minced green chilli. Sauté these onions till they turn golden brown.
Now add diced potato, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and sauté until potato is almost cooked. You can sprinkle little water in between so that the vegetables don’t stick to the bottom of pan.
Then add spring onion and cook for another 5-6 minutes over a medium flame.
Serve hot Piaj Sag Bhaja with rice or any Indian bread.

Here is the recipe for soft and white puffed luchies served with delicious Piaj Sag Bhaja and Chana Dali.

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Luchi
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 cups Maida/All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste(approx ½ tsp)
Oil for deep frying

Puffed Luchi

Method:
Mix oil and salt with all purpose flour. Add water little at a time to make soft pliable dough. Careful while adding water as maida needs less water and tends to become too soft and sticky if more water is added.
Make small ball and roll it into small roties. Make sure that u doesn’t roll them into very thin roties.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan at medium heat and fry one luchi at a time.
When luchies puffs and cooks well which should not take more than 30-45 seconds transfer them on paper towel.
Serve hot puffed white beauties with any curry of your choice.

Chana Dali & Piaj Sag Bhaja with Luchi

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Lovely Cynthia of Tastes Like Home has kindly given me The Power of Schmooze Award. I feel very humble and grateful and am not sure if I deserve this award. Thank you Cynth for your kind gesture.


The Power of Schmooze Award is for bloggers who “effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.”

Given a choice I would gladly send it to all lovely bloggers here and I had great difficulty in choosing few from my long list of buddies. So here I would like to pass this award to lovely friends who aptly deserve this award more than I do. You all are schmoozers :)
Archana of Tried & Tested Recipes
Coffee of The Spice Café
Jyothsna of Curry Bazaar
Latha of Masala Magic
Linda of Out of The Garden
Sandeepa of Bong Mom’s Cookbook
Shn of Kitchen Mishmash
Sra of When my Soup Came Alive
Trupti of The Spice Who Loved Me
Vani of Mysoorian

Update: Time for more bragging;) Baking Fairy Sunita of Sunita's World and thoughtful writer Santi of Writing on the Mirror thinks I rock! Boy! I do feel like I am back in school days on annual day celebration;) Thanks Suni and Santi for this award and right now my cheeks matches the pretty pink of this cute button.

I would like to pass this Rocking Girl Blogger Award to all these gals who surely rocks:) Keep rocking girls;)

ISG of Daily Musings
Kanchana of Married to a Desi
Manjula of Dalitoy
Meena of Memories from my Mom's Kitchen
Musical of Musical's Kitchen
Pooja of My Creative Ideas
Roopa of My Chow Chow Bhath
Richa of As Dear As Salt
Seema of Recipe Junction
Shilpa of Flog & Rosbif
Viji of Vcuisine

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Matar Paneer with Butter Naan

Here are sweet peas, on tiptoe for a flight;
With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white,
And taper fingers catching at all things,
To bind them all about with tiny rings.
- John Keats

Lucious Peas in Pod

One thing my mother never had to say even when I was in little polka dot frock was to eat peas. We kids at home loved our job of shelling sweet peas from their pods and collect all those bouncing little green gems in our little hand. Snap, shell and pop some peas into mouth; how simple is that? Knowing our love affair with fresh peas, Amma always bought large bag of shelled peas from farmer’s market. Little more than half of those little gems would disappear well before it was put into the basket and little more would easily disappear on its way to kitchen.
I don’t remember when my love affair with peas started. It had to be love at first bite and I still can’t get enough of it. Although we can consume peas throughout the year as they are available in cans, dried form or frozen, they can never match the taste of fresh peas from their pods. I have been buying fresh peas from our farmer’s market as April, May and June are usually the only months that they are available fresh. So if you’ve never had fresh peas, straight from the pod, you’re in for a treat. Fresh peas are sweet and delicious and I feel they taste best uncooked as they are nutritious and low in fat. With overflowing peas in our kitchen we decided to use them in cooking. So we have been having good servings of Peas Pulao, Peas stir fry and Peas with different vegetables. When it comes to peas how can anyone not cook Matar Paneer. Fresh Peas of summer and creamy Paneer (Indian Cheese) gently cooked in thick gravy of onion and tomato seasoned with aromatic Indian spices and generous dollop of butter is a pleasure to savor. When served with soft Butter Naan it’s a treat for all your senses.

Matar Paneer with Butter Naan

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Matar Panner
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1½ cups Fresh Peas, shelled
2 cups Paneer, cut into 1 inch square
2 large Tomatoes, chopped finely
½ cup single Cream/Sour Cream/Evaporated Milk
1 tbsp+2 tbsp Butter/Ghee
1 tbsp Kasoori Methi
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 Star Aniseed/Marathi Muggu
1 Bay Leaf
2-3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

To Grind to Paste:
2 medium Onions, roughly chopped
1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder/Paprika
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
2-3 tbsp Cashew Nuts, broken
½ inch Ginger
2-3 Garlic Flakes
2 Green Cardamoms

Matar Paneer

Method:
Heat butter/ghee in a pan and shallow fry paneer cubes both the sides till they turn light golden brown colour. Immerse them in a warm water till required so that they don’t harden.
To the same ghee/butter add jeera, star aniseed, bay leaf and kasuri methi and sauté till jeera starts to pop and splutter.
Now add ground masala and fry it on a medium flame till oil starts to separate.
Add finely chopped tomatoes, salt to taste and about ¾ to 1 cup of water and boil till gravy thickens.
Add fresh/frozen peas, paneer and cream and cook for further 5-7 minutes over a medium flame.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with naan or roties.

Matar Paneer

Naan is a round flat bread made of maida and cooked in a Tandoor or clay oven. You can make naan using pressure cooker or oven or grill or stove top. This time I tried Coffee’s Stove Top method which is not only easy but made beautiful tandoor style naan.
Remember to use Cast Iron Tawa and NEVER use non-stick tawa for this method.

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Butter Naan
Prep time: 15 mins (excluding rising time)
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 cups All Purpose Flour/Maida
2 tbsp Yogurt
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 tsp Salt
¼ tsp Baking Powder
2 tbsp Oil
¾ cup Luke Warm Water
1 tbsp Sesame Seeds

Butter Naan

Method:
Dissolve yeast in warm water and keep aside for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile mix all dry ingredients: maida, sugar, salt and baking powder.
To this add yogurt and oil and mix.
Make a small well in the center and slowly add dissolved yeast water. Keep mixing till you get soft pliable dough.
Cover this dough with a wet cheese cloth or plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for 1½ to 2 hours till the dough rises and doubles its original quantity.
Punch down this raised dough to release air and divide it into big lemon sized balls.
Heat iron tawa and roll the dough ball into a ¼ inch thick oval shaped roti with a rolling pin. Sprinkle little sesame seeds and gently roll the naan.
Sprinkle generous amount of water to one side of the naan and gently place it on the heated iron tawa. Remember to put the water side down.
When you see bubbles forming on the surface of naan in few seconds time, lift the tawa and turn it down so that the surface of naan is directly exposed to the flame. While keeping the flame on high, move the tawa so that naan is cooked evenly.
Naan is well cooked when you see brown patches on the surface of naan.

Apply butter or ghee and serve hot with any Curry of your choice.

Matar Paneer with Butter Naan

PS: Thankyou for your concern and mails/messages. I was not be able to response to your comments and visit your blogs as I had crazy busy schedule. And more than that I am trying cope with the pain of losing a loved one who was very special to me in many ways. Till now I have only heard about the way how death touches others life and now I understand. This is the first time I am experiencing the pain of losing a precious one who was a backbone of our family.

Chole Bhature

At last my hubby said it openly that I am addicted to blogging. Well… I am guilty of the fact that I am shamelessly, completely addicted to blogging. For every half an hour I check my blog for comments and in between I am busy with checking other blogs. From now onwards I am planning to leave my laptop upstairs. It’s not because I want to stay away from my blog. It’s just because it will help me getting some exercise of running up and down. (I can see my hubby nodding in agreement now). Before blogging came to picture, first thing in the morning I used to get up and have my breakfast. Now all I can think of is checking my blog as soon i get up. Oh yes!!! Sometimes I do this even before I brush my teeth. Ah!!! The power of blogging.
Now a days it’s become a habit to have food once I finish cooking and clicking. Both go hand in hand. It’s become kind of unsaid agreement between me and my hubby. We both are happy as long as I get to click pictures and he gets yummy things to eat;)
Today I am posting a recipe of Chole which I learnt from my Amma. I made Bhatures to go along with Chole. I adapted the recipe of Bhatures from Asha’s Blog. A delicious recipe from Punjab which is served for breakfast has become very much loved brunch and dinner in our house hold. This may not be the authentic way to make Chole Bhature but this is how I make it at home. The soft and spongy Bhatures with saucy Chole is a combination made in heaven.

Chole Masala

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Chole Masala
Prep Time: 10-15 mins (excluding soaking time)
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 cup White Kabuli Channa
2 big Onions
3 large Tomatoes/1 canned Tomato
1 inch Ginger
2-3 cloves Garlic
½ tsp Amchur Powder/Marble Sized Tamarind
½-1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala
½ tsp Channa Masala (optional)
1-2 tbsp Kasuri Methi
2 Cardamoms
2 Cloves
½ inch Cinnamon
2-3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Chole Masala

Method:
Soak kabuli channa over night in enough water with little cooking soda
Drain and wash well and cook it in pressure cooker with enough water for about 15 minutes.
In a mean while, grind onion, ginger, and garlic along with cardamom, cloves and cinnamon without adding any water.
Score a cross with a sharp knife in the base of each tomato and place them in boiling water and leave for 2 -3 minutes.
Drain and allow them to cool. Then peel the skin and make a puree in food processor and keep it aside.
Heat ghee or oil in a frying pan and add cumin seeds to it.
When it splutters add the ground masala paste and fry in medium flame till ghee separates from it.
Add garam masala, kitchen king masala and channa masala and sauté it for a minute.
Now mix tomato puree and keep stirring constantly until the moisture is completely absorbed.
Add salt, amchur powder, sugar and cooked channa with its water and cook till gravy turns thick.
Remove from fire and garish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with bhaturas or puries accompanied with finely chopped onions and lemon pieces.

Chole Masala

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Bhatura
Prep Time: 10 mins (excluding resting/rising time)
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 Cups Plain Flour
2 tbsp Plain Yogurt/Sour Cream
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Chole Bhature

Method:
Mix all the ingredients above and knead well using enough water to make soft dough.
Cover it with wet cloth and keep it in a warm place for 2-4 hours.
Make a lemon sized ball and roll them out to chapatti sized circles with ¼ cm thickness.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan and fry bhaturas till they turn slightly golden and place them on paper towel.
Make sure that you don’t fry the bhatures long because you want them to be soft and light golden.
Serve them with Chole and vegetable salad and relish.

Chole Masala

Also Tried Trupti's and Lera's Chole recipe. Both the recipes are the keepers.

Eggless Rich Scones

Yes…I did it. At last, I managed to overcome my phobia of baking(Is there a thing called Bake-phobia?;). Some what, I have always stayed away from baking cakes or cookies. I have discovered that when things don’t work out the way I want, they really get to me. My first attempt of baking goes back to my teenage year which was a complete disaster, where I ended up almost setting the house on fire. Since then I have kept myself away from oven until now.

Eggless Rich Scones

Few days back I watched cookery show where queen of baking Lesley Waters made these rustic looking scones. It looked quite simple and easy to make them and I had all the ingredients except eggs in my pantry which didn’t hinder my enthusiasm. First thing I did before I started baking was switch off the fire alarm;) Then with all courage and determination I started making scones from scratch. I omitted eggs and added more butter and lessened the amount of sugar the original recipe called for. Here is my version of Egg less Rich Scones.

Eggless Rich Scones

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Eggless Rich Scones
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
2 cups Self Raising Flour + extra for Dusting
¾ cup Butter, diced + extra for Greasing
¼ cup Caster Sugar (According to one’s taste)
½ cup Ground Almonds
¼ cup Raisins
¾ cup Warm Milk
2 tbsp Natural Yougurt/Curds
Pinch of Salt

Eggless Rich Scones

Method:
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees/Gas mark 7
Take flour and butter in a large mixing bowl and add pinch of salt to it.
Using your finger tips, rub the butter into flour till it looks like bread crumbs.
To this add caster sugar, ground almonds and raisins and mix well.
In another bowl mix the wet ingredients. i.e., warm milk and yogurt. (You can also add one egg) and mix them properly.
Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients and pour 2/3rd of wet ingredient and mix well.
Add the remaining wet ingredients to get the required consistency. Quickly mix together the ingredients to form a soft dough.
Transfer this dough into a floured surface and shape it into rough circular shape using your palm about 1 inch thickness. You can also use rolling pin for this.
Cut this into wedges using sharp knife(use some flour to stop the knife from sticking).
Place these wedges into greased baking tray and sprinkle them with little flour.
Bake the scones for 10-15 minutes until the scones are risen and golden.
Serve them warm with the fruits of your choice or thick clotted cream and jam.

Eggless Rich Scones

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What are Scones?
Scones are a type of rich, slightly savory pastry which is often served at breakfast or tea, especially in Britain. Traditional English scones slightly resemble American biscuits, as both use a flaky, dense pastry, but scones tend to be a bit sweeter, and also incorporate ingredients like dried fruit. Delicious when eaten warm, scones are also served cold with a variety of toppings including clotted cream, marmalade, jams, honey, and butters. Scones are also made highly savory with ingredients like potato flour and cheese.
The term “scone” in reference to a pastry has been in use in Scotland since 1513, and is probably related to the Dutch word for bread. Scones are the most highly evolved in Scotland as well, suggesting that the food originates there. Scottish scones come in a number of guises including soda scones, made with a savory mixture of flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt. The Scottish also make treacle scones, potato scones, and griddle scones; scones cooked on a griddle rather than baked.
(Source: www.wisegeek.com)

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Eggless Rich Scones

Goli Baje

Since the day I saw Goli Baje in Shilpa’s Aayi’s Recipe, I couldn’t stop myself to make our all time favourite tea time snack. Goli Baje is very much liked and loved street food in South Canara. In every college or office canteen it will be available at any time of the day. I remember the days when we friends used to bunk our boring lecture and sit in college canteen slurping “Beccha Beccha Kaapi” (it means hot cup of coffee in Tulu) with big plate of Goli Baje and sharing Beccha Beccha gossips… Ah good old memories. The wonderful time I shared with my friends may not come back but the pleasure of slurping hot cuppa with Goli Baje in winter can be created at any time.

Goli Baje

Ingredients:
1 cup Maida/Plain flour
3-4 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
1 cup of Butter Milk/Sour Curd
¼ tsp Cooking Soda
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Goli Baje served with Coriander Chutney

Method:
Mix all the ingredients above and make a thick paste.
Keep it covered for 2-3 hours.
Take a small spoon of paste and drop it in hot oil.
Deep fry them in medium flame till they urn into lovely golden brown colour.
Serve hot with Coriander Chutney and “Beccha Beccha Kaapi”.

Green Coriander Chutney with Goli Baje

Ingredients for Green Chutney:
Small bunch of Coriander Leaves
3-4 Green Chillies
2-3 tbsp Grated Coconut
Small ball of Tamarind
1/2 inch of Ginger
Salt to taste

Method:
Grind all the above ingredients adding little water into a smooth paste.
Serve with hot Goli Bajes.

Spongy Goli Baje with Coriander Chuteny

Final Verdict:
What can I say friends!!! I got big thumbs up from my much better half. They turned out to be soft, fluffy and delicious. They were as soft and light as cotton balls. Don’t go by their looks. They might look very simple and easy to cook as they require very few ingredients and little preparation time apart from fermentation. But believe me; nothing can beat the taste of Goli Bajes in this cold winter. I must tell you one thing though. Because it’s made with Maida, it tends to absorb little more oil than normal Pakodas. But I feel that sometime we need to indulge ourselves in simple pleasures of life.

Soft and Fluffy Goli Baje

Tomato Omlette

It's a pure veggi Omlette - nutritious and healthy. Here is a recipe of Tomato Omlette which is a favorite breakfast of my family. It can be made in few minutes of time and what more...it tastes really good too.

Pure Veggi-Tomato Omlette

Ingredients:
1 cup of Plain flour/Maida
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Tomatoes, Finely Chopped
2 Green Chillies, Finely Chopped
1 spoon of red chill powder
3 tbsp Tomato Puree
1/4 spoon of jeera
Few Coriander leaves
Pinch of Cooking Soda
Salt to taste

Tomato Omlette

Method:
Mix salt, chilli powder, soda with maida.
Add all chopped onion, tomatoes, chillies and coriander leaves.
Heat little oil and add jeera. After jeera starts crackling mix it with the batter.
Add little water to make it a batter - batter should be in pouring consistency.
Heat the tawa pour little of the batter and spread it well - cook both the sides.
Serve hot with chutney, pickle or sauce.

Tomato Omlette

Tukkudi

Tukkudi as we call it in Mangalore, has always been my favourite 'any time munching itty bits'... I never tried to make it until now. This is a very simple recipe and takes just over 10 minutes of your time. As the temperature is falling to single digit, its a great snack to cook and store and its a must-must with a hot 'n strong cup of coffee...

Tukkudis

Ingredients:
1 cup Plain flour(Maida)
1 tbsp Red chilli powder(acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1 tsp Ghee(optional)
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Tukkudis -a small bites

Method:
Mix the above ingredients with a little water and knead into a soft dough.
Divide dough into equal parts and roll out into thick chappatis.
Cut with a cookie cutter or knife into small diamond shapes.
Deep fry in oil over slow flame till light golden brown.
Drain well and keep aside till cool.
Store in clean, dry containers.

Panasa Thonalu

Panasa Thonalu is a South Indian sweet dish which i found in food blogger buddy KrishnaArjuna's Blog. Its such a simple dish and can be prepared when you dont have much time and your friends are about to bang your door. The ingredients used are same which I use to make Malpuri (Soon I will Post). You can always try giving different shape to this sweet and give your own name.

Panasa Thonalu

Ingredients:
Maida(all purpose flour) - 2 cups
Ghee(clarified butter) - 4 tbsps
Water - enough for kneading the flour
Oil - For frying
For the Syrup:
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup

Panasa Thonalu

Method:
The syrup making process: Mix the sugar and water in a skillet and let it sit on medium heat stirring it every couple of minutes. In about 20 mins the syrup should be ready. Its always recommended to prepare syrup ahead of time.

Mix the maida(all purpose flour) and ghee by adding a little water . Knead the dough for a few minutes(consistency should be similar to chapathi dough). Cover the dough with wet kitchen towel and let it sit for a half hour.
Take walnut sized balls of the flour and roll them flat like a roti(shape doesn't matter). Make a few slits lengthwise keeping the ends intact. Now roll each of the rotis into a bundle and slightly press the ends so that they would look similar to the one in the following picture.. and there, you have a panasa thona! Repeat the process for the whole dough.
Heat oil in a kadai and when the oil is hot enough. Fry the panasa thonalu till they turn light brown. Take them out of the oil and drain the oil on a paper towel. Transfer them immediately into the sugar syrup.
Let the pananthonalu cool off a little bit before transferring them into a storage container.

Panasa Thonalu