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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.