We had totally different agendas!!!!
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Me and Aunt 'R', that is!!
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Me and Aunt 'R', that is!!
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She was visiting from India. For her without a doubt it was making the rounds of Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square & Atlantic City!
For me, without a doubt it was getting all the recipes from Aunt 'R', she being a fantastic cook :)
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So, while she made lists of places to visit & shop, I made lists of recipes that I needed to get from her ;)
She was visiting from India. For her without a doubt it was making the rounds of Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square & Atlantic City!
For me, without a doubt it was getting all the recipes from Aunt 'R', she being a fantastic cook :)
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So, while she made lists of places to visit & shop, I made lists of recipes that I needed to get from her ;)
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It did not end just at the recipes, I wanted her to demonstrate the cooking procedure so I could get it absolutely right :)
Keeping all my inhibitions aside, I kept pestering her ;)
Being a kind soul that she is, she not only obliged WILLINGLY, but was pleasantly surprised at my enthusiasm to learn new recipes.
It did not end just at the recipes, I wanted her to demonstrate the cooking procedure so I could get it absolutely right :)
Keeping all my inhibitions aside, I kept pestering her ;)
Being a kind soul that she is, she not only obliged WILLINGLY, but was pleasantly surprised at my enthusiasm to learn new recipes.
Little did she know I had a food blog to cater to ;)
One of the recipes that she demonstrated for me was this amazing Matthi Puri.
If there ever was a food item I was told to choose to eat everyday, it would be this. It is so very rustic, so very tasty :)
If there ever was a food item I was told to choose to eat everyday, it would be this. It is so very rustic, so very tasty :)
It definitely does not fall in the easy to make categories and I was glad to learn it and then replicate it a few time there after :)
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Matthi Puri is a sweet made out of Whole Wheat flour and Jaggery, just two ingredients!
This is usually made as a 'thando' for 'satam', a traditional festival where the gas/stove is not switched on for a day, it is given rest after the pooja and all the items made the previous day are savored. All the items for 'satam' are extremely delicious and everyone ends up eating more than their normal quota :) But you can most definitely make these anytime ;)
There is a similar punjabi delicacy called the sweet bhatura which uses similar ingredients, just that it is deep fried. Will give that recipe when I make it next time.
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Here is the recipe for Matthi Puri
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Soak a cup of grated/finely chopped jaggery in water.
Now comes the deciding factor. If you like things very sweet, just soak it in a little more than a cup of water. If you are like me and enjoy medium sweet, soak it in about 1.5/2 cups water.
This needs to soak couple of hours till all the jaggery melts to create a sweet solution. Break up jaggery lumps if any with your hands.
Now knead a dough with the jaggery solution and whole wheat flour (regular chapati aata).
The quantity of flour to be used is to get a very smooth and sticky dough.
Add 1tbsp oil and knead again.
IMP: Do not knead the dough to make it stiff, it has to be very loose.
Rest the dough for a minimum of 3 hrs.
When ready to make the Matthi Puri, dust your rolling surface, rolling pin with flour.
Make round-balls out of the dough, you might need a lot of flour for this as the dough is loose.
Roll into a thick puri sized circle. Keep dusting the board with flour and dredging the dough-balls in flour to make it pliable, soon you will get a hang of it. It is important to keep it thick so it does not dry out and get hard.
In my 12" skillet I make three matthi puri at a time.
Keep the flame on medium low. Once the underside gets cooked, flip the puri and continue cooking. Spread some oil on top and flip again. Press the puri well once in a while so that it gets cooked thoroughly. When it is fully cooked you will see a beautiful appetizing reddish brown color as in the pic :) It has to be slow cooked.
These Matthi Puri stay good for a long time(theoretically) and also make for an ideal travelling goodies!! In practice, they will be devoured the day they are made :)
Do try these once, you are sure to like them.
The dough making is a bit involved process, so try with a small quantity to start with.
Enjoy.......
No, I would not go that far just to make up a 'N', it is really called that!
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I have also heard of nylon poha and nylon sabudana, a litttle wierd I would say! I have come up with my own explanation as to why it may have gotten the not so appetising name, 'Nylon Dhokla' !
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Well, when I think of nylon, the things that come to my mind are the long and comfortable chairs back home with the nylon cloth material sewn as the base of the chair or the nylon bags that we happily trotted around with as kids and of course who can forget the nylon saree;-)
I have also heard of nylon poha and nylon sabudana, a litttle wierd I would say! I have come up with my own explanation as to why it may have gotten the not so appetising name, 'Nylon Dhokla' !
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Well, when I think of nylon, the things that come to my mind are the long and comfortable chairs back home with the nylon cloth material sewn as the base of the chair or the nylon bags that we happily trotted around with as kids and of course who can forget the nylon saree;-)
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My theory is, nylon, for some reason unbeknownst to me, translates to 'instant' or 'pre-processed' in the case of food items. The traditional khaman dhokla is made by soaking a mixture of various dals, grinding it and then fermenting it before finally steaming it into a dhokla. But the nylon one is made of chickpea flour (besan), no grinding or fermenting involved here. It is an instant version and hence the name nylon khaman dhokla. Phew! Now that we have the definition out of the way, we can safely proceed to the recipe.
My theory is, nylon, for some reason unbeknownst to me, translates to 'instant' or 'pre-processed' in the case of food items. The traditional khaman dhokla is made by soaking a mixture of various dals, grinding it and then fermenting it before finally steaming it into a dhokla. But the nylon one is made of chickpea flour (besan), no grinding or fermenting involved here. It is an instant version and hence the name nylon khaman dhokla. Phew! Now that we have the definition out of the way, we can safely proceed to the recipe.
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I learnt this recipe from 'G' aunty when she was visiting us from India some time back. I watched her prepare it once and now follow all the steps diligently to make this snack. Speaking of 'G' aunty, I will be happy if I've even half the energy & enthusiasm that she has when I reach her age ;-)
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Khaman dhokla is a much loved Gujarati snack. It is a steamed snack with a tempering of mustard, cumin, sesame and is adorned with coriander leaves & grated coconut. It is usually served with coriander chutney. It can also be made into a sandwich by spreading layers of green chutney or ketchup in between slices of dhokla. This is one snack which goes very well in parties as well.
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Here is how I make Nylon Khaman Dhokla Sandwich.
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1 cup chick pea flour (besan)
1 cup water
I learnt this recipe from 'G' aunty when she was visiting us from India some time back. I watched her prepare it once and now follow all the steps diligently to make this snack. Speaking of 'G' aunty, I will be happy if I've even half the energy & enthusiasm that she has when I reach her age ;-)
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Khaman dhokla is a much loved Gujarati snack. It is a steamed snack with a tempering of mustard, cumin, sesame and is adorned with coriander leaves & grated coconut. It is usually served with coriander chutney. It can also be made into a sandwich by spreading layers of green chutney or ketchup in between slices of dhokla. This is one snack which goes very well in parties as well.
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Here is how I make Nylon Khaman Dhokla Sandwich.
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1 cup chick pea flour (besan)
1 cup water
1 tsp ginger & green chili paste
1 heaped tsp sugar
salt, turmeric powder, 1tbsp lemon/lime juice
1 tsp eno salt
1tbsp oil, mustard seeds, jeera, hing, sesame seeds, curry leaves, 2 slit green chili
chopped coriander leaves, grated coconut
1 heaped tsp sugar
salt, turmeric powder, 1tbsp lemon/lime juice
1 tsp eno salt
1tbsp oil, mustard seeds, jeera, hing, sesame seeds, curry leaves, 2 slit green chili
chopped coriander leaves, grated coconut
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Blend chick pea flour, water, chili-ginger paste, lemon/lime juice, salt, turmeric powder, sugar very well. Do not add all the water at once, add little at a time and make the batter a little thinner than bhajia batter. You might need just a tbsp or two less than the whole cup. Mix it well and make sure there are no lumps. Keep water for steaming in a wide pan. These days you also get special dhokla steamers in the market as pictured below. In the absence of this you can use any shallow container for steaming.
Blend chick pea flour, water, chili-ginger paste, lemon/lime juice, salt, turmeric powder, sugar very well. Do not add all the water at once, add little at a time and make the batter a little thinner than bhajia batter. You might need just a tbsp or two less than the whole cup. Mix it well and make sure there are no lumps. Keep water for steaming in a wide pan. These days you also get special dhokla steamers in the market as pictured below. In the absence of this you can use any shallow container for steaming.
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