Paani Puri /Golgappa

During my childhood days, I never knew what a chaat is. No idea of what is bhel/paani pooris are. But later knew about thro friends and my cousins. But never got an opportunity to taste them. During the visit to Chennai after my 10th std, got to taste bhel puri and paani puri. Its only post marriage that I got taste different kinds of chaats on my trip to then Bombay. Blogging has introduced few more street foods, which are speciality to Mumbai like Dabeli,tawa pulao etc. In the place I live, we will have to wait for an exhibition to come up which will have the inevitable chaat and pappad stall. So if I get the craving to gulp down some pani puris, the only option is to make it myself. After repeated trials, I have got the proportion of flour correct for the pooris so that they are crisp and stay puffed for long. I made these the day before and served it for dinner the next day. It retained the puff, which is essential for paani puris.

For the puris

Rava/Semolina – 1/2 cup

Maida/all purpose flour – 1/2 cup

Oil – 1 tblspn

Salt –1/2 tspn

Water as required

Oil to deep fry

Method

Mix all the ingredients except water. Add water little by little to get a soft dough. Leave for 10 minutes. The dough would be tight after the resting time due to the rava present in it. Knead the dough for 5 minutes to soften it. Pinch a lime sized dough and roll into chapathi as thin as possible. Cut into circles with a cookie cutter or the cover of a suitable container. I got around 60 puris.

Heat oil in a wok. When it is moderately hot (not smoking hot), slide 2/3 puris into the oil. It will puff on its own. Gently flip and drain when it is slightly brown. Cool and store in airtight container if you are not using it immediately.

For paani

Green chutney

Coriander leaves – 1 cup

Handful of mint leaves

Green chillies – 3 nos

Cumin/jeera – 1 tspn

Salt

Grind all the ingredients together. Add water to get a smooth paste. I usually freeze this chutney in small portions.

Date and tamarind chutney

Dates seeded – 10 nos

Jaggery – 4 tblspn

Tamarind extract – 2 tblspn

Red chilli powder – 1 tspn

Roasted fennel seeds – 1 tspn

Salt – a pinch

Soak dates in a cup of warm water for 15 minutes. Grind together soaked dates, jaggery, tamarind paste, red chilli powder and salt.

Adjust the consistency by adding water. Heat a kadai and transfer the ground paste. Let it simmer for few minutes till it reaches a saucy consistency. Stir in the roasted fennel seeds.

For filling

There are various options to use as filling – like boiled and mashed potatoes, sprouted moong, onions, tomatoes, boondhis,cooked channa etc…
I have used sprouted black channa and moong, chopped onions and tomatoes. I cooked the sprouted black channa and microwaved moong sprouts for 2 minutes.

Dilute both chutneys with water and keep it in separate bowls or mix them together. Also instead of preparing separate chutneys, you can prepare one chutney with the ingredients ground together.

Take a puri. Make a hole by pressing on the crisp, puffed side. Add the fillings. Dip the filled puri in the desired paani and gulp it down. Enjoy till the puris are finished.

Braided Hotdog Bun

These are the real soft buns which the recipe from "孟老师的100道面包". I guess it would be the mashed potato make it so soft. But, I've probloem in shaping the dough nicely. The dough was a bit wet whereas I need to slightly oiled my hand to handle the dough. I think I'll shape it in a simple way next time rather than braiding the dough.
Anyway, the soft buns are really good to eat with some cheddar cheese topping and dried parsley for garnishment. I think this potato dough would be good for making others savory buns too!

Recipe (makes 5 buns):

(A)

110g bread flour

40g plain flour

15g caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

70g cold water

2g yeast (1/2 teaspoon)

30g mashed potato

(B)

15g butter

(C)

5 pieces hotdog

some shredded cheddar

some dried pasley

1. Mix ingredients (A) at low speed using a dough hook mixer follow by the mashed potato. Turn to medium speed continue kneading until it become a smooth dough. Add in the (B) unsalted butter and knead with low speed until the butter combine with the dough. Turn to medium speed continue the kneading process until it become a smooth and elastic dough. (the dough will slightly wet, I oiled my hand then...) place the dough into a lightly grease bowl and cover with cling wrap to proof for 80 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into 5 portions and round them into small balls. Let them rest for 10 minutes.
3. Wrap the hotdog into each doughs and proof for 25 minutes.
4. Egg wash the dough and sprinkle some shredder cheddar cheese and dried parsley. Bake at 190'c for 18 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Re: 7 Reasons to Hire A Kitchen Designer

The Kohler web site has a good article detailing the 7 Reasons to Hire A Kitchen Designer. This advice applies to baths too.

In the Industry today we have seen a dramatic drop off in work coming into design offices and showrooms over the past year and a half.

Consumers are buying houses that have been poorly maintained, or even trashed and repossessed by lenders, yet they are not going the established route of working with a designer. Instead they seem to be going it alone in making decisions about how to repair the damage and renovate their newly purchased homes.

I have said more than once recently, that the situation reminds me of the '70's, when Do-It-Yourself (DIY) was the way most people planned and renovated. I started out as a Do-It-Yourselfer back in the '70's, so I know whereof I speak. From what I have seen of the quality of most '70's renovations over the intervening years, they would have been better off doing NOTHING!

Correcting the poor decisions of the '70's Do-It-Yourselfers has kept the kitchen and bath design industry growing ever since! I can't stress this point enough. It is very important for the current DIY consumer to realize this fact, because YOU live with your decisions and your mistakes; and when you decide to sell your home, for whatever reason, YOU will pay the price in less appreciation and saleability.

Kitchen and bath designers are trained to maximize efficiency and storage. We are also trained to bring a project in within budget.

Kitchen and bath designers SAVE far more than we cost our clients.

So, if you are cruising the Web today, looking for ideas for your own kitchen or bathroom renovation, with the thought of saving on design and Doing-It-Yourself. I strongly suggest that you ask yourself these questions:

1. What are the requirements in my community for submission of plans for renovation?

2. Am I up to the task of creating the required documents? Such documents require electrical and mechanical elements. Am I prepared to learn what I need to know about electrical, lighting, and mechanical documentation? (Here in California we have community and State mandates to upgrade inadequate electrical service, plus Title 24, to take into account).

3. If so, am I willing to spend the time to learn enough to design my own kitchen or bath and be satisfied with the results?

4. Does the kitchen or bath lend itself to easy decision making? In other words: Do I already like the way it is designed? The traffic flow? The space for storage? The area for countertops? The amount of light? If not, see Question 3.

5. Am I willing to spend the time to research each of the myriad products I will have to contemplate to complete my new kitchen? Do I know WHAT THEY ARE? Do I know WHERE TO LOOK FOR THEM? CAN I DISCERN RELATIVE QUALITY BETWEEN LIKE PRODUCTS?

Kitchen and bath dealers represent certain products because the manufacturers offer elements important to the dealer. Such as: price; quality; reliability of delivery; little or no damage on delivery; etc.

Many of these elements important to the dealer are invisible to the consumer. When the dealer is not there to filter choices down to the reliable products only - BUYER BEWARE.

The least expensive products on the market in every category are the products reputable dealers shun as problematic.

Believe me, all kitchen and bath dealers would love to be able to sell a great product cheap or more profitably. It doesn't happen because manufacturers of great products value and sell them accordingly.

6. Am I going to hire a contractor to renovate and install the products I buy? Or am I going to do the work myself?

7. If I plan to do the work myself, do I know how to do it well? If not, am I willing to spend the time to learn how?

As I said above: We kitchen and bath designers have spent the last forty years correcting the mistakes of the '70's Do-IT-Yourselfers. Do you really want to start that cycle all over again?

We have learned so much about designing great kitchens and baths in the interim. Why not give us a shot at helping with yours?

Peggy