Pyaz Ki Kachori ~For Indian Cooking Challenge

Indian cooking challengers were given Kachori as part of the Jan challenge. I have made kachoris before using urad dal filling. So decided to go for the easier onion filling. This time I made the outer covering using only maida. It sure resulted in more flaky crust. Medhaa of Cook with love has given the tried and tested recipe. I halved the orginal recipe and got 6 kachoris. Thanks Srivalli and Medhaa for coming up with this challenge.

For the Dough



You need
All purpose flour / Maida - 1 cup

 Ghee - 2 tblspn
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Water for kneading



Method

Mix the flour and salt, Add the ghee and mix till you get a bread crumbs texture. Slowly add water and make a soft dough. Knead well for about 8 minutes. Cover and keep aside to rest for atleast half hour.



Special Tips / Notes for the dough:


Keep the dough covered at all times, if not it will dry up and not puff up when frying. If the dough is made right wet cloth can be used if not just a towel.

The dough could spring back for many reasons:

Dough is too cold (If wet cloth is used)

Dough is not soft enough.

Not kneaded for enough time.

Oil is less.

Not rested enough.
 
 



For the onion filling



Finely chopped onions - 1  cup

Nigella/Kalonj seeds - 1/2 tspn
fennel seeds/saunf - 1 tpsn

Green chilly - 1, finely chopped

Besan - 1 tblspn

Coriander powder - 1 tspn

Chilly powder - 1/2 tspn

Kitchen king masala -1/2 tspn
Chopped coriander
Oil - 1 tblspn

salt to taste


To make the onion filling


Heat the oil in a pan. Add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds,  green chillies and onions and sauté till the onions turn light brown in colour.

Add the gram flour, coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala and salt and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chopped coriander and mix well.  Allow the mixture to cool completely.

Divide into 6 equal portions and keep aside.



To Make Kachori's

Make a small ball from the dough. Flatten the ball using your fingers into 2inch diameter circle, having the center thick and sides little thin.

Place about 1.5 tsp of the filling in the center of the rolled dough.

Cover the filling with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling. Seal the ends and remove excess dough. Repeat with all the balls and keep aside for 5 -7 mins.



Then using your palm, flatten the balls by lightly pressing it, as using the rolling pin will make the filling come out.  Keep aside covered. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Meanwhile heat some oil for deep frying. The oil should not become smoking hot. Test to see if the temperature is right by dropping a tiny ball of dough and see if it is rising slowly to the top.

Drop the kachoris in batches of 3-4 gently into the oil. It should rise up slowly. If you don't want to use lot of oil, use just enough for two or three at a time and fry them. After it rises up (about 2 minutes), turn it over.
Cook for about 6 to 10 minutes till the side down gets a golden brown color. Turn and cook the other side for another 6 minutes or till its golden brown in color.
Making onion filling is quite easy and gets down in less time.

Remove when done, cool and store in airtight container.
 
 
 

 

ArachuVitta Sundal ~ SpotLightBlog Recipe

Its Monday and time for my spotlightblog recipe. During Navarathri, many blogs had recipes for variety of Chundals, made as prasadom.. At that time, I had then recently bought a copy of Meenakshi Ammal's Samaithupar Part II. I had noticed the varutharacha chundal recipe. Reading through the recipe, I thought the ground mix is similar to what I make for Sambhar and was skeptical of its taste and dropped the idea of trying it. Shoba posted a similar one as Navarathri prasadom. While chatting with Shoba, she cleared my doubts of tasting like Sambhar, and nudged me to give it a try. And when I started this series, I knew this is going to be one of the recipes and here it is. The taste was different from the usual sundal, though it takes some extra work in form roasting the spices and grinding. But its worth all the effort.  White chana can be replaced with any legume of your choice.

You need
2 cups of cooked white chana

Roast & grind

Chana Dal/Kadala paruppu - 2 tblspn

Dhania/Coriander seeds - 2 tblspn.

Red chillies - 4 nos

Urad dhal. - 1 tblspn

Grated Coconut- 1/3 cup



Seasoning

Oil

mustard

curry leaves

hing



Method

Wash and soak  1 cup of  white chana overnight or for 6 hours. Pressure cook chana  with a pinch of turneric , till soft. It should not turn mushy. Drain and keep it aside. Roast the spices in little oil, till the dals turn light brown. Cool and grind it along with coconut to a thick paste. Sprinkle little water. Let the paste not be runny.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the seasoning ingredients.Add the cooked chana and salt. Stir in the ground paste. Mix well so that the ground spice coats the chana well. Cook under low flame for 5 minutes. Garnish with curry leaves and serve as tea time snack or as a side dish with rice and gravy.

 
 
 
 

 
 

Homemade

Soon after I moved to Chicago, I attended a culinary tour along Devon Avenue. Indian retailers began settling its borders in the 80s, and over the years, it's come to resemble a Bombay side street. Toward the end of the tour, a local grocer guided us through his store.  As we passed the freezer section, he pointed to rows of frozen dinners featuring perfectly plated Indian meals.

“Just like mom’s,” he pronounced. 

Unable to help myself, I blurted out, "Not my mom's."

Unfazed, he pulled open the freezer door, picked up two of the sleekly designed packages, and handed them to me.

“You’ve really got to try these.”

After stepping out of the store, I handed the dinners to a woman on the tour who had clearly been coveting them.

Growing up in southern Illinois, I envied kids who regularly ate Swanson's TV dinners.  I longed for the normalcy of these All American meals - country fried chicken, oven roasted turkey, salisbury steak - neatly compartmentalized in aluminum trays.  On occasion, my mom made pizza or pigs in a blanket from scratch. When she really let her creative juices go on Valentine's day, we divvied up a heart-shaped meatloaf.  But on most nights, we ate homemade curry (fish, beef, or chicken), a stir-fried vegetable, yogurt, and rice.  Dinner was one of the few things my mom could recreate from the old country. And, for the most part, the menu like our curfew and the policy on dating, were nonnegotiable. To cope, I created a disdainful jingle, "Rice is for mice..." 

Now when my mom cooks for me, I recognize it as a unique gift. The flavors are pure, not formulaic or masked by preservatives buzzing in the background. More importantly, her dishes possess a human touch forever missing in frozen dinners, including "Home-style" versions.  And If I’m dining by myself, eating her food makes me feel less alone. 

I know I’m not the only one who craves the comfort of home cooking.  It becomes abundantly clear when I walk around with my cake carrier.  The top is translucent enough to let passersby see the frosted cake sitting inside.  I encounter a wide range of reactions from strangers, from shy glances to looks of desperation.  The latter are often accompanied by passionate inquiries like, “Did you make that?” or “Is that for me?”  I’ve never sensed such longing in the frozen food aisle. 

So this Valentine’s day, if you’re searching for a unique gift, consider making heart shaped salmon patties for your loved one. They're sure to appreciate your human touch.

Heart-shaped Salmon Patties

Makes 6 patties

INGREDIENTS 

1-14.75 ounce can Alaskan Pink Salmon

2 large eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs (preferably panko)

1/4 cup finely minced green onion

1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

Drain salmon.  Place in a bowl and mash with a fork until very flaky.

Beat eggs and add to salmon.  Mix in remaining ingredients. 

Heat cast iron skillet to medium-high heat.  Coat with 1 teaspoon olive oil.  

Place heart-shaped cookie cutter on skillet. Spoon some salmon mixture into the cookie cutter and press to shape along edges.  Gently remove cookie cutter.  Cook until patty browns on side touching skillet (about 8 minutes).  Carefully flip patty and cook until second side browns. Repeat with remaining salmon mixture.  

Serve with steamed peas or roasted sweet potatoes.