Potato Roti (Indian Flat bread)

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When I first started trying out new recipes, whenever I came across recipes in magazines or books that intrigued me, I used to jot down the idea in a book. Whenever I was in the mood for something different, I would go through my book and see if any of the ideas there appealed to me. One such idea that I came across and that I made frequently at one point was a potato roti made with all purpose flour (maida). I used to love that roti,  it was soft and flaky and just melt in your mouth. 

Sigh !! But just like melt in your mouth chocolates, this roti too was not what could be described as healthy:-(  So I stopped making it completely and had almost forgotten about it. But a few weeks back when I was flipping through my book and I came across the recipe for it, I was tempted to make it again. I decided to make it with whole wheat flour this time and see how it worked out.

I tweaked the recipe a little more, added whole wheat flour and  voila, I got a delicious roti that was soft and flavorful, perfect to go with any type of curry or dhal.  In addition to its delicious taste another good thing about this roti is that the potatoes add softness to the roti making the need for adding any oil or clarified butter completely redundant.    

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Ingredients and Method to make Potato Roti
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (atta/ godumai maavu)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
salt to taste
2 small potatoes cooked until soft, peeled and mashed
4 Thai or green chilies cut fine
2 tbsp finely cut cilantro
water as needed
a little oil or clarified butter to apply on the cooked rotis (optional, use oil for a vegan version)
a little extra flour for dusting

In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients except water and cooked potatoes. Add mashed potatoes and mix into the flour.

Add water as required to knead into a soft and non sticky dough. This does not require much water since potatoes contribute some moisture too.

Divide the dough into equal lemon sized balls. With the help of a little extra flour, roll out dough into an even circle of even thickness of choice. Heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa on medium heat. Place rolled out dough on the heated pan.
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Cook for a little time, then flip over and cook the other side until it gets light golden brown spots. Apply oil or clarified butter if using on the side facing upwards and flip over, cook just a few seconds.

Remove and serve hot with dhal/ curry of choice. Proceed with the rest of the dough in the same manner.

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Mawa Pedha (Milk fudge)

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In this post, I have already detailed how much I love pedhas so I will not go into it again. Just saying that I love this sweet would be somewhat of an understatement :-) I do not make this very often because I know that I would not be able to resist the temptation but on those rare times that this sweet appears in my home, I thoroughly enjoy it.  Ever since I made mawa with this recipe at home for the first time, I have made these pedhas a few times.

I used this recipe as a reference for making the pedhas. Unlike this microwave version that I made earlier, I found these pedhas were a little more softer and since they needed to be shaped only after the mawa has cooled to room temperature they were considerably easier on the hands to shape into pedhas too :-) Both the mawa and the pedhas can be made in under 30 minutes, not taking the cooling time into account, making this a quick treat :-)  So if pedhas are your weakness too, give this quick, simple recipe a try and tell me what you think:-)

And here is another view of the pedhas....



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Ingredients and Method to make Mawa Pedha

1 heaped cup Mawa ( I made mawa as per this recipe)
1/2 cup sugar (see notes)
1/2 tsp cardamom seed powder (elaichi/ ellakai)
a generous pinch of saffron in 1 tsp warm milk
a few slivers of pistachio/ almond to top the pedhas (optional)

Cool prepared mawa to room temperature.  In 1 tsp of warm milk add saffron and allow to sit for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together cooled mawa, sugar, cardamom powder and saffron in milk. Shape into pedhas, top with slivers of pistachios or almond if using and store in an airtight container.
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It doesn't require refrigeration if it is consumed within a day or two, any longer and I would suggest it be refrigerated. It never lasts that long anyway :-)

Notes:
My version of pedha is mildly sweet, for those of you who like your sweets very sweet, you may need to increase the quantity of sugar.

Also since in the US, regular cane sugar is very fine it can be used just as it is in this recipe, but in other places, if your sugar is not very fine, you may want to use powdered sugar in this recipe

Suggested Variation
For an even quicker pedha, use a few spoons of kesar pista milk powder instead of  saffron and continue with the rest of the recipe as above.

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Quick Mawa (Milk solids) and a video clip of an amazing market!!!

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The word "market" conjures up images of a bustling place with vendors displaying interesting and colorful merchandise. Whether it is a street market in India or a farmers market here in the US, a trip to the market has always been either fun, interesting or a chore. Somehow I have never associated the word "afraid" or "scared" with going to the market.

Recently my niece Swathi shared this video clip of a very unique market with me. I have never ever seen something like this before. The vendors have spread their merchandise on both sides of a train track. This is an operational track and the train actually passes with what seems like quarter of an inch to spare. The second the train is gone, they spread out their awnings again and go right back to selling their stuff. Unbelievable !! Now here is a market that I would probably be scared to shop in :-) Have a look at the clip here,  if you want to see what I am talking about..... :-)

Moving on, milk solids known as Mawa form the basis for many desserts in Indian cooking. Traditionally mawa is made by simmering milk on a low heat until it loses most of its moisture. Since this is very time consuming, there are some short cuts to make life easier :-) I got the idea for this kind of mawa from a food forum quite a while back. After a few tries I have come up with my own proportions that seems to do the job for me.  This mawa can be made in a few minutes and can be used in a variety of desserts. I used this mawa to make a mawa pedha (a kind of milk fudge) that I will post in this space very soon, until then here is the mawa recipe...... :-)

And here is another closer view of the mawa.......



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Ingredients and Method to make Quick Mawa
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups dry milk (milk powder) (I used Carnation)
2 to 3 tsp clarified butter ( ghee/ nei)

Place ricotta cheese in a heavy bottomed pan and place on medium heat. When the cheese begins to melt  add dry milk and mix well making sure no lumps are formed.

Add clarified butter and stir the mixture for a few minutes until the mixture begins to leave the sides and  begins to thicken.
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Remove from heat, place in another bowl and allow to cool. Use as required in recipes as needed. I made mawa pedha with this and it turned out wonderful, will post the recipe shortly so stay tuned :-)

Notes:
Make sure to use fresh milk powder as it makes a big difference to the taste of the mawa and the dessert it is used in...

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Tandoori Mung bean curry and a question :-)

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Here's the question first, have any of you made or seen soan papdi being made ? Yesterday I was at the grocery store when a box of  soan papdi  caught my eye. It struck me then,  that the only kind of soan papdi I have ever had is the store bought kind. No one in my home or my circle of friends/ relatives has ever made soan papdi as far as I know.

So I decided to ask my smart readers this, have any of you made or seen it being made. If you have tried it or someone in your home has tried it,  do share your recipes of this sweet, I would love to give it a try sometime:-)  I am sure the process is kind of fascinating, I'm especially curious about how they get the stringy kind of feel to it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with soan papdi, it is an Indian sweet made with chick pea flour and has this melt in your mouth quality that makes it truly irresistible................that is if you have a sweet tooth and I do :-)

Anyway moving on,  remember this tandoori sauce that I posted a little while back. I had some sauce leftover after using it in pizza and I decided to try making mung bean curry with it. I know this is not a conventional recipe, at least I have never heard or seen such a combination before. And yet I have to say this curry turned out  so delicious that I had to share it in this space. If the sauce is made ahead then this curry hardly takes anytime to put together making it ideal for rushed weekday meals. Try this is you like mung bean and are looking for a quick, simple and nourishing curry :-)



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Ingredients and Method to make Mung bean in tandoori sauce curry
(click on underlined words to go to the recipe of those items)

1 1/4 cup dry whole mung beans ( whole moong) soaked in sufficient water for 3 to 4 hours
1 cup tandoori sauce
1/2 tsp garam masala ( or to taste)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) ( optional)
salt to taste
2 to 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ kothamalli) for garnish.
water as required to achieve required consistency

Soak mung beans in sufficient water for 3 to 4 hours. Drain water, fill with fresh water and pressure cook until the mung bean is soft yet not mushy. Alternatively mung bean can be cooked on the stove top until soft too.

In a heavy bottomed pan, add tandoori sauce, cooked mung bean, salt to taste,  red chili powder if using and garam masala. Add water if required to achieve required consistency. Simmer for a few minutes until the flavors mingle. Finally garnish with cilantro
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Remove and serve hot with any type of Indian bread like phulkas, naans, chapathis or rotis or even with plain steamed rice, or jeera rice.

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Lemon Rasam with Tomato

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Rasam is a soup like preparation usually made with tamarind extracts and simmered with spices like pepper and cumin among other spices and served over a bed of plain hot steaming rice. Even though traditionally it is served with rice and a curry on the side, it tastes excellent as a light soup at the start of an Indian themed meal too.  Anytime one of us is feeling a little under weather and I have to decide what to make for lunch or dinner, one of the first things that come to my mind is rasam. Not just any rasam, but something  like jeera (cumin) or milagu (black pepper)  rasam. These variations of rasam are considered "ideal get better from a fever" food, because it is light, nourishing, and the addition of spices like cumin and pepper make this easily digestible:-)

Recently I was down with fever for a couple of days and even with the fever, the food blogger side of me revealed itself when all I could think of was to make "something different " kind of rasam. I hopped on over to my reader and a quick search revealed a lot of interesting varieties of rasams made by my friends.

I was drawn to Laavanya's lemon rasam, it looked delicious and I loved that it combined cumin, pepper, tomatoes and lemon. Just imagining the flavors in the rasam made me feel a little better :-)  I have always been partial to lemon rasam,  because it does not need any tamarind, its quicker and simpler than the other kind of rasam and I love the taste of lemon. I tweaked Laavanya's recipe a little, omitted the rasam powder and turmeric powder entirely and made a few other small changes. Thanks for this delicious recipe Laavanya, we thoroughly enjoyed this rasam and I plan to make this more often in the future.

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Ingredients and Method to make Lemon Rasam with Tomato
1/4 cup Split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
2 medium tomatoes blanched, peeled and mashed ( I used roma variety)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp whole black pepper
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
1 inch piece ginger
salt to taste

2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste) (see notes)
2 tbsp finely cut cilantro (coriander leaves/ kothamalli) for garnish

Seasoning
2 tsp clarified butter (ghee/ nei)
1/2 tsp mustards seeds ( rai/ kadagu)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)

Soak split pigeon peas in sufficient water for 30 minutes and cook until soft. Keep cooked dhal aside. 

Coarsely powder cumin seeds + whole black pepper and keep aside. Blanch, peel and mash the tomatoes and keep aside. Check out this post if you want to learn how to blanch tomatoes. Mince green chilies and ginger together and keep aside.

In a medium sized pan, add mashed tomatoes, minced green chilies + ginger and 2 cups of water and place on heat. Let the mixture simmer together for a few minutes.

Mash the cooked dhal and add to the simmering tomato mixture. Add powdered cumin + black pepper and salt to taste and allow the mixture to simmer for a few more minutes.

In another small pan, heat clarified butter. Add mustard seeds to it, when the seeds begin to splutter, add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle, pour the entire mixture into the simmering rasam.

Adjust consistency if required and allow to simmer an additional minute or so.
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Remove from heat, add lemon juice, mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot over a bed of plain steamed rice with a curry on the side.

Notes:
Adjust lemon juice to achieve required tartness. I used a combination of lemon and lime juice because my lemon was not tart enough for me :-)

If you refrigerate the balance of this rasam, re heat gently over low to medium low heat until warm to slightly hot, do not re heat it to a full boil, serve over a bed of hot steaming rice. 

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Avocado Roti with Ajwain (Indian flatbread with avocado and carom seeds) and some simple home remedies

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Using carom seeds as a digestive aid has always been common wisdom around our home. My mother in law  makes this cumin carom flavored water regularly, especially after a heavy restaurant meal or when we return home from a trip because she believes that it helps in maintaining a healthy digestion. A couple of years back when I visited India I found an article about carom seeds in a magazine that had a few more home remedies using carom seeds. I jotted down the most important ones so that I could share it with my readers.

The first, a tip to make a tea with carom seeds as a cure for indigestion and other digestive problems. Boil 2 cups of water and add a tsp of carom seeds / ajwain to it.Allow to boil until the water is reduced to 1 cup, cool strain and drink the water. This reminds me of the cumin carom water I mentioned above, although I am yet to try this strong carom tea version :-) Carom seeds/ ajwain in buttermilk is said to be good for respiratory disorders. The third tip, crush carom seeds and bundle them in a light cloth and inhale, this helps to rid a headache or to clear nasal passages when you have a cold.  And lastly including carom in our diet is said to help improve kidney function by strengthening the urinary tract as well.

I like to use carom seeds not just because of its health benefits but also because of its unique flavor and its taste. Ever since the first time I used avocados in roti and loved it, I make variations of avocado roti at home frequently. This time I made a version with carom seeds in it along with other spices. This roti like all the other ones with avocado is super soft and does not require even one drop of oil in either the dough or while cooking it making it super healthy too :-)



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Ingredients and Method to make Ajwainy avocado roti
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta/ godumai maavu)
salt to taste
3/4 tsp carom seeds (ajwain/omam)
2 tbsp flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds/ alsi/ ali virai) (optional)
1 avocado ( pitted, peeled and mashed completely)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
pinch of asafoetida (hing/ perungayam) (optional)
water as needed 
a little extra flour to help roll out the dough

In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix well. Add mashed avocado and mix into the flour.

Add water as needed and knead into a soft, non sticky dough. Cover and allow to "rest" for 30 minutes or so.

Divide dough into equal lemon sized balls. With the help of a little flour roll out into an even circle of desired thickness.

Heat a tawa/ griddle/ flat pan and place rolled out dough on it. Cook the roti gets small bubbles on the side facing upwards, flip over and cook the other side until it gets small golden/ brown spots. When both sides are evenly cooked, remove from heat.

Proceed with the rest of the dough in the same manner. Balance of the dough can be refrigerated and used within a couple of days.
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Serve rotis hot with dhal, any type curry of choice or even some pickle and raita.

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