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Taste of the north

Try out these everyday recipes from different regions.

Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

FOR A CHANGE: Surprise everyone with a different taste.

WHILE PURI chole, rajma chawal and pav bhaaji are everyday meals in the North and Mumbai, you could take a break from regular khana and check out the "regular" food of other regions.

Puri chole

Ingredients

Puri
Flour (sieved): 200 gms
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Ghee (melted) or oil: 2 tbsp
Water (warm): 100 ml
Oil: for deep frying
For chole
Dried chickpeas: 200 gms
Water: 2 lit
Bay leaf: 1
Oil: 5 tbsp
Cinnamon stick: 1
Black peppercorns: 6
Cardamom seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cloves: 8
Cumin seeds: 1 tbsp
Ginger (chopped): 1 tbsp
Green chilli (chopped): 1tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder: 2 tsp
Coriander (ground): 1 tbsp
Asafoetida powder (hing): 2 ml
Tomato (chopped): 1
Salt: to taste
Amchoor powder: 1 tbsp
Lemon juice: 3 tbsp
Fresh coriander (chopped): 3 tbsp

Method

For puri

Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and blend well. Drizzle in the ghee or oil and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until thoroughly incorporated. Add water slowly and mix well. Make into a dough and rest for a minimum of half an hour. Make round balls and roll into puris. Heat oil, and fry the puris and remove when golden colour. Serve hot.

For chole

Soak dried chickpeas in water for at least nine hours . Boil the chickpeas. When the beans are butter soft but not broken, drain the chickpea, saving the liquid. Make fresh garam masala by grinding together cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, cloves and cumin seeds. Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped ginger and green chilli and sauté. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, ground coriander and asafoetida and stir well. Add tomatoes and mix well. Stir in the salt, drained chickpeas, cooking water, amchoor powder and lemon juice. Sprinkle the finished dish with garam masala powder. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander.

Rajma chawal

Ingredients

Rajma
Dried kidney beans: 200 gms
Water: 1 litre
Bay leaf: 1
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Ghee: tbsp
Ajwain: 1/2 tbsp
Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 01 tbsp
Fennel seeds: 1/2 tsp
Chopped ginger: 2 tbsp
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Tomatoes (chopped): 2 tbsp
Fresh coriander (chopped): 5 gms
For chawal
Basmati rice: 100 gms
Salt: to taste
Lemon juice: 5 ml
Water: 150 ml

Method

For rajma

Soak dried rajma in water for at least eight hours. Boil till beans are soft and tender but not broken. Drain and keep aside. Save the water it is cooked in. Grind the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and ajwain seeds to a powder. Heat ghee in a pan and sauté ginger. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, chopped tomatoes and ground powder and mix well. Now add the rajma and the water it was boiled in. Now add the salt and garam masala. Garnish with fresh coriander.

For chawal

Wash rice. Soak in water. Heat water in a handi. Add rice, salt and lemon juice. When done the rice is cooked. Remove and drain. Serve hot with rajma or kadi pakoda.

Kadi pakoda with sada chawal

Ingredients

For pakoda
Besan: 250 gms
Soda bicarbonate: 5 gms
Salt: 5 gms
Ajwain: 5 gms
Ginger paste: 5 gms
Garlic paste: 5 gms
Turmeric powder: 5 gms
Coriander (whole)5 gms
Oil: to fry
For kadi
Curd: 1 kg
Besan: 150 gms
Green chillies (slit): 10 gms
Turmeric powder: 10 gms
Red chilli powder: 5 gms
Onion (sliced): 1
Salt: to taste
For tempering
Mustard seeds: 2 gms
Cumin seeds: 5 gms
Whole red chilli: 5 gms
Hing: 5 gms
Oil: 100 ml

Method:

Mix the pakoda ingredients well and make small balls out of the batter. Heat oil, fry the pakoda balls in it till they are golden colour and keep aide. Take a pan, beat curd and besan together.

Heat oil, saute sliced onions, slit green chillies, add turmeric powder and salt. Add curd and besan mixture to it. Cook for a while. Drop in pakodas. Take a pan and temper the following in oil - mustard seeds, cumin seeds, whole red chilli and hing. When it splutters, put it in kadi pakoda. Serve hot. For sada chawal refer recipe in previous menu.

Pav bhajji

Ingredients

For pav

Maida: 500 gms

Yeast: 10 gms

Salt: 5 gms

Sugar: 20 gms

Oil: 50 ml

Water: 100 ml

For bhajji

Carrots (chopped): 50 gms

Potatoes (boiled & mashed): 50 gms

French beans (chopped): 50 gms

Capsicum (chopped): 10 gms

Green peas (boiled): 50 gms

Tomatoes (chopped): 50 gms

Ginger paste: 5 gms

Garlic paste: 5 gms

Turmeric powder: 5 gms

Chilli powder: 5 gms

Salt: to taste

Garam masala: 10 gms

Green chilli (chopped): 10 gms

Coriander (chopped): 10 gms

Onions (chopped): 100 gms

Oil: 50 ml

Cumin seeds: 10 gms

Method

For pav

Sieve maida with salt and keep aside. Mix the sugar and yeast in water and keep aside for activation of yeast. Make a well in the maida, add the activated yeast and keep kneading then add oil.

Knead the mixture until it becomes a soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and leave for about fifteen minutes.

Cut the dough into small pieces and roll into round shape and arrange them alternatively in a greased tray giving without any space between them. After fifteen minutes, give an egg wash and bake it twenty to twenty five minutes until it is golden brown. Serve hot with bhajji

For bhaaji

Heat oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds. Saute onions and green chillies; add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and chilli powder.

Add all the above vegetables and check seasoning. Mash and cook well. Serve with pav, garnished with fresh chopped coriander.

O.P KHANTWAL

The writer is executive chef at ITC Kakatiya Sheraton Hotel and Towers

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