Bhel

Here I am sharing a snack with almost iconic status in western part of India. It is low fat, nutritious and delicious… What more can one asks for?
Bhel is a puffed rice dish with various vegetables, khatta meetha chutney (tangy and sweet sauce) and teekha chutney (spicy mint and coriander sauce)

Ingredients:

1. Puffed rice-3 big bowls (Churmuri)
2. Oil-4 teasp 
3. Red chili powder-3 teasp
4. Onion -1 finely chopped
5. Tomato-1 finely chopped
6. Coriander leaves-1/2 bunch chopped (Cilantro)
7. Sev-50gms (Chick Pea Flour Twigs)
8. Potato boiled, peeled and chopped into tiny cubes (optional)
9. Khatta meetha chutney-6 teasp
10. Teekha chutney-5 teasp

Method:

1. Mix puffed rice with 4 teasp of oil, salt to taste and 3 teasp of chili powder
2. Add chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, and potato boiled cubes
3. Also add khatta meetha and teekha chutneys. Mix well
4. Garnish with coriander leaves, onions, tomatoes and sev

Things to Remember:

1. You can also add shredded cucumber and carrot in small quantity 
2. Assemble bhel just before you’re going to eat it to prevent the puffed rice from getting soggy 
3. A handful of coarsely crushed papdi (savoury biscuits made from flour) to make it “Bhelpuri”
4. Note the amount of chutney can be customized based on individual taste

Best combination:


The best way to have bhel is “to have it with friends and family”

Teekha chutney

Mint and coriander chutney also called “Hari chutney” is absolutely a versatile condiment, which can be conveniently used as a spread for a quick sandwich or a simple dip. However, usually it is used as a condiment with all the chats. The combination of mint, garlic, ginger makes this chutney an excellent carminative and digestive agent.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh coriander leaves -2 cups
2. Fresh mint leaves-1 cup
3. Garlic chopped-1 teasp
4. Ginger chopped- 1 teasp
5. Lemon juice-4 teasp
6. Green chilies-3 to 4
7. Salt to taste
8. Sugar-1/2 teasp

Method:
Blend all the ingredients with 2 to 3 tea spoons of water

Things to remember:

1. Use more of lemon juice rather than water to maintain the fresh color of chutney
2. Can use the fresh stems of mint and coriander 
3. Can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight container

Best combination:

1. This chutney is perfect for using as a dipping sauce with cutlets and samosas. Goes delicious with all the chat items
2. To make a sandwich spread, mix one spoon of chutney with two spoons of butter 

Khatta meetha chutney

This exotic sweet and sour chutney is a delicious condiment. It can be used as a dip or stir-in sauce for numerous Indian snacks. This chutney can be called as Ketchup of the sub-continent!

Ingredients:

1. Tamarind paste -2 teasp
2. Jaggery -1 tablesp or Dates-8 to 10
3. Cumin powder-1 teasp
4. Coriander powder-1 teasp
5. Red chili powder-1 teasp
6. Salt- ½ teasp
7. Water- 1 tablesp

Method:

1. You can use a ready tamarind paste or soak tamarind in hot water for an hour and prepare a paste. Strain the soaked tamarind into a strainer so that the pulp comes out which can used as the paste
2. Soak dates in water for half an hour or else use jaggery
3. Mix all the above ingredients by using mixer or blender to make mixture into a smooth sauce

Things to remember:

1. Chutney can be refrigerated for a month if kept in an air tight container
2. As far as possible make chutney thicker, you can always make it thinner by adding water

Best combination:


This chutney is delicious with samosas, ragda patties, Sabudana (tapioca) vada, samosa chat, vada pav, dabeli etc.; to be precise goes with all the chats.

Fenugreek leaves lemon rice/ Menthe soppu chitranna

Normally everyone knows about lemon rice. Here is a little variation of lemon rice using fenugreek leaves. Very delicious yet different from the regular lemon rice

Ingredients:

1. Rice-2 cups
2. Water to prepare rice
3. Fenugreek leaves- 2 small cups (finely chopped)
4. Onion -1
5. Green chilies-4 
6. Mustard seeds-1/2teasp
7. Ground nuts-1teasp
8. Asafoetida-1/2 teasp
9. Turmeric powder-1/2teasp
10. Curry leaves-5 to 6
11. Lemon juice-2teasp
12. Salt to taste
13. Sugar to taste
14. Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. Cook rice till the grains are still separate
2. Spread the rice on a plate and let it cool
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, when mustard seeds start to splutter, add ground nuts. Wait till they become brown in color. Then add asafoetida, green chilies, turmeric powder and chopped onions. Sauté a little
4. Add finely chopped fenugreek leaves. Fry till the raw smell of onion and fenugreek leaves disappear.  Turn off the heat
5.  Add it to the rice with lemon juice, salt and sugar as per your taste. Mix well. 
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve

Things to remember:

1. Rice should not be over cooked
2. Fenugreek leaves must be fresh and also fried thoroughly else the taste will be bitter

Best combination:


It’s best served with pickle or mango chutney

Aloo Paratha

When I was in Bangalore, there was a food joint chain named “Kanti sweets” very popular with their delicious parathas. That is the place where I became a fan of parathas.
Parathas are whole-wheat Indian flat bread that can be made plain or with different stuffings. Perhaps among stuffed parathas “aloo paratha” is the easiest and perhaps the most popular. It’s just the chapati dough stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes (aloo) and cooked on a hot tawa (frying pan) with butter or ghee. It can be had with simple curd or pickle and makes an excellent breakfast, brunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
For Suffing

1. Potatoes (medium sized)-3
2. Onion-1/2 finely chopped
3. Coriander leaves-Handful 
4. Ginger & Garlic paste-1 teasp
5. Amchur (Dry unripe mango powder)-1/2 teasp Or Lemon juice-1 teasp
6. Kalonji (black onion seeds) Or Ajwain seeds-1 teasp
7. Green chillies-2small sized finely chopped Or Red chili powder-1 teasp
8. Turmeric powder (optional)
9. Salt to taste

For dough

1. Wheat flour-4 medium sized bowl
2. Oil-3 to 4 teasp
3. Salt to taste
4. Water-enough to make soft dough
5. Wheat flour 1/4th bowl for dusting
6. Ghee, Butter or Oil for frying parathas

Method:
For making dough

1. Sieve flour; add salt and 3 to 4 tea spoon of oil
2. Add a little water at a time and knead dough to medium soft
3. Kneed well for 5 to 6 min by sprinkling water again and again till the dough become soft
4. Take a drop of oil in your palm and apply on all the sides of dough and cover it with the lid. Let the dough sit for around 20 -30min.
5. Once again knead a little and the dough is ready

For stuffing

1. Boil potatoes, cool, peel and smash.
2. Mix all the ingredients mentioned above with smashed potatoes and make the stuffing ready 

For rolling out parathas

1. Divide the dough and stuffing into balls of equal portions.

2. Take one ball of dough, apply flour on both the sides and roll it a little
3. Place one ball of stuffing over the rolled dough and then cover it completely from all the sides

4. Flatten it with your palm. Repeat this procedure for all the balls of dough and stuffing 

5. Take one such flattened stuffed dough, apply a little flour on both the sides and roll it gently till it becomes thin but the stuffing doesn’t spill out

6. Now cook on a tawa by allowing one side to cook till the color changes to golden brown, then apply ghee, butter or oil and repeat the procedure on the other side also.
7. Serve hot

Things to remember: 

1. Any variation can be made in stuffing according to your taste 
2. Also you can make aloo bhaaji for stuffing. (I have avoided as potatoes are already cooked and other ingredients can be cooked directly on tawa)
3. Either of kalonji or ajwain seeds must be used.  In absence of both, one can use even cumin seeds
4. Prepare dough using 3-4 tea spoons of oil, that way dough will become very soft and will ease the process of rolling the parathas
5. Repeatedly kneading of dough for long time by adding little water at a time makes dough very soft (as the water & oil mixes well with the flour). 
6. Keep all the portions  of stuffed dough ready and then start rolling one by one, that way you can roll well (as the stuffing  and dough blends nice)  also reduces the rolling time.
7. Make sure to apply butter, ghee or oil only on the side you have cooked

Best combination:

1. Goes well with “Curd and Pickle”/”Tomato Sauce”/”Only Butter” and can be complimented with slices of sweet onion & lemon.
2. Also a simple dal or Raita (made of onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves) makes it complete

P.S. The quantity explained above serves 2 to 3 people