Perfect weekend snack ... 'pakoris'

It's a lovely day here in White Plains, New York. Since it's a weekend, there is lot more activity outside. The son's apartment window has a great view, -it's my favorite place where I sit and watch people hurrying past on their way to work, or parents dropping off toddlers to school. After the morning rush of office goers, it is people going with their trolleys for grocery shopping. On a nice day like this, the park just bang opposite, has a group of oldies enjoying the gentle cool breeze and lazing on the bench.

I was here a few months back, and though this trip came all too soon but  a chance of visiting the children was not something, I could miss. I did finally decide to fight off the challenge of a 15 hour flight, for nothing is more fulfilling than spending time with your children.

Since I have come, been cooking mostly Indian meals, as this is one thing that they miss the most - having  wholesome home cooked food. The Indian food scene is pretty dismal here, the other day we had ordered Indian food, the whole works - daal makhani, kadhai paneer, naan and other sundries.The veg tasted like nothing we have back home, couldn't believe that this was being passed of as Indian food and if that was not bad enough, it was expensive to boot. Some raw vegetables cooked in tomato puree with lots of red chilli powder added to make it spicy -  seriously, what this place needs is an Indian joint serving authentic food.

 Of course this is not the case in say Pittsburgh (where my daughter is) which has some great places for good Indian food, and why only Indian, the food scene is amazing there, no wonder it has been voted as the best new food city 2014 by Bon Appetit. On my wish list is tasting Prantl's Burnt almond torte, touted as the Best Cake that  America has to offer by no less than Huffington Post. The daughter has been coaxed into getting it when she comes over to Delhi for her winter break, later this year.

Coming back to White plains - since it was the son's day off  we did away with the regular food and made pakoris (vegetable fritters) for him. Served with a sprinkling of my home made chaat masala they tasted amazing. The son enjoyed this change from routine food a lot and so did we. Everyone hogged  so much that any chances of having dinner was out of the question. The husband was the master chef for today and I have to admit he did a great job and fed all of us very lovingly.


Aloo and Pyaaz pakoris (Vegetable fritters)

2 medium sized onions, peeled and chopped fine
2 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced
6-7 green chillies, chopped
2 cups besan (chickpea flour)
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 cups oil
Water as per requirement
2 tablespoon chaat masala

Batter for the fritter's

Dice the onions and potatoes into  very small pieces. Destalk the chillies and cut them into roundels or any shape that you fancy. Next make the batter, mix the chickpea flour with water, just enough to get a dropping consistency. Once the batter is mixed with appropriate amount of water, whisk it well to aerate the batter. This whisking helps in making soft pakoris with a crisp outer covering.

Finally once the batter is well aerated add in the diced vegetables, salt and red chillies. Mix in well till all the vegetables are well coated. Heat the oil in a wok (kadhai)  on medium heat. Then drop the batter by spoonful into the hot oil. Frying the pakoris at the right temperature is the key to getting it right, if the oil is too hot the fritters will quickly brown on the outside but remain uncooked from the inside, a low temperature results not only in soggy fritters but also oil soaked ones. So maintain an equitable temperature wherein they are well done inside and have a crisp outer covering. Once they turn a nice golden shade, more towards the darker side, drain them well on the paper napkins and serve hot with a generous sprinkling of chaat masala alongside some nice tangy coriander chutney which just so completes it.

Sizzling in the heat

Enjoy this lovely snack which can be had anytime of the day- yup I have even made it for breakfast on a rain soaked Delhi morning. A perfect finger food on such a day with the Indian masala 'chai'

Ready to eat

Spicy affair

It’s been a season of bingeing, what with the festivals of Lohri and Sankranti which are synonymous with til ladoos, gajak, rewari, all yummy goodies but fattening too! Then it was also the wedding season ... so more mithai and of course added to that it was winters, the cold weather  makes you all the more ravenous and one can't seem to have enough of  the seasonal specialties like methi and cauliflower paranthas.

I was loathed to step on the weighing scale knowing that it wouldn't lie, healthy eating was in order, starting with breakfast and what could be better than munching on sprouts which are packed with nutrition, taste good and are easy to prepare, just need a dash of lemon and some chaat masala and pronto they are ready.

Chaat masala is a mix of spices that can be sprinkled on almost anything from fresh fruits, to snacks, to pakoris (fritters) and even fries, the tangy flavor adds a lot of zing to any dish. It’s the perfect seasoning for all kinds of chaat and is an integral part of Indian street food - like alu chaat and sweet potato chaat (a winter specialty).

One can go in for the readymade mix but if you, like me, are partial to eating freshly ground masalas (spices) then here is a tasty, spicy chaat masala recipe for you. Buy good quality whole spices and grind them individually before making the chaat masala. I make it in small batches so that the freshness remains.

Whole spices 

CHAAT MASALA

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (roasted and powdered)

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder

1/2 teaspoon dry ginger (ground)

1/4 teaspoon dry mint (powdered)
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

1 teaspoon black salt

3 teaspoon dried mango powder (amchoor)

1 teaspoon salt

Mix the powdered spices and store in an airtight container. This condiment keeps well for a long time. The taste and flavor of home ground spices is unparalleled and having tasted it once you will be hooked to making this masala at home. The very taste of this Indian seasoning does wonders to virtually any dish! Try it and you would stop buying the processed mix variety.

Street food of Old Delhi - Kalmi Vada | lentil fritters

It is an undeniable fact that for good authentic chaat there is nothing comparable to what one gets in Chandni Chowk, a market in Delhi, dating back to the Mughal era. Though one has to traverse through narrow streets and a sea of humanity but the food shops here, some of which have been around for over a century, make it worth the effort. A walk through its meandering alleys will lead to some of the most delicious street food. There are small hole in the corner shops and khomchewalas (street hawker) at each nukkad (corner) which do not figure in any food guide list or may not be well known but serve equally delectable stuff. From golgappas to aloo tikkis, kalmi vadas, aloo-kachoris,dahi bhalle, papri chaat to seasonal delicacies like fruit kulfis - here you get all the Purani Dilli (Old Delhi) specialities and much more to feast on.

                                                                                                                                                         

Kalmi vada is a crisp and spicy lentil based patty which is double fried. It can be served either as a chaat wherein it is topped with curd and saunth (sweet tamarind chutney) and masala is sprinkled on top. It also makes for a good finger food which can be prepared in advance and is a perfect accompaniment to drinks.

This recipe for Kalmi vada is from Geetaji who is my neighbor. Her family is originally from Old Delhi and like any old illustrious baniya family takes a lot of pride in their vegetarian cuisine.Their food infuses me with a sense of nostalgia as it brings back memories of a bygone era when the masalas were hand grounded and there was a lot of emphasis on freshly prepared meals, and there used to be a maharaj in every household for cooking. Geetaji herself is a very good cook and rustles up traditional baniya food with all the desi flavors intact, in a jiffy. Kalmi vada is an age old snack of our forefather's times -  it is now not so easily available and is becoming elusive even in the streets of Old Delhi.

Kalmi vada

2 cups chana dal (Split Bengal Gram)

2 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped

2 tablespoon green chillies, finely chopped

2 tablespoon saboot dhania (whole coriander seeds)

3-4 whole dried red chillies

2 tablespoon kasturi methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

1 tablespoon black pepper, coarsely ground

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Soak the chana dal overnight.Next day strain the dal ( lentil ) so that the water gets drained out completely. Then grind it without adding any water to it or at the most a couple of spoons of water. The paste should be grainy in texture /coarsely ground but without any solid dal pieces showing up. Now add the chopped ginger, green chillies, saboot dhania, kastoori methi, black pepper, break each of the red chillies into 3-4 pieces and add to the mixture and finally add salt. Mix everything well so that the spices get blended in the paste. Taste, and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

 

The dal paste with all the spices

Heat up oil in the kadai (wok). Shape the dal mixture into evenly sized and flattened round patties and slide into the hot oil.

Mixture in a patty shape

Deep fry the patty from both sides till it firms up and turns golden brown then remove from the wok and keep aside. 

Kalmi vada after first frying

Leave the patties to cool down. Then slice into finger sized 1/2 inch thick pieces and fry them in hot oil till they turn crisp. Sprinkle some chaat masala on top and serve hot with coriander chutney or ketchup.

The patties can even be made a couple of days in advance and kept in the refrigerator. When required cut them into pieces, deep fry and serve