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Showing posts with label tea time snack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tea time snack. Show all posts

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Chana Jor Garam

Bengal Gram is a rich source of iron, sodium, selenium and small amounts of copper, zinc and manganese. It also provides a good amount of folic acid, antioxidants and fiber. While it is beneficial for diabetics ( improves sugar levels, glucose tolerance and urinary excretion of sugar ), it is also an boon for anemic patients. It has been in use as a cleanser for a long time as established by Ayurvedic texts.

'Chana Jor Garam' is one of the most popular street foods from the North. It can also be found in some pockets of Orissa and Bengal where is also called 'Chepta chana' or 'Chana choor'. It is a crispy and tangy chaat item that can either be consumed with loads of onions and tomatoes or by itself. It was one of my favorite snacks during my school days. Since it is time-consuming to prepare, we used to buy large packets of the ready to eat stuff. While i had given up and almost forgotten the stuff, a packet of the same caught my attention during my last visit to a cousin's place. When I asked her about it, she said that she got the stuff from Rourkela, our common native. No wonder it tasted so familiar and so good. ( You can find it in the Haldiram range, but its not just good enough )

Since I already knew the recipe, I decided to make a small batch at home. It turned out pretty well and got over within a day. Here is the recipe:



















Preparation Time : 40-50 mins

Ingredients - 1 cup bengal gram, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/3 tsp turmeric , amchur to taste, a pinch of garam masala, salt to taste, oil for frying.

Preparation - Wash and soak the bengal gram overnight. Cook for 1-2 whistles with salt and turmeric.

Allow to cool down and drain the water. Dry the boiled bengal gram under a fan for 1-2 hours.

Take a small grinding stone ( sila-pua) or a pestle and flatten each bengal gram.

Cooking: Heat the oil in a wok. Add small batches of the flattened bengal gram to the oil and fry till crisp. Remove from oil and put on a tissue paper to soak all the excess oil.

Repeat for the remaining flattened bengal gram.

Put the fried chana on a plate . Add salt, chili powder,  and garam masala. Mix togather.

Serve as it is or with a smattering of chopped onions, tomatoes and green chillis.


Note - If you plan to store the stuff for a few days, fry the flattened chana for 2-3 minutes initially, remove and keep in the open for 5 minutes. Put it again in the hot oil and fry till crisp. This way all the water in the chana gets evaporated and it does not become soggy when stored.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Badam Pakoda ( Peanut Fritters )

Peanuts, also known as ground nuts or monkey nuts are loaded with essential nutrients. They are a rich source of Vitamin E, niacin, folate, magnesium and phosphorus. With a high MUFA or 'good fat' content, zero trans-fat and zero sodium content, they are a boon for people suffering from cardiovascular problems. It's manganese content also helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Another reason to munch on peanuts ( other than being pocket-friendly ) is the presence of p-coumaric acid and resveratol, both powderful anti-oxidants that fight the aging process and the sundry aliments associated with it.

Peanut pakora is a snack that is equally loved in the North as well as South India. Here's the recipe:



















Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Ingredients - 3/4 cup raw peanuts, 2 tsp corn flour, 3 tsp besan or gram flour, 1 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of asafoetida, salt to taste, 2 pinch amchur, 1/4 tsp jeera-lanka powder or roasted cumin powder, oil for frying.

Preparation - Dry roast the peanuts for 3 minutes in a pan. Remove from pan and allow to cool down.



















Take the corn flour, gram flour, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, asafoetida and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the peanuts and mix well.

Add 1 tsp of hot oil. Sprinkle a little water at a time and try to form into a loose dough. It should be just enough to coat the peanuts and not watery.



















































Cooking - Heat oil for frying in a wok. Add the peanuts in small batches, while separating the peanuts with your fingers before adding to the oil.




































Fry on low to medium flame till the sizzling sound dies away. (3-4 mins)

Remove from wok and keep on tissue paper to absorb excess oil. Repeat for remaining peanut dough.

Add the remaining chilli powder, jeera-lanka powder, amchur powder and pinch of salt to the roasted peanuts. Shake well to coat the peanuts.

Allow to cool down for becoming crunchy. Store in a airtight container.




Friday, September 6, 2013

Khari pakoda

Khari biscuits are a favorite with almost everyone. They are light, airy and wonderfully crispy. I usually serve them to my guests with tea ( yeah i do try to resist them....loaded with butter...u know :) ) and they disapper in minutes. But at times some are left in the cupboard for too long or maybe hubby forgot to close the container properly and they lose their flavor ( no Tupperware/LocknLock works in this case ) . I had been putting those in the dustbin till last week.

But then i heard Ranbir Kapoor singing about 'Khari pakoday' with 'nukkad ki chai' in the promos of his latest flick 'Besharam'. Voila, and a new dish was born. Initially i tried making pakoras with the broken crumbs of khari biscuit and they are ok-ok types. But then i tried to take each biscuit, pull apart the layers and then dip them into the batter individually before frying. I must say these pakoras are wonderfully crisp and totally worth the effort.



















Preparation time - 15 mins

Ingredients - Khari biscuits, oil for frying.

For the batter - 4 tbs besan, 1 tsp cornflour, 1/3 tsp jeera-lanka ( cumin-chilli ) powder, 1/3 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp coriander shoots finely chopped, 1 tsp green chilli finely chopped, salt to taste.

Preparation - Take all the ingredients for batter in a mixing bowl. Add water and make into a paste of medium consistency. Keep aside for 15-20 mins.

Cooking - Heat oil in a wok.

Take each khari biscuit and pull apart into 3-4 layers. Dip each piece into the batter and leave in the oil. Fry till light golden brown. Remove and keep on a tissue to drain excess oil.

Serve hot with tomato sauce and tea.






















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