by Priyanka posted at 6:33 PM
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I am re-posting this recipe since it was languishing unacknowledged, not submitted for any events and because i made it especially for the occassion of Holi.
Well, after having written about some scrumptous spicy Maharashtrian dishes, i decided to write about one of the original maharashtrian desserts or rather sweet dish- the puranpoli. Albeit, contrary to non-Indian cuisines, this dessert is not served at the end of the meal but as a part of the meal itself. I did not have to debate about which dessert to write about first- yes you guessed it right. The puranpoli (a sweet indian bread made from gram dal, jaggery and cardamom) is my favorite followed by ukadiche modak (fresh coconut stuffed rice flour dumplings- a favorite of Lord Ganesha) , homemade shrikhand (indian yoghurt flavored with cardamom, nuts and saffron made especially on Marathi New Year's- Gudi Padwa) and narali bhaat (sweet coconut rice). I havent tried making the latter two desserts at home, though i will in the coming weeks, since i have ample time on my hands owing to the summer break.
The name puranpoli comes from puran meaning mixture and poli meaning roti/bread in marathi. Holi is a festival of colors and different states in India celebrate Holi differently. In Maharashtra, Holi, known as Rangpanchami is celebrated by making puranpoli. I remember my mom making puranpoli on Holi , setting some puran aside for the nevedya- an offering to the Gods (which could be had later with lots of ghee). It was one of the few things that i used to miss a lot when i came to the U.S. My mom, being a mom would parcel it to me every time that she made it. But two years back, on diwali, i decided to give it a try myself, with my roomie Ashwini who is also a Maharashtrian. It took quite some effort since we did not have a blender and we did not make a whole lot- just 5-6, but they turned out pretty well. Bolstered by our previous efforts, i decided to give it a try last year on "Padwa" all by myself with some awesome tips from my mom-in-law. I made it with katachi amti and ukadlelya batatyachi bhaji (boiled potato vegetable) and was rewarded by my dear husband and his friends who lapped up the savory dish. And this year i made it again in the name of tradition and because i just love this dish so. Puranpoli is not difficult to make if you use the right quantity of ingredients and is worth all the effort that you put in. It is usually served with katachi amti, a spicy curry (my favorite) and Ukadlelya batatyachi Bhaaji (Boiled potato sabzi) or can also be had with milk, ghee and sugar (my dad's favorite). There are many variations to the puranpoli across different states of India- one amongst them being the Vedhmi- a Gujarati puranpoli made from toor dal (although i prefer the maharashtrian version). The puranpoli is very nutritious and full of proteins and condiments. It is so filling a dish in itself that you cannot have more than 4-5 puranpolis. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as i have.....
Puranpoli
 Serves 4 (around 12-14 puranpolis)
For the stuffing:
3 cups of chana dal 8-9 cups of water (you can add more water, it can be later used to make katachi amti) 15 cardamoms (powdered) 31/2 cups jaggery/ 3 cups sugar (adjust for sweetness) 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
For the cover or poli:
31/2 cups wheat flour 1/2 cup maida 3 tsp oil
1. Mix the wheat flour, maida and oil and make a slightly soft (not firm) dough out of it. If you do not prefer to add maida, you can make it up with the wheat flour. Keep aside.
2. Pressure cook the chana (gram) dal till it is completely cooked and mashed. Drain all the water from it and keep it aside for katachi amti. 3. Add jaggery pieces (if the jaggery is not too sweet you can add more as per your taste. the sugar is usually added in a 1:1 ratio to the chana dal) and cook it in the microwave (yes!!! a tip from my mom-in-law for an easier and faster version of the traditional laborious puranpoli) till it blends in and all the water evaporates. It should be solid enough to be rolled into balls. 4. Add the cardamom and nutmeg powder and roll into balls. 5. Now make small balls out of the kneaded dough, just like you make for stuffed parathas. Roll out the balls, one at a time into small circles and stuff the puran mixture in it. Enclose it and again gently start rolling out into thin rotis/parathas.(My aai's tip- you dont need to use pressure to roll out the puran poli. Use of rice flour and gently moving the rolling pin around should do the job). 5. Transfer the poli to an already heated tava/pan. Flip when you see golden-brown spots on the side being heated. After both sides are done remove from the tava and put it on a plate to cool. Serve it with lots of ghee.
P.S.-Dont get dissapointed if it breaks the first couple of times. It takes some practice to make a puranpoli without breaking it.
Can a puranpoli ever be served without being accompanied by katachi amti? I would say no. For those of you who have never heard of katachi amti (amti meaning dal/curry in marathi), it is a sweet and sour watery curry made from the leftovers of the boiled chana dal used to make puranpoli. Once you have tasted it, you will never again have a puranpoli without it.
Whatever dishes i have learnt over the years, have been inspired by someone in my life. Most of my culinary skills were honed as a teenager by my mom who is a perfectionist and an amazing cook (i should mention my dad here who always championed whatever we cooked, however bad it might have been- he was the one who taught us how to make phulka polis). However, having left home at the age of 18, i picked up a lot dishes from my friends and roomies from different parts of the country. My experiences and life as a student in the U.S. also led me to come up with easy, quick yet varied recipes to appease my taste buds. I gleaned this recipe from P's aunt, Mangala maushi, who is also a fabulous and enthusiastic cook. In the western world, very few people know of chana dal a.k.a bengal gram a.k.a Cicer arietinum. In India and other Asian countries, its used to make curries and varied other dishes. Chana dal belongs to the family of desi chana, the Indian version of Garbanzo beans/chick peas as we call them; the difference being that they are split, yellow and have much lower glycemic index, making them a favorite of diabetic people.The biggest pro- they are highly nutritious- a good source of zinc, protein and dietary fiber. I havent been able to trace the origin of the bengal gram in India, however the word chana comes from the sanskrit word "chennuka" according to this interesting article by David Mendosa.
Katachi Amti
Serves 4Ingredients:
Use the (8 cups) water drained from the boiled chana dal with some of the puran mixture from my earlier puranpoli recipe or
1/2 a cup chana dal (if making separately, boil with 8 cups of water) 1/3 tsp turmeric 1 tsp garam masala 2-3 tsp tamarind juice/ 2-3 tbsp lemon juice salt to taste 1/3 tsp chili powder jaggery/sugar as per taste 3-4 curry leaves
For the tempering:
2 tbsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1/3 tsp turmeric 2 green chilies
cinnamon pieces
2 bay leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
For garnish:
coriander coconut (dry)
1. Take only the water from the boiled chana dal. Add salt, jaggery, chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind juice, garam masala and curry leaves. (I usually use the garam masala my mom makes. You can either add the ready-made masala with slight variation from the taste or make a paste of 2 tsp of roasted coconut and cumin seeds, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves and 1 bay leaf). You can also vary the quantity of tamarind or lemon juice and jaggery/sugar based on your health and taste needs. I myself prefer the slight sweet yet sour taste. Next, boil the dal.
2. Heat oil for tempering/phodni, add the cumin and mustard seeds. When they start crackling, add the turmeric, asafoetida, chilies, cinnamon and bay leaves and pour it over the dal. 3. Garnish with coriander and serve hot.
I served the Puranpoli and Katachi Amti with Ukadlelya Batatyachi bhaaji, Kelicha raita and Cabbage Pakoras (from Anita of A Mad Tea Party fame). The Cabbage pakoras added just the right touch to complete the meal. Thanks Anita- they turned out awesome.
The boiled potato sabzi is the only sabzi that goes well with this dish or so my family thinketh. The secret to making this sabzi perfect is to make it a little on the crispier side.
Ukadlelya Batatyachi Bhaaji
Serves 2
3 potatoes (boiled and chopped into big cubes)
coriander for garnish
salt to taste
For tempering
2-3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/3 tsp turmeric
a pinch of asafoetida
5-6 green chilies
8-10 curry leaves
1. Boil the potatoes for two whistles in the pressure cooker. That will ensure that they dont turn mush.
2. Peel them and cube them into pieces.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and when they pop, add the turmeric, asafoetida, chilies and curry leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes and add in the potatoes.
4. Add salt, Mix well and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning over every couple of minutes till they get a little brown/ and crispy.
5. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with the puranpolis.
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by Priyanka posted at 10:32 PM
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Mousse au Chocolat- a-la- Orange The week that i visited Sharmi's blog Neivedyam and came to know that she was hosting A Fruit a Month (AFAM) event and that the designated fruit of the month was the Citrusy Orange: i had an inspiration about what recipe to make out of it. And the source of my inspiration........ none other than Starbucks.......yes. You see i had just sampled the new Orange Mocha Frappucino the other day and the taste had lingered on. As a result, my mind was already doing the cartwheels. And lo and behold.... i thougt of making the sinfully tempting Chocolate and Orange mousse.
To my understanding mousse is a French dessert and my first memories of making a mousse date back 7-8 years ago using a Milkmaid recipe with a lot of help from my sister- it turned out awesome. It was one of our first few successes. Its been a long time, for after that attempt, i never again made a mousse until today. While making this mousse i drew upon my previous memories and had the pleasure of enjoying a truly melt-in-your-mouth kind of dessert. And even if i say so myself- it turned out oh-so-absolutely-lipsmackingly delicious.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 medium navel orange
3 Hersheys semi-sweet dark chocolate(4.5 oz) 3 tbs sugar 1/2 pint whipping cream 2 tbs butter 3-1/2 tbs corn starch powder 1-1/2 tsp orange peel pieces 2-4 pieces of orange (for decoration)
  1. Grate the skin of the orange to get the orange peel, carefully avoiding the inner white portion. Peel off the skin from the orange pieces and keep 1 slice aside. Blend the rest of the pieces in a mixer, strain (without the pulp) to get the juice with as less of the fiber as possible and add 2 tbs of sugar or as per your taste. 2. In a cooking pot (in which you have never cooked an Indian vegetable or curry), melt 2 tbs of butter, add the corn starch powder and mix well, avoiding any lumps. 3. Pour in the oranges juice and on a low heat, keep stirring it while adding the chopped dark chocolate pieces for 3-4 minutes. Set aside 4-5 pieces of the chocolate for the garnish. 4. Now add in the 1 piece of orange that you had previously set aside and the orange peel. Stir on a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Turn of the gas and let the mixture cool. Put it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes if you like to bring it to the temperature equal to that of the whipped cream. 5. In another bowl, whip the whipping cream into soft peaks ( the credit for whipping it goes to P, since i dont own a high speed blender, he whipped it for me by hand) and fold in the chocolate-orange mixture. Pour into martini glasses and put it in the refrigerator. 6. Serve chilled garnished with chocolate shavings and orange pieces.
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by Priyanka posted at 3:02 PM
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Quick and Easy Eggless Tiramisu I had my first taste of Tiramisu at a local food joint called Rasranjan Food Court in my home town in India some 8-9 years back. Since alcohol is banned in my state by law and since most people are vegetarian, the tiramisu that i had was eggless and devoid of alcohol in any form. And yet i could never forget the taste of this wonderful "pick me up" dessert. I would keep going back for more whenever i went back home for the holidays. Then P introduced me to Tiramisu at the Cheesecake Factory and i fell in love with it some more. So when Jennifer of DomesticGoddess asked us to delve into our inner cravings and come up with a dessert we craved the most for this month's SugarHighFridays (SHF), i forgot all about my resolution to keep away from tempting, sinful, fattening food and dished out this scrumptious Italian dessert. While looking for a recipe, i stumbled upon this oh-so-wonderful site dedicated to tiramisu lovers http://www.heavenlytiramisu.com/recipes.htm I tried two different versions - one with the mascarpone cheese and one without it. And i must say, that albeit the tiramisu sans the mascarpone tasted pretty good, the mascarpone version tasted even better-heavenly actually. Without further ado, here's the recipe for the tiramisu that i made using mascarpone cheese. Serves 6 Ingredients 16 oz mascarpone cheese (you will find this at your local grocery store- i found it at Albertson's) 2-3 tbs rum extract/rum/ kahlua or any coffee liquor 6-8 tbs sugar 3 oz heavy cream 6 oz of strong brewed coffee (i got a tall cup from Starbucks) Unsweetened cocoa 40 ladyfinger biscuits (or 1 pack) dark chocolate shavings 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
     1. Beat the mascarpone cheese and the cream together in a high speed blender till it becomes of a spreadable consistency. Since i dont own a blender currently and got tired of beating it by hand, i got P to do it for me. Add 2 tbs of rum extract (i didnt want to spend money on liquor which no one would drink, so i got a cheaper substitute from the grocery store), 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 5-6 tbs of sugar and mix well. 2. Add 1 tbs rum and 1 tbs sugar to the already cooled coffee. 3. Dip the ladyfinger biscuits very lightly (or it will turn soggy) in the coffee and place them in a baking tray. 4. Spread the mascarpone cheese on it. Again make another layer of coffee dipped ladyfinger biscuits and spread the rest of the mascarpone cheese on it. 5. Place it in the refrigerator to cool. Remove half an hour before serving and sprinkle some unsweetened cocoa powder and dark chocolate shavings and................ just dig in.
by Priyanka posted at 10:37 AM
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Hats off to all you bloggers out there who work and manage families, and yet find the time to cook creative, mouthwatering dishes and blog about it. More kudos to those who organise and host blogging events. I have been doing my summer internship for this past month and at the end of the day- i am so drained that i barely manage to cook. This is the reason for my blogging hiatus for the past two weeks. This recipe for Ukadiche Modak was supposed to be my entry for U of Indian vegetables at Nupur's of OneHotStove. Its not a vegetable preparation but a sweet dish that is my second most favorite. I did make the dish last Saturday but just couldnt drum up enough energy to turn on my laptop and post a blog on it. So this will be my entry for (Regional cuisine of India) RCI: Maharashtrian Cuisine being hosted by Nupur, and originally started by Lakshmi of VeggieCuisine. Ukadiche Modak are basically Sweetened coconut stuffed rice dumplings- a very traditional Marathi sweet dish that is usually made as an offering to Lord Ganesha. These modaks are generally accompanied by Ambedal or Vatli dal (this was to be my entry for the V of Indian veggies at Nupur's but once again i missed the deadline) - a spicy and sour chana dal preparation also prepared as an offering to Lord Ganesha. The word Ukadiche means steamed in Marathi. So basically these rice dumplings are steamed and eaten with loads of ghee. Yes- calorie conscious people can just forget about it. The ukadhiche modak are difficult to make- the recipe is meant for experienced cooks. Or rather for people who are not ready to give up on it so easily (i had a longing for the modaks and was missing my mom). So, i decided to give it a try and here goes the recipe.  Servings: Makes 7 modaks For the stuffing: 1-1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut 4-5 crushed almonds 3-4 strands of saffron 1/2 tsp cardamom powder jaggery or sugar to taste 2 tbs ghee For the dough: 1 cup rice flour (fresh flour is the best) 3 tbs maida 2 tbs ghee 1. Heat 2 tbs of ghee in a cooking pan and add the freshly grated coconut to it. Saute it till it starts turning golden brown and releases the smell of being roasted in ghee. Add the almonds, saffron and cardamom powder to it. Add either jaggery or sugar as per your taste (i made it with jaggery- traditionally its made with jaggery too and tastes a 100 times better than sugar) and mix it very well. Set aside to cool. 2. Heat 1/2 cup water and add ghee to it. Separately mix the rice flour and maida and add this mixture to the hot water and mix it properly so that there are no lumps and steam it for 2 minutes. 3. The maida is added to impart stickiness to the dough so that it can be moulded and does not break. If the rice flour is not fresh it will crack and break and you wont be able to stuff it. 4. Remove from the stove and while the mixture is still hot make small balls out of it and with hand pat it into small thin round shapes (Use ghee to roll out or the dough will stick to your hands). Place the coconut mixture in it and try to mould it into the shape of a garlic bulb while closing it. 5. Steam the modaks for 10 minutes like you would steam a plate of dhoklas and serve with ghee. And the verdict: Taste wise the modaks were awesome. However since i couldnt find any fresh rice flour (in India you can easily lay your hands on freshly ground flours at a flour mill), i used the one that i found at the local store. As a result- the dough kept cracking when i tried to mould it. So i couldnt pat out the rice flour balls into very thin layers. Probably the only picture that i managed to take after i made the modaks doesnt do justice to it. We gobbled some up as soon as i had offered neivedya to Lord Ganesha. May be the next time i make it i will take pictures of the entire process of making it along the way and post it on the blog. Also, as my mom suggested the next time i will just dry some rice and grind it in my mixer to get some freshly ground rice flour.
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