Masal Puri

Masal Puri!! Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Hmm! what do I say about this chat item? World famous in Bangalore - Mysore region and i should say, you haven't eaten chat untill you have had a taste of the delicious spicy-tangy medley! So behold the fantastic recipe of this much loved recipe, make and enjoy! By the way, this chat is supposed to be eaten hot, hotter, hottest!!! cold masal puri wont give you the kick! and be sure to have a nice desi chai after. for those who do not know desi chai... have a chai latte.

Note: Please do not use fresh or frozen peas or canned peas. It does not give the right texture or flavour. My sister in-law (inspirer of this recipe) said dry yellow peas work better than dry green peas. I could not find the yellow version, so used green.

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook time: 2 hrs (includes peas cooking time)

Servings: around 6 small plates

Ingredients:

1 bag of store bought pani puri or papdi. pani puri is the best match. if you cant get that, get plain papdi.

For the base:

1. Dry Peas - 1 cup, soaked overnight.
2. Carrots - 2 medium, peeled and roughly chopped. If you use baby carrots, use upto 6 of them.
3. Potato - 1 medium.
4. Salt - 1 tsp or to taste.

cook all the ingredients above thoroughly and let it cool. then take the potato, carrots and about 1/2 cup of peas to grind with the masala.

For masala:

1. Onions - 3 medium, roughly chopped.
2. Ginger garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
3. Mint - 1 1/2 cups, finely chopped. keep 1/2 cup aside for later use, and set aside 1/4 cup for garnish.
4. Coriander/Cilantro - 1 1/2 cups, finely chopped. keep 1/2 cup aside for later use, and set aside 1/4 cup for garnish.
5. Green chilies - 2.
6. Red chilies - 2.
7. Whole Clove - 2. if you use powder, 1/8 tsp.
8. Whole Cinnamon - 2 inches piece.  if you use powder, 1/8 tsp.
9. Whole Cardamom - 2. if you use powder, 1/8 tsp.
10. Bay leaf - 2 small or 1 big.
11. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp.
12. Mace/javithri - a pinch of the flower or the powder.
13. Tamarind paste - 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp.
14. Chat masala - 2 Tbsp.
15. Garam masala - 1/2 to 1 tsp, use depending on your spice tolerance.
16. Oil - 1 tbsp.

Method:

• Heat oil in a big pot. 
• Add clove, cinnamon, cardamom, mace, red chilies, green chilies and bay leaf and saute for a few seconds.
• Add onion and add salt and turmeric to make it sweat sooner. 
• Once onions are golden brown, add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell is gone. 
• Now add tamarind paste. first add 1 tbsp keep the rest handy so that you can add as and when required.  cook well.
• Now add chat masala and 1/2 cup each of mint and coriander. cook for a minute.
• let it cool and gind this masala with the boiled veggies into a smooth paste.
• Now Transfer this ground masala into the pot and add water as required to thin it. it should be the consistency of dosa batter/(slightly thinner pancake batter) or slightly thinner. 
• Now add the 1/4 cup of mint and coriander and 1/2 cup boiled peas and garam masala and cook well. taste to see if this need more tamarind, salt or any other ingredient. add them if something is missing, cook for a few more minutes and masala is ready to be assembled in to the plate with other ingredients.

Chutney's: 

you can make these at home or use store bought. I used the Tamarind date chutney store bought

Green Chutney:

This chutney is not only good for chats, it is good for sandwiches as a spread. you can saute veggies with this chutney. It's use is versatile, so make some and keep it in the fridge. it will last for 10 days in there. 

1. Mint - 1/2 bunch. roughly chopped.
2. Coriander/Cilantro - 1/2 bunch roughly chopped.
3. Garlic - 1 small or medium pod.
4. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece.
5. Green onion/spring onion/ scallion - 4 roughly chopped.
6. Green Chilies - 2 to 5 use according to your heat tolerance.
7. Roasted Split chick pea/hurkadale/putani - 2 tsp.
8. Lime juice - 1 to 2 tsp.
9. Salt - to taste

Method: 

Grind all the above ingredients into a smooth paste using very little water if required. It would turn out much better if you run the putani once and make it into a powder then add the rest of the ingredients.

Date and Tamarind chutney/Sweet chutney:

1. Date paste - 1/2 cup
2. Tamarind paste - 1/4 cup or a bit less, use according to your taste.
3. Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste.
4. Chili powder - 1/8 tsp or to taste.
5. oil - 1/2 tsp.
6. water - just enough to thin the paste as required

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan which can hold all the ingredients. Roast chili powder for 2 or 3 seconds. then add all the ingredients and a bit of water and let it boil till it coats the spoon evenly and medium thick.

For Garnish:

1. Onion - 1 big or 2 medium finely chopped.
2. Tomato - 1 medium, Finely chopped.
3. Mint and coriander: 1/2 cup finely chopped.
4. Carrot - 1 peeled and grated.
5. Chat masala: 1 tsp.
6. Thin sev - 1 cup.

Mix all of the ingredients above except sev in a bowl and keep aside.

Assembly:

in a plate, puncture 6 of the store bought pani puri and pour the masala on to of it. then drizzle the mixed garnish on to of masala. Add the green and sweet chutney according to taste, top with a drizzle of sev and enjoy this chat hot!

Bread Masala Toast

It is simply called toast in Bangalore bakeries. I remember just getting overjoyed whenever someone got us these super hot toasts to eat. I still remember we had to split one single toast between 4 kids and we fought on who got the bigger piece. It was a serious fight back then but now they are all sweet memories. Sad part of it is, now I can buy or make and eat as much as i want to, but it is not as much fun :(... miss my bro and cousins :D. Sorry for getting nostalgic and emotional, let me talk about the toast a bit more. It is good as a snack for kids and adults, good for breakfast too... add some cheese for a little extra flavour. If you are planning a tea party or just an informal get together, this will be a hit with your friends. If you want them to be of  bite size pieces, just cut them after they bake.

Prep time: 20 mins

Bake time: 15 min

Pieces: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1. Grated carrots: 3 cups
2. Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
3. Ginger - 1 inch piece grated or 1 tsp paste
4. Garlic - 2 pods grated or 1 tsp paste (optional)
5. Tomato - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
6. Green chillies - 5 to 7 finely chopped (use according to how hot you want the toast)
7. Garam masala - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (use on how spicy you want it to be)
8. Cheese - about 1/2 cup, grated (optional). If you have slices, use them 1 per each slice of bread.
9. Bread - 6 to 8 slice. (any bread of your choice, I used whole wheat.)
10. Coriander/Cilantro - a handful, finely chopped.
11. Curry leaves - 4, finely chopped.
12. Oil - 2 tsp
13. Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat oil on medium heat in a pan and curry leaves.
• Add onions and a pinch of salt and saute till it gets slightly transparent.
• Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute till the raw smell goes away.
• Add carrots and saute till well cooked.
• Add tomatoes and saute till well cooked.
• Turn the stove off, add coriander and mix well.
• Preheat the oven at 350F and on a baking sheet arrange the bread slices and sprinkle cheese on top of them. 
• Spread the curry you just made and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes. [check after 10 mins, bake time may vary depending on the oven]
• If you do not have an oven, toast the bread on a pan over the stove top.  Flip the slice and sprinkle with cheese while the other side gets toasted. Then spread the curry.
• If you toast bread in a toaster, sprinkle cheese when the toast is hot and spread the curry, toast is ready to eat.. Enjoy!