SEMOLINA FRITTERS

The recipe for these unusual fritters was shared by a close friend in Dar.  Made from semolina and potatoes these are terribly more..ish and chutneys.

Last weekend I invited some girfriends round for the afternoon and made some snacks and these fritters were amongst the other items I had prepared.  I must say, they went down quite well.

The addition of buttermilk makes them tangy  and rich tasting.  The process is rather simple; firstly mix the buttermilk, and semolina and stir on a low heat until the mixture starts to thicken.  Add all the spices and continue to stir.  As you siir, the mixture will become even thicker, almost lumpy and once it forms a soft dough like consistency; take it off the heat.  Continue to stir off the heat until the moisture is absorbed.  Add the mashed potato and mix until all the semolina and potatoes are well blended.

Now shape these into little fingers (or sausage shapes).

Heat some oil in a wok and deep fry these till golden brown.  Serve piping hot with green and red chutnies.

1 cup semolina

2 1/2 cup chash (butter milk)

1 tea sp ginger paste

1/4 tea sp garlic paste

2 tea sp chili paste

2 tea sp salt

2 medium potatoes

DAHI WADA

Dahi wada or  are a popular snack item in India.  They are scumptious dumplings made from lentils (deep fried) then soaked in yoghurt (or curds as they say in India).  The yoghurt is stirred and mildly flavoured with salt, paprika and ground cumin.  The lentils are soaked overnight then ground into a thick batter.  Salt and spices are added to this batter and then with the help of a teaspoon, the batter is dropped into hot oil and fried until a lovely golden brown.  Have a bowl of tepid water close by and the wada are removed from the oil with a slotted spoon and immediately dropped into the bowl of water for a minute or so before plating them and poring the yoghurt over them (this method allows for a very soft wada).     These delicious deep fried urad dal cakes seeped in tangy salty yoghurt are amazingly delicious when served with sweet tamarind chutney.   The freshly ground cumin imparts a nutty flavour and the taste sensation of the dahi, wada, jeera mirchi, cilantro is unbelievably fresh, tart yet sweet at the same time.

DAHI WADAS are frequently made in our home during the summer months as we feel they are a perfectly cooling snack.

Here is how you make these:

1 cup udad daal

1 tea sp salt

cilantro

oil for deep frying

2 cup natural youghurt (I make mine at home)

1 tea sp cumin seeds crushed

1/2 tea sp chili powder

1/2 tea sp salt

chopped cilantro

Tamarind Chutney

Method

Soak the daal over night.

Wash and blend the daal ,add a tea sp salt mix well until nice and fluffy.

Fill up a spacious bowl with  water (3/4 of the way) this is to put the wada in once fried.

mix well natural yoghurt and salt to pour on the wada,keep on the side.

Heat the oil for deep frying and  using your hands or a teaspoon drop the  dal mixure into the oil.  Deep fry wadas on medium heat and put them in the bowl of water as soon as they are done.  Leave the wada in the water JUST for few seconds and then squeeze all the water out.

Set the wada in the tray and pour the salted yoghurt on the wadas.  Garnish with cumin powder,chili powder, tamarind chatni and top with cilantro.

BAJRA NA DHEBRA

BAJRA NA DHEBRA

Bajri, bajra or millet is a popular ingredient in the Gujarati household.  Bajra flour is used to make Rotal, Thepla or Dhebra.

Bajra Dhebra is a flatbread made with a mixture of millet flour, wheat flour and chickpea flour.  The flours are combined in a large spacious bowl, then the spices and herbs are added along with the garlic paste and chillies. The mixture is brought together with dahi (yoghurt) to form a pliable dough which is then flattened into a disc (about 3-4mm deep) and then gently shallow fried in ghee on a medium heat.

Served hot or cold with a cup of masala tea or dahi and lassun chatni these are a perfect meal.  I have listed below the quantities of flour and spices that can be used to form the dough and make these delicious dhebra.

2 cups bajra flour ( millet flour)

2 tab sp wheat flour

1 tab sp gram flour

2 tab sp methi (optional)

1 1/2 tea sp salt

2 tea sp chili paste

1 tea sp black paper( crushed)

1/2 tea sp termeric powder

3 tab sp oil

1/3 cup yogurt ( 3 tab sp)

BHAKHRI

BHAKHRI

Bhakri makes an appearance very often in most gujarati households.  It is a form of bread (lik the chappati) but roasted on the tava on a very low heat.  The result is a deliciously crispy yet melt in the mouth bread that goes well with tea, daal or curry.  It is a rather time consuming process to make the bhakri  but the process of making the dough is much like the rotli except there is more ghee/butter mixed into the flour (until the flour/fat mixture resembles small peas – much like making shortbread).  Very little liquid is added to bind the dough which should be very firm.

So heres how:

Mix the 4 tbsp ghee and flour until it resembles small peas, add the liquid to bind into a firm dough.
Divide the dough into equal pieces, roll out into discs about 5mm thick.  On the rolled discs, make dents with your rolling pin / or small cuts with a knife.  Roast on a tava that is placed on very low heat until light brown spots appear on either side of the disks (bhakri).  Remove from the tava onto a place and apply ghee/butter (optional).

1 1/2 cup wheat flour

4 tab sp ghee

1/4 cup water ( appx)

Makes 5 bhakhri.