Poori Bhajji

I know the posts have become a little irregular these days; I got a bit side tracked with my boys and illnesses. Thankfully, everyone’s back to their good health now and so here I am J

Right now I’m going TGIF! It’s been an emotionally draining last couple of weeks and I’m so looking forward to the weekend and spending time with my darling’s.

Speaking of darlings, my boys are as mischievous and cheeky as ever. They are growing up so fast. Kochu is quite the chatter box. Chatter, chatter, chatter! All day long if he can help it! J And Chackochi too is starting to say stuff, though most of it is still baby talk. Of the few words we can understand he loves to say “No”, “Stop it”, “oh oh” and “Mama”. He goes around calling everyone Mama, even our housemate! He’s getting teeth left and right and so his looks are changing fast. Here are a few long overdue pics of them J

Right, so today’s recipe is Poori Bhajji. Doesn’t your mouth just water thinking of those deliciously hot, crispy golden balls of whole wheat goodness paired with that simple vegan potato curry.. Ooh Yum! So a couple of weekends ago, we had some guests over and I made this. I wouldn’t generally recommend making this when you have guests, only because poori is best served hot and you really don’t want to be toiling over the stove when you have guests waiting. But my hubby has been craving Pooris for quite some time and so he talked me into making these.

I forgot to take a photo with the Poori and Bhajji all plated together. I had to take a pic later on of the bhajji as I totally forgot in the hurry of serving our guests.  I do have a few pics of the poori though as I got hubby to snap some as we made it.

It’s a real simple meal yet astonishingly tasty and filling. The kids didn’t want much to do with the curry but both of them had a couple of pooris and loved it. It’s definitely one of those worth the effort kind of dishes. The Bhajji is pretty simple to make and comes together pretty soon and tastes pretty close to what we’d get at the Aryas hotels in Kerala. Do try it. Happy Cooking & have a great weekend!

Poori Bhajji

For the Poori: (makes 15-18 pooris)
Recipe Source : Veg Recipes of India

2.5 to 3 cups whole wheat flour/atta

1 tsp oil

water to knead the flour

oil for frying

Method:
Knead the wheat flour into stiff dough with water and oil. Make small balls of the dough. Roll into rounds having 4-5 inches diameter.

Heat oil for deep frying. Fry the pooris in oil till they get puffed and are golden brown.

Tips for Preparing Poori:

• The dough should be slightly stiff not soft like the dough of the chappati/roti
• While rolling the poori, apply a little oil on the poori and then roll. This way, you won’t need to dust the rolling board with wheat flour. This ensures that the oil stays clean when you fry the pooris and you won’t see dark burnt flour particles inside the oil.
• Make sure the oil is neither too hot nor cold. If  too hot, the pooris get browned quickly. If not hot enough then the pooris absorb oil and become too oily.
• The pooris should puff while frying. If not, then something has gone wrong….. Either the dough has not been kneaded well or the pooris have not been rolled out evenly or the oil is not hot enough.
• You can also add some suji/semolina to the pooris. It makes the poori a crispier.

For the Potato Bhajji/ Potato Masala
Recipe Source : Jeyshris Kitchen

Ingredients:

Boiled Potato – 3

Onion (big) – 2

Green chilli – 2-3

Ginger – small piece

Kadala Mavu – 1 tblsp

Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp

Garam Masala- small pinch

Mustard seeds  - ¼ tsp

Urad dal/Uluva – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves/Karivepella 

Coriander leaves

Lemon juice – few drops

Oil – 2 tblsp

Salt – as needed 

Method:

1. Peel the skin of the boiled potatoes and mash two of them. Cut the remaining one into cubes.

2. Thinly slice the onions and finely chop the curry leaves and green chilli.

3. Grate the ginger. 

4. In a pan, add oil and throw in the mustard seeds, urad dal, ginger, green chilli and curry leaves.

5. When the urad dal turns golden brown, add the sliced onions and sauté for few minutes till the onions becomes translucent.

6. Now add 1/2 a cup of water to this and cook the onions for a minute.

7. When done, add the mashed and cubed potatoes.

8. Make a paste with besan/ kadala maavu in 2 tblsp of water and mix well without any lumps.

9. Add this to the potato mixture and add salt, turmeric powder and garam masala. Add 1 cup of water to bring this to a gravy consistency.

10. This masala will absorb water once it comes to boil. So don’t worry if it is thin.

11. Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.

12. Add lemon juice (if using).