Avocado - Desi Ishtyle!

Here's a very desi twist on a very Californian fruit! Spanish origins actually but California prides itself in growing some of the best avocados in the world.

I signed up to cook for Priya Mitharwal's event - Veggie/Fruits A Month event - and the STAR of this month is Avocado. When I accepted her event invite on FB, a friend and a follower of this blog Radha requested that I make something desi with Avocados. Here's her comment - "whoa! love avocados..cant wait to see new receipes..Anu, my request to you...please please.. invent a new receipe thats desi ishtyle.." 

So Radha - I tried to give you just that. Desi Ishtyle Avocado Sev Puri, Avocado Dahi Puri and Avocado Bhel Puri! Hope you like it! But, I restrained myself from adding some sambar or rasam podi to this!

I have to say that this tasted really good - actually I could not tell the difference between our regular chaat and an avocado chaat - tastes identical. So, do try this sometime. I'm sure you'll like it too!

Here are my fresh avocados that I picked up in the morning from my local farmers market - love that place - wish it was a permanent fixture everyday. Its only once a week and I look forward now to going there each week - especially for the strawberries and cherries! And avocados too maybe from now on!

Peel and chop the ripe flesh into small pieces. I chose avocados that are not very soft yet - these were still on the firmer side. Transfer to a mixing bowl. This is 1 chopped avocado.

Now add some finely chopped onions -about 1 medium sized onion would do - make sure the quantity of onions is not more than the avocado - about the same or a little less would be good. You don't want the onions to overpower the subtle flavors of the avocados.

Now, add some finely chopped tomatoes in to the mixing bowl. If you have some cilantro, chop it up finely and add here - I was all out and was cursing myself for forgetting to pick that up from the market!

Let's flavor these little guys - I added some sea salt and red chilli powder. You be creative and add all you want to season this. You could add some chat masala or even garam masala if you'd like it spiced up.

Mix everything well until combined.

And now for the base - I used store bought papdi chips. You could either use the flat papdi chips like this below or you could make or buy the small sev puris or gols - click here for a detailed recipe on how to make the puris.

You will need green mint coriander chutney and sweet tamarind chutney for the chaat. Here's a detailed recipe on Sweet Tamarind Chutney.

For the mint chutney, just grind together 1 bunch of coriander leaves (washed well), 1/2 bunch of mint leaves, a couple of green chillies, salt, chaat masala - once ground to a smooth paste, add 1tsp of lemon juice on top. You're quick chutney is done!

Now comes the fun assembly part. Pick up each chip and scoop in the avocado mix and place flat on the plate. Add a few drops of the green chutney on top of each filled papdi chip.

Now add a couple of drops of the sweet chutney on top of the papdi chips.

Top off with some fine sev. Done! How easy was that?

You probably know by now that I don't stop at one picture!

Sometimes I don't stop at two pictures.

Ok. I'll stop now.

Moving on to Avocado Dahi Sev Papdi Puri - did I miss something in the name there??

Assemble the puris similar to the sev puri above and just add dahi on top. Since dahi can make stuff bland, add another layer of chutneys on top of the dahi too.

Top off again with a little bit of sev and enjoy!

I can meditate on this one :)

Next, let's make it a trio today and make some Avocado bhel puri!

I used a store bought bhel mix. Add the chopped Avocado mix on top.

Add both the mint and the tamarind chutneys to taste.

Mix well. Add some sev on top and you're done again!

How's that little hill for a snack?

Thank you Priya for hosting the event!

Enjoy! Peace Out!

Pav Buns for Pav Bhaji

This has been a long due post for me. Some of you might have seen my post on Paneer Pav Bhaji here before. The pav buns I attempted at that time looked great but were not so great to eat! They had turned out hard, probably because the water I soaked the yeast in was hotter than needed and that killed the yeast and so the bread did not turn out good.

So, I'm here redeeming myself. Tried it again and this time it turned out perfect - just the way we all love it.

For the yeast mix, you will need -

1 pack Active Dry Yeast
1 tbsp sugar
Water - about 1 1/2 cups. Microwave for about 30 secs. The water should be lukewarm and not hot. Hot water will kill the yeast. Trust me..I know. :(

Put the yeast in a bowl.

Add the tbsp of sugar to the yeast and mix well.

Now, pour the water and stir well so that all the yeast gets mixed in well.

See how that looks now? Set this out and put a lid on it. Let this sit for about 15 mins.

Look at what happened in about 15 mins. Reminds me of the saying - 15 mins can change your life! So true for the yeast!

Can you see how the little breathing holes are formed. This is directly propotional to how good your bread will turn out!

Now to make the dough, you will need -

4 cups of all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups of yeast water.( water should be half of the quantity of the flour used and a little more)
1 stick of butter ( 8tbsps)
1/2 cup of milk
salt - 1/2 tsp

Add the remaining water to the yeast and mix well once.

Put the flour in a wide plate or a wide wooden chopping block or even on your clean counter. Make a well in the middle and pour the yeast and water mix little at a time and start mixing and kneading the flour.

Get your hands dirty. Its a wonderful mess to be in!

Add the 1/2 cup of milk again a little at a time and keep kneading and forming a dough.

You will have to knead this for about 15 mins - yes, it does take time. So, punch, pull, get your frustrations out, give your arms a workout - do all you can with your hands and the flour for the next 15 mins!

When the dough starts to form a ball, add melted butter in the middle - you could also add little by little and keep kneading. If the dough gets a little too slimy, sprinkle some flour on top and keep kneading.

See its almost coming together now.

Make the ball into a smooth round and place in a mixing bowl greased with a little butter.

Cover with a damp cloth and let this rest for about 2 hrs. Are you ready to see how it looks like after 2 hrs?

How about this? The dough ball has almost tripled in size!

Punch gently a few times and let the air get out.

Fold a few more times and get ready to make balls.

Take small ball sized dough and roll with your palm and fingertips in a swirling motion. That way the base is also smooth.

Arrange the balls together - make sure that they are touching each other. Place in a baking dish that has been buttered and dusted with flour.

Cover with a damp cloth again and let this now sit for about 45 mins. They will rise a little bit more.

See I told ya - they do rise some more.

Now, place the buns in a pre heated oven at 375F. Bake for about 15-20 mins. Or until the tops start getting golden brown.

Remove and brush immediately with melted butter. I could have let it bake for a couple of more mins - but my husband scared me..he told me that if i let them too long, they might get hard again..hmm..afterthought - I think he was just hungry and could not wait any more!

There they are - my little bun babies! Lookin so cute!

Just a couple of cross section photos so you can see how they look inside!

This time, the buns were soft and flavorful ( that 1 stick of butter did not go in vain, after all)

And of course, even though the bread is just out of the oven - that cannot satisfy a bombaywala...he broke them into two and toasted them on a tava again with a brush of butter!

Here's my bhaji ready!

Serve immediately with bhaji on the side and chopped onions and a wedge of lime!

Long live our love for carbs and butter!

Enjoy! Peace Out!

Sweet Date & Tamarind Chutney for Indian Chaats

One of my blog readers Varsee had asked me for a recipe for Sweet chutney for chaats. This has been a chutney that I always take the short route and buy from the store or a restaurant. But, just so I can show off my cooking skills to Varsee, I thought I'd make this from scratch!

Varsee - here's the recipe for you. And thank you so much for leaving your comments and for trying out dishes from the blog. That is the best compliment a blogger can get!

I got the basic recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor's Chaat book. Once I made it, I realized how easy it was to make this. This is a good recipe to make a lot and save it in the fridge for maybe a couple of weeks. That way, you can pop it out and mix it with anything and make a quick chaat!

To begin with, here are the things you would need -

Dates - about 2 cups
Tamarind Pulp - Take about a lemon sized tamarind, microwave with water for a min, squeeze out all the pulp and set aside. You will finally need 11/2 cups of pulp.
Jaggery - about 3/4 cup
Jeera - 2 tsps
Saunf ( fennel seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsps
Salt - to taste
Dry ginger powder - 1 tsp
Black salt or chaat masala - about 1 tsp
Red food color - few drops.

 

Dry roast the jeera and saunf till a nice smell comes out. Take it off the heat. When cooled, grind to a smooth powder and set aside.

  

Chop the dates into small pieces. Eat a few while doing this...you have to enjoy the process!

  

In a pan, add the tamarind pulp and cook it until a little of the raw smell goes away.

  

Now, add the chopped dates and jaggery. Cook for a min until they kind of combine well and the jaggery begins to melt. Then, add the red chilli powder, black salt or chaat masala, salt to taste and also the ground jeera-saunf powder. Mix well and add about 4 cups of water. 

  

  

  

Let all of it come to a good boil. Cook for about 10 mins.

  

At the end, add a few drops of red color. I would always wonder what the restaurants put that was red in color. I thought maybe they added beetroot or something. And then I read about it that it was nothing but red color! Duh!  I added a few drops - my chutney was not completely red but a nice shade of brunette! You can even skip this if you don't want the red color - you will then have a nice brown chutney.

  

See how that all came together. 

  

Cool down the mixture for a little bit and then move it all to a blender. Blend until you get a nice smooth creamy texture. Add a little water if the chutney is too thick. 

 

And tada...there you go - home made red chutney for chaats. Not to brag or anything, but this tasted realllllyy good. Thanks to Sanjeev Kapoor! My husband wanted it a little but more thin but I loved it like this. If you like it thinner, add extra spices and more water. 

  

One more obsession shot as always!

  

Enjoy. Peace Out!