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Recipe: Packs A Punch – Pani Puri

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Pani puri is an Indian chaat item, or street food snack. It has become so ubiquitous in the last few decades that one hardly wonders about its origins, which happen to be from Bihar. I was surprised to learn recently that some even trace pani puri’s existence to the era of the Mauryan empire, circa 600CE. Imagine: the way we huddle around roadside carts today, which are available at what seems like literally every street corner in every city, may have been a pastime of medieval Indians too! While like most street food, on-the-spot preparation and consumption without even taking a seat are a part of the experience, I quite enjoy having it home too.

A pani puri is basically a thin, hollow, crispy dumpling that is stuffed with potatoes and lentils. The main ingredient is flavoured water that is poured into a hole at the top. Every pani puri needs to be prepared seconds before being eaten, and must be gulped in one mouthful, which adds to the fun of it all. All this makes it the perfect party snack.

I enjoyed lots of chaat parties at home while I was growing up. Back then, before the explosion of chaat stalls everywhere, chaat was a bit of a novelty in Chennai, and a chaat party all the more so. A chaat party was likely to take place only at a North Indian home like mine. It would be a delight on multiple levels for my friends and I. This was a treat I took to the next generation too, preparing the same chaat items for my daughter and her friends when they would come home when she was in school.

My friends would come over and my mother would serve pani puri and bhel puri as the main courses. I repeated this a couple of decades later as a mother myself. I think of this particular recipe as “aunty-style pani puri” for multiple reasons. Not only was it made by mom – aunty to my friends – and me – aunty to my daughter’s friends – but it was also taught to me by my beloved Aunty Pushpa. She was a family friend who was really like a mother-in-law to me. She was so kind and empathic and always ready to teach me, and I really grew in my culinary skills because of her.

Coming back to the recipe: I have seen over the years that in large enough portions, these chaat items often suffice to keep kids not just satiated but very happily so. Any chaat can work as a main meal, a snack, or a quick an in-between filler – it’s all about the quantity.

Now, of course, there is a vendor on every street corner with a big basket of puris, ready to be filled as soon as you want one (or more accurately, a dozen). There’s definitely something to be said for the pleasure of just standing there amidst all that activity and stuffing your face with pani puri, but for me the snack is quite deeply associated with so many good times at home. While the outdoor atmosphere can’t be replicated, the fun and the taste certainly can be.

The entire crux of a good pani puri isn’t in the puri at all. It’s in the water and the chutney that is mixed into it. These are what really pack a punch, and that’s all because of the rich mingling of flavours. A prepared pani puri looks very docile, but it should explode with a mix of tastes the moment you put it in your mouth. It has everything: pungency, sweetness and sourness. The textures too – from the crunchy to the liquid – excite the tongue.

There are numerous little tips and tricks that go into achieving the perfect flavour bomb. Raw mango is what I like to use for tanginess, and lime juice or tamarind will also give it a similar pep. Lots of mint and coriander add both a fresh flavour, as well as an enticing colour.

There are lots of innovations out there these days. I have tasted guava or pineapple water in pani puri at some parties, and I know that young adults love vodka-based pani puri too. I’m intrigued by these but I do love the original one the most, and that’s the recipe I am sharing below.

Pani Puri
(Serves: 5-8 people)

50-100 puris
Date and tamarind chutney

Pani (Water)
1 raw mango (boiled in cooker)
1 cup mint leaves (crushed)
1 cup coriander leaves (crushed)
1 cup thick tamarind paste
2 – 3 tablespoons green chilli paste
3 heaped teaspoons black salt
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon toasted cumin powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch chaat masala
2 litres water

Potato/chana stuffing
4 medium-sized boiled potatoes
1 cup black chana dal / split chickpea lentils (soaked and pressure cooked)
1 tablespoon coriander leaves
Salt to taste
1 pinch chaat masala
1 teaspoon toasted cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder

Prepare the flavoured water first.

Begin by blending and make a paste of the mint and coriander leaves. Set aside.

Allow the boiled mango to cool and then strain through a fine sieve, removing the seed. You will have puréed mango remaining.

In a big pot, add the puréed mango, mint and coriander paste, tamarind pulp and 2 litres of water. Stir well. Now, add the salts, cumin powder, sugar and chaat masala. Finally, add the green chilli paste. I like to taste as I go along and if required add more or less of the chilli paste based on the spice level intended. Adjust all these ingredients as per your preference.

The pani needs to be cooled in the fridge for a few hours before serving. If you freeze it, it won’t go bad for about a week.

Now, we come to the stuffing.

Cut the potatoes and add them to a bowl. Add the cooked and drained black chana. Add all the spices and mix well, but gently, using your hands. Set aside until serving.

Now comes the fun part: preparing and serving the puris, and getting ready to consume them or have them be consumed just seconds later!

Place the store-bought puris on a plate. Puncture the top of each slightly. Take one, and stuff it with a single teaspoon of the potato-chana masala. Add a drop of the date and tamarind chutney, I’ve recommended this one but feel free to substitute it for one you like or have on hand.

Now, fill the remainder of one puri with some pani and immediately place the entire dumpling into your mouth!

Enjoy that fantastic burst of flavour: the flavoured water, the tasty stuffing, the crispy puri and the dressing that brings them all together. And then: repeat with each puri, until everyone has had their fill!

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Recipe: As The Seasons Start To Change – Sautéed Green Pepper Condiment (Vagharela Marcha)

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India is well-known for pickles, and there is no regional community anywhere in the country that goes a summer without pickling some kind of produce or the other. Mangoes in particular make for the perfect base, but the season for that is not quite yet here. Now, we are at the tail end of the cooler months, when preparing fresh condiments – while also enjoying the pickles that have already been in the pantry for a while – is traditional. This month, I want to share the recipe for a sautéed green pepper condiment from Gujarat, known as vagharela marcha.

A quick aside – while I did say mango (and therefore mango pickling) season is not here yet, it is just around the corner. The thought of this fills me with both delicious anticipation and with many memories. On the subject of pickling alone, for instance, there is the fact that my mother made a few kinds of mango pickles during the summer. When I was growing up, my job was to go up to the terrace in the evenings and bring the sun-dried mangoes back to the kitchen. These would be cooked – either sweetened, or else in a method that created a dish that was sour, salty and spicy all at once. I remember how I would often stick my finger into the pot and take a lick before she noticed. I loved these pickles so very much, and still make them.

Many generations before me, and before my mother, did too. When it comes to Gujarati cuisine, which developed according to the landscape and seasons of Gujarat, pickling ahead of time for the winter was a whole culinary category of its own. Condiments would also be made with available ingredients, to be used over a few days. Some of these did well under the winter sun, while others responded to simple salt, lime and spice mixes. Innovation was required, especially before the advent of supermarkets, in order to make meals more exciting, as some kinds of fresh produce would be scarce due to the climate. This held and still holds true across North India, which experiences harsher winters than the South. In Punjab, carrots are harvested at this time, so you will see this vegetable used in myriad ways. One of my favourites is gobi shalgam gaajar char, a pickle that uses carrot, cauliflower and turnip. In Gujarat and adjacent Maharashtra, big chillies (which are not very spicy) grow abundantly in winter, and would be used in everything from fried bhajis to condiments.

Coming back to condiments, then, this Gujarati winter special, vagharela marcha, uses these very same light green chillies or peppers. What I am sharing is a very simple and quick version, which is ideal for our busy contemporary time. It works as a saviour as a spread, pepping up some leftover roti or paratha when you don’t have any accompaniments on hand, and it also shines as one of many sides on an elaborate thaali. Whenever I am entertaining at home and preparing a Gujarati selection, this vagharela marcha is sure to have its place.

This condiment lasts for three or four days, and that is in part because of the simplicity of the method. There are other, long-drawn methods which will result in chilli pickles that last through the year. I’ve particularly enjoyed certain variants that use lots of mustard.

Today, though, I want to focus on using what is present. At re:store we do believe in seasonal eating, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the last few days before the heat sets in fully – and I am consuming mindfully during this transition. We are loving the last of the season of light green peppers, so our vagharela marcha is always made fresh every few days, and always made at home.

My taste for vagharela marcha was developed through spending time with my sister. In her Jain household, annual pickling is less of a habit than fresh preparations due to customs around food that are observed there. This condiment is something often served in her home during the winters, and subsequently in mine. I don’t add many twists, as the traditional method is fantastic in my opinion. However, I am curious about substituting the bhaji chillies for jalapeños. If you try that sometime too, do let me know. I’d love to exchange notes!

Vagharela Marcha
(Serves: 5)

10–12 big light green chilies

1 tablespoon oil

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1½ teaspoons cumin seeds

A pinch of turmeric

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon aamchur (dry mango) powder

1 tablespoon besan (chickpea flour)

Cut the green chilies lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut into smaller pieces as desired. Set aside.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the cumin seeds and the sesame seeds. Sauté until they turn golden, then add the sliced chillies. Now, add the salt. Stir on a medium to high flame for a minute, then add the coriander powder and turmeric. Cover with a lid for a little under a minute, allowing to cook.

Then, remove the lid. Add the fennel seeds and the aamchur powder. Stir well, and then remove from then flame.

Serve warm or at room temperature. This delicious condiment works both as a side and a spread, and can be had with roti or rice. Don’t forget to explore more condiment recipes in my archives!

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Recipe: Getting Things Rolling Again – Egg Rolls

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As promised in December, the re:store blog is back! Even as I invest most of my creativity into working on my first book, it makes me so happy to keep this blog alive with new recipes. Let’s get things “rolling” again with a simple yet satisfying dish: egg rolls.

Many people think of egg rolls as a breakfast item, but I think they work as a snack, a light dinner and most especially in a lunchbox. Whichever time of day you reach for them, a couple of egg rolls will provide a very healthy, protein-rich meal.

The goodness of eggs is a concept I grew up with. Although our family was vegetarian, our mother was thoughtful about our health needs and ensured that we had eggs in our diets. My brother, who was an athlete, ate them by the half-dozen, as I recounted in the recipe for masala baked beans on toast. As for me, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this at some point on this blog, but I was sickly thin as a child and even as a young adult. This meant that eggs were incorporated into my meals with the intention of fortifying me physically. My mom would pour lots of delicious, fattening ghee into a pan and cook an egg just for me. She would also quite frequently pack eggs in some form into my lunchbox, and I’d enjoy them during break-times in school and in college.

I remain a big believer in eggs as a protein source, as you may have read in previous recipes including my breakfast dishes inspired by shakshouka and huevos rancheros, as well as several others. Equally, I’m an advocate for bringing more vegetables into our daily consumption. These egg rolls beautifully balance vegetables, carbohydrates and protein. Therefore, they are filling, tasty, nourishing and provide an energy boost.

In this recipe, I have used a roti as the base, on which an omelette is cooked directly. You can substitute the roti with bread or a tortilla. I have also utilized leftover chapati to make this dish, and doing so is a great way to use up leftovers while preparing a healthy, easy meal. The fillings will work just the same, although of course you may want to play with them and tweak them to your taste. You could mix the vegetables into the egg, or else sprinkle them on top, salad-style, just before you roll up the roti. You could also use chicken, paneer or tofu and further enhance the nutritiousness of the meal. If you’re sticking to just eggs, you could add some spices and turn it into a masala omelette.

Another thing I really like about these egg rolls is that they travel well for a day. I was reminded of this when I visited my daughter in the USA recently. We had a long train journey of around 6 hours, and it has always been a practice in my family to carry food with us on trips. We are both health-conscious – a lovely trait she shares with many people of her generation, and which more people of my generation could also inculcate – so we decided to pack our own snacks. I prepared a couple of these egg rolls, and we didn’t reach out for any junk food available during the trip at all.

We live in a time when it’s not unusual to hop on a flight even for a day’s work, and this is the kind of dish that allows you to carry the comfort of a homemade meal with you no matter where you go. Just make sure that you cover your egg roll with foil so that it doesn’t give off a strong smell when you’re on a plane or a train. Your co-passengers will appreciate that. And if by any chance someone asks you what you’re snacking on, don’t forget to share this link with them!

Egg Rolls
(Serves: 1-2)

2 eggs
2 spring onions
2 tablespoons tomato (finely chopped)
1 green chili
2 tablespoons coriander leaves
3 tablespoons bell pepper (finely chopped)
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon pepper powder
2 pinches chilli flakes
1 teaspoon green chutney
2 rotis or tortillas
1 dollop of butter or 1 teaspoon olive oil for greasing

Chop all the vegetables finely and add them to a bowl. To this, add the eggs. Add salt and pepper and beat well.

Take one of the rotis and spread the green chutney on only one side. Set aside.

Heat a pan and grease lightly. Pour half of the egg mixture onto it. Allow the egg to cook and place the roti, chutney side down, over the egg. Press it down gently.

Cook for a minute or until the roti sticks to the egg. Now, flip over and roll up.

Repeat the process with the second roti, using the remaining mixture.

Your egg rolls are now ready to be served, either fresh off the pan or a few hours later. These travel-friendly treats are sure to bring a bit of deliciousness to your day!

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Recipe: A Great Coincidence – Guava Chutney

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The delicious guava fruit has made a couple of appearances on my blog before: in the recipe for a popular Gujarati guava curry, as well as in a lovely Parsi guava jelly. Guava is something I have always enjoyed in various forms, and is linked to special childhood memories of climbing neighbourhood trees and plucking the fruit – eating it that fresh, and in such a fun way too. Having grown up in Chennai and having seen the abundant growth of the tree right here in the city, it occurred to me that there had to be regional dishes that feature it too. Upon speaking to Tamilian friends, I learnt about the guava chutney. I had initially been pleasantly surprised even by the concept of a chutney being made from a fruit. Preparing it had been on my mind for some time, and then a beautiful coincidence occurred. I’m so glad to be able to share both the recipe and the story today, in the last few weeks before I wind this blog down for good.

The beautiful coincidence I mentioned is this… As with several of the recipes I have shared here over the years, I often enjoy doing a few experiments and a bit of research before I bring a dish to you. I had been mulling a South Indian guava chutney recipe for a while. I had decided some months ago that I would settle on a good guava chutney recipe and share it here, so imagine my sheer delight when I encountered it during some travel last week. Just in time, and just so delicious!

I had been visiting Thanjavur and stayed in a village, where I was thrilled to experience the local cuisine. A lady there who was cooking for us prepared some amazing food, and amongst the spread was guava chutney.

Naturally, I asked her for the recipe and even requested that I watch her prepare it. What you read here today is a recipe for authentic Tamil-style guava chutney from the Thanjavur delta.

Guava has its own distinct flavour, which this chutney brings this out beautifully. In addition to being tasty, it is also nutritious. It is rich in fibre and antioxidants, and is known for an extensive range of benefits – everything from boosting cardiac health to boosting collagen in the skin. It is a good source of vitamin C, which is why it has a tanginess to it. You can avoid lime as an ingredient entirely while making this chutney. A small piece of tamarind enhances it, but this is the only addition of an acidic note.

In the past, I found hybrid guava varieties on the market, imported from Thailand, but I have noted that they are also being cultivated in India now. The hybrid kind is pink on the inside all year round, and you can find them all year round too. They look very attractive but are not necessarily sweet, although I understand why their easy availability makes them appealing. As much as I relish all kinds of fruit and also have out-of-season cravings, I do prefer to lean towards the traditional and organic. I wish to plant more guava trees on our farm, and I’m eager to find native variants, or at least those that have long been grown here.

Guava Chutney
(Yield: Serves 2-4)

125 grams guava
2 green chillies
2 tablespoons grated coconut
2-3 cloves garlic
½ inch piece of ginger
1 inch piece of tamarind (soaked)
Salt to taste
Water as required

Tempering

2 teaspoons oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
A pinch of asafoetida

In a blender, add the guava, green chillies, grated coconut, garlic, ginger, tamarind and salt. Add ¼ cup water or as required.  Blend until smooth.

To prepare the tempering, heat the oil and add the seeds. When they splutter, add asafoetida. Pour this tempering over the chutney and serve. You will probably enjoy it most with dosas or rice.

As you can see, the recipe is really very simple. Guava chutney adds a fruity, flavourful note to any basic Indian meal of yours, complementing the staples and bringing a bit more joy to the day. If you enjoy chutneys in general, do check out more of them in the archives too.

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Recipe: More Goodness For Your Lunch Dabba – Methi Na Dhebra

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Even within a larger community, sub-communities often have their own methods of culinary preparation. I was born into a Vaishnav Gujarati family, and married into a Jain Gujarati one. When I came into my marital home, I began learning the nuances between the sub-cuisines from my mother-in-law. She also introduced me to recipes which I had not been familiar with earlier, including one for some cherished sweet-savoury pea-pomegranate kachoris, shared on this blog close to a decade ago. I am glad to share another one today: methi na dhebra, which is a kind of flatbread, and is in this iteration infused with nutritious fenugreek leaves.

My mother-in-law had an interesting way of making dhebras: rather than prepare them as flatbreads, she would hand-make them in a dumpling fashion, which would be cooked in a yogurt-based gravy that had to be eaten fresh off the stove. Her dhebras were made by repurposing leftovers, specifically theplas and rice. This is a skill I have always admired, one that is common across India, and which inspired my “Second Helpings” recipe series. Traditionally, however, the dhebra is a flatbread made of pearl millet, or bajra, which like most flatbreads keeps for a little while and thus travels well too. That is what I am sharing today.

You will notice that it is distinct from thepla: thicker, more coarse and slightly crispy. It is made of easily available and affordable ingredients, and is very filling. It requires just some curd or pickle on the side.

Although my mother-in-law’s unique twist on dhebra was something new to me, I had eaten the traditional version numerous times while growing up. My mother would prepare it as a one-dish dinner, especially when she was having busier days. My siblings and I would pull a long face whenever we saw it, not realizing at the time that it was pure, wholesome goodness. There were no gimmicks of protein, fibre or other important elements being had separately. It was an all-in-one wonder, like some of our simplest Indian dishes can be. I am going back to those old recipes now, and I hope they’ll never go out of style again.

What makes this particular dhebra extra nourishing is that I use fenugreek leaves in it, also known as methi. This crop is seasonal, so when you can’t get fresh leaves, dry leaves work just fine. You can also substitute it altogether with bottle gourd. You may also wish to incorporate garlic, which is eliminated altogether in many Jain households. All in all, you will get a flavourful flatbread that you can enjoy immediately, or pack into a lunchbox for later.

Methi Na Dhebra
(Yield: 6-8 pieces)

1 cup bajra (pearl millet) flour

¼ cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon yoghurt

1 teaspoon ginger-green chili paste

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon coriander powder

2 teaspoons oil

3 tablespoons water (or as required)

½ cup methi (fenugreek) leaves

Oil for roasting

In a bowl, add the bajra flour and wheat flour. To this, add the yoghurt, salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger-green chili paste, oil and fenugreek leaves. Add water and make a smooth soft dough. Cover and allow to rest for half hour.

Now, make lime-sized balls. Dust with some wheat flour and roll them out gently. Do not use pressure. As you are rolling, pinch the edges to help make them round. Roll them out to ½ inch thickness.

Heat a griddle and place a rolled-out dhebra onto the hot pan.

Allow to cook both sides. Then, add few drops of oil. Cook until golden and spots appear on both sides. Repeat with the remaining dhebras.

Serve with curd or pickle.

Methi na dhebra is one of many flatbreads that I have shared over the years, and it is yet another recipe for lovers of Gujarati food, which has long been at the heart of this blog. I hope you’ll explore more of both, as well as of so much else from India and everywhere, in the archives.

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Recipe: From The Club To Our Kitchens – Chili Cheese Toast

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Chili cheese toast has been an Indian staple for generations, and many of us – myself, for certain, and my children as well – grew up eating it as a special snack. My association with it began at clubs, which were the only social gathering spaces back then. We as a family would look forward to those outings, and to the snacks available there which were inherited from the British. Even a few weekends ago, I found myself ordering chili cheese toast at a club get-together, as has been a habit for all these decades. The funny thing is that something that had such exotic connotations in childhood is actually an extremely easy dish to whip up, as you’ll see below.

Even though my first association with chili cheese toast was in a club setting, it has since become a faithful familiar at home. I realized when my kids were growing up that it was perfect to make for play dates, when the children need carbs for energy and good-tasting things to add to the fun. Later, it also became a go-to for when I found myself returning home after a long day and in need of some kind of easy-to-prepare, comforting snack.

There are a couple of different methods to putting a chili cheese toast together, depending on whether it is open-faced or a sandwich. Here, I share the method for open-faced toast, in which all that delicious melty cheese inspires the appetite on sight.

Chilli cheese toast really is all about the cheese, most would say. To this day, I still use trusted Amul cheese in mine, even though such a wide variety is available. This is also a nostalgic throwback. The India of my growing years, in the 1970s, experienced a huge dairy movement, known as the White Revolution. This was when milk not only became a major Indian export, but also became very accessible for purchase on the market all over the country, wherein earlier people relied directly on cows and farmers. All store-bought dairy products became popular, and among them cheese. At the time, Amul was the only brand we knew of. I remember when slices were introduced, not just blocks of cheese. They remain reliable. I travel so much and pick up some very flavourful foreign cheeses often, but when it comes to certain basic recipes, the simple ingredients of my childhood remain close to my heart.

Chili Cheese Toast
(Yield: Serves 2)

1½ cups grated cheese (mozzarella or pizza cheese)
3 slices bread
1 green chilli (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon coriander leaves (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Place 3 slices of bread flat in the oven tray. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the slices. Next, sprinkle the green chilli and coriander leaves.

Bake for 2-5 minutes. You will know when it’s ready when golden spots appear and the cheese melts. Remove from the oven.

To pack more punch, sprinkle with red chilli flakes if so desired. Serve your chili cheese toast hot.

I hope this effortlessly tasty snack brings a bit of joy your way!

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Recipe: From The Sindhi Kitchen – Sai Bhaji

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The cultures around us always have a huge influence on us especially while we are growing up, and this influence often remains through life. Certain recipes and food habits are the most common evidence of this influence, in my opinion. As a Gujarati who was born and brought up in Chennai, Tamil cuisine is obviously one I have immersed myself in, just as much as my native one. Additionally, with a Sindhi member of the family and numerous Sindhi friends, Sindhi cuisine is another one I have an abiding love for. This recipe – a vegetable curry known as sai bhaji – is from the same.

Sindhis are a community who are mostly originally from the Sindh region of Pakistan. The majority of Indian Sindhis are believed to have migrated from there during Partition, a highly significant event in subcontinental history. Subsequently, they also moved to many other countries, and are known – in addition to delicious food – for being very enterprising. It is often said that a Sindhi-owned company can be found no matter where you travel in the world, such is the community known for its business acumen.

My exposure to Sindhi food began in childhood, as I mentioned, through a friend who now lives in Mumbai. Whenever I visit her, she asks me what I would like to eat, and I will invariably request sai bhaji. It is a dish that I recall fondly not just from ordinary meals at her house, but even from birthday parties and such. Back then, these parties were always in homes, and featured homemade food. The only special or exotic thing would be a cake, while even the other treats would all be items prepared by the family. In India, proper food is served at every such gathering, as feeding guests well is a valuable tenet of our culture. A sai bhaji – a healthy item! – would certainly not be out of place.

“Sai” means “green” and “bhaji” means vegetables. The dish is spinach-based, and also contains a variety of leftover ingredients. A little leftover brinjal, a little leftover carrot… All these will be pressure cooked along with dal in order to prepare this nourishing dish.

When I said earlier that feeding guests a hearty meal is a part of Indian culture, across all communities, I was thinking specifically of how this is a collective choice in spite of a history of droughts, famines and lack of economic power. Perhaps because of this history, we are very cautious about not wasting food and use leftovers very sensibly. Some years ago, I did a series called “Second Helpings” of traditional recipes that innovate using leftovers. We turn around every little bit that sits in the fridge, and have done so since well before the invention of fridges, in fact!

To me, how we treat food and how we treat knowledge are the real wealth of India. We hold both in such regard, because the fact is that many generations have had to do with less of both or either than they deserved. To us, throwing food into a bin is as much of a sin as stepping on a book or a newspaper. The respect we have for such objects, the respect we have for guests: we know what is precious, whether or not that preciousness is measurable on material terms.

Sai Bhaji
(Yield: Serves 4)

1 medium-sized onion
1 medium-sized tomato
1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
1 teaspoon garlic (grated)
1 green chilli
1 bunch spinach (palak)
3 tablespoons yellow moong dal
1 medium-sized potato
1 medium-sized carrot
Any vegetables of your choice
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1½ teaspoons coriander powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
2 tablespoons water

In a pressure cooker, place the dal followed by the vegetables and finally the spinach. Add 2 tablespoons of water and allow to cook or whistle until tender.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and tomato.

Heat a kadai, add the oil. Then, add the onion, garlic and ginger. Finally, add green chilli and sauté everything until golden.

Next, add the chopped tomato. Sauté and add all the spices. Stir well.

Open the pressure cooker and mash all the vegetables until they come together.

Finally, add the vegetables to the onion-tomato mixture and mix well.

Add a dash of water if you prefer it to be less thick.

Your sai bhaji is ready. I enjoy eating it alongside hot rice, with kadhi and curd on the side. I hope you’ll enjoy this lovely recipe from Sindhi cuisine. I am sure you will find, as I do, that it pairs beautifully with other dishes from across the Indian subcontinent.

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Recipe: A Perfect Packed Lunch – Paneer Tikka Roll

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There was a time when I thought that once my children had grown up and had gone away for their higher studies, my job as a preparer and packer of tiffin boxes would come to an end. Clearly not! Now, I still find myself making daily choices regarding healthy lunch options that they can enjoy at the office, and still struggle now and then with figuring out good ones that are tasty, nutritious and can keep well for a few hours. In frequent rotation is this paneer tikka roll, which fulfils all those criteria.

I know that this challenge is one faced by many people around the world – whether they are packing for themselves, or for a loved one who is going to work or to school. My son also requests homemade meals that he can carry on flights, and packing for travel is its own culinary category – wouldn’t you agree? We all want our families to eat well, even when we can’t personally serve them hot food.

I think in my case, my belief that fresh food is always best has sometimes made it all the more difficult for me to accept that anything else quite comes up to the mark. Even after all these decades of practice with tiffin boxes for my children and my spouse, all at different ages and stages of their lives and of mine, it’s a feeling I can’t entirely shake off. I remain practical, however. At night, I ensure my refrigerator is empty of cooked food, but any kind of prep that makes the morning easier is kept ready. The next day will invariably be busy as I rush about preparing something that is both appealing and healthy.

In this case, I marinate the paneer on the previous day and keep other required ingredients handy, so that there will only be minimal cooking and assembling the next day.

While this paneer tikka roll is a smart way to carry a protein-rich packed lunch, it is reminiscent of homemade meals in the sense that it is in some ways a reconstruction of the standard paneer sabzi and roti that in eaten in many homes across India. This is the kind of meal that I always make extra helpings of, because it is appreciated across generations. The roll solution really is genius, I feel. What makes it even better is that it can be stuffed with extra vegetables, making it distinct from street food or store-bought rolls. I like to add colourful bell peppers, which add a crunchy texture.

I must confess that when I prepare paneer tikka for myself, I eat it more like a salad with lots of veggies than in the traditional way. I avoid the roti – i.e. carbs. At other times, I serve it to my aged father alongside rice instead, as this combination is easier for him to consume. You can use the paneer tikka itself in a number of ways, other than in a roll format. You can also replace the paneer itself with tofu or your preferred protein. On that note, I often prepare paneer at home, and will share the recipe for the same in an upcoming post.

Paneer Tikka Roll
(Yield: Serves 1)

100 grams paneer
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon dhaniya (coriander) powder
A pinch of garam masala
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon garlic paste
¼ teaspoon ginger (grated)
1 tablespoon yoghurt
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon ghee
½ cup bell peppers (sliced)
½ cup onions (sliced)
2 big size rotis (for reference see the post here)
Green chutney (optional)

Marinate the paneer in the yoghurt. To this, add chili powder, dhaniya powder, turmeric, salt, garam masala, garlic paste, grated ginger and oil. Allow this to marinate for at least 30 minutes. You can also do so overnight, as mentioned earlier.

Heat a pan and add a teaspoon of ghee. Add bell peppers and onion. To this, add the paneer and cook until it is soft and golden.  Do this on a high flame. Once soft and slightly golden on both sides, remove the paneer onto a plate and set aside.

To assemble the paneer tikka roll, cook the rotis on both sides. Remove them from the griddle and place them flat. Apply green chutney or other condiments, if you would like to.

Place the paneer mixture in a line at the centre of each roti. Fold both sides of the roti over the same. Wrap in parchment paper.

Cut into half and serve fresh, or place into the lunchbox or tiffin carrier to be enjoyed later in the day.

I know there are many lovers of paneer who read this blog, and I hope you’ll explore more paneer-based dishes in the archives!

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Recipe: A Beautiful Blend – Biryani Masala Powder

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My son who lives abroad often tells me how much he craves home food, or Indian food in general. As I do for all my children, there are certain special dishes that are prepared without fail during their visits, depending on their individual preferences. This son’s favourite is biryani, which means that I make it very often – and very happily, I might add. So much so that I began to roast and store the masala, or the spice powder, myself too. This biryani masala powder is versatile, and can be used with a wide range of biryani styles.

Biryani is a pan-Indian rice dish invented by the kitchens of the Mughal empire. In its original form, it is basically highly flavourful rice cooked with meat. Across the country, versions and variations of this basic concept – with and without meat, and utilizing different rice grains, particularly short and stout ones like samba or long ones like basmati – have pride of place. I continue to encounter biryanis that are new to me, such as a fish biryani that I had at a friend’s place not long ago, which I had never been aware of as a dish prior to that meal.

My son prefers chicken biryani, and given that our household is primarily vegetarian, I can attest to how this masala can be used in more than one biryani rendition – to equal success. I have shared a vegetable biryani recipe in the past, which happens to be my own favourite. You can certainly use the biryani masala recipe below for either or both, as well as with other core ingredients.

I realise that these days biryani, once a royal enjoyment, has become a much more accessible and affordable dish. In fact, it is now a widely available form of street food. All around Chennai, I notice tiny little counters and kiosks, if not full-fledged shops, serving biryani. I must confess that I am wary of these. While the food is tasty, I love heaping vegetables to my biryanis and making them as wholesome as possible. This is true even when I am preparing meat versions for my son. Biryani itself is quite a rich, heavy dish, and balancing out the nutrition content is important to me. This is why I choose to make it at home whenever possible, despite the temptation of store-bought meals.

Similarly, making my own spices is something I really enjoy doing. There is nothing like the aroma that rises when they are freshly ground. Those used in biryani masala are either intrinsic, or have at least become traditional, to this part of the world. There is a sense of doing as generations have done for centuries past: putting together a beautiful medley of flavours to add depth and taste to a dish.

There is, for me, also a sense of following in my mother’s footsteps. She told me about how Gujaratis customarily had some kind of basement or pantry for the safe storing of dry provisions, including spices, so that these could be utilized through the year. We didn’t have a basement per se, but she retained this sensibility. Grains and spices were always stored, with the latter prepared during the summer months when roasting them under the blazing sun would be most efficient. Our blender was always busy during that season. It is a practice I have made my own, and despite the conveniences of today, I hope to share the beauty of this practice with as many people as possible too.

Biryani Masala Powder
(Yield: Approximately 1 cup)

2 2-inch cinnamon sticks
10-12 cloves
10-12 green cardamom
3 black cardamom
3 star anise
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
8 bay leaves
15 Kashmiri red chilies
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
¼ cup coriander seeds
½ nutmeg
2 mace

Dry roast the cloves, pepper, green cardamom and black cardamom on a slow flame. Once they release an aroma, remove onto a plate.

Next, dry roast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, nutmeg and mace. Once they release an aroma, remove onto a plate.

Finally, roast the bay leaves, cinnamon, red chillis, and star anise. Keep stirring on a low flame.

Allow all the ingredients to cool, then transfer to a blender. Powder and store in airtight jar at room temperature.

I like to always fill just a small jar, so that whatever spice or spice mix powder is contained within is consumed while the aromas are still quite fresh. I would recommend using up each batch within a month.

I hope this biryani masala powder becomes a part of many feasts in your life. You may also wish to explore other spice powders and blends I have shared earlier, including sambar podi, garam masala, curry leaf podi  and coconut podi.

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Recipe: A Gorgeous Spice Blend – Garam Masala

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Garam masala is one of India’s quintessential spice blends, a staple of the Punjabi kitchen and popular in the north of the subcontinent. Traditional Gujarati and Tamil cuisines don’t use it, which means it is not a masala that features regularly in my own cooking. That said, I do enjoy the flavour profile immensely in certain dishes. Until recently, I would purchase readymade garam masala, but an increasing number of spice adulteration scares in India when it comes to commercial brands have convinced me that it is safer to prepare it at home myself. I found the process easy and the outcome fulfilling, and in some ways, this means that garam masala features a little more often in the recipes I choose too.

There is a vast amount of nuance when it comes to Indian spicing techniques and spice blends. There are differences between whole forms and powdered versions, and seasonality and availability also have an impact on what became considered traditional. Certain combinations are region-specific. Additionally, while many assume that red chillies are the base spice, this is historically inaccurate. The chilli family came to the subcontinent with the Portuguese. The core spice in this part of the world prior to this was pepper.

Garam masala has had only a scattering of appearances on this blog, used sparingly for dishes like roast potatoes and radish paratha. I have also used it in place of chana masala when making chole, rather than buying readymade chana masala. It traditionally features in black dal, moong dal and even certain meat preparations. I find that the flavour is very potent, so it is best to use a very small quantity, especially when the blend is homemade, as it will be purer. Adjust the quantity as required, based on your preferences and on what the dish calls for.

Nowadays, I roast the spices, but I clearly remember when my mother used to dry them in the sun in the summer heat. We were fond of chana and black dal and rarely went to restaurants, so garam masala was definitely a presence in her kitchen cabinet too. As I have said many times over many posts, my cooking skills came from her. She was as fond of exploring different cuisines and increasing her own repertoire as I am.

You may recall from prior posts that the more elaborate method of sun-drying is also something I do now and then or for specific spices, but this is of course climate-dependent. I presume that exposure to the elements may add more to the flavour, but overall I certainly lean towards homemade rather than storebought and that fact alone elevates any powder I prepare – roasted or sun-dried. I always make my powders in bulk, not only so that they may be used for a longer period, but also so that I can give them to my kids, who will utilise the same in their own kitchens. This gorgeous garam masala is now in all the places they live, and perhaps will be welcome in your home too.

Garam Masala
(Yield: Approximately 1 cup)

½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 strands mace
4 cloves
¼ cup coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
½ tablespoon black pepper corn
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon ajwain (carom) seeds
1 teaspoon methi (fenugreek) seeds
4-5 whole cardamom
6 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise

Begin by roasting all the big ingredients on a low flame. These would be cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg and mace. Add the smaller grains second: cardamom, methi, fennel, cumin, ajwain, coriander, pepper, cloves.

Once the ingredients release their fragrance, turn off the stove and remove the pan from the flame.

Allow to cool and blend in a spice grinder.

Store in an airtight glass jar. Use in curries of your choice for a well-rounded and deep flavour.

Over the years, I have shared numerous spice powder recipes, from to curry leaf podi to coconut podi and more. More will soon follow, so do stay connected!

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