Mooli Parantha

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup water, or enough to make a pliable dough
2-3 white radishes (daikon), enough to make 3-4 cups when grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red chili seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon white cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon amchoor (dry mango powder)
1 1/2 tablesppons anaardana (pomagranate seeds)

Method

Stuffing:
1. Grate radish, using the large holes in a box grater, and spread out evenly on a baking sheet.
2. Sprinkle with salt, working it into the radishes with a fork or hands. Let sit for at least an hour on the baking sheet, slightly tilted, so that the radish juice flows to the lower end of the sheet.
3. Squeeze the juice out of the radishes. The drier the radishes, the easier it will be to stuff the paranthas.
4. Add spices to the radishes.

Tips for working with radishes:

Mooli (radish) juice can be strong and can sting your hands while cutting and squeezing. Before handling the Moolis, you may oil your hands very well to avoid stinging. Alternatively, just wash your hands thoroughly afterwards; the burning feeling will go away after 10-15 minutes. If the mooli stuffing is still soggy and rolling out the stuffed parantha is difficult, try sprinkling dry flour on it as and when required; but don’t over do it.

Paranthas:
1. Prepare dough by mixing the flour and water until pliable.
2. Take a small handful of dough and roll out in a circle with thin edges and a slightly thicker center.
3. Place 2 tablespoons of the radish mixture in the center of the dough. Fold one half of the circle over the filling, then fold the other half over in the opposite direction (like a burrito, or like an envelope). The dough should be in the form of a rectangle, with the longest sides closed and the shortest sides unsealed. Fold one unsealed edge over the top of the dough packet. Flip over, and repeat with the other unsealed side. (See video for a clearer explanation).
4. Roll the dough packet into a rectangle that is 1/4-inch thick or as thin as you like it.
5. Heat a cast-iron skillet to medium and cook parantha on one side until slightly brown. You may brush with olive oil or butter if you like.
6. Flip the parantha over and cook on the other side.
7. Flip again, for the third time.

Paranthas are typically eaten at breakfast. Stuffed paranthas are usually accompanied with plain yogurt, while plain paranthas are eaten with raita and sometimes scrambled eggs.

Daal

Ingredients

1 onion
1 small bulb garlic
2 cups daal (whole moong beans or whole massor/lentils)
6 cups water (2/3 additional cups hot water, as needed)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 1/2 teaspoon coriander
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 heaping tablespoon ginger, diced

Method

1. Use the onions, garlic, and spices to make the onion-garlic paste, as detailed in a previous post.

2. When the paste is ready, add the daal, water, and spices. Cover and cook them on medium high heat until they come to a rolling boil. Adjust the heat to medium low so that the daal gets cooked slowly. Stir the daal once in a while so that it doesn’t burn or stick on the bottom of the pan.
3. Check the consistency of the daal. If it is too thick, add boiling water to thin the consistency but let it cook after adding. This makes the daal consistency more pasty.
4. Saute the reserved 1/2 onion, diced, and ginger in a little olive oil. When they are slightly darkish brown, put them in the cooked daal.

Serve hot with chapatti, boiled or fried rice.

Some useful tips:

Usually, you should not stir the whole Moong/ whole Masoor daal until it is partly cooked and broken. If you stir the daal while the seeds are still hard, some of them turn into stones (remain uncooked) no matter how much you cook later. Such stoned-seeds are unpalatable.

Daal is usually served as a complimentary dish along with other curries in a full Indian meal. However, daal and roti is a staple diet in North India and is popularly served as dinner.

Aloo de Phalian

Ingredients

1 pound green beans

2 large potatoes

1 medium tomato, diced

2 teaspoons ginger, finely diced

2 teaspoons jalapeño, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Several shoots of parsley or cilantro

1 medium onion

5 cloves garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes

1 teaspoons coriander powder

1/2 teaspoons turmeric

Method

1. Wash the green beans and dice them into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Peel the potatoes and dice them into 1-inch square pieces. Wash and set aside.

3. Fry ginger in 2 tablespoons oil on high heat, until golden.

4. Use the onions, garlic, and spices to make the onion-garlic paste, as detailed in a previous post.

5. Add diced tomatoes and sauté until the oil separates from the paste.

6. Add washed vegetables and fold them very well in the paste. Cover and keep it on medium fire for a few minutes. Transfer it onto the tawa (skillet), with controlled heat under it. Stir it once or twice. Turn the heat down when potatoes are soft.

Serve hot with chapatti and raita. Enjoy!

Chapati

The second email I can find from mama with a recipe contains several attachments of different recipes! It wishes me good luck for a dinner party I must have called for help with. Best of all, it contains mama's descriptions of the dishes. For this post, I reproduce her attachment for chapatis:

Chapati is the simplest form of unleavened bread made of whole wheat flour. It has several other incarnations, like Roti (rural terminology), Phulka (urban terminology), though Chapati is more universally known. Whole wheat unleavened bread is more of a staple diet in the north and the middle belt of India. Typically, it is a part of every Punjabi meal in the northwestern state of India.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of white unbleached flour

1 1/4 cup warm water, divided

Oil, for patting on the dough to prevent crusting

Method

1. Chapati bread dough: Mix the brown & white flour together in a basin or a bowl. Heat the water to lukewarm temperature. Add 1 cup initially to the mixed flour, folding it in. Using the remaining water, a little at a time, keep kneading the flour to a play dough consistency. All of the 1/4 cup of water may not be used depending upon the brand and coarseness of flours being used. Use only as much water as required to make the dough pliable. Dough with too loose a consistency, will be difficult to roll out. Knead the dough for 7 - 10 minutes, occasionally wetting the bowl or oiling hands while working on the dough. Roll it into a compact ball and put it in a Tupperware or stainless steal container with airtight lid. Oil the dough to prevent crusting on the top. Set aside in the refrigerator. Ideally, leave in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before use.

2. Preparation of Chapati: Take a fistful of the dough, roll into even seamless ball, flatten it out with hands, and roll it out with a rolling pin to 5-7 inches in diameter. Dust occasionally with dry white flour while rolling to prevent sticking on the board. Place it on the preheated skillet (tawa). Keep the heat low to moderate under the skillet and monitor from time to time.

3. Turn it over when the color of the dough changes, say, about 12-15 seconds. There will be small brown spots on the surface. Turn it over & let it cook for another 12-15 seconds. Repeat this step once more. Notice the round Chapati fluffing up with the steam in between the layers.

4. Remove the Chapati from the skillet with tongs & roast it on open fire, turning it around and turning it over in quick succession in order to avoid burning the Chapati on the open fire. If this is not, Chapati may catch fire that can, of course, be muffed.

5. Butter it while it is hot. Place it on several folds of paper napkin in a bowl, and cover it with a lid or plate. It will keep Chapati warm & moist. Serve it hot with curries or daals (lentil soup).

Aloo Mutter Paneer

The first recipe I can find in email from Mama is mutter paneer, and it is also the dish we made together on her last visit, when she asked me what a blog is. It seems perfect for starting this blog of her recipes. Mutter paneer translates literally to "peas cheese", paneer being a home-made country cheese much like cottage cheese. Luckily, nowadays you can purchase paneer in supermarkets; my local one even has pre-fried cubes, exactly what the traditional version of this recipe calls for. You may also use firm tofu in the place of paneer.

Ingredients

2 or 3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 packet of frozen peas, or about 10 - 12 ozs

1 packet fried paneer (now available in some supermarkets), or about 8 ozs of fresh paneer

1 large onion

3 or 4 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon of ginger, diced

1 green chili, diced (optional)

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 can of tomato paste, about 6 – 8 oz

1 tablespoon of parsley or cilantro, finely cut to garnish

1/8 cup of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon red ground pepper (to taste)

2 teaspoons of coriander (powder)

1/2 teaspoon of tumeric (powder)

2 – 3 cups of hot water, to add to the curry

Method

1. Fry ginger and cumin seeds in 3 tablespoons oil on high heat, until golden.

2. Use the onions, garlic, and spices to make the onion-garlic paste, as detailed in a previous post.

3. Add cut up tomatoes and fry till the oil starts separating from the paste. Stir frequently to avoid burning the bottom of the pan.

4. Add potatoes, stir, and cook on controlled heat. You may have to put a thick griddle under the pan to evenly spread the heat and save the pan from burning- almost like simmering in its steam and stirring only occasionally.

5. Just 5 - 7 minutes before the potatoes are ready, add peas and the fried paneer and stir well.

6. Add the steaming hot water depending on how thin or thick the paste you want. Always start with lesser amount of water. Let it simmer till the peas are done & paneer cubes have puffed up and are soft.

Serve hot with chapatti, naan, or puri. Yogurt raita, of any kind, and mint chutney make excellent accompaniments. Enjoy!