One Day At A Time

Adding greens to Poori dough makes me think I am eating healthy. Less guilt! If you like fried bread, try this Indian Poori made of Dill leaves. Dill in English, Shepu in Marathi and Sabasgi Soppu in Kannada. Ingredients: Dill/Shepu/Sabasgi - about 2 cups (chopped) Wheat Flour - about 2 cups Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder/Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Shepu Poori: Roughly chop dill leaves. Crush the cumin seeds in a mortar pestle to a coarse powder. In a mixing bowl, add chopped dill, cumin, black pepper powder, red chili powder, turmeric, sugar and salt to taste. Mix well. Add 1 cup wheat flour and start kneading. Now add the other 1 cup wheat flour in small amounts. Add 1 - 2 tbsp water if required. Add 1 tsp oil and knead well to form a firm dough.  Puri dough is generally firm than chapati dough, since puris are deep fried. If the dough is too...

Every recipe brings back some good old memories. As a child, I used to assist my Mom in her kitchen. Mom used to assign some recipes to me.. Lemonade, Chai, Shikran, Aamras and all the easy stuff. Being Moms's sous chef was total fun with a sense of accomplishment. Here is the easy Aamras Puri which kids love and is perfect for entertaining guests too. Ingredients: Mangoes/Aam - 4 medium Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 1 pod Wheat Flour - 4 cups Brown Sugar or Sugar - 1 tsp Salt Oil How to make Aamras Puri: Wash and peel the mangoes. Dice the mango flesh and discard the mango seed. Blend the mango flesh with about 1/2 tsp brown sugar to a smooth puree. You can add a little milk too.  Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Pour the mango puree in a bowl and sprinkle cardamom powder on top. Making Puris : In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour, 1/2 tsp brown sugar and little salt. Add water and knead to form a firm dough, not as soft as chapati ...

Ingredients: Wheat Flour - 4 cups Collard Greens - 300 gm Black Peppercorn/Miri - about 8 Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 1 tsp Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Garlic - 2 big cloves Ginger - 1/2 inch piece Salt Oil How to cook Indian Poori with Collard Greens: Steam/Blanch the collard green leaves with about 2 tbsp water till they wilt. Let them cool. Grind the blanched collard greens, ginger, garlic, fennel, peppercorn, salt to a fine puree. In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour, sesame seeds and the collard greens puree. Knead into a soft, firm dough. Add about 1 tsp oil and knead the dough well. Let the (covered) dough rest for about 30 minutes. Make small lemon size balls of the dough and roll each one into round puris (5 - 6 inch diameter) either dusting some wheat flour or using oil. Deep fry these puris and serve Collard Greens Puri with ketchup or a curry.

Ingredients: Baby Spinach Leaves/Palak - about 150 gm Wheat Flour - 2 cups Gram Flour/Chickpea Flour/Besan - 1/2 cup Ginger - an inch piece Garlic - 5 big cloves Green Chilies - 5 White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds/Dhania  - 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp Black Peppercorn - about 5 Salt Oil How to cook Indian Spinach Poori: Steam/Blanch the spinach leaves with about 2 tbsp water till they wilt. Let them cool. Grind the blanched spinach, green chilies, ginger, garlic, black peppercorn, coriander seeds, cumin seeds to a fine puree. In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour, gram flour, salt and sesame seeds. Mix the dry ingredients. Now add the spinach puree and knead into a soft, firm dough. Add about 1 tsp oil and knead the dough again. Let the (covered) dough rest for about 30 minutes. Make small lemon size balls of the dough and roll each one into round puris ( 5 - 6 inch diameter) either dusting some wheat flour or using oil. Al...

Tikhat Mitachi Puri is a Marathi fried bread recipe.  A savory tea time snack which can also be served as a part of festive meal. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 4 cups Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1/4 cup Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder (Tikhat) - 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Salt (Mith) Oil Method: 1. In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, semolina, cayenne pepper, sugar and salt.  Mix all the ingredients.  Add water and knead into a soft pliable dough.  Add 1 tsp oil and knead well.  Keep the dough covered for about 30 minutes.  You can also add cumin (jeera) powder or carom seeds (ajwain) powder while kneading. 2. Make small lemon sized balls and roll each one into round puris (5 - 6 inches diameter) either dusting some flour or with oil. 3. Deep fry these puris and serve it as a tea time snack or as brunch with a curry.

Fried Bread with Fenugreek/Methi leaves and Carom seeds/Ajwain. Ingredients: Fenugreek/Methi Leaves - a bunch Wheat Flour - about 2 cups Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil Method: 1. Add finely chopped Fenugreek leaves (with tender stems), wheat flour, carom seeds, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.  Knead all the above to a firm dough using little water.  Add more wheat flour, if required. 2. I have used fresh fenugreek leaves, you can use frozen Methi or dry Kasoori Methi. 3. Knead the dough well with a few drops of oil.  Keep the dough (covered) aside for about 20 - 30 minutes. 4. Make small lemon sized balls and roll each one into round puris (about 5 - 6 inch diameter) dusting some wheat flour. 5. Deep fry these puris and serve with potato bhaji or any curry you like.

In Maharashtrian Cuisine, Gharge or Lal Bhoplyachi Puri is a well known recipe. Sometimes, when pumpkin/kadoo/lal bhopla is not available, I use Butternut squash or Acorn Squash. This Pumpkin fried bread is great as a snack or as an appetizer.

Buns or Banana Puri used to be one of the breakfast items for Sundays in my Mom's kitchen. This Konkani recipe, also known as Mangalore Buns is a fermented sweet fried banana bread, generally served with a Coconut Chutney and/or Potato Bhaji . In addition to Bananas, you can add buttermilk/taak or curds/dahi and/or butter to soften the dough. I prefer the low calorie vegan version with just bananas. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour - about 3 cups Bananas - 3 Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp  Light Brown   Sugar or Jaggery - 2 tbsp Salt Oil How to cook Banana Buns: In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add sugar, cumin seeds and little salt. Mix till sugar dissolves. Add more or less sugar to suit your taste. Now add Whole Wheat flour little at a time, as much the bananas can hold. At this point, you can also add 1/8 tsp baking soda if you like the buns more fluffy. Knead to a nice soft dough.  The dough will be sticky because of ba...