Thursday, July 23, 2015

Spicy Alu Poli | Pallem Obbattu | Kharada Holige | Kaaram Bobbatlu

spicy alu holige
Its been a long time I posted any of our community special recipes and today I am posting a delicious breakfast recipe called 'Pallem Obbatu' which can also be called as 'Palyada Holige' or 'Spicy Alu Poli'. It is basically a south Indian way of preparing Alu paratha where the dough and the filling is prepared in a typical south Indian traditional way.The taste,texture and the final look of this Alu poli is quite different from the regular Alu paratha.The filling is a simple alu palya like how we prepare for masala dosa where as the outer dough is prepared as the same way we prepare for holiges,also it is patted with hand instead of the usual process of rolling the parathas.These Alu polis are extremely soft and tastes best when served hot with spicy coconut chutney.
spicy alu holige


pallem obbattu

If you are interested, check out few more breakfast varieties of our community style recipes here:

pallem obbattu

spicy alu poli

Spicy Alu Poli | Pallem Obbattu | Karam Bobbatlu | Khara Holige Recipe:
Yields: 8-9 Polis
Prep time: 30 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 1hr + 1 hr resting time
Cuisine: Karnataka -Indian | Category: Breakfast

Ingredients:
Ghee/oil, to fry poli

for outer layer/dough:
1 cup fine chiroti rava  or Flour(Maida)
a pinch of Turmeric powder,optional
a pinch of Salt
1 1/2 tsp ghee, melted
1/3 cup Oil, to soak the dough
Water, to mix the dough

for spicy potato filling:
2 large Potatoes,boiled and peeled
1 medium Onion chopped
3-4 Green chillies,slitted
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Chana dal
1 tsp Urad dal
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
2 tbsp Coriander leaves,chopped
8-10 Curry leaves,chopped
Salt to taste

Method:
for filling:
  • Mash the boiled potatoes and keep it aside.
  • Heat oil in a pan,crackle mustard seeds and fry chana dal,urad dal till brown.
  • Add slitted green chillies,curry leaves and onions and fry until they turn pinkish in color.
  • Add haldi,salt and mashed potato to it and give a nice stir and cook it for a couple of minutes.
  • Add coriander to it and mix properly and keep it aside to cool down.
  • Divide the mixture into 8-10 portions and prepare big lemon sized balls out of it.
for outer layer/Dough:
  • Mix chiroti rava or flour(maida) with a pinch of salt,turmeric powder and ghee and add water to it and knead in to a very smooth dough. The consistency of the dough should be very loose than the regular roti dough, this is the most important step otherwise you will not get softer polis.
  • Now using your fist hit the dough for few mins to get the softer dough or lift the dough and drop it hard into the bowl and repeat it until the dough becomes very smooth.
  • Now place this dough in a deep vessel and pour oil over it until the dough is completely soaked in oil. Let the dough rest for a minimum of 1 hr and upto 2 hrs. Drain the excess oil and use it for other purpose. 

to prepare spicy alu Poli:
  • Cut the holige paper into a round and place it on the rolling stone which we use to roll rotis. Grease holige paper or banana leaf with oil.
  • Pinch a small amla sized dough(the amount of dough should be half the quantity of the filling you take) and flatten it a bit using your hands as shown in the pics and place one ball of filling and seal it properly from all the edges like how we do for parathas.Now flatten it slowly with hands to get 5" diameter circle. Alternatively you can roll it like parathas like how we do in between two greased transparent sheets. Adapt the method which ever is convenient for you.
  • Now place the holige paper along with the poli(with poli facing down the tawa)on a hot tawa over the low flame.
  • Let it sit for 20-30 seconds and now peel the holige paper gently scraping it along the edges using a spatula. See the pics to get a clear understanding of it. 
  • Now fry it on both sides applying ghee/oil until light golden in color. Pour the ghee/oil over it, do not try to spread ghee over the poli while frying it. Do not fry it for long time, it will make the polis bit hard so quickly remove it from stove when you get to see the brown patches on it.
  • Repeat the process for making all polis, smear the holige paper liberally with oil and follow the same procedure. 
Serve the spicy Alu poli/karam bobbatlu hot with coconut chutney.
kharada holige

kharada holige

Notes:
  1. The amount of dough should be half the quantity of filling for each poli otherwise the dough would be more and makes the polis bland and hard at the edges as the dough gets accumulated in the edges.
  2. You can either pat it or roll it like parathas in between two greased polythene sheets.
  3. If you want a less calorie version, do not soak the dough in oil and instead smear oil on top of the dough and let it rest and then roll the alu polis like we do for parathas by sprinkling some flour. But these are not soft as compared to the ones which are prepared by dunking the dough in oil. But it tastes delicious too.
  4. I use holige paper or the plastic banana leaf which we get in markets. If you do not get them use a banana leaf instead.
pallem obbattu

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Dill Leaves Stir Fry | Shepuchi Bhaji | Sabsige Soppu Palya

dill leaves stir fry
I use various varieties of greens- green/red amaranth, methi, palak and dill leaves regularly in my cooking and I make it a point to use them at least 3-4 times a week to pair with my Jowar bhakris.I prepare either stir fry or dal with red and green amaranth but methi and palak are very versatile greens and can be used for various preparations-snacks,dal,stir fry,curries,gravies,rotis,parathas etc. However, if I want to serve the greens with bhakris,I prefer it in the form of either a simple stir fry or Saag.
sabsige soppu palya
This is a typical Maharasthrian style preparation of greens,you can adapt this recipe to prepare any greens stir fry.It is called as 'Shepuchi Bhaji' in Marathi.Usually Maharashtrians do not add any tempering in the greens and keep the garlic to dominate the flavor in the stir fry.I just love this simple stir fry to pair with bhakris or hot phulkas.Dill leaves are good for new mothers as it is known to aid lactation.
'Shepu' is basically Dill leaves,which is also known as 'Sabsige Soppu' and is widely available in Karnataka and Maharasthra regions.It has a distinct flavor,smell and taste, not many like the taste of it.Even I was not a fan of these greens during my childhood but now after marriage I started liking it.As it is available easily here in Mumbai I included it often in my menu and surprisingly hubby dear never complained about it and he too started liking these greens.Today I am posting a very simple stir fry recipe with these greens.If you are interested you can even check my Dill-Dal Stir fry which is how my mom used to prepare where the dill leaves are cooked with toor dal and is later prepared like a stir fry.

Check out few greens recipes in my blog:
shepu bhaji

Dill leaves Stir fry | Shepuchi Bhaji Recipe:
Serves 2-3
Preparation time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins | Total time: 35 mins
Cuisine: Maharasthra - Indian | Category: Side dish for Rice/Roti

Ingredients:
1 big bunch Dill leaves/Sabsige Soppu/Shepu
1 big Onion,roughly chopped
4-5 Green chillies,chopped
5-6 Garlic pods
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
  • Clean the dill leaves and wash them properly and chop the leaves finely along with tender stalks.
  • Heat oil in a kadai and add chopped garlic and fry until they turn slight brown in color.
  • Add chopped onions and green chillies and fry for few mins until onions turn pink.
  • Now add the chopped dill leaves and fry for 10-12 mins until the greens are cooked.Take care that you would not over cook the greens,they taste best when they are cooked right.You can initially cover it slightly for 2-3 mins and then remove it later and fry it with out lid.
Serve it hot with Roti/Rice/Jowar Bhakri/Bajra Bhakri.

Notes:
  1. You can use green amaranth leaves or red amaranth leaves or spinach or methi leaves and follow the same process.
  2. I usually do not add any seasonings in the oil as I like the garlic flavor to dominate in the recipe.You can reduce the garlic if you are not a big fan of it.
  3. I like to keep this recipe simple as it tastes best as it is and I love to eat this with Jowar or Bajra Bhakris.
  4. Use only tender stems of the greens for this recipe.Chop them roughly.
  5. You can add soaked moong dal after you fry onions and cook it together with the dill leaves.Make sure the moong dal is cooked properly but it should hold its shape and not become mushy.
  6. You can even add grated coconut at the end.
shepuchi bhaji
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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Kothimbir Vadi Recipe | Kothmir Wadi | Maharashtrian Snacks Recipes

kothimbir wadi
Kothimbir Vadi is basically fritters made up of Coriander leaves using besan(chickpea flour).You can basically call them as Coriander-Chickpea flour Squares.The preparation process of these fritters is quite different from the usual fritters like pakora etc.A batter is prepared using besan with lots of coriander leaves and few other spices and then it is steamed like dhokla, once it is cooled you can cut it into various shapes and deep fry or shallow fry the fritters.
kothimbir wadi

kothimbir vadi

We just love all the typical maharastrian snacks - vada pav, sabudana vada, kothimbir vadi, misal pav, thalipeeth, bhajiya etc and we often to go to Prakash, a famous Maharasthrian eatery in Dadar to indulge into all these snacks.In Mumbai I tasted two versions of Kothimbir vadi - the ones which we get in shops and restaurants are yellow in color and are usually cut into cubes or big squares and are deep fried,I feel this version uses less coriander where as the version typically prepared in Maharasthrian households is bit different - they use lots of coriander and it is mixed with besan to form a dough kind(not batter) and is made into long thick cylindrical shaped mass which is further steamed and cut into thin roundels and shallow fried. I personally like the version what we get in shops and restaurants, its crispy outside and very soft inside which makes this snack more tasty. Though the ingredients are same the taste,texture and color of both the versions are different and tastes good in its own way. Today I am posting a version which is a cross in between both the versions and it tastes good too.
kothimbir vadi

kothimbir vadi

Check out other Maharasthrian snacks recipes:

kothmir vadi

Kothimbir Vadi | Kothmir Wadi Recipe:
yields 12-16 pieces
Preparation time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 45 mins | Total time: 1 hr +  cooling time
Cuisine: Maharashtra | Category: Snacks/Breakfast

Ingredients:
1 cup Chickpea flour(Besan)
3 tbsp Rice flour
1 - 1.5 cups Coriander leaves,chopped
1/4 cup roasted and crushed Peanuts
1 tbsp Sesame seeds
2 Green Chillies
3/4" Ginger,chopped
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/8 tsp Garam masala powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder,optional
1/4 tsp Red chili powder
a pinch of Cooking Soda
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
1.5-2 cups of water,approx

Method:
  • Grind green chillies and chopped ginger to a paste.

  • Mix all the dry ingredients like besan, rice flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and cooking soda in a big bowl.Add water(1.5 cups approx) to it and mix it to a nice thick batter like we do for dhokla.You can use a whisker for this purpose and also adjust water according to the required consistency.
  • Add ground ginger-chili paste,cumin powder,garam masala powder,sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, chopped coriander leaves, oil and lemon juice to it and mix nicely.

  • Grease big steel plates (with side walls) with oil which fits into your steamer or pressure cooker.Pour the mixture upto 3/4th height of it and steam it in steamer or in pressure cooker without whistle for 15 mins.You can alternatively microwave the mixture in a microwave safe bowl for 3-4 mins until its done.Cool them completely.

  • Cut into desired shapes like squares or diamonds and shallow fry them or deep fry in oil until its golden brown in color.
Serve them hot with Tomato sauce/Green chutney/coconut-peanut chutney/dry garlic chutney.
kothmbir vadi

kothmbir vadi

Notes:
  1. You can even skip the steaming part and keep stirring the prepared batter over low-medium flame until the mixture becomes and leaves the edges.This process easily takes 20-30 mins.Spread it on a greased plate(with wall) upto 1/2" height and let it cool completely and proceed further.
  2. The addition of peanuts is optional,as I said peanuts are added in the version we get in shops.But I recommend to use them in the recipe.
kothmbir vadi