Jhaal Muri | How to Make Jhaal Muri from scratch | Street Food Recipes

Jhaal Muri #Recipe

Jhaal Muri is another popular street food from the state of Bengal. It is a light snack and is quite healthy too. ‘Jhaal’ in Bengali means ‘spicy’ and ‘muri is puffed rice – and it translates to spicy puffed rice. In the streets of Kolkata, the street vendors prepare them instantly and serve them in newspaper cones. With chopped onion, tomato, boiled potatoes, peanuts, sev bhujia, mustard oil and a blend of spices, it is a delightful snack to munch on. Using mustard oil is a must, as it imparts the dish its characteristic taste. While it might look somewhat similar to Bhel Puri, it’s taste is altogether different.

Ghugni Chaat | How to Make Ghugni from Scratch | Recipe

Ghugni Chaat #Recipe

Ghugni Chaat is one of the most loved street foods from the lanes of Kolkata. And contrary to the popular belief about street foods, it is quite a healthy protein packed dish to indulge in. Try any area in Kolkata that is famous for its street food, you are bound to find a conspicuous vendor selling Ghugni.

In simple words, ghugni is a spicy curry made from dried white peas (that has been soaked for at least 6 hours or overnight) topped with chopped onions, tamarind chutney, a handful of coriander leaves and a specially roasted masala. Ghugni is to Kolkata what chole chaat is to Delhi. It is one of those dishes I make when I am running out of veggies in my pantry. With just a few ingredients, you can have a hearty and tummy satisfying meal.

When I was in school, there was a vendor who could come to our school park to sell ghugni during lunch breaks. From what I remember, there used to be a huge crowd surrounding his cart – all enjoying a plate of hot ghugni chaat. Back then I was quite averse to street foods since I was not sure what kind of hygiene standards they maintained. So, I never bought a plate of ghugni from him. Although today I enjoy having street food from street vendors, I am still very choosy. Well, that’s just me. These days whenever I crave street food, I end up making it at home.

Looking for more street food options, check out the recipe for

papdi chat,

samosa,

khaman dhokla,

vada pav,

onion bhaji.

How to make Ghugni Chaat at home

Ingredients:

1 cup dried yellow peas

1 large onion, chopped

2 tsp ginger-chilli paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp cumin powder

2 medium tomatoes blanched and pureed.

1 large boiled potato, boiled, peeled, and mashed roughly.

A pinch of hing

1 tbsp oil

¼ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp chilli powder

Salt to taste

To serve:

Chopped onion

Chopped fresh coriander

Tamarind chutney

Lemon slices

Specially roasted masala (bhaja masala)

In order to prepare the roasted masala, take 2 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp coriander seeds and 2 whole red chillies. Dry roast it in a pan over medium heat till they change colour. Grind it into a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar. Add 1 tsp of black salt and mix. Store it in an airtight container and use as needed.

Method:

1.       Wash the dried yellow peas and soak them in fresh water for 6 hours or overnight.

2.       In order to cook the peas, add the drained yellow peas to a pressure cooker and water such that the peas are covered in water. Add ½ tsp salt and cook it on high until one whistle. Wait till the pressure is released and open the cooker.

3.       Heat a Kadhai, add oil and when it is heated add hing and cumin seeds. Will the cumin seeds splutter, add ginger-chilli paste, garlic paste and stir. After a few seconds add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt. Cook till the onions are translucent. It will take about 3-4 minutes.

4.       Now add the tomato puree and stir. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and stir again. Cook till the tomato puree leaves oil in the sides.

5.       Now add the cooked peas and mashed potato. Give it a good stir. Check the spices. Add more if necessary. Bring it to a boil and then cover and lower the heat. Cook for about 5 minutes. When done turn off the heat.

6.       To serve, add the ghugni to a deep plate. Top it with a dash of lemon juice, tamarind chutney, chopped onion, chopped coriander, and the specially prepared roasted spice mix. Serve it hot.

This post is a part of the Blogging Marathon under the theme 'Make Street Food at Home'.

 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#83

Papdi Chaat Recipe | How to make Papdi Chaat at home | Indian Street Food Recipes

Papdi Chaat #Recipe

Papdi Chaat is one of the famous Indian street foods. Crispy Papdis are topped with chopped veggies like tomato, onion, boiled potatoes, sweetened yoghurt, tamarind chutney, green chutney, chaat masala, and is liberally garnished with nylon sev. 

It is one of my favourite Indian street foods too. When the weather is dull and gloomy, a plate of this crunchy, spicy delicacy can do all to make your day and perk your mood. Most of the time I have papdis made well in advance. They can be stored and keep well for a month or so and as in most Indian households, I always have a jar of tamarind chutney and green chutney in my fridge. With these things readily available, making 'Papdi Chaat' is just a matter of chopping some veggies and assembling them. It can be made in under 10 minutes.

Papdi Chaat Recipe

Ingredients:

15 papdi
2 medium potatoes, boiled.
1 large onion.
1 large tomatoes.
1/2 cup yoghurt beaten with 1/4 cup water, salt and sugar to taste.
2 tbsp chat masala
¼ cup nylon sev.
¼ cup tamarind chutney.
¼ cup green chutney
Juice of 1 lemon.

Process:

Assembling the papdi chat:

1.Peel the potatoes and dice them into small pieces. Keep them in a bowl and drizzle lemon juice over it.

2. Chop tomatoes and onions into small pieces.

3. Arrange the papdi on a large plate. Place a teaspoon of potato over each papdi. Then add a teaspoon of chopped tomatoes and onions.

4. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of yoghurt on each papdi. Sprinkle a pinch of chat masala and add teaspoon tamarind chutney and half a teaspoon of coriander chutney. Sprinkle sev over it and chopped coriander over it.

Devour one papdi at a time... Ah, Bliss!

If you think that is too much of work, then crush the papdis and place them on a plate and heap all the ingredients over it one by one! It won't look that beautiful, but I tell you it is as delicious as the other one! My DH likes it this way while I prefer to have it the other way.

Linking it to Priya's Olympics Games Event.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Samosa Recipe | How to Make Samosa at Home | Indian Street Food Recipes

Samosa #Recipe

Samosa is a pyramid-shaped pastry stuffed with a savoury potatoes peas filling. It is calorie rich, deep fried, famous Indian appetizer/roadside snack. In this post, I am going to share a samosa recipe.

I know books are not featuring in my posts for a long time now. Of late I have been blogging about food only. I can't help it when the season is so festive. With Christmas over, we are on the cusp of the new year.

Yeah! I can't really believe that 2011 is going to be over in just a few days and I am sure most of us are making some new year resolutions or other. I know many would say, new year resolutions are crap, no one sticks to them. But, at the back of our mind, we do set some goals for ourselves. Wondering where this conversation is heading towards when you actually have a luring 'Samosa' picture at the beginning of the post!

I am ACTUALLY thinking of abstaining from deep fried food at least for the first month of 2012, so thought it was a good idea to indulge in these yummy samosas, one last time this year.

And why was I tempted to make them after all?

For Blog Hop Wednesdays, a bi-monthly event by Radhika, I am assigned Sukanya's Saffron Steaks, a beautiful blog about food and travel. As I was browsing through her space, I found she blogs from Kolkata. She has posted a number of recipes and when I saw this, I knew I had to make it soon. I have just tweaked the filling from being cauliflower based to potato based.

Check out what blog hoppers are up with

Samosa Recipe | How to Make Samosa at Home

This recipe makes 8 samosas.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 1/2 cup AP flour.
1/2 tsp salt.
3-4 tbsp oil.
1/2 tsp carom/ ajwain seeds.

Filling:

3-4 large boiled potatoes peeled and mashed finely.
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 chopped green chillies
½ tsp garam masala
½ teaspoon mango powder.
½ tsp turmeric powder.
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
½ cup green peas.
1 small carrot grated.
2 tsp grated ginger.
2-3 tbsp peanuts
A handful of fresh coriander leaves chopped.

Process:

1. For the dough mix the AP flour, ajwain seeds, salt and oil together to make a dough. Use water little by little and knead the dough for about 1 to 2 minutes to make it smooth. Set the dough aside let it sit dough sit for at least 15 minutes before using it for the samosa.

2. For making the potato filling, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds, as it cracks, add green chillies, grated ginger and sauté for few seconds. Next, add the peanuts and cook for a few minutes.

3.Add the mashed potatoes, grated carrot, peas and all the spices and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Add the chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Take the pan off the gas. Let the potato masala cool down.

4. Now to make the samosa knead the dough for a minute and divide it into 4 equal balls. Roll each of it into 6-7inch diameter round discs and cut each of them into half.

5. Now fold the half roti into a cone shape. Pinch the side of this cone so that it is completely sealed. Use some water at the edges to help in sealing. Fill the cone with 3-4 tablespoons of filling. Press this filling down with your fingers. Now close the top of this cone into a triangle shape, pinching the top edge so that it is completely sealed.

6. Heat oil in a deep pan on high heat. Once heated turn it to medium and after a minute add the samosas. Fry the samosas on medium-high until they turn a light golden-brown colour on all sides. Turn them when one side is done so that it is fried evenly on all sides.

7. Put samosas 2-3 at a time so that the pan is not crowded or it depends on the size of the pan. Once fried put the samosa on a paper towel so that excess oil is soaked out.

Serve Hot with Tamarind Chutney, Green Chutney or Tomato Ketchup. Enjoy it with a cup of Tea or Coffee!

Notes:

1. Fry them over medium heat only. If the oil is too hot bubbles will form on the shell of the samosa and the samosa shell will not be crisp enough.

2. The oil added to the dough is important. Do not skip it, otherwise, the samosa shell will not be crisp.

3. Add the filling to the dough pastry only after it has cooled down to room temperature.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!