Puri

Puri

One of the most beautiful visions, gastronomically in Indian cuisine, is that of steam escaping from a fluffy hot puri when you poke a finger in it. Give me a choice between Chapatti & Puri, and I know exactly what I will pick. Be it Aamras or Potato Bhaji, these fluffy, piping hot babies go beautifully with both and, of course, with lots of others vegetables.

Ingredients:

1½ cup whole wheat flour
3¾ tablespoons oil
¾ teaspoon salt
Oil for deep-frying

Method:

1. Combine the whole wheat flour, 3 tablespoons oil and salt. Knead to stiff dough using enough water.
2. Add the remaining oil and knead again. Cover and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into 18 equal portions and roll out each portion into a 3” to 3½” diameter circle.
   
   
   
   
4. Heat the oil in a wok/kadhai. Deep-fry the puris, one or two at a time till they puff up and turn golden brown in color on both the sides.
   
   
   
   
5. Drain on absorbent kitchen paper and serve hot.
   
   

Chef Notes:

1. Depending on the size you choose to make, this quantity could even make 20-22 puris.
2. If you prefer crisp puris, press down on the puris when they puff up and keep them pressed. Turn once and again press the puri into the base of the wok and remove when crisp. Please remember the puri will get a wee bit crisper once you remove it from the oil, so once you realize the puri is turning crisp immediately remove it on the kitchen paper towel.
3. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Crisp Batter Fried Fish

Crisp Batter Fried Fish

The base recipe is courtesy a chef I admire greatly for the changes he has brought about in the culinary world. He is extremely well known for many signature dishes. He changed the culinary scene with his work when he used chemistry in the kitchen. I won’t call it ‘molecular gastronomy’ because it’s a well known fact that he dislikes the term. He feels it makes the cooking process sound extremely complicated and elitist. Yes, I’m talking of none other than Heston Blumenthal. From all that I have read and seen, he’s a culinary genius. Here I am, a simple, self-taught home cook, and let me add, a deranged Bawi. Why deranged, you ask? Well, I was planning to attempt Heston's recipe but with substitute ingredients and techniques as certain ingredients and kitchen equipments were unavailable to me. That’s a good enough reason to call myself deranged. I mean who in their right mind trifles with Heston’s recipe. But, the substitution worked beautifully. I’d recommend this recipe with substitutions, to anyone and everyone, in a jiffy. As always, don't take my word for it. Give it a try and check it out for yourself.

Ingredients:

1 kilo fish fillet (I used King fish/Surmai)

1 cup refined flour/maida

1 + ½ cup rice flour, separated

Salt to taste

Black Pepper powder, to taste

1 teaspoon baking powder

450 - 500 mils fizzy water/soda water

Oil to deep fry

Method:

1. Cut the large fish fillets into one inch thick fillets.
   
   

   

   The new baby of my kitchen..The Robert Welch Signature Chef's Knife from Lakeland Store - Phoenix Mall - Pune
   
   

2. Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and leave to marinate for an hour. If you wish to marinate it longer, store the fillets in the fridge and bring them out of the fridge 30 minutes before frying them.
   
   
   
   
3. Sieve ½ a cup of rice flour. Season with salt and pepper. Keep aside.
4. Sieve 1 cup rice flour, refined flour and mix it in a bowl. Add baking powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste and give the dry ingredients a mix.
5. Heat oil in a frying pan.
6. Add soda water to the mixed dry ingredients in the bowl. Quickly mix the flour and soda (half a cup, at a time) with a whisk to make a batter thick enough to coat the fish fillets. You will need a total of anywhere between 450 to 500 mils of fizzy water/soda water.
   
   
   
   
7. Dredge the fish fillets in dry seasoned rice flour. Shake off the excess.
8. Dip the fish fillets in the batter and deep fry them in oil. Fry them on medium high heat till the batter covering the fish turns crisp and golden brown.
   
   
   
   
9. Remove the fillets from the oil on to kitchen towels and allow them to rest for a minute.
10. Serve with Triple Cooked Chips, Mushy-Minty Peas and Tartar sauce.
    
    

Triple Cooked Chips… Recipe here

Mushy- Minty Peas… Recipe here

Tartar Sauce… Recipe here

Chef Notes: 

1. I do not own a siphon to aerate the batter or a deep fryer hence went the simple home cook route and made adjustments with the cooking process.
2. This recipe can be made with lager/beer instead of fizzy water/soda water but I could not do that as Grumpy (read: husband) is a strict, boring teetot. :P You can also use vodka and beer, half and half. Hic! ;-)
3. The, time and again, tested frying time for a batter-coated fish fillet, one inch in thickness, is a minute and a half (max two minutes) on each side, with one minute resting time. If you cut the fillets thicker or thinner than one inch, please increase or reduce the frying time accordingly.
4. You will require anywhere from 450 to 500 mils fizzy water depending on the quality and brand of flours used. Once the batter is of coating consistency, stop adding the fizzy water.
5. I definitely recommend the use of a whisk instead using a fork or a spoon to mix the batter. The mixture comes together quickly and without any lumps when a whisk is used, hence the recommendation.
6. When you put the fish fillets into the hot oil, do so very slowly and gently so that the temperature of the oil doesn’t undergo a sudden change. Also, the batter will remain intact on the fillets when they are slowly lowered into the hot oil.
7. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Mushy-Minty Peas

Mushy-Minty Peas

The base recipe is courtesy a very sexy chef who wields a mean (mean: as in great) knife in the kitchen ~ Gordon Ramsey. I've adjusted the spice proportions to my liking and to suit the Indian palate. Actually, I have to shamelessly admit I'm so busy drooling over him that I always check out the recipes on the net after the show. This one goes beautifully with batter fried fish so I promise the next recipe on the blog will be batter fried fish. Now you don’t have an excuse to not make this. ;-)

Ingredients:

200 grams frozen peas

2 shallots, roughly chopped

2 red chili, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

15 -20 mint leaves, adjust the mint flavor to your liking

½ teaspoon finely crushed black pepper

Salt to taste

1½ tablespoon butter

Method:

1. Blanch peas in rapidly boiling hot water for 3 minutes. Drain. Retain the cooking liquid.
2. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, red chili, garlic cloves and sauté till the shallot turn translucent.
3. Add the drained peas, mint leaves, sauté for a few seconds. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss well for a minute.
4. Mash the peas with a masher or in a grinder using the pulse mode. Use the cooking liquid as required to attain desired mushy consistency. (The mushy peas should remain slightly coarse). Serve with batter fried fish.
   
   

Chef Notes: 

1. This recipe makes about one cup of mushy peas.
2. Feel free to use fresh peas instead of frozen ones if you so wish. Please increase the time for blanching by a minute or two if using fresh ones.
3. Adjust the proportion of chilies and mint to suit your taste.
4. I have not used any color to brighten the color of the peas. The trick is to not over-blanch the peas. Over-blanching darkens the peas and lends a murky grey-green color to the peas.
5. I used a grinder in pulse mode to mash the peas instead of a manual masher.
6. Mushy peas are always ground to thick consistency. When you pick it with a spoon and set it on a plate it has to be a semi-smooth blob.
7. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.