Makki ki roti (pan-roasted corn flatbread)



Nothing brings a smile to my face like the mention of makki ki roti and sarson ka saag - the best meal on a winter evening with people warming their hands by the fire, as one roti after another is served hot from the tawa, to be eaten with makkhan and gur, and pyaaz and mirch on the side please.


Makes 8 makki rotis.

I mix whole-wheat flour with corn meal to make soft makai rotis.


Ingredients

• 1 cup makki aata (corn meal)
• 1 cup aata (whole-wheat flour)
• 1 tbspn vegetable oil for dough
• 1 cup water 
• a pinch of salt
• vegetable oil for pan-frying

Preparation

1. Make a dough with the flour and oil - this should need slightly more than 1/2 cup of water.
2. Cover the prepared dough with a damp cloth for 15 minutes. 

Instructions

1. Heat the pan. Using a non-stick pan minimizes the need for oil.
2. Make eight balls from the dough.
3. Take a dough ball and roll it into a circle. 
4. Take a few drops of oil in the pan, and place makai ki roti. 
5. Press down lightly with a flat spatula.
6. Turn the parantha after a minute, and cook completely. 
7. If the dough is made right, the makai roti will puff up.

 Serving

1. Serve hot with stir-fried vegetables or curry. 

Plain Thepla (pan-fried wheat flatbread)

Makes 20 theplas.

I use whole-wheat flour for daily cooking.  Theplas are popular as a snack with tea, or as food packed for travel, and as such are made very appetizing with grated ginger, green peppers and garlic. They are usually served with butter, yogurt, chhundo (sweet pickle), achar (spicy pickle) and cilantro chatni (spicy sauce).  Traditionally, theplas have ingredients like crushed mustard seeds, sesame seeds, finely chopped cilantro. And along with salt and peppers, add lemon juice and half a teaspoon of sugar to get the typical mingling of tastes in Gujarati cuisine.

Theplas are also sometimes referred to as chandki when grated or finely chopped vegetables are mixed in the dough - grated cabbage, grated squash, blended corn and finely chopped methi (fenugreek leaves). Methi theplas are very popular for health reasons - it is an excellent way to eat iron-rich bread. 

Theplas can be stored in the refrigerated for 2-3 days, and lightly pan-roasted or microwaved just before serving.

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tbspn vegetable oil for dough
• 1-1/2 cup water 
• 1 tspn grated garlic (optional) 
• 1 tspn grated ginger
• 1 tspn grated green peppers
• 1 tbspn finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tspn lemon juice
• 1 tspn sugar
• 1/2 tspn crushed red pepper to taste
• 1 tbspn oil as shortening
• salt to taste
• vegetable oil for pan-frying

Preparation

1. Make a dough with all the ingredients and oil - this should need slightly more than 1/2 cup of water.
2. Cover the prepared dough with a damp cloth for 15 minutes. 

Instructions

1. Heat the pan. Using a non-stick pan minimizes the need for oil.
2. Make twenty balls of dough.
3. Roll the dough ball into a circular thepla, about 6 inches in diameter. 
4. Take a few drops of oil in the pan, and place thepla. 
5. Add a few drops of oil at the edges of the thepla. 
6. Turn the thepla after a minute, and pan-fry to cook completely. 

  Serving

1. Serve with butter, yogurt, chhundo (sweet pickle), achar (spicy pickle) and cilantro chatni (spicy sauce)
2. When served as a meal, it goes well with potato curry. 

Muthiya

I had always eaten muthiya in undhiyu - till I ate muthiya as a snack at Pritiben's place, and realized here was a healthy snack I actually loved.

Muthiya is basically steamed dumplings made of a flour mix - aataa (whole wheat flour), sooji (cream of wheat) and besan (chick pea flour). Any grated or finely chopped vegetable can be added to the flour mix to form the dough - chopped spinach, grated squash, grated zuchhini, grated cabbage, finely chopped methi (fenugreek leaves).

Chopped green onions and grated garlic can be added to the dough, but I prefer to add them instead to the chatni (sauce). The sauce gets tangier and can be used for dipping for other deep-fried food as well.


Makes 6 cups of muthiya.

Ingredients

• 1 cup aata (whole wheat flour) 
• 1 cup besan (chick pea flour)
• 1/3 cup sooji (wheat semolina)
• 1 tbspn rai (mustard seeds) 
• 1 tbspn til (sesame seeds) 
• 2 packed cups finely chopped (spinach, fenugreek) or grated (cabbage, squash, zucchini)
• 1 tbspn finely chopped green peppers
• 1 tspn jeera powder (cumin powder) 
• 1 tspn dhania powder (coriander powder)
• 1 tbspn lemon juice
• 1 tspn sugar
• salt to taste
• oil for dough  

 Seasoning

• 1 tspn rai (mustard seeds)
• 1 tspn til (sesame seeds)
• 2 tbspn vegetable oil

Preparation (10 minutes)

1. Mix the ingredients with water to make a medium hard dough. It should take about 1-1/2 cups of water.
2. Cover with a damp cloth, and leave aside for 5 minutes.

Instructions (25 minutes)

1. Make 6 inch logs of about 1-1/2 inch diameter. 
2. Steam for 20 minutes.  
3. Heat the oil, pop rai and til and sprinkle over the muthiya.

Serving

1. Warm before serving.
2. Serve with a tangy, hot sauce. Tomato sauces go well with muthiya.

Sheero / Sooji-ka-Halwa

Makes 4 cups of sheero, or sooji ka halwa.

This is a popular dessert, warm or cold, and is made as prasad for Satyanarayan pooja.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sooji (cream of wheat)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tbspn cardamom, crushed
• 1 tbspn almonds, finely sliced - optional
• 1/2 tspn saffron - optional

Preparation (15 minutes)

1. Finely slice the almonds and crush cardamom.
2. Mix the saffron in 2 tbspn milk.   
3. In a non-stick pan, roast the sooji on Medium heat for 10 minutes till it is fragrant, stirring constantly.

Cooking (20 minutes)

1. In a non-stick pan, heat the ghee for a minute.
2. Add sooji and cardamom, and stir for 10 minutes.
3. Add sugar and stir for 5 minutes.
4. Add milk and stir for 5 minutes. 
5. Take off the heat and set aside. 

Serving

1. Place in a serving bowl, and sprinkle sliced almonds and pour the milk with saffron on top.
2. Serve hot, or refrigerate and serve cold.

Cabbage Edemami

Makes 6 cups of cabbage edemami.
This is a direct lift-off from my state-in-law, Gujarat's vegetable: kobij-vatana-nu-shaak. This fusion recipe is faster because of longer cabbage slices, more solid because of a big proportion of potato, and I use Edemami beans for their protein content.   

Ingredients

• 2 tbspn vegetable oil
• 1 tspn rai (mustard seeds) 
• 2 medium Thai peppers, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 tspn coriander powder 
• 1-1/2 tspn cumin powder
• 1 tspn turmeric powder 
• 8 cups sliced cabbage - max 1-1/2 inch long, negligible thickness
• 2 cups chopped potato - cross-sections of french fries
• 1 cup edemami 

Garnishing

• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

Preparation (10 minutes)

1. Chop the potato.
2. Slice the cabbage.
3. Chop peppers.
4. Defrost edemami beans, if frozen.

Instructions (10 minutes)

1. Heat the oil on High, and add mustard seeds and wait till they pop.
2. Change heat to Medium.
3. Add the curry leaves, and chopped peppers, and stir after one minute.
4. Add potato and stir for two minutes. 
5. Add grated ginger, spice powders, salt to taste and stir every minute for another three minutes.
6. Add edemami, stir and keep on heat for two minutes.
7. Take off the heat.  

Garnishing

1. Sprinkle cilantro on top.

Serving

1. Serve hot with chapati (corn roti).
2. Any conventional Indian flat bread - roti, paratha, puri will do in place of chapati.

Aloo Poha (Bataka Pawa) - flattened rice and potatos

Thanks to the unhealthy love for potato and rice in our household, Saturday morning breakfast is invariably aloo poha (aloo - potato, poha - pressed rice). It is undeniably appetizing, to be enjoyed with a cup of hot adrak-fudina chai.

I personally do not like the flavor of cinnamon with bataka pawa as it is popular known in Gujarat, but it is a popular garnishing. Also, I avoid onions in my cooking. Onions enhance taste but I can vouch for the fact that the onion-less recipe is equally yummy.


Make aloo poha breakfast for 4.

Ingredients 

For the poha

• 6 cups poha (pressed rice)
• 1 tspn coriander powder 
• 1 tspn cumin powder
• 1 tspn turmeric powder 
• 2 medium potato, finely chopped 
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped - optional
• 2 tspn lemon juice 
• 1 tspn sugar 
• salt, to taste

For the tempering

• 2 tbspn vegetable oil 
• 3 medium Thai peppers, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup peanuts 
• 1 tspn mustard seeds
• 6-8 curry leaves, chopped
• 1-2 mid-sized sticks of cinnamon - optional

For the garnishing

• 1 tbspn cilantro, finely chopped 
• 1 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup sev,  finely chopped - optional
• lemon slices, finely sliced
• 1 cup coconut, grated

Preparation (10 minutes)

1. Chop the peppers, cilantro.
2. Slice the lemon.
3. Chop the white onions and red onion fine.
4. Chop potato fine (cross-sections of french fry sized).
5. Wash the poha in cold water, strain immediately and set aside.  
6. Chop the cilantro.

Instructions  (10 minutes)

1. Heat the oil in a pan on High, and add curry leaves.
2. After a minute, add mustard seeds and allow them to pop.
3. Add peanuts, and stir for a minute.
4. Add the sliced peppers, and white onion, and stir for 2 minutes on Medium heat
5. Add the potato, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt.
6. Stir for 5 minutes, till the potato is done.
7. Add poha, take off the heat and stir lightly for 2 minutes.
8. Put the pan back on the heat, and stir for 1 minute.
9. Add lemon juice and sugar and stir.
10. Take off the heat.  

Garnishing

1. To each serving, add a fine slice of lemon, cilantro, red onions on top. 
2. Sprinkle sev. 

Serving

1. Serve hot.  

Puri

Makes 20 puris.


Ingredients

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tbspn vegetable oil for dough 
• 1/2 tspn ajwain
• 1 cup water 
• a pinch of salt
• vegetable oil for deep-frying

Preparation

1. Make a dough with the flour, oil and salt - this should need slightly less than 1 cup of water.
2. Cover the prepared dough with a damp cloth for 15 minutes. 

Instructions

1. Heat the frying pan with oil on High heat.
2. Make four logs from the dough.
3. Divide the log into dough balls - this allows all puris to be the same size.
4. Take a dough ball and roll it into a circle. 
5. Brush lightly with oil, and flip and roll it slightly.
6. Lower the heat to Medium and put puris in.
7. If the puri does not immediately rise to the top, the oil is not hot enough. If the puri turns brown in splotches immediately, the oil is too hot. 
8. As the puri immediately rises to the top, hold it down under the oil for one second. This fluffs it up.
9. Put the puri on a paper napkin to absorb the excess oil. I line the puri serving container with 2-3 layers of paper napkins so that any excess oil is absorbed well before serving.

  Serving

1. Puris are best served within minutes of frying.
2. They go well with all vegetables and curries, especially with potatos and tomato curry.
3. In Gujarat, where puris originate from, they are served with all vegetables, and are a mandatory accompaniment to undhiyu, keri nu ras (mango pulp) and shikhand (sweetened thick yogurt).