Samosas Two Ways

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post. 

From Chicken One: Punjabi Potato Samosa (Aloo Samosa) So the bitter gourd dish was a real SCAFU (Situation Chicken All Fowled Up) - ok, it wasn't really a SCAFU, but no one liked the end product, including the cook! However, I had other-end-of-the-spectrum, brilliant success with this dish: samosas. Samosas are pockets of fried dough with filling, something every culture has in one form or another. Although India claims the samosa as its own, the original samosa came from Central Asia, home of today's Kazakhstan and all those other -stans. And it's an old recipe. A ninth-century Iraqi poet even wrote a verse about it. The samosa is delicious freshly made or left-over, which means it travels well. They are served with a chutney or sauce. I got my recipe from maayeka.com and you can find my slightly tweaked version below. I also got some excellent advice from finecooking.com.  The pockets are made in four stages: filling, dough, assembly and frying. Learning to make the triangular samosas was fun, especially with the advice of this guy, who I barely understood but learned a lot from anyway! A happier cook you will not find! This recipe is for Punjabi samosas, which means a spiced potato filling, but the variations on fillings are endless. You can spice them up or down, add raisins and cashews, make a meat filling - really anything you can come up with is fine. Here's my filling: My cone: And all my little dumplings (they made me think of garden gnomes): I'm so proud of myself because I am not well-versed in frying. However, with enough homework beforehand, I think my friend samosas turned out rather well! And they were delicious! I have plenty more internet links for resources plus a whole lot more photos. If you want to make these, let me know and I'll be happy to send all of them along!

From Chicken Two:  Spinach Phyllo Samosas This was a fun one for me because, in my travels, I've eaten many versions. This particular version, which I found in Raghavan Iyer's Indian Cooking Unfolded, is definitely going to be my favorite. I think it's a simpler recipe than most, using store bought frozen phyllo sheets, and is baked instead of deep fried.  For my filling, I used paneer (whole milk cheese) that Chicken #1 made, and spinach that I made. Just kidding!  Here's the paneer. This is a great recipe if you like origami since it's all about how you fold the phyllo. You start by cutting the sheet into four equal strips.  After you add a heaping spoonful of filling, fold the dough over the filling forming a triangle.  Maintain a triangle folding over itself and mimic a classic flag fold.  Tah Dah! Aren't they pretty after they're baked? Both types of samosas (Chicken #1 and mine) turned out pretty yummy. I'd definitely make them again.  I made a Tamarind Date Chutney to dip these in, which turned out pretty good, if I say so myself. I will be happy to share that recipe if you want it. Just drop us a line here and I will be happy to forward it.

Potato-pea Samosas (Aloo Samosa)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 5 medium potatoes, boiled
• 4 tablespoons + 2 1/2 teaspoons cooking oil + more for frying
• 1 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped serrano chili
• 3/4 cup green peas, boiled
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoon mango powder or lemon zest
• salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• water

Cooking Directions

1. For the filling: Toast coriander seeds, pomegranate seeds and 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds in a hot skillet for about 45 seconds. Crush coarsely in mortar and pestle.
2. Peel and smash potatoes roughly; you don't want a mash.
3. Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds. When cumin becomes golden after about a minute or so, add ginger, serranos and boiled peas and saute for 1 minute.
4. Now add cayenne, ground coriander, mango powder/lemon zest and salt to taste. Stir to mix.
5. Add smashed potatoes, the toasted and crushed spice mix and garam masala. Saute for 2 minutes on medium heat.
6. Place in bowl and stir in fresh chopped cilantro. Set aside.
7. For the dough: In a large bowl, combine flour, cardamom and salt to taste.
8. Add the remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons of the cooking oil and rub it into the flour with your fingers. Add lemon juice and mix again.
9. Add enough cold water to make a stiff dough like pie crust dough. Cover with plastic wrap and rest 1 to 2 hours.
10. For the samosas: Knead rested dough until smooth and slightly elastic. Make 8 equal-sized balls from the dough and keep them covered with a moist cloth. Make more or fewer dough balls for smaller or larger samosas, respectively.
11. Roll out a dough ball to make a disc about 7 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.
12. With a sharp knife, cut the disc in half.
13. Using your finger dipped in clean, cold water, "paint" the water around the curved edge of one half-disc. Fold the disc in a cone shape with a fold on one side.
14. Hold the cone in one hand and stuff 3/4 full with filling.
15. "Paint the rim of the cone with water with your fingertip and press the sides together to close it completely, squeezing out any excess air from inside. Be sure to seal the samosa well so it doesn't come open while frying and ruin your oil.
16. Repeat with all dough balls. Assembled, uncooked samosas will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days sealed in plastic wrap. Allow them to come to room temperature before cooking.
17. In a large, deep skillet, heat about 2 inches of cooking oil over low to medium-low heat. Using higher heat will make the samosas look right, but the dough will be wet and underdone inside.
18. Add several samosas to the oil and fry until golden on one side. Turn over and fry til golden on the other side. Do not crowd the pan and do not fry on high heat.
19. Drain on paper towels. Repeat frying until all samosas are done.
20. Alternatively, you can bake samosas at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes.
21. Serve hot or cold with chutney or sauce.

Spinach Phyllo Samosas

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil + more for brushing
• 1/2 large red onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
• 8 ounces baby spinach, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded paneer or drained, extra-firm tofu
• 2 serrano chilies, stemmed, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 pound (1 package) frozen phyllo sheets, thawed

Cooking Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until slightly brown. Stir in the spinach, paneer or tofu, chilies, salt, and garam masala. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the spinach wilts. Transfer to a colander and let the excess liquid drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Unfold the phyllo sheets; cover the stack with a clean, damp cloth. Carefully peel a sheet of the dough from the stack and place it on a cutting board with the longer length of the rectangular sheet facing you. Brush with oil. Repeat 3 more times so you end up with a stack of 4 sheets. Each time you unpeel a single sheet, recover the stack. Cut the 4-sheet stack crosswise into 4 short, equal strips.
4. Working quickly with one strip at a time, with the smaller edge facing you, spoon a tablespoon of the spinach filling onto the center of the narrow end closest to you. Form a triangle by folding the lower left-hand corner of all 4 layers over the filling to the opposite side. Next fold it up on the diagonal to the right side, maintaining the triangular shape. Continue folding this way until you get to the end of the strip. You should have a neat-looking triangle. If you have an uneven lip at the end, brush that lip with oil and tuck it under. Set on the lined baking sheet. Continue filling and folding the other 3 strips. Repeat three more times with the remaining filling and strips to make 16.
5. Bake the samosas for 25 to 30 minutes or until they are golden. Serve warm as is or with a dipping sauce such as mint or tamarind chutney.

 

Stuffed Bitter Gourd and Flat Green Beans

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One: Bitter Gourd Stuffed with Green Mango I was inspired to this recipe because of my first visit to the local Indian supermarket, Patel Brothers, which is actually a chain. I saw bitter gourds there and they looked like something Ripley had brought back from outer space. This truly ugly veggie goes by the name kerela in India, among others. Apprently it turns a lovely gold with bright red seeds inside when it's ripe. This form is immature, and so, so bitter - hence the name. I got this recipe from one of my favorites, Indian Harvest by Vikas Khanna. Evidently it's a comfort food in India and quite healthy for you. Healthy or not, NOBODY liked this dish! Maybe I made it wrong, but I followed the recipe precisely. I'd love it if someone who knows how to cook these things would let me know if it seems alright to them. Meanwhile, I won't be making these again. But I'll post pictures because they are very photogenic in the way a toad is photogenic. To add insult to injury, these bitter darlings are filled with a very tart grated green mango concoction which only serves to embitter them further. When I cut them and began removing the seeds and pith, I discovered the insides could be red, white or yellow. It was very strange not knowing if this was ok. But I forged ahead. After I cleaned out the seeds and marinated them with salt and turmeric, I put them in the frying oil: It was kind of like frying little armored reptiles. Then I set about making the grated mango filling, which is spiced and cooked. Then I brought them all together in a very attractive finished product that no one ate. I really did throw all of it in the trash can. It was completely inedible to our western tastes! But it was a lot of fun and I truly dig working with all these exotic spices and ingredients. So maybe I'll never cook bitter gourd again, but I would say it's probably the only thing us Chickens have tried that I wouldn't do again.

From Chicken Two: Flat Green Beans  (Papdi Chi Bhaji) One of the things I'm enjoying the most about cooking Indian food is discovering never-seen-before vegetables in the Indian market. I had to photograph the vegetable and the name (which is sometimes spelled funny) and then go home and look it up. Papdi is one of those vegetables. This recipe originates in Goa in the southwest region of India, and I discovered several versions. I chose the simple one, of course! You'll find the recipe below. You will see that it calls for a wok but I just used a large frying pan with high sides and it worked just fine. I have to say these beans were a little hard to get used to. They have  a rather rough texture and are just a little bitter - which is probably why they add the sweet stuff along with the savory! I'm sure you can use this recipe with a more traditional green bean and it will turn out great. I'm going to try it with snow peas. Give it a try and let me know what bean you used! Enjoy!

Bitter Gourd Stuffed with Green Mango

Ingredients

• 8-10 tender bitter gourds
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil + more for frying
• 3-4 dried red chiles, broken in half
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
• 2 green mangoes, grated
• 1 piece fresh ginger, 1 inch long, peeled and minced
• 1 green chile (serrano), minced
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• juice of 1 lemon

Cooking Directions

1. Cut tips off bitter gourds and gently scrape with back of a spoon. Cut into 2 1/2 - 3-inch rounds resembling cannelloni. Scoop out and remove seeds with back of a spoon. Evenly rub with 1 teaspoon of the turmeric and salt. Let rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
2. In medium pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add red chilies and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat; remove chilies with slotted spoon and reserve for garnish.
3. Reheat infused oil in pan and add fennel seeds, grated mango, ginger, remaining turmeric, green chili, ground coriander and cumin. Cook, stirring continuously until mixture becomes dry and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice. Remove from heat and keep warm.
4. Heat vegetable oil for frying to 350 F.
5. Gently squeeze bitter gourd pieces and pat dry. Carefully fry them until they are darker in color and slightly crisp.
6. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Fill with green mango mixture and serve hot, garnished with red chilies.

Flat Green Beans (Papdi Chi Bhaji)

Ingredients

• 1 pound flat green beans (papdi)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon goda masala
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 pinch asafoetida
• 1-inch wide piece jaggery
• salt to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Wash and dry the beans. Remove string from each bean and break it into 2 or 3 even-sized pieces.
2. Heat oil in a wok and season it with mustard seed, asafoetida and turmeric. Then add the beans and saute.
3. Sprinkle the goda masala, coriander and cumin seed powders over the vegetable and mix it. Add the jaggery.
4. Cook it, covered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can use a steel plate as a lid for the skillet and pour some water on it. As this heats, it helps to cook the vegetables. Add the water on the lid to the dish if it requires more moisture. However, if you are making gravy, allow the water to evaporate in the process of cooking.
5. Serve hot.

 

Fennel Slaw and Indian Slaw

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.
The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One: Fennel Slaw I chose a delicate slaw this time from one of my fave Indian cookbooks by Vikas Khanna, Indian Harvest. If you'd like to witness someone who is spiritually connected to food, search on this guy's name on YouTube. He's wonderfully inspiring to listen to as he talks about food. This dish is a light, summery fennel slaw with a tangy dressing and sweet, sweet honeydew melon balls. Just looking at these photos makes my mouth water!  With the hot weather bearing down on us, we thought we'd give you some light yet spicy options for a flavorful repast. A great advantage to cooking light is that the recipes are quick and easy, too. No cooking is required, of course, and only one fennel bulb, thinly shredded. You get all this from one bulb, about four servings: The dressing is very vinegary, and next time I will reduce the vinegar to half of what the recipe calls for. The taste is so tangy that it's hard to eat without the melon sweetness in the same bite to offset the edge. So I added more melon this time! The dressing is made with lightly toasted cumin seeds ground fine.  The wonderful aroma permeates the kitchen as it's toasted and ground, and you can't believe the difference in flavor. You could use ground cumin from a jar as well, but the flavor is much less intense. Enjoy the summer with this light, sweet salad. It makes a perfect lunch or a side to accompany a main course.

From Chicken Two: Bund Gobhi Nu Shaak (Indian Slaw) I was looking for a salad that I felt would balance out a wonderfully spicy Indian meal that included a vindaloo and a creamy corn curry. I wanted something with great flavor that would stand up to the other strong tastes but not overpower. This salad works! Because my time was short, I bought a coleslaw mix to use, which worked out great. The combination of hot (serranos) and sweet (coconut) along with the roasted peanuts was a tantalizing mixture for the taste buds! You will find the recipe below but here's a couple of hints: I recommend dry roasted peanuts and definitely unsalted. Grind into a bread crumb consistency and mix with all the other ingredients except the mustard seed. Don't fall asleep with your hand on the grind button or you will wind up with a paste! When roasting the mustard seed, be sure to put a lid on it before you hear the first pop or two. Otherwise you could get hot oil or a seed in the face. Ouch! The process should only take about 30 seconds. I left it in the fridge overnight and the flavors only got better! Enjoy!!

Fennel Slaw and Melon Balls

Ingredients

• 1/2 small honeydew melon, seeded
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon lightly roasted cumin seeds, ground
• salt to taste
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves

Cooking Directions

1. Scoop out the honeydew with a melon baller, set aside.
2. Whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, cumin, salt and pepper to make the dressing.
3. Toss the fennel and honeydew in the dressing to coat.
4. Garnish with dill.
5. Serve chilled.

Indian Slaw (Bund Gobhi Nu Shaak)

Ingredients

• 1 pound cabbage (half a small head) or 14 ounces (1 bag) coleslaw mix
• 1-2 fresh green Serrano chiles, stems discarded
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup dry, unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt
• juice from 1 medium-sized lime
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Cooking Directions

1. Remove the core from cabbage and shred very thin (or open coleslaw mix). Place in large bowl.
2. Slice the chiles lengthwise and then cut them into thin slices, crosswise, ending up with half-moons of chiles that still have the rib and seeds within. Do not discard the seeds. Add this to the cabbage.
3. Chop peanuts in a spice grinder, food processor or mini chopper to a consistency of coarse bread crumbs. Letting the machine run continuously may yield peanut butter.
4. Add peanuts, coconut, cilantro, salt, and lime juice to bowl cabbage.
5. Heat oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add mustard seeds, cover the pan, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle in the turmeric.
6. Pour over cabbage. Wipe skillet clean with some cabbage shreds.
7. Thoroughly mix the contents of the large bowl to ensure every shred is evenly coated.
8. Serve either at room temperature or chilled.

 

Spicy Rice Pilaf (Pilau Masala) & Carrot Rice (Carrot Sadam)

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One:   Spicy Rice Pilaf (Pilau Masala) If you've been following this blog, you know that America's Test Chicken is all about trying things in the kitchen that intimidate us. At the beginning of this year we delved into Indian cuisine, covering everything from vindaloo to tandoori. This time each Chicken chose a rice dish from India. You might know them as pilaf, which is variously spelled pilau or pulao in India. Pilaf/pilau is defined by perfuming some oil with spices before sauteeing rice in the oil. After that, the rice is cooked in a standard way. My pilau is from northern India and is referred to as Pilau Masala, which really just means spicy rice. My recipe comes from Indian Harvest by Vikas Khanna, although it does appear in Indian Cooking Unfolded by Raghavan Iyer with slight variation - plus hundreds more recipes online. This rice is a wonderful side dish to curry or alone as a main dish. The ingredients are simple and beautiful: Cloves, cardamom and bay leaf perfume the oil, then onions are added: And finally the rice. After the rice sautes, you can either cook uncovered until the rice is tender, or you can cover it and steam it til done. I cooked this batch uncovered per the recipe, but I think next time I'll steam it. I know the method better, and I won't have to keep adding liquid and tending it so closely. The word 'perfume' truly is the description for this! The flavor is very light and subtle, and the scent is sweet. It reminds me of the cinnamon rice-and-raisins I had as a child. This pilau, however, is not sweet at all, just lusciously savory. It's easily converted to vegetarian by using vegetable stock or plain water, though I used chicken stock (of course!). I added the split chickpeas per the recipe, and they provide lots of protein for vegetarian types. Besides, I had some left over from the puran poli recipe. However, you can leave those out, too, if you like. I think lentils would work just as well. Oh, man, now I'm hungry!

From Chicken Two: Carrot Rice (Carrot Sadam) There seem to be many versions of this tasty dish so I picked the simpler version that can be made quickly as a side or even a main dish. It originates from southern India and is often used as a lunch to pack in the kids' lunch box.  I take that to mean it can be served hot or cold. Just a few ingredients that include peanuts, onion, ginger and carrots.  You'll find the recipe below. I just want to point out that the jar of basmati rice (above) used to be full! We've been cooking (and eating) a lot of Indian dishes lately and that usually calls for rice!! The recipe says grate the carrots, but I only had small ones in the fridge so I ground them instead. Improvise, I say! This version calls for margarine to sauté the vegetables and spices, but I used ghee. You can also use a healthy oil as a substitute. This is a very tasty dish, somewhat nutty and I will definitely cook it again, possibly as the main course with a salad or green veggie. I have some left over, so I'm going to try it cold too....I figure the kids must like it if it's so common! Give it a try! Enjoy!

Pilau Masala (Spicy Rice Pilaf)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large bay leaf
• 3 cloves
• 3 whole pods cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick, 3 inches
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup split chickpeas (chana dal), rinsed and drained
• 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
• salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed

Cooking Directions

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Saute bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon for 1 minute. Add onion and saute another 2 to 3 minutes til soft.
2. Add chickpeas and cook 2 minutes, stirring.
3. Add in rice and saute another 2 minutes.
4. Add stock, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until moisture is absorbed and rice and chickpeas are just tender.
5. Serve hot. 

Carrot Rice (Carrot Sadam)

Ingredients

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon margarin
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 3/4 cup grated carrots
• salt to taste
• cayenne pepper to taste
• chopped fresh cilantro

Cooking Directions

1. Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and allow to steam until tender, about 20 minutes.
2. While rice is cooking, grind peanuts in a blender and set aside. Heat the margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned golden brown about 10 minutes. Stir in ginger, carrots, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and peanuts. When rice is done, add it to skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

 

Two Flatbreads from India: Puran Poli & Aloo Parantha

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One: Puran Poli As we mentioned in our last post, the first time we tried these flatbreads from India it was a total SCAFU (Situation Chicken All Fowled Up)! So, get your mango chutney and chickpea filling ready, because the second time was the charm and today you can see our success with these things. My recipe is from Indian Harvest by Vikas Khanna and is a variation on Marathi puran poli, sez the author. Well, those words meant nothing to me, so I ran a quick search online after my first attempt. I found that the Marathi is large group (about 120 million souls) in and around western India's state of Maharashtra. Their language is also called Marathi. Puran poli is a festival bread for special occasions, which I'd guessed because it's so sweet. The sweet filling is the 'puran' part and the flatbread is the 'poli'. Side note: flatbreads in general can also be called 'roti', which is easy to remember because - round! I should have run my internet search before I tried the flatbread the first time, because I found this great, step-by-step description with lovely photos here. So, after wrestling with a very stiff, brittle dough in the first attempt (don't look at these photos from the first time)... ...I realized I needed much more moisture in the dough to make it more elastic and allowing - the direct opposite problem that Chicken Two had over there in column 2 the first time! So here is a much more authentic-looking, elastic dough from Round Two.You're supposed to roll it out very flat then put a dollop of the puran filling in the middle: After that you bring the dough up around the filling (this is where my brittle dough broke on the first try) and pinch it together, kind of like a Chinese dumpling. Once it's sealed, roll it out as flat as possible. You can see here that I need a couple of decades more practice before I can get it to roll out the second time without squishing out through the dough: After that, you lay it on a hot, oiled griddle (read, cast iron skillet) for a couple of minutes on each side til the dough becomes bread. I really think mine was still too thick. I ran out of puran filling about halfway through (because I'd eaten so much of it beforehand!), so I made plain poli with the rest of the dough. The whole thing is supposed to puff up, but the closest I got was one side puffing up, but at that point I felt like I'd won the flatbread Olympics! You probably see the smoke in the pictures above. It's from excess flour on the flatbread. Chicken Two and I worked out a system during our experimentation of brushing off the excess flour with a dry pastry brush (not the silicon type) before putting it in the skillet, then brushing the other side which is now facing up while the first side cooks. It's that burning flour that causes the smoke (and smoke alarm!), so wipe out that skillet between rounds. This also prevents burnt flour from affixing itself to the next poli. We are so happy we did this a second time! In addition, we had fun using our new chaklas and belans - and we learned just how appropriate to the work those tools are. A word about the taste: the puran filling is very sweet and delicious. The flatbread, however, as the vehicle to deliver the flavor, is very neutral and bland, though it has coconut in it. Try these recipes and let us know how you fare.

From Chicken Two: Aloo Parantha For contrast, I chose aloo parantha.(That's potato chile bread to the rest of us!) from Raghavan Iyer's Indian Cooking Unfolded.  It's a stuffed flatbread recipe with just enough filling to make it interesting. The filling is actually mashed potatoes with lots of spices and chopped chile peppers. If you've been following my Poop from the Coop, you know I tried this a while ago and failed miserably. (I highly recommend reading this...you will find some helpful hints) This second attempt was much better, being oh so much wiser this time! I made the recipe the night before (not something mentioned in the directions), wrapped it in plastic wrap and refrigerated it. (also not mentioned. Hey, what's a little departure from the instructions, right?) This actually dried it out slightly and made it much easier to roll out. I still used lots of flour to roll it out, but not nearly as much as I did last time when trying to get it to roll without sticking to everything. In fact, I found that if I made a ball, then patted the ball flat with my hands, and then tried to roll it out, it was much easier to work with. Overall, the experience was much better and I'm glad we repeated the process so I could at least get closer to the intended result. I'm convinced that the humidity in Florida, in spite of the a/c, makes a big difference in how dough reacts. I will say this....after refrigerating it overnight, I was able to taste the spices...in fact there was a nice little kick to the bread as an after taste. These breads are great vehicles for some awesome dips and chutneys! Give this a try and let me know how you did!

Puran Poli (Jaggery and Cardamom Festival Flatbread)

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour + more for dusting
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons grated coconut
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup water

Cooking Directions

1. Toast the coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes.
2. Combine flours in large bowl with coconut, yogurt and 1 teaspoon oil. Mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, mixing well after each, until a pliable dough forms (about 3/4 cup water total). Cover with damp towel and let rest 30 minutes or more at room temperature.
3. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Flatten a ball on a floured surface and roll to 6-inch-diameter disc. Brush lightly with oil.
4. Spoon filling into middle. Gather edges of dough and crimp around filling, pressing out all air. Seal dough well and flatten ball with palm. Roll into 4-to-6-inch disc.
5. Place on oiled griddle or cast iron pan over medium heat. Cook 1-to-2 minutes per side until lightly browned with dark spots and puffy areas.
6. Remove to serving plate. Repeat with rest of dough.
7. Serve warm or cool.

Aloo Parantha (Potato Chili Bread)

Ingredients

• 1 pound russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1/2 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves and stems
• 6 pieces fresh ginger (25-cent size; unpeeled)
• 2 fresh green serrano chiles
• 1 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 cup durum wheat (semolina) flour
• 1/2 cup pastry flour + more for dusting
• ghee or melted butter

Cooking Directions

1. Boil potatoes until soft and mashable. Save about 1/2 cup of the potato water when draining.
2. Combine cilantro, ginger and chiles in a food processor and, using pulse, mince until fragrant but not watery.
3. Combine potatoes to the minced herb-chile blend, add salt and the garam masala.
4. Add the durum and pastry flour. Add a few tablespoons of warm potato water, stirring as you go. Keep adding water by the tablespoon until the mixture forms a soft ball.
5. Gather the dough and knead into a soft ball. If it's too wet, dust it with a little more pastry flour and knead until you get the right soft-dry consistency. (remember my warning!) Cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.
6. Roll dough into an 8-inch log and cut crosswise into 16 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and press flat.
7. Heat a medium skillet (preferably non stick or cast iron) over medium heat.
8. While the pan is heating, roll out a dough patty into a round of about 5 or 6 inches in diameter. Make sure it's evenly thin.
9. Place the round in the skillet and cook until some bumps and bubbles appear and the underside has some brown spots and looks cooked, 2 or 3 minutes.
10. Immediately turn the round over until the second side has brown spots. Brush the round with ghee and turn it over to sear it, about 15 seconds; repeat with other side.
11. Remove from pan and slip between two sheets of foil to keep warm.
12. Repeat with remaining dough.
13. Best served fresh and warm but they will keep, wrapped in foil and refrigerated, for up to 4 days. Reheat, still wrapped in foil, in a 250 degree oven F for 20 minutes.

 

Indian Sweet Chickpea Spread and Mango Marmalade (Chutney)

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One: Indian Sweet Chickpea Spread/Flatbread Filling I'm excited to bring you this recipe. Besides this being a dish completely new to me, it's a recipe from my new Indian cookbook, Indian Harvest by Vikas Khanna. Even if you never cook a single thing from this book, it would make a beautiful coffee table book because of the stunning photography inside. It's a joy to use! Another reason for my excitement: two new ingredients. The first goes by several names, including Bengal gram and chana dal. Here they are with the dried version on the left and ones I soaked overnight for this recipe on the right: It actually consists of immature chickpeas, dried, polished and split. It looks a lot like lentils, and many people refer to them as such. Dal is the Indian word for beans and lentils and such, so that explains the chana dal moniker. The second new ingredient is jaggery, a name that does not describe how sweet it is! Basically, it's unrefined sugar in block form. Jaggery can be made from sugarcane juice or other plant-based juice such as that of the date palm. Mine was from sugarcane. The worst part of working with jaggery is that I had to grate it. See knuckle-protection advice over there in Chicken Two's column! Next time I'll buy the grated type. Although this recipe can be used as a gluten-free, vegetarian spread for toast or anything else you like, it's actually intended to be a filling for a festival flatbread. We were going to present the flatbreads first in this post, but there were some major SCAFUs (Situations Chicken All Fowled Up) in the kitchen regarding those. Therefore, we are going to try making the flatbreads again with better success before we give you those recipes. Look for them (we hope) in the next post! Meanwhile, enjoy the sweet stuff this week on toast or crackers until we get you the authentic (again, we hope!) delivery vehicle.

From Chicken Two: Mango Marmalade (Chutney) I have to tell you that since we started cooking Indian cuisine, my exposure to different spices has definitely changed what I like in flavors! Now, when I taste a dish, if it doesn't leave just the right amount of pucker, I say it's missing something. There's nothing missing from mango marmalade, let me tell you! It's simple ingredients taste wonderful and will reach out and smack you in the kisser when you're not looking. Oooeeee! Hot stuff, and I love it. To quote the author of this recipe, "crisp - tender unripe mango, puckered with natural sourness that was balanced with a smothering of sweet sugar, blood-pumping cayenne and sensuous cardamon". I mean, who can resist anything described with such passion? The recipe comes from what has become our go-to Indian cookbook, Indian Cooking Unfolded by Raghavan Iyer. We've mentioned him in previous posts. He waxes poetic in his very detailed instructions! The recipe is below, but a word or two of caution: You will need to grate a peeled mango. It gets pretty slippery so watch your knuckles! I had a couple of close calls. You can also use a mandoline, but I felt it was just another opportunity to slice and dice my hand! Better to be safe!

Recipes:
I. Sweet Chickpea Spread and Flatbread Filling

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried Bengal gram (dried, split chickpeas; chana dal)
• enough to soak chickpeas + 3 cups water
• 3/4 cup grated jaggery
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Cooking Directions

1. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with water plus one inch. Soak them overnight.
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Place in saucepan with 3 cups fresh water and cook til very soft, about an hour.
3. Drain and place in food processor with jaggery and cardamom. Process til very smooth.
4. Serve as a spread or use as filling for puran poli, an Indian festival flatbread.

II. Indian Mango Marmalade (Chutney)

Ingredients

• 1 pound unripe mango
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ground red cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Cooking Directions

1. Peel the mango and, using a box grater, shred on all sides as close as you can get to the pit. You should end up with about 4 cups of shreds.
2. Place mango in a medium-sized saucepan and stir in sugar, vinegar, cayenne, and cardamom. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the liquid starts to evaporate, after 8 to 10 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sugar starts to caramelize and look bubbly(about 10 to 15 minutes).
3. Remove from heat and let it cool. It can be stored in a glass container for a month in the refrigerator. Best served warm, so you can microwave it for a minute or two before using.
4. Makes about 2 cups