DAL BHARKE POORI ALOO PAANI Ke Saath(Lentil Stuffed Indian Bread With Thin Gravied Aloo & A Small ThanksGiving!!!)

Bihari Cuisine involves a lot of stuffed edibles, be it a simple Kachori to some Litti Choka..... From Paratas to Samosas..... or even gravies for that matter.....like stuffed karela, stuffed pattal, kofte, etc., to mention a few, unlike my Mangalorean cuisine. The delectable 's in the name of stuffed preps, at Mangalore, are very few like Arisina Ele Hittu & the Karajjikai.... I am totally enthralled by my "Delicacies in - Law"....I tell my hubby often " Tum log kuch bhi, kahin par bhi, kisi cheez mein bhi, bharke bana lethe ho " (" तुम लोग कुछ भी, कहीं पर भी, किसी चीज़ में भी, भरके बना लेथे हो ") Meaning - "Here peeps stuff anything & everything, wherever & in whatever they choose to & prepare stuffs "as far as food is concerned ...... ;-) LOL...

And that is very true too..... I'm always surprised by the Bihari preps I learn about. Sheerly Talented, I must admit.......... HATS OFF to all Biharis!!!!!

I personally enjoy & love them too, but very rich compared to our simple & plain Mangalorean delectable 's. So I would love to share one such stuffed, festive prep from my
"Delicacies in - Law" !!!!!!!!! That is the Dal bharke Poori..............

For The Dough

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour (Atta) - 1/2 kg
Salt to Taste
Oil - 6 tsp
Ajwain + Mangrela (Carom Seeds or Oma + Black Sesame Seeds) - 1 tsp ( I keep a mix of both)
Water as required

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients except water, well... for minimum 5 minutes, so that the mix blends well & smooth enough that u can dust it from your hand....Now add enough water to knead the flour mix into a smooth but firm dough... Keep aside covered for half an hour.

The Stuffing

Ingredients:

Bengal Gram Dal (Chana Dal or the kernels of split Black Chick Peas) - 1 cup
Water - 4 cups
Salt to Taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Cumin Seeds (jeera) - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 3, finely chopped
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Turmeric Powder - a pinch (since already added )
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/4 tsp
Kitchen King Masala - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Leaves - 2 tsp, finely chopped

Method:

Pressure cook the dal with water, salt & turmeric powder for 5 whistle, as it takes longer for the chana dal to get cooked.... The dal should be cooked enough to get a thick mash.... not very mushy with water in it.... Once cooked, kindly drain the extra water..... Now mash the dal & keep aside...

Heat oil in a wok or deep bottomed vessel & add jeera & allow it to splutter. Now add green chilli & stir fry & then add chopped onions & fry till translucent. Now add all the masala powders & stir fry further for 2 minutes.. Then add the mashed dal & mix well. Stir fry this mixture until all the water gets evaporated... Now add the chopped coriander leaves & mix. Transfer this mixture into a bowl.

The Dal Stuffed Poori (दाल भरके पूरी)

Make small lemon sized balls of the dough & shape these balls into nice small katoris... or bowls.

Now fill small amounts of the dal mixture into these bowl shaped dough ....

And cover to seal it firmly, with much care.... to avoid the mixture from making its way through the dough as that would not only spoil the shape but would also leave the oil for frying, adulterated & tainted.

Now roll these stuffed & flattened balls with the help of a rolling pin..... Then leave the rolled poori (bread) into the oil & deep fry till golden..... let it puff on both the sides..... The puff would not be as much as a plain poori because of the stuffing..... Once the pooris are done, golden in color...transfer them onto an absorbent paper...

Similarly continue the process with the rest of the dough....

Can be served with plain tomato sauce or ketchup or any veg or non veg gravy to accompany with...... As I had not planned anything till then, I thought of a simple Potato gravy.... called ALOO PAANI...

Aloo Paani (आलू पानी)

Ingredients:

Potato - 4 medium, peeled & washed
Onion - 1 medium, finely sliced
Tomato - 2, finely chopped
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp
Kitchen King Masala - 2 tsp
Salt to Taste
Water - 2 cups or more for the watery consistency
Oil - 4 tbsp
Coriander Leaves - 2 tsp, finely chopped

Method:

Boil the Potatoes, cut into cubes & keep aside. Heat oil in a wok or a deep bottomed vessel. Now add chopped onions & fry till translucent. Now add tomatoes & stir fry for 5 minutes, on low flame. Now add ginger garlic paste & saute` for a minute. Now add all the masala powders & stir fry for 3 - 4 minutes or till the oil separates. In case if the mixture turns dry, add little amount of water & mix well. The masala should blend well in water. Now add the cooked & cubed potatoes. Stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes, carefully so as to avoid the potatoes from falling apart. Now add good amount of water to get a thin gravy, & bring it to boil. Cook it covered for 20 minutes on low flame...

When done, garnish with chopped coriander leaves...which I forgot to.... Hmmmm.....

Now serve the above made Dal stuffed pooris with the hot Aloo Paani & a bowl of freshly prepared Rice Kheer (खीर) to complete the festive spread. Festive because, this is specially prepared as a prasad (divine food), for the poojas conducted at home, especially Theej....while we break our severe fasting of a day...... It is divine, then, as we really see light after having this, in the darkness caused due to the fast........

These pooris simply taste yum with the kheer to accompany with..... Festive Divinity!!!

Wanna Bite??????
Open Your Mouth & this piece goes in..............................hmmmm!!!! Yum! Yum! Is it not??????

I knew!!!!!!!!!!

This Divine Dal Poori is on its way to EC's, WYF:Specialty food event announcement at Simple Indian Food

along with the below mentioned

Halasina Hannina Hittu.. (Jack Fruit Dumpling)

As suggested by Suma Gandlur, I am also sending my Dal Poori to : Srivalli's My Legume Love Affair..... which is hosted by A Well Seasoned Cook - Susan.

Thank You Suma for letting me know about this event.......

Dasvidaniya!!!!!!!

Now.... Time for Thanks Giving........belated Of course!!!!)

Thank You Esai Selvi from My Kitchen for this lovely butterfly award, for I certainly deserve it, not sure my blog, but me, Yes! .... Since childhood, one of my mamas called me "Chitte" meaning Butterfly, in Kannada. As it is a very cute piece, I simply loved it.

And Thank You Rohini from Curries & Spices, Indu from Kitchen Queen & Esai Selvi again from My Kitchen for passing on this Bold 'n' Gold Award......

Jaago Bhaarath Jaago:

As I punched in these words for my post, I heard lovely music being played, from my living room, for quite a long time.... Went, to check it out.... My hubby was watching his favorite News Channel... The NDTV.... which aired, an One Hour Event, Live, called "A Nation In Solidarity Against Terror" organized in our national capital's India Gate.

The event, intended to express the nation's solidarity against terror.....Oh! Yes!

The date is symbolic to the Mumbai Terror Attacks..... I sincerely "feel" for those who lost their beloveds, their only bread earner & their only reason to live, in this gruesome terror attack.. A year passed..... again in terror.....wondering if our folks were safe out of home, but still keeping our calm, our fingers crossed, thought that "all was well".

This event kindled a thought in me as to - if it was not for 'Mumbai & its Landmarks', had it occurred elsewhere in some remote area, would they have conducted such events???? If Yes, why have I not heard of any such events held in areas which faced similar atrocities???? (forget being aired on TV, with celebs, politicians & sports person making their presence felt....)

Why is this attack blown out of proportion to such an extent???? Would such events give solace to the families of the Martyrs who shed their blood, fighting this attack, to the families of those innocent victims of this horrendous attack or to the families of those brave souls, who stood by, to lend their support in some way or the other & lost something in return???? Would they find solace in such events held?????

Speaking of solidarity against terror, according to me none, who is "HUMAN" would ever talk for it... If the solidarity of the nation was the concern, people in authority would have made arrangements to make the apt & adequate compensations, availing, to the BRAVE families, who deserved it....They would have empathized their feelings... & not made them wait for a year, for the compensations to realize. Instead, arrangements are made to conduct events, with celebs & politicians, ready with their "FOREVER" heard speeches, in the name of NATION AGAINST Terror..... Looks like no events can be held in this country, without the monotonous presence of the so called "CELEBS", "SUPER STARS", "HEROES"...... May be it is a habit now.....

May be compensations would be realized only in their fantasies as may be even this time, just words of promise & hope, remembering the attacks & forgotten till next year, same date..... as ever..........

Irony of Solidarity......

Mean while I even remembered a mail that was doing the rounds then....

The subject being How Fair Is This???? & dated Thu, 4 Dec 2008 6:19 pm....

I hereby paste the content of the mail below.......without changing even a character in it..... It just gets me pondering over the plight of our People in Power & the direction they are heading towards.......

An Olympic shooter wins Gold (Only a game) & Government gives him more than 3 Crores

Rs. 1 crore cash award by State Government of Punjab.
Rs. 2 lakh cash award by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
Rs. 25 lakh cash award by the Board of Control for Cricket in IndiaRs. 15 lakh money award by Steel Ministry of India
A free lifetime railway pass by the Railway Ministry of India
Rs. 10 lakh cash award by Chief Minister of Maharashtra state
Rs. 5 lakh cash award by State Government of Orissa
Rs. 1.5 Crore by L N Mittal, Arcelor Mittal
Rs. 10 lakh cash award by the State Government of Karnataka
Rs. 11 lakh cash award by the State Government of Bihar. The Patna Indoor Stadium will be renamed after Abhinav Bindra.
Rs. 1 lakh cash award by the State Government of Chhattisgarh
Rs. 25 lakh cash award by the State Government of Haryana.
Rs. 5 lakh cash award by M. Karunanidhi, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu
A Gold medal by the State Govt. of Kerala.

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Another Shooter dies, fighting with terrorists (Saving our country and our live) & government pays his family 5 lakhs.



Really great!!!!!!!!!!! Hats off to India!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please forward to all

Today watching that event, pissed me off to an extent that, it got me writing & venting........... It gets tears rolling down my cheeks..... Is that a brave soul worth of????????????

All said & done, the performance & music of Violin maestro - L Subramaniam & his group was totally mesmerizing..... That certainly would have given solace to the hurt souls..... That was something out of the world.....


Last BUT CERTAINLY not the Least..... Piece of Info.....

I would like to thank Tina from In The Garden, for that lovely 'note'd comment, she left on my previous post...(My Proud Collection). Reading it made me feel good & brought a smile on my face & my hubby's. The aftertaste of the 'love' shared still lingers in my smile.....


So, kindly accept it Tina, It's just to pass on my smile to you.....

Happy Celebrations to one & all!!!!!!!!!! Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!

KEEP THE FAITH!!!!!!!