How to make Indian 'chapathis' and 'puris'

How to make Indian 'chapathis' and 'puris'

By Syamala Monie

PURWAKARTA, West Java (JP): The other day I attended an
Indonesian wedding ceremony. There was a separate lunch table
with 'makanan dari India', or food from India. The bride worked for
an Indian company and since many of the guests were vegetarians,
she had made special arrangements for Indian food. But what
surprised me more was the number of Indonesians relishing the
puris, chole (chick peas) and samosas. This only goes to prove
that food helps bridge regional and cultural gaps and is a major
unifying factor among the nations. I myself enjoy the two main
vegetarian dishes of Indonesia, nasi goreng and gado-gado. And
some of the Indonesian kues are just out of this world.

There are two main categories of Indian food, North Indian and
South Indian. In the South, like in Indonesia, most dishes are
rice based. In the North, wheat is extensively cultivated and is
therefore the main ingredient in cooking. Wheat is never cooked
whole, but pounded into different sizes to make porridge and
sweets. It is mainly ground into a fine atta flour and made into
puris and parathas which are eaten with pickles, raita and salad.
Samosas are stuffed puris made of refined flour. Wheat is highly
nutritious and contains vitamin B and ample carbohydrates. It is
high in fiber and provides roughage essential for good digestion.
The atta mentioned in the recipes is available as wheat flour in
many Indonesian supermarkets. It is different from tepung terigu.
It is unrefined and has a golden color. The recipes below can be
served as meals or snacks.

Puris

1 1/2 cups atta
salt to taste
water to mix
oil for frying

Mix the atta, salt and enough water to knead into a stiff
dough. Leave for 10-15 minutes. Make marble sizes balls and roll
out to the size of your palm. Drop one puri into hot oil and keep
pouring hot oil over it with a ladle. It will puff up like a
balloon. Take out when golden brown.

Parathas

1 1/2 cups atta
salt to taste
water to mix
oil for frying

Make the dough the same way as for puris, but add a little
more water to make it pliable. Leave for 10-15 minutes. Take out
a ball the size of a small lemon and roll it out to the size of
your palm. Spread 1/2 tsp oil and sprinkle a little atta over it.
Fold into half and then half again until you get four layers.
Roll out to the size of a half plate. Heat a girdle or non-stick
pan. Cook one side of the paratha for half a minute. Turn and
pour 1 tsp oil around it and a little oil over it. Keep turning
and fry until golden brown spots appear. To get a better taste,
use a equal mixture of clarified butter and oil. Not for weight-
watchers!

Chole

The above items are usually served with this dish made of
chickpeas.

1/2 cup chickpeas
4 chopped green chillies
1" piece ginger
2 chopped onions (bawang Bombay)
4 pods garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tblsp oil
1" piece of crushed cinnamon
4 crushed cloves
2 tsp lemon juice
a few curry leaves

Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Take out 2 tsp, mash it and
keep. Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste. Heat oil, add
crushed cinnamon and cloves. After a minute, add ginger garlic
paste and fry for two minutes on medium heat. Put in the onion
and green chillies and fry till golden brown. Add the cooked
peas, salt, turmeric powder and enough water to cover the peas.
Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the mashed paste
and bring to a boil to thicken gravy. Add lemon juice and curry
leaves torn into pieces. You can decorate it with chopped
coriander leaves.

Samosas

1 1/2 cups refined flour (tepung terigu)
2 tblsp oil
salt to taste
water to knead

Mix salt and flour. Warm 2 tblsp oil and pour it over the
mixture. Add enough water to make a stiff dough like the puris.
Cover and keep for 1/2 hours.

Filling

4 boiled potatoes
1/2 tsp red chili powder
2 chopped green chillies
1 tblsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tblsp lemon juice
oil for frying
salt to taste
chopped curry leaves
turmeric powder

Mash the potatoes slightly. Heat oil, add curry leaves, green
chillies and fry for one minute. Mix potato, salt and turmeric.
Stir on low heat for a couple of minutes. Remove and add
coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Take out a marble sized ball from the dough and roll out a
puri. Cut into two semi circles.

Take one half and shape a cone. Put in 1 tblsp of the filling.
Dab a little water and seal the edges. Heat oil and drop 4-5
samosas at a time and fry them on low heat for about two minutes.
Remove from oil when they are still white. Refry until golden
brown. Serve with ketchup.

Raita

2 grated carrots
1 cup yogurt
1 finely chopped green chillie
1 tsp mustard (biji sawi)
1 tblsp oil
curry leaves
salt to taste

Mix carrot, yogurt, salt and chillie. Heat oil, splutter
mustard, add curry leaves and pour over the mixture. Serve with
puris, parathas and chole.

Happy cooking and great eating.