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.