“This is a different type of commitment. I’m talking bout a true friendship”

Monday, April 2, 2007

It Would Be Fly If You Were B-U-D-D-Y
Don’t Be Shy, Give It A Try I Could Be Yours And You Could Be Mine
I Cant Lie It Would Be Fly If You Were My B-U-D-D-Y
Don’t Be Shy Give It A Try I Could Be Yours If You Could Be Mine

After a full 2 months of the dreary cold and the food that comforts you during those cold months blog fest, I am happy to say that spring is here and I have some fabulous recipes to share that are very “springy”. I find it interesting that our bodies crave for something a little cool and light during the spring season. Light meals are easy to enjoy outdoors either on a park bench or even on your own balcony. Even though Bhatji and I had planned to out on our balcony this past weekend, it was a bit on the chillier side and so we decided to postpone the outdoor meal when it’s a little warmer. Usually Thursday and Friday nights are the best times for me to prepare big meals, since Bhatji is in class till almost 9.30 PM. So this past Friday I decided that I was going to surprise him with a typical Marathi meal. Even though I am Konkani and he is Marathi, our foods are fairly similar, but one of the main differences I noticed in our cultures is that rice is a staple diet amongst Konkani folk and Rotis, Paratha’s and Puri’s (breads) are the staple diet amongst Marathis. Growing up in a very Konkani household in India, my mom rarely mad Rotis and puris…infact puris (deep fried puffed up bread) were made during special occasion or only for specific curries. When Bhatji and I got married and we had a chance to visit his family and his grandparents in India, I noticed that puris were made almost every other day if not everyday. I had never ventured into making puris because I had always assumed they were hard to prepare, but this past Friday I had the time to make these yummy, deep fried goodness. And the whole meal turned out exquisite! So I wanted to share the recipe for these very, very easy puris.

Ingredients:
3 cups of wheat flour
1 tsp ghee
About 1 tsp of salt
½ -3/4 cup of oil for deep frying
Water as needed, I used about 1 ½ cup of water.

To make:
In a big bowl mix all the ingredients from above except the oil for deep frying. Add the water little by little while mixing all the ingredients to make the dough. Make sure the dough is not too watery, if it is keep adding more wheat flour to make the dough firm. Take a small amount of dough and roll into tiny balls (size of a golf ball). With a rolling pin roll the ball into a thin round sphere. Heat the oil on med high and drop the dough in. Once the dough starts to fry, gently coax the dough with your ladle as if you are pushing it down to the bottom of the pan. Do not use any weight or force on the dough during the coaxing, this motion will cause the dough to puff up and fry. Turn over to the other side of the sphere once it puffs up and cook for a shorter time on the other side. During this process of deep frying, make sure to be very careful while dropping the dough into the hot oil and during the coaxing as well.





I made a simple potato/batata bhaji and opened up a tin of mango pulp or Aamras to eat along with the puris, exactly like the Marathi folks would love it. And as I predicted, we forgot all about the healthy diets and indulged! Bhatji ate 6-8 puris that night and I myself ate about 4-5 puris with tons of Aamras! It was sooo yummy! The hot puris and cold aamras is a great combination for the perfect spring meal! I have more recipes and photos to share, so stay tuned for the next tasty blog.