Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India, page 23
2 whole dried hot red chilies
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
For the Dumplings
1 cup chickpea flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup plain yogurt
Olive or other vegetable oil for deep-frying
Put the 2 cups yogurt in a large bowl. Beat lightly with a fork or whisk until smooth and creamy. Slowly add 1 quart water, mixing as you go.
Put the first cup of chickpea flour in another large bowl. Very slowly, add the yogurt mixture, a little at a time, mixing as you do so. If lumps form, blend them in as you go along, before adding more liquid. If the final paste is a bit lumpy, just strain it.
Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a large pan, and set over medium heat. When it is hot, put in the cumin, fennel, nigella, fenugreek seeds, and, last, the whole dried chilies. When the chilies darken—this takes just a few seconds—put in the turmeric and, almost immediately, the chickpea-flour-and-yogurt mixture. Add the salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer gently for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat.
While the karhi is cooking, make the dumplings. Put the chickpea flour for the dumplings into a bowl. Add the salt and the baking soda. Mix. Add the ½ cup yogurt and mix well with a wooden spoon. You should have a thick, droppable paste. If necessary, add another teaspoon of yogurt. Continue to beat the paste with a wooden spoon (or a beater) for about 10 minutes, or until it becomes light and airy.
Pour the oil for deep-frying into a large frying pan to a depth of about ¾ inch. Set the pan over medium heat. When it is hot, pick up a blob of paste about ¾ inch in diameter on the tip of a teaspoon. Release it into the oil with the help of a second teaspoon. Make all the dumplings this way, dropping them into the oil in quick succession. Turn the dumplings around and fry them slowly until they are reddish in color and cooked through— about 6-7 minutes. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon, and spread them out on a plate lined with paper towels. Let them cool slightly, and then cover tightly with plastic wrap.
Ten minutes before you sit down to eat, warm up the karhi over medium heat, stirring as you go. When it is hot, put in all the dumplings. Cover, and continue to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Rice with Peas (Tahiri)
SERVES 6
Tahiri, another dish that came to us from the Muslim traditions of Delhi, is a pilaf made with fresh peas. As peas were available to us only in the cold winter months, this dish, rather like the risi e bisi of Venice, is a beloved seasonal delicacy, always made with the finest Basmati rice to complement the sweetest of fresh peas. There are many recipes for this dish, all with the slightest of variations. This particular one is yellow in color as it has some turmeric in it.
I make this tahiri with frozen peas since they are available year-round and their quality is good and unvarying.
2 cups Basmati rice
2 tablespoons peanut or olive oil
3 bay leaves
2 whole black cardamom pods (use green cardamom as a substitute)
8 whole peppercorns
½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 medium onion, peeled, cut lengthwise in half and then cut into fine half-rings
1 teaspoon salt, plus a bit more for the peas
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup (5 ounces) frozen peas
Wash the rice in several changes of water. Drain. Then leave it to soak for 30 minutes in water that covers the rice generously. Drain again, and leave in a strainer set over a bowl.
Put the oil in a heavy, medium pan and set over medium heat. When it is hot, put in the bay leaves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, and cumin seeds. Stir once or twice, and add the onions. Stir and fry until the onion slices turn reddish brown. Now add the drained rice, the teaspoon of salt, and the turmeric. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir the rice in very gently, almost folding it in as if it were a soufflé, and fry it for 2 minutes without breaking any of the grains. Now add 2⅔ cups water and bring to a boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and turn the heat down to very, very low. Cook very gently for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the peas according to package instructions and drain. Lift the lid of the rice pan and quickly put the peas in. Cover immediately and let the rice rest for 10 minutes. Use a large slotted spoon to transfer the rice to a serving dish, breaking up all lumps with the back of the spoon and mixing the peas in gently as you go.
PHULKAS
MAKES 12
Phulkas were our daily bread. Rather like the chapati for the average North Indian, or the tortilla for the Mexican, the flat-bread served for our everyday Indian meals was the phulka. Though it was closely related to the chapati and made of the same finely ground whole-wheat flour, it could be called the chapati's more refined, upper-class cousin. Phulkas were smaller, thinner, and more delicate.
As we ate our meals, stacks of at least three or four phulkas kept appearing from the kitchen, all hot and puffy. As we neared the conclusion of the meal, someone in charge would declare, “No more phulkas!”
Some people like to smear a little butter on their phulkas as soon as they are made, but our family generally liked them plain.
Like chapatis, phulkas are traditionally made on a tava, or slightly concave cast-iron griddle, but any cast-iron pan will do. I have taken to using my old pancake pan, as the size is right and the pan heats up evenly. A phulka spends about 40 seconds on the griddle. Then, in India at least, it is put directly on a hot flame for a few seconds to puff up. I find that this function can be mimicked almost perfectly by a microwave oven. A phulka demands two things: the dough should be soft so it remains pliable, and it should cook fast or it will turn hard and brittle.
1 cup chapati flour (ata), plus more for dusting and rolling
Put the cup of flour in a bowl. Now slowly add water, mixing and kneading as you go, until you have a soft, workable dough. You should need less than ½ cup water. Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes, then cover it with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and leave it for 30-60 minutes. The dough may also be refrigerated overnight.
When you are ready to eat, put your cast-iron pan over medium heat and let it sit there for a good 7-8 minutes. Meanwhile, knead your dough again (if it is sticky, flour your hands; if it feels hard, wet your hands) and divide it into twelve balls. Flour your work surface lightly and roll out one ball into a 5¼-inch round, turning it over halfway through the rolling, and dusting with flour when necessary. Remove excess flour by slapping the dough between your hands. Now slap the phulka onto the hot griddle for 20 seconds. It should pick up a few brown spots. Turn it over, and let it cook for another 20 seconds. The second side should also pick up brown spots. Now lift it up and put it into the microwave for about 12 seconds on full power. It should puff up. Put the phulka between two plates, the second turned over the first, and make the rest of the phulkas the same way.
If you don't have a microwave oven, either press down on the phulka with a wad of cloth, one section at a time but with speed, to push the air around so it will puff up, or else put it over the medium flame of a burner for a few seconds.
Puffed Spiced Breads with Fenugreek (Methi Wali Bedvi)
MAKES 12
In our family, we ate these bedvis with potato curries and pickles for breakfast on Sundays. Usually, one person rolled the breads while another fried them, keeping up a steady rhythm until all the dough had been used up. The breads cook fast, taking less than a minute each, so it is a good idea to have everything ready and then cook them just before you sit down to eat. My daughters used to help me, but now even my grandchildren join in the rolling, almost fighting each other to wield the rolling pin. I still do not allow them to come near the hot oil. They are allowed to watch from a safe distance.
Bedvis are best when they are just fried. If you wish to eat them somewhat later, stack them one on top of the other (they will deflate, but no matter) and keep them well covered. Do not refrigerate them. Serve them at room temperature or wrap them in a bundle of foil and heat in a medium oven for 10 minutes.
2 cups chapati flour (ata), or a mixture of 1 cup sifted wholewheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose, unbleached white flour
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons corn, peanut, or olive oil for the dough, plus more for deep-frying and rubbing on the dough
3 tablespoons very finely chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), well crumbled, dried stalks removed
Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Dust with the coriander, cumin, and cayenne. Mix well. Dribble in the 2 tablespoons oil and rub into the flour. Add the cilantro and rub it well into the flour, letting it release its moisture during this process. Now add the fenugreek and mix thoroughly. Slowly add enough water, a little at a time, so you can gather all the dough together into a ball. You are aiming for a stiff dough. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth. Form the dough into a ball. Rub the ball with a little oil, then slip it into a ziplock or other plastic bag and leave for 30 minutes.
Pour the oil for deep-frying into a wok or Indian karhai, or a frying pan, and set on medium heat. In a wok or karhai, the oil should extend over a diameter of at least 6 inches. In a frying pan, you will need at least a i-inch depth of oil. Allow it time to heat up, about 7-10 minutes. Have a large baking sheet lined with paper towels next to you.
Meanwhile, knead the dough again and divide it into twelve balls. Keep eleven covered. Take the twelfth ball and rub it lightly with oil. Now flatten it into a patty and roll it out into a 5- to 5½-inch round. Lift the round and fearlessly lay it on the surface of the hot oil without allowing it to fold up. It may sink, but should rise to the surface almost immediately. Using the back of a slotted spoon, keep pushing the bedvi under the surface of the oil with rapid, light strokes. It will resist and puff up in seconds. Turn it over and count to 2. Now lift the bedvi out of the oil and deposit it on top of the paper towels. Make all the bedvis this way.
Yogurt with Tiny Dumplings (Boondi ka Dahi)
SERVES 6-8
This yogurt dish was served at all family weddings from a four-bowled serving apparatus with a single handle. The server flew around, doling out the yogurt, tamarind chutney with bananas, and other relishes and pickles. We all loved the yogurt, filled as it was with the tiniest dumplings or boondi, which means “droplets.”
These days, Indian stores have taken to selling ready-made boondi, all fried and ready to go. They come in a bag, just like potato chips. I have tried them, and find that they are generally stale, nothing like what you might make at home.
In India, these dumplings are made by pushing the paste through the holes of a slotted spoon directly into the hot oil. The slotted spoons there have ⅛-inch holes. If you don't have such a spoon, use a colander or anything else with similar-sized holes.
For the Dumplings 4 heaping tablespoons chickpea flour (sometimes sold as gram flour or besan)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Any vegetable oil for deep-frying, enough for a depth of 1 inch
For the Yogurt
6 cups plain yogurt
1½ teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1¼ teaspoons ground roasted cumin seeds (see page 296)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Place the chickpea flour and baking powder in a bowl. Slowly add water, about ⅓ cup, and mix to a thick, smooth paste, stiff enough to stand in tiny peaks. Use a wooden spoon or your fingers to do this. Add the salt and cumin and mix in. Set aside.
Pour the oil for deep-frying into an 8-io-inch frying pan, and set over medium heat. Have your slotted spoon or colander at hand. Fill a bowl with warm water, and keep this nearby as well. When the oil is hot, put a tablespoon of paste on the slotted spoon or colander, and push it through with the back of a wooden spoon. Little droplets will fall into the oil. Cover the surface of the oil this way. The droplets should cook slowly, turning crisp but staying a golden yellow. They should not turn brown. This will take about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat if necessary. As each batch gets done, remove it with a slotted spoon and drop into the bowl of warm water. Continue until all the paste is used up. Let the dumplings soak in the water for 30 minutes.
Put the yogurt in a bowl and mix well. Then add the salt, pepper, roasted cumin, and cayenne, reserving a little of the cumin and cayenne for final garnishing. Cover, and refrigerate the yogurt until almost ready to serve.
Just before serving, remove a handful of dumplings from the water. Lay your other palm over them and squeeze out excess water. Do not break them. Put them in a serving dish, pour the yogurt over them, and mix gently. Sprinkle a little roasted cumin and cayenne over the top. Serve at room temperature or cold.
As a variation, if you want a slightly sweet-and-sour yogurt, you could add 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon golden raisins that have been soaked in boiling water for an hour and then thoroughly drained.
Mung Bean Fritters in Yogurt (Dahi ki Pakori)
MAKES 36-38 FRITTERS AND SERVES 6-8
These are the split-pea fritters that, along with their siblings, split-pea patties (dahi boras), are always to be found in the baskets of Delhi's snack-food vendors who specialize in yogurt-sauced foods (pages 75-76). Our family has always loved their melt-in-the-mouth, spicy, sweet-and-sour quality.
To make them, you need the fritters themselves and two sauces, one made of yogurt and the other with tamarind. The yogurt sauce is nothing more than beaten-up yogurt with a little salt in it. I find that in this day and age, Delhi's snack shops have started adding sugar to the yogurt, a general trend towards sweetness that I find totally unnecessary and unappealing. The Tamarind Chutney for Snack Foods (see page 290) is sweet and sour, as it should be, offering a pleasant contrast. It is used only in small doses and may be made a few days in advance, or just defrosted, if you have frozen it.
In India, the batter for the fritters is made by soaking hulled and split mung beans overnight, grinding them into a batter on a stone, and then whipping up the batter to make it light and airy— all more than I ever wanted to do. I have now worked out a simpler solution. I soak the beans overnight and then just grind them in a food processor (not a blender, which works differently). The food processor grinds the beans to the slightly grainy consistency I want, and, at the same time, fluffs up the batter, saving me from extra work. It is important to start frying the fritters while the batter is still fluffy. For this reason I set the oil to heat before I start grinding the beans.
The hot yellow chili powder is sold by some Indian grocers. If you cannot find it, just leave it out.
For the Fritters
1 cup hulled and split mung beans (called moong dal in Indian shops)
Peanut or olive oil for deep-frying (enough to have 2 inches in the center of a wok or Indian karhai)
Salt
Generous pinch of ground asafetida
For the Yogurt Sauce
4 cups plain yogurt (you may use low-fat yogurt, if you like)
1¾ teaspoons salt, or to taste
For Sprinkling over the Top
¾ teaspoon ground roasted cumin seeds (see page 296)
¼–½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/16teaspoon yellow chili powder, if available
2–3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Put the hulled and split mung beans (moong dal) in a bowl. Wash in several changes of water. Drain in a sieve. Put back in the bowl. Add 5 cups fresh water and leave to soak overnight—for 12-13 hours. Drain thoroughly.
Pour the oil for deep-frying into a wok or an Indian karhai, or a frying pan. You should have about 2 inches in the center. Set over medium-low heat. It should take about 10 minutes to heat up.
Pour 5 cups hot water into a bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt. Mix it in and keep near the cooking area. Prepare a second bowl of salted hot water exactly the same way.
Put the mung beans into a food processor. Process at medium speed until the beans are reduced to tiny fragments, stopping the machine and turning the batter over with a rubber spatula when needed. Add 4½ tablespoons water and the asafetida. Continue to process for another 5 minutes or so. The batter should be very slightly grainy but lighter in color and fluffy (½ teaspoon batter dropped in water should now float).
Work quickly now. The oil should be hot by this time. Using two regular teaspoons, remove a heaping ¾ teaspoon of batter with one teaspoon and with a second release it into the hot oil. Make about 19 fritters this way. Wait about a minute and then turn them over. Stir and fry them until they are a rich golden color, about 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop them into the bowl of salted hot water. Make a second batch exactly the same way, dropping it into the second bowl of salted hot water.
Each batch should sit in the water bath for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the yogurt and salt in a large, wide serving bowl and beat lightly with a fork or a whisk until smooth and creamy. Add ¼ cup water and beat again. The yogurt should be of a pouring consistency.
Remove one fritter at a time from the water. Put it into the open palm of one hand and squeeze down very lightly with the open palm of the other. You should squeeze out most of the water without crushing or breaking up the fritter. Put the fritter into the bowl with the yogurt. Remove and squeeze out all the fritters the same way, dropping them gently into the yogurt bowl. (If you do not wish to use all the fritters immediately, squeeze them out anyway and arrange them neatly in several layers in a flat plastic storage container. Cover them with a lid and refrigerate. They may be used within the next few days. Cut down on the yogurt sauce proportionately.) Sprinkle the roasted cumin, cayenne, yellow chili powder, and chopped cilantro over the top. Dribble about 4 tablespoons of the Tamarind Chutney for Snack Foods (page 290) over the top as well—you will now see both the white of the yogurt and the brown of the tamarind chutney. Serve.
