Masala Puri

Masala Puri ~ the simple tea time snack and a chaat loved by millions. The very thought of Masala Puri takes me back to the Indian market scene where you will find arrays of street food carts, wafting with sweet, spicy aromas. You will also spot some vendors peacefully mashing up the peas to make them more tasty and thereby get the perfect Ragda. Ask for one plate, the skilled Chaatwaala will wriggle his hands through zillion of ingredients and present you with a plate pleasing to the eye and the palate. Don't waste a moment here, just spoon in and chomp away! All of this for a tiny sum of Rs. 7/- certainly makes me want more of the warmest, tastiest lip-smacking delicious street food.

I had my eye on Krishnaveni's Ruchi Ruchi Adige recipe from a long time. The recipe looked very tempting and reminded me of Bangalore chaat thelas lining up various nooks and corners. I omitted some thickening ingredients, added some spices to elevate the aroma. Thanks Krishnaveni for taking me down the memory lane. I was happy I could recreate the same flavours and aromas in my cosy little kitchen. I specially loved the addition of Bay leaves and spices which offer a unique aroma. We loved this version of Masala Puri. It is easy to make, with simple and easily accessible ingredients from your pantry.

Since this recipe is wiping off considerable amount of my pantry items, off they go for Nupur's BB4 event.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Ruchi Ruchi Adige

Cooking time: 30 minutes (includes pressure cooking time)

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

For the soupy curry -

Whole Yellow Peas - 1 cup

Toor Dal (boiled and mashed) - 3 tablespoon

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Cloves - 2-3

Cinnamon (Flat Indian variety) - 1" stick

Whole Black Pepper corns - 3-5

Bay lead (small sized) - 2

Mace (Javithri) - 1 teaspoon

Onions (chopped) - 1/2 cup

Ginger paste - 1 tablespoon

Garlic paste - 1 tablespoon

Red Chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Salt

Water

For Garnish -

Sweet Chutney - 10 Dates + Jaggery (1/2 tbl spoon) + Cumin powder

+ red chilli powder + salt

Onions (minced) - 1/2 cup

Tomatoes (minced) - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Lime juice - 2 teaspoon

Chaat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Red Chilli powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Sev (Nylon or thin variety)

Poori (Store bought - I used Garvi Gujarat multipurpose Poori's)

Method:

1. Wash and soak the whole peas for 3-4 hours in warm water. Pressure cook the peas for 2-3 whistles. Don't overcook as they should have the bite sized flavour. Keep aside 1 and 1/2 cup of boiled peas and separate the 1/2 cup and keep aside.

2. In a pan, saute the whole spices and dry roast for 2 minutes. Allow to cool and keep aside. In the same pan, add few spoons of ghee/ oil and saute chopped onions, ginger and garlic. Allow to cool.

3. In a blender, blend the following ingredients: 1 and 1/2 cup of whole yellow peas, coriander leaves, bay leaf (1), spices which are dry roasted: cloves, cinnamon, mace, black pepper corns. Also add cooked Toor Dal, Turmeric powder, Red Chilli powder, salt and water as desired. Blend to a thick paste.

4. Transfer this paste to a deep dish pan and bring to boil, make it brothy - not too thick nor too thin. Add the other single bay leaf. Adjust water, salt and spice levels. Turn off flame and keep aside.

5. Plating - Crush few Poori's on the plate, add the boiled Peas, pour the curry. Sprinkle Chaat Masala powder & Red chilli powder, add sweet chutney, garnish with onions and tomatoes which are minced. Sprinkle lime juice, top up with some Sev; crush a poori and sprinkle over chaat and finally sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves. Serve piping hot and enjoy!