Sunday Lunch

As a child, I remember my mum preparing puris on special occasions. It was usually made when we had guests over. I loved using katoris to cut out small circles from the atta dough. She would keep reams of newspaper on the side and we would be given the task of lining them up in a nice row ready to be deep fried, fresh just before our guests arrived.

I have been craving this dish for quite a while and I had a bag of atta (powdered whole wheat) languishing in one of the cupboards for a while. S missed the rasta aloo bhaji which was a staple part of his diet during his days in Delhi.

So on Sunday we did a bit of googling and recipe hunting and settled on a relatively easy recipe which resulted in this.
Utensils required- A rolling pin, a wooden flat chopping board , medium- small circular pastry cutter/Katoris and a nice strong man to knead the dough ;)
2oog (1 1/2 cups) atta (chapati flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
170ml (2/3 cup) of tepid water.

Sieve the salt and atta into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre, add the water and mix into a pliable dough for 5 mins. Oil your fingers and use a well floured surface because this is sticky business. Place a little oil in the mixing bowl around the dough and leave aside for 30 mins



Roll out small lemon sized balls, place on a well floured flat surface (wooden board) and roll out into a flat pastry about 1mm in thickness, then use your katori/ pastry cutter to cut out circles about 4 cm in diameter. You should get about 30 such circles. Now for the sinful bit, fill a karhai/ heavy based saucepan one third full with oil and heat. To test the oil temperature place a small piece of atta in the oil, it should rise to the surface in a few seconds. Deep fry your puris in batches until they are crispy, puffed and golden brown. Drain on paper towels .




Aloo bhaji: Potato Curry
4 medium Potatoes Peeled
1 tsp of Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander ( dhaniya) Powder
2 tsp of Garam Masala
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp of Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp of Ginger Garlic paste
1 tomato ( 200mg tinned tomatoes)
One fist full of coriander leaves
2 tbsp of Oil
Salt as per taste

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and let them sputter. Add the asafoetida, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder and fry for 1 min. Next add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins.
Add the tomatoes in and fry on medium heat until the oil separates ensuring they are nicely fried, alternatively add the tinned tomatoes. Add the potatoes and ensure they are well coated with the masala mixture and fry for 1 min. Place 1/2 a cup of water into this mixture, salt and cook potatoes till you get a nice curry consistency.
Enjoy with hot crispy puris

Rambling in the rain

Bank holiday came and went. S decided we needed to take up the quintessentially British activity of rambling. We decided to explore the Jurassic coastline in Dorset. Rambling, otherwise known as walking, has its roots set as far back as the 19th century when people migrated to the countryside for rest and recreation. Over the years various associations were set up for the protection of ancient footpaths and open spaces, many of which ran through privately owned land. Predictably, this led to arguments between the landowners and the ramblers.

The most recent spat occurred when the singer Madonna challenged the rights of ramblers to walk across her multi million pound country estate.

The morning was not too sunny, ideal weather for a 5- mile walk, or so I thought. We packed all our essentials, cling film wrapped chutney sandwiches, mackintoshes etc now all we needed was a spell of good weather. The drive was gorgeous, the English countryside in summer is truly picturesque. Bluebells and yellow carpets of rapeseed farms.

The journey to the coastline took us about 2 hours, and by the time we reached, the weather had forsaken us. I was more than happy to drive about, browse through the local shops and head back but S was not having any of that. So we gobbled down cold chutney sandwiches, then got our macks and headed off.

The walk we chose was rated as moderately difficult. I think the constant drizzling rain made it a little more treacherous thanks to slushy hillsides. We trudged along fields heading towards the coastline, greeted along the way by several grazing cows, sheep and fellow ramblers in no particular order.

When we finally reached the sea, the view was spectacular. This coastline has been designated a world heritage site. It is 185 million years old and is made up of a series of limestone cliffs of various sizes shaped over millions of years by erosion. At the end of the walk I was wet, I had the wrong shoes on, they were caked in cow dung and I could feel muscles I never knew existed.
What made it worthwhile was this backdrop.


I think I've been bitten by the rambling bug ;)