Bhandare Wale Aloo ko Sabji - No Onion, no garlic | side dish for Rotis

This sabji is a long pending post from me, and having distinct memories of wolfing down parathas and pooris (puffed breads) along with this sabji during my work tenure at Delhi,  Chandigarh and many other parts of North India. I wanted to post this recipe although I wanted to make this often. 

As a family, we eat no onion and garlic on festival days, and this sabji (Side dish) fit the bill perfectly as it was made on the Shraaddh days preceeding Navratri. I called my friend from Delhi whose mom explained this very simple yet yummy dish as I wanted an authentic dish. 

The no-fuss dish comes together in 10-12 mins if you have boiled potatoes ready beforehand. Goes very well with Kachori, Paratha, Chapati, Roti, Naan, Phulka, Poori or perhaps any other Indian bread. 

I made it with a slight twist (read the recipe below), and served it along with Indori Palak Puri made for the Ssshhh Cooking Challenge featuring Madhya Pradesh Cuisine. 

Bhandarewaale Aloo ki Sabji
Prep time - 10 mins, Cook time - 10 mins, serves - 2~3 adults generously
Gluten Free Side dish for Indian flatbread, can be vegan too 
Spice level - medium

Ingredients:

• Boiled potato - 3 large (peeled and slightly mashed / crumbled)
• Oil - 1 TBSP (mustard oil works best)
• Salt - to taste
• Tomato - 1 large or 2 medium
• Green chillies - 2 (adjust spice)
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1/2 T (adjust to taste)
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Hing / Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp (skip for GF version)
• Garam Masala pwdr - 1/2 T
• Yoghurt - 50 ml {the slight twist in the recipe, and used instead of Amchur Powder}**
• Coriander pwdr (roasted coriander seeds pwdr) - 1 T
• Warm Water - about 1 cup+
• Garnish - chopped coriander leaves

**Amchur is traditionally used in this recipe, but as I had to use the Secret Ingredient - Yoghurt - given by my partner Avin for this month's Challenge, I used it. Omitting Yoghurt would make it a vegan recipe too, along with it being a GF one. Make sure to use sweet yoghurt else the gravy turns too tangy. Also, depending on the tart of the tomatoes, adjust the amchur / yoghurt quantity. 

Method:

1. Grind the ginger, tomato, chillies without adding any water to a smooth paste (As I was making it for the little one too, I sauteed the chillies wit cumin instead of grinding it)
2. Peel the boiled potato, slightly crumble them leaving smallish chunks intact ( I used 1 medium potato and a large sweet potato - boiled till fork tender and mashed into smallish chunks)
3. In a pan, add oil, splutter Cumin seeds,  add the tomato-chilly paste and sautè for 4-5 mins till oil separates. 
4. Now add salt, rest of the spices and saute for 3 mins more. Add in the warm water and crumbled potato and mix well, let it simmer for 6-7 mins on low flame, uncovered (the gravy is slightly watery, so add accordingly as it thickens on cooling)
5. take the pan off the stove, tip in the yoghurt and whisk gently. Bring the pan back to the stove for just 1 min more.
6. Switch off the flame. add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with any flatbread. I served it with the Indori Palak Puri

Indori Palak Puri | Spinach flavoured puffed bread

This month for sshhh cooking challenge for Madhya Pradesh cuisine,  I was paired with Avin who gave me 2 lovely ingredients , one of which was spinach . I immediately thought I would make Indori palak puri which is a much relished breakfast through that that state. I had made Indori Poha earlier and  it’s now a staple at our breakfast table. I knew these pooris would be well received by the little one and she did enjoy it . 

The side dish - Bhandare wale Aloo ki Sabji - was made with the other secret ingredient - yoghurt. I had been wanting to make this for a long time and I knew the elder child would like some spicy, tangy dish to go with the pooris. 

In my haste to fry and click the pics, i couldn't wait to roll out better looking puris. And as we make pooris (puffed flatbreads) very rarely at home, the kids were rather impatient so I shall update the post with better pics. But taste wise there wasn’t any compromise and it was satisfying to see the kids enjoy their meal with this combo. 

The recipe for Bhandarawaale Aloo can be found here on this link. For the pooris, you can head to the recipe below:

Indori palak poori (Vegan Breakfast or snack / brunch idea)

Prep time -15 mins, roll and fry time - 15 Mins; makes - 10-12 medium sized pooris

Wholewheat flour- 1 cup

Palak (spinach) - 1 cup (packed)

Salt to taste 

Roasted cumin powder, red chilli powder - to taste.

Oil - 2 tsp to knead the dough + as  required for frying

Ginger - 1/3 inch piece (optional but recommended)

1~2 green chillies (I didn’t use)

Remove the stalks of the spinach (wash the leaves & pat dry). Blitz spinach to a smooth purée with the ginger and green chillies. 
{{note to self -  blanch, drain dry and purée the spinach next time on before adding it to the dough}}
In a large mixing bowl or flat plate, add the wholewheat flour, spices, salt, 2 tsp oil and the spinach purée. Mix well throughly for 2-3 mins without adding any additional water.
I didn’t require any additional water/ liquid , but if you are not vegan and feel the dough is too ‘floury’ or dry , you may add a few drops of milk or yoghurt to bind it. Knead to a tight dough and keep aside for 10/15 mins .
After that resting time, pinch out small equal portions of the dough for puri and keep aside.
On a countertop or rolling surface, smear some oil and also some on the pinched out dough.
Without adding any additional dry flour, roll out the dough portions into thin pooris. Make most of the pooris this way and deep fry in hot oil one by one till they puff up.
Drain and serve with any side dish or pickle of choice.
Indori poori is traditionally served with chai (spiced Indian milky tea️) and some pickle.

x

Laffa Bread for #Breadbakers | Middle Eastern Bread

When I made Pita for the Mediterranean meal we had, I had also bookmarked a few other bread recipes from that region. One of them was Laffa. So this month, Karen @Karenskitchenstories is hosting Middle Eastern Bread and it made perfect sense to make this ultra soft Israeli/ Palestinian-origin bread that's somewhere, as the recipe source rightly put, between a Naan and a Pita. 

I quartered the recipe and made about 3-4 breads, but they were all gone the first time I made them. 

So, made this exclusively for #Breadbakers with a mixture of Wholwheat Atta (stone ground wholwheat flour) and all purpose. Its amazing to note that with the same combination of flour, oil, yeast and salt , so many many different breads are made across the world. 

Let's check this recipe out. This goes great wit hummus or even as a sandwich / wrap with hummus topped salad / veggies or even falafel. The char-grilled marks on this bread are a must-have so make sure your grill is super hot and watch it while its cooking coz over-cooking can immediately turn the bread rubbery and hard. This bread also would go brilliantly with Beetroot Hummus 

Prep time - 15 mins Rise time : 1 hour. Cook time : 15-20 mins, Makes : 6 pieces. 
Cuisine : Middle Eastern ; Course : Main course ; Difficulty level - Easy

Ingredients:

• Bread flour - 1.5 cups
• Wholewheat flour - 1.5 cup
• Instant yeast - 7 grams
• Sugar - 1 TBSP
• Salt - 1/2 tsp 
• Olive oil - 2 TBSP
• Warm water - 2 cups + 3 TBSP (approx.) 

How to:

1. In a stand mixer, add the dry ingredients, mix well. Make a well, and add the proofed yeast (yeast + warm water + sugar dissolved and set aside for 7-10 mins till yeast 'blooms'). 
2. Mix well, add half the oil and knead till dough is smooth and pliable. Add the rest of the oil and knead again by hand for 4-5 mins. Rest in a greased bowl , covered with a kitchen towel for 1 hour (or till it doubles).
3. Once doubled, punch out the dough for any air pockets. knead for 3-4 mins again, and pinch out equal sized balls. Flatten them out slightly and leave them under a kitchen towel while the grill heats up. 
4. Roll into slightly thickish (and even haphazard shaped breads - it doesnt matter :p) and place on hot grill. Cook for 1-2 min till you see them puff , then flip them over and cook for another 30 seconds (make sure not to overcook or undercook them). 
5. Serve with hummus, and/ or use as a wrap with falafels / kebabs / shawarma. I served them with Fasolia (Vegan middle eastern curry made with Kidney beans)

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. 

Let's see what breads we have from the Middle Eastern stable this month... 

• Baked Pita Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Eggless Challah Bread from Cook with Rent
• Fatayer Jebneh (Arabic Cheese Pie) from Food Lust People Love
• Garlic Butter Glazed Talami Bread from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Jerusalem Bagels from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Kaak from Ambrosia
• Khobz Al Khameer (Traditional Emirati Bread) from Ruchik Randhap
• Kubaneh from Gayaythri's Cook Spot
• Laffa from Sizzling Tastebuds 
• Manakeesh from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Maneesh from The Mad Scientist's Kitchen
• Nan-e_Barbari from Anybody Can Bake
• Omani Maldouf Date Bread from The Schizo Chef
• Rose Shaped Dinner Rolls - Turkish Pogaca Pastry from Sneha's Recipe
• Tahinli Ekmek | Turkish Tahini Bread from Bread and Dreams
• Vegetarian Lahmacun (Turkish Pizza Snack) from Cook's Hideout