So many festivals are around isn’t it? Last week we had Ganesh festival, before that Krishna Janmasthmi and before that Rakshabandhan. Festive spirits are in full swing in our home too. Those of you follow me on instagram would have seen my janmashthmi pooja pic- my way is to keep things simple.
Honestly, in India bringing Ganpati at home has become a
status symbol. People show off their wealth in form of ganpati celebrations-
how big the ganpati is; does it have any silver, gold or diamonds embellished
on it? How much are they spending on prassad? So I was talking over the phone
with my mom and she said that little kids of our neighbourhood have also
welcomed Ganpati in our colony, its a small Ganpati statue that they got with their
own pocket money and right from decoration to inviting people for sthapna and arti was done by those kids- isn’t it what festivals are about?
Simple yet strong emotions and no show off.
So with other festivals approaching like Navratri, Karva
Chauth and Diwali I have began cleaning the house little by little each day.
Rubbish removal is a big task, what to throw and what to keep is huge dilemma for
Mr. Husband. But my funda is clear-anything that I haven’t worn or used in last two
years should go to charity.
So talking about festivals, one of the most common and must
have food is Puri and Aloo ki Subji. I have made Palak Puri before for diwali
to give it a healthy twist. Today’s post is about Ajwain Massala Puri. Poori-signifies
celebration and happiness in most of the India and no big event or occasion is
complete without puris- be it on birthdays, anniversaries, parties or as
a prassad during festivals.
Dough of flour and
salt is rolled out in small circles and then deep fried in oil. While deep
frying, it puffs up like a round ball because moisture in the dough changes
into steam which expands in all directions. Ajwain and massala puri is great
even when served with hot cup of chai. These are great travel snack as well, it
says well for 2-4 days and can be relished with just pickle as well.
Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cup wheat flour
3-4 green chillies-finely chopped
1/2 inch ginger piece/adrak-grated
2 teaspoons carom seeds/ajwain
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi
Salt as per taste
Water as needed
Oil for frying + 2 tablespoons
Method:
Heat a pan and roast carom seeds till
it becomes fragrant.
In a mixing bowl add flour, turmeric
powder, salt, 2 tablespoons oil, carom seeds, green chillies and ginger. Mix
and add water slowly to form the dough. Dough should be firm.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
After that, punch the dough for another 1 minute.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok. On a dusted
work surface, make medium sized pooris, neither thin nor thick and fry them in
hot oil. Drain the pooris on paper napkins to remove excess oil.
Notes:
The puri dough is tight compared to
the dough for parathas or rotis.
You can also add sesame seeds (til)
in the dough.
Serving suggestions:
Puris goes well with almost all dry
curries.
To make the Punjabi thali serve it
with paneer butter massala, aloo chole, dal makhani and green chilli pickle.
For
rajasthani thali pair it with mangodi mutter, aloo pyaz ki subji, marwadi lehsun ki chutney and marwadi Bharwa Bhindi.
For gujarati thali,
serve it with aloo tamatar nu shaak, gobi mutter, khamman dhokla and keri nu ras.
