Poori Channa

Sundays are always a time to relax with a cuppa coffee...and read the papers and if time permits, watch the rangoli on TV. Off late, have not been following this ritual, what with the kids getting up with us and at times we find we don't have time to drink the coffee properly too. Kids are so adorable but at times taxing. My daughter, when she was until 3 or 4, used to sleep when we sleep and get up dot on the time we do. So never really gives us time to even sit for a moment. Now I find she sleeps late on holidays. But at times, on Sundays she gets up with any nudge from us. My twins on the other hand, offlate have got into habit of sleeping after we do, and getting up along with us. But whatever happens, Sundays are dedicated to Pooris. This gives us the pickup needed to run around for the next whole week. This is also to ensure we don't get hungry for a quick lunch, as Sundays its always late lunch.

When I was with my parents, it was a different story. Amma used to prepare Bhaturas and we generally used to wander around, gardening and doing other unrelated things, but with kids around I don't find time to prepare Bhatura, so just make pooris. And side dishes are always altering with Channa, Potato bajjis or Yellow moong dal (pesarapappu kura as we call).

Today its going to be Poori with Channa. This is different from the one I made for Bhatura.

Ingredients needed:

Channa - 2 cups (soaked overnight)
Onions - 2 medium
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Channa Masala - 1 tsp (I used MTR brand)
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil
Coriander leaves
Curry Leaves

Method to prepare:

Soak Channa overnight, (atleast for 6 hours) in water. Pressure cook to get tender channa dal. Ensure its not soggy.

Make puree of Onions and Tomatoes separately

Heat Oil in a kadai, add curry leaves and cumin seeds. Then add onion paste and cook well until raw smell is gone. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 mins. Then add tomato puree. All the powders. Cook for 5 mins till oil comes out.

Then add the cooked Channa to the kadai. Mash some channa to paste, to give consistency to the gravy. Sim it for a while, until you get a thick gravy. Finally garnish with coriander leaves.

Poori

Making not so Oily and Puffed up Poori is an art in itself. Amma always makes such adorable ones, and I have learnt the trick from her. Mine is not so oily and remain puffed up for quite sometime. To get this, we should make the dough just some 10 mins before rolling out the pooris. If it sits, then the dough gets soft which will consume more oil. dough should also be stiff and not soft as we make for chapattis.

Ingredients needed

Wheat flour or Atta - 3 cups
Water - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for frying.

Method to prepare:

Take a bowl with the atta. Shift with salt and mix well. Add water little by little and knead well till you get a stiff dough. The stiffness is to make sure pooris don't consume more oil and not much flour is required to dust it while we roll them out.

Let it sit for 10 mins, divide into equal size (as a lemon). Press down with flour and roll it out. You should not use too much pressure as it will make the dough stick to the board and will get a dent. Roll out all the ones that are required to be fried.

Heat oil in kadai, check if its really hot. This can be done either by dropping a small piece of dough or by keeping our hands over the kadai. If you feel hot waves coming out, then it means its hot enough. Just take care not to keep it too close.

Lift the poori and dab off excess flour if any sticking to the poori. If it has extra flour, oil gets mixed with flour. Then slide it gently into the oil. When you slide it from one edge, oil will not splash. Gently press the poori with the slotted spoon, this way it will get cooked evenly and it will rise. Then immediately roll over the other side. Cooking this side will take few seconds more as this is the thicker side.

When its done, just keep it resting on the kadai side so that excess oil will drain away. Remove on to a kitchen towel. (During the initial stages of marriage, Hubby dear used to comment that poori loses its charm when I remove on a kitchen towel, he doesn't anymore...:)...these days he complains when I say I am going to make poori. I guess it all a question of us getting older!)

Serve with Channa!
Whenever I eat poori, I remember my friends' Mom. When we had gone to her place one evening, she prepared Poori for evening tiffin. All my friends, after eating just 2 or 3 pooris , said they can't eat anymore. I never had such hassles. But looking at my friends, she was surprised and said being teenagers we should eat more of such oily food, as we may not be able to eat it at later stage. How true she was!

Wish I could do it again!

Sending this for the party Hosted by Anita for a Mad Tea party. Its been one exciting poori party...check out her place for all the other poori varieties.