Uttappa with Peanut Yogurt Chutney
Uttappa is similar to a French crêpe, though it's thicker with a starchier flavor. Uttappa is related to dosa, but is made with a thicker batter. Created from fermented mung dal (split mung beans) and urad dal (split black lentils) and rice, uttappa is a good source of probiotics, which are important for maintaining a healthy GI tract.
Vaishali (Mrs. Deshpande) has found that the food processors in the U.S. are not as strong as those in India, making it very difficult to grind the fermented rice to a super fine consistency. She now uses rice flour, a quicker alternative that allows for a super smooth texture.
Process: The uttappa batter is spread out on a flat bottomed non-stick pan, then is sprinkled with onions, a small drizzle of oil, and is cooked with a lid on. It gets flipped and briefly browned on the second side. Uttappa is traditionally served with Peanut Chutney or Pudina Chutney (with mint and cilantro) as a mid-afternoon snack.
Note: Indian chutneys are spicy and thin, not sweet and thick like American chutneys.
Peanut Yogurt Chutney Recipe
In a mini food processor, grind—
2 c of peanuts
Then add—
3 cloves garlic (pre-grate for better dispersion)
1 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp oil (prevents dryness)
1/4 tsp salt
This makes a large amount. Dilute with yogurt or use as a spread.
Dal TadkaTadka is onomatopoeia for the sound of the cumin seeds sputtering during frying. The dal can be masoor dal (split pink lentils) or toor dal (split pigeon peas), but toor dal is preferred because it has a neutral, slightly sweeter flavor. There was a unanimous consensus by my hosts that toor dal is much better than masoor dal, though I thought this Dal Tadka made with masoor to be quite delicious.
I've been learning a lot about India from my new friend, Vidita, who is an exchange student from Pune (poo-nay)— 3 hours from Mumbai (aka Bombay). She's a Food Science major, so we share a lot of similar interests.
Making masala for Achaari Paneer/Tofu
Mini food processors are an essential tool for Indian cooking. Vidita is using hers to grind bell pepper, roasted spices, and tomato for the masala paste. This paste gets added to fried onions-garlic-ginger, more spices and yogurt.
Tofu was substituted for the paneer, since there are no Indian markets in SLO. Paneer is a creamy and soft Indian cheese, so tofu was a very good substitution and just took on the flavor of the curry. Fenugreek and dill provide the "pickled" flavors, though Vidita didn't have any fenugreek. It was still delicious.
Chaat
Kishor and Vaishali are preparing the chaat. Chaat is an Indian snack or appetizer that revolves around fried dough and a variety of chutneys. The foundation for the chaat we had tonight was puri, which is unleavened deep-fried dough— a special thick chip in this case. Puri is very time consuming to make, so the Deshpandes buy it at an Indian market. Chaat is also time consuming due to the multiple components, so the Deshpandes usually have a chaat dinner just once a month, or go to a restaurant that specializes in chaat. I really liked the idea of having a special style of dinner to look forward to every month.
Sev Batata Puri (a type of chaat)
Sev refers to the crunchy noodle topping. Sev is made from chickpea flour pressed through a pasta squeezer and then deep-fried.
The base layer is boiled potato (batata) mashed with chaat masala (a spice blend). Next come the chutneys: pudina (mint-cilantro), tomato, & tamarind chutney, followed by a sprinkling of minced raw onion and tomato, a sprinkle of sev, and then a garnish of chopped cilantro.
We also added a little yogurt to some, making them Dahi (Yogurt) Sev Batata Puri or SPDP. SPDP refers to the Hindi name, Sev Puri Dahi Puri.
Achaari Paneer (or Tofu) — Tofu Curry with Pickled Flavor
This was so delicious and wonderfully fragrant! All the different spices harmonized to create a sum greater than the parts. We ate this curry with naan and roti. Roti is similar to a whole wheat tortilla.
I didn't mind having the tofu instead of paneer. It's nice knowing about subbing tofu for paneer, because I had previously been avoiding trying any recipes calling for paneer due to its lack of availability in SLO.
I learned that over time, you can tell if a curry or dal has the right amount of salt just by smelling. Vaishali knew that Vidita's Achaari Tofu had the right amount of salt after one sniff. I hope I can develop that sense one day!
Jeera Rice (Rice with Cumin Seeds)
Vaishali fried cumin seeds (jeera) in a small amount of oil, then added a bay leaf, mixed in pre-cooked rice, and added a smidge of ghee around the edges of the pan for aroma. Oh, the wonderful smells of Indian cooking!
Jeera Rice Recipe
Heat 1 T oil in a skillet.
When oil is hot, add 1-2 bay leaves, broken in half and 1 T of cumin seeds. Be careful not to burn the seeds. Lift pan from heat after 30 sec or so if toasty.
Return to heat and add 2-3 c of cooked rice and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix.
Can add 1 tsp of ghee around the edges of the rice for extra flavor and aroma.
Put a lid on the pan and keep warm until ready to serve.
Dal Tadka
This dal tadka began with fried cumin seeds, red chilis, bay leaf, garlic, and turmeric. Pre-cooked masoor dal (can also use toor dal), water, and salt were mixed in and then Vaishali added a tiny bit of ghee for aroma. We were all served a small amount of rice, then some Dal Tadka next to the rice. You mix the dal into the rice a little at a time as you eat.
Awesome job with the blog dear :)
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