Contrary to the usual Punjabi tastes, I’m not a big fan of Pooris, or unleavened fried bread. Delicious as it is, it’s a bit too heavy for my taste. But AK loves it. So we compromise once in a while and I make them for him atleast once a month.
But this time, the compromise went one step further. Instead of making it with the traditional bhaaji (generic term for cooked vegetables), i.e. potatoes in tomato gravy, I talked AK into letting me try Dahi-ke-Aloo, or potatoes in yoghurt curry. One of my colleagues in office brings it for lunch very often and I love it. It’s best had with rice, but turned out to be delightful change with the pooris as well.
Here’s what I used for 2 people:
For the Aloo Bhaaji:
5 medium-small potatoes
4 tbsp yoghurt
2 tbsp besan/ gram flour
1 tsp whole jeera/ cumin seeds
3 green chillies – slit in half length-wise
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/4 tsp haldi/ turmeric powder
Pinch of asafoetida
Salt & Red Chilli Powder to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Chopped Dhaniya/ Cilantro for garnish
For the Pooris:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ajwain/ caraway or carom seeds
Water, as required
Vegetable Oil to deep fry
Here’s how I made it:
First I boiled & peeled the potatoes. They can be slightly under-done since they will be cooked further later anyway! I usually scrub them and put them in a lidded dish and microwave for about 5-6 minutes on High.
I out them on a plate and proceeded to break them up into chunks with my hands.
Then I put the yoghurt in a bowl…
Whisked it a little before adding the besan…
The salt (i used a tsp)…
The haldi…
The asafoetida…
And whisked it all up until there were no lumps left…
Then I added 3 cups water with the ginger & garlic and mixed it up…
I put a saucepan on high heat with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil… When nice and hot, I added the cumin seeds and fried till brown and fragrant – about 1 minute.
Then I added the green chillies…
And fried for another 30-40 seconds.
Then I added the potatoes and friend for about 2 minutes…
Next, I poured in the yogurt mix…
I brought it to a boil and then bent down to sniff the heavenly aroma of cumin and turmeric…!
I checked the seasoning and was ok with the salt, but felt we needed more spice so I added a dash of red chilli powder!
Then I stirred it and covered the pan with a lid, leaving it to simmer for 15 minutes while I got the salad and pooris ready.
In a wide and deep steel bowl, I placed the flour, salt, red chilli powder and ajwain and stirred it with my hands…
Then adding a little cold water at a time (as much as would fit in my upturned palm), I incorporated the water into the flour and kneaded it till the soft dough came together…
Once it started coming together, I punched it flat and then pulled together. Punch and pull. Punch and pull. I can go on… And on… But 2 minutes of this is enough.
Then I divided it into sections and rolled it into balls…
I initially rolled them into approx larger than golf ball size… But decided later that they were making HUGE pooris. So I re-did it to make them smaller. This pic is of the larger ones…
The dough made about 10-12 pooris. Depends on how large you want them. Anyhow, I let these rest while I heated some oil in a kadhai/ wok. When it was nice and hot, I took out my chakla-belan (rolling stone and pin)…
Then dabbing the dough ball with a little oil so it doesn’t stick to the stone or the pin, I flattened it slightly in my palms and then placed it on the stone. I rolled it out as thin as I could without causing it to tear…
Now most people slide it into the oil like this, which results in nice puffed up pooris. But AK and I like them to be a little crisp, so I poked it with a fork about 4 times…
And then slid it into the hot oil, carefully because I didn’t want to splash oil all over myself…
I reduced the heat slightly to medium-high and fried it for about 30-40 seconds on each side, flipping carefully with a slotted spoon…
When golden, I carefully lifted it out of the oil and drained the oil for a few seconds before placing on paper towels to drain a little more…
(The pics make the pooris look more yellow than they were. I assure you they were golden. Just the direct sunlight playing tricks!!)
Anyhow, I served it up with the bhaaji, some sliced onions doused in chaat masala and lemon juice, as well as some achaar/ pickle and grated carrots!
Bon Apetit!!