Chaat Mela #5 - Garam Bhel / Garam Pori

The chaat series cannot be closed down without posting a dish using puffed rice(pori). Its one of the most versatile and simple ingredient to make chaat items too :)

Garam pori or garam bhel is pretty famous in hill stations especially in Tirupathi. I have never missed to have them when I visit Tirupathi every year. It would be a great snack for the chill climate :)

There are various versions of Garam pori and I have put down three variations in this post. Enjoy munching on a guilt free snack :)

And that officially marks the end of my Chaat mela but would definitely post more of such when I make them in the coming days :)

Miniature set up of the street bhel shop :)

Gharam Pori (Version 1 - Street style)

Ingredients:

Puffed rice(pori) - 2 cup
Tomato - 1
Onion - 1
Carrot - 1
Cucumber - 1/2
Raw Mango (Manga) - 1/2
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt - for taste
Coconut oil - 1 tsp

Method :

Chop raw mango, tomato, onion and cucumber finely. Grate the carrot.

Take the puffed rice in a bowl and add all the veggies and mix well. Add a tsp of coconut oil along with red chilly powder, chaat masala and salt.

Gharam pori is ready to eat :)

Serve and eat it as soon as possible to enjoy the crispy chaat :)

Jhal Muri (Variation 2)

Add finely cut coconut pieces and sev or bhujia to the above recipe and replace coconut oil with mustard oil to make Jhal Muri :)

Gharam Bhel (Variation 3)

Ingredients:

Puffed rice (Pori) - 2 cups
Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch
Mint leaves - 1/2 bunch
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
Garlic - 2 pods
Green chilly - 1
Coconut (scrapped) - 2 tblsp
Salt - for taste
Coconut oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Grind ginger, garlic, coriander, mint leaves, green chilly, coconut and salt together without adding water.

Take the puffed rice in a bowl and add the ground paste along with a tsp of coconut oil and mix until the puffed rice is coated well.

Gharam bhel is ready to eat :)

Tips:

Add the vegetables just before serving the bhel.

Eat quickly for best results ;)

You can replace coconut oil with olive oil or mustard oil.

You can add mint chutney and sweet chutney to the bhel as well.

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.

Chaat Mela #4 - Dahi Papdi Chaat

Me and my family have been thoroughly enjoying the chaat series so far. Its sheer bliss to indulge on your favorite dishes everyday, isn't it?? ;) It adds to the pleasure when I enjoy making them all by myself :)

Gangotri is one of the best eatery all Chennaites would have enjoyed having chaat from. I am no exception and have visited quite often during college days :) Every time I visit Gangotri, I would order Dahi papdi chaat since I love chaats with curd a lot :) So this chaat has a special place in my favorites list always.

I had bookmarked this recipe from Ria's Collection long time back and instantly took out the recipe and made it this afternoon :)

The recipe was foolproof. No wonder when it is from her! she is one of the best blogger's I have come across :)

I followed her papdi recipe as it is but went by my own choice when assembling the chaat.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour(Maida) - 1 1/2 cups
Salt- for taste
Ajwain(Omam / Carom seeds) - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tblsp
Water - 1/2 cup or less

Method:

Take maida, salt and ajwain in a bowl and mix well. Add the oil to it and rub with your hands to make crumbs.

Now add water little by little and make a hard dough. The consistency should be harder than chapathi dough.

Keep this covered for twenty minutes.

Roll them into a large circle of 2mm thickness. Cut out circles using cookie cutter or a bottle cap.

Pierce lots of holes on the papdi with fork tines.

Put the cut circles on a paper and let it aside for ten mins. This step helps in getting flat(un puffed) and crispy papdi.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the papdi until light brown on both the sides.

Drain the excess oil on tissue and store in air tight containers.

Dahi Papdi Chaat

Ingredients:

Papdi
Dahi (youghurt / curd)
Mint chutney
Sweet chutney
Potato
Onion
Chilly powder
Salt
Chaat masala
Sev or Aloo bhujia

Method to assemble:

Cook the potato and dice into small pieces. Chop onion finely. Beat the curd with three tsp of sugar.

Make sweet chutney and mint chutney. Find recipes of both here.

Line papdi's on a plate and add some potatoes and onion.

Pour the beaten curd on the papdi's.

Drizzle some sweet chutney and mint chutney on top.

Now sprinkle salt, chilly powder and chaat masala.

Top it with aloo bhujia or sev and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Yummylicious Dahi papdi chaat is ready to eat :)

Enjoy making and happy eating :)

Tips:

You can add cooked chickpeas(channa) or cooked peas too.

You can also add some sprouted gram to the chaat.

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.

Chaat Mela #3 - Pav Bhaji

My taste and likes for dishes keeps changing. Kind of fickle minded about dishes that I really like. Yesterday I would have said some dish as my most favorite, but today I would call another as the best and tomorrow it would be something entirely different. Chaaa.. isn't that human tendency and right to like different things each day!! :) After all life gives million choices atleast when it comes to food and why not fall for all of them someday or the other!!!

Out of the million choices that we are given, Pav-bhaji recently stole my heart and I'm totally in love with it :) Its definitely not a new invention or a recent one either but its just that I have grown up only now to like spicy and tangy food :P

Hot Chips in Pondy bazaar is one place where Pav-bhaji is at its best :) The chef there starts making it only at 5PM and the sound of him mashing the vegetables with two knives on the skillet would just ring the bell in my tummy everytime I pass by that place. Totally irresistible taste and I care a damn about the amount of butter he uses. After all its pure indulgence and no once can stop me from melting for it :)

Yummmmmmmm. My home made version is quite similar to the one I fell for and its me who made it, so there is no choice than loving it :P

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 4
Carrot - 3
Peas - 1/2 cup
Beans - 100 gms
Onions - 2
Tomatoes - 4
Capsicum(Bell pepper) - 1
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Garlic - 6 flakes
Green chillies - 2
Chilly powder - for taste
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Pav bhaji masala powder - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - for taste
Butter/oil - 50 gms

Method:

Dice carrot and beans into small cubes. Pressure cook the diced carrot, beans, potatoes and peas.

Peel the cooked potatoes and mash them.

Chop onions, capsicum and tomatoes finely.

Grind green chillies, ginger and garlic together into a paste.

Take a shallow pan and add the butter, once it melts season with cumin seeds. Now add chopped onions and fry till golden brown. Add the ground paste and fry for few mins. Mix finely chopped tomatoes and fry until they form a gravy.

Now add the cooked vegetables, mashed potatoes, diced capsicum along with chilly powder, pav bhaji masala, turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Add enough water to make gravy and mix well. Allow it to boil for few mins.

Pav bhaji masala is ready.

To Serve:

Cut the pav buns horizontally. Apply butter generously on top and inside the slit and roast on hot skillet until slightly brown.

Serve it with bhaji, finely chopped onions and a slice of lime :)

Enjoy making and happy eating :)

Tips:

You can also add cooked cauliflower to the bhaji.

You can use a masher or a laddle to mash the bhaji finely while it is getting cooked. I skipped this step since I like my bhaji a little chunky.

Pav-bhaji masala powder is readily available in store under many brands like Everest etc. But if you dont find one, you can replace it with gharam masala.

You can use this bhaji as a side dish for roti.

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.

Chaat Mela # 2 - Crispy Corn & Cup Corn

Crispy corn and cup corn popped up instantly in my mind when I was trying to recollect all my favorite chaats.

Cup corn has been a recent entry to the road side stall chaats and most of you would have tasted and fallen in love with its taste. The simplicity of the dish is a special attraction to me. Ever since I found the secret behind the taste, I have been repeating it every time I buy corn :)

I have had Crispy corn as a starter in Mainland China restaurant, but the style of the dish can easily fall under chaat category also. I was totally bowled out by the idea when I had it for the first time itself and tried to formulate it myself at home and succeeded in making it as well. Yahooooo :)

Now these two styles of chaat have become my family favorites and especially the crispy corn is my grandma's favorite since she found it easier to chew :)

Crispy Corn

Ingredients:

Sweet corn cobs - 2

Corn flour - 2 tblsp

Rice flour - 1 tblsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Salt - for taste

Oil - for frying

Tomato - 1

Onion - 1

Coriander leaves

Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Chaat masala - 1 tsp

Method:

Pressure cook the corn cobs for about 5 long whistles in salt water.

Remove the cobs from water and shred the corn kernels and collect them on a flat plate.

Mix corn flour, rice flour, chilly powder and some salt together and sprinkle this mixture on the shredded corn kernels. Spray few drops of water and mix them nicely with your hand so that the corn kernels are coated nicely with the powders.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the corn kernels in medium flame until golden color. The corn kernels would become really crisp.

Once fried, collect them on a tissue to remove excess oil.

They might have got grouped together while frying, separate them using your hands.

Chop onion, tomato and coriander leaves finely.

Now mix the chopped vegetables and the fried corn in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt, chaat masala and lemon extract and mix well.

Serve immediately :)

Enjoy the crispy, tangy and yummy corn chaat :)

Tips:

Do not add more than few drops of water while mixing in the rice and corn flour to the corn kernels. More water would cause you trouble while deep frying.

Serve it as soon as it is done. Eating it crisp is the punch of the dish.

You can use canned sweet corn as well.

Sweet corn is the best choice for these two chaats than the normal corns.

Cup Corn

Ingredients:

Corn cob - 1

Olive oil / butter / ghee - 1 tsp

Mixed herbs - 1 tsp

Salt - for taste

Method:

Pressure cook the corn cob in salt water for 5 whistles.

Remove the cobs from water and shred the corn kernels and collect them in a microwave safe bowl.

Add the butter, mixed herbs and salt to it and mix well.

Microwave at high for 30 seconds and serve it hot :)

Simple cup corn is ready to eat :)

Tips:

Mixed herbs are easily available in supermarkets. There are a wide choice of brands as well.

You can use the herbs of your choice to make different flavors of cup corn.

You can mix in spices like pepper or chilly powder to the cooked corn kernels too.

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.

Chaat Mela #1 - Pani Puri

All Indians would be familiar with the term Chaat and are mostly big time fans of chaat as well :)

Chaat is basically a plate of savory snack served mostly on the roadside stalls or carts in India. This style of food originated in Northern states of India and spread across covering the entire country now :)

I am so inclined towards chaat items and can afford to break my diet plans for them anytime. Most of the time I step out of home for some shopping, I end up snacking on some roadside chaat :)

Hence 4th Sense Cooking would celebrate the love for Chaat in the next few posts calling it Chaat Mela :)

Pani puri takes the first place in the list of chaats and I can easily call it the King of Chaats :)

Pani puri is also called as Gol Gappa, Pani Ke Bataashe or Gup Chup. Its a very popular snack comprising of a hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with various mixtures and finally dipped in flavored water.

I am going to give me quick version of pani puri here with store bought puri and Pani puri masala for the pani.

Recipe for Mint chutney

Ingredients:

Mint leaves(pudina) - 1 bunch
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
Salt - for taste

Method:

Clean and wash the mint leaves. Grind mint leaves, green chillies, ginger and salt together to make the mint chutney.

You can store this for upto ten days in the refrigerator and use them.

Recipe for Sweet chutney:

Ingredients:

Dates - 10
Tamarind paste - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 tblsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Asafoetida - a pinch

Method:

Soak the dates in warm water for one hour.

Grind the dates, tamarind paste and jaggery together in the mixie until smooth.

Take a pan and add just a spoon of oil and crackle cumin seeds. Add the ground paste and a little water and cook this on medium flame for a while. Add a pinch of salt and asafoetida and mix well. Switch off once the chutney is slightly thick and sticky.

Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate.

Method to make pani:

I bought ready made pani puri powder by Everest brand and diluted 5 tblsp of powder for 2 cups of water to make pani.

I used store bought puri too :P I was a little lazy you see ;) I wanted everything to be ready in a jiffy. So choose to buy them :)

Recipe to make Pani Puri:

Ingredients:

Puri - 10
Pani - 2 cups
Onion - 1
Potatoes - 3
Chilly powder - for taste
Salt - for taste
Sprouted green gram - 1/2 cup
Mint chutney
Sweet chutney
Bhujia(oma podi) - 1/2 cup

Method:

Cook the potatoes and smash them. Mix a tsp of chilly powder and required salt to the mashed potatoes.

Chop onion finely and keep it aside.

Now to assemble the puri, break open a hole on one side of the puri and drop a tsp of mashed potato. Follow it by a tsp of chopped onion, then a tsp of sprouted green gram, then mint chutney and sweet chutney. Finally top it with some bhujia and serve them with a cup of prepared pani. :)

Pour a tblsp of pani into the filled puri and gobble them into your mouth :)

Mmmmmyummmmyummm pani puri is ready :) Enjoy making and enjoy eating as well :)

Tips:

Check both the sides of the puri and choose the weakest side of the puri to break open a hole. This will help to keep the pani inside the puri till you gobble them.

If you want to make these for a party, you can mix the mint chutney and sweet chutney to the pani itself and get all the puris filled with the rest of the ingredients and set it ready before you serve. Avoiding the wet ingredients(Mint and sweet chutney) in the puri will keep the puri crisp until it is served.

If you happen to find a lot of broken puris or puris with lots of holes, just crush them and put them in a bowl with all the other ingredients and enjoy eating a mixed chaat :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.