Saturday, November 24, 2018

"Puran~Dry Fruit Patti Samosa".


"Puran~Dry Fruit Patti Samosa" ... Kartik Poornima Greetings to all my friends ... prepared a few patti samosas with chana dal puran filling to which I added lots of dry fruits and used it as stuffing in store bought patti samosa covering ... Sharing this delicious Naivedyam with all of you ... Stay Blessed-Spread Happiness .... 

** The idea of preparing this sweet patti samosas has been ringing in my mind for quite some time now. I always buy these readily available samosa patti / strips from market and put it in the freezer preparing a long list of items I would like to try out using it in my mind. But the problem with me is out of sight out of mind. Somehow as I keep it right behind in the freezer section and as my freezer is full of what not’s I somehow forget about it completely and when I do I either do not have the right ingredients or the mood to go ahead preparing the same. Today being Kartik Poornima I wanted to prepare something sweet as an offering to God, but somehow did not feel like preparing anything new as after Diwali I am actually in no mood for more of sweet dishes. I keep an hour or two free in the noon just to go through my books / novels etc. so that I get my due rest for my back as well as a break from the routine work. I was reading a fiction which I really do not know why I bought or how ?? coz. it was quite a bore from page one. Usually I do read a few pages when I buy a book and if it really makes me engrossed to read it, only then it finds its way in my book collection. This books somehow got squeezed in unnoticed I guess, and since I have paid for it, I thought I may as well torture myself and read it. 

** But when something is too boring, or just does not hold on to your interest, I am sure all of your will agree with me that your mind wanders elsewhere, after all the mind also has its own likes and dislikes. I was trying, really trying very hard to read the book, but could not go beyond the third paragraph before my mind started wandering off. How I wish I could doze off, at least a nap would have been a better option, definitely a bliss, a rare treat for me, but sleep is something a distant mile from me in the noons. If it was not for the compulsory rest that I am advised to take in the noon which I jokingly call as straightening my spine just like today's generation straightens their hair, I would have done much more than what I am doing at present. Sigh, guess I have to bear through reading the book was what was in my mind, when I suddenly remembered I had not prepared the sweet dish as I had somehow completely forgotten about it after finishing preparing my lunch in the morning and leaving to office. Now comes my most interesting hobby, yeah thinking and cracking my brains as to what new I could do. Hubby had already left for office a few minutes before, after his small 30 minutes of nap, so I could not pester him or sometimes he does gives me good ideas. Finally I gave up and thought of preparing gud poha / godu phovu which we Konkani Saraswats love to prepare at the drop of a hat come any festival. 

** I knew hubby would crib as I had prepared Sakkare Phovu a few days back and now this, but that is what can be safely banked upon when in crisis. My mind too was yelling NO-NO think of something else, but I was adamant that I would not tire myself in the evening by trying out something new which needed both time and energy. I always grate 2-3 coconuts and put them in freezer as they are always my friend in need and it makes my work that much more easier. I decided to prepare just two handful of gud poha, so that it would be consumed and not leftover for next day which I was sure would then have to disposed by giving away. As I was removing the box of coconut gratings from my freezer my eyes fell on the samosa patti kept right behind it which set my mind thinking. I kept the coconut outside for it to get thawed and sat down to think what I could do that was a little bit different. Long back I had prepared “Sukrundo” a sweet Konkani Saraswat dish and at that time when I had offered the same to my friend she was surprised as they prepared it differently. My Mom always prepared it with with puffed paddy powder and jaggery while many prepared it with the chana dal puran, yes the same that is used for Ubbati / Puran Poli, which was not what I had grown up eating. I loved my Mother’s version very much and had always prepared the same. 

** I have included my Mothers version of preparing “Sukrundo” before in the Blog and you can use the search option for the same. But when my friend had told me about the puran filling one of which I was not aware at that time, I had asked my Mom and she said some prepared it that way too, but she herself never had as nobody in home liked it. I had searched through my fav. Google and found many usually followed the puruan method and did not know my mom’s method. It also came to my knowledge that it was prepared most by North Kanara and Kerala side Konkani’s specially during baby shower (godH bharai / gurbini kappada) ie a function held for the pregnant women on completion of 7th month before delivery. I tasted it at 2-3 functions and somehow always felt I was eating puran of ubbati / puran poli and did not like it very much, though it was good in its own way. I have always wanted to prepare it for the sake of blogging but with a more appealing touch so that it would enhance the taste of the same in much more delicious way. I thought of preparing the puran to which I decided to add on the dry fruits and then prepare patti samosa with the same, so that the crisp exterior would be much more tastier when you take a bite on. I must say the result was far more superior to my expectations and I am so glad I gave in and tried out my own method, which will definitely stay in my files and kitchen forever, trust me it was simply exotic. 


** Here is my simple method of preparing "Puran~Dry Fruit Patti Samosa" … My Style … 

** Ingredients : 
Chana Dal / Black Bengal Gram Dal : ½ cup 
Freshly grated Coconut : ½ cup (white part only) 
Jaggery / Gud / Goda : 50 gms grated. 
Sugar / Shakkar / Sakkara : 1 cup (approximately) 
Cardamom / Ellaichi / Yellu Powder : ½ tsp 
Ghee / Toop : 2 + 1 tblsp 
Dry Fruits mixture : 1 cup 
Oil for deep frying. 

** Samosa Patti : as per requirement (I used readily available ones from store) 

** Wash the chana dal well, put it in a pressure cooker with 1.5 cups of water and pressure cook to 4-5 whistles. Let the pressure drop on its own, open the lid and check the chana dal it must have cooked to a mushy texture. If not add in water if required and pressure cook again to 2 whistles. 

** Meanwhile, keep the dry fruits ready by cutting them into small pieces if they are larger in size. I have added melon seeds, walnuts, cashew nuts, pistachios, almonds, and raisins mixed. Keep this ready aside in a bowl. 

** Note : Check the dry fruits texture, they should be fresh and nutty/crunchy, if not mix them well and roast them for a minute on microwave or kadai (leave out raisins while doing so) and then use the same. They should have crunchiness in them. 

** Remove and strain the chana dal and either with a potato masher, puran poli grinder or in a mixer grinder grind the chana dal into a fine rava / grainy textured paste. 

** Note : You can also grind it to a fine paste just as we do while preparing sukrundo or ubbati ie puran poli. I have kept it chiroti rava texture as I am preparing it as samosa stuffing and I wanted little bit of crunchy texture. Try it this way you will really love it. 

** Now in a thick-bottomed kadai / pan add in the 2 tblsp of ghee, once it melts add in the grated jaggery and mix well. Now add in the chana dal ground mix, coconut gratings, sugar and mix all well together till evenly mixed on medium heat. Now keep stirring until it thickens and leaves the sides. 

** Note : keep a check on the heat level if too hot, lower the heat and do not allow the chana dal to get burnt or stick to the bottom and sides. We need an evenly mixed mixture without any burnt smell. So keep stirring and if you need to go away for a little while, keep the heat minimum. 

** Once the mixture starts leaving the sides, add in the dry fruits, remaining ghee, cardamom powder and mix well for 2-3 minutes. Remove from fire, put it on a flat plate and allow to completely cool and then it is ready to be used. This is called puran which is used for ubbati / puran poli and sukrundo too. 

** Remove the patti samosa strips from the freezer and allow them to thaw. I have used readily available one’s from stores, however you can prepare the same if you know the method or use the normal samosa covering too, but see to it that you make smaller sized samosas. 

** Make small balls and give them slightly cylindrical shape out of the puran ie inner filling mixture and keep them ready. Now place a strip / patti of the samosa patti, keep the filling on one corner and then fold over to get a triangle and then fold it over till the end of the strip and then seal it making it slightly damp using water. 

** Prepare the required number of samosas you would like to have in similar manner and keep them all ready. Meanwhile keep a kadai / pan with plenty of oil to heat for deep frying. Once the oil has reached smoking point, lower the heat and wait for 3-4 minutes for the heat to reduce slightly or else the samosas will get burned. 

** Now add in the samosas gently into the oil and fry on medium heat till they are evenly cooked and browned. Maintain a constant heat to get evenly fried patti samosas. Also do not overcrowd the kadai. Fry the samosa in batches of only that much how much will hold in the kadai and there is enough place for the samosa to be turned and fried evenly. Once done remove them in an absorbent paper and allow the excess oil to get drained. 


** "Puran~Dry Fruit Patti Samosa" is done and ready to be served. You can serve these samosa hot or slightly warm as a snack with some chilled drink as an accompaniment. They taste really fantastic, crunchy sweet and delicious. I had prepared these just as the thought crossed my mind to have something sweet and crunch in the samosas, but they really very came out much higher than my expectation and I was really thrilled with the outcome. 

** Do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. You can prepare these as Naivedyam dish too as I did as today was Kartik Poornima festival day. You can also prepare these ahead and keep them if you have a party or guests coming over. Children will simple love these and ask for more, so be prepared to make them in bulk. You can also surprise the kids preparing these for their Birthday parties and have a lot of grinning children craving for more. 

** Note : You can increase or decrease the amount of jaggery and sugar added as per your family liking and how sweet you want the puran to be. You can also use only jaggery or only sugar for the same too. By and large only jaggery is used, but my mother adds them on in 1:1 portion and it tastes awesome, so I have maintained that same ratio always.

** Note : You can also prepare the puran ie the inside mixture and keep it ready a few hours ahead to preparation of the samosas and it turns out fine as we need the puran to completely cool for this recipe. In case you need to store it for more than 2-3 hours, you can put it in an steel dabba/container and put it in the fridge and use it by thawing it for 15-20 minutes. In fridge the puran remains good for 2-3 days. 

** Note : For the folding pattern of patti samosa : I am sure all of you are aware how to fold the patti samosa in a triangular style. I think it is included in the directions on the cover of the box. If not, I am sharing a link below wherein I have added pictures of step procedure of folding the patti samosa while I had prepared vegetable samosa previously, do go through the link if need be, as I have not repeated the same over again. 

** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" where in you will find many more recipes by members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….

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