Crisp Besan- Atta- Methi Poori and Adraki Chai (Ginger Tea).

"Crisp Besan- Atta- Methi Poori and Adraki Chai" ... definitely a heartwarming winter combo to be relished ... the crunch of the crisp poori when munched on topped with a large gulp of hot ginger tea is simply Bliss ... Yummilicious …

** Come winter and one always craves for fried snacks, there is something very satisfying feeling when you have those steaming hot deep fried snack with a cup of steaming hot chai/ tea, something that really cannot be explained, you got to relish to know it. Those of you who enjoy it like the way I do will very well understand what I am trying to say. From North to South and East to West each Indian has their own version of deep fried snacks that they love to relish. Well, there are so many that if start at the starting of the winter season, even when the season comes to an end you will not have covered them all.

** Methi leaves are available in abundance during winter and after settling in Mumbai I came to know so many varieties of poori preparing using them that I was totally amazed and thrilled to relish them. In my hometown we did get the leaves but not like in the northern parts. Today I am sharing one of my favorite methi poori which I prepare with addition of besan/ Bengal gram flour. These can be prepared all puffed up, semi crisp or nippattu style- ekdum kadak too. I love the nippattu style that which can be stored and relished for a few days and I will be sharing the same as soon as I prepare them again.

** This time I have prepared semi crisp ones as having dentures now, I feel safer eating something easier to bite on. When you see trucks full of methi leaves being downloaded in the market you just go ahead, buy those huge bunches only to come home and wonder as to how to finish them all off. Despite preparing 3-4 dishes in a row they never seem to end and when they do, I just happen to buy them again or someone passes on the same to me. These crisp yet soft poories can be relished as it is without any side dish. You can have them for breakfast, tea time, tiffin or just gappe marte time (spending time chatting) too.

** Here is my simple yet delicious recipe for “Crisp Besan- Atta- Methi Poori” that can be relished as it is with steaming hot chai and it tastes wonderful …

** For Methi Leaves : Choose fresh green tender methi (fenugreek) leaves always for preparing any dishes. Pick and clean the methi leaves, discarding the stems. We need to add only the leaves for preparing of parathas. Wash well, strain off excess water, and chop them finely. Squeeze out as much water as possible and keep it ready aside. I have used about ¾ to 1 cup of finely chopped methi leaves.

** Note : You can apply a little bit of salt to the methi leaves and rub it all over and leave aside for 10-20 minutes and then squeeze of the water from methi leaves properly, wash and keep this aside ready too. This above step is carried out to remove the bitterness from fresh methi leaves. I personally do not follow salt method as I strongly believe that it should be consumed as it is for its awesome health properties. You may choose any method.

** Sieve together 1 cup of Besan (chane peeta/ Bengal gram flour), 1.5 cups of wheat flour (atta/ govan peeta), 3 tblsp of rice flour (tandla pitta/ chawal ka atta). To this add in ½ tsp haldi (turmeric) powder, large pinch of ajwain (vonvon/ bishop’s weed) coarsely crushed, ½ tsp hing powder, 8-10 finely chopped green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari mirchi), 5-6 finely chopped curry leaves (kadipatta, Karbevu), salt to taste and mix all well together.

** Add in 2 tblsp of oil and mix all the ingredients to a crumbled texture. Now add in the prepared and kept aside methi leaves and further mix it well and then add little by little water and knead it to a tight but smooth dough. Do not add all the water at one go as you may end up with a sticky dough so add in half cup mix, check and then add the rest in batches slowly. Once you do the dough often, with practice you will know for sure.

** Do not worry if the water added by mistake is more and the dough becomes sticky, Just add in some wheat flour and knead till you get a smooth dough. Cover with a wet cloth and tight lid and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes. Remove and knead the dough again and make small balls out of the same, say the size of small lemon.

** Heat plenty of oil for deep frying in a thick bottomed kadai as you begin to roll out the prepared dough balls into thick poori of say 3 inches in dia. When oil is smoking hot, lower the heat to medium and wait for a few minutes before you begin to deep fry the pooris. Slip in one rolled poori and keep pressing it around with slotted spatula till it cooks crisp on the lower side, now flip over and cook the upper side to crisp texture too.

** Note that they will not puff up like poori but may remain flatter and crispier. Remove on an absorbent paper for the excess oil to get drained off. Repeat the process with the remaining rolled poories. Though it best to finish of the prepared dough, you can store it in fridge if there is excess leftover dough as it does remain good. If you find that the dough has softened the next day instead of poori, you can roll it out like roti and fry on tava too.

** “Crisp Besan- Atta- Methi Poori” are done and ready to be served. Everybody relishes poori that is served hot, so do so immediately along with cuppa of hot steaming tea or coffee or any beverage. However, you can also pack them for lunch box too as they taste good even when they have cooled down. There is no need for any accompaniment, but if you like you can serve with a dash of pickle/ curds/ mildly flavored chutney, we relished it as it is.

** Methi leaves are in season now, so do try them out. Methi is very good for health in all ways and being high in nutrition they should be included into your diet. As they are bitter children are at times reluctant to eat them if given as bhaji etc. but when prepared in poori, that is something for sure they will not refuse. One has to think one step ahead of family members when it comes to preparing dishes and serving so that all relish and enjoy it.

** There are many more delicious recipes in the Blog including poori, parathas prepared with Methi leaves. There are plenty of curry recipes too and so are there sannapolo, bonda, ambado recipes. I have added quite many dishes using this healthy leaves and I hope you will try them all and really have a lovely winter season with your family. I will be added on a lot more recipes, so do keep watching this space and do give me a feedback.