1,000 Indian Recipes (102 page)

3.
With a knife or pizza cutter, cut each sheet of batter into 6-by-2-inch strips then roll each strip tightly like a jellyroll. (Push seeping filling back in with your fingers.) Transfer the rolls to a serving platter and sprinkle the coconut and cilantro on top.

4.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the green and red chile peppers. Stir a few minutes, then add the mustard seeds; they will splutter upon contact with the hot oil, so reduce the heat and cover the pan until the spluttering subsides. Add the asafoetida and the curry leaves. When they sizzle, add the paprika, then immediately pour over the khandvi rolls. Serve warm or refrigerate at least 2 hours and serve cold.

Variation:
Try a thin layer of
Cilantro-Lime Chutney
or
Fresh Coconut Chutney with Cilantro
instead of this filling.

Spicy Steamed Chickpea Zucchini Cake

Handwa

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Falling somewhere between
dhokla
(steamed yellow split chickpea cakes) and
iddli
(steamed, fermented rice cakes) is another popular snack called
handwa
(pronounced
haandva
).

Handwa
is made with a fermented rice and chickpea flour batter and a summer squash (mostly opo squash, though I like to use zucchini). It is more like a spicy bread and is baked in an oven.

2 tablespoons
Basic Ginger and Green Chile Pepper Paste

1 cup rice flour

¹
⁄
₂
cup chickpea flour

²
⁄
₃
cup buttermilk

About
²
⁄
₃
cup water

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon garam masala

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

¹
⁄
₂
cup grated zucchini

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon ground asafoetida

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh curry leaves

2 to 3 tablespoons
Basic Green Chutney

1.
Prepare the ginger-green chile pepper paste. In a bowl, mix together the rice and chickpea flours, then add the buttermilk, plus water as needed to make a batter that will pour easily. Mix in the ginger-chile paste, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and salt, and using a whisk or a fork, whip well to incorporate air into the batter and make it fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in the zucchini.

2.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the mustard seeds; they should splutter upon contact with the hot oil, so cover the pan until the spluttering subsides. Add the asafoetida and curry leaves, and mix the spices into the batter. Cover and place in a warm, draft-free place 8 to 10 hours to ferment.

3.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a flat, ovenproof dish with raised edges (such as a shallow metal cake pan or pie pan). Pour the batter into the dish and bake about 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

4.
Meanwhile, prepare the chutney. Cut the cake into pieces, top each one with a drop of chutney, and serve warm.

Indian Street Foods

Crispy Puffs with Spicy Tamarind Water

Paani Poori

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Called
gol-guppas
in northern India and
paani-poories
elsewhere, the golf ball–size, crispy, hollow, puffed balls used in this dish are extremely fragile and break very easily. They are made with whole-wheat or semolina and are available ready-made at Indian markets. Making them at home, though possible, is very labor-intensive and no one really does it anymore.

To eat them the traditional way—with "the works"—poke a hole in each, fill it with a little spicy potato and chickpea mixture, top it with
sonth
(sweet and sour mango and tamarind) chutney, then pour in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the spicy mint and tamarind water and pop it into your mouth, whole, filled with all the goodies. Allow 4 to 6 per person.

1 large russet (or any) potato

¹
⁄
₂
cup
Minty Sonth Chutney with Mango (or Tamarind) Powder and Jaggery

¹
⁄
₂
gallon
Spicy Tamarind Water with Mint and Roasted Cumin

1 teaspoon
New Delhi Street Food Masala
, or
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought)

¹
⁄
₄
cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

¹
⁄
₂
cup canned chickpeas, drained and coarsely mashed

¹
⁄
₂
cup sprouted green mung beans (saabut mung dal) (optional)

25 to 30 paani-poori puffs, store-bought

1.
Cook the potato in lightly salted boiling water to cover until tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the chutney, tamarind water, and masala.

2.
Drain the potatoes, let cool, then peel and finely chop or mash them. In a large bowl, mix together the potato, cilantro, chickpeas, sprouted dal (if using), and masala.

3.
With a clean thumb or forefinger, gently make a big hole on the thin side of the paani-poori puff and fill with up to 2 teaspoons of the potato mixture. Dunk each filled puff into a bowl full of tamarind water and eat immediately. Or, at large gatherings, set out the paani-poori puffs, the chutney, and the tamarind water like a salad bar and let everyone help themselves.

Crispy Puffs with Potatoes and Spicy Yogurt

Batata Poori Chaat

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Batata
means potatoes and
batata poori chaat
is made with the same crispy, puffy 1-inch balls that are used in
paani-poori
, but the presentation is very different. This time the stuffed
poori
balls are topped with spicy yogurt and a
sonth
chutney, with no spicy water served alongside. Oftentimes, softened
bhallas
(deep-fried, fermented lentil dumplings) and
gujjiyas
(stuffed, deep-fried, fermented lentil dumplings) are also mixed into the
chaat
(savory-tangy-spicy snack) or stuffed into the
paani-pooris
.

1 large russet (or any) potato

¹
⁄
₄
cup
Minty Sonth Chutney with Mango (or Tamarind) Powder and Jaggery

¹
⁄
₄
cup
Cilantro-Lime Chutney
(or store-bought)

1 tablespoon
New Delhi Street Food Masala
, or
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought)

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and coarsely mashed

¹
⁄
₄
cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, minced with seeds

1 tablespoon peeled minced fresh ginger

20 to 24 paani-poori puffs, store-bought

2 cups nonfat plain yogurt, whisked until smooth

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, dry-roasted and coarsely ground (
Dry-Roasting Spices
)

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon salt, or to taste

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1.
Cook the potato in lightly salted boiling water to cover until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potato, let cool, then peel and mash it. Meanwhile prepare both chutneys and the masala.

2.
In a medium bowl, mix together the mashed potato, chickpeas, cilantro, green chile peppers, ginger, and masala.

3.
With a clean thumb or forefinger, gently make a big hole on the thin side of each puffed poori and fill with about 1 tablespoon of the potato mixture. Place on a serving platter, and scatter whatever potato mixture is leftover on top of the poories.

4.
Into the yogurt, mix in the cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper, and pour it over the stuffed poories. Drizzle the chutneys on top and serve.

Puffed Rice with Onion, Potatoes, and Spicy Chutneys