Pani Puri

Pani Puri is a favorite street food in India. In lots of "chaat" stalls around the cities, you can see people standing around carts popping little pieces of deliciousness into their mouths! This is my absolute favorite Indian snack (well...um... okay One of the many!).

It consists of 3-4 components - a deep fried puri, a sweet chutney, a spicy chutney and a stuffing for the puri. You first make a little hole in the puri, add a teaspoon of the stuffing, add a spoonful of each stuffing and pop it in your mouth before everything starts falling out! Its fun to eat!


Pani Puri
(recipe from Bhavani @ Snap Eat Burp)

Sweet Chutney

100 g Dates, boiled
1 marble-sized ball of Tamarind
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1 pinch Black Pepper
1 pinch Salt

Grind all ingredients together in a food process and keep aside.

Spicy Chutney

1 cup Cilantro Leaves
1/2 cup Mint Leaves
5 Green Chillies, coarsely chopped
4 cups Water
2 Cloves
1 small Cinnamon Stick
2 Cardamom
1 tsp Cumin Powder
3 tbsp Jal Jeera Powder (available in most Indian grocery stores)

Grind the cilantro, mint and green chillies together with the water and salt.
Roast the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin on a medium heat in a saucepan. Grind to a fine powder.
Mix the roasted and ground spices and the jal jeera powder with the ground cilantro mixture.

Stuffing for the Puri

1/2 cup Green Moong Dal/ Green Lentils, soaked in water until tender
1/2 cup Garbanzo Beans/ Kabuli Channa, soaked in water and then boiled
5 small Potatoes, peeled and boiled
3 tbsp Channa Masala (available in all Indian grocery stores)

Combine all ingredients together with a little salt to taste.

Puris

2 packets Puris (available in some Indian grocery stores)

OR

you could make your own puris. Priya @ Food for Bliss has a lovely recipe for making your own puris at home. She has some great photos of the pani puri too!

To Eat:

Crush the top of the puri a bit. Stuff the puris with the veggie stuffing, add a little bit of the sweet chutney, dip into the spicy chutney and eat in one bite. Enjoy!

Bombay Grilled Sandwich

I first saw this sandwich on Delhi Belle's blog and followed her links to the Gourmet Cartographer. I 'googled' the sandwich and found it was very popular and a huge street food favorite. I just had to find out what the fuss was all about.


Bombay Grilled Double Decker Sandwich

3 slices Sandwich Bread (I used brown bread)
1/4 cup Chutney (grind together 1 cup cilantro leaves + 1/4 cup mint leaves + 1 green chilli + 1 tsp water)
1 Tomato, sliced thin
1 small Onion, sliced thin
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, sliced thin
1 Potato, boiled, peeled and mashed with a tsp of salt
2 tsp Chaat Masala
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated (I used Mozzarella)

Spread each slice of bread with butter on one side. Spread chutney over the butter. Sprinkle with chaat masala.

On one slice add the tomato and bell pepper slices. On the second slice, add the mashed potato and onion slices. Top both slices with the grated cheese.


Arrange the potato slice over the tomato slice (veggie sides up). Top the potato slice with the 3rd slice, chutney side down. Grill on a grill pan or use a sandwich maker. Its done when the cheese melts.

Serve with a spicy ketchup. If you can make it that far - I waited about 5 seconds before I ate it (and that was only because the cheese was so hot!). It was THAT good. Worth every word of all the fuss!

This is my submission for Waiter There's Something In My... Picnic. If anyone is bringing this to the picnic, it's going to be a huge hit.

I'd like to also send this to this month's SnackShots featuring Sandwiches!

Spicy Parotta with Eggs

Parottas are different from the popular Indian paratha. Parottas are flaky rotis or layered breads, which are originally from the state of Kerala.

In India, street vendors often sell a spicy version of these parottas called Kothu Parotta. They are shredded and then tossed with spices, vegetables, eggs and most often, meat. I have tried to make a vegetarian version here with eggs. It's a great meal and one that is very popular in India.

Kothu Parotta with Eggs
(recipe originally from here)

5 Kerala Parottas, shredded into bite-sized pieces (frozen Kerala Parottas are sold in most Indian grocery stores. If you can't find it, use pre-made rotis or parathas. To make the parottas, here are two links I found very helpful - Foodie's Hope and Cinnamon Trail).

1 Onion, chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
3 Eggs, beaten
2 Green Chillies, split lengthwise

1 tbsp Chilli Powder
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Pepper powder
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Salt

3-4 Curry Leaves
Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Heat some oil in a saucepan. Toss in the curry leaves, green chillies and onions and stir fry until onions are browned. Now add the ginger-garlic paste and powders. Stir fry until the raw ginger smell disappears.

Add the tomato and stir fry until the tomato is cooked. Pour in the beaten eggs and scramble with the mixture, until 3/4 done.


Add the salt and shredded parotta and mix to combine. Garnish with cilantro leaves.


This is a complete meal in itself and extremely addictive, so eat with care!

Almonds

Every once in a while, I crave the honey roasted nuts found on the street carts in New York City. I remember every time you pass by one of these carts and the smell of the roasting nuts comes wafting by, making you want to stop, close your eyes and breathe it in. If you've never had them, I absolutely recommend them on your next visit there.

Meanwhile, you can try my New York street-cart-style roasted nuts. They came out pretty well, but the nice part was that my entire kitchen and home were left with that great smell! Mmm...


New York Style Roasted Almonds
(original recipe from World on a Plate)

2 cups almonds, blanched, skinned
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used Demerara sugar)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Oil

Preheat oven to 175 deg C.

Heat a pan with the oil, add the almonds, honey, chilli and cumin powders and sugar.


Stir to coat and continue roasting until the sugar melts and caramelizes.


Spread the almonds on a baking tray.


and pop into the oven for 5-10 minutes until browned and dry.


Take out the tray and let it cool.


Store in an airtight container (if there's any left after "tasting" it!)


This is off to Sia at Monsoon Spice for MBP - Street Food. A great idea and theme, Sia. MBP gets you to try out all those recipes you've bookmarked from other bloggers and discover new ones. MBP is the brainchild of Coffee at the Spice Cafe. This round-up is definitely going to be great!