Gozleme

Have you heard of these delicious Turkish Anatolian flat breads known as Gozleme?

They sounded familiar but I hadn't had one until this summer when we happened to be in gorgeous Sydney for the Vivid Sydney light festival. The festival sees the entire city light up every night in the most creative, gorgeous way and it is a sight to behold. While the festival is on the for the week, the streets are filled with lovely street stalls and one of them sold Gozleme. It seemed to be a hot favorite and so we stood in line for a good 20 minutes to get a hot, steaming Gozleme fresh off the pan.

It was delicious, crispy, flat bread stuffed with spinach and feta, full of flavor.

Back home in India, we wanted to have it one more time, and like most international foods, if you want to have something a little bit out of the ordinary, you have to make it yourself. Chennai is behind most cities in India in the diversity of its cuisine. It is getting more adventurous every year but still very far away from other cities in India.

Anyhow, I decided to make the gozleme. Having got the recipe off the web, here goes. (a small note here: I got the recipe from a website called Ozlem's Turkish Table. This website is quite a gem. She has step-by-step instructions for most recipes and every single item on there looks do-able and delicious! Do take a moment to go through her website. I've bookmarked half her savory pastries!!). It came out quite perfectly. Do give it a try. Its easy and even the kids love it.

Gozleme
(recipe from Ozlem's Turkish Table)

For the flat bread:
3 cups All-Purpose Flour, sifted
8 g Dry Instant Yeast
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Plain Yogurt
260 ml Warm Water
A pinch of salt

For the filling:
200 g Spinach Leaves, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
230 g Feta Cheese
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper, or Chilli Flakes, or Red Pepper Paste, to taste (optional - you can make the filling as spicy as you'd like or omit it completely)

Combine about half the warm water, salt and yeast in a bowl and leave aside for 5 minutes until the mixture is frothy. Now combine the flour, yeast mixture, olive oil, yogurt, salt and the rest of the water. Combine all the ingredients and knead until a soft dough is formed.

Divide the dough into 5 balls and keep aside, covered in a damp cloth, until doubled in size.

Meanwhile prepare the filling.  Combine all the ingredients for the filling and knead well to release the flavors and make the onions softer. I ended up sauteeing the onions and blanching the spinach leaves.

Now roll out each ball into a thin, flat round. Fold the top and bottom edges of the round until they meet in the middle.

 Spread the filling in the center and then fold the left and right sides until the filling is covered.

 Press the edges together to seal.

 Repeat for the remaining dough.

Heat a non-stick flat or griddle pan. Brush one side of the gozleme with olive oil and place, oil side down, on the pan and let cook for 5-6 minutes until browned. Brush the other side with olive oil and flip over and cook until both sides are brown.

 Repeat for the remaining gozleme.

Serve either cut up into squares or rolled up. Attack! :)

Cheese Balls

Hmm. Actually these should be called Potato Balls - they're made from potato and have NO CHEESE. But we've always called them cheese balls. I have no idea why!

They are ridiculously good - and filled with everything scrumptious - ghee, potatoes, salt - and then deep fried. No, they are not healthy, I won't even pretend they are. But when you are having people over for and want to serve something which people will be reaching for the entire time, this is it! Or, hey, if you've been really really good with working out and eating right all week, maybe its just time to have one or two or three...

The oil that I used got too hot, and thats why these are darker than usual, but still taste so good!

Cheese Balls

1/2 cup Ghee (Clarified Butter)
1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp Wheat Flour
4 medium Potatoes, boiled, skinned and mashed very well
Salt, to taste
Oil, for deep frying

Heat the oil on low for deep frying in a shallow, flat-bottomed pan.

In another pan, heat the ghee and water together. When it starts to boil, remove the pan from heat.

Slowly - VERY slowly - add the flour a little bit at a time, whisking furiously the whole time, so lumps don't form. After all the flour has been added, add the mashed potatoes and salt and stir/ mash to combine completely.

Make little marble-sized balls from the potato mixture.

Slowly lower 4-5 balls at a time into the oil and fry until golden brown or darker. Drain on a tissue-lined colander. Serve warm with ketchup or chutney.

So so good!

Ilai Vadam

India is a caste-ridden society. One of the castes is Brahmins. Traditionally, they were the scholars, preachers and educators. Now, Brahmins make up about 4 % of the entire population. Now, in the Brahmin class, there is a sub-category called Iyengars (pronounced eye-en-gars). Though there aren't many glaring differences between the sub-categories, there are subtle differences. Some of the subtle differences exist in the food.

South Indian food is mostly healthy with subtle flavors, steamed or cooked with a bare minimum of oil. One of the lesser known foods of the Iyengars is Ilai Vadam (Ilai means Leaf in Tamil and Vadam is a crispy snack - but in this case, the vadam isn't fried, but steamed).

It seems to be a dying food (if there's any such thing!). We love it in our house. Its a time-consuming activity, but so worth the effort. Basically, its a batter of rice and sago, mixed with green chillies and cumin. It is ladled over banana leaves and steamed until done.


This is going to be a pictorial explanation of the process.

Ilai Vadam
(Steamed rice flour spiced pancakes on banana leaves)

Makes 25-30, depending on size

1 cup Raw Rice
1/2 cup Sago Pearls
4 Green Chillies
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
15 Banana Leaves, each cut into half (you could also use saran wrap cut into squares or thin plastic sheets that hold up when steamed. I'm sure it's difficult to get banana leaves in most places, so you could use plastic wrap if you must.)


1st Day:
Soak the rice in water for 2 hours. Grind with water to a thick, smooth consistency. Cover and keep aside (leave it outside - do not put it in the refrigerator).


2nd Day Evening:
Soak the sago in water.


3rd Day Morning:
Grind the soaked sago with green chillies and salt to a smooth consistency.

Mix the sago batter with the rice flour batter. (The rice flour batter has been left outside for 3 days now and might have developed some dark spots - this is fine and is expected - it has not gone bad, and you don't have to throw it away! )

Add the cumin seeds and oil to the mixed batter.


Prepare a steamer. I used a tall steamer with about 2 cups of water at the bottom. Then put an inverted plate or bowl or any flat surface at the top. Make sure you have a close fitted lid.



Now spread about a ladle-ful of batter onto a banana leaf (you have to do this one at a time), in a circular motion (like you would for a dosa) and try to spread it as thin as possible.


Carefully lift the leaf and put it on the flat surface.


Close the lid and let it steam for about 2-3 minutes.


There will be puffed up little bubbles all over, which will flatten out after a few seconds.



You could just peel off the leaf and eat it. Or you could roll it up into a cigar-shape. Or, you could add some stir-fried veggies and roll up to make a steamed Indian-style spring roll!


I'm not sure if anyone reading this will try it, but if you do, kudos to you for trying something new. I hope you enjoy it as much as we love it.

This is as traditional an Indian food as you can get! :-) I wanted to tell everyone about it just to spread the word and hope that this beautiful dish doesn't die into non-existence.

Sago Cutlets

Sabudana or Sago pearls are very similar to Tapioca and may be easily confused for the other. But they have very distinct tastes. Sago is used extensively in Indian cooking.

Until recently I didn't know that they are mostly carbohydrates and have minimal nutritional value! On the other hand, they are delicious, especially in these cutlets! And you can get your protein from the nuts! :)


Sago Cutlets

1/2 cup Sago Pearls
4 small Potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
2 Green Chillies, chopped fine
2 tbsp Cilantro Leaves, chopped fine
3/4 cup Bread Crumbs
Salt to taste
1/4 cup Nuts, crushed (almonds or peanuts or cashews work well)

Soak the sago for about 8 hours. Drain the sago and dry on a tea towel.

Mix together the sago, mashed potato, chillies, cilantro, salt, bread crumbs and nuts.


Roll them into walnut-sized balls and flatten to form a cutlet shape. You can make them as large or as small as you'd like - smaller ones cook faster.


Heat about a teaspoon of oil on a skillet and place the cutlets, a few at a time. Allow to cook until slightly browned and flip over, until both sides are golden brown.


Serve hot with chutney. The cutlets are great the same day. If you are saving them for later, store in the refrigerator and heat in a toaster oven for a few minutes before serving.

Spicy Chutney Bread

My mother-in-law would make this very often for her kids when they came home hungry from school. My husband, eating this the other day, was feeling so nostalgic about it that I simply had to try it. Its a delicious, quick-fix snack for kids and adults alike.


Spicy Chutney Bread

6 slices Sandwich Bread

For the chutney:
1 tbsp grated Coconut
1/4 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp roasted Channa Dal/ Gram Dal (Pottu Kadalai in Tamil)
1 pinch Chilli Powder
1 pinch Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Fennel (Saunf)
1 clove Garlic
Salt, to taste

Grind the ingredients for the chutney with a little bit of water. The chutney should be of a spread-able consistency (similar to soft butter). Spread the chutney on both sides of the slices of bread.

Heat a saute pan with a little bit of butter. When heated, put the bread on the pan, two slices at a time. Allow it to brown and then turn over and brown both sides. Serve warm.

Your kids will love it (and make sure they're not looking when you sneak a couple of bites!).


Check out what my fellow marathoners are up to:
DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya, Lakshmi, Raaga, Lakshmi, Sripriya, Viji, Kamalika, Pavani, Karuna and Roochi.

Vadai

We hardly ever deep fry anything at home. I'm just plain scared of hot oil. Once in a way we call people over for breakfast and they make requests. Usually its for healthy food, but once in a while, we get requests for vadai. My attempts at making "healthy" vadai have failed terribly and I've just succumbed and decided to make some guests happy. So here was my first attempt at making vadais!


Vadai

1 cup Urad Dal
1 Green Chilli, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
4-5 Curry Leaves, finely chopped
1 pinch Asafetida
1/4 tsp Peppercorn
1/2 Cumin Seeds
Salt, as needed (about 1/4 tsp)
Oil, for deep frying

Soak urad dal for about 1/2 hour in lots of water. Drain very well and grind to a heavy smooth mixture.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Dip your hands in water to keep from sticking, and shape the dough into small balls (about the size of a lemon). Flatten each slightly and place each one on a plastic sheet (cling wrap works well). Make sure your hands are slightly damp and with your thumb, create a hole in the center (like a doughnut).


Meanwhile heat the oil in a fryer until hot (you can test the oil by dropping a tiny bit of the dough into it and notice that it sizzles and the dough turns brown). Transfer or slip each piece of doughnut into the oil and fry until golden brown and crisp. You could fry a few at a time, depending on the size of the pan. Serve with chutney or ketchup.

Check out my fellow marathoners:
DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya, Lakshmi, Raaga, Lakshmi, Sripriya, Viji, Kamalika and Pavani.