Dal Pitha

 Well...it happened again...I was watching some "shorts" on Youtube and I spent a whole 1-2 minutes watching someone cook something and boom...I keep getting more and more of those. Well...one of those videos was for a recipe from Jharkhand...a state in India and it looked interesting. I didn't even know what it was called.

I made it...relatively not too difficult to make and it was pretty delicious. So here is the recipe and also before I write it...I needed to know what it is called and it is called

Dal Pitha (Wheat dumplings stuffed with Bengal gram)

Dal Pitha

Dal pitha with Mint chutney

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup yellow chana dal (bengal gram) soaked over night or atleast 4 hrs
2. 1 inch ginger, 1-2 green chillies, 1/2 teaspoon salt
3. 1 cup wheat floor
4. 1 tablespoon oil + 2 teaspoons oil
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, sesame seeds
7. 8-10 curry leaves
8. 2 dried chiilies (use these if you do not want to use green chillies in the dal...if you eat less spice)

Grind the soaked chana dal along with Ginger, green chillies if using...use no more than 1 tablespoon water. Add salt and mix well and set aside.

Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons oil in the wheat floor and mix well. Add water little by little and mix a dough and knead for a minute. Set aside for 10 minutes. Dive the dough into 4 parts and divide the dal mixture also into 4 parts.

Make a disk of about 5-6 inches diameter with the 1/4 part of dough . Spread 1/4 dal mixture on half of the "disk and flip the other half and press with fingers to close the dumpling.Repeat to make 4 of these dumplings.

Heat 2 inches water in a wide pan until it starts to boil. Add the stuffed dumplings and boil for 7-9 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cur each into 5-6 pieces.

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and add the mustard seeds and cover and fry until they start poppoing. Add therest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Add the dumpling pieces and fry for 3-5 minutes on medium high flame until they crisp up. Enjoy with ketchup or mint chutney

Bulgur Falafel

  I have never ever ordered a Falafel dish ever in my life. We have the "masala Chana Wada" in South India which is very similar to Falafel and it was not my favorite growing up. But The Falafel I made is super delicious especially if I make it into a sandwich with Tahini yogurt sauce. Here you go...the most delicious Falafel you would ever eat

Bulgur Falafel (Bulgar wheat and Chickpea fritters)

Bulgar Falafel

Bulgur Falafel Pita Sandwich

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup Bulgar wheat cooked according to package directions (I up the flavor a bit more, I cooked it in chicken broth)
   
2. 1 can chick peas mashed using a potato masher (so that I don't make them into a cream in a blender. We want it to have some texture)
3. 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, paprika
4. 1/2 cup frozen spinach thawed and squeezed out of water.
5. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6. 1 egg lightly beaten
7. 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, parsley (optional)
8. Oil for shallow frying

Cook the bulgar and let it cool completely. Mix all the ingredients together except egg. Add the egg and mix well and set aside for 10-15 minutes. Add some oil to a pan. Divide the chickpea mixture into 12-15 parts. Squeeze each part between the palms of your hands and make it into semi flat "balls". Fry 3 minutes and flip and fry 3 more minutes. Enjoy as is or as a pita sandwich with Tahini Yogurt sauce and onions and Plum tomatoes

Tahini Yogurt sauce

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup plain yogurt
2. 2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted and ground to powder
3. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
5. 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
6. 1 large or 2 medium cloves of garlic grated

Mix all the ingredients together and drizzle on for a yummy saucy sandwich

Poha tikki

 This is one of those tea time snacks which is super delicious and easy to make. The original recipe is here

Poha Tikki (Shallow fried cakes made of flattened rice)

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups of Flattend Rice/Chiwda/Poha 
2. 2 Wheat or white Bread slices
3. 2 tablespoons Rice flour/Corn flour 
4. 1 green  chilli finely chopped
5. 1/4 cup Finely Chopped Onion 
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of Ginger Garlic paste ,Red Chilli flakes cumin powder, coriander powder
7. 1 teaspoon each of Chaat masala,Salt
8. Handful of Fine Chopped Coriander 
9. 2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
10. oil for shallow frying

Wash the poha under running water and st it up for drying/draining in a colander for 5 minutes. Cut the crust off of the bread and dip it in a bowl of water and squeeze off the water. Shred it into small pieces and mix all the ingredients together. On an oiled plate flatter the mixture into 1/2 inch thick piece. Let rest in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

Cut it into desired shapes like squares, cubes or diamonds.

Heat a non stick griddle and add some oil to it. Fry the pieces of poha cake 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Enjoy with ketchup and mint chutney

Rolled Oat Crackers

This is an awesome snack and quite easy to make also. Since the snacks you get from outside last only so long when everyone is staying home all day long and all week long and every month long :(

Rolled Oat Crackers (Savory Baked Crackers with rolled oats )

Crackers with rolled oats

Ingredients

1. 3/4 cup Rolled oats
2. 1 cup all purpose flour + more for kneading
3. 1/8 cup finely chopped onion
4. 1 green chilli finely chopped
5. 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped Coriander leaves , mint leaves
6. Plain yogurt 1/3 cup
7. 2 tbsp Butter softened
8. 1 teaspoon each of Salt, cumin seeds, carom (ajwain) seeds
9. 1 tablespoon Sugar 
10. 1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
11. Water as needed

Mix all the ingredients except water and add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. Knead the dough for 2 minutes. Roll the dough into 1/2 cm thick disk on a floured surface and cut it into 1-1/2 inch squares or the shape of your liking. 

Pre heat oven to 300 degrees F and place the crackers on a prepared sheet.

Spray the top of the crackers with vegetable oil and bake for 30 minutes. Let them cool completely and enjoy