Gujrati Style Potatoes (Sesame and Peanut Coated Potatoes)...nuts about peanuts!!

Gujrati Style Potatoes (Sesame and Peanut Coated Potatoes)…I knew I had to make this the minute I read Jyoti Modi’s recipe posted on FB…the other Gujrati potatoes that I make don’t have peanuts but grated coconut along with a few other spices…Jyoti’s recipe was a mix of pearl onions and baby potatoes and hence results in a different texture…I wanted mine to be dry and crusty so slightly modified and didn’t use onions…easy to make and an ideal accompaniment to any Indian spread or to be had on its own…Thank you Jyoti J

Gujrati Style Potatoes (Sesame and Peanut Coated Potatoes)

Ingredients:

• Baby Potatoes, 250 gms (or use regular potatoes cut into large chunks) 
• Oil, 1 tbsp
• Coriander leaves, chopped, a handful (optional)
• Lime juice or Lemon juice, 1 tsp or to taste (optional)

Masala powder: 

• Peanuts/Groundnuts, 3 tbsp
• Sesame seeds, 1 tbsp
• Garlic, roughly chopped, 3 cloves
• Fresh Ginger, roughly chopped, 1 inch piece
• Fresh green chilies, roughly chopped, 1-2 (remove seeds if you want)
• Turmeric powder, ¼ tsp
• Coriander powder, 1 tsp
• Red chili powder, ½ tsp (or use Kashmiri red chili powder only for colour or skip it)
• Salt, to taste
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped, about 1 tbsp

Instructions:

Par-boil the potatoes in salted water till about 70-80 percent done. Peel and keep aside to cool.

Dry roast the sesame seeds on low heat, once they start popping, remove to a plate and keep aside to cool.

Dry roast the peanuts on low heat till they change colour. Stir continuously and don’t let them burn. Add to the sesame seeds and keep aside to cool.

Grind the sesame seeds, peanuts, garlic, ginger and green chilies to a rough coarse paste in a dry grinder using pulse action – remember it has to be a rough coarse paste and not to be ground into a fine powder. Mix in salt, turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and coriander leaves. Your masala powder is ready.

Heat the oil in a pan on high heat; add the potatoes and sear till you have golden brown spots on all sides.

Reduce the heat to low and sprinkle the masala powder on the potatoes. Toss everything well together so that the masala powder coat the potatoes completely. Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water to the pan to ensure the coating is wet enough to stick to the potatoes.

Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes – till the water has completely been evaporated and potatoes are fully cooked.

Remove from heat, sprinkle some coriander leaves and lemon juice on top and serve hot.

Nachni Palak Muthiya/ Red Millet flour and Spinach steamed dumplings...Go West , part II

Soooooooo while the Methi Muthiya was steaming, I realized I could do the same with leftover Spinach…but the same thing...naaah…trolled the net and found Tarla Dalal had one with Spinach, Fenugreek and Ragi/Red Millet flour…did a few changes and made Nachni Palak Muthiya…well now you know and hopefully understand why I didn’t have the patience to the garnishing bit !!! ;-)

The taste was quite different from Methi Muthiya  and the texture was softer...but I remain undecided about which one I liked more

Note to self: need to make both a few more times to pick a winner.

Nachni Palak Muthiya ( Steamed Spinach Dumplings with Red Millet flour and Whole Wheat Flour)

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• Palak/Spinach, washed and finely chopped, 1 cup
• Ragi/Nachni / Red millet flour, ¼ cup
• Atta/Whole Wheat flour, ¼ cup
• Besan /Gram flour/Chickpea flour, 1 tbsp
• Garlic, paste, 1 tsp
• Ginger, paste, 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder, a pinch
• Dahi/Plain Yogurt, 2-3 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Baking soda/ Eno salt, a pinch
• Coriander powder, ½ tsp
• Cumin powder, ½ tsp
• Red chili powder, ½ tsp

For tempering:

• Oil, 2 tbsp oil
• Mustard seeds, 1 tsp
• Curry leaves, 7-8
• Til/White sesame seeds, 1 heaped tbsp
• Hing/ Asafoetida, ¼ tsp pinch
• Green chilies, chopped, 2-3 (seeds removed if you want)

Instructions:

To prepare dough, mix all ingredients and knead into a soft dough.(must use yogurt in this one)  

Put the steamer on.

Grease your palms with a little oil and make barrel shaped long rolls – about 1 ½” to 2” in diameter. 

Place the rolls on a greased container a couple of inches apart as they will swell up on steaming. 

Steam for about 15-18 minutes. Insert a toothpick to check if they are done. 
Don’t over steam – as they will go hard. 

Let them cool down slightly and cut each roll diagonally into ½” thick slices. These slices are called “muthiyas” (we munched on a few right after steaming !! )

There are 2-3 ways to add tempering:  

• You can either add the tempering mix straight on the steamed “muthiyas”. (This is also the healthiest way of eating them)

OR 

• add “muthiyas” to the tempering in the pan and let them fry for about 2-3 minutes 

OR 

• do what I did – since I was making these for the first time I wasn't too sure whether I would be able to handle them without breaking them.Heat a non stick pan and lightly fry the “muthiyas” crisp on both sides using about ½ tsp of oil. Lay them on a serving platter.

For the tempering, heat  oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering add in the rest of the ingredients, mix for about 10-15 seconds and switch of the gas. Pour the tempering on the muthiyas and done!

Garnish: (optional) coriander leaves

Methi Muthiya/ Dumplings with Fenugreek leaves...look West, The Indian West

I have four standard dishes  for methi/fenugreek leaves which I end up making again and again…so last weekend when I realized I had more methi than I needed , decided to try Methi Muthiya out for brunch…had been on my list for quite some time but somehow had never tried it making it myself…In fact have never made any Gujrati dish at home besides dal and I need to rectify it since I quite like Gujrati khana in spite of the fact that it is all vegetarian!!…these can either rolled into balls and deep fried or can be steamed like I have… 

Methi Muthiya/ Dumplings with Fenugreek leaves

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• Methi/Fenugreek leaves, cleaned and chopped finely, 1 cup
• **special ingredient, refer below
• Besan/Gram flour/Chickpea flour, 1 ¼  cup
• Suji/ Semolina, 1 tbsp
• Atta/ Whole Wheat flour, 1 tbsp
• Til/ White sesame seeds, 2-3 tsp
• Dahi/ Plain Yogurt, 1 tbsp  or so, if required
• Oil, 1 tbsp
• Baking soda or ENO salt , a pinch
• Sugar, 1- 1 ½  tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Turmeric, 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder, ½ tsp
• Cumin powder, ½ tsp
• Red chili powder, ½ tsp
• Lemon juice, 1 tbsp
• Ginger paste, 1 tbsp

** I had about ¾ cup finely chopped up garlic chives, which I added in there and loved it. You can skip it and reduce the quantity of besan to 1 cup. If skipping garlic chives, add 1 tsp of garlic paste

For tempering:

• Oil, 2 tbsp oil
• Mustard seeds, 1 tsp
• Til/White sesame seeds, 1 heaped tbsp
• Hing/ Asafoetida, 1/4 tsp
• Green chilies, a couple, diagonally cut and seeds removed if you want

Instructions:

The proportion for besan to methi leaves is based on the fact that the methi leaves have just been cut and have no additional water sticking to them. If they have been cut for a while or have still water sticking to them you will need to add a little more besan to get a firm dough but if there is too much water, don’t risk it as too much besan will dry them up..squeeze out the water and then use.

To prepare dough mix all ingredients except yogurt and keep aside for 10-15 minutes. Knead into a firm dough – if the mix is not coming together add a little yogurt, if it is too sticky add more besan and all other spice powders proportionately.

Put the steamer on.

Grease your palms with a little oil and make barrel shaped long rolls – about 1 ½” to 2” in diameter. Place the rolls on a greased container  a few inches apart as they will swell up a bit on steaming.
Steam for about 15-18 minutes. Insert a toothpick to check if they are done. 
Don’t over steam – as they will go hard. Let them cool slightly and cut them diagonally into ½” thick slices. These slices are called “muthiyas” (we munched on a few right after steaming !! )

There are 2-3 ways to add tempering.  You can either add the tempering mix straight on the steamed “muthiyas” OR add “muthiyas” to the tempering in the pan and let them fry for about 2-3 minutes OR do what I did – since I was making these for the first time I wasn’t too sure whether I would be able to handle them without breaking them.

Heat a non stick pan and lightly fry the “muthiyas” crisp on both sides using about ½ tsp of oil. Lay them on a serving platter.

For the tempering, heat  oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering add in the rest of the ingredients, mix for about 10-15 seconds and switch of the gas. Pour the tempering on the muthiyas and done!! Serve with green chutney or ketchup.

Done?? Hah!! You would think so…but noooo , you can garnish them with freshly grated coconut and coriander leaves…I didn’t because by this time I had lost my patience and was super hungry…so yes, DONE!! And YUMMMMM J