Saturday, September 6, 2008

The much requested Subji and Poori Recipe

Ok I have had a lot of requests for this recipe and I apologize for taking so long to post it!! We made it again the other night so I knew I had to get off my butt and post it! Here goes:
Cauliflower & Potato Subji:

1/2 inch piece of ginger root cut julienne
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
4 tbsp veg. oil
3 medium sized potatoes cut into small squares (I leave the skin on b/c most of the nutrients are in the skin)
1 medium cauliflower cored and cut into small pieces
2 medium red tomatoes quartered
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp fresh coriander
1 'Dasi' CD by Karnamrita this is REQUIRED listening while cooking this meal. I never make it without it! :)
Cut up veggies and your required music:
Combine the ginger,cumin seeds,and mustard seeds, in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat then add combined seasonings and fry until mustard seeds sputter and pop. This is your chaunce and the key to the recipe. Your chaunce should seems strong and almost choke you. LOL thats the best way to describe it.Chaunce:
Then add the potatoes and cauliflower and cook about 5 more minutes.
Add the tomatoes,turmeric,coriander,garam masala,salt and about 1/2 of the fresh herb. Stir well,cover and gently simmer over low heat. do NOT have the heat too high,there is not enough moisture in this recipe to have it too high and it will burn and stick to the pan. You can just cook til the veggies are tender (about 1/2 hour) or do like I do and have it set to simmer and let it cook down for an hour,stirring every 15 mins or so so its gets more mashed up. Kevin prefers it this way. It's easier to pick up with the pooris mashed like this. Add the rest of the fresh herb just before you serve out.
Voila you're done! This makes a good amount of Subji. We get 2-3 meals out of it with Kevin, my 3 year old K and myself (who is tandem nursing and eats what about 5 ppl would eat).
Subji when it 1st starts cooking:

Once it's mashed down a bit:

Poori (Deep fried whole wheat bread):
While your Subji is cooking, or a day before or sometime before you're ready to eat make your poori dough.
2 cups Chapati flour (or 1 cup whole wheat flour mixed with 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp veg oil
2/3 cup warm water
oil for deep frying

Makes 16 pooris
There is a whole science to making these but I will be completely honest,with 2 kids and crazy animals I take the fast lazy way of making these.
Place the first 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Adding a little water at a time mix until dough is formed a kneadable. You want a pliable but moderately stiff dough. You may need more or less water,that's why you want to add a little at a time. Place on your workspace and knead until smooth and pliable. Let the dough rest for 1/2 hour to 24 hours,depending on when you have the time to make it ;)

Dividing the dough:
Place the dough on a clean work surface and roll into a rope. Divide in half. Place one half in a sealed container in your fridge for your leftover Subji tomorrow and the other half leave on your workspace. Now roll this half into a long rope and then cut into 8 equally sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Set aside.
Heat up the oil in your wok or deep frier. Once it is almost hot enough to cook your pooris,flatten them and start rolling them out with a rolling pin. You ideally ant to have perfect circles but with my 'fast-need to get back to my kids' ways mine are all kinds of funny shapes. They will be about 5 inch circles.

Get a friend to help you roll out the dough:



Slip the rolled out poori into the heated oil carefully so it stays flat and does not fold over. The bread will sink to the bottom at 1st and then rise to the top of the oil. As it begins to rise cover it with the back on your slotted spoon and keep it submerged until it puffs into a steam filled balloon. Take care not to crush it though, a tear in the dough will result in an oil filled poori. When it is lightly browned flip ot over and brown the other side. This will be under a minute for both sides. Remove the bread and place on paper towels to absorb some of the oil and then move onto your next one. Continue until you have cooked all 8. Serve immediately with your Subji.

A puffed poori-how they should look when cooked (please ignore the plate it's on):

You eat this meal with your hands. Silverware is not allowed! Using your right hand (b/c in India the left hand is considered dirty) pick up your poori and tear a piece off,then scoop up some subji in this piece and eat. Yum,yum! You have now made and enjoyed your very own traditional Indian dish!

Wwith my junk food habits I sometimes save a poori for dessert and sprinkle it with powdered sugar, it's like fried dough you get at carnivals.

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5 comments:

Alicia said...

yum! thanks! btw-just added a molasses, oatmeal, choc chip muffin recipe...they are great! (and, also, still looking for good egg substitutes other than applesauce/bananas...any suggestions?)

FrontierDreams said...

Oh no I completely forgot!! I use flax seeds sometimes with good results. And sometimes I just omit the eggs all tgether,depending on the recipe of course. Here's some info:
http://www.theppk.com/veganbaking.html
I hope that helps! <3

Alicia said...

awesome, i have a whole bag of flax seeds in my cabinet. also-that page reminded me-i use blended tofu all the time to make fake cream based dishes--sauces for pasta, or added to soups that ask for cream...dunno if you've tried it before but it works great!

Alicia said...

Made this today, it was delicious and a lot quicker to make than I thought it would be--thanks!!

FrontierDreams said...

yay! im glad you liked it!! yeah its a lot easier than it sounds :) I hope I get to see you soon at Becki's wedding ;)

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