Methi peanut pakoda

The British love their onion bhajis. This I know because of the number of times that I’ve made bhajis, on specific request, as a starter every time we’ve had friends around for a home-cooked “authentic Indian” (meal, naturally).

This time I decided to vary it just a bit with fresh methi and peanuts, hoping that they wouldn’t be rejected as “not proper bhajis” - and what do you know, the pakodas were such a big hit that the consensus was that I should “always do it this way”. Huh. So much for onion bhaji love – a love about as lasting and sincere as the tears raised by the fumes from the onions! *grin*

I have to say that the bhajis really were exceptional, though – the slight bitterness of the methi, the crunch of the peanuts and the sweetness from the onions… I guess I should not have been surprised that loyalties were transferred from the plain onion bhajis to these!

Recipe for: Methi peanut pakoda



Ingredients:

2 cups fresh methi leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1 cup raw red-skinned peanuts
2 medium onions, sliced thin
2 medium potatoes, sliced into thin sticks
3 tbsp rice flour
1 cup besan (gram flour/chickpea flour/kadala maavu) + more as required
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
2 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry
A few tbsp water

Method:

1. Put the vegetables and peanuts into a large bowl and mix well.



2. In another bowl, mix the flours, spices and salt together.

3. Heat enough oil in a kadai or deep fryer. Meanwhile, add the vegetables to the flour and mix together with 3-4 tbsp water. Adjust the gramflour/water combination until the vegetables are just held together with the batter.



It should not be too thick or too watery.

4. Pinch off small pieces of the dough and put in the hot oil a few at a time, taking care not to crowd the surface.



5. Fry on medium high heat, turning the pakodas with a slotted spoon, until they are crisp and golden brown.

6. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with any chutney.

Masala chappathis

This is pretty much a catch-all recipe that uses whatever flours you have in your kitchen. It doesnt strictly matter what other flours you use so long as at least half of it is plain or wholewheat flour. And of course it can be made wholly with wheat flour too. The other additions are just for variety. I added fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves to the dough because - yes, you guessed it - I had lots of it begging to be used up before it turned yellow.



The beauty of this recipe is that you can add finely chopped spinach, fenugreek, coriander, mint or other fresh herbs (probably even parsley if you like the taste, though it's not something I've tried) to the flour while making the dough.

Or, if you dont mind having to roll out slightly bumpy dough into approximate circles, you can add finely chopped onions, grated carrots, etc. It's very versatile, this recipe, very nice as a snack with hot, sweet tea (for those who like tea). Just serve with tomato ketchup or even with any Indian pickle. The mango avakkai is perfect for this, IMHO.

Recipe for: Masala Chappathis

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup wholewheat flour, 3/4 cup soyflour or millet flour, 2 tbsp gram flour, 2 tbsp semolina/rava, 2 tsp rice flour)
1/2 cup fresh chopped methi leaves (or any other herbs/greens you wish)
1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
3-4 fresh green chillies, chopped fine (optional)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin seed powder
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Water as required

Extras -
1/2 cup flour for dusting
Oil/ghee for shallow-frying

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients together in a big bowl and make it into a soft dough. It will be sticky. Add water only as required.

2. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

3. Pinch off medium-sized balls and roll out gently into approximate circles, dusting liberally with flour on each side.

4. Cook on a flat tava or fry-pan, spreading a little oil/ghee on either side, until golden spots appear. Keep warm in an oven while cooking the rest of the chappathis.

5. Serve hot with ketchup or any Indian pickles.