The Misal Pav burger!

The hot Summer, Exams, work, Summer camps  and a rather long recipe delayed this post. Did I mention the heat? It’s still hot but finally I am back with The Misal Pav Burger recipe.

As I said in my earlier post, the idea for this burger kept hovering in my head for a long  time. I kept thinking of various combinations to make the patty, the sauce and the toppings. Finally when I baked the Kummelweck rolls, I decided to go ahead with whatever ingredients I had in my pantry. Moth beans or Matki are a staple in our house. Matki sprouts are usually found in my fridge, since everyone loves the Usal (curry) made with it.

The burger patty here, is made using sprouted Matki and potato+breadcrumbs as a binder. I have found a new shop in Nasik -Aarogyam, which sells Nagli/Whole wheat and sprouted wheat bread. So this time the Patty has Nagli breadcrumbs. You can use whole wheat or white breadcrumbs too. Mom made fresh Kanda Lasoon Masala, so the patty was spiced with my Mom’s homemade fiery love 🙂

Raw mangoes are were in season and I made a shortcut Methamba (Mango Chutney). My brother got me a bottle of Roopak’s Aachari masala, along with other spices. I cooked the raw mangoes and spiced them with this Readymade Aachari masala. The masala is awesome by the way 🙂

The other element that I added to the burger was the fiery Masala Chutney. Masala Pav, is a favourite street food here- a bun or the Bombay Pav is served with a spicy Onion-Tomato masala chutney made using Pav Bhaji masala. I substituted the Pav Bhaji masala with the Kanda Lasoon masala. I was apprehensive when I put together all the elements of this Misal Pav burger , but it turned out so good that the son gave it ’the Best Burger ever’ thumbs up!

The Misal Pav burger recipe

Makes about 5-6 burgers

Ingredients:

5-6 burger buns or Laadi pav

~2-3 Tomatoes Sliced

1 large onions sliced

1 cucumber sliced

Few sprigs fresh coriander leaves

For the Patty:

1 cup sprouted moth/matki beans cooked in salted water (just cooked, not mushy)

1 potato cooked,peeled and mashed

¼  cup bread crumbs or as required

2-3 tbsps Chopped coriander

1 small onion chopped

3-4 garlic pods chopped

2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts

1 tsp green chili paste or red chili powder to taste

1-2 tsp Kanda Lasoon masala

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying

For the Mango Chutney

1 raw mango cubed

3 tbsp grated jaggery or more to taste

1-2 tsp Aachari masala

Salt to taste

2-3 tsp oil

For the Onion-Tomato chutney

1 onion chopped

1 tomato chopped

2-3 garlic cloves sliced

2 tsp Kanda lasoon masala

½ -1 tsp red chilli powder

3-4 tsp oil

Salt to taste

Method:

For the Patty

Mix all the ingredients for the patty except the oil.

Make ~ 5-6 balls of the mixture and flatten into a patty

Shallow fry in hot oil in a nonstick pan  till browned on both sides

For the Mango chutney:

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the chopped mangoes, jaggery and salt. Cook for 5 minutes or till the mangoes are just cooked.

Add the Achari masala and cook for 1-2 more minutes.

Take off the heat and cool.

For the spicy chutney

Heat oil in a small pan.

Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes

Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes more

Season with salt and spices

To assemble the burger:

Cut the burger buns in half.

Add 1-2 tsps of the spicy chutney.

Place slices of tomato, Cucumber,onion and coriander leaves

Place the patty on the salad.

Top with the tangy Mango chutney and then top with the other half of the bun

Serve immediately

karale (कारळे) /Khurasni(खुरसणी)/ Niger seeds chutney and stuffed Bhindi/Okra

Every time I put a photo of the coming soon recipe on My Foodcourt’s FB page the ‘soon’ never happens. The past month has just zoomed past me (the entire half year for that matter!). Both the kids are back to school after a two month long vacation. The little one started going to her ‘new school’, she is very happy that she finally gets to go to her dada’s school 🙂

The  hot sultry summer has given way to a breezy-rainy weather. The Monsoon has also brought with it the much awaited new season’s of Masterchef Australia and White collar – lots of things to look up to; just like this chutney.

I have been meaning to make this chutney for many days but the easy availability of a readymade/mom-made chutney kept me from making it  till now.

The chutney that I am talking about is made from karale (कारळे) / Khurasni (खुरसणी) in Marathi or as I learned from Shruti on the FB page, they are known as Niger seeds in English. More on Niger seeds here.

The seeds are pound with garlic and red chilly powder to make a very tempting fiery chutney usually eaten with bhakri, Roti or hot rice. This chutney is also used as a filling for veggies like brinjal. I did not have brinjals and hence I added the chutney to the filling I made to stuff Bhindi/okra. The result was a fantyastic tasting spicy side dish. The lad kept asking for more and failed to notice the number of Rotis that went into his tummy. 🙂

Here’s the recipe for the Niger Seeds chutney:

1 cup from karale (कारळे) /Khurasni(खुरसणी) or Niger seeds

~ 10-12 garlic pods peeled (you may use less)

2 tsp red chilli powder (you can add more)

Salt to taste

Method:

Lightly roast the Niger seeds for 1-2 minutes (take care not to burn them)

Grind/ pound together all the ingredients to a dry chutney. I started by using a wooden morter and pestle but pounding the seeds to a fine powder was taking time so gave in and used the mixer.

Serve this with hot BhakriRoti/Rice preferably with a drizzle of groundnut oil.

Recipe for stuffed Okra with Niger seed chutney:

10-12 medium sized fresh and tender Bhindi/okra, washed, dried and slit lengthwise

2 tbsp oil

Juice of half a lemon/lime

Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

For the stuffing:

2 medium sized onions peeled and grated

½ cup roasted groundnut powder

4 tsp above Niger seeds chutney

2 tsp Kanda Lasoon masala (optional.I used my mom’s.)

Salt to taste.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing.

Stuff the okra with it.

Heat oil in a wide flat bottom nonstick pan. Add the stuffed bhindi carefully.

Cook for 3-4 minutes without stirring.

Stir carefully.

Cover and cook for the next 3-4 minutes. Add a few drops of lime juice and stir once.

Cook uncovered till done (not very soft or mushy ). If you have the time and the patience cook uncovered all the time stirring only occasionally.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Bhakri,Roti or Rice.

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen has started a  series of photography exercises for amateur food photographers. See last month’s exercise for My Foodcourt here.

The theme for this month’s exercise was ‘Less is More’, which is currently my style of photography. The chutney as well as stuffed Okra/Bhindi  photos above was taken with this theme in mind.Keep it simple is currently my photography mantra too.

Thank you again Aparna for coming out with these simple but helpful themes for the exercise.

Phodnichi Poli (Resurrected Leftover Roti)

A very popular Maharashtrian breakfast is Phodnichi Poli. Leftover Rotis (Poli as it is called in Marathi) from previous night are recycled the next morning for breakfast, by dressing them up with some spicy tadka (tempering).

I also add some available veggies to make it tastier and healthier. Nothing is as comforting as a hot spicy Phodnichi Poli for breakfast!

You can also substitute Rotis with leftover Rice, Bhakris or Bread to make Phodnicha Bhaat (Rice), Phodnichi Bhakri or Bread chi Bhaji/chivda respectively!

Like many fusion recipes in my kitchen I love to sprinkle some Chutney Podi on my Phodnichi Poli to give it a fusion- Maharashtrian-South Indian taste! J

Phodnichi Poli can be called the ‘Queen of leftovers’ and hence I am sending it to dear Nandita’s  WBB#15- Breakfast from leftovers

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Phodnichi Poli recipe

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7-8 leftover Rotis (Polis)

1-2 carrots grated (you can use beans, cauliflower, peas, tomatoes etc.)

1 onion chopped

4-5 green chillies slit and cut into pieces

5-6 curry leaves

2 tsp Urad Dal (white lentil)

A handful of peanuts

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp sugar

Salt to taste 

For the garnishing:

Coriander leaves

Lime juice

Chutney Podi (optional) 

† Tear and crush the Rotis with your hands. Or if they are dry enough use a food processor to tear them to pieces.

† Add salt and sugar to the crushed Rotis and keep aside.

† Heat oil in a pan.

† Do the tadka (tempering). Mustard seeds- cumene seeds- turmeric powder- curry leaves

† Add the peanuts and the Urad dal and fry for a few minutes till the peanuts are fried nicely

† Add the green chillies and the chopped onions. Fry till the onions turn translucent.

† Add the grated carrot and cook for a few more minutes.

† Add the crushed Rotis, mix nicely and cook covered for 4-5 minutes stirring in between.

† Garnish with coriander and lime juice. Serve hot.

† My favourite combo is to eat Phodnichi Poli with a bowl of curd. 

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Another recycling idea with leftover Rotis – a must eat for people with a sweet tooth :Crush the Rotis with your hands as above. Add little ghee, crushed jaggery and some sesame seeds. Mix nicely and make small balls like ladoos from this mixture. 

These resurrected Rotis will take no time to vanish! J

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A few more leftover recipe ideas on My Foodcourt 

BhakriCha Kala

Sandwich

Stuffed Dinner Rolls

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Friday Monsoon Magic -Dabeli

Incessant rains and frequent powercuts have kept me off blogging for the past week. Getting to work and back seemed like a big ordeal when rain Gods decided to visit us for 3-4 days continuously. The only positive aspect was the lovely rainy weather (which makes you creep under a blanket with a book in hand, music and some thing to nibble) encouraged me to try some spicy hot recipes.

Today, for my Friday -Monsoon Magic series I have a recipe for Kutchi Dabeli or Double Roti. As the name suggests this recipe finds its origin in the Kutch region of Gujrat. But this has become a very popular street food here. You will find ‘Dabeli centres’ (carts) selling them on almost every street corner. The key flavor for Dabeli comes from its Masala-Dabeli Masala. I used the Masala, which one of my Kutchi friend has gifted me and which I use so carefully as if it were made of gold- its that precious.:) Dabeli Masala is readily available in most of the stores.

__________________________________________________________                                                            Dabeli recipe

For 4 Dabelis

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4 Pavs or bread Buns

2 tsp Butter (optional) 

For the filling:

2 large Potatoes, boiled & mashed

1 tbsp Dabeli Masala

½ cup Tamarind Chutney

½ tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

2-3 tsp oil 

For Garnishing:

½ cup Masala peanuts (Roasted peanuts sautéed with red chilli powder and salt)

½ cup pomegranate seeds

4-5 tsps red chili garlic chutney

2 medium sized onions, finely chopped

1 cup Nylon sev

Fresh Coriander leaves 

For the filling:

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mashed potatoes, about ½ cup water and salt.

Mix nicely and then add the Dabeli Masala. Mix nicely and let it boil.

Add the sugar and ½ of the tamarind chutney. Cook till the consistency of the mixture is thick or till the moisture is absorbed.

Remove this in a flat plate and spread it evenly.

Spread the Masala peanuts, Pomegranate seeds (you can also add half cut grapes or tuti fruity in addition to the pomegranate seeds), chopped onion, Sev and fresh coriander leaves layer by layer on the potato mixture.   

For the Pav / Bun

Cut the Pav horizontally without cutting through. Apply butter on both sides (optional) and lightly toast on a skillet/tava, pressing with a flat spoon. 

Assembling the Dabeli

Spread Red chilli garlic chutney between the two halves of the Pav. Then spread the Tamarind chutney. Evenly spread the Potato mixture. Garnish with some more Sev and Masala peanuts. 

Toast on the skillet for 1-2 minutes. Serve Hot.

Weekend Chaating-From Chaat Street

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Chaat– just the mere mention of the word makes my mouth water. You can’t walk past a ‘Chaatwala’ without sensitizing your taste buds. The last thing on your mind when you enjoy Chaat on the roadside is Hygiene or Health food-That you remember the next day! I have been a ‘Chaat’ person as long as I can remember. When I was small I would argue with my Mom as to why we can’t offer ‘Prasad’(offering to God) of Pani Puri/Bhel Puri to God? Didn’t Gods love it too? J

As I said in my last posts it getting hotter day by day here..temperature soaring to 40-41^oC (not usual for us here ,that too in April) People are enjoying Chaat’s and Icecreams on the road side to beat the heat!

We had some guests yesterday; one of our family friend’s daughter is getting married. So I made some Chaat to celebrate her engagement.Once in a while you can indulge (I do this often!) in these spicy, mouthwatering chaats and since they are made at home…you need not count the plates!

Basic ingredients for chaat: 

Chaats will not be chaats without these chutneys:

1. Green Chutney : Mint-Coriander-green chilly chutney

2. Sweet sour Chutney : Dates –Tamarind chutney 

Other optional chutney

3. Red Chutney: Red chilly-Garlic chutney

These Chutneys can be stocked up in the fridge and will stay good almost for a week.This chutney is required for Sev Puri,Ragda pattice etc..

 

Other ingredients common to most of the Chaats are:

Onions –finely chopped

Tomatoes- finely chopped

Fresh coriander leaves – finely chopped

Raw green Mango –peeled and finely chopped

Potatoes boiled peeles and chopped

Lemon Juice

Sev

Once you have these basic ingredients you can make your own permutation-combination and make chaats of your choice.

Green chutney:

1 bunch Pudina (Mint ) leaves washed and roughly chopped

1 small bunch fresh Green coriander leaves washed and roughly chopped

5-7 Green chillies roughly chopped – you can change the proportion as per your taste

¼ tsp salt or salt as required

½ tsp lemon juice 

Grind Pudina leaves, Coriander leaves and Green chillies adding the some salt and lime juice to a smooth fine paste. Don’t add too much water. Add water as and when required. 

Dates -Tamarind (DT) Chutney:

½ cup Dates deseeded and chopped

¼ cup tamarind pieces water 

Boil Dates and tamarind in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes.Cool and blend to a smooth paste in the mixer. Some people add cumene powder,jaggery,red chilli powder etc. to this basic chutney. 

Red Chutney:

5-6 Dry Red Chillies

3-4 garlic podsPinch of salt 

Soak the red chillies in warm water for 15 minutes. Blend together the soaked red chillies and Garlic with salt to a fine paste. You have everthing ready now..what are you waiting for start ‘assemling’ the Chaats!

 

Bhel Puri:

2 cups Churmura/Murmura/Puffed Rice

1 Cup Farsam mixture (Assorted savory mixture)

½ cup onion chopped

½ cup tomatoes chopped

½ cup boiled potatoes chopped

¼ cup raw green mango peeled and finely chopped

½ tsp Red chilli powder (optional)

5-6 flat Puris (The ones you use for Sev Puri)

½ tsp turmeric powder

¼ cup green chutney (Add a little water to the above chutney and make it to a watery consistency)

½ cup DT Chutney (Add a little water to the above chutney and make it to a watery consistency)

2 tsp Red Chutney

Pinch of salt 

For garnishing:

Chopped fresh Coriander leaves

Thin yellow Nylon Sev

1 flat Puri

 

For the Churmura:

Take a wok or a deep pan. Heat a tsp of oil. Add the turmeric and then the Churmura. Mix properly so that the turmeric coats the Churmura nicely. Cool and store in an airtight container. This is my son’s favourite munching snack! This can be made in bulk and stored so that you can use it whenever you want. 

Mix the Churmura along with the Onions,tomatoes,potatoes,mango pieces, in a big vessel. Add the Red chilly powder if you want your Bhel to be really spicy. Crush the puris with your hand and add to the mixture. Add the green chutney , DT Chutney, Red Chutney(optional) and mix nicely. Adjust the salt if required. Once you mix all the ingredients immediately add to the serving plate. Garnish with Chopped coriander leaves and Sev. Serve immediately. Use the Flat Puri as a spoon! It tastes much better! Bhel actually means ‘a mixture’ so you can use your imagination and mix any other ingredient you want. I sometimes also add boiled sprouted green moong beans and Cucumber to the Bhel.

 

Sev Puri: 

This needs some patience since you need to assemble all the ingredients on each Puri.

For 6 puris (that is one plate)

1small Onion chopped

1small Tomatoe chopped

1Potatoes boiled and chopped

Green chutney (use a thick paste of the chutney’s so that they don’t run out of the puri)

DT Chutney

Chaat Masala or Pani Puri masala

Red Chutney

Pinch of salt  So keep as many Flat Puris as you want in a plate (preferably the serving plate0 . Now on each puri place few pieces boiled mashed potato. Top it with chopped onion pieces , chopped tomatoes. Add a spoonful of Green Chutney, then a spoonful of DT chutney and ½ a spoon of Red Chutney. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and a pinch of Chaat Masala or Pani puri masala (optional)Generously add the chopped coriander leaves and Sev. Serve these crisp, mouthwatering puris immediately.You will be surprised how fast the Sev Puris perish considering the amount of time you have taken to assemble them!

 

Pani Puri:  

As the name suggests these are Puris filled with ‘Pani’ (water). These are also called as ‘Gol Gappas’ in
North India.This beats all the Chaats when it comes to my favourite Chaat! And it does not need many ingredients.You get special round hollow puffed puris specially to make Pani Puri. 

   12-15 Pani Puris

1 cup Green chutney (The consistency should be watery for both the chutneys since the Puris are to be dipped in it)

1 cup DT Chutney

¼ cup boiled sprouted green moong beans

¼ cup potato boiled mashed

1 tsp chaat masala 3-4 tsp Panu Puri masala  Add the Pani Puri masala to the watery Green ChutneyKeep the Puris in a Plate. Serve the chutneys, moong sprouts in wide mouthed bowls. Add the chaat masala to the potato and keep it in another bowl alongside the chutneys. 

To eat: Make a small hole in the centre of each puri with the nail of your thumb. These puris are  quite delicate so be careful while breaking them-you want the whole puri intact except a small hole. Add the ¼  spoon moong beans , ¼  spoon mashed potato to all the Puris. Now you get rewarded for your patience. Without thinking twice dip the first puri in the Green chutney(remember it is spicy) fill the puri as much as you want, then proceed to the DT chutney fill the puri and put it straight in your mouth-full puri. Repeat for other puris.

Enjoy the spicy mouthwatering Pani Puris!Bliss personified!