Falahari Poori

Fasting food is often restricted. The number of cereals allowed is not only limited but the taste is bland too. These days to get the younsters to confirm to traditional food is getting more and more difficult. However certain traditional food served with a proper accompaniment always hits bullseye. This nutty tasting poori is one such side. The crisp yet soft pooris go well with potato gravies, chutney , kadhi and even with raitas.

Ingredients:
2 cups Rajgira / kuttu ka atta ( Amaranth/ Buckwheat flour)
1 boiled potato
2 tsp Ghee
salt to taste ( if cooking on a fasting day , use rock salt)
water for kneading dough
oil for frying


Mix together the flour, salt and ghee. Grate in the boiled potato. Mix the flour well , add a little water at a time and form a stiff dough. Keep aside for half an hour.

When ready to serve, heat the oil. On a plastic sheet or foil. Place a drop of oil and place a dough ball on it. rub a little oil on your fingers and start patting the dough into a circle using your fingers. The poori needs to be as thin as a biscuit. Carefully lift up the poori and lower into hot oil. Hold down the poori with a slotted spoon till the poori fluffs up. Check the bottom for a even brown colour, then turn. Fry to a golden brown colour and drain.

Serve hot with Potato curry or a yoghurt raita or with a chutney of your choice. 

Potato Dryfruit Kachori

With Mahashivratri starts the appearence of Hindu festivals. Routine life is punctuated by fasting and feasting. While fasting would essentially mean abstinence from cooked food, there have been certain food stuff marked for consumption during fasting days. Most green vegetables and dry spices are not allowed, as are onions and garlic. More information on foods that are allowed can be had by writing to me, as I would like to restrict this post to a recipe. A decadent snack meant for fasting days but can be eaten almost on any day. Great to impress people with, easy to make. It always gathers compliments. Its the combination of ingredients that make this a wow snack. So here goes.

Ingredients:

2 medium boiled potatoes

1/2 cup dessicated / coarsely ground fresh coconut

2 tblsp green corriander leaves chopped

1 tsp each chopped ginger and green chilli

2 tablespoons grated paneer or cottage cheese

1 tablespoon each of sliced nuts of choice ( cashews, almonds, pistachios)

1 tablespoon chopped raisins ( optional)

1 tsp pure ghee

salt to taste ( if fasting , use rock salt)

2 table spoons Kuttu/ rajgira flour if fasting or otherwise use plain flour.

Oil for frying

Coarsely grind together coconut, corriander leaves, chillies, ginger. Add salt to taste. Mix this with dried nuts and raisins, Add in grated paneer. Mix well and keep aside.

Grate and mash the boiled potatoes well. Add  the ghee and a little salt to taste. 

Make a paste with the flour and 3 tablespoons water. The flour-water paste  should be of a pouring custard consistency. 

Divide and form the coconut and nuts mixture into small lemon size balls. Divide the potato paste into the same no of portions. flatten the potato paste in your palm and keep the coconut ball in it. Gently spread the potato paste to cover the coconut-nuts balls. cover all the balls in the same fashion. Keep aside. Heat oil for frying. Dip each potato covered ball into the flour paste and carefully lower into the oil. Repeat with all the balls. gently move the balls inside the oil once the underside looks pinkish brown. lower the flame and fry the balls to a light golden colour. Drain and serve hot with a coconut chutney . 

Sabudana Khichadi

An now for the king of all falahari dishes. Falahari food is the food that is consumed during fasts. As per Hindu religion certain foods are pure enough to be consumed during fasting. While milk and milk products are undoubtedly the purest form of food to be consumed , other things which can be eaten are all Nuts, Makhana ( Popped lotus seeds) coconut, Sabudana ( sago ) , Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, bottle gourd. Special flours are used such as singhada ( water chestnut) , kuttu ( Buck wheat) , Rajgira ( Amaranth) . Only ghee ( Clarified butter) is used as a medium of cooking . All recipes then are basically permutations and combinations of these raw materials .

While my mother in law was alive, we fasted on various occasions. Navratri ( Nine days/ nights) , Ekadashi , Maha Shivratri, Janmashtami. These were the fasts when we would plan elaborate menus . Personally I do not subscribe to the eating of special meals on fasting days. I believe a fast is the day when you are able to control your thirst and hunger and be in a physical state which is close to God. Consuming fruits or fruit juice in small quantities for sustenance is fine. However with the mother in laws religious beliefs and an enthusiastic daughter in law , fasting days certainly felt like feasting days. One of the fasting dishes however frequently made its way onto the dinner table on non fasting days as well. That's the sabudana khichadi. Extremely easy to make once you understand the way to cook it. Any mistake in the steps to follow and you will end up with a gooey lump instead of the lovely separated pearls khichadi.

For the khichadi 

1 cup cleaned sabudana, soak for 2-3 hours. Then drain till all the moisture has dried up.

2 tablespoons pure ghee

1 tsp jeera ( cumin ) seeds

1- 2 green chillies slit and cut in half. (If you like the fiery taste of green chillies, coarsely chop them up) 

1 cup dry roasted non salted peanuts, coarsely crushed.

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

2 tablespoons dessicated fresh coconut

green corriander for garnish

Once the mositure has dried from the sabudana, add crushed peanuts, sugar and salt. Mix well and keep aside. In a heavy bottommed pan heat the ghee. Add the jeera seeds and green chillies. Add in the sabudana and mix well. Reduce heat and do not cover. Gently and frequently turn the sabudana. As it cooks the opaque beads turn transluscent. The peanuts will make sure the sabudana does not stick to each other. Check the salt at this stage. Once all the sabudana look transluscent , take off the heat. Garnish with fresh coconut and corriander and serve hot. You can serve it with a coconut chutney. Potato wafers, sweet potato/ potato fries make great accompaniments and a complete meal. 

Kuttu Khichadi

Buckwheat has been used in Indian cooking since ancient times. In India we use it mostly in flour form. Kuttu ka ataa is a staple used during fasting days. Its nutty taste and smooth texture makes it extremely versatile to fashion into pooris or parathas as well as to coat patties and pakodas. The whole grain however has been completely sidelined. The west has now brought this amazing cereal back into reckoning. Buckwheat or Kuttu contains all 8 amino acids, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, manganes, Vitamin B, fibre, flavonoids and most important - Omega 3 oils. Its obviously a treasure chest of nutrients . Its easy to cook and very flexible. I have tried it out as cutlets, pooris and this Khichadi. Its made exactly like the sabudana khichadi.


100 gms buckwheat , 200 ml water, salt to taste. Heat water, pick and clean buckwheat and add to the boiling water.add salt. Cover and cook on low flame for 5 mins. Take off heat and cover and keep aside. Once it cools down, drain any excess water .

For Khichadi: 2 cups cooked buckwheat, 1/2 cup coarsely crushed peanuts, 2 tsp ghee, 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera, 4-5 curry leaves, 1 green chilli finely chopped, 2 tbsp grated/ dessicated fresh coconut, 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste, chopped green coriander.

Mix the buckwheat, with salt &  sugar. Heat the ghee, add cumin , green chilli and curry leaves. Add the buckwheat mixture. stir and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water , cover and cook for 4-5 mins or till water dries out.Add peanut, coconut and coriander. Mix well and serve hot.