Papad ki Sabji

Perfect curry to make when you have no veggies left in your fridge :) All you need is tomatoes, yogurt and papad as main ingredients. A delectable curry will be ready in no time. It is a famous Rajasthani dish, most of us know about it and yes, it is cooked in 10 different ways:) I have tried making it both ways, with and without onions and I like it better with no onions. My husband enjoys this papad ki sabji a lot more than I do actually :) so this curry is here to stay in my household. It goes well with khoba roti or any other paratha or simply with the plain rice.

Making papad (thin, fried accompaniment) is a summer affair and I am sure every kid of my generation must have spent their few days of summer vacation helping out their moms and aunts in rolling, spreading, drying papads in the backyard or on the terrace under the scorching heat and then having a cold beverage like lemon sherbet or sol kadi to cool themselves. :) Real fun days it used to be :)

Let us check out the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 big papads dry roasted or fried or done in microwave*
• 2 tomatoes
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup curds/yogurt room temperature
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste
• handful of cilantro chopped

Preparation:

• In a blender, grind tomatoes, chillies and ginger, keep aside.
• In a wide mouth pan, heat oil, add cumin seeds till they splutter, add hing, kasuri methi and saute for a minute or so.
• Add tomato mixture along with the chilli pwd, coriander pwd and garam masala.
• Mix everything and let it cook till oil separates from the tomato gravy.
• Now sim the gas and add whisked yogurt plus water slowly while you keep stirring the gravy, else it will curdle in the gravy. Bring it to a boil, add salt as per taste.
• Now take the fried/roasted papads, make med-small pieces and slowly add to the gravy. Cover and cook for a couple of more minutes till the papads soak in the gravy.
• Your gravy is ready. Serve it with kobha roti or with rice.

Notes:* Papads can be roasted or fried anyway you want. You can also add raw papad cut in pieces and cook till done.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

recipe adapted from nisha madhulika's website.

papad

fried papad

Health Benefits: This curry is made with tomatoes and yogurt as a base with little spices. The debate that tomato is a fruit or vegetable is still on :), nonetheless, it is considered as a superfood. It is rich in antioxidants. It has lycopene which helps in fighting chronic diseases and helps in delivering other health benefits. It is an excellent source of Vit C, potassium and cholene. Yogurt is no. 1 probiotic food. It is known to be helpful in digestion and is a good source of calcium. Papad is mainly made from peeled black flour (protein), it is seasoned and consumed in either fried, roasted or deep fry form.

Khoba Roti (Indian flat bread)

It is simply amazing to know how Indian culture has so many variations of flat bread. I came across preparation of Khoba roti recently and fell in love with how it is made, the technique, its texture, how it tastes. Everything about it is unique, pretty and yum! It comes from Rajasthan- a land of bright colors, folk culture, camels, sand, forts, mahals, sun, dances, clay pots, rusticness etc and then there's their food!! Papad ki sabji, dal bati churma, lal maas, meva pulao, missi roti hmmm so many traditional dishes. I will be posting most of it soon...:) Stay tuned! :)

Let us take a look at this decorative Khoba Roti recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (traditionally they use coarse flour)
• 2 tbsp ghee warm
• salt to taste
• water to knead (around 1/2 cup)

Preparation:
Take wheat flour in a mixing bowl, add warm ghee over it, salt and mix it with your fingers or a fork. I prefer to do it with my hands...get all that love in there :) and get some gentle exercise for your fingers!:)
Now add water little by little and knead to make a dough, should be stiff dough and not soft like we knead for chapatis. Close it with a lid and keep aside for 15 minutes.
Make equal portions of dough. Take tennis ball size portion (yes big portion) and roll it into 5-6 inches round shape disc. Don't roll it out thin, it should stay thick.
Make some marks with a knife on one side.
Heat a tawa/griddle and place this khoba roti with knife marks facing down. Let it cook for some time about a minute.

• Turn the khoba roti and cook for very little time maybe 30 sec. Turn around and with 2 fingers[ index and thumb] pinch the roti all around in circles. If the roti is too hot for you to handle use flat tongs to pinch the roti, it makes a beautiful impression and design.

• This method is used to cook the roti evenly as it is rolled out thick. Don't add any oil or ghee while roasting.
• Once the pinching is done, take it out from the tawa and place it directly on the stove with the pinched surface facing the stove heat.

• Move it evenly using tongs till all sides are cooked. Take it out and add ghee in the dips created due to pinching. Serve with any spicy gravy/curry or potato sabji. It is delicious!!!!

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

note*: If you add ghee khoba roti will be soft to eat, if you don't it will get little hard.

You may also like papad ki sabji, khatti dal

Health Benefits: This whole wheat is a rich source of vitamin (B1, B2, B3, B6, B9), iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium etc so you should not avoid roti in your diet. It has soluble fibre to help clean plaque from blood vessels and prevent constipation. Doesn’t make your blood sugar shoot up and then crash. If you add ghee, you are getting more calories but ghee has its own set of benefits too. If you are on strict dieting avoid it, else add a dollop of ghee and enjoy these swadhisht Khoba rotis!