Banana Chakri

Summers in California are not harsh, but few days of strong heat are enough to make some some dehydrated veggies and snacks to store for the entire year. While most of the snacks we make are with potatoes and sabudana or sago pearls, I was thinking of my Jain friends and felt a need to make something for them. Check out my other recipes of dehydrated snacks.

People who follow Jainism as religion refrain from underground veggies and certain leafy vegetables most of the year and specially during monsoon months. They follow a strict pattern of diet in the life. Most of them are based on scientific reasoning, and they are worth adapting in our lives.

Raw banana is a substitute to recipes that use potatoes. Raw bananas are not sweet and have texture of boiled potatoes, so boiling and mashing them to make various recipes is very simple and easy for Jain friends. Lately, I tasted Jain pav bhaji which had raw bananas boiled and mashed instead of potatoes. It tasted yum and we could not even notice any difference.

This recipe was a successful experiment to making dehydrated snack for my Jain friends, and with one of their upcoming festival, I hope my friends like it.

Ingredients:
3 large raw bananas
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp salt

• Pressure cook raw bananas till you hear 4-5 whistles or around 30 minutes.
• Peel and grate them well to avoid pieces.
• Add salt and red chili powder and mix well
• If the mixture feel dry, add a tbsp or so of water and make a dough.
• Use a chakri press, Fill it with mashed banana dough and press to form round chakris. 
• Dry it in hot solar heat.
• Next day flip and dry on the other side too.
• Store in an air tight container when it is completely dehydrated.

To serve:
Deep fry in medium hot oil and enjoy crisp snack.

Pressure cook raw bananas till you hear 4-5 whistles or around 30 minutes.

Peel and grate them well to avoid pieces.

Add salt and red chili powder and mix well

If the mixture feel dry, add a tbsp or so of water and make a dough.

Use a chakri press, Fill it with mashed banana dough and press to form round chakris. 

Dry it in hot solar heat.

Dry it in hot solar heat.

Next day flip and dry on the other side too.

Store in an air tight container when it is completely dehydrated.

Dried chakris.

Deep fry in medium hot oil and serve.

Enjoy!!!

Potato Wafer

Everyone is familiar with potato chips, and most of us like those too. But these chips here are not regular potato chips. These are potato slices/chips that have been blanched and dehydrated under hot sun, and then freshly fried before serving. Every summer mummy would make these dehydrated snacks to  store for the entire year. But, do you think this would last the whole year? Never... They are so delicious that they would not even last for 6 months :) These were the best tasting potato chips ever. Look at the various dehydrated recipes mummy would make: Potato and Sabudana Chakli,  Potato Sev, Sabudana Papad. And we enjoyed helping her too: waking up early morning with the sunrise and helping peel potatoes, spreading the cloth or dupatta on the terrace and securing the corners of the cloth with heavy stones or bricks, and then running around to shoo away the birds while the chips would be drying out  :) Yes, we grew up with all that fun during summer break, and were rewarded with yummy snacks. :) Those are the best childhood memories.

California summers can also be hot. When my parents visited us three years back, they felt this heat, and papa immediately suggested we could make potato wafers, papads, and dehydrated veggies. And we did! With a huge bag of potatoes from Costco, we started off making variety of dehydrated snacks to store them... just like the ant in the story stores seasonal food for later. :) The lattice designed chips were made by mummy in our Mumbai house, and the plain ones were made in California. Below is the video of how to make lattice or jali design using a crinkle blade slicer. It is really simple and worth a try.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. firm, raw potatoes.
2-3 liters water to blanch potato chips
2 tbsp. Salt
1 tsp. of alum

• Peel, and wash potatoes in potatoes in cold water.
• Slice them and place them in a container with water to prevent it from browning and sticking to each other.
• Boil water in a large container. Add salt and alum to water.
• Drain sliced potatoes and remove all the water.
• Keep another container with cold water ready on the side.
• Put few sliced potatoes in the boiling water and boil for 45 seconds to a minute.
• Remove and shock them in cold water. This will prevent it from overcooking.
• Separate each potato chip and pace on a clean cloth under hot sun heat. Dry it in hot dry temperature for 6-8 hours.
• Remove each chip from the cloth and place in a large plate.
• Place it again in hot sun heat for a day or two more till they dehydrate and get crisp.
• Any traces of moisture will lead to fungus growth and spoil the chips.

To use:
Fry in hot oil or spray some oil and microwave on high for a minute.
Sprinkle red chili powder if you like it a bit spicy.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Peel, and wash potatoes in potatoes in cold water.

Slice them and place them in a container with water to prevent it from browning and sticking to each other.

Here is my video to show how you can make jali or netted potato chips or jali wafers.

Boil water in a large container. Add salt and alum to water.

Put few sliced potatoes in the boiling water and boil for 45 seconds to a minute.

Remove and shock them in cold water. This will prevent it from overcooking.

Separate each potato chip and pace on a clean cloth under hot sun heat. Dry it in hot dry temperature for 6-8 hours.

Fry in hot oil or spray some oil and microwave on high for a minute.
Sprinkle red chili powder if you like it a bit spicy.

Enjoy Snacking!!

Moong Dal Dhokla

Like I have said before and described in one of my earlier posts, we Gujaratis can make dhokla with anything. Moong dal being rich and protein is perfect for vegetarians. It is split moong lentils and there are various delicious recipes made of these. Combination of moong dal and rice makes delicious soft khichdi which is perfect to recover from a disease. Easy to digest and also energizing, introducing moong dal to regular meals is excellent.

As you know by now, Dhokla is a savory steamed cake from Gujarat: Western India. Pulses and ground and batter is fermented to prepare soft steamed dhokla. So these steamed soft dhoklas are great as breakfast or snacks.

Do not confuse this recipe for khaman dhokla. Khaman dhokla is made of chana dal or besan which is chick pea flour.

Here is the list of my dhokla recipes:
Green Moong Dhokla
Khaman Dhokla
Khatta Dhokla
Rawa Dhokla
Dhokla shots
Mixed Grain Dhokla

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)
1/2 cup yellow split moong dal
1 cup water
1/2 inch ginger
1-2 green chillies
1 tsp. salt
Pinch of turmeric
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2-3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. ENO fruit salt (optional only if batter is not fermented)

For tempering:
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
Chopped green chilies

Chopped cilantro to garnish.

• Wash and soak split moong dal in 1 cup of water for 3-4 hours.
• Remove water and coarsely grind soaked dal, ginger, and green chillies together. Leave it aside for few hours or overnight to ferment. You could also use it immediately by adding ENO to froth and make soft dhoklas.
• Add salt, turmeric, sugar, lemon juice, and oil. Mix well for 2-3 minutes till sugar dissolves.
• Keep the steam bath ready. If the batter is well fermented pour in a thali and steam for 7-10 minutes.
• If you are making instant dhoklas without fermenting, add ENO and mix well. Pour batter immediately in a Thali or a plate and steam it for 7-10 minutes.
• Remove steamed dhokla plate and let it rest for 4-5 minutes before cutting into pieces.
• Cut into pieces.
• For tempering: heat oil, add mustard seeds and green chillies. Fry for a minutes. Spread this evenly over cut dhokla.
• Garnish with cilantro.
• Serve!

Wash and soak split moong dal in 1 cup of water for 3-4 hours.

Remove water and coarsely grind soaked dal, ginger, and green chillies together. Leave it aside for few hours or overnight to ferment. You could also use it immediately by adding ENO to froth and make soft dhoklas.

Add salt, turmeric, sugar, lemon juice, and oil. Mix well for 2-3 minutes till sugar dissolves.

Keep the steam bath ready. If the batter is well fermented pour in a thali and steam for 7-10 minutes.

If you are making instant dhoklas without fermenting, add ENO and mix well. Pour batter immediately in a Thali or a plate and steam it for 7-10 minutes.

Remove steamed dhokla plate and let it rest for 4-5 minutes before cutting into pieces.

Cut into pieces.

For tempering: heat oil, add mustard seeds and green chillies. Fry for a minutes. Spread this evenly over cut dhokla.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Enjoy Fresh & Healthy Snack!!!

Champakali Lanterns

Diwali is here and it brings lot of wonderful memories too. Although these Champakali or lanterns are mostly made during diwali, these are made very often in our house. The effort that would go in rolling and folding to form these lanterns to the aroma that spreads in the house while frying them...everything is incredible. Not just my sister and I, but even my husband now loves these champakalis made by mom. She would parcel a big box of these specially for my husband during my India trips. She always insists I carry these for him. :)

This recipe is really simple. This is how my mom makes it and we love it :) You could always do the variation or add a different flavor to it too.

Ingredients:
1 cup maida/all purpose flour
1 tsp. ghee
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chilli powder
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds (optional)
1 tbsp. plain yogurt.
Water for making the dough
Oil for frying

In a bowl mix, flour, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin seeds, ghee, and yogurt, Mix the ingredients well.
Add little water at a time to form a stiff dough.
Knead the dough well for 3-4 minutes.
Cover and keep it aside to 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into 15 equal parts.
Press each portion with the palm and roll into a disc. Using a knife, make few vertical and parallel lines.
Roll it gently taking care not the press the center on the disc.
Pick each gently and place on a paper. Let it rest for few minutes.
Pick few rolled champakalis in medium hot oil till they are golden brown.
Remove on a paper towel. It is very important to get these beautiful lantern shapes.
Let it cool and store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!

In a bowl mix, flour, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin seeds, ghee, and yogurt, Mix the ingredients well.

Add little water at a time to form a stiff dough.

Divide the dough into 15 equal parts. Press each portion with the palm and roll into a disc. Using a knife, make few vertical and parallel lines.

Roll it gently taking care not the press the center on the disc.

Pick each gently and place on a paper. Let it rest for few minutes.

Pick few rolled champakalis in medium hot oil till they are golden brown.

Remove on a paper towel.

Happy Diwali!