ulhasnagarstreetfood Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

Batan Papdi Chaat |AlifBe~45

Alka Keswani — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 08:38:21 +0000

Want secret recipes of Batan Papdi Chutney and special Chaat masala? Do check the video recipe : AlifBe~ 45 The 45th Alphabet of Arabic Sindhi script is ڻ in Sindhi, ण in Devanagari and N~ in Roman Sindhi. In Hindi or Devanagari, no word starts with this particular alphabet. Same is the case with the Sindhi script and the ण appears in the middle or at the end of any word. In English it is generally denoted by ‘N’ as in Ramayan, Raavan, Brahman etc due to lack of proper corresponding alphabet for ण, in English. And I have picked one of my favourite street foods for this alphabet in the AlifBe series! Batan Paapdi (Papdi) or Batar Papdi It is a very unique chaat available in Sindhi dominated areas. The base of this chaat is Batan~ or the Batar, the kadak round ‘biscuit’, often had with tea. More popular as Ulhasnagar special Chaat, the batan~ papdi chaat is named so, perhaps, due to the button shaped ‘biscuits’ (or kadak pao, as some like to call it) or maybe it is a wrongly pronounced term for the batar; the makhaniya or buttery biscuits. And no, Surti batar or the Jeera batar wont work for this chaat as those are not very porous. You can find the ‘Sindhi Batan~’ in Sindhi dominated areas in many Kirana shops. The porous batan~ have a look and texture similar to an over baked (kadak) mini laadi pao. The Batan~ are topped with boiled potatoes, onions, papdi, dalmoth and 3 types of chutneys. Each morsel of this chaat is like a ‘riot of flavors’ in the mouth! Sach mein…batan papdi ki kasam 😉 The flavors of Batan~ papdi chaat at every eatery/cart vary a bit because of the spice blends and the chutneys used. Each vendor uses his or her secret recipes for the chutney as well as the spice mix and hence it is not appropriate to say that the following recipe is ‘the’ recipe for making this chaat, but it is definitely one of those ‘secret’ recipes that would help you to recreate the ‘thele waali batan~ papdi‘ sort of flavors. Commercially, most of the vendors make 3 types of chutneys for Batan~ papdi; Spicy green chutney– used sparingly in general but if someone wants the dish to be spicy, the quantity of this chutney is increased. Mint coriander chutney for the minty, refreshing flavors Tangy tamarind chutney, the star ingredient! Also, each vendor uses unique spice blend or the Chaat masala that imparts distinct flavors to the chaat. I have shared one such spice blend (like chaat masala) recipe below along with 3 chutney recipes. But if making three types of chutneys and chaat masala sounds tedious to you then you can try the cheat version i.e, 1) Use any chaat masala of your choice. 2) Skip making spicy chilli chutney. Just use that mint coriander chutney that you generally stock in your refrigerator. Dilute it with some chilled water and add panipuri masala or Jaljeera powder. But believe me, the tangy tamarind chutney is the heart of Batar Papdi and should not be compromised. It is very easy to make. You can make a base paste in bulk and preserve it in the refrigerator for few weeks.(Recipe shared below). And when you crave for panipuri or batan papadi, just use a portion of that chutney paste, add some chilled water and some tamarind paste/water. Easy? Print Batan Papdi Chaat |AlifBe~45 Rating 5.0 from 1 reviews Ulhasnagar special Batan~ or Batar Papdi chaat is a unique street food made using makhaniya biscuits as the base. Ingredients For Batan~ Papdi Chaat 10-12 Batan~ 1 Big Onion ¼ of small beetroot (raw) 2 Boiled Potatoes 1 Bowl Papdi ½ Bowl Dal moth Green Chilli Chutney (Recipe shared below) Mint Coriander Chutney Tangy Chutney (Recipe shared below) Spice Mix/Chaat Masala (Recipe shared below) Or any branded or home made chaat masala For special Chaat masala ½ inch Dalchini (Cinnamon) 1 tbsp Coriander seeds 1 tbsp Fennel seeds 1 tbsp Cumin seeds 1 tbsp Red Chilli powder 1 tbsp Amchoor Powder 2 pinches of Ajwain (Carom seeds) ½ tbsp Roasted Cumin powder ¼th tsp Saunth (Dried ginger powder) ½ tsp Black salt ¼th tsp Hing (Asafoetida) 4-5 Cloves 8-10 Black pepper corns ¼ tsp Salt 1 tsp Sugar 1-2 tbsp dried mint leaves ¼ tsp Citric acid (I didn't use any) For spicy green chilli chutney 4-5 green chillies 3-4 spinach leaves 1 inch piece ginger ¾ th cup of coriander leaves Salt/kalanamak as per taste Tangy Tamarind chutney 12-15 Mint leaves 1 tbsp Amchoor ½ tsp Kaala Namak ½ tsp red chilli powder ½ tsp Cumin seeds 2 pinches of Ajwain (Carom seeds) 2 pinches of Hing (Asafoetida) (optional) 2-3 tbsp of water ½ tsp Citric acid i,e Tatri (I didn't use any) ¼ tbsp Salt Other ingredients Lemon sized ball of Tamarind 1 cup water to soak tamarind 750 ml chilled/iced water Method Make mint coriander chutney. You can check its recipe here For special chaat masala powder, just blend the ingredients mentioned under "Special Chaat masala" to make a fine powder. Store it in a clean and dry glass bottle. Use it to garnish any type of chaat. For spicy green chilli chutney, just blend green chillies, ginger, spinach and coriander leaves. Use a little of water, if needed, to make a smooth paste. Do not dilute this chutney. For the tangy chutney, soak tamarind in water for 20 minutes. Mash well, with fingers and discard the pulp. In a blender jar, add all ingredients mentioned under "Tangy Tamarind chutney". Using a tbsp or so of water, make a smooth paste. You can store this paste in the refrigerator for few weeks and can use it to make Panipuri ka khatta paani. Take 750 ml of chilled water, add some ice too. Add the above mentioned paste and mix it well. Adjust seasoning. Can add a bit of sugar or jaggery to balance the flavors. Commercially many vendors use citric acid (Tatri) too, to make this chutney but I didn't use any. Boil and peel potatoes and cut in small chunks/ random slices. Finely chop onion and beetroot and mix together. Add some fresh coriander leaves too. To assemble the chaat, cut open each batan (refer the video). Ideally batan~ are first flash dipped in the tangy chutney but you will have to be very quick at this step else the batan tend to get too soggy and swell up. You can skip this step. Place the batan in the serving plate with the porous side up. Lay some potatoes over each batan, sprinkle chaat masala (home made/branded, any chaat masala will do). Top it with spicy chilli chutney (more if you like it spicy, less, if you like it mild), some mint coriander chutney, papdi, dal moth, onions and then pour over 1-2 ladle full of chilled tangy tamarind chutney and consume the chaat immediately. 3.5.3251 As always, here is a small tutorial to understand how to write in Arabic Sindhi!

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Dabal Pakora~ AlifBe~ 21

Alka Keswani — Fri, 14 May 2021 10:56:39 +0000

Alifbe of Sindhi Food, the series about A-Z of Sindhi food is now at the 21st letter; ڊ or D in Roman Sindhi and ड in Devanagari ! D as in Daddy, Dairy, Daily etc! And I couldn’t help but pick one of the most popular Sindhi street foods, the Dab^al Pakor^a (In Roman Sindhi) or Dabal Pakora (Pakora pao/sandwich) for ڊ ! The term Dabal is used for Double roti which could mean Pav/Pao or even the sliced bread, in Sindhi! Bread is being commonly used in Sindhi households since past many decades (probably even before the Partition happened) be it for Seyal Dabal, or Chola Dabal or is also had with mutton curry or even with Keema. And the Dabal Pakora combination i.e Pav served with pakora and green chutney is as dear to Sindhis as Vada Pao is to Marathi manoos or even to a Mumbaikar. In Ulhasnagar, my home town, you will find plenty of small bakeries on the road side and in small lanes and as you walk around, the heady aroma of breads and biscuits, rusks and nankhatai being baked in those small bakeries is simply irresistible! As a school going kid, few decades back, I remember visiting bread shops that had sale counter at the front of the shop while the wood fired oven at the back of the shop and I would often peep inside the bakery and watch in awe the ‘baker’ drenched in sweat working like a magician, shaping pao dough, lining dough balls in rows, in a tray and then dumping it in ‘oven’ all with a lightning speed. Never knew then, that at that particular moment such Ovens were being used somewhere abroad to bake Pizzas, Focaccia, Ciabatta, Garlic bread etc and who would have thought that those Italian breads will dominate the food markets and the tastebuds, globally in the near future! Coming back to Dabal Pakora (in Sindhi the Plural of a Pakoro is Pakora), it is very common to spot small roadside shops in Sindhi populated areas, where batches of Sanna Pakora, Mirchai Pakora (Amchoor marinated Chilli fritters), patate ja pakora (alu pakora), Beeh tikki (Lotus stem tikki), patate ji tikki (Sindhi style Batata vada) are fried right in front of you and you can relish a pao stuffed with pakore and some runny but spicy green chutney on the go. The combo is very pocket friendly but not so heart healthy considering that the refined oil is reheated beyond the permissible levels, plenty of times, across the day. If you observe well, you will notice that the kids at these pakora shops almost always buy Sanna and patate ja pakora, the youngsters opt for patate ji tikki, the middle aged prefer Mirchai pakora while the elderly like to eat Beeh pakora/beeh ji tikki. Do you agree? And no, I cannot explain why I loved and preferred the Mirchai pakora and Beeh ji tikki when I was barely a decade old! I still love both, crazily! The pakora in the above pictures are Sanna Pakora (Also known as Sannah pakora) and no, these are not Kaanda bhajiya! The typical Sindhi style Sanna pakora are double fried, crunchy fritters made from a dense batter of besan, chopped onions, chillies, coriander leaves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and pinch of mithi soda or the baking soda! And did I tell you that Abana Spices have this wonderful Sanna Pakora spice blend that helps you to make the sanna pakora most scrumptious and crunchy ? You don’t even need to add soda to the batter! The spice blend has a hint of garam masala that adds an oomph to the fritters without overpowering the flavors. Do check this link for their spice range or for placing your order! If you need the recipe of Laadi pao, please check this link of my other blog, Recipeonclick.com! Print Dabal Pakora~ AlifBe~ 21 Ingredients For Sanna Pakora: 1 cup gram flour 1 small onion (chopped) Coriander leaves (chopped), a few sprigs 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1 tsp Annardana (Dry pomegranate seeds) 1 tsp Coriander seeds (akkha dhaniya) 2 Green chillies (finely chopped) Salt to taste Red chilli powder as per taste A pinch of baking soda Water Oil for frying To serve: Laadi pao Mint coriander chutney Fried Whole chillies (optional) Method Mix all the ingredients listed under 'Sanna Pakora' except oil for frying, and make a thick batter. Heat oil for frying in a pan/kadai. Add a tbsp of hot oil to the batter, mix well. This will make fritters crunchier! Take a spoon full of this mixture and slide gently into hot oil, repeat for whole mixture but do not overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches, if needed! Fry on medium flame till almost done. Take them out, allow to cool down a little and then break the blobs of pakora into small pieces. Flash fry again, in hot oil, till dark golden brown and crisp. Take a fresh Pao, and cut/tear/open apart, pour few tsp of spicy but runny mint coriander chutney, stuff some pakora and enjoy the blissful bites! Can add some fried whole chillies to spice it up! 3.5.3251 Interested in Learning how to read and write Arabic Sindhi? Then do check the following video and you can watch other videos on my youtube channel!

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Dal Dimma~ AlifBe ~ 18

Alka Keswani — Tue, 04 May 2021 03:40:52 +0000

We have arrived at the 4th shape group in Sindhi Script with the 18th letter and it is د or ‘D~’ as in Daawat or as in Dehradun, in Roman Sindhi while द in Devanagari. To Check a recap for AlifBe series kindly click here ! The Sindhi dish starting with د is Dal Dimma or Dal mung! Folks from Sindhi populated areas might know how common it is for people to flock around the carts selling Dal pakwan, early mornings. Though traditionally Sindhi Pakwan is served with Chana dal, it is very common to find carts where you will get an option of Dal Dimma or Dal mung as many call it. Dal mung is a mix of Whole mung, chana dal and Yellow mung dal, slow cooked separately and mixed while serving. Those who hail from Ulhasnagar would know the popular Doli Naashta waala, well known for traditional Sindhi street foods like Dal pakwan, Dal sandwich, Samose, Gulabjamun etc and Dal mung is one of its best seller. Those living around camp 4 of Ulhasnagar would vouch for Dal mung at Shankar Uncle’s New Delhi Nashta House, near Canara Bank. Interestingly around the same place (Canara bank) and previous to that, near Jungle hotel, an old frail, tall Uncle ji (I think his name was Hari or Hiru) used to sell Dal Dimma on fresh leaves (Can’t recollect if those were Paan or some other leaves). Barely 3 tsp of mung and 2 tsp of dal, garnished with spice powder and chutney @ 25 paise, in late seventies and early eighties would be enough to satiate your morning hunger as it was often had with Pao or roti or even with home made Koki. Anyone remember that Uncle ji? The plain mung dal used to be so dense that you need to actually scoop it with a roti/bread. Slow cooked on charcoal sigri for hours, with only salt and turmeric, garnished with black pepper powder, the piping hot buttery soft dal used to be a delight to relish. As a kid studying in Bal Mandir ( Preschool of yore), I was privileged enough to enjoy hot dal from that Uncle’s cart with mom made Koki courtesy the lady who would bring tiffins for the kids from their respective homes during lunch break. I also have memories of savoring Dalmung Sandwich from the cart opposite building number 6, or amazing Dal pakwan at Vig, in Chembur, while enjoying a stay at Grandparent’s home, pampered with food, food and more food by aunts, Uncles and cousins. You can read more about Chembur Street food here! I have already shared recipes of Dal mung and Dal moth on the blog but today we are talking about Dal Dimma! Honestly speaking I was not aware of the term Dimma as it is called Dal mung in my home town. But thanks to the Sindhirasoi facebook group I got to know that a dal preparation without using tomatoes or onions/garlic is called Dimma. I am yet to find the actual meaning of the word Dimma but I need to thank Mr Manohar Pamnani, Mr Sanjay Lulla, Ms Dolly Atmaram Chandwani and Ms Shashi Nagpal who shared their valuable inputs and their memories about Dal Dimma when I approached them to understand what exactly a Dimma preparation is. Will share more about that some other time! Also a big thanks to Barkha Khushalani Di for always helping me out with the Devanagari script. And of course, heartfelt thanks to my better half, Deepak Keswani too, for being there at every step of learning be it Alif Be or reading dictionaries, recording videos/ Insta reels or for helping out in editing clips. Here is the video of letter formation and assembling of Dal Dimma: Summary: So from what I gathered from discussing about Dal Dimma is that mung/ dal is boiled with just salt, turmeric and optionally, chillies and is tempered with hing (asafoetida) and cumin seeds and garnished with spice powders/garam masala. Print Dal Dimma~ AlifBe ~ 18 Dal Dimma or Dal Mung is a mix of whole mung, chana dal, mung dal, cooked separately and assembled for serving. It is a popular Sindhi street food. Ingredients Serves 3 Mung Whole Mung 1 cup Salt as per taste Green chillies 2 or as as needed Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Garam masala powder (I used Abana's GM) ½ tsp Ghee / oil for tempering Red chilli powder ¼ tsp Cumin seeds ½ tsp Asafoetida 2 pinches For chana dal Chana Dal ¾ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric Powder ¼ tsp Green chillies 1-2 Ghee/oil for tempering Cumin seeds ¼ tsp Asafoetida a pinch Abana's Dal Pakwan Masala 1 heaped spoon Cumin seeds ½ tsp Mung Dal Mung dal (split yellow) ½ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Ghee/Oil for tempering Red chilli powder ½ tsp Black pepper powder ¼ tsp For Serving Boiled potato chopped 1 Small Boiled beetroot chopped, 1 Small Tomato chopped, 1 Small Onion Chopped 1 Mint coriander chutney Sour Tamarind chutney * Amchoor powder for garnish Fried or Roasted Green chillies 3-4 Method Rinse well and soak Mung, chana dal and mung dal, separately for few hours. Cook each dal separately using salt, chilliies and turmeric powder, till done. If using Abana Dal pakwan masala, then add it while boiling Chana dal. You can cook each dal in a pressure cooker or slow cook in a pan. Mung and Chana dal are bit mushy but not completely mashed, while mung dal is cooked till buttery smooth. In Whole mung, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing, red chilli powder and mix well. Add some garam masala powder. In Chana dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing and chilli powder and mix well. Remember not to overcook or over-mash this dal. In mung dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil and red chilli powder. Add black pepper powder and mix. Consistency of all three should not be very runny. Chop salad vegetables and season with salt, pepper, chilli powder and amchoor/chaat masala. *To make Sour Tamarind chutney just soak some tamarind in water, squeeze well and discard the pulp. Season the tamarind water with salt, chaat masala, chilli powder and hint of sugar. While serving, pour some whole mung in a bowl, some chana dal on one side and mung dal on other side, garnish with some Abana Dal masala, Amchoor powder, chilli powder, salad vegetables, chutneys and dried or roasted whole chillies. Serve hot with bread, roti or Koki. 3.5.3251 Picture Courtesy: Saarthak Aurora I made Dal Dimma using Abana Brand’s Sindhi Dal (pakwan) spice mix along with Garam masala and Amchoor powder of the same brand. Abana is a Sindhi word referring to something that is ancestral. They make some unique Sindhi spice mixes that no other brand can boast of; Sindhi Dal ( pakwan) spice mix, Sindhi Kadhi spice mix or even Sindhi Sanna Pakora and Tuk patata spice blend. The spice mixes dedicated to the Sindhi cuisine and a brand name that is so Sindhi that it stirs memories of yore like nothing else would (Remember the Sindhi Movie, Abana?), the brain child of Mr Basant Rajan, who, at the age when people retire, ventured in this field purely because of his passion for traditional food and spices. If you wish to try these Sindhi spices, please check this Box of Nostalgia, a box with 14 different spices and spice blends!

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Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16

Alka Keswani — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 08:25:12 +0000

Chhola /Charaan i.e Kabuli Chana curry is a very popular dish in Sindhi cuisine and it is often had with rice, roti as well as with sliced bread and Pao (laadi paav) too. Sindhi style Chole (Chhole in Roman Sindhi) are made in basic onion tomato gravy style, though many cook it in just tomato gravy. No tea leaves are used (to give color) and also, traditionally, no chole masala (spice mix) is added. The curry gets its flavors from whole spices like Kamaal patt (Tej Patta), vadho photo (Black Cardamom) etc while tomatoes and tamarind (optional) provide tanginess. Few crushed chana render thickness to the gravy and the garam masala powder pushes the flavors a few notches up! In Sindhi populated areas, Chaap chhola (Patties with Chole) and Chhola Dab^al are two of the most famous street foods and while patties chole are generally had as an evening snack, Chhola dab^al on the other hand is had for breakfast. Chhola is a curry made using Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) while dab^al in Sindhi refers to bread ( sliced bread, pao etc). It is also known as dab^al Roti or Dab^roti in Sindhi. Simply put, Chhola Dab^al is bread topped with chickpeas curry and garnished with chutney, sliced onions and sev (Nylon sev). Gupta ji Chole waala, opposite Satramdas hospital in Ulhasnagar was famous for his Chhola dab^al as well as falooda. His cart had a stove with a large aluminum container, filled with dense spicy garbanzo curry, arranged on the outer sides of the container. The centre of the container was intermittently filled with soupy gravy and a portion of dense curry (with beans) was then mixed with it and allowed to simmer for a while. Few chunks of pao were then immersed in the simmering curry, scooped out and placed in a takeaway container, topped with some gravy and beans, chunks of cooked potato, chutney and spice mix (a trade secret), some coriander leaves and nylon sev for the garnish. The hearty breakfast was often had on lazy winter Sunday mornings and it used to be my (late) mother’s favorite. Somehow I never developed a liking for it! If you have been tracking the AlifBe series, you may have got a hint by now. Yes, we are at the 16th letter of Sindhi Alphabet and it is ڇ or ‘Chh’ as in Chhattisgarh, in Roman Sindhi while छ in Devanagari. And no marks for guessing that the Sindhi dish starting with ڇ is Chhola Dab^al ! To check step by step pics of assembling Chhola Dabhal, please watch this video! Dab^al or bread was had by Sindhis even in the pre partition era. You can find a reference, in the book We the Sindhis, of a certain Ghanno (name of the vendor) Pakorai (one who sells pakore or fritters) in Jhuremalani Ghitti (street) in Sindh (Now in Pakistan) before partition, who was immensely popular for his Beehu (lotus stem) and ras mein dabroti or the bread in gravy. Also every Sindhi must be aware of the song ‘Dal Chola Dab^al’ from the movie Abana, the Sindhi movie released in the year 1958 in which the veteran actress Late Sadhana Shivdasani played a second lead role. So you see, Sindhis have been relishing this street food much before the Vada pav, Bombay Sandwich and Pavbhaji became the popular snacks featuring the bread. The recipe of Chhola Dab^al is as follows: Print Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16 Rating 5.0 from 1 reviews Chickpeas curry topped over laadi pao and garnished with chutney, onion slices and sev. Ingredients 200 gm Kabuli chana 2 large onions, finely chopped 3 tomatoes, grated 2 green chillies 3 cloves of garlic and 1 inch piece of ginger, pounded 1+1 Tej patta * 1+1 Black Cardamom* 1 inch piece of Cinnamon ½ tsp Turmeric powder ½ tsp red chilli powder (or according to taste) 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp Garam masala ( or you can use Chole masala) Oil 2 tbsp Salt Two small potatoes, cut in chunks (Optional) To assemble Chola Dabhal (1 small serving) 1 Pao ( laadi pav) A cup of Chole curry 2 tsp Green chutney (Mint coriander) Handful of Nylon sev Fresh coriander leaves to garnish Some lemon juice or 1 tsp of tamarind water Some slices of onion Method Pick, rinse Kabuli chana few times, with water and soak overnight. Drain and add soaked chana to a pressure cooker and pour water to submerge chana completely. Add salt, 1 tejpatta* and a black cardamom * and close the lid of pressure cooker. Put it on the flame. Cook for two whistles and put off the gas. When pressure subsides, drain boiled chana and reserve the water. Do not throw away the water. Now in the pressure cooker, pour 2 tbsp of oil and add 1 tejpatta *, cinnamon and a black cardamom*. Add pounded ginger garlic. Cook for a minute and then add finely chopped onions. On medium to low flame keep cooking onions till nice brown. Do not increase the flame. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder and chopped green chillies. Immediately add drained boiled chana (Please note: Pre boiling chana is an optional step. I boil it if I am not sure about how fresh the stock is. You can skip pre boiling and use raw soaked chana at this stage). Add grated tomatoes and some salt (remember there is salt in reserved water too), coriander powder and keep cooking on high flame, mixing intermittently till oil separates out. Add the reserved water (if you have boiled chana) or hot water ( if you are using raw soaked chana) and make sure that the chole are completely submerged in water. If using potatoes, add it at this stage. Mash some chana to thicken the gravy. Add some chopped coriander leaves, garam masala powder and close the lid. After a whistle, put the flame on minimum and let chole cook under pressure for 12-15 minutes. To make Chhola Dabhal, tear off Pao in big chunks in a serving plate or bowl and pour Chhole (the curry), garnish with some chutney, onion slices, lemon juice or tamarind water and nylon sev. Serve/eat immediately! 3.5.3251

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