Aloo Matar Chaat

Hello friends, firstly, I apologize for being away for so long. I was off to Kolkata for a close ones wedding, and what better way to start posting again than to write about the utmost famous Kolkata chat. This is the amazing Aloo Matar Chaat made with boiled potatoes and soaked and boiled matar/chana/chole in a spicy tangy imli masala. If refrigerated and stored well, it lasts up to 3-4 days and it tastes better with each passing day

If this excites your taste buds, let me make it easy for you to enjoy this dish at your home in no time. I am writing an easy recipe to bring it to your table:

Ingredients:
4 Large Potatoes (boiled whole with a little salt and Haldi, I have used the red potatoes)
1 cup soaked and boiled matar/chana/chole (I have used a mix of matar and green chana)
1 lemon sized ball of imli (soaked in 1\2 cup warm water for 20 minutes)

To be chopped in a chopper:
3-4 green chillies
2" ginger root
1/2 cup coriander leaves

Masalas (to be dry roasted and powdered)
2 tsp jeera whole
2 tsp dhaniya whole
4-5 dry red chillies

Others:
1 tsp chunky chat masala,
1 tsp rock salt(kala namak)
1/2 red chilli powder(optional
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp sugar

Optional:
1 tomato- halved and sliced

Method:

1. Mash the Soaked imli and strain it in a bowl. Use additional 1/2 cup water while srtaining.

2. Add the chopped ginger, green chillies and coriander to it. Also add the powdered masalas and the other masalas to it. Mix well and keep aside.

3. Peel and slice the potatoes in a large bowl. Strain and add the boiled chana. Add the tomato slices too.

4. Now add the Imli masala mixture and mix gently making sure that the potato slices are not breaking.

5. Check the seasonings and tweak it according to your taste.
6. Enjoy either stuffed in pani puris, or on papdi or just as it is.

Tips:

1. The thickness of the potatoes is up to your liking. I like slicing it thin.

2. The masalas, salt and the sourness can be adjusted to your taste. I like it very hot and spicy.

3. Lemon juice adds additional flavor. You can add 1/2 a lemon juice to the imli masala.

4. Boiled and sliced sweet potatoes can also be added.

5. It tastes best if made a couple of hours ahead of time. It gives the masalas time to blend in well.

6. The masala powder can be made in a larger batch and kept ready ahead of time.

7. When in hurry, canned garbanzo can also be used.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

As soon as someone says Grilled Cheese Sandwich, the first thing that comes to my mind is the amount of butter and cheese involved. This is one of the main reasons why I always ended up avoiding it. So finally, to be able to eat a whole sandwich, without any guilt, I created this similar version of it, using more vegetables and relatively lesser fat.

For My Kids, cut up in stripes..

Serves 2

Ingerdients:

1 12" baguette (you can use any kind of bread that is available, even 4 slices of white bread would do)

1/4 cup finely chopped mixed bell peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped broccoli

1 tbsp chopped onions

1 green chilli chopped (optional)

1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I have used a mexican blend)

1 tbsp butter

Salt and pepper to taste

a dash of any herb blend

Prepped Ingredients

Method:

1. Slice the baguette horizontally into half and then again, into two sandwiches, vertically. Mix all the ingredients, except the butter, in a bowl.

2. Heat a griddle, butter the bread on the outside, and place on the griddle with the stuffing on the base bread( refer to the next pic)

3. Once slightly toasted, cover the sandwitch with the top slice, and toast on the other side, pressing it down a little.

4. Serve with a little ketchup and mustard.

PS:- Sometimes when I like to eat lesser bread, I make open sandwitches by covering the sandwiches while they are grilling. (pics follow)

Enjoy!

Corn Cheela

This cheela has a very sweet chilli combination of flavors....the perfect snack for a rainy day, or after school snack for the kids(less the chillies)

Ingredients:

2 corn on the cob, grated,

1/2 cup besan

1 tsp rice flour(optional, this is to make it crisp)

2 tsp ginger-green chillies, pounded

2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

a squeeze of hing

salt to taste

oil for making the cheelas

 

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients above. Add a little water if the batter is too thick.

2. Follow the below steps from spread the batter on pan to serving it on platter.

Add few drops of oil on a hot pan.

Spread two spoonfuls of batter and add a few drops .of oil.

Cover the pan and let it cook on low flame for a minute.

Reverse the Cheela;
Add a few drops of oil;
Cook on high flame till this side is also brown and crisp.

Serve hot with Corriander chutney

         

Enjoy with green coriander chutney.

Tip: If I have a lot of people to serve and not as many corn cobs, i increase the amount of besan and seasonings added. It does dilute the taste but none the less it still tastes yummy.