breads – Meal Haven

Eggless Ladi Paav

Ladi Paav as it is called in India are soft and spongy dinner rolls or slider bunds served with Indian street food like pav bhaji, dabeli, or with a cup of hot masala chai.

Ingredients:

Warm milk – 1 cup + 1 tbsp for brushing

Sugar – 2 tsp

Dry yeast – 1 tbsp

Maida / All Purpose flour – 3 cups

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Butter, softened/melted – 2 tbsp and1 tbsp for basting

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Water – 3 tbsp for activating yeast

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, add water, sugar and dry yeast. Mix it well and let it rest for 15 minutes to 30 minutes. When the yeast is activated and rises up, add 3 cups maida, baking soda and salt. (Sift the baking powder and maida well). Add the milk and knead until the dough turns soft. Then, add the butter and knead the dough until it is soft and pliable.

Cover with cling wrap or wet cloth and rest for 2 hours in a warm place. Then, after 2 hours, when the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough and knead it slightly to remove the incorporated air.

Divide it into 10-12 equal sized balls and place the balls into a greased tray. Place them leaving equal space in between as it may rise during baking.

Brush the dough with milk and cover with cling wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes or until the dough rises again.

Preheat an oven and bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 minutes, or until the pav turns golden brown from top.

Once the pav is out of the oven, rub with butter to get a shiny look. Cover with a wet cloth and allow to cool completely.

The ladi pav is ready to be served with tea or pav bhaji.

South Indian Poori and Aloo (Potatoes)

Breakfast

A Popular Indian deep fried and puffed bread made from whole wheat flour or all purpose flour. Pooris is a very versatile dish as it can be paired with savoury curries like potato curry or chicken curry or with sweet dishes like Maharshtrian aamras or Gujarati suji halwa.

Makes 8-10 medium sized puris. (Check the notes below to make crispy puris).

In oil, add dals, onions, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, tomato and saute

Ingredients:

For Pooris

Whole wheat flour or all purpose flour – 2 cups

Hot oil – 2 tsp

Water – 1/2 cup

Semolina/Rava – 3 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Oil for deep frying

For Potato baaji or curry:

Potatoes – 5 medium

Garlic – 4- 5 sliced (optional)

Onion – 1 large (sliced or chopped)

Tomato – 1 medium

Ginger chopped – 3/4 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 1/2 sprigs

Chana dal/Bengal gram dal – 3/4 tbsp

Urad dal – 3/4 tbsp

Green chillie – 3 or 4 slit

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp chopped

Water – 1 cup

Oil – 1 1/2 tbsp

Mustard – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Preparation of Potato masala

Wash potatoes and cut them into 4 pieces. Pressure cook them in a cooker for 2 whistles or cook them in a pot until they are soft.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and when it starts to sizzle, add the chana dal and udad dal. Then add the curry leaves, green chillies and ginger and saute them for a minute. Next, add the chopped or sliced onions and turmeric powder and saute until it becomes translucent. Add the tomatoes and fry until it becomes mushy. Now, mash the potatoes well and add it to the pan. Check salt and add water. Cover and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes on medium flame.

Mix well and when it beome slightly thick, sprinkle coriander leaves. Serve it with hot puris.

Preparation of Pooris:

Take the flour in a bowl and add salt. Add a tsp of very hot oil to it and semolina. Mix well with your fingertips and adding little water at a time, knead it into a smooth and tight dough. It should not be soft like chapathi or roti dough).

Cover and rest the dough for 10 minutes. After the resting time, knead the dough once again.

Divide it into 10 equal sized balls. Make smooth balls out of it. Roll out these balls into 2-3 inch diameter circles. It should not be too thin or thick as it will not puff up.

Roll out a few pooris and place them on a plate. Cover it with a kitchen napkin.

Heat oil in a pan. When it becomes hot, reduce the flame to medium and gently slide the rolled out poori into the hot oil, one at a time. Using a slotted spoon, slightly nudge the pooris while it is frying so that it will puff up well. Once it becomes golden, flip to the other side and fry it.

Remove using the slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel lined serving plate.

Notes/Tips for crispy and fluffy puris:

1. The semolina added to the flour makes the pooris crispy and stays puffed up for more time.

2. Hot oil is added to the dough to make it crispier.

3. The dough should not be soft but it should be knead firm and tight in order for it to puff up well.

Stuffed R’ghayef/Msemen (Moroccan Stuffed Flat Bread)

Baking

Moroccan cuisine has a number of flat breads which are mostly pan fried. These breads are mostly served with Tajines, soups and stews. R’ghayef is very much like the other Moroccan bread Meloui, but this one has a stuffing of onions and parsley inside.

This recipe was sourced from the ‘diplomatic kitchen’. You can substitute the all purpose flour in this recipe with wheat flour also.

Makes 10.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

All purpose flour or maida – 3 cups

Semolina or rava – 1 cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Instant yeast – 1 1/4 tsp

Sugar – 1/2 tsp

Oil – 3 tsp

Oil for brushing on the breads

Water for kneading dough – 3/4 cup or more

Stuffing:

Onion finely chopped – 1/2 cup

Chillie flakes – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp

Parsley chopped – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Melted butter – 1 1/2 tbsp

Preparation:

In 1/4 cup of warm water, add the yeast and sugar and stir well. Keep it aside for 10 minutes until it froths well and rises.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, semolina, salt, the frothed yeast, oil and knead well adding enough warm water. The dough should be soft and pliable. Once it is kneaded well, rub yr hands with little oil and apply the oil all over the rolled ball of dough. Cover with a cling wrap and keep it aside for 2 to 3 hours until it doubles up in size. The more it sits, the softer the bread will be.

After 3 hours, take the dough and punch it and divide the dough into 10 balls and keep it covered with cling wrap for another hour (pic 7)

Now, to prepare the stuffing, take a small mixing bowl and add the finely chopped onions, chopped parsley, red chillie flakes, cumin powder, salt and melted butter. Combine well and keep it aside.

Take a ball of the dough and roll it into a circle as thin as possible. Place the prepared stuffing evenly on the rolled out dough (picture 9). Fold the circle (as shown in picture 10). Then, fold the other two ends again (as in picture 11) to make it into a square. Now, roll and flatten the square to about one inch thickness (picture 12).

Heat a griddle and when it is hot, lower the flame and place the rolled out dough on it and cook. Add a few drops of oil on all sides and when golden, flip and cook the other side, adding a tsp of oil again.

Serve with any curry of your choice.

Note : You can use 1 1/2 cups of wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour for this recipe or substitute the all purpose flour with wheat flour.