Gujrati Theple

As I am not working here...all I do is either cook, eat, read (lately its been more of cookbooks), watch food channels,decorate my house, blog, think about what to cook for meals, buy new kitchen equipments (the test tubes, spatula, petri dishes for my lab), stay on the look out of innovative dishes and new stuff to try.. et al (not necessarily in that order).
In a nutshell...I am a food-nut, if I can say that!

Who thought that I would be cooking like this just a year back..not even myself. Its only after my marriage that I have actually entered the kitchen... to cook (earlier it used to be either for eating nick-nacks or a lazy answer to mom's call for assistance in the kitchen). :-p





My in-laws stay in Ahmedabad,Gujarat...my first breakfast in Gujarat, at my in-laws' place was the yummy poha (flattened/beaten rice flakes) my mom-in-law made for me.
Gujarat is on the west of India and almost all Gujaratis are staunch vegetarians by religion.
So lentils and pulses are what provide them with the necessary proteins and fibre.

If ever you are travelling through train in India and have a Gujarati person sharing your compartment, you can be rest assured that you would find theple and mango pickles in his/her lunch box/bag, for the long journey.

As stated in my earlier posts Indians do not leave home without food...I can add that Gujaratis never leave for a journey without theplas. Theplas, which are a kind of flattened , unleavened bread made from chick-pea/bengal gram flour and spices, have a long shelf life and go very well with any side dish, curd, pickles or can be eaten plain.
I personally prefer it with begun bhaja (fried egg plants). Its the meal with the best of the east and the west of India. Unity in diversity! :)

In India, whenever there is a festive occassion that involves food for a large gathering, the services of the "maharaj" (traditional Indian cook/chef) are employed. He is a cook that makes authentic Indian dishes in really large (read enormous) quantities with his helpers. I always enjoyed watching them work..in the open kitchen. I learned this dish from one such Maharaj, who used to cook regularly for our festivities, at a family function.


Theple

Ingredients:
2 cups bengal gram flour
2 tbsp curd,beaten
1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
1/2 tsp or less turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of dried ginger powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp juice of grated bottle-gourd (doodhi/lauki)

For Tempering oil-
In a wok take 3 tbsp cooking oil and heat. Add 2-3 curry leaves and 1 tsp of mustard seeds.Heat till the mustard seeds splutter. Remove from heat and use this oil to fry the theple.

Method-
Firstly, grate half of a medium sized bottle gourd. Now squeeze the juice out of the grated gourd by hand or with the help of a muslin cloth. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Then, make a well in between and add the oil and beaten curd. Mix well. Finally,add the bottle-gourd juice to the mix gradually, kneading the dough all the time.Knead well into a soft dough.
Break into lemon sized balls and flatten out the balls with a rolling pin, to make flat disc shaped breads.
Shallow fry on both sides, in the griddle/pan with the tempered oil.
Serve with your favourite side dish.

Hail the king of all vegetables-Brinjal !!

We all know that brinjals are considered the king of all vegetables. But do we know why (apart from the fact that it wears a green "crown").Well heres' the insight into its "royal bloodline"... ;-)

Nutritional Value of Brinjal
(Given here is the nutritional value of a serving of 100 grams of brinjal)
Calcium - 525 mg
Cholesterol - 16mg
Dietary Fiber - 4.9g
Iron - 6mg
Potassium - 618mg
Protein - 8g
Saturated Fat - 5.2g
Sodium - 62mg
Sugars - 11.4g
Total Carbohydrates - 17.8g
Total Fat - 27.5g
Vitamin A - 6.4 mg

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Brinjal
*Take brinjal in a mashed form or as a soup and add some garlic and asafetida to it. It will help you get rid of flatulence and adjust the wind humor of the body.
*Brinjal can also be eaten after being roasted directly on fire. Just peel off the skin, mash it and add some salt in it for flavor and eat it. It will help cure phlegm, congestion and reduce the formation of gas.
*In order to increase appetite and digestion, take soup made of mashed brinjal and tomato, along with some salt and pepper.
*In case you are unable to fall asleep easily, eat a soft brinjal (along with some honey) after baking it directly over fire. If taken regularly, it may also cure insomnia.
*In order to cure enlarged spleen caused due to malaria, eat soft baked brinjal along with raw sugar on empty stomach, preferably in the morning.

(Courtesy: iloveindia)

Now coming to the most important part--the taste! After all in the end its all about taste, ain't it?! It is one of the best vegetables for amatuer cooks to start working with. The purple hue shines through and springyness of the veggie delights the hearts. Ok so you have guessed it...I love it!
I have to thank my dad for introducing me to this vegetable. No no he doesn't cook...its just that when we were kids, it was a Sunday morning ritual that we loved to follow. We went to the hustling-bustling vegetable market where my father taught me to choose the freshest produce. The tricks and tips of picking a vegetable when it is freshest and not simply relying on the shop keeper (who would inevitably try to sell off his older produce). Like, a brinjal is at its best when its exterior is shiny purple and it weighs light in the hand.
Though I am not that lil' kid anymore holding my father's hand, wide-eyed, grasping all the knowledge....all that he taught has stuck through time.

It is commonly said that a learning never goes to waste. So true and I experienced it myself when after marriage, I shifted base and had to do the veggie shopping on my own! (For someone who has never really done it on her own ever, it was quite a task. Its only after marriage and quitting work that I have really started cooking full time....no don't be mistaken, I'm lovin' it!) :-)
So here's one of the simplest recipes with brinjals. Its a bengali dish. (I was born and brought up in Kolkata, East India) I make this dish so very often and hubby dear loved it the first time he tasted it. I am all about simplicity in food without compromising on taste or health. Hope you make it and enjoy it too, just like we do.

Baingan Bhaja (fried eggplant/brinjal)

Ingredients-
1 large eggplant, sliced into 1'' thick discs
3 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt
enough mustard oil to deep fry

Method-
In a big plate, arrange the eggplant discs and sprinkle them with half the turmeric and half the salt.
Rub the turmeric and salt into the eggplants with your finger tips.
Turn over the sliced eggplants (white side face-up) and sprinkle with turmeric and salt and rub, as earlier.
Now, heat the mustard oil in a deep fying pan and deep fry the slices till golden brown. Flip and brown the other side too. It will be almost blackish-purple in colour, once removed.
Check seasoning, sprinkle some more salt , if required.

Serve with chapatis/parathas or theple.

This dish goes to Harini (Sunshinemom)'s FIC- November event.

N.B. Its 2.30 am here in HK, hubby is waiting...am testing his patience. I am a blog-o-addict..(head hanging in shame). So will post the recipe for theple later.