Ragda Pattice

Ragda Pattice

Yet another Mumbai chaat. Fast food. Street Food. Junk Food. His Food. Everybody loves kinda food 🙂
Since I am not a fan of chaat especially this one, I hardly ever make it. You know how it is, when we cook things that usually we like and somehow forget to make that we don’t? Does it happen to you?

Unconsciously I was doing that. I cook what I crave to eat. And chaat, a medley of deep fried crackers and vegetables and lots of Indian fried junk, all infused with sweet, spice and sour – is not on my list. Yea, I know I’m insane. Almost everyone I know love it! I don’t know how I missed the bus.
I once had a 60 year old friend visiting us from San Fran and he asked for pani puris. I was like.. will you be able to take the heat?!! He enjoyed every morsel while I skeptically held a bottle of bisleri ready for him.

Potato Pattice roasted nice and golden

This so called snack requires so many little things that most people I know eat it for a meal rather than a refreshment. It takes hardly any effort to put it together.. that is, once you have all the stuff with you. A bit of planning, a bit of prepping and you can make this in no time! Yet, I thought of this yummy tangy sweet plate of chaat after ages… I simply forgot about it.

Well, this one is his favourite, he really likes any chaat. Especially Mumbai street food. So he was in for a surprise when the answer to his mundane whats-for-dinner was Ragda Pattice. The name’s intriguing.
Essentially, deep fried potato cutlets(-the pattice bit) are dunked in a yellow dried peas gravy(the ragda), topped with tamarind chutney, green mint chutney, chopped vegetables and garnished with lots of thin fine sev and coriander leaves.
Instead of deep frying the cutlets, I chose to add a bit of cornflour and sauté them with a tsp of oil on a non stick pan. It works just fine.

She had it for the first time. Yes, no kidding!

The Recipe-

Ingredient

Potato Patties or Cutlets

• 1 kg boiled potatoes
• 4 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp red chill powder
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
• a bit of oil to roast them in a non stick pan.

Ragda or Yellow Peas Curry

• 1 cup dried yellow peas, soaked overnight or for 7-8 hours.
• 1/2 tsp chopped ginger garlic
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

To assemble: one plate of ragda pattice:

• 2 potato cutlets
• 4 tbsp ragda
• 1 tsp green chutney
• 1 tsp tamarind chutney
• 1/2 tsp each of chopped onions, tomato and grated carrot
• 1/2 tsp thinly sliced ginger and green chilies – optional
• 1 tbsp of fine sev
• sprinkle of chaat masala
• a dash of lime
• coriander leaves to garnish

The whole deal

Method

For the Pattice – mash the boiled potatoes, add salt, red chill powder, cornflour and coriander leaves. Mix and mash well. Then grab small handfuls of the mixture and make flat balls out of them. Preferable refrigerate for at least an hour. This makes the batter firm and the end result crisp.

When ready to use, heat a pan, add a tsp of oil. Roast these cutlets till golden brown and crisp.

Note: Cornflour is the magical ingredient! It binds and prevents from splitting the patty. the crunch in the cutlet is enhanced by refrigeration and the cornflour.

Note: You can deep fry them if desired, in which case, to prevent splitting, add a slice or two of crushed bread and definitely refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Note: You can bake them too!

Love this Carb!

For the Ragda – Boil the yellow pea with 3 cups of water, salt, turmeric and crushed ginger garlic. I pressure cook the peas. Its faster. If you do not have a cooker, boil them in a covered pot till mushy. Since dried peas/beans are major defaulters in hindering digestion, I would suggest soak and then boil it well. Usually not-properly cooked beans or pulses cause a lot of gas and discomfort.

Note: I use the boiled ragda as it is. But some people add a tempering of oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Note: Ragda can be eaten as it is, top with the chutneys and chopped onions, tomatoes and finish off with a bit of lime and chaat masala. Its like a thick tangy sweet spicy stew! In Mumbai some enjoy it with a piece of pav or dinner roll.

Ragda, whole yellow dried peas curry

Now for the final Plating:

Place 2 cutlets on a plate, pour 3/4 tbsp of ragda over it. Drop a tsp of green mint and tamarind chutney each. Dot with chopped onions, tomatoes and grated carrot. If using julienne ginger, add now. Sprinkle chaat masala and a squeeze of lime. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and sev.

Serve immediately!

Note: Potatoes and dried peas are highly gaseous and not so easy to digest. So I usually add a lot of raw julienne pickled ginger.

Thats what a ragda pattice plate looks like

I am taking this to Angie’s Fiesta Friday #26. Do take a peek to see other awesome entries all in one post.

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Tamarind Date Jaggery Chutney

Tamarind Dates and Jaggery Chutney/Dip

Imagine this:
Crisp savoury spiced crackers, topped with a little bit of mashed potato, a dot of spicy green chutney and a dash of sweet tangy tamarind chutney, sprinkled with wee bit of black salt-cumin powder and finally garnished with fried chickpea vermicelli(.. Don’t ROFL wicked sisters/teasing husband/rowdy friends and dear fellow Indian..this description is for those who don’t know what chaat is)

A Sev Puri – Inviting?

(Stay with me)
Now pick this beautifully decorated cracker, put the whole thing in your mouth… no bite shite… the whole cracker…sit back.. explosive mouthful of sweet, spice, tang, soft potato, crisp cracker…sigh! heaven!
What you just ate was a SEV PURI.

I haven’t met one Indian who hasn’t grown up eating Chaat, typically served at road side stalls. The health freak in my house keeps me on my toes with his eating habits.. but the same guy makes an exception for the love of his life(not me) — CHAAT. He has kept one day in a week when he indulges in food, and every time its chaat what he wants. Have I magnified the glory of this stupendous Indian street food enough?

Sweet Tart Spice – all in one

Well.. a very important integral component of this type of food is a sweet tangy mildly spiced Tamarind Jaggery chutney. Addition of dates adds to the taste and health value of this highly muti purpose dip. The flavors are so extreme and intense that just a wee bit is enough for every bite.

Just a spoonfull is enough!

Since the rains are creating quite a havoc, we generally refrain from eating out, especially street side fare. So, with all of us dying for mouthwatering(literally) plates of sev puri, bhel puri and pani puri, I set out to satiate those cruel cravings. Starts with me preparing this tangy tamarind dip. Its a wonderful puree, which once made, can stay refrigerated for over 3 months!

Explosive on your palette

The Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates, deseeded
• 1 cup tamarind, pitted and cleaned
• 1 cup jaggery, if its hard, you might want to soften and broken into small pieces.
• 1 tsp black salt or kala namak
• 1 tsp red chili powder or as you desire
• 1 tsp ground roasted cumin powder

Method

Soak the dates, tamarind in warm water for atleast 30 minutes.
Then remove excess water, grind dates, tamarind and jaggery to a smooth puree. Using a proper sieve, remove the hard bits and any fine tamarind hair or skin. Did I confuse you? I just mean: Sieve it to get a clear smooth semi thick puree.

Now, transfer the contents into a pan, add salt, chili powder and boil for at least 10 minutes.

It tastes perfectly fine without boiling too, but if you need to store it, boiling is best.

Let it cool completely. Transfer into air tight containers and use as required.

Note: Dates give this chutney an awesome body and consistency. They enhance the taste and needless to add boost your iron content.

Note: If you do not want to use tamarind, you can substitute with dry mango powder.

Jaggery and Dates – boost your heamoglobin

The garden outside my apartment surprised me with a deep peach gorgeous Hibiscus. Could not refrain from my clicking and admiring… and sharing it with you guys 🙂

A thing of beauty is a joy forever – John Keats

So, dear friends, if you’re new to chaat, start with this chutney, try it as a dip with fritters/corn chips, dab it on your sev puri, stir it in your mint water, mix it in dal-lentil soup… and just see how it transforms your little bite into a mouthful.

A multipurpose dip

This post is my entry to Vardhini’s of CooksJoy event of Chaat and and Chutneys

Pani Puris

Pani Puri is in arguably every Indian’s favorite roadside chaat. Chaat is a savoury snack typically a speciality of small stalls in India. These crunchy small puffed puris are filled with a bit of potatoes, mung sprouts and small channa, they are then dunked in spicy tangy mint water and tamarind chutney. Each little puri pops like a bubble full of flavours in your mouth. In spite of being slightly on the spicier side, kids love it. Mine jumps with joy every time its made at home. Others lose count when they gorge on these delightful mini packages!

The twist I added to the traditional recipe is I tried to avoid tamarind altogether. I have used raw mango’s piquancy than tamarind. Its healthier, and adds to the flavors of the mint, green chilies and rock salt!

If you don’t mind using tamarind chutney, then please skip the raw mango, else your Pani will be too sour to taste yumm. We don’t need to use 2 sour additives to make the pani. So, either which way, with raw mango or with tamarind, these little shots are gonna explode in your mouth!

Take a shot.

Ingredients

For The Puris

• 1/2 cup fine semolina
• 1/2 tbsp plain flour
• salt to taste

For The Pani

• 1 1/2 cups chopped mint leaves
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 small raw mango pulp( peel, boil and remove the pulp of the mango)
• 25 ginger
• 4 to 5 green chillies
• 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds powder
• 1 1/2 tsp black salt
• 1 tsp pani puri masala( I used Everest)
• 4-5 tbsp sugar

For the filling

• 1/2 cup mixed sprouts , boiled
• 2 potatoes boiled
• a bit of red chili powder, salt and chopped coriander leaves

Optional: Tamarind jaggery date chutney

Method

For the puris
Combine the semolina, plain flour and salt to make a soft dough and knead well. Allow it to rest under a wet muslin cloth for 10 to 15 minutes. Now you could either divide the entire dough into small portions, and roll out the puris, or what I did was, to make whole big rounds, and then using a small cookie cutter, cut out puri rounds. They were more accurate in size this way.
These rolled out puris are then to be fried in hot oil on a medium flame till they puff up.
Remove, drain on absorbent paper and store in an air-tight container.

For the pani
Combine the mint, coriander, ginger, green chili and mango pulp and make a smooth paste.
Transfer the paste into a large bowl and combine with 1 litre of water, add the pani puri masala, the cumin powder and the black salt and mix well. The sugar should be added to suit each one’s palette. Like I know the taste of my family, so I throw in at least 2-3 tbsp of sugar. Mix well, and then chill for a couple of hours before serving. Or you could skip the sugar, and serve it in the traditional way of keeping the tamarind-jaggery chutney by its side. So each person makes the pani according to his taste.

For the Filling
Crush the boiled potatoes with your fingers, add mixed boiled sprouts, throw in a bit of red chili powder, salt and coriander leaves.

To EAT – its simple, really.
Crack a small hole in the centre of each puri.
Fill with a little sprouts-potato mixture, immerse it in the chilled pani and eat immediately.

To drool over.

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Gol Gappe!