156) RADISH PURI

RADISH PURI

A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

A SPICY FRIED BREAD STUFFED WITH

RADISH AND CHICKPEA FLOUR

Ingredients for the filling:

     1)    White radish – 300 gm.

     2)    Chickpea flour – 100 gm.

     3)    Hot green chilies – 2 Nos.

     4)    Coconut – ½

     5)    Hot red chili powder – 1 teaspoon

     6)    Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

     7)    Powdered salt – 2¼ teaspoons

     8)    Tender curry leaves – 3 sprigs

     9)    Coconut oil – 1½ tablespoons

     10)     Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

     11)     Coriander powder – 1¼ teaspoons

Ingredients for the bread:

     1)    Maida (refined white wheat flour) – 400 gm.

     2)    Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon

     3)    Salt – 1 level teaspoon

     4)    Water – 200 ml.

     5)    Maida (flour) for dusting – around 100 gm.

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To prepare the dough:

          In a wide mixing bowl, put in the maida, the coconut oil (1 tablespoon), the salt (1 level teaspoon) and the water. Mix and knead well. Cover with a moist cloth and set aside to soften.

To make the filling:

          Peel and wash the radish. Scrape it using a fine scraper. Mix in a teaspoon of powdered salt and set aside for the excess water to ooze out.

          Grate the coconut. Chop the green chilies and the curry leaves to superfine, almost powder-like pieces.

          Keeping all the stuffing ingredients near you, set a thick wok on high heat. Pour in 1½ tablespoons of oil. Tip in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds are about to finish popping, lower the heat and tip in the chopped curry leaves and the green chilies. Stir once. Take a handful of the scraped radish. Quickly squeeze off the juice and put in the radish. Stir and repeat quickly till all the radish (without the juice) is in the wok.

          Stir and tip in the grated coconut. Stir again and tip in the rest of the salt (1¼ teaspoons), the turmeric powder, the hot red chili powder and the coriander powder. Stir quickly. Put in the chickpea flour. Stir to mix it well it well with the radish. The mixture will become dry now. Switch off the heat (there is no need for the filling to cook. The moisture remaining in the radish after the squeezing takes care of the cooking at the time of frying).

          Use your fingers and palm to make 18 balls of equal size from the entire filling as soon as it is cool enough to touch.

To make the puri:

          Take the dough and make 18 balls of equal size. Flatten the balls using a rolling pin into small round puris, dusting a little flour if they are sticky. Put a ball of filling in the center of the puri. Lift up the edges and cover the ball, pinching the edges together. If they do not stick properly, use a drop of water to wet the edges and pinch them again.

          Flatten it again to a thick puri (around 5 mm. thick) using your rolling pin. Make all the radish puris likewise. Dust a tiny bit of flour to keep them from sticking to one another.

To Fry:

          Set a wok on high heat. Pour in the oil. When the oil is hot (about to smoke), turn down the stove to medium heat. Put in a puri (or two if the wok is bigger). The radish puri being heavy, will sink to the bottom. Flip it over carefully. The puri will now puff up and float. Flip over gently and fry till both sides are a light brown. Lift out using a perforated ladle and put in the next one. Drain off the excess oil and serve hot as a tea/coffee time snack. You will love this superbly tasty puri. Even kids celebrate the radish puri. Certainly, a MUST-BE-EATEN snack.

Enjoy!!!