Bhelpuri

The colorful bhelpuri has a fan following like no other street food in India. It is found as gilla (wet and saucy) and sookha (dry) bhel. Even our part of South India has a drier version. The original Bombay Bhel uses three different chutnies to spice up the otherwise dull puffed rice- sweet date chutney, mint chutney and some garlic chutney. Deccanheffalump has neat recipes for the garlic and date chutnies. The mint chutney is made by grinding equal quantities of mint and cilantro with a small piece of fresh ginger and a few serrano chilies. Squeeze some lemon juice and add salt as needed. Unless you are entertaining a lot of people at home, it is quite uneccessary, not to mention, time-consuming to prepare the three chutneys. Besides, homemade ones do not keep well. If you are interested in trying this spicy snack, a visit to the Indian grocery store should provide you with all the ingredients.

Normally I mix varying amounts of the three chutneys together according to my taste. But it is quite difficult to get the spiciness of the chutneys that a bhel-waalas makes. Besides, the 'ready-made' taste is overwhelming.














During the course of my constant experimentation, I found that this not-so-authentic mix of bhel, chutneys and sauces seem to work well. The taste of my homemade bhelpuri has gone up to a new level.

Bhelpuri (a not-so authentic version)

2 cups of Store-bought bhel mix (consists of toasted puffed rice, sev and potato chips)
1/4 cup of roasted, salted peanuts (optional, but adds a great crunch)
2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped (I like to leave it out sometimes)
1 small slice of green mango, finely chopped with skin (optional, a nice addition by Chennai bhel-waalas)
2 T finely chopped cilantro
1 slice of lemon

Chutneys:
Mix together 2 T
sweet chutney, 1 tsp
mint chutney, 1/4 tsp garlic chutney, 1 T maggi Hot and sweet sauce and 1 tsp of red chili sauce (I used Thai sauce but this is optional), 1/2 tsp chat masala. The sauce should not be very thick but more like a bechamel. I use some water to dilute it. Some lemon juice can be used instead.

Keep the bhel mix in a large mixing bowl. Add potatoes, onion, tomatoes, peanuts, mango and cilantro. Now add just enough chutney to coat the mixture without making it too soggy. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Almond Kheer for the Gods

As a part of Navratri celebration, we make a sweet pudding and a savory snack mix everyday to serve our guests. One important part of all our celebrations is sweet milk puddings called payasam or kheer. Although there are more than a dozen varieties of payasam, almond kheer is very special. Making it is simple but it remains a delicacy in India due to the very high price of almonds. Besides, a generous pinch of the most expensive spice, saffron is also added, giving it is beautiful pale yellow color. Whenever we go to India, one usual request from relatives is to get them a huge packet of almonds (the one sold at Wholesale warehouses). This is an expensive dish to make but it is the best way to savor the delicate taste of almonds and saffron.

Almond Kheer

1 litre or a very generous 4 cups of milk (low-fat also works)
3-4 T milk for grinding almonds
3/4 cup whole almonds, blanched and skins removed
1.5 cups sugar
A very generous pinch of saffron, crushed in a mortar
Sliced almonds and pistachios for garnish

1. Powder almonds coarsely. Add 3-4 T milk and grind to a smooth paste.
2. Bring milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan on medium heat. Add crushed saffron, turn down heat and simmer milk till it is reduced to 3/4 th of the original quantity.
3. Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add almond paste and saute until paste is thickened and you smell a delicious aroma of almonds. Do not let it change color at all. Add sugar and mix until sugar dissolves and the paste become thin. (Some people also skip the sauteeing step and add paste directly to the hot milk. But then you need to boil the milk longer like for 25 min, to cook the almonds. I always had the problem of burnt payasam when I simmer it for such a long duration.)

4. Add the paste to the simmering milk and simmer for 10 min more. Garnish with sliced nuts.

This kheer is best served cold. It is not very sweet like other payasams.

The Holy Nine Days

Today is the start of Navaratri- nine days and nights of festivities for us. Prayers are offered to three main Goddesses- Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. It signifies the victory of good over evil. This festival is celebrated throughout India but the form of celebration (and food too) varies. In Tamil Nadu and some southern states, a few odd number of steps are set up and dolls that represent important religious deities are placed on these steps. This is called a "Golu".

This is a festival for the ladies and a celebration of womanhood. We invite people we know to see the arrangement and send them home with special food preparations made for the occasion along with a small bag of gifts.

In most Southern states, Sundal, a snack mix made of lentils or beans is a daily preparation. It is served to the guests and each guest is sent home with sundal packed in pages from the previous day's newspaper. In our family, we do not use onions and garlic on holy days and so most of our sundals have grated coconut to boost flavor. For Day 1, I made a sundal made of channa dal. Nupur has a great chart of the different lentils and beans for reference.

Channa dal sundal

Channa Dhal - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp (I love the taste coconut oil gives)
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red Chilly - 2, broken
Green chilies- 2, finely chopped (optional)
1 sprig of curry leaves

Clean the channa dal and soak in warm water for 10-15 min. Cook with enough water (with a pinch of turmeric added) to submerge lentils. When the dal is almost cooked add about 3/4 tsp salt. Continue to cook until completely tender but not mushy. Try not to over cook. Decant the excess water completely and set aside for a couple of minutes. Heat up the oil and fry the mustard seeds, urad dhal and chilly. When the mustard splutters, add the green chilies and curry leaves. Add the cooked dhal and 1/2 tsp salt (the salt added earlier would have been decanted off with the water) and stir for a few minutes. If interested, you may add a handful of grated coconut (I always do it).

This is a protein-rich snack especially for vegetarians and is very portable.