Biscuit Roti

..... fried savory Mangalore bread.

No where close to a biscuit or roti, these Biscuit Rotis or “biskoot rotti” (as know in Mangalore) are a nice alternative to regular pooris. I wonder why they didn’t call it “Masala poori” instead! I like the way one of the Konkani recipe books terms it - “Biscuit Puri”. Neat.

Authentic Konkani cooking calls for these to be fried in coconut oil. I stay away from coconut oil as it has caused me more trouble than good. That’s been a primary reason I’ve always avoided lunch or dinner invitations extended by relatives, while visiting Mangalore. Coconut oil is by default the oil used for cooking. My mom has forever remained a proponent of “Gingely Oil” or “Sesame Oil”. And any deep frying still remains an occasional poori or vadams (“Odis” in Konkani) using sunflower oil.

The only time we eat this is when we visit my parents–in-law or they visit us. Its true that marriage is not only between two individuals and two families, but also between two kitchens!

The first time I visited them, my MIL made these Biscuit Rotis. Here I was, the new bride to be, trying to create an impression and be myself all at the same time, while 20 pair of eyes kept constantly watching every move of mine, in a house packed with relatives near and far.

The thoughts of the dreadful mouth ulcers that coconut oil would cause me were the only things running through my restless mind. All of a sudden, much to my relief, S, my darling husband, declared “Didn’t know these taste so good without coconut oil!”. Pre-planned or sheer coincidence, it continues to remain a mystery to me. MIL still claims that she altered her recipe as she was running short of coconut oil. Well, that worked really good for me and thanks to MIL, I dared to take that first bite of the most revered Konkani “tiffin” - Biscuit Roti.

My MIL’s recipe is a hit not only among us, her friends and family but also everyone my side of the family. So, I decided to include this on the chow chronicles, for all those of you who love Biscuit Roti and get nostalgic with this humble Mangalorean snack.

Ingredients

3 cups All purpose flour
1 teaspoon Udad Dal ( split Black gram)
½ cup Semolina ( Sooji Rava)
¼ cup grated Coconut or dry Coconut powder
2 roasted, dry Red Chilies
¼ cup Curry leaves
½ teaspoon Asafoetida
4 teaspoons of Oil
Salt
Oil for frying
Water for kneading

Method

For the dough:

Knead flour, salt and 1 teaspoon of oil together using water into a dough. Set aside at room temperature.

For the Filling:

Dry roast coconut, curry leaves and red chilies. Grind to a coarse powder, without adding water.

Heat 3 teaspoons of oil in a pan on medium flame, add Udad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida. Allow the channa dal to turn golden brown .

Reduce flame and add the ground mixture. Sauté for 3-4 minutes on low flame.

Add semolina and salt into the mixture and cook for 3-4 minutes till all the ingredients bind together into a semi dry mixture. Remove from flame and cool to room temperature.

To make the Biscuit Rotis:

Make small balls of the dough. Roll them into small circles.

Place a teaspoonful of the filling at the center of the each circle. Gather the edges of the dough towards the center to cover the filling.

Flatten out the biscuit roti, like regular pooris, but smaller.

Heat oil, deep fry each biscuit roti till golden brown and crisp.

Drain excess oil using absorbent tissue. Serve hot.

Biscuit roti can be served as is or along with coconut chutney. The recipe yields nearly 10-12 small biscuit rotis.

Corn Croquettes

Corn has remained one of our favorites in the family of cereal grains. Tired of eating it as usual, on the cob, I thought I’d experiment a little and churn out croquettes, instead.

Well, I wasnt following any recipe, so it was sheer imagination at work. I pulled out a cup of frozen kernels of corn from the freezer and thawed it at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then prepared a list of ingredients from the pantry. It was right then that I realized that I was running out of breadcrumbs. In no mood to drive all the way to the grocery store just to get a pack of breadcrumbs or a loaf of bread to make the crumbs at home, I decided to use Semolina as a substitute.

Semolina always has a place reserved on my grocery list. It’s the easiest thing to use and fix a quick meal or breakfast. More on Semolina

I pressure cooked the corn after thawing and sautéed all the ingredients. As I didn’t want the skin of the kernel to interfere while eating, I decided to blend all the sautéed ingredients without water, make croquettes of the batter, roll in semolina and pan fry, instead of the regular deep frying.

Ingredients

1 cup corn, pressure cooked and drained
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
½ teaspoon Ginger paste
½ teaspoon Garlic paste (You could use 1 teaspoon of Ginger-Garlic paste, instead)
½ teaspoon Fennel seeds
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
¼ cup whole wheat flour (A good alternative would be Chickpea flour /Besan)
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon Red Chili Powder

¼ cup diced Tomatoes
2 cups Semolina (Sooji Rava) or Bread crumbs
Salt
2 ½ tablespoons Oil
Cilantro, finely chopped

Method

Dry roast whole wheat flour for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil; add fennel seeds, cumin seeds and onion. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or till onion turns transparent. Add tomatoes, ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric powder and red chili powder. Mix well and sauté till onion turns golden brown and the ginger-garlic paste is cooked.

Add the dry roasted whole wheat flour. Mix well.

Throw in the pressure cooked (and drained) corn kernels. Do not add water. Add salt. Mix well. Cook covered for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.

Remove from flame, add finely chopped cilantro. Mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Sprinkle 1 cup of semolina on an even flat surface.

Blend the mixture at low speed, without water, till it gets a thick dry batter like consistency. If it’s too soft or watery add a little more of the roasted wheat flour to thicken.

Scoop out a teaspoon of the mixture, press or roll in the semolina to make croquettes. Set aside for 5-7 minutes, so that the semolina binds the mixture and holds it together. Repeat for all of the mixture.

Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a pan. Place 3 croquettes, one by one, and fry for 2-3 minutes till done. Flip over and cook the second side for 2-3 minutes or till done. Repeat for the rest of the croquettes.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with ketchup.

Outcome

It was a true Eureka moment in the kitchen! The sweetness of the corn and the aroma of the fennel seeds complemented each other. The recipe yields about 6-8 croquettes. If you like corn, then this would be a good try. For additional spice, add chopped green chilies along with the ginger –garlic paste.

Oven Roasted Garlic

“Most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath.”
......wrote William Shakespeare in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream".

Yet, the popularity of garlic has forever remained high as it is sure to transform any serving of food into an aromatic and healthy culinary experience.

Historically known to cure ailments, garlic is a common condiment in most households. Ours is not an exception. What we like best about garlic is that the intensity of its pungency varies depending on the style in which it is cooked.

One of our favorites is oven roasted garlic. On a cold wintery evening, a serving of warm roasted garlic works perfect with a glass of wine. The best part - its aroma - that travels from the oven through the entire home to tease the senses.

Once roasted the firm texture of each clove softens and can be squeezed out of its sheath. I prefer pulling the cloves out of the oven when they are just done and not very soft.

A drizzle of olive oil, a dash of salt and freshly crushed pepper on warm roasted garlic tastes like no other. The pungency is mild and is shadowed by its sweetness that hits the taste buds a little later.

Ingredients

1 pod of Garlic (Any variety, medium sized)
1½ teaspoon Olive oil
½ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper
Salt to taste
A pinch of paprika powder
¼ teaspoon of finely chopped parsley

Method

- Pre-heat oven to 350F.

- Separate the cloves (with peel on) from the pod. Place the cloves in a oven safe dish and roast for 10-15 min.

- Turn off the oven, but let the cloves sit in it for 5 min. Pull the cloves out of the oven and slowly remove the peel off each clove while warm.

- Drizzle olive oil over the cloves. Add salt and crushed pepper. Garnish with a dash of paprika powder and finely chopped parsley. Serve warm.

We love combining roasted garlic with basil pesto (store bought or home made) and marinara sauce in place of dips. The flavors come together and don’t overpower that of the roasted garlic.

In short, oven roasted garlic is a fantastic treat to the palate....and a must if you love garlic in your meal, like us.

These roasted cloves of garlic go out to Sunita’s Think Spice...Think Garlic .

Pan De Higo ( Spanish Fig Bread)

Last week I was at TomTumb to pick up a few things for a party at home. I had picked up some dips and was looking for some vegetable crackers to go with it. Something that seemed different caught my eye - it was called – Spanish Fig Bread- by Matiz (Extremeno). It didn’t seem a bit like bread, rather looked like a bar of ground fig. I turned the package over to read the list of ingredients; it read ‘Figs, Honey, Walnuts, and Spices’. Quite interesting I thought, and picked it up. Priced at less than six dollars, I thought it wasn’t a bad idea to experiment with it.



I got home and googled it as usual, using "Spanish Fig bread" and "Pan De Higo". I came across several links and some even mentioned that it goes well with wine. We usually have a bottle of Merlot or Pinot Noir at home, as we love adding it to food, more so to spaghetti and fettucine; so,without thinking twice, I decided to serve the combination for the evening.

Our guests loved it and so did we, though all of us were hesitant at first to try it with wine. There were so many different suggestions of how else to eat it,that it almost became the theme of our dinner.



I’m not quite sure why its termed as a “bread”; its more of a chunky fig fudge than a bread. The tiny pieces of blanched walnuts tasted mild but the figs and the spices for sure were stronger. The texture is more firm than a regular fig bar. And it goes absolutely well with parmigiano-reggiano , when served together with red wine. I would guess its a good palate cleanser as it breaks monotony of the salty cheese. In all, it wasn’t a bad choice at all, and its certainly great to be included in the holiday basket.

I found the recipe at Gildedfork really neat, if you do plan to try this one out.

For those of you who would like to try it out, its for sure its available at Tom Thumb (check the aisle/racks where they have dips). I also came across this product at the following links:

Cheese Supply

Matiz Espana

(I’m not very familiar with these sites, but just found them on Google. Please confirm the validity before you order)

This post is a part of Chow From The Food Aisle.