Gujarathi style chat powder Method - 1

Ingredients:
Amchur - 3 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Black salt - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger powder(sonth/sukku powder) - 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Mint powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:
To a big bowl add all the powders and mix well.

Recipe to make Chat Masala at Home

Ingredients:
Coriander seeds - 4 tbsp
Red Chilly - 4 nos
Black salt crystals - 2 tbsp (if not available ordinary salt can be used)
Ajwain - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp
Amchoor (Dry mango powder) - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp

Method:
In a frying pan add oil and roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain one by one for about a minute (till the aroma comes out. Care to be taken as to not to burn them). Fry Red chilly separately. Grind the fried ingredients along with salt, amchoor and garam masala to a fine powder.

Spread the powder on a plate and let it cool. Store in an air tight container.

Katta Meeta Chutney

A great side dish for chats, samosas, tikkas and kebabs.

Ingredients:
Dry Grapes - 50 gms
Dates - 50 gms
Jaggery - 3/4th cup
Tamarind Paste - 3 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Dry roast cumin seeds in a pan and grind it to a fine powder.
Cook grapes and dates in water. (Add the required quantity of water, which will make them soft and tender). Grind them to a fine paste using the same water. Add jaggery, tamarind paste, salt, garam masala, chilly powder, cumin powder and bring it to a boil.

Red Chutney Recipe for Chat

This chutney can be used in all the chat items.

Ingredients:
Red Chilly - 12 nos
Green Chilly - 1 no
Garlic Pods - 4 nos
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Salt to taste.

Method:
Grind all the ingredients together using very less water. Store in an airtight container. This can be used for about 2 weeks if refregirated.

Bhel Jain Style

Ingredients:

Puffed Rice - 2 cups

Cucumber - 1/4 cup (finely chopped or grated)

Tomato - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)

Carrot - 1/4 cup (grated)

Tamarind Chutney - 1 tsp

Green Chutney - 1 tsp

Fine Sev - 1/2 cup

Corn flakes - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp (optional)

For Decoration:

Finely chopped coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Method:

In a large salad bowl or shallow pan add puffed rice, sev and corn flakes. Blend well. Add cucumber, tomatoe and carrot to the puffed rice and toss it well. Add tamarind chutney, green chutney (diluted in 1 tbsp of water), salt and toss again till all of them blends well. Put in individual serving bowls. Squeeze little lemon juice on top and add coriander leaves on top

Pani Puri / Gol Gappe - Indian Cooking Challenge for May

Pani Puri or Gol Gappe or Mini Pooris are always great hit in our home and whenever we go to hotel, the starter dish my kids order is Pani Poori. We just try to find out shops that offer real good Pani Pooris where the Pani is not too hot or too sweet. Pani given with the poori should be of the mixture of both with an extra tinge - Comment by daughter. Though we love to eat it in chat shops or road side ones, still the best is to make at home (trying to be highly hygenic!!!! uh!!!). Many a times, my husband gets the pooris alone and I make the paani and within seconds I find the packets empty.

But whenever I make Pani Puris at home, its just my daughter Surabi and Shrawan come to help me (by rolling the dough to balls and eating a few small pieces too). And cutting the spread out dough to small puris using the small tiffin box lid (which is used to take pickles to office and school). This time it was a big competition  between my son and daughter as to who will cut out how many number of puris. (Obviously daughter won).

Eating these puris is definitely an art and I have to say that my daughter mastered it for sure.

Got the recipe for Pani Puri from my mom and here I am adding it with a few of my additions.

Ingredients for Puri:

Maida - 1/2 cup
Wheat flour or all purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Urad Dal - 1/4 cup
Rawa (Fine one) - 1/4 cup
Salt - A pinch

This quantity will make almost 18 to 20 puris.

How to make Puris:
     Mix all the ingredients together and knead well to a fine dough by adding water little by little. Let the dough set for about 1/2 an hour. Flatten the dough into chappatis and cut into small puris using the lid of small tiffin box. (If it is possible one can also make small puris and fry it out).



Fillings:
1. Channa Dal (prefrebly the brown ones which is also known as chick peas) - 1/2 cup
2. Potato - 4 nos (medium sized)
3. Sev - (better get in sweet shop, if you dont have at home) - 1/2 cup

These are the three types of fillings one can have along with finely chopped onions, coriander leaves, Bhoondi and Pani. These can be either had separately or mixed together to get a different taste.

How to make Pani for Pani Puri
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup
Pepper - 6 nos
Jeera - 2 tsp
Clove - 4 nos(optional)
Dry Mano Powder /Amchur Powder - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Green Chilly - 1 or 2 nos
Table salt - to taste
Water - 1 litre (add more if the pani is a bit thick)
Tamrind Paste - 2 tbsp
Dates - 4 nos.
Jaggery - 2 tbsp

I normally make Pani which will have both hot and sour and sweet taste. I make only one single Pani. But in general in all shops, two types of Pani are given. Sweet Paani made of dates and tamrind and hot and sour pani made of Mint leaves.

For both the paanis to use the tamrind paste, add 1 cup of water to 1 tbsp of paste and either microwave for 2 mins or keep in stove and let it bring to a boil. Remove from flame and let it cool.

Keep 1 litre of water in fridge and let it cool.

Sweet Paani
Soak dates in hot water for about 1/2 an hour. Grind it along with jaggery and seive it to remove the waste. Add tamrind water and mix well.

Hot and Sour Pani
Mix the dry mango powder in 1/2 cup water for about 1/2 an hour. Drain it to remove the dust. Grind Pudina, Jeera, Clove, Pepper, Ginger, Green chillies to a fine paste. Add salt and cold water to the ground paste and Amchur powder. Again keep the mixture in fridge and take it out just before serving.

To make the fillings 
Channa Filling - Pressure cook the channa dal and add salt and a pinch of chilly powder to it.
Potato filling - Pressure cook and mash the potatoes. Add salt and chilly powder to it and mix in a kadai along with a spoon of oil.

How to serve Paani Puri at home
In a square or triangle plate (this is better for drinking the paani that have fallen to the plate after finishing off the puris) arrange the puris along with either or the mixture of all the filling. Add paani to the puris slowly. It is better to fill the puris after one with paani is eaten.

(Want to know who won the maximum number of Paani Puri eating Competition? There was a tie between my husband and daughter and at last daughter won by eating two more)