Revisiting the recipe
Chiroti is made in special occasions at our native, but we prepared it whenever we wanted. These are liked by people who are not very fond of sweets and also by sweet lovers. These days people have stopped making them at home because of the work involved. These are readily available in shops at our place. But I prefer home made chirotis.
We call this dish Chiroti, it is also called Phenori. I usually prefer frying it in Vanaspati ghee(hydrgenated vegetable oil) which makes them very crispy and also gives a nice aroma. If it is not available, ghee can be used. These can also be deep fried in oil, but we feel ghee/vanaspati ghee gives a better taste. You can also use Crisco Shortening (in US) which makes them very crispy.
Ingredients: 1 cup maida or all purpose flour 2 tea spns rice flour 2 tea spns vanaspati(Dalda) A pinch salt 3/4 cup sugar powder 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder Vanaspati(dalda) for deep frying 1 tea spn ghee
Method: Mix flours, salt and vanaspathi. Add sufficient water to make a dough like puri dough. Keep aside the dough for about 1 hr. Mix sugar and cardamom in another dish. Keep it aside. Make 7 small balls (chapati ball size) from the dough. Roll out into very thin chapathis. Keep one chapati on a flat board. Apply a bit of ghee on the chapati, sprinkle 1/4 tea spn of maida(or all purpose flour) on it. Keep the next chapati on the first one, keep the second chapati slightly down, it should not cover the full chapati. Repeat the procedure to stack up all 7. Roll the chapathis into a tight roll(do not apply pressure). Cut the roll into around 2 and 1/2 inches pieces. Take one piece, with the help of rolling pin, roll it into small circles. Take extra care at this stage. It should NOT be rolled like normal puri. Roll from center to the side, from all sides. All the layers should be clearly visible. Heat vanaspathi in a pan. Deep fry the chirotis on a medium flame. While frying, slightly press the chirotis on the layers so as to make the layers separate a bit (do not apply pressure). Take out on a clean kitchen towel. Spread sugar mixture on the fried chiroti while they are still hot. Store it in a dry, airtight container. This remains good atleast for 15days(if stored in a dry place).
Makes 10-11 chirotis Preparation time : 45mins
Pictorial:
Mulangi Saang are tender beans of radish that have small seeds. If you don’t take out radish roots when they are grown and leave for few more days, the plants develop these pods. These are very delicious and used to make a couple of dishes when available. At my maternal town – Sirsi, these were very popular and available in Santhe – a weekly market similar to farmer’s market, where the farmers sell all kinds of vegetables. I have grown up eating these from a young age.
At my husband’s place, our supply used to come from a neighbor who had a big vegetable garden, now they have converted it into something else, so we usually buy it from outside. Many people here do not know about these delicious beans, as they are not very common in this part.
We found these last week at Indian store here. It was a pleasant surprise. We bought a big batch and I made this gravy. These beans are not as long as green beans. So just remove the ends and use them.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup toor dal 1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut 3/4 cup radish pods (mulangi saang) 1 tea spn coriander seeds 1/2 tea spn tamarind extract or 2 pieces of tamarind 1 tea spn mustard seeds A pinch asafoetida 4-5 red chillies A pinch turmeric Oil 4-5 curry leaves Salt
Method: Cook toor dal along with radish pods and a pinch of turmeric till dal is done. Heat a little oil and add coriander seeds. Grind with coconut, red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste. Add the paste to cooked dal mixture, add enough water, salt to bring it to a gravy consistency. Bring it to a boil and take off the heat. In another pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add curry leaves cut into pieces, asafoetida. Pour this over the gravy and immediately close the lid. Serve hot with rice and any side dish.
Serves : 4-5 Preparation time : 20 mins
Variations : Those who do not want to use coconut for any reason can leave it out and use double the amount of dal. Follow the remaining recipe as mentioned above (for the paste just grind together fried coriander, chillies/chilli powder and tamarind). It tastes very good this way too.
Pictorial:
