Gimme those Parathas, dude.... :)

Known as one of the best and popular breakfasts of India, 'Parathas'(Stuffed Bread) are a healthy, delicious and filling food. Anyone would agree that the best way to start a morning with a good appetite would be to indulge yourself into some steaming hot butter-dripping 'parathas'.

Check out how this type of 'Indian bread' came to exist in almost every household. 'Parathas' can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner too...

What is a 'Paratha'?

A 'parantha' is a flat bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is usually made with whole-wheat flour, pan fried in ghee or cooking oil, and often stuffed with vegetables, especially boiled potatoes, radish or cauliflower and/or paneer (Indian cheese). A paratha (especially a stuffed one) can be eaten simply with a blob of butter spread on top but it is best served with pickles and yoghurt, or thick spicy curries of meat and vegetables. Plain parathas are also made without any stuffings but accompanied by the melted ghee and pickles like the stuffed parathas.

Origin of Parathas

Parathas originated in Peshawar and then spread all over the former northern parts of India. It began as a wholesome meal often eaten at breakfast. The paratha is stuffed unleavened bread with various fillings that could be added according to your choice.

Traditionally Parathas and assi go hand in hand and are inherent to Punjabi cuisine. The history of lassi like the paratha is unknown however it is known to have originated in Pakistan. Lassi is made from dahi, which is either made from the milk of the cow, buffalo or goat. Sometimes various flavours are added to it. Lassi can also be plain with the necessary addition of sugar.

Some people prefer to roll up the paratha into a "pipe" and eat it with tea, often dipping the paratha into the tea. Parathas can also be used as an evening snacks and are available at street vendors in the northern states of India.

Difference between rotis and parathas

The main difference between 'roti' and 'Paratha' is that roti is made with flour and water whereas Paratha usually incorporates ghee or oil.

The dough is rolled out and brushed with ghee or oil then folded again, brushed with more ghee and folded again. This is then rolled out to a circle and cooked on a buttered griddle. The heat makes the layers of dough puff up slightly, resulting in a more flaky texture.The paratha can be flavoured with different herbs and spices, rolled, stuffed or just eaten as an accompaniment to meat, poultry, fish and vegetable dishes and make an exceptional addition/replacement to rice.

The Paratha has a social connotation too. The significantly higher expenditure and effort in preparing the Paratha when compared with the daily Roti means that the Paratha is usually prepared as a special item, or for important guests. With all the food accompaniment like fresh cream, melted ghee and lassi,Parathas is no less than a high calorie, rich dish.

Stuffing in Parathas

The stuffings of the paranthas served here range from the traditional potato, radish and cauliflower to cottage cheese, assorted sprout for the health conscious, goor, garlic and dhania and ginger and chilli for vegetarians.

The non-vegetarian versions include chicken and lamb mince, eggs, fish flakes, salami, and assortment of seafood and chicken tikka. The best thing about parathas is that you could add any stuffing and it would still be a wholesome meal. Non-vegetarian parathas are not common in India except for those made with minced meat.

Diversity of Parathas

South India's 'Porota'
Regardless of its origins, parathas soon became popular all over South Asia. All south Indian states have their own versions of the ubiquitous paratha, the most popular being "Kerala Porotta," which is mostly made of 'maida'(white flour) instead of 'atta'(wheat flour). The Kerala Porotta is popular and is usually devoured with egg roast, chicken, beef or mutton curry.

Ramadan
During Ramadan, Muslims from the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), often eat Parathas for breakfast.
Regardless It is thought that the butter and flour mixture are not only a good souce of calories but also stave off hunger pangs and help sustain a person throughout the long day.

Outside India
Indian immigrants took this dish to Malaysia and Singapore, resulting in variations such as roti canai and roti prata. In Myanmar (Burma), where it is known as 'palata', it is eaten with curries or cooked with either egg or mutton, or as a dessert with white sugar.

Htat ta ya,lit (a hundred layers), is a fried flaky multi-layered paratha with either sugar or boiled peas (pè byouk).

Paratha in Trinidad and Tobago differs from the south Asian paratha in that it is generally thinner and larger. In Trinidad and Tobago it is commonly called "buss up shut" ("burst-up shirt"), especially by non-Indo-Trinidadians.

How to prepare Parathas

Recipe for Aloo Parathas

INGREDIENTS

A] For Dough:
2 Cups of wheat flour
Water

B] For Stuffing:
3 to 4 Nos of Potatoes
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp of paprika
Oil of your choice
Coriander leaves 1/2 cup

PREPARATION:

* Wash,dry & cut the Coriander leaves
* Boil , peel & mash the potatoes.
* Add Cumin,paprika,salt,coriander leaves & mix.
* Make small balls of the same & keep aside
* Mix flour,salt & required amount of water to make a soft dough.Rub a Tsp if oil over the dough & let it rest for an hour.
* Take a lemon size dough, & roll it into small circle.
* Keep one potato ball .cover all the sides & roll to triangle shape.
* Heat a flat pan ,when it gets hot add the paratha & let it cook for a minute.When it starts to get small bubbles turn around & add a small tsp of oil around the paratha.when the brown spots appear take it out & keep it in an in a covered box.
* Serve hot or warm with curd or pickles.

Recipe for Methi Parathas

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of whole wheat powder
1 bunch of methi washed and chopped into small pieces
1 medium sized onion chopped into very small pieces
1 tsp jeera seeds1 tsp haldi powder
1 Tb.sp of chili powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 Tb.sp of olive oil
1 tsp salt

PREPARATION

* In the above oil season jeera until it starts sputtering
* Add onions and fry until translucent
* Then add all the remaining masala powders and fry for ½ minute
* Now add the chopped methi leaves and fry for another minute
* For the above mixture add the wheat flour and make dough adding water only if required.
* Roll the parathas as thin as possible and roast on both sides on thava until u see small brown spots and smear some ghee/oil if desired.

Hmmm, So when are you gonna taste our yummy, lovely, mouth watering parathas?

Chaligalada Bayyada portugu Bhechcha Bechcha GoliBaje.. ;)

The heading seems wacky? Didn't understand? It says one needs to have Hot hot GoliBaje for a lovely winter evening. Golibaje with hot coffee is the yummy combination for a romantic evening. ;)

Goli Baje is very much liked and loved street food in South Canara. In every college or office canteen it will be available at any time of the day. In Mangalore, every restaurant will have it as a default snack, freshly made and served during evening tea time. 'Goli' means round shape and 'Baje' means deep fried in oil. It is slightly crispy outside and soft inside. The name itself is so attractive and kids love it a lot.

Ingredients

3/4 cup Maida/ All purpose flour
1/4 cup curd
3-4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp green chilly chopped
1/2 tsp ginger chopped
pinch of Baking soda
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, mix in the curd, green chilly, ginger, sugar, baking soda and salt.
2. Now add the flour and mix them without any lumps in it. Batter should be the consistency of the pakoda batter. If its thick add some water.
3. Keep it aside for two hours.
4. Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Take the batter with fingers or using a spoon and drop them in the oil. Take a small amount at a time they will increase in size like urad daal wada's.
5. Deep fry it they are golden brown. Serve hot.

Goli Baje is called as "Mangalore Bajji" in Bangalore since it has come from Mangalore. There after, it has gone to different parts of India. Mangalore Bajji, from bangalore, has travelled to Kolkata and there it is called "Bangalore Bajji"! In Assam, the same Goli Baje has got the flavor of fish too!!

And Now It Is 100 Days Old Baby

100…………….

Finally, we’ve reached this magic number!! SAKKAT is celebrating its 100^th day today! We thank all our friends, customer friends, HRs, companies, our team for making Sakkat, a brand of quality food service. Our special thanks goes to Mr Vaibhav of Tejas Networks, who is our regular customer from Day 1!

This journey has taken a lot of effort, hard work and sleepless nights. We still remember the first day nightmare and that experience keeps us sharp and careful, today.

When we started this venture, many doubted about the future of it. Many told boldly, within 2 months we pull the shutters down!! Papers and TVs were showcasing recession. An unknown customer in Vidyarthi Bhavan, while we were having our Dosa, told us, “Dear brothers, if you start food business now, you are fixing your own coffin!” We thank all these people, now! Without their words, we wouldn’t have taken this challenge seriously.

Our plans are many but very little we have achieved till now. We wish to see newer heights and greater challenges in the near future.

This life, this ever challenging life, this lovely tough life, is really funny, sometimes. But, this food biz is not so funny, boss!

Bisi Bisi Kesuvina Pathrode.....

Konkanis do eat a lot of veggies and leaves that are unusual to the rest of the Indian community. That includes Bamboo shoots/keerlu, raw jack fruit/kadgi, bread fruit/jeev kadgi, kantola/pagiLa, special type of mushroom grown in Karkala-aLambe and much more. The leaves include colocasia/pathrode paan, tere pan, maraLva paan, taikiLo, etc. These are not the recently acquired taste from Thai or Chinese cuisines, but they are the authentic Konkani delicacies. Konkanis are believed to be migrated from central Asia to Goa and then to the rest of the world. Their ancestors must have been to Thailand/china or some part in South East Asia on the way!


Pathrode is steamed colocasia leaves rolls stuffed with spicy rice and dal mixture. The leaves are knows are aloo/pathra in gujarati, 'Elephant Ears' to some, sold as 'taro leaves' in the Chinese supermarkets. You can buy taro roots from the Indian store and grow the leaves in your backyard. The plant needs good sunlight for a healthy growth. When not cooked properly they do itch and that is because of the needle like calcium oxalate crystals in the leaves. They are broken down on cooking.



What you need to prepare Pathrode....?

Arvi/colocaesia leaves 25
Rice 1 cup
Black gram dal 1 tbsp
Channa dal 1 tsp
Red chilies 15
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Coconut ½ shell
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Sugar 2tsp
Tamarind
Salt
• Soak rice, black gram dal, and channa dal for two hours.
• Grind coconut, red chilies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric powder, sugar, salt, and tamarind together into a fine paste.
• To this add the rice and daal and grind to a coarse consistency. The batter should be thick.
• Wash the arvi leaves after removing the thick vein.
• Place the leaf on a plate with the stem side facing upwards; spread the batter on the leaf using your hands.
• Place three on more leaves one over the other and spread the batter in a similar manner.
• Fold from the sides to the middle of the leaf, some thing like Swiss rolls. Repeat for all leaves.
• Heat water in a pressure cooker and steam the rolls for about 30 minutes.
• Serve with butter.
Ways of Serving Pathrode

1. Quick and most adored way is to cut the patrode into rounds, pour a spoonful of fresh coconut oil.


2. Pan fry the rounds with a spoonful of coconut oil. Fry till the edges are crisp

3. Gashi Pathrode - Serve with any konkani coconut sauce curries or make gashi exclusively for pathrode as follows

Gashi is a coconut sauce. Make a smooth masala paste or maasolu by grinding shredded coconut, tamarind and roasted red chillies. Roast 1/4 tsp urad dal, 3-4 methi seeds, 1/4 tsp coriander seeds and add it to the paste and continue to grind for a minute. Boil the masala with little water and 1/2 onion chopped. Add the pathrode pieces to it and cook on low flame till the water evaporates and the gashi becomes thick.

4. Pathrode Usli - usually made with leftovers

Heat 3 tsp oil of oil, make a seasoning with mustard, urad dal, curry leaves, broken red chillies and onions. Fry till onion is golden brown. Add chopped pathrode, little salt and fry on low flame till ii becomes little crisp.

Yummy Yummy Badane Kai EnneGai

Hi friends..

How you all? Hope you all enjoyed our EnneGai special on Friday.. In three companies, EnneGai was over within half an hour we started serving.. anyways, it is good to know that you are enjoying our special varieties.

Here we are giving the recipe of Ennegai. But remember, there are more than 50 variations of this recipe!

Ennegai Badanekai Pallya (EggPlant) is every kannadiga's favourite. Its a delicacy, goes very well with Jolada Rotti (Jowar bread). Fried Eggplants with Peanuts and Masala tastes great.

What we need?.....

Indian Brinjal/eggplant the round purple ones small ones about 7
Salt
Oil 3 tbsp
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves 8-9

for the masala paste:
Onion 1 small
Tomato 1 small
Garlic 2 cloves
Ginger 1/4"
Cloves 3-4
Cinnamon 1/2"
Coriander a handful
Coconut 3 tbsp

Method

• Wash the brinjals in plenty of water, drain well and Pat it dry.
• Grind the ingredients of Masala into a smooth paste.
• Make a horizontal cut starting from the tip continuing till the stalk but keep the segments together.
• Using a spoon, stuff the brinjals with the Masala paste.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Toss in the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once they stop spluttering, place the stuffed brinjals gently.
• Pour remaining Masala paste and about 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook till the brinjals are tender.
• Serve hot with chapati/roti.

Note:
Choose baby brinjals that are firm to the touch, have a smooth and shiny skin. The stem attached to them should be lively green in colour. The tender purple brinjals are the tastier ones. The ones with black seeds are mature ones and will taste bitter. So make sure that you choose the tender ones and have few extra ones just in case.
Store brinjals in a cool dry place, but avoid placing them near tomatoes and apples as they give off a gas that enhances the ripening process. Use the brinjals within 2 days. Refrigerating them doesn’t necessarily keep them fresh but if necessary, the brinjals may be kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for as long as 5 days.

Ruchi Ruchi Kudlada Buns :)

Buns!!!.... You mean the hamburger buns?

NO.

You mean the buns that we used to get in India…maska bun?

NO.

You mean those sweet breads that we used to get at the local baker in India?

NO.

These are Mangalore Buns.They are a sort of a spongy poori made of maida kneaded with mashed bananas ..kinda sweet from the banana and kind of a mild kick from the black pepper.

This is a wonderful recipe which is very famous in coastal Karnataka. Hence the name Mangalore buns. In Mangalorean cuisine, Buns is different from Bun. Its not plural form of Bun! Simply called as "Buns". It is a deep fried form of Sweet Banana Bread. Usually served for Breakfast with sambar or chutney on the side.

Ingredients:
------------
Well ripen banana's - 3
All purpose four - 3.5 cups
Sour curds - 1 cup
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Oil - For frying

Method:-
-------
1.Take a clean Bowl,Mash the ripen banans into a smooth paste using your hand.
2.Now to this add all the dry ingredients and mix properly.
3.Add sour curds and cumin to the above so as to for a dough like chapati dough .
4.Keep aside for about 3-4 hrs for it to set.
5.Now heat up the oil .
6.Roll out small balls of dough a bit thick say about 1.5 cms thick just like poori size aand they fry them till golden brown.
7.You can see the buns bloting into a round, brown buns.Then they are ready.
8.Remove them and place over a paper towel for excess of oil to drain off.
9.Serve hot or cold with sambar or chutney.Enjoy....

Another Variation.....

This recipe for Buns is from authentic Konkani Cookbook, "Oota Upahara" published in Kannada and "amgele kaaNa jevaN" in konkani by Jaya V Shenoy. The book has been around nearly past 20 years and is a popular cookbook in the Mangalorean Konkani households.

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 cup water

1 tsp jeera

2 cup maida/all purpose

flour 2 tsp

besan 6 tsp

sugar 1/2 tsp

salt 1/4 tsp

baking powder 1/4

tsp baking soda

1 large/2 small ripe bananas

Sieve besan and maida and keep aside. Mash bananas and mix thoroughly with sugar, salt, jeera, baking powder and baking soda.

Mix in the besan and then the flour as required. Knead the dough into a soft ball as you would for chapathi or bread. The dough will be easier to work with if you rub some oil on your palms and the vessel in which you will knead the dough. Take 1/2 tsp of oil and rub all over the dough and transfer it to a clean bowl, let it rest for 8 hrs or over night.

The dough will raise and double in volume after 8 hrs. Divide the dough into small balls of size of a lemon. Roll into small circles. Use oil or very little flour while rolling. Heat oil and deep fry the buns one at a time.

Fry on one side till the buns puffs up completely. Turn upside down and fry on the other side till golden brown. Serve with samba or chutney on the side.

SAKKAT VaDa varieties

Hi friends...

How are you all? These days we are finding no time to sit and write here.. a lot of new assignments these days!!

Anyways, new assignments should not be the reason for being lazy to write the blog.. After starting our Evening snacks, we have started working round the clock. Our Vada varieties are increasingly becoming popular among our customers...

Here are some Vada recieps for our beloved customers. Try at home. And tell us if you can prepare as delicious as our cooks ;)

BATATA VADA

1. Ingredients:
   2 - potatoes, boiled
   3 to 4 - garlic cloves,minced
   1 to 2 - green chillies (or as per taste)
   1/4 tsp - turmeric
   1/2 tsp - mustard seeds
   1/2 tsp - cumin seeds (optional)
   few sprigs of curry leaves and cilantro
   salt to taste

   For the batter:
   about 1 to 1/2 cups - gram flour
   pinch of baking soda
   little salt to taste ( take care since the filling has some salt too)
   1/4 tsp - chilli powder (as per taste)

   Method

2. Add the potatoes along with the rest of the ingredients for the filling and mash them well till there are no lumps
3. Make small balls out of them.
4. Mix all the ingredients for the Batter, add some water till you get a thick batter.
5. It should be thick enough to make a smooth coating for the potato balls.
6. Drop the prepared balls in the batter, coat them with all over.
7. Drop these balls in a skillet with hot oil. Fry them.
8. Take care to see that oil is not too hot.
9. Keep it med-high and once you drop the vada inside lower the heat a bit.
10. Remove when reddish yellow.
11. Serve them either with Pav, or all by itself with some ketchup or green chutney.

VADA PAV

Ingredients:
4 - buns
2 to 3 - potatoes, large ones
2 - onions
dessicated coconut
4 to 5 flakes - red chillies
half - garlic
besan
salt
oil to fry
pinch - turmeric
cumin
mustard
udad dal
chillies
curry leaves

Method

1. First boil the potatoes and mash them and add salt
2. In oil fry cumin, mustard, urad dal, curry leaves and green chopped chilies
3. Add them to the mashed potato and mix well then make small balls of them and keep aside.
4. In a pan heat oil.
5. In a bowl add besan, salt and chilli powder and dip the potato balls we made earlier and fry them in oil and keep aside.
6. Grind dessicated coconut, red chillies and 5-6 cloves of garlic and salt and grind.
7. Now cut the bun, add chopped onions, the cocunut powder and place one potato ball on it and close the bun and serve it with fried green chillies.
8. You can serve with green coriander chutney or red chilli paste

KEERAI VADA

Ingredients:
1 cup - channa dal
3/4 cup - toor dal
1/4 cup - urad dal
4 tsp - raw rice
1 cup - any keerai cut int o pieces
4 - red chilly
water just to sprinkle
1 tsp - asafoetida
1 tsp - cumin seeds
oil for deep frying

Method

1. Soak the daals and rice for 1 hour and strain the water.
2. Grind it along with red chillies and salt.
3. Sprinkle water if necessary.
4. Add the keerai, asafoetida and cumin seeds.
5. Mix thoroughly.
6. Take a small ball of the batter and pat it in between the palm and transfer it to the pre-heated tawa with oil.
7. Let it cook till golden brown and then remove it from oil.
8. Tasty vadai is ready.

MADDHUR VADA

Ingredients:
rice flour - 3/4 cup
fine rava (sooji) - 1/4 cup
finely chopped onion - 1, big
finely chopped corriender - some
red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
ghee (clarified butter) - 1/2 tsp
sufficient oil for deep frying

Method

1. Mix all ingredients with very little water - consistency should be the same as making pooris
2. Divide the dough into small balls (as for pooris)
3. Press each ball with fingers on a plastic sheet or aluminium foil to make flat rounds
4. Deep fry in oil, golden colour