Masal Puri - Coimbatore Style

 

Hello everyone,

Masala puri is a popular street food in India. The taste and way of making masala puri differs from place to place. I am from Coimbatore, I have tasted masala puri in quiet a lot of places(Coimbatore ,Bangalore, Hyd, Chennai, Jaipur, Goa and even US) but for me nothing tasted better than Coimbatore version of it especially Sasi kadai in S.B Colony.

Two of my close relatives used to live in S.B Colony so whenever we go there we stop by ARC Sasi Pani Puri( Sasi Kadai) to have masala puri and bhel puri. They serve amazing chaats. I missed this after moving to Bangalore. I missed it so much that I learned to make this dish 8 yrs ago from a blog. I have been making the same way. It tastes great, I would to share the receipe with you and hope you like it as well. 

Usually masala puri is made by breaking the puris and pour the masala on top of it. In Coimbatore, they place the puri on the plate by making small hole and add masala on it. The recipe to make for 3-4 servings. 

Ingredients:

Puri - 20-25

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Tomato - 1 big finely chopped

Cilantro - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Grated carrot - 3/4 cup

Sev - 1 cup

Chaat masala - 2 tbsp

For Masala Gravy

Dried Green Peas - 1 cup

Onion - 1 Cup chopped

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Garlic - 2 pods small

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Green chili - 1or 2 (according to spice level)

Cilantro - 1/4 cup

Salt as required

Method:

1. Soak peas overnight or for nearly 8 hrs and pressure cook them for 4 whistles by adding water and some salt. Keep it aside.

2. Grind all the ingredients under 'For Masala Gravy' section with half a cup of boiled peas to a fine paste. Reserve rest of the boiled peas.

3. In a heavy bottomed vessel, add grinded paste and bring it to boil. Cook until the raw smell goes. Add little water to maintain the consistency. The gravy shouldn't be too thick. Masala is ready.

4. Now place 5-6 puris on a plate and make a hole on top of the puris. 

5. Add 1 tsp of reserved peas into each puris and pour the masala paste on top of the puris. Finally garnish with  chopped onion, tomatoes, carrot, cilantro and sev. Sprinkle some chaat masala on top of it. 

Enjoy Coimbatore's masala puri.

Butter Muruku

Hello everyone,

Butter Murukku is called as Benne muruku(Kanada) or Vennai muruku(Tamil). This crispy muruku is made with rice flour, gram flour and of course butter :). It is usually made during the festivals like diwali and janmashtami. 

I tried to make butter muruku soon after we shifted to US. To my surprise it turned out very crispy and tasty. My husband wanted me to make again to share with his office friends. Since then I follow the same recipe to make it.  

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 3 cups

Besan/Gram flour - 1/2 cup

Roasted gram flour - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Hing  - 1/4 tsp

Salt as needed

Butter(room temperature) - 2 tbsp

Water as needed

Oil for frying

Method:

1. To make roasted gram flour Take 2-3 tbsp roasted gram in a mixie and grind it to fine powder. Roasted gram flour is ready. 

2. In a mixing bowl, take all rice flour, gram flour, roasted gram flour, cumin seeds, hing, butter and salt. Butter should evenly mix with the flour.

3. Add water little by little and knead the flour to a smooth and tight dough. 

4. Use the star shaped plate to make butter muruku. Grease the muruku maker with oil. 

5. Fill it with prepared dough and tighten the lid.

5. Heat oil on a medium flame to maximum temperature. Squeeze it directly in the hot oil. Flip the muruku to cook on both the sides. Cook until golden brown and drain it in tissue paper. 

6. Allow it to cool down and store it in an air tight container. 

Notes:

1. Do not squeeze more and over mess. Muruku will not be cooked properly. 

2. Make sure the dough is not too soft otherwise muruku will absorb more oil.