Chole Batura

From The World’s Best Street, Lonely Planet, 2012.

Kneading bread is an activity I enjoy. The pounding of the dough gives a satisfaction like no other cooking method. I had not made batura previously but thought I’d give it a go.

One teaspoon of yeast and a good pinch of ground ginger were mixed together in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons warm water. Now 2 cups flour, a tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons yoghurt and ½ teaspoon salt were mixed together and the yeast mixture added. This should make a dough according to the recipe but I found that a little water had to be added to make the ingredients hold together. Once it had joined well I kneaded it for some 10 minutes and then left it in an oiled bowl for 6 hours.

Meanwhile the chole was made. An onion was chopped and fried in 2 tablespoons ghee until it had softened. Two chopped garlic cloves and about a teaspoon grated ginger were added to the onion with a pinch of salt for a couple of minutes. The recipe now called for 2 peeled and chopped tomatoes to be added, however I felt that the spices should now go in to release their oils before the tomatoes. So, I added a teaspoon of hot chilli powder, a teaspoon ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and ¼ teaspoon garam masala. The mixture was now fried for another 2 minutes and the tomatoes were then included and cooked for another 5 minutes.

A can of drained chickpeas were added with a tablespoon tamarind puree and ½ cup hot water. The mixture was now simmered for about 10 minutes and was then placed aside until the batura was cooked.

After the dough had risen it was beaten down and given another knead. It was now formed into small balls that were rolled out thinly. Oil was heated until very hot and the rolled out discs added one at a time and pressed down to be submerged in the oil. It puffed up reasonably well. I had hoped that it would make purse shapes that could be filled but I didn’t quite achieve that although it was close. The batura was crispy on the outside with soft interiors.

The chole was eaten with it to be, in this case, more scooped up with the bread rather than added into the pockets.

Despite having no bread pockets this was a very satisfying dish. The chole was spicy and hot and the batura a perfect way to scoop it up. It had a lightness and a crispness that was very enjoyable.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔ 

Ease of cooking: ✔✔

Bhelpuri

From The World’s Best Street Food: where to find it & how to make it, Lonely Planet, 2012.

With cookbooks doing so well in the publishing area it would seem that others are looking to cash in on this market. Lonely Planet, well known for its travel publishing, has entered the food arena. We recently picked up The World’s Best Street Food, an interesting entry into the already overloaded cookery field.

While there are recipes for all of the street foods so that you can try them out without travelling, the book does contain information on the background to the particular foods and where are the best places to try them out in situ.

No-one is credited for the recipes themselves, nor is there any suggestion that they have been tested, so you have to try them basically on trust that they will work.

Though it is not a vegetarian cookbook the recipes that are vegetarian are clearly marked with what looks like a green carrot, and there is a reasonable number of such dishes.

There were two different chutneys to make before beginning to assemble the bhelpuri: tamarind chutney and mint chutney.

The tamarind chutney was made by firstly soaking some dried tamarind in a little warm water, then pressing it through a sieve to make a puree. This went into a saucepan with about half a cup of dates, half a cup of jaggery, ½ teaspoon of ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon of chilli flakes and a large pinch of salt. The mixture was boiled for about 10 minutes. This was then added to a blender to churn into a puree and it was done. This was an amazingly good chutney which I expect will be made to accompany other Indian meals in the future. As it was, the remainder was soon eaten up with bread and cheese.

The mint chutney was not such a success for me. It was like a thin pesto made by placing coriander leaves, mint leaves, chopped green chillies, lime juice, salt and a little water in the blender to turn into a watery paste—or mine was. It had flavour but somehow did not work totally.

With the chutneys made it was time to put the bhelpuri together. In a bowl I placed ½ cup of boiled potato cut into dice, one medium-sized tomato chopped, ½ red onion chopped, 3 chopped green chillies, about 2 tablespoons each of both chutneys, 1 tablespoon garam marsala, one cup each of sev and puffed rice. These were all carefully mixed together with a little seasoning of salt. The salad was finally topped with chopped coriander. I left out the grated ginger because I do feel it can be an overpowering element.

This salad—if salad it is—was bursting with spicy flavours, crunch and pop. It obviously had to be eaten immediately the sev and puffed rice were added as if it were left too long the crunch would dissipate. It left me totally satisfied and with a mouth fully warmed.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔