Surali Chi Wadi/ Khandvi - Chickpea and Buttermilk Rolls

This is a delicacy and generally made in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In Maharashtra it is called “surali chi vadi" while in Gujarat it is called “khandvi”.  It is a popular appetizer and if you can make it well then it is a sign that you are a skilled cook.

It has very simple ingredients and the main components are chickpea flour/besan and yogurt/ buttermilk. The mixture is cooked with some spices, then spread out and once cooled, rolled into delicate little rolls. Sounds simple enough right? However, ask most people if this is a recipe they are willing to make often and the most common answer is “no, it is a difficult recipe”. There are three main reasons for this. First, it requires you to constantly stir the mixture, to avoid forming lumps and that takes its toll on your arm. Second, it is tricky to determine at what consistency you need to stop cooking as the mixture must not be overcooked or undercooked, else it is tough to form the rolled shape. And finally spreading the mixture out in a timely manner, while it is hot, so that the layer created is thin enough to be rolled up. All these steps need you to be careful, pay attention to what is going on in the cooking process and hence it becomes laborious. However valid these reasons, don’t be scared and definitely make this recipe. As you make it more often, you will get the hang of it. In the worst case scenario the mixture will be too soft or too thick, to be rolled up into a pretty shape, but it will taste great even if you use a spoon to eat it or cut it into slices and eat it. So go ahead and try it. You will want to make it more often, and soon it will become one of your "easy to make and impress guests" recipes.

Ingredients
for the rolls
1 cup chickpea flour/besan
2.75 ( 2 and 3/4th) cup sour buttermilk (alternately you can use 3/4th cup sour yogurt with 2 cups water)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder, to taste
salt to taste

optional stuffing
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4-1/2 green chilli, finely chopped

for the tempering1 tbsp oil1/8 tsp mustard 1/8 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida
1-2 green chillies, sliced into two parts, to taste
4-5 curry leaves
salt to taste

Method
Decide what you will be spreading the cooked mixture onto. Lay these out and keep them ready. The surfaces should be dry and do not grease them. You can use the flat bases of steel plates by inverting them or flat bases of cookie sheets. A well cleaned stone counter top can also be directly used to spread the mixture all at once. I generally use a couple of sheets of aluminium foil.

If you are using yogurt and water, then mix these two together and whisk it well till you get a smooth solution.

Mix together the besan, salt, turmeric, chilli powder. Then add a little buttermilk (water+yogurt solution) to it, just enough to make a smooth paste. Then add the remaining buttermilk and thin out the mixture. Next, place the pan onto the gas to cook the mixture. Keep stirring it constantly, especially when it starts to thicken. Keep it on low heat; else the mixture at the base of the pan will thicken very fast, compared to the top layer, creating lumps. Stir frequently so that lumps are not formed.

As it boils and thickens, take a spoon full of it and spread it in a thin layer onto the foil or the plate that you plan to use. Let it cool for a minute and try lifting the layer off the surface using your thumb (trying to roll that layer). If the mixture sticks to the surface and you are unable to lift it off, continue to let the mixture cook on low heat. At a certain point, you will feel that you are able to lift the spread out layer from the surface and it remains in a single sheet, which you can roll up. At this point, turn off the heat and start spreading the mixture on the prepared surfaces. Try to spread a thin layer about 2-3 mm in thickness. As the mixture cools, it will get tougher to spread the mixture, so at this step it is necessary to work very fast. So it is essential that you have your plates/foil laid out, before you start cooking.

Once all the mixture has been spread out, let it cool down to room temperature. Then with a sharp knife cut the layer into strips of about 1 to 1.5 inches in width and about 6-10 inches in length.

At this step you can sprinkle the grated coconut, cilantro and green chilli on this before you start rolling the strips or you can just roll up the strips without filling it with anything. They taste great either way. This recipe will yield about 20-30 rolls depending on the length of the strips that you cut. So you can make both varieties.

At this stage you can eat the rolled “surali chi vadi/khandvi”. However, I feel it tastes better and stays moister with some tempered and seasoned oil. To make that, heat the oil in a small saucepan. To this add the mustard and cumin seeds. As soon as they crackle, add the green chillies, curry leaves, hing/asafetida and then turn off the heat.

Scoop this tempered oil with a spoon and drizzle on top of the rolls. Garnish with some chopped cilantro/coriander leaves. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Tips
This recipe requires old, sour yogurt or buttermilk. It is the perfect recipe, to utilize yogurt that you are unable to eat because it is too sour. If you want to make this for a special occasion, plan ahead and buy or make your yogurt about 8-10 days in advance. That way it will be sour enough when you make it.


As the mixture cooks and boils it will start to bubble and spray it, so use a mesh or a cover to keep it from spraying on to your hand. To avoid lumps, make sure that you remove lumps from the mixture before starting to cook it. Do not add all the liquid to the chickpea mixture all at once. Add a little at a time and mix well and remove all the lumps and make a smooth paste. Then add the remaining liquid slowly, stirring the mixture so that it stays lump free. Then start the cooking process.

Cook it on low to medium heat. Especially as it nears the final stage, you need to cook it on low heat to be able to manage the lumps. If you have an immersion hand blender, then you can use that at the final stage to remove the lumps from the mixture before you spread it out. In this instance you can be a little less vigilant and even if you do get a few lumps you will be able to remove them with the blender.

Beetroot Raita/Koshimbir (Dip)

This is a very easy side dish and a wonderful use of beetroot. The ingredients are simple but very nutritious and the taste absolutely delicious. Maharashtrians make many "koshimbirs/raitas" or dips. All of these are side salads which include include chopped vegetables and are generally dressed with yogurt sauce or even some tempered oil. Groundnut features as a prominent ingredient in many of these sides. Beetroot is a beautiful vegetable. It is rich in iron and has a bright red color. It is used as an ingredient in many natural dyes as well. And when it is mixed with yogurt, the dish gets a beautiful pink color and is as appealing to the eye as to the stomach.

Ingredients
1 beetroot
2 tsp groundnut/peanut powder  (take peanuts and grind them to a coarse powder)
salt to taste
chilli powder  to taste (optional)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup yogurt
water, as needed

For the tempering (optional)
1 tbsp oil
a pinch of mustard seeds
a pinch of cumin seeds
pinch of asafoetida powder/hing
1 green chilli, slit through the center (optional)

Method
Cook the beetroot. I usually pressure cook it in my cooker and then peel it.  If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can also steam cook it till it is softened. The beetroot should be cooked through but not mushy, so take care not to over cook it. Let it cool, then peel it and cut it into bite sized pieces. Then mix in the groundnut powder, yogurt, sugar and salt. Mix well. If the yogurt is thick, then add a  little water to thin it out a bit. It should be sauce like in consistency. At this stage you can add some chilli powder if you want and can serve it without the tempering. The tempering adds a little spice to it. So, if you wish to add tempered oil, then heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds. Once you hear them crackle, add the asafoetida powder and the green chilli and turn off the heat. Let the chilli cook in the remnant heat and then pour this over the beetroot and yogurt mixture. Mix well. Serve as a side.

Tips
It is much easier to peel a cooked beetroot.  You can easily convert this to a dip by grating the beetroot instead of using diced pieces. You can also use ghee for the tempering instead of oil. To make the peanut powder, take about a cup of shelled peanuts and then pulse it in your blender, till you get a coarse powder. Stop at the stage while it is still in a powder form. If you process it more, you will end up with peanut butter. 

Eggplant Salad in Yogurt- "Bharit in Dahi"

This is an absolutely delicious dish. While my mom made the 'baba ghanoush' style eggplant salad quite often, the version with yogurt was a rare occurence. I really liked it but I must not have mentioned it because she was under the impression that I didn't really care for it, for the longest time. So, this recipe is definitely a reminder to appreciate good food when I eat it. All of us make dishes we perceive are well received by our family and friends. So, next time you eat something that you really appreciate, let the cook know. That is the best way to make sure that you get to eat what you like more frequently.

Ingredients
1 large eggplant
1 red onion, finely diced (about a cup)
cilantro, finely chopped (about 1/2 a cup)
1 tsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
1/8 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1-2 green chillies, slit (to taste)
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 cup yogurt

Method
Roast the eggplant till the skin is charred. Then peel the skin off the eggplant. Finely dice the roasted eggplant. To this add the onions, cilantro and corriander powder and mix well. In a small pan, heat the oil. To this add the cumin and mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add the garlic and cook for a minute. Do not let it burn. Then add the green chillies and turmeric. Pour this over the eggplant and mix well. When the eggplant reaches room temperature, add yogurt and mix well. Then add the sugar and salt. Enjoy at room temperature or cold.

Tips
If you have run out of garlic, use a pinch of asafoetida/hing instead. If you use both the ingredients together, the two ingredients tend to cancel out each others fragrance.  If you do not like to eat garlic, then you can just add garlic cloves to the oil, let them cook through and then remove them at the stage when they start browning. The oil will have a nice garlic flavor. If you do not have a "gas" lit stove and use a coil stove, then broil the eggplant. It is much faster than baking and you can get a nice charred outside.

Serve is as a side salad with your meal. It can also be eaten with chapati/roti or use as a dip to eat with pita chips.

Blueberry Smoothie

I enjoy smoothies, for breakfast, as desserts or even as an occasional meal. There was a smoothie shop right around the corner from where I worked and I was regular visitor. I remember my afternoon trips to the smoothie shop very fondly. Most often than not, after browsing through the menu, I used to end up selecting one of the berry smoothies. These days, I enjoy making these berry smoothies at home. The following smoothie recipe is perfect with a dollop of vanilla icecream.

Ingredients
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 banana
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup crushed ice
vanilla ice cream (optional)

Method
Blend together all the ingredients except for the ice cream. If its too thick, add a little more ice or orange juice. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.



Tips

If you do not have flavored yogurt, you can use regular yogurt.

Shrikhand (Sweet Yogurt)

A wonderful dessert and simple to make too! Shrikhand is a yogurt dessert. It has minimal ingredients and requires no cooking. It can be made well in advance. In fact it tastes much better when the flavors have had a chance to marry. This is a popular dessert made in Western India, specially in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The recipe that follows is the basic Shrikhand recipe. You can very easily change an ingredient to make this into Amrakhand.

Ingredients
2 - 3 cups of yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar
4-5 strands of saffron
1-1.5 tbsp mix  of sliced blanched almond and pistachio
1 pinch of powdered cardamom
1/8 tsp water or milk

Method
Tie up the yogurt in a fine cotton cloth/cheese cloth and hang it overnight or about 6-8 hours to drain the liquid part of the yogurt.  The yogurt should be as dry as possible so that it doesnt become runny when you add the sugar. Once all the water is drained, it will come together in a ball. The resultant yogurt volume will be about 1 to 1.5 cups of drained yogurt. To this add the sugar.  The sugar will get assimilated immediately. Soak the strands of saffron in about 1/8th tsp of milk and add this to the yogurt sugar mix. Add the nuts and cardamom powder. Stir everything together and refrigerate. Serve cold. Enjoy with chapati/puri or just on its own.

Tips
There is a lot of water in yogurt and you should be prepared that the remaining volume will be half of what you started out with. So be careful with your estimations. Use powdered sugar so that a lot of heat is not generated when you mix the it together with the yogurt. The powdered sugar will melt into the yogurt immediately. If granulated sugar is used, it will take a while to dissolve the sugar and will make the shrikhand runny or watery.