Now I have never known Rajgira nor knew Rajgira flour is known as Amarnath
atta. So when Shital Kakad announced Ragjira as the superfood for this month’s potluck at Chai Shai aur Batain, I quickly clicked GoogleMaster
to learn something more about this...
Amaranth or rajgira means “immortal” or
“everlasting” in Greek because it contains more than three times the average
amount of calcium and is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium
and it is the only grain which contains Vitamin C. Rajgira also has far more
lysine, an essential amino acid, which the body does not manufacture, compared
to other grains. Lysine is needed to metabolise fatty acids, absorb calcium,
and is essential for strong, thick hair.
Source: https://www.indiatimes.com/health/healthyliving/health-benefits-of-rajgira-amaranth-240859.html
But what to make when I do not know how it will behave? And what to
make?
Rabia Patel, my friend, made my task easier by asking me to make a #sindhicuisine Daal Pakwaan that she loves to eat.
Baas..that made things easier..kyun ki now I was set to make just
pakwaan of Rajgira.
Doing research with family and friends also helped. Consulting with them,
I learnt how it can be used...
"for making
puris..add mashed potatoes” said one friend.
“You could add rava flour to make it crispy” said another..
That gave
me idea that it might be tricky to roll out puris, finally I decided on adding
maida on instruction of my cousin sister.
“Lets experiment” said my cousin who had come to spend some time
with me. She made a dough taking equal proportions of maida and Rajgira
atta..added 1tsp cumin seeds and salt. We added ghee to make a smooth dough.
First two puris were soft and thick..whereas pakwaan are normally thin and
crispy..and therefore, we rolled out thinner circles making dents with the fork
Voila!! We had crispy puris....
They were dark brown..but quite tasty.
Everybody raves about dhal pakwaan, but a novice will wonder what is so
great about it? Its just chana dhal and crispsy puris...But the actual taste,
my friend, is in the accompaniments..it
is best enjoyed with mint chutney and onions soaked in tamarind sauce..that is
the taste that you enjoy..sweet, spicy and sour dhal with crispy puris...
So, this was my contribution for the potluck this week with #homechefs at
'#ChaiShaiaurBataain hosted by Shital Kakad at her beautiful cook studio
'ShitalFoodCottage
Sharing the recipe toh banta hai...here is how I make it
For Puris
Mix 1cup Rajgira Flour and 1 cup maida
Add half tsp salt
Add half tsp cumin seeds
Mix and make stiff dough add just half cup water
Roll out thin circular shapes
Prick it with fork or knife
Deep fry till crisp
For dhal
Soak 2cups channa dhal for 2 hours
In a pressure cooker, stir fry 1 tsp cumin seeds in 1tbsp of ghee
Add 1 pinch of hing
Add the soaked dhal
Add salt and 1tsp of turmeric powder
Add 1 cup of water and pressure cook with 2 whistles.
Garnish with red chilie powder, cumin powder, pomegranate powder and
chopped coriander leaves.
For mint
chutney
Mix a small bunch of corainder leaves and mint leaves
Add one small onion, few cloves of garlic, 5 or 6 green chilies, salt to
taste
Grind to a smooth paste
Add 1tbsp of lime juice
For tamarind
sauce
Soak tamarind for an hour, squeeze out the pulp.
Add finely chopped onions
Add salt, sugar, cumin powder
For serving
Top the dhal with onions in tamarind sauce, mint chutney and enjoy with
crispy Rajgira puris.
The brownie point was the live demonstration by chef of Punjab Grill
Official @amiteshvirdi who shared his nuggets of knowledge with us.He has good
knowledge of cooking and is also obsessed with every ingredient that he uses, His
live demo on sweet potato and bitter gourd was truly loved by all
The potluck event at ShitalFoodCottage was a success because everybody's
dish was commendable, You can find their recipes at Shital kakad s blog
