Besan Ji Bhaji

Ok, I know "normali" is a relative concept on this blog, but this recipe is still downright weird. Don't get me wrong, this is delicious, fantastic, bizarre, and amazing: exactly what I'm searching for. And it isn't simple; this takes a while. This is delicious though.

Gram flour, or besam, or chick pea flour may be available at your local natural foods store, and definitely at a local Indian store. It's usually very cheap, so this is an inexpensive meal.

Besan ji Bhaji

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 1/2 hour

Serves: 3-4

Chickpea Biscuits:

1 cup gram flour (besam)

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander

3/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 garam masala

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

2 tbsp oil

salt to taste

Curry:

3 onions, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

2 green chillies

1/2 tsp garam masala

Prepare the Gram Flour Biscuits:

Mix all the chickpea ingredients in a bowl. slowly add water, mixing until it has a dough-like consistency. Use the gram flour to powder a surface and your hands, and flatten the dough onto the surface. Sliced into small squares.

Heat a large pot full of water, and add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.

Add the squares and boil for five minutes.

Remove them and strain, and then heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the chickpea pieces, until golden brown on each side. Remove from the oil, and set aside to prepare curry.

Curry:

In a large pot, heat a little ghee or oil. Add the onions, lightly salting them, and fryuntil translucent. Add green chillies, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, and tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are tender. Add the garam masala and chickpea biscuits and sprinkle a little water over the curry, and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Serve with rice and garnish with cilantro.

Chapter 17 : Sindh (Pakistan)

The division between Indian and Pakistani cuisines is blurry, at best, due to the partition of India. Muslims and Hindus lived side by side in Sindh, where historically there had been no violence between the two groups. After the partition of India, however, the Sindhi Hindus found themselves increasingly the target of violence, relocating into India.

Sindhi cuisine is not vegetarian, although Muslim Sindhis observe Halal meat guidelines, so pork isn't common. Certainly, beef, lamb, fish, and chicken would be consumed, although in researching Sindhi cuisine we found a wealth of vegetarian recipes and eschewing meat seemed easier than not.

Curry, of course, had become well known worldwide, whether it be Indonesian Gulai, Japanese Curry Rice, Jamaican Curry Goat, or even German Curry Ketchup. But of course, it is originally from the subcontinent of India. Less well known is the Curry Leaf, which is commonly used to make curry in Southern India especially. This Sindhi recipes makes use of the enigmatic leaf.

This also uses Gram Flour, otherwise known as Besam/Besan. Gram flour is made from chick peas, and its unique flavor is used to make a sort of chickpea/butter ghee roux in this recipe. You might be able to replace it with white flour, although the flavor would certainly be very different.

Fenugreek can be found in most ethnic groceries, though not in mainstream groceries. It has a maple-like scent, and nothing else seems even vaguely like it.

Asafoetida is an allium that is found powdered, usually in Indian groceries.

Sindhi Curry

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time 1 1/2 hours

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

3 tbsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

a pinch of asafoetida

4 tbsp gram flour

salt, to taste

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 green chillies, minced

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp red chilli powder

20 curry leaves

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp mint, chopped

2 tbsp tamarind pulp

1 1/2 chopped vegetables (carrots, okra, and potatoes, though you may need to pre-boil the carrots and potatoes)

Produce a Roux:

Heat the ghee, then add the cumin seeds, fenugreek, and asafoetida. Fry until lightly borwn, and then sift in the gram flour, stirring constantly. When the gram flour becomes golden brown in color.

Cooking:

Slowly add 4 cups of warm water to the gram roux., stirring in a little at a time. Add salt, ginger, green chillies, turmeric, and red chilli powder. Add vegetables and curry leaves and bring to a simmer. When vegetables are nearly done, Add the mint, cilantro, and tamarind pulp.

Serve with aloo tuk.