Ratlami Sev

It was decided by the blogging marathon group that 'Ratlami Sev' is going to be today's regional snack. Sev / Kara sev, deep fried savory snacks made with chickpea flour are ubiquitous in India. They are sold by sweet vendors, at bakeries and even made at homes. The fine variety sev happens to be a part of many chaats, a group of popular Indian street foods. Then one may start to wonder what so great about Ratlami variety when you can see sev everywhere. I began to explore about it and ended up at this Government of India' geographical indication tags journal where the information about it's origin, preparation and how the ingredients are chosen are given in detail. Besides, I had a seen a Ratlami sev maker in Ratlam on YouTube earlier which came handy.  
Ratlami is pronounced as Ru(as in run)-th(as in thermal)-laa-me. Ratlami sev comes from a town in Madhya Pradesh called Ratlam and is unique in terms of the spice blend used in the recipe. If my memory serves right, the first time I came across the town's name was in the movie, 'Jab we met' which by the way happens to be one of my favorite movies. Enough digression. 😊 According to the website mentioned above, the origin of this sev dates back to more than 136 years ago. During 19th century, the Mughal emperors seem to be passing through the Malwa region and wished to have sevaiyan aka wheat vermicelli. However they could not procure wheat locally and and ordered the Bhils, the local tribal people to prepare sevaiyan with the chickpea flour instead, which was available. The sev prepared thus was called Bhildi sev and this is considered to be the predecessor of the present day crispy and spicy Ratlami sev. The Sakhlecha family of Ratlam was one of the first commercial sev manufacturers who had begun to prepare and sell Ratlami sev in their shop about a century ago. The sev now is also prepared in other regions of the state, Gujarat, Maharasthra, and Delhi though Ratlamis seem to claim their uniqueness. The Ratlami seller in the video was attributing it to the water of the region that is used in the sev preparation. 

No two recipes that I had come across online had a similar spice blend used in the recipe. The person who was enjoying the Ratlami sev on the video had clearly mentioned the spices which matched with those in the journal. I blindly followed the recipe since it seemed to be the most authentic one. The Ratlami sev is made with chickpea flour alone without adding any other flours. Salt and a spice blend of black pepper, cloves, cumin, asafoetida and dried red chillies are used. It seems that the spices used in Ratlam are different than the ones used in Gujarati versions of ratlami sev. Spices can be customized  in the recipe according to one's preferences of course if they cannot handle the spices. However when Ratlami sev is tasted, it wouldn't hit immediately but one would feel the taste of asafoetida and cloves at the back of the throat once they finish eating.

Peanut oil is used for deep frying the sev, which is most common in Indian cooking though I used canola oil. The prepared sev dough needs to be used immediately and is passed through a sieved ladle aka jhara directly over the wok containing hot oil. It seems that the vendors keep the oil hot all the while, fry the sev for 2 to 3 minutes and remove them once the bubbling reduces and sev floats to the surface.  

I used a chakli press instead to make my sev, using a plate with 3 wholes. (Use an attachment with slightly smaller holes if you have one but not the tiny holes one. I had the one I used and the other one was to make fine sev). I forgot the part that mentioned to fry for only a few minutes and was aiming for a light brown color sev that I saw in Ratlam video and was also somehow confused them with the reguar chakli making which need extra time than sev making. And so I ended up frying the first two chaklis more than needed. They are done very quickly, end up being crunchy once they cool down and don't require as much frying as the other chaklis usually take. 

Online recipes mention an extra step of blending the oil, water and baking soda till it gets frothy and then add it to the dry ingredients.  I noticed that the street vendors were not following this step and besides, lemon juice and soda were not even part of the traditional recipe as per the website. I therefore followed the regular method of chakli /sev making since the addition of hot oil and soda in the dough give the sev the desired texture anyway. They are eaten along with tea or poha in Ratlam. 

Ingredients for the spice blend:
3/4 tsp. peppercorns
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
Ingredients for sev:
1 and 1/4 cup chickpea flour / besan
Salt to taste (somewhere around 1 tsp.)
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp. asafoetida powder
Chili powder to taste
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 - 4 tbsp. hot oil
Water as needed (I used about 1/4 cup.)
Oil to deep fry sev
Equipment:
A deep pan / wok
Chakli / murukku press and attachment plate with holes

Directions:
* Heat about 2 cups of oil in a small sized wok or a deep pan on medium flame. 
* Dry roast cloves and cumin seeds and let them cool. Once cool, grind them along with the peppercorns finely.

* Add this spice powder, turmeric, salt, chili powder and asafoetida to the chickpea flour in a mixing bowl. 

* Add 3 to 4 tbsp. hot oil to the besan mixture and combine. Stir with a spoon if needed. Add baking soda and lemon.
* Then pour a tbsp. of water over the soda. Add remaining water gradually and prepare a dough, the consistency of which is not too thick or runny. 

* Add a pinch of the dough into the hot oil. If it swims to the surface immediately, then the temperature is right to fry the sev. 
* Use chakli press and an attachment with bigger holes than the  one which makes fine sev. I used slightly bigger holed attachment since I didn't have smaller than that.

* Grease the inside of the chakli press and fill with the dough. 

* Press and squeeze the mold over the hot oil to make spirals.
 
* When the dough in the press is all used up, refill it with dough and keep it ready.

* Fry the sev, flipping in between until it turns light golden through out. Remove the sev using a perforated ladle and drain on a paper towel covered plate to absorb the excess oil. 

* Repeat the steps with the remaining dough and prepare sev the similar way.
* Let them cool and once they cool down, crush them gently to make them into bite sized pieces. Store them in an air tight container.
* Serve them along with tea or Indori poha.

So far my recipes in the series,

First week - Indian Traditional Sweets
Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde
Dry Gulab Jamun
Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai
Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa
Elaneer Payasam
Godhuma Sojjappalu

Second week - Snacks from Gujarat, India
Damni Dhokla
Doodhi Muthia / Lauki Muthia
Dal Pandoli

Sev Khamani

Methi Khakhra
Pressure Cooker Khandvi

Third Week - Snacks
Bafauri
Soy Beans Guggillu / Sundal

Jhal Muri

Roasted Phool Makhana
Kalmi Vada Chaat
Spicy Corn Chaat

Fourth Week - Regional Snacks 
Aakukoora Pappu Chekkalu
Millet Handvo (Baked Version)


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Bafauri ~ A Steamed Lentil Based Snack

So far in the series,

First week - Sweets
Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde
Dry Gulab Jamun
Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai
Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa
Elaneer Payasam
Godhuma Sojjappalu

Second week - Snacks from Gujarat
Damni Dhokla
Doodhi Muthia / Lauki Muthia
Dal Pandoli

Sev Khamani

Methi Khakhra

Pressure Cooker Khandvi

Now I am into third week of blogging marathon with the theme of Indian sweets and snacks. This week is going to be about some snack recipes of my choice and I am in central India for my dish today. There seems to be at least one locally popular steamed snack in every state, I realized while exploring for steamed Indian snacks. Today's recipe is one such regional dish called bafouri,  from the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. A coarsely ground batter of split chick peas / chana dal is used to make bafauri making it a very healthy and guilt free snack. Pronounced as buff-ou-ri, this snack is vegan, gluten free, grain-free and a great option for diabetics too. It can be served along with green or sweet chutneys or even some ketchup. Add some vegetables if you prefer to make it more nutritious though the traditional version doesn't use any. Bafauri pieces are also used in a local curry preparation called bafauri ki subzi. Masoor dal (Red lentils) or moong dal seem to be the alternatives for chana dal in this recipe but I am wondering if masoor dal can hold the shape.

Bafauri preparation needs some planning since chana dal needs to be soaked for 2 to 3 hours. It is then ground with other ingredients  into a thick batter. Then small portions of batter are scooped onto the steamer plate using fingers or a spoon, without trying to shape them, somewhat similar to wadi making. They are then steamed until they are cooked through. The pieces can be eaten as it is which makes it a oil-free dish. Or lightly sauteed in some tempering. It is not needed to fry them until golden brown or slightly crisp like fried muthias. I enjoyed both the versions but my husband fried his portion until crisp.

Traditional bafauri have quite rustic look and doesn't look like mine do but I have stuck to the original recipe differing only in the way of shaping them. Bafauris are not shaped as rolls but I did it so to handle them easily and mine are similar to muthias in looks. They can also be prepared in an idli stand if one prefers but I had to add about 1/2 cup water for the batter while shaping them into idlis. Grind adding without water or only as much as needed if scooping them as tiny portions. We enjoyed them shaped into rolls compared to the idli shaped ones. The rolls were even good to eat without any tempering. These can be served as a snack or even as a light meal. Turmeric seems an optional ingredient since some of the bafauris I saw online were not vibrantly yellow hued. I did not add any turmeric to the bafauri I made in the idli stand. I got about 10 bafouri when I used an idli stand and about a dozen oblong shaped rolls. There will be more bafauri if just scooping out small portions.

Source: Here
Ingredients for bafauri:
1 cup chana dal (Masoor / moong dal can be used.)
2 - 3 green chillies (The variety I used were spicy.)
1 inch piece of ginger (optional)
1 tsp. carom / cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 onion, finely minced (I added fried ones.)
3 to 4 garlic cloves (I didn't add any.)
Ingredients for tempering:
2 - 3 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies, broken into bits
1 sprig of curry leaves

Directions:
* Rinse and soak chana dal for 2 to 3 hours. 
* Drain the water completely. Add chana dal, chillies, ginger and grind the mixture to a blender or food processor, Grind them together adding as little water as needed. (I used a food processor, ground the batter coarse and did not add any water. If the batter is ground without water then shaping them into rolls would be easier.  However traditionally the bafauri batter is dropped by spoonfuls into the steamer plate rather than making as rolls.)

* Add carom or cumin seeds, salt, turmeric, cilantro, onion and garlic if using to the ground batter and mix well to combine.

 * Bring water to a boil in either a steamer or a pressure cooker base. Make oblong shaped bafauris out of the batter. If going the traditional route, drop spoonfuls of batter onto the steamer plate or a container that you are going to use to place in the cooker or even an idli stand. (1/4 cup of water may be used to grind the batter if dropping by spoon.)

* Steam them until a tooth pick / knife inserted at the center comes out clean.

* These were good to eat just like this after steaming, making them an oil-free snack. These reminded me nuchinnunde of Karnataka.

* Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add curry leaves and chillies. Saute for few seconds.

* Add steamed bafauri and gently saute them for a couple of minutes. There is no need to brown them but one can always do do if preferring that way.

* Here is the final dish ready to serve. Steamed, tempered and slightly sauteed bafauri. They look greasy in the images but they were not.

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Indori Poori Palak Ki ~ Madhya Pradesh Cuisine

A SIL of mine would have been a great authentic source for this particular state if I had decided to utilize her. She studied, married and have been living in Madhya pradesh for the past 4 decades. A quick Madhya pradesh cuisine search led me to these Indori palak pooris and I decided to go with them instead of calling her, out of the blue for recipe swapping. 
I prepare spinach pooris now and then. It was a surprise to learn that these originated in the city of Indore. In fact, my SIL lives in Indore and I have visited the city. It is known for it's great street food and while I was there relishing the chaats, I was so engrossed that I didn't pay much attention to recall whether these palak pooris are a part of the street food there. My guess is that these are made usually at homes than on the street joints. Beside the street food, Indore is also known for it's variety of savory snacks and pickles and our relatives from south are known to bring back hoards of those whenever they get to visit the place. 
Now the spicy pooris are really yummy and the spinach adds a healthy touch to these calorie loaded puffed breads. Serve them with just plain yogurt and pickle or a curry of your choice.

Ingredients: (20 pooris)
2 cups wheat flour + extra for dusting
Salt to taste
1 to 2 tbsp oil
1 - 2 tbsp yogurt
2 green chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
One inch piece of ginger
3/4 cup cooked spinach (I had coarsely chopped a bunch of spinach and cooked it in the microwave adding a little water. Or you can just blanch it.)
Oil to fry pooris

Method:
* Grind chillies, ginger, cumin seeds and spinach without adding any water.
* Combine everything in the ingredients' list in a mixing bowl except the oil used to fry. Knead it into a soft dough, adding water if needed. Rest the dough for about 30 - 60 minutes, if you have time.
* Pinch a big marble sized dough and roll it into a thin disc, dusting with flour if needed.

* In the meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan / kadai. When the oil is hot enough, gently slide the rolled out disc and fry on medium flame. When it puffs up, flip and fry the other side too until it turns light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent towels.

* Repeat the steps of rolling and frying, with the remaining dough. Keep adjusting the flame as needed while frying.
* If the pooris are spicy, they can be served with yogurt alone. I served them with aloo bhaji and chutney.

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