Nan Khatai

Probably nan khatai are the first cookies I ever baked in my kitchen and so, they are special to me. Over the years I have tried various versions, liking them all even without realizing they had Parsi connection. This time around I tried this semolina-almond version which yield crispy, crumbly delicious nan khatai that are quite addictive. For the uninitiated, nan khatai are shortbread biscuits that have been popular in the Indian sub continent for centuries. They are believed to be originated in Surat, a city in western India during 16th century. The word nan khatai is said to have derived from a Persian word 'naan' meaning bread and an Afghani word 'khatai' meaning biscuit.
 
According to the ebook Eat, Pray and Live, some of the Parsi cooks who worked for the Dutch in Surat had learnt to bake soft bread by fermenting the dough with toddy, which is supposedly the beginning of the legacy of Parsi bakeries in Surat. Parsis were inspired by the eggless Scottish shortbread, to create nan khatai, one of Surat's famous confections.The Surat bakers realized that the recipe was suitable for Gujarati vegetarians who did not eat eggs and adapted to suit the local populace by adding nuts and cardamom. Here is another interesting read about how nan khatai came to existence.

Ingredients: (Yield 18 - 20 cookies)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina (I replaced half of it with ground almonds.)
2 tbsp. ground almonds (Optional)
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
A pinch of baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp. slivered almonds for garnish

Method:
* Sift together flour, semolina, cardamom and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add ground almonds to the same bowl if using and mix to combine,
* Cream butter and sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in small increments and blend until a dough is formed. If for any reason, the dough turns out hard / dry, moisten it with little milk. (I didn't need any milk.)
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 180 deg C. Grease or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
* Divide the cookie dough into 18 - 20 portions and roll each portion into a smooth ball. Flatten them slightly with the palm of your hand and decorate with almond slivers. Gently press the almond pieces so that they stick to the cookie.
* Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them an inch apart since they expand while baking.
* Place them in the preheated oven and bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until they turn light golden in color. (I baked them for about 20 minutes, turned off the oven and left them in the oven for another 6 minutes or so.)
* Let them cool on a wire rack and store them in an airtight container.


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Parsi Style Masoor Dal

Coincidentally a 'Parsi' special was airing on TV when I was deciding on the themes for this marathon and on the spot I got to decide on the dishes for the Parsi theme to my amazement. However it turns out that those recipes were just not destined to appear here yet. Wouldn't it be surreal if everything goes according to the plan in life? Turns out that I had run out of the essential ingredients at the right time. My husband who always ends up buying ten extra things which are not on the list when sent grocery shopping came home this time missing the exact key ingredients I needed. It seems he had decided to get them at the end and forgot and decided that I can do without them. :) Obviously I had to change my plans and went looking for other recipes though we ended up liking the dishes I tried. This delicious Parsi style masoor dal from here is one of them. It is prepared with whole masoor instead of the split orange colored masoor dal and was quite a treat. Parsis use the unique balance of acid and sweetness in their dishes called khattu-mithu as the vinegar - jaggery used in this recipe. This wholesome, nutritious dish goes well with rotis.
 
Ingredients: (4 servings)
1 cup whole lentils (I used whole masoor dal.)
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. grated ginger / ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. corainder powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder (I used more.)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (I used less.)
1 tsp. powdered jaggery (or substitute sugar.)
1/2 cup chopped tomato
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. garam masala
Minced cilantro to garnish

Method:
* Wash and cook lentils in pressure cooker for 2 whistles, adding 2 cups of water. The lentils must be cooked well but still hold their shape.
* Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and the bay leaf. When cumin starts to sizzle and brown add the ginger, garlic and chopped onion. Fry until the onion turns brown.
* Next add the vinegar, tomatoes, jaggery and salt to the pan. Cook on low flame until the tomatoes turn mushy and the flavors incorporate. (Lentils can be added at this point and can be cooked. I preferred to pressure cook the lentils separately and added the cooked lentils to the tomato - onion mixture.)
* Add the cooked lentils and simmer for a couple of minutes and turn off the stove.
* Garnish with garam masala and cilantro before serving.

This is my post under 'Parsi dishes'. Check the blogging marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking for BM#52.

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Channa ni Daar ~ Parsi Style ChickPeas

I am going to post 'Parsi dishes' this week as part of the blogging marathon. The present day Parsis in India descend from a group of Zoroastrians who fled Greater Iran to escape religious persecution during 8th / 10th century and migrated to Gujarat and Sindh regions. Over the centuries, Parsis have integrated themselves into Indian society while simultaneously maintaining or developing their own distinct customs and traditions. The same applies to their cuisine as well and over the time, it has evolved into a delicious blend with Persian, Indian and western influences. Today's post, channa ni daar comes from 'Eat, Live and Pray', an online compilation of Parsi recipes. I guess this dish is the Parsi take on the popular Punjabi chole. The spices here are not roasted before grinding as Parsis believe that the aroma / flavors of the spices are more pronounced this way. We are a chole loving family and so obviously us, including the kids enjoyed this Parsi variation and I found this an easy preparation compared to the Punjabi version.

Ingredients: (yield 3 - 4 servings)
1 cup garbanzo beans 
2-3 tbsp oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. roughly minced cilantro to garnish
Ingredients to grind:
4 dried red chillies
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1" piece ginger
6 pepper corns
1/2" cinnamon piece
2-3 garlic cloves (I omitted it.)

Method:
* Wash and soak garbanzo beans in water for about 8 hours or overnight to facilitate fast cooking. Drain the soaked water and rinse the beans well. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles (or more depending upon the cooker) until they are cooked. They should be soft but still hold their shape when done.
(Canned garbanzo beans can be substituted if there is no time to start from the scratch. Skip the above steps of soaking and cooking if using canned variety and use 2 cups of beans instead of one. Remember to rinse the beans well before using to get rid of the slimy liquid.)
* Heat oil and fry the onion slices until they brown. Reserve a quarter of fried onion slices for garnishing.
* In the meanwhile, grind all the ingredients mentioned under to grind. Add the ground paste and turmeric to the (3/4th quantity) fried onions in the pan. Fry for about 5 minutes.
* Then add the cooked chana and salt. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until a little gravy is left. Turn off the stove.
* Garnish with the reserved fried onion and cilantro.
* Serve warm with rotis.

This is my post under 'Parsi dishes'. Check the blogging marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking for BM#52.

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